‘Hey, have you heard? Akashi Seijuurou disappeared,’
‘No one really knows why, but they think it’s probably a family issue or something,’
‘It’s been weeks since he was last seen,’
‘They’re slowly losing hope in finding him,’
The whole thing seemed like some kind of messed urban legend. Honestly Akashi seemed like just one big urban legend to him, based on the stories he’d heard about the redhead prodigy.
The only son and heir to a very rich and influential family; seemingly perfect in every way, from his achievements in academics and extracurricular, to his influence in everyone he had come across.
Izuki has to admit, Akashi was the player he feared the most, in and out of the court. He just had that… kind of vibe in him. He didn’t really get to know him much after the Winter Cup, but even though there was still that lingering fear, he had grown to convert that fear into respect.
Suddenly, the teen had disappeared out of their lives.
As if he didn’t exist in the first place.
It’s been years since the incident.
Izuki is already in his last year in university, having no time at all for basketball. It was depressing at first, given that he loved the sport with all his life. But he had grown to live without it for a while, focusing on his studies and his part-time job. He still gets to play when his classmates invite him to games when he has time, so it’s okay.
At that time, his older sister is already working and helping their mom with finances while he and his little sister are still studying. But, he wanted to help with their expenses too, so he decided to cover his expenses himself.
He bagged a scholarship in his first choice of university and he got hired as a part-time cashier at a convenience store, to pay for his rent. His little sister is already old enough so he doesn’t have to be at home all the time to take care of her, but he still worries from time to time.
The dark-haired teen was on his way to the apartment, all worn out from that review marathon at the library and probably the most terrible shift he’d had at the convenience store.
And then, he catches something.
‘Hey, have you heard? Akashi Seijuurou disappeared,’
The memory flashes in his mind and he blinks rapidly, convinced that he was probably just seeing things because he was exhausted. It still creeps him out that his hallucination involved the boy though.
But the boy doesn’t disappear. He’s still there, getting bigger as Izuki gets closer to his apartment.
And he stops, just a few feet away from him.
He grew a bit, but he still had that… same vibe he had when they were still in highschool. Izuki just stares at him, with his mouth slightly hung open.
“…Akashi-san? Is that you?”
