Blackout

Akashi Seijuurou was a strong, independent individual. He was accomplished in many areas and was well respected by his peers. He had never tasted defeat before, nor was he planning to at any point in the future.

Yet as all intelligent people knew, everyone had a weakness.

And the time had come for Akashi to succumb to his.

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Akashi felt awful when he woke up that morning.

His head was heavy and his thoughts were muddled; movement was a chore. His body felt unnaturally warm, and when he secretly checked with a thermometer, his suspicions were proven right.

38.8 degrees Celsius... That's severe.

He put the thermometer away and set to freshening himself up, determined to get through the school day in spite of the fever. He would not be one of those weaklings who stayed home because of a measly fever.

It's only a fever, after all. As long as I do not exert myself too much, I should be fine.

I hope.

He shoved memories of the outcome of similar incidents to the back of his mind, refusing to acknowledge the worst that could happen.

But of course, the worst that could happen would always happen.

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Akashi felt supremely exhausted in class, and they were only at the second period of the day. His head felt like a ton of bricks, and all he wanted to do was close his eyes and sleep. It took everything he had to stay awake and write notes, especially because his vision kept fading in and out.

The second period finally came to an end and he slumped onto the table, cradling his head in his folded arms. The coolness of the table was soothing, but frigid. His school jacket was already thrown over his shoulders, and heaven forbid that he actually have to zip it up. He was contemplating it though. Autumn had never been so cold.

He was sure he blacked out for a few minutes, because the next thing he knew, the class was being called to greet their next teacher. As he stood and executed the familiar action, he was hit by a wave of dizziness, and had to place a hand on the table to steady himself. He cast a glance about the room; it seemed like no one had noticed his fumble. No matter. It was only a problem if someone did notice.

Akashi had to blink back the encroaching stars in his vision, and instantly felt better the moment he sat down.

It was going to be a long day.

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Akashi spent the rest of the day at his desk, only getting up to use the bathroom or refill his water bottle. Once, he dared to sneak a thermometer into the bathroom with him, and was pleased to see that his temperature had lowered somewhat. Perhaps he would survive the day after all.

The final bell of the day rang, and Akashi had never been so relieved to pack his bag. Now the only problem was–

"Akashi-kun, are you ready to go?"

Kuroko.

Akashi picked up his bag with deliberate slowness, rising to his feet before meeting the blunette's eyes. "Yes. Let us be on our way."

If only the fever had not struck on a day that he was supposed to tutor Kuroko in basketball.

Their coach had given them the week off to study for their exams, and Kuroko had taken the opportunity to study basketball a little more thoroughly with Akashi's help. On a normal day, the redhead would have been pleased to coach the phantom player. However, he was feeling a little too under the weather that day, for reasons unknown. (That was not particularly true. He knew he was sick, but that factor alone could not contribute wholly to his light-headedness.)