Not Just A Shadow

 That morning was spent listening to the silence of the early morning. Early morning light filtered through the closed curtains, but I couldn't bring myself to get up. My face was stained crimson as I remembered the events that had transpired the night before. The current redhead was asleep in the room over, so I took this chance to let myself think.

Lost in thought, I didn't hear the knocking on my door until my voice was being called.

"Kurokochi? It's almost noon, you gonna come play a game with us?" I heard Kise's voice ask, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"O-oh yeah, I'm coming," I called back, scrambling to my feet. Taming my atrocious bedhead, and getting dressed in something simple, I opened my door to find I had been sitting there for more than four hours.

Kise was waiting for me outside the door and he smiled when he saw I had finally come out of my room.

"Aominechi and Midorimachi are outside and we needed someone else to play. Murisakibarachi went to get more sweets and Akashichi refused." Kise whined and I just smiled lightly and looked away. Following Kise outside, we determined the teams. Aomine and me, versus Kise and Midorima.

Akashi's p.o.v -(Didn't expect that huh?)

"Kurokochi? It's almost noon, you gonna come play a game with us?" I heard Kise call out to Kuroko.

"O-oh yeah, I'm coming." He called back, and I heard him moving quickly. Now that I thought about it, he hasn't left his room all day. I wonder what he had been doing? I opened my door enough to see both of them disappear down the hallway. I was about to go back to my work when I saw Kuroko had left his bedroom door open. Curiosity got the best of me as I approached the door quietly. The first thing that caught my attention was the laptop he always had with him. It was the first time he didn't have it close at hand, maybe he had forgotten it? But what was he always typing into the files? Not to mention Murasakibara told me he had specifically said not to open any of the text documents on it.

Wanting to know, I cast a quick glance down the hallways before slipping into his room and sitting at his desk. I opened the laptop only to realize he had been careless enough to leave it on overnight. Smirking, I clicked open one of the text documents and my eyes widened. Percentages and numbers were the first things I processed before I noticed the writing. He had taken notes on all of us and collected data.

"Kise Ryouta, skill: Copycat, subject to observation? Is that why he wanted Ryouta on his team yesterday?" I asked myself quietly, scrolling through the stats. Finding nothing else of interest I closed out of it and opened the only other document on the computer.

"Ideas and techniques....interesting." I read the title as it loaded up. Immediately words filled the screen and I couldn't stop the audible gasp that left my lips. He was trying to copy our shots? Our skills? Why, and how?

"Kise's ability is subject to my observation- goal, find out how he copies shots and implement them into my own style." I read aloud, my shock increasing. Was this his way of getting better. "Stamina up, practice new techniques before graduation, work on controlling presence." I saw he was logging how much he could handle every day, only to find that he was practicing much longer than I thought he had been originally. He had done all this in just under a week? To say I was impressed would be an understatement.

"Aka-chin? What are you doing in Kuro-chin's room?" I heard a voice behind me, making me jump as I turned to look at Murasakibara.

"I was curious as to what he is always writing in this laptop. I'm going to question him on this altar, but for now, why don't we join them outside for a few games? Tetsuya's gameplay is about to get interesting." I said calmly, a faint glint of mischief in my eyes.

"Hm? Ok, Aka-chin, let's go crush them." Murasakibara answered, and together we headed off to the court.

When we got there we were pleasantly surprised to see that everyone was laughing and having fun, even Midorima and Kuroko, who for once sported genuine smiles.

"Akashichi!"Kise exclaimed when he saw me standing on the sidelines, a small smile on my face as I watched them. I smirked when I saw Kuroko's blush as he caught my gaze.

I could tell this was going to be fun as we joined in the game. I wonder how much Kuroko would continue to learn, he was finally starting to bloom as we had. I just hoped he didn't change like we had, or else we would have to al work to bring him back. And it most definitely wouldn't be an easy task when, no if, that happened.

With those thoughts in my head, we continued playing until the sun began to set, and we were too tired to continue. I sent a small smile over to Kuroko but grew concern when all I received was a glance before he frowned and looked down, fading into the background like a phantom. Would that change come sooner than I thought? Or would I be able to save him before it even started?

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SORRY I"M LATE!!!!!!!

My sister wouldn't let me get on the computer and I had to finish typing up the chapter! This chapter is 916 words, so I hope you enjoy

CLIFFHANGERS ARE GREAT DON'T YOU THINK?