Chapter 12: Kuroko's Alters

"Where the fuck are we..?" Kuro gave the luscious green forestry area a quick scan with his inky eyes, a look of pure disgust washed over his cold-looking face. His face contorted into a scowling expression so much it was as if he was a different person entirely. And indeed, he was but an alter of Kuroko after all.

"Goodness, mind your language, Kuro." An offhand comment escaped Akashi's lips as soon as he shut the door to his car, lightly shaking his head. Another stark contrast to Kuroko's extreme politeness. Who would have thought how easy words like 'fuck' to slip out of Kuroko Tetsuya's own mouth?

The hot-headed Kuro snappily replied, "No, I won't. Mind your own goddamn business."

Akashi let out a deliberately long sigh. "We've got a long way to go." Slipping the car key into his pocket, the redhead began walking into the deep green forest. Without turning back, he urged, "Come along."

In the end, Kuro trudged behind the detective, not without internally cursing the man.

Half an hour later, they arrived at what seemed to be an outdoor shooting range. It looked neat and well-kept despite being so secluded from civilisation. Meaning the redhead had been coming here quite regularly. Akashi felt around an old tree bark, triggering a switch somewhere and the ground near them shook for a few seconds before a small garage-like storeroom emerged from the very ground! He proceeded to unlock the garage, pulling the steel garage door up until sunlight finally brightened the once dark space.

Kuro's line of sight immediately fell onto the assortment of guns ranging from semi-automatic handguns, magnums, shotguns and rifles inside and Akashi did not miss how his dark eyes lit up upon such a sight.

"What the hell..?"

"It's a hobby of mine, is all." The redhead smirked as he elaborately presented the little armory of his to the dark-eyed man.

"Well, take anything you like." Akashi casually grabbed a Beretta M9, inserting a fully loaded magazine into the handgun before equipping himself with earmuffs and eyeglasses for protection. Then he went out to the field, ready to shoot yet he did not. Instead, he turned his head slightly towards Kuro and said with a smirk, "Do you want to bet who's a better shooter?"

The corners of Kuro's lips slowly lifted up into a hungry for victory smile. "Oh, I'm game."

Not long after, an equipped Kuro stood beside the redhead with a loaded handgun of the same type, of course, for it to be fair.

"I heard from a certain policeman that you are an excellent shooter." Akashi playfully raised an eyebrow and Kuro instantly cussed out loud, "That damned Aomine couldn't keep his fucking mouth shut, huh?"

"..." Akashi felt his ears might bleed from Kuro's swearing soon enough.

Kuro took a ready firing stance, feet shoulder-width apart, slightly leaning forward with knees bending a little. His posture and grip were nothing less but stable, "Ready when you are."

The redhead suddenly said, "Wait, I have a proposal to make."

"Spit it out then." Akashi could clearly hear the impatience in Kuro's low growling voice.

The redhead readjusted his shooting glasses, "It's simple, really. Loser has to take a punishment from the winner."

"And you're confident you can win against me?" Kuro had this ridiculed expression on, like it was the most absurd thing he had ever heard himself saying. Him losing? In a shooting battle nevertheless? Impossible.

"Well, we shall see." Akashi had this annoying little smirk he would make once he successfully solved a tricky case, Kuro thought.

The bluenette cluck his tongue, "I'm going to beat your ass and prove you wrong."

.

.

.

After ten rounds later...

"Oh, what do you know, I won." Akashi casually remarked with a triumphant smirk as he unloaded the semi-automatic 9mm pistol. He then took off his ear and eye protection wear.

"...fuck. How could I lost to you..?" Kuro was glued to his spot, staring at the target in disbelief. He even had that blank expression Kuroko always had on for once. Out of ten rounds, he had only managed to defeat the red-haired man once, and that was only by a small margin. Who the fuck was Akashi Seijuurou again?

Akashi, "To be honest, you must have been out of practice for quite some time, no?"

Kuro angrily hissed, "Then, why did you even bother suggesting that fucking 'punishment' crap?"

"Did I force you to agree with it though?" Akashi answered the teal-haired man with another question instead, "I thought it was all mutual?"

Hearing that, he did not know what to say anymore. All he knew was that he, Kuro, had unknowingly fallen into this despicable sociopath of a detective's trap..!

Kuroko blinked his eyes open, sleepily rubbing them afterwards. He looked to his left and saw Akashi driving. It oddly felt like he had been sleeping for an eternity.

"Where… are we going?"

Akashi shifted his gaze towards the bluenette for a split second and smiled, "Lunch. You must be quite famished by now, hm?"

Kuroko cocked his head to a side in wonder when his stomach made a small rumbling noise. The tips of his ears immediately took a dark shade of pink. He did not dare look at the redhead.

Smirking, Akashi simply nodded his head, having his guess confirmed.

They stopped by a your-average small cozy restaurant amongst the street shops. When Kuroko first entered, he was greeted by a sweet syrupy smell of maple syrup on hot fluffy pancakes. Akashi simply stared at the bluenette from the corner of his eyes, his lips loosely curled upwards.

"Feel free to order anything you like. It's on me." Akashi said as soon as the waitress who handed them the menu walked away from their table.

Kuroko's soft blue eyes twinkled as he flipped through the menu. They had everything he liked here, being a sweet tooth he was! He lightly smiled as he gave a small nod, "Then, Akashi-kun, I shall take you up on your offer."

"Mm-hm, please do." Akashi leaned forward, a hand supporting his chin. He had this laid-back smile on his lips but it was far from pretentious. And the way his mismatched eyes slowly gazing at Kuroko's every single movement, it had a sense of gentleness and even warmth to it. Kuroko felt his heart skipped a beat when he noticed this. Did something had happened before this? Did one of his alters do something he was not supposed to do? But then again. Was Akashi even looking at… Him?

"Tetsuya." Akashi's smooth voice rang beside his ears and he unconsciously looked up from the menu. He knew Akashi had caught his stiff movements and strange expressions being the perceptive detective the redhead was. So he wanted to smile and say everything was just fine, that he was okay but somehow he could not. It was as if words were stuck at the back of his throat, refusing to come out. Someone in there did not want him to lie.

Akashi brought the paler hand into his own, not once did he break eye contact with the teal-haired man, "I am looking at you. And no one else."

Kuroko slowly released a breath he did not even knew he was holding. His eyes and cheeks felt hot but his heart felt incredibly warm just by hearing those two sentences from the redhead. The gaze in his once blank eyes softened, and Kuroko hummed quietly, "Thank you, Akashi-kun."

After having their stomachs filled and it being such a rare day for Akashi to have no turnup of cases only he could solve, the redhead decidedly took his clueless housemate to another one of his secret places. And he was feeling rather giddy because this time it would be Kuroko himself he would show this place.

He racked his brain trying to figure out what Kuroko's triggers were. And once he did, he kept them all at bay so that the bluenette would not experience another switch with him by his side.

It was quite a long drive. But Kuroko did not mind at all, he was so immersed with the beautiful landscape scenery outside the window. That he did not even realise the car had stopped.

Akashi parked his car soon after they met a dead end road, turning the engine off afterwards. "Let's go, Tetsuya." And so, both of them exited the car.

All around them were luscious maple trees, occasionally fallen red leaves swayed all around them before falling to the ground. Coupled with the gentle breeze and the smell of nature, it was all too calming. And there was no sign of people at all. Akashi started walking first, and so the bluenette followed suit. The confused Kuroko finally asked, "Where are we going?"

He was blindly following the man in front of him as they took a hidden path into a forest and he could soon hear the singing of insects, chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves when the wind blew.

"To a mysterious secret garden." Akashi said with such a straight face but the mirth in his eyes instantly gave it away that he was really toying with him.

Kuroko pouted in return. He really did not like to be kept in the dark. Especially not from this eccentric red-haired man. But he was already accustomed to Akashi's way of doing or saying things. So, he decided to just play along, and offhandedly questioned, "Ah, perhaps Akashi-kun wishes to kill and bury my body here?"

"And what merit would I have by doing that?" Akashi shook his head in amusement and after a few more steps, he turned around and extended his hand towards the bluenette. "Come, Tetsuya."

Kuroko stared at the hand, as if he was under some kind of spell, slowly gave his own hand and soon their hands joined one another. Akashi held a large branch up with his free hand and led the teal-haired man out of the forestry area first.

Soon as they were out, Kuroko squinted his eyes from the blinding rays of sun, due to having to walk in a shaded area for quite some time. What met his eyes was a bewitchingly beautiful sight he had never seen before in his entire life. A green meadow painted red by the sunset behind the hills, a trail of river streaming from between two mountains faraway, a stretch of grassland as far as the eye could see, spots of yellow dotting the plains everywhere and when Kuroko looked a little closer, they were actually blooming dandelions.

"This place is…"

A sudden rush of wind passed through them across the meadow and all at once, those white fuzzy dandelion spores eagerly rose and danced around, carried by the wind. One of them made it near Kuroko so he gently touched it with the tip of his finger and watched it floated elsewhere. He continued, looking rather dazed, "..very enchanting."

"Mn." Akashi tenderly looked at him, this time, an equally tender smile graced his lips. His red hair tousled in every direction from the wind yet did not fully cover his dual-coloured eyes, the yellow one seemed to glow a reddish hue from the setting sun. The wind brushed against his slender figure, slightly revealing his collarbone and also his toned body from behind his fluttering white shirt.

Kuroko caught himself staring unblinkingly, mouth parted a little and unconsciously he repeated, "Very enchanting indeed…" Only this time, these words were meant for something else other than the scenery. Or someone else.

"The scenery?" Akashi walked closer to the bluenette as he asked.

Still in an enthrall-like state, Kuroko did not hesitate at all, "Yes." And that little ringing of bell he always heard when he was about to lose one of his five senses resounded within him. He managed to catch a glimpse of a devilishly smirking Akashi before his whole surrounding went dark.

"Akashi-kun… you did it on purpose, didn't you."

"I did what now?" Even though he could not see the redhead's face at the moment, he had no doubt that Akashi was smiling as he said that. "Is it the eyes again this time?"

A hand caressed his cheek and Kuroko flinched slightly from the contact before he finally relaxed. "Yes, unfortunately. I would've loved to enjoy this mesmeric place a little bit longer."

Akashi chuckled, "No worries, we'll stay here as long as it takes for your sight to come back. Do you know what this is, Tetsuya?" He then placed something in Kuroko's hand. It was small, light, a little fuzzy and had a hint of rose, citrusy fragrance to it.

Kuroko immediately guessed it right, "A dandelion flower?"

"Do you know what dandelions symbolise, Tetsuya?" A pleasant voice came just by his left ear.

"They symbolise… long lasting happiness and youthful joy. Also getting your wish fulfilled." Kuroko dutifully answered one of Akashi's whimsical questions anyway.

Akashi, "And do you know they also have other meanings?"

Kuroko, with an impassive look on his face, tilted his head to one side, "Others? Such as?"

"Surviving through all challenges and difficulties."

Kuroko's fingers twitched. The sound of Akashi's voice was coming closer and closer.

"And this one is my favourite; healing from both emotional and physical pain alike."

Kuroko's eyelashes trembled and he let out a shaky sigh.

Arms wrapped around his shoulders and before he knew it, he was already in the other man's embrace. Kuroko, still holding on to the tiny yellow flower slowly clutched Akashi's back. His head nestled comfortably against the broader chest. Heartbeats drumming into his ears, like a consistent yet loud melody. He thought it was his own when he realised it was none but Akashi-kun's.

"Tetsuya, I…" Akashi began. It was as if he was contemplating something. Suddenly recalling something else, he said with a naughty smile instead, "I would like to give you your punishment now."

Kuroko did not seem as surprised as Akashi thought he would be. Meaning he was probably co-conscious with Kuro when they did their little shooting competition. "But, shouldn't Kuro take the punishment instead?" Realising what he had just said, Kuroko instantly looked away. He blushed, having to be found out by the redhead and could no longer feign ignorance like he should have.

"But I want you to take it in his stead." Akashi carefully placed both of his hands on Kuroko's waist, pulling back slightly yet their bodies did not separate completely. "So, I..."

"..?" And Kuroko patiently waited for him to finish his sentence when he heard a voice belonging to the man in front of him yet was not said out loud.

'I'm sorry for this.'

'Sorry for wha-'

Something soft grazed his lips and Kuroko stood frozen on the spot as he tried to figure out what it was. He flinched a little when he realised it was both soft and moist, "...!"

This feeling… Was he being kissed right now? By the very well-known as an aromantic Akashi? Reflexively, Kuroko tried to push away yet the arms around his waist only tightened even more. "..mmf..!" His mind was spinning, legs wobbling and breaths trembling yet the only thing running on his mind at that moment was how good it felt. And when Akashi began probing inside his cavity, it felt even better.

But… They should not be doing this for long because… Because Kuroko was afraid that person would show up.

Akashi-kun… Please..!

The redhead immediately stopped, and after pulling his tongue out of Kuroko's hot mouth, he wiped a trail of saliva that was dripping from the bluenette's chin with his sleeve. "Are you okay?"

Kuroko panted a few more times before slowly shaking his head, "Yes, I'm fine but… He is.. Coming." Soon as he said that, his eyes went unfocused for a couple of seconds and one moment later, it shone brighter again, and then he had this very seductive smile on, "Miss me~?"

"...Ko." Akashi released his hold around Kuroko's slim waist. He internally scolded himself for actually forcing Kuroko to switch like that. "I'm…sorry. Is Tetsuya with you right now?"

Ko wiped the remaining saliva from the corner of his lips with his fingers before casually licking it up. Akashi was not sure if it was intentional or done out of habit, Ko was a natural seducer, so it seemed. He puffed out air, "Hmm, no, he's asleep right now. Because of what you two just did."

So, he had been on spectator mode that whole while? Akashi made a mental note to properly apologise to Kuroko once he went conscious again.

Meanwhile, Ko seemed like he had something to say but he kept holding back. So, Akashi calmly took his hand and seated him on one of the large flat rocks near them. "Is there something you wish to say to me?"

"Triggers, do you know what we refer to these?" Ko asked as if he needed to reconfirm something.

Akashi, "Yes, I'm aware that a trigger is the cause of switching between identities. And that it differ for one identity to the other."

"Mm-hm, and I should add that there are both positive and negative triggers." Ko drawled, his pink-coloured eyes slowly glanced upwards until their eyes met. He took Akashi's right hand and made a 'silent' gesture with it. "Keep this a secret from Tetsuya, because what happened just now was a positive trigger."

Then, he brought the redhead's hand down to his own abdomen, "Moments before we switched, Tetsuya felt an indescribable burning sensation welling up in his tummy until it almost reaches his…" He languidly brought the hand he was holding further down until it was just above Kuroko's groin.

Akashi had kept a cool face throughout Ko's provocative actions but the last one had actually made him flinched a little. Just then, Ko abruptly released his hold, a thumb pressing against his temple, "Ugh, not now you…"

He was experiencing another switch. Akashi could even see a sliver of regret in his eyes for one second. Ko quickly smiled as if nothing was wrong at all, "I have to go now, Sei-chan. Don't miss me too much, darling."

Akashi quietly witnessed another switch in front of his eyes and he felt this rather strange unpleasant feeling in him. He did not like the fact that it would have strained Kuroko mentally from all that switching. Was he the reason these alters kept on appearing given time and condition?

"Hey, you little fucker." Kuro had emerged once more, his brows furrowed deeply into a rather nasty frown.

Akashi sighed, he was too tired to even reprimand the man for his language, "Kuro, it's really not nice to see you again."

"Right back at you!" Kuro roughly pulled Akashi by the collar, and threateningly said, "You dare lay your dirty hands on Tetsuya, who the fu-"

"Do you know that I am romantically interested in Tetsuya?" Akashi directly asked, and he didn't bother beating around the bush at all being an unbeliever of such concept.

Kuro looked enraged upon hearing such a question but seemingly acted as though he had expected as much. "Tch! Of course I do." With a huff, he folded his arms close to his chest and turned away.

"So you all knew?"

Kuro was about to spit out some nasty things and Akashi was all the more ready for it when the man suddenly winced, bringing a hand to his temple like he was overcome with a dizzy spell. They all seemed to show the same gesture when on the verge of switching. "Damn it… Not now, Tetsu."

His dark eyes looked distant and he grew very quiet as he slowly blinked a few times, his eyelashes fluttered heavily. Akashi gently held on to one of his shoulders to support him, silently waiting for the switch to occur. Kuro let out a tired sigh as he finally gave in. Not without signaling with his eyes that their conversation was far from over. Then his eyes momentarily shut.

When the bluenette reopened his eyes, the once inky irises took a beautiful shade of aquamarine colour, a giddy smile soon took form on his full lips.

"Hiya, Sei-chan!" Tetsu had fronted, beaming widely as he greeted the red-haired man.

"Hello there, Tetsu-kun." Akashi greeted back as he brought the hand that was on the thin shoulder to the top of sky blue hair, giving the smooth tresses a light ruffle. Tetsu somehow reminded him of a cheeky younger brother he never had and he quite enjoyed his company.

Tetsu's grin grew even wider from Akashi's little intimate gesture before he soon realised the reason he came out in the first place. "Oh! About the thing you and Kuro were talking about earlier..!"

"Yes?"

"Tsuya was the one who noticed it first. We had discussions in deciding whether it is safe for Tetsuya to stay with you."

Akashi quietly chuckled as he imagined all of Kuroko's alters gathering at a large round table in the inner world seriously discussing their host's love life. "Well, do I fit all of everyone's requirements?"

Tetsu frowned a little, his expression turned all serious as he pondered on Akashi's question a while longer. "Hmm, for now a majority of us think you do?" He suddenly paused, throwing a hateful glare at the redhead and said, "Well, I don't."

Akashi mirthfully smiled back, "That's not nice now, Kuro."

Tetsu blinked back into consciousness, quickly apologising, "Sorry, that was Kuro being co-conscious with me just now."

"I can sort of tell." Akashi nodded.

Tetsu tried again, "I hope you won't take what Kuro said to mind. He's a good guy, really. Just a little… Overprotective is all!"

Akashi, "Yes, I know."

"Oh, just one more thing. We all knew… Except for Tetsuya!"

Akashi almost could not hold back his laughter. Well, of course. He was in love with the person whose alters knew all about it except for the love interest himself. Typical of one Kuroko Tetsuya.

Akashi and Kuroko returned home late in the night after their unexpected detour to the meadows. When Kuroko had fronted again, it seemed as if he did not remember the events that took place before he switched. Or perhaps he was not ready to talk about it yet? So, Akashi would wait for the bluenette until he was ready.

Kuroko went to the kitchen to brew a hot cup of coffee for Akashi and milk tea for himself. The landlady was already fast asleep by that time.

The redhead produced a thick black file sent by his doctor friend onto his lap. Just as he opened it, Kuroko came back with the hot drinks in his hands.

Akashi briefly nodded his head in appreciation as he took the drink and slowly sipped.

"Let's see. A brief explanation of the important roles in a DID person." The redhead detective scanned through Midorima's medical files regarding Dissociative Identity Disorder where the greenhead doctor was kind enough to lend them to him, accurately deducing it had something to do with Kuroko.

Heterochromatic eyes fell to the different terms and terminologies used to explain how in each person with such disorder was a system. And that system was composed of the multiple identities of a DID person where each identity had specific roles in accordance to their purpose of emergence.

And the roles were as follow;

Host: The main personality which has control of the body most of the time, can be said to be the original owner of the body before the emergence of physical or mental traumas that led to DID.

Gatekeeper: Is responsible for keeping the switches under control, decides which alter gets to front and not, which gets to come out and which stays locked.

Akashi immediately thought of Tsuya, he fitted the role for some reason.

Protector: Manages and keeps check of all the alters, makes important decisions during crucial times, helps keep the host and all the alters safe. Can be categorised into primary, spiritual, physical and sexual protectors.

He was reminded of Kuro, Tsuya, Tetsu and Ko in those respective aspects given their personalities.

Persecutor: Executes things that would mostly harm the body when faced with traumatic experiences or immediate dangers as a coping mechanism. Commonly known as the 'bad' alter but is just mostly misunderstood since this particular alter's motives is just to protect the rest, even though the method tends to be hurtful.

This oddly described Ko in a nutshell, thought Akashi.

Trauma Holder: Typical in a host or alter that has emerged when the core was faced with repeated traumatic experiences at a tender age (mainly physical/sexual abuse/assaults).

Perhaps this mostly applied to Kuroko? What sort of traumatic experience did the man went through to trigger his DID? He had yet to know. And if Kuroko did not wish to disclose, Akashi thought it was fine if he never knew.

Littles: Referring to children alters under the age of ten, usually identified by childlike speech and mannerisms but the usage of difficult words and complex sentences are retained due to being in an adult body.

Fragment: A fragment is an alter that is not fully differentiated or developed. Fragments may exist to carry out a single function or job, to hold a single memory or emotion, or to represent a single idea.

The possibility of alters becoming dormant or completely disappearing was not zero.

Reading the last sentence of the page, Akashi let out an audible sigh. He never knew he could feel what he was feeling right now but he was actually a little disturbed. He shifted his gaze to the bluenette, a soft pink knitted scarf wrapped around his upper body and a mug of hot milk tea in hand, staring outside the window. Kuroko had switched yet again.

And judging from his appearance, it was Tsuya.

Tsuya easily caught what was on his mind just then, and simply smiled. He was as graceful as one could be and emitted such delicate yet indomitable aura. Befitting of a gatekeeper and primary protector of Kuroko's system, Akashi internally mused. His voice smooth and velvety, "We will deal with it when the time comes. It is not unusual for alters to integrate with the host as a singular personality in later years. It is a good thing, in fact. Meaning Tetsuya feels safe enough for him to no longer need our help."

The redhead flipped the thick compiled documents to a close, asking, "But, how do you really feel about disappearing?"

Tsuya carefully chewed on his words before deciding, "Integrating isn't equal to disappearing, it is simply different parts becoming one. I may lose my consciousness but I will live on within Tetsuya nonetheless."

Akashi did not look convinced at all, his brows intensely furrowed into a frown. Was that really true? But Tsuya was obviously speaking the truth since he did not lose any of his five senses.

The bluenette put the mug down and made way towards the red-haired man. He gracefully cupped a side of Akashi's cheek with his right hand, "Seijuurou, do not concern yourself of things yet to happen."

Crimson eyebrows almost trembled at Tsuya's words. Because for the first time in his entire life, the narcissistic Akashi was more concerned about someone else rather than himself. And not just one person, he was - believe it or not - concerned for the well-being of all four alters (that he had met so far) including Kuroko. He managed a low "mn" as he closed his eyes.

Thus, they shall put this matter aside until the day itself arrives, and only then should they deal with it.

To be continued…

Hello guys. It's been a loooong time I know. The reason why this story was on hold for so long was partly because I got writer's block on how to proceed and partly because the file for the latest chapter that I wrote became corrupted so I had to start from scratch thus further demotivated me. Watched a vid on YT about DID and from there, I got burst of fresh ideas and inspiration to continue. I have to give my thanks to DissociaDID and MultiplicityandMe for giving such useful elaboration on how or what DID actually is.

But as a non-DID person, I may have butchered some of the explanation I did in this chapter. So for those who are more knowledgeable on this topic, kindly correct me. I'll do my very best with the next chapter and sorry for taking so long! (some of you may have already forgotten or lost interest in this story and for that I apologise!)

I've been jumping from one new fandom to another but akakuro would always hold a special place in my heart. They could be said as my first OP ever. I miss these boys. Anyway, sorry for the long unimportant rant! Please leave a like and comment if you enjoyed it! I promise I will complete this story no matter how long it takes.

Reference taken from did-research. org