Full Summary:
Watching her form retreating into the vast sea of the crowd, only then did he understood the feelings he has for her."Nanami, let's continue our game. Winner takes all." "It's not much of a game if everyone knows that you'll win." "Who knows, maybe you'll win this time." Perhaps he could repair the damage he had done with this game they started from junior high. A game of love. Little did she knew that she had already won the game before it even started.
oo. prologue
"Nanami, let's continue our game. Winner takes all."
It came out of his lips suddenly. Blue eyes stared back at him, both intrigued yet cautious. She wondered why he had brought it up. She didn't even know what this game they were playing.
"It's not much of a game if everyone knows that you'll win."
He chuckled at her reply. He never did told her what the game was when he first proposed it to her. Perhaps it was because he wanted to test himself. To see what he was feeling for her. His lips tugged into a simple smile.
"Who knows, maybe you'll win this time."
If it was anything or anyone else, he would disagree. He was Akashi Seijūrō. He was absolute. But staring into those deep, innocent, cerulean eyes, he'll let it slide despite his own pride. He took a step closer to her, placing his right hand against her cheek, caressing them softly.
He didn't know why, but he deeply missed this intimacy. To be so close, yet so far from her. He pulled away from her, taking her hand in his own.
He could see her eyes widen at the sudden gesture. Something he had not done since their childhood.
Perhaps he could repair the damage he had done with this game they started from junior high. The game that started it all.
A game of love.
"I doubt that I'll win. You're always come on top of everything Akashi-kun. You always win at everything."
Little did she know that she had already won the game before it even started.
He had always been so captivated by her. He had fallen deeply in love with her.
And he continued to fall even deeper.
⒈ the start
Blue eyes stared up at the building before her. Teikō Middle seemed bigger than she thought. She hesitantly took the first step pass the school gates, wondering how she would be able to cope with the bustling amount of students around. Well she supposed she would be fine if she didn't draw too much attention on herself. She had managed to avoid any contact with the upperclassmen in the courtyard, recruiting 1st years to join their respective clubs. Personally, she did not mind being part of the going-home club. She was more academically inverse, with some dabble in photography and art (but those two were merely hobbies of hers, nothing too outstanding). School was more important for her right now.
Her eyes lingered up at the large board, with names of all the students attending Teikō. She looked to the names of the first years, trying to find her own name. There...
Asahina Nanami. Class 1-A.
She blinked once. Then twice.
Class 1-A was where the students that made high marks get into, she wondered to herself how she was able to be apart of such high academic students. Nonetheless, she did not question it. The results were final, after all. Her eyes wandered around, curious if she would be able to recognized someone, or perhaps even find her older brother. It was then that her eyes landed on the sight of fiery red hair. It did not take long for the other to notice her gaze.
Once their eyes meet, his eyes showed a brief moment of surprised before he smiled softly at the girl. A glimmer of familiarity was seen in his eyes as he made his way over to her side with confident strides.
"Asahina-san, I did not expect to see you here," His lips tugged into a light smile as he faced her. She merely nodded, surprised with his appearance.
"It's nice too see you again, Akashi-kun," she answered. She had not seen the redhead heir for sometime now, she had always wondered what he was up to during the summer break.
"It seems like we are both in the same class," He remarked. Her eyes lit up at his words and glanced back at the board.
"Is that so?" She scanned the names in class 1-A, and sure enough. Just a few names above her own was his.
Akashi Seijūrō.
She blinked again before looking back at the other. "You're right." Was all she said, it was not like there was anything she could say. He had an amused smile at her obvious words.
"Of course." She sighed, even now he still seemed to have confidence in everything he did, not that she would mind. Having such confidence was something she strives for, but even so, her doubts were in the way of her goals.
"Are you planning on joining any clubs?" She asked the redhead heir. If her guess was right, he would still have an interest in basketball. Even if she herself was not interested in sports, both her childhood friend and her brothers were quite invested in participating in them. Regardless, she enjoyed seeing the passion for the sports they loved, and supported them til the end.
"Yes, the basketball club." As she expected, she nodded and smiled at her childhood friend. It was obvious that was the club he would join; when it was the just two of them, that was all they played as kids. "What about you, Asahina-san? Perhaps you can join as the basketball club's manager," at the mere suggestion, her blue orbs widened and she looked of the side, messing with the ends of her short hair with her fingers nervously. Her bangs covering her eyes as she looked down nervously before gazing back up at him.
"W-would that be alright? I never really was good at any sports, do you think I would be suited for the job?" There she goes, doubting herself. Although he would never voice it out, she was quite capable, if she did not doubt her own abilities often. Ruby orbs stared at her blankly while she was in the middle of her own rambling.
"You don't have to if you don't feel comfortable, Asahina-san. I merely thought that it would be a good opportunity for the two of us to make up for the loss time over last few years. We would be able to see each other often, other than in class."
Ah, when he said it like that, it seemed like a lovely idea. It was true, despite being childhood friends, the two had not been able to see one another after the death of his mother. But it was something out of her control, his father did start to become stricter than usual, only letting the two meet every so often before all together they stopped seeing one another.
She thought on his words, "I'll think about it." She said. She still did not believe that she was suitable for the task, but his words were making her wanted to join to make up for loss time. Perhaps it might not be so bad.
"We should head to the basketball club before class starts then, Asahina-san," His curt voice had interrupted her thoughts, she looked back at him and agreed. Class will begin shortly, and she was not fond of the idea of being put on the spot for being tardy on the first day.
"Alright, lead the way, Akashi-kun."
He nodded and led her pass the booths that other clubs were offering only to see him stop at one near the gym. Her small form was hidden behind him, making her peer over his shoulder. She noticed two students, a taller boy with dark hair and a girl with light brown hair.
"Oh, look Nijimura, new recruits!" The light haired brunette remarked, elbowing the taller male. He scowled as the girl elbowed him roughly.
"I can see that Sorami," the dark haired male, Nijimura, muttered before turning his attention to the first years before him, "So you're here to join the basketball club?" He asked the redhead, who merely nodded. Nijimura noticed the young girl behind the redhead, "Then what about you?" He asked, directing his question to the girl.
"E-eh? Me, oh..." Blue eyes averted to the ground as she shifted nervously. Sorami frowned and kneed the back of Nijimura's knee.
"Idiot! You're scaring the poor girl!" Sorami hissed before smiling at the first year, "Hey, don't worry about Mr. Grumpy-pants here, he's actually real nice despite how he looks!" Hearing the girl's words, Nijimura made a face and glared at Sorami.
"Oi! Sorami!" He warned, but his companion ignored him.
"Are you perhaps here for the role of manager?" Sorami asked. Nanami nodded and looked back at Akashi, who gave her an small, encouraging smile. She still had not decided on the idea, still doubting herself.
"Well, truthfully," Her voice trailed off. She did not get to continue her sentence as Sorami smiled and grasped the first year's hand in her own, startling the dark haired brunette.
"That's great! It would be great to have another manager around, it would put me at ease if we have some first year managers around, us upperclassmen managers would definitely appreciate it!" Sorami rambled, moving her face close to Nanami's. It was then that the younger girl was able to get a closer look at the upperclassmen's features.
She had an light brown eyes to go along with her light brown hair. With her hair up in a ponytail, she noticed that Sorami had a round face and fair skin as her side bangs layered her face. To Nanami, Sorami was quite pretty, she felt her own cheek heat up to be close to someone that would be considerably attractive in comparison to her plain looks.
T-too close! Her blue eyes stared in shock at the other, averting her eyes as she tried to distract herself.
"U-um...well, y-you see..." She couldn't help but stutter slightly as Sorami was invading her personal space. Akashi let out an amused sigh and spoke up.
"Asahina-san, we should head to class soon," He brought his hand to his friend's shoulder.
"Oh, that's right! Well here are the forms for club members, and this one is for the position of manager!" Sorami pulled away and went to grab two papers, handing them to the two first years. Nanami looked back at her hand, dazed as she tried to process what had happened, while Akashi took both papers and neatly placed them away in his bag.
"Thank you very much," He said, leading Nanami towards their classroom.
"Just be sure to fill them out and return them to the basketball club once you're done." Nijimura added before he turned to Sorami and gave her a lecture for her behavior.
"Asahina-san, are you feeling well?" Akashi asked as he led her to their classroom, he figure that with that upperclassmen girl invading Nanami's space, she was feeling uncomfortable. "You've been in a daze for sometime now."
"Hm? Oh, it's nothing," She brushed off, she did feel slightly uncomfortable with what had happened, but it would pass. She did not think she would encounter someone who was...touchy.
"Perhaps class will put you at ease before heading back to drop the forms for the basketball club," He suggested. Would it really? She wondered.
"Maybe," She sighed, there was no use in thinking about it right now. Class was about to start soon. It was best to focus on her studies for now.
Author's note:
Hello, this is my first KnB fanfic and truthfully it has been a while since I've written fanfics. So I don't really expect this to meet everyone's expectations. I just felt the mood to write some fanfiction and I went back to revise and edit this fanfic I had started a few years ago. I posted the prologue and chapter one both on wattpad already.
I just hope that Akashi doesn't seem to be ooc, he's complex for me to write, but I did my best to picture how he would act during middle school. The story starts throughout the Teiko Arc and then to the current time line (yes, I will continue to EXTRA GAME as well). Even though, this story is going to focus on Akashi and Nanami, there will be small side pairing that will make an appearance. This chapter's pairing appearance is Nijimura and Sorami who's relationship and formal introduction will appear in the next chapter hopefully.
Other than that, I hope everyone who has read this enjoyed it and I apologize for any mistakes. Reviews to improve are welcomed.