*le punches self for doing this now* ;A; I was supposed to wait until I at least finished Frigid and After All This Time... But I couldn't help it, I'm sorry *cries*

I hope you enjoy anyway..? *heart*

A year passed by quickly for Akashi's friends, slowly for Akashi himself. Kuroko hadn't shown up since that day, but a few other ghosts had. Akashi always ignored them, though. He could tell now which were the living or the dead, but he wanted nothing to do with the latter.

Sometimes he hated Kuroko, for letting him believe what they had was normal, that they were normal. Other times, he hated himself for letting him go. Really, though, what could he have done? The boy was a ghost, and he'd simply vanished before his eyes.

Akashi's friends hadn't spoken of the incident since, sensing the change in the redhead. They were smart for that, for Akashi probably would have lost all sanity if they'd even mentioned the name Kuroko Tetsuya.

"Akashi-cchi!"

Akashi turned a dead gaze to Kise as he ran toward him, a stupid smile on his face. "Akashi-cchi, Aomine-cchi wants to play some ball after school. What do you say?"

Akashi blinked. Sure it would probably be boring to him, but why not? He had nothing better to do anymore.

"Sure. What about the others?"

"I'm on my way to ask them!" And with that, the blond took off again.

Akashi stared after him, not even able to mussel up a sigh. Everything was so boring now, even the nuisances.

That afternoon, the boys all met up in the park nearby, Midorima carrying the ball between his taped fingers.

Murasakibara was idly snacking on some pocky whilst Aomine and Kise made bets on who was going to win. Akashi stood off to the side a bit, trying to remember why he'd come to begin with. The others played without him for a long while, the redhead pretending to be a referee, though he paid hardly any attention to the game.

When night fell, they decided to go their separate ways. Akashi felt a strange twinge in his gut as he watched their backs disappear into the distance, but he shrugged it off and went on his way.

He'd later come to realize what that feeling was.

Akashi was awoken in the middle of the night by his ringing phone. Blinking his eyes open, he answered the device. "Hello?"

"A-Akashi-cchi..."

"Ryouta?" He could hear the blonde's tears and sobs through the phone. "What happened?"

"H-Hospital... now."

Akashi knew he wouldn't get anything else out of Kise. Not now anyway. "I'll be right there," he replied, clicking the end button and climbing out of bed to get dressed.

When he arrived at the hospital he was met with a distressed Murasakibara, quiet Midorima, and tearful Kise.

"Where's Daiki?"

Kise broke down immediately, and Midorima ushered him back to the waiting area to sit down.

Murasakibara sighed. "Aka-chin, Mine-chin was shot."

Akashi's eyes widened ever so slightly. "How?"

"There was a mugging going on, and he got in the middle of it."

"That idiot..."

Midorima came up behind them then. "I'm not sure of the details, but the doctor said he probably won't make it."

Akashi ran a hand down his face. "Ryouta's going to lose it."

"I think he already has, Aka-chin."

Akashi nodded. "You're right. But if Daiki doesn't pull through this, Ryouta will never be the same."

A silence fell between them, and all they could hear was Kise's muffled heart wrenching sobs.

XXX

Kuroko was walking around, pretending he was alive. He didn't even know why he was here. The only friend he'd ever made probably didn't even believe he existed anymore. It was wrong for him to have kept the truth from Akashi Seijuro, but in his defense, how do you go about telling someone you're dead?

As the bluenette passed by the hospital, he felt a strange feeling. A tingling sensation washed over him. If you'd ask him, he wouldn't be able to tell you why, but he went inside the large building, though he'd been trying to avoid places that harbored so many other ghosts for as long as he could.

He froze in his tracks, though, when he saw Akashi standing there in the lobby. What was going on? All he'd heard Akashi say was that "Ryouta would never be the same."

'What's wrong with Kise?' he wondered. But none of the boys were talking now. The room was almost eerily silent. The tingling in his body began to become more prominent, and Kuroko quickly shoved the thoughts out of his mind as he followed the invisible trail he felt compelled to.

Once he'd gone down a few corridors, the tingling stopped. Kuroko blinked and looked around, noting that only the room before him was occupied. Curious, he shifted through the door, looking upon a familiar boy.

Kuroko could tell he was dying. The boy's body was already becoming pale, and the bluenette could see the transparent energy surrounding him. It wasn't long before they were standing face to face.

"You're Aomine, aren't you?"

Aomine blinked, obviously confused. "Um, yeah. Who are you? Where am I?"

Kuroko frowned. "You're a friend of Akashi."

Aomine sighed, slightly annoyed. "Yes, now where am I?"

"Well, your body is in the hospital. Your soul, however, is in between planes."

Aomine raised a brow. "What?"

Kuroko frowned and pointed to the body behind them. "You're dead, Aomine."

Aomine scoffed as he turned, but he went, ironically, as white as a ghost when his eyes fell upon his deserted body. "What... How?"

"I'm not sure. I just got here."

Aomine turned back to him, a hint of rage in his eyes now. "And who the hell are you?"

"I'm Kuroko Tetsuya."

Aomine blinked. "Kuroko..." He suddenly let out a loud bark of a laugh. "Ah, I get it. I'm going crazy, just like Akashi-"

"Akashi is not crazy!"

Aomine's eyes grew wide, and he stared into the face of an angered Kuroko. The boy was fuming. So much so, that the living might have been able to feel his tension.

"...Are you serious," Aomine muttered, his eyes suddenly dark and sad. "I'm.. dead?"

Kuroko's tension melted away immediately. "Yes, I'm sorry."

He frowned. "Can I... see them?"

XXX

Aomine shuddered as he stared at the sight of his friends. They were all visibly distressed- even Akashi, though slightly- but Kise was the absolute worse. If any of his fans had seen him like this, his modeling career would be over.

Aomine knelt before him, brushing his hand along the blonde's cheek. Kise's tears stopped momentarily, before he began crying even harder.

Aomine blinked, looking up to Kuroko in confusion. "Did he feel me?"

"It would seem so. Were you two close?"

A blush dusted his cheeks as he turned away. "You could say that."

Kuroko smiled softly. "The closer you are to someone, the easier it is to reach out to them."

There was silence before the larger male returned his gaze to Kuroko. "How did Akashi see you then?"

A pang resonated within Kuroko's chest, despite his being dead. "There are occasionally those who can see the dead. Akashi is one of those people."

Aomine looked confused as his eyes shifted to the redhead in questioning. "Then, why can't he see me?"

"It will take a few days before your spirit adjusts to this realm. At the moment, only other spirits can see you."

"So... why can't he see you?"

Kuroko froze, a slight grimace crossing his features. "I turned if off..."

"You can do that?"

"Yeah. It's pretty simple, really. It comes naturally once you've adjusted."

Aomine nodded. "So why then, did you turn it off? Akashi talked about you like he worshiped you. He was always so happy."

Kuroko frowned and looked to the floor. "I never told him what I was. I figured, once he found out, he'd hate me."

Aomine's eyes widened in shock, but he couldn't find the right words to say. Instead, he only turned back to the blonde before him, longing for one of his bright smiles to light up his ghostly world.