Dedicated to my lovely senpai, Viv-senpai (furihata on tumblr).
Honestly, Furihata didn't think his life would go back to being uneventful after the intense training and matches that he had gone through. He was used to the bustling noise from the bleachers, whether it was composed of boos or cheers, the squeaking of basketball shoes skidding across the floor, and the occasional and periodic buzz of the bell. So going back to how it has been before the craze, being in a quiet classroom with only the instructor saying uninteresting words, felt a bit foreign, even after going through this daily, quiet routine for the past month.
During the month, ever since the end of the spirited Winter Cup, there has been no practice. The second years were in dire need for extra studying, having pushed it aside for the tournament preparation, so it was in best interest that they go back to their duties as students. Because of that, things have been a bit dull. Sure, the five first years did meet up after school every now and then to practice at an outside court, but it was not the same.
Furihata missed the unexpected twists and turns of the Winter Cup basketball matches, and the thrill that he felt when he was on an official court. These only made him want to work harder and practice more with his team, but priorities as students were important. Since things were becoming too boring lately, he was just now hoping for anything unexpected and anything eventful to happen.
Though, maybe he was wishing for it too much. Because all of a sudden, three familiar faces that he had not expected to see at all under any circumstances have appeared—one too overly excited, one scowling at annoyance, and one that never failed to send him uncomfortable shivers on his back.
Kagami was the first to react at the sudden entrance by slamming his palms against his desk as he stood up, and he did not look happy. "What the hell?! Why are you guys here?! Go back to your school! You don't belong here!"
Even Kuroko looked surprised, but made no sign of doing anything about the matter, only looking curiously at the three newcomers.
The most annoyed one, Nebuya Eikichi, countered by roughly throwing an accusing finger at the wild ace of Seirin. "You shut up! I didn't even want to be here in the first place! You can blame Akashi for making us do his dirty work and having us come to this dump!"
Hearing his former captain's name, Kuroko jumped in, letting out a heavy sigh before he spoke. "This has something to do with Akashi-kun?" Furihata noticed that Kuroko's face now had an expression that read of course it would be Akashi-kun; whom am I kidding? He wondered if Akashi really did pull stunts like this regularly.
"Now, now. Let's not start a fight and scare everyone, Eiki-chan," the dark-haired teen, Mibuchi Reo, said creepily. At least Furihata thought it was. "Don't worry, Seirin's light-and-shadow duo. We're only here to do what Sei-chan asked of us, and it doesn't have to do with you both."
"Yeah, because Akashi is too shy to do this himself!" Hayama Kotarou proclaimed a bit too excitedly, and he carefully scanned the classroom for a moment, until his eyes met a certain pair of brown. Instantly, he pointed. "There, Reo-nee! He's the one, right? He's the one we have to deliver the letter to?"
Kuroko blinked. Furihata panicked. Kagami went on defensive mode for the second time.
"I'm not letting you touch Furihata, you sick bastards!"
"Kagami-kun, please calm down." Kuroko stood up and jabbed his partner's back, and Kagami let out a pained growl. He turned back to the three uncrowned generals. "May I ask what this letter is for exactly? I don't understand what Akashi-kun would want with Furihata-kun."
Mibuchi grinned; Furihata wanted to run away from all this. "Oh, that would be for this boy to find out. My," he clapped his hands in delight, "Sei-chan is just too cute sometimes!"
"If you mean cute by making us come all the way to Tokyo just to deliver a goddamn letter, then yeah. I agree."
"Cut some slack, Nebuya!" Hayama slapped the bigger guy's back. "Akashi just didn't want to come because he would be too shy confronting this guy! This is a first, since Akashi usually is the one confronting everyone he has a problem or a matter with!"
Kuroko let out a light hum. "Yes," he mused. "I agree. Akashi-kun had never done something like this before." He paused for a moment, turning his gaze to the brunet that was receiving the center of attention. "Furihata-kun, I don't believe Akashi-kun means any harm or bad intention in this delivery. I think you should accept the letter and see what he might need."
This was nothing like he hoped for when he wished for a change in the dullness; receiving a letter from the most intimidating person he had ever seen was definitely not in his agenda. But it happened, and he was reluctant to take the mysterious letter from the uncrowned general's hand... However, Kuroko did say it was alright, so Furihata found himself inching closer to the sealed paper, eventually taking it with his own hands.
The leave from the three was fortunately not flashy as the entrance was; Furihata was told to open it as soon as possible from Mibuchi, so he did once he got back to his seat and when the lesson resumed.
See me at the place where the Winter Cup was held this Wednesday right after your classes. Do not be late, and do not bring any other person with you. Do you understand, Furihata Kouki?
He wanted to die before he died at the hands of the absolute emperor.
[-]
Kagami and Kuroko did go up to his desk right after their class was over; Furi had suspected they would, so he wanted to run out as soon as the class was over, but to no avail. Kuroko crept up in front of his desk right at the sound of the bell ("I was sitting in front of your desk for a good minute. The instructor never noticed, and you too, Furihata-kun."), and Kagami was behind him before he had any thought of running away from or outrunning the phantom player.
I love them and all, but damn them and their skills!
"You didn't think you were getting away, right, Furihata-kun?" Kuroko had a victorious twinkle in his eyes, and then turned to his partner, who grinned back.
Furihata could only sigh in defeat. They formed a deadly combo, after all. "No," he quietly muttered.
"I'm sorry, Furihata-kun." No, you're not if you're talking in your deadpan voice! "But I was dying with curiosity. I want to know what Akashi-kun wanted from you. I know you opened the letter."
"Sorry, Furihata." At least Kagami sounded sorry to some extent. "But Kuroko kept whispering at me during class to block you from escaping, and I am curious about what that red-haired midget wanted, too..."
"Akashi-kun will not hesitate to kill you if he heard that, Kagami-kun."
"Yeah, well, he's an ass, so."
Well, it was not the letter said anything about telling anyone else about the matter, though he was sure it was implied. However, Furihata wasn't able to think up of any excuse or escape route, so he had no choice but to give in to their wishes. He breathed in, preparing for the worst.
"Akashi-san wants to meet me two days from now. I'm not sure why, and he said not to bring anyone else with me when we do..."
Kuroko and Kagami didn't say anything, merely blinking in silence and slight surprise, though Kuroko was doing a better job at concealing his shock.
Soon enough, eventually Kagami let out a hefty sigh and crossed his arms across his chest. "I don't think it's good if you go by yourself. I don't trust that guy one bit."
Kuroko lightly shook his head. "Akashi-kun might hunt Furihata-kun down if he went against his demands."
"I don't know. He didn't bother coming himself to give Furihata the letter. He never did anything like this in middle school, right? From what you've told me about him, and from what I've seen from him, he always did handle his own matters personally." Kagami placed a protective hand on the Furihata's shoulder. "I'm just worried for you. I don't want him to do something unnecessary and dangerous to you. That first impression he gave to the both of us wasn't exactly a nice memory..."
Furihata slowly nodded. That experience was still engraved in his mind, even if the Seirin ace was the recipient of the swift stab of sharp scissors. Overall, Akashi Seijuurou was still someone to be cautious and wary of, just as Akashi was to others.
Still, after racking his brain during the remainder or the class period for possible answers as to why Akashi had summoned him ended up with not even one result. The only interactions he had made with the almighty Rakuzan captain included that brief moment when the Generations of Miracles were gathered before the opening ceremony of the Winter Cup and during the finals when he did a poor job at marking the stronger player. None before, between, and after those times.
This would be their first conversation, if the meeting was going to happened. Then again, in some way or another, it probably was going to considering how everything was to be made absolute for Akashi Seijuurou.
"Furihata-kun," Kuroko addressed, snapping the boy out of his subconscious realm of inner thoughts, "I must apologize. I'm also having trouble thinking up of reasons as to why Akashi-kun wishes to meet you in private. Akashi-kun's actions can be...cryptic and unexpected."
Furihata waved both his hands in front of his face. "You don't have to be sorry for that, Kuroko! It isn't your fault at all. The same goes for you, too, Kagami, if you were thinking along the same things."
Kagami nodded reluctantly; Kuroko frowned.
"What do you think about all this, though, Furihata-kun?"
"Me?" Furihata pursed his lips and glanced at the ceiling and away from their gazes, trying to recollect and organize the information as well as his own thoughts. "I'm honestly anxious and afraid, but at the same time I do want to know what he wants and why he wants to meet me out of everyone. And I do want to respect his wishes; I don't really want to go by myself, but if it's such an important matter that he doesn't want me to bring anyone else, then I should do my part and respect that, you know?"
He looked back at the two, and saw that Kuroko was looking at him with some analysis. "Furihata-kun can be quite impressive."
Kagami sighed, "I really don't know if you're asking for your own death, Furihata, but after hearing that I don't exactly have the will to stop you. You seem intent on going by yourself."
Furihata pressed his upper lip and lower lip together and hesitantly nodded. "I guess..."
Kuroko mused thoughtfully for a moment, and then added, "I can kind of see why Akashi-kun is interested in you, now, Furihata-kun."
"H-Huh?"
The phantom player smiled softly and merely shook his head in response.
[-]
Maybe Wednesday had come a bit too soon for his liking, but it was already the last class of the day and the bell would ring soon to signal the end of the school day. With each second that passed and with each tick of the clock sounding the progressing time, Furihata was getting more and more anxious.
Fortunately, there had been no intrusions since that sudden one by the uncrowned generals two days ago (they even barged into Kiyoshi's classroom to greet him that day, and Hyuuga was complaining about them for some time), so Furihata was able to live the next day peacefully with the meeting in the back of his mind. Until today, that is. He was fidgeting in his seat so much that he had received notes from Kuroko during class that read "Please calm down, Furihata-kun" and "Kagami-kun and I will make sure nothing happens to you, so do not worry." Of course, Furihata wasn't sure how they were going to do so, but he was glad they were supporting him.
The bell rang. Furihata looked at the light and shadow duo once more, and they both gave him a thumbs up. With a big sigh, he left the classroom, said quick goodbyes to Fukuda and Kawahara on the way, and hastily rushed to the nearest station.
The ride to the stadium was too short; Furihata immediately regretted not thinking about what to say and not preparing himself mentally for the meeting. His hands were sweaty and clammy, his thoughts were flying all over the place, and his walk was to the cup was messy. He could only pray to himself, hoping that there would be no scissor stabs on his body or that he would be able to function normally after this without having his spirit broken in any way, like the Rakuzan captain had done so easily to the Seirin basketball team in the Finals.
He was honestly hoping that he wouldn't have to interact with the red-haired captain any more. Luck wasn't playing in his favor, it seemed.
And he was certain of that completely when a hand suddenly pulled his shoulder back. Furihata yelped, fell on his bottom from the startle, and groaned in pain. He looked up to see that he was in front of those steps where the Generation of Miracles have gathered in the day of the opening ceremony, and then realized that he would have walked without taking a step up if he wasn't stopped in time. That would have been embarrassing.
Furihata stood up, flushing with embarrassment, brushed the dirt off his clothes, and proceeded to express his gratitude to the stranger who pulled him back. "Th-Thank y—"
He should have expected it was Akashi who did. The hair on his skin stood up, and the flush on his face reddened more brightly. He wanted to scream, but no sound escaped from his gaped mouth. And Akashi was merely staring with a calm and curious gaze.
Furihata mentally slapped himself. "S-Sorry!" he squeaked. "I-I wasn't looking where I was going, and A-Akashi-san had to p-pull me back a-and—"
"You should be more careful," Akashi collectively said, cutting off the rambling speech.
"Y... Yeah," Furihata lamely replied, lowering his head in shame.
There was a silence between them, Furihata wondering if it was okay to meet Akashi's distinctly colored eyes or wait for Akashi to speak. He decided to go with the former, seeing that the redhead hadn't said another word after that one sentence, and blinked with confusion once he did.
Akashi was looking away, biting on his lower lip as he looked...different than usual. The heterochromatic eyes seemed to hold some nervousness in them; Furihata marveled at how Akashi was able to show that kind of expression, when the guy was always certain and absolute with everything. It was different, yes, but Furihata was relieved that Akashi was able to show more vulnerable expressions than intimidation. So he was able to relax.
However, right when he did, a small box, probably the size of his own face, was thrown right at him. The collision had him fall to the cement ground for the second time in such a short span of time, and he ascertained that he really was having the worst luck of his life. The box fell in front of him, and Furihata rubbed his nose that took the most damage from the impact.
When he looked up, strangely, Akashi was nowhere to be seen. He was alone, his bottom on the floor and a box of whatever with a letter attached in front of— Oh, there was another letter. Instinctively, Furihata separated the letter from the box, opened it up curiously, and read the content in his mind.
Go on a date with me this Friday, Furihata Kouki. Contact this number for your response.
"Akashi Seijuurou," Furihata whispered the name on the bottom of the letter, disbelief laced in those words despite the name written fancily on the lower part of the paper.
It took a while for the words to register in his head, but the instant they clicked Furihata's cheeks were colored a deep scarlet.
"So it seems you are the target of Akashi-kun's affection, Furihata-kun."
Kuroko never failed to scare him. Furihata held his heart, trying to calm the already quick heartbeat rate from increasing even higher. "K-Kuroko! And even Kagami! Since when did you guys get behind me?!"
"Just now," Kagami answered, and grimaced. "It's weird using misdirection and being in Kuroko's position..."
"It's supposed to be fun, Kagami-kun." Kuroko shook his head, and turned his attention to the brunet. "I have suspected this two days ago, and my suspicions were confirmed when Akashi-kun threw the box right at your face, Furihata-kun."
"Akashi-san did throw the box at me...?" Which was weird. Furihata did think he would be going back home with a scratch or two if things went totally not in his luck, but being hit by a box, decorated with a nicely tied and colored ribbon by that, was what he did not expect. Akashi was definitely acting strangely, since Monday even.
Then the sentence that Kuroko said when he entered the scene clicked in. Akashi-san's target of affection?!
Kagami scratched his chin. "Wait, isn't Friday supposed to be Valentine's Day?"
"Ah, Kagami-kun finally caught on."
"Finally?" he repeated, sounding insulted. "I'm sure Furihata wouldn't have noticed either!"
"It's fine for him because he has to take in all this."
"God dammit, Kuroko! It's like you're out to get me or something. And only me!"
"Ah, Kagami-kun finally caught on."
Kagami roared in exasperation, shouting that he needed a table nearby to flip it. Furihata paid no attention, despite how loud the two were being. After all, the emperor of the basketball society had just confessed to him, even going through the trouble of getting him a small gift.
And it was endearing. This was probably the most romantic and heartfelt thing that had ever happened to him, and Furihata couldn't help but be touched by Akashi's actions. Sure, he was hit by the box and his nose still did sting (he was sure Akashi just thrown the present as if he was dunking), but this only made the redhead look...cute.
Furihata paled. He had just thought Akashi Seijuurou was cute, and Kuroko noticed. His newly reddened face had given it away. Dammit.
He pulled out his phone and texted his reply.
Friday it was.
[-]
"So, Kuroko, Kagami... You said you followed me here and made sure to hide closeby."
"Yes, that's right. Akashi-kun would have caught us, if he was being his usual, careful self, but he was preoccupied with you. It was nice to see him so shy. I'm sure you haven't seen and I'm not sure if you will believe me, Furihata-kun, but Akashi-kun actually ran off embarrassed right after throwing the gift at you. He didn't walk away calmly. You've done a good job at revealing a side of Akashi-kun thought to be nonexistent."
"I don't know if that's something to be proud of..."
"Oh, come on. He was totally acting like a schoolgirl head over heels in love. How is that not an achievement?"
"A-Anyway...! That wasn't what I was trying to bring up. I was going to ask you guys why you came out of your hiding place holding hands."
"Wh... What?! That's because it was the only way of using Kuroko's misdirection without being spotted! It was Kuroko's idea!"
"Kagami-kun could have just crept quietly. You didn't have to take my idea. It was just a joke, but Kagami-kun had went with it anyway."
"Shut up! You're only making this worse!"
Akashi was meant to be out of character, or more precisely supposed to match to this picture: / member_ illust .php ?mode = medium &illust _id = 41600335. (Remove the spaces, and it is on pixiv dot net.)
Edit: There will be NO sequel coming up. I apologize for those who have been waiting, but I just cannot write one. I'm sorry.