Brothers Forever

Chapter 13

Seijūrō was not informed of this. And he was pissed. He could not blame the others and could only blame whatever physical inability that did not allow phones to be in your pocket during games. The others messaged him, which he only checked long after the game had finished, with everyone still happy and high from the win against Rakuzan High, the unbeatable of the unbeatable. They were all going to celebrate, Seirin, everyone else and of course, including Tetsuya. But for some reasons, the God's were against him at that moment.

Everyone's moment of glory was cut short when they had all bathed, refreshened up and checked their phones, ready to leave the stadium for a celebration. So, instead of heading towards Kagami's very-conveniently-near house, the whole team rushed off to the hospital once again.

It was near midnight and the lightings were dim so patients would not be disturbed. The group registered at the front desk quietly and squeezed into the very familiar lift up to the same usual floor. The corridor was dark, with only the bright illuminated sign of 'OPERATION IN PROGRESS' lighting up the benches around it. As expected, there were many people sitting on the bench. However, Seijūrō's father had not arrived yet so the large group of friends sat there quietly.

Kise broke the silence by asking, "Ne, Seijūrōcchi. What happened in America specifically? That doctor you brought along with you went in with doctor Midorima so fast we could not get any answers."

Seijūrō pinched his nose and sighed heavily. "It's a new technology... I was researching about anything that may remotely help Tetsuya in the slightest. As most of you may know, finding a single lung donor would be hard enough, let alone two. Furthermore, my brother has a weak system and most matches would not be compatible with his body. I actually offered to donate my lungs to Tetsuya but that came with strong rejection on my father's part..."

At this, the others widened their eyes. Seijūrō ignored them and continued, "America's medical industries were more advanced in this area, so I contacted many doctors to ask for recommendations. I came across Mr Rinne, who did cloning. It wasn't a much looked into aspect as it was not very safe yet, but I went to find him anyway. He did not do human clones, but instead, cloned tissues for animals to heal them. I decided to take the risk. We're twins, so my lung would essentially be compatible with Tetsuya's. It's still a 50% chance that an organ transplant like this would work..."

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Dear Seijūrō,

If you're reading this right now... I'm very sorry that I couldn't keep my promise of staying alive, by your side. But I guess... I really can't make it through this. I'm glad the nurses did not throw this piece of paper away or really, you'd be mourning my death for years. And well... with my sicknesses, this should be expected by you of all people, right? You know, I'm really scared of dying. I really don't want to die just yet. I want to be with you, my big brother, still studying with you and maybe when we grow up, we will take over Father's business together.

But you know what? I'm not really scared for myself... I'm scared about you. You are full of surprises, brother, so please, please, I beg you, don't destroy yourself. Don't blame yourself for whatever reason behind my death. It's not your fault. Everyone dies at one point and mine was just earlier than most.

Maybe I've read too many horror stories and you'd just scoff, but maybe I became a ghost? I could haunt you all day and maybe I'm haunting you right now while you read this. Haha... alright. It wasn't funny.

But don't be sad, brother. I'll always be with you no matter what. Go back home, even if I may not be there, I'll still be there. You'll see all my books, my bed, my homework, anything actually. You'll even see me in Nigō.

You know, I've been blaming myself over and over for bringing so much trouble to everyone, especially you and Father. But if I say I've forgiven myself, would you do the same? Please? And I'm so sorry, so very sorry for not being with you right now, comforting you and... just being with you.

But as you read this, I hope you're not too mad... I wouldn't want you to tear this letter away because once you're done mourning, you'd probably regret it a lot. So in case, I've even wrote it in my phone but of course, a real letter is much more sincere. You know my password.

Be strong, Sei. Live your life to the fullest, for both you and me. One day, when you wake up, everything would be normal once again. Move on. Be happy. Find happiness somewhere else and if you do get a girlfriend, I'll be there at your wedding.

Hey, remember the gem Otō-san gave us for our fifteenth birthday? Would you please keep it for me, together with your red one? It should be somewhere in our room back home. Speaking of home, please take care of Nigō too... He must be lonely, with you always here to take care of me. Please take care of Otō-san too, because you're just like him, overworking himself all the time.

But most importantly, you're everything to me Sei. Please take care of yourself. Eat enough, sleep enough, don't get too stressed, please don't touch scissors for a month, just because, and I'm sure exercise is not a problem for you. Basketball has been one of the things that connected both of us so please, don't quit. Seirin needs you too.

You should forget me, Sei. Move on. I do not wish for myself to remain a burden to you even in the afterlife. But promise me one thing: remember the times we've spent together.

Your beloved brother,

Akashi Tetsuya

Goodbye, brother. I will miss you dearly.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"... Sei-nii. Put that away! It's embarrassing! How did you find it in the first place?!" Tetsuya ordered.

Seijūrō laughed and pushed his brother off the bed. "I'm keeping this. It shows your heartfelt love to me as your brother and I shall cherish it."

Tetsuya leered at his brother. "That sound's like you're flirting with me and I'm totally not into that stuff. Give. The. Letter. Back. Now."

"Nope."

Life went back to normal after the whole ordeal.

As these twins were, they were...

Brothers Forever.

A/N: Thank you for reading this story! Please leave a review :)