AN - This is predominantly a friendship based fic, with slight hints of romance. The romance is primarily AkaMomo. It's one of my favourite works, so I hope you'll find it the same.
DISCLAIMER - KNB isn't mine.
They first meet when they are three.
"Dai-chan! Don't be mean!"
Seijuurou looks up. A blue haired boy is being tugged by a pink haired girl. The boy is resisting half-heartedly, but the girl looks fiercely determined to get him to do whatever it is that she wants him to do.
Seijuurou decides he likes her.
A few days later, he notices the pink haired girl sitting alone in a corner, with only her coloring book for company. None of the girls approach her and the boys are too busy to notice she's alone anyway.
He walks up to her.
She looks up, surprise evident in her pink eyes and pink cheeks.
She looks like a bundle of pink fluff.
He smiles at her, (his best smile, the one that gets his mother's friends cooing in delight about how charming he is) and offers her his Batman toy. The girl looks at his toy and then at him quizzically.
"Let's play together."
The frown clears up and she smiles.
(He fell for her that day, not that he knew it then.)
Later, he finds out that 'Dai-chan' has caught a nasty flu and is confined to his bed and fluids, something Momoi (the pink haired girl is Momoi, how ironic) takes great pleasure in.
"Serves him right," she tells him vehemently, but he can see she's lonely without the blue haired boy.
"Be my friend," the words come out without hesitation, without conscious thought, but he does not regret them.
Momoi blushes. "Silly. Boys and girls can't be friends."
When he cocks his head to one side in puzzlement, her blush deepens. "Dai-chan is different. He's.. Dai-chan."
Seijuurou does not know why the words disturb him then, but they do.
Dai-chan is definitely... Dai-chan as Seijuurou finds out when Aomine Daiki (christened by Momoi as Dai-chan) returns to school the next day.
He's loud, rude, obnoxious and arrogant.
He's also fiercely protective of Momoi, something that Seijuurou approves of. In fact, it's Aomine Daiki's only redeeming feature.
The unlikely trio, remain together, partly because Seijuurou wants to stay nearby Momoi and Momoi goes hardly anywhere without her beloved Dai-chan.
Aomine for all his protests, seeks them out on his own, and then pretends to ignore them when Seijuurou knows he has one ear on their conversation.
They stay together, play together, cry together (this applies to only Momoi as the boys apparently don't cry. Momoi, however, begs to differ) and eat together. They don't promise to be together.
Kindergarten is over, and those unspoken promises are forgotten as they step into different elememtaries.
(Perhaps that's why they remained unspoken.)
Elementary passes without issue, at least for the other two.
Seijuurou, however, loses his only support in the world, and a part of himself in the process.
Teiko Junior High.
A hundred wars, a hundred victories.
Seijuurou surveys the building with a slight frown. He hopes Junior High will be different.
"And now the first string members, #7 Aomine Daiki, #4 Midorima Shintarou, #25 Murasakibara Atsushi, and #27 Akashi Seijuurou. That's all."
"A-Akashi?!"
"Aomine."
The rest of the first string stare in surprise at the two boys that are almost polar opposites, as they look at each other with undisguised affection.
"Man, Satsuki's gonna be pumped."
Seijuurou smiles. "I look forward to it."
Satsuki is more than 'pumped'. She bawls at the sight of Seijuurou and runs over to him and hugs him tightly. Aomine looks amused at the surprised expression on his face.
"Sei-kun, why didn't you call us? Where were you? We missed you, Dai-chan even cried -"
"Oi, Satsuki!"
Seijuurou smiles at his friends. "It's good to be back."
It is good to be back.
Life goes on, in a whirl of basketball, convenience store ices, laughter and jokes.
(The tears come much, much later.)
Satsuki, Aomine and Akashi become inseparable.
The three come together to class, leave together and are generally stuck at the hips, much to the jealousy of the other girls at Teiko.
Satsuki stares as the first string boys practice, feeling a surge of pride at seeing Akashi pass seamlessly and Aomine dunk like he is born for it.
"Good practice, you guys!" she tells them, as she hands them a towel. They take it, Akashi with a smile and a thanks, Aomine with a grunt.
"Let's hang out after school!" she tells them cheerily and Akashi nods at her, whereas Aomine mutters something that sounds suspiciously like, "As if I have a choice."
She waits for them dutifully at the gates.
They come out, chattering aimlessly. She gives them a fond grin as she links her arms with them.
They fall into step, as they always have, and Satsuki thinks that it's wonderful to have friends like this.
Everything changes when Kuroko Tetsuya enters the picture.
For one, Akashi seems endlessly fascinated with him and Aomine considers him a friend in a matter of seconds.
Kuroko Tetsuya is an enigma.
She never quite knows what to make of him. His quiet presence should be unsettling, instead it's comforting. She sees worldly wisdom in those cool blue eyes, and they strongly remind her of Akashi's eyes. They're different, however. Whereas Akashi's fiery red eyes can become chilling at times, Kuroko's icy blue eyes remain infinitely warm.
She should have recognised the signs then, but in retrospect, it's harder to realise the exact moment these things happen.
Second year comes, and it is only the beginning of the end.
Nijimura-senpai steps down. Akashi becomes Captain.
Satsuki is troubled when she finds herself unable to be happy for her friend. Perhaps it was the closed off look in his eyes when he informed them the news, or perhaps Haizaki's sudden resignation from the club, whatever it is, it makes Satsuki uneasy.
Aomine is becoming increasingly disillusioned about the prospect of finding a worthy rival and Satsuki prays for a miracle, and that's when he appears.
Kise Ryouta arrives and Satsuki thinks her prayers have been answered.
He's amazing, this Kise, who can copy a move with a glance.
He seamlessly integrates himself into the impenetrable circle of Kuroko, Aomine and Momoi.
Akashi is already forgotten but she doesn't realise it.
Soon after, Aomine and Kuroko begin to have problems and her heart aches to see them like this, especially the kind-hearted Kuroko.
It's only when Akashi requests her presence for a tactical discussion does the issue come up. They talk nothing but strategy for about an hour, but an accidental glance at her wristwatch has her gasping in surprise.
"Ah, Akashi-kun, it's late. I should go!"
Akashi gives her an unreadable look. "Yes, of course Momoi. I'm sorry for keeping you."
He bows and makes to leave and that's when she realises how wrong 'Momoi' sounds when coming from his mouth. She catches the sleeve of his shirt before he can leave and resolutely refuses to blush at her forwardness.
"Sei-kun, I'm sorry. I-" the tears are falling in earnest now, "I've been a terrible friend haven't I? It's just Dai-chan and Tetsu-kun are.." The words are spilling before she can stop them and Akashi pulls her towards him, softly caressing her hair and sinks to the floor.
Momoi adjusts herself and continues talking. Akashi doesn't interrupt her, just keeps rubbing her back softly and she's happy he's there. She's happy it's him she's baring her soul to.
He remains silent for a while.
"The Generation of Miracles, that's what they call us you know."
Momoi looks at him. His face is impassive but his eyes are troubled. She feels immeasurably guilty at not being there for him, because even though he is a natural leader, it can't be as easy as he makes it look.
He looks at her then, and she's suddenly aware of the fact that he's a boy and she's a girl. Pink stains her cheeks, and as she looks at him through lowered lashes, she realises he's not looking at her anymore. She feels cold, despite being surrounded by warmth.
She gets up from the protective embrace he has over her and he lets her go easily. They stand up, she avoids his eyes, so she doesn't know whether or not he's looking at her.
"Satsuki. Take care. Of both Aomine and Kuroko."
Satsuki nods and vows to take care of him too.
It's a fateful day, the day that the Generation of Miracles completely fractured, but Satsuki is unaware of that at the moment.
At the moment, she is thinking about how quickly the team is growing ever since the senpai have left. She thinks of Midorima practicing full court shots, Murasakibara blocking dunks without moving, Aomine going from coast to coast, and Kise no far behind.
She thinks of Akashi's worried red eyes as he takes in their strength.
She thinks of Kuroko's blank stare when Aomine refuses him a fist bump.
She is so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't realise Murasakibara is openly challenging Akashi. When she does, she rushes to his aid, only to be harshly pushed away.
She watches her friend lose basket after basket. She watches as he stops and stands still for a moment and then suddenly it is like a whole different person standing in front of her. She has seen hints of this person, but she never knew. She never knew it would come this far.
(Who is she kidding, she knew this would happen someday, that Sei-kun would snap-)
She watches as he utters those words that she knew would never come from his mouth.
"I, who always win, am always right."
She realises then that this is not the Akashi she knew, not her Sei-kun. This is not the boy she grew up with.
This is the boy she has seen fleeting glimpses of, the boy she accepted as part of her friend, the part she never quite knew how to deal with, the part of Akashi that thought people were pretty toys to be used as fit and discarded when unneeded. She never thought he would completely replace her friend.
She can only stare in disbelief as Akashi slaughters Murasakibara and lands coolly on his feet as if he had just been out on a stroll. And then-
"All actions will be glossed over as long as you bring results. You need not come to practice anymore. Team play is just a hindrance to the Generation of Miracles."
And she realises her Akashi is lost, probably forever.
Choosing a high school should be hard, but it's not. She follows Aomine.
She looks at Akashi to see if he is hurt by her decision (During one of their 'tactical discussions' Akashi expressed his sentiments about how he knew she'd follow Aomine to the ends of the world. She'd so wanted to prove him wrong, but as he says these days - He is absolute after all) but he's too busy winning and being absolute to care much about her decision at all.
In fact, if she didn't know about his way knowing things he was never supposed to, she'd think he didn't know which school she was going to.
As always, he proves her wrong by walking up to her on graduation and telling her to do her best in Touou.
She smiles, nods.
(He calls her Satsuki, but not the way he used to.)
Touou is hardly any different from Teiko.
Aomine is exempted from practice, she's exempted from cooking. She thinks there are worse cooks than her, but no one agrees.
Life is whirl of basketball, convenience store ices and tears.
(The laughter is missing- how can she laugh without him?)
Aomine tells her to stop being dramatic one day. "He doesn't care, Satsuki. He doesn't care you're crying or whatever shit that you're doing. He's busy being the best. I don't think he even he loved basketball-" and Momoi slaps him.
Aomine's eyes widen but he says nothing.
"How can you say that? How can you look into my eyes and say Akashi-kun didn't love basketball?" Her voice is steady, but her body is trembling with suppressed sobs.
Aomine shakes his head. "Satsuki, he abandoned me," Satsuki flinches at the blunt words, "He abandoned me and you know it. He thinks I'm worth nothing. So get it through your thick skull."
That's not it at all, you stupid Aomine-kun, Satsuki wants to say, but she doesn't. Aomine can be incredibly self-centred, but he was always a loyal friend. Did he honestly not notice the change that came over Akashi?
She broaches the subject one day.
His reply is a simple shrug, but his eyes are sad. That's when she realises, he wasn't being self-centred at all, she was the self-centred one. How busy wallowing in her misery she was, that she didn't see what was right in front of her? Because what she sees in Aomine's eyes is unmistakable hurt. He's hurt Akashi became a person he doesn't know anything about, hurt that he abandoned him.
Satsuki vows that day, to bring back the old Akashi-kun, her Sei-kun, even if it killed her.
She makes winning strategies and makes the team bentos. The former are appreciated, the latter not so much. Well, at least she tries.
Inter High comes and there are no surprising upsets, at least not according to her. She and Akashi were the only ones who never underestimated Kuroko, or his skills. Learning the outcome of the Shuutoku vs Seirin match, she yearns for Akashi almost fiercely, and she imagines the victorious glint in his eyes as he says, "Of course, Kuroko would never disappoint me Satsuki."
Aomine is quizzical, because Kuroko cannot shine without a light. Satsuki knows he's curious, wondering about who the new light is. Satsuki tells him without him asking.
"His name is Kagami Taiga. He is a transfer student from the US."
She has to suppress a grin when he murmurs something like never asking for the information.
Sometimes she wonders who is more of a tsundere, Midorima or Aomine.
Touou breezes through the Inter High preliminaries as expected.
Quarter finals have them facing Kaijou and once upon a time, Momoi would have bet her life on Aomine, but now she's not sure.
Kise's growth potential is enormous and Aomine hasn't been practicing for over a year.
Still Aomine repeats things like 'the only who can beat me is me.'
Things look grim by the end of third quarter, she didn't expect Kise to learn Aomine's techniques so quickly. But they weren't called the Generation of Miracles for nothing, they were the only ones she couldn't predict with 100% accuracy.
She wishes, hopes, prays that Aomine loses and hates herself for it.
Maybe because she's a terrible friend, her wish is not granted. Aomine wins like he always does, if anything, his ego seems to have inflated further. Nobody can deny his leg is injured though.
Momoi thinks that he's not foolish enough to play against Akashi with an injured leg, but he proves her wrong.
She resorts to tattling about her best friend to the coach, and she blames herself, Aomine, Akashi, the skies and the rain for putting her in this position.
Aomine is understandably furious. It is nothing she didn't expect. It still hurts when he lashes out at her, though. She knows she's being selfish, but her heart cannot take any more pain and the most ultimate pain of all would be her childhood best friends facing off against each other.
"I could have won! We could have won, and maybe... maybe he would have changed!" is what Aomine tells her, and she runs into the rain, tears streaming down her eyes.
What a selfish, selfish person she is. Moping in a corner when Aomine is trying his hardest to bring back Akashi. She runs to the only person left with any sense, because if anything Kuroko always was too sensible.
He is as considerate as ever, even when she glomps him in her haste to feel some semblance of normalcy in her chaotic world. When had things gone so wrong? They were 16 and supposed to be playing basketball. Not.. doing whatever they were doing right now.
"Momoi-san, you did a good thing. Playing with an injury against Akashi-kun is very dangerous. I understand why Aomine-kun is eager to play, but I'm glad you stopped him."
Kuroko comforts her in the only way he knows how, the only way she needs - he vows to defeat Aomine. She can only pray, hope, wish that he does it, because how can he defeat Akashi if he can't defeat Aomine?
The gap between the Inter High and Winter Cup is too great for Aomine to sit still. He still refuses to come to practices, but Satsuki is working on it. It's a good thing though, this gap. It helps Satsuki bring Aomine's failing grades up.
She misses Akashi. She hasn't seen him since the Inter High, and even then she hadn't been acknowledged by him.
The Winter Cup opening ceremony begins with a stab and soft strands of red falling. Satsuki stares at the boy she grew up with cut his hair with the same scissors that had almost taken Kagami's eye out.
"In this world," he says in that cool tenor of his, "winners are affirmed completely and losers are denied completely. I've never lost at anything in life and I never will. Because I always win, I'm always right. Know your place."
Satsuki has an inkling of what is going on through the red head's mind. She also thinks she knows how to bring her Sei-kun back.
Winter Cup is a surprise unto itself.
It's Touou vs Seirin in round one, and Satsuki cannot imagine how Seirin can win, even with Kuroko's new drive. Satsuki forgets about Kagami Taiga, so set she's on Kuroko, and Kuroko is the perfect shadow, shielding her eyes from his light until it's too late.
It's too late by the time she realises she doesn't want Aomine to lose, too late because by the time Kuroko unveils his light, Kagami Taiga has a glint in his eye, the same glint that she's only seen when Aomine plays seriously.
The Zone is ridiculous, is what Satsuki wants to think.
She's been with Aomine her whole life and never seen him play this way. It's even more amazing when Kagami enters the Zone. It's truly a battle between monsters. She wonders why she never noticed this raw potential in Kagami. He's a worthy rival for Aomine.
The match ends on a preposterous 101-100. Seirin wins.
Seeing the result of the match makes her realise, that she truly had underestimated Kuroko. She never expected him to beat Aomine. Aomine's declaration of buying shoes for practice makes her heart soar though. And she can't help but hope, that Aomine's words in middle school were right and that Kuroko is going to save them all.
He has to.
The other matches proceed as expected. Akashi comes to watch the quarter finals. She notices him before she even knows she's looking for him. It's not very hard, his red hair shines like a beacon in the sea.
She doesn't know if he sees her. She wants to talk to him, but she's afraid of what she'll see, or rather what she won't.
Quarter final proceeds as Seirin games always do, unexpected and thrilling. Seirin wins against Yosen and she decides to find Akashi.
She runs out of the stadium, ignoring Aomine's panicked shout of "Satsuki!", searching for that radiant mop of fire red hair.
She finds him walking with his teammates. Seeing him walk like a king with that No.4 jersey, those colors so similar to Teiko, brings back memories. Memories that apparently break her brain-mouth filter, because she's shouting his name before she can stop herself.
He turns around with all the grace of an Emperor.
She finds words and tears clogging her throat, fighting to come out. She wants to tell him so many things, ask him so much.
He smiles at her then, and only then does she realise how much she has truly lost, because it's him and it's not him. His smile is the same, yet all wrong, like a familiar tune coming from a staticky radio.
She forces a smile back.
"Akashi-kun, why didn't you stay in touch?"
His teammates are looking at him quizzically, and he banishes them a look. He then turns to her, eyes cool, and asks her, "Why didn't you?"
She finds this outrageous. "You changed your number, moved to Kyoto and didn't even tell me anything about wanting to stay in touch. What am I supposed to think? I thought you didn't want to stay in touch!"
The pleasant smile playing on his lips is anything but pleasant. Has he always had this much presence, Satsuki wonders. His presence is absolutely oppressing. He has a satisfied look, like a cat that ate the cream, and Satsuki finds herself disliking it.
"Hmm," he says and looks at her. She finds herself hating his smile more and more and as the silence stretches, she seeks the comfort of words. "You changed." She doesn't mean to say it so accusingly, but it is what it is.
His smile widens, and she wonders for a moment if she has fallen into a trap. But how can he lay out a trap by talking all of four words? And how terrible she must be, thinking of him that way? No wonder he left.
"Yes, I changed," his admission is shocking, so is the amusement in his eyes, "but then," he looks devious at this point, "so did you."
Satsuki is confused. She thought he would deny it, make some phony excuse. Looking at him, standing in front of her, honestly proclaiming he changed, it is difficult to accept it.
She bites her lower lip. She is truly at a loss, as to how to approach this changed Akashi. She can feel his stare on her, something he never used to do before, and she finds it distracting.
Coming to a decision, she looks up. She is surprised to see the look in his eyes, they are intensely calculating. She has seen this look in Akashi's eyes, but never directed at her. She feels uneasy, but decides to shrug it off for the moment.
"Yes, well it doesn't matter whether you change or not. You're still my friend. You're still Dai-chan's friend. I want us to be together. Please stay in touch. Don't disappear like you always do."
He looks at her for a moment.
"Friendship is unnecessary for victory. Thank you for the offer, but I must decline."
Satsuki is shocked. What is wrong with this boy?
Before she can respond, he's walking away.
She won't. She won't let him walk away like before. She will stop him, and whoever this is, he's still Akashi-kun. He's still her Sei-kun.
She runs up to him and catches hold of his sleeve, deja-vu shaking her hard. That time, he'd comforted her.
Now, he takes in her hand on his sleeve, and looks at her tear-streaked, flushed face.
"What is it that you desire from me, Momoi Satsuki? Are you after information? Or perhaps," he leans closer and she flinches, "you're after something else?"
She hates the implications in his voice and she wants to punch him. How dare he? How dare he talk that way about them? Why is he purposely cheapening their friendship?
He leans back to survey her defiant face with a smug look on her face and she realises. She realises she's playing right into his hands by acting this way. By revealing her emotions to him, she's making herself vulnerable to him. He's pushing her away for a reason and she will find it even if it kills her.
She swipes at her tears and looks at him.
"I'm sorry, Akashi-kun. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you were obviously facing difficulties, and for being a poor friend. I paid too much attention to Dai-chan. I ignored you. I shouldn't have done that. I understand if you'll never want to talk to me again, but I'm hoping you will."
With a final bow she walks away, and doesn't hear Akashi's whisper.
"You never did give up, did you, Satsuki? You're so like Tetsuya that way."
Aomine thoroughly reprimands her for ditching him like that, but she knows that he was worried. She doesn't tell him about meeting Akashi and he doesn't ask.
She watches Rakuzan vs Shuutoku with awe. She never knew Akashi played like that, so perfectly, so amazingly well. He is just as good as Aomine, if not better. His position hadn't allowed him to be fancy in Teiko, but his flair for dramatics is showing through in this match, as he performs perfect passes and ankle breaks anyone in his vicinity.
It is amazing seeing him dominate the court like that, despite being the smallest player on court.
The outcome is as expected.
Rakuzan wins.
She waits for him near the lockers, despite the Kaijou vs Seirin match starting. She wants to see him.
He is shirtless with a towel slung casually over his shoulder and his hair is dripping wet.
Satsuki tries to stop herself from blushing, but it's hard. She berates herself mentally, it's nothing you haven't seen before, but then a sneaky voice whispers in her mind you were twelve then, you're sixteen now.
He looks surprised to her see for a moment, then the shutters fall down, and she can't see what he's thinking at all.
"Satsuki." His voice is cold and Satsuki forces herself to stay, to not run away like the coward she has been acting like. What is there to be scared of anyway? It's Akashi.
"Good game, Akashi-kun. You played very well."
He's still looking at her expectantly and she swallows.
"Will you watch the Seirin game with me?"
With me? Idiot, idiot, idiot. It was supposed to be us. Not me. Satsuki's mind is a mess. She blames Akashi and all of that lean, sinewy skin that is on display. She determinedly avoids looking at him.
So she's surprised when she feels long fingers on her chin, lifting her face up. She looks up and meets his eyes, and she can only think, was he always this handsome?
"I'm sorry, I'll have to reject that offer."
Satsuki reels back as if she is slapped.
"I keep telling you Momoi Satsuki, not to push me, but you never give up do you? Go away before I do something I will truly regret." His voice is soft but venomous.
Satsuki stands her ground. She will not be intimidated by a guy who used to cry and refused to eat seaweed because it was 'icky'. She's Momoi Satsuki, the girl whom all the teams were terrified of, because of her precognitive defense.
She hugs him and as he goes stiff, she realises it's the absolute last thing he could have expected her to do. "I miss you, Sei-kun," she tells him, voice muffled. Then she turns and runs away, feeling like an idiot and hardly precognitive.
Kaijou vs Seirin is heartbreaking. Kise was always her favourite after Akashi, Aomine and Kuroko. She grins as she realises how that sounded. She quickly sobers up as she realises Kise is probably sporting a career ending injury.
Kaijou cannot help Kise and Kise however great he is, is still not great enough to win a match without his teammates. Seirin predicts Kise's Perfect Copy, and they win beautifully. Satsuki suspects that Kuroko is behind the prediction as he's always been observant. She is eerily reminded of Akashi's Emperor Eye, but dismisses the thought.
The next day is the final, she thinks.
The make or break match.
Satsuki wakes up early on the day of the match. Not that she ever sleeps. She can hardly contain her emotions, she feels like she's just gotten off a roller coaster.
Her breakfast is uneventful, with Aomine joining in. They go to the nearby basketball court and she watches as Aomine shoots some hoops. She can tell his heart isn't in it, though, from the way he tosses the ball in without dribbling. She supposes both of them are more invested in today's game than they'd like to show.
They go to the stadium.
They half-heartedly watch the Kaijou vs Shuutoku match, and keep looking at the time, waiting impatiently for Rakuzan vs Seirin to begin.
Kagami goes for the tip-off in an unexpected turn of events and gets the ball. Seirin starts.
From then on the match is a whirlwind of emotions. Akashi crushes Kuroko but Satsuki does not despair. Kuroko is stronger than he looks.
She watches as Kuroko makes his comeback, overwriting the Rakuzan shadow. Kuroko is unbeatable at being a shadow. Then, Akashi enters the Zone.
It's like watching a deadly dance, Akashi's Zone. Why it feels deadly, she'll never know, it's only basketball after all. But it was never only basketball with Akashi was it?
He destroys everyone in his way, friend or foe alike.
She looks at his lithe form as he tears through the court like a lion, and hopes for a miracle.
Because that's what they all are, aren't they? The Miracle kids.
Of all people who she wanted miracles from, Kuroko Tetsuya is the last one she has in mind.
But that's Kuroko isn't he, always doing the impossible.
Akashi is defeated. Oh no, not completely. Just his Zone. But that's enough for him to snap and break. Her heart shatters as she watches him stumble around the court like a lost child and suddenly she wants to scream.
Aomine holds her back. With a soft shake of his head, she understands. It'll all be for naught if Kuroko does not win. She needs Kuroko to win.
Then she notices something.
The way Akashi is playing is suddenly different. He begins passing to his teammates and she lets out a sharp gasp.
It's him.
Aomine's hand is a vice against her own and she realises it's true. He's back. Her Sei-kun is back. She waits with bated breath for them to finish the match, she hardly cares how it ends, he is back back back and that's what is important and she's never letting him go anywhere.
She runs to the locker room once the results are announced (Seirin won apparently) and waits for him.
His red head is bent, his teammates look dejected. She's never seen him like this. She's never seen Akashi Seijuurou after he lost, because Akashi Seijuurou doesn't lose.
She can't stand the kicked puppy demeanour surrounding him, so she calls him out.
"Sei-kun?"
He looks up.
And his face breaks out into a beautiful smile, like the sun shining after the rain and she realises that's what it is. He's her sun and it's been constant rain rain rain in her life since he left.
He's her sun.
She runs to him and hugs him.
The tears are falling but they're happy tears, it's a summer rain, the sun's still there. He's still there.
"Welcome back, Sei-kun."
She can feel his lips curve into a smile against her hair.
"It's good to be back, Satsuki."
They both fell for each other's smiles, she was just thirteen years late realising it.
AN: Please review if you liked it. I'm also working on an Akashi POV, so I'm marking this as incomplete. :) I'm also taking prompts on my tumblr, my account is .com, please remove the brackets!