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 Twelve: Memento Mori (Remember You Must Die)

"Maybe there's something you're afraid to say, or someone you're afraid to love, or somewhere you're afraid to go." - Harasawa Ryu

XXXXXX

Liam Rivers did indeed arrive at the Midorima Municipal Hospital two days after Akashi had returned to Japan. He arrived at midnight, bringing with him a team of four doctors—three male doctors and one sole female doctor. All of them looked exhausted when they've crossed the doors of the Midorima Municipal Hospital, but looked determined to save the life of the young man whose very life is dependant on the success of the treatment.

Dr. Midorima Shuji was waiting for them in the meeting room that the doctors of the hospital always uses to discuss about pre and post operation procedures, along with Kuroko Takaya and Harasawa Katsunori—both whom Dr. Midorima had later told the team of five doctors was the father of the patient as well as his godfather.

Thankfully, all five doctors could speak Japanese rather fluently, though with a rather strong accent. They have spent hours in the meeting room, going through report after report as well as bringing up a rather detailed diagram of Kuroko Tetsuya's latest X-ray scans.

Liam Rivers was rather concerned about Kuroko's current fragile state however, as he is just so weak now that he could barely sit up on his own without help. His illness is clearly wearing him out, with the last severe attack that he had just a few days ago doing more damage to his already weak system.

"I'm more concerned with how his lungs looks." The only female doctor amongst their midst spoke up with a frown, studying the medical reports as well as the X-ray diagram. "It looks as if it is about to collapse at any moment now, with the lack of white blood and red blood cells. I'm surprised that he is still alive actually, to be blunt."

"Well, we've put him on life support for now, even though he isn't actually in a coma." Dr. Midorima told them wearily. True, Kuroko isn't in a coma, but his current state isn't any different from being in one, as he is just so weak now that he spends most of his time sleeping or being in a half asleep state.

One of the male doctors whom Liam Rivers had introduced earlier as his partner in the Cell Project X project frowned as he looked closely at the X-rays and the medical reports. "Liam, I don't know if this is going to work," he said wearily. "The patient is simply too weak now. I don't even know if he can make it through the operation without his lungs collapsing on us halfway."

"Besides, his lungs are too damaged." Another doctor added. "Cloning isn't going to work here. Unless we use the poison that we found in the tails of those dolphins, but I don't know how we're going to use it to treat the patient."

Kuroko Takaya felt as if his lungs are going to give way the more that he listen to the doctors around him talk. It had taken a lot to let Dr. Midorima Shuji to allow them to sit in on this meeting, and now, Kuroko Takaya could understand why. The green haired doctor probably didn't want them to listen to this, as it is going to be hard for the patient's family to hear.

"No, we're not going to clone the lungs." Liam shook his head even as he studied the X-ray diagrams closely, particularly the ones of the lungs. "Even with the X-rays that Akashi-kun had given to me some weeks ago, I can already tell that his lungs are collapsing at an alarming rate. And now, with the state that his lungs are in, I'm afraid that we can't clone healthy ones from the remaining tissue left." He glanced at his team. "Rather, we're going to remove the unhealthy tissue and clone healthy tissue for the lungs to be able to continue functioning. From there, we will then need to recreate more red blood and white blood cells for the lungs to recover slowly on it's own. That's the only route available to us, I'm afraid."

There was silence for a long time. Most of the medical terms completely flew over Kuroko Takaya's head, but what he could comprehend is that the doctors are going to go a route where they're going to remove any unhealthy tissue in the lungs that they could find, and clone the healthy tissue from there.

"Is it safe?" Harasawa Katsunori asked at last after a long silence. "I mean, I'm no doctor, but even I know that removing the tissue in the lungs is an extremely risky endeavour."

"Every operation has some risk to it." Dr. Midorima answered, unsure of how he's going to phrase it in a gentle manner. He exchanged glances with Liam Rivers who nodded. "I'll be blunt here. Most of the tissues present in Tetsuya-kun's lungs are unhealthy tissue, or even dead tissue. The reason why he had been getting frequent attacks of late, or even being unable to breathe is because of the unhealthy tissue. Lungs need soft tissue to function, or it'll collapse. Needless to say, this operation is pretty risky."

"What are the chances of success?" Takaya asked at last. "How sure are you that this operation will succeed?"

The doctors in the room exchanged looks with each other. "That's just it." Liam Rivers turned towards Takaya. "No one has ever gone through this operation before, as we've been working on it for years. We are not sure if it will succeed, and if your son will survive, as he is just so weak now. But as it is, it is the only option left. It has a 50/50 chance of success. If it succeeds, your son will be able to live a healthy life. But if it fails, he will die." Liam looked apologetic. "The choice is yours to make, Mr. Kuroko."

Takaya looked extremely pale, and looked as if he is about to pass out. It is almost like his son's life is resting in his own hands. If he agrees to this operation, and on the off chance should it fail, his son will be taken away from him just like that. And if he refuses to let his son go through with the operation, he might at least still get a few more months with his son, but he will still die in the end.

Takaya clenched his hands into fists on his knees. "Can…you let me think about this?" he asked at last.

XXXXXX

Aida Riko and Hyuuga Junpei were both extremely surprised when they saw Ogiwara Shigehiro in their school's office a few days after Kuroko had collapsed. After the last severe attack that the teal haired boy had, Ryu and Shigehiro have barely left his side, only leaving for toilet breaks, and to eat.

"What are you doing here, Ogiwara?" Hyuuga asked, surprised, even as Riko handed the budget reports of the basketball club to the official for their yearly club budget. "Is Kuroko all right?" He is concerned.

"Well, he had mainly been sleeping all day. Ryu's with him now." Shigehiro said with a weak smile. "But Tetsu had been growing weaker and weaker by the day." He sighed, looking really tired. "It's probably only a matter of time…" He muttered.

Hyuuga and Riko didn't know what to say to that. Hell, what could they say anyway? There is nothing that they could say to that.

"Ogiwara-kun?" One of the school's officials whom Riko knew as one who handled the papers for new students, transfer students and even the graduating students approached Ogiwara from behind the counter just then. "It is done. You will be attending next month once we've received your transcripts from your old school."

"Yes. Thank you." Shigehiro nodded politely as he took the folder that the lady gave him.

"Transcripts?" Riko echoed. "What's that about?"

"Well…" Shigehiro smiled a small smile as he held up the folder that he is holding, with the words on the first page that both Hyuuga and Riko saw being 'Transference to Seirin High'. Hyuuga and Riko's eyes were as wide as saucers as they understood the implications of Shigehiro's actions. "I'm fulfilling a promise."

"…Let's play basketball again one day. We'll meet again, Tetsu."

"…Yeah. I'm waiting."


"I see…" Shigehiro murmured as he listened to what Ryu had to tell him. The Touou student had just filled Shigehiro in on everything that his father and Takaya have told him about the operation, including the risks. "Does Tetsu know about this?"

Ryu nodded. "He was awake for a few hours earlier while you were out at Seirin," he told Shigehiro. "Dr. Midorima told him then. But he fell back asleep after that." He sighed, rubbing his temples. "Takaya-san is frantic. He doesn't know if he should give permission for the operation to take place or not."

"In the end, it is Tetsu's decision, is it not?" Shigehiro sighed, and Ryu nodded. "What about you? What do you think?"

"I—" Ryu paused in mid sentence before he fell silent for several moments. "Maybe there's something you're afraid to say, or someone you're afraid to love, or somewhere you're afraid to go. It's gonna hurt. It's gonna hurt because it matters." He murmured. He then looked at Shigehiro. "I can understand where Takaya-san is coming from. But I think that in the end, this has to be Tetsu's decision."

"Yeah, I think so too." Shigehiro sighed.

The door to the hospital room swung opened once more, and Kuroko Takaya entered, looking really exhausted, and looking as if he is about to collapse at any moment now. "How is Tetsu?" he asked the two boys who looked as exhausted as he feels.

"He's—" Ryu is about to answer when there were the sounds of harsh coughing, and as one, the three of them turned towards the only occupant lying on the bed.

Compared to the first day when Tetsu was first brought into the hospital, he looks worst now. He is just so pale, with several tubes running in and out of his body, with even a tube attached to his mouth to help him to breathe. There were even several machines next to his bedside that Ryu couldn't for the life of him make out.

"Tetsu…" Takaya tried to force a smile as he sat down next to his precious son, running his fingers through the silky blue hair so much like his own. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired…" Tetsu managed to croak with chapped lips that spoke of a lack of water. "And sore."

Takaya laughed. "Well, you've been taking a lot of medication. That is why."

"Dad?" Takaya made a noise in his throat to show that he's listening. "Dr. Midorima told me about it."

Takaya glanced at Shigehiro and Ryu over his shoulder with an enquiring look in his eyes, and both boys nodded silently. The older man sighed. He was hoping to be the one to tell his son, but if he had to be honest with himself, he knew perfectly well that he wouldn't be the best person to tell his son about the operation. At the very least, in Dr. Midorima's case, he will lie out all of Tetsu's options for him on the table, and tell him the risks that came with it.

"I don't want you to worry about it right now." Takaya told Tetsu firmly, taking his son's small hand into his own. He barely restrained a cringe as he felt how cold Tetsu's hand is. He couldn't help but compare it to his late wife's when she had been in the hospital, and her life had slowly slipped away from her as she slipped in and out of unconsciousness. "You just focus on getting better."

"Dad…" Tetsu stared at Takaya with his large blue eyes. "Dr. Midorima told me everything." He coughed. It is almost like even talking is taking a lot out of him. "The operation… The risks…" Takaya closed his eyes. He knows his son, and he knew what the next words out of his son's mouth are going to be. "…Dad… I want to take the operation."

Silence.

"…I can't lose you too, Tetsu." Takaya admitted at last, letting a few tears leak out of his eyes. How long had he been keeping that fear bottled up in him ever since his son was hospitalised once more? "Losing your mother had been bad enough, but you were there. You helped kept me sane. I… I can't take risks with your life, Tetsu."

"Dad… We both know…that I don't have much time left…" Tetsu wheezed. Ryu felt almost exhausted as he listened to Tetsu, knowing that he doesn't have much energy. These days, on the few occasions whenever Tetsu is awake, Ryu is usually the one doing the talking. Often, he didn't even realise that Tetsu had already fallen back to sleep whilst he was talking until he had looked at his friend. "I will…rather take a chance…and leave it up to fate…then wait until it is…too late…"

"Tetsu… Don't do this to me, please." Takaya pleaded.

"I…don't want to die…" Tetsu admitted, and Takaya's eyes widened a slight fraction. "I…don't want…to die… I'm…afraid. But if there is even a small chance…I want to take it. I want to be able to play basketball again. I…want to go to school again… I want you to be able to watch my matches again. I…"

Takaya closed his eyes. "I understand," he said, tightening his grip on his son's hand, but not so much that it will hurt him. "You don't have to say anything more." He looked at his son with a pained look in his eyes. "I'll sign the consent forms for the operation. So don't say anything more. You at least have to get a little stronger if you want to go through with the operation." He looked at the two boys over his shoulder and nodded to them, releasing his hold on his son's hand and leaving the hospital room.

The teal haired man could still hear the conversation between the three boys even as he left the room. "Someone's looking better today." Ryu teased even as he sat down in the chair that Takaya had vacated, and Shigehiro sat at the foot of the hospital bed. "And guess what, Tetsu?"

"…What?"

"Ryu." Shigehiro interrupted his friend, before turning towards the small boy. "It's nothing, Tetsu. I'll tell you about it once your operation is over. It is good news, so don't worry about it. It gives you incentive to make it through it all right." He said with fake cheerfulness, trying to smile despite his worry and dread, with several bad scenarios already running through his head.

The hospital room door closed shut behind Takaya, thus drowning out the voices of the three boys. The teal haired man shut his eyes briefly, feeling the tears running down his face, even as he leaned his back against the closed door.

"Mayumi…" Takaya murmured. He had never wanted his wife to be by his side as much as this instant. "Watch over Tetsuya…" He muttered.

XXXXXX

The news spread extremely quickly around all of Tetsu's friends. Seirin were there within hours upon receiving Shigehiro's phone call. And so are the Generation of Miracles after Ryu had texted Momoi. Thankfully for them, Ryu and Shigehiro are simply too tired to even care that they are there, and merely ignored their presences.

Dr. Midorima had forego the rule of 'three visitors only', as Liam Rivers had told him that it is important to keep Tetsu's mood up as much as possible, and having his friends come and visit him would only keep him happy.

The team of five doctors have been working on the best way to go about the operation ever since Takaya had signed the consent forms for the operation. Without a doubt, this operation is going to take a long time, and it isn't going to be an easy operation, but all of them were determined to see this through without a hitch.

Liam Rivers and the four doctors that he had brought with him to Japan have been to talk to Kuroko Tetsuya, and all of them have taken an instant liking to the young man, particularly the only female doctor amongst their midst. They were all determined to make this operation a success if it is the last thing that they did.

"So it's tomorrow." Kagami Taiga said awkwardly that evening as all of Seirin were currently assembled in Kuroko's hospital room, all of them having just came from basketball practice. Ryu and Shigehiro aren't around, as Riko had sent them off to the hospital's cafeteria to get some food, with the brunette not liking just how thin and pale that they both look. "The operation."

Kuroko nodded with a small smile, having managed to sit up with the support of three pillows at his back with some help. He still looks pale with dark circles beneath his eyes, but admittedly, he still look a lot better than a few days before.

"How is the team? Ryu wouldn't tell me anything." Kuroko frowned slightly. Did Seirin lose their match? It should be the Winter Cup now, right?

"Well, he didn't want to stress you out too much or anything." Riko smiled at her player. "We made it into the championship league of the Winter Cup a few weeks ago. We finally managed to beat Senshinkan at that time." She said proudly. "And after that, we faced Shutoku."

"Of course, we won." Kagami said with a grin, still remembering how that game had gone. Honestly, for a moment there, he thought that they would lose. Shutoku sure lives up to their name as one of the three kings. "It isn't easy however." He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Midorima sure gave me a lot of trouble. And that Takao is a handful to handle. I don't know how you do it." He grumbled.

"Well, I did the best that I could to assist Kagami and the team, but I'm not as skilled at support play like you." Izuki admitted. "I don't know how you do it, honestly, Kuroko. We faced Kirisaki Dai Ichi after our match against Shutoku."

"Kirisaki…" Kuroko murmured, having heard rumours of this team, and what Shigehiro had mentioned in passing. "That team…"

If Kuroko isn't mistaken, he is pretty sure that that is the team that is being led by one of the Uncrowned Generals, Hanamiya Makoto. Ryu seemed to have some grudge against him ever since their middle school days. From what he knew, Hanamiya had injured the team captain of Ryu's middle school team during their second year, thus forcing his captain to retire from the team early due to injuries.

"I still say that you should have let me punched him." Kagami grumbled. "Thanks to him, Kiyoshi-sempai had to stay at home on doctor's orders for a week!"

"Well, we're in the Winter Cup for real now." Hyuuga sighed, ignoring Kagami. "We're up against Touou next." A grim smile curled at the ends of his lips. "The match is going to be tomorrow, so we won't be able to be here."

"It's fine."

"We promise you, Kuroko, we will win!" Furihata said cheerfully. "That's why… You will be fine too."

Kagami nodded with determination, his eyes looking extremely glassy. "When you wake up and open your eyes, it is for us to tell you that we've beaten Touou and Aomine," he promised. "I'll beat him for you. That's why… You can't give up too. All of us are waiting for you to come back to us. So hurry up and get better. Then we can play basketball again."

Kuroko smiled before meeting Kagami's fist bump with his own. "…Yeah."

XXXXXX

"I'm going in soon." Kuroko told Kagami via his phone. "I can't be there. That's why I have to leave it up to you and Seirin to beat Aomine-kun for me."

"Leave it to us." Kagami promised. "We're going to win this one for sure. That's why you have to do your best too, and come back to us."

"…Yeah."

"Kuroko-kun?" A nurse entered just then with a tray containing several needles and vials, with Dr. Midorima close behind her. "It's about time."

"Okay." Kuroko nodded before turning back to his phone conversation. "Kagami-kun, I have to go."

"Okay. We'll see you again soon in a few hours." Kagami promised. Click.

"It's going to be fine." Dr. Midorima smiled at the small teen, with the nurse helping Kuroko into the patient surgical scrubs. The small teen wished that he could have a drink or something, as his lips felt really dry. But due to his operation taking place today, Dr. Midorima had told him rather specifically that he mustn't drink or eat anything for at least twelve hours before the operation. "You're going to be fine. So don't worry too much. We'll all do our best."

Kuroko nodded even as the nurse dabbed his arm with a swab of cotton before pricking him with the needle for some anaesthetic to keep him asleep during the operation.

"…I know. I'm ready."


Shigehiro, Ryu and even Takaya were seated in the waiting area outside the operating theatre when Dr. Midorima appeared in the hallway, with the gurney that Kuroko was lying on being pushed by two of the nurses that would be assisting them in the operation that day.

"Tetsu…" Ryu approached Tetsu, taking Tetsu's hand into his own. The worried lines on Ryu's face gave away just how worried that he is. "It's going to be fine. You're going to be all right, you hear me?" Ryu sounded almost as if he is trying to convince himself more than Tetsu.

"Yeah." Tetsu nodded, the anaesthetic slowly kicking into his system. "Dad?"

"I'm here." Takaya approached him. "I'll be right outside. So… So just do your best, Tetsu." He forced a smile. "You're going to be just fine. You're going to be all right."

Tetsu nodded slowly even as the nurses started wheeling the gurney again, pushing him through the doors of the operating theatre. Dr. Midorima followed them in, with the double doors slamming shut behind him. A second later, the red lights that read 'Operation' was turned on above the doors.

The three left in the waiting room then settled down into the chairs for a long wait. Ryu muttered a small prayer beneath his breath before pulling a portable radio out of his pocket, tuning it into the radio channel currently covering the coverage of the basketball match taking place between Touou and Seirin that day.

"What's that?" Shigehiro asked him curiously.

"The match between Touou and Seirin today." Ryu told him. "I promised Tetsu that I'd listen in for him. I'll do his part for cheering for Seirin."

Shigehiro laughed. "A bit funny to hear that from you, seeing as how you're from Touou, and the basketball team's trainer furthermore," he smiled, taking one of the earphones that Ryu had offered him wordlessly, plugging it into his ear whilst Ryu took the other.

Three seats down from the two teens, Takaya stared at the photo of his wife in his wallet, muttering a small prayer beneath his breath. 'Mayumi… Please… Please watch over Tetsu,' he thought.


A/N: And so the operation begins, and along with it, the Touou versus Seirin match! Without Kuroko, what will happen to the match? Will the operation succeed or not? For those that hadn't checked out 'Nighthunters', do you mind checking it out and telling me what you think? And it'll be deeply appreciated if you can give me a better idea for a better title.

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