Akashi was gazing outside the window for who knows what reason. He invited Lia to come back to their training camp and now here she was, cutting threads and sewing things beside him. "U-um, Akashi." He turned his head toward Lia not minding the three-inch gap between their faces. "ACK! Don't do that so casually!" Lia suddenly pushed his head away and Akashi almost fell from the windowsill. He maintained his balance quickly and looked at Lia again, only this time, their faces were not so close anymore. Lia gulped and Akashi knew that she realized what she had just done. Of course, he wouldn't let her off without a punishment. "Hand over my scissors, Lia." He commanded.

As expected, Lia jumped away. Akashi could already read her so well already despite the few meetings they had. It didn't take long for him to get so soft around her. He just really feels bothered whenever she gets scared of him. He wouldn't really hurt her… unless she disobeys him. Knowing her, he knew that she would always disobey his important orders and follow the not-so-important ones such as 'face me', 'open your eyes', and 'take my hand'. Like, for example… this.

"Take my hand, Lia." He held out his hand towards her. Lia blushed heavily and started slapping her own face. After the weird actions, she placed her own hand in his. Bingo. Akashi is never wrong. As for an example of an important order, 'play shogi with me' would be his best bet. It was a game that could easily hone Lia's critical thinking skills and she keeps on refusing to play with him again. This is a short demonstration. "Let's play shogi, Lia."

Lia suddenly withdrew her hand and jumped farther away from him. "No!" She pouted like a little kid. "I'm not going to return your scissors if you force me to play that game again!" She backed away slowly; obviously afraid of what he might do to her. "Are you disobeying me?" He sternly asked. Lia was already shaking. "Lia…" Akashi stood up and walked toward her. Lia couldn't even move from her spot anymore. Akashi is never wrong. He knew that Lia would definitely refuse. It was a game she couldn't win against him, after all. He held out his hand again, making Lia flinch. "My scissors, Lia."

The poor girl's face turned as white as her hair. She shook her head and stuck her tongue out at him. Since when did she start acting childishly around him? Akashi knew that it may be because he had already admitted that she won him over. After all, she was this type of girl – a very strange one, indeed. Akashi was still pondering over her hair. Did she bleach her hair? Or did she just dye it white? Why does her hair have a blue hue, despite being white? Weird.

Akashi didn't say anything anymore. His hand went closer and reached out into her pocket. Lia suddenly started flailing her arms at his movement. As he took out his hand from the pocket of her pants, he was already holding his scissors. He pointed his scissors at Lia, snipping at the air around her neck. She swallowed her saliva but she was still nervous. She closed her eyes, so she was unable to see Akashi sigh in dismay. His distraught face actually looked cute, but too bad that Lia had to close her eyes. He put back the scissors in his pocket and decided to try out a new 'order'. No, he wasn't playing with Lia. She's not his dog. She's his winner. He was just trying to win her heart as what she had done to him in just a short time.

He opened his arms and for the first time in forever, Akashi felt awkward. "… Come hug me?" He sounded more like he was pleading than ordering. Lia opened her eyes and almost screamed at the top of her lungs due to over-ecstasy. "H-hey! Are you really Akashi? You're starting to sound weird!" Akashi tried hard not to stab her with the scissors. He's actually trying not to hurt her that he's going as far as to act stupidly in front of her. "Don't disobey me, Lia." He firmly said. He was actually really amused at how Lia reacted towards his super awkward request.

One, he wanted to see how small she was compared to him; Two, he just really wanted to see her flustered; Three, he's trying to try out new orders; Four, he didn't actually expect that order to come out of his mouth. Lia slowly walked toward him, cautiously placing her arms across her chest. As she finally reached him, Akashi embraced her. Surprisingly, he was tall compared to Lia who was only 153cm in height. Her hair smelled like chamomile. She felt so fragile as he held her in his arms. He ran his fingers through her hair, until—

"… Ah. Wash your hair, Lia." He suddenly said. Lia jolted out of her trance as soon as she heard his words. She pushed him away and jumped up and down, flailing her hand at him. "I-I do wash my hair!" She defended. Akashi smirked at her funny reaction. "… Really? That's why it's tangled." He sarcastically said, suddenly turning away and looking outside the window again, leaving her in embarrassment. "The ends of my hair are curly, you know!" Lia stomped towards him and grabbed his arm. The action made Akashi draw out his scissors in reflex. "W-watch where you're pointing that thing!" Lia reacted again when he pointed the scissors at her. Akashi blinked twice as if he didn't really expect that she would grab his arm.

Lia snatched the scissors from his hand. "… Don't defy me, Lia." He told her. "I'm borrowing this." She simply told him before quickly running out the door and slamming it shut. Akashi stared at the door, wondering where she got the guts to suddenly confiscate his scissors. Akashi could have dodged – he could predict her movements with his Emperor's Eye, but he just chose to let her think that she's more superior at least for once. He opened the door once more. The villa they've been staying at had a noisy silence shrouding its interiors.

He went down the stairs calmly and went out the villa. The cool summer air greeted him and he closed his eyes to breathe in. "Sei-chan!" He heard the voice of one of his team mates. He opened his eyes and regained his composure. He saw his team mate carrying someone on his back. "Sei-chan, I saw this girl on my way to the village. She said she escaped from the hospital and didn't want to go back. Then she collapsed." His team mate went inside the villa. Akashi followed him back to the bedroom until the girl he was carrying was finally on the bed. Akashi remembered how he saved Lia back then. It was the same scenario. "I see. You may go now. I'll see what I can do." Akashi ordered his team mate to leave. Without question, said team mate gladly left with a smile. "I'll leave this to you."


Akashi stared at the young girl, examining her carefully. "I see. I found you." He mumbled and went towards her sleeping body to touch her forehead with his fingertips. "She'll wake up." He said as if he was so sure that she will. In fact, she did. Akashi is never wrong and he knew that quite well. He should really stop emphasizing the fact that he is never wrong or the readers will get pissed at his pride.

He could tell that her eyes were adjusting from the brightness of her surroundings. She turned her head to the side and saw Akashi. Her eyes widened and she let out an ear-piercing scream. "W-W-Who—wait, no… you're Akashi! Akashi Seijuro! Why are you here? Wait, where am I?" She was panicking and sweating heavily. "You don't have to be afraid. I will bring you back home." Akashi promised. It's not like he had a choice. He didn't come in this training camp to babysit unconscious girls – Lia and this girl. Lia was already a handful and this girl looked more of a handful. "What is your name?" He demanded. "…G-Galanthus."

He suddenly smirked, scaring Gale out of her wits. She backed away slowly at the edge of the bed, wary of his actions. "I see." He nodded. Gale clutched her neck, realizing that it was bandaged. "… I got hit by a car. I didn't even know who brought me to the hospital." She admitted. Akashi stared at her intently. He knew that she would start talking any minute now. "After seeing Ryouta act so darn sweet with a fan of his, ugh, what a jerk…" Akashi also knew that she would start babbling about her problems.

Maybe it was time he talk some sense into her. "Kise Ryouta is a popular man. You can't keep him all to yourself and you can't stop other girls from liking him, Galanthus. Ryouta doesn't like girls who tie him down and you seem to be one." He coldly explained. Gale's eyes started getting watery and she gritted her teeth. "I know that!" She answered back. Akashi sat beside her on the bed and she just ended up becoming more suspicious of him. "Don't call him 'Ryouta' anymore. He's not yours to keep."

Gale's eyes widened at his words. Akashi just wanted to make her 'feel'. He did not have any bad intentions of breaking her heart. Akashi knew that she was taking too long to realize the change in her feelings. She was too numb and dense to know it herself. The only way to make her realize her real feelings is to break her heart. Akashi was just doing her a favor. She's still Lia's friend, after all. "… I won't anymore." She stood up from the bed and bowed down politely. "Thank you. I'll be going home now. Who knows how long I slept in that hospital."

As she left the room, Akashi's smirk grew wider. "You'll realize."