A/N:
Okay, I know I'm super late and I apologize! To be honest, I wasn't really sure what to write, but I do know how I want to end everything now so hopefully I won't be as late in posting anymore. This chapter isn't that long, but I hope you like it and as always, let me know what you think! Oh, and thank you to all those who have continued to read and support my stories, it really means a lot! :)
The thoughts and images circling in Kuroko's mind began to hurt his brain. He needed to stop overthinking, because there is no way that Akashi's mother, who was supposedly dead, was the woman who had been the star of all the bluenette's past nightmares. Sure, they may have had a few features in common, but that had to be a coincidence, right? A lot of people had fiery red hair, so jumping to conclusions would get him nowhere. Laying his head back against the pillow, Kuroko calmed himself down. There was no need to work himself up anymore than he already was.
Why did he always do this? He was probably just blowing things out of proportion. So what if he had nightmares, he could get over them; there was no reason for him to leave Akashi because of it. The first time he left the red-head – before he even really knew him – Kuroko was basically a shell. Imagine what would happen if he tried to leave now; the bluenette probably wouldn't be able to bear it.
"Haahh…Okay, I'm fine…Maybe I'm just overreacting about everything. I'll see Akashi-kun tomorrow and everything will be fine."
Giving himself a pep-talk, Kuroko almost didn't notice the knock on the door.
…..
Handing his keys to the valet, Akashi Masaomi walked into a hospital for the first time in over ten years. Ever since he had become chief, he hadn't done much ground work himself, let alone go see a victim or something in a hospital. The older red-head had never really liked hospitals, given that his own mother had been in and out due to a heart disease when he was a child. Despite that, here he was, walking into the waiting room and towards the front desk. As Masaomi crossed the threshold, however, there seemed to be a commotion going on at his destination.
There was a group of people angrily discussing something with the nurse behind the desk, who seemed rather frightened. A tall, dark-skinned man was growling something at her as she timidly tried to tell him something. Sighing, Masaomi shook his head. Young people these days just had no respect. Not only were they scaring the poor woman who was just trying to do her job, but they were also disturbing the other patients and people in the waiting room.
Striding over to the group with determination in his step, Masaomi opened his mouth to speak.
"Excuse me, but you are disturbing everyone, not to even mention you're frightening this poor lady." He chided, feeling as if he was scolding a naughty child.
As Masaomi got closer, however, he recognized the group of people standing at the front desk. They just so happened to be his subordinates, as well as the direct subordinates of his son. They seemed to notice him too, as unnerved expressions immediately crossed their faces. An eyebrow slowly raised as he regarded them with disappointment.
"Uh ehh…Akashi-san…W-what are you doing here?" A pinkette stuttered, hesitantly playing with her nails.
Clearing his throat, Masaomi turned the question back on the girl. "I could ask the same of you. Shouldn't you all be working?"
"We're here to see Kurokocchi!" A blonde man blurted out, instantly slapping his hand over his mouth.
"Idiot! Why would you tell him that!" The dark-skinned man hissed, jabbing the other in the side.
Sighing, Masaomi pinched the bridge of his nose. "Then why are you causing a commotion here? Shouldn't you go to his room?"
The three of them all exchanged glances, before the pink-haired woman finally spoke up. "Well, that's the thing. They won't let us see him." She groused, cutting her eyes at the nurse who seemed to be looking anywhere but at them.
"And why is that?" He inquired, glancing behind the desk as well.
Recognizing that as her que, the nurse piped in. "Kuroko-sama is not taking any visitors at the moment."
Now raising both his eyebrows, Masaomi fully faced the woman. "Hmm? And why isn't he taking any visitors?" He was rather curious, so he chose not to present his trump card just yet.
"Uh, uhmm…Because Kuroko-sama requested it himself, sir…" The nurse squeaked out, flinching away when she caught sight of the tanned man's face.
'Hmm…Now that is rather suspicious. Could this be related to Shiori…' Was Masaomi's first thought, but another more pressing one presented itself.
Turning back to his son's subordinates, he was slightly hesitant to ask. "Has Seijuurou come by here lately?"
The question had realization dawning on all of their faces, and the pinkette – Momoi, was it? – spoke up.
"Akashi-kun left work early to come here today, by then he came back to the office a short while later in a rather foul mood." She explained, seeming to understand why exactly he was so pissed.
"I see…"
Walking over to the counter, Masaomi couldn't even open his mouth before the timid nurse began to speak. "I-if you are going to a-ask to see him too, sir, I-I'm going to have to ask you to l-leave." She stuttered over several of her words, but still had a determined look on her face.
Eyeing the woman, the older red-head pulled out his ID and held it out for her to see. A little gasp escaped her lips before she quietly told him Kuroko's room number. As he began to walk away, the three musketeers were right on his tail
"How did you do that?!" The blonde man – Kise? – breathed, obviously rather shocked.
"One of the perks of being chief of police." Was all the wisdom he imparted as he made his way to Kuroko's hospital room.
…..
All the way to the room, the group bickered behind Masaomi. He was starting to understand why Seijuurou always seemed to be in a bad mood, he had some idiots working for him. Rolling his scarlet eyes, his feet faltered in front of the bluenette's door. Always one to promote good manners, he rapped his knuckles on the door three times and waited for an answer. When it didn't come, Masaomi knocked again, but harder this time.
Still no answer.
"Hmm…"
"What is it, Akashi-san?" Momoi asked, tilting her head to the side.
Sparing the girl a fleeting glance, Masaomi announced himself. "It is Akashi Masaomi, I'm coming in."
Opening the door, he stopped in his tracks, causing the others to run into his back. They all shrunk away when he glared at them, giving him some space. Turning his attention back to the room, he walked further inside.
"Kuroko-kun? Are you here?" Masaomi inquired, finding no trace of the bluenette. The sheets were still warm, so he must have left quite recently.
"Momoi-san, would you please ask a nurse if they know where Kuroko-kun is?"
Nodding, the girl rushed from the room to find a nurse.
This was very strange. First, he wouldn't take visitors and now they find that he was missing? What in the world is going on? Unfortunately, Masaomi had quite a strong feeling that this whole event involved his formerly deceased wife…
…..
Gazing out into the setting sun on the horizon, Kuroko breathed in the humid air. It had stopped raining a short while ago, but he could still very much feel the wetness sticking to his skin. It wasn't very pleasant, but the conditions made for a magnificent sight. A double rainbow crowned the setting sun, creating a once in a lifetime sight.
"I wish Akashi-kun could see this…" He mumbled to himself, not paying any mind to the presence behind him.
"Do you like the view, Kuroko-kun?" A feminine voice asked, but the question fell on deaf ears. The bluenette wanted to calm himself before he faced the reason for many of his nightmares.
Taking a few more minutes to enjoy the view, Kuroko steeled himself. He wouldn't get out of this alive if he had a faint heart, and the bluenette was so sick and fucking tired of being the victim. Turning around, he leaned back against the railing, which let out a scream from his weight. As nice of a hospital as this was, perhaps not many people visited the roof and therefore the maintenance was lacking.
His icy eyes pierced the woman before him, her flaming hair whipping in the wind and creating a fiery crown. "To what do I owe the pleasure this time?" Kuroko sighed, slightly furrowing his blue brows. To be honest, something was eerily different from the last time he saw the woman. Before, she was calm and composed and Kuroko had no idea what she was thinking, but now she seemed off. It was in her eyes, those flashy golden eyes. They twitched under an unforeseen pressure, and now the woman seemed jittery. Perhaps she was off her meds, because this time she seemed like a crack addict looking for a fix. It wasn't as if she was acting that way, but Kuroko could somehow feel that her aura had shifted.
"Am I not allowed to visit an old friend of mine as he is recovering in the hospital?" She purred, a single manicured hand flipping some of her locks over her shoulder.
"Hmm…" He hummed, eyes once again glancing out into the distance. "We were friends? Perhaps you have a funny way of showing affection."
The railing once again creaked under his weight as he pushed away from it, approaching the woman. "If you were just visiting a friend in the hospital, then I will be going now."
Kuroko brushed by the woman but didn't even make it three feet before he was yanked back. The force was so great that it sent him flying onto his ass, and the woman was hovering over him, a deadly six-inch knife in one hand. Sucking in a sharp breath, the bluenette managed to keep himself calm and focused on her somewhat deranged eyes.
There was a question that had been eating away at him and was much more pressing than the knife currently held to his throat:
"Are you Akashi-kun's mother?"
…..
It had been about an hour since the group had discovered that Kuroko was missing, but there had still been no sign of him. The nurses had no idea where he was, but figured that he had to be somewhere in the hospital since no one had seen him leave. The overall lack of shock and worry was exceedingly suspicious to Masaomi, and now he was almost 100% certain that his undead wife was up to no good.
"Perhaps we should tell Akashicchi…" Kise suggested, nervously biting his nails.
"Yeah, he's gonna freak when he hears…"
Whipping his head to face them, Masaomi growled deeply. "Absolutely do not call Seijuurou."
His booming voice echoed off the walls and froze Aomine, Kise, and Momoi in their tracks. Shocked faces stared at him, but he didn't care. If Masaomi was right about Shiori being involved with this, then he wanted his son nowhere near this hospital. As a person he felt like he shouldn't keep this issue from Seijuurou, but as a dad he didn't want him to get hurt. The less he knew, the better, but for his son's sake, he would do everything in his power to save Kuroko Tetsuya, and hopefully the soul of his wife too…