Love Over Fear

A Spy in the Night

Aomine had returned with a fainted Kise in his arms, clearly exhausted as he stumbled over jungle debris. However, he kept a secure grip on Kise, not letting him go. Kuroko and I saw why, for as Aomine got closer, we saw the blonde shivering.

"What should we do?" I asked, not knowing what happened. He was cold, and there wasn't much we could do now. It was night, the sun had been set for a while now, and it was chilly.

"I could start a fire," said Kuroko plainly.

"An f-ire? What's a fire?" It sounded strange to my ears, as it was something I had never heard of before.

Kuroko shifted towards me. "It's something that will warm us all up."

"Well then, why didn't you mention it before? Let's do it!"

Kuroko went into the jungle, I briefly worried for his safety, he was just a kid after all, but he returned after the short while of awkward silence shared between myself and Aomine. He came back with two jagged rocks.

"These rocks contain flint, which will create a spark when struck together." He then proceeded to gather dead grass and small twigs in a small pile. He did just as he said and soon the little pile was smoking. Kuroko lowered onto his knees and hands and blew, the dry grass fluttering in the exhale. From the center, bright orange specks rose and fell quickly; the color drained as it touched down, leaving a black smudge in its place. From the origin of the mysterious beings, a different glow appeared, it was stronger and more persistent. It flickered as if alive, broke apart and came together again effortlessly.

I reached out, the heat already evident from a distance, warmer than anything I've ever come into contact with in my life.

"Oi, I wouldn't touch that if I were you," warned Aomine, breaking me from my trance.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because it's hot and will burn you," Kuroko answered, pulling up his arm, "I tripped and fell in the fire pit once a long time ago. Luckily, only my arm was touched by the fire."

On his forearm was an angry red mark that reached up to his elbow, I was wondering how I missed it when I realized that it was only on one side of his arm, the side facing away from his front. He had to twist his arm around to show us.

"Oh," was all that left my mouth. I hesitantly pulled my hand back, not taking the chance of moving too quickly and inciting the flames to attack my hand as it had Kuroko's arm.

Within the silence of our group, the fire spread and soon encased the twigs and grass in its heat. Aomine left for a short bit, leaving Kise in my care, and returned with medium-sized stones. He placed them in a circle surrounding the fire and fed it more dry grass to keep it going.

We didn't talk, even after that, and Kuroko was the first to fall asleep. He did so under the shade of a thick tree, near enough to us to not cause any worry. Kise never woke up, but his shivering had lessened, and his temperature rose. Aomine fell asleep around Kise, his body wrapped around the back of the short blonde. I made a comment shortly before he fell asleep, and his sleepy response was to "can it" and "I'm only doing this to keep him warm."

Now I was the only one left awake, the fire casting shadows along the jungle ground and the surrounding trees. I laid back with my arms under my head, gazing up at the stars I could see through the swinging branches of the willow. The night was quiet and peaceful, the barest hint of a breeze blew the fire's wings towards me, and the warmth blessed my toes. With my thoughts so relaxed, I couldn't place any as the last before I fell asleep with a final wink.