Happy (belated) Birthday, Aomine! // Aokaga Ghoul AU

Kagami turned the corner, the stench of blood and death getting stronger and stronger with each step. There was this feeling in his guts he couldn't describe. First, he thought about that smell, then about Aomine, then about all the attacks happening in that district, and then again about Aomine.

Kagami quickened his pace and turned into another alley. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light coming from one broken light post, he froze in his steps. The panic rose as wide as his eyes did, almost falling out of their place. There was a silhouette lingering over a dead body, the blood forming a puddle and slowly surrounding them like a circle, or a protection shield, as ironic as it sounded. The red liquid splattered with every new bite in the by now corpse, scattering not only on the floor but also the walls. It almost seemed as if the stranger was using the blood as paint and his surroundings as canvas.

Kagami kept moving his mouth open and close. He should be screaming. No, better, he should be running away before that monster would catch him too. That monster with its tanned skin, blue hair and black jersey-

Kagami gasped. Wait a minute, he thought panicky, this is- no-

"Ao-"

Red eyes fixated on him. The corneal was pitch-black, red strings adorning it, as if they were bloodshot, but also dangerous and cold, and the way they looked at Kagami, he felt like they were tying him down, his feet not moving even one inch.

This is a ghoul... this is definitely a ghoul...

Suddenly the stranger's back started to glow, red as its iris, and three huge tails appeared out of its skin, shining and dancing around the same way a cat's tail would. Kagami's breath hitched. The other stood up, no longer kneeling over the dead body and facing the red-haired. It was almost ridiculous how beautiful the blood glistened on the dark skin, as if it was strawberry juice mixed with chocolate. For a moment, Kagami even forgot that there was a corpse lying on the floor.

No, this- this isn't-

The tails stiffened then, their tip pointing at him. He knew it. He was their new target. The panic in Kagami rose again as he snapped out of his trance and finally realised that he was about to be attacked, that he was about to die.

No, not here- not now-

Seeing the horror on the red-haired man's face, the ghoul grinned, laughed even, short and filthy, sending chills up and down Kagami's spine, at least it should have, but-

His eyes widened. This laugh...

The kagune dashed forward, all three of them at one go, aiming at Kagami's face. They were quiet, almost making no sound, as if the red-haired was imagining them, but he was sure this was all happening. Not even one of his dreams had been as absurd as this scene. Not even one of them had been as bloody as this scenario playing in front of him. This was all real. Everything was real. He was about to die. He was about to- Aomine, he wanted to see him, for a last time. He wanted to hear Aomine say his name a last time.

"Aomine!" the red-haired screamed, as loud as possible. He was sure his voice jumped one octave higher. He didn't know what use it was to call for Aomine in a time like this. He wasn't some hero jumping out of the next corner and rescuing him. As much as Kagami thought of the blue-haired as a hero or idol, he wasn't.

Kagami's eyes were forced shut, his teeth grinding against each other and his body shaking like a leaf through an autumn wind. But no matter how long he waited, nothing happened. He didn't feel any pain going through his face or chest or body. Nothing. He felt completely nothing. And it was quiet.

Kagami opened his eyes tardily, scared to make even one false move. His breath hitched as he realised that one of the red tails was right in front of his eye. He gulped quietly. Who knew. Maybe if he was too loud, he would be pierced open with that thing. Or that monster wanted him to suffer a slow death. It sounded realistic after all.

"Aomi...?" the ghoul quietly repeated, and Kagami then realised that his shout actually had helped him. The kagune slowly retreated, growing smaller as it slowly disappeared on the back of the stranger, and the red-haired breathed out relieved, letting his body relax, even if for only one second.

In the dark, he heard the ghoul click with his tongue before he stepped forward into the light of the broken light post, making himself visible and finally showing his true face, the face of-

Kagami's eyes widened once again. No, no, no, this is not true, fuck.

"Kagami," Aomine quietly said, looking at him in pain or annoyance, the red-haired couldn't tell right now.

But he was sure, in front of him was standing, although covered in blood and guts, the man he had fallen in love with.