Regeneration

It takes one incident, one unacceptable attack for them to close ranks. People should have remembered the caution that the name Generation of Miracles invoked on and off the basketball courts.

A/N: So this is my first story. Additionally, I'm not a native speaker. I would be grateful for reviews as I have no idea whether this is any good or not.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 1

He didn't know how long he had been walking. As he stumbled along the street, he did not care whether someone might see him in his current state. His body hurt everywhere and he desperately needed to reach a place where he felt safe. The thought of anywhere else brought forth nausea and feeling out of place. He'd always felt out of place without-

Kuroko Tetsuya winced as he stumbled again, jarring his body. There, he could see the gate of the school. Just a little further and he would only have to find the gym. Vaguely he noted a girl in school uniform talking to him, possibly asking if he was alright. How very astute of her to notice the blood staining his clothes.

He could hear the rhythmic sounds of basketballs hitting the floor. He was close now. There were a couple of stairs leading up to the gym making him wince in advance. Just a few more steps and then he would be ok. He reached the top and stopped in the door. For the first time since he had forced himself to get up and start walking he raised his head, looking around. He couldn't see him anywhere and he finally felt the exhaustion hit him, sapping all that remained of his strength. Someone must have noticed him, because the sounds stopped. Tetsuya did not react. He was here for him. He did not care for anything else. He was just so tired.

The gym was dead-silent except of someone talking further in and he felt his eyes being drawn in that direction. The captain was talking to someone lying on the raised platform in the gym. Absently he wondered what one would need a stage for in a sports gym.

Tetsuya snapped back to his current surroundings when he heard the voice answering the captain. There- Tetsuya took a few steps in the direction of that voice.

"Dai-", his voice gave out. But it appeared to have been sufficient to get the attention of the one he had come here to see.

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Aomine Daiki had been enjoying his third afternoon nap. The rhythmic sounds of the game around him had a calming effect on him and lulled him into a content state of semi-wakefulness. So when the sounds suddenly broke off altogether he was mildly irritated, however not enough to feel the need to rouse himself from his half-slumbering state in order to complain. He snorted quietly at the image of complaining about his teammates stopping his apparent lullaby. He heard hushed whispers before the captain of his team appeared at his side.

"Aomine, there is someone here to see you."

He didn't react, as he figured whoever was interrupting his nap could come back later when he wasn't busy. Or they could leave and not come back at all.

"Aomine, the blue-haired kid appears to be looking for you."

His mind took a few moments to go over this statement before figuring out that apparently Tetsuya was here looking for him. He grunted a vague reply that he did not care, before he heard it.

"Dai-". Tetsuya's voice was soft, too soft, and trembling, breaking off after half of his name. Daiki bolted upright. Tetsuya never betrayed his weaknesses to the outside. He was the most stoic out of the six of them and had only ever truly let go when it was just them, The Generation of Miracles. Daiki felt his eyes widen and his mind halt when he saw Tetsuya at the door. There was blood dripping along the side of Tetsuya's face, due to a gash at his temple. His basketball clothes were dirty and possibly bloody. There was a bruise on his left cheek and there seemed to be bruises forming on what he could see of his arms and legs.

Daiki felt his heart stop for a few beats before resuming at a much faster rate when the rage hit him. When he met Tetsuya's eyes across the room all he saw was bone-deep exhaustion, terror, relief. He could see Tetsuya reaching his limit before it happened and Daiki's muscles coiled before he catapulted himself across the room just in time to catch Tetsuya when his legs gave out.

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The room was empty except for the two of them. Daiki was sitting next to Tetsuya's bed, trying to calm himself. He could not remember how he had gotten from the gym to the school infirmary after scooping up Tetsuya when he collapsed. When the school nurse had found two broken ribs she had called an ambulance.

It had given him the time to make a call. It had only taken a few words to inform Akashi. Daiki knew Akashi would inform the others and arrive in a ridiculously short amount of time considering the distance between Kyoto and Tokyo.

The trip to the hospital had not been fun, least of all for the paramedics who had continued giving him wary looks throughout the trip. He had felt his countenance darkening whenever an unconscious Tetsuya reacted to the pain. After having to leave Tetsuya on his own during the examination the doctor had refused to share confidential information. A nurse had revealed to him that the wounds were mostly superficial and exclusively due external force. Daiki had been able to really breathe for the first time since Tetsuya had shown up at his school gym. The icy grip on his entire being at the thought what else could have been done to Tetsuya had relinquished.

The thought of the broken ribs, sprained ankle and concussion that the nurse had mentioned revived his anger. Who would dare to touch Tetsuya? Anyone who had met the Generation of Miracles was aware that Tetsuya was off limits. Daiki and the other four could defend themselves sufficiently. But no matter how much Tetsuya detested it, he was the smallest and physically weakest of them. It had only been a few months since they had split up to join different schools and basketball teams. The unspoken rule of Tetsuya's immunity should not have been forgotten already.

Suddenly, the door opened with force. Midorima was standing in the door. The nervous looking nurse standing behind the tall teen vanished after one look at Daiki's face. Before Midorima could open his mouth the door opened again revealing a panicked looking Kise. His face darkened with one look at Tetsuya on the hospital bed.

"What happened?" The words were out of Kise's mouth before he finished closing the door.

It took Daiki a few moments to formulate a reply and to relax the muscles of his jaw where he had been gritting his teeth for a while now.

"He showed up at my school gym during practice. He collapsed before I could ask anything."

"Do you know anything about his condition?" Midorima's face showed the same apprehension he had felt.

"Broken ribs, sprained ankle and concussion. Otherwise only superficial wounds."

Their faces showed the same minimal relief he had felt a few – minutes, hours? – ago when he had gotten this information. With another look at Tetsuya Midorima grabbed the other chair in the room and Kise sat down on the floor with his back against the wall. The room returned to the quiet of before. The only sounds that could be heard from time to time were Kise shifting on the floor, Midorima twisting the pink slinky in his hands or Daiki gritting his teeth.

Daiki was not aware of how much time passed before the door opened again. For anyone else Akashi's face might have been unchanged from its usual expression. They knew better.