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After a few minutes passed with Aomine in Kise's arms, Aomine sniffled and straightened up, wiping the last few tears from his eyes. It was just in time to avoid Akashi seeing him in such a pathetic state as Akashi appeared before them a moment later. Akashi gave a quick nod to Kise to acknowledge him.

"Did you finish filling out the forms?" The red heads question was directed at Aomine.

"Uh…not quite." Aomine picked the forms up again and started scribbling in answers till he was done. He took the forms to the front desk and then returned to his seat.

The three sat there in silence. They were each lost in their own thoughts when a doctor approached them twenty minutes later.

"Akashi-sama?" The doctor looked at Akashi. The two were familiar with each other.

"Hai." Akashi hesitated before looking up at the doctor. "What's the news? How is Tetsuya?"

"Uh," the doctor glanced a bit nervously at Aomine and Kise. "Perhaps we should talk somewhere more private…"

"Here is fine. They, "he gestured to his companions, "are friends of mine and Tetsuyas."

"Alright." The doctor took a deep but shaky breath. Akashi was someone he knew to fear, especially when giving bad news, which is what he was about to do. It wasn't the worst news he could be giving, but it was far from good news and he wasn't sure how the younger man would take it. He didn't really have a choice though. "Your friend Kuroko is currently in the ICU. There is a long list of problems though. I can only assume he had been mistreated for several years. He is severely malnourished and dehydrated. He had hypothermia when he arrived. There are multiple bruises and lacerations. A couple of which are infected, covering his body and evidence of multiple broken bones that healed, some showing signs of multiple breaks over a time period of a couple years most likely. Currently, he has a broken left wrist, two broken fingers on his left hand, three broken ribs, and his right fibula and tibia are broken in multiple places. He may not regain full use of his legs. There are signs of organ damage as well. It appears that the majority of the damage should be reversible though." The doctor sighed before continuing, avoiding looking at Akashi. "There is evidence of…of long term sexual abuse as well. We did a rape kit…but it may not yield any results if the rapist cleaned up after himself. We are also running blood tests to check for any other possible conditions, but we won't have the results for a few more hours. We expect to find some type of illegal drugs in his system though. We found marks on his arm suggesting drug use. For now, it looks like there is minimal permanent physical damage….assuming he survives this. He is barely holding on right now though. If he survives the next 48 hours….his chances of making almost a full recovery are good….however, his chances of making it through the night, let alone the next two days…I'll be honest with you….it's less than 50%. His body is just so weak right now." The doctor finally dared to look at the three young men in front of him. Their faces were as white as paper, eyes wide and full of horror and what was probably anger mixed with pain. The doctor continued hesitantly. "We will do everything we can for him, but I should also mention one last thing. If he survives, it's like I said, his chances of making almost a full recovery are pretty good, however, that is only physically. I've only seen a few cases of abuse to this extent and we won't know anything for sure till he wakes up but….I think I should warn you…the mental damage….it's…..it's p…probably far worse than the physical damage…..others…u…usually don't recover from the mental damage…not fully. If and when he wakes up….he might not be the same person he was. I'm only guessing since I can only guess at the situation by the story his injuries tell, but I thought I should warn you." The doctor, finally finished, stood up.

"Doctor?"

The doctor froze when Akashi spoke. He had been relieved that the man seemed too much in shock to react, but now he was sure he was in trouble. "Yes?"

"Can we see him?"

The doctor studied the red head for a moment surprised that the man had asked instead of demanded and surprised at the reaction overall. He had expected something more violent.

"I don't know if that is such a good idea…" The doctor started, but scanning the faces of the three men, he sighed and changed his mind. "You can see him, but only for a few minutes. If he is stable tomorrow, you can visit with him longer, but I think it's best you keep it short tonight. You don't want to be in the way if something happens." He explained then gestured for the men to follow him. Akashi stood then glanced back at the other two when he realized they weren't standing.

"Aomine? Kise?"

"It's okay Akashi. We can wait till tomorrow." Aomine felt it would be good to give him some time alone with Kuroko. He knew how his ex-captain felt towards his old shadow. Akashi nodded as a thank you and followed the doctor to the ICU.

"You can have five minutes." The doctor warned as he opened the door and Akashi entered the room. Akashi nodded and the doctor left.

Akashi walked over to the bed and took in the sight. Most of Kuroko's skin, not covered in white bandages, was colored with blues, yellows, reds, greens, purples, and black due to bruises and scars. Akashi hadn't realized how bad it was before since Kuroko had been covered in so much dirt and dried blood, but now he had been cleaned up. His face looked different now. It was a bit older, but more noticeably, his cheeks were sunken in, his eyes were dark, and his blue hair was thin, dry, and brittle. The rest of him looked frail too. He was so thin. Akashi was careful when he took Kuroko's hand. The red head was careful not to disrupt the various tubes and wires connecting Kuroko to various IV's and machines and careful not to squeeze the hand he held too hard.

"I'm sorry Tetsuya…I should have found you sooner….I'm so sorry.." he whispered. Then he leaned over and gently kissed Kuroko's forehead before leaving the room.