* X. Things That Most Have Never Seen Before *
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"Tetsu-kuuuuun~!"
Aomine grimaced as Momoi practically shouted Kuroko's name in the middle of the streets of Tokyo. There, on the other side, stood the tealhead along with Kagami, who, like Aomine, had his face all scrunched up upon hearing the pinkette's voice.
Grudgingly, Aomine followed his childhood friend as she crossed the road to get to Kuroko. She immediately hugged him, and the tanned ace had to pull her off him to make a proper greeting to Kuroko.
"Tetsu-kun, nice to see you here! What are you and Kagamin doing here?" Momoi asked.
"Kagami-kun went to the mall to buy the newest design of his favorite brand of basketball shoes. I merely tagged along since I don't have anything to do today. What about you and Aomine-kun, Momoi-san?"
"Ah! I met Dai-chan on a bookstore—"
"He really goes to a bookstore?" Kagami asked, surprised.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Kagami-kun. Aomine-kun do not go to the bookstores for a proper reason." Kuroko said.
"He only goes there to buy his gravure magazines." Momoi finished with a pout.
"O-oi! What's wrong with that? A magazine is still a book! Quit ganging up on me!" He turned to Kagami. "And you!" He pointed his finger at the sniggering redhead. "What are you laughing about? You—"
Kagami was about to make a witty retort when something — rather, someone caught his eye. He swatted Aomine's hand away and raised his head to get a better look. There was no mistaking that vivid red hair and regal air that surrounds the said person. Walking towards them was no other than the leader of the Generation of Miracles himself, Akashi Seijūro.
"Oi, isn't that Akashi?" Kagami said. He was not really keen on meeting the redhead, as they somewhat have a very unpleasant first meeting, even though they had somehow come to terms during the Winter Cup Finals. Something about the smaller redhead unnerves Kagami, making him uneasy or nervous whenever he is around.
Three heads turned to look at where Kagami indicated with his gaze, and sure enough, they saw Akashi in his full glory, dressed casually in a red long sleeved polo and dark pants paired with black Chucks. After a whole minute of staring at Akashi, the four realized that he was not alone.
Walking side by side with the feared emperor was a lime-haired girl dressed in a black turtleneck dress that reached just above her knees. It was beautifully complimented by her black open-toed sandals with laces that wrapped around up to her slender calves. The two were talking while walking like they had all the time in the world, not even bothering to look where they were going as the crowd seems to make way for them. The girl's face showed little to no emotion, while Akashi on the other hand seemed to be relaxed and carefree.
"Aren't we gonna hide or something?" Kagami asked his companions. He is so not looking forward to meeting Akashi again.
"Iie. He already knows we've seen him. It wouldn't be wise if we suddenly turn our backs on him." Kuroko said. Out of the four of them, the phantom player was the least affected of Akashi's presence. "I'll go and greet him." He said before walking towards the pair.
"Oi, Kuroko!"
Mizuki stopped midsentence as she noticed a certain tealhead who was approaching them. "Akashi, someone is coming towards us."
The redhead looked forward, and his eyes met sky blue ones. He saw Kuroko bow slightly at him, which he returned with a nod of his own. Taking Mizuki's hand, Akashi said, "It's Kuroko Tetsuya. He's on my team in middle school."
"Akashi-kun, nice to see you again." The ever polite Kuroko greeted him.
"Tetsuya. Nice to see you too." He gestured to the girl beside him. "Tetsuya, this is Mizuki. Mizuki, Tetsuya."
"Akashi-kun, I suppose that"s her given name." Kuroko said, frowning a little. He turned to her. "May I know your full name?"
Akashi chuckled a little at this. "Courteous as ever, Tetsuya."
"Fujiwara Mizuki. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."
"Hai. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu, Fujiwara-san."
They resumed walking, and Akashi asked Kuroko what was he doing here in central Tokyo that Saturday.
"I accompanied Kagami-kun to the mall to buy basketball shoes."
Akashi smirked. So Seirin's ace was here. Their first meeting was very amusing to Akashi, to say the least.
"Aomine-kun and Momoi-san was also here with us. We met up with them just a while ago."
Sure enough, a few steps away from them stood Kagami, Aomine, and Momoi. The look on their faces was priceless when they took note of Mizuki's hand being held by Akashi.
"Akashi-kun never mentioned having a girlfriend, did he?" Momoi asked, more to herself than to her male companions.
"She has big boobs." Aomine said.
"Pervert Dai-chan!" Momoi smacked his arm. "If Akashi-kun heard you saying that, he'll send you to hell!"
Kagami snorted as he watched the advertisement shown on the screen on the walls of a building across the street. "I can't believe that someone in their sane mind would date a psycho like that Akashi." A moment of silence followed. He turned to look at his companions. "Wha—?"
"Would you please repeat that, Taiga?"
Kagami gulped. Right in front of him stood the emperor himself.
"And don't worry, Daiki. I haven't forgotten about you either."
"The he—!"
Off to the side, Kuroko and Momoi can only pray. "May their souls rest in peace."
When he was done terrorizing the two basketball idiots, Akashi introduced his companion to them. "Satsuki, Daiki, Taiga, this is Fujiwara Mizuki."
"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu." Mizuki said with a bow. What Akashi hadn't predicted was their reactions.
Momoi squealed, "Kawaii~!" before introducing herself. "Call me Sa-chan. Can I call you Mi-chan?"
Aomine thanked his dark skin tone for hiding his blush effectively. Damn Akashi. "Aomine Daiki. Nice to meet you too, Fujiwara-chan." What the hell did he just say?
Kagami was not as lucky as Aomine. He scratched his nape nervously as he refused to meet her warm gold eyes. "Kagami Taiga."
Akashi narrowed his eyes at the two. He suddenly became annoyed and felt the need to somehow get out of here. He doesn't like the way they look at Mizuki.
"Ano, Akashi-kun, have you and Fujiwara-san eaten lunch?" Kuroko intervened. He had felt Akashi's annoyance and decided to break the tension.
Akashi didn't answer, probably planning the perfect punishment for the two. Mizuki, fortunately, had heard Kuroko's question and tugged at Akashi's arm.
"Akashi, you promised."
To his amazement, Akashi's dark mood vanished.
"Aa." He said, a small smile on his lips. "Kuroko, no we haven't."
"Then would you mind joining us for lunch, Akashi-kun?"
"I was thinking of inviting all of you to join us instead. We're going to this famous pizzeria in Roppongi."
"If it wouldn't be too much, Akashi-kun."
"Oi, isn't that the the high end district?" Kagami said.
"How about Kagami-kun, Akashi-kun?"
Akashi waved his hand. "He can tag along."
Kuroko thanked him and wordlessly followed Akashi. Kagami trailed behind Aomine and Momoi, unsure of what to do.
"Kagamin, don't worry. Akashi will be the one to buy us lunch." Momoi said, glancing behind her. On her left, Aomine added. "It's like tradition. Whenever the team eats outside, Akashi always brings us to this fancy restaurants and would foot the bill. He's too rich to care where all his money goes. So just eat and order all you want — Akashi won't mind."
Damn Akashi for being a rich guy. Kagami thought. If only Kuroko hadn't brought up that topic.
They took two separate cabs to go to their destination, and he ended up riding with Aomine and Momoi. They got off and saw that they were going to eat in a famous pizzeria in Roppongi.
"Taiga, just order all you want. Get a lesson from Daiki." Akashi said once they settled on their chosen table. Aomine was the first to get a menu from the waiter and was now busy rattling off his choices to the baffled waiter. Akashi then told him, "Manners, Daiki. Don't order everything at once or it won't fit in our table."
"Do you serve milkshakes here?" He heard Kuroko ask from Mizuki's other side. He can't help but smile in amusement. Even if you serve Kuroko all the delicious food in the world, he'll only look for one thing. Milkshake.
"I'm sorry sir but we only serve fruitshakes and parfaits here. You can choose from our —"
"I presume you can make a special order." Akashi intercepted. "A milkshake is quite simple to do and it won't be the least of a bother since all the needed ingredients are already in your kitchen. Is it not?" He raised his chin up a little, and fixed his mismatched eyes to the poor waiter.
"Akashi-kun, that's not necessary. I can live without milkshake for now." Kuroko said, a bit alarmed at Akashi's actions, although he had seen him do this a number of times when they were still in Teiko. However, he failed to notice how the waiter paled at the mention of the redhead's name, and sure enough, the waiter was already apologizing and assuring Akashi that they would serve his companion with as much milkshake as he want. Akashi can only smirk.
The group watched as the waiter bowed and rushed back to the kitchen, telling that he would inform the kitchen of the "special order" while a new waiter came to assist them. Akashi and Mizuki were the last to place their orders.
"I'll have this and this and... this." Mizuki laid a dainty finger on a chocolate parfait. Everyone on the table noticed how the waiter eyed the chartreusette, following the moves of her hand creepily. It didn't help that he brushed his hand on purpose with Mizuki's when she handed the menu back to him.
What a lowlife. He needs to know his place. Akashi was furious. When the waiter went over to get his order, he purposefully lowered his voice so that the waiter would have to lean closer to hear him. When he succeeded on doing so, he said in a threatening tone that only the waiter can hear him.
"No one touches what is mine, or you might find yourself losing an arm or two in the future." Then, as if he did not just threatened him, Akashi continued in a normal voice, "I'll have what the lady ordered."
"Y-yes s-sir!" And then, the waiter was gone also, in a hurry to get away from the intimidating guy with crimson hair.
"Oi, Akashi, what did you do to that guy? He looks like he's going to piss in his pants." Aomine asked.
"Language, Daiki. And are you accusing me?" He replied, his gaze fixed on the ganguro.
"O-of course not! I'm merely asking. Geez."
"I'm pretty certain that you threatened him, Akashi." Mizuki fiddled with the charms on her bracelet. "Why deny it?"
Aomine and Kagami was almost certain that Akashi would go all psycho and send flying scissors to Mizuki. Momoi was shocked speechless — no one talks to Akashi in that manner and get away with it. Even Kuroko looked tense, as if he was readying himself to pull Mizuki aside if the need arises. All of them were thinking the same thing: Is she insane?
Then the feared emperor did the unthinkable.
Jaws dropped. Eyes widened in shock. Is this really happening?
Because Akashi Seijuurou just freaking laughed.
Yep, you heard that right. THE Akashi Seijuurou just laughed. He didn't get mad, he didn't gave her a death glare nor send any of his beloved scissors to her face.
Instead, he laughed. Not a full blown laugh, mind you. It was more of a supressed chuckle, but laughing all the same. The four rubbed their eyes (Momoi even pinched her cheeks). It is true. They're not dreaming. Unfortunately(?), more is yet to come.
Mizuki frowned at Akashi. "Is there anything funny, Akashi?" She crossed her arms in front of her and to Akashi's opinion, did the closest thing she can to a pout.
Seeing the assassin's childish side was a rare thing. He had only seen it a few times, each lasting for a few seconds and not longer than two minutes. Akashi himself had his silly moments even though he doesn't like to admit it. He don't know why but everytime he sees Mizuki acting just like a normal high school girl makes him feel... happy. Or something like that.
He stopped laughing, although his mirth is still evident in his eyes and lips. The next words that came from his mouth just surprised their audience even more. "I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you, if that's what you think."
Did he just apologize? Kagami was getting more and more creeped out each passing second.
Is this the Akashi I knew? Aomine was having second doubts about this person on the other side of the table. Not that Akashi has a twin brother or anything.
Is this the effect of love on Akashi-kun? Momoi was starting to have hearts in her eyes. Oh my! They're so adorable together! Who would've thought Akashi has this side in him! Mi-chan, you're one lucky girl! She looked at Kuroko, who was silently watching the pair. I wonder when Tetsu-kun will see me that way...
The tealhead, however, has only one thought. As the two continued their harmless argument, he was amazed how Akashi didn't get mad at the way Mizuki talks to him. He smiled inwardly. Not that he was complaining, though.
Welcome back, Akashi-kun.