Morning stirs awake

Last night's dreams linger softly

Stars gather, whispering

The bowl of fishbone soup is warm in Shigehiro's hands, and yet he feels cold inside. His ravenous stomach growls insistently, the guttural rumblings echoing through the tense silence, but nobody speaks of it. If it had been any other day, Haizaki would have reprimanded him. Today, none of them dares break the solidarity they have, however weak it may be.

They have survived an attack. Everything seems like a dream. He could still hear Yani's instructions on how to swing a sword when the ship jolted. It was so sudden and unexpected that Shigehiro thought he had simply imagined it. Then another wave of explosions pierced the silence, and someone yelled, "The Black Dragons!"

Shigehiro closes his eyes, willing the images to leave him alone, but they keep on pouring until he feels as if he were drowning. The pirates' white flag with a black dragon shredding the red sun with its mouth waved against the wind, announcing their arrival. Pirates. A name he had never heard before, but that was what Yani said when he asked who those men were.

As he allows his mind to drift away, everything becomes hazy. He cannot. He must not remember the bodies that fell before his eyes. All the blood that splattered on his face, the piercing screams in his ears, and the taste of his blood when he lost his balance and bit his tongue so hard he feared he had cut it off. To avoid attracting anyone's attention, he concentrated on the agony.

If I do not scream, he told himself, no one will notice me. I will be safe.

Falling, falling... asleep. Yes, he cannot recall anything anymore. Not at all. His mind is blank. It has to stay blank.

Was that Kuroko? As if on cue, each of his senses snaps back. The person enveloped in grey with sea-blue eyes had stared at him and sent him a warning to not act as though they recognised each other.

If that were not Kuroko, who else would it be? And if Shigehiro's hunch is correct, then Kuroko has indeed given himself to the terrorists. Did he do that to save them all?

It hurts. Everything hurts. He promised the younger boy that he would protect him. He is the older and stronger one. It should have been him. Why had he let fear overtake him? He should have known that Kuroko would do something outrageous. His brother has always denied his teasing that he is a martyr. That has never been mere jest. Kuroko has the tendency to offer himself if all hope is lost.

A large, soft hand rests on his shoulder. "I have tried looking for Kuroko. Alas, it seems he has gone missing. Do you have any inkling where he is?" Mibuchi asks. He still exudes the grace that a Dancer should possess. Only his hair is unkempt and the left sleeve of his tunic is torn apart. His eyes, although tired, have fury in them.

Shigehiro sobs. His chest is heavy, and he can't breathe. Words start to flow before he can stop himself. "They've abducted him! My brother sacrificed himself; I have no idea what his worth is, but he did it to save us all!" He has no idea why he did it. It felt right, as if someone out there would be bold enough to go after the Black Dragons and save Kuroko.

"Lord Chen would surely demand us to look for him," he adds when everyone avoids his gaze by pretending they didn't hear him.

Mibuchi sighs. "And I am sure Lord Chen would understand once we told him what had happened here. My apologies..." he pauses, eyebrows scrunched in concentration. "But I will not sacrifice anyone for one life. He has done his duty for us, and we shall not waste it."

"It was not his responsibility to save us; he is a Dancer, not a saviour," he says, clenching his teeth. For the first time since becoming a servant, anger slithers beneath his skin, searing his blood.

"Well, he is now," Mibuchi says. As he stares at the handler, the incalescence that has pumped him is doused by that cold stare. "He is a saviour now," Mibuchi repeats, his mouth thin with a silent warning.

🌑

"The Emperor Eye..." Tetsuya reads Lord Chen's letter for the hundredth time. His conscience tells him that he should have honoured his word. He should have sent the message to Chen's home empire, Ruon, but something inside him made him reconsider. Try as he might, he does not understand the letter. It is as if it were a riddle instead of a letter crying for help. The characters do look the same with their language, and yet none of it makes sense to him.

One time, Lord Chen said the whole Empire had borrowed its language from Ruon. Tetsuya didn't believe him, and he has no plan to believe him now. Surely, it is the other way around.

"Is the Emperor Eye that special?" An Eye. A spy, an assassin, just like him. Each of them is completely unaware of the other's identity. Save for that time Tetsuya slashed Mobito's throat. He was a farmer. He was also an assassin who had been hired by a rising lord, who attempted Akashi Seijuro's life. If only Mobito hadn't confessed before his death, that lord would have lived. Alas, Tetsuya is the god of knives.

If it is indeed a spy, how is that connected to the piles of gold the Azure Dragon Kingdom has? Does he know how to get all of them without causing a war?

"What if it is not a person but an object?" He ought to have laughed at that, and yet his mind says there is a possibility. It would not hurt to have many options. He just hopes he can narrow them all down sooner rather than later.

Sacrifice- Aomine Daiki. Akashi Seijuro. Chen Bao. Akashi Masaomi.

Spare- Kagami Taiga. Aida Riko. Hyuuga Junpei.

These are the only things he has understood so far. He knows he will soon meet those who need to be spared, as the letter says. He can just feel it.

He tucks the letter back inside his smock. Aomine has no need to open his mouth to announce his arrival; the heavy footsteps of a boisterous boy are enough to warn him.

"You will knock on that door, or will you simply stay standing behind it?" he says as he covers his face once again, save for his eyes. "You will have no cause of waiting."

Aomine's laughter resonates within the wooden door, ringing off the golden walls of his cabin. Tetsuya is met with yellowing teeth when the captain opens the door. Unlike Alon, Aomine has no obsession with keeping them blindingly white. Oddly, when the dark-skinned prince breathed next to him, he only smelled of herbs and spices.

"Are you not tired yet of that attitude of yours?"

"It would be wise to swallow the next insult, Aomine. Insulting is not your forte, I'm afraid."

He should keep his mouth shut. If it were any other person, he would have lost his sharp tongue as soon as those words slipped out. With Aomine, though, it seems like it is the right thing to do. Tetsuya does not understand why the tall lad is always amused by him.

"Do you know what they are saying about you?" Aomine asks. He closes the door behind him and crosses his arms under his chest. "For the lives you've taken, they say we should have your head."

"Tell them I ought to take anyone's life that comes near me with a weapon. Blood for blood is a fool's creed, unless they wish to avenge the innocent."

Aomine nods. "That's what I told them. We were all far from being innocent. As soon as someone decided to become a pirate, he should have known he could die at any time. If I were them, I would be proud that their brothers died battling on a ship!"

"The reason why the captain himself is here, I have to know," he says.

"Come on, amuse me. Don't you feel happy to see me again? After I taught you how to use a krala?"

For that, he allows himself to let out a small laugh. "Were you? Or were you leaning too close to me that I felt your breath on my nape?"

"That's the thing you remember? Not my instructions?" Aomine raises his brows, a playful smirk painting his lips.

Tetsuya's cheeks heat up, and because he has pale skin, he glances away, hiding the blooming red on his face, even though he is still masked. The embarrassment is of no jest.

In the Palace, they hide their resentment or any sort of emotion with polite gestures and words. Here, Aomine speaks freely. Slowly, Tetsuya is beginning to understand why the cursed prince would rather be here than deal with the politics in his kingdom.

"Are you hungry?" Thank the six gods, Aomine asks something normal this time. Also, this time, his shoulder-length dark hair is tied into a knot at his nape. Now that Tetsuya is not forcing his senses to focus in every direction, he can see that the captain has a thick set of eyebrows and a narrow nose. His eyes are hooded, as if he is about to have a kip.

Tetsuya arranges himself. "I would be lying if I answered no."

"Thought so. And I'm sure you wouldn't feel comfortable eating with us, so I will bring your meal here. You must be feeling thankful now. Imagine that. The Kaptan himself is serving you."

He chooses not to say a word.

"We only have crimson fish, some prawns, and some crabs too. No spit-roasted lamb or succulent fowl, I fear. But it's fine, right? After all, you only eat fish and clams back on your land?"

His blood rushes in his ears. He can feel it, he can taste it on his tongue, and he thinks that this is where the real problem begins. Saying that this is the first time someone has caught him off guard is a minimisation.

"You have been aware...all this time?" There is no use in lying. He can see in the captain's gaze the silent advice to keep the lies caged in his lips.

Aomine raises his shoulders and drops them again. Another peculiar gesture. "To be fair, you got me to believe that you were the legendary blue-eyed devil of the sea. Nobody truly knows what he looks like aside from, well, the blue things he has."

"What has given you the intimation that I am not who you thought I was?"

The captain's lips curve upward. "When you asked to see if any of the children or the servants were harmed. That devil isn't called the Devil for nothing. If you think I'm cruel, you haven't heard half of the things he does."

Saliva slides down his throat. He almost coughs, but he holds it in. "Pray tell me why you have let me board your ship, then. Is it time to cut off my head?"

"Do you want to know how I have confirmed that you're not a pirate?"

Why did he dodge the question? Must he play along? "You may tell me."

"I determined it when I held your hands. They were too soft. Like a dancer's."

Truly, he underestimated the cursed prince of the Azure Dragon Kingdom. It must have been the exhaustion of crossing the sea; it must have been his mind juggling many thoughts at once. No, enough with the reasoning. He has made a mistake, and he should face it unflinchingly.

"What would be my fate then?"

Aomine pushes himself off the door, approaching him with his heavy boots. That, or he wants to appear more intimidating than he already is. "It would be unfair if I slew you now, eh?"

He has the urge to raise his brows.

"Here on the sea, there is little to no honour. However, on my ship, I have a rule. Any pirate who dares to board this ship without my permission shall be slain." Aomine pauses. "But that is not what you did, was it? It was I who gave you the reason to be here. Did you do it to save them? Truth now." His krala is at his hip, and yet his arms are still crossed.

"Yes," he confirms. "I regret nothing." The words taste like ashes on his tongue. He is not lying, no. But neither does the whole truth pass his lips.

"Even if you knew I could kill you?" Aomine's voice sluices with a foreboding threat. It snakes through Tetsuya's chest until he feels the air thinning.

It is not Aomine himself who is causing his shortness of breath right now. He does not understand why his mind is reminding him of his parents. They asked him the same question when he had begged to stay with them and when he questioned why they'd sold him for a bag of rice.

"Did you just say you wish to stay with us? Even if you knew we could and would kill you?" Mentally, he shakes that memory off. He refuses to remember why they despised him so much.

Tetsuya raises his face, chin held high. His knuckles turn white as he digs his nails into his palms. "They are safe now, are they not? That is all that matters to me." He is not seeing Aomine. He is seeing his father, the person who should have protected him. He agreed to be a slave in the palace, a performer for the nobles, for the sake of his siblings. It was not as though he had been dear to them, but they were his blood nonetheless. Or so he was raised to believe. Even if what he and Ogiwara believe is true, even if he truly is adopted, he cared and somehow, still cares about his brothers and sisters.

Sometimes he wishes he had not loved them.

The glow of the stars twinkling behind Aomine brings out the colour of his eyes. They are dark, so dark that they remind him of the tale of the black lake. And yet, because of the light, it seems there is a hint of blue in them. If he is not mistaken, pity is also written in them.

It makes his blood boil for a foolish reason. Nonetheless, he keeps it inside, as he always does. He fears that someday he might simply explode. Tetsuya wonders when he will be free to let it all out.

The last time he showed pure honesty was when Akashi held him that night.

"You did all that just to keep them safe? Are they your friends?" It must be the calm waves of the sea, or Aomine's tone has truly gone soft.

"I have only one friend. He is my sworn brother." Another pain wrenches his heart. He prays that Ogiwara is doing well. How can he be sure of that if he is not there to keep him safe?

"Then why? You could have done something—anything—to save one life. Why all of them instead?"

Why indeed? In all the years he has been with them, not even once has anyone dared to form any kind of camaraderie with him. The rumour that he is the son of a demon with blue eyes has never left their minds. Thankfully, Lord Chen and the other educated nobles in the Palace never entertained that belief. Many of them have bartered with merchants who do possess blue eyes. Some of them even had green eyes, he was told.

"Because..." he begins, finding the right words. He raps his brain for every beautiful word to soften Aomine's heart. In the end, he comes up with nothing but a simple answer. "They exist. Is that reason not enough?"

Aomine is so much taller, an odd thing to see when most of the Panyuna men he has met so far are either average height or almost as small as him. With Aomine's height, it is no wonder why his crew feels intimidated by him. He can easily look down at them.

Luckily for Tetsuya, he knows of a Highguard whose height cannot be matched by anyone. He is not a friend of Murasakibara. He barely thinks of the giant man, but the guard cares about him, even just a bit.

"That's it? They exist?" Incredulity spills from Aomine's tone.

And now to roll the dice.

"Yes. I see no other reason. They may not be my brothers and sisters, but their lives do matter to me."

"Is that so?"

"I do not know how you perceive life as a pirate. But they are alive, and they deserve freedom."

Aomine goes silent for a moment. "What if it were me? What if I got caught in trouble and you had to lie as you did? Would you still do it? For a stranger like me simply because I exist?"

"Yes, I would," he says, with no pause. And when they fix their gazes on each other, he knows he has him.

What did Crown Prince Akashi say? Surely, the cursed prince of the Azure Dragon is lonely. From what Tetsuya has gathered so far, he indeed is. Any hint of affection has an effect on him.

Truly pathetic.

Aomine is quiet again. Even if he does his best to keep his appearance neutral, Tetsuya can see the little indications that the answer he has received is taking hold of him. "Show me your face. There's no reason to hide it from me anymore, right?"

He nods and begins unwrapping all the layers of cloth. He does it slowly, to entice Aomine's fascination. One ought to remember that, before anything else, he is a Dancer, and is trained to be tempting.

As the diaphanous fabrics pool in his lap, Tetsuya lifts his gaze through lowered lashes, his lips parted in a semblance of demure vulnerability. It is as though he wore nothing but the caress of the evening breeze itself.

Aomine gapes for a few seconds before clamping his lips tight. "I will bring your evening meal." And as simple as that, he takes long steps and is now opening the door.

Before he leaves Tetsuya's cabin, he sinks his fingers into the doorway and swivels his head. "What's your name?"

"Kuroko. Kuroko Tetsuya."

Aomine chuckles. "All right. Tetsu it is then."

"Tetsu?"

"You heard me."

When Aomine closes the door, Tetsuya lets himself breathe freely. He had held it for so long that it now feels as if mere air is a privilege.

"Tetsu?" He repeats it to himself. No one has ever given him an affectionate name, not even his sworn brother. Aomine, however, has given him one as if it were nothing.