o2. Phantom + Daiki

"Please tell me if you regret it when you're older."

It was a decidedly good thing that Daiki was a simple child, and was easy to please nearly all the time.

In their free time, they were either going to visit friends, getting midday snacks, or playing basketball, which was the little boy's favorite pass time. Tetsuya had to admit that he liked playing basketball too, if only to see the bright joy it brought Daiki whenever he would successfully shoot a basket or make a clever steal. Today was one of those days, as Akashi-kun didn't have anything for Tetsuya to do, so he was free to spend it however he pleased.

Hand-in-hand, Tetsuya and Daiki walked down the cobblestone path. Daiki practically skipped, marveling at the nature around them, just like every time they took a walk in between the woods. The boy cupped his hands around an area on a tree trunk and then brought them to his chest, closed. He turned his glittering dark eyes to Tetsuya, "Look, look!" he exclaimed, running up to the young man, "I caught a cicada on my first try!"

Even though he hadn't seen the insect yet, the brightness of the little boy's voice was enough to place a small smile on Tetsuya's lips. Like many times before, the young man thought about his once-upon-a-time profession as a kindergarten teacher's assistant, but those memories seemed distant and strewn about his mind . . . Until he stared at Daiki's face for too long.

It was a bitter thing, for him to be so fond of children and them return the sentiment twice as much. They were so fragile and easily molded – innocent to the dark, gruesome ways of the world. That went doubly-so for the life Tetsuya led. He had, once upon a time, vowed to never involve a child, but when he met this young boy on a starry night while relieving stress on a basketball court . . .

Tetsuya shook his head, and Daiki was in front of him, his hands opened to reveal a hopping cicada that seemed to feel calm enough to buzz its hum quietly. A while of them both marveling at the insect passed and then it seemed to decide it was bored, and flew away, causing its catcher to cry out with disappointment.

He stamped his foot to the ground with balled fist, "One-a these days, I'm definitely gonna catch a bunch and keep them as pets!" Daiki declared, raising his fists to the sky. In a complete change of topic, he turned to Tetsuya, "Can we go for ice cream?"

Pure determination and frivolous desire, all in the same moment. The blue-haired young man smiled, the idea of ice cream growing on him. "Yes, that sounds nice." He held out his hand and Daiki took it without missing a beat. Soon, the two of them were traveling down the rest of the path that led to the miniature shopping district. Daiki was rattling off about what kind of ice cream he wanted ( some of the flavors were . . . Frankensteinian, Tetsuya had to admit ) and while he listened, his pale blue eyes watched the forest scenery go by.

"Hey lady, it's rude to keep a customer waiting!" Daiki drummed his palms against the smooth counter top of the ice cream shop. Tetsuya let out a breath that was a half-laugh, half-sigh; leave it to the little monster to grab the attention of the entire place when he couldn't call the attention of one person himself, even after five minutes. Daiki's stare was hard at the lady, as if he were personally offended that she didn't notice Tetsuya. He smiled to himself, remembering when that type of look was used against him. In all honesty, although Tetsuya had never been affected by it, the stare was very intimidating, even if it was from a charming boy like Daiki.

He almost chuckled when he thought of how Kise-kun had shied away from the boy for nearly a month.

Hand-in-hand once more, the pair walked out of the ice cream shop where his phone vibrated in his pocket, and Tetsuya reminded himself that he would ask Murasakibara-kun to make ice cream for them, soon. There was something different and more cozy about homemade ice cream. It would definitely be vanilla that they made, because he didn't like the chocolate that Daiki seemed to treasure so much. It was childish of him, but sometimes that was alright around the little boy. They got along best that way because he wasn't a parent to Daiki as much as he was a guardian.

When he thought about it, it made little to no sense as to why the young boy was an orphan. His personality was vibrant, passionate, and one couldn't help but smile when being around him. Since they had been together, there was a certain glow that was present in Tetsuya's life that had never been present before – before, his life had been dark and somber, filled with the stuff of nightmares on a nightly basis. With Daiki around, it was freeing and uplifting after living in such a life for so long.

However . . . If there was one thing Tetsuya was never completely sure of, it was whether or not he would ( or already did ) come to regret his decision of bringing the boy into such a life. He was infamous and very familiar with the mortality of humans – and having experienced the loss of a child already, having Daiki around may very well turn out to be a heinous idea in the future. He briefly glanced down at the tanned boy who seemed lost in the sweet world of his frozen confection. Maybe it would be best to simply trust Akashi-kun, and everything would be fine.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked the young boy, showing a hint of a smile. Daiki looked up at him with a bright expression and opened his mouth to rush out complete nonsense because there was a large glob of chocolate inside. Tetsuya laughed at the sight while the boy closed his mouth, quickly chewed, and then swallowed.

"This is really, really great!" he declared, raising what was left of his ice cream into the air.

So adorable. The warm, filling feeling was something only Daiki and his beautiful innocence and joy could bring him. He leaned down slightly, holding out his vanilla cone, "Would you like to try?"

Daiki eyed the cone critically, glancing a few times between it and his own. "I bet it doesn't taste as great as choc'late!" he decided before hand, and then leaned in to take a lick. He seemed to slush it around his mouth thoughtfully, absorbing it and making scientific calculations of a new creation to be revised . . . but then his face scrunched up. "Nope, too plain!" he stated, and then he bit a chunk out of his own cone.

Quickly letting go of Tetsuya's hand, Daiki's expression turned sour and he clenched his eyes closed. "Brain freeze, brain freeze!" he complained, shaking his head.

Tetsuya couldn't help but laugh at the sight and then squatted down and put his hand on the smaller shoulder to still the boy. "Here," he said gently, and then leaned in to press a kiss onto the tanned forehead. The pair stayed like that for a second, and then Daiki leaned back, laughing with delight.

Hearing the sound of the lively laugh made Tetsuya glow. It was at moments like these that he wondered if Daiki would always laugh like that around him . . . He wondered if, whenever Daiki grew up, if he might come to hate him for adopting him into a life like this. If Tetsuya could help it, he would never have to join the work that came in hand but that ideal was a hard one to hold onto, especially with the looming figure of Akashi-kun. There were also those times when Daiki would say such incredulous things in that bold-as-brass way of his about protecting Tetsuya from the "bad things".

He sighed. When a twenty-five-year-old had to be looked after by a child, that would be the day he'd turn in his gun – even if somehow, he could actually believe that the boy was capable of destroying the whole world, just for him.

By the time they had broken from the forest path that lead back to the secluded cottage the two of them lived in, Daiki was fervently demanding that he help Tetsuya finish off his ice cream since he'd already gobbled his own down.

"But you're sooo slow!"

"Maybe I want to be slow."

"Lame!"

"Besides, I thought you said you didn't like it?"

"Th – That's . . . So! I – I didn't say I hated it, so that means I can definitely help!"

The tanned hand reached up for the cone that was almost finished and it nearly collided with Tetsuya's face, barely missing when he smoothly maneuvered his head to the side. Some of the cold cream grazed his cheek. "Ah, it's on my face . . ." Tetsuya mumbled, reaching into his pocket for a napkin.

"I got it!" Daiki exclaimed, and then pulled Tetsuya down to kiss him on the cheek, licking away the mess.

. . . Oh. Tetsuya was a professional at hiding his expressions, but if he wasn't, the little boy would probably tease him about the massive blush on his face. This boy is going to be the death of me. He sighed, but then smiled and ruffled the dark locks, "Thank you, Daiki-kun." His reply was a bright thumbs-up.

They joined hands again, beginning to walk.

Before they could reach the lawn, Tetsuya heard something foreign. Many of something foreign. He stopped the two of them and then spun around to face Daiki where he was standing, squatting down once more. "Would you like to help me, still?" he asked with a smile and held up what was left of his vanilla cone, "If you can finish this in ten licks, you can stay up with me tonight, okay?" ( This distraction should suffice for you. )

The sudden topic threw Daiki for a bit of a loop, and for a moment, he had a suspicion that something was wrong, but when he looked at the placid, small smile on Tetsu's face, he relaxed a little. "Ten licks?" he repeated, still a little on edge. ( Don't be frightened. Everything will be alright. )

Tetsuya nodded, his expression soft, "Yes. They have to be slow too, otherwise you'll get another brain freeze, and keep facing this way, okay? Don't move from this spot, no matter what, otherwise you'll lose." ( If you stay facing this way, you won't see. Focus on the ice cream, and I will take care of the rest. )

He knew that Daiki didn't like standing still, but if there was a good prize that he was playing the game for, his young pride and determination would definitely outweigh his restless self. The boy gave a slow nod and put both hands around the cone. ( So small . . . ) He patted the top of Daiki's head, and then stood up, walking around the small figure to be back-to-back with him.

"If you peek, that's cheating and you'll lose." His serene voice reached the little boy who nodded against his back. ( This is something I never want you to see. I refuse to let you be tainted. ) While one hand was still resting on the boy's shoulder, the other raised into a clenched fist of massive destruction.

"Wait for me." Tetsuya breathed out compassionately.

Daiki decided that he liked Tetsu's voice a lot because it was pretty and warm, but . . . He didn't understand what was up with this sudden game to finish off this ice cream! Still, if Tetsu asked him to do it, there was no way he was gonna fail ten licks or less!

In front of Tetsuya was a mob of thugs that wielded deadly weapons. In a startling contrast with his voice, the almost-passive expression of Tetsuya's face was positively lethal and noxious. He didn't know how or who caused this, but it would certainly be dealt with in a swift and painful manner – and then he would investigate and close this case without leaving a trace. The name of Phantom wasn't simply some pretty title.

Daiki had begun to count his licks and while listening to his voice, Tetsuya remember that yes, these sorry souls would pay dearly for interrupting their day together.

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.

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". . . And ten!"

Daiki popped the last of the cake cone into his mouth and threw his hands up into the air, doing a silly victory dance with his eyes closed. When he settled again, Tetsu and his really wonderful face was in front of him and he grabbed the available hand a swung it. "I finished your ice cream in ten big bites – that means I get to stay up with you!" he chanted excitedly, hopping up and down.

Tetsuya laughed, curling their fingers together and started them on walking again towards the cottage that had just appeared under the beautiful sunset.

The free hand of the young man was obscured from view, battered and cut while dripping with blood and blooming with new bruises. The footprints that continued to lead up the cobblestone path stained it with the thick, dirty liquid and were walking away from a large mess of beaten bodies. There were probably only a handful of them that could still even breath life. Daiki continued to swing the good hand while Tetsuya curled his fingers around the smaller one even more tightly. Pale blue eyes closed.

"Yes, you can stay with me."

Tetsuya called on his phone later that night to check the mail he had received. There were four.

From: Akashi-kun
Subject: Warning

It seems that we have a traitor in our midsts, Tetsuya,
so you are being targeted and they will most likely
show up at your home. Proceed with caution and then
come see me tomorrow and we will investigate the
situation. I have my suspicions.

Watch out for the boy as well, but stop worrying about
him so much. You're no good distracted. Everything
will be fine with him.

From: Midorima-kun
Subject: Caution

Since you always have that little abomination with you,
you won't have to worry. Oha-Asa says that a Virgo is a
lucky person for you. Akashi and I discovered a traitor
and I think I know who it is. Why he would go after you
instead of Kise though, I'm not sure. We'll see you then.

From: Kise-kun
Subject: My poor Kurokocchi!

Watch your back because I bet I know who's after you!
ahhh, I'm sorry this happened it was my fault. Don't get
hurt otherwise i'll be super upset and cry forever at your
funeral and then kill myself! Make sure you call me
tomorrow, ok? (´ε｀○ ) ~

Tell Aominecchi not to growl at me cuz he's scary!

From: Murasakibara-kun
Subject: ヽ(– д –;)ノ

kuro-chiiiin be safe! who's gonna bring me wonderful
snacks tomorrow if you die? dont worry, i'll crush anyone
that tries to hurt kuro-chin and my snacks. bring me
something good tomorrow. dont forget! (–▽– )ノ

The light of the television filled the room with something that Tetsuya had no interest in. The messages hadn't made him smile, but he did feel more secure after reading them. Curling into his side was a sleeping Daiki, who had crashed just as soon as they sat down.

He pulled a blanket over the both of them while thinking about Akashi-kun's message; would everything be fine? Once, with those other children, he thought so, and now . . . He didn't know, but . . . So long as he was watching out for the boy, it should be. His arm wrapped warmly around the body that breathed even and deep breaths. It made him relax and close his eyes.

Perhaps someday he would look back and decide that it was a completely horrible idea to have adopted the boy, but . . . For now, Tetsuya decided that it was fine the way it was.

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There were a lot of parallels between the first and second chapter, but I hope that you still enjoyed it.

I might write companion story where little Tetsu and little Daiki have grown up, but I'm still not sure. If you're interested in stories I have lined up for the future, check my profile and click the link labeled 'Future Story Ideas!'.

Thanks for reading! I hope you leave a review. • u •