"Wait, you can see him?"

Akashi continued flipping through the pages of a book, seemingly uninterested in his conversation with his teammates. Midorima was staring at him incredulously, whilst Murasakibara chomped on a candy bar, his purple brows furrowing.

"Not only him, but Tetsuya, as well. And any other ghost that wishes to be seen."

Midorima pushed his glasses back into place as he continued staring at the redhead. "Tetsuya?"

"Oh, Kuroko."

"… Kuroko? That imaginary boy you used to-" Midorima cut himself off, if not for the sudden realization that hit him, then for the deathly glare pointed his way. "He was real…"

"Did you really think me childish enough to imagine such a thing, Shintaro?"

The green haired boy merely blinked. "I didn't know what to think. All I knew was that I couldn't see him."

Akashi's glare vanished as he returned his gaze to the book in his hands. "Soon enough, Shintaro, you will see them."

"Ne, how are we going to see ghosts, Aka-chin?"

The redhead didn't bother lifting his crimson eyes to Murasakibara's, instead turning to the next page. "If they accumulate enough strength, they will be able to appear before the naked human eye. You will see them, as I do."

Murasakibara blinked, turning to Midorima for a translation. The green haired boy sighed. "If they're strong enough, anyone can see."

"…Even Kise-chin?"

Silence filled the room immediately, the air growing heavy in a matter of seconds. Akashi continued to stare through the pages of his book, thinking. "He will see. The question is, will he believe?"

XXX

"Seijuro~" Kuroko beamed up at the redhead as he entered his room, dropping his bag and coat beside the door.

Akashi smiled at the ghost, lightly pecking his cheek. He paused, his face still close to Kuroko's. "Tetsuya, your skin isn't as cold as usual."

Kuroko's cheeks flushed at the redhead's breath on his skin, and he lightly touched his own cheek. "It isn't?"

"No, and actually, you look more… solid."

Aomine, who had previously been ignored, came closer to the two. Examining his ghostly friend, he nodded. "He's right. You're not as translucent."

Kuroko's brows furrowed slightly as he held his arms out before him, staring at his skin. "I don't understand…"

Aomine shrugged, crossing his arms behind his head as he fell backward onto Akashi's bed. "Maybe it's from your strength."

"Maybe…"

Akashi continued watching the bluenette for another moment, before smiling at him as he kissed his cheek once more. "Never mind that for now. I told the others I could see you."

Both ghosts' ears were instantly perked as Akashi sat on the edge of his bed.

"How'd they take it?" Aomine asked, sitting up to see his friend's expression.

"Shintaro and Atsushi believe me. Ryouta was not in the room."

"Eh, I know. I was with him. He was too busy crying in the bathroom stalls."

Kuroko frowned, placing a comforting hand on the tanned male's shoulder. "He'll come around."

Aomine shook his head. "I'm not sure."

"… Aomine, I know we said we wouldn't, but-" The tanned ghost's eyes shot up to Kuroko's, wide and knowing. The intensity of his stare caused the smaller male's words to die on his lips.

"… I don't want to hurt him more, Tetsu."

Kuroko nodded slowly. "I know. But can you think of another way?"

"..." He sighed, running a hand over his face. "No…"

Akashi's eyes flickered between the two, his curiosity growing by the second. "What exactly are we discussing?" he finally asked.

Aomine looked up at him, his eyes filled with a dangerous mixture of resolve and fear. "We're going to make Kise believe."

XXX

Doing that had certainly proven itself to be harder than imagined, but the ghosts were determined- somewhat. Aomine continued to change his mind every five minutes, until Kuroko finally shushed him.

"Aomine, we're doing this. There is no other option."

That seemed to get through the tanned man's skull, and he nodded, following Kuroko through the school halls.

The plan was simple: follow Kise throughout the day, and do anything they could to make him believe, without bringing too much attention to themselves.

Well, simple in theory.

Kuroko currently sat atop Kise's desk, watching as the blonde stared straight past him. "Ne, what to do…" Hesitantly, he reached for the blonde's pencil, sat neatly atop his notebook. He stared at Kise as he lifted the object before his eyes, gauging his reaction.

Kise's eyes widened by a tiny fraction before he merely lifted his hand, pushing the pencil back onto his desk.

Kuroko's brows furrowed. "But you don't believe?"

Next up was Aomine's turn. The bluenette waited over an hour before he gained the courage to do anything. Breathing out a shaky sigh, he walked up to the blonde. Leaning in close, he concentrated solely on his breaths as he breathed onto the back of Kise's neck.

Kise instantly shivered, swatting at the back of his neck, but he didn't turn around. Frowning, Aomine realized he would have to do something a little different. Looking back to Kuroko, he received a childish thumbs up and a prompting wave.

Sighing to himself, he reached for the blonde's notebook, pulling it clean off the desk. He made sure to let it linger in the air for a mere second before dropping it to the floor. Kise huffed under his breath, muttering curses as he bent down to retrieve the notebook, but otherwise seemed unfazed.

It was during lunch that the duo decided to kick it up a notch. Since the rest of the group already knew of their existence, it was the perfect time to do so.

Kuroko continuously moved Kise's food around the table all throughout lunch, causing the blonde to splutter curses every few seconds. Meanwhile, Aomine sifted through the blonde's bag, pulling out his cellphone. He pulled up some random notes app and began typing.

"Kise, it's me, Aomine. Please believe me. I'm right beside you. Always."

Sighing as he reread the message, he quickly put the phone away. He turned to Kuroko, easily grabbing the smaller boy's attention.

"I'm going outside for a minute. I need air."

At any other time, Kuroko would've made some crack about a ghost needing air, but the look on Aomine's face was enough to silence that thought before it even came into existence.

Once lunch was over, and Kuroko realized they had once again failed, Akashi decided to take another shot, himself.

As the others left, he beckoned for Kise to stay. Despite already knowing where this was going, Kise begrudgingly fell back into his chair.

"You still don't believe."

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Of course not, it's ridiculous."

"What's ridiculous is that you've been experiencing paranormal activity all day, and you haven't batted an eye."

Kise pressed his lips into a thin line, regarding Akashi carefully. "You can't make me believe in something that's not real."

"But it is real. Why do you insist-"

"Because I can't!"

Akashi blinked as he was stunned into silence, his body suddenly rigid with shock. Kise squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to rid himself of the tears before they came. He bit back a sob as he looked back up to his friend.

"I can't, Akashi-cchi. I can't believe something like that. I want to, I do, but I can't."

Akashi frowned, his body relaxing. "Is it because you don't want to be fooled?"

The blonde shook his head, actually surprising the redhead. "No, I just… I don't want to be the reason he couldn't move on…"

The redhead's mouth fell open into a small 'o' shape, his crimson eyes never leaving the blonde's golden ones. He realized then that this was certainly going to be difficult. It was one thing to convince the blonde of Aomine's presence. It was a whole other to convince him it wasn't a bad thing.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, Kuroko stood off to the side, listening to every word. He frowned, a sigh on his lips. "Kise, it wasn't because of you. It was for you…"

XXX

It was on his way home that Kise finally took out his phone. His eyes widened as he read the note, already pulled up on his screen. He read it again and again until his eyes blurred with tears. Smiling to himself as he swatted at the tears, he nodded.

"Okay," he whispered, "I believe you."