A/N- Honestly, I'm scared. How did authors deal with pressure? Really I was expecting zero reviews on this. Though there isn't a lot of people, thank you for acknowledging this fanfic!
Phantom
Chapter 1
Right at that moment, the nurse enters through the door. She didn't seem to notice Kuroko awake and was shocked when he greeted her.
"Hello."
She let out a loud gasp and jumped. She turned towards him, holding a hand on her chest, feeling her heart speeding up. "Y-You're awake?"
Kuroko nods. "I woke up before you came."
The nurse narrows her eyes in confusion. "What? I'm sure this was Kuroko Tetsuya's room, and from what I know, his time of death passed a few hours ago."
Kuroko winces at the fact he truly did die, but doesn't show it. "I am Kuroko Tetsuya. And I don't believe you are wrong about my death," Kuroko waves his hand in the direction of the silent heart monitor.
She turns her neck toward the direction of his hand, and inhales a sharp breath. 'The heart monitor is silent and has no heart rate?! It's not broken, is it? No, it's not, but how?' Then, it clicks. 'A ghost!'
"I'd appreciate not being labeled as a ghost, but I don't think you are completely wrong."
'He reads minds too!' The nurse sweats.
"I don't read minds either. It's just that your expression gives you away."
The nurse swallows the lump in her throat, and speaks. "...U-Um… I don't understand. Your time of death was last night, which was just a few hours ago."
Kuroko stares at his palm like it holds the answer to all his questions. "...I don't know." he whispers to himself.
Nonetheless, the nurse heard him. "Ah." was the only respond she gives. The only disturbance to the silence is the quiet, yet alive breathing of the nurse.
A few minutes that felt like hours pass, and the nurse breaks the awkward silence. "I-I'll go get Dr Hiroshi." After scampering around the room for the necessities to report to 'Dr Hiroshi', she quickly shuts the door.
Kuroko sighed. It's strange. He can't feel the fresh air fill his lungs, his heart beat the same calming rhythm he knew of all his life. There's a loneliness he hasn't felt since before he met Ogiwara. He's alone here.
oOoOo
A knock startled Kuroko out of his musings, and he gave permission to enter. A older man came in, who Kuroko presumed to be 'Dr Hiroshi'.
"Kuroko-kun?"
"Yes?"
Dr Hiroshi took a moment to observe the heart monitor, before continuing. "...Do you mind if you take a few tests I give you?"
Kuroko pondered the question, and decided, "I don't mind."
Dr Hiroshi nodded and explained the procedures with tense shoulders. Kuroko understood why, and was glad for him not sprinting out as soon as he entered.
oOoOo (Not even gonna bother with the tests. Leave it up to your imagination.)
After the tests were done, Kuroko and Dr Hiroshi went to the latter's office. The older man left to get the printed results, leaving Kuroko alone in the office.
A few minutes later, he came back with a clipboard holding his tests results. He took his seat across from Kuroko and took a look at the results before explaining them.
Kuroko stared intensely at the back of the clipboard. Even though he knew, he wanted, needed the confirmation. And he got just that a moment later.
"Kuroko-kun… I really don't know what else to say… These results prove that you are dead. Your body is heavily injured and you shouldn't be up and about, yet you're able to do just that." Dr Hiroshi explained hesitantly, wondering how the tealnette would take the harsh news.
Kuroko had a calm, blank expression, but was inwardly in turmoil. He didn't know what he was going to do. What could he do? What could anyone do in this situation? Kuroko just didn't know.
"Kuroko-kun?"
Kuroko jerked his head, meeting eyes with Dr Hiroshi. He gave a small, sad smile before he continued.
"Would you like me to inform your grandmother about this… situation?" He asked softly.
Kuroko felt like his heart dropped. Since he woke, even when dead, he never thought about his grandmother. She must've been heartbroken about the fact her only grandchild was gone. And now, she had him back but not truly alive either.
"That would be alright." Kuroko answered.
Dr Hiroshi nodded. "And regarding your school..." Kuroko tensed. Realization crashes down on him. School. Club. Basketball. Friends… No, not anymore. There's nothing to worry about. He'd left almost all of those behind.
"-ko-kun?...-roko-kun… Kuroko-kun!"
Kuroko startles out of his thoughts. Once again, he's been caught off guard. "Pardon me, what was it you've said?"
Dr Hiroshi sighs. "This is important, you know. Anyway, what I said was how about staying in the hospital for a few months? School terms are coming to an end, and there's extra time for you to stay here for summer break. I don't mean to treat you like an unknown here, but we don't know what could happen to you if we don't at least watch over you. We would treat your case as personal and keep it safe from outside of this hospital. Though your school would have to know. But other than that, we would take care of you and see where your body limits come to." He breathed heavily after the long explanation.
Kuroko pondered over his decision. Would this be his best option? He came to an answer. "I'll stay."
Dr Hiroshi seemed happy with his decision out of concern. "I'm glad."
End Notes- Ok, I know it's short. Shorter than the prologue even. But, this is a good place to stop in my opinion. Y'all gonna have to get used to short chapters. I was gonna extend it, showing GoM's reaction to the news of Kuroko's accident, but changed my mind. I'll save the reactions for future chapters. Expect a lot of irregular updates!