OH MY GOSH WHY THE HECK AM I EVEN WRITING THIS I HAVEN'T EVEN UPDATED MY NITOGOU/AIGOU STORY YET ARGH
Also, I started watching KnB, and all I can say is:
Hot guys.
Midorima, Akashi, Kuroko, Kise, Aomine, Izuki, Hyuuga, Kiyoshi, Mitobe... I could go on forever.
But I promise, cute guys aren't stopping me from writing my fan fiction. I'm working on chapter 3 of Heartburn, so hopefully that will be up soon! In the meantime, I spent two hours rewriting this crap (scuse the language). I'm not even sure this is fan fiction. Akashi sounds like a complete stalker here, I can't even -
Please enjoy. Comment as well. Remember, this is un-beta'd and written when I'm supposed to be doing English homework. GOMENASAI
Fascination.
What is it, really? An urge to stare? A spark of wonder? Mere curiosity?
Shirokawa Aki doesn't quite know. But what she does know is that Akashi Seijuuro fascinates her.
It must be his eyes, she decides. Red eyes should burn with anger or passion. Akashi-kun's eyes watch the world attentively, cunningly, even distantly. They analyze and calculate: the colour of raging fire, yet the fire within flares bitterly cold.
It could be the way he stands, quietly but commanding attention. It could be his lack of expression, how he cleverly conceals his emotions – shrouded in such a way that some can't help but wonder if he has emotions at all. It could be his hands as well. Aki had seen him dribble a ball, grip a pen, hold his textbook. His hands were almost… elegant. Poised. Unnaturally beautiful.
Well – I shouldn't be thinking about Akashi-kun right now.
Aki sighs as she opens her book. Her lunch is on her desk, she is sitting alone in the classroom, and her glasses are balanced on the bridge of her nose. Today she'd told her friends to go ahead – she wanted to read the book she'd borrowed this morning from the library.
Easier said than done. Her onigiri sits, neglected, in her lunch box as she stares at her book. Straining to understand what in the good world that ridiculously long sentence was implying, she doesn't even notice her stomach growling as she glares at the tiny print.
King… rook… bishop… general… knight… lance… pawn…
Aki squeezes her eyes shut and opens them again. The characters spin before her, and she squints. She rereads the previous sentence, and stifles a groan.
She isn't fooling herself at all. This book is impossible to understand!
"You look quite dedicated," someone comments, and Aki nearly leaps out of her seat in shock. In fact, she starts so violently her chair tips backwards. She squeaks as she plunges to the floor, her stomach dropping as she stops suddenly. The owner of the voice moves forward and with one fluid movement, catches her. He, or she, slowly lowers the chair back into its original position,
Her heart pounding, Aki turns, expecting Kayoko or Yuuna. But she already recognizes that voice, a tone of smooth velvet. She looks up, and her gaze connects with two calm eyes, redder than blood.
"Akashi-kun!" she says, half-startled. "A-Ah, sorry. You frightened me."
He doesn't answer. Instead, his right hand plucks the fallen book off her desk.
"Shogi?" he says, lifting an eyebrow.
"Yes."
"How interesting. May I ask why you became interested in such a topic?"
Aki laughs nervously.
"It's of no importance, really."
"No, no. I'm a shogi player myself. Everyone has different reasons for deciding to learn shogi."
She mumbles something.
"Could you please repeat that?"
"A-Actually, I saw you play in a shogi tournament, and I thought it seemed like an interesting game, so I borrowed this book this morning," she stutters.
"You watched my tournament and, attempting to impress me at a future meeting, decided to learn shogi?" Akashi says. It's more of a statement than a question. His crimson eyes lock her in place, making her turn red under the scrutiny. Aki shakes her head.
"No, nothing like that!" she says. Akashi's eyes, previously cool and composed, are turning harder and sharper, like the edge of a knife.
"I find it strange that the president of the chemistry club has suddenly become interested in shogi after watching me play."
"How did you know?" Aki asks hesitantly, but Akashi ignores her.
"You are Shirokawa Aki, if I'm not mistaken. I am constantly having the feeling of being watched, and I suppose this explains it."
"Wha – no – I'm not stalking you!" Aki replies, horrified. "What on earth gave you that idea?"
"I never implied stalking."
"Then – what – why – "
"Do you like me, Shirokawa Aki?"
It's as if someone has filled her throat with lead. Aki struggles to breathe, the only image in her mind being two unblinking scarlet irises watching her every move – like a predator.
"You're – You're wrong!" Aki chokes.
The slightest hint of a frown crosses Akashi's face.
"I am never wrong. Now, please answer the question truthfully."
"No, I don't, in fact," she says, attempting to regain her composure. "Now if you'll excuse me – "
"Shirokawa-san, your face is turning red," Akashi says.
" – I have things to do," Aki responds, ignoring him as best as she could, which is a Herculean effort, as her heart is racing faster than a train.
"Shirokawa-san, I believe you lack the ability to lie."
"I merely told you that your match inspired me to start learning shogi," Aki says, adjusting her glasses and observing the ceiling with interest.
"I have a friend who wears glasses, and he is also in the habit of adjusting them when he becomes agitated."
"L-L-Logically speaking, I am not stalking you or watching you from a distance. I observe objects and people that fascinate me."
Akashi sets the book down, his eyes never blinking.
"And fascination is different from infatuation altogether?"
"Of course it is!"
"Would you mind telling me what sort of things fascinate you?"
Aki struggles to resist the urge to adjust her glasses again.
"I'm a scientist," she almost snaps. "The things that fascinate me are the things I don't understand. Now please – my friends are waiting for me outside."
Without further ado, she rushes out the door, perfectly aware of her flaming face, leaving behind her lunch, her book, and an expressionless Akashi.
Akashi's eyes wander to Shirokawa Aki's desk again, and he strokes the spine of the shogi book with one finger.
" 'Things I don't understand'," he murmured, walking away. "Interesting."
Any normal girl would've found that particular incident intimidating, and perhaps a little… creepy. But Aki was no ordinary girl. Akashi's questions and unmovable face only made Aki the more fascinated.
It's her friend Mibuchi Reo that first noticed the change in her.
"Shirokawa-san, you seem quite silent these days," he says as they walked to the gym. "Is there anything wrong?"
"No, not really," Aki says absentmindedly.
"I've noticed that you've started staring at Sei-chan lately," Mibuchi comments. "Is this related to your daydreaming?"
"I was not staring," Aki snaps. "And I am not daydreaming either, thank you very much. I merely find Akashi-kun fascinating."
"Sei-chan? Fascinating? What are you talking about?"
"He's a puzzle with no pieces," Aki explains. "I don't understand him."
"A puzzle with no pieces," repeats an all-too familiar voice behind her. "I like that."
Aki spins around, and is greeted by those eyes again.
"A-A-Akashi-kun! What are you doing here?" she says in a voice several octaves higher than her own.
"You dropped your folder," Akashi replies evenly.
"T-Thank you."
Mibuchi regards Akashi for a minute.
"Shirokawa-san finds you fascinating," he says finally, smirking a little.
Aki plunges the heel of her shoe into Mibuchi's toe.
"I am completely aware," Akashi replies.
"And what do you think of her?" Mibuchi says.
Despite her usual sensibility, Aki is sorely tempted to kick Mibuchi off a cliff. A very high cliff, with rocks at the bottom. She is so irritated that she doesn't even realize what he asked Akashi until Akashi opens his mouth to answer. Then she feels her throat go dry.
Without realizing it, her hand reaches for her glasses.
"Naturally," begins Akashi, and Aki suddenly is aware of the way her heart is thumping again, as if it were trying to find a way out of her chest. It's that time of year again, when the cherry blossoms are waving slightly in the sun. Pink is overrated, Aki finds herself thinking. Would they look better if they were red?
"Eh? Red cherry blossoms? Are you being serious?" Mibuchi says, and Aki flushes.
Ah. Shoot.
"Naturally," continues Akashi, the tiniest hint of amusement flashing across his face, "when asked that question, I should like to respond without interruptions. To answer your question, I find Shirokawa Aki – "
His eyes flicker towards her and Aki's face flushes.
" – quite fascinating as well."
And in that moment, as a sudden wind blows a stream of cherry blossoms over their heads and under their feet, Aki becomes absolutely sure that Akashi was right after all. Fascination and infatuation could easily become the same thing.
"Was that a confession?" said Mibuchi.
Crap! I said my thoughts out loud again! Aki thought. She was sure she would die of embarrassment soon, if she didn't die from Akashi's insistent gaze first.
"Of course I was right." Akashi slid the folder into Aki's hands, his little finger touching hers for a brief moment. He walked past her in one long step, only stopping to whisper in her ear.
"After all, Aki, I am never wrong."