I am NOT supposed to be up this early oh God.

Hello! I am back again with the next chapter! I'm gonna go sleep after this but yeah haha. There's not much to say except the fact that I won't reread this until after I wake up so I apologize for any grammatical errors or spelling mistake or any other errors I might have missed. But yeah. Without further ado...

Please enjoy!

Chapter 11

Seijuro could think of several people who would be in a playground, but Midorima Shintarou was not one of them. Seijuro and Kuroko exchanged looks and stared at him in surprise.

"Midorima?" Seijuro said questioningly. "What a pleasant surprise."

"It's nice to see you again, Midorima-kun," Kuroko said, nodding his head toward him. Midorima nodded back.

"Likewise," he said. "Akashi, I was not informed that you were going to be in Tokyo, in fact."

"I came back shortly for the weekend. I will be heading back tomorrow, though."

"I see. If I may ask, what are you of all people doing in a playground?" Before either of them could answer, Bokushi popped up from in front of the bench and gazed at Midorima with a nonchalant expression.

"Hello, Shintarou. It truly has been a while."

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Aaaaaaaaand…

"WHA—?!"

The glasses on Midorima's face suddenly went askew (probably a design flaw, Seijuro thought) and the alarm clock Midorima was holding in his hand dropped to the floor, making an awful clattering noise as it made contact with the sidewalk.

Seijuro and Kuroko watched him, both with equal expressions of amusement, waiting for their former teammate to regain composure. Finally, after a few breaths, Midorima slowly adjusted his glasses, picked up his lucky item from the floor, and took a deep, long exhale.

"Akashi. Explain."

"There's not much to explain, I'm afraid," said Seijuro. "Last Sunday, my other self mysteriously materialized into a five-year-old child and I'm now his older brother. So, with that being said…" He gestured to his younger brother. "Midorima, Bokushi. Bokushi, Midorima. Now shake hands."

Midorima stared at the child in front of him as Bokushi reached a hand over the bench.

"Hello again."

Midorima stared cautiously at the hand as if he were about to fall for a trap, before finally deeming it safe and grasping Bokushi's hand with his own, shaking it for a brief moment.

"Hello again, Bokushi."

"You look a bit solemn, Midorima-kun," Kuroko observed. "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, in fact," said Midorima. "I just did not expect this type of encounter to occur on a playground."

"Speaking of which, why are you here, Midorima?" Seijuro asked him. "Surely you're too old to go on the jungle gym."

"I am not here to play," Midorima huffed. "I came with my little sister, in fact."

"Little sister, huh?" Seijuro remembered Midorima mentioning that he had a younger sister back when they were in middle school, but he doesn't recall seeing her since then. She was really young at the time, around three. He saw her with Midorima and his parents when they were second-years, during the Teiko school festival.

"I remember Midorima-kun's sister," said Kuroko. "So you brought her here, you said? Where is she?"

Midorima turned around and looked somewhere that they couldn't see. "Miyoko, don't wander around so much, you'll get lost. Come here, in fact."

"Coming."

Footsteps came out from behind a playhouse to their right and suddenly a little girl was in view. She had long green hair that went past her shoulders and vibrant green eyes. She stood around three and a half feet off the ground and clutched tightly in her arms was a stuffed bunny toy. When she walked, she walked with a slight bounce in her step as she approached the small group. Her expression was rather neutral at first, but as she approached the group and located her older brother, a small smile slipped onto her face as she went to join him by his side. Curiosity gleamed in her eyes as she gazed at the other three.

"This is my little sister, in fact." He turned to the little girl grabbing onto his hand. "Say hello."

"Hello," the girl said. "I'm Miyoko and I'm five years old. It's nice to meet you."

She bowed and then offered her free hand, looking at the others expectantly. Kuroko was the first to shake it, a friendly smile on his face.

"It's nice to meet you, Miyoko-chan, my name is Kuroko Tetsuya," he said.

Seijuro was the next person to shake her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said politely. "My name is Akashi Seijuro."

The little girl nodded as she took in the new names. Then, she turned and stared at Bokushi with interest, who returned it with his own look of interest. They were like that for a few moments, watching and waiting until finally, she smiled.

"Who are you?"

"Bokushi," he replied. "Seijuro-nii is my older brother."

She tilted her head slightly as she processed his reply. "Bokushi? I've never heard that kind of name before."

"It's a special name," Bokushi responded. Miyoko seemed to accept this answer and then gazed into his eyes.

"Your eyes are different colors," she said after a few moments. "And your hair is red. It's pretty. Red is my favorite color."

Bokushi blinked at the sudden compliment, temporarily speechless until he looked over at Seijuro to see he was exasperatedly mouthing the words 'compliment her back'.

Real subtle, Seijuro-nii.

"Thank you. I like your…" Bokushi's eyes wandered up to the section of her hair that was pulled back in a ponytail, tied off at the base with a pink ribbon. "I like your ribbon," he finished.

Miyoko seemed to really appreciate the compliment because she suddenly lit up in front of the boy.

"Really?" she said. "I like the ribbon because pink is my favorite color!"

Bokushi raised a brow. "I thought you said red was," he said in confusion.

"All the colors are my favorite!" she exclaimed and gave him a wide smile.

Bokushi stood there for a few seconds in silence, her answer confusing him even more. "You… you can't have all the colors as your—"

"Hush, Bokushi," Seijuro interrupted before he could finish his sentence. "Let her like what she wants."

"Miyoko-chan is very cute," said Kuroko. "She's completely different to Midorima-kun."

"I heard that," Midorima said from the side.

"Hey, Bokushi-kun, do you want to play with me?" Miyoko asked.

Bokushi looked slightly doubtful. "Play?" he repeated. "What will we play?"

"Wanna play Hide and Seek?"

"Hide and Seek?"

"Yeah! I'll hide, and you have to find me."

"Yes, I know how to play."

"So then do you wanna play with me?"

"Well…" Bokushi paused, glancing to the side.

Seijuro put a hand on his shoulder. "Be nice, Bokushi," he said to his younger brother. "Why don't you play with her for a little while?"

Bokushi could think of many reasons not to play. Frankly, something such as Hide and Seek sounded so… babyish. Playing a game such as this just didn't sit perfectly well with Bokushi. But Miyoko was so innocent with her question that Bokushi had no reason to decline her offer. It took a moment of silence for Bokushi to think it through, but eventually, he sighed in resignation.

"I guess I could play."

Miyoko smiled. "Really? Yay!" she exclaimed. "You can be the seeker."

Before Bokushi knew what happened, she grabbed him by the shoulders and whipped him around.

He blinked. "What are you—"

"Close your eyes and count to thirty. And no peeking!"

"…Sure."

Bokushi begrudgingly put his hands over his eyes and began counting.

"One, two, three—"

"Ah! Don't count so fast, Bokushi-kun!"

"…One…two…three…"

Miyoko giggled and ran off, disappearing amongst the cluster of children.

The other three watched her and exchanged looks. They occasionally saw glimpses of her green hair within the crowd which was obviously her trying to find a hiding spot while Bokushi was still counting. But after a bit of time, they stopped seeing her. By this time, Bokushi rapidly approached the end of his counting.

"Twenty-seven…twenty-eight…twenty-nine…thirty. Ready or not, here I come."

He uncovered his eyes and turned around, surveying the playground before finding a good place to start and running off himself. When he had left, Midorima joined the other two on the bench and folded his arms.

"Akashi, how exactly did this phenomenon happen, in fact?" Midorima asked. "How has your other self become a real person?"

"I know nothing of the cause," said Seijuro. "I've just decided to embrace it."

"Kuroko. Did you know about this?"

Kuroko nodded. "I did," he answered. "Kagami-kun and I ran into Akashi-kun and Bokushi-kun at Maji Burger last night. They had just come in from Kyoto and we found them sitting down already, so we joined them."

"Aside from the obvious age gap, I would assume he is still the same. How is he taking this, in fact?"

Seijuro kept watch of Bokushi as he crawled out from under the slide and brushed off his trousers before running over to look near the swings.

"I suppose we were quite dysfunctional at first," he said slowly. "Even though we once shared the same body, it's like he was a complete stranger when he showed up out of nowhere. He's obedient and polite, but he was rather quiet at first, so I can tell it felt awkward, even for him. But, as the week progressed, we finally got used to each other again and it was like nothing had changed. There were times when we didn't see eye to eye, but we've worked through our differences, and for that, I am happy."

"I see..."

Bokushi climbed up the rope wall and stood at the top of the jungle gym, leaning over the side of the railing to peer over at the whole playground. He squinted his eyes as he tried to focus on each different sector of the playground.

"You look like you're thinking about something, Midorima," said Seijuro."Is there anything I haven't clarified properly?"

"That's not it, in fact. I was just thinking about the peculiarity of the situation."

"Peculiarity?"

"I mean, that it's rather ironic that your 'commanding and absolute' second personality is now permanently stuck in the body of a five-year-old child. It's a bit ridiculous if you ask me, in fact."

"I don't think so, Midorima-kun."

Seijuro and Midorima turned to Kuroko at his sudden comment.

Midorima furrowed his brows in confusion. "What do you mean by that, in fact?"

Bokushi seemed to have spotted something, so he pulled himself away from the edge of the railing and traversed the jungle gym to the other side of the playground before taking another slide down.

"I mean that I think that being a kid suits Bokushi-kun much more than being a high-schooler did."

"That's an interesting opinion, Kuroko, what makes you say that?" Seijuro inquired, crossing his legs and putting his hands on his lap.

Kuroko shrugged. "If you think about it, when you look at kids, they more often than not have that 'winning is everything' mentality. That's why when kids lose at something, even if it's only once, they sometimes get upset, or discouraged. But as you get older, that type of mentality gets coaxed out of you by adults, because they teach you that winning isn't everything. Because Bokushi-kun clung to these ideals for so long, he was almost thinking like a child, in a way."

Seijuro hummed in thought. "Now that I think about it, what you are saying is true."

"Indeed," Midorima concurred adjusting his glasses. "The type of ideals Bokushi expressed when he emerged is the type of ideals that get beaten out of you as a child, in fact. Parents always emphasize to their children that everyone loses once in a while and that losing is not the end of the world."

Bokushi skipped across the stepping platforms with ease before landing on the ground and running over to the grassy fields.

"But Bokushi-kun knows this now, he's changed since the Winter Cup," said Kuroko.

"I agree," said Seijuro. "He knows that he too has his limits. And he's no longer so fixated on individual play." He looked up to the sky and smiled. "During the match against team Jabberwock, he said that he was glad that he was able to play basketball with everyone again. He cares about the team. And right before he vanished, he thanked me for allowing him to play with you all one last time. He's changed so much in the past few months. I almost can't believe it myself."

"It's good that he's a kid for now," said Kuroko. "Even though he's still a good person at heart and he may have had the right reasoning before, he went about doing things in a way that hurt people, including himself. Now he has to rewire his way of thinking. And he'll be counting on you to give him the guidance that he needs. Bokushi-kun will stumble a few times before he can learn how to do things the right way, but he's still got you, Akashi-kun. So, if he falls, you'll be there to pick him up, won't you?"

"I found you, Miyoko."

Miyoko pouted when Bokushi poked his head behind the tree where she was hiding and gave a smug grin.

"Eh? No fair," she complained. "Bokushi-kun was too quick! I bet you were peeking when you were counting."

"I did no such thing. I simply have superior seeking skills."

"I still think you were cheating!"

"Is that so? Then I'll close my eyes and count again."

"Deal! Make sure you don't peek this time!"

Bokushi turned around and covered his eyes again as he began his count while Miyoko scampered off to another side of the park, mingling with the crowd of children once more.

Seijuro smiled softly. "I'll do my best."

~O~

After about an hour at the park, Miyoko finally grew tired of Hide and Seek, so the five of them left the park and began taking a walk around town.

"It really is a nice day," Kuroko said as they strolled down the sidewalk.

"I think so too," said Seijuro. "This is perhaps the warmest day this month."

"Enjoy it while it lasts. The forecast calls for rain tomorrow, in fact."

"Is that so?"

While the three elders of the group discussed the current weather, Miyoko and Bokushi were walking alongside each other. Bokushi was perfectly content with being silent the whole way, but Miyoko wanted to talk. He didn't mind much, though.

"Do you go to school around here?" Miyoko asked.

Bokushi shook his head. "No," he said.

"Oh, so you go to school in a different city then?"

"I don't go to school anywhere."

"But you're five, aren't you? Shouldn't you be in school by now?"

Bokushi paused for a moment before answering. "I'm homeschooled," he lied.

"Homeschooled?" Miyoko repeated. "What's that like?"

"You just have tutors come to your house to teach you, nothing special," Bokushi replied.

Miyoko looked impressed. "Really? I wish I could do that. My school won't let me bring Mimi-chan into class."

Bokushi looked up to her in question. "Mimi-chan?"

Miyoko signaled to the plush bunny she was holding. "This is Mimi-chan," she said. "She's my friend."

Bokushi stared at the toy in her arms and nodded. "I see," he said. "Do you take her everywhere?"

"Yep! Do you have a special friend you take everywhere?"

Bokushi looked rather puzzled at this question. "Um…not really, no."

Miyoko gasped dramatically, looking so heartbroken at that statement that Bokushi nearly apologized for his lackluster response.

"You don't have one?" she said in horror. "Let's get you one, then! Onii-chan!"

Midorima paused in the midst of his talking to find that his younger sister had grabbed his arm. He looked down at her in vague amusement.

"What is it, in fact?"

"Can we go to the toy store?"

Midorima's expression turned to one of slight disapproval. "Miyoko…you know you can't always get toys every time we go out," he began. "Don't you already have enough at home?"

Miyoko puffed her cheeks out as she huffed adamantly. "If you don't take us to the toy store, I'll tell mommy that you broke Kerosuke."

Midorima visibly flinched as he cleared his throat and nervously adjusted his glasses, much to Kuroko and Seijuro's confusion.

"I guess we can stop by for a few minutes…"

Such a quick change of heart, they both thought.

"Yes! Thank you, onii-chan!"

Midorima sighed as he gave a sympathetic look to the other two as some form of apology. "I hope you two don't mind, in fact."

"Of course not," said Kuroko.

"I don't mind taking a little detour either," said Seijuro. "And besides, how are we to refuse when your sister is clearly blackmailing you?"

"That's fine then, in fact. Now, if I'm not mistaken, it should be around here."

"Then let us not delay. Please lead the way, Midorima. I'm curious to see what this store looks like."

"I'm curious to know who Kerosuke is..." Kuroko added quietly.

Midorima didn't budge. "Don't ask, in fact."

…

When they arrived at the toy store Midorima was talking about, Kuroko, Seijuro, and Bokushi took in its appearance. It looked quite whimsical from the outside, the maroon-painted shop with the store name written in elegant gold characters giving it an old-fashioned aesthetic. The windows at either side of the storefront showed glimpses of the inside along with the current toys on display.

"This looks like a very nice store," Kuroko observed.

"It's rather charming," said Seijuro. "Miyoko-chan, was there something you wanted to look at in here?"

Miyoko shook her head. "We're not here for me," she said. "We're here for Bokushi-kun!"

Immediately, Kuroko, Seijuro, and Midorima turn and look at the young boy standing next to Miyoko, all three of them looking vaguely bewildered.

"It was Bokushi who wanted to come in here?" Seijuro said in disbelief.

Bokushi sighed. "It wasn't my idea," he said. "It was Miyoko who brought up such an idea."

"Oh? And what idea would that be?"

"Bokushi-kun needs a special friend," Miyoko said in a tone so serious it was hard to believe she was talking about plush toys. "Everyone needs a special friend to carry around. Like Mimi-chan!"

She held up the bunny for clarification. When the older three understood what she meant, Kuroko and Seijuro shared a smile while Midorima merely shook his head.

"That's very thoughtful of you, Miyoko-chan," said Kuroko. "I'm sure you could help Bokushi-kun find an extra special friend."

"Okay! Bokushi-kun, let's go!" she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside, already rushing far ahead of the other three. Midorima and the other two went in after them, Midorima reminding his little sister not to run.

When Miyoko finally slowed her pace, she began to leisurely walk around the store.

"I come here all the time," she said. "There are millions of toys here! You'll find a special friend no problem!"

"If you don't mind me asking," said Bokushi. "What exactly would you call a special friend?"

"A special friend is a toy that you always have with you," she explained. "It's the one that you always take with you to places and the one that you sleep with and stuff. But that's not all there is to it."

"Why did you choose Mimi-chan as your special friend, then?"

"Because she means something to me. Onii-chan gave her to me on my third birthday. I've had her since. You should pick a special friend that means something to you, too. Let's start looking here!"

They started at first looking at the standard teddy bear plush toys. Then, they moved to bunnies, then dinosaurs, then snakes, then elephants, then dogs, then cats. As the high schoolers chatted amongst themselves while they waited, Miyoko dragged Bokushi along to search through every animal in existence.

Bokushi didn't really care about the fact that he was being dragged along, but he wondered why Miyoko was trying so hard. He never thought of something so simple as a plush toy to be so significant to a child's life. He had never had this experience before, so he couldn't empathize. But he didn't complain through the duration of it all.

It had been about fifteen minutes of continuous searching before Miyoko finally came to a halt and let go of his hand.

"This is a lot of work," she said. "So far, we haven't found you a special friend."

"Perhaps it just wasn't meant to be," said Bokushi.

"I'm not gonna give up just yet!" Miyoko said, her expression determined. "We'll find you one, alright!"

Bokushi heaved another sigh as he wandered over to the one shelf they hadn't checked. It was only when he looked up at it that something caught his eye.

There, resting on the shelf, was a white plush horse. It had a pearl white mane with black beaded eyes and gray hooves. It also had a brown saddle on it, the straps wrapped around both the top of its head and around its nose, and it had a short white tail. Bokushi reached up and grabbed it, turning it around in his hands. Miyoko noticed he had wandered off and went to join him near the shelf.

"Oh! Did you find one?"

"It looks like a horse I know," he murmured quietly.

Footsteps approached them and Bokushi heard a completely different voice this time.

"You're right, it does look like him."

He turned around and saw Seijuro standing above them.

"Is that the one you wanted?"

Bokushi immediately got flustered when he realized he was holding the stuffed toy. He shook his head fervently.

"No," he said. "I didn't want it."

"Yes you do," Miyoko retorted. "You look like you really wanted it."

Bokushi shook his head again and tried to turn around and place it on the shelf.

"I was just looking at it," he said quickly. "In fact, I was just about to put it back—"

"Bokushi…"

Seijuro turned him back around and then knelt down in front of him.

"It's okay to look at things like this," he said. "No one is going to make fun of you for it. It's only natural."

Seijuro took the horse from Bokushi's hands and examined it. "It's a very pretty horse if I do say so myself. Do you like this one?"

Bokushi set his gaze on the floor before nodding.

"Would you like me to get it for you?"

Bokushi felt his cheeks warm up before he slowly nodded again. Seijuro smiled.

"I'll be happy to get it for you then." He stood up and offered his hand. "Come with me to the register so I can pay for it."

Bokushi looked up at the hand and tore his gaze away from his brother as he wordlessly grabbed it and followed him, Miyoko trailing behind. As Seijuro went to go pay, Kuroko and Midorima watched his interactions with Bokushi.

"They're quite an interesting pair, don't you think, Midorima-kun?"

"They are indeed almost polar opposites, in fact," Midorima replied. "I'm surprised that Akashi is able to handle him so well, considering the fact that he has never had siblings."

"Akashi-kun is still learning," said Kuroko. "Akashi-kun isn't always able to solve the problem like this. Even yesterday, Kagami-kun and I had to help them with a quarrel."

"Perhaps they're not as destined for each other as you made them out to be earlier, in fact."

"I think they'll be fine. As long as Akashi-kun doesn't give up trying to guide him, and Bokushi-kun is still willing to be guided, they'll go hand-in-hand."

Seijuro thanked the cashier at the counter and held the stuffed toy out to Bokushi.

"Here."

Bokushi took it from him and held it carefully in his arms before peeking up at his older brother.

"Thank you," he mumbled.

Seijuro chuckled before reaching down and briefly patting him on the head. "Next time you want something, just tell me. Be a little more honest with your feelings."

Bokushi stared down at the horse in his arms and nodded. "Okay…"

"Hey, Bokushi-kun, now we both have special friends!" Miyoko said happily. "What are you going to name it?"

Bokushi thought for a moment. "Yuki," he decided.

Miyoko giggled. "Then it's Yuki-chan and Mimi-chan! Good for you, Bokushi-kun!"

Midorima and Kuroko came back to the group, Kuroko bending down to look at the plush toy in Bokushi's arms.

"I like your horse, Bokushi-kun."

"Thank you," Bokushi replied.

"Be sure to look after it, in fact," said Midorima. "It could be a potential lucky item for Sagittarius."

"Bokushi-kun picked it to be a special friend, onii-chan, so it's already lucky!" Miyoko said. "Always keep it with you for extra luck!"

"I suppose a bit of extra luck wouldn't hurt," said Bokushi. "I'll be sure to keep it with me, Miyoko."

"Shall we go, Bokushi?" asked Seijuro.

Bokushi nodded. "Okay, Seijuro-nii."

Everyone exited the shop, the bell above the door ringing with a merry jingle. As Bokushi watched everyone walk in front of him, he held on a little tighter to the horse.

A friend that means something to me, huh?

A familiar voice sounded in the back of his mind.

"You have always been protecting me. But now, it's about time that I started protecting you too."

He flushed a deep red. I'm too sentimental.

~O~

After they had left the store, they walked down the street and talked for a few minutes until they reached the road where their paths would diverge.

"Well, it seems I'll be going this way," said Kuroko.

"We're going this way," said Midorima, jerking his head toward the far street.

Seijuro looked up the road they were on. "As for us, we'll be going this way," he said. "It was nice seeing you guys again, Kuroko, Midorima."

"It was nice seeing you too, Akashi-kun," said Kuroko.

"When will you be in Tokyo next?" Midorima asked.

"When school finishes," Seijuro answered. "Which will be in a month's time."

"What about Bokushi-kun?" said Kuroko.

"He will remain here for the time being," said Seijuro. "I hope he won't be too lonely while I'm gone."

"He could play at our house whenever he wants!" Miyoko chimed.

Midorima shrugged. "If that is what Bokushi wants, then I have no problems arranging that whenever Miyoko wants him to come over, in fact."

Seijuro looked down at Bokushi. "Would you like that?"

Bokushi nodded. "Miyoko is good company. I like this arrangement. Also," he added with a small smirk, "if I go to Shintarou's house, it gives me a chance to beat him at shogi."

A vein popped in Midorima's forehead and he grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'pompous bastard' before clearing his throat.

"I suppose I can afford a game or two, in fact," he said. "But I will win next time."

"I hope you're ready to put your money where your mouth is, Shintarou."

"Thank you for offering to keep him company," said Seijuro. "I owe you one, Midorima."

"I'll add it to the list of things you owe me," he said haughtily. "You're up to the twenties now."

"One day, Midorima. One day. Anyway, we'll be going now. Say your goodbyes, Bokushi."

"Goodbye, Tetsuya, thank you for accompanying us to the park today."

"It was no problem, Bokushi-kun," said Kuroko.

"And Shintarou, goodbye, and thank you for the entertaining afternoon."

"Yes, goodbye," said Midorima.

"And goodbye, Miyoko… and Mimi-chan."

Miyoko smiled. "Bye Bokushi-kun! I can't wait to see you again so we can play some more!"

She also took the arm of her bunny and waved it to him, making Bokushi give a small smile.

With everyone saying their goodbye to each other, they all went their separate ways. Kuroko going one way, Midorima and his little sister going another, and Seijuro and Bokushi going another.

…

Later that night after a few hours, Seijuro was in the living room reading a novel when the butler came in.

"Pardon the interruption, Young Master, but dinner will be ready soon."

"Of course. I'll go tell Bokushi."

He set the novel down on the table went upstairs to Bokushi's room, and knocked softly on the door.

"Bokushi? Are you in here?"

He opened the door and peered into the dark room before smiling fondly at the scene before him.

I'll just leave him for a little while longer.

With that, he walked away from the room, still smiling at the sight of Bokushi fast asleep on top of his bed, clutching onto his stuffed horse.

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