Lies (Akakuro)

Chapter 9

BANG.

That was the sound of a car colliding with a body. A strong stench of burnt rubber hung in the air. Horror was written all over the face of the car driver. Panicking, he shot back into his car and sped away.

Kuroko opened his eyes slowly. Other than abrasions on his elbows and knees, he was... alright? Shouldn't he be dead by now? Confused, Kuroko looked around, trying to comprehend what had happened. He was lying face down on the road. There was a crowd of people just a few metres away from him. Some of then looked curious, some of them looked shocked, some of them looked scared. Wincing in pain at his bleeding wounds, Kuroko staggered over and squeezed into the crowd. The people were crowding around a body. There was blood pooling around it. It was the body of a young man, dressed in a business suit. His clothes were torn, soaked in his own blood. He was deathly pale, his red hair disheveled.

"AKASHI-KUN!!!" Kuroko cried, kneeling down beside the body. Guilt, shock and fear struck him all at once. He didn't care about the blood that was staining his clothes. When the car was coming towards him, Akashi had pushed him aside, taking the impact himself. Akashi had saved him.

"AKASHI-KUN, WAKE UP" Kuroko screamed, picking up the redhead's lifeless body. Ripping away the remains of his tattered shirt, Kuroko placed his ear over Akashi's bare chest, listening out for any signs of heartbeat. Silence.

"AKASHI-KUN, PLEASE, NO... YOU CAN'T BE DEAD" Kuroko cried hysterically, holding the lifeless body in his arms. Akashi's skin was pale, his eyes shut, blood trickling out from a gash in his forehead. Kuroko cupped Akashi's face and brushed his thumb over the redhead's cheeks, tears dripping down onto him drop by drop. He felt as though someone had just plunged a dagger straight into his heart.

The police arrived. A few police officers started diverting the crowd while a few others asked around for witnesses.

"Tetsu, What happened?!" A deep voice rang out. Kuroko looked up at the police officer with teary eyes, mumbling incoherently.

"Okay, okay, calm down Tetsu. I know you're worried about Akashi but the ambulance is coming soon, he's gonna be alright. Come over here, let go of him, its okay" Aomine said gently, having not understood a single word that had come out of the shadow's mouth. Kuroko's eyes visibly widened as he hugged the lifeless body closer to him.

"N-NO!"

"Tetsu, please cooperate with us. Give Akashi some air, you don't want to worsen his condition do you?" Aomine asked as calmly as he could, despite being shocked and worried for his ex-captain. Kuroko shook his head slowly and placed Akashi down on the road as gently as he could. Draping an arm around his former shadow in an attempt to comfort him, Aomine led Kuroko a little further away from Akashi's body and silently willed the ambulance to arrive sooner.

When the ambulance finally arrived, Akashi was lifted onto the stretcher and sent to the hospital, with Kuroko and Aomine tagging along. As Akashi was wheeled into the emergency room, Kuroko called the kindergarten to inform them that he had some urgent things to attend to and may not be at work for a couple of days.

Pacing around outside the emergency room, Kuroko prayed for Akashi. He could not think about anything else other than the guilt, fear and emptiness that he felt. If only he had controlled his emotions, he wouldn't have acted so recklessly. If he hadn't ran across the road, he wouldn't be in the path of that car. If he hadn't been in the path of the car, Akashi wouldn't have to save him. What if Akashi didn't make it? What if the operation was a failure? What would Kuroko do? How would he live, knowing that Akashi had died sacrificing himself for him? Akashi hadn't been lying. Everything he said was true. Akashi did love him. Akashi did regret his actions. He hadn't meant those cruel words he said 6 years ago. Their love had been real. How would he forgive Akashi if he died? How would he give Akashi another chance? The more Kuroko thought about it, the more scared he became. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry.

"Kuroko, Aomine." another familiar voice echoed through the cold, empty corridor.

"M-midorima-kun?"

"What happened? I heard Akashi was involved in a hit-and-run accident."

"Akashi-kun w-was trying t-to protect me, Midorima-kun... He pushed me away and got h-hit... This is all my fault..." Kuroko stuttered, hot tears welling up in his eyes as he tried to explain the situation to his former teammates.

"Now is not the time to be blaming yourself, Kuroko. I've specially asked some of the most skilled surgeons in the hospital to operate on Akashi. All we can do now is wait and hope for the best." As the minutes passed, the other two members of the generation of miracles showed up. First was Kise, then Murasakibara. Midorima went back to deal with other patients, leaving the four of them waiting with bated breaths. Kise paced around endlessly, Aomine sat on the chair, eyebrows knitted tightly together, Murasakibara stood in a corner, worry etched clearly on his face, while Kuroko seated himself on the floor, against a wall. Hugging his knees, Kuroko put his head down to hide the silent tears that were pouring out of his eyes. As the hours ticked by, Kuroko's anxiety grew. Horrible thoughts clouded his mind, leaving him unable to think straight.

"Tetsu, you've been sitting there for 5 hours straight" Kuroko felt Aomine nudge him gently.

"L-leave me alone" Kuroko mumbled hoarsely.

"Do you at least want a drink, Kuro-chin?"

"No"

"Don't blame yourself Kurokocchi"

"But it is all my fault that Akashi-kun is in this state! I ran onto the road without looking where I was going and was almost knocked down by the car! I should be the one lying in there right now, I caused Akashi-kun to get hurt because of my own recklessness!" Kuroko sobbed.

"If you keep crying like that, you'll get dehydrated. Have some water" Midorima warned, placing a cup of warm water beside Kuroko. Finally, Kuroko lifted his head, picked up the cup and took a small sip. His eyes were swollen from crying too much and he felt weak and light-headed. The Generation of Miracles, minus Akashi, sat beside Kuroko in an attempt to comfort him as they continued to wait for the operation to end. After another 3 nail biting hours, the door of the emergency room opened. Kuroko sprang up immediately.

"Doctor, how was the operation? How's Akashi-kun? Is he alright?"

"He's out of the danger zone for now. He suffered quite a deep gash on his forehead from the broken glass, a few broken bones and internal bleeding. I can't confirm when he'll wake up though."

"T-thank you, doctor" Kuroko breathed a sigh of relief to hear that Akashi wasn't in danger. Later in Akashi's room, the generation of miracles sat around the white hospital bed. Their former captain lay amidst the white sheets, white bandages wrapped around his head. His left arm was in a cast, and so was his right leg. The only sign which showed that he was alive was the weak rise and falls of his chest. Kuroko placed his hand on Akashi's and was shocked at how cold it felt to his touch. Picking up the pale hand, Kuroko entwined his fingers with Akashi's and gave the hand a gentle squeeze.

Please wake up soon, Sei-kun.