This story's a little long, but I love the friendship between Midorima and Takao. Enjoy!
Takao had this weird expression on his face; he looked as if he was trying to suppress his grin, but at the same time, he looked really guilty.
"Shin-chan!" He yelled, but his calls were deliberately ignored by the former member of Generation of Miracles.
Midorima was extremely pissed off. He walked faster, increasing his pace as if the soles of his feet had caught on fire. Shutoku's ace was in a palpable rage.
And irritation.
But mostly irritation.
Not a good combination to start a day.
Takao heaved a long sigh, but that didn't mean that he was giving up. With his expression turned a little more serious than before, he had to run to catch up to Midorima since his height was such a problem; he couldn't pursue Midorima just by merely walking.
"Hey, seriously man, wait. In the name of Oha-Asa, please STOP!" The boy with Hawk Eye pleaded exasperatedly, but Midorima was still as stubborn as ever. Part of him hoped that Midorima would at least turn around upon hearing the name of his favorite horoscope show, but unfortunately, the fortune enthusiast didn't even flinch from his current position. Seeing it was unsuccessful to lure Midorima like that, Takao considered telling him to stop again, but by then it was already too late.
The green-haired boy had accidentally ran into a pillar.
Takao did ask Midorima to stop nicely, so his actions couldn't be dubbed as effortless. The shorter boy's face was the perfect illustration for desperate. The feeling was bubbling inside of him; seriously, Takao couldn't restrain himself any longer—AND "BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" he burst out laughing until tears clouded his vision. The scene itself was funny, but of course, his laugh was also accompanied by both worry and concern. Midorima on the other hand, didn't say anything. He just stared blankly at the pillar in disbelief. It was probably too much of a shock for him. Poor guy.
Takao took his time earnestly to gain composure before helping to hoist the surprised boy up. He was about to ask the casual, 'Are you okay? Did it hurt?', but knowing Midorima, he would feel immensely awkward and he would eventually settle the whole thing by avoiding eye contact to hide his embarrassment. So, out of pure consideration, Takao blurted, "Oh my God that was hilarious! I already told you to stop hahaha."
Midorima had reached his peak capacity to hold his anger. "WHOSE FAULT DO YOU THINK THIS HAPPENS YOU FOOL!?"
He didn't shout, but Takao could feel the darkness in Midorima's voice. I'm going to kill you.
Takao brushed off Midorima's temper by laughing albeit a little anxiously, beads of sweat formed on his forehead when he saw the specks of scarlet dropped on Midorima's collar. "Yeah yeah it's all my fault. You can hit me later, but first, let's go to the infirmary." He admitted defeat. "Damn. You're bleeding. How hard did you hit that pillar?"
"How am I supposed to know that there's a pillar right infront of me you fucki—"
"Yeah yeah tone down with the curses will you. Sheesh." Takao wrapped his arm around Midorima's shoulder. Midorima didn't budge, and he showed no resistance as Takao led him to the nurse's office. Takao felt grateful for that.
*Flashback*
"Hello everyone. Thank you for listening to Oha-Asa Horoscope Fortune~! Today is—"
The Midorima household was quiet except for the sound emitted by the television. It was early in the morning but yet his mother was already busying herself in the kitchen, assisted by his little sister. His father sat leisurely on the dining table as usual, reading a newspaper while sipping a cup of tea.
"Good morning," Midorima politely said as he took his place across his father. Mr. Midorima responded with a grunt while the two females in his family replied his morning greeting with the same nuance as the high school boy. It was a perfectly, normal day. He waited patiently for his own star sign while consuming his breakfast.
"… For Cancers, today is going to be a wonderful day if it rains in your area. If it doesn't, be careful because you might lose something really important! Don't be near Pisces. To compensate for this unluckiness, please wear your lucky item; a pair of glasses. Your lucky numbers are 7 and 9. Now, good luck for today. May the odds be ever in your favour~"
While his family paid no heed to fortunes as much as he did, they still tried their best to succumb to Midorima's beliefs. "Nii-san," His little sister demanded his attention, her voice laced with care. "It's sunny outside. And you're already wearing your glasses… Will you be okay?"
Midorima stared at the television screen for a couple of seconds before realization hit him. He couldn't hide his anxiety with his usual calm façade.
He wasn't even sure: does that mean he couldn't compensate for his bad luck? The Oha-Asa Horoscope Fortune didn't specify any details about glasses-wearing people.
Or… is it supposed to be a fine day for all Cancer Meganes?
If today's supposed to be a bad day, what 'something important' would he lose?
Since Oha-Asa was ALWAYS accurate and NEVER wrong, shouldn't they improve by being more specific? Midorima was the type of person who really devoted himself to fortunes. The fortunes were crucial; they are an integral existence in his life. They were his life line.
How could Oha-Asa do this to him and everyone else in the world who believes in horoscopes?
"I'll be fine," He finally answered.
With that, Midorima sighed dejectedly and left his house with uncertainty welling up in his heart.
To avoid history to repeat itself twice*, Midorima was being overly cautious with his surroundings. He made sure that he won't get caught up in an accident or get himself killed. So, it was a wonder that he arrived early in school. How unexpected. But, as long as he was still in one piece, he was grateful. The last time bad luck befall him, his life was constantly in the edge.
Midorima made his way to his seat before a sunny voice hit his eardrums: "Morning, Shin-chan!"
The source of that voice was none other than Takao Kazunari who had turned around to face Midorima that sat behind him. Like any other day, Takao was always without fail to be the first person to greet him during homeroom. Since it was rude to not answer morning greetings, Midorima decided to reply out of courtesy. But then he was interrupted by Takao who was a millisecond faster. The latter's almond-shaped eyes widened and his intonation indicated that he was amused in an astonishing way because: "Wow this is the first time I see you without anything weird. By the way, are the glasses really helping?"
Midorima knew that Takao had watched Oha-Asa every morning as precaution; just in case if he had missed it. Seemed like the dark-haired boy also wondered what would happen if a Cancer already wore glasses in the first place.
Again (to emphasize), Midorima was about to reply, if only Takao's hand didn't land on his face with so much force. Apparently Takao's palm was faster than the speed of sound (if that was even possible). The impact of his hand on Midorima's cheek gave out a disturbingly loud smack.
He had hit Shutoku's ace so hard in the face without any reason at all. Worse, it was witnessed by the whole classroom.
Midorima could feel the burning sensation and the stinging feeling on his left cheek. He was pretty sure the whole ordeal would leave a prominent bruise there.
The classroom that was once bustling with talks were now as silent as an abandoned graveyard.
The boys stared.
The girls gasped. Some screamed.
Takao froze.
Midorima was—needless to say—appalled.
.
.
.
"What the hell Takao!?" Midorima seethed furiously after a few moments of registering the whole event into his mind. The corners of his eyes twitched in enormous anger, the faint sound of friction resulted from clenched teeth could be also be heard. While his voice was surprisingly calm, it was hinted with a venomous amount of ferocity. At that moment, it was obvious that the Shooting Guard was restraining himself from lunging towards Takao with murderous intention in mind.
Takao inched his chair away from the angry fiend nervously. He knew Midorima was the angriest when he looked calm but, in reality, threatening.
"There was a mosquito. Ha… ha… ha…" He explained the truth agitatedly in a joking manner, but no one seemed to appreciate his efforts to ease the tension swarming the air. He stopped the laugh immediately when he realized his actions had gained the opposite effect. "I guess… it's not funny?"
With the limited amount patience left after most of it had drained down the sewer, Midorima grabbed Takao by the collar, bringing the shorter boy to face him.
"Funny my ass." He barked directly, their faces were only apart by a few centimetres. "Is your name Takao? Or is it actually BAKAO?"
"Uhhh… Shin-chan," Takao who was originally a little freaked out was now clamping his mouth really tightly so that a fit of laughter would not escape from it. Takao bit his lower lip until he could taste blood. HE MUST NOT LAUGH!
After mustering enough willpower that seemed like eternity when in reality it only lasted for several seconds, Takao hesitantly told the truth with his voice trembling slightly as his instinct was actually to laugh out loud. "You grabbed the wrong person," He said rather quickly. "That's Takagi-kun. I'm here."
Midorima had never felt so humiliated before. Not in elementary school. Not in Teiko. His fair skin was accentuated with the color red; blood travelled faster to his head than the other parts of his body. Unable to speak, Midorima let go of poor Takagi-kun's collar. He felt himself burning. His face felt so hot as if it had caught on fire. He was in pure embarrassment.
Damn it. Where's his fucking glasses when he needs them!?
"Uhhh… your glasses accidentally slipped off…" Takao contributed unhelpfully. While he was fascinated to see Midorima being embarrassed for the first time, he couldn't help but feel really sorry for the situation Midorima was held in. Takao's Hawk Eyes scanned the possible radius, searching for Midorima's specs that shouldn't drop really far.
"I'll get your glasses for you…" Takao offered. "But… Please don't kill me, Midorima-san…?" He begged almost comically, even addressing Midorima by his last name formally.
Midorima didn't say anything. Maybe he was still embarrassed that he got the wrong person.
Taking that as a good sign, Takao took a step forward. His initiative was welcomed by a loud, unpleasant crack. When Takao realized his mistake, he couldn't undo it. Shit. Shit. SHIT SHIT SHIT.
"Did I just hear a sound that I dislike the most?" Midorima's voice raised several octaves.
"M-Midorima-kun, Takao-kun just stepped on your specs." Takagi-kun blurted out in fear after seeing the broken glasses.
"Takao you bastard…" Midorima's voice was so menacing that chill descended the room. Takagi-kun mouthed 'sorry' towards Takao as his final say.
Everyone followed suit. They did not wish to get themselves involved in the fight between the two basketball regulars.
Midorima was at his wits' end, but he looked like he was about to murder someone, however…
Lucky for Takao.
The teacher came in the right time before Midorima could do anything dangerous.
Nobody should ever question the accuracy of Oha-Asa.
Today was indeed a disaster.
Midorima couldn't see the board. So half of the time, he didn't understand what the teacher was blabbing about. He couldn't even read the textbook as reference.
He kept glaring at Takao. Little did he know it was actually the poor Takagi-kun (Takao swapped seats with him just for the day).
He needed to buy a new pair of glasses as soon as possible. He couldn't study without it. And of course, it would be a hindrance without it if he were to play basketball.
Guess he really did lose something REALLY IMPORTANT.
*End flashback*
The Shadow of Shutoku was pedaling the ridiculous rickshaw to appease the Light.
Midorima just sat down on the cart without saying anything, letting Takao did all the embarrassing work. He ran his hand on the bandaged part of his head gently. Both the cut from the pillar and the sting on his cheek didn't hurt anymore, but a bruise that formed on his cheek had started to ripen into a purplish hue. After they went to the infirmary to close up the wound, almost everyone (especially the senpais) in the basketball club greeted him with hearty laughs when he asked for permission to not attend practice.
He did punch Takao back, so he felt that they were now fair-and-square. He was sure that he hit him harder, but Takao didn't complain. Rather, he just smiled his signature grin and said, "Feeling satisfied, Shin-chan?"
Aside from that, Midorima felt really 'accomplished' when Takao voluntarily made himself as the driver.
"It's here right?" Takao asked not because he didn't know, but just to initiate a conversation after a very uncomfortable silence along the ride. They had stopped at the town's only shopping centre.
"Obviously nanodayo," Midorima replied curtly as he went inside, and went straight to the optic shop, leaving Takao to tail him like a dog. He took his time choosing a nice pair. Midorima could see Takao who was also enjoying himself; he tested some of the specs childishly to take selfies, but was immediately scolded by the salesgirl. Midorima pretended to not know the shorter boy even though their uniforms were a dead giveaway.
"Your spectacles will be ready by tomorrow. Please drop by then. Thank you for shopping with us, dear Customer."
By the time Midorima was done, it was already night time. His vision was already bad in daylight, now that it was dark, it worsened by more than eighty-percent. To say that he was worried was an understatement. He could get killed, wreathed by bad fortunes just like Oha-Asa had stated early in the morning…
He was scared. Even though he wouldn't admit that.
"Hop on, Shin-chan. I'll send you home." Takao instructed.
…
?!
Midorima was stunned.
Takao lived in the opposite direction, and it was certainly past his curfew.
Why nanodayo?
He knew Takao was good at reading people despite his overly-cheerful persona. Midorima didn't say anything, but yet, Takao's assuring voice really did answer his concerns.
"I'm fine. C'mon."
Midorima couldn't see the Point Guard's face clearly, but he was sure that he was grinning.
"Hmmm… If you say so," Midorima finally obliged, quite reluctantly. It felt weird that they were not taking turns by Rock-Paper-Scissors, but Midorima assured himself that it was all Takao's fault in the first place. He should take responsibility.
"Gee Midorima-san. Sometimes I can't believe you're this rich," Takao teased when he stared at Midorima's house in awe. The gates were intricately designed, and the house was really enormous. It wasn't plain looking either; from outside, he could smell the flowers planted in the front garden. Compared to his house, there was really a huge difference. Damn rich family.
"Shut up, Takao." He glared in annoyance as he got out from the rickshaw.
"Oi!"
"What now!?" Midorima shouted in frustration before realizing that Takao had thrown something in his direction. In reflex, he caught it easily just like catching a basketball.
A notebook…?
"You couldn't see what Inoue-sensei had written on the board during Bio right? I copied it for you. Review it when you get your glasses back. See you, Shin-chan." Takao explained while pedaling his bicycle to go home.
Honestly, Midorima didn't know what happened at that time for him to suddenly say something so out-of-character. He must have got caught up in the heat of the moment because—"Wait."
Takao hit the brakes instantaneously. The cart attached behind it jerked due to inertia and then, he turned his head to face Midorima expectantly. "What?" He demanded.
"… " Midorima's tongue was tied. "… N-nothing..."
"What a tsundere." Takao murmured to himself, but he smiled nevertheless. He then waved his hand and beamed, "Bye then!" so loudly that Midorima thought the whole neighborhood knew he was acquainted with the world's biggest idiot.
"So… the only absentee is Takao?"
Midorima stared at the empty seat infront of him in relief. Oha-Asa was right. Today would be a great day. Without Takao, he would have a nice, quiet day, he celebrated internally. He assured himself like that, but he felt uneasy somehow.
Not that he cared, but… it was really unusual for Takao to be absent. The more Midorima thought about it, the more he felt that he was used to Takao's existence in his life. Well, it couldn't be helped: they shared the same class and the same club.
He fiddled his lucky item absent-mindedly. There was nothing to do. He couldn't really read due to his blurry eyesight. Besides, it was a self-study period anyway. Even during lessons, he didn't get called out by teachers to solve a problem on the board.
Strangely, Midorima's hand was itching the whole time for his mobile phone. As if on reflex, he started typing 'where are you?' on the messaging box to be sent to Takao. It was good that he came back to his senses sooner and deleted the text immediately. He sighed in relief.
What he didn't expect occurred on the sixth period.
Takao came in just before lunch time. Takao's share of friends surrounded him for details; all the attention were directed towards him. Midorima didn't butt in. Why would he? It wasn't like they were friends anyway. They were close because of basketball and that they happened to be in same class. However, regardless whether he wanted to hear the commotion or not, the class was really loud that he couldn't just ignore the whole bits-and-pieces of conversation.
"What the heck man, you skipped five periods. Inoue's gonna get super berserk."
"Seriously dude, you shouldn't have come to school hahaha."
"Playing the thug now huh Takao."
And so on, but the raven-haired boy shrugged it off with his trademark laugh as usual: "I know hahaha."
However, the laugh was short-lived as Takao was called into the teachers' office. "Oh crap," he cursed, but still smiling. "I'm dead you know."
"Good luck Takao. We'll offer incense during your funeral."
"Oh shut up hahaha."
Midorima knew that Takao got along well and was really close with the others in class. All this time, Takao had always been by his side. He thought Takao was a fool for hanging around him even though he could've hanged out with people who were similar to himself in terms of personality. Midorima often heard some people said Shutoku's ace was such a handful and was totally weird once spoken to. Even Takao admitted that. But yet, he was still the person closest to Midorima Shintaro; like a gum. They hanged out together. Practiced together. Studied together. Things that friends do. He'd never heard Takao said anything about being his friend, unlike his teammates in Teiko. Now that he thought about it, are they friends? The thought of it sounded foreign to Midorima because he was positively sure that Takao had declared both of them to be rivals-turned-partners.
Putting those things aside, he REALLY didn't care. And he wasn't a tsundere. Full Stop.
When Takao returned, it was already lunch time. It looked like half of his life had been sucked by a death reaper. He was obviously chewed out by the teacher.
"Oh man. Inoue-sensei really gave me an earful," Takao groaned while turning his chair around, resting his head on Midorima's table. "What are you doing on my table. Use your own," Midorima snapped in annoyance as he pushed the boy's head. Takao refused to move. Aware that his actions would remain fruitless, Midorima decided to ignore Takao and begin unfolding the wrapping of his lunch.
"You're not going to ask why I am late?" Takao questioned, his head still slumped on the desk.
"Why would I?" Midorima answered, opening the Oshiruko he purchased from the school's vending machine.
"So mean, Shin-chan." Takao whined. "Oh, by the way, here."
Midorima raised an eyebrow questioningly as the bag switched hands. "What is it?" He rummaged the content.
To say that he was shocked was an understatement.
A glasses case. Glasses.
The green-haired boy stared at Takao with a look that was hard to describe. Midorima was dumbstruck. He wanted to say something, but he was afraid it would come out incoherent.
Takao grinned, faking a devastated sigh.
"Damn. Glasses are way too expensive. Plus, the store only opens at 10 a. m." He complained with a smug expression.
"Serves you right." Midorima said while putting on the brand-new specs that he had chosen yesterday. His vision was restored.
The ex-Generation of Miracles member didn't expect Takao to pay for the spectacles. He could definitely afford to buy something costly, but for Takao, it must have been unreasonably expensive. He looked uncomfortable by Takao's friendly gesture. "You…" Midorima's voice trailed off, dragging the last syllable into a firm finishing tone. "Don't have to do this."
"I'm your friend, so I can do whatever I want."
"…"
"…"
"Since when you're my friend?" Midorima furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"What?" Takao was excessively bewildered. "You mean to say we're not friends?"
"…"
"…?"
Both boys were equally dumfounded until Midorima broke the uncomfortable pause.
"If so, then… T-thanks. For yesterday. I haven't read it yet, but it saves me from buying one just for today." Midorima nonchalantly flailed his lucky item in the air without looking at Takao. "And for this too." He gestured the spectacles he wore.
Takao snickered at Midorima's bashfulness.
"You're welcome, Shin-chan."
That was the first 'thanks' he ever received from the prideful Midorima Shintaro.
"For Cancers, today is a great day if you already lost something really important yesterday~! Don't do anything that requires effort and just wait for the moment to come. Your lucky item for today is an orange notebook! Have a nice day~!"
END.
A/N:*: Please read 'Midorima's Unlucky Day' KNB novel now if you still don't get the asterisk! xD This story is set some time after THAT. By the way, Midorima still doesn't know that Takao only watched Oha-Asa for Cancer, so he hasn't listen to Scorpio's fortune yet.
This is completely out of topic, but salute to Hunger Games fans who notice that phrase xD
~2Hoshi3~