Chapter Text
White, the only color that was visible, whether it be the walls or the floor; the seats or the doors, and even the clothes of the staff; everything was so goddamn white. The sterile smell of disinfectant was abundant and suffocating, almost as suffocating as slow and steady ‘tic…tic…tic…’ of the clocks surrounding the walls, clocks that’s sole purpose it was to tell doctors what time it was when someone’s life slipped through their hands.
Aomine sat, still and unmoving, head bowed low, just staring, as if it was all he could do. He wasn’t staring at anything in particular, he was just …staring. The coolness of the metal bench had been lost from how long he had just sat there, waiting, for hours, from late afternoon to now; late into the evening.
He had no idea how the current situation he found himself facing had come to be. All he knew was that Kise, his Kise, the single best thing in his life (besides basketball) his personal ray of shine (not that he’d ever admit it) was hurt. Hurt was an understatement, he’d been beaten to a bloody pulp, left for dead and was now in surgery.
Aomine looked around at all the plain furniture, health magazines, clocks and white that furnished the emergency waiting room. He wanted to be mad, to be furious, to go and find whoever did this and destroy them, but he was far too worried to even think about leaving the hospital. Besides, the degree of Kise’s injuries were going to be in direct correlation with how badly Aomine was going to kill the person responsible.
“Aomine-kun?” a light voice asked.
Aomine glanced up to see his long-time friend, Kuroko Testuya, staring at him, worry evident in his features. Dark and light blue clashed as Aomine reluctantly looked down once more, his silence remaining intact. Even with their brief exchange, he was able to see the dark bangs under Kuroko’s eyes. Kuroko and Kagami had been with Aomine when they had stumbled upon Kise, all of them tired from waiting and sick with worry and rage. Kuroko returned to his seat between Aomine and Kagami, resting his mess of blue hair on the tall red head’s shoulder.
Aomine placed his head in his hands as the events of the day ran through his head over and over, trying to see if he could find the exact moment in time when the blond had disappeared from site, to only reappear bloody and beaten.
_____Earlier that Evening_____
They’d done it, they’d won. The cries from the crowd where mixed with the screams of victory let lose by the Seirin team. Sounds of shoes squeaking on the stadium floor resounded throughout the air as the team ran to each other, slapping one another while hugging and smiling like idiots. They’d beat Rakuzan and were now the best in Japan. Kuroko, tears in eyes, walked towards his former captain, and hopefully, his new friend. Akashi, coming to terms with the fact that he had lost for the first time, turned to Kuroko, smiling through his tears.
“Let’s play again, Kuroko.”
“Definitely”
They all stood proud when the medals were handed out and speeches made. The smiled so broadly the feared the cheeks would simply break off. Once the formalities had finished, the Generation of Miracles met once more, in the lobby, standing around each other slightly awkwardly. Kuroko had been getting ready to leave when Akashi had stopped him, wishing to aplolgise some more for what he had force the young man through during their middle school days. They had been just about to part ways when a certain blonde haired individual limped his way up to them.
"Kurokocchi~ Akashicchi~ That match was crazy!" Kise beamed
"Ah, Kise-chin, Aka-chin, Kuro-chin, are you meeting in secret, if so, I'll crush you." The purple giant said walking over the the group after spotting their strange hair colour combination in the crowd.
"Well, Takao, let's just... walk the other way." Midorima sighed after seeing the small gathering.
"No way in hell Shin-chan," Takao said while pushing Midorima closer to the fray, "it's good to catch up with old friends!"
"They are not my fr-"
"Don't me such a tsundere, Midorima." Aomine smirked, also deciding to join the gathering.
So there they were, in the center of the lobby, together as a group for the first time since the start of the winter up, however, this time far less hostile. Unfortunately, it only went down hill from there. They had failed to notice one more person, standing far away from them, but close enough to see and hear everything. They had all failed, except Kise.
They soon became immersed in a conversation, one that Kise had droned out from his mind during his state of mid-panic. He kept his fake smile on and nodded as if he were keeping up with what ever topic was being discussed, but in reality, he was far to focused on what he had glimpsed in the corner of his eye. He knew what would happen if he ignored it, then again, he knew what would happen if he didn't.
Kis looked at his fellow miracles one last time, deciding that now, of all times, after they had just reconciled, he could not let his actions jeopardize that. Inhaling deeply, he turned to face the group.
"Wow, it's actually pretty stuffy in here, right? I think I'll step out for a sec, be right back!" he said in a sing song voice. He turned and limped away, trying to ignore the question look that Aomine was sending him. He walked through the corridors, past the court and further then the locker rooms until finally, he found the door that lead to the back exit of the stadium.
He stood there, out in the small, cold alleyway that was the backstreets surrounding this area of the stadium. He turned, seeing him standing there. Holding his breath, he stood with all of his might and stared the other man straight in the eye.
"What do you want?"
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Minutes had passed, and the GOM did not worry. They did, however worry, when and hour had passed and their blonde companion was no where to be found. Their worry only grew when Kaijo approached them, asking if they had see the small forward. Everyone split into groups and went off to search for him, concerned that the cold would make his already injured leg hurt even more, or that maybe he had slipped in the snow outside and couldn't get up, or just anything else Kise would end up doing.
Aomine, Kagami and Kuroko stood around the enterance, deciding where they would search next, having already covered the majority of the inside and out. Aomine checked his phone for the umpteenth time that evening, calling or texting Kise in the hopes of a response.
"What the hell could that Idiot be doing?' Kagami sighed
"Perhaps Kise-kun went home?" Kuroko suggested
"Then why isn't he answering his phone?" Aomine interjected
They all stood in silence for a moment, until Kuroko let out a small yelp, looking up quickly and staring at Aomine.
"I have an idea, keep calling Kise-kun, and while you do, we can walk around and try to hear his ringtone."
"That's actually a pretty decent plan." Aomine nodded
And so, Aomine continued to call Kise, wondering around in the snow, hoping to catch that distinctive ringtone that Kise insists on having, the godamn Noragami opening (Aomine swears if that some gets stuck in his head ONE MORE TIME he's gonna...) Their walk soon lead them to the back end of the stadium, which was far more quiet then the front, and there, in the silence Aomine could barley make out the melody playing in the background.
He turned to Kuroko and Kagami who both look back understandingly as the three of them approach the sound, trying to find the source, or rather, the owner of the source. After a few minutes, they had reached the alley furthest back, which connected to the back exit of the staduim. They were not ready for what they would find next.
Kagami was the first to react, whipping out his own cell in lighting speed, he began to call the emergency services. Kuroko was next as he dashed forward to what lay in front of him. Aomine was stuck, unable to move, all he could do, was stare
"Hello, I need an ambulance..." Kagami continued on, walking off a little ways so he could properly inform the ambulance of what was happening.
What lay in front of them, down in the snow, covered in cuts, bruises and blood. The snow beneath and around them dyed red, just like the tips of their blonde hair. Blood was slowly making it's way down Kise's side from what looked like a shallow stab wound, showing that the assaulter was prepared, well prepared. What lay there in that back alleyway was Kise, barely breathing. Kuroko had managed to reach the blondes side, and was gently trying to roll him onto his back. He leaned into his chest and listen close for that thud, thud, thud of the human heart.
"Kise-Kun!"
Finally Aomine snapped back to life. He rushed down to Kise side, kneeling beside him. Aomine looked to Kuroko, then back to Kise, he wasn't sure on what he wanted to say and even if he did know, there was no way they'd get past the lump in his throat.
"H-hey, Kise." he stuttered looking down at the fallen boy. He was shaking and he knew it was because he was scared. He couldn't accept that Kise, the always so bright, shiny and happy Miracle, was laying beaten down before him. He slowly reached out his hands, shakily at first, towards Kise. Ever-so-slightly, he placed his hands under the boys head and back, lifting him slowly to rest in his arms. But he wasn't just scared, he was fucking pissed. He swore that whoever responsible was gonna pay, big tome.
He felt cold, oh how he felt cold. Aomine just stared at the boy he was cradling, trying to get some form of response. Any, any in any way, shape or form. His felt his eyes start to sting, everything that was happen was too surreal, it felt like it was some kind of dream, or well some kind of hellish nightmare, to Aomine. Kagami joined them after he finished on the phone, knelt beside Kuroko.
"The ambulance will be here soon, we should tell the others." Kagami said, but he could tell Aomine wasn't listening, he was too busy staring at Kise to notice anything else.
"Aomine-kun-" Kuroko was cut off by the sound of sirens wailing in the distance.
"Well that was fast, Kagami sighed and pulled out his phone again, "I'm gonna call the others, Kuroko, make sure you explain the situation."
Aomine just sat there as the medics walked over and took Kise. It wasn't until later that he would notice exactly how much blood his jacket was now covered in. He just sat and stared as the GoM slowly gathered in that one spot, before making the trip to the hospital together. After they had arrived, they were informed that Kise was in surgery and that is exactly how they got to where they were, sitting in that godamn white waiting room.