I heard a door close and held my brother's hand even tighter.

"Are you alright, Tetsuya?"

I shivered when cool air hit the side of my face, belatedly realizing it was an indoor fan and not a ghost. "I-I'm fine Sei-kun."

"It's funny how you're still scared of the dark when you call yourself phantom." I hummed in reply, not really attentive. Sei giggled, pulling us along another turn into another dark hallway. I held onto him tighter.

"Right now, I just feel like the protagonist of a horror movie." I deadpanned, my eyes scanning if there were any trouble waiting for us. One can't be too careful when dealing with scary stuff. Those people in the movies were too naïve and dumb. "Are we almost there?"

"Ah, my mistake." I blinked owlishly at my twin. "I think I read the map wrong earlier and got us lost in the middle of the halls."

My eyes widen in shock. I could only form incoherent sentences when I began shaking. This wasn't a good sign. They'll take us. We're gonna die!

Sei wrapped me in a hug. "Tetsuya, we're fine. Calm down. It's just a miscalculation but we will be out of here in no time. Seriously, we're not gonna die, no one's going to take you away from me. I won't allow it! We'll get out of here."

I could only do so much as nod, my throat feeling too hoarse to say anything. Looking up after a minute, I froze. I gripped Sei even tighter.

He probably felt me tightening my hold, because he spun around and decided to check what caught my eyes.

Behind us stood a figure with long hair and slumped body crossing the halls slowly. I couldn't see the face due to the distance but my instincts told me it wasn't good. Sei understood the situation since he tugged at my hand, but when I turned to him he was more frozen than I was.

Not good.

To have my twin unnerved at a time like this scared me very much so. Seijuro, the brave and confident Sei being shaken by that... creature didn't do good to my morale. It was only a split second, but the moment the monster turned to us, Sei snapped out of his trance. He pulled us both along to another hallway when the monster began chasing us.

After a couple more turns, my legs felt numb. I can't run anymore, all my stamina was used up in the match! But as I heard the footsteps approaching louder, I decided to reel the pain in. I won't let Sei be taken too because of my dumb stamina.

This is worse than getting abducted!

Sei helped me up, noticing my declining stamina. "Do you want me to carry you?" He asked when we restarted running at a faster pace since the monster thing got a head start.

"No! It will slow us down further and I don't want anything to happen to you too if I were to be taken away." I replied, catching up to him.

Sei nodded but kept a firm hold on my hand incase I fall even more behind. I looked behind us, the monster only a few meters away. I huffed, speeding up as well.

We didn't stop running until we saw the end of the hall... the common room! That would mean the exit to the building was near. Soon enough we'll be able to escape from this dreaded creature still on our tail, despite the long while it took us to run from inside.

Suddenly, we were stopped by an obstacle. Or more accurately, Sei-kun bumped into something- someone and took me down with him. Looking up, I was greeted by a mop of green hair.

"Shin-kun!" Before I can say anything more, I heard the footsteps again and froze. "Sh-Shintarou-kun..." I gasped out since the footsteps stopped. Sei was just composing himself beside me, but I could tell he was scared too. "Shintarou," he nodded in acknowledgement but that was all he could utter before he stopped himself.

The thing behind us heaved in a breath.

Neither of us dared to look behind us. Shin-kun looked up, and his eyes widened, confirming both of our suspicions.

"What..."

Our breaths were held for a moment while Shin-kun tried to finish his sentence. He wasn't running though, maybe he was frozen in fear too?

In any case, all I was chanting in my head was Please don't take Sei-kun, please let us live, please be a nice ghost...

"What happened to you nanodayo?" Both of us blinked, turning around in sync.

Before us stood another middle school kid trying to catch his breath, a mop literally stuck on his head as if it was his hair. He wore a baggy shirt, all soaked in probably cleaning stuff- that was why he stinks. He was panting hard, short of breath with trying to catch up to us running.

"You- you were the monster? So- you weren't a monster?" I asked in genuine confusion. I heard Shin-kun sigh, pushing up his glasses.

To our surprise, the boy in front of us laughed, a sound that echoed through the hall. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to chase you! I just happened to get lost after, uh, hearing things from one of the locker rooms." He calmed down after a beat, his face suddenly turning red at the sight of our uniforms.

I tilted my head in confusion but decided against questioning him when I felt Sei tug at my hand. Ah, our hands are still linked.

"In any case, we should get out of here," Shin-kun stated, not batting an eyelash at the sight of us.

The boy mumbled something at the side, offering his hand for me to shake. It looks like he's ignoring Shin-kun completely, which made an irk mark appear on our friend's head. Sei also stared at the hand offered to me, thought he was better at hiding his irritation.

I contemplated shaking the outstretched hand anyway, not without eyeing it warily because of the water dripping from it. Sei gave me a look but I didn't understand what he wanted to tell me with his eyes so I didn't pay him any mind. "A-ano, I'm Akashi Tetsuya?"

"Ora, ora. No need to be nervous..." he let out another laugh and I wondered for a moment how it feels like to be as carefree as he was. "Tet-chan!"

Before I knew it, I was behind Sei, with him shaking the hand that took mine instead. I heard Shin-kun mutter something about crazy red head idiots, still gawking at the sight before me. "Akashi Seijuro. Pleased to meet you." I wouldn't call his expression pleased though.

The boy looked a bit shocked. "Takao Kuzunari. Same here-" He took his hand back quickly, hesitating before he smiled back at me.

"Ne, Tet-chan." I felt weight on my shoulders as Takao-kun pulled me away from Sei, effectively breaking our connection. He whispered to me, "I don't know how you survive, but your boys are scary."

I blinked, looking to the front where he was gesturing to to see Shin-kun already near the exit. He stood there waiting, as if he didn't want to take any part in the introduction. I wonder if they knew each other? Taking a glance behind me, there was Sei, following us quietly with a glare.

"Yes. They're a handful." Takao-kun scoffed beside me, taking the liberty of exiting with me first when we got there. Shin-kun held the door open for us. "Most of the time."

"Yo Tetsu," Aomine-kun said through the receiver. I heard some shuffling on the other side of the line, topping off the fact that his voice sounded tired, leading me to a conclusion that he just woke up. "What's up? For you to suddenly call at this time..."

"Hello, Aomine-kun. I..." I hesitated, concentrating on my breathing for a bit. It was quiet for a while. "I just... can't sleep. Stuff on my mind."

"Hah? You, calling me at the dead of the night just to say you can't sleep?" A pause, and I heard him 'pfft'ing under his breath. "You're so..." there was something else that he said but I didn't quite catch it with how low he was speaking. "Anyways, why don't you bother your evil twin instead?"

At the mention of my brother, a faint blush decorated my cheeks as I recalled the events that happened the other day. "That won't do, Aomine-kun. Sei-kun took it upon himself to separate himself from me incase..." I trailed off, not wanting to give anymore detail but also partly because it was embarrassing enough that one person from their team knows, more so if everyone else knew. "He is sleeping in another room for the time being."

I expected Aomine-kun to laugh or say some sort of joke or even just say something about the current situation, but none came. I stared at the ceiling for a while, the phone clutched tightly in my hand. I failed to notice the lack of snoring on his end, thinking he had fallen asleep. That was why I jumped on my bed when he started talking to me again.

"Hey Tetsu..."

"Hai?"

"Do you... are you-?" I heard him take a deep breath, making me hold my breath in the process. I felt some sort of tension, even as I am far away from the tanned teen. "...do you think Midorima ever did it?"

I laid there in shock, blinking while thinking whether I had an idiot for a best friend or to feel grossed out by whatever is running Aomine-kun's mind on a daily basis. "Ahomine-kun... is a pervert," was all I could say.

I could hear some incoherent yelling from his end. Covering my face with my hands as a blush crept towards my face, I shifted to my left, the phone on the pillow closest to my ear. I wouldn't risk my poor eardrums in exchange for the tan aho's voice.

"Okay, but listen! Akashi, I would say he did but..." As if talking about my brother doing teenage stuff made things better, the aho continued, making it even more awkward for me to continue the conversation. I considered hanging up right then and there and try to get as much sleep done as I can. Then there was a pause. "Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to talk about this, uh, stuff. Yeah."

"I-it's fine, Aomine-kun." I said with a small voice. "I like... listening to you talk."

"...Tetsu." He said finally, "say, what if we drift apart before high school?"

I didn't know how to respond to that either. Aomine-kun is my best friend; he's my light, the one who encouraged me to continue playing basketball up until I got into the team. He's the one I feel comfortable being around with if my twin wasn't there. He's the one I go home with on a daily basis, the one who protects me and makes me laugh in the absence of Sei. The thought of drifting away from him never really crossed my mind. "I never really thought about it," I answered him honestly. "I thought about going to the same school as you, you know. I am your shadow after all, and we work better together." I paused, "But... I've also thought about following Sei-kun. Both of you seemed to be leaning towards different high schools. If I had to choose, I'm not sure which one I favored more."

"I get it." He told me after a beat, "He's your brother so of course, you'd follow him, though."

"That is true. I would follow a genius like him in a heartbeat instead of a basukebaka, in any case." I heard a noise on the other end, something like a whine from Aomine-kun.

"Hey, you get along better with me! I'm the obvious choice." He tried, efforts futile. Both of us knew how much importance I put for Aomine-kun. How much it weighed for both him and my brother though, I still wasn't sure. "I would seriously hate to lose you though. You're my best friend, Tetsu. Nothing will change that."

My eyes fluttered shut on it's own accord. That night, all the previous doubts running in my head as of late were replaced by the light feeling his words brought to my heart; I found myself falling asleep to the ace's voice.

"Tetsuyacchi!" The voice yelled, annoying me as I tried to sleep more. Remembering it was the weekend, I ignored the voice in hopes that it would go away, along with the annoying sunlight. I turned to my other side.

"Tetsu-chin," Another voice chimed in; it was someone from my left, shaking me gently to wake me up. I heard a sigh, forcing my eyes close so the intruders would think I'm still in dream land. It works when animals play dead, there's no reason it won't work with the glorious combination of humans and sleep. Something caught my attention though. The next thing the purple haired giant-kun said made me more aware of my surrounding: "Tetsu-chin, I have a jumbo size vanilla milkshake. If you don't want it, I could always just finish it..."

Gasping in almost betrayal, I sat up as fast as a lightning, the milkshake in my hands as soon as I straightened on my bed. "No! My milkshake. My precious." I hugged the milkshake tightly while sipping on it, forgetting I just woke up. The bitter taste in my mouth despite the taste of the milkshake shook me out of my sleepy haze, forcing me to wake up and beeline for the bathroom to start my morning.

Unsurprisingly, the other Kiseki, along with Shougo-kun made themselves at home inside my room while waiting for me to finish my morning duties. "Who even let you all in anyway?"

"The guy with the silver hair let us in after we said we're Akashicchi's teammates." The blonde laughed, seeming proud of himself before his wide grin turned into a scowl, a look of irritation not suited for his face. "It took us an hour to convince him though. He even called me a stalker!"

"He was only telling the truth nanodayo." Shin-kun interrupted, pushing his glasses up make him look more dubious by the way it glinted under the lights. "I don't even wanna start with your gallery..." the megane paused, a look of fear flashing in his features like he just remembered something pertaining to the gallery they were just stalking about. Kise-kun did nothing but whine about his loss of the now deleted pictures, clinging onto Aomine-kun who was reading one of Sei's basketball magazines in silence, not bothering to pay attention to the blonde. It was a rare sight, him being quiet for once since we met on the court.

I shivered as cold air hit me, suspecting that whatever was inside that gallery had something to do with me. However, I was not curious enough to ask.

And so, I continued to sip on my milkshake, silently observing my team hanging inside our room. I'm supposed to be enjoying my day off by lazing around in bed, preferably with my twin; I was still confused on why they were all gathered here on a Saturday when there were no practices to be held during the weekends and there was no reason for us to gather like this.

"Did you forget already, Tetsu-chin?" Murasaki-kun asked from where he was perched upon, the sound of his chip bag crinkling every time he took a chip being the loudest one that echoes in the room. "We told you yesterday... but I don't think you heard. Saa- It's the Teiko regulars tradition. It's such a pain, but it's okay because Aka-chin will treat us to a fancy restaurant after."

"Geez, Murasakibara. Is food all that you think of?" Aomine-kun grumbled from his spot, finally snapping out of his zombie state. "And yeah, we always do this at the first weekend of every month. Better get used to it, Tetsu."

I stared at them, waiting for them to elaborate. Sei never mentioned any sort of tradition, but I guess it would make sense that I never noticed, I was too busy training my heart out in the third string gym that I end up dead beat in the comforts of our bed on a regular weekend. Neither the schedules of last year nor the holidays our family went to had aligned with these kinds of weekends, leading me to the conclusion that I had no reason to actually acknowledge it. I breathe in, letting the pieces in my head click. My world is finally colliding with Sei-kun once again, and just now do I notice it.

My head snapped back up, catching the last few words Aomine-kun grumbles. "...I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

His eye squints at me; he opened his mouth to do as I said but decided against it, muttering something about me not paying attention once again. I turned to Shin-kun who sat in the corner bean bag in silence. "Alright, Tetsuya, listen. The Teiko regulars have been winning back to back games, but coach, as well as Momoi thinks that that alone isn't enough to keep our winning streak nanodayo. That is why they encouraged us to come watch the matches going on all around town, whether street ball or an actual tourney, sometimes even high school matches. Anything that would give us enough material to work with. After then, they'll give us free passes to wherever we wanted to go if we continue to show the results of what we've been doing nanodayo."

"The last time, we went to a place full of roller coasters and scary rides!" Kise-kun squealed beside me. I was late in noticing he left my light's side.

"It's called a theme park Kise." Aomine-kun interrupted, picking his ears like he was born to do it. He was met with 'I know Aominecchi!' before 'shut up, you ganguro!' which led to them fighting... again. Shougo-kun looked like he wanted to join in from the sidelines but decided against it, opting to steal the basketball magazines that was once in Aomine-kuns possession, now long forgotten.

"Mm~ Aka-chin always buys us snacks." Murasaki-kun commented again, offering me a vanilla candy.

"More like you whine about your loss to the point that even Akashicchi gets annoyed and complies, Murasakibaracchi!"

Ignoring Kise-kun since he was still in the heated argument with Aomine-kun, I put a hold on sipping my milk shake, accepting the candy with ease as Murasaki-kun fed me. He asked me if it was good, I replied with a nod, smiling softly before I finished my shake. Shin-kun's glasses glinted once again.

I turned to the green haired teen to ask him if anything was wrong when he held something out, his face turning into a tomato when he looked away. I blinked as a yellow bird keychain with a heart in the middle met my eyes. "This is..."

"Your lucky item for today nanodayo. Apparently, Aquarius has the worse luck according to Oha-asa, so keep that with you at all times." I nodded when he dropped the item in my hand, only to stare at in in confusion when it multiplied to two little birds. Deciding not to question it since it probably had something to do with luck, I looked up at him, "Thank you very much, Shin-kun. I will take care of it."

"B-baka, don't thank me nanodayo." He pushed his glasses up, "I just don't want you or Sei to die on us before nationals." My eyes widened by a fracture, finally understanding why there were two little birds. I took another glance at Shin-kun, observing his expression.

Ah, so he was intimidated.

I shook my head in light amusement; never once would it register to me why people found my brother scary. Especially with Shin-kun. Besides his weird obsession with scissors, he was more of a softy than half of the people occupying this room, including myself. I pocketed the items momentarily. No, with Shin-kun, it was more of his being a tsundere than intimidation, but he masked it well with my brother.

Speaking of that red head pervert...

"So..." someone said, probably Shougo-kun since he was the only one who has been quiet in this entire ordeal. "Tetsuya, since you're up and about already, you won't mind waking up your beloved brother, would you?"

Everyone tensed, but no one came to my save to ease me of the task at hand. I blinked, my face going back to it's blank state. "You all took the liberty of waking me up first, knowing that Sei-kun would be the least mad if it was me..." Mocking them with a fake betrayed expression, I got up slowly, taking off to the other room which held the beast that everyone in our team was intimidated with.

Once I got out of the door was when I sped up, minding the schedule they had planned for today. Today was going to be a long day, that was for sure so we'll need all the time we could get.

Reaching Sei's room, which was a few rooms away from mine, I knocked once out of habit even when my brother insisted I intrude him whenever I please.

I was greeted by the sight of my twin brother sitting in front of the Shogi board with one leg up near the windowsill. There was a different aura to him, calm and serene but commanding and graceful at the same time. It made me wonder for a minute why he hadn't bothered attending to the commotion caused by our friends, but that thought flew out of the window when my twin caught my wrist and pulled me towards himself, rubbing his nose on my neck. I pouted childishly, tugging at his hair lightly.

"Sei-kun, that tickles. Please stop it."

"Mm, don't wanna." He looked up, showing me the golden hue of his left eye. I gasped, momentarily frozen by the sight. I regained my composure a minute after, and there was a strange feeling in my gut- a connection, of sorts that made me feel uneasy. A good kind of uneasy, my subconsciousness provided.

"...missed you, Tetsuya."

"N-nii-san... I missed you too, but we can't keep them waiting for long." I told him, referring to the rainbow group of miraculous idiots. Deep down, I knew I made an excuse because I wasn't ready to face him yet. He let out a chuckle, kissing my lips before he let me go, turning back to his game. He took my hand in his, however, giving me no option but to stay. "Of course, of course. Let me finish my game, and we'll get back to them."

"Are you going to stay like this?" I asked, deciding it's best not to cut to the chase.

"We both know he has limits, and he can't suppress me forever. However, today is not the day." He picked up a piece and set it down, before he turned to me while flashing a gentle smile. "Yet." I stood there, still a little shaken, but I didn't once move.

The connection was strong, and we both saw when it sparked a mysterious light.

I blinked, taking a glance at the shogi board.

It was the last piece.

Turning back to Sei, I saw him blink once, twice, his left eye squinting until both of his red orbs were staring back at me. I took a shaky breath, leaning down to kiss him before turning away to exit the room. I felt him follow not too far behind me.

OMAKE ii:

Takao Kuzunari strolled casually through the hallways trying to pass time. They had just finished a match on the fourth court but his teammates told him to go away as soon as they reached their locker room. They were just waiting for the bus back to their junior high in the next town, so here he was walking aimlessly in the waiting hall.

It wasn't until he reached the Teiko locker room when he stopped, shivering for more than one reason. For one, Teiko would be their third opponent, if they manage to beat the next one. He was confident they would.

Anyone with half a mind knows Teiko is the home for the beasts of basketball.

The second reason being the strange noises coming from inside. Takao, being the nosy child that he is went closer to the doors, putting his ear as close to the holes of the wooden door as possible. What he heard inside made him stumble back-

"S-Sei-kungh.. Feels ah!.. good..."

-and onto a waiting banana peel on the ground.

That was how he ended up waking up to an empty building, a mop on his hair from his pervious slip up and a pair of teens- weren't they the ones he heard in the waiting room? well anyway -playing a game of chase with him when he needed to ask for directions.

And if anyone asks, he would definitely deny accidentally meeting part of the legendary Miragen after tonight. Not when their (midget) captain looked at him like he was a lion sizing up his prey.

Takao tensed, holding onto Tet-chan for dear life.