Disclaimer: All applied materials belong to their respective owners.
Warning: Female Kuroko, spoilers.
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皇帝の提案
Emperor's Proposal
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Step IV : 初めての訪問
– First Visit –
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Lush icy blue eyelashes fluttered, impelling drowsiness from her eyes. She loved Japanese history. Sitting for its class would be a pleasure as long as it was not the last class of the day when she could hardly concentrate anymore. Dabbing away drops of sleepiness, Kuroko cupped her chin in her palm. The red-head's words infiltrated her idle thought.
"Come to the main gymnasium when you are off library duty."
That had sounded more like a command than a request. She would be glad to visit the main gymnasium, seeing as the captain himself had gone through the trouble implying permission for an outsider like her to frequent the place. One single question surged in her mind though, why would he need her presence there?
"Albeit having a weak presence and expressionless, you are quite observant."
Her subconscious suggested she should take the red-head's words more seriously. At least she had adequate tact to figure out he wanted something from her. Something only she could pull off, related to basketball, being observant, expressionless…
…And being his?
Kuroko instantly trashed the preposterous idea. She was sure even if she had got a good sense of humor, she would not have found that funny at all. Especially if the declaration came from him, there should be a catch. She was not the type to affirm her personal opinion based on first impression. But that person was a different case. He was too sharp and tactical to advance without a plan.
Akashi Seijuro was scheming.
She had a feeling she would not like its result. There was no use to confront him directly as well since he did not seem to mind playing some guessing games for now. His amused eyes when he talked, smiles he flashed her, they were intriguing phenomena in her life. This was the first time she wanted to observe someone closely, anticipating what said person would do until he achieved what he was aiming for.
This game he set up, she would not miss it.
The invitation he initiated was the key to this game they would be playing for a while. It was a challenge, his way to assess her for some unknown reasons. She would go along with his antics, searching for each missing puzzle until she pieced them all together to have a clear view of his plan. She sincerely hoped she would not fall too deep to the point she had no way to escape.
"…-ko?"
"Kuroko!"
Blue eyes blinked up at the source of her distraction, "Yes, Sugawara-san?"
"The class was over. We're on cleaning duty now," she informed. "What had you in a daydream this time?"
Kuroko stood up from her seat, tucking the chair under the table neatly. "It was nothing."
The brunette handed her a broom. "Come to think of it, you greeted the Akashi Seijuro, didn't you?" She moved to tidy up nearby chairs. "I never knew you know him."
Laboring in sweeping the floor, Kuroko replied, "Yesterday was the first time we actually talked to each other." Moving on to back rows, she continued, "I do not know anything particular about him."
A chuckle followed after her reply. "That's not what I heard from our students this morning!"
Kuroko stopped her work, confused. "What do you mean, Sugawara-san?"
As if she had expected the light blue-haired maiden to ask her just that, the brunette stated, "Seems like your relationship isn't platonic." She shot the blunette a devilish look. "Now, spill. Since when did you go out with him?"
Kuroko almost lost her grip on the broom. The red-head's teasing about him desiring her replayed in her traitorous mind. "We are not in that kind of relationship," she deadpanned. Tightening her hold with more force than necessary, she asked, "What made you think so, Sugawara-san?"
The brunette was all happy-go-lucky to blabber the reason. "The restaurant you went to is Teiko students' popular hangout spot! Most of them saw you both having a little date there!" Kuroko was about to rebut but the brunette pressed on, "Feeding each other justified their suspicion! Do you want to see the picture they took? I think I got one here!"
The last part murdered her rebuttal. Weakly, she defended, "I forgot it is our students' hangout spot…"
A picture was thrust to the light blue-haired girl's face, "See? The Akashi Seijuro was feeding you in this picture! That's certainly something!"
She recognized the scene in the picture. It was taken from sideways when the red-head first fed her the Uiro. The smile on his face as he told her the psychological interpretation of green color, her caught-off-guard expression, it was like a cut-out scene from a shojo manga her friend here loved to read.
The brunette smirked at her. "I'm sending this to you! I'm sure you'll want to treasure his gentle smile!"
"…" The energetic brunette left her speechless. How should she react? Saying thank you for the brunette's concern in current context sounded terribly wrong…
"There you go! Should I help you set it as your wallpaper?" Sugawara made her move toward the blunette's bag.
Kuroko whisked past the brunette, lugging her bag from her table. "It is fine, Sugawara-san." She moved to another row, far away from the brunette's reach. "Let's finish cleaning the class. I have library duty after this."
The brunette asked with a big grin on her face, "So you admitted you're his girlfriend?"
The term 'girlfriend' was definitely uncalled for. "I admitted nothing. Both of us are not involved in such an amorous relationship. We are just…"
Just… what are they exactly?
"…Acquaintances," she finished lamely.
"Sure, whatever floats your boat, Kuro-chan!" The brunette gave her the thumbs up. "Good luck!"
The shortened form of her name did not go unnoticed by the girl. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
"Thank you, Sugawara-san."
In the end, Kuroko ended up thanking Sugawara for a different reason. Though, the latter totally misinterpreted her gratitude as something else.
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The library was unusually filled with students after school, each engrossed in searching for books. It reminded her of their upcoming final tests. After an hour of arranging books back to their shelves followed by completion of today's homework, Kuroko shuffled her books into her bag and locked the door, steadying herself for her first visit to the regulars' gymnasium.
Walking down the pathway, Kuroko could hear vibrant squeaking against polished floor. The rebounds of ball and occasional yells from first string players as they practiced against one another drew her closer. She entered the compartment through the glass doors. Further into the building, twin green doors, one of which was slid to the side, welcomed her into the spacious gymnasium.
On the courts, Teiko's players were unrelenting in their extended practice. Sweat glistened on their skins as they moved around under the indoor lights. She recognized Aomine Daiki was dribbling the ball away from his fellow teammates with his usual wide smile.
"Aomine, cut us some slacks!" a player shouted at him.
"Haha… No can do, senpai!" Aomine yelled back with a grin. "I don't want to be chewed out by captain!" Stopping, he took stance for a three-pointer.
"Concentrate, Aomine." A fast arm aimed for the ball, liberating it from the tanned male's grasp.
"Whoa–!" Startled, Aomine turned his body sideways out of reflex. "Akashi!" He ran after the perpetrator with a feral grin on his face.
"Hmph." A green-haired teen screened him, making way for the red-head to reach the two-point area.
"Murasakibara! Get the ball!" Aomine shouted at a purple-head on the shaded lane.
"Eh~ But it's Aka-chin~" the tallest freshman drawled in objection.
"Oi! Aren't you teaming up with me?!" Aomine protested, breaking free from the green-head's zone.
"Never let your guard down, Aomine," Akashi reprimanded, shooting the ball with precise accuracy.
"Ah!" Aomine watched helplessly as the ball went through the basket, bouncing off the floor with a low rebound.
The girl drank in the sight before her, admiring their dazzling selves from afar. She could tell that the members of the team truly loved basketball. Regulars or not, the basketball club's members took practice seriously. None of them complained about practicing until late in the evening.
"You go first!" a girl in a white shirt whispered to her friend.
"No way! You go first!" her friend nudged the girl from behind.
Kuroko eyed the whispering girls beside her, already getting used to people forgetting about her existence.
"He's looking at us!" one of the girls squealed, fretting over someone apparently.
"Oh my, he's coming here!" the other joined in the squealing. "Let's go!"
Aquamarine orbs followed the girls' movement.
Both girls stopped in front of someone. One of them offered a towel, "Akashi-sama, here's a towel for you."
…-sama?
"Thank you," the red-head replied politely. "We are grateful for your perpetual support."
The girls giggled, blushing from the kind words. "It's no problem at all. Please do your best in Winter Cup tournament, Akashi-sama!"
"We will," Akashi smiled in return. "Now, if you will excuse me, someone is waiting for me." Akashi walked past the girls.
"Tetsumi," Akashi regarded his object of interest.
Kuroko was conflicted whether she should point out she was uncomfortable with the way the red-head addressed her or not. "Good evening, Akashi-sama."
Akashi gave her an endearing smile. "That was not how you addressed me yesterday, Tetsumi."
The girl tilted her head to the side. "That was not how Akashi-sama addressed me yesterday either."
The captain walked closer to the girl. "Do you dislike my new way of addressing you?"
Standing her ground firmly, Kuroko replied, "It makes me feel uncomfortable."
Akashi slung the towel over his shoulder. "I applaud your honesty. However," a prevalent glint of amusement shone in his ruby eyes, "perhaps I really should address you so starting today."
Her inscrutable mien betrayed nothing. "Pardon me, I am not aware Akashi-sama and I was that familiar with each other."
"Even after our little date the previous evening?" a disappointed look marred his face.
"DATE?!" The girls from before shrieked, obviously eavesdropping on their conversation.
The blunette blinked innocently, unfazed by the outrageous looks thrown her way. "Privilege is granted, not self-proclaimed."
Akashi's smile widened at the jab. "Very well. I shall earn the privilege in due time then."
"Oh! Kuroko-san, you're here!" Momoi rushed over to the pair and haphazardly handed the girl a blue towel, all the while avoiding eye contact with the supreme captain standing there before scurrying off to distribute towels to other players.
Kuroko stared at the item in her hold. Why did the pinkette hand her a towel? She was not even sweating. If there were anyone who was sweating, it was…
"What will you do with that?" Akashi asked, his smile never leaving his features.
"I believe this is what I should do." Kuroko shrunk the distance between them, draped the towel over his damp hair before gently running her fingers in attempt to dry locks of blazing red.
His smile vanished from his features. Scent of water lilies wafted through their close proximity, rooting the red-head to his spot. Her ministrations immobilized his functioning brain, heightening his sense to inhale more of her sweet scent instead.
Closer…
He needed to be closer to her…
Her scent...
Her touches...
He wanted to own her everything…
The thought almost tipped him into madness.
Oblivious to the red-head's dangerous notion, the girl slid the towel down to the nape of his neck to let it absorb droplets of sweat pooling there. "Akashi-kun?"
Her call shook him off his stupor. "What are you doing to me…"
Kuroko retracted her fingers from the blue towel. "I apologi–"
"Don't you dare apologize," his tone was serious, borderline scary.
The blunette met his eerily captivating gaze. There was no fear in her own as she stared deeply into his being.
The white towel from the girls landed to the floor as Akashi lifted his fingers to her chin. Tilting her head to the side, he whispered into her ear, "Because I will not be sorry for what I will do to you in the future." He could feel the girl quiver slightly at his lowered voice.
"This fire you ignited is too late to be extinguished."
Author's OTL Note: Is it a bit hot or is it just me? :O