A/N: Wow, I wrote this a month and a half ago, I should've published it sooner... Anyway, this is a sort of experimental piece, I'm in the process of writing more stuff like this. I'm very proud, to be honest~

Hope you enjoy~

The Other One

He grins a little, caressing the blade of the scissors with his left hand while holding them carefully with his right. The grin shows in his left eye; you're inside his right, the red one. There's no way to be sure, but there's a significant chance nonetheless that you're grinning too. This much, you two agree on; you both love scissors. The rest is a blur.

"What do you mean, two Akashis?" Kise asks in confusion when I tell him in a quiet voice. The model sees it too, that's not the question. What he's wondering isn't whether there are two of you, but how this situation is possible. That's the part where most people get hung up, including myself.

I suppose it works like a split personality would. He slept within you all this time, in the form of unrealized potential. Had you taken things more slowly and worked gradually to draw him out, I'm sure things would have been different, but as it is, he simply takes over sometimes. Now and again, something slips into his speech that you would be very unlikely to say, but he's usually careful enough not to let outsiders notice that there's two of you. He's good at pretending to be just like you. Maybe he really is, I don't exactly know that, but I do know that he's a lot colder than you are. When it was just you, we knew- we all knew- that you cared about us. Now, I suppose we're just on-edge over the constant fear of getting on the bad side of not only you, but also him. The rage of two of you is a lot to take.

I shouldn't say it like that, I realize. That's wrong. It's not "two of you", it's more like there's you, and then another one similar to you, like a twin who will forever resemble their other. I have to make sure that the distinction between you and him, the "other one", remains clear. Otherwise, the old Akashi will be lost forever.

You're taking back over now, off-handedly telling us to keep trying hard. We all know what that really means; you want us to win, and you'll be watching to make sure we do. It sounds creepy, but you mean it in the kindest way. He slips a slight smirk onto your face, seeming to comment on your actions. You walk away. Or actually, that part could be him- he could be trying to get you to leave. But maybe that's just you being as you always are? I'm not even sure anymore at this point...

Whatever happened to keeping the lines clear? It used to be as easy as separating reality from fiction, the past from the future. It's been months now, months during which I've never lost track of when you're speaking and when he is. And now, all of a sudden, the lines are starting to vanish, like holes dug by a child in the sand, too close to the sea- no matter how deep he digs, the next wave will invariably erase all evidence that he dug at all. I'm losing sight of you slowly.

Is it a 50/50 split between you and him? That can't be, you wouldn't settle for something like half. Everything or nothing. So then, is it the first option? Is everything you? That, too, is impossible, leaving only one possible explanation: Nothing makes sense and everything is fake. This is him, not you. Other Akashi, not Captain Akashi. On the surface, you're gone, even if just for now. But this is the only way you can both exist, strangely enough. Only with each of you taking turns does it work out for both of you.

A part of my mind screams eternally out of pain, wanting the old times back, missing when it was just you. Come back, Akashi, it chants over and over. Come back to the old team, to us, to... To me.

It's like you can hear my thoughts. You single me out quickly enough, smiling a little less harshly than you normally do. That's the one I know, I note. I assume you're going to explain something or other, otherwise you wouldn't make sure it's only me, in a place where the rest of the former team can't see us. Maybe you really have caught on, I think as-

The scissors are out. They're snapped open and held softly, carefully, against my skin, pressing lightly but never cutting. You're grinning again- no, he's grinning again. Damn it, here we go again.

"... You've been staring," you - he- Akashi whispers in a dangerous yet also seductive voice. I stop myself from gulping.

"Sorry."

"What's wrong?" You ask, leaning down towards me and staring with the red eye (your eye). I know for sure it's you because you care, and he doesn't.

"It's nothing. I'm sorry," I repeat, never once breaking eye contact. I'm focusing my attention on your eye, but his flashes dangerously.

"If you insist," Akashi says. I can't tell which one is present now. It's definitely you who lets me go, but it's probably him who gives me a challenging look, daring me to say what's on my mind. I don't do it. Eventually I'm allowed to leave, but I stay where I am, still staring at the eyes.

Which is which? I do wonder if there's an answer... Gold used to be him, while red was you. It was as simple as that. Now, everything's changed. It's not "my Akashi" and "the other one" anymore. You're Akashi, but he's become Akashi too.

Thank you for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think of this one-shot. Oh, and to the flamers, the usual applies: Go f*ck yourselves with a cactus. That's all. To all the nice people who wouldn't ever flame: I love you all and you all deserve cookies.