Kuroko gasped and shot up from the bed. With one glance outside, he could tell that it was morning.
What happened... where am I? Kuroko could tell that he was in a hospital by looking at his surroundings, but why was he here? He wasn't ill, he knew that. The other reason would be Nise-kun doing something stupid with his body, but he doubted that. He was very close to confirming that Nise-kun was just lonely; he was his bottled up feelings, after all.
He closed his eyes and wondered if he could call up Nise-kun like Akashi could call up his other half; Akashi had told him that he just spoke his name and he would appear. He took a deep breath and thought, Nise... kun?
He was transported into his mindscape. Instead of the usual white room, he saw a door. This time, he would be the one opening it.
"Nise-kun..." He opened the door and tentatively stepped inside the mindscape. "Nise-kun, there's something I would like to ask you."
Nise-kun was nowhere in sight. Confused, Kuroko searched around. Something about his mindscape seemed odd. Even the living room, which had so much color in it before, had turned white. The only thing with color was the TV screen.
After making two more rounds, Kuroko decided to try something. If this was his mindscape, he should be able to control it, right? He willed Nise-kun to appear, and he did. But something was different.
The moment Nise-kun appeared, a chill went down Kuroko's spine. The last time they had seen each other, Kuroko had sensed loneliness inside Nise-kun- and heck, he even suspected that Nise-kun was kind at heart. But this time... something was...
"Ne, Kuroko-kun. Do you mind if I take a milkshake from the fridge?"
An image of red drinks filled his head. Kuroko immediately okay'ed his request.
The teal haired boy decided it was about time to leave. He wasn't able to concentrate on his mindscape and real life at the same time, so he was probably sleeping. He was about to open the door and leave when Nise-kun called out,
"Kuroko-kun. Where are the knives?"
He froze. "The knives? Well, there's no need for any. Why do you ask, Nise-kun?"
Dark chuckling could be heard coming from the kitchen. "Ahaha, it's nothing. I just wanted to practice a little something... Uhuhuhu..."
"Well, Nise-kun, there are no knives in here. But, here; I'll get one for you."
After conjuring up a knife, Kuroko walked over to Nise-kun. "Here, Nise-kun."
Nise kun grabbed the knife by the handle. "What the- how am I supposed to cut with this?"
Smirking, Kuroko walked out of the kitchen and walked out the door to his mindscape.
"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CUT WITH A PLASTIC KNIFE?"
...
When Kuroko opened his eyes again, he was staring at fluorescent lights and a white ceiling. He couldn't help but be dumbfounded as to why someone would want a knife in a mindscape instead of in real life. He sighed and got out of his bed. There were all sorts of machines attached to him; he was pretty sure he didn't need them. He unattached them and stepped out of his room.
He didn't take any more than two steps when the doctor caught him outside of his room. "Kuroko-kun! What are you doing? You haven't been released yet!"
Kuroko deadpanned, "As you can see, I'm fine." He tripped on his own feet. "See?"
"Kuroko-kun, you'll be sent home within this week. So please be patient and stay until we let you go."
He clucked his tongue and headed back into the room. He stopped to ask, "Doctor Stein, how are my hospital bills being payed?"
Doctor Stein averted his eyes. "The... the Akashi Company."
Kuroko was surprised. He'd have to thank Akashi later. He obediently went back into his room and lowered his body back onto the bed. Nurses swarmed into the room to reattach machines and whatnot. Kuroko sighed. Is any of this needed? I just want to sleep... He closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.
Just as he was on the verge of falling asleep, Kise burst in, shouting, "KUROKOCCHI!"
Out of anger, Kuroko threw the first thing he grabbed at Kise. It was a plastic knife.
Kise easily dodged it. "Hidoi! Gomen Kurokocchi! I didn't mean to disturb your sleep... hey, I know! I'll leave some of my magazines here! I'm sure that'll help you recover, right? Righ-"
"Pft. Kise, no one cares," Aomine grunted.
Kagami, who came in afterwards, nodded in affirmation.
"S-so mean!" Crocodile tears flowed from his eyes.
Turning away from the model, Kagami ran to Kuroko's bedside and rapid-fire shot questions. "Oi, Kuroko, are you okay? What'd you do? What happened? Are you going to quit basketball? No? When are you coming back? Are you still going to be my shadow? Oi, Kuroko. Oi?"
Kuroko shifted his body so he wouldn't have to see their faces. "Sumimasen, Kagami-kun, Aomine-kun, Kise-kun. I would appreciate some peace and quiet right now.
They all sweatdropped. "Is that so... we'll be leaving then. Take it easy, Tetsu!"
Kuroko bit his bottom lip. He wanted them to stay, but... what were these destructive urges that he was feeling? Like he wanted to sock someone in the face... it wasn't towards his friends, of course not. He would never point his weapons at a friend.
Suddenly, Kuroko had an idea. If I were to fight someone... would they be able to see me? Wouldn't this help me make my invisibility more potent? He pondered these questions and finally fell asleep.
...
Akashi, on the other hand, tossed about in his bed. He stared at the ceiling. He couldn't concentrate on his work, so there was no point in trying. He couldn't fall asleep, either. Sighing, he decided to do something productive. He grabbed his black glasses and quickly put them off. He put on his slippers and walked to the library.
"Akashi-sama! Weren't you going to bed?" A maid ran up to Akashi and worriedly asked.
Akashi smiled. "I was, but I remembered something that was more important. Besides, this is much earlier than my usual bedtime so I don't feel tired."
"Is that so? Please don't push yourself..." She scurried away.
...
Akashi searched through his extensive collection of books with a fine toothed comb. He already had a pile of books held securely in his hands; Traumatic Experiences, Dealing with Stress, and How to Calm Your Other Half were among some of the books.
Akashi settled down at a library desk and looked at the large pile of books strewn around him. Sighing, he picked up the book that was closest to him. A Beginner's Guide to PTSD.
PTSD... A mental health condition triggered by experiencing or seeing a terrifying event. Akashi knew this. He set the book aside. Kuroko had already shown signs of PTSD, but what he showed after his panic attack was currently unidentified.
After reading a multitude of books, Akashi stood up and headed towards the door. He had concluded that at the time when Kuroko stopped caring, Kuroko either fused with Nise-kun or gave him full control. This, he had experience with. He had to deal with his other half for quite some time. He could give Kuroko some advice.
As he walked back to his room, he heard rambunctious laughter coming from another hallway. Wondering what was going on, he headed over to the source of the sound and found a small group of maids and butlers. They seemed to be having fun. He couldn't help but find the scene heartwarming. Just months before, his home was a silent place due to his other self's personality. It was amazing how drastic the change was when he returned.
He was about to turn around and stat his walk back to his room when he heard a crash. Whirling around the corner of the hallway, he demanded, "What's going on here?"
The maids and butlers bowed. "We're sorry! We'll clean it up right away!"
"No need to be so tense." Akashi glanced at the mess on the floor.
Apparently, the small group had been drinking fruit punch in glass cups together. The floor was riddled with glass and covered with a red, sticky liquid that smelled sweet.
Something clicked in Akashi's head. At the same time, the red head felt a tremor going down his spine. Kuroko's was probably traumatized by the sight of blood that he himself had made someone shed. But why did he explode like that? It was more likely for him to slip out quietly and help his friends in some roundabout way, or to get helplessly beat up.
So why did he snap at that exact moment?
Kuroko stood there sobbing. The final score had been 111-11.
Kuroko stood there alone. His teammates had just abandoned him.
Kuroko stood there with broken eyes. With a small rekindled flame of determination, he vowed to bring them back to how they used to me.
Kuroko tried to play offensively. He was successful.
Kuroko watched his friends drift further away from him. He felt his heart twist in anguish.
He just wanted them to come back to him. Was it that hard?
Akashi realized. It wasn't Hanamiya's death that made him snap, nor was it what made him stop caring. It was his fear of being abandoned again; his fear of being hurt again. He had been the one to tell him to create an emotional barrier to make his misdirection and invisibility stronger. Did he use this to keep his negative emotions bottled in, as well? Did the barrier break like that glass of fruit punch, which was most likely Kool Aid Fruit Punch? Man, that really took him back... he loved Kool Aid when he was younger. But that was besides the point.
Was his request for him to shut off his emotions what ultimately caused this breakdown? That made it his responsibility to fix this huge mess. He pulled at his hair and let out a groan.
"A-ano... bocchan?" A young maid broke him out of his train of thought. "Bocchan, are you okay? You look worried..."
He pet her head. "It's nothing." He walked back to his room.
He quickly shut the door behind him and ran to his phone. He sent individual text messages to everyone who needed to know.
He hoped Kuroko would be back to normal by the time they completed his plan.
/
The GoM woke up from the sound of their phones ringing.
/
From: Akashicchi
To: Kise
Topic: Kuroko
Be by the basketball court near Teiko by 11:30 AM tomorrow. If you're late... *snip snip*
Kise stared at his phone screen. "Hidoi... so mean, Akashicchi..."
/
From: Satan
To: Aomine
Topic: Kuroko
Aomine, be by the basketball court near Teiko by 11:30 AM tomorrow. Kagami will be coming.
Oh, by the way, don't think that I don't know what my name is in your contacts.
Aomine rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. 11:30 AM? That was too early...
but more importantly, how did he know what he was named in his contacts?
/
From: Aka-chin
To: Murasakibara
Topic: Kuroko
Come to the basketball court near Teiko by 11:30 AM tomorrow. Don't be late or else I will find a way to ban your snacks.
Murasakibara managed to sleep through the message. Luckily, he had an alarm set for 10 AM anyway so he could go eat at a restaurant without having to wait long lines.
/
From: Scissors
To: Kagami
Topic: Kuroko
Hello, it is "Scissors" here. Be at the basketball court near Teiko by 11:30 AM tomorrow. Daiki is coming tomorrow as well. Let's see who can get here faster.
Kagami growled as he read the message. "Like hell I'd lose to that guy!"
/
From: Akashi-kun
To: Momoi-san
Topic: Kuroko
Momoi-san, be at the basketball court near Teiko by 11:30 AM. Please bring Daiki with you. I have something important to tell everyone.
Momoi's eyes shone in the dark. "Tetsu-kun...? What about him...?"
/
From: Akashi
To: Midorima
Topic: Kuroko
Hello, Shintarou. Come to the basketball court near Teiko by 11:30 AM tomorrow. I have something important to discuss about Kuroko; a conclusion which you might have already come to as well.
I would appreciate it if you bought some data tables of medical patients suffering from PTSD and other trauma related mental health conditions. Thank you.
Midorima sighed. Was it even legal to take medical files from a hospital? He set his pen down and stood up from his desk. With the magical words "the Akashi Company", all should be well.
/
Akashi was once again staring at the ceiling of his room. This plan had to work. If it didn't Kuroko's condition would only worsen. And he didn't know any other way to fix it...