Split...

SPLIT...

Kagami was aware of sounds going on around him, but it hardly registered in him as actual conversation. Those words...those words that had just come out of Akashi mouth...they couldn't possibly be true, right? Because he knew Kuroko, daresay better than anyone else did, and he'd notice, he'd at least freaking notice if Kuroko had a mental disorder or whatever. Kuroko was his shadow.

He wanted to kill something. Preferably Kuroko's parents. The spot where Kuroko's slut-of-a-mom had kicked him still stung, and the disgustingly sweet tone she had adopted while talking to Kuroko had engraved itself in his mind and until he did something to make sure she never spoke again...

And he didn't want to know what Kuroko's dad was like. He had just stood there and helped when Kuroko's mom was struggling. It was like staring at a spider. Small, yet somehow emitting an aura of poison. If what Akashi said was true, these people traded in the Japanese Underground. Somehow, Kuroko was related to them. Quiet, rational Kuroko.

"With the change in circumstance, I would like to change a few other conditions on which we have been performing on," Akashi said, breaking Kagami out of his train of thought. Everyone stared at Akashi as he bit his lower lip ponderingly. "First of all, if anything from hereon out goes wrong, don't come to me. Contact the authorities. Perhaps I should have done something like that in the first place. Perhaps if I did...this would never have happened."

Kagami felt like the silence after this statement was meant for his response. He was the one who was slightly out of everything, he was the one who had the right to call out and question Akashi for the decisions he had made. But strangely, in all the emotion that was coursing in him, anger was not one directed toward Akashi. Deep inside, he was pretty sure he would've made the same decisions in Akashi's place.

"And secondly," Akashi went on, exhaling slowly like he were bracing for something horrible. "If anyone would like to stop in this pursuit, I won't stop you."

Everyone stared at Akashi, completely baffled. Kagami observed Akashi, wondering just what exactly was going through the other redhead's mind. Akashi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking much older than his true age. Kagami understood where Akashi was coming from though, just a little bit. Through the glass doors of his apartment, the light streaming in was taking on a golden hue. Although he would never admit it, fatigue was starting to weigh down on him. Physically, even though they were considered the best athletes in the high school realm, they would get tired.

"I realized that the direction we're going in now, it'll be extremely dangerous," Akashi explained, articulating every word so that nothing was unheard. "What Kuroko's parents did to Kagami...what if that's not the worst they can do? What if the next time we encounter them, it's not tasers but guns? And right now, I want to be going at the maximum possible speed to ensure Kuroko's safety. Rushing from Kyoto to Tokyo is exhausting and there may be times where we have to move from location to location at such a speed. If anyone feels like they won't be able to keep up, then please leave."

Kagami looked away, frowning. He didn't care if the others wanted to give up or if he would get exhausted along the way. It wasn't true, but since Kuroko had been taken from his hands, he felt like it was his responsibility to bring him back to them. And what would Kuroko do? At the moment, Kagami didn't feel like he knew all too much about his best friend, but if it were Kagami that were gone, he knew Kuroko would kill until he were back. That much, that much he could be positive on.

He stretched out his legs and was glad to find they didn't feel like leaden weights anymore. The taser had hurt, the same feeling as being shocked by a statically charged piece of metal, except a thousand times stronger. What really hurt the most, however, wasn't the physical pain; it was the inability to do anything in the state of paralysis.

"So what do you plan on doing next?" Kagami asked, his voice frightfully grim.

Akashi bit his lip and pulled out his phone, quickly typing something on his phone. Then, pocketing it again, he started for the door.

"I'll leave you all to make your decision."

The rest began to speak for the first time, a mix of incoherent speech which simply made Kagami's head ache. Now that he thought about it, something didn't feel right in Akashi's reasoning. Especially for Aomine and Kise, they wouldn't care about the dangers involved, they'd go in without a second thought. With that doubt in mind, Kagami didn't even wait for Akashi to reach the door; he was up and following the other redhead immediately. Disregarding his uncertainty with Akashi's leading, the fact that Kuroko was no longer in his apartment made the place seem cold and unwelcoming. Kagami knew the next time he came back, it would have to be with his shadow back at his side.

"Oi, Akashi," Kagami said forcefully, half a pace behind the shorter teen. They stepped into the hallway and, even though they weren't running, there was such a sense of urgency the fast pace they walked at was frightening. Akashi's back seemed extremely rigid and tense to Kagami and his fists were clenched and trembling. He fell back a little bit cautiously and probed further tentatively: "Akashi, you're planning something."

Akashi didn't answer, merely took the steps down three at a time with amazing agility, fingers furling and unfurling. Kagami's heart was jumping in his throat; he could feel the answer building up in the air and the tension was excruciating. They hit the exit of the apartment complex in complete silence before Akashi stopped at the door and muttered: "Kagami, do you know how it feels like to have two of you in the same body?"

"No..." Kagami said slowly, not expecting anything of this nature. He recalled Midorima saying something about there being two Akashis, back around the Winter Cup, but he never thought much about it. Only now was it anything of importance to Kagami. "So is that what it's like for Kuroko right now?"

"Again, using myself as an example, the second personality springs up as a result of extreme mental stress," Akashi muttered, his grip on the door knob tightening. "Usually to escape some terrible situation, the second personality chooses what the person believes in, what they do, how they interact with others, what they remember. And that's scary." Akashi looked back at Kagami, his eyes wide. "Who knows what Kuroko remembers about both of us?"

Kagami had decided to trust Akashi on whatever he said, but he had a hard time digesting this new bit of disturbing information. The time they first met, their first lost, the time they cleaned out the club room...did Kuroko seriously not remember any of that because of the second personality?

"And Kuroko's parents did all of this?" Kagami asked, amazed at how calm his voice sounded; the turmoil within him was driving him insane. Akashi turned around fully and put his head in his hands, gripping fistfuls of his hair like a mad man, making Kagami step back in surprise, although he suspected it was something more like survival instinct. His breath was coming out in trembling gasps.

"Not only them," Akashi breathed, his body trembling so violently even his pupils were shivering. "Us to. Me. He works so hard and what do I do? All his playing ideals, who he was as a teammate, I just threw it away. And I wasn't just his captain or anything, I was his friend. Just because I wanted to win Kuroko had to suffer in the backlash. And they may have caused his split. No..." Akashi bent over his knees his breathing more erratic than ever. "It was the sole reason. I am sure of it."

Staring down at Akashi, the one who was able to keep his composure even through the worst, Kagami felt like he was watching a lion dying at his own hands. For a moment, he was dumbfounded watching Akashi tremble from suppressed sobs. Then he could feel anger, for what felt like no reason whatsoever.

"Akashi, why are you blaming yourself so much?" Kagami demanded, realizing as he voiced his thoughts that he was upset at the redhead because he thought he had to take the burden of their situation solely upon his shoulders. "Is that why you left everyone behind? Because you want to feel like this is all you fault? So that you can work it all out on your own? Oi, Akashi!" Kagami grabbed Akashi's shoulder and pulled him up so that they could see eye to eye. The skin around Akashi's eyes was blotchy, making it look like he was crying blood. There was no more filter between Kagami's head and mouth; it all came out in one long flow. "Nothing's changed since our previous conditions! Why is it so personal for you? Everyone wants to help Kuroko, this isn't just you who cares!"

Something shiny dripped onto Akashi's shirt. A bewildered second later, Kagami realized that Akashi was crying.

"Everyone cares," Akashi breathed, tears falling from his eyes at an alarming rate. "But who does Kuroko care for? It doesn't matter which one, who does Kuroko care for? Would he come and save me? You're so damn lucky, Kagami," Akashi gasped out, grabbing the front of Kagami's shirt desperately. "Kuroko loves you. You're his light. You're his best friend. It doesn't which one knows you because both of them do. You're just that important. But I left him..." Suddenly Akashi pulled his face a breath width away from Kagami's, tears dripping down the front of his face in small rivulets. Kagami could hear his heart pound for one beat before Akashi screamed, "I LEFT HIM!"

"In the face of overwhelming odds, just combining our strengths won't be enough."

"But didn't we all leave him?" Kagami asked, letting his hands drop to his sides. Bitterness and regret. Only those two words could he associate with that day, when they lost to Touou. The tears on Akashi's cheeks annoyed the hell out of Kagami; didn't he know that he wasn't the only one who had things to regret? "And yet, Kuroko came back to save all of us. Dammit, Akashi..." Kagami stepped away and sighed, looking out the door and remembering he had no idea where Akashi wanted to go. "Tell me," Kagami said without facing Akashi; he didn't want to see his face. "Where are we going?"

"Kuroko's house," Akashi muttered, his voice throaty and thick. "It's hidden outside the main city."

Kagami nodded, not altogether too surprised. Where else would Akashi go to find out where Kuroko was? Even though he had mentioned it just before that they would contact the authorities, going to the adults felt like they were forfeiting something important. Their pride, maybe.

No. Their relationship with Kuroko, however uncertain and scary that road seemed. He had lied, he had a mental illness, perhaps caused by his friends, his parents were monsters...They had left him, had taken him for granted, had completely failed to realize Kuroko's condition. He had forgiven them once...

...could he forgive them again?

"Akashi get your shit together and lead," Kagami growled, more venomously than normal. "We have to go fast, remember?"

"Yeah," Akashi sniffed and straightened his back. "Of course."

Their pace doubled, but the physical strenuousness felt good to Kagami. They were doing something. There was a terrible feeling in his stomach that grew more and more with every passing second. He wanted to kill. He wanted to get his shadow back.

He wanted to see Kuroko's smile again.