Kuroko no Basket belongs to Tadatoshi Fujimaki

I only own the idea.

CHAPTER 3

"Shintarou," urgency clinging on to every syllabus; a single red eye could be seen at the hallway, reflecting the sole shard of light that had flitted into the penthouse, scanning the dark living room before settling on a pair of emerald orbs.

"I'm afraid there is nothing much to celebrate about," he began, handing the redhead a folder.

"Recently we had an inpatient with complaints of headache and vertigo, male, in his mid sixties, undergoing treatment for Follicular lymphoma; it's fairly common, usually found in males above the age of 60. Since it isn't my area of specialization, I went check the hospital records for cases of similar lymphoma to determine if the treatment for vertigo would complicate his current therapy for cancer, and this file came up."

"Tetsuya…"

"Has been diagnosed with Follicular lymphoma." concluding the sentence on his behalf.

"Due to its indolent nature, none of us detected anything unusual from him. While Follicular lymphoma has a reputation of being responsive to treatment, however the problem stems from the fact that the disease remains incurable and the patient would be plagued with painful symptoms as well as the possibility of the cancer transforming or spreading to other organs. Since early treatment does not provide survival benefit, hence watchful waiting is often recommended with treatment only prescribed to help alleviate such symptoms and control its growth."

"Will he live?" barely a whisper, fringe obscuring his eyes.

Turning his head away, unable to bring himself to look at his former captain, "While it is true that those with Follicular lymphoma are often able to live a near-normal lifespan," taking in a deep breath, he continued, "this claim holds true for those who fit under the regular profile of profile of being over 60, since the median survival is around 10 years, which Kuroko clearly does not come under."

Glancing back at the smaller male, only to be greeted with an expression so pained and stricken with grief. Was it a trick of light? He wasn't sure, but he could have sworn that the redhead's golden left eye flickering red.

Grade I

Chances for10 year survival is still pretty high

No wait, one year is nearly up

Nine years left

Diagnosed on the fifth of February

Last scheduled appointment was on the twelfth of February last year

One day before he disappeared

The file was then checked out

No reasons were stated

Not a single indication of a transfer of hospital

Where are you Tetsuya

"Sir, if there are no more issues with the proposal, Mr Fujiwara enquired if you would like to personally go down to Shibuya to submit the bid yourself or would you prefer to leave it to him." His secretary enquired, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"No, there are no more issues, kindly inform Mr Fujiwara that he would have to go ahead without me, and to apologize to President Takeda on my behalf for being unable to submit the proposal personally. I'm afraid I have some personal matters to attend to and will not be in the office for the rest of the afternoon, I'll only return later in the evening"

Bowing, she turned to leave the room.

"Oh yes, Kitagawa-san," just as she was about to close the door.

"Is there anything else I can help you with Sir?" turning around.

"Thank you for the tea this morning; it certainly did help calm me down. Please do consider taking a few days off, perhaps a week. I do recall that your parents are in Aomori. We have been awfully busy in the past few months; perhaps you would like to go spend the New Year with them? Don't worry, it will be paid leave, furthermore there won't be much to do during that period, so I think I'll manage without you." with a small smile, gracing his exhausted face.

Eyes widening in surprise, with her cheeks visibly reddening, "Thank you very much sir!" taking a 90 degree bow.

Cherish them while you can, for time is never on our side

Sitting at a table at the far end of a quaint family-run café, a sole customer, a tall, muscular young man with dark red hair in sportswear was seemingly out of place. Strains of Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 in E flat major could be heard, but it clearly did little to help soothe him, having directed his anxiety to his fifth cup of Espresso.

The music was soon interrupted by the gentle clink of the bell signalling the entrance of another customer, causing him to tense even further in his seat, having caught sight of a distinct, flaming red.

"Kagami, I do hope this would be worth my time." settling himself into the armchair across Seirin's former power forward.

"There is something that I think you should know…" Kagami muttered, unsure of how to begin.

"A cup of Darjeeling please, straight." without glancing at the waiter who had rushed forward to take his order, interrupting Kagami, much to the taller male's relief.

Eyes cast downwards at the remaining third of his Espresso, unable to meet Akashi's eyes, he tried again. "Earlierthisyearkurokowentoffsomewhere, idontknowwhyilethimimsorry." speeding through his explanation, nearly biting his tongue as a result.

"Kagami, while I posses the Emperor Eye, my ears do not share the same ability. I would appreciate it if you could slow down."

Taking in a deep breath, bracing himself for the worst, "Earlier this year, on the sixteenth of February, Kuroko boarded a plane for America with a ticket under my name. I had no idea why, and I'm sorry that I let him."

-End of Chapter 3-

Author's Note:

I don't think there are any terms in this chapter that are in need of explaining but there is something that I wish to share with you. The World Health Organization is anticipating a global cancer "tidal wave" with the number of global cancer cases predicted to reach 24 million a year by 2035.

Rambles:

Arggghhh this chapter was awfully research intensive, I'm not a science student, I'm in TEAM HUMANITIES! All hail the people of the internet, especially UK's NHS & Cancer Research UK. So I hope you all will take care of your health, a healthy diet, regular exercise, avoid drinking and smoking. I know I'm being naggy, but cancer is painful, no matter how it has been romanticized in TFIOS (It's an excellent read, John Green is god, but you get my point). I have a schoolmate who have passed on because of cancer, and another who is undergoing remission (but fighting hard! So I believe he'll beat cancer another time). My grandfather has recently passed on in case you were wondering why it has not been updated (he died peacefully, my family is pretty sure that it wasn't too painful, so yea), so I'm sorry for making you guys wait but I hope you will