Warnings:
-Mild Gore/Violence Throughout
-Mentions of Abuse/Mistreatment
-Coarse Language
Chasing the Sun
(wipe away your tears)
Prologue
Gold eyes slowly opened, narrowing under the harsh glare of a flashlight. He flexed his hands, but something was stopping him from moving them too far apart. He tried to move his head, but a sharp pain stopped him. All of the sudden, a knife appeared, pointing dangerously too close to his face for his comfort.
"Yeah, take his eye out, he'll scream so prettily," A voice snarled from the distance.
No. The knife lifted, and he could see it fall back down again. No. But then it wavered and retracted, and he let out a silent breath.
"Save them, it'll be cute to see his expressions," A different voice said.
"Hmph. Suit yourself," The first answered. He found himself lifted, then roughly carried until he was facing a wall of some sort. Where am I? How...? Then the panic set in, and he struggled against what he discovered were his binds.
No. No. No. Aominecchi help-
And then his head collided with said wall so hard he saw spots and tasted blood in his mouth. He was spun around and thrown roughly against the bricks, the back of his head snapping painfully.
Aominecchi-
More pain. Another slam. His arms snapped painfully behind him, and he felt the right one snap.
Fuck. Fuck. Aominecchi? Wher-
Another slam. He heard screaming, before realizing they were his own. His head kept banging against the bricks, and Kise felt hot tears stream down his face. What was happening to him? Who is doing this to him? Why? It was simply an accident. It wasn't supposed to work out this way.
Please. Help me.
One
"Your name is Kise Ryouta. My name is Aomine Daiki. I...fell in love with you. And we...God! I can't do this!," Aomine yelled as got up, promptly kicked open the door and walked out. There was a silence before Kuroko and Kagami shared a look and sighed.
Kise cocked his head to one side. "Aomine-san?" He called to the retreating figure, then flinched as the door slammed shut. He looked over at Kuroko, then furrowed his eyebrows. "I didn't make him mad, right, Kuroko-san?"
Kuroko sighed again as he got up from his chair, Kagami following his action. "No, you didn't, Kise-kun. He's just..he's just a little sensitive right now." He walked to the door. "Midorima-kun will see to you now. Be good."
Kagami opened the door for his boyfriend, and just as Kuroko was stepping through, Kise yelled, "Wait!"
Kuroko glanced back.
"What...what did he mean by 'I fell in love?' Did I...Did I love him?" Kise asked, sharply aware of how Kuroko's eyes clouded with grief. Kagami cleared his throat when Kuroko refused to answer.
"Just, uh, just call him Aominecchi. He'll like it." Kagami explained. Kise slowly nodded in confusion as the couple exited the room.
Kise stared at the closed door. What did he do to Aomine-san? What did he even mean? And why did Kuroko-san look so sad?
"Oi, Kise you moron! That was totally my pass!" Aomine yelled as he stole the ball from Kise.
"Like hell it was! Kurokocchi lovingly passed it to me!" Kise snapped back, trying to get the ball back with no avail.
"Yeah, like Tetsu would pass to the enemy!" Aomine spat, racing away to score.
"That's because Kurokocchi loves me too much!" Kise yelled back as he ran up to the other to stop him.
Aomine snarled and lunged at the blond, only to have the two fall into a bundle on the floor of the basketball court. They rolled around for a bit, then suddenly Aomine's knee was between Kise's legs. A silence fell onto the two as they stopped fighting to stare at each other. Then Aomine opened his mouth and bent down to Kise's neck and-
"Aomine-kun. Please don't ravish Kise-kun. Especially not while Kagami and I are still here. And weren't you the one that suggested we switch up the usual teams for two-on-two? You can't break your own rules. Please don't engage with the enemy." Kuroko said, mono-toned and looking disinterested.
Aomine scowled. "Man, Tetsu, way to ruin the mood. Never mind. I change my mind then. Let's switch team members back. You wanted to be with your 'light' anyway." He pushed off the ground, then held a hand out for Kise. "C'mon Kise love. Let's beat these two so bad they run away screaming."
Kise found out that Aomine-san used to call him 'Kise love.' Takaocchi told him that Aomine found it funny because Kise had cried when he'd first called Kise that. Then he continued to do it. Kise didn't know why he'd cry before. Was he a cry baby before? He wouldn't know. As he was left alone inside the hospital room, he tried to imagine the cold stranger who had talked with him just a few moments again say those words. He couldn't. There's no way that violent person would ever do something that romantic as call someone 'love', would he?
Kise smiled as Midorima came in, because whenever Midorima-san was here, Takaocchi was nearby. This time, Takao came in with a bowl of onion gratin soup, Kise's favorite. Or it was supposed to be. Nevertheless, he loved it.
Takao squished his way onto Kise's bed, ignoring Midorima's "Get off the bed, Takao." He quickly planted himself underneath the bed's covers, then laughed about how warm it was. Kise liked being with Takao. He didn't look at Kise with those sad eyes everyone had. He also told Kise about stuff Kise wanted to know about, while the others just averted their eyes.
"Hey, Takaocchi." He said with a giggle as the other was busy making himself comfortable. Then he looked up at his doctor, the stoic Midorima-san. Kise didn't mind Midorima either. He was a quick, efficient doctor that made sure Kise was alright. He also gave Kise random objects calling them his "Lucky Item" and that he "should treat them with extreme care" which Kise made sure he did.
Midorima started his check up by handing Kise a single red sock. Kise wondered where the other one went, but he didn't ask. Takao snatched the sock before Kise could reach it, and loudly exclaimed, "Shin-chan was really excited to give this to you!" Midorima was quick to deny the fact, but Kise saw the light blush the other had as he pushed his glasses up.
Midorima checked Kise's wounds, especially the ones on his head, then his heartbeat, blood pressure, body temperature, and a bunch of boring other things that Kise didn't really care about. Everything seemed to heal nicely, much to Kise's relief. Takao celebrated by taking the red sock and flinging it at Midorima's face. That got Takao kicked out of the room for "disturbing the patient" to which Takao retorted, "Kise wasn't bothered. You're just being a baby, Shin-chan!" But he left the room anyway, much to Kise's disappointment.
Then, Midorima told Kise about his brain scans he took a week before. There was severe damage before, even if it was healing, Midorima told him. He'll still have to stay in the hospital. The TV at the end of his room was still banned. He still couldn't read books or look at bright light either. Kise pouted at that, but he knew Midorima was trying to help him.
"And also, regarding your memory, Kise." Midorima told him, "It's not clear when you'll get them back, since you're still not remembering, even after a month and half of recovery. Since you're healing, once you're well enough, you can try touring the city or visit your house. Try jogging your memory. I know it's hard to remember stuck inside this room." Kise didn't even know what his house looked like. How could he not even remember his own house?
"I'm sorry, Kise. I can't do anything to help you." Midorima finished, straightening his glasses.
Kise forced a laugh, even though his heart was sinking. "It's fine, Midorima-san! I'm still me! Kise Ryou!"
Midorima's eyes became clouded when Kise said his name, for some reason. It was Kise Ryou, right? Midorima then gave Kise a smile, which was odd. Midorima never smiled to others, only to Takao on rare occasions.
"Akashi will come see you now, Kise."
"Aominecchi! I want ice cream! And Maji Burger, and a whole pizza, and some of Muraskiburacchi's chips, and candy, and..." Kise trailed off as he tried to think of what else he wanted after they've won the two-on-two.
"Alright, alright." Aomine grumbled as they walked to Maji Burger. Kagami yelled behind them, "This makes three losses, three wins, Ahomine! Don't get a big head."
Aomine smirked as he turned around. "We'll win and make a four-three next time." Kise turned around as well and stared Kagami and Kuroko down with a grin.
"Yeah!" He agreed.
"We'll definitely win next time, Aomine-kun, Kise-kun." Kuroko replied.
"Yeah, right. You can try, Tetsu. Now go buy us those burgers." Aomine said as his smirk grew wider. Kagami grumbled as he and Kuroko went ahead to the restaurant. It was a rule they came up with after their first game: Who ever loses has to pay for Maji Burger. Aomine and Kise found themselves a seat after they entered Maji Burger, and waited hungrily for their free meal.
Kagami finally dumped the whole horde onto their table. Another rule: Who ever loses buys seventy-five burgers to share and a vanilla milkshake for Kuroko.
Aomine cockily bit into his burger. "Ah, food is so, so good when you get it for free!"
"Shut up, Ahomine." Kagami said with a glare as he picked up his own.
"You shut up, Bakagami." Aomine glared back as he took a purposely huge bite into his burger.
Pretty soon, the two were wolfing down the burgers, trying to see who could eat the most before the burgers ran out. Kise, used to the banter between the two, had already pushed his pile of a couple burgers aside so the two hungry monsters wouldn't eat all the food without him. This time, Kagami won the eating contest, and Kise had to drag Aomine away from almost swinging at the redhead.
"Let me just have one punch, Kise. One punch." Aomine insisted as Kise held him back.
"No, Aominecchi! Kagamicchi didn't punch you last time you won!" Kise protested as Aomine struggled.
"But Bakagami is really being annoying!"
"No, Aominecchi!"
Aomine turned his face to Kise's suddenly and leaned in close, and Kise could feel his face heat up. "One punch, Ryou, one punch," Aomine said softly. Fuck. Kise was always weak to Aomine whenever he'd used Kise's nickname like that. And the stupid idiot knew it, too. He let go of Aomine's shirt, and after his boyfriend went flying at Kagami, the four was promptly thrown out of the restaurant.
Kise liked Akashi, he had a cool air to him that Kise always wanted to match. The moment those red eyes landed on him, Kise felt himself straightening his back, and lowering his head a bit.
"Good morning, Ryouta." Akashi's eyes were quickly scanning over him, no doubt looking for any sign of pain in his body.
"Hi, Akashi-san." Kise greeted, his voice quieter and smaller than it usually was. He wondered if his old self also got this way with Akashi as well. He figured he did, seeing how Akashi seemed so regal. Akashi sat in the guest chair as he continued to scan Kise.
"How are you feeling?"
Kise smiled, "Fine! Midorima said that I was healing well!" Akashi nodded, and seemed to relax a little bit.
"I've heard. But I meant about your emotions. Are you happy?"
Kise paused as he thought about it. "I'm happy whenever Akashi-san or Takaocchi visits!" Which was true. Kise enjoyed Takao's company, and even though Akashi was intimidating, Kise liked sharing his thoughts with the other.
Akashi raised an eyebrow, "Not when Tetsuya or Kagami visits?"
Kise pressed his lips together. "No, they're a little quiet. They don't talk to me at all! They bring me burgers which I like, but they always look sad and talk with Midorima instead of with me!" Kise complained to Akashi.
"That's because they care about you, Ryouta." Akashi explained.
"I know, Akashi-san! But I wish they'd stop worrying about my memories. They haven't come back yet, so I wish they'd just talk to me like I'm normal, not someone who can't even remember their own birthday."
"I see." Akashi said after a pause. "I'll make sure to tell them that." He handed Kise a cell phone. "Daiki will know the password. Unless you remember it. I'll see you, Ryouta."
Kise pouted when Akashi got up to leave. "Bye, Akashi-san. Thanks for coming!"
Akashi smiled at him again. "Get well soon, Ryouta."
"Thanks, Akashi-san."
It was only until after Akashi was long gone that Kise remembered, "Oh, my name is Ryouta."
Kise ate a bag of chips while the four walked aimlessly around after they got kicked out of Maji Burger. It was getting cold, so Kagami had wrapped his scarf around Kuroko. When Kise turned to Aomine for the same treatment, he was quickly shoved in the face. After Kise sulking for a couple blocks, Aomine grumbled, then took of his jacket and wrapped it around Kise's shoulders.
"Hmph! I don't want your jacket, Aominecchi!" Kise whined as he refused to look at Aomine.
"Just take it, you idiot." Aomine yelled, "I'm cold here!"
"Then you wear it, meanie!" Kise shot back, but pulled the jacket closer to himself and snuggled up to Aomine as they continued the walk.
"Aominecchi is so nice to me." Kise whispered.
"Shut up." Aomine said, with a light blush, "I'm not a stupid romantic like Bakagami." He looked up at Kagami and Kuroko giggling like high school children a block ahead from them. They were nearing Kagami and Kuroko's shared house, so Aomine knew they were gonna break off and go do gross things to each other.
Which is what he wanted to do to Kise, but he couldn't say that.
Kise stuffed his hands into his pockets after he'd waved goodbye to Kagami and Kuroko. Then he whined about how cold his hands were. "Aominecchi! My phone's in my bag but my hands are too cold to get it out!"
Aomine glared at him. "What do you want me to do about it?"
"I just felt it buzz and I want to check on it, so can you get it out for me?"
"Like hell!"
"Please?" Kise asked, making puppy dog eyes at Aomine. Aomine rolled his eyes, then snatched Kise's bag and grabbed the phone. He quickly entered the password, then paused as he realized what the message was.
"What is it? Who is it from?"
Aomine contemplated why he tried so hard to get the phone in the first place. He should have known this was going to be the message.
"Go die, Kise."
"Who? Tell me! Tell me!"
"It's a stupid fan, you moron!"
Kise laughed with eyes sparkling, "Really? What did they say?"
"I am not reading this."
"Read it! Please, Aominecchi?"
Aomine sighed then, in an overly exaggerated tone, said, "Oh! Kise-san! I not sure if this is really your number, but I just wanted to say that I'm a big fan of you and your shoots! You are so amazing! Also, I'm free on Saturday at 8:00 if you want to meet up. I know you get a ton of these messages already, but I wanted to know that I've read every single one of your blog posts-oh gosh that's creepy, Kise."
"Keep going!" It was obvious that Kise was drinking up the praise.
Aomine gave Kise an exasperated look, then continued very slowly, "-and I believe I'm a good match for you because you said you liked people who play basketball, and I do, and you also said that you liked confident people that have a blue hair and can talk dirty and-Oi, Kise. What the hell?"
"That's you, Ahominecchi!" Kise pouted as he glared at Aomine.
"Don't you that stupid nickname!" But since Aomine liked that Kise posted about him on his oh so famous blog, he kept reading, "-I can do all those things, I promise! I even dyed my hair for you! I'm enclosed a picture below if you think I'm alright. I promise I will give you everything you've ever wanted and more! Kise-san you're just too amazing and handsome!"
Aomine laughed as he finished. "So, these are your fans?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Only some. Most are respectful of my boundaries." Kise answered. "Plus this one only wants me because I'm a model and she could brag to her friends or something." Then he brightened. "Plus, I've got you, Aominecchi!"
Kise cracked it after a couple hours of trying and getting locked out multiple times. There was pretty much only selfies and pictures of cats. Surprisingly, there was also a lot of photos of Aomine. The blue haired man always looked grumpy in the pictures, but Kise had put little notes under the photos, like "Haha Sleepyhead!" and "ANNIVERSARY! :DDDD 7/5!" and "Look at his face omg! *faint*" and "Celebrating B-Day with Aominecchi!"
Kise felt a pang as he realized he didn't know anything about this Aomine, but his past self had. He'd read through his emoji-ridden texts to the other, and they were always expressing how much he loved Aomine. Had he really been like this? Had he really fallen? And really, what happened to him?
He'd read the texts Aomine had sent to him the day he apparently went "missing," and they were filled with concerns, ever crudely worded. It was obvious that they loved each other. It was obvious Aomine missed the old him. It was obvious that this amnesia was hurting Aomine.
There was a knock on his door, and his heart sank. He'd gotten a ton of visitors already, so he prayed the detectives wouldn't decide to show up today as well. They were always fake kind to him, saying they worked with Aomine, they knew him, etc. But he knew they thought he was strange, that they wanted the other Kise back. Thankfully, it was just a nurse checking up on him. Her smile was huge as she gave him some food, but Kise couldn't give her one back.
He knew the other Kise would've been able to. He was supposed to be the other Kise. Why is he not? What happened to him?
"Akashi." Midorima said as he caught up with the redhead. "Why did you give him the cellphone? I don't want to push him too far. What if he starts to remember what really-"
"He won't, Shintaro. I have already read through his phone with Kagami. There's nothing weird on it."
"What if Aomine read through them first and erased them?" Midorima pressed.
"Then he would've told me when I asked." Akashi said. Then he spun around and stared at Midorima with an intensity that sent shivers down the doctor's spine. "We need to protect them both from the truth. We can only tell them after we figured out who the perpetrator is what what exactly happened to Kise. I cannot let them worry when Kise needs to focus on healing."
"Then you should know that he'll eventually remember, right?"
"Just keep Takao at it. Bring up happy memories only. We need time, Shintaro." Akashi dropped his gaze as Midorima got a rare moment of uncertainty from the former Teiko captain. "When Kise does recall, I want the criminal to already be crushed under my thumb."
Notes:
Oh my...the beginning was unintentional! This was supposed to be a fluffy, Kise looses his memory because of something stupid the idiots did, and fluff fluff away! But I actually wrote the teaser/summary after the first draft, and I just couldn't ignore the last part of it. Ah, my brain is so messed up. Why do I have to do this to myself (and to you as well)? I really wanted my first aokise multiple-chapter work to be fluff T_T Despite all that, I do have to say this is one of my favorite fics I'm working on so far, so I'll try hard to make it exciting!
Oh well. Please forgive me. Since it was fluff in the beginning, there's cute parts I planned as well! The first 3ish chapters are still going to be formatted like this (aka slowly dropping clues about what happened and Kise finding more about Aomine and having a gentle plot) and then it's gonna go down. I'm pretty sure this is a 6ish chapter work, but really it could go anywhere now. And Akashi playing detective because why not?
P.S.: I update agonizingly slowly, like once in a blue moon. Please comment/review! They always motivate me to write faster (lol). Constructive criticism is much appreciated as well.
