"Shin-chan, could you tell me a story?"

Midorima tightened his hold around his friend and smiled. "What are you? A kid?"

"Just this once."

The thought that his friend's life was slowly ebbing away every passing minute and he couldn't do anything tormented him. But he wanted to be able to do something for Takao. Midorima didn't want to remain selfish forever.

He wished that the lump in his throat and the stinging pain behind his eyelids would just go away.

"Once upon a time, there was a boy who was always alone. His parents had great expectations of him, and he's scared that they'll leave him if he makes a mistake." Midorima recalled the times he thought of those things, but he wasn't affected anymore. He knew that that wasn't the case.

Midorima gently pat the smaller boy's head and continued.

"He excelled in his studies and in basketball. He was contented living in his own little world, not realizing that the way he's living will eventually lead to him isolating himself from the others."

"He knew. Deep inside, he knew that he was lonely. He may be stubborn, socially inept and hard to get along with, but all along, he longed to have friends. He wanted to have people who understood him, people who will accept him for who he is."

"He met good people during his middle school years. He played basketball with them, studied with them... The boy thought that that was it. He finally found what he was longing for."

"That is, until everything else fell apart."

He massaged the jet black hair and recalled all those horrible memories.

"It was hard for him to trust people after that. They all went to separate schools after middle school. The boy thought that his life would just go back to the monotonous cycle it was originally in. He thought that he was better off himself."

Midorima swallowed back a sob.

"Until... Until he met this really annoying brat."

Takao giggled, but the tears sliding down his cheeks did not escape Midorima's eyes.

"He was frivolous, everything that came out of his mouth was absurd, and the boy hated him for his unusual cheerfulness."

He could see his friend's eyes slowly closing, but he continued nonetheless, knowing that Takao wouldn't want him to stop.

"It's funny really, how that hate turned to a pleasant feeling as months passed by. His self-proclaimed friend never left his side, whether in or out of the court. Even though it looked like he was being made into a slave, he willingly helped the boy find his lucky items and ride him around in a stupid rickshaw. Good days, bad days, that self-proclaimed friend of his was the remaining constant in his life. Until one day, the boy finally admitted to himself that he considered the annoying boy his friend."

This time, Midorima finally released the tears he was holding. Takao didn't hold back either: the tears kept running down his face. Whether the tears were from pain or Midorima's story, the green-haired boy didn't know.

He didn't want to know.

Takao, I..." He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. "I-"

"I'm sorry." Midorima was cut off by Takao's words.

What?

"What are you saying? You have nothing to apologize for! I should be the one saying sorry! I've always been selfish. All this time I was only thinking of myself, ignoring how the others felt! How you felt! Even though you were always there for me I..."

Takao shushed him. "Shin-chan, it's okay." The pained boy held his friend's hand. "It's okay..."

"I-I'm so sorry... T-Takao..." Midorima could see the life in his friend's eyes slowly fading away. He knew that the end is near, that this is the last time he'd see his friend alive.

They both knew that this is the last time they'll see each other.

They were two months away from graduation.

There was excitement, but Midorima and Takao wouldn't deny that there's also sadness, especially for Midorima.

For three years, they have always been together. They've been facing life like in a three-legged race: moving forward together, falling, but rising again.

It pains him to think that they'll be separated.

"Shin-chan, you plan to go to The University of Tokyo, too?!" Takao exclaimed once he saw his friend's form.

Midorima's eyes widened. "Don't tell me..."

"Waah, Shin-chan, fate doesn't want us to part, hahaha- OW!" Takao was interrupted by a rather painful smack on the head. He looked up, about to protest, but was speechless when he saw Midorima grinning.

"So if you pass, I need to endure you AGAIN for my whole university days?"

Takao gave a mischievous grin of his own. "Sounds fun. Wait, why don't we celebrate? Let's go get ice cream!"

"That's ridiculous. Why do we even need to-WOAH!"

Takao dragged his friend all the way to his favorite ice cream shop, expecting to have fun. They talked for hours, not really minding the time. When they already felt like going home, they silently exited the shop.

"Shin-chan..."

"Hmm?"

Takao looked confused and pointed at something from above. "What's that?"

When Midorima looked up to where Takao was pointing, he felt dread.

White particles that looked like snow came from above. He noticed all the people also looking up, talking and whispering.

"I don't know..." he muttered.

Takao tightened his hold around his bag and faced Midorima. "M-Maybe we should-"

A sound of something hitting the asphalt reached their ears, followed by a woman's scream. A middle-aged man lay on the floor. The adults who were walking around started vomiting.

The teenage boys were horrified as the people gradually fell one by one. Ugly sounds filled the air.

Midorima was horrified, but he instinctively grabbed Takao's collar and stepped backward to take shelter under the roof of the entrance of the ice cream shop.

The white particles continued to fall.

A biological weapon. That's what they called the white particles. Once the substance enters people's systems, they will experience pain and vomiting and will slowly die if not given a cure. Teenagers, however, are unaffected.

"××××××××× has waged war. They intend to make all the adults sick so that when they attack, our nation will fall. Because of the first biological attack, many adults, including the people from the military are sick and are unable to fight. Therefore, will have to get people age 16-20 to engage in war."

On the day of their departure, their parents did nothing but cry. Midorima's mom hugged him tightly. "You don't deserve this. You kids don't deserve this! This- Son, I-I'm sorry!" Midorima returned the hug as tightly as he could and made a promise that he'll return.

Takao's parents wouldn't let go of him. "Mom, dad, I-" He did his best not to cry. "I need to go," he said gently. "Please come back alive. Please," his mom said, begged, in between sobs. Takao just nodded and kissed his parents goodbye before being dragged away by the military.

Let's make a promise," Midorima said just before they engage in the war that would surely change their nation and their lives.

The ebony-haired boy laughed. "That's not like you. So, what is this promise?"

"Promise me that you'll live, and I, in return, would also vow that I'll do my best to return alive."

Midorima held out his hand with an outstretched pinky finger.

"Shin-chan, is that what I think it is?"

"Shut up and promise."

Takao stared at the hand for seconds until he eventually interlocked his pinky finger with Midorima's. "I promise, Shin-chan. I promise to return alive."

"I promise to return alive as well. We'll still go to university together, right?"

Takao squeezed his pinky. "Right."

"I'm sorry I couldn't-" Takao coughed up blood. Midorima didn't want to look anymore. He just wanted to be shut in his own world again. But he couldn't.

He wouldn't dare avert his gaze from one of the dearest people in his life.

"C-Couldn't keep our promise."

This time, it was Midorima's turn to tell Takao that it's okay.

"It's okay, Takao..." He wiped the tears from the smaller boy's face, but the tears wouldn't stop. "It's okay, you don't have to worry anymore," he said in his most reassuring, although broken, voice.

Midorima didn't want to prolong Takao's misery anymore.

"It's okay now. Your Shin-chan's gonna be okay. You can rest now."

He tried to put all the memories and the friendship they had into that one smile.

"Thank you for everything, Kazunari."

Takao's smile, the smile that pulled him from the depths of the darkness, was still the most beautiful.

"Anything for my Shin-chan."

Man Proposes, God Disposes, he lived his life by that saying.

But Midorima didn't really believe in God.

It's more like he entrusts everything to fate.

After all, God didn't really answer his prayers. He prayed countless times before, but they were never granted.

Until he met Takao.

Maybe it's okay to believe now, he thought. Maybe there really is a God.

But now that his dearest best friend lay dead on his arms from a barrage of bullets, he lost all the courage to believe in God, let alone anything anymore.

He's tired of believing.

An enemy soldier saw Midorima in the distance, and prepared to shoot him, but when he saw what the boy was cradling in his arms, he slowly dropped down his weapon and turned away, eyes glistening with tears.

This has to stop.

Readers: *holding different kinds of weapons* WHY DID YOU DO THIS?!

Katcchan: I didn't want to do this! I swear, Takao is my adorable baby I didn't want to do this!

Readers: *surrounding Katcchan* BUT YOU STILL DID IT!

Katcchan: I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! (Sakurai style) *raises hands in surrender*