Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke nor do I profit from the publishing of this work of fiction.

Author: Akashi4.15kuroko

Sorry for the long wait! I bring to you chapter SIX of ASoL.

It's been one month since high school ended. Six months since Akashi-kun walked away from me, and five and a half since my parents told me that I'd inherited the disease from my grandmother. I've been confirmed to have Dry Macular Degeneration. I'm going blind. No wonder my body was so weak towards the end of the school year; my system was busy trying to ward off the cancerous cells growing in my eyes. I had always been told that I had striking resemblance to my grandmother- not in terms of gender, of course- in terms of facial structure, also eye and hair color.

I'm in a hospital now; I practically live here ever since school ended.

Life was still acceptable when school was still going on, my classmates had fun; everyone had fun. I didn't tell anyone in particular that I was diagnosed with dry macular degeneration, but I had a hunch that Midorima-kun, Murasakibara-kun and maybe Akashi-kun knew about it. I'm sure my parents included it in the letter that they wrote to the school for me to be excused from the basketball team in the middle of the year.

Then, on the last day of school, Kise-kun invited me to play street basketball with him out in an open court. Delighted with the fact that I might be able to see Akashi-kun again, I quickly accepted.

What happened then really beat the fact that I had dry macular degeneration into my mind. In my heart, maybe I was always in slight denial; I thought that if I was going to be blind, I should cherish what days I have left completely, but nothing was ever that easy in life.

I accidentally stared straight at the Sun's bright rays. My doctor, Fujimaki-san had told me once that if I wanted to prolong whatever time I had left now before going completely blind, I should avoid looking at strong light. That coupled with the fact that I had less pigments in my eyes to shield the bright UV rays from penetrating them made sunlight a big no-no.

I fell hard onto the cement pavement below me. My forehead throbbed, but what hurt the most were my eyes. I couldn't see. It was as if the world turned black, and a migraine quickly developed between my eyes. I didn't even know that my eyes were still open until I felt damp moisture flowing down my cheeks. I had to actually make a conscious effort to close my eyelids.

Everything after that went like a blur to me; I barely recognized the sting on my forehead when the wound was being disinfected, nor did I register the fact that Kise-kun brought me back home to my apartment. My keys were in my bag, so he managed to unlock the door. I was numb to everything that happened to me; like a lifeless rag doll. I could see again, and Kise-kun cleaned me up before placing me on my bed.

He left me sitting alone.

When I saw his legs still lingering in my peripheral vision, I finally lifted my head to stare at him.

His eyes were moist, and it was then, in his warm embrace that I found out that he'd been trying to talk to me for the whole day. I barely recognized my own voice saying sorry before the blond shushed me.

I told Kise-kun that I had dry macular degeneration then, and Kise-kun just kept on apologizing to me, whispering into my ear. His pleas of "Sorry, I'm so sorry, Kurokocchi," were all I could hear, his other words being too garbled due to his throat clogging up. I could feel moist rivulets running down my shoulders and soaking my tee, and I couldn't help but smile at the irony of the situation. The one who was about to go blind is fine, but the one who was free of any disease was crying his heart out.

I tried to keep the grief in, tried to bottle everything up in myself; I'd wanted to say those words nonchalantly; say that no, I'm actually not scared of losing my sight; no, being visionless wouldn't affect me at all and; no, I'm fine with it actually, so why are you crying and apologizing like it's the end of the world?

Nevertheless, it didn't come out well. My eyes started getting blurry when before I even opened my mouth, and when the word "No-"escaped my mouth, a fat tear droplet fell. More and more followed after the first.

It was then, at the comfort of the night, that I truly let go of everything and cried my heart out, clutching at Kise-kun's faded pink tee.

My eyesight started deteriorating steadily the next day.

Day by day, the vivid colors around me got bleaker. Every morning after I woke up, a small part of me died as well, along with my eyesight. I moved into the hospital not long after school ended, my doctor telling me to start therapy as soon as possible. I think Kise-kun told everyone about me being in the hospital, because everyone started visiting me soon after, all except Akashi-kun.

It was already too late for me to undergo any kind of treatment, except administering eye drops to try and lessen the blurriness. The doctor told me then that I only had one year left, two at most before going completely blind. I should probably get used to my eyesight being slightly blurrier, slight more colorless day by day. Fujimaki-san told me to get ready for everything that dry macular disease threw my way, but it really wasn't that easy. I had to cope with starting to use my other senses to take over my eyesight, and honestly speaking, it wasn't that easy after relying on my eyes for the most of my life.

When I was in the hospital, I met another boy named Himuro; he was the same age as me. I'd actually been observing him for quite some time; he'd never fail to take a walk every morning, always the same route and time, never anything different; and his nurse would always come looking for him after a set period of time. He was always wearing a soft smile, and it intrigued me; how can someone living in the hospital seem so jovial all the time? I didn't know what he was here for, but I doubt that it was something minor since I could practically see him here every day.

I never approached him; he approached me one day after he noticed me watching him. His first words to me were, "Hi, I'm Himuro Tatsuya," and then he gave me a charming and sincere smile that made his eyes crinkle slightly. It was then that I absently noticed that he had a beauty mark right below his right eye.

Himuro would come visit me every day after that when he learned that my ward was in the same floor as his; just that his was nearer to the nurses' counter, as he was admitted to the hospital a lot earlier than me.

When I got to know that he was there earlier than me, I started thinking of what he might be here for; cancer perhaps? I never pried, because it was rude to do so. He'd tell me when he was ready, and the same thing applied to me; I'd tell him when I was ready. He understood and respected what I wanted, so I'd do the same thing to him.

"Aren't you going to visit him?"

"No, I'm not, Shintarou."

Their conversation was supposed to end that way, with Midorima gazing at Akashi's retreating back, leaving their graduation ceremony, but the greenhead had come to surprise Akashi with his new attitude.

"Won't you miss him?" Akashi heard Midorima's voice call out to him, slightly raised due to the distance.

Yes, I will.

"No, I will not. Goodbye, Shintarou. The next time we meet will be at the Winter Cup." The red-haired captain replied emotionlessly. He had stopped in his tracks when Midorima brought up that question all of a sudden, but he made himself start walking, leaving his old middle school's grounds.

I'll miss him.

…

A lot.

Himuro knocked softly on Kuroko's door, rapping softly and waiting patiently. He knew that it'd take Kuroko more time as his eyes were failing more day by day.

"Morning, Himuro-kun," Kuroko greeted in Japanese, opening the door and letting a tired smile fleet across his face. He had gotten therapy today; doctor Fujimaki gave him a board full of holes, and he had to drop the small pins accordingly into them. He'd also had lessons to learn Braille, preparing himself for life after getting blind.

Himuro could say that he felt sad for Kuroko. Sure, he himself had to deal with losing something else entirely, but at least he could still retain his sight. His grey eyes flashed as he stared openly at Kuroko's fading blue orbs and his pale, round face.

"Please come in," Kuroko said, stepping aside to let Himuro enter his room.

As always, Himuro shared and talked to Kuroko. He told Kuroko about everything that happened during his therapy, and described in detail about what he saw when he went out for his walk.

The next day, Himuro-kun didn't come. Instead, I fumbled to the nurses' counter- I had to feel my way along the corridor- and asked them for permission to enter Himuro-kun's ward. I wasn't sure if he had therapy or not, so I asked the nurses to make sure.

Himuro-kun didn't have therapy. He'd left; moved out of the hospital. Left without so much of a goodbye.

I walked quietly back into my own ward.

I'm aware that I've changed. The other day, Aomine-kun visited; dragging Midorima-kun with him. They each took turns holding my hand, telling me about their school lives; Aomine-kun was slightly embarrassed, I could tell; but he was really gentle. I sensed rather than saw the flush that crept up his neck and painted his cheeks. I was slightly happy because someone who was absolutely against being touchy-feely like Aomine-kun initiated contact with me. I felt that our friendship was finally on the way to being patched up.

Aomine-kun's hand had been warm and inviting, and all three of them took great care of me, even though Midorima-kun wasn't as enthusiastic as the rest. I couldn't help but smile a little when he picked up my hand with his face stubbornly turned to the side. I couldn't see whether he made eye contact though, but I had honestly expected a reaction like that from him.

I wasn't shocked when Aomine-kun commented on my change of behavior. I was more, 'kind of hard and serious-looking rather than stoic; like a battle-hardened warrior' in his way of putting it. I remembered myself saying that it was expected.

Why I said that, I didn't know.

All I know was that when Midorima-kun left, Aomine-kun hugged me to his hard chest, squeezing my body and burying his head to the crook of my neck. He asked me four simple words, and my bodily functions shut down completely.

"Do you miss him?"

It was the first time that anyone asked me that question about Akashi-kun. I could sense that Aomine-kun was talking about him.

I wept a little, only a few drops of tears. I couldn't cry anymore, my eyes were physically weak and my heart was already in shreds. I told Aomine-kun everything; about my feelings for Akashi-kun, how he cared so much for me, how he flirted, how he made me feel like the most special person on Earth. And also how sad I felt in the end; how he crushed me that day. Coupled with the fact that Himuro-kun had just upped and left like that, I'd never felt so lonely before in my life.

Aomine-kun understood everything; he just held me close, guiding my eyes close with a gentle hand and never letting go.

It wasn't easy to endure heartbreak. Kuroko's emotions fluctuated every day; ranging from seeing a cat with multicolored eyes and weeping; to seeing the blue dress shirt that he'd worn on their date and smiling with wet, teary eyes. He could feel his heart wrenching whenever something reminded him of Akashi, and a lot of things around his life did just that.

But life still went on, time still passed; he still got nearer to ultimate darkness.

Whenever his friends visited him, he would be absent. His body was there, but his heart and soul were not; when they spoke to him, he'd just stare at the white wall in front of his bed, thinking of all the possibilities that he had with the redhead if they never separated. 'What ifs' clouded his mind; unspoken words tore at his insides.

Aomine felt his heart wrenching as well, seeing Kuroko's lifeless orbs staring absently at the wall in front of him. How dare Akashi treat Kuroko like this; how DARE he flirt so blatantly with Kuroko, make him fall head over heels, and then just abandon him?

Aomine would never do that to Kuroko.

He wanted to hug, to kiss, to caress the bluenette, but he'd always stop himself before carrying out those gestures. It was not in his place to do anything like that. All he could wish for was for the stupid redhead to realize that Kuroko was loved by a lot of people, and if he wouldn't appreciate Kuroko, then Aomine would.

A lone tear slid down Kuroko's cheek, disconnecting with his chin before falling onto the white covers.

Aomine Daiki swore then and there that he wouldn't let Kuroko endure this harsh phase again.

Aomine-kun visited almost every day now. I tried asking him about high school, but he just waved me off nonchalantly, telling me that he was attending Touou High School.

Then one day, I got a visitor after Aomine-kun left. I knew that it was definitely not Kise-kun because he called me earlier in the day to tell me that he was visiting tomorrow. I realized with a jolt that it might be Akashi-kun standing outside my ward, behind the thin door. Without caring for my own safety, I jumped off my bed crazily, rushing to the closed door.

I wrenched open the door, hoping; praying to all of the Gods listening that it was Akashi-kun.

For the first time in months, I saw a head of red hair. It was blurred, but definitely, blindingly, dazzlingly red.

A smile crossed my face, and tears escaped me.

I'm seriously very sorry for just leaving all of my stories on hiatus like this for almost a year, it's just..

-Interjects- Oh yeah by the way... thank you for the reviews! *Grins happily* So how's the chapter this time?

I got lazy xP

LOL HAHAHA Just kidding *Smiles cheekily* I'm back now, though, so if you read my other stories as well, be prepared to receive updates on them soon :) And thank you for still being loyal readers after my long absence!

To make up for it, A415K will be hosting a challenge every chapter where the name of the next chapter is given, and the readers guess what will happen in it. Winners will be awarded with the gift of the chapter (Changes every chapter). Submissions should be under topic of 'CHAPTER CHALLENGE!' Winners will be notified on the release date of chapter :) For extra info, please visit my profile. Thank you.

Chapter Challenge begins on the next update, peeps ;)

-A415K