Nine Lives

10. Don't Want to be a Witch*

Kuroko doesn't go home.

After his meeting with Aomine and Kise his mind has been spinning. He walked to a nearby park to clear his head and has been sitting on the same bench for hours.

It's dark by the time Sei finds him there. The red head walks over and sits next to him without a word. The two sit together quietly for a while before Kuroko finally speaks.

"Did Kise tell you?"

"Yes. He was already begging for my forgiveness before I even said anything."

"I see."

"Are you upset?"

"I don't know."

"I want you to know that nothing about your friendship with Daiki was fabricated. I only asked him to keep quiet about his family, nothing else."

"I know."

"Good."

The two of them are quiet again. Sei leans back against the bench and looks up at the sky. Only a few stars are visible between the budding branches and scattered clouds.

"I broke up with my boyfriend." Kuroko says after a while.

"I know."

"I forgot about it. I forgot he even existed..." Kuroko looks down at his hands and Sei turns his head to look at the distressed boy. "How did I forget something like that? Even now... I can't even remember his face..."

Sei exhales slowly and sits up.

"You died Tetsuya." Kuroko turns to look at the familiar. "It's not uncommon for people to forget about the things that happened surrounding the time of their death."

"Did my breaking up with Kagami have something to do with my death...?"

Seijurou takes a deep breath and sighs. He watches his breath in the chilly air before replying.

"It was an accident."

"I died after breaking up with Kagami?"

Seijurou nods. Kuroko watches him. The two of them fall into another silence. Kuroko shivers in the cold night air.

"Let's go home Tetsuya." Sei says, standing up from the bench and holding out his hand to the younger boy. Kuroko looks up at him and takes his hand after a moment. Sei pulls him up from the bench and the two of them start to walk back to the apartment.

"Is Kise really a familiar?"

"Yes. Ryouta became the Aomine family familiar a few decades ago."

"Then Aomine's family is like mine?"

"Yes. Not as old as yours, but they pass down the practice through the generations. All of the members in our Coven do that."

"Kise mentioned a coven too. What is that?"

"A coven is a group of witches who meet on a regular basis. Since ours is family based it's rather large and only representatives from each family attend the actual meeting. Daiki became the Aomine family representative when he entered high school. It's a pretty major feat. He's a very talented witch for his age."

"I had no idea... Aomine is always really cocky, that sounds like something he would have loved to brag about. It must have killed him to keep quiet."

Sei looks over at Kuroko. "Actually, Daiki was more than willing to keep his home life a secret. He's a very powerful witch and was given a lot of responsibility early on. It's well known now that he's grown to dislike being Representative."

"Oh..." Kuroko is quiet for a moment, not sure what to think about that. "Are you the representative for my family?"

"Yes. Until your blood line dies or you give a verbal dismissal to the coven there must always be a representative, even if it's just a familiar."

"Do I have to go to the meetings now that I know about all this?"

Kuroko and Sei stop outside the apartment as Kuroko searches for his key.

"No. Unless you decide you want to start practicing you don't have to do anything. Even if you do decide to practice, you don't have to feel any responsibility for attending the meetings. Many witches send their familiars to meetings in their stead. As long as they trust them to relay the important information that was discussed during them."

Kuroko unlocks the door and Sei follows him in while he explains. He locks the door after them as Kuroko walks to the couch and sits down with a tired sigh. Seijurou walks up behind the couch and leans over the back. Kuroko looks over at the coffee table where the book of shadows sits.

"I don't want to be a witch."