"Those who oppose me, even my parents, I will kill them"
Those words rang in Shizune's head ever since the time the GoM regrouped and Kagami caused Akashi to almost stab him with scissors. As it was the first time he displayed such violence in front of her, she was still quite shaken even though an amount of time has passed since the incident. The girl gripped her hand and continued to watch the intense match between Tōou and Seirin that was commencing from a close range.
Both teams wouldn't back down. At first it looked like Tōou was taking the lead but Seirin managed to turn the tables then soon after, Tōou took the lead again. The pattern continued until the last final seconds on the clock. Everyone started to get anxious as the no. 10 player, Kagami Taiga, ran up to the hoop and jumped to score a dunk. Tōou's ace, Aomine Daiki, went to stop the ball from going in but failed.
The crowd cheered when the ending buzzer sounded and Seirin's victory was confirmed. Seirin shouted happily and did a small celebration on the court. Tōou was silent but it was clear they acknowledged their defeat. Aomine was stunned but after he exchanged some words with Kuroko, he fist bumped the bluenette and a calming aura surrounded the two for a mere second.
The spectators stood from their seats and left the stadium after the players went to their locker rooms. Shizune met up with Akashi soon after the game and did a good job in pretending that she was surprised about what happened to his hair though he did kind of notice the act. The pair started to head back to the dorm when a voice made them stop and turn around.
"Ren?"
"I knew it! It's been a while, Shizune!"
The male grinned happily at the sight of his childhood friend but that happy expression turned into a puzzled and rather protective one when he saw the male beside her.
"who is he?"
"ah, this is Akashi Seijuro. The captain of the basketball team I'm in right now. Akashi, this is Mouri Ren. A friend of mine."
"so it seems."
"nice to meet you, Akashi"
"likewise, Mouri."
A dark aura suddenly surrounded the two boys and competitive sparks went off when they both gave very fake smiles to each other. It was hate at first sight though unnoticed by the oblivious female beside them. The boy turned to his childhood friend, the fake smile still intact on his face.
"but to think that you're interested in basketball, you sure have changed, Shizune."
"y-yea.." I was interested in something else though…
"by the way, Ren. Why are you here? I thought you had no interest in these kind of sports"
"Sousuke invited me. His family is a sponsor for the tournament."
"sponsor?"
"oh, I forgot you didn't know" she said, ignoring the faint scowl on Akashi's face at the statement. "Sousuke is the son of the Suzuki Plutocrat's president."
"the Suzukis huh…"
"Shizune, actually I—"
"Kudo. We have to return to the dorm."
"But—"
"now. My words are absolute."
Ren raised an eyebrow at the visible flinch and at the short moment she looked like a cornered criminal when the redhead commanded her. "tsk. fine."
"...Akashi, do you have a moment?"
The male brunette gestured for him to follow and when the two were in quite a distance from the confused female, he ran his fingers through his hair before looking at the other.
"I want you to honestly answer me. What do you think of Shizune?"
"she's a fine girl who can control the team but not perfectly."
"that's all?"
"…I don't understand the meaning of that question." Similar...to me...
After a sigh, he raised his head slightly and started to say. "look, I don't know what Shizune thinks of you and even though I find you really irritating to look at but if Shizune wants to stay by your side, I'm fine with it but hear this…" the boy's eyes and his tone of voice instantly turned into a very threatening one. "if you dare to hurt her, I will not hesitate to hunt you down and tear you piece by piece. Got it?"
Unfazed by the threat, Akashi just smirked and returned to Shizune's side, resuming their walk back. After returning the wave his friend gave him with a smile, Ren watched silently as the two disappeared from his sight. He replayed the short display of fear shown by her when she was ordered to return. Never once had he seen her show such expressions. Of course he was worried as how a father would worry for his daughter but a small voice in his head told him that she can take care of herself and he shouldn't pry into her current relationship with the mini captain.
"tsk. How irritating…"
"Ren-chan~"
"Sousuke! how many times do I have to tell you to not put 'chan' when calling my name…"
"can't help it. it suits you~ by the way, was that Shizune I saw just now? Who was that guy with her? Don't tell me he's her boyfriend or something—"
"Sousuke…" he let out a sigh at his best friend's teasing and questions but answered them anyway.
"heeeh…sounds kinda suspicious, don't you think?~" the headband-wearing blonde grinned while putting his hand on his chin to make him look like he's a detective or something while joking. "I conclude that she's smitten with the guy. Yup. That's right!~ And it could be something mutual~ just thinking of makes me want to squeal like a girl~ "
Ren just shook his head before asking, "Sousuke, what do you know about the Akashis?"
"nothing much, really. Except that they sometimes do deals with my old man and that their company has power over most of the companies in Kyoto. Also their son, the 18th heir, is a genius and his academic abilities are on par of an university student. Same goes to his athletic ability. In a way, he's really a super human."
"..I see.."
" "he's better than me in every aspect…no wonder Shizune's staying close to him…" is what you're thinking, right Ren-chan?~"
"don't be silly and stop calling me Ren-chan!"
"yes, yes, Ren-chan~"
"Sousuke!"
"what was that all about?"
The girl asked when they were walking through the hallway in the dorm. Everyone was in the training hall which could only be reached by entering the main entrance and going out the back. The uncomfortable silence gave Shizune enough time to build up her determination to ask Akashi the matter that was bugging her.
"what was what?"
"don't play dumb. Ren was about to tell me something but you interrupted. Not to mention the deadly look he gave you when you two were secretly talking…He never shows that kind of face. Never. What's going on—"
"none of your business."
"it is my business. You guys are my….friends so if there's something going on between you two— I don't care if it's some male only thing or what-so-ever —you gotta tell me" she demanded while standing in front of him, blocking his path.
"move, Kudo."
"not until you tell me everything."
"I said, move."
Even though the glare he gave sent chills down her spine, the brunette remained where she was with her arms crossed as a sign of not backing down. When she heard a sigh escape his lips, she thought that he would start spilling but, it was then she realized it was a grave mistake.
Akashi grabbed her shirt's collar and slammed her onto the wall. The pictures hanged on it rattled at the force he used and she winced as the crimson orbs of his looked directly into her cerulean ones. Her eyes widened at the cold gaze he was giving her and she clenched her fists tightly by reflex.
"I believe I requested you to move. I don't like it when others oppose me, even if they are of the opposite gender."
"I don't have the obligation to listen to your every order. You're just a high school student like me."
She tried to make her voice confident but he was slightly choking her so her voice had a strangled tone in it. His grip on her became stronger and it took every ounce of her strength to keep her brave mask intact. The redhead moved his face closer to hers and started to use a very menacing tone of voice.
"if you value your life, you should learn to obey me."
"I'm not afraid of you and your threats mean nothing to me."
Akashi stared at her coldly and released her which resulted in her dropping to the ground, coughing. Ignoring the glare she was giving him, he walked off to the training hall without uttering a single word. Shizune tried to stand up but somehow her legs gave up on her so she stayed on her bottom, leaning against the wall. Her heart was beating fast and it wouldn't calm down no matter what. She closed her eyes and hugged her knees, keeping silent the whole time.
.
.
.
{{ "hey, you okay?"
"…yea. Just leave me alone…"
"are you crying?"
"no."
"but you are—"
"father said boys shouldn't cry so I'm not, okay? Now leave me alone…" }}
.
.
.
.
"—chan. Shizu-chan!"
Her eyes popped open from the gentle shakes Mibuchi did and upon hearing his soothing voice. The puzzled expression on the male and the other two behind him was apparent as he helped her up.
I must have fallen asleep without knowing…tsk. How humiliating…
"Shizu-chan, why were you taking a nap in the hallway?"
Mibuchi questioned.
"I uh…" she started racking her mind, thinking of an answer. Well, she couldn't say that she was attacked by Akashi and her body suddenly had no energy to move so she just slept there without knowing. Nope. Not a chance. "I was playing with a cat here and I guess dozed off somehow" she said with a joking tone.
"…I see…well, it's dinner time so let's head to the dinning hall now~"
"ouh! I'm starving! Wonder if they'll have meat…"
"I doubt that, Eikichi~ right, Reo-nee?"
"exactly. We're having udon tonight"
"it's been a while since I ate udon!~"
"oh well. Not as good as meat but still tasty"
Shizune walked silently behind her seniors and spent the whole time thinking for how long she napped. A few hours? Maybe just one…or two…or—
"oh yes, Shizu-chan. Your phone fell out of your pocket just now. Here"
After accepting her phone and thanking Mibuchi, she noticed a light blinking on it which meant that she either got a text message or a voice mail. Missed call was also an option. She flipped open her phone and froze when she saw who the text message was from. After seven steps forward of contemplating, she decided to just open the mail and see what is in it.
[ From: Akashi
Subject: -no subject-
Tell Reo that I wont be joining you all for dinner. An unexpected errand came up and I have to take care of it as soon as possible. I will be back before 10. And also, I would like to apologize for what I did before. I will come over to your room later on to give a proper apology so don't fall asleep until then.
-Akashi ]
Shizune stared blankly at the screen before— unconsciously, as claimed by her —slamming her head onto the wall and quickly looking back at the mail. I'm not imagining it…
"S-Shizu-chan..are you okay?"
"eh? Uh, yes senpai!" she laughed nervously. She thanked god that her head was hard and that it didn't bleed from the impact.
"did you receive something not pleasant?"
"n-nothing of a sort. It was Akashi. He said he wont be coming for dinner because something came up"
"oh…well that's a pity but why did Sei-chan contact you? Not to be rude or anything but it would be easier to tell one of the regulars or directly to the coach.."
"I was wondering the same thing" she fibbed. "maybe he thought that since I seem like the one with the most free time, it wont bother me at all or something…"
"hm. makes sense. Anyway, let's hurry~ there might be nothing left if we keep on dilly-dallying here, right?"
"yes" The brunette headed off to the dinning hall with the seniors, putting aside the matter with Akashi.
Oh yea…who was that boy who appeared in my dream? he kinda looks familiar…
very, familiar…
...I'm surprised I actually managed to finish this in a few days...
oh well.
did you enjoy it?
btw, btw- don't you think Ren & Sousuke is somehow like Midorima & Takao? xD
and about the slight(?) spoiler - the Seirin VS Toou match - part I said in the last chapter, the next chapter might have some spoilers too - Rakuzan VS Shuutoku -
for those who don't read the manga, I mean.
anyway, thanks for reading, following, favourite, etc my story! ^^