Warnings: AU Universe. OOC. Nice Akashi. Overprotective Generation of Miracles.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke and any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

Chapter Six: I Am Here

The last midnight train that had departed from Kyoto was silent, and was nearly empty save for a few passengers who were dozing off in their seats, with the slight rattling that the train gave off every now and then acting like a lullaby, lulling the passengers to sleep.

Ogiwara Shigehiro who was seated in a corner with his duffel bag can't help wishing that the train would go faster. His mind kept replaying the phone call that his childhood friend, Harasawa Ryu had given him a few hours ago.

"I need you to stay calm and listen to me." Harasawa Ryu told him over the phone, his voice trembling slightly. Shigehiro who was lying on his side on his bed reading one of his mangas raised a confused brow at that. "It's about Tetsu."

Shigehiro was confused for a moment. About Tetsu? What has happened to him? After that disastrous match back in middle school, he hadn't really stayed in contact with either one of his childhood friends.

And it's not like he's angry or something either. It's more like…he didn't know what to say to either of them, particularly Tetsu.

"What has happened to him?" Shigehiro asked, flipping over another page, half engrossed in his manga as Ichigo beat the shit out of Aizen. And ooh… His new shinigami form looks cool as hell.

There was a slight pause on the other end of the line before Ryu sighed. "He's in the hospital." There was a light thud as Shigehiro dropped his manga on his bedroom floor in shock, sitting up in his bed immediately, practically gluing his ear to his phone. "And this time, things aren't that simple. His father is panicking. By the looks of things, Tetsu… He will be lucky if he can live long enough to see past spring."

Shigehiro nearly had a heart attack at that.

Sure, he knew that Tetsu had always had a weak and fragile body. He had accompanied the teal haired boy to the hospital enough times to know all the ins and outs of his health condition. Ryu and even Takaya-san have explained it thoroughly to him the first time when Tetsu had fainted when he was playing basketball with him and Ryu when they were in elementary school.

Even still, despite the fact that Tetsu had always been in and out of the hospital for as long as he could remember, Shigehiro knew that his condition had never been serious enough to make the doctor almost give up hope.

What the hell happened between then and now?

"What do you mean, Ryu? Explain the situation!" Shigehiro almost growled out, quite unlike the normally happy go lucky teen.

"He collapsed during a match that his team had with my father's basketball team nearly two weeks ago." Ryu sighed on the other end of the line. "I don't know all the details, as I wasn't there, and I only learned about his condition about a week ago as I was away in Osaka on an exchange trip. Can you come to Tokyo? It might be your last chance to see him."

Shigehiro had all but panicked the moment that Ryu had hung up, and had immediately thrown in a few clothes and necessities into his duffel bag. He had then headed straight for the train station only to realise that he's just in time to catch the last train.

'What has happened?' Shigehiro wondered to himself. 'His health condition wasn't so bad when we'd last seen each other. What had happened between then and now?'

Ryu was pulling the blanket up to a sleeping Tetsu's chin when the hospital room door was flung opened, revealing a panting and sweating Ogiwara Shigehiro standing there, looking as if he'd just ran for miles.

"Tetsu!"

"Shige?" Ryu blinked in bewilderment. "And quiet down. You'll wake him." He chided the other boy, gesturing towards the sleeping Tetsu.

"Sorry." Shigehiro coughed to breathe some air into his lungs as he closed the door behind him. He glanced at the sleeping form on the hospital bed, feeling a slight twinge in his heart at how pale the teal haired boy looks, and even how thin he is. "How is he? What happened? Why did his condition worsen?" He asked quietly.

"I'm not sure of all the details." Ryu sighed. "I'd just sent his father home to get some sleep, or Takaya-san would probably be the next one to be in the hospital. I told him that I'll stay with Tetsu, and he then agreed to go home."

"What about school?" Shigehiro asked, dropping his duffel bag onto the ground even as he pulled out a chair and dropped himself on it.

"I took some time off." Ryu sighed, waving one hand about. "I'm a honours student. I can do that. Besides, I asked Sakurai-kun to bring my assignments over, and he even offered to take down notes for me in class."

Shigehiro doesn't know who this 'Sakurai-kun' is, but he can only assume that it's probably one of Ryu's classmates, maybe even a close friend in school. Much like Tetsu, Ryu is never good at dealing with people, even though he had plenty of girls always fighting over his attention back when they're still in middle school.

"What happened?" Shigehiro asked Ryu even as the dark haired teen pulled out another chair next to him, both boys watching their friend sleep, with the medication that the doctor had given Tetsu kicking in and keeping him asleep. "You almost gave me a heart attack with that phone call."

"Like I said, I'm not sure about the details. But he got another attack about two weeks ago." Ryu told Shigehiro gravely. "That attack was so severe and serious to the point that he actually stopped breathing for about two minutes, and his heart stopped as well. If one of Tetsu's former teammates hadn't been there, and had performed CPR long enough to kick start his heart, Tetsu would probably have died halfway to the hospital."

Shigehiro's face paled at that.

"Takaya-san told me that Dr. Midorima told him that Tetsu's lungs are failing him to the point that even medication can't help anymore. It can only help to alleviate his pain temporarily. He needs surgery for a double lung transplant. And fast. But at this point, there is no suitable donor that could be found." Ryu bit on his lower lip. "Dr. Midorima had been ringing up every donor centre in Japan, but no luck yet. And if one isn't found by winter, then Tetsu isn't going to last very long."

"Damn it… I'd feared the worst when you'd ringed me up and told me that Tetsu is in the hospital. But this…" Shigehiro blinked back angry tears. "He was all right throughout all of third year, so I thought that his health had improved tremendously. Even when all that shit had gone down."

Ryu gave Shigehiro a look. "Shige, it isn't—"

"I know." Shigehiro sighed. Even if Ryu didn't say it, Shigehiro knew. It wasn't Tetsu's fault. "It isn't his fault. I'd never blamed him. How long have I known you both?" He asked Ryu. "He isn't the type to do something like that back then. I'm angry at that 'team' of his! What 'Generation of Miracles'?" Shigehiro snorted. "More like 'Generation of Monsters'!"

Ryu chuckled lowly at Shigehiro's indignant tone. He knew his friend well enough by now to know that the anger that the usually happy-go-lucky teen had with the Teiko basketball team had all but faded now. Sure, he's still angry with them, but more specifically, with the play style that they used back then.

Throughout the past week when he was staying with Tetsu, the two had often talked, even though it is Ryu that is doing most of the talking. But he finds that talking tends to wear Tetsu out a lot faster than reading does, and get him to sleep faster. And getting Tetsu to sleep means that he'll suffer less pain because of his illness, and Dr. Midorima doesn't have to issue painkillers and morphine injections every ten hours.

Tetsu had probably talked the most in that week than he had ever known him to talk. He'd talked to Ryu about everything; about Seirin, the friends he'd made there, his new partner who thankfully at least treats him a lot better than the old one (he'd met Kagami Taiga for himself once when he'd gone to Seirin to pick up Kuroko's assignments from school), his dog whom Takaya-san had jokingly said once that seems to cry every single time Takaya returned home without his master (said dog is staying temporarily with Ryu's father), and Tetsu had even talked about Teiko, and what had happened that had caused such a drastic change within the team near the end of their second year.

Ryu had merely stayed quiet and listened as Tetsu talked about Teiko and what had happened back then, and what had caused the team to change as much as they did. When Tetsu had finished his story, Ryu didn't know if he wanted to punch the Generation of Miracles in the face for being such absolute and complete morons or if he wanted to hunt down those 'coaches' and break their noses.

True, the Generation of Miracles might be basketball geniuses that only came about once in a century, and they might be the ones leading Teiko to three consecutive victories at the Nationals. But still, they are still kids, and letting kids having their way all the time is no way for an adult, especially a teacher to act!

No wonder those Generation of Miracles were acting so high and mighty in third year! And no wonder Tetsu looks really upset, and looks as if the sky is about to fall on his head when he'd met up with the teal haired boy in third year just before the start of the National tournament.

Still, to their credit, at the very least, those Generation of Miracles nutters had looked out for Tetsu when he and Shigehiro couldn't be there. From what he'd heard from Takaya-san, it was that Midorima kid, the son of Tetsu's doctor, who had always monitored his health closely during their middle school days, and made sure that he isn't pushing himself too hard. The moment that the teal haired boy looks to be even out of breath, the captain is quick to stop him from training, and if it is in the middle of a match, he is quick to switch him out with another player.

The two boys fell silent for several moments, just watching Tetsu sleep. How many times have they stayed like that, keeping watch at Tetsu's side whilst he's in a hospital bed? Probably too many times to count.

Shigehiro finally sighed, scratching the back of his head. "How much more time does he have left?" he finally asked seriously.

How much longer? How much longer does Tetsu have with them? How much longer until Death claims him?

Ryu said nothing for several moments. "If nothing is done soon, probably… Only until winter. He'll be lucky if he can live long enough to see the next spring." Ryu said, his lower lip trembling. "I was there when Dr. Midorima explained Tetsu's condition to Takaya-san and Dad. Takaya-san is going to travel to Osaka in a week to talk to a specialist that deals in respiratory problems. We're going to do everything we can. I…" Ryu's bottom lip trembled, and he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Are you all right?" Shigehiro asked him with concern, one hand on Ryu's arm.

"I'll be lying if I said I was." Ryu chuckled lowly with no humour.

He said nothing for several moments as he rubbed at his eyes tiredly. Looking closely at Ryu with the low nightlight that is about the only source of light currently available in the room, Shigehiro noticed dark rings beneath his eyes, and he wonders for a moment just how much sleep that Ryu had been getting each night. Had he been looking through every single medical journal and website that he could get his hands on like his father and Tetsu's father?

"You know, I grew up with Tetsu." Ryu said, and Shigehiro nodded. He of course, already knew that. "We knew each other ever since we were in our diapers. We hit it off right away. Tetsu had always been really quiet, and even weak and fragile for a boy his age. Hence, he was the instant target for bullies. I had always protected him ever since early childhood. He's like…a younger brother to me. A brother that I must protect." He whispered. "Like the time I did when we were five, and a group of bullies thinks that it's funny to drop Tetsu into the river, not knowing that he couldn't swim. I threw them into the river the moment that I'd dragged Tetsu out. Or the time when we were seven, and a boy several grades above us think that it's funny to remind everyone of Tetsu's lack of a mother during Mother's Day. I made sure that his mother knew what her son had done during the next parent-teacher conference at school. Always. Always. I had always protected him. Yet…" Ryu whispered to himself, pulling his legs up to his chest. "This time… I really couldn't do anything. I have to watch Tetsu waste away. Being forced to watch as a life who had grown up with me was slowly getting snuffed out." Ryu wiped at the tears pooling around his eyes. "It's not fair. Why Tetsu? Why him out of everyone? He's the kindest person in the world. He had probably never done anything wrong in his life! Why him?" Ryu covered his mouth with his left hand, tears pooling around his eyes. "Please… Don't take Tetsu away…"

Shigehiro patted Ryu gently on the back, not knowing what to say to him.

True, he had grown up with Ryu and Tetsu as well. But he had only met them during elementary school. Ryu and Tetsu have known each other longer than that. The dark haired teen wonders for a moment just how long Ryu had been keeping all his feelings bottled inside him like this. No matter how grown up and mature that Ryu tends to act at times, he is still a fifteen-year-old kid – a freshman in high school. It must be killing Ryu, to have to watch as a childhood friend whom he'd known all his life is slowly dying. If it is bad for Tetsu's father, it might just be worse for Ryu.

"Please…" Ryu mumbled into his knees as he wrapped his arms around his legs. "Don't take Tetsu away…" He sounded almost like a scared kid. "Don't take him away… I don't want him to die… Don't take him away like you did Mom… Just…don't…" His voice then trailed off as his breathing evened out.

Shigehiro watched as Ryu fell asleep, probably due to exhaustion. He'll probably be feeling it in the morning, and his current position isn't exactly comfortable either. And yet, if Shigehiro tries to move him now, Ryu will most certainly wake up. And god only knows just much sleep that Ryu had been getting each night.

The dark haired teen brought both his hands together in a prayer, and muttered a short prayer beneath his lips.

"Please… Don't take Tetsu away from us…" Shigehiro whispered. "Don't take him away…"

A lone tear made it's way down his cheek.

XXXXXX

Akashi Seijuro ignored the fact that it's well past midnight by now, and that he should really be sleeping, especially since he had classes the next morning, and basketball practice after that.

The red haired Rakuzan captain looked over at the several papers all recently printed out, all scattered over his usually neat and organised desk. Some were even on his bed. There were several words highlighted on each paper, and Akashi looked at the one in his hand.

It is an email from his father, with information pertaining to a certain project that Akashi had been looking into ever since he'd came across information on it on the Net. His father had even written a short email to his son:

'Seijuro, here is the information that you need. The director in charge of Cell Project X is a man by the name of Liam Rivers, a scientist widely known throughout the world for his contributions to the advancement of medicine. He is an acquaintance of mine and your mother, since he had hired our law office as his attorney when he had to get a license and approval from the Medical Board when he first started this project years ago. I hope this can help, and I hope that you know what you're doing, my son.'

Akashi looked at the contact details that his father had provided him with, and smirked. 'Thanks, Father.' He thought.

Akashi then dialled a number on his cellphone and waited as the call connected. Three rings later, the call was picked up. "Liam Rivers?" Akashi enquired smoothly in fluent English. "This is Akashi. Seijuro Akashi, son of Haru Akashi of the Akashi Law Offices. I've heard from my father that you might be able to help me with a matter of concern. I need to contact the group of scientists that are the brains behind Cell Project X, the dolphin cloning project…"

A/N: The ending is probably a little…abrupt, but I honestly have no idea how to make it 'smoother'. Anyway, to answer a few questions, Ryu is an OC. But Shigehiro isn't! He is a character in the latest chapters of the KnB manga. And like I've said, this story will probably span for another couple more chapters before it ends.

Also, on a side note, I've been getting complaints about my grammar or lack thereof lately. I have no idea why so many people are complaining about it all of a sudden when they don't seem to have any problems with it before. But whatever the case, my suggestion is this: you point out the grammatical errors in my story and tell me in a review or something, and I'll go back to change it. I have absolutely no desire to engage a beta reader, as I seem to have quite an unlucky streak concerning beta readers ever since I've started writing on FF. And anyway, my story isn't that bad (language wise) that it is entirely unreadable.

I hope that you like this chapter, and please read and review! Reviews give me inspiration to update!