What A Lucky Strike Chapter 2: Benefits of Being Midorima Shintaro
"Talking"
Thoughts
"I'm joining in."
"Natsume? Why?"
"I want to meet these friends of yours."
Akira pulled up her bag properly onto her shoulder. Midorima sighed and pushed up his glasses. Why would she want to meet them anyway? She patted her uniform down as she pushed her chair in, "I didn't know you had any other friends." His eye twitched. Midorima was starting to get used to this sarcastic attitude of hers. He had been hanging out with her, alongside Takao for the past two weeks.
Sometimes, Takao would decide he was busy and run away to who-knows-where and would just leave Akira and Midorima alone. The two didn't really care anyway, (which Takao got mad about) so they would just hang out together. And once again, Takao ran off leaving them right after school ended, claiming he had to 'handle a few things.'
The two walked over towards the classroom door, sliding it and let the female behind him go through first. "It's up to you." He said, closing the door behind them. She opened up her bag, slipping out a small notebook and pen, "We don't have practice today and I don't have anything to do." Akira flipped the page, "There's no homework either, so it's fine." The two turned the corner and walked down the stairs.
"Don't you have to study or something?" He asked while she put her notebook away. Akira gave him a thumbs up, "I'm pretty good when it comes to the last minute." Midorima pulled up his bag, "It's not something to be proud of, Natsume." Akira waved her hand, gesturing that he shouldn't worry about that. Well, it's not like he cared or anything.
The two reached the exit; Midorima walked over to his shoe locker and swapped his school shoes. She walked over to him with her phone out, "Shin-san, let's go now." He nodded and watched as she tapped away on the device. Akira held it out towards him, "You said you were meeting up at four, right? We have fifteen minutes." Midorima sighed and the pair continued to walk. Midorima and Akira left the building, joining the parade of Shuutoku students that were leaving the school.
Midorima and Akira quickly arrived at the park. She observed her surroundings, noticing a few teens playing street basketball. They all seemed to get along despite being from different schools. Midorima started walking towards them with Akira slowly trailing behind him. She consciously hid slightly behind him, which the green-haired male noticed but didn't really pay any attention.
A blond turned his head towards them, grabbing the basketball to stop the game. "Midorimacchi, you finally made it!" His friends turned towards Midorima and gave a few greetings. Akira moved to Midorima's side and almost straight away the blond noticed her, "Huh? Midorimacchi, who is this?" She bowed, "I'm Natsume Akira-sama." The blond jumped in surprise before bowing back respectfully, "E-EH?! U-Um, I'm K-Kise Ryouta!" She nodded and Midorima grunted at his stupidity.
"Don't believe just anything you hear, idiot."
"Eh?! So, she isn't Natsume-sama?!"
Akira bit her lip.
"No, actually, I'm Natsume-ojou-sama."
"You. Stop that."
The green-haired teen hit her on the head and she mumbled before rubbing her head, trying to ease the pain. She stood back straight, only to meet blue orbs in front of her. It was a blue-haired teen that was probably around the same age as her. Akira tilted her head to the side questionably, Was he always there?
"I'm Kuroko Tetsuya, nice to meet you." He bowed. Akira snapped out of her daze and bowed back lazily, "Yeah, nice to meet you." She didn't even notice the guy was there. But she wasn't going to say anything about that. The boy turned towards a tall, red-head behind him. The guy had a tough expression on which she Akira really didn't get in this situation.
"Kagami Taiga."
"Natsume Akira."
"…"
The two, as if on cue, turned their heads away from each other in a flash. Akira's eye twitched and Kagami clenched his fist. The two thought the same thing: "She/He seems like a pain."
Midorima pushed his glasses up, "What do you guys want?" Kise grinned and turned towards the female who was still irritated, "It's great to hang out with friends! Isn't that right, Ojoucchi?" Akira looked at him, "Who the hell is Ojoucchi?" Midorima pointed at her, "It's you, Natsume." She gave a nod to her classmate and then looked at Kise, "Are you joking or just stupid?" "That was mean, Ojoucchi?!" Kise sobbed.
"He's just stupid. Please ignore him, Natsume-san." Kuroko dead-panned. The blond sobbed harder after receiving a second blow. She shook her head. Well, whatever. Midorima fixed his bag, "If you don't want anything, I'm leaving." Kise held the basketball to his chest, "Midorimacchi! You shouldn't just leave like that!" He turned to Akira who looked at him with dead fish eyes, "Ojoucchi, help me convince him to stay! You're his girlfriend right?"
Silence.
Midorima turned deep red and Akira just stared. She jerked a thumb behind her, "Sorry to break it to you but I'm not dating that guy." Kise blinked a couple of times, "Eh? Really? But Midorimacchi has no female friends besides Momoicchi and they barely even talk." Akira looked at Midorima, eyes full of true pity.
"You've had a sad life up until now, haven't you, Shin-san?"
"Shut up."
"It's okay, tsunderes are supposed to act like they don't care about the opposite sex."
"Go die."
"That's not a good thing to say to a friend, Shin-san."
He pushed up his glasses before letting out an irritated sigh. The green-haired teen turned his back on the group and began walking away. Akira bowed towards the boys near her and followed Midorima as he turned the corner of the street.
Kagami took the ball out of Kise's hands and began to bounce it, "Who the hell was she supposed to be?" Kuroko turned to him, "Kagami-kun, you should really start to learn how to listen to others." Kagami felt a twitch, "That's not what I meant! I mean, why the hell is a girl hanging out with that weirdo!?"
Kise was grinning ear to ear at the fact that Midorima somehow gained a female friend. "I can't help but wonder~" He said as he stole the ball off Kagami and made a dunk.
"And that's what happened." Akira explained. Takao burst out laughing as Midorima held the urge to knock the teen out. She continued to sip on the strawberry milk that Takao gave her. The girl was currently in the middle of reading a novel. It was pretty good despite the fact it had to do with gruesome murders and the scarring minds of criminals. It was pretty interesting but at the same time not really.
"I can't believe it, Shin-chan!" Takao took a breath, "It's bad enough you've never had a girlfriend but, having no female FRIENDS!?" He continued on, clutching onto his stomach. Midorima had enough and threw his notebook at Takao which, as expected from the best lucky shooter, landed right on his face.
"Facebook." Akira commented.
"Aki-chan, please don't say that. It really hurts more then it looks."
"Hn."
Takao held onto the book and placed it to his side so that the ace shooter wouldn't able to get a hold of it in case he decided to tease him again. The raven-haired teen peeked over to Akira who decided to just continue on with her reading quietly. Takao leaned back on his chair, "What do you think of Kise, Aki-chan?" He asked.
She looked up from the book, "Why are you asking?" He pursed his lips, "No reason really~" Akira raised an eyebrow. Midorima stood up, grabbing some papers and pushing his chair back in. "I have to drop off these extra handouts back to the teacher, I'll see you guys later." Then left the room. Takao looked at his retreating form the back at Akira who was also watching him leave.
"So? What's your answer?" He asked, still interested. Akira closed her book and checked if the bookmark was properly in the pages. She placed it down on her lap and brought her fingers to her desk, absentmindedly tapping on the wood with her long nails. Takao watched as she leaned back on her chair and folded her arms across her chest.
"He's an idiot."
"Te-chan?"
"He's okay."
"Kagami?"
"He seems like a pain."
Her childhood friend chuckled. This was kind of what he expected from her but Takao was surprised that he could still remember how she acted and how she reacted to people. The pair continued to chat; it was like they never separated back then.
After a few minuted Midorima came back in and took his seat once again. He opened up his boxed lunch and pulled out his chopsticks. Akira and Takao leaned closer to check out what the ace had for lunch. Takao let out a gasp, "WOAH, this looks awesome, Shin-chan!" Akira looked up at his green eyes, "Who made it?" She stared and bit her lip as she tried to hold back a retort.
The lunch looked really pretty. That was the only way to describe it's looks. Well, it did look delicious and all but that was kind of the second priority since the massive love heart in the rice section kind of stole the spotlight. Takao began to snicker and Akira picked out a bit of the omelette with her chopsticks that she had laying on top of her own lunch box. "Why don't you just eat your own, Natsume?" Midorima half-complained and she ignored him.
Akira started chewing the piece of stolen food and she felt sweetness erupt from the dish. She covered her mouth with her hand and chewed it really fast before swallowing it really fast. Takao leaned on the desk with his arm, "Too sweet?" She nodded silently. The brunette took a quick sip of the strawberry milk beside her then turned to Midorima, "Why is the omelette so sweet?" She asked him. He shrugged his shoulders as he ate, "It's not that sweet." Takao pointed at the love heart, "Shin-chan, who made your lunch?"
"My younger sister." He answered.
"Eh? You have a younger sister?" Akira questioned. Takao moved away from the boxed lunch, "I've known about her but I've never met her before." She looked towards the raven-haired teen, "Really? Then we should go meet her." He grinned back, "Sounds like a plan." The two clapped each other's hands together.
Midorima felt irritation dive back into him, "Why are you two just making plans up? Who says you can just go meet my family?" Akira looked at him a bored expression danced on her face, "I thought it'd be respectable of me to tell your parents that you have now gained a female friend. I mean, according to the conversation yesterday, you don't have any female friends." That was when Midorima decided to take his phone out and send a 'polite' text to Kise.
The two beside the green-haired male were puzzled a bit by his sudden action but decided to ignore it and wait for Midorima's answer. The glasses-wearing teen looked at the two before sighing and agreeing. Takao fist-pumped Akira and grinned, "Nice job, Aki-chan." She nodded silently as the conversation switched from talking about Midorima's family to what Takao decided to do about the moldy piece of bread he found in his bedroom.
Takao and Akira looked up at the fairly large traditional Japanese home in front of them. Midorima was a few steps in front of him, "Hey, are you coming in or not?" The two snapped out of their trance and walked over and entered the house. They took off their shoes while Midorima entered with an 'I'm home' greeting. Takao excitedly walked deeper into the house, "Excuse us~" Akira trailed behind him, hands in the pockets of her cat hoodie, "Excuse me." She said in monotone.
"Oh, Shi-chan, you're home. Welcome back." A woman appeared with a traditional kimono on. She was beautiful and she even had a calming atmosphere around her. "Mother, I'm home." Midorima greeted. Takao didn't even try to hold back his shock. "EH? Mother?!" He looked over to the woman who simply smiled and brought the sleeve of her kimono up to her face.
"You're like one of those perfect Japanese women, Ma'm!" Takao exclaimed. "It's called a Yamato Nadeshiko." Akira corrected. The woman chuckled, "Oh please, you two flatter me. My name is Shino; I'm Shi-chan's mother." Akira turned to check out Midorima's expression. It was a mix of annoyance and boredom. "Well, that explains why this guy's name is Shintaro." Akira realized.
"May I ask for your names?" She asked politely. Takao smiled and bowed, "Takao Kazunari, I'm in the same basketball team as him." Shino smiled back and nodded. She then turned to Akira, waiting for her introduction. The brown-haired girl bowed, "I'm Natsume Akira, I'm the manager of the team." Even Akira knew when not to do stupid introductions.
"A pleasure to meet you both. Thank you for taking care of Shi-chan." Shino said and then focused her gaze on Akira who widened her eyes slightly, noticing the attention that was given to her. "You're the manager, correct?" Akira nodded at the question. "Are you perhaps Shi-chan's girlfriend too?" Shino asked innocently.
"Sure, I guess."
"E-EH? Aki-chan?!"
"Natsume, what do you think you're saying?!"
"Calm down, I'm just kidding."
Shino chuckled as she watched the trio get into a small argument. Girlfriend or not, she was glad Akira became friends with her son. It gave the poor young woman some hope that her son would get married one day; even if it was just a bit.
In the midst of the conversation, a loud thump was heard and running footsteps was the only thing that was heard. Next minute, a girl with black hair and green eyes came and crashed the party. She hugged her brother tightly from the back, eyes glaring at Akira. "Onii-sama, who is this girl?!" Akira heard Midorima sigh. So, this was the younger sister. She seemed even more fun to tease then her older brother.
Takao was covering his mouth, trying to hold in his laughter. At this moment he was completely getting ignored. The younger girl stared Akira down as if telling her to leave the home. "This is Natsume Akira, a friend of mine." Midorima stated rather annoyed at the touchiness of his sister. Akira felt the glare go stronger and that was when she finally go it.
Akira pointed her index finger at the younger girl, "This is probably the reason you don't have any female friends, Shin-san." The black-haired girl let go of her brother, taking a step forward in front of him defensively, "Just what do you mean by that!?" She asked angrily. Akira gave an indifferent look as she blocked out the snickering from Takao.
The older female jabbed the younger sister on the forehead, "You are the perfect example of a brother complex." The girl blushed and moved backwards, rubbing her forehead. "B-B-B-Brother c-complex?!" She questioned before pointing an accusing finger at Akira who just shrugged not really caring. Shino sighed softly, "Sorry, Akira-chan. This is my youngest, Hana." Akira looked back at the woman, "Yeah, no problem."
Hana stomped her foot, "Mother, how can you just take her side like that?! Who know's she could be just fooling around with Onii-sama!" That was when Takao decided he couldn't handle it anymore and he erupted with laughter. Midorima, who decided that was enough, whacked Hana on the head. She groaned in pain and turned to him, "Onii-sama, what was that for?!" Midorima's eye twitched, "It's because you're saying such useless stuff. Be nicer to her, she came all the way here to meet you."
Hana blinked a couple of times before looking at Akira who still had that indifferent look on her face. "Why?" She asked quietly. Akira's eyes wandered to the garden, "Was just wondering who slapped a love heart on Shin-san's rice." Hana blazed red and Akira wasn't sure of it was embarrassment or just anger causing it. "The omelette was really sweet though." Akira continued on and Midorima felt as if she was planning something.
"You ate it?!" Hana was mad.
Akira decided the only way to truly get the amusement out of this situation was to lie.
"Your Onii-sama fed it to me." The brunette lied. Before Midorima could say anything, Takao grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth, muffling any sounds that came out. Shino stood there, quietly laughing as she watched the scene unfold. She had to admit Akira was just like she was back in her youth. Shino found that sarcastic and teasing attitude of hers really familiar. It was probably the reason why she liked the girl the moment they met.
Hana clenched her fists, staring daggers at Akira. The high-schooler just stared back, no particular emotion in her eyes. "T-There's no way! Onii-sama doesn't have any female friends, let alone a girlfriend so why would he do t-that to you?!" Was this girl stupid or something? Akira let her hands warmly make their way back into the pockets of her hoodie. "Bro-com, just calm down. What, so your older brother has never fed you before?" Akira half-joked.
Hana was silent, a deep blush on her face. Akira got her hand, putting it in the shape of a gun and pretended to shoot a bullet. "Bullseye." She said and Hana stomped her foot, "S-S-Shut up! And who are you calling Bro-com?!" Akira leaned down towards her, hands on her waist, "Well, who else here has a brother complex?" She teased the younger female. Takao began to laugh again and Midorima was able to get out of the guy's grasp.
"Natsume, did you come here just to fight?" He asked, not even slightly mad that someone was in a fight with his sister. Akira stood back straight, "Not really, she kind of started it. I just couldn't help it, she's the easiest kind." Hana listened to the conversation, mad at both Akira and her precious older brother. Hana was mad at Akira for obvious reasons and she was mad at her Onii-sama because he wasn't taking her side at all. It almost seemed like he was on the highschool girl's side.
Her brother's friend patted her back, who was still recovering from his solo laughter party. "By easiest kind, she means you're just really easy to tease." Takao chuckled. Hana flipped her long black hair behind her shoulders. She took a serious stance and pointed right up at Akira who was talking to Midorima.
"I challenge you to a womanly battle!" Hana challenged with a smirk. Shino and Takao gasped dramatically and Midorima face-palmed. Akira faced her once again, scanning her challenger. She pointed down at her, "It seems I've already won." Hana didn't understand what Akira was talking about until she noticed that her finger was pointing at Hana's chest; or what should really be said is 'lack of chest.'
Hana turned extremely flustered. She's been able to scare off all the other annoying girls that were bothering her older brothers life but how come she won't just leave!? She snapped back into it when she heard laughter. More specifically, her Mother's.
"Akira-chan, I guess you win this round. How about some tea?" Shino walked over to her, placing a gentle hand on the teen's shoulder. Akira nodded, "Thanks, it'd be really appreciative." She followed Shino into a room. Takao trailed along, happy from the events that had just happened. The three of them disappeared into the room, leaving only Hana and Midorima in the hallways.
Midorima turned to the opposite side of the hallway, heading straight to the kitchen. Hana watched and fidgeted a bit, "O-Onii-sama? W-Why are you going into the kitchen?" She asked. After a few seconds, Midorima came out with a plate of rice crackers in his hands. He pushed up his glasses with one hand, "That girl is the type to grudges if she want too. If you don't want to fall into embarrassment again I suggest you apologize." Hana crossed her arms, huffing as she turned her head, "Why should I!?"
"Shin-san, quickly pass the crackers before Bro-com steals you away."
They turned to the voice and saw Akira leaning on the floor, poking her head out of the open gap between the screen doors. With a bored look on her face, she gestured to Midorima to hand over the food. He walked over, fully sliding the doors open and placing the crackers on the table. Hana chased after her older brother and jumped into the room.
Shino served the tea whilst Hana continued to complain to her brother who wasn't even listening. She continued on, saying how bad it was to hang around girls like Akira. The girl who was the main reason of Hana's displeasure just continued to nibble on the crackers as Takao beside her talked to Shino. All of a sudden, Hana raised her voice louder.
She stood up and pointed down at the sitting girl,
"She is the worst type of girl!"
"I bet that's what you say about all the girls your brother happens to make eye contact with. Just give it a rest, Bro-com."
Hana sat back down. There was no way she was going to admit defeat to this poor excuse for a woman. She watched as the Akira just continued to eat while Takao was laughing and commenting on various things. Akira stopped eating and made direct eye contact with Hana which surprised the younger girl. The brunette looked at the green-eyed girl then to her brother,
"Doesn't having Bro-com here, cock-block you from getting any girls?"
Takao had to hold Hana back as she decided that she would answer that question by throwing the wooden table at Akira's face.
EXTRA;
Kise hummed quietly to himself as he took out his phone after hearing the alert on his phone. He clicked on the text that 'Midorimacchi' had decided to send him. The blond waited for it to open and almost dropped the phone in pain,
From: Midorimacchi
Kise, go die.
Kise ran to his captain's second year classroom. He slid the door open and attacked the poor male. "Kasamatsu-senpai, Kasamatsu-senpai! What does it mean when someone tells you to die?!"
Kasamatsu felt a twitch before he kicked the blond off of him and onto the floor,
"It means go die!
"Not you too, senpai!"
PREVIEW;
Chapter 3: Benefits of Being Prince Takao
"Aki-chan, I have come for you my lo-ARGH!"
"It's too early for your bullshit, Kazunari."
A/N: Thanks to goldenflash100 for beta-reading this chapter for me. Go check out her stories, she's doing awesome! :) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter of W.A.L.S ! Reviews would be LOVE and motivation for me ;D
