"-"

What was that?

"R-ru-"

I can't hear you, the static is too loud.

"Dang-...waiti-...don-"

What are you trying to tell me? Speak louder

"-ce dre-...wa-...p!"

Huh?

"-ake u-..."

What did you say?

"Wak-...up"

What do you mean!?

"WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP"

XXXXXXX

"So you're saying that he has an indefinite age?"

Kuroko hummed in response, his arms circled around Kuro as the said boy fiddled around aimlessly with his fingers.

"Pretty much. When passing through different realms, the time flow is ever changing and easily manipulated. He does not have a countable age if looked at from the perspective of the multiple worlds, but if narrowed down to simply the real world, this world, then the number will be be far more believable."

Mayuzumi scoffed. "So this little mini you is actually countless years older than me?"

Kuroko shrugged. "In a sense, yes."

"Does that mean that you are, in a sense, also older than me?"

"Yes."

"So, if we actually count how old you are by years, you'd be over a gazillion years old, but if we narrow down the years we are counting to just this world, you're only eighteen."

"You seem very keen on this whole ever changing age and the fact that I might be older than you,"

The doctor sighed. "I already guessed that something like this existed, especially-" a pointed look was shot at the blunette, "-after that two month disappearance fiasco. It's just, you know, we've been friends for so long" Kuroko rolled his eyes at the fake sniffle, "to think you had to spend so much time without knowing me." The grey haired male fanned his eyes as if he were stopping tears. "I just get so emotional,"

"You're hilarious Mayuzumi-sensei,"

"OOH, sweet agony. The masochistic pleasure of your words consume me,"

Kuroko placed his hands overs Kuro's ears. "Sensei, you're being weird again."

Mayuzumi huffed. "It's not weird, Kuroko-kun. Everyone is entitled to their own preferences, don't kink shame,"

"Kuro, when you grow up, please don't turn out like Mayuzumi-sensei, he's a bad influence."

"Yah-"

"Hai onii-sama."

"Wait a minute, I'm a perfectly ideal role model! People should strive to be like me!"

"See that arrogance Kuro? It is always polite to be modest in front of others, but it is okay to accept praise from others. The trick is to not accept it all the time and strive to be modest."

"Hey, liste-"

"Hai onii-sama."

"Ugh."

XXXXXXX

"If you can remember, please go over the details once more of what happened."

Akash boredly observed his nails as Nijimura again asked him of what happened.

"I already told the onsite nurses and doctors, but if you insist…"

The elder male watched his patient continue to disinterestedly partake in a conversation that for past ten minutes been relatively one sided.

"The onsite personnel are quite tight lipped to prevent rumors and such, so therefore I am rather in the dark concerning the, incident. I would like to hear it in your own words"

Akashi snorted. "So you can spread rumors, those 'tightlipped' personnel try so hard to prevent?"

Nijimura let out a low chuckle "As I'm sure you know, I'm not quite the gossipy type. Think of it merely to sate my curiosity."

Sighing, Akashi settled a little more comfortably into his seat and finally let his hands rest in his lap. "Very well, for the sake of incurable curiosity.

It wasn't a tale Akashi relatively enjoyed to tell, despite the masked glee he felt when explaining his role in the unfortunate demise of one of the intruders. The onsite staff demanded an explanation, which he half mindedly gave, while the rest of the GoM were still in the dark concerning what really happened (although Akashi had good cause to suspect Momoi already had a general understanding).

Nijimura was asking him for the first time ever since the incident, the previous weeks were spent getting Akashi back into normal condition. He was probably one of the few people that actually held some of Akashi's respect and had been with the red head since his first day after admission.

Maybe it was the way he always addressed Akashi as an equal and never anything less. Maybe it was the way he acknowledged that Akashi did reign superior to him in certain aspects.

But that's a story for another time.

"So you had no control over when you got the vision? Did you get a precursor warning or was it sudden?"

"Sudden, one immediately following another."

Nijimura crossed one of his legs over another, leaning further back into his chair and sporting a mug of coffee in his hands.

"When was the last time somethings like this happened?"

"Three years ago."

Nijimura hummed. The two of them had made significant process in controlling Akashi's visions and flames. The redhead had entered the institution as a Severe, nurses and doctors constantly observing him and deeming whether or not it was safe to leave him with the other patients unsupervised. That itself only further aggravated the, at the time, boy and multiple times lashed out in retaliation. He refused to be treated and seen as a person who needed help or guidance. In the early days, after Nijimura finally got the younger to start talking during their daily sessions, whenever the doctor asked Akashi why he opposed the idea of therapy and having others help him, the boy always responded "Akashis don't need any help for We are never wrong."

A few burns and multiple stare downs later, Nijimura succeeded in convincing Akashi that just because he might need some guidance in controlling his flames and visions, it does not mean he is in the wrong.

"Something bigger is playing out, we just aren't aware yet of what that is."

"I'm inclined to agree." said Nijimura, placing his mug down onto his desk and making a quick mental note to discuss this with the higher ups later on. "Did you see something else in your visions that might hint at what this bigger picture may be?"

"Unfortunately no, but those three intruders didn't did alarm the security system and attack all alone. There were people behind the scene, meaning this was an operation of some sort. And whoever organized this little outing had a goal in mind." Red and gold eyes flashed with an unknown emotion, fluttering away just as fast as it appeared. "And seeing how well armed their pawns were, this isn't a goal they will give up easily."

The familiar corset of dread tightened one string at a time onto both of the occupants of the room.

Breaking the silence, Nijimura released the breath he didn't even realize he was holding. "Security has been on high alert and quadrupled ever since the attack. Curfews are now more heavily reinforced and our technicians have been working on strengthening the systems to prevent future intentional malfunctions. If these people do attempt to attack again, they will not get very far. There isn't a need to be concerned Akashi-kun,"

With the slightest furrow of his brows, the said man picked up the re-scrambled rubix cube from the doctor's desk.

"We shall see."

XXXXXXX

"And we're done!"

Kuroko lightly touched the clean and new bandages that protected the wound on his head. Kuro was quietly sitting next to the other, sucking on the cherry lollipop the nurse had given to him.

"It's healing up nicely and if we remain vigilant on keeping the bandages clean along with medications, you should be as good as new in a few weeks!"

Only half listening, Kuroko nodded and bowed slightly when the nurse left the tiny, cramped white room with the small metal tray containing the dirty bandages in tow. The nurses had a little scare some time ago when he reopened his wind after a little too much accidental rough housing from Kise and Momoi, mainly one group hug too many. It ended with a blood soaked bandage, a killer migraine and Akashi enacting his wrath on everyone. Thankfully it occurred while he was still staying in the infirmary, but you can only imagine how angry the head nurse got. The world was once again reminded of why she was dubbed "Big Nurse". Fortunately it was not so much of being a manipulative sadistic vengeful nurse from the battlefield, but rather having the ability to scare pretty much everyone into submission all under the guise of a smile.

Picking up the note the nurse earlier wrote down with his schedule of when to come for his medication, Kuroko exited the small doctor's room and Kuro quietly tailing behind him. The former smiled and thanked the doctors and nurses he ran into on his way out while Kuro gladly accepted the extra lollipops offered to him from the squealing nurses.

"I hope you realize that you're not going to eat all of those today right?"

Kuro pouted in response. "But whyyyyy."

"You can have one more, but we're about to go to lunch and having more of those things will ruin your appetite. Besides, too much sugar isn't good for you,"

"B-But that's not fair, you have those vanilla milkshakes all the time. They aren't good for you either!"

"Vanilla milkshakes are perfectly fine, and besides, I never have one before a meal. So you can either give them to me for safekeeping or you can do it yourself."

Pouting in a brooding silence for a few more seconds, Kuro finally swiped his hand slightly to open up a portal. He reluctantly dropped his treasures down the black hole and refused to face Kuroko.

Chuckling softly at the other's antics, Kuroko let Kuro brood and mope for a few more minutes before swooping down and picking him up.

"I know you really wanted to eat them, but I don't want you to spoil your appetite. It's not healthy to just eat candies."

Kuro slowly nodded, showing he was listening but was still mad.

"You can eat them later, but with moderation, okay?"

"Hai."

Kuroko pecked the other's cheek as Kuro finally dropped his angry act and wrapped his arms around the former's neck.

"Onii-sama,"

"Hm?"

"There's something I want to tell you before we go to lunch."

"What is it?"

Kuro unwrapped his arms and motioned for the taller to let go of him. Complying, Kuroko watched as the other turned to face him, an uncharacteristically serious look on his face.

"I don't know if Onii-sama has caught wind of it yet because I'm not sure if anyone has reported it to one of our temples, but there has been an atmospheric anomaly travelling through the dimensions."

Kuroko furrowed his brows. "Travelling through the dimensions?"

Kuro nodded. "Hai. From what I've managed to gather from the people and creatures who've seen it, it looks like a large glowing object shooting across the sky, only to be swallowed by what is described to be very similar to a portal. It travelled to around half of the dimensions in no noticeable order, lasting no more than a few minutes at most per dimension."

"It "travelled"? Does that mean it's stopped?"

Kuro pursed his lips. "That's the strange thing Onii-sama, it's disappeared. The last known sighting was in Wonderland and I can't get a lot of information due to a strong storm system currently passing through, along with recent town raids. It seems like the Hatter is hiring mercenaries to try to bring the Red Queen down again."

"Has the White Queen said anything yet?"

"As of yet, no. But if these raids continue without resistance or a form of local retaliation, then the likelihood of the White Queen stepping in will significantly increase. I'd place my bets on her siding with her sister,"

Kuroko chuckled, despite the current unfavorable situation. "When does she not side with her older sister?"

Kuro remained impassive. "There was a reported recent crash in the ocean in Wonderland a few days ago, their time. I have reason to infer that whatever it was travelling through the dimensions has permanently landed in Wonderland."

"Have there been any unnatural incidents after the crash?"

"None to my knowledge, but I was hoping to scope out the crash site-"

"Once you're healed."

Kuro softly smiled, ignoring f the fact that Kuroko interrupted him. "Once I'm healed, I will go scope out the crash site and speak to the locals about what happened. See what I can find out from them."

Kuroko nodded in agreement. "I may as well also check footage from the past few days, see if any of the planetary cameras I installed caught anything during the crash. I never allowed a certain object to dimension travelled, and I was not notified of it."

"Will you accompany me to Wonderland Onii-sama?"

"No, I shouldn't, especially after the recent attack. There might be a correlation between this strange anomaly and what had happened here. One of us should stay in at least of the places at a time,"

Kuro pouted as he made grabby fingers, his signal for "pick me up".

"Does that mean I won't be able to spend time with Onii-sama?"

Complying to the smaller's request, Kuroko picked up the other and gently patted his head. "Only until we figure out what happened and if we discover there is no correlation. But until then, I'm afraid so."

"I don't want to leave Onii-sama. Your so called "friends" are dangerous,"

"Only if you are their enemy or if you aggravate them. I assure you Kuro, they really are harmless to me."

"But…"

"You saw how they reacted when I got hurt, do you really think they would hurt me on their own accord?"

"Yes. What if you got into an arguement and they hurt you? Much worse, killed you!"

"Come now Kuro, do they look like the type of people who would kill me over a simple argument?"

Kuro suddenly got quiet, his eyes going hard.

"Humans have killed for much less. Don't forget our past Onii-sama."

Looking straight at Kuroko, twin colored eyes stared back at each other like a mirror.

"We have killed for much less."

XXXXXXX

"Come again soon! I'll be waiting~"

The large blob some would call "man", few call "Carl" and society "fatso", clumsily grabbed for his pants and undergarments that laid hazardously scared across the floor. Droplets of sweat beaded down the pudgy whale of a neck still propped up above the collar of his shirt. He managed to pull his pants on before realizing his didn't put on his underwear.

Embarrassed, he struggled to look over himself to find the missing piece of clothing. He wandered around for a few seconds before the girl took pity on the poor man and strolled over to where the piece of clothing in question laid next to the desk in the ground.

"This what you're looking for sugar pie?"

The man turned a deep tomato red that was almost endearing. He quietly thanked her and instead of putting them on, he stuffed them into his pants' pocket. Not even stopping to check the mirror to see if anything was out of place, the fellow exited the room.

The girl sighed. "Well, at least he pays well."

She began to pick up her own scattered pieces of pink and red clothing. Wiping off the evidence of her previous sinful activity with a warm moist towel, she went to the closet and grabbed herself a satin red robe and dumped her soiled clothes down the laundry chute beneath the desk. She did the same to the stained sheets on the bed and replaced them with a clean maroon and dark yellow set.

Wrapping the robe around herself, the candy girl daintily put on her heels and left the room. She removed the heart door decorator and placed it back inside the room. She replaced the heart with a broom ornament, signaling the next janitor or cleaner that the room needed to be made.

Satisfied that she didn't miss anything, the girl walked down the deserted hall and every ally back into the suffocating employees lounge.

She stopped by her make up stand only to find her once full carton of smokes empty. Looking around, she easily snagged a cigarette from one of the working boys who had mistakenly fallen asleep on the communal couches. She caught a light from a random passerby and sashayed over to the balcony where five other people shared the same idea. The slightly cool air mixed in with the sweet smell of smoke and burning herbs was liberating. Away from the sticky perfume gas that some blasphemous idiots would call "air". Everyday it clogged every pore of the palace and some girls and boys fainted from too much powder in their lungs. She refused to fall victim to such stupidity and lack of sense, therefore smoke breaks allowed her to escape to a lesser evil.

After she took a few mouthfuls of the sugary joint being passed around and her own cancer stick, the girl unwound enough to finally let her ears listen in to what seemed to be the new gossip that was spreading like wildfire recently.

"Apparently she hasn't been in for at least a week."

"Some say she deserted!"

"Really!?"

"People actually do that?"

"Where could she have gone though? As soon as anyone saw her tattoo, she would've brought back home,"

"Unless…"

"No, you don't really think…"

"I mean if she was really desperate, she could've, you know,"

The voices got very quiet and the girl had to subtlety move closer and strain her ears to hear.

"...gone blank."

The other occupants of the balconygasped in horror of what was just uttered. The girl herself just snorted quietly to herself. Maybe it was the drugs and nicotine pumping through her system, but the idea of going blank didn't seem like a big taboo all of a sudden. A few times before, she had dared to imagine what her life would be like outside the palace.

A life not tied down to the service of the monarchy of pleasure. A life where she was not restricted to the palace boundaries. A life when someone sees her, they don't spew cat calls and vulgar promises.

"-an't imagine why a dominatrix of all people."

Drawn back to the conversation, the girl once again paid attention to what was being murmured, whispers barely leaving their lips ever since taboo was mentioned.

Unfortunately, nothing more of interest was uttered. A line had been crossed moments earlier, and fear leashes the gossipers back into their place. The girl sighed disappointedly at the lack of interesting material to listen to. Stubbing her cigarette out on a nearby ashtray, she left the balcony and returned to the land of screeching closet hangers and rouge, painted lips.

But this time she was without a greeting from a certain leather-garbed friend.

XXXXXXX

Mayuzumi considered himself responsible when the situation calls for such an attitude. For the rest of time, he liked to live as he pleased. Choosing to work at the asylum was more of a whim more than everything. He had been a patient here once upon a time and the curiosity of what it felt like on the other side of the desk had been too tempting to resist.

Of course, it wasn't fun back then to receive "therapy". He didn't really understand the whole "choose your doctor" concept and didn't know what to look for. Hell, he didn't even know what the doctors were going to do to "heal" him.

When he was six, a group of thugs broke into his house when it was just his governess and him in the house. She had hidden him in her room's closet. She has correctly assumed that thieves wouldn't go looking for valuables in servant quarters.

He stilled remembered her soft voice.

"Let's play a game of hide and seek with the men upstairs okay? You will hide and be as quiet as you can and I will go hide somewhere else, okay?"

She had refused when he asked to her hide with him. "That wouldn't be fair and against the rules. Good boys follow the rules, right?"

He had nodded in response.

She had gently stroked his cheek. "You're a very good boy Chihiro. Now remember, no matter what you hear, you must always hide, okay?"

He simply nodded again. She kissed his forehead and quietly closed the closet doors.

Hours passed and soon the ruckus upstairs had finally disappeared. But Mayuzumi still faithfully stayed behind those closet doors. Even after he heard his mother's scream when the of the front door opened after the bad people left, even when the police had started investigating the house. Even when he could hear multiple different voices calling out his name, Mayuzumi stayed hidden in the closet.

He stomach growled and he wetted his pants a while ago. After too long, an officer noticed the stench coming from the closet of the deceased governess. Needless to say, he was surprised to find a sickly child skillfully tucked away in the back corner.

Mayuzumi can't remember what happened after that, but he did remember the relieved sobs of his parents and that his governess never came back.

He saw that vulnerability in the faces of each and every adult or child he ever met that day forth. Some hid it betters than others, but without a doubt everyone shared the same look. When the young man finally realized he wanted to pursue psychology, everything just fell into place. His doctor encouraged his interest in the subject and before he knew it, he managed to get a job as one of the psychologists in charge of the Extremes.

It was there he first met Kuroko.

Mayuzumi could never forget that morning when he actually met the blue haired boy. It was a sunny and warm day in the middle of May-

A knock interrupted the grey haired doctor's stroll through memory lane. He frowned, checking his schedule and confirming his suspicions. No meetings or appointments were scheduled anytime soon. It was lunch, so it probably wasn't one of his patients. Maybe it was a colleague. Either way, he responded with a "come in" and turned back to the light novel in his hands.

A few minutes passed. No one entered.

Looking up, he called out again, thinking maybe the person didn't hear him.

No one entered.

Mayuzumi sighed because it probably was just one of the children playing a prank. He stood and stretched, placing a bookmark in his novel to save the page he was on. He hadn't really moved much and chasing after mischievous children sounded like fun. He was a common contender in tag games with the younger children, despite his power to turn invisible. Rather than think it unfair, the children always encourage him to go invisible to see if they could catch him. (Of course he never does because he doesn't want to break their hearts and also he doesn't want to run around stark naked).

He rubbed his eyes and yawned, trying to shake away his drowsiness before confronting a bunch of noisy, playful rascals. He opened the door and stepped into the quiet hallway.

No one was there.

Smirking, the doctor began to walk towards the end of the hallway and sneakily slid along the wall so that the children wouldn't see him coming from the perpendicular corridor. He silently counted to three in his head before jumping in front of the corridor.

No one was there.

Mayuzumi was silently thankful it was deserted, lest a colleague or a patient have seen him jumping out to scare nothing.

However, as he was about to turn around and go back to his office, something grabbed his attention. It was the faintest whiff of a scent that did not belong anywhere near the institution. Mayuzumi frowned as the pale fragrance of rose petals drifted down from the opposite end of the corridor. Staff and patients alike were not allowed perfume or cologne of any sort for medical reasons and allergies. Whoever was wearing the perfume clearly didn't know that and therefore was likely an outsider.

Wary of the previous attack that happened, Mayuzumi began to back away slowly from the corridor. He spotted one of the asylum telephone cases hung up on the wall. He quietly inched towards the glass box and took out his keys from his coat's pocket. Wincing at the jingle and click as the lock slid open, the doctor carefully lifted the glass case to reach for the telephone.

"Is someone there?"

He froze.

XXXXXXX

7 HOURS EARLIER

A small body shot to attention, sweat hazardously dripping down the pale skin. Short haggard breaths rattled through the thin frame and exited in painful pants. The lithe body fumbled around in the sheets before finally regaining their bearings. They turned to look down at the peaceful body lying next to them, inaudible snores softly escaping from their companion's mouth.

Sighing quietly, the small body shivered as the cold air touched their moist, sweat slickened body. They silently moved off the bed and grabbed for the canteen lying forgotten by the windowsill. They took deep gulps of the sweet water and moved the curtains slightly so that a sliver of moonlight shone into the dark room.

Pale light illuminated pasty white skin. Light sky blue eyes were emphasized by strikingly prominent dark circles lurking just beneath the tired sockets. Matching teal hair was matted to the scalp, the sweat and grease shining in the mocking moonlight.

The small boy looked straight at the waning moon, nightmares still hauntingly fresh in his mind.

"...something is very wrong. He's in danger," he spoke no louder than a whisper, yet the words weighed heavier than any brick.

Tired eyes glistened with unshed tears. "But he won't listen to me. He won't let me protect him."

Sighing once again, the boy rested his head in his arms, looking away from the moonlight.

"I hate dreaming…"

XXXXXXX

We were birthed closer than brothers, yet are more than friends.

Yello, BrokenWings66 here. I really don't have an excuse aside from writer's block for the first half which took me a few months, but surprisingly I managed to write the second half of this chapter in a few days whenever I had spare time. So yay(?Im sorry, please don't kill me)

Also, I know there are a few people who are concerned about me discontinuing this story due to my horrible, inexcusable and downright atrocious updating schedule (if it can even be called a schedule). I just want to assure you guys that no matter how long it take, I WILL FINISH THIS STORY MWAHAHAHAHAHA!No really, this story is my baby that i came up with that actually was a legit story line once i passed through my Mary Sue stage of thinking (such dark and self-centered times). So rest assured, I will never drop this story. I already am started a couple hundred words down with the next chapter, so I will definitely not take as long for my next update.

Until then, ciao~

-BrokenWings66

Thai Translation:

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