This chapter is dedicated to sweetsmasher and .
"There will be a twenty to thirty minute wait," said the mama-san in the beautiful royal blue kimono as bowed as she informed the party of the wait time. The lobby was overflowing with tourists of all nationalities and ilk.
Akashi nodded, saying nothing. Furihata wandered over to the massive fish tank on one wall and stood behind the small gathering of children with their faces pressed against the glass to watch the occupants. Kagami joined him after a few moments.
"Oi, Akashi, let's eat somewhere else; I'm starving," Aomine complained.
"We just got out of our coats, Dai-chan, be patient," Satsuki teased. Behind her the mama-san and her staff conferred quietly. One woman hurried out of the entrance hall.
"Why'd you pick this place anyway, Akashi? There must be hundreds of crab places 'round here. What's so special about this one?" Aomine threw himself into the only chair left unoccupied in the lobby. A woman, who a moment before had been speaking in French with her companions, jumped as the 175cm, 85 kg man's bulk rattled the entire row of chairs.
"Besides the enormous and kitschy crab we walked under in order to enter?" Akashi asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You said you wanted a 'good dinner,' and this place has an old and valued reputation for being just that. And… it should satisfy Taiga's desire to see my 'fat wallet' opened on the group's behalf."
"About that... Can I afford to pick up that kid's meal here? You do realize I play for the JBL, not the NBA, right?" Aomine glared at Akashi while pointing at Furihata.
"Are you crying poor Daiki? And after losing to Taiga…"
"I didn't 'lose to Taiga,' because we weren't competing against each other," Aomine insisted, getting up and advancing on Akashi. "We play to win, no matter who scores."
"Tetsuya would be very proud," Akashi said, patting the angry Power Forward on the shoulder.
"Tsk," Aomine hissed as he shook off Akashi's hand.
"Akashi-sama, your table is prepared. Please follow me," the mama-san said, as she appeared at Akashi's side and bowed.
"That was quick," Satsuki said.
"Forgive us, for not recognizing you right away, Akashi-sama," she said, bowing a little deeper still.
"Of course," he sighed. "Just take us to our table."
They had a private booth in the back of the restaurant with a solicitous clutch of women in matching blue kimonos to tend to their every need, desire, or want.
Sake was brought out without asking. Sushi materialized in great and vast quantities even before the menu appeared.
"May I recommend the Kinnomai? Three orders should be sufficient for your party," the pretty waitress with the dangerously long eyelashes asked.
Akashi looked briefly at the multi-dish meal, noted the price, and nodded.
"Oi, don't we get to order too?" Aomine demanded from his seat at Akashi's right elbow. Satsuki sat to Akashi's left, with Furihata next to her. Kagami sat next to Aomine, across from Furihata.
"I just ordered everything on the menu in one go, is there something more? Should I order out for you as well?"
Akashi took a long sip from his Sake cup as Aomine grumbled something incoherent that sounded almost like a thank you.
At ¥13,500 per order you could at least try to show some appreciation, Daiki.
Akashi sent a quick text to his father's accountant, warning him about the large sum of money he was about to put on his bank card.
When the food began to arrive, it's parade and presentation lasted longer than the introduction of players during the game that night. One dish after another was named and then placed carefully on the table: king crab, snow crab, crab sashimi, vinegar crab, hair crab, fried king crab claws, king crab omelet, crab steak, rice porridge, pickled crab, and the list went on and on.
A waitress knelt off to the side of the table and cracked open a crab leg before handing it over to Akashi. He took the paltry bit of meat – amazing really how little such an expensive dish yielded – and bit into it. He nodded, politely, and indicated that the rest of the table should dig in.
Akashi put very little on his plate, a bit of sashimi, a spoonful of rice porridge, a single serving of omelet, and watched as the rest of the food disappeared at an alarming and mysterious rate.
"So, Furi-kun," Kagami said around a mouthful of crab meat as he reached for his next bit with greedy chopsticks, "How's school going? Meet any nice girls? You know, how's life treating you?"
Furihata blushed and hurriedly filled his mouth with the first thing he could reach.
"Now, Kagami-kun, that's not very nice to put Furihata on the spot like that," Satsuki said, patting the blushing young man in question on the arm.
"So there is a girl," Kagami grinned while inhaling his next piece of crab.
"There is… someone," Furihata said, very quietly, almost so quietly that Akashi had to strain to hear the words. Everyone leaned forward at the exact moment.
"Tell us, we're dying over here," Kagami said, grinning.
"But, I'm not sure if my feelings are reciprocated," Furihata said at last.
As the rest of the table moved in even closer to hear Furihata's soft words, Akashi leaned back in his chair and picked absently at his food.
Who is she? Akashi wondered. I wonder what so special about this girl.
"What's she like?" Satsuki asked, almost as if she had heard Akashi's thoughts.
"Passionate about everything, ridiculous smart, a perfectionist…"
"She sounds awesome."
She sounds like a piece of work, Akashi dismissed, petulantly. He should have mentioned there was a girl... I wouldn't have –
"She's in one of your classes?" Aomine asked, then tried to look indifferent again by shoving more food into his mouth.
"Last semester, but not this one."
"Aww, too bad," Satsuki cooed.
Yeah, yeah, so sad, Akashi thought, nearing his limit on how much he listen to Furihata babble about this girl. He put his napkin on the table, and pushed his chair back, meaning to escape to the bathroom.
"But we still spend time together, almost every day in fact."
Everyday? He thought, gathering himself to stand. How does he have time to spend 'every day' with her, when he's already spending it with... Oh, he's talking about me?
The knot of confused emotions loosened in his chest, and he relaxed back into the chair. He took another sip of Sake.
"Oh! That's a good sign," Satsuki said.
"So, why aren't you sure? Ask her out?" Aomine barked.
"It's complicated. We're friends, right? But we shared a small, chaste kiss two nights ago," Furihata said, looking down at his plate. If he looked at Akashi right this moment, he was sure he'd see anger there, but this was the only way of speaking about what happened, and bringing it to light without directly confronting him.
"Really? Then what are you waiting for?" Kagami asked.
"It came out of nowhere; I was just suddenly kissed, and I wonder if it was because of excitement – we had just finished solving a very hard problem – or if it was genuine."
Look at me, Akashi pleaded silently. Just look at me and you'll know.
"Oi, I don't know you at all, but grow some balls, take charge, and kiss her. If she's not into you, you'll know right then. It's better to rip the bandage off all at once," Aomine said.
"But… I don't –"
"Don't even start with that 'don't want to ruin our friendship' crap. Man up, Furihata," Aomine said, punctuating his statement by winking at Satsuki. She giggled.
Furihata lowered his head.
Will you be brave enough to kiss me, Kōki?
As midnight approached and the last of the plates were cleared away from the table, Aomine looked at his watch and groaned.
"We're catching a flight out in a few hours," he complained.
"Yes, I've got to get these two back to the hotel, and into bed so that I have some peace tomorrow," Satsuki said.
"Is it much like having two very unruly children?" Akashi asked.
"A good comparison," she confirmed. "Tetsuya and I often trade stories – his students for my husband and his best buddy."
"We are not buddies," both Kagami and Aomine shouted at the same moment, glaring at each other.
"Of course not, not at all, my mistake," Satsuki agreed, standing. "Come on Dai-chan, it's time to go."
Aomine allowed his wife to pull him to his feet.
At the door, just before parting, Akashi took Aomine aside.
"Will you see Kise any time soon?"
"Yeah, we're playing one-on-one next Wednesday. Why?"
"One-on-one? What about his knee?"
"Not basketball, we play video games, we just call it one-on-one," Aomine said, a resentful sadness coloring his normally placid tone.
"Tell him to keep an eye out for an email. Apparently Shintarō has been trying unsuccessfully to get a hold of him."
"I'll pass the message along," Aomine said with a wink.
Satsuki awkwardly hugged Akashi goodbye while Kagami and Furihata made plans to see each other again over the summer break.
As the three of them got in the taxi that Akashi arranged for them, he and Furihata stood at the curb and watched them go.
"How about a cup of coffee back at my room?" Furihata asked.
"I'm not much for coffee," Akashi said. He was trembling very slightly, but not from the cold. "Do you have any tea?"