Black cat ch 9
please read the revision notice over again if you want to see the list of fixed things rather than read it all over again
I sighed, sweating a little as the sun beamed down on us.
"It's almost the end of March already," I said.
"Yes. And it's almost your birthday, isn't it?"
"I forgot about that." I sighed again. "I wonder what Sei-chan even had in mind for me."
"Well, now he'd probably just go buy a gift for you," Tecchan said.
"I guess. I tell him every year I don't need anything, but he just goes out and gets something anyways,"
"What about that friend of your's? Would they be getting anything for you?" He asked.
"This ring was his gift," I said, smiling.
"'His?'"
"Yeah."
"I see.."
On Thursday, I woke up with a jump as I felt someone blindfold me.
"H-hey, who's-?" I started, stuttering, scared.
"Calm down. Just come with me," I heard someone say as he helped me up and guide me somewhere. The voice belonged to Sei-chan, so I followed.
"Sei-chan, what are you doing?" I asked as I felt us enter the familiarly chilled dining area. I felt the soft cloth slip off my face, yet it was still dark. I was still
confused and I turned around, able to see the slightest bit of light reflect off of the red head's hair.
"Sei-chan, what's-"
I was blinded suddenly by the lights being turned on and I watched as the generation of miracles shout "happy birthday."
"Thank you," I smiled, still a bit shocked from the surprise.
"Setsunocchi! I got you something!" I heard the blonde say. He came up to me and handed me a little bundle of flowers.
"Thanks, Kise," I smiled.
"Happy birthday shortie," Daiki said to me while hitting my back.
"We bought cake.. Can we eat it yet?" The giant said, already eating a piece of candy in the morning.
"Today, your lucky item is this," he said as he handed me a small statue of a frog. "I'm only giving this to you because it's your birthday, so make sure you give
it back tonight!" He said as he looked away.
"Haha, tsundere Shin-tan strikes again," I laughed. "Thank you Shin-tan. But why did we have to do this so early?" I asked.
"Well, it would be too hot later, so we thought you'd rather have this in morning while it's still cool outside," Sei-chan explained.
"And I thank you for that consideration. I hate the heat," I complained.
"Also, you seem to be big in accessories, so we bought a bracelet for you with our names engraved in them with yours also," Sei-chan said as he pulled out a small box (**cough cough**) from his pocket. I looked inside and there was a bracelet indeed. It was an imitation of a chain made of small links and their names were on metals shaped as ovals. There were small bells jingling here and there and I smiled. I reached for the box and the to-be captain withdrew.
"Let me," he insisted. I nodded and he took the chain out like a fragile child and brought my hand closer to him. He placed the cold metal on my wrist and clipped it together and smiled.
"Happy birthday," he said again.
"Ah, man if this wasn't just a birthday, anyone would misunderstand this and think Akashicchi was proposing to Setsunocchi," Kise said. (**COUGH COUGH**)
The said red head whipped his head to the blonde and glared. I had a deadpanned face on and looked at him as well.
"I can't comprehend the levels of stupidity," I said.
"Ehh?"
"Kise-kun, to be honest, I can't either," Tecchan agreed.
"What?" He whined.
"Idiot," Daiki smacked Kise over the head. Shin-tan sighed while Atsushi eyed the cake.
"Let's eat cake now," I said, observing Atsushi. His face lit up and he immediately grabbed the cake knife, slicing it swiftly. I smiled and stepped back, watching
my closest friends argue amongst each other playfully and have fun.
"Hey Kise, be careful!" I heard Shin-tan shout. I looked over and I saw Kise accidentally ramming the cake into the green-haired boy. My eyes widened in amusement as I watched the megane try to pick off large chunks of cake. He groaned and walked to his room to change.
"Hey, Setsuno, your phone's ringing in your room," I heard after Shin-tan changed. I nodded and scurried off into my room and found my phone.
"Hello?" I said.
"Akira, happy birthday!" my most beloved said through the phone. I giggled and thanked him.
"Hey, I want to see you.. Turn on FaceTime again," he said.
"Uh, later. They're waiting for me right now.. I'm happy you called though. I'll call you back later," I apologized.
"Hmm.. Okay. Which inn are you in? Just curious," he asked.
"Hm? I'm in (name) Inn," I said.
"Okay. I'll talk to you later. I love you," he said before hanging up. My mouth opened but didn't make a sound as he had already actually hung up. I frowned and texted him quickly.
8:15
Let me finish talking before you hang up next time. Jeez.
A minute later I had another phone call.
"Akira, what was it? Sorry," he said.
"I love you too," I said and he didn't say anything so I hung up.
I sighed to myself, thinking "I want it to be the start of school already.."
"Hey Akira, get over here! Tetsu's got a gift for you too!" I heard Daiki shout across 5 walls. I sighed and sat up, making my way towards the dining hall again.
"Aomine-kun, you're very mean," the boy said. The taller male laughed as he gestured the other members to leave the room. I looked at them, confused, and shrugged it off. I noticed that Sei-chan was no where in sight but soon turned my attention to Tetsuya. I smiled, asking him to continue with his presentation of his gift.
"Um.. Well, I heard a song once and decided I wanted to learn it for you.. But, it's in English. I've written the translation of it, so tell me if you don't understand it.." He said a bit timidly. I was taken back at the huge load of effort he must've put in. Not only did he seem to memorize it, but he also translated the whole thing. He took a step back as I sat down on a chair and he coughed, clearing his throat.
"I will be skipping a verse because I cannot overlap by myself," he informed. I nodded in response.
"I see you standing here
But you're so far away
Starving for your attention
You don't even know my name
You're going through so much
But I know that I could be the one to hold you
Every single day
I find it hard to say
I could be yours alone
You will see someday
That all along the way
I was yours to hold
I was yours to hold
I see you walking by
Your hair always hiding your face
I wonder why you've been hurtin
I wish I had some way to say
You're going through so muc
Don't you know that I could be the one to hold you
Every single day
I find it hard to say
I could be yours alone
You will see someday
That all along the way
I was yours to hold
I was yours to hold
I'm stretching but you're just out of reach
You should know
I'm ready when you're ready for me
And I'm waiting for the right time
For the day I catch your eye
To let you know
That I'm yours to hold
Every single day
I find it hard to say
I could be yours alone
You will see someday
That all along the way
I was yours to hold
I was yours to hold
I'm stretching but you're just out of reach
I'm ready when you're ready for me"
He finished singing and I was pretty sure my face was red. I stood up and he was blushing as well. Anyone would've succumbed to that face he had on during that moment. I bit my lip and took his hand.
"Tecchan.. I want you to tell me why you sang that before I say anything," I said.
"Setsuno-san, I.. For a while, I've been trying to prove myself to you as worthy to be your.." He trailed off, too embarrassed to continue.
"Tecchan.. Do you love me?" I asked. He nodded shyly and I frowned.
"Tecchan. I'm sorry, I already.. Have someone that I love very dearly," I apologized as I looked up at him. He had an upset look on his face and he looked at me,
smiling a little bit.
"It's okay. But, if you really need someone to talk to, you can talk to me. No matter what," he said.
"Tecchan, if you had asked me last year, I would have said yes," I said.
"..really?"
"Yes. But that was last year indeed. I've grown rather fond of someone else after I moved away," I explained.
"I see," he said.
"Your voice is very nice, too. The next time you wish to serenade someone, I doubt they would say no," I smiled. He blushed and thanked me.
"Tetsuya, thank you for feeling that way about me," I smiled again, genuinely moved that he loved me.
"Thank you for feeling that way about me too, even if it was last year," he said. He looked down, a bit disappointed and I pinched his cheek.
"Let's not create a distance between us with this, I don't want anything awkward if that's what you planned," I said.
"I planned for you to say yes."
"Sorry."
"It's nothing for you to say sorry about," he said as he left quickly to get the rest of the people to come back in. I sighed a little, caught off guard.
We all sat inside the room now, eating the cake.
"So, Akira, how did you like his gift?" Daiki asked me later.
"I loved it, really.. But I didn't say yes," I said, assuming he knew the meaning of the song and why he sang it.
"What, really? I really thought you guys were totally lost in each other," he exclaimed.
"Maybe last year, but not right now," I laughed dryly a little.
"Aw, he must be really upset now.. He really likes you," he said, sighing. "Whenever you entered the room and I was talking to him, he would you watch you out
of the corner of his eye and barely listen to me. I often turned to see what he was looking at and when I saw you, I realized. Whenever you smiled, he smiled."
I bit my lip, feeling overwhelming guilt now and I looked down.
"Hey, don't get upset over it. It's not you to be the one who's upset anyways. And don't feel guilty about it. This stuff happens all the time," Daiki said, trying to comfort me.
"Tecchan can easily find someone else to love. There's many people for him that would make a better pair with him than me. He'd be a very nice lover to have,"
I admitted.
"Then why?"
"I already have someone I love. And he loves me back," I said.
"I see.." Daiki replied.
"Kuroko, did you really-" The red head said as he entered his room shared with me and Tecchan.
Tecchan looked up at Akashi, eyes a bit red and his face was a little flushed. The captain didn't need an answer anymore. Looking at his face was enough.
"She said no.." He said quietly.
"Sorry, Tetsuya. I should have told you," Sei-chan said.
"Did you know about my own feelings?"
"No, I did not."
"Then you have nothing to fret about," Tecchan said. The redhead sighed in a slight defeat and left the room, not wanting to press further.
Meanwhile, I was walking a little glumly towards my room, almost running into the blonde.
"Hey, Setsunochhi, you guys together now? I heard him singing and I think I got the gist of the song," he said proudly. I laughed dryly but said no.
"Eh? Why? I really thought you guys would be cute together," he said.
"I.. Just forget it. Please leave me alone. Don't talk to Tecchan either," I said, walking past him to the bathroom now, instead. I sighed, closing the door and
moving towards the sink to wash my face off.
"Why am I the one upset?" I asked myself. I groaned, pulling my phone out to look through the pictures I took before, finding rows and rows of my most beloved. I opened some up, smiling softly as I saw his face. I left the bathroom after washing my face and sighed, opening the door to my room. The tealhead was sitting on his futon, looked at me and gave a greeting smile.
"Tecchan, we'll be leaving tomorrow morning. Do you want to go out with me to buy some souvenirs?" I asked.
"...sure," he said and he got up, walking towards the door. I waited for him to leave the room, then left behind him.
"What about this one?" I smiled as we looked at spiders at a little pet store.
"Um.. Setsuno-san.. I'm not a big fan of spiders," he said we he backed away, our souvenir bag swinging with him. We had finished purchasing random nonsense that would make us happy but be soon forgotten.
"Ah, sorry.." I laughed a little as I got up.
"Let's look at the furry animals, then." I said and he nodded before we made our way towards the birds and rabbits and the like.