Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroko no Basuke. It was written by Tadatoshi Fujimaki. …Although, if I were the one who wrote Kuroko no Basuke, I would add more female characters. You know, at least five more girls or something.
Red and not so White
Year 1
Chapter 9
Well now… if Murasaki gave you that kind of reaction, he was just playing around with your heart, Akahime. Ignore him if you have to… however, if he continues to bother you, carry on to play with him. Make him fall for you and then crush his heart for making you confuse. Okay?
A sigh escaped Akahime's lips. She was cleaning the dining table with a damped black rag. Dinner was already over with and the guests had gone to their rooms. When she heard a loud thud slightly above her, she looked up as she jumped with fright.
"Kagamin, get a hold of yourself!" a muffled voice shouted from the ceiling. "There's no ghosts or anything!" It sounded like Momoi. Akahime realized it since she noted Momoi called a few guys by nicknames.
How nice… Akahime lowered her eyes to her right hand on the rag. She scrubbed the table lightly and sighed sadly again. Momoi-san is lucky to be so close to so many people. And they're all boys. Akahime thought to herself.
Momoi was quite pretty and she had the personality Akahime yearend for… and if Akahime had her look, she would want a boyfriend for a change. However, Akahime was always bent on helping out as a slave. And unconsciously working to the bone. No one was going to bother with someone like her.
That was why she was puzzled with the way Murasakibara acted toward her. It made no sense. Did he just want to make fun of her? Or was he really interested in her?
Akahime was now determined to do as Shirose said. To find out about his intentions.
\~o~/
"Mmmm…" Murasakibara made a questioning hum.
Takao was just fluffing his white pillow and his eyes wandered to the tall guy a yard away from him. The purplehead was under his gray blanket, lying on his back and his right hand played with the air above his head. But there was nothing there. "What are you thinking about, Murasakibara?" Takao grinned rather inquisitively.
A few seconds of silence… Murasakibara blinked and lowered his hand down to his side. "I'm thinking about what else to make Akahime stay away from Aka-chin," he replied with boredom. In other words, seducing. "…But I'm running out of ideas."
Jumping to lay down on his own stomach, Takao's head reached across the space between them. He hugged his fluffed pillow under him as well. "How did you even think of the first plan you executed earlier then?" Takao inquired.
"Hmm?" Murasakibara wondered for a moment, his eyes slowly gazing to his roommate. "…I'm not sure. It just came to me. I was hungry for sweets… and she offered the strawberry with her hand and I just took it…"
Takao suddenly snickered, "That was a very good idea. I'm looking forward to more of your intents!"
Grumbling, Murasakibara turned his body to face away from him. "But I'm not really sure what else to do…" he complained. "Aka-chin encouraged me too… so I have work harder now."
"Eh?" Takao blinked, looking dumbfounded. "Akashi is telling you to… seduce Akahime-chan too? Why?"
Murasakibara closed his eyes and replied, "I don't know. If Aka-chin wants me to, then I will do it."
"O…kay," Takao moved to sit up on his bottom and his legs crossed.
It made no sense though. Why in the world did Akashi wanted Murasakibara to do such a thing for? …Did this really turn out to be a game? That was what Takao was sensing or could make out of. What else could it be?
Although, whom was Akashi 'battling' with? Who would even dared to challenge him in the first place?
Takao snapped his eyes to the closed door of the room. "Don't tell me Tetsuya Two is going to be with that snake all the time," he mused with his eyes squinting. It was lonely without the dog since Murasakibara rarely wanted to do anything else besides lying around.
\~o~/
In the living room, Kurosawa was playing with Shiroro. Tetsuya Two was on her lap since she was sitting on the sofa. With Shirose there, at another sofa, the window was opened as the cold wind soughed throughout the room.
The white snake had wrapped herself onto Kurosawa's right arm and her head in the tip of Kurosawa's first finger. Tetsuya Two's tired eyes were closing back and forth. Kurosawa finally noticed how exhausted he appeared to be.
"Sorry, doggie," she whispered, patting on his head with her left hand. "Why don't you go to your room now. It's getting late."
Shirose grumbled at the dog, who had not left yet. Her nerves would jump every time he wagged his tail. When he lifted up his head, Shirose put up her feet on the sofa. "Kurosawa, can't you just bring him up there yourself?" Shirose asked with a pout.
A heavy sigh came from Kurosawa's lips. Lowering her right hand, Shiroro crawled down on the sofa and onto the floor and toward the albino girl. Kurosawa then picked Tetsuya Two up into her arms and slowly walked out of the living room.
"Yay," Shirose whispered, clapping her hands quietly and smirking. "Thank you, Kurosawa."
"Yeah, yeah," Kurosawa mumbled, strolling through the lobby.
Shirose giggled and reached out to Shiroro, who now climbed up her right arm. "Hello, Shiroro," the whitehair girl smiled softly. The red eyes of the snake stared at her and slightly tilted her head. "Did you have enough to eat?"
The sound of Kurosawa's footsteps went up the stairs.
Shiroro nodded to answer and Shirose smiled even more. "Good," Shirose kissed on the snake's head. "Sorry if I wasn't able to look after you for the last few days. Work is work, but I rather hang with you. Really."
The snake seemed stiffed and crawled up her arm and wrapped around Shirose's warm neck. That made Shirose realized the window was still opened. Moving off the sofa, she hurried to close the window.
After doing so, Shirose felt thirsty and stepped to the lobby quietly. Her eyes happily skimmed on the paintings of the lobby's walls and she caught something by the door. Stepping up to a particular spot, she saw a slight smear of the black, ashy ink drawing. She touched it and chuckled to herself.
Her fingers scrubbed the smear a little more and her eyes studied the patterns of the drawing, which was connected to a river. Her feet shifted to move over to the front counter. Going around behind it, she reached down without looking. On the lower shelf of the counter, she took out a small, plastic, black box.
She wandered back to the same part of the drawing on the wall, opening the box, whereas Shiroro heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Already beginning to focus, Shirose failed to note someone was in the lobby.
At the bottom of the stairs, Akashi carried a red bag in his right hand while he other held shampoo and a red towel. He stared strangely over to where the whitehair girl was. Her back almost covered up what she was doing, but he knew exactly what was happening.
She was drawing on the walls.
Shirose was done sketching quickly, putting a small waterbrush pen into the box where a small round can of ink was. She smiled and licked her lips, tilting her head to observe the few strokes she created. Her right fingers touched the fresh black ink and she smeared them downwards on the unique texture of the wall. The ink she rubbed faded down into the still river and caused her to feel the chills behind her for some odd reason.
"That is relatively beautiful."
Her breath stopped for a mere second and her shoulders tensed up. Oh hell, no. She recognized Akashi's voice. And she slowly turned her gaze to the right. He was a little behind her and their eyes met each other.
The silence did not continue as he inquired, "Are you the person who drew all of these paintings on the walls?" She stared back blankly, understanding he must already know the answer. "That is not like you."
Shirose closed the box and the white snake caressed her skin gently. "And it's not like you to comment about it," she smiled teasingly. "It feels weird."
They both stared at each other in silence. Again. She smiled with her head slightly tilted and his posture firmed. …Was something just happening around here? It indeed felt weird as she had put it.
Red and white, was it?
"But thank you," she smiled wider.
Akashi's eyes twitched a bit by her sentence when she lowered her eyes to the white snake. The white snake seemed to have hissed quietly, as if she was talking to Shirose.
"Oh," Shirose looked back to him, her eyes perking with another thought. His eyes were still on her. "As a 'thank you', I'll let you know something. Aohana had never heard an apology directed to her in her entire life. Or maybe just most of her life, but who knows?"
The redhead's expression remained motionless. Though, he was curious.
Shirose winked, "Try your best to keep that certain friend of yours from making her snap, okay, Akashi?"
Someone who had never heard an apology before? Akashi thought to himself, easily putting the pieces of the puzzles together.
In another words, for Sakurai to say 'sorry' so often could mean many things. However, Akashi had already outlined the problem, considering Aohana's temper. She must really hate how Sakurai was easily apologizing. But who would not? It was annoying for Sakurai to repeat that word over and over.
"I did not request for your assistance," Akashi remarked. She shrugged and remained where she was, as if she was afraid to make a move. He was the same, staying where he stood. With a very, very faint smile, he said, "As for my 'thank you' for thinking I needed help, allow me to call you 'Shinju.'"
Her face became bitter and she uttered, "No."
Akashi glanced away and looked at her at the corner of his eyes. "You have no say in it, Shinju," he told her. She furrowed her eyebrows and her hands squeezed on the black, plastic box tightly.
Yep. She hated him calling her by her first name. If Yukiyama found out, he would be even more possessive toward her. And she rather not had that. She really, really, really would not. She loved the way things were between her and him. If he found out…
Akashi begun to take his leave, heading close to the lobby's counter and out the door to the hallway where the other bathrooms were. He wanted to take a shower, but the others occupied the restrooms upstairs.
Wanting to voice out, Shirose shut her mouth and tried to calm herself down. She glared as she let Akashi walk away and her anger slowly died down. I'm soooo going to make your tall friend suffer somehow. She vowed mentally.
If that were the only want to get back at Akashi, Shirose would do it. And she would have to revise a plan with Akahime to make it happen.
"AHH!" It sounded like it was Kurosawa. People fell down the stairs and landing with a loud thud. Shirose flinched when she heard the sudden noises and directed her eyes over at the bottom of the stairs.
It would appear Midorima and Kurosawa had fallen together and he landed over her, face to face. He stared with his eyes widened, with no glasses, and she winced in pain as she shot a glare up at him. And Shirose snorted as she covered up her grin.
"Get off!" Kurosawa pushed the greenhead off of her.
"S-sorry," Midorima stuttered as he rushed up on his feet. The black haired woman got up as well and dusted herself. And her eyes still glared at him. "I'm not sure how that happened…"
Kurosawa frowned, "Because you were pestering about horoscopes again, that's why!"
With a grunt, Midorima took a step back when she swung a fist at him and missed his body. "But it is very important, ma'am," he informed. "Please do get Wi-Fi very soon."
"Or else he'll fall in love with you again," Shirose commented playfully. "Opps, I mean, he'll fall over you again."
Midorima awkwardly cleared his throat, trying to push up his glasses that were not there.
When Kurosawa snapped her glare annoyingly to the albino girl, Shirose had just jogged into the living room with a high pitched and mirthful giggle, with Shiroro and the box that was still in her hands.
Perhaps Shirose could use Midorima and Kurosawa too… Or not. Shirose respected Kurosawa more. And if Kurosawa ever found out Shirose's plan, which she absolutely would, she would, actually smack Shirose in the head for real.
Author's note: Thanks for reading! :D
