Miracles and Pages
Chapter 4: Sickness
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The tense silence hung around the group of basketball players as they made their way across the darkness of the forest, as if they were in an endless maze. All they could hear were their steady breathing, their footsteps against the grassy land, and the occassional hoots of the owls.
Kagami and Aomine were walking in unsteady paces, probably trying to outwalk each other without looking too obvious to the blond behind them. Needless to say, Kise's words had an impact on how they look at him.
Kuroko was still oblivious though, but he feels that it can wait until this whole ordeal was over. It felt much better than a couple of hours ago- when everyone was fighting their own wars and making the situation worse.
Aomine stopped and looked around. There were no clearings yet but he's starting to get used to the darkness and he could already make out the outlines of the trees.
Kagami could too.
How many minutes has it been? It's frustrating but none of them would like to voice it out.
Not when Kise has a point.
Kuroko looks back suddenly when he hears the footsteps behind him stop.
"Kise-kun?" Asked Kuroko.
Kise was leaning on a tree on his side, left hand covering his mouth and his twisted expression gives away that something was wrong.
"Kise-kun!" Kuroko runs to his side the moment he slids down to his knees.
Aomine and Kagami runs back, even without knowing, and crouches beside the blond.
"Oi, Kise," Aomine drawls out.
The blond forces himself to look up with a matching forced smile, "A-ah... Sorry-ssu... I just feel..."
Then he coughs, making a sick sound that echoes around them. He does so a couple more times before he covers his mouth. He breaths in deeply and then exhales.
"I'm fine now-ssu..." He stated and shakily stands up, using the tree as a support, "We should keep going if we don't want him to catch up."
Kise started walking ahead, unsteady on his feet but still he manages to move. The trio followed behind him with insecurity and something close to fear in their stomachs.
"I hope this isn't some kind of joke..." Kagami mutters, furrowing his brows and eyeing on the other two.
"I hope this isn't him again..." Kuroko adds.
"What? Who?"
Kuroko shakes his head, dismissing the subject and picking up his pace to catch up with Kise.
And suddenly, the said blond collapses.
A sinking feeling accompanied them as they gathered around him, holding his shoulders steady, as he coughed and coughed relentlessly, face pale.
"Kise...?" Kagami stuttered out, trying to shake him off his sudden sickness.
Kuroko looked at him through Kagami and Aomine's backs, "Are you dizzy, Kise-kun? Do you feel like vomiting?"
Kise paused, as if trying to stop his coughing, "Yeah..." Then continues.
Aomine 'tched' despite himself and slowly hoisted Kise up to his feet. He hooked his arm around the other's waist, pulling Kise's arm over his neck and stalked off.
Kuroko and Kagami watched the tanned guy bring the model over to a nearby bush before squatting down. Kise emptied his stomach with grunts while Aomine rubs soothing circles on his back.
Kagami eyes on his teal haired shadow, "What is it, Kuroko?"
"I think this is what you call the Slender sickness," Kuroko replied and stood up, "We should talk with them..."
Kise breaths out and leans back against the Touo Ace. Aomine pulls him up slightly and shifts his wait to lean on a nearby tree instead.
"Kise-kun, I think this is Slenderman's doing," Said Kuroko the moment they sat down around him.
Aomine glares at him crossly, "He's not even around, Tetsu. How can he be doing this to Kise when-"
"He is around."
"So what if he- wait. He is?"
"He's watching us." Kuroko waves around the note with the 'Always watches; No eyes' sign at him to prove his point, "He's always around, looking for an opening..."
Kagami shudders and adds with a bark, "Please don't make it sound like we're in a horror movie, Kuroko!"
"When Slenderman keeps his eyes on you for a long time, you start feeling nauseaus, and you start developing feelings of paranoia..." Kuroko stated, "And since Kise-kun insists of walking behind me, he became Slenderman's target."
"Damnit, Kise. You're stubborn." Aomine hissed out.
The blond lightly chuckles, color returning to his face, "Not as stubborn as you two.."
Deep down inside, Aomine feels relieved to hear the hearty laughter- even if it's short and soft- and that Kise was feeling better for a little bit.
"He doesn't even have eyes!" Kagami roared out and huffs in exasperation, "How can he stare us into paranoia?"
"I'm not yet paranoid, am I-ssu?" Kise asked.
"You've always been paranoid, stupid." Aomine's words were not that harsh, but it was somewhat reassuring to him.
"So mean-ssu..." Kise put on fake comedic tears.
Kagami sighed, "So what do we do?"
"I say we rest first." Kuroko looked up at the sky, as if asking what he should do, then also lets out a sigh of his own, "We'll walk with alternating people staying behind."
"Yeah."
They slowly edged towards each other and rested. Their backs were against a tree, as if they were guarding each direction.
Kuroko lifted the collar of his shirt and used it to wipe the sweat dripping from his chin. He looks to his right and he sees Kagami rubbing his arm, probably from the cold. Smirking inwardly to himself, the shadow settles beside him, elbow to elbow, but Kagami didn't react with a heatattack.
"Cold?" Asked the redhead, not looking at him.
Kuroko nods, slightly puzzled that he didn't react much, "You seem too,"
Kagami relaxes his posture and moves slightly to have his arm behind the teal haired boy, "Mmm..."
Kise, on Kuroko's left, coughs again, body slouching in pain, and Aomine's expression twists into something fearful. His hands held him by the side and back, trying to stop him from trembling too much.
Kise smiles weakly at him, one that breaks his heart to see. It was a pain that Aomine can't relate with and knowing that Kise was the victim was even worse.
He didn't mean that he wants to have Tetsu or Bakagami to fall victim instead of Kise...
But this was different.
This was Kise they're talking about. The same Kise who wouldn't give up no matter how many times he was beaten. The Kise who stands up on his own for himself and for his team. The Kise who smiles as bright as the sun and could cry better than any alligators out there.
The Kise who doesn't seem to be broken by anything.
But here he was, sweating in pain, model face scrunched up, teeth clenched, hands clutching tightly on the tan male's hoodie, shivering.
Aomine let Kise lean on his shoulders for a bit, his eyes softening at the feel of his soft blond hair brush against his neck, and he closed his eyes as well.
The blond mutters something but he didn't catch it. He decided to let it go and just nods.
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TBC
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A/n:
Yes, I'm trying hard to make AoKise and KagaKuro obvious, but I end up making KiKuro and AoKaga more... Huhuuu
So sorry...!
And Kise. Yes. I get nosebleeds just by thinking how he looks all sweaty and hot like that. But I'm sorry for putting him in pain! Well, more aspects of Slenderman there!
Anyways~ for more information about Slender Sickness... PLEASE VISIT GOOGLE. haha.
(Ah, But Kuroko explained it already anyways~ xD)
Tehee~
So, comments are welcome and loved~! and please stay tuned for the next page!