A/N: Hey…. I know its been a while… forgive me *cries and dodges tomatoes* I'M SORRYYYYYY its been soooo sooo long since I've updated this story. And it was mostly because I wanted to wait until I was back to my computer, but it's been a few days since then because I was unpacking and helping my sis move into my apartment! Plus, I'm quite nervous about this chapter, it is the beginning of the plot and VERY important. So I don't want to fuck it up.

Hopefully this chapter will redeem me in your eyes!

BTW just a warning, you know when I said there wasn't going to be much angst? Yeah…well, that was partially a lie, anyways, you'll see~ Though I PROMISE that it'll end well. Like I'm not that sadistic, mostly.

It had been three days since the incident as Kagami had labeled it in his mind. After he had fainted again and woke up in an empty room, no Aomine to be seen, his emotions had gotten the better of him. Kagami went looking for him and chewed him out a good one, though it was quite difficult when in the back of his head he could also feel Aomine's feelings swirling and influencing his own. But he had held firm to his anger and now Aomine and he were on bad terms. Red eyes glared all around him unconsciously and everyone in his way parted to let him pass by. The gloomy aura surrounding him was causing others to shiver in fear.

Much to his displeasure they had continued their training sessions, each one more intense than the last. Kagami was steadily improving in his swordplay, his talents finally coming to shine. Though he still lost every single time against that bastard ganguro, which didn't improve his current mood. It didn't help that because of the damn mating ritual Aomine tended to hover over him like a mother hen, even when they were fighting. How casually the bluenette took this whole ordeal drove him insane, shouldn't he be angry just like Kagami? Shouldn't he rage at the thought of being with one person? It made no sense to him, how each time he was around Aomine all he could feel was tranquility. That only tended to feed his anger.

He stalked into the Soldiers Quarters, and traded his sweaty shirt out for a clean one. Although he was holding a grudge against Aomine currently, that didn't mean that he didn't enjoy the training sessions to the fullest. It always got his blood going, his heart pumping, his head filled with the euphoria of fighting against such a strong opponent. Kagami thought back to the end of the training session, his heart squeezing at what had happened.

Aomine paused, setting his sword down on the ground, bracing himself against it. His breath was coming out in short pants, though he would never admit it, Kagami was holding his own against him quite well. Enough now that he was barely keeping any strength in reserve. A slight sheen of sweat was covering the dark skin and Kagami unintentionally licked his lips, watching as a single drop slid down his face. When he felt amusement stirring in the back of his head he broke from his trance to lock eyes with dark blue.

"Do you like watching me Taiga?" Kagami scowled; ever since the incident he kept calling him by his first name. His reasoning that they were 'practically married anyways' drove him crazy. Just because they were in this situation didn't mean that Aomine had to be so damn blasé about it.

"Shut up Ahomine." A pout came to those dusky lips, and Kagami found himself watching again.

"Didn't I tell you to call me by my name?" Aomine looked at him with an indescribable look, and even though Kagami could feel emotions coming from him, too many zipped past for him to be able to decipher them.

Kagami grit his teeth together, glaring at the man. "I'm still not talking to you, bastard! This whole fucking thing is your fault."

Aomine's eyes became steely and his jaw clenched. The redhead internally smirked; he wasn't so calm now was he? "Are we talking about faults now? If it's anyone's fault it's yours! Stop acting like a damn child Kagami."

His eyes were wide at the tone, "Fuck you Aomine, how could it be my fault? If you had been on time that first training session we wouldn't be in this position! And you're the child, not me!"

"Yeah well even if that happened it was your fault that we are fucking mated right now! You think I want to be mated to YOU?! I'd choose Moriyama over you any day!" Aomine snarled cruelly. "If you didn't come on to me that day and practically beg me to fuck you we wouldn't be here now would we?"

Instantly, Kagami flinched at the harshness, heart sinking to his stomach. Those blue eyes widened and Kagami could see the regret well up in them. "Kagami I—,"

He raised his hand to stop him, "Fine. Fine. I admit that I wanted you, but I don't beg you hear me?! You wanted me just as much you fucking liar! So don't just go pinning that on me." Kagami spit on the ground in front of him, "I think were done here for today, I'm leaving. If you need me I'll be in the Soldier's Quarter like always." He turned away when a quiet voice reached him, stopping him in his tracks.

"Come back. You don't have to sleep there anymore." His back tensed at how small Aomine's voice seemed, but he couldn't ignore how hurt he felt so he just kept walking, only pausing for a second when he heard his name, "Taiga…"

Kagami sighed, sinking into his bed, shoulders slumped. In the moment his anger had taken control of him, making it obvious that he should ignore Aomine. Now though… he rubbed the skin above his heart. Why does it hurt so much? Was he in the wrong? He didn't know anymore. Thinking about how Aomine's voice sounded caused him to sigh again, dragging a hand down his forehead to rub his neck. Hissing in pain Kagami drew his hand away from where Aomine's mating bite still throbbed even after a few days. Unlike the other bites that had healed so easily, this one stayed, as if taunting him about the situation he was in.

He needed to get out of this slump and he needed to distract himself. So Kagami stood from his bed again, ignoring the curious looks from his bunkmates. They had been quiet about the whole ordeal, hearing from the upper vampires who had heard about the mating that had occurred between Aomine and Kagami. Thankfully they got his mood and didn't ask why he was back in the Soldier's Quarters. Once outside he breathed in the afternoon air, it was cooling so he knew that night would be upon them soon.

Kagami headed off to the Healing Unit. He may as well get something for his neck, which he should have done days ago, but there was a lot of things on his mind that had distracted him. The walk was calming enough to him, the clean air doing him some good to ease the anger that was still there. After he got his wound cleaned he would go see Aomine… hopefully things wouldn't go the same way as they had today. Both of them were stubborn, easy to anger, and emotionally dumb, he knew that. Somehow, he had let his emotions get the better of him, and he wasn't proud of that fact, so he needed to apologize. Or well, he hoped it would be as easy as it was in his head, because his pride would be a hard thing to swallow.

He groaned in aggravation and slipped into the doorway, going slowly down the hall. His thoughts that had been calm before were now whirling around just at the mention of Aomine in his head. Kagami didn't understand how the bluenette had such an effect on him, and it wasn't just the soul bond or mating. Even before those things, even when they had barely any contact, maybe just brushing past each other his eyes would automatically follow him. His body would react immediately if he was in the vicinity, almost like he had always been aware of each action. It bothered him. What was it about Aomine? Why that Aho of all people?

His footsteps were quiet as he got closer to his destination and he paused momentarily at seeing the door. In all the time that he had ever come here the door would always be closed, Midorima was a stickler for that kind of thing. So why the fuck was it open? Voices drifted from inside, muffled by the distance. Kagami's skin prickled, it was just too odd not to check it out, so he crept closer to the open door, peering inside. His eyes widened at the sight.

Kiyoshi had his head in his hands, his whole body slumped in a chair that normally he would have dwarfed, but for some reason he didn't seem so big today. Maybe it was his position, as he was almost in fetal position, or perhaps it was the tear lines down his face. Indicating that he had cried, long and hard, but had none left to cry. His breath came in short gasps, as if he had ran a ten-mile race without any breaks. Midorima and Takao stood next to him, grim faces plastered on. Takao had his hand on his shoulder.

"Is it t-true? I-Is…" Kiyoshi took a deep steadying breath, "Is she really dying? How? Why? I just don't u-understand… she always seemed so healthy. What's wrong with Riko?" Behind the door Kagami's eyes were like saucers, but at that last question he had to cover up a gasp. He thought back to when he had seen his Captain in here that one day, so she was sick all this time and no one knew?

Midorima pushed his glasses up on his nose, "I am… sorry Kiyoshi-san. She made us not tell you, and since it is confidentiality that I keep I could not say a word until she knew that there would be no time left. I continued throughout this whole time to ease her pain and try and find a cure but this is a very deadly disease. I think you have heard of it before."

Kiyoshi looked up from his hands, bloodshot eyes shifting till they fell on Midorima's face. His voice was ruff as he spoke, "What is it then?"

"It has been nicknamed the Blood Bug, very similar to blood poisoning, but unfortunately there is still no know cure."

The tall man crumpled further at the words, shoulders shaking, "All this time… all this fucking time and she didn't tell me?! HOW!" Kiyoshi stood up from the chair and kicked it across the room where it shattered on the wall. The sound echoed and made everyone flinch, but no one moved. "How… I don't understand… R-Riko…" He whimpered and slid to the floor. It took a good ten minutes before Midorima could continue on.

"Tell me what it's doing to her." When the greenette's lips tightened he added, "Please. I must know."

He sighed and nodded, "The Blood Bug is a deadly disease that enters through either the mouth when it is congested from blood bags much like its cousin Blood Poisoning, or direct contact such as wound to wound. It festers in the blood as it is circulated through the system, skipping past all the defenses of your body to detect such malformations or mutations by cloaking itself. We are still unsure of how it does it exactly, and there is no way to tell which is the disease and what are the real cells in your body."

Midorima leaned against his desk dejectedly, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. "From there it infects the white blood cells and multiplies itself, taking over the real ones so that when it starts to devour the tissues there is no resistance. A patient with this disease just feels like they have a common cold with the same symptoms and unless they have a specific test no one can tell the difference. That is until the Blood Bug activates in its last stages and completely takes over the blood in all the organs, eating through tissue slowly, shutting down each one until the patient dies. It is a very nasty disease… I wish I could say that Aida will not be in pain, but that would be a lie. Just yesterday, the third stage activated, and it will only be another two days before she will succumb to the disease. I would prolong her life by a few weeks by almost constant blood transfusions, but she has declined. Aida said that she wants to spend her last days with her friends and family. Tomorrow she will tell everyone else, but she wanted you to know first."

Kiyoshi looked at him, pain clearly shining in his eyes. "Please… there must be some way. Isn't there? You must know how to change the cells back right?!" Takao sighed, wiping a stray tear from his face as he soothed the crying man. Midorima's face was tight, his eyes looking to the side.

"If there was any thing more that I could do Kiyoshi-san I would have already done it. But her time is coming to a close… There is nothing I can do. I'm sorry. So enjoy the time you have with your mate while she's still here." With that Midorima went into his private back rooms. Takao was still hushing Kiyoshi, whom only tried to keep asking if there was more they could do. Eventually Kagami couldn't take listening to hearing his friend's heart breaking and stood up from his crouched position.

This was all wrong, how could that happen to such a good person? Granted, Aida could be a demonic trainer when she wanted, but still… she cared for those under her, nurtured them into their potential, and drove them to work for their dreams. It just wasn't fair. And Kagami knew what he had to do. It was the only thing he could do after seeing that. He had this gift to heal, and he shouldn't let it go to waste. On his way back to the Soldier's Quarters he glanced up at the moon and sent a prayer to the heavens, to any god that would listen, and prayed that it would work this time.

The last time he had tried healing someone, it hadn't worked. Kagami clenched his fist. If he had healed King Mikami's disease then thousands of people wouldn't have died, but something had went wrong and the connection had been broken. So Kagami had to take the direct approach and he had told him that he was beginning to become paranoid and what he was doing was wrong. It had all led to disaster, Alex getting her sight taken, them being hunted down, and him moving here to start a new life.

NO, he wouldn't let it happen!

Kagami settled himself into his bed, laying in wait for the moon to be at its peak before going back to the Healing Unit. He had to make sure that no one would find out about it, or else a lot of questions would be risen. Thinking of being interrogated by Akashi gave him the shivers. So when all he could hear was the soft sighs of the sleeping bunk-mates and occasional snores, he made his move.

Kuroko slipped out of the mansion, dark clothes situated tightly around his body, black cap hiding his bright hair. Not like most would notice him anyways, but he was a careful man, and so he took precautions. He hadn't gotten a mission or anything, but he liked to patrol the areas at this time of night, after the last time that someone had gotten the one up on them. The bluenette slid quietly through the brush, weaving in between the sparse trees that littered the ground. Mostly it was just paranoia that kept him doing this, even Momoi admitted that he was just being crazy and that Haizaki had no way back. Still… Kuroko did it to ease his own worries.

No one was allowed out this late unless they had dire circumstances so usually it went quite boringly. Sometimes he caught the occasional person and usually scared them half to death, which was the reason for the various ghost stories told about after dark. Though vampires were predominately night creatures, Akashi thought it wise that they be on the same schedule as the humans in their camp, otherwise it would breed dissension in the ranks. If they were separated, then there would be talk of favoritism and Akashi would not like that.

Kuroko sighed softly into the dark air, his blue eyes gleaming in the night when a flash of movement caught his eye. He rolled his eyes, must be some sort of— wait… Kagami? There was no mistaking that red hair atop a tall, muscular body. But this time it was mostly covered by a black cap much like his. Those red orbs shot from here to there as he went from tree to tree, glancing around every once in a while suspiciously. Kuroko's own narrowed speculatively, what was he doing at this time of night?

There was no doubt in his mind that it was nothing like the incident with Haizaki, so he felt no need to stop him. Kagami was a pure soul, easily provoked yes, but not evil. In fact, Kuroko sometimes thought Kagami a little too pure, and would have thought him unfit for actual battle if he hadn't known that the redhead was already scarred from it. It was amazing what love for ones country could make someone do.

Kagami quickly went to the Healing Unit, looking around again before slipping inside the doors. Kuroko's more curious side could not just let him go without finding out what he was doing out so late at night, and what could make him not want anyone to find out about. It only piqued his curiosity more, so he went inside after him making sure to muffle his already quiet footsteps. His Shadow magic was quite useful in these situations, and he melded in with the dark areas in the hallway slipping from the one shadow at this end of the hall to the one closer behind Kagami in an instant.

They stopped at the green doors that indicated Midorima's private seeing rooms and Kuroko tensed. Was he here for someone? The only one that he could think of was Takao or Aida. But he didn't know about Aida's condition. When Kagami went past where Takao's room was Kuroko could only concur that it was Aida he was here for. He stopped outside her room, hand paused on the door handle before something flashes in his eyes and he turned the knob.

The door creaked as it opened, and Kagami went inside, Kuroko following silently behind him. Aida was sleeping peacefully… well as peacefully as she could. Her face was pale and her breathing was shallow. For a few minutes Kagami just stood by her bedside watching as she slept, his expression indecipherable. Kuroko felt his interest growing and was about to ask when Kagami moved closer. Kagami leaned over her, placing his right hand over her heart, the other went to her neck, thumb moving to open her mouth slightly.

Was he going to kiss her?! Kuroko was not one for being shocked, but this situation called for it. What in the hell was Kagami doing? When Kagami tilted her head up he whispered softly, "Please let this work… Come on Aida, you gotta let me do it… it's the only way."

The redhead took a deep breath, closing his eyes, before exhaling. Kuroko felt the very familiar sensation of when people gathered their magic around him, but it was much more different than like in their magic sessions. This was no normal magic. His eyes widened, taking in how a bright light swirled around Kagami's feet, lifting up until it was all around him. His hands were by far the brightest, and the light slowly shifted till it was tinged with red. "Come on… Aida please…" Kagami was softly talking to Aida all the while. "You have to accept it, or it wont work. This isn't your time to die. I wont let it be."

Kuroko knew then what he was trying to do; he was trying to heal her! But that was impossible with the disease she had. Didn't Kagami know that? He closed his eyes for a moment, although all the evidence was stacked against it being impossible, he could feel that he still believed in Kagami. He believed that he would do it, so instead of interrupted he sat there in the shadows silently contemplating what was happening before him.

"Thank you…" Was the last whisper that Kuroko heard from Kagami before the light brightened so much he had to turn away for a moment. When he glanced back there was no light around Kagami, but coming from Aida's mouth was a stream of black light and going directly into Kagami's. It was pitch black, and in it Kuroko could see the face of death swirling in its depths. A screeching went through the air, the sound of it fighting back. Sweat ran down Kagami's face and his hands shook with the strain of keeping the magic going. He forced more magic into Aida, and the thing in the mist wailed one last time before being swallowed by Kagami.

Eventually all that was left was white light, and Kagami took his hand off of Aida's chest. She sputtered and coughed violently, waking up instantly. Kagami stumbled back, legs shaking and face paling. Kuroko could only feel the numbing sensation of being shocked so badly he couldn't move. He knew exactly what Kagami was, and it explained everything.

"Kagami? W-what are you doing here? What happened to me?" Aida spoke slowly, mouth cracked. Kagami didn't answer, just stumbled to the edge of the other bed in the room, leaning on it. "Are you alright?" It came out as a whisper. "W-why do I feel better? Kagami… did you… did you heal me?" Still no answer, and Aida started to get worried.

Suddenly his legs gave out from under him and he dropped to the floor. Aida instantly screamed, shouting for Midorima and Takao. Kuroko stepped out of his shadows, now out of his trance of surprise, and went up to where Kagami lay on the floor. "He's out cold," Kuroko mostly muttered this to himself, and he used magic to lift his body off the floor and put it on the bed.

The door slammed open and Takao instantly went to Aida's side to calm her down as Midorima surveyed the room before resting on Kagami's unconscious body. "What the fuck happened here?" The greenette didn't normally swear, but he had no idea what was going on. Kuroko was in the room, Kagami passed out, and Aida looked like she had regained some color. All in all, it was a huge puzzle.

"Kagami healed Aida-san then passed out," as blunt as ever, Kuroko put it out there in the open easily, monotonously. Midorima blinked, taking in the information before hustling over to the redhead's side. He did the routine check ups on him before confirming what Kuroko had feared. Then he went over to see if what Kuroko had said about Aida was true. Midorima had been amazed to find that the disease was cleared from her system completely, no sign at all that it had been ravaging her body. And in fact, the tissue damaged was healed as well.

A deep growl was heard in the building, "WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?!" Kuroko sighed, and when Aomine appeared in the doorway, anger rolling off of him in waves, he wasn't surprised. He merely stepped aside and gestured to the immobile body on the bed. Aomine's eyes shot open, and he stepped forward before pausing. "Is he… Is…"

Midorima interrupted, "I'm afraid that Kagami is in a coma. His body has taken severe damage to the tissues and inside of his throat. I don't know when… or if he'll wake up." He placed a hand on his shoulder awkwardly, "I'm… sorry Aomine. I'll do all I can to make sure he wakes up though." With that he gestured to Takao and Kuroko, both whom got the message. Takao wheeled out Aida's bed from the room, leaving Aomine to himself.

Aomine stood there for a few moments, his eyes soaking up the sight of Kagami. His eyes were shut tight, long lashes against his slightly tanned skin as he breathed lightly. He brushed his hand against his arm, watching as the hairs stood up. Aomine dropped to his knees by the bed, hands automatically grasping the one next to him. He didn't like how cold Kagami felt; the redhead was always a source of warmth, even heating Aomine's dead body.

"Taiga… Fuck…"

He couldn't believe that Kagami wasn't waking up. What did that idiot do? Aomine's heart clenched, and he felt his eyes burning. He went to rub his eyes and jumped a bit when it came back wet. Scrubbing at them harder, nothing helped stop it so he gave up, leaning against the bed again. He had said such screwed up things to Kagami earlier, things that he hadn't meant. Aomine had been so angry that Kagami wasn't… well… happy. Kagami's instant reaction to them mating was anger, and Aomine didn't know why, but the thought that Kagami didn't want him, that he had essentially rejected this bond hurt him.

"…I'm s-sorry…" Aomine clutched at the hand in his, curling up by the bed.

A/N: fuck… that was so hard to write… I feel so bad doing this, but I mean they're not gonna just instantly understand each other and love that they're together. SHIT I'm like sniffling; I hated this one so much.

Anyways, sorry for the angst…

Comments/Reviews are love~ :3