Chapter One: The Letter
The note had nice handwriting. That was the first thing Kagami noticed when he glanced down at the envelope neatly positioned on his desk—right in the middle too. His curiosity was piqued, to say the least, and he found himself staring at the beautiful strokes of calligraphy written neatly in the middle of the envelope's front.
'To Whom it May Concern…' Now Kagami was concerned. Who would send him a letter like this? It was menacing enough with just that written on the front of the pristine white envelope. Was he finally getting written up—or suspended—for all of those times he was late, or for all of the unfinished or missing homework he'd yet to do, or maybe it was his loudness or the fact that he couldn't go three sentences without cursing like a sailor—or maybe, he paled with realization—it was all of these reasons. He had been on his best behavior for a long while now—since their first Inter-High match even!—and he couldn't, under any circumstances, make a mistake that could lead to him being suspended from the team… or school. Especially since the Inter-high tournament's loss…
Kuroko's expression didn't change much, maybe a light sparkle in his blue eyes, as he watched Kagami stare intently at the letter, the red-head's expressions changing from horror to anger and then, finally, to worry. "Kagami-kun." He called softly, not really expecting to be heard. However, the bluenette's eyes widened in surprise when Kagami's head snapped up, looking around until his gaze settled on the familiar blank face of his shadow's, that same glaring gaze boring into Kuroko. "What's wrong?"
"Ah… I don't know yet." Kagami scratched the top of his head as he tried and failed to hide his surprise at Kuroko's sudden appearance, even if they had accompanied each other to lunch, which they were just returning from. Kagami brushed it off and went back to staring at the envelope with a gaze so heated, Kuroko was surprised it didn't burst into flames.
The envelope looked extremely important, as if it wasn't supposed to be ignored ever. "But I'm gonna find out now." Kagami concluded and with grace Kuroko didn't know the taller even possessed, Kagami lifted the back of the enveloped as it wasn't sealed all the way and pulled out the letter inside as if it was a fragile piece of glass.
"Parchment paper." Kuroko commented. From his tone, he was rather impressed. Kagami glanced at him, a little confused and Kuroko elaborated. "Parchment paper is a particular type of paper that's—well, just chalk it up to this letter being from a person with some power, which begs the question Kagami: what did you do?"
Kagami scowled, shooting a heated glare Kuroko's way. The bluenette didn't seem at all bothered by the stare as Kagami yelled, "I didn't do a damn thing!" His anger rose at Kuroko's easy accusation. Sure, Kagami wasn't an ideal student but he wasn't that bad! Not bad enough to get a letter from the principal or something, right…? He quieted slightly, looking around and trying to ignore the stares from those in the classroom.
"Maybe that's why you got the letter, because you don't do anything." Kuroko quipped, his deadpan tone making Kagami even angrier. Had it been anyone else, he would've punched them right in the throat for accusing him so openly, but this was Kuroko—the guy didn't speak in a subtle way. "Go on," he urged, "Read it. I'm rather curious."
Kagami grumbled under his breath in anger—this was Kagami's letter (even if it was bad)! Why was Kuroko so interested?—but unfolded the paper with anticipation nonetheless. Was he getting expelled? Kagami wasn't a truant—why would he get a letter for missing homework or something? It made him scared to think of what it could say and what could happen as a result. As a person who did what he wanted when he wanted without ever worrying about the repercussions, consequences scared Kagami, especially now that everything he'd done—no matter how insignificant—came flooding back to him, even if half the stuff he was thinking about hadn't been done at school. The red-head shut his eyes tightly as he pulled open the letter, holding it away from himself as far as he could.
He didn't know exactly what he had been expecting when he opened it up—and Kuroko's comment of "It's a letter, not a bomb, Kagami-kun." Made him feel foolish enough to blush—but when he opened an eye to peek, all that his eye was met with was a few words—maybe less than fifteen—written in the middle of the paper. After that, he opened his other eye, a little relieved and disappointed. Kuroko, who stood slightly behind him, was trying to get a peek at it, "What does it say?" He settled on.
"U-Uh… j-just a time and a place…" He summarized, red eyes still intently staring at the paper. Confused, Kagami brought it closer and began scanning every inch of the paper for anything else, "That was a lot of build up for a time and a place… You see anything else?" Kagami handed the letter to Kuroko as he searched the envelope, coming up with nothing else.
"All that build up you did yourself." Kuroko commented, then looked down at the letter, reading it within seconds, "Behind the school," Kuroko read aloud, "It sounds like someone in this school has a confession for Kagami-kun." His tone was the same as it always was, thus Kagami couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.
"I wonder who would do something like this…" Kagami trailed, thoughtfully. He hadn't really seen any girls show an interest in him—but maybe he was wrong; after all, he only focused on basketball, food and more basketball and more food—and on more than rare occasions, video games. There was barely any room for schoolwork or anything else, so maybe…?
"My thoughts exactly." Said Kuroko, taking his seat, "Kagami-kun isn't that desirable from what I've heard and seen, I wonder what this person assumes is your selling point."
The unreadable tone combined with Kuroko's blank face made Kagami think that Kuroko was seriously trying to figure out why he had received such a thing. The red-head sputtered, blushing hotly in a mixture of embarrassment and anger as he tried and failed to think of something witty to say back. "Sh-Sh-Shut it!" He settled for, dropping down into his chair and covering his face in his hands. He shook his head a few times, trying to clear his head and calm himself. He couldn't freak-out now. He might actually receive a suspension letter for breaking something.
Kagami would have said something more had it not been for the bell ringing loudly and the large throng of students pouring into the mostly empty classroom and dwarfing anything either could have said. He accepted this with a scowl, the color draining from his face slowly as it returned to normal.
Kagami turned around, dropping his head down on the desk. He couldn't help but feel anxious. What if it was a teacher who just didn't want to embarrass him by talking to him during school hours or something? What if it was an ambush? The anxiety Kagami had made a home for itself in the pit of his stomach where it would stay until he met with this person after practice.
The letter fluttered onto his desk and Kagami stared at it, then angrily stuffed it into his desk, muttering "Outta sight, outta mind." in English.
Sometime after class, Kagami and Kuroko were in the locker room, changing. All of the previous worries from the school day were gone when he slipped on the practice jersey, adjusting it to fit his body correctly. The locker-room was abuzz with talk of the school day and Kagami found himself rather quiet. The first, besides Kuroko of course, to notice was Hyūga. The captain walked up, slapping the taller male on the back and momentarily frightening him.
"Kagami! What's wrong with you?" He asked loudly, pushing up his glasses slightly, "You're usually the loudest in here!" All conversation seemed to quiet or fully stop as most, if not all, of the occupants of the locker room turned to look at the man in question.
"O-Oh…uh…" Kagami began, looking around the locker-room, "It-It's nothing important."
"Really?" Kiyoshi stepped up, "If it wasn't then you wouldn't be lookin' like you're sulkin', huh?" He smiled, "C'mon, tell us." Kiyoshi pulls Kagami into a headlock to which the red-head responds by yelling and trying to get out of. Kuroko coughs rather loudly, all attention drawn to the sound and Hyuuga jumps slightly, taking an involuntary step back.
"Kagami-kun received a love letter today during lunch." Kuroko informed them. Kiyoshi easily let go of Kagami, who glared at the older who just responds with a dazzling smile as the usual.
"Oh, so that's it?" Hyuuga frowned, "I thought it would be something more important."
"Do you know who she is?" Koganei asked, "I bet she's real cute, huh?"
"No!" Kagami responded, "I don't know who it is—that stupid paper only gave a place and a time. That's not a love letter if you ask me."
"Ooh~!" Kiyoshi sang, "Mysterious, huh? Maybe she's one of those 'I-wanna-tell-you-in-person-types'. It means she's brave."
"Mitobe says: Well are you going to meet her?" Koganei informed, to which the quiet boy nodded, "I think you should at least find out who it is."
"Maybe she'll be able to tame the Taiga in you!" Izuki pitched in, patting himself on the back for the pun. The blank stares the others gave him didn't deter him in the slightest.
"….that was bad and you should feel bad too." Kagami responded in a deadpan, "But, I guess I could go see what this was all about. There's gotta be some kinda mistake or somethin'."
"That's true," Hyuuga said, a little surprised at how level Kagami was being, "Who would like you anyway? This girl has to be crazy!" Kagami popped a vein, glaring at Hyuuga as he muttered spiteful words towards his captain.
"That's what I told him earlier." Kuroko spoke once more, yet it didn't come as much of a surprise this time. Kagami began yelling once more and Kiyoshi laughed, these guys were so lively!
"Boys!" Riko banged on the door to the locker-room, cutting off anything anyone else wanted to say, "Hurry up or I'll make the practice double!—No, I'll do that anyway! Hurry or it'll be triple!" Though nobody groaned outwardly, they all shared looks that could be akin to horror. All talk of the love letter was left in the locker-room as their game faces went on, and they went to practice.
All of the work would be completed just a few minutes before the designated time, that much she knew. It wasn't like the work was hard, it was just tedious and her excitement and nerves were making it hard for her to hold the pen correctly. To anyone but her, the handwriting would look elegant, but it looked like utter crap in her eyes. She wanted to start again, but it would be a waste of paper and time, so she stuck to it, still a little peeved. Not too far from being a perfectionist, she hated when her handwriting was sloppy, especially on important documents like this.
"You can leave the rest for Riko-san, you know." Yamada, the president, said, smiling lightly at her. She looked up, a blank look ever-present on her face, "U-Uh, Saiki-chan, you don't have to finish all of it by yourself. You do know that there is another VP, right?"
"I am aware, but…" Saiki puts down the pen for a moment, "I wouldn't want her to overwork due to being the basketball club's coach. She already has a lot to handle dealing with those boys and… I don't mind." She looked down at the work, "I need to keep busy until six anyway."
Yamada wasn't surprised by her answer. He only smiled softly, ruffling the girl's hair, much to her disdain, yet she did nothing to stop him, only fixing the large puce colored bow on the top of her head. "Right, well take care then. I'm leaving early today—I've gotta get to the drama club."
Saiki nodded, and with her monotone voice responded, "Alright, good job. Take care." It didn't sound very personal, but Yamada knew she meant well—he could feel that tiny bit of feeling she couldn't display well—and waved once more, smiling before he left the girl alone in the office.
After she heard the click and fading footsteps, she sighed, leaning back in the chair and loosening her tie. Wearing the formal uniform sure was tiring, but it was to be expected of someone in the student council. The only one on the council that didn't wear the formal uniform was Riko, but Saiki assumed it was alright, after all, she had to move around a lot more than they did.
Saiki stood from the desk, removing the jacket as she went along. The brunette dropped it on the chair, moving around to the stacks of papers, random posters and misplaced chairs and things to get to the closet, "We should really clean in here…" She mumbled, pulling open the door. The extra female sweaters were in that closet and the brunette pulled one off of the rack and slipped it over her torso. It fit rather nicely and she hummed a small tune, closing it and returning to her work.
Maybe if she finished a little earlier, she could work out what to say more precisely. She began writing again, looking from paper to paper, and catching sight of a name she'd seen too often. "Ah… Kagami." She said with a strange hint of bitterness to her placid tone, "You're infamous for your huge folder of write-ups…" She cast a glance towards the folder which lay on the table not too far from her. It was the easily largest file over there and luckily, they'd managed to put it off for as long as they could during the Inter-High tournament. But now, it had to be dealt with. "Good thing I delivered your letter of probationary action during lunch…"
It was finally the time. Kagami gulped as Kiyoshi urged him on, pushing the boy towards the door. The others shouted their own form of Good Luck and Kagami growled, "I don't need luck! Nothin's gonna happen!" With that said, he left the gym, slamming the doors as he went. He didn't have time for this, dammit!
"What's that all about?" Riko asked, her gaze falling on Hyuuga.
"Oh, Kagami's just gonna get some girl's affections." Kiyoshi said as if it was obvious. "I wanted to watch but Hyuuga wants me to walk him home!" To emphasize his point, Kiyoshi grabbed Hyuuga, pulling him close, the smile never leaving his face.
"I do not!" Hyuuga broke the hold, crossing his arms, "I didn't say anything like that!"
"Ah, but you didn't have to!" Kiyoshi said, "Haha~!" Hyuuga would've hit the boy, but at this point, he was much too embarrassed to after hearing the snickers of the others.
"Kagami will surely tell us what happened tomorrow." Kuroko spoke up from beside Riko, "He's not a secret keeper—well, not a good one."
"K-Kuroko!" Riko screamed, "Don't do that, idiot!" A loud slap was heard and nobody could say that Kuroko didn't or did deserve it.
"C'mon, Jun~ I'll walk you home!" Kiyoshi beamed, grabbing the shooter's hand.
"Kiyoshi stop!" And another loud sound rung out in the gym as the others left, some were grimacing and others were still snickering.
"What...? I'm just being friendly!"
Kagami stood behind the school, leaning up against the wall, glaring at positively anything that went his way. Stupid leaves, stupid wall... stupid... stupid! Just who the hell was this girl—or person? Kagami pulled the letter out of his pocket. It was crumpled, as things tend to get in pockets, but this was beyond wrinkly. He looked at it, not even bothering to smoothen it out. He already knew everything on it, but looking at it brought him comfort.
"When is this chick gonna come? Or was this a prank of some sort?" Kagami growled underneath his breath, anger rising. Was he being stood up?
"Kiyoshi-san!" Someone called. Kagami didn't bother looking up, but every so often, the call would get closer and finally, the person who was shouting his senpai's name was standing right in front of him, "I-I'm glad you made it..." Kagami looked up, eyes wide.
"Yeah, well I just came to tell you that I'm-" She looked up, her eyes wide as she took in his appearance.
"Not Kiyoshi-san!" She pointed at him, "Wha-Where is he? D-Did he send you in his place?" Kagami raised his hands in mock surrender. She sure was demanding, "Answer me! Or I'll have to hurt you!"
Kagami scowled, glaring at the girl, "Hurt me? Yeah right! I'd like to see you-Ow! What the fuck?!" Kagami wheezed as he felt something lodge itself into his stomach. He doubled over in pain and wrapped his arms around his stomach area as he dropped to the ground, hitting it with a dull thump.
"Wh-Why would he send you?" Her voice cracked as she fell to her knees, "Di-Did he not get my letter?"
"L-Letter?" He choked out, trying to regain his breath. She really knocked the wind out of him. "Y-You mean that piece of paper... with the time and place on it?"
"Y-Yes!" She said, "How do you know about that?" Kagami took a few minutes to get his bearings back and sat up. The girl in front of him looked innocent enough and not like she could throw a punch like that, but he knew people didn't always look strong even if they were, or at least, he should.
"Because it was left on my desk..." For emphasis, Kagami grabbed the paper, which had fallen on the ground near him and showed her, "I got this after I came from lunch."
"Wh-What!" She gaped, "N-No way!"
"Yeah way, so explain yourself, girly!" He was already getting annoyed with her and yet, she didn't even seem to notice. She'd gone quiet for a moment and Kagami contemplated getting up and leaving her there.
"I… I guess I have no choice... Okay then," She stood, dusting herself off, "Follow me." And walked away, leaving Kagami no choice but to follow her.
The two were seated opposite each other in Kagami's favorite eatery—Maiji Burger. Saiki was casually chewing on a fry while Kagami shoveled burgers into his mouth as if they were expiring in the next hour. Saiki couldn't help but have her gaze travel back to him. He paused for a moment. "What?" He questioned, gulping down a large quantity of the burgers.
He couldn't exactly tell what she was thinking—her blank look was almost on par with Kuroko's. And it was still a little awkward from what happened earlier, he could feel it. "I'm… sorry for punching you like that…" Her face showed no signs of sympathy—but then again, it didn't show that she wasn't, and neither did her tone for that matter. Kagami felt like he did when Kuroko spoke, as if he would always be guessing the boy's real feelings and motives. "I was just… surprised."
"Yeah, you sure surprised the breath outta me with a gut punch like that." Kagami burped, slurping at his soda. Saiki frowned in disgust but didn't say anything else, "So… that letter was for Kiyoshi?" It was best to address the matter at hand now, besides, it would get late soon and he didn't want her walking home alone in the dark depending on the direction she went.
She sighed, having hoped for him to have forgotten about that, but she knew it was too good to be true. Kagami was stupid, that much she knew, but he wasn't a complete idiot. "Yes…" Saiki responded quietly, "I… I m-must've mixed them up when I was delivering the letters… In that pile was supposed to be your p-probationary letter… You're both K.T., so…" She trailed, looking off to the side, "A-Anyway, it was a mistake, so if you'll kindly forget about it-!"
"Wait." Kagami stopped his eating once more and stared at her, "How can I just forget it? You punched me in the gut and accused me. And then took me out to eat without having any money- I bought you your food!-and gave me a half-assed apology?" Kagami could feel his anger rising inside him, "You're not off the hook that easy, Megane-bimbo. Gimme somethin' I want. A payment for all this trouble."
Usually Kagami would be one to let something like this go, after all she was just a naive girl in love with his senpai, but she punched him and he had to buy food for her-well he didn't have to... and it was only fries, but he bought it nonetheless!
"Like what?" Saiki responded. He proved a good point, though she wouldn't admit it. Her analytical gaze stayed on the giant and for some reason, it made him nervous.
"I-I dunno… somethin'..." He trailed, looking around. Nothing seemed to catch his interest until he noticed the arm band pinned to her sweater's sleeve, "Student council." He mumbled, repeating it at least three more times and each time he would get more excited, a face-splitting lopsided grin was now on his face and Saiki shied away, "I've got it!" Kagami yelled, beaming. "In exchange for my silence, erase my school records-the bad parts I mean."
Saiki's eyes widened, before she returned to her blank mask. "No way." She shook her head firmly, "That's too big a thing for all that you've accumulated in your file." She replied, "To erase it all, you'd have to do something big for me too… I don't know; help me win the affections of Kiyoshi-san?" Joking, Saiki had been joking, but because of her straight face, Kagami seemed to seriously consider this.
"Is that all?" Kagami had responded with after a few minutes of silence from both parties.
"Wh-What?" Saiki stuttered, Kagami looked at her, his expression dulling a bit.
"I said 'Is that all?' I mean, if all you want me to do is help you get with him... Well I think I can do it." In all honesty, he knew it was probably futile. That idiot was too infatuated with Hyūga, but Kagami would try to curb out this girl's affections so she wouldn't get hurt, somehow and in the end, his bad records would be gone.
"A-A well... Yes!" She nodded feverishly. "B-But you've gotta sign a contract..."
"Alright... Uh, bring it to me tomorrow or something." Kagami stood, coughing slightly, "I'll sign it then."
"Ah..." She stood up too, grabbing at his sleeve. Kagami looked back at her, his gaze one of confusion and slowly, her head lifted and he could see faint traces of a blush on her tan-cheeks.
Then, with more expression that he had assumed she had, she formed a smile of her own, closing her eyes just slightly as she said, "Thank you."
Kagami frowned a little, looking away and scratching his head, "Ah, whatever... I'm only doing it for the school records! Besides, I haven't done anything yet!"
"Right!" She replied, nodding, "So tomorrow!"
And on his way home, Kagami would never admit that he blushed.