Nine Lives

27. Dinner

Entry #232
I’ve been thinking about making a new spell since yesterday’s experience with the memory potion. I can still taste it even though I’ve brushed my teeth at least five times. I know potions aren’t supposed to taste good, but that was the worst thing I’ve ever tasted. It’s worse than the one’s Mom used to make me try while she was experimenting…
Of course, the problem with making a new spell is that I’ll never be able to achieve the same results as the old one. What I came up with is pretty simple, and takes longer to achieve than the potion, but it does the job in a pinch.
Reliving a Memory:
Tools – orange candle, rosemary oil, mugwort oil, and an item from the time you want to relive.
Instructions – Anoint the candle with rosemary and mugwort oils. Light the candle and hold the item in your hands. Close your eyes and meditate on the item while chanting “Goddess fill my mind with new ability, let me see the past with grater clarity” until the vision comes to you.
Yuzuki

Entry #240
Haruki and I had our first date today! I was super nervous at first but he chose a local diner with a nice atmosphere so it was easy to relax. It was a really lovely night.
Sei had told me before that if I’m going to get in a relationship with a normal human that I need to tell him I’m a witch as soon as possible. He said that keeping is a secret will only hurt the relationship, so once dinner was over, while Haruki was walking me back to the forest, I told him. He laughed at first, but when he realized I wasn’t joking he stopped. I showed him my favourite light spell to prove it, and the way his eyes widened when he saw the little light orb… It was so endearing…
When the light faded, he looked at me with his wide eyes and told me he thought I was amazing! I couldn’t stop blushing but I was so relieved. I knew Haruki was a nice person, so I don’t know why I was so anxious, but… I’m so glad he accepts me. I’m so glad.
Yuzuki
---

Seijurou’s phone pings at 7, on the dot, informing them that the taxi has arrived.
"Ready?" Seijurou asks, looking over at where Kuroko is tugging on his shirt.
"Ready as I'll ever be I guess." Kuroko replies. They're both dressed nicely, Seijurou knowing Reo would take them somewhere fancy. 
He reaches out and cups Kuroko's face, leaning in to kiss him lightly. First on forehead, then the corner of his eye, and finally his lips. Kuroko smiles at the familiar’s affection. He'd much rather stay home tonight, wrapped in the red heads arms and kissing him until he falls asleep, but the universe never lets things go the way Kuroko wants.
The two of them make their way down stairs hand in hand. Reo smiles brightly at them when they reach the waiting taxi. His eye quickly flick down to their intertwined fingers before jumping into an excited spiel about how glad he is they decided to come. Seijurou politely tells him to shut up, and holds the door open for Kuroko to get in the back seat.
Once they are on their way, Reo talks animatedly about the restaurant they're going to, who recommended it to him and once again how pleased he is to take Seijurou there.
Kuroko is only half listening to the man, trying to at least appear polite, but Seijurou is very obviously not listening. He's looking out the window, idly rubbing his thumb over the back of Kuroko's hand. Kuroko smiles at him.
Aomine and Kise are already waiting when the taxi pulls up to the curb. Aomine looks more respectable that usual, wearing a jacket rather than his usual worn sweater. It’s a nice evening, only cold when the wind blows. Spring is finally making its way to town.
Kuroko smiles at his friends as he steps out of the taxi. He usually see’s them at school, but it’s always nice to spend a night out, away from the books and stressed out university students.
“Hey, Aomine. Hi, Kise.” Aomine waves in greeting, looking between Kuroko and Reo. From the frown on his face Kuroko thinks maybe he’s had a bad experience with the older witch as well.
“Hi Kuroko-cchi.” Kise is tense, eyes glancing around skittishly. That’s unusual. “Where’s Akashi-cchi?”
Oh. Kuroko thinks. That’s why. He looks over his shoulder where the taxi is pulling away, expecting to see the familiar but he finds nothing.
A sudden cracking sound makes Kuroko jump. He quickly turns back to look at his friends, only to find Seijurou, edges billowing and expression cold, standing over the crumpled body of the wolf familiar. Kuroko sucks in a breath, eyes widening.
“Hey!” Aomine frowns at Kise’s still body. He doesn’t seem concerned, more annoyed than anything.
Seijurou looks at him, form unstable. “He knew it was coming.”
Seijurou’s voice is deep and rough with the effort it takes him to talk over his feline teeth. It sends a shiver up Kuroko’s spine and he can see the way Reo tenses as well, the memory of the other day still fresh. Reo laughs to fight of the fear.
“Oh my. I didn’t know Sei-chan was holding a grudge.” Reo easily pulls a wide smile.
Seijurou steps over Kise’s limp body and goes to take his place next to Kuroko. He shifts his jaw, trying to get his form back to human. “You would have planned this dinner regardless.” He says, voice sounding a little better.
“True.” Reo sings, but Kuroko hears him continue under his breath. “But I would rather have prepared myself for it.”
“Come, let’s go in.” Seijurou says, edges settled back into his visible human form. Reo nods and leads the way inside. Seijurou follows, reaching out to lead Kuroko with him by the waist. Kuroko stops him before the familiar can start to pull him inside and turns back to his friends.
“Are you okay, Aomine-kun?”
Aomine sighs, grabbing Kise by the back of the shirt and tugging him along. “Yeah, it’s fine. He’ll wake up soon.” Aomine drags Kise’s dead body along behind him and he walks over to Kuroko. “I told him Akashi was going to kill him, he should have just gotten it over with earlier.”
Seijurou hums in approval before turning to lead Kuroko inside. Kuroko feels sick, losing all his appetite. He just watched his friend die, and not a single one of them finds that strange in the least. There’s still so much about this that Kuroko isn’t used to.
The waitress leads the four of them to a round table and they take their seats. Aomine pulls out a chair and dumps Kise in it with a grunt, positioning him in a sort of seated position. Kise’s neck is twisted at an awkward angle and his body slumps in his seat, almost falling face first into the table.
“So annoying.” Aomine grumbles as he sits.
“Is it okay to just leave him like that?” Kuroko asks, glancing around the room. The waitress hadn’t mentioned anything or even looked at Kise.
“Yeah.” Aomine sighs, “No one but witches and familiar’s can see him right now anyway.”
“What a way to start off the night.” Reo hums, glancing at the menu the waitress left.
Kuroko tries to avoid looking at Kise, turning his gaze on Seijurou instead. The familiar is looking over his menu calmly, unbothered. Kuroko frowns.
“Did you have to kill him?” Kuroko asks. Seijurou looks over at him, seeming to finally notice Kuroko’s expression. Seijurou sets down his menu immediately.
“Ah, I’m sorry Tetsuya. Are you alright? Maybe I should have waited…” Seijurou frowns, holding Kuroko’s pale face gently in his hands.
“Oh, is this Kuroko-chan’s first time seeing a familiar die?” Reo asks in his singsong voice, “You know he’s not actually going to die. Not as long as Dai-chan is here.”
“But it still hurts.” Kuroko says, pulling his face out of Seijurou’s hands and turning his frown down at the menu. “Dying hurts.”
Kuroko sends one last side glance at Seijurou, making sure he knows he’s not happy with the familiar. Seijurou avoids eye contacts, looking away, guilt all over his face.
Reo hums, watching the two of them closely for a moment before replying.
“Well, that’s probably true. Our familiars always get the short end of the stick.” Reo sighs, flipping the page in his menu. “Forced to live for centuries and die over and over for their masters. Only to suffer even more when their masters finally die.”
Their waitress returns, asking for drink orders. Reo smiles sweetly at her, ordering wine for him and Seijurou. Seijurou doesn’t argue. Kuroko just orders water, not sure if he’ll be able to stomach anything more than that right now. They are quiet as Aomine explains that they’re waiting for one more person to arrive before they can order food. The waitress just nods, completely unaware that the person they’re waiting on is already seated.
When the waitress is out of ear shot, Aomine turns to look at Reo. “You said familiars are forced to live for centuries, but no one’s forcing anyone. This idiot, at least, is excited for it.”
Reo looks up at Aomine, Kuroko can’t read the expression on his face. “It might seem that way to you, but not everyone feels the same. Familiars aren’t meant to live as long as ours do.”
“But that’s what makes our familiars so strong, isn’t it? The longer they live, the stronger they can become.” Aomine says.
“That was the original theory.” Seijurou says with a sigh. He’s still looking down at is menu.
“It was proven wrong more than a few centuries ago.” Reo says with a nod. Kuroko watches the three of them, taking in this information. He doesn’t often get to hear others talk about familiars and witchcraft. Aomine frowns.
“Then why do we still do it?”
Reo shrugs, leaning back in his seat. “Several reasons I guess. Tradition, for one. Familiars have more knowledge about the craft and can help their masters more. A way to keep our history.” Reo lists them off on his fingers, “But one of the main reasons, that I think at least, is because no one wanted to lose our most powerful weapon.”
Reo glances at Seijurou as he says this. He’s not smiling, or teasing, he’s just looking. Seijurou meets his eyes and sighs lightly.
“Is that true?” Aomine asks.
“Who knows. I don’t really care about why at this point.” Seijurou says. “A long life is nothing but a burden. Ryouta is young still, he hasn’t experienced the hardships of being one of our Coven’s familiars. In a few decades, he could very well grow tired of living this way.”
“Are you tired of living like this?” Kuroko asks, looking at Seijurou seriously. Seijurou turns to him and smiles lightly.
“I was once, but not anymore. I’m glad that I got to live long enough to meet you.”
All the color Kuroko had previously lost comes rushing back to his face. Kuroko looks away from the familiar, embarrassed. He hears Reo whistle and laugh at Seijurou’s declaration.
A groan catches everyone’s attention, saving Kuroko further embarrassment. Everyone looks up to see Kise sitting up in his seat. He rubs his eyes and stretches his shoulders as if he were waking up from a nap. Kise blinks around the table at them, confused.
“Welcome back to the world of the living.” Reo smiles.
“Uh… Thanks?” Kise says. Kuroko smiles at him.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m good, but, where are we?” Kise asks looking around the room.
“The restaurant. We’ve been waiting for you to wake so we could order dinner. You’ve kept us waiting.” Seijurou says. Kise immediately sits up straight at the sound of his voice. He looks terrified as he faces the tiger familiar.
“S-sorry! I’m sorry!”
Seijurou just waves his hand, “Just decide on what you’re eating. I’m hungry.”
“Yes!” Kise squeaks, grabbing his menu and using it to shield himself from Seijurou.
“The steak sounds good.” Aomine says behind his menu.
“I’m not sure if I have enough of an appetite anymore.” Kuroko sighs, reading over the menu once more.
Seijurou glances at him guiltily. “Just order something that sounds okay and if you can’t eat it we can save it for later.”
Kuroko just hums in response. He can see Seijurou from the corner of his eye, trying to keep himself composed. Seijurou really doesn’t like making Kuroko upset. Especially now.
Seijurou leans closer to Kuroko after a minute. “If you take something home, I won’t have to get out of bed as early to make breakfast tomorrow.” The familiar mutters. It’s an apology, Kuroko knows. He doesn’t want to accept, wanting Seijurou to squirm a little longer, but it’s a very tempting offer.
“That would be nice.” Kuroko replies, letting a small smile tug at his lips. Seijurou smiles back, sitting up straight again.
The waitress returns not long after Kise wakes, finally noticing the familiar. She brings their drinks and smiles as she asks for their food orders. When she has, everything written down she nods and tells them their food will be ready soon.
Kise turns to the group once she’s gone. “So, what did I miss while I was out?”
“We were discussing the Theory that Familiars grow stronger with age.” Reo says, voice light despite how he had been acting earlier when the topic was brought up.
“Oh!” Kise says, excited. “The others told me that the theory was wrong, but that since there were still a lot of benefits familiars were allowed to keep being passed down!”
“You knew?” Aomine frowns at his familiar.
“Of course! All familiars know.” Kise nods, “But just ‘cause I’m not gonna get any stronger doesn’t mean I don’t want to live forever!”
Reo sighs, taking a sip of his wine. “I still think it’s unnatural, and frankly cruel.”
Kise makes a face. “Cruel?”
“You’re going to die hundreds of times, and you’re going to continuously watch your masters die. Someday you’re going to watch Dai-chan die, and Kuroko-chan and everyone you know.” Reo says. “You’re going to live surrounded by death, forever.”
Kise stares at Reo for a while, then looks around at everyone at the table. Seijurou remains quiet, sipping his drink and not participating in the conversation.
“Well…” Kise starts, frowning still. “Maybe that’s true, but I’m also going to see a lot of life too. I’ll get to watch my new masters grow from babies, and watch them get married and make families and be happy. I’ll get to be a part of that happiness, over and over, forever.”
Kuroko turns to watch Reo’s expression crack into a smile. He laughs a little and nods. “That’s true. Obviously, Ki-chan is just more optimistic than I am. You’re right.”
Kise smiles at this, happy to be praised.
“Well, I’m glad at least there are some familiars who can see things that way.” Reo says. “And, even if someday you change your mind, there’s still hope. There will always be people like me around to save you.”
Kuroko frowns, unintentionally mimicking Kise’s expression. “Save?” He asks.
Reo turns his smile on the witch. “Yes. I collect familiars who are tired of living. When I die, all of them are coming with me.”
Kuroko raises his eyes, “Really?”
“All of them?” Aomine looks aghast. Reo just nods happily.
“Yep! All of them!”
“How many familiars do you have, anyway?” Kise asks, looking mildly uncomfortable.
“Hmm, let’s see…” Reo mutters several names as he counts on his fingers. “Eight right now, if I counted that right. Some of them aren’t around much, I let them do their own thing so they can die peacefully when my time comes.”
“You’ve gathered quite a few.” Seijurou comments.
“Yeah… Are you… Okay?” Aomine asks. Kuroko frowns.
“Don’t worry about me, Dai-chan!” Reo laughs.
“Unfortunately, Reo is the type of person that’s going to end up living a long life no matter how many times he tempts fate.” Seijurou takes a sip of his wine. Reo just laughs, albeit a little nervously.
“Maybe…” Kise says, “But that’s a lot of soul fragments… Even if their just transfers.”
Kuroko blinks, finally understanding what his friends concern was about. Seijurou had said that bonding with a familiar was like trading a piece of your soul. That’s why Seijurou was so different from the past. So, if a human were to transfer a piece of their soul eight times, exactly how much of Reo was actually him? And what kind of effect did it have on him?
“I’m fine, Ki-chan. I knew before I got my first familiar that I wanted to save the others, so I made precautionary measures and created Ko-chan. When we bonded, we traded everything.” Seijurou turns to look at the witch, surprised. Everyone at the table mirrors his expression. “My soul is fully intact and still connected to me, it’s just resting in another body. It’s all terribly complicated, but essentially, I made a loop hole where I get to keep my soul whole and no personality changes are made to any of my familiars. A win-win for everyone.”
There’s a moment of silence as everyone takes this in. Seijurou is the one to finally break it.
“That is… A very enviable situation.” He says, “I always thought Kotaro was lucky, but this is… something else.”
Reo smiles at him, sadness in his eyes. “A better deal than the one you got, for sure.”
“Yes.” Seijurou breathes, looking down at the table. Kuroko’s heart aches, watching him. He wants to say something, to make him feel better. He opens his mouth, only to be interrupted by the waitress returning with their food.
Seijurou throws on a polite smile, and the conversation is forgotten as everyone takes their plates from the woman. Aomine and Kise dig in right away, Reo laughing at their enthusiasm. Kuroko doesn’t touch his plate, still watching Seijurou and his fake smile.
He reaches out, placing his hand over Seijurou’s under the table. Seijurou pauses, looking down at his hand. He looks up at Kuroko in surprise, finally noticing Kuroko’s worried expression. It takes him a moment to get over his surprise, but Seijurou’s face soon melts into something warmer. He smiles at Kuroko, taking his hand.
Seijurou meets Kuroko’s eyes as he raises Kuroko’s hand to his lips, giving him a chaste kiss on the knuckles.
“Eat your food, Tetsuya.” He says lightly, lowering their hands again. I’m okay. Is what his eyes are telling him. Kuroko blushes at the public display, but nods and takes his hand back. He doesn’t look up to see if his friends had seen it or not, embarrassedly digging in.
The rest of their dinner is quiet, Reo only speaking a few times to comment of the food. It’s peaceful, Kuroko thinks. At least, until Kise breaks the silence.
“Urgh!” Kise chokes on his food, fork clattering against his plate. Everyone looks up at him in surprise as he coughs trying to clear his throat.
“What the fuck, Kise.” Aomine says, watching his familiar.
“Wha- What is that?!” Kise finally manages through couching fits. He raises his finger, pointing to the space just above Reo.
The rest of the table turns to look up, spotting the thing that startled Kise so much.
Aomine’s face pales. Reo’s brightens into a smile. Seijurou just sighs. And Kuroko starts, bewildered at the being he had previously thought didn’t exist.
A Ghost.
“I knew there had to be a reason you chose this place.” Seijurou says, sounding tired.
Reo beams. “The rumours were true!”
Kuroko blinks at the ghost. It’s shape billows and shifts, like a familiar’s does when they change forms. Its eyes are hollow and black, head tilted to the side. It makes no movement, except for it’s mouth, opening and closing as if it were trying to speak. But there was no sound. No presence. If Kise hadn’t noticed it, Kuroko is sure he would have missed it completely. 
“What the fuck.” Aomine whispers, looking the very picture of fear. Kuroko looks at him, suddenly worried. If he, a witch, was reacting that way, then this isn’t normal.
“It’s not harmful.” Seijurou sighs, “Just ignore it and keep eating. Reo will deal with it later I’m sure, that’s why he came after all.” 
Kuroko visibly relaxes at Seijurou’s words, but Aomine and Kise continue to look at the ghost fearfully. Seijurou notices this as well.
“Don’t tell me you’re actually afraid of ghosts…” He asks, incredulous.
“N-no!” Aomine tries to defend himself, poorly. Kise on the other hand doesn’t have any pride to save.
“Yes! They’re scary!” He insists, pointing again. “Look at its eyes! That’s terrifying!”
“You’re a familiar!” Seijurou says, “Stop pointing, you’ll draw attention.”
Kise lowers his hand, but his tense expression doesn’t change. 
Amount clears his throat, turning back to his food.
“Yeah, Kise, stop making such a big deal.” He says, slicing at his steak. Kuroko tries to hide a smile as Kise turns to his master, affronted.
“You’re scared too! Don’t lie Aomine-cchi!”
“I’m not.”
“Are too! I have photographic evidence saying you are!”
“What evidence?” Aomine frowns at his familiar as Kise pulls out his phone.
“The picture from the Haunted House!”

“That’s different.” Aomine grumbles. “That wasn’t a ghost, they were people jumping out at us and trying to scare us! Even Tetsu got scared!”

Kuroko perks up at the sound of his name. “What?”
“The Haunted House the University put in last year! You were scared too, right?”
Kuroko frowns. “I don’t remember that.”
Aomine scoffs, “Don’t pretend, you were just as scared as the rest of us!”
“Ah I found it! See?” Kise shows the screen to his master before turning it toward Reo and Seijurou. Reo smiles and Kise moves on, holding the phone out in front of Kuroko.
Kuroko stares at the picture with a frown. It’s a group picture. 
Kuroko is standing at the front of the line, a slightly panicked look on his face while a larger boy with two toned dark red hair cowers behind him. Aomine is next, holding tightly to the other boy while Kise has both his arms wrapped around Aomines waist, mouth open wide in a scream. Kuroko’s eyes are drawn back the the boy clinging to him. His stomach twists uncomfortably and it takes him a while to form his words.

“I… I don’t remember this…” Kuroko says, voice soft. Kise looks at him in surprise, pulling the phone back so he can make sure it’s the right picture. He frowns deeply, looking over at Aomine, who is staring at Kuroko seriously.
“What do you mean you don’t remember? You were the one who suggested it when Kagami tried to say he wasn’t scared of Halloween.”
“… Kagami…?” Kuroko whispers. His head throbs suddenly, and he brings his hands up to cradle his head. “I don’t…”
Seijurou reaches out to him in concern. “Tetsuya? What’s wrong?”
“It hurts.” Kuroko says through grit teeth. The rest of the table look around at each other in confusion.
Seijurou holds Kuroko’s head lightly, leaning down to press his lips against Kuroko’s ear. He begins to mutter things that Kuroko doesn’t understand in a language Kuroko can’t recognize with his head screaming at him.
When Seijurou finishes, Kuroko can feel his headache subsiding. His body relaxes, and he lifts his head up to look at Seijurou’s concerned face.
“Thank you.” He mutters, Seijurou looks relieved. Kuroko turns to look at his friends, “Sorry. I don’t know what just happened…”
“A-are you okay?” Kise asks. Kuroko nods.
“Yeah, sorry.”
“A-anyway.” Reo pulls on a smile, trying to ease the tension at the table. “Real ghosts aren’t anything like what the media makes them to be! Sure, some of them are bad, but most of them like this guys are just lost souls, floating around not knowing where to go!”

“Let’s just… keep eating and try to ignore our guest for now.” Seijurou says. The younger boys all nod, turning back to their food.
Kise and Aomine glance at Kuroko every so often, still concerned for their friend, but no one brings up the topic again.
Reo eyes Seijurou, watching the way he keeps a hand in Kuroko’s knee while they both continue to eat.
The rest of the evening goes by without incident. Though their new dead friend stays at the table with them, they all get used to his presence. Reo tells them he was probably attracted to their energy and won’t leave until they do, then quickly assures the panicked Kise that he wasn’t strong enough to follow them home.

“I’m going to stay back and help our friend pass over.” Reo says at the end of the night as they all pack up.
Seijurou just nods, ushering Kuroko outside with a hand on his back. Reo waves and Aomine turns to him before he follows them out.
“Thanks for Dinner.”