"There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife."

The words played out like a record in his mind: why why why. They wouldn't stop; a never-ending mantra of words that dug deeper into the crevices of his mind. They kept getting sharper and sharper every time they repeated itself, stabbing his mind with an onslaught of terrifying memories.

Though they weren't exactly his, per say, but close enough that they felt like his.

He supposed it started near 3rd grade, only about a year after he met Akashi. Of course, he didn't really get along well with him at first (considering his only friend at the time was Murasakibara who – unlike him – had known the redhead his whole life) he still followed around the small boy. He was intelligent, probably the smartest and most conniving person he had ever laid eyes on (which in itself was a miracle, considering he believed himself to be the embodiment of perfection). Yet he was still a child of merely 7 years of age, he soon found out.

He had learned from Murasakibara that Akashi was often teased for his unusual hair, shorter than average height (the two swore never to utter a single word of Akashi's height after the incident), his intelligence, and, most of all, his anti-social behavior. Even the teachers were concerned for the boy, seeing as the only 'people' he talked to was Murasakibara (when he even bothered not to eat in the sandbox or on the swing) and Midorima himself (hence the quotations, seeing as if Akashi only talked to him about the upcoming math test and how they should study for it, or anything grade-related for that matter).

Murasakibara, thanks to his height and intimidating personality (for a child that was almost incomprehensible to Midorima, but he decided to promptly shut up after witnessing Akashi's decent into insanity) he had always protected Akashi. The most violent thing that had ever happened was a small cut on said redhead's cheek when a boy threw paper at him.

So, what he was not expecting when walking into the classroom after recess, was to see Akashi on the floor crying and holding his left eye in pain, a mysterious red liquid dripping through his fingers.

The teacher gasped and rushed towards the small child, asking him what had happened and if he was hurting anywhere (which was a stupid question, in Midorima's opinion – didn't the teacher see he was crying?) and to release his eye so she could see what was wrong.

Akashi hesitantly lets go of his eye and both the teacher and himself were shocked to find that his left eye was now a murky gold color, crying tears of blood. He started crying again when the teacher had backed away and kept saying that he didn't want this to happen; that it was an accident. It was probably the only time Midorima had seen the other Akashi cry and sound so...helpless.

The next day Akashi had returned to normal and couldn't recount anything from recess and afterward. He said he remembered getting a bad headache and trying to lay down to calm it, but that only made things worse and he remembered screaming before he blacked out.

Masaomi, Akashi's father, had heard about the incident and immediately taken his son to the doctor because "an Akashi heir needs to be perfect." However, the doctors could find nothing wrong with him and even took an MRI to show that his brain waves were completely normal. They also couldn't find an explanation for the crying blood, nor the change in eye color.

"It's possible that he has Dissociative Identity Disorder, but we found nothing wrong that could indicate that. It could be just a phase he's going through. Keep an eye on him and if anything like this happens again, bring him back and we'll look again."

Masaomi had just growled and turned on his heel, dragging his son behind him.

Throughout the next few months, his disorder only got worse. He had frequent blackouts or 'switches' where he wouldn't remember anything. And when those switches happened, his eye would always turn back to that murky gold that Midorima had begun to loathe.

The longest time he had been out without remembering a thing was about a month, even though his other half – Bokushi, he had nicknamed him, because what else could he call the other Akashi? - was walking around and doing his daily chores for him.

Though there was a distinct difference between the two; while Akashi had a 'winner takes all' mentality, yes, he also had a caring side to him that worried about others (though it came as a great shock to Midorima at first, he realized that Akashi was only human, after all), but Bokushi had that same mentality as well. Not only did he believe 'everything I say is right, therefore I am always right,' but he also looked down on others as well (with the small exception of Murasakibara, who just followed his every beck and call like an obedient dog). It was infuriating, to say the least, and Midorima quickly deduced that he would not get along with this Akashi at all (he still hadn't asked about the first time they met, how he was crying and saying he didn't mean it).

As time went on, Akashi started to get better at handling his other self. He would have fewer blackouts and could remember things more easily, and, best of all, in Midorima's opinion, he had started to open up a bit more to the megane and talk about other things other than school. Though they were only tiny things like "how was your day today?" or "how is your father doing?" or maybe even "did you bring any lunch today? I have some that we can share," it still felt amazing to finally talk to Akashi (and yes, he did care about him and most people around him, he wasn't that heartless despite the contrary belief and his tsundere-ness).

The months leading up to their last year of elementary was probably the best Midorima had ever had, and quite possibly the last time he had seen Akashi smile genuinely since that time. The two had talked even more, now about everyday things such as what they did for recess, new book recommendations, or even just sitting around near the swings or sandbox near Murasakibara and talking small talk (it had been a miracle Midorima had even convinced Akashi to come outside; least to say the teachers were very pleased). Midorima had also gotten to know Murasakibara better, though the two still didn't see exactly eye-to-eye. They often got into little squabbles with Akashi or the teachers breaking them up, and promptly either got a timeout or didn't get to participate in activities (surprisingly they hadn't gotten any detentions, but then again the fights weren't that big and never got physical so Midorima saw no need to). However, almost all the fights were worth it because every time they sat pouting in the back of class, Akashi would come up to them when the teacher wasn't looking and give them little snacks to eat or whisper something secretly to them he had noticed (like the one time one of the students snuck a bagel out of the teacher's lounge, or the time one of the kids peed in the sandbox) which would always draw a few giggles from them.

But, Midorima soon realized, all good things must come to an end.