Chapter four:
Kise tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes as he observed the scene in front of him. The blond model was leaning against the bedroom wall, watching as his former team mate was tiding up, fixing the mess and arranging everything in a perfect order. Golden eyes sparkled with amusement.
"So… Midorimacchi…" he started and tapped his chin with a long slender finger, faking a thinking process. "How is Takao-san doing?" His smug tone betrayed him and suddenly, the façade of being innocent dropped.
Midorima cased all of his actions and looked up; his green eyes bore a hole in Kise's soul. The shooting guard wasn't exactly sure what his former team mate was doing in his house at a time he was supposed to be at school, but he had long given up on trying understanding how Kise thought or why he acted in a certain way. The blond boy was a mystery. And even more so after he had gotten together with Aomine.
"He is fine," the green haired growled and threw a pillow on the bed with a little bit more force than needed. "What are you doing here anyway, idiot?"
Kise faked a hurt expression and put his right hand above his heart. Seriously, he was being too dramatic.
"I feel offended, Midorimacchi," the blond whined and smirked. "I just came to see how you are doing. After hearing that Takao-kun is in a hospital, I thought you might need a friend to talk to…"
Midorima tried his best not to lose his temper. Strangling Kise was going to do him no good. Besides, he didn't want to have to deal with Aomine coming after him.
"It's none of your business, Kise," he warned and put a few books away. "Does Aomine know that you are skipping school in order to come see me? Just before the Winter Cup?"
That seemed to do the trick since Kise lost a part of his confidence and frowned a little. It was strange how Aomine was insisting that Kise attended every practice and every damned class since he himself was a slacker.
Kise waved a hand.
"Don't worry about Daiki," he said and entered the room completely, ignoring the daggers Midorima's eyes were shooting. "I am really worried, you know?"
Suddenly, all of the playfulness in the room faded away and Kise was more than dead serious now. His golden eyes were staring at Midorima in a way that made the shooting guard uncomfortable.
"I have a friend at the hospital that Takao-san is in," he said simply as he pulled a chair and sat down. "So I managed to convince him to tell me what had happened to him."
Midorima swallowed and clenched his fists against the urge to hit the blond.
"This is private information, Kise," he reminded him and settled on the edge of the bed, knowing that there was no other way of getting rid of the model besides having a conversation with him.
Kise nodded. His expression was too sober, too serious and somehow that made him look mature in a way Midorima had never seen him be.
"I know that," the model said quietly and locked his eyes with Midorima's. "Is he going to be taken to a foster family?"
The green haired boy shook his head slowly without even realizing the action. He sighed. There was no use trying to hide anything right now.
"No, I discussed the matter with my family and we decided to take him in," he admitted and watched as Kise's expression became even more foreign. Why had his eyes darkened so much?
The model fell silent for a moment.
"Are you sure you will be able to take good care of him, Midorimacchi?" the question was spoken out in a low tone that made the green haired boy flinch. What was Kise implying?
"Don't be stupid," he growled and ran a hand through his hair. "As much as I hate to admit it, Takao is my best friend, idiot," it felt strange saying that out loud, but it was true. "Of course I will take good care of him."
Kise didn't reply. Instead he continued to stare at his friend. The model wondered if Midorima actually realized the situation he was in.
"Fine, I will believe you," he said finally and stood up. For a moment he flinched and his hand rubbed gently at his still sore knee.
Midorima noticed the movement and for a second he might have felt worried.
"How is you leg doing?" he asked, putting aside his pride for a second.
Kise laughed a little, but his eyes were almost sad. His fingers caressed the injured knee softly, as if any pressure on the leg hurt him.
"It is getting better little by little," he blond muttered and zipped up his jacket. "Don't worry about me, Midorimacchi," he was back to his usual cheerful self. "Now you need to take care of your friend," Kise headed for the door and waved a hand in a goodbye. "I will come visit you again," he promised and made his way out, trying his best not to limp.
Too bad Midorima saw right through his act. Kise wasn't getting better. His injury had gotten worse than before.
"Takao," Midorima called again, but his friend seemed to be in a state in which he did not hear or register anything. He just kept on staring at the window, too lost in his own thoughts. The green haired boy sighed and put the bag on the chair before getting closer to the bed. "Takao, look at me,"
He was ignored again until his hand reached up and brushed a few strands of hair out of the way. Only then Takao seemed to realize that Midorima was in the room.
The black haired boy blinked a few times and slowly turned his head towards Midorima, still trying to fully assimilate the situation he was in.
"Are you okay?" the shooting guard asked and sat down on the bed. "You seem a little out of it."
Takao forced his lips to curl up and he nodded slowly. He didn't want Midorima to know what was going on in his head right now.
"Yeah…" he whispered and sat up, pushing the blankets down. "I was just lost in my thoughts I guess…"
Midorima knew this was a lie, but decided not to ask anything else. Something was telling him that Takao needed some time before he was going to be ready to talk to him or anyone else for that matter.
"The doctor said that they are going to discharge you today," the green haired boy informed him and glanced at the bag that was full of clothes. "I brought you some of my clothes," he said awkwardly and scratched his nape. "I know they are going to be big, but I hope they would do until we go buy you some new."
Takao smiled softly, this time a real smile and let his head rest against the big pillows. Midorima felt relieved to realize that his complexion was slowly getting back to normal instead of that ugly shade of white.
"Thank you, Shin-chan," the dark haired boy said quietly and closed his eyes for a second. "You know… I don't really like hospitals."
Midorima fixed his glasses with his bandaged fingers and nodded.
"I know," he mumbled and a barely visible smile curved his lips. "They stink, right?"
Takao's eyes sparkled and he grinned a little.
"And the white color makes me feel like I am in a mental facility," the point guard admitted and both of them laughed quietly at this. The black haired boy pushed the covers aside and swung his legs from the edge of the bed. His head felt dizzy as he tried to get used to being up, but he managed to stay upright.
He looked at the shirt Midorima had brought him and then down at his broken arm. Damn it… he wasn't sure he could get dress with his right hand out of use. He shifted uncomfortably.
"Shin-chan?" Takao called him and Midorima looked up from the bag. The moment their eyes met, the black haired boy felt like he was a child. "I might need some help."
The green haired boy froze for a moment, wondering what to do. He felt kind of uncomfortable just thinking about dressing Takao but he couldn't just leave his friend deal with this problem alone.
"I will get one of the nurses to help you," he decided and headed for the door. Midorima had just reached out for the knob when a soft voice stopped him.
"No," Takao whispered, his eyes cast down. There was something in his tone that made Midorima shiver. "Please, I don't want any of them to touch me."
His fingers were shaking when Midorima withdrew his hand. It pained him to hear Takao admit just how strongly he was affected. And when the green haired boy turned around, he was left speechless at the sight of Takao's face. It was pale, too pale; his eyes were full of darkness and sadness. His usually smiling lips were now curved downwards.
"Okay," Midorima said gently and took the shirt from the chair. Then he walked closer to his friend and urged him back until Takao sat down on the bed. "Come on, let's get that ugly hospital gown off." Obediently, the black haired boy let his friend slip the gown off, revealing something that made Midorima's blood freeze.
He had seen Takao naked on more than one occasion in the past, so Midorima was aware of how pale and smooth the skin of his friend's body was, but what he saw as he pushed the cloth aside, had nothing to do with flawless flesh. Takao's chest was covered in pale purple circles, the bruise on his right shoulder made him wonder if it wasn't injured too badly. Midorima let his cold fingers touch the marred skin.
Takao inhaled sharply and flinched, but he forced himself to stay still as his friend inspected the old injuries.
"Does it hurt?" Midorima asked lowly as he finished, his voice was so cold and distant… Takao shook his head and removed completely the gown, leaving himself only in his boxers.
"It is almost completely healed, Shin-chan, so don't worry," he said softly and let the shooting guard slip on the blue shirt. Just as expected, it was too big on him, but Takao didn't care.
"Why?" the green haired boy asked as he was carefully buttoning up the shirt. It took almost all of his self control not to let his fingers shake. "Why didn't you tell me anything, Takao?"
The black haired boy fell silent, allowing to be dressed like a puppet.
"It's complicated," he finally said and looked down to the cast of his hand. "I guess I won't be able to play in the Winter Cup, eh?" it was almost funny how he cared more about this than he was interest in what was happening to his parents.
Midorima petted him on the head and stood up.
"Don't think about that right now. Just concentrate on getting better," God, Midorima wondered if he could get any softer than that. It was almost troubling. Quickly, Midorima made sure that Takao was properly dressed in a pair of his pants. "I will go get the doctor, you wait here. "
And with that he left the room, leaving his friend alone in the hospital room.
There was a long silence before the whispered words finally made their way out of Takao's mouth.
"I will tell you everything," he promised quietly. "Eventually."