XP: Thank you very much for your continued support! I don't update regularly, I know, but thanks for waiting patiently and not giving up on this :)

***Chapter 13***

Kagami set Kise down on his sofa and scratched the back of his head. He had no idea how to go about this. He knelt down in front of the blond who was staring emptily at nothing. He waved his hand in front of Kise's eyes, then slapped himself for his stupidity. What the fuck, Kise can't see anything.

"Hey, Kise," Kagami placed his hands on Kise's shoulders. "Listen to me. Sometimes you can't trust what you hear other people say, yeah? Like Midorima is a tsundere, you can see that he actually cares even when he says otherwise. Just like this time. Akashi Seijuro didn't mean it. The conference was a success, you know. Doctor Shima can go ahead with the surgery!" Kagami tried to say as enthusiastically as he could.

Kise stared on.

"Listen to me you idiot!" Kagami shook Kise's shoulders violently, scowling with impatience. "YOU CAN BE CURED!"

"Huh?" Kise blinked, finally listening.

"You can get your sight back and play basketball again!" Kagami exclaimed.

"Wait. R-really?" Kise gaped.

"Yeah! We can go ahead with the surgery!" Kagami cheered, and he found himself in a bone crushing hug. "Oof!" He felt the air get knocked out of him, and felt a little faint. But he laughed regardless and patted his friend's back. He expected tears, but when Kise moved back again, he was met with a bright, fantastic smile that stretched from ear to ear. Kise's blond eyes glimmered with hope and excitement like never before, and Kagami had never seen Kise look so alive, so much like the sunshine he was known to be in a long long while.

"OHMYGODYES!" Kise threw his hands up in the air, almost whacking Kagami in the face with the sudden movement. "Hey, Kagami, did he say the percentage of success? But ohhhhh. A chance is better than nothing!" Kise bounced on the sofa, and Kagami watched the ball of energy with a fond smile.

"Nah, I said I'll call him back. Actually, why don't we meet with him to discuss it?" Kagami offered.

"Sure! Let's go let's go!" Kise repeated like an excited child.

Kagami couldn't resist ruffling Kise's blond hair, and Kise stopped bouncing to look up at him with those puppy eyes and angelic smile. Kagami faltered. This had to be the right decision. Kise was happy like he always should be. Kise tilted his head to wonder by Kagami paused. Kagami sighed, and pulled Kise into a headlock. "Alright then! Let's go find Doctor Shima!"

Kise felt safe travelling with Kagami, who always held his hand tightly with intertwined fingers. Kagami walked slowly, and always used a soft voice to warn Kise anywhere there was a step, or how far they had to go. It was very calming and he fully trusted Kagami to keep him safe. Once, when an inconsiderate cyclist zoomed past them, Kagami shielded Kise with his body and screamed bloody murder down the streets. It was a very strange experience, and he wondered why it was just so reassuring to entrust his safety to Kagami.

"We're here. We'll take the elevator up, alright?" Kagami whispered lowly.

"Mmhm," Kise nodded as he linked arms with Kagami, sticking close to his side in the elevator. It was like Kagami was the rock that held him there despite everything scary and unknown out there. He found out now that he couldn't see, he had a new fondness for walls and corners that he could feel concretely and know he is safe at. He was lead down a hallway, and he could hear low murmurs of conversation around him that he couldn't make out. They made a turn, and he heard Kagami open a door.

""Hey Doctor Shima! I heard you had good news for us?" Kagami's familiar voice sounded off next to him, and Kagami gently led him to a seat.

"Yes, Taiga-kun, Kise-kun! The conference was a success, and the experiment is fully funded and supported by the Akashi Corporation and their medical team!" Doctor Shima gushed excitedly. "Man, if Akashi Seijuro didn't swoop in and save my ass when he did, I wouldn't have gotten this far! Oh, he said he's your friend, Kise-kun?"

Kise gaped in incomprehension. Akashi did? But Akashi... called him useless and...

"Kise, the generation of miracles care for you even if they don't know how to show it," Kagami cut in with a sad smile. He didn't really want to give Kise back to them after Kise became so reliant on him. It was nice to protect someone who was utterly dependent on him, but that was just too selfish. He couldn't cage Kise up forever. Kise belonged out there in the world, playing basketball passionately and showing off his brilliant smiles to the world.

Kise gripped the fabric of his jeans as his mind whirled. His complicated feelings of the past of wanting to be noticed and wanting them to all be close again arose. He had tried so hard to no avail, but perhaps now... perhaps now it was possible? He had received apologies from all of them in their own way, he had heard the regret in their voices, and he knew they were trying to make amends. Could it finally be possible for all of them to go back to those times?

"Okay, so about the procedure-"

Kise snapped out of it as Kagami ruffled his hair when Doctor Shima started speaking. He suddenly realized Kagami's warm hand gripping onto his trembling one. He relaxed his grip on his jeans and tried to pay attention. He had all the time in the world to sort his thoughts out later.

"We will be using the stem cell research on the eye that is salvageable. There is a 30 percent chance of restoring sight in your left eye if this succeeds. I will give it my best to make sure it succeeds," Doctor Shima promised. "The best team from the Akashi Hospital will help me in this procedure, and they are ready to operate when you are ready. However, I must tell you that as time passes, the rate of success will slowly dwindle, so-"

"Please let me do it now!" Kise replied confidently. He wanted to get his sight back and reduce his insecurities. He felt bad for being a burden on Kagami, who he knew was skipping practice everyday just to be with him. Furthermore he... he wanted to see all of their faces again and judge for himself whether he could put his faith in the generation of miracles again.

"A-Are you sure?" Doctor Shima looked between the two teens. Kagami nodded and gripped Kise's shoulder in support.

"I'll be here with you, Kise. Regardless whether it fails or succeeds."

"Thank you, Kagamicchi," Kise smiled in gratitude. He never would have gotten so far without Kagami's help.

Being wheeled into the operating room was a strange sensation when he was doped up with anesthetics while being kept awake. He couldn't feel anything at all, and he just hazily stared straight ahead. Kagami had requested for permission to go along with Kise so Kise wouldn't be afraid, and although he knew Kagami was there, he couldn't feel Kagami gripping onto his hand. Just the mere thought of his friend being there soothed him though, so he calmly laid there with his eyes open, and he could feel mild sensations of motion on his eye.

Were they using a scalpel on his eyeball? The thought was both gory and horrifying.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but he felt a bandage wrap around his eyes and head, and he was wheeled out. His eyes closed, and he slowly dozed off into sleep.

When he woke up, he was lying down in what he presumed was a hospital bed. He could feel the soft beeps of his heartbeat, and he raised his hands to feel the soft bandage around his eyes. Was it a success?

"Kise?" Kagami called out, and Kise found out that Kagami was just right beside him this whole time. Kise smiled as Kagami held his hand, feeling touched by having someone constantly supporting him by his side.

"W-What-?" Kise croaked, and Kagami hurried to get him some water. Kise felt the straw guided to his lips, and he sucked greedily to heal his parched throat. As he drank, Kagami started to explain to him.

"It's already the next day. Doctor Shima operated on you for 20 hours and you slept for 10 hours. We'll have to observe you for the next few days to see if the surgery is a success. I uh... Do you have anything you need? Are you hungry?"

"I want sushi," Kise whined.

Kagami laughed with relief to see Kise being himself. It was pretty scary to just sit there and watch as your friend was operated on by a team of 10 and just lie there without moving.

"Alright. Um, Kasamatsu...?"

Kise was surprised to hear the name of his captain mentioned, and was he more surprised to hear his captain's voice.

"I'll get it," Kasamatsu agreed. "Just this once, Kise."

Laughter bubbled from his lips from the characteristic words of his captain. "Yes sir," he replied. He heard the door close, and he turned to Kagami. "Since when?"

"Kasamatsu always contacted me for updates, and when I told him you were going to have surgery he rushed over here. We took turns watching you throughout the night. He was a great help," Kagami admitted.

Kise smiled. His captain was always very responsible and kind.

"He also told me to tell you to take your time to recover and that the team was waiting for you."

Kise chuckled. That was the second time he heard that. Perhaps Kasamatsu was actually anxious for him to return to practice after 2 months without training in fear of him deteriorating.

"Hey, Kagami?"

"Hn?"

"Thank you for always staying by my side."

"Idiot," Kise felt a strong flick on his forehead, and whined in pain as he held it. "What are friends for? Stop thanking me for everything."

"Still, thank you," Kise grinned.

"You want to be hit again?" Kagami threatened.

"Ah, no! I won't do it again!" Kise pleaded, laughing as he covered his forehead.

***End of Chapter 13***

Hope you liked it!