CHAPTER 11.
"Where do you want to go first?" he asked her.
"I'm going back to our booth."
Akashi stared straight ahead of them. "You're free for the rest of the afternoon. You might as well enjoy the festival, after all, you helped a lot in putting it together."
He waited as she seemed to consider his words. Finally, she nodded. "If that's what Akashi says."
"Ikou."
The group had parted ways earlier as they had their own preferences on which booth to visit. Momoi had asked Kuroko to come with her, to which the phantom obliged. Surprisingly, Aomine, Kise, and Kagami teamed up, and Himuro tagged along with Murasakibara.
They were passing through the Astronomy Club's booth when a girl in a very frilly dress in neon pink came up to them, holding a sign that read, "A Test Of Love". Apparently, the girl didn't realize who she was talking to because it took her halfway along her well-rehearsed speech about her club's offering before she stuttered and clammed up when she recognized their student president and the equally-known transferee beside him.
The girl paled and apologized for holding them up when Akashi smiled. Not a creepy one, but a thoughtful one. Ignoring the girl's apologies, he tugged at Mizuki's hand — which he had been holding on to the whole time — and said, "How about giving this a try, Mizuki?"
Gold eyes looked up at the equally pink sign of the booth. Hearts and cupids and roses adorned the entryway. "But we're not a couple, Akashi. It says right there that this is a booth for lovers."
Akashi felt a twinge of something when she said that. Shaking it off, he replied coolly, "We're an exception, then. Let's just pretend that we are, for the time being."
Mizuki did not object. And so, they stepped inside the booth, where the receptionist was totally speechless for a few seconds before he gave them the rules and mechanics of their little game.
"So we're supposed to complete eight challenges with our hands cuffed together during the whole game?" Mizuki asked as they walked towards the first challenge. She raised their linked hands near her face, eyeing the metal surface of the handcuff binding her wrists to Akashi's.
'A tug here and some pressure there and this thing will be off my wrists in a second,' she thought instinctively.
"That's the gist of it." Akashi replied. He held a piece of string in his hand. "And we have to walk towards the stations with our feet tied together."
The first five challenges were simple and the pair breezed through them with ease. By then, word had spread out that the Rakuzan's "Royal Couple" are down at the Love Test booth, and soon enough, a huge crowd gathered to watch. The Kiseki no Sedai and the rest were there as well.
The sixth challenge is an eating contest, with a twist. The couple have to feed one another.
Blindfolded.
Akashi and Mizuki took their seats as a plate of bite-sized onigiri was served between them, along with two pairs of chopsticks. Two attendants blindfolded them at the same time just as they held on to their chopsticks.
"Are you ready?"
Nod.
"Begin!"
Akashi heard Mizuki tap the plate with the tip of her chopsticks. A faint metallic sound rang through the air. "I'll feed you first, Akashi." A moment later, she said, "Open your mouth."
Akashi did as he was told, and a piece of onigiri went in. Her accuracy was not at all affected by the lack of vision, as it seems.
"My turn. Say aa," he said, and fed Mizuki with another of the riceballs. He estimated the location of Mizuki's mouth while she was speaking earlier, and as expected, Akashi was right on the mark.
They took turns feeding each other, not missing or fumbling all the time. When they were done, the crowd gave a cheer of amazement.
"I never imagined Akashi to be partaking in an event like this," Midorima said, shaking his head as he watched Akashi remove his blindfold and run a hand through his crimson locks. His hair was the same as it was back then in Teiko, having let his bangs grow out after he had cut if off last Winter Cup.
"They look good together, though," Takao said. He himself felt the same as Midorima, but then, the red emperor seems to have taken a liking to this unusual girl.
Yes, Takao finds Mizuki unusual. Not in a bad way, but in a peculiar way. She was too calm, too detached, too composed, too polite and well-mannered, and she seem to choose her words very, very carefully before she lets them escape her mouth. She has this aristocratic air around her and walks and moves with the grace of a panther. She is blunt and straighforward, and confident of herself. But what really strikes Takao is the way she deals with Akashi. He had seen Momoi interact with the redhead, and though they were close acquaintances and had years of comradeship, the pinkette approaches Akashi with caution and a bit of fear, and holds Akashi as someone above her. But not Mizuki. Her eyes meet Akashi's gaze head on, and does not even falter.
She do not fear him.
Heck, even Aomine and that Haizaki shudders at a mere glance from Akashi. But definitely not her.
Akashi took the water bottle from her hands and took a swig from it. Placing it on the table, he asked her if she was ready to proceed to the next one.
"Hai" was her quiet reply and he bent down to tie their feet together.
The seventh game was a game that involves balance. The couple must succesfully ferry three eggs from one post to another without dropping it. The twist: The egg is to be placed between the couple's foreheads.
Akashi watched as a couple before them smashed the egg and ended up with sticky yellow yolk on their faces. Mizuki was doing the same as him.
"Too much and too little force will break the egg. The only difference is where," she said as another unsuccesful couple dropped the egg on the floor.
"We need to be careful."
"Yes."
"Ah, the Royal couple!" the guy in charge greeted them. "You already know this game, yes? Three eggs, forehead, no breaking the egg! Now here you go!"
With his free hand, Akashi carefully placed an egg between their foreheads, and motioned Mizuki to come closer. Faces set in concentration, they slowly made their way to the table at the other end of the line. Neither appreciated having sticky yolk on their faces.
The close proximity of their faces made it possible for them to feel one another's breathing. Seemingly calm on the outside, Akashi's heart was pounding a bit louder than it should be. As they walked sideways, Akashi found himself looking at Mizuki's eyes which were directed downward, at the ground. He observed her long eyelashes that framed her eyes, and the line of her finely-sculptured nose, down to her coral lips.
Her eyes flickered upward just then, and met his own mismatched ones. Akashi realized that her eyes were not pure gold, but rather, flecks of silver surrounded her iris. It was not long ago when he found out that he liked looking at her eyes, more specifically when she allowed her emotions to reflect through them. They were subtle, but he was quick to spot the minuscule changes in them. The way they light up a bit when she was at pleased or happy or simply at ease, the way they darken when she's angry or sad, the way they narrow when she's on her assassin mode, the way they deepen when she was thinking of something, and when they seem to zone out when she was under her mask. This seemed to enchant the redhead that unconsciously he had made it a habit of looking at her eyes everytime he talks with her.
Mizuki had felt him looking at her for a while now, and though it was not altogether an unpleasant feeling, it made her feel ... jumpy. She can't quite explain it herself, but she was certain of one thing. Of all the people she met, only Akashi made her feel this things that he calls "emotions". When Akashi had explained them to her and encouraged her to use them, she found out that they were not actually a bad thing to have, although they have this annoying tendency to cloud one's decisions. "Friends" are not a bad idea, either. Being with Akashi taught her a lot of things, and it seemed as if she was being introduced to a new world, like seeing it for the first time with new eyes. Again, it's not an unpleasnt thought, but she's uncertain of whether it's a good thing or a bad thing.
No words were exchanged between them, but they stared at each other's eyes as if searching for something in their depths. They proceeded with the challenge, breaking eye contact only when they are setting up or removing the egg between their foreheads.
"One more to go. The Royal Couple seems to be taking this too easy!" someone said.
"Royal Couple?" Aomine said out loud.
"Yes! They're Rakuzan's Royal Couple — Akashi-sama and Fujiwara-hime! Just look at them — aren't they perfect for each other?" A student from Rakuzan who was watching the contest beside Aomine explained.
"That Akashi is really unpredictable," he sighed.
There was a sharp intake of breath from Mizuki when the egg wobbled dangerously loose on their foreheads. Acting quickly, she jerked her face upwards and move closer to keep the egg from falling further. However, it seems that she had forgotten to factor Akashi in her equation as she felt the tips of their noses touch to her sudden movement. What's worse is that their lips are barely a couple centimeters apart.
But what can she possibly do? She cannot move away for doing so means goodbye to the egg, and that won't do. Their steps became slower, as both were intent to maintain that distance. A sudden slip of their feet could result to rather problematic results.
The crowd had squealed in response to the sudden closeness of their faces. It looked like they were kissing already. Akashi heard pounding in his ears, but he kept calm, looking at anything except for the luscious pink lips in front of him.
'I hate puberty.'
Mizuki, on the other hand, was wondering if Akashi was feeling ill again. The tips of his ears were uncharacteristically burning red.
"It was the heat," was his reply when she asked him about it later. She shrugged and let it be.
—
The last station was a — surprise, surprise! — a kissing booth. Each one would pick a piece of paper and kiss their partner on the indicated body part. The twist: they'll be blindfolded. Again.
It was Akashi's turn first. His was easy — just a simple peck on the cheek. He did it without so much fuss and waited for Mizuki to do hers and be done with this stupid contest. When Mizuki didn't made a move, he thought of calling her when she suddenly grabbed his shoulder and kissed him.
On the lips.