The tenth girl was a Sagittarius

She was the captain of the female basketball team in Shuutoku, and with both teams headed for the Winter Cup, none of them had much time to meet outside of practice. Midorima was too concerned with other things so the only reason he knew they were dating was because Captain Ootsubo teased Takao about it.

Midorima was surprised when his now completely assimilated routine with Takao was not disrupted at all by the appearance of this new girlfriend. Takao still ate lunch with him every day, rode him to and from school in the rickshaw, invited him over to study or watch basketball games on the weekends and went out with him to get his lucky item of the day. Apart from chatting during their practice breaks and texting from time to time, Takao and his girlfriend didn't seem to interact much. If he hadn't heard it from Ootsubo and other members of the team, he would've never known they were really dating. He didn't question Takao on the matter and just assumed it was another one of those informal, 'just for fun' flings, and didn't give it much more thought.

One day he was sitting in the library studying for the final tests. He knew he wouldn't have much time once the Winter Cup started, so he wanted to begin a little ahead of schedule to avoid falling behind on his courses. He heard hushed female voices coming from behind the bookshelf, but paid them no mind until he heard Takao's name being mentioned.

"Didn't you say you'd finally made Takao-kun your boyfriend? I haven't seen you guys together at all."

"Well, yeah. Every time I tell him we should go out on a date he says he can't because he has plans with 'Shin-chan', it's like he's not even trying at all."

"Eh? Who?"

"Don't you know? Midorima, that giant that always hangs around with Takao-kun. He's a real pain in the ass, just because he's kind of good at the game he thinks he can get away with whatever, but he's such a weirdo."

"Oh, you're right, they're always together, aren't they? I've heard he's quite a tyrant."

"Yeah, he's got Takao-kun doing everything he wants. Just because Takao-kun's the only one who can stand being near him."

"I bet he threatened to kick Takao-kun out of the team if he didn't pretend to be his friend. Pathetic"

Midorima sighed. He didn't care what those girls thought about him, but he didn't like it when people said he bullied Takao into being his fake friend. If there was something he was certain of, it was that Takao's friendship was unquestionably sincere, and he hated it when people didn't believe that.

"What the hell are you doing running your mouth about Shin-chan like you know a thing?!"

It took him completely unguarded, hearing Takao come out in his defense like that. For one, he didn't expect the shorter boy to be in the library of all places, and even if he was, he was not the kind to be angered easily, so Midorima wouldn't have expected him to lose his temper over people badmouthing their relationship.

"Well, it's true, isn't it? Even some guys from the team have said that he's a completely insufferable dictator, and the only reason everyone puts up with him is because he's kind of good at throwing baskets. C'mon, you don't have to pretend. He'll never know, you can tell the truth."

He heard the sound of a chair being kicked, and he noticed a few heads turning in the general direction of the noise.

"The truth is he's not 'kind' of good. Shin-chan is amazing, more than you'll ever be. His basketball is the most beautiful I've seen."

His heart skipped a beat.

"And more importantly, he's the best friend I've ever had."

And another.

"It's him that has to put up with me being stupid and annoying all the time, not the other way around."

No, it's not.

"I won't stand for a stupid bitch like you talking shit about Shin-chan when you don't know a fucking thing about anything."

Maybe his heart had stopped altogether.

"Huh? Are you saying you prefer to spend time with that tyrannical freak than with your girlfriend?"

"No. I'm saying I will always choose the best basketball player I've met and my most precious friend over some pathetic hag that just babbles stupid trash without a clue about anything. In fact, I will always choose Shin-chan over anyone else, so fuck off!"

The girl screeched furiously and stormed out of the library with her friends. Takao huffed in annoyance.

Midorima left the library as fast as he could too. He couldn't face Takao now. Not when he'd said all those things that made Midorima's heart stop one moment and beat at a mile per hour the next. It was surreal, the effect Takao could have on him. Just when he thought he couldn't love him any further, he went and said things like how he thought Midorima's basketball was beautiful or how he considered him his most precious friend. He was most definitely done for.

He never addressed the subject, and Takao had apparently not noticed that Midorima had overheard the entire conversation, but that was for the best. He was having a hard time trying not to blush every time he met the Point Guard already.

Still, whenever he recalled that discussion, he couldn't help the small smile that would involuntarily appear on his lips. So what if Takao would never love him back? Just knowing that the shorter boy thought that way about him was enough to make him happy. He couldn't possibly ask for anything else.

To be continued

I don't really know what to say haha. Just that I'm very happy and flattered with all your nice comments, it makes me happy to know people are willing to use their time to write reviews (: . Also, as you may have noticed, this chapter is considerably longer than the other ones, so I won't update until Monday. Oh, and for all the people who've asked, yes I am writing (or rather have already written) a side B with Takao's perspective, although it's considerably shorter –at least short enough to have all 12 girlfriends in one chapter-. I also have a handful of side stories that I'm undecided on whether to write them or not, this story's given me lots of ideas for this fandom.

Hope you like it, sorry for Sagittarius people, please don't be offended. There are bitches and assholes all around the Zodiac, nothing personal hehe. PleaseR&R