Let me just say that writing this fic was unplanned. I only have thought up of it today. ;D

I thought up of this today after re-reading my other one-shots Stagehands of the Mirror (SotM) and Miracles Do Exist (MDE).

This is also the shortest one-shot I've ever written.

Random note: Ogiwara's gonna get mindraped by Akashi (because he wanted to see Tet-chan~) o.O

R & R.

Enjoy~!

What was lost can never be returned.

His legs moved on its own. He pushed someone else away and in a flash, he fell to the ground. When he landed, his head hit the floor first; giving him a mild concussion and blurry vision. The sound of footsteps headed towards him. There was also a shout from behind, but he couldn't pinpoint it.

All that mattered to him was the intense pain in his chest.

What was going on?

Faintly, a familiar tune echoed in the air. His eyes widened when he figured out what it was.

'A carousel?'

He then heard a voice beside him. His body was slowly lifted from the cold, hard ground and laid on someone's lap. A hand caressed his hair. His mouth opened involuntarily to speak at the other, but he didn't understand his own words. His consciousness was starting to fade. Before his world was overwhelmed by black, he heard a deep voice in the back of his mind.

"Why do you always leave my side?"

Kuroko's eyes shot up in alarm.

He rubbed his eyes and frantically looked around. The bluenet realized that he was still in his bedroom, and that what happened was just a dream. 'It was a bit too realistic for my liking, though.'

He gazed at his clock to check the time. It was 3:00 am.

The phantom player groaned. It happened again.

What a weird dream it had been. He's been having the same one for the past week, and has been losing a lot sleep because of it. For some reason, he always woke up in the middle of the night. It's also affected his daily performance, because being sleepy was slowly becoming permanent for him. If worse comes to worst, he'd become nocturnal.

"Why do you always leave my side?"

Somehow, Kuroko can't forget those words.

Kuroko blinked profusely. He could see a tuft of blood red hair from afar, similar to his light's. There's was only one person he knew that had the same shade of crimson, but he wouldn't wordlessly lurk around other people's school.

Scratch that, he wouldn't do it... unannounced.

He never failed to tell him or the other Miracles if he was around.

What was different this time?

After class, the teal-haired male scurried out of the room to confirm if was his former captain (and instructor) prowling about. Another redhead unexpectedly saw him leaving and followed him to the school grounds. He saw the red-haired stranger from afar and ran towards him.

"Akashi-kun, is that you?"

The redhead turned around and confirmed his doubts. It really was the captain.

"Ah, Tetsuya."

The phantom player stopped in front of his ex-teammate.

"What are you doing here?"

"Can I not visit my boyfriend?"

Kuroko resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but he'll let this one slide. "You didn't text or call me about it. That itself is suspicious."

Akashi chuckled. "You have no tact in words at all, as usual."

"Oi, Kuroko. Where are you going? It's time for practice!" Kagami, his basketball partner and best friend in Seirin, called out to him. The bluenet turned around to see the taller male a few feet away. He didn't see how the two redhead's eyes narrowed at the sight of the other.

"Akashi."

"Kagami Taiga."

In that brief moment, sparks appeared between them. The PF was the first to break eye contact.

"I don't have a problem with you two dating and being lovey-dovey," Although it did irked him in the slightest. "But Coach's gonna kill us if we're late for today's training." The wild tiger shivered at the thought of their—possible—tripled training menu as punishment.

"Wait for a minute," The phantom player replied. He looked back at Akashi. "You didn't answer my question."

"Let's go on a date."

"What?!/Akashi-kun?" A bewildered and monotone voice chorused together.

The PG smirked at the pair. "You heard me."

"You heard Kagami-kun. What about Coach—" The redhead placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him before glaring at the other red-haired player. "Tell your coach that Tetsuya will be excused for the rest of the day."

"But Akashi-kun..."

"Tetsuya." He knew that look. They were equally stubborn, but his boyfriend was a lot more persuasive than him. Whenever his face appeared like that, the bluenet has no choice but to comply to his lover's whims.

He sighed defeatedly. "Alright."

Kagami immediately protested. "Wait just a darn minute—!"

Kuroko sighed again. "You heard Akashi-kun. I will make up for the practice tomorrow."

"That should be enough as an answer, don't you think?" The captain interrupted before grabbing his teal-haired teen's arm, pulling him away from Kagami and the rest of Seirin.

"Hurry up, Tetsuya."

Kuroko could see some traces of worry and something weird in Akashi's gaze, but decided not to ponder about it further; dismissing it as a figment of his imagination.

"Akashi-kun."

"Yes?"

"Remind me why are we standing here for the last five minutes again."

"It's because I am absolute, Tetsuya."

The pair has indeed been standing on the same spot for a while now. When they were about to cross an intersection, the captain stopped in front of the pedestrian lane, not continuing even though the red light was on.

"But the stoplight's on—"

"Do you trust me?"

He deflated.

"I do."

"Then there's nothing to worry about."

Another minute has passed and Kuroko has become impatient. Normally, he would have a longer patience but his lack of sleep had drained his emotions. Add the fact that his boyfriend pulled him out before practice (in which he could— no, would be brutally punished by Riko) didn't ease his waning mood. The bluenet decided to defy the other's words and he took a few steps forward, only to be yanked back as a speeding truck passed by and crashed into a nearby store.

His eyes widened as he froze in place. Did... did Akashi foresee this? But how? His Emperor Eyes only worked in Basketball and other trivial things, it can't predict the future of anything else!

He stared in astonishment at Akashi, who seemed very smug. Kuroko should've known better to listen to him. He was always right, after all. "It's time to cross the street."

There were no protests for the entire walk.

They've finally arrived at their destination— the amusement park.

Kuroko had loads of fun with Akashi, forgetting about the truck incident and tucking the memory in the back of his mind. However, there were a few weird instances in which the redhead stopped him from doing anything.

First was the ferris wheel, just beside some ride that was under renovation. He wanted to go there, but the redhead told him to go there after they went to a high, log-seat water ride.

The second was the shooting game stalls. It wasn't very crowded since most people were in the lines for the rides. The captain warned him not to play the games in the farthest booths until the area was fairly populated. He pouted for a good half-hour because he really wanted the plushie that looked exactly like Nigou.

Third was the roller coaster, in which there was a long line. Akashi said not to ride it because there were still a lot of people. They should just return afterwards, when the line is shorter.

Last was the horror house. Kuroko had been a fan of scary and suspense shows or novels ever since he was a kid, so it was definitely a stopover. His boyfriend dragged him away and forced him to eat in the open foodcourt, next to the bunch of kiddie rides.

He didn't understand what was going on, and the bluenet never liked having secrets kept from him as much as possible.

"Chosokabe Daiya, age 43, has escaped out of prison two weeks ago. He is charged of child abuse, homicide, assault of a police officer and destruction of public property. He—"

Kuroko already tuned out the rest of the broadcast. Hearing about some criminal was nothing new, but he was quite worried since the reporter had mentioned something about the escaped convict hiding in Tokyo, in which they were in presently. He had to be careful on his way home from now on.

The pair were currently sitting on a corner table, watching some news on an escaped convict featured on television. As the teal-haired male sipped on his vanilla milkshake (there was a stall of Maji Burgers inside), he stared at the red-haired teen.

"What's wrong, Akashi-kun? You've looked quite jumpy."

Akashi returned the favor. "No, I'm perfectly fine."

"You're lying," Kuroko pointed out. "Your eyes were looking around back and forth. Your shoulders are a bit stiff and your stance is very wary. Not only that, your eyebrows twitched a bit, regardless of how discreet you can be about it."

The PG's eyebrow twitched. It somehow slipped his mind that his (shorter) lover was a one-hundred percent accurate 'bullshit detector'. It didn't matter how great you were at lying, he can tell it at just one glance.

"I knew it," Akashi conceded. "I can never hide anything from you, like how much you can't hide anything from me, Tetsuya."

His heterochromatic eyes became downcast. "I can't say much, but I want you to know that I—"

A loud bang resounded in the area. Screams of panic followed.

The two shared a glance and turned their attention to the mad man who dared attack (and smuggle a gun) a crowd in the middle of the day. It wasn't that late yet. Kuroko dropped his milkshake in shock. It was Chosokabe Daiya, the same one from the recent report.

When you speak of the devil, they will surely come.

The man had a middle-aged woman in an armlock, a gun pressed to her head. He was shouting obscenities and demands on his sentence, and a few things about the woman. It was along the lines of a 'Tenpai' being a bitch and making up lies about him committing abuse on his children— and how she dared remarry and change her surname from 'Chosokabe' to 'Sasamoto' when they weren't divorced. The woman continued to cry in fear, legs shaking in nervousness.

A small child was on the ground, shivering at the sight of his—presumedly—mother being held by his 'father'.

And when her pleas annoyed him, he shot her in the head without hesitation. As her form fell to the ground, the people's screams ascended an octave. Some had already fainted while others, like Kuroko, felt queasy after seeing an innocent woman soaked in her own blood.

The crowd broke into chaos and ran into different directions. Because of the stampede, a man had carelessly knocked over their spot, effectively sweeping the bluenet away from his companion.

"Tetsuya!"

"Akashi-kun?!" His monotonous voice was becoming panicked. "Akashi-kun, where are you?"

There was no further reply. All he can hear were other people's wails. It was a good thing that the phantom player had Misdirection at times like these. He would have little to no problem in making his way through the crowd.

'There!'

He spotted a guy with red hair... just a couple of meters away from Chosokabe and the dead woman.

Kuroko felt his blood run cold at that moment. He ran towards his boyfriend, who was having a staring contest with the escaped convict. Even if the captain had a poker face on, his hands were twitching and trembling; a tell-tale sign that he was edgy about the situation. Of all the things to happen, he had to end up standing in the lunatic's line of vision.

"Oi, stop staring at me."

He didn't answer.

Akashi was glued to his position. No matter how 'absolute' he was, there was a huge chance he could lose his life at any moment.

The man took it the wrong way.

"What, you think you're better than me?" He roared. "I'll show you your just desserts, punk!"

Before any of them could react, he whipped his gun from the side and aimed it towards the red-haired player.

"This is for pissing me off, cheeky brat!"

He won't let this happen.

Akashi was too precious for him to lose.

He'd be damned if he was going to watch as the other was in harm's way.

In a burst of adrenaline, the teal-haired teen ran to his boyfriend and pushed him out of the way in the exact moment the criminal fired his gun. The PG's eyes widened when he saw the shorter male collapse a step away from him.

"Tetsuya!"

"Che, I got the wrong brat," Chosokabe mumbled. He redirected the gun again towards the horrified Rakuzan captain. "This time, I won't miss."

Red... red... red...! There was so much blood—and oh god, he was wheezing—splattered on the floor. Akashi was in a stand-still.

Tetsuya was hurt...

Tetsuya was hurt...

Tetsuya was hurt... and it was all that man's fault!

Red and gold orbs flashed dangerously.

When the escaped convict pulled the trigger, nothing happened.

He cursed. "Shit, I ran out of bullets!"

Snip. Snip.

"Oh, is that all you're worrying about? What a pathetic man you are."

The man turned around only to be greeted by the sight of the red-haired teen with an unreadable expression, scissors in hand and ominously moving. He felt the hairs on his neck rising. A shiver went down his spine and he gulped a bit, failing to keep up his 'tough guy' facade.

"Because of your carelessness and ignorance, I'm going to lose him again."

He raised his scissors.

"I will never forgive you."

And Akashi moves in for the kill.

The criminal shouts in pain.

Kuroko laid on the ground, wheezing and coughing a lot. A severe pain seared in his chest and on the back of his head after he hit the concrete. He always knew being shot was painful, but he never expected it would be worse in reality. The teal-haired male was experiencing déjà vu.

It was the same scenario in his dream.

He tried to look around, however, moving a part of his body only increased the pain his body was going through.

A familiar tune echoed in the air. He remembered that the foodcourt was right beside the kiddie rides section. Kuroko's eyes widened. 'The carousel...!'

Was this the reason why he had been restless for many nights?

He would die.

He would not play Basketball anymore.

He would never see his friends again.

He would leave Akashi's side.

'I don't want that,' The bluenet bitterly thought. 'I don't want to go.'

"Tetsuya, are you alright?" The aforementioned red-haired teen sat beside him, lifted his body slightly, and laid the shorter male's head on his lap. He caressed the other's hair.

"I don't want to go, Akashi-kun," Kuroko said. "There's so many things I want to do. I... I want to be with you, forever. And the man—"

For a split second, the redhead had a smirk which quickly formed into a gentle and understanding smile. "It's okay. He's gone now. You don't have to worry about anything. I already called for the police and an ambulance. Just close your eyes and sleep." He continued to stroke the boy's hair. "When you wake up, you'll be at the hospital. I'll be there, your parents will be there, that Taiga will be there, the Seirin will be there, and the Miracles would be there. Satsuki, too. After you recover, we'll throw a big party to celebrate."

The teen's eyes softened. He knew it was futile, but it was too late. He had already lost so much blood. Out of the blue, different images and memories flashed in his mind.

Back in Seirin, if Akashi arrived later or didn't invite him to a date...

"Kuroko!" Kagami shouted as the ball went straight towards their phantom player whose back was turned. Because of that, the bluenet was unable to evade or block it.

The force of the ball colliding with his head along with the impact of his head falling to the gym floor caused internal hemorrhage.

He was dead-on-arrival in the hospital.

A loud crash occurred as people gasped at the sight of a teal-haired boy drowning in his own blood in front of a ten-wheeler delivery truck which eventually ricocheted and bumped into a nearby store.

If Akashi hadn't stopped Kuroko from crossing the street, the bluenet would have been ran over by a truck with faulty brakes.

Among the stalls, the cornermost one was almost deserted. Kuroko had been peacefully enjoying the toss-ring game when a shady-looking man pointed a knife at him.

"Give me your money, kid!"

"Sir, I don't have any."

Akashi had all of them and the red-haired teen was in the restroom.

"That's bullshit!"

"Please calm down."

"Don't tell me what to do, brat!"

"Sir, you're causing a scene. Someone will call the police—"

The mugger had stabbed Kuroko as the shopkeeper and a few onlookers were helpless and fearful. He, unfortunately, had stabbed the bluenet in the stomach before kicking him after finding out. that he really had no money. The few had already ran in hysterics and so, no one was there to help the phantom player.

A dead high schooler with light blue hair was found dead at the bottom of the roller coaster. It seems that his seat's safety rails were broken and loose, so when the ride was on a loop, the poor boy fell off.

As Akashi and Kuroko walked through the horror house, a man had accidentally splashed a can of soda on the controls, making the electronic effects malfunction. Not only that, the machines started to shutdown and collapsed one-by-one.

One, unluckily, fell towards a support post. Because of that, the ceiling crumpled and had crushed the blue-haired teen underneath.

Then he finally understood. 'So that's why he's been acting strangely all this time.'

Light blue met heterochromatic ones. "Please smile for me one more time."

The captain decided to grant his request.

"I remember everything. Thank you, Akashi-kun." He returned it with a bright smile as he held the other's hands and hugged him.

"I love... you..."

The grip on his hand slackened and his lover closed his eyes.

"Why do you always leave my side?"

Kuroko had died in his arms with a smile.

Akashi silently looked at his lover before gazing at the sunset sky, the merry tune of the carousel still echoing.

'It's another failure...'

Akashi sat down on the side of the carousel as the police handled the woman and Tetsuya's body while the paramedics calmed the traumatized citizens. The redhead was farther away from the rest of the crowd.

He felt a presence by his side.

"You're very pig-headed. I already told you," The other exclaimed. "Kuroko can't be saved. What was lost can never be returned."

The captain scoffed. He already heard that statement many times already. It was the same damn boring thing. "I can save him, because I always win."

"You were never meant to be together, Seijuro. You and I are aware of that," He replied. Akashi stared at him. They were doppelgangers, the two of them. He was the one who changed while the other was his old self, easily recognized by the fact that his eyes weren't heterochromatic yet.

He stood up and brushed off the dirt from his pants

"I am absolute, you pathetic imitation of mine. Even if all odds are against me, I will win in the end." Akashi was gone in a flash of light.

The past Seijuro sighed in frustration. "You can't save him because you can't let him go. As long as Kuroko is tied to you, he'll continue to suffer, and each death would be more gruesome than the previous one."

Akashi continued to gaze at the defiled, dead body of Kuroko. There were streaks of blood and cum on the floor. In his hand was the carousel music box he gave the bluenet on their graduation, also covered in blood. The red-haired player licked his blood-soaked (and also cum) scissors on his other hand as he recalled the moments in which he claimed the phantom player for himself.

"Akashi-kun, I never liked you that way. I love Kagami-kun!"

"No matter what you say, you're mine. Always have been and always will be!"

"You're so beautiful, Tetsuya."

"Akashi-kun, please stop. No more...!"

In his defense, he wouldn't have done it if he didn't see Kuroko kissing that troublesome partner of his, Kagami Taiga.

He caressed the teal-haired male's pale face.

"My words are absolute, Tetsuya. When I say you belong to me, then you are mine."

Later that day, the former captain of Teiko would go to a shrine in which he would pray from the bottom of his heart to have a chance to be with the phantom plater again.

He would gain his old self as a companion throughout his journey to reset time and to find a way to be with Kuroko again.

The carousel starts to rotate— never returning to the beginning, never reaching the end.

The dead will always stay dead, no matter what.

What a twisted ending. Can't believe I did that, actually. It was supposed to be a fluffy but sad time-travel fic. Then I was hit by sudden inspirations that made me want to break all your hearts~! *laughs maniacally*

Did anyone see the signs of a Yandere!Akashi before it was revealed?

I'm so pathetic that I even cried as I wrote Kuroko's death. Waaaaahhhh! *bawls like a baby*

Whatcha think of the story, peoplez?

Here are my inspirations:

Yandere!Akashi - It's possible. I mean, as I said before, Akashi's gonna go 'mindrape!' on Ogiwara on Chapter 225 of the manga, after asking for his business with Kuroko.

Heat Haze Days by Hatsune Miku - Futile time-travel attempt to save a fated-to-die person.

Another (anime) - The dead will always stay dead.

Just So You Know by Jesse McCartney - If you think about it negatively, it could be Obsessed!Akashi singing it as he stalks Kuroko~ :))))) And Akashi is aware on how to save Kuroko, but he just can't let him go no matter how much he tries.

And one of my fics - Not gonna tell because it'll spoil the intended ending.

Ciao ciao~! -Flonne.