A/N: Finally got to write some more GoM perspectives besides Aomine.

CHAPTER 5

Kagami opened the door quietly, and was greeted by the silence of his own home. His gym bag felt heavy on his shoulder, and he let it slip off and fall with a muted thug on the cold, hardwood floor.

He pulled his shoes off impatiently, longing for the relief of a real bed. But then he moved to remove his jacket, only to recall its gruesome fate, and it made his stomach churn.

Kagami ventured deeper into his dimly lit apartment, barely illuminated by the early morning sunlight streaming from the balcony window. Despite his earlier eagerness to finally get some rest, there was weariness in every footstep as he trudged to his bedroom, every step slow and plodding. He passed by the refrigerator on his way, and paused long enough to open it out of habit, looking over his options with disinterest. He opted for just a glass of water before moving on, to ease the ache that still lingered at the back of his throat after he had violently regurgitated his entire dinner in the hospital toilet.

Kagami reached his bedroom without further incident and left the door slightly ajar as he completed the journey to his bed. Upon reaching it, Kagami collapsed, face down, and released a long, weathered groan. He was tired. Very, very tired.

He could have passed out then and there, but Kagami made the mistake of turning his head towards the door. Hanging from a hook was a knitted sweater, sent over by his dad from America as an early Christmas present. While his room was dark from the heavy curtains over his windows, the color of the sweater stood out to him in that grayscale landscape.

Red.

It was bright red.

Like Kuroko's blood.

Kagami squeezed his eyes shut and turned away to face the wall, pressing his hands against his face. He didn't want to go down that rabbit hole again. He didn't want to remember. But in the oppressive quiet of his room and apartment, there were no distractions, no idle tasks to keep him occupied, and the images wouldn't stop coming back, mutating into worse, more frightening versions of themselves.

Kuroko could have died. He almost did.

Kagami let out a throaty howl as he brought himself up on his knees and punched his pillow as hard as he could. The bed frame groaned at the impact, but Kagami ignored it and kept on howling over and over again while he beat the cushion with a battery of punches. This continued until his voice faltered into a whimper, and the punches staggered into a full stop.

He collapsed back on his bed and curled up on his side, chin almost touching his knees as he hugged them close to his chest, holding himself as tightly as he could.

Kagami needed to think of something else. He needed to replace those images in his head before it drove him permanently insane. Maybe...yes, basketball. That last match between Seirin and Rakuzan. They had won, but barely, so Kagami decided to dwell on the mistakes he made and began charting his training plans for the future. Next time, he'll do it this way. There was an opportunity here, for him, Izuki, and Mitobe to set up a play that would land some sure points. Yeah, then he could add a cool dunk along the way. Hyuuga and Coach would probably reprimand him for it and call the move "excessive." But Kagami couldn't care less. It was cool. Dunking was cool. He was sure Kuroko would agree with him.

Kuroko.

Kuroko's blood.

"Goddammit!" Kagami swore in English and buried his face on the abused pillow, almost hoping that he would just end up suffocating and pass out. The thoughts were slippery, finding ways to invade his mind given the smallest crack in his will. Kagami struggled to fend them off, to control the way his brain was working. It took everything he had in him.

It was a long time before Kagami fell asleep. But thankfully, at that point, he was far too exhausted to dream.

When he woke up, it was already well within the afternoon. Kagami hastily fished his phone from underneath his pillow to check the time and his messages. It was 3:17PM. Hyuuga had sent them a long email detailing their visit schedules for the week. Apparently, Kuroko's parents had requested they be allowed to enter Kuroko's room starting tomorrow, as long as his condition remained stable. Given the strict visitation hours of the Intensive Care ward for non-family members, and taking their own classes into account, only five people can reasonably visit per day. Kagami flicked through the schedule. As promised, Kagami was slotted in at 8 AM the following day, since it was a Sunday. He was disappointed to see that each person's visit was limited to an hour, but he bit back the impulse to complain.

Then he noticed the names that followed after him. Mixed together with the Seirin High basketball team were that of the Generation of Miracles.

If they had been fast asleep last night to hear about what happened to Kuroko, by this time, Kagami was sure that they all already knew.

He found himself sinking back into his bed, still too tired despite having slept through the whole day. He wondered how those guys were taking the news.

In Kise's case, it was the very definition of, "not well."

Going to bed early was one of Kise's Ten Commandments of Beauty, tenets that he swore by and accomplished with surprising discipline for someone of his character. He had never broken it since it was established, not even with major exams the next day, and he belonged to the rare breed of high school students who've never experienced an "all-nighter" in their academic lives.

Thus, it was no surprise that he was deep into a blissful sleep by the time Momoi called. But after listening to the voicemail she had left him, Kise wished that he had, for once, stayed a little later than usual.

Kurokocchi was...stabbed?

Kise couldn't remember the last time he had felt so confused. Stabbed? Was this some kind of prank? For a while, he just sat at the edge of his bed, listening to the replay of Momoi's message at least five more times before it began to sink in.

Then he violently threw the phone away, like it had transformed into a snake in his hand. It landed on the floor with a sharp crack! then bounced and skidded further from the bed. The blonde boy hastily retreated further into his bed and wrapped the comforter tightly around him after. There was obvious damage but Kise couldn't be bothered - he was too busy trembling under the covers to care.

His mind was muddled with panic, unable to think on what next steps he should take, and so he stayed on his bed for a while, paralyzed by both disbelief and indecision. The news was just too unexpected and too terrible for anyone to receive calmly, and it was worse that Kise lacked the prerequisite maturity (as he often claimed) to face this situation without immediately flying off the handle.

However, before Kise could spiral into a full-blown panic attack that would have surely shaken his entire household, his poorly treated phone began to ring.

The ringtone was like a breath of fresh air that broke through the stale silence that had settled over Kise's room, and it was enough to snap Kise back to his senses, albeit temporarily. The blonde scrambled out of his bed and fell on the floor as he struggled to reach his phone.

Upon retrieving it, Kise squinted at the caller ID through the cracked surface.

It was Akashi.

"Hello? Hello?! Akashichi?!" Kise felt the panic rise up his throat, and the volume of his voice continued to increase until he was nearly shouting. "Did you Momoi-chan leave you a voicemail too? Was it all true? Was Kurokocchi really stabbed last night? Is he still in the hospital? Is he even still alive?"

"Kise. Take ten deep breaths. Now." Despite the frantic haze that had settled in Kise's mind, he responded to Akashi's tone almost instinctively, his body drawing from years of carefully programmed compliance: No one disobeyed Akashi when he used that voice.

Shakily, Kise took one breath. Then another. And another. As he went through each breath, allowing the cool air to wash over him, the haze in his mind began to settle, and his arms and legs ceased their uncontrolled trembling. When he finally reached the tenth breath, Kise was already sitting back on his bed, and his heart already slowed down to its regular rate.

"Are you done?" Akashi's voice was sharp, but still surprisingly lined with concern.

Kise nodded automotically, but before he could realize how dumb that was, Akashi's voice erupted from the speaker again. "Alright. That's good. Now, I will tell you the situation in full, but you must promise not to react or interrupt me until I am done. If you do, I'm going to hang up."

"Alright!" Kise replied hastily, eager for any kind of clarity to this ridiculous situation. Part of him was still hoping that this was all some elaborate joke, and now Akashi was going to deliver the punchline. "I promise! I promise!"

And so Akashi began.

By the time he was done speaking, Kise was on the verge of another panic attack.

"Kise," Akashi warned him. "I know, I know! Ten deep breaths! Ten deep breaths!" Kise squeaked, and repeated the exercise.

He suddenly felt drained - the toll of controlling his emotions had begun to catch up to him. He decided to lie back down on his bed, slipping into the covers as deeply as he could.

The darkness underneath was comforting, and Kise relaxed into the softness around him. "Do Midoricchi and Muracchi know too?" He asked, voice a little muffled by his pillow as he buried his face in it.

"Midorima was still awake when Momoi called. We talked about the situation," Akashi explained patiently. "Mura is still asleep. His roommate answered his phone for him. I'll call him again later."

"So what's the plan? Shall we all visit together today?" Kise whimpered, hopeful. He wanted to see Kuroko so badly. It helped his nerves to find out that Kuroko's surgery was a success and that if no complications arose, his recovery was assured, but that didn't change how much Kise needed to just see for himself that Kuroko was okay. Not that he didn't trust was Akashi was saying, but he wouldn't put it past his capricious captain to lie for the sake of keeping Kise from doing something rash after all.

"Unfortunately, he's not allowed to have a lot of visitors yet," Akashi calmly replied, though Kise caught some resentment in his captain's usually cool voice.

"Ehh, why not?" Kise insisted. "Can't you do something about that, Akashichi? I'm pretty sure your family owns the hospital where Kurokochi is admitted, and-"

"Can you hear how selfish you sound right now, Kise?"

The biting, bitter tone in the other boy's voice killed the remaining words in Kise's mouth, and he pulled his face out of the cushion to gape at the phone in astonishment.

"You're asking me to exercise my influence and go against the orders of the very people who saved Kuroko's life?" Akashi hissed, and the anger that dripped from his silky voice, like venom, kept Kise speechless. "Really? Is it really worth risking Kuroko's recovery, just for your peace of mind? Just so you could sleep better tonight? Think of the consequences of your actions for once, Kise. We're not in middle school anymore, and these thoughtless whims of yours should cease. You are not a child."

"But I am!" Kise blurted out, and for the first time since their conversation started, Kise started to cry. Part of him was surprised that the tears didn't come sooner, but now that the dams were opened, he couldn't make them stop. It was just too much. Too much.

"We are all still kids, Akashichi!" Kise snapped back at his captain, the anger and frustration that bubbled and overflowed inside him enough to overrule whatever latent fear he had of the heterochromatic boy. "We're just a bunch of high school kids playing ball. It doesn't make sense that we're talking about one of our friends getting stabbed in some dark alley, it doesn't make sense how messed up this is, it doesn't make sense why it had to happen to someone like Kurokochi at all! It. Just. Does. Not. Make. Sense."

Kise had curled up to his side, knees bent close to his chest and he hugged his pillow tightly against his face in a vain attempt to stifle his own sobs. His phone had fallen near his head, but there was no sound coming through. If Akashi had something else to say, he kept him to himself and let his friend weep.

It felt like a long time. When the moment passed, Kise sniffed and wiped the tears off his eyes and cheeks, then picked up the phone from where it had fallen. "Akashichi, are you still there?" he whispered in wonder. The caller ID was still active, but there hadn't been a peep from the other line in the last five minutes.

"Yes. Do you feel better?"

Kise sniffed again. "A little."

"Alright." Akashi's voice was soft and tender, which surprised the blonde. The last time he had heard that kind of voice from Akashi was during their early middle school years, before everything got messed up between them. Back when they cared more about each other than simply winning. "As I said, we can't visit Kuroko right now, but we can do it tomorrow. The visiting hours for Kuroko are pretty strict, so to accommodate everyone, the Seirin team coach came up with this visiting schedule, and I managed to get us some slots for the afternoon."

Kise made a nasal, whining sound in protest, his nose still clogged from the snot and tears. "I know, I know. It feels too late," Akashi replied, soothingly this time, perhaps having learned from his earlier mistake. "But we're doing this for Kuroko's sake. We have to be careful, so that he'll come back to his healthy self as soon as possible. Can you do that Kise?"

Kise paused for a moment, feeling slightly offended at his captain's new tone. It sounded suspiciously like his own mother, whenever he was on the verge of a tantrum. Nevertheless, Kise grunted and nodded in assent, again not realizing that Akashi couldn't see him. Still, his captain seemed to understand.

"Don't be alone today," Akashi added.

"Do you have any plans?" Kise asked, a bit too eagerly. "Wanna hang out?"

"Thank you for the invitation, but Midorima and I are already meeting up."

"Huh? Midorichi? Let me come with you guys!" Kise quipped, suddenly sitting back up as he felt himself re-energized by the prospect.

Akashi paused. "We're going to look at the crime scene, Kise," he said slowly, carefully, as if gauging the blonde boy's reaction even over the phone. "I personally don't think it would be wise for you to come."

Kise suddenly felt cold, and he fell back on his bed, deflated. "Right," he muttered, mind going blank again. The crime scene? Where Kurokochi was...stabbed…

Akashi was right, as always. That was something Kise shouldn't see. He didn't even want to imagine the place where one of his favorite people was so terribly hurt.

"You could try calling that captain of yours, Karamatsu's his name, isn't it?" Akashi suggested helpfully, and Kise immediately brightened up at the idea, hastily sitting back up again.

"Yeah, yeah, that's a good idea!" The blonde boy chirped, already itching to end the call and dial his senpai's number. "He lives nearby! Thanks, Akashichi!"

"You're welcome. I'll text you the details of the visit later. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye bye!" Kise called out, but Akashi had already hung up. For a moment Kise just sat there, staring at his phone. Outside his room, he could hear his family gathering for breakfast, oblivious of what had transpired behind his closed door. Kise was still trembling from that morning's happenings, feeling even a little lightheaded as he pulled himself up on his feet. Fortunately, his legs had stopped being so wobbly that there was no danger of him falling over or tripping on his own feet. He reached the door without further incident, and as he turned the knob and pulled it open, the smelling of freshly cooked eggs and juicy bacon overtook him.

The gentle laughter of his mother and the gleeful shriek of his sister met him as he stepped out of his room. It was brighter out there, and looking out the window, Kise saw a clear blue sky that was quite rare to see in the dead of winter. It was an undeniably beautiful day.

"Good morning, niichan!" his sister greeted him warmly, though her bright brown eyes were transfixed on the rather large serving of pancakes that their mother had set before her. She glowed with so much happiness, it made Kise's heart ache. He walked over and kissed his sister on the forehead, then engulfed her in a tight hug. The little blonde girl was clearly surprised, enough to tear her eyes away from her coveted treat and look at her older brother curiously. "Niichan loves you very much, you know that right?" Kise whispered, his face still buried at the nook of her neck. The girl nodded slowly, still looking very much confused.

"Ryouta? What's wrong?" He heard his mother ask. Kise quickly pulled himself away from his little sister, but not before her nose a playful flick. He smiled the widest smile he'd ever conjured as he patted her head softly. "Nothing's wrong mom. Everything will be okay."

And he believed that. He desperately did.

Akashi sighed as he put down the phone, and checked through his messages while he waited for Midorima's arrival. It was just 8:00 AM, and they had agreed to meet up at 9:00 AM. Akashi arrived earlier than planned, but there was no way he could remain cooped up in his apartment after receiving that frantic call from Momoi. In all the years they'd spent together, he had never heard her sound so afraid.

He took his cup of tea and took a small sip, letting the fragrant taste wash over his senses while his eyes wandered a few buildings up across the street. In between one of those buildings, a police car was parked by the sidewalk, with police tape cutting off most of the area.

Uniformed officers moved any onlookers along, keeping them away from the scene, while CSI came in and out of the alley, carrying sealed bags of evidence. One of them came out carrying a sports bag, and Akashi's chest tightened as he recognized it.

The tea turned bitter in his mouth.

"I was correct in assuming that you didn't sleep after our conversation."

Akashi turned and found Midorima approaching him.

"Neither did you," Akashi smirked, though his smile didn't reach his eyes. He casually waved away one of his disguised bodyguards who had stood up from his seat.

"Would you like some tea or anything to eat?" Akashi offered.

"Tea is fine. I don't really have the appetite right now," Midorima replied, and Akashi hummed, flagging down a waitress to order. Afterwards, he turned his head to the window again. "You won't have an appetite afterwards either," Akashi pointed out softly. Midorima followed his gaze, and his eyes narrowed as it set upon the scene across them.

"It looks busy," he commented, crossing his arms over his chest. "Are you sure we could have access?"

"That was a pointless question, and you know it, Midorima-kun," Akashi answered coolly. He took another sip of his tea out of habit's sake, the taste no longer appealing to him. "The captain is a family friend. They're already been informed. Once the CSI is done collecting what they needed, we'll be allowed to go in, with supervision, of course."

"Do they have any leads yet?"

Akashi sighed. "They've barely begun the investigation."

"Can't you do something about that?" Midorima countered. "Given your family's influence, surely-"

"Why is it," Akashi suddenly snapped. "That my previous teammates all seem to be under the impression that I'm some kind of god that can make all their wishes come true?" His outburst left Midorima speechless and Akashi's grip on his cup tightened as he bit his lip, surprised by his own emotions.

Still, his frustration felt justified. If only he had been a god. Maybe he could've kept something like this from happening in the first place.

Akashi's expression darkened as he looked back across the road. Most, if not all, of Kuroko's friends probably wanted to kill his assailant to varying degrees, but Akashi knew that he was the only one with the actual resources and will to make that happen.

Perhaps he wasn't a god that could turn back the time to spare his friend.

But he could damn well be the god that would deliver certain death to the person responsible.

"Perhaps we should focus on finding him first before we entertain ideas for his execution," Midorima nonchalantly stated, easily reading Akashi's mind.

Akashi looked back at his friend and cracked a humorless smile. "I suppose."

Then, Midorima slid something over to Akashi's side. It was a small keychain of raccoon...skateboarding. Akashi blinked at the ridiculous thing, unable to comprehend its existence.

"That's your lucky item for today," Midorima explained, as if that should've been obvious, taped fingers tapping absently on the table surface. "Given the task ahead of us, I would've preferred something a bit bigger, but that size was already hard to find."

"Thank you for your consideration," Akashi found himself smiling in amusement, the little gift offering a moment of levity that they sorely needed. He took it off the table, staring at it one last time, before slipping it into the pocket of his blazer, intent on forgetting about it for the rest of the day.

Midorima's tea finally arrived, and the two drank in silence once more.

"Aomine called me shortly before I arrived here," Midorima finally spoke up. Akashi raised an inquisitive brow. "Apparently, he has just left the hospital."

"Any changes in Kuroko's condition?"

"Nothing major or else he would have noticed," Midorima frowned. "He helped out Kuroko's parents for a while. They were supposed to be in Hokkaido for the weekend but had traveled back by train as soon as they got the news, and arrived with all that luggage. Aomine had just returned home after dropping off their stuff at Kuroko's apartment. Apparently, he found Kuroko's dog all alone in the house and decided to look after it." Midorima's nose wrinkled in distaste. "He called me because that idiot realized too late that he didn't know the first thing about taking care of a dog and now it was apparently tearing his room apart."

Akashi found himself chuckling at the image. He had always found Aomine's simple-minded kindness charming. Even back in middle school, he was exceptional at making these kinds of bad decisions, and it had often been up to Akashi or Midorima to get him out of his own mess. Kuroko had been an excellent voice of reason for the darker boy, though. Had he been there, he would have easily convinced Aomine on just how much of a bad idea it was to kidnap someone else's dog.

If Kuroko had been there.

And just like that, the levity passed.

Akashi's phone pinged with a message. "It's almost time," Akashi said after reading the message and stowing his phone away. He called for the bill. "The CSI and most of the police would be clearing out soon. One of the detectives assigned to the case will be left behind to accompany us."

Midorima finished his tea and nodded.

Akashi looked across the street once again and wondered, in a rare moment of self-doubt, if this was going to be a fruitless effort. But he owed it to his own sanity - and Midorima's too - to at least try.

They were from the Generation of Miracles after all.

A/N: Would like to hear your thoughts on the story so far! Reviews are welcome!