I'm sorry I was late with this chapter, but I've been sick these past couple of days T_T That being said, the next chapter might be late again, I don't know when my life will quiet down enough for me to write again. I'm sorry, but please bear with me~

"Tragedy doesn't discriminate; everyone is subjected to the whims of fate,"

Chapter 11

His trembling fingers grabbed harder at his shoulder, the redness of his already bruised flesh deepening in color.

He tried his best to avoid looking into Furihata's eyes. He knew how anxious he could get, how he was most likely blaming himself for his injury. Still, he kept facing away, choosing to ignore the fleeting pain he caught a glimpse of in Furihata's eyes.

He wished he could say something, or explain the turmoil of emotions stirring within him, but he found himself, unnaturally, at a loss of words. He knew it wasn't fair to Furihata; it wasn't his fault, not intentionally at least, but how could one begin to explain something they didn't understand themselves?

For the first time since all of this has begun, he felt lost.

His conscious retreated into his mental cocoon taking some time to calm his racing mind, before he could face the outside again. He always did this whenever he felt overwhelmed by whatever situation he faced, but the brother he always relied on to handle their mind was now asleep. Perhaps for the best, as he was the source of his current troubles.

Soon, Kagami and Kuroko had joined Furihata who had since fallen silent. They tried to talk to Akashi, but his body was nothing but an outer shell as neither personality assumed control of it. It wasn't fair to his friends for him to run away like this, and yet he didn't make a move to regain control. Not right now.

...

"What're you doing?"

The voice shouldn't have startled him, but it did. The piercing eyes narrowed in his direction did make him swallow the lump in his throat; the appearance of his brother elicited both guilt and relief.

His brother could've searched through their shared memory with ease, he needn't ask him, but he always had respect for his privacy. He always waited until he was ready to talk, and at the moment Akashi was sure he wasn't. He walked past him, deeper into the darkness and handed the control of their body to his suspecting brother.

"Would one of you just please tell me what happened?!" He heard the worried voice of Kagami, asking once again, as his fingers threaded through his dual colored locks out of frustration. Both he and Furihata had been ignoring his question.

His brother winced at the sudden jolt of pain in his shoulder as he assumed control of their body. He turned to look at Akashi, confused, this time abandoning his usual curtsey, as Akashi sensed him searching into their memory for an answer. As soon as he did, his eyes widened and their heartbeat quickened. The look his brother gave him was one of disbelief, of worry and confusion. Through it he asked a thousand questions, none of which Akashi had an answer to.

Then all the confusion left his eyes and he sighed.

"This…isn't like you," He said, before he turned his back to him, focusing on the people around them instead.

"I seem to have got hurt in the earlier commotion," His brother told Kagami, whose panic seemed to rise even more.

"WHAT? Are you all right? No, you can't be! That was stupid!"

"Please calm down, Kagami-kun. I don't believe it's serious, but it would be wise to get it checked," Kuroko said as he examined the wound.

"If it would put your minds at ease, I don't mind," His brother said.

Kagami looked around them, making sure no one was within earshot. "Was it, you know, one of the misfortune things?"

His brother shook his head. "No, I'm afraid it was but a minor accident,"

Kagami let out a long sigh at his answer.

"I don't know how you guys deal with this every day!"

He and Kuroko finished making sure the workers the rest of the setup removed safely, and then made way to the cars to tell them they were ready to leave. Half way there, Kuroko stole a glance back in their direction, before he swiftly turned to look in front of him again.

Akashi didn't have time to dwell on this as he realized his brother wasn't making any move to follow after them; neither did Furihata, leaving them alone once more.

His brother looked at Furihata, lifting his hand to caress his cheek lightly. He seemed startled at the touch, until he looked up to meet his brother's eyes. His shoulders relaxed, probably seeing the golden hue in his left eye, all tension leaving them instantly. And his brother smiled.

"You didn't get hurt, did you?"

Instead of answering, Furihata wrapped his arms around in a tight hug, while avoiding his injured shoulder. His brother hugged him back with his other uninjured one, stroking it up and down his trembling back in a comforting gesture.

Akashi's breath, on the other hand, stilled in his lungs. He looked away.

"I'm sorry," He heard Furihata's faint voice.

"You weren't at fault. They're not something you could control,"

His brother lifted Furihata's chin, so he could look him in the eye; Furihata squirmed under his gaze, which wasn't all due to nerves, if the blush adorning his cheeks was anything to go by. His brother chuckled at the reaction and let him go, Furihata puffing his cheeks and pouting at the teasing.

"You've had quite the eventful start to your day, how about I take you somewhere that will make you feel better?" His brother suggested, a hopeful tone to his voice.

Furihata's eyes lit up with excitement, nodding his head.

With only just that, his beaming smile returned to his face, no trace of any previous discomfort he felt earlier. They were both smiling and Akashi loathed how it made him feel deep inside.

It was just past noon when they got back to his grandmother's house.

As Kuroko had said, the injury hadn't been serious, but it didn't mean it wasn't going to hurt for some time. He and Kagami headed for the kitchen after a change of clothes, planning on preparing lunch after Kagami had dismissed the kitchen staff. He enjoyed cooking whenever he had a rare day off, today wasn't any different.

"Where are we going? I've seen it before you know," Furihata asked, lowering his head to avoid a branch in his way.

After Kagami and Kuroko had left, his brother has led Furihata to the garden surrounding the mansion, as per his promise to take him some place he deemed would remedy Furihata's day. But, to Furihata's surprise, they walked into a secluded part of the backyard garden.

"Patience, Kouki. You will see,"

But Furihata was wrong. This might have been the same garden, but his brother was going down an unfamiliar trail, one Akashi couldn't recognize. Soon they were surrounded by tall oak-brown trees as they ventured out of the garden and went deeper into the nearby forest.

The forest was ancient, or so he's heard from his grandmother. The further they went, the more he became sure of that fact. He remembered wandering there as a child, once, but he had felt unsettled that he left without venturing deeper into the forest.
Its huge roots spread-eagled the ground, sometimes they needed to climb and others twisted around themselves, above and through the ground. The sunlight filtering through the thick waved leaves was barely enough for them to see the trail ahead.

The forest was silent aside from the sound of their shoes, crunching dried up leaves and small twigs beneath them. Normally he'd believe that was strange, but it was winter and most small animals were either hibernating or hiding in their nests. Still, he couldn't shake the eeriness he felt. Furihata kept asking where they were going, only for it to fall on deaf ears, his brother simply saying they should keep walking. But Akashi knew it couldn't have been a simple hike, his brother had a destination in mind, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't read his mind this time.

But Akashi wasn't worried, he knew his brother wouldn't take them any place he deemed dangerous, but he was curious. There was something about the forest that looked…familiar. Such an unsettling feeling, the same he's felt when he was young.

"We're here,"

His thoughts were interrupted by his brother's announcement. Akashi looked ahead, the only thing before them, was a thick hedge of bushes.

Furihata's eyebrows drew closer in a frown.

"You wanted to show me…these bushes?" Furihata questioned, slowly, which made his brother chuckle.

"We wouldn't have come here had it been that. What I wanted to show you lies ahead,"

His hand shuffled through the woven leaves, moving them aside. The light shining through the space was blinding, a complete contrast to the darkness they were currently in. It was almost too intimidating to walk into, but he wasn't the one in control of his body now and his brother didn't share his fears.

Wherever they were, the sun was no longer hidden by the trees and it took some time for his closed eyes to get used to it for them to open again slowly. The sound of running water reached his ears, the rustling trees and the chirping birds, it made him curious to see, to know, and once his eyes were no longer blurred, he did.

They were at a small clearing, where time seemed to have stopped, for winter didn't seem to have found this place yet. The running water and the beautiful lake weren't frozen like the others around the house, and the warmth seeping through his light jacket, made him want to take it off. It was a relaxing, small paradise. Almost seemed like a part of a…

"…dream,"

His attention shifted to Furihata. He seemed strange, walking with unsteady steps, almost aimlessly. He frantically glanced around him, as if he was faced with something that was hard to believe. He stopped by a big rock at the lake's side. Furihata ran his hands over its mold-covered surface. His brother slowly walked to where he was and upon further inspection, Akashi could see his trembling hands.

"The dream," He heard Furihata say. "This is…this is the clearing from the dream!" His voiced was higher, almost shouting.

His knees gave away, and he fell to the ground.

His brother placed a hand on his shoulder. "Kouki…" he said, softly, but the hopeful tone in his voice couldn't be missed.

Furihata stood up, abruptly, and walked towards a nearby tree, seemingly ignoring his brother. But then he stopped, as sudden as he started walking and looked in his direction. His eyes seemed distant, a bit lost, but they sparkled with something he couldn't understand.

"This is where it happened, isn't it? This is where we first met," He asked with a trembling voice.

Only then did Akashi connect all the dots, only then he understood why his brother chose to bring Furihata here, why it all seemed so eerily familiar. He'd seen this place many times before, repeatedly relived their long gone past, unwillingly, through his dreams. It was where his other self had met the guardian of fortune for the first time, in another life.

"Yes, Kouki. Yes, it is."

The dreams still remained so vividly itched deep into his memory.

Even now, looking around the clearing, he could almost see visions of those dreams coming to life before his eyes. The memories this clearing held were all so pleasant, that it was calming to be here. Calming, but strange, like it was somewhere he didn't belong.

And it was true.

Those who did were his brother and Furihata.

Furihata's eyes never stopped wandering around him. Each time he'd find something that attached itself to one of his memories he would excitedly relay the memory to his brother. Akashi didn't believe he'd seen his other self so…happy before. He would smile or chuckle in response to Furihata's ranting and he had even took part in a water splashing fight Furihata had started in remembrance of one they had when they were young. It was like he was seeing a new side he'd never known was there before. It was different, but not at all unwelcomed.

After the water fight had drained their energy, they laid down on the grass and gazed at the sky. Their hands naturally found each other, fingers intertwining and eyes staring deep into one another. It was Furihata that broke their trance and gazed back at the clouds above.

"I don't understand. How did this place stay like this?" He asked. It was something Akashi was beginning to wonder himself.

"When the Akashi family took hold of this land, they made sure that the area surrounding the sacred temple remained untouched, but they've built the main house down where the school was supposed to be,"

"They took hold of it?" Furihata sat up, "What happened to my family?"

The atmosphere grew heavy.

Akashi could tell how uncomfortable the question made his brother be, but his hold on Furihata's hand never wavered; instead he tightened his grip as he, too, sat up straighter. His lips were pulled down in a frown and his eyebrows were knitted together. It appeared whatever that had happened then wasn't so easy to place into words.

"They entrusted the land to the Akashi family…after they no longer had an heir to pass it on to,"

Furihata's body stilled, and he could only utter the word "oh," as realization downed on him.

That's right, they didn't make it that life.

He moved closer to where his brother was and leaned on his shoulder, in a silent comforting gesture, perhaps noticing he's made him remember something he'd rather not. Akashi thinks that perhaps this was the purpose of them coming to the clearing in the first place, to regain nothing but the beautiful memories this place held. Akashi knew of each and every one.

His brother leaned back and kissed Furihata's messy tresses. It was then that Akashi became painfully aware of their close proximity, of the softness of Furihata's hair and the warmth radiating from his body.

He needed to stop.

Nothing good was going to come of this. He shouldn't intrude on them anymore than he already did. It was for his own sake, mostly. It was getting harder to ignore the growing pain in his chest.

He took one last glance their way, but before he was to go into deep slumber, a voice stopped him dead in his place.

It wasn't his brother this time. It was a voice he'd only heard in a wretched dream.

"Oh, what do we have here?"

The dark, ominous voice snickered. It made Akashi's skin crawl.

"Won't you come with me and play?"

The voice was echoing inside his head. He was looking frantically around him, narrowing his eyes at the darkness of his mind, trying to find the source of the voice. It was only until he caught a glimpse of the outside world that he stopped.

His brother and Furihata were both on their feet, fists clenched and eyes scanning the sky. It appeared he wasn't the only one who'd heard it.

The sinister voice spoke again, this time, instead of being an echo, it was clearer and it seemed to be moving towards the edge of the clearing, taunting them to follow.

Akashi could feel their heart racing, the anxiety and frustration beginning to cloud his judgment. They both knew the god of misfortune was playing them, just like it did all these years ago when Akashi ended up releasing it from its prison. He knew it was most likely another trap, and yet his brother started walking towards the source of the voice, unconsciously, perhaps, driven by a strong desire for revenge.

His brother didn't bother hiding his thoughts this time. The self-blaming, resentment and regret, it was far too easy for Akashi to see. In a sense he could relate to those feelings, it made him recall the tears he's shed whenever he woke up from that dream, the many times he'd tried to stop his younger self from opening that sealed chest.

But Akashi knew it was already too late, that it took place a long time ago. He tried to reason with his brother, to get him to stop walking into so obvious a trap, but he was having none of his words, he was already blinded by rage. Akashi saw no other way but for him to regain control of their body, by force if needed.

"Akashi!"

His brother stopped as soon as he heard Furihata call him.

He could feel Furihata's light touch on their back; his brother didn't turn around to face him but Akashi could feel him calming down, even if only a little.

"Why are you following it? Don't let it play you!" Furihata asked, frustration seeping through his words.

"Too scared to play?"

Both their bodies tensed up at the mocking tone.

"I'm not a child anymore; I won't follow through its mind games. But it'd be rude to ignore such an open challenge," His brother said, this time turning around to face Furihata. He slowly leaned in to plant another kiss on Furihata's forehead.

"You're the target, Kouki, not me. So wait for me here,"

Furihata wanted to object, but was quickly cut off by a finger on his lips. Akashi is sure Furihata knows how stubborn his brother could be, by now, and so Furihata nods slowly and sighs.

"Just be careful,"

His brother gave him a reassuring smile.

His feet stopped, abruptly, near the edge of the clearing, eyes staring hesitantly at the worn-out stairs. Akashi remembered them from his dreams, if he'd recalled correctly, they're the stairs leading to the sacred temple. The same stairs he climbed in his search for Furihata that fateful night. It seemed only fitting that they are lead to the place where everything had started.

For a second, Akashi thought his brother wouldn't go through with it, until he started moving again, stepping on each stone carefully so they won't fall. The stone steps were old and crumbly, they had to be more careful and watch their step.

The radiating sun at the clearing that was a welcoming source of warmth was now blocked once more by the trees lined up along their trail. The air instantly felt chillier against their skin and it seemed to only be getting colder the further they climbed up.

They came to a stop at the top of the stairs. It wasn't obvious when they were still going up but right now they could sense some kind of force was compelling them to move forward, almost daring them to step foot into the long abandoned sacred ground. Akashi couldn't understand what the god of misfortune wished to accomplish by bringing them here; nothing remained of the temple Akashi saw in the dream. All that was left was a bare land, void of any form of life.

His brother seemed hesitant, only for a second though, and he took a couple of steps in.

Now that there were no more trees to block its way, the sun was shining brightly.

Until, it wasn't anymore…

In an instant, everything around them began to change. And the once blue sky put on a navy coat glistening with stars. The scene before them, swiftly, began to change. The once dry land was gradually being covered with grass, the giant trees which materialized around the edges surrounded them and the space where the temple once were, was no longer empty. The ancient building stood before them as if Akashi was back to being that young boy in the dream, mesmerized by the scenery when he first laid eyes on it.

For a moment, everything was still, apart from the rustling trees. Akashi and his brother exchanged confused glances; it was quite clear that neither of them knew what was going on.

A shrill scream sounded, so suddenly, from the other side of the building.

It snapped them out of their confusion, but before Akashi properly registered it, his brother was already running in its direction, navigating through the maze like paths. Akashi has never been seen what lied beyond the entrance in his dreams before, his brother seemed to know his way around it.

The scenery was changing again. The night was lit up with an orange hue, and more screams were filling the air, that had turned ashy grey. When they reached the inner courts of the temple, they were able to see the full picture of what they knew were definite signs of a fire.

There were many people, dressed in white robes. Most were just running around in circles, aimlessly, covering their ears, perhaps trying to drown the sound of the crackling fire or the whine of men. Others ran about to get more water from a nearby well, some men were trying to free the people trapped under the logs of wood that were falling from the ceiling and some were just screaming, standing in place, paralyzed by fear to even try and run away.

To Akashi's surprise, his brother fell under the last category. His entire body went stiff, and his teeth and hands clenched as he stared at the chaos unfolding before them. Akashi couldn't understand how he could stand so still with everything that's happening.

"Why are you still standing here? Aren't we supposed to help them?"

His brother shook his head. "No, it's already too late,"

Before Akashi could ask him what he meant, a man had run into them on his way to bring more water, perhaps run through them was a better word to describe it. Akashi stood there, stunned.

"This isn't real. It's all but a memory,"

Akashi should've been able to notice this sooner. After all, the smoke wasn't burning his eyes or making it hard for him to breathe, he could still feel the warmth of the sun, even from beyond the navy mask of the sky, and the fire wasn't hurting them either. Everything was an illusion. But the reason was, why?

What would the god of misfortune accomplish by leading them here and creating this past memory of their past? What was even happening here?

"I should've listened to Kouki. This wasn't the brightest of ideas," his brother said, breathlessly. The pain in his voice was easily detectable.

They've been walking around for a while now, trying to find a way out of this vision, but all they found was more death and destruction. The big temple was falling apart, the small houses where the attendants used to live were nowhere to be found now and the bodies of the people caught in the fire were piling up.

"Kouki?! Kouki where are you?!"

The frantic voice made them stop.

They slowly turned to look behind them, and surely enough, they were faced by another version of themselves.

He looked older, or perhaps it could've been his long hair tied in a ponytail. His red robes were disheveled; as he was rushing around, stopping nearly everyone to ask them if they've seen, whom Akashi assumed, was this illusion's Furihata.

Unconsciously, his brother began walking again, but this time following the illusion of himself. He was almost in a daze, walking silently. Even the times when they've lost him, his brother was easily able to relocate him, like he knew where he was going next. Then again, he most likely did.

The fire around them only continued to grow bigger, feeding on the surrounding trees when there were no more buildings in its way to demolish. Akashi wondered if the people he saw earlier had managed to escape, if the injured have been treated. He knew it was pointless, this was all a memory, everything had already happened. There was no point in wondering.

Still, something nagged at him, something that didn't feel right.

The imaginary Akashi, they were following, fell to his knees so abruptly, hand clutching to the side of his head. His brother stopped, his hand touched his head, mimicking what the other was doing. Akashi wasn't sure if it was conscious or not. His brother's hand was clean when he removed it from his head, unlike the other's hand.

It was covered in blood.

The illusion's hand started trembling. "No, no, no! Kouki!" he screamed and took off in another mindless search.

His brother followed, more weakly this time. His feet felt heavy, like they refused to go where he was leading them to. But Akashi knew, he was following the illusion almost unconsciously, his grip on their body was lessening, he could barely feel his brother's conscious in his mind, as if he was about to drift into deep slumber.

It wasn't his brother walking, not precisely. In his weakened mental state, the force the god of misfortune had bestowed upon this place managed to take a shred of control and was compelling him to follow. It was hard to fight it, not when his brother was in this state.

Furihata was right. This couldn't be good.

Despite the blood dripping from the illusion's injuries, he kept searching, his steps more frantic, and his voice more desperate. In his eyes, Akashi saw fear he had never thought would ever seep through his steel barriers, the emotions on his face were raw and exposed, for the entire world to see.

"Akashi-kun! Akashi-kun, help, please!"

A feminine voice called after him, another illusion. This time, Akashi recognized the voice as the lady of the temple, Furihata's mother.

The illusion of Akashi quickened his step and disappeared from their sight behind the corner of a burning building. Akashi's brother was still trailing slowly behind him, perhaps even more so than before. His brother was trying to fight the force moving them now, harder. He was muttering words Akashi couldn't hear very well, all he caught were the words "No," and "Not again,"

Tears started trailing down their face, their chest tightened. When they finally rounded the corner and saw the illusion hunched down on the ground besides the body of a young man, his brother completely broke down.

"Kouki! Kouki speak to me, please!" Their illusion pleaded, tears slowly streaming down his face.

Furihata pushed himself to look up, to meet their illusion's eyes, but his looked almost lifeless. His face, too, was drained of color; it was the palest Akashi had ever seen him. He smiled sadly, almost regrettably as he used the last bit of his strength to lift his hand to touch Akashi's forehead, near the wound were blood continued to come out.

"I-I'm sorry, I still…couldn't…protect y-you,"

Then his hand fell, at Akashi's side and his breath slowed down, till it completely stopped.

Akashi looked away, he had seen this coming.

He didn't want to believe it at first; for once he wished his deductions would be wrong. But he should have guessed sooner, that any memory the god of misfortune chose to show them couldn't be good. But for him to show them the exact moment of Furihata's death in the past…it was just too cruel.

A loud shriek of pain left escaped the lips of their illusion, holding the limp body of Furihata in his arms. Akashi wanted to scream with him too, had he been in control, he would've. It might have made it easier to breathe, somehow, easier to feel anything else but the empty feeling of loss, for now his chest felt too tight and the pain in his heart was too much for him to handle.

He didn't know if the pain was his brother's or his own, perhaps it was a mixture of the two.

Akashi knew he shouldn't look, he didn't want to see, but Furihata's body was all that his brother was focused on. Through his blurry vision, his eyes darted between each burn on his delicate skin, between every gash and scratch. Only the injury to his head transferred to Akashi, but Furihata's body weakened rapidly before any of the others could.

"Who did this?! He wasn't supposed to be alone!" Their illusion shouted, more tears pouring down his face.

Furihata's mother placed a hand on his shoulder, and gripped on tight. She was trying to appear strong, even though she, too, was in tears.

"It was no one's fault. I tried to get him to leave to safety, but he wouldn't have it, not until the last one trapped inside the building was free. I…I really tried, that stubborn child," She chocked on her tears and fell by their illusion's side, leaning on his shoulder and breaking down in muffled sobs.

…

"I didn't want to see this…not again," Akashi heard his brother say. His voice was too weak, and he wasn't truly talking to Akashi in particular.

It almost slipped Akashi's mind, the fact that the illusion he was seeing was truly his brother's past self, that to Akashi it might have been an illusion of a memory, but to his brother it was once a reality. He couldn't imagine being truly there, in that exact moment, looking at the lifeless face of Furihata.

If he was to, now, go through the same thing in this current life….

"Akashi!"

Upon hearing the voice, his eyes instantly looked at Furihata's body again. It couldn't be, but he could swear he'd heard Furihata's voice calling their name.

"Akashi! Where are you?"

He heard his voice again, but the illusion still laid on the ground among the flames…Then it suddenly downed on Akashi! This wasn't an illusion anymore. It was the real thing!

His brother was completely overcome with his feelings and wasn't responding to Akashi at all. If Furihata was to see this memory, then the same thing might happen to him, it could be the true intention of the god of misfortune.

He could hear Furihata's footsteps running in their direction, he had to act fast! He assumed control of their body, his brother putting up no fight at all, and quickly turned around to face Furihata.

"Furihata, no! Go back!" He found himself shouting.

But it was too late…Furihata stood there, stunned, staring at the scene before him.

Fruihata clutched the sides of his head, his eyes widening in disbelief. His body was quivering as he started to take a few steps back.

"No, I…it can't be!"

"Furihata!" Akashi called as he tried to stand back up, but it felt as if something heavy was weighing him down.

Furihata started shaking his head, tears streaming down his face. Akashi knew how he must have been feeling, it couldn't be easy to see this, especially when he hadn't fully regained his memories yet, but he had to do something to snap him out of his state, before the god of misfortune could take advantage of his weakened mind.

"Furihata you need to listen to me! Don't look!"

It was futile. He wasn't listening to him at all, his feet still staggering backwards.

Akashi began scanning the area for anything that could possibly cause a misfortune to happen, if Furihata had been lured into the trap, then the original goal must be for him to get hurt. But everything here was just an illusion, it couldn't harm him. Or so he thought, until he noticed the direction in which he was heading.

He was walking dangerously near the edge of the cliff the temple was built on.

Akashi tried getting up again, his legs felt like they were made of lead and he could barely move. He huffed a breath and his arms buckled beneath him, struggling to hold his weight, but he kept pushing himself with everything he had.

He just…couldn't, he couldn't let what had happened in the past repeat itself again. He had promised himself he was going to make it through this, together with Furihata.

He took another deep breath in, and pushed himself up and off of the ground; he kept drawing in short breaths until he was finally able to lift himself from the ground. The instant he stood up straight, the heavy weight he's previously felt, vanished.
But he had no time to feel relieved; he quickly turned around and sprinted to where Furihata was and grabbed him when he was standing just over the edge, but the impact was enough to send them both tumbling downwards.

Akashi acted on instinct, and quickly wrapped his arms around Furihata, pulling him close to his body, leaving Akashi's back to take most of the damage.

Thankfully, the slope of the cliff wasn't too steep, but Akashi still grazed every branch and rock along the way, he gritted his teeth and tightened his hold on Furihata. By the time they've stopped sliding, Akashi was drained of energy. He was gasping for air and he could feel the dull pain of the bruises on his back.

When his breathing was back to normal, he let out a long sigh and looked at the young man in his arms. Furihata was still cradling his head, his body still trembling; he didn't seem to notice where he even was. The effects of the god of misfortune must still be haunting him even now; he had to wake him up!

"Furihata! Furihata, look at me!"

Akashi called, shaking his shoulder, gently. But he wasn't responding, like he didn't see Akashi at all. Akashi's heart raced with panic, but he quickly calmed his nerves down, he needed a clear mind to resolve this and he shouldn't let fear get to him. Sadly, he couldn't rely on his brother for any form of advice.

Akashi stopped, eyes widening with realization.

His brother…

He wasn't positive it would work, but it was worth the try.

"Kouki!" He called Furihata by his first name instead. It sounded foreign on his tongue.

Furihata finally stopped shaking. It was working.

"Kouki?" Akashi tilted his head to the side, awaiting a response from Furihata.

Furihata lowered his hands and finally looked up at him, and as soon as their eyes met, tears started streaming down his face once more and he flung his arms around Akashi's neck, leaving him shocked.

"Akashi! I-I'm sorry, it was my fault, it always is," He said between sniffs.

Akashi hugged him back, placing a hand to the back of his head, cradling it close to his chest. He stroked the messy strands of his hair, in a comforting and gentle manner.

"I wasn't your fault, it never was and never will be," Akashi said, recalling what Furihata's mother had said when they were still trapped inside the illusion.

It was mostly Akashi's fault, and the god of misfortune's.

The heat radiating from Furihata's body was too warm, but it only made his heart ache, for Akashi was sure that the hug wasn't meant for him…but deep down he had wanted it to.

It wasn't the first time he'd saved Furihata from a misfortune, but it was the first time he had done it out of actual fear for Furihata's well-being. Seeing the image of his past self dying, made him realize he didn't want the same thing to happen to this Furihata, to his Furihata. His grip tightened on him. Akashi knew he couldn't afford to think of Furihata as anything more than just a friend. He wasn't the Akashi Furihata was calling for.

He sighed as he watched another petal fall from the sakura flower tattooed on his hand.

This needed to stop.

The pain continues XD It'll become much happier I promise

Thank you for reading~