Darkness |knb|

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 The Johoshi King

Italian
Japanese
Thoughts

~*~*

"Take care of the family. For me, for us."

~*~*

After the long ride to Italy, Tetsuya and his friends finally arrived at their destination. Before going to the mansion where they will be staying, they agreed to go to a hotel and spend a night there.

"Please go up to the last floor on the VIP room 1." The woman in the counter told them and handed out a key.

"Grazie, Signorina." A blush crept on her face as Shin smiled softly at her.

"Shin," Tetsuya spoke, making the woman shriek in surprise. The bluenette sighed, tired of all the shrieking he gets when someone finally notices him. "Keep the key. The idiots might lose it."

"Hn," Shin smirked. "You're absolutely correct, Kuro-kun."

"Hey,what's that supposed to mean?!" A vein popped on Katsuma's forehead.

"What? Are you perhaps affected, O'Great Katsuma?" The long-haired teen said with a teasing smile.

"Hah?! I'm not!!" The green-eyed boy yelled, fuming.

His friends ignored him and merely entered the elevator.

"Oi! Don't ignore me!!"

~*~*

When the clock hit nine o'clock in the evening, the whole group gathered into a circle inside their enormous hotel room. Tetsuya, who was enjoying his sleep, got pulled out of bed, courtesy of Katsuma. But before he got pulled out of bed, Katsuma screamed and told his friends to sit on the floor and form a circle. Shin almost strangled him to death, if not for Makoto telling them to calm down. Arata was awkwardly standing near the wall, nervously trying to avoid getting caught in the commotion while Tashiro was just glaring at Katsuma, ready to kill the teen for separating him with his precious bed-chan.

And now, they are sitting on the floor, forming a circle.

"What now, Katsu?" Shin snapped with a scowl attached to his beautiful face.

The said teen flinched, "H-hey, you know why I called you here." He muttered while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

The long-haired teen calmed down, but there was still a scowl on his face. Arata seemingly also calmed down, "A-ah, it's about Tetsuya-kun, right?"

"Huh?" Tetsuya groggily murmured while rubbing his blurry eyes. He was barely managing to sit up, almost slumping the ground several times if not for Makoto supporting him and constantly whispering, 'Wake up, Tet-nii'. "Whazsh aboush meezsh?"

His friends giggled at the cute state he is currently in,yes, giggled. Those rascals giggled. "That, you will know if you wake up, Kuro." Tashiro spoke and lazily used his palm to hit the younger's forehead, something that Tetsuya usually does, snapping him awake.

"Oh," His mouth formed an 'O'. "What about me?"

This time, the boys barked in laughter. The teal-haired teen only repeated the same question he asked earlier, and he does not see the humor in it. So, why are they laughing?

"Sorry, sorry," Katsuma stiffled his laughter, clutching his stomach. "Okay, we'll tell you now."

Now this is weird. Tetsuya thought as he felt the thick veil of seriousness that covered them. From their giggles and laughters, their smiling faces turned into serious ones. Makoto had stopped supporting him and Arata was not stuttering or shaking anymore. Pure seriousness,indeed.

And now, Tetsuya knows why.

"We're going to bring you back. Back to being Johoshi Tetsuya."

Silence.......

Silence............

Waiting...

And,

"What?" The bluenette's eyes widened for a fraction before returning back to their original size. "W-what did you say?"

The pained look on his face made his friends feel sad for him. He looked fear-striken, disbelieving, but most of all, broken. They felt guilt weighing them down. But they shouldn't be carried away and let guilt eat them, after all, they were going to bring him back for his own sake. For his own good.

"Tet-nii," Makoto spoke up, tears pricking on the corner of his eyes. "We're sorry."

"But this is for your own good," Arata choked out, barely managing to do so as he looked at the broken Tetsuya.

The tears, the weaknesses, all of those things he was holding back. It all crashed onto him, making him break down. Kuroko Tetsuya broke down, tears and hoarse sobs coming from him as he held onto the right side of his face, an attempt to stop his tears. But he couldn't, he continued sobbing and crying.

Shin stayed silent, his glasses glinting from the moonlight, hiding his eyes. Katsuma could not even manage to look at Tetsuya, and tears were streaming down Makoto's face. Arata was constantly murmuring apologies under his breath while shaking, and Tashiro was clenching his fists tight as his knuckles turned white, biting his lips, trying to control himself.

That night, the group did not even get a wink of sleep as guilt munched on them. Memories of the unwell past haunted Kuroko Tetsuya, memories of him being the Johoshi King, being Johoshi Tetsuya. It all crashed down to him.

"You're safe now."

"I love you."

"I'm sorry."

"Tetsuya..."

"Take care of the family. For me, for us."

"You are the Johoshi King."

"You must rise above your peers."

"Stop!!"

"Stop it!! I can't!! Please, just leave me alone!"

"We're sorry..."

"For taking away everything from you..."

"But you also took everything away from us, did you not?"

"It's.. It's..."

"It's not my fault. So please, leave me alone."

"Stop hiding behind the shadows of your mother."

"Come out and rule over the world of your father."

"Go on, Tetsuya. Come out."

"I— I DON'T WANT TO!!DON'T YOU GET IT?! I'M A SHADOW!!!!"

"You...stop fooling yourself. You know very well, you are more than just a shadow."

"You are..."

" ...the darkness that will conquer all light."

"Sayonara, Sae-nee." An eleven year old bluenette spoke, sitting on a wheelchair, facing the grave of his older sister.

If only, he once thought, If only I had died instead of you, everyone will be happy.

Soon, Johoshi Tetsuya will rise above his peers, confidently, as if defying gravity.