Silence filled the room once again as Ayame and Akashi sipped on their tea. Ayame's nervousness had finally stopped, and Akashi was finally able to think to himself. From the corner of his eye, he watched as her own eyes flickered upwards to the red head in front of her, deep in thought to herself. Seeing as she had no clue on what to say, he spoke up first.
"Your knee.. is it alright now?" He spoke, his voice perhaps laced with concern, but hidden well.
Ayame nodded and smiled. Her hands were on her lap, but they were fingering her skirt - a nervous habit Akashi had noticed. The redhead waited patiently for her to speak up, just like that day at the nurses office.
"Your... probably wondering about my knee"
Akashi was slightly surprised at her straight forwardness, but he was glad that he didn't have to be the one to bring it up. So instead, he waited for her to continue herself - knowing her other habit to babble.
"Actually, I used to play basketball a lot."
He nodded. Akashi had already noticed her strong aura the first day they met, but was weirdly dismissed.
"Basketball's quite the sport in Australia, although I guess not as big as football." she chuckled.
But it only raised an eyebrow from Akashi. Why was she mentioning Australia?
"Oh! Plus, I was raised in Australia."
"Ah, is that why you sang all the english parts in your performance?" he asked light heartedly.
She nodded. "Mhm."
No wonder why she spoke so fluently. Slowly Akashi waited for her to move onto the real topic. Her knee.
And it seemed she read his internal question as she spoke up bluntly.
"I got into an car accident last year."
A young twelve year old Ayame was strolling on the streets. It was a Thursday, and it meant basketball practice. Monday to Wednesday was focused on guitar practice, while Thursday to Saturday was focused on basketball practice. Sunday was her only free day.
Right now, the girl had her sports attire on, and a basketball dribbling between her fingers. A walk to the park was how she began practice everyday, as her own backyard wasn't enough practice space for the girl. It was relatively close to her home, and she was comfortable walking on the roads by herself. The scenery across her was a familiar sight, and she had no reason to hurry. But her originally slow pace suddenly sped up, as she spotted the green park within her sights.
Her need to visit the park had been rising all week. Day by day, Ayame had been finding herself more excited for basketball than guitar.
"Perhaps I'll quit music soon." the girl thought randomly.
However, the thought of quitting something so important to her disturbed the girl. Her brain, muddled with thoughts, was only distracted for a split second. A split second, until she heard the roar of a speeding engine to her left. Ayame was greeted with the sight of a motorcyclist turning a fast left, and the young girl knew she wasn't going to make it. Her basketball dropped from her fingers, as the last thing she saw was a splash of her own red blood before it faded to black.
"I was walking across the street when a motorcycle turned a left, much too fast and sharp. Well, I didn't die at least. He only hit my leg. Nothing to serious I guess, haha!" Ayame laughed weirdly as she spoke the last sentence, but he knew just how serious this was.
"It wasn't life threatening. And my knee right now, it isn't permanent. I just.. had to give up basketball to make sure it wouldn't leave one leg disabled." She hestitated, before continuing.
"Staying in Australia though, it was too hard. I cried too often at the tears of familiar parks which was filled with memories of basketball. So Mama and Papa moved to Japan for me, which we fit in just fine as my heritage is Japanese." Her eyes seemed to wander off into the distance, thinking about the sacrifices her parents made for her.
"At least... it made my choice in choosing between music or basketball easier. I still love both, with all my heart. Music just seems to be the path chosen for me, I mean, you can't go against destiny!"
And once again, he could see the bitterness on her face, but also acceptance at the same time. It was a side he hadn't seen from her before, and yet it was beautiful. Her vulnerability was almost understandable, as the gears clicked in his head. All these hints all along was telling him clear as day what had happened.
"I wanted to cheer up by watching basketball."
'She looked at her leg and sighed.'
"This is a private matter for Shirokawa-san."
If it was Akashi before he met her, back when they were strangers, it would've only been a shame. Merely a loss of another strong player - but no emotional strings attached. But now looking at her face, the first thing he thought of now wasn't her worth. It was her feelings that mattered more.
"You can stop smiling, you know."
She kept on smiling anyways. "What do you mean?"
Akashi paused, hesitant on his harsh words but frowned anyways. "The fake smile can stop. You don't need to act around anymore. Basketball, is something important for me too. So, don't pretend you've accepted your 'destiny'. Just-" He sighed as she saw the water gathering in her eyes. "Let it out."
And finally sobs began escaping through her. First it was one quiet one, followed by several more. Salty tears flowed down her face as she was finally able to mourn for the loss of something she once loved so much. Akashi, awkwardly sitting across her, watched her cry in silence, only able to offer the comfort of a listening ear and understanding.
However, it was enough for Ayame. The comforting Akashi was trying to do already spoke volumes. They stayed like that for a while. It had went from just a physical injury to emotional pain. Something like this, she would have never imagine telling Akashi, but here she was.
Time seem to fly by, until Ayame had enough. The redhead watched her bow deeply, and thank him again for the one hundredth time. She left quietly, and he watched her receding figure disappear into darkness.
And yet as Akashi turned back to his normally empty home, he could still feel her presence in his house.
i really dont like this chapter
sigh
