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littlemissrainhoe · 5 years ago

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Here’s my piece for the @knb10thannizine. A huge thanks to the mods who hosted this project. I had a great time working on this. I hope y’all enjoy this. ^^

Title: Immortal for a Limited Time [AO3 Link]

Summary:

We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. - Lemony Snicket

Death champions no one. The same holds true for seven special people: bound by friendship, camaraderie and one great love for basketball.

Rating: General Audiences

Relationships: Generation of Miracles & Kagami Taiga

Warnings: Major Character Death

Death champions no one.

It is but a simple truth, an eventual reality that one has to accept. Not even the greatest king nor the sneakiest thief could ever escape its clutches.

Yet somehow it still manages to elude even the most brilliant of us all. Its power of misdirection knows no bounds. Its presence lurks at the back of the mind, yet is not acknowledged until it manifests itself from what seems like nowhere and punches one in the gut.

The same holds true for seven special people: bound by friendship, camaraderie and one great love for basketball. They had such dreams, big ones—all of them including one another, despite tight lips and vehement denials. Though not outright, all seven were always in the periphery. They didn't have to say them, of course; they already knew—and nothing was going to stop them.

(But death does.)

Akashi Seijuurou died at the hospital, surrounded by a plethora of sweet-smelling flowers that masked the scent of bleach and death.

He was found by a nurse, the look of absolute peace and satisfaction of a great man etched on his aged face. "It looked like he was coming home from a long journey," she would later describe to curious colleagues, perhaps embellishing her story a bit to sound more poetic.

At age ninety-two, he had accomplished far more than what his late father had. Right after finishing his Ph.D. with flying colors, he took over as CEO for his rapidly deteriorating father, proving that he is an Akashi through and through early on in his career. He continued to uphold the Akashi name, and even brought it to greater heights. He led the Akashi Corporation fearlessly and efficiently, turning it into a powerful empire that stands among the leading zaibatsus in the world.

Unlike his father who ruled with an iron fist, Seijuurou was known to be a compassionate and mindful leader; strategic and sharp, but never ruthless. He was loved and admired by all.

"My father was a great man," his eldest son said during his funeral, with a note of pride and sincerity that was missing during a similar speech done five decades ago. "If there is anyone in this world I aspire to be, it will always be him."

The media adored Seijuurou, going so far as releasing a special magazine in honor of the late Akashi, covering everything from his early childhood to his last days. His regimes as the student council president of both Teiko Middle School and Rakuzan High School did not go amiss, as well as his strong relationships with his family and friends over the years. Even his prowess on shogi was not overlooked, highlighting some of his more interesting plays.

In the eyes of many, he will be remembered as one of the most powerful and influential men in his time. However, to a certain few, he will forever be known as the invincible captain of the legendary Generation of Miracles.

Up to this day, the driver of the simple sedan would insistently say that he didn't see Kuroko Tetsuya, age twenty-nine, cross the road that dark and dreary night.

A man in his thirties, an ordinary salaryman. Family of three. Has been living in Tokyo for most of his life. Has no connection whatsoever with the victim. No malicious intent and solid alibi. After the collision, he immediately contacted an ambulance and attempted to resuscitate the bleeding man. He was later found by police officer Aomine Daiki, who happened to know the victim.

"I didn't see him! I swear I didn't!" would always be his answer, half-crazed from the accusations and growing guilt. The police had him checked for any signs of intoxication to find none. Even surrounding CCTVs would confirm that he did not speed a red light. Curiously, it was as if Kuroko Tetsuya was a phantom, an after-image in the rain, that even the cameras hardly picked him up until after the accident.

The doctors tried to revive him, but he passed away after a few hours.

It was but an unfortunate accident in the rain, but it took away a life nonetheless.

He was survived only by his grandmother.

As with most things in his life, Midorima Shintarou's death was predicted by Oha-Asa—or as much as fortune-telling can predict death and disaster.

Though relatively healthy at eighty-seven, when Oha-Asa came on with a particular medical warning for Cancers, Shintarou knew his time had come. Like a cat who recognized its end was near, Midorima Shintarou left his home after carefully saying goodbye to his family to purchase his lucky item of the day.

As the medics came to take away the venerable doctor who suffered a sudden heart attack in the middle of the department store, no one paid any mind to the rolling marker pen that fell out of the dying man’s hand.

Kise Ryouta did not so much die as he went missing.

At forty-two, he was one of the best pilots Hyperion Airlines had to offer. But when a freak incident took out both engines, his plane crashed into the ocean with only 17 survivors.

To this day, his body still hasn’t been found.

Murasakibara Atsushi found out he was dying of diabetes when he was thirty-four years old, which he pretty much expected. If anything, what surprised him was that it didn't come earlier. He never did get to control his eating habits; it only grew worse with age. He didn't continue playing basketball after college, focusing on his patisserie training in France, thus allowing his body to deteriorate with the lack of exercise.

Akashi conferred with his doctors every time he visited, and Atsushi knew he consistently asked even Midorima and various other specialists for a second opinion. Himuro constantly fussed over him like a mother—perhaps even more than his. They were very stubborn about all this.

But Atsushi was more stubborn.

"Muro-chin," he mumbled, attempting to get comfortable on the hospital bed he easily dwarfed. "You should go home. Ami-chin must be worried."

Himuro furrowed his brows. Had he always had that much wrinkles on his forehead? "Ami understands, Atsushi. I—I want to be here, okay? Don't worry about me."

He gave Atsushi that phony smile again—the one Muro-chin gave him whenever he tried not to show him what he really felt. Atsushi had seen it so many times, even more so in these past few months, and it’s still annoying. Atsushi wondered what Muro-chin would do if he punched him this time around.

Kaga-chin would probably get mad at him if he did. Better not then.

"Just go home, Muro-chin. You look like a ghost. Eat lots of cake. That would make you feel better."

Himuro chuckled. It was weak, but it was there. "That only works for you, Atsushi."

Atsushi only shrugged, as if saying, "So?"

There's that look again, but it was so fond and teary that he could only look away.

If there was anything Atsushi could pride himself in, it's the fact that he knew himself. Denying his feelings were one thing, but he knew his body—its wants, its needs, and its limits.

He knew he didn't have long. It was getting harder to breathe. The lub-dub in his chest was getting slower, heavier. His joints constantly ached, irritating like an itch he couldn't scratch.

Regretting his (admittedly) bad habits had no merits. For one thing, he never regretted eating what he did. (Though that wasabi-barbeque-pina colada-mix-flavored pudding was quite close.) Maybe he should've gone back to playing basketball, even from time to time, but he couldn't really bring himself to regret it. If anything, he regretted being in the mercy of nurses who refused to give him what he wanted to eat.

Even in the hospital, he kept requesting for his snacks, sometimes even going so far as rejecting his doses when they didn't comply. The nurses were quite exasperated with him. A man of such hulking stature—not to mention diabetic and dying—shouldn't be sulking about not getting his Maiubo.

"I promised Kaga-chin that I'd do the eating for him," he reasoned to a particularly irate head nurse.

But maybe, just maybe, his biggest regret was leaving his friends behind.

That's why he made sure to hand them snacks (smuggled in by Aka-chin) whenever they visited him—the most generous he'd ever been, really—as a simple thank you for always being there for him. He hoped that it could bring them the same kind of joy he got whenever he ate his favorite snacks.

In his funeral, his friends brought him baskets of pastries and snacks. They knew he would've appreciated those more than flowers.

Aomine Daiki wasn’t supposed to die at thirty-six, but when a perp got away from his bindings, he took the blow that was supposed to be for his partner. He died instantly.

Though he’s eternally grateful for Aomine Daiki, Tsuchiyama Kagami would wonder what made his chronically lazy and perverted senpai jump in to save him. They were just recently assigned together and based on his reputation at the station, despite being a brilliant officer, Aomine Daiki was not the type of person to play hero.

It was a question he would never get an answer to, but he would think of Aomine Daiki for the rest of his career.

Perhaps the hardest death to accept was Kagami Taiga's. Out of all of them, he was the first to go. Nineteen was too young, was it not? Everyone thought so as well.

A Modern-Day Hero, or so the papers said. The news about the fearless fireman who rushed into a burning house to save a seven-year old girl who was stuck inside. The girl made it out safely. Unfortunately, the young fireman did not: a light snuffed out too early.

"He’s a hero," the little girl's mother said in an interview, her eyes filled with tears as she held her daughter tightly in her arms. "I will be forever thankful to him for saving Hitoka-chan."

But awards and gratitude would not bring a dear friend back.

Of them all, it was Aomine who had the least control over his emotions, raging and yelling over his casket with the despair of the one left behind as Kise tried to hold him back through his tears.

He was the last of them to see him alive, just having finished a round of basketball a week before. It was jarring to see Kagami just laying unnaturally still, paler than he's ever seen him, in a tux that he was sure itched like hell had he still been able to feel.

It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair.

Never again would they hear his voice, tinged with excitement and determination. Never again would they play the sport they love together. Never again would they see him soar.

"Why the hell did you have to go and be a hero, you dumbass?"

A lot of people came to visit his remains and paid their respects. His family all the way from America, the various friends he made throughout his stay in Japan, his colleagues from the fire station, his classmates at university and his teammates, the people he’d played basketball with, and the people who was inspired by his courage; so many people who hadn’t been in the same room for years, suddenly seeing each other again in what could only be a morbid reunion.

"Mere words cannot express how much I am indebted to Kagami Taiga," Akashi said during the eulogy. "He was my—no," he corrected himself. "He was our saving grace. His light never stopped shining bright, and even after all that has happened, not once did he stop sharing that light with us. Kindly, willingly... selflessly." Akashi glanced at the white coffin, his eyes full of emotion.

"Until the day we join him in the afterlife, we will miss him dearly."

#knb #knb10thannizine #kiseki no sedai #generation of miracles #kagami taiga #rain writes #knb immortals fic #knb 10th anniversary zine #knb reunion zine

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