Chap 7

Akashi was incensed.

He was the one who saved her from Haizaki

He was the one who took her to the infirmary and treated her bruised wrists

Yet all she cared about was Midorima

When he calmed down, however, he regretted his actions

'I shouldn't have done that' – he thought as he intended to go back to the room and apologised to Umi

He opened the door and luckily she was still there

"Eh..Akashi-san? What are.."

"It was rude of me to have spoken to you in such an impolite manner. I beg your forgiveness, Umi" – the sound of her first name from his lips was so tender and sincere that she couldn't help but crack a small smile

"If anything Akashi-san, the one you should apologise to is Midorima-san, not me" – there she went lecturing him again, but he didn't mind, because her precious smile was for him, and him only to see

"Let's go, I think the others are waiting for us"

"Yes"

"What's taking Umi-chan so long?" – Honoka huffed

The rest of Muse exchanged worried looks. If something bad happened to their friend, then the girls would be out for blood

"Eh, Akachin is not here yet? Sacchin,I'm going home" – Murasakibara groaned lazily

"Wait, Mukkun, let's wait for a few minutes then we'll go and have burgers! Agree?" – Momoi had managed to persuade the purple teen to stay

"Hey, arent' you guys Muse?" – Kise's voice broke the silence

"Yeah,and I'm their leader, the one and only greatest school idol, Nico-nico-nii!"

"Eh, I don't know midgets can be school idols?" – Murasakibara patted Nico's head, much to her annoyance

"Hey, I'm a third year! Be respectful!"

"Why do you look like an elementary school student ?"

The two kept arguing back and forth

"Hello" – Kuroko suddenly appeared out of the blue, startling Kotori

"Where- where did you come from?" – Kotori almost fainted on the spot

"I was here the whole time. My name is Kuroko Tetsuya"

"Minami Kotori, nice to meet you!" – she shook hands with Kuroko

"Dai-chan, why are you so quiet?" – Momoi asked the tanned teen, who was silently gaping at the sight of Eli and Nozomi's ahem, busts

'Dai-chan you perverted ganguro!'

"I'm Kise Ryouta, nice to meet you all!"

"Eh, you-you are Kaijou's Kise right, nya?" – Rin beamed with excitement

"Yeah, I'm a second-year and a part-time model. Are you Nishikino Maki-san?" – Kise turned towards Maki, who was twirling her hair anxiously

"It-it's not like I'm here to talk to you..I'm only waiting for Umi" – she retorted, face red like a tomato

"Woa, Nishikinocchi is so mean, I was just trying to say hello" – Kise pouted, embarrassing Maki even more

"Th-that's none of your business! And who gives you the right to call me like that!?"

'Atsundere like Midorimacchi huh?How cute' – Kise grinned like an idiot

Having lost the Semi-finals, Midorima sat in a corner far from his former teammates, he was immersed in deep thoughts about the match, about Akashi about his own shortcomings. Luck was not on his side today

"Hm? Are you not joining your teammates over there?" – a feminine voice interrupted his train of thoughts

He had seen her performing along with Umi on the court

"Who might you be?" – he asked

"That's not important isn't it?" – Nozomi giggled

"If you don't have any important business, then please leave. I'm not- "

"Let me guess, Oha-Asa?" – exclaimed Nozomi as she caught sight of his lucky item

"H-how do you know?" – he pushed up his glasses and turned away

'Is she a psychic or something?'

"My spiritual power is overwhelming, you know? Cancer ranks first today right? How ill-fated" – she remarked sarcastically

Midorima then found himself at a loss for words

"My name is Nozomi, Nozomi Tojo from Otonokizaka High. You?"

"Mi-midorima Shintarou from Shuutoku"

"Nice to meet you, Shintarou-kun. Now then let's get to the main point : what is your relationship with our Umi-chan?" – Nozomi's voice suddenly lowered, her face darkened

"Wh-where do you obtain such preposterous information?! I have absolutely nothing to do with her!" – Midorima retorted in frustration. He had to clear out this matter several times and now he was truly devastated

"Hm? So you two are not dating? Good, because if you steal our precious little sister, I'll send you to hell" – Nozomi smiled innocently

"Y-yeah"

'are all school idols that creepy?' – thought Midorima as he watched Nozomi walk away. However, his mood had lightened up a bit after talking to the purple-haired girl

'She's strangely…refreshing'

The two groups continued to chatter until they turned their eyes towards the entrance. They were presented with the most scandalous sight

Akashi and Umi were walking together, side-by-side, like some couple out of a K-drama.

Takao and Honoka looked at each other in confusion

Kise yelped dramatically

Aomine spurred an array of profanities

Midorima gaped

Momoi and Kuroko exchanged small smiles

The rest of Muse, however, was sending murderous looks towards Akashi's direction

'Akashicchi you sly fox!'

'Well that was fast'

'Way to go, Akashi-kun!'

"What did you do to her? Why are her wrists injured?" – Eli crossed her arm

"It-it's not like that, Eli. Akashi-san saved me from.."

"From WHO?" – they all asked in unision

"Haizaki. He harrassed her in the corridor." – Akashi spoke. Umi noticed his change of aura when he mentioned the guy who attacked her

"That bastard! I'll kill him" – Kise and Aomine was seething with anger

"Who is this 'Haizaki'?" – Honoka asked while looking at her childhood friend

"He was an old teammate of ours. He was capable, but rebellious, so Akashi kicked him out of the team" – Aomine explained

"Umi-chan are you hurt anywhere else?" – Momoi asked, her eyes filled with concern

"I'm fine. Had it not been for Akashi-san, I would have been beaten up badly" – she gazed at Akashi gratefully, which he returned with a gentle smile

"Geeze you gave us a great scare back there, I thought you guys were secretly dating!" – Takao elbowed Midorima teasingly

"Do you want to join us at Maji Burger?" – Momoi asked the members of Muse

"Of course!" – Honoka cheered at the mention of food

"Now now don't get too excited, Honoka!" – Umi scolded her

"Umi-chan is always scolding me! I'm disheartened!" – Honoka pouted

'So she's like this towards everyone' – Akashi thought as he tried to calm his thumping heartbeat

"Akashi-san?"

"Yes?"

"You are lagging behind. Are you okay?"

"I should be the one asking you that question, shouldn't I?" – he motioned to her hand

A blush slowly crept up on Umi's face. She quickly turned away from him and caught up with Honoka and the others

That was quite a lot of interactions in one chapter

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