The next evening Kuroko received a voicemail from Akashi. "Sorry I scared you yesterday. There's something I wish to tell you about myself. I'll be at the abandoned shrine today if you want to talk."

"I don't think you should go," Kagami said after Kuroko broached the subject with him. "It'll be dangerous."

"But I need to get my memories back, don't I? I can't do that just sitting here. And besides, the more I know about him, the less dangerous being around him will be, right?"

And that's how they ended up going to the shrine.

"It's dark, so be careful," Kagami warned him when they arrived. The place appeared deserted.

"I wonder if he's even still here…" Truthfully he probably should have called, but he was afraid if he did he'd lose his nerve. He still hadn't quite gotten over yesterday. Kuroko wandered aimlessly around the shrine for a while until he eventually came to an old well. I wonder if this is the same one Akashi spoke about earlier…

"You came." Startled, Kuroko spun around to see Akashi standing behind him. "I thought you might not come after I scared you," the red head went on.

"You…wanted to talk me?" Kuroko asked. Something felt…off. Kuroko wasn't sure exactly what it was, but he kept himself on high alert just in case.

"About that…come over here." Akashi started to guide Kuroko by the shoulders. Kuroko tensed at first, but the touch was light enough that he could probably break past if he tried. He let himself be pushed towards the well.

"Is this the same well you told me about earlier?" Kuroko asked, voicing his earlier question. He took a look down. It was pitch black.

"Yes, it is…you fool." Akashi suddenly flipped Kuroko around and pushed his torso over the rim of the well; he was only prevented from falling in by the fact that Akashi was still half holding onto him. "I even warned you to stay away from me. And yet you so easily fell for this."

"Let Kuroko go!" Kagami yelled and swung his fists for all he was worth, but his attacks simply passed right through.

"No one is coming to save you. I told you this well is dangerous. The more you struggle, the more you'll sink, until you can't even breathe anymore," Akashi told him, pushing him slightly farther forward into the well. Kuroko could only stare into his mismatched eyes. "Do you have any idea what that feels like? I've tasted that fear of death again and again…so it's about time you do as well!"

Kuroko was panicking. Without even breaking eye contact, Akashi had pulled a pair of scissors out of his pocket. Kuroko was sure he was going to die; the only question left was whether or not he'd be stabbed to death before his body was tossed into the well's dark depths. But then something strange happened, as if Akashi's arm had a will of its own. Rather than the scissors being aimed towards Kuroko, they were suddenly plunged downwards into Akashi's other hand that was holding onto Kuroko. Akashi screamed and released his hold on him. With nothing left to hold him up, Kuroko fell backward. He screamed, shut his eyes, and braced himself for the end. But it never came. Instead, he was quickly grabbed by the hand and pulled back onto the grass.

When Kuroko finally dared to open his eyes, he was again greeted with the sight of Akashi. But the cold and cruel look he'd had moments before was replaced with one of panic and worry. Before he had time to fully process this development, Akashi spoke. "Run." Kuroko blinked stupidly, only becoming more confused. "Hurry up and go!" Akashi yelled after Kuroko failed to move. Kuroko pulled himself into a sitting position, but his brain was still too busy trying to process everything for his flight instinct to kick in. It was still dark, they were still by the well, and there was still no sign of anyone else around. The only noticeable difference was Akashi, and the fact that his hand was now bleeding.

"You're injured." Kuroko stated the obvious. Out of reflex perhaps, he tried to get close enough to inspect the injury. But Akashi backed away before Kuroko had even fully stood up. "He might try and do something to you again," Akashi said. "You have to stay away from me."

Who?…Wasn't it YOU!? Kuroko barely had time to process that thought before Kagami interrupted him. "Kuroko, get out of here already!" And presumably Kuroko's thought process finally managed to get to thinking about his wellbeing, because his flight instinct finally kicked in and he took off. Fast. He didn't so much as risk a glance behind him the whole way home.

"I think it's pretty clear by now that the guy has a split personality or something. And one of them obviously wants to kill you," Kagami informed Kuroko the next day after he had calmed down some. "You should avoid him at all costs. You might even want to consider skipping your practices."

"Yeah…" But what about the other Akashi…he looked like he was suffering terribly. He's done nothing but save me…is it really fair to abandon him like this?

As it turned out, skipping practice wasn't necessary. Akashi had chosen to skip instead. "Akashi hasn't been coming in recently," Murasakibara stated after a week or two had passed.

"You just noticed now?" Aomine taunted him.

"I haven't seen him around school either," Kise said. "I wonder if something happened…"

"His family is probably on a trip or something," Midorima replied logically.

"Still though…I hope he wasn't in an accident or anything." Momoi sounded worried.

Kuroko remained silent. It felt like forever before practice finally ended. Kuroko had barely started on his way home when he received a text from Akashi. Avoid the main intersection today. Take the pedestrian bridge. Kuroko finally stopped to notice Akashi's number was actually programmed into his phone in this world. He felt like an idiot for not noticing it sooner.

"ARRRGH! I have no idea if this is a trap or not!" Kagami complained.

"He hasn't lied about this so far. And if we see him, I'll just run," Kuroko said.

And so they took the bridge. But it wasn't too long after they'd crossed it before he received another text. Don't walk under the overpass. It'll be a detour, but you have to avoid it.

As a result, it was almost dark by the time Kuroko got home. At which point, Akashi decided to actually call him. Ignoring Kagami's protest, Kuroko answered the call.

"It's been awhile," Akashi's voice said through the speaker. "Nothing bad has happened, has it?"

"No. But I noticed you've stopped coming to practice recently. Everyone's been worried about you."

"Were you worried?"

Silence.

"I'm being full of myself. Sorry." A pause. "Tomorrow is the 25th. The world will try to kill you with everything it's got. Until the dawn of the 26th, I don't want you to take even one step outside your house."

"…Are you okay?" Kuroko asked. "Where have you been during school anyway?" There was a long period of silence, and Kuroko began to wonder if Akashi had hung up. But after what felt like an eternity, Akashi spoke again.

"The moon is beautiful tonight. Can you see it?"

"Yes…?" Kuroko did have a good view of the sky outside his window, but he didn't really understand where Akashi was going with this question.

Apparently Akashi didn't know either. "This will…probably be the last time I can talk to you like this, so I'll tell you now. I don't want you to die. I want you to overcome death somehow."

"Why does this have to be the last time?" Kuroko asked. Something about Akashi's voice had sounded almost…pleading. Desperate even. Kuroko was becoming increasingly concerned.

"Once I hang up, don't trust me anymore. I've lost count of the number of times I've met and lost you…but I still…I still love you."

"Akashi, wai-" but the line went dead before Kuroko could even finish his sentence. He tried to call back, but it went straight to voicemail. Giving up for the today, Kuroko decided to call it an early night and go to bed.

It poured relentlessly the next day. The wind was practically bending the trees at 90 degree angles. "It sure is some storm," Kagami commented. "There's no guarantee you'll be safe if you stay here, but I'd have to agree with him that it's safer than outside right now," Kagami begrudgingly admitted.

They were both startled when Kuroko's phone alerted them of another text from Akashi. There is only one way to save you. I have to disappear from this world. I'm going to spend my last moments in the school's gym, where I have the most memories of the two of us. Let my wish for you to survive come true.

"A s-suicide note…?" Kuroko didn't want to believe it. He tried calling Akashi again, but it went straight to voicemail. So Kuroko took the only option he had left. He grabbed his coat and bolted in the direction of the school.

"Get back in your house!" Kagami frantically shouted at him as Kuroko ran down the street. "It's dangerous outside, and seeing Akashi is probably even more dangerous!"

"You want me to leave him alone!? What if he kills himself! How am I supposed to live with myself then!?" Kuroko ran past him.

"Wait! Stop!" Kamgai tried shouting for him, but Kuroko kept running. "WATCH OUT!" That finally got Kuroko's attention, and he stooped in his tracks, right in front of a cut and dangerously sparking power line. It probably would have electrocuted him if he'd stepped on it. "Move!" Kagami shouted again. Kuroko looked around wondering what Kagami was warning him about now, and only barley managed to duck in time to prevent a street sign colliding with his face. This really wasn't safe.

"If you're going to be stupid enough to go through with this, at least let me come with you and listen to me when I warn you about something," Kagami told him. "You may not want Akashi to die, but I don't want you to die either."

"Kagami…thank you."

"Just hurry up and get there already," Kagami said, clearly embarrassed. "The last thing we need is for you to die of pneumonia."

After several more near death scenarios, they eventually arrived at the school. Kuroko quickly got himself inside and out of the rain. With that accomplished, he immediately headed for the gym. And as the text had stated, Akashi was there.

"…Why did you come?" the red head asked from the far side of the gym. "I told you over and over again that it was dangerous…"

"I couldn't just sit there after reading your text," Kuroko told him honestly.

"Were you worried about me?"

Kuroko couldn't help but remember his silence that last time Akashi asked him that question, and he felt immensely guilty. "Of course I was worried about you," he said, coming to stand before Akashi.

"I'm happy that you care so much about me," Akashi said at the same time as he pulled out his scissors and aimed them at Kuroko's throat. "How can you be so naive? To think that you'd come here to be killed…"

"Run, run NOW!" Kagami ordered. Kuroko didn't need to be told twice.

"Running won't do you any good," Akashi informed his retreating figure. Kuroko didn't pay him any attention. He got himself back outside where he was faced with another problem. Akashi would expect him to run home and likely head that way first. Kuroko couldn't go back there. The problem was, he didn't really know where else to go. The only two places he could really knew how to get to were school and home. He didn't want to expose any of his other teammates to danger, or lead Akashi near any other people that could become casualties. He needed to go somewhere where there were no people, and somewhere Akashi wouldn't expect him to go. And that's when the idea of the shrine pooped into his head. It was abandoned, and Akashi had almost killed him there, so surely he wouldn't expect Kuroko to go back. Kuroko heard footsteps behind him and quickly took off in the direction of the shrine.

By the time he finally got there, it felt like his lungs were on fire. He quickly opened the shrine's old doors and shut himself inside. Kuroko hid himself as best as possible and struggled desperately to catch his breath. He didn't think he'd been there very long when he heard the doors open again. There seemed to be a light illuminating the place, but Kuroko didn't dare risk a peek. His blood froze when he heard the telltale laugh, and saw the source of the light – a lit torch that had been carelessly tossed on the floor. "In thirty minutes, the 25th will end," Akashi informed him. "How sad." The red head began dragging the sharp end of his scissors across the wall, leaving ugly marks in their wake. "Your life is almost over." Akashi's footsteps were getting dangerously close. "This time, I'll kill you with my own hands." He laughed. The shrine continued to burn.

Author's note: Someone sent me a PM suggesting I enter this story in a fanfiction contest. I just wanted to say thank you, it made me really happy that people think this story is good enough. Wish me luck everybody. The next chapter is going to answer almost every plot question left, so look forward to it. All will be revealed soon!