Exam week, everyone! Updates might be a little slow for awhile!
Disclaimer: I don't own Free!.
An emergency meeting was immediately called, scheduled to take place tomorrow morning at Lando's. (The girl had already awoken her grandmother, warning the elderly woman that she'd have to pick up several girls.)
Akihiko laid in the bed for a good fifteen minutes, her stomach a bundle of butterflies, before she rolled over and shook Rin awake; he groaned and rolled over with an arm tossed across her, his eyes barely blinking open.
"Rin." she said, a hint of annoyance leaking into her voice.
He didn't respond.
Instead, he began kissing her shoulder, covered by Rin's shirt she wore, fingertips skating along her back, tracing her spine; she gave a loud sigh at being ignored, though allowed him to continue. The hand that wasn't exploring her back tugged at the cloth of her sleeve; the shirt came pulled down, offering her skin to him, and he began leaving little bruises, his lips still a comforting presence that eventually lulled her to sleep.
When she awoke in the morning, with the Sun barely rising, she discovered the skin of her shoulder a mess of purple and red; she groaned in annoyance, glancing over at the boy beside her, though he appeared to be still asleep, not bothered by her aggravation. She leaned over the side of the bed, picking up her phone from the floor; Lando had messaged the group at five o'clock in the morning, saying Grandma would be heading to pick all of them up around eight; it was currently nearing seven, and, with that in her mind, she heaved herself up after some convincing, grabbing her bag to get ready.
It appeared no one else was awake yet in the group chat; Akihiko had been the only one to see Lando's message, and, hopefully, she had gone to sleep not long after sending it. She spent barely half an hour straightening her hair and putting on make-up, though she claimed this straight enough, shoving everything back into her back with little to no care, walking back out and throwing her bag atop Rin.
When he didn't even stir, she rolled her eyes, walking over to him and shaking him roughly; when he finally awoke, he shouted at her to quit it, and she did.
"I'm leaving at eight." she said, and he hesitated, sitting up.
"Why so early?" he asked, and, once again, she rolled her eyes.
"I woke you up last night to tell you, but you wouldn't listen." she said, and he glanced at her, rubbing the back of his head, shoving her bag away from him.
"I don't remember you waking me up." he said simply, leaning back on his hands.
Her response to that was simply showing off her left shoulder, exposing skin blemished with hickies and love bites; he snorted a laugh, her pursed lips the only thing that cut him off.
"Why are you going home, anyway?" he asked, leaning against her shoulder, and she sighed, undoing his ponytail gingerly to redo it.
"I'm not, Lando's grandma is gonna come pick me up. Something happened to Bunko last night, but she won't message any of us about it." she said, using her fingers to brush out the tangles in his hair; he nodded his head, and she scolded him for doing so, her hands working to braid his hair, though she abandoned her job at her phone ringing, grasping for it in the blankets.
"Ah - hello, Touya?"
Rin audibly groaned, though the boy on the other line paid him no mind, speaking loud enough for Rin to hear.
"I hate her! Akihiko, Aki, do you hear me? I hate her!"
The girl hesitated, before scooting her way off the bed, Rin's head falling off her shoulder. "Did Bunko tell you what happened with Kiyoko?" she asked, standing up with a hand to her hip, pacing around in the room.
"No, but, I mean, I can pretty much guess what happened. Bunko didn't even show up to soccer conditioning yesterday - which, let me say, is complete crap that they have training during winter break, I mean, they just got done with soccer season, give them a break; I could of spent yesterday with Junna, but, no, she has soccer conditioning - that's not the point, though! I hate her; and, let me tell you, clarinet, if she breaks Bunko and that first-year up, I will be getting suspended again when we come back to school! Is their snow on the ground? Akihiko, Aki, answer me!"
"... I'd assume there is, Touya."
"Good! I don't care if she's a girl, either - I knew that's what you were about to say, clarinet!" He made a loud noise on his end, somewhere between a groan and a noise his trumpet would make, "Remember when she suddenly wanted to be friends with me a week after Junna and I started dating?"
"And you freaked out at the end of band class because she cut off Junna when she was trying to get to her cubby, yeah. You hit Kiyoko's cubby door so hard that it broke and you got suspended for a week."
"You make me sound like a crazy person, clarinet!" Rin laughed, though Akihiko waved him off, casting him a glance, "I just don't like certain people. And Kiyoko happens to be one of them."
"Along with your older brother and Maaka-sensei, I know. I'm pretty sure we have this conversation literally every time you call me, Touya." Akihiko said, smiling, taking a seat at Nitori's desk.
"Because they all have one thing in common, and that is that they are jerks, and nobody can ever be happy except them! Akihiko, Aki, you know me. I'm normally nice, right?"
"Right."
"I only get like this certain times, and that's solo ensemble season, festival season, and when people like Tatsuo, Maaka, and Kiyoko bother me! I don't like bothersome things."
Akihiko laughed, listening to Touya huff, "Trust me, I know. I think, maybe, you just can't get over anything."
"... Excuse me?!"
"I'm kidding, shut up - oh, hey, Nitori. Sorry. Did I wake you up?"
Rin hesitated, then suddenly registered the sound of movement on the top bunk; he glanced up, though the younger boy didn't appear to be coming down soon.
"Ah - what, Hazuki-senpai? Oh, no, you didn't." was the reply, the boy sitting up, leaning against the wall.
"... Akihiko? Aki, are you listening to me?"
"I'm done talking now, Touya. I'll call you later, after I've heard what happened to Bunko. Goodbye!"
"Ack - you know I hate it when you do this, clarinet-"
Though Akihiko had already hung up on the trumpeter, turning in the chair to look at Rin, her smile for Nitori forgotten, lips pursed. "I told you to be nice." she scolded, and Rin rolled his eyes, standing from the bed.
"I didn't do anything." he said, shoving her head as he walked past her; she gasped, immediately brushing her fingers through her bangs in an attempt to fix her hair, watching as he walked into the bathroom until he'd shut the door behind him.
When he exited the bathroom, he was surprised to find Akihiko on the top bunk beside Nitori, looking down at the floor and smiling.
"This is amazing, you can see everything; I always wanted to get a bunk bed with Nagisa when I was younger, but my dad was an asshole and my mom just didn't want us to have any fun." she said, smiling, looking over at Nitori before glancing down at Rin; he sighed, looking back up at her.
"Both of you up there are going to break the bed." he said, and Akihiko grabbed a pillow, preparing to throw it at him.
"Is that a fat joke - oh, Lando's calling."
She hesitated, glancing around for her phone; Nitori found it, handing it to the girl, who answered it with the pillow still clutched in her hands.
"Hey - oh, okay. I'll be out in a few minutes. Bye. Love you too." she hung up, dropping the pillow, "Lando's here." she announced, and then hesitated, glancing down at the floor.
"What's wrong?" asked Rin, and she blinked.
"I can't get down." she said, and Nitori hesitated, looking at her.
"If you got up there, you can get down." Rin said, and she barked back, "I know that!"
"Are you afraid of heights?" asked Nitori, and she shook her head vigorously.
"No - just - how do I do this - like, um-"
Rin groaned, rolling his eyes; he walked over to the top bunk and lifted his hands, grabbing her hips and picking her up, ignoring her yelp. Sitting her down on the floor, he turned towards Nitori, saying, "Don't let her get back up there, Ai."
Akihiko lightly hit his shoulder, "Nitori, don't listen to him." she said, grabbing her bag, waving to the boy who was still on the top bunk, "Bye, I'll see you later, Nitori." she said, and he smiled, waving back.
"Bye, Hazuki-senpai!"
She grinned, walking out, motioning with her hand for Rin to follow her; he did, reaching out and taking her hand, and the two stopped before they got to the lobby.
"I'm wearing this home, okay? I'll give it back, maybe." she said, gesturing to his shirt she was wearing; he nodded his head, leaning in and kissing her, his hands gripping onto her hips.
"That's fine. Tell me if Bunko's alright, okay?" he asked, pulling away barely to look at her, and she nodded.
"You're on my list to call, right after Allen and Touya." she taunted, smiling, and he rolled his eyes, kissing her once again.
"Love you." he said, and she chuckled, pulling away slowly.
"I love you too, but I'm still calling Allen first." she said, and he smirked, waving back to her as she left.
As soon as all five girls had been picked up and dropped off by Grandma, they gathered into the living room, dropping off their belongings in the corner of the room as Grandma left for the Wani Dance Studio, claiming their seats, Suzeme and Asuka having to sit on the floor because of the village, Lando giving Bunko the recliner while her and Akihiko stuffed together in the loveseat.
"Touya told me you weren't at soccer conditioning yesterday." Akihiko was the first one to speak, still wearing a long-sleeved shirt of Rin's, the sweat pants she wore to sleep in present; 'Clarinet'was printed on her right leg, and, only when she stood, could you see the message of 'Kick Brass'on her backside.
Bunko threw up her hands with a disgusted noise, her hair already frizzing, "My back hurts - no, my everything hurts. My feet, my ankles, my legs, my hips, my stomach, my arms, my head. I understand I'm the Captain and that they cannot apparently accomplish one thing without me holding their hands, but-"
"No, no, that's not what I meant. Junna told Touya because she's worried - I mean, that's not like you."
"I remember, last year, you sprained your wrist, and you still went to every practice and every game." said Suzeme, and the three girls opposite of the blonde nodded their heads.
Bunko did not reply; she reached down, pulling the lever to the recliner, letting it pop up with little grace.
Lando, giving a side glance to Akihiko that barely lasted a second, responded when Bunko did not. "So, what happened? Why'd you randomly message the group last night like that?"
"Because - because! I don't know. Because, I have a D in Maaka's because she won't let me take a test that I wasn't even there for, because, I was up last night thinking, I mean, what would I do, if Kiyoko pulled what she did with Akihiko and Takaou on me and Rei? Because, I finally have a boyfriend that I actually like, and, oh, wait, no, here comes the part where everything - where everything gets messed up. Just - ugh!" she screeched, drawing the attention of Osamu and Jun.
"That bitch is crazy," said Asuka, regarding Maaka-sensei, and Suzeme picked up with, "Everything was easier, back last year, when we had Housen for Math."
"I talked to Touya," said Akihiko, though Bunko did not raise her head, keeping her face down, "a little bit before Grandma picked me up. He's already preparing to throw snowballs at her, if that makes you feel any better."
"It doesn't." said the girl, and they all sighed, "I'm not like you. I can't - I'd feel bad. Even if she deserved it, I'd feel even worse than I do now. I didn't even sleep last night. I came home from Rei's and just sat there, ignoring calls from my coach and Junna and all my team members."
"Did Rei say anything to, like, trigger this?" asked Suzeme, and Bunko shook her head, wavy, frizzy locks flipping over her shoulders.
"No. Nothing. He didn't even mention Kiyoko, I'm just insecure."
"That's not it." interrupted Akihiko, "You have a reason to be like this, but I don't see Rei doing anything, even if he got the chance."
"I don't either. Mood swings." she responded, and waved a hand, as if to brush the subject off, that Kiyoko would simply be swatted away.
The other four girls quieted down, and, it remained this way for a good fifteen minutes, all of them staring at the carpet, until Jun brought a tennis ball to Lando, who told him to go lie down, I don't like you.
The next morning, Akihiko woke up in her own bed to her phone ringing, and she briefly registered that is it Christmas? Yes, it's Christmas, figuring this must be Nana.
"... Hello?"
Once she'd finally managed to find her phone, she pressed it to her ear, listening to it cling against her earring.
"Hey, loser. Head outside. What happened with Bunko yesterday? You forgot to tell me."
Akihiko audibly groaned, thinking this was too many sentences to be used as a greeting. "Bunko? She... She thinks she just panicked for a minute. Mood swings. Wait, why do I have to go outside? It's cold. It's Christmas. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, nerd." he laughed in her ear, and she was unsure if he was making fun of her or not, though she assumed so, "I have your Christmas present."
"What time is it? I need to put on pants." she said, tossing back her blankets, and, although she immediately regretted this decision, she grabbed the same sweatpants from yesterday, ones her whole section had - they had decided on them in celebration of last year's competition, and shown them off, to which the whole brass section frowned at. Akihiko called Touya jealous, to which he responded with at least I have a significant other at the time, and Akihiko had laughed at him for calling someone his significant other.
"Alright, I'm on the porch. It's eight o'clock. Hurry up. It's cold."
"Don't tell me what to do, you're the idiot who's on my porch at eight o'clock. My mom isn't even up. Um - I have to find your present." she said, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, careful as she walked down the stairs not to trip. "It should be-"
She tripped on the second to last step, and cussed, managing to safe herself from falling; she laughed loudly, clutching onto the banister.
"Oh, my God - that's right, your present. Um..." she walked over to the tree, her blanket picking up fallen pine needles, using her foot to push aside her presents before she found one wrapped in penguin wrapping paper - something Nagisa had chosen when he and Reika had gone to the store without Akihiko. She knelt down and picked it up, making sure it read To: Daddy Shark! From: Mama Shark!', before heading over to the door, telling Rin she was unlocking the door.
Opening the door, the two looked at each other before finally hanging up; shoving his phone in his pocket, Rin tossed her a Rudolph decorated box that she barely caught.
"It probably won't fit. Your mom helped me pick it out, and she said she'd probably have to take you to get it sized." he said, rubbing the back of his neck, and she hesitated, stepping out of the way for him to come in.
"Oh - um, here. It's funny, because - Mom helped me, too. Well, she kind of paid for it. But-"
"Mama Shark?" he questioned, and she hesitated, laughing.
"Lando was over when I wrapped it. She wrote that on the gift-tag before I could stop her and Mom wouldn't let me use another one." she said, before glancing down at her own; 'Akihiko' and 'Rin' were boring, she assumed, as she slid her finger inside the wrapping paper, slowly ripping it open.
"Open yours!" she objected, "I feel self-conscious."
Rin hesitated, then rolled his eyes, "It better not be stupid." he threatened, and Akihiko laughed, shrugging her shoulders.
"You'll probably think it is." she advised, letting the paper fall to the floor; she hesitated at the box, glancing up to him, though he avoided eye contact.
He had barely enough time to get rid of the first line of penguins when Akihiko's arms wrapped tightly around his neck, the girl bouncing on her heels, her blanket falling off her shoulders.
"Stop it!" he snapped, though she did not let go of him, "Calm down! It's just a ring! A middle finger ring! Mom said you would know the difference!"
"I know the difference, but - this is so cheesy, Rin." she laughed in his ear, and he flushed, shaking his head.
"It was a week before Christmas and I panicked. I called Mom and she said you were complaining about wanting a new ring and - she said she would come and help me, she had to get her necklace and earrings checked anyway. So - yeah. She helped me pay for it..."
She laughed again, this time louder, and he frowned. "So you got me a ring?"
"If you don't want it, that's fine! It's just a ring, something I bought because I didn't know what else to get you!" he objected, and she finally let go of him, shaking her head.
"No, I - I really like it. I'm sorry, my present isn't really sentimental." she said, smiling, and he rolled his eyes; with the help of Akihiko, the rest of the wrapping paper was removed, and he rolled his eyes at what he discovered.
"A new phone." he said, and she doubled over with her laughter, not stopping until there were tears in her eyes and her cheeks were flushed.
"Well, you need one - I mean, look at this old thing!" she reached her hand into his pocket, producing his phone. "Besides - now we have the same phone! We can FaceTime and stuff! Don't look so sour." she smirked, opening the box of his new phone, producing it; she tapped the home button, and her face appeared as the screen saver. "Your passcode is our anniversary. Figure that out, and you can use it." she said, and handed it to him; when he realized she was serious, he glanced up to her for confirmation.
"The only reason I remember the date is because it's the same day Makoto and Lando got together, and that's her password, so don't feel bad." she taunted, leaning over his shoulder; she unlocked the phone, typing in 0925, and he repeated it mentally several times.
Rin rolled his eyes, though, nonetheless, leaned down and lightly kissed her. "Thanks." he huffed, and she laughed, smiling at him.
"It's okay, I know you like it. Thank you, too. Love you."
"Loser, love you too." he sighed, cracking his neck, "I gotta go, I just came by to drop your present off. I'll see you later."
She nodded, "Alright, tell your mom and Kou I said Merry Christmas. Do you need a ride home?" she asked, and he shook his head.
"No, it's fine. Bye." he said, ruffling her undone hair, and she pursed her lips.
"Bye, call me later. On your new phone." she taunted, laughing, and he rolled his eyes, waving goodbye to her, shutting the door behind him.
As soon as she'd made sure he was off the porch, she gathered up her blanket and headed to the couch; opening the box, she smiled to herself, unlocking her phone for her camera, taking a picture and immediately sending it to the group chat.
Below the photo of the sterling silver ring, a collection of braided black and white diamonds, Suzeme appeared.
'Damn, look at this classy bitch.'
'Who'd you get a ring from?' asked Lando.
'Rin, he stopped by a few minutes ago to drop it off.'
'IF YOU LIKED IT THAN YOU SHOULD OF PUT A RING ON IT.' Suzeme typed, sending her message the exact moment Akihiko sent her response, and, a second later, she added on, 'AND HE DID.'
'Makoto got me a cat. I need to go search it for a ring.' responded Lando, and a picture of the kitten followed suit, a pure white thing with large green eyes.
'Makoto got you a cat? That's amazing.' said Suzeme, 'Haru has yet to give me my present, but you all hear of it when he does. What's her name?'
'Scavenger. Wait, let's back up for a minute. Why did Rin get you a ring, Aki?'
'He said he panicked and asked my mom. He said it's just a ring.'
'A ring is never just a ring, as far as I am concerned.'
Several hours later, the group got a picture message from Asuka, complete with several photos of penguin themed items.
'When a penguin finds its mate they stay together for the rest of their lives. Will you be my penguin?' she said, 'Is that not the gayest thing you have ever heard?'
'DON'T MAKE FUN OF IT.' responded Akihiko, 'Nagi literally made me help him google penguin pick-up lines for two hours. That's the best one we could find. Did it work?'
The girl began typing several times, backspacing over and over, and, from her house, she was busy staring at the penguin plushie adorning her bedspread, thumbs hovering over her keypad.
'I think it did.'she responded, and, not five minutes later, Nagisa yelled from his bedroom upstairs, thanking his sister for googling pick-up lines and his mother for buying the plushie, considering he'd spend his allowance on rock and hopping bread.
Some parts of this chapter I'm iffy about. Some of them I like.
But that's not the point. The point is I PASSED GEOMETRY. I started this chapter Monday btw. That's why it says exam week.
orangeporqupine: Woo, thanks! :3
empty-laundry-basket: Let me just say that this is not all I have planned for Nagisa and Asuka xD It's really brief because I plan on expanding it more in most likely the next chapter :3 I don't like Akihiko calling Nitori Ai, I don't know why xD I've always really liked shotas, so xD