Chapter 5: Inside
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"Are you alright now, Kise?" Asks Aomine in a voice that was softer than his usual.
Kise smiled back with lesser pain and the color in his face was returning, "Definitely,"
Kuroko and Kagami approached them with one lit flashlight.
"Please do tell us if you're feeling dizzy or nauseus," Kuroko stated.
"Well, you should too. Okay?"
Kagami nodded alongside his shadow and it made him wonder just how stubborn yet thoughtful the blond was. Aomine was also thinking the same thing while he stood up and started scanning the area.
"Ready guys?" It wasn't like Aomine to wait for approval, but something inside him just told him to see if everyone was okay.
"Right behind you-ssu!"
A small smile, hidden within the darkness of the night, graced Aomine's features at the familiar chime of the blond. Something inside his chest that was once very heavy, was suddenly lifted away, and he could breath easier now.
"Kuroko, stay infront with Ahomine," Kagami stated.
Oh great. Way to ruin the moment.
"Who're you callin' Ahomine, Bakagami?!" Aomine roared back, only to be glared back by Kise.
He didn't know why, but that glare didn't seem threatening. It was more of a pleading type of glare.
Then he remembered what Kise had said earlier, and then he looked away with crossed arms.
"I appreciate your concern Kagami-kun. But it isn't a good idea to have you or Kise-kun, who is just recovering from the Slendersickness, to stay behind." Kuroko said, eyes motioning to the blond beside him, "You guys are the strong ones here."
Aomine felt a brow twitch at that, "And what am I here?"
He was ignored by the Seirin duo, but he got a playful chuckle from Kise instead.
"That's the point, idiot." Kagami barked back, eyes stern with resolve, "We can't have you stay behind because of your stamina."
The teal-haired boy widened his eyes, "Are you saying that I'm weak?"
Kagami didn't seem to be fazed with the outburst from his shadow. Instead, he raised a brow is sheer innocence, "What are you talking about? Like hell will I ever think you're weak. I'm just saying that without you, the team will be different, ya know." He sighed and then shot a pointed glare at Aomine and Kise, "And we'd still beat the rest of your Miracle buddies, right? Then become number one in Japan."
Kise smiled at the words. Sometimes it was funny seeing Kagami's innocence, but sometimes it just felt right to listen to him. Now he really wishes he could be like him.
"I... Kagami-kun... I see..." Kuroko was at lost for words, hiding his expression behind his bangs, "I understand then..."
"Good." Kagami didn't seem to know what he just blurted out because to him, it felt right. Then he looked at Aomine, "You better watch him."
"I don't need your instruction."
Kagami didn't retort anymore, much to their surprise. Then he eyed on Kise, "I think you should stay with them."
"Huh? But didn't you just say I'm strong too?" Kise pouted.
"Kuroko's right. You're still recovering."
Instead of complaining, he only trudged beside Aomine and they started walking off to whatever direction he was on.
After a while, they arrived in some sort of wide clearing, and with the flashlight, they could see a faint trace of something in the distance. Aomine squinted and then slowly took cautious steps towards it.
"Is that a... Building?"
"Seems like it." Aomine swallowed the lump in his throat and then aimed the flashlight on the nearby entrance.
"Should we go in...?" Asked Kise.
"It seems eerie." Kagami stuttered out.
The blond shrugs, "Bathrooms are always eerie."
"It's a bathroom?" Aomine peeks his head inside, noting the tiled walls of the whole place, "Creepy..."
"Aomine-kun."
"Yeah wait t- Shit! Tetsu!" Aomine leaps back, clearly shaken from the shadow.
"I'm sorry but I think we should try and look for a note inside..."
"Oh you gotta be kidding me..."
"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Kuroko looks more of excited than fearful.
Aomine felt a sweatdrop form and he really wonders if Kuroko would go looking for his fellow ghosts inside.
"I'll go take a quick look then," Kagami said.
Kuroko and Kise gave a loud gasp.
"Y-you're going there, Kagamicchi?"
"Huh? Yeah."
"A-alone...?"
"Yeah...?"
"With nobody else...?"
"...Y-yeah..."
"In the dark?"
"Damnit Kise! If you don't shut up, I won't go in anymore!" Kagami yelled.
"What he meant was: Please shut up Kise-kun. Kagami-kun is already afraid and you're making it worse."
"Kuroko you're not helping!"
Aomine sighed, cutting off the conversation, "Let's just all check it out."
"Aomine-kun is also afraid."
"Tetsu!"
Kise laughed, softly but warmly. He turned on his flashlight and took the first step inside. He looked back at the other group, "Shall I lead the way-ssu?"
Aomine snorted in response, pushing past the blond and taking even more steps ahead, "Like hell I'm gonna let you be the hero,"
"I wasn't thinking like that-ssu..."
But in reality, Aomine wanted to lead. Not just lead, but stay infront and protect him. Protect them. It was some sort of guilty conscience staying in his mind telling him to not leave Kise to his stubborness.
Afterall, Aomine was much more stubborn than him.
Looking back infront, he sees to his left a vacant tiled room. With the rest following behind him, he enters and sees a chair on one corner.
"Wow, that's creepy," He stated as he shone the flashlight to it.
There was nothing on it or under it. Just an eerie chair that did a pretty good job of scaring them.
They got back out and then walked along the hallway. Their shoes clacked on the tiled floor and its echoes resounded deeper in their ears. Kuroko felt a shiver and moved closer to Kagami so their arms were brushing against each other.
"Next time you should really get a jacket," Kagami sighed and handed him his jacket.
Kuroko nodded and just let the jacket hang loosely on his shoulders.
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TBC