Intertwined Destiny

Chapter 19: Masaomi's blessings

Chapter 19: Masaomi's blessings

Masaomi handed Kuroko a tattered journal. Kuroko could tell upon the gentlest touch. His father's treasured journal. The journal contained Tetsurou's feelings, regrets, happiness..... and the truth. Masaomi had been taking care of the journal all these years. It had been a Herculean task to keep good care of an old, brittle journal which was on the verge of crumbling apart. The state of the journal was not a laughing matter. It was nearly impossible to restore it to its original state. After all, Masaomi rescued the journal from the ruins of the Kuroko mansion after the massacre of Kuroko's uncle.

"This has been in my care after that day. I'll give it to you. Become a person your father would be proud of, Kuroko Tetsuya." Masaomi smiled.

Akashi had always thought he was a useless father who abandoned his family. Listening to his father's story, his father was just a pitiful individual who lost his mate. He had moved on, despite living a lonely life without the person who had the greatest potential to become his mate. Akashi was wrong. Kuroko and Mayuzumi observed the grand elder with great scrutiny. Their behaviours were mirage copies of the late Kuroko Tetsurou. They were exactly like him when Tetsurou was in his prime. Masaomi chuckled. It was as if Tetsurou had continued to live on, within his two dearest children he had left behind.

"It's nothing to be wary of. Besides, I felt that this journal is meant for the both of you. Take it as a memento of your late father. This is your father's dying will." It was the ill-fated truth that Tetsurou had protected with his life. The both of you should bear the responsibility of your father's unfinished business.

"What about my mother?" Mayuzumi questioned. The truth was far too heavy for a mediocre woman like Mayuzumi's mother. She was once a student at a local university and became a mother upon graduation. Their marriage was arranged by their families, and one day, Tetsurou's disappearance had damaged her life. She raised Mayuzumi alone, stories about his own father were taken to her grave. Mayuzumi didn't know who he was, receiving his mother's last name was the only clue. A journey to rediscover who he was. And finally, Mayuzumi felt that the truth was within his reach. He could finally obtain the piece to the puzzle.

Masaomi shook his head. "Tetsurou didn't know he had left a child with the fiancee he was forced into marrying by your grandfather, Tetsurou's father. They didn't have time connecting with each other before Tetsurou was 'spirited away' into the underworld. I suggest you're familiar with the term, don't you? The people of the human lands called those humans who crossed borders into the netherworld. Those who crossed the borders never return."

"But our father did."

Masaomi nodded. "He was different. The Kuroko clan is different. You are different. I suppose you were descendants of the netherworld, just like the Princess had once suggested before she vanished." Akashi and his elite miracles silently observed the scene played before their eyes. Aomine and Kise harboring the trepidation of bursting into rage again. Strangely, Akashi had done nothing of the sort. Akashi's obedient display was what worries his elite generals even more. They were extremely concerned. The fact that history repeats itself wasn't just a simple myth. It was a calamity that no one would like to be reminded of. They were Teiko empire's darkest days. It happened during the disappearance of Akashi's beloved mate, Kuroko Tetsuya. Akashi's elite generals vowed that those days must never return. The generals were solely loyal to their masters and the gates they were assigned to.

"It can't be you came all the way here just to tell us a romance story full of regrets, are you?" Akashi finally spoke, after Masaomi had finished fussing with Mayuzumi and Kuroko. Although the pair bear different names, they were still Tetsurou's beloved children.