Author's Note: Thank you guys for the review, favorites, and follows! I really appreciate it! This chapter dwells a little bit more into the Murasakibara household since I felt like there should be more towards their relationship. The next chapter will skip by a week and nothing much happened but they will down something nice! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!
I do not own Kuroko no Basket.
Hair
Chapter 42: Ideas
"Is everything ok, Emi-chin?" Atsushi asked the brunette and she nodded, still under shock that the former Yosen basketball players would come to the cafe and question her.
"Hai, I'm fine, Atsushi-san. I'm just surprised that they came to visit." She answered while rain pattered softly down on the roof above them and a gray umbrella was in her hand, ready to be opened when they wanted to leave. The two teens simply admired the rainfall as over people hustled around with either jackets on, umbrellas out, or running to catch shelter elsewhere and Emi's gaze was light as if it were ready to go out in a second.
"Emi-chin."
Atsushi's voice snapped her out of her gaze and she looked up to him, eyes now sparkling at the sight of him.
"Do you want to get going?" He asked and she glanced back over to the rain, seeing its droplets land onto the round and some in puddles.
"It's probably a good idea if we do, Atsushi-san." She said and a light blush formed onto her cheeks as she pointed her umbrella outward, opening and exposing it to the rain so they could get ready to leave. She looked back to Atsushi and noticed that he didn't have anything on him that would shield him from the rain. She licked her lips and moved closer to him before a giving a smile.
"You can stay under my umbrella, Atsushi-san. I don't mind." She spoke and then scratched her cheek, "…Although, I think you may have to hold the umbrella."
He glanced down her before giving a nod towards that statement while she offered her hand to him with the umbrella. He grabbed it from her with their fingers touching, causing both teens to blush at the simple touch of each other. He brought the umbrella up and she moved closer to him, so hopefully they would both fit under the reach of the umbrella.
"Let's get going, Emi-chin." He spoke and stepped out into the rain as she followed his lead, small raindrops cascading onto her face. She released a breath as she noted the the umbrella wasn't wide enough to get the both of them fully under it and she turned to Atsushi.
"Atsushi-san, you can stay under the umbrella more, I'll follow closely." She said and he stared at her for a second as if she were joking but realized that she wasn't.
"It's your umbrella, Emi-chin. I can get rain on me." He spoke and the two teens stared at each other, seeing who would make the next move before looked away for a second with his blush getting a light redder, "Plus I should make sure you're ok, if that's how a boyfriend works."
Those words caught her heart and her eyes grew wide at them, both shock and happiness sprouting from this. Her cheeks lit up too and she smiled at this while the rain still hit her shoulder covered up by her sweater. They moved closer to each other, where they could both feel the heat coming off each other and finally the two started moving along, with him slowing his pace down so she could match up with his and even adjusting the umbrella to cover her up more. They remained silent besides the sound of the rain dripping and echoing around them as they passed by multiple shops and cafes with lights glowing out to still entice customers to come in.
"Atsushi-san, are you alright with keeping our relationship between so few people?" Emi asked as they made their way towards the apartment complex. He frowned at this as the rain started to pour heavier on them and released a breath as she looked up to him, wondering what his response would be.
"…I don't really care Emi-chin." He responded and looked down to her with a soft smile, "I'm fine as long as you are happy."
Her heart raced again at these words and she looked down the road as she thought about her own thoughts.
"You are far too kind, Atsushi-san." She said and brushed back some of her hair which the dew of the rain caught onto it, "…Perhaps in a little bit of time, we can tell others. I would like to make sure everything is ok before proceeding further with other people's opinion and knowledge."
He simply nodded at this and the wind picked up a little, causing Emi to shiver at this but it wasn't anything to harsh.
"Ok, then we'll keep it to ourself." He said back as other people walked by hurrying to their own destination without being so horribly rained on.
Once arriving to the apartment complex, Emi followed Atsushi to his door and he turned the door knob, opening it and he walked in. He looked back to Emi and she smiled at him as he released the umbrella to hand back to her. The rain continued to dribble hard and she stepped closer to the door, a blush featuring on her cheeks.
"Atsushi-san," She began as he took off his shoes and she brushed some strands of her hair back, "Have a good night."
He stared at her for a second before she turned away, the wind whipping around as the rain grew heavier.
She appeared like a goddess striking against the light.
"Emi-chin," He called out and she stopped, turning around back to him seeing that he stepped out into the rain without his shoes on and the rain scattered on him. She tilted her head up to him before he decided to hug her then and there, his now wet clothes pressing against her but she did not mind as he still felt warm. The umbrella tipped down from her grasp and her eye softened at this action, a smile producing itself onto her features.
He released her after a few seconds with a blush on his cheek and he looked away, clearly embarrassed at the act and she giggled at this.
"Atsushi-san, you should probably get out of the rain before you catch a cold." She said and he blinked at this, realizing that he did step out with his socks on now capturing the muddy ground around them. He said nothing in response to this before she started making her way up the staircase, waving goodbye at him.
He waved back at her before saying, "Goodbye, Emi-chin."
He walked back into the apartment and closed the door behind him, his socks soaking his feet. He took them off and worked on removing his school uniform before hearing chuckling come from the living room. He blinked at this and walked over to see Eiji and Hikari giggling with curious looks their faces.
"Have a good time, Atsushi?" Eiji asked and Atsushi blinked at this before he decided to ignore him by working to hamper with his dirty socks, tossing them into a pile.
"Did you have a good day, Otōto?" Hikari asked in a softer tone and Atsushi nodded at this as he continued to remove his clothes.
"It was ok." He responded and Hikari frowned at this, a little concerned on what happened as Atsushi headed into his own room and changed into comfortable clothes. Eiji raised an eyebrow at the comment before moving over so Atsushi could sit next to him when he would return. Within a minute, Atsushi had returned and changed into a t-shirt and shorts and sat down next to his brother while munching on some candy.
"So, what happened?" Hikari questioned as she played with her long hair and his eyebrows drew together.
"…The old captain and vice captain from the team were at Emi-chin's work place." He answered and Eiji smirked at this while leaning up a little.
"Ah, so you couldn't spend time with her then?" Eiji spoke and Atsushi nodded at this, biting harsher on the candy.
"So, you were jealous that she wasn't able to be with you and you had to be with someone else." Hikari said with a small grin and Atsushi's cheeks grew red at the comment, not realizing that was what he felt. Eiji chuckled at this as he reached over to the table, grabbing the pack of cigarettes from it.
"Jeez, I forgot that you have no prior romantic experience, Atsushi!" Eiji called and Atsushi glared at his older brother about the comment then turning to him, "If you need any help figuring out something, I wouldn't mind. I have the most experience out of everyone in the family."
Hikari rolled at her eyes at the comment before pointing to herself and saying back "I am a girl though so I am here too if you need to ask me some questions about Emi."
Atsushi looked to her and nodded at this before he leaned forward, the rain pounding harder against the window.
"…Do I need to take Emi-chin elsewhere besides where she's working for…like a date?" Atsushi asked in slight confusion and Hikari released a breath, slightly disappointed that her youngest brother didn't know any better. Eiji sighed at this too and tapped out a cigarette while pulling it out and pointed it to him.
"Atsushi, you need to take her out somewhere else. Being in a relationship means you go on dates, so yes, Atsushi." Eiji spoke and Atsushi glanced down to the floor, trying to think of something that he and the brunette could do.
"You could bring her out to eat somewhere nice or do something like watch a movie." The sudden voice of Fumio said as the oldest walked towards the other siblings with a lit cigarette between his lips. Smoke escaped his nose as he looked towards the youngest and Eiji blinked at the suggestions before nodding in agreement.
"Going out to eat or seeing a movie wouldn't be a bad idea, Atsushi. Fumio actually knows something about dating with only being with three women in his life." Eiji said and Fumio glared at him while Hikari chuckled at this response.
"Although, Fumio has class to dating women compared to you, Eiji." Hikari stated back in response to this and Fumio simply smiled at this while his gaze returned to Atsushi, "You can ask her if she prefers one of the suggestions. She'll appreciate you thinking about her too."
"Ok." Atsushi said as he pulled his phone out to text the brunette and pulled up her name, staring at it for a second before the phone was snatched right out of his hand.
"You don't even have a picture of her?!" Eiji said quite loudly and Atsushi growled at this as he reached to grab it from his older brother who had passed it over to Hikari. She stared at the characters of Emi's name before sighing at this and handed back to Atsushi, where Eiji groaned in disappointment that she hadn't done anything.
"You should have a picture of her, Atsushi." Hikari said and Atsushi's eyebrows twitched at all the comments given.
"…It doesn't matter." He muttered and now frowned at how bothering they were about having a picture.
"You can ask if she can send you a picture?" Eiji asked and Atsushi blushed at this, shocked that his brother even suggested such a thing when he did have one that he was happy with but didn't want to share it with them. The sudden opening of the front door had the siblings look to see Hitoshi walk in with his hair drenched and holding a package in his hand, raising an eyebrow at all his siblings sitting together.
"What the hell is going on here?" He asked and stalked over to them before dropping the package on the table, catching his siblings' eyes.
"We're giving Atsushi relationship advice." Eiji spoke and snatched the box off the table, staring at the label which was unidentifiable because of the sogginess. Hitoshi rolled his eyes at this while Eiji opened the box, seeing dozen of cigarettes packs in it which his eyes lit up at this and Hikari's eyes narrowed the sight of them.
"…Ok, so does Eiji in being better to women but Atsushi should be fine." Hitoshi spoke and Hikari released a chuckle at the comment while Eiji scoffed at it.
"And you're such a pleasure with women too." Eiji spoke back to him with sarcasm and even Fumio had a smirk on his face at this.
"At least, I'm looking at someone right now too." Hitoshi said and rolled his shoulders as he walked into the kitchen grabbing some food from the refrigerator. He took a whole bowl of apples out and tossed one to Hikari, whose eyes glowed at the sight of the fruit while Atsushi scowled at the fruit.
"Oh, and who happens to be the lucky girl?" Hikari asked and took a bite of fruit, curiosity striking up in her veins while Hitoshi smirked at this.
"None of you know her, since she's the lovely police station I've been dropping by." Hitoshi said with a chuckle and Hikari's cheeks puffed out at this comment before tossing a pillow at her younger brother for fooling around.
"That's not funny, Hitoshi!" Hikari said back in exchange and Hitoshi shrugged before she then raised an eyebrow, "Wait…are you planning on going to be a police officer?"
Hitoshi blinked at this before rolling his eyes, sitting on the edge of the couch.
"No, dealing with annoying people isn't my thing…I'm thinking maybe the coast guard though." He said nonchalantly and Fumio choked on the smoke of his cigarette at the statement while the other siblings looked up to him in shock.
"Wait a minute, when did you decide this?" Eiji asked and Hikari had a pale complexion over her face at this. Hitoshi shrugged at this as he took a bite into the apple and glanced up a little, thinking about how the idea came to him.
"…Not really sure. I think I saw it mentioned somewhere on the windows of places I walk by." He responded and then looked back to Atsushi, "So, you're planning on going on a date, right? You're gonna need to look clean for her, right? I can help clean you up for the date."
"No, no, no," Hikari said and stood up, concern wrapping around her features, "Do not just change the topic back to Atsushi. We are going to talk about you deciding to go off into the coast guard. We need to talk about this right now."
Hitoshi remained unmoved at this and Fumio rubbed the bridge between his eyebrows.
"I don't understand why we need to talk about it. I'm still not positive." He said and Eiji groaned at this, glancing over to Fumio and Eiji, "And why does it look like you two don't think I should go do it?"
Fumio rubbed his eyes at this and pulled down on his face, his eyebrows furrowing together. Eiji looked like he gained a couple years on him from the comment and the unlit cigarette hung lose in his lips while his eyes were dark.
"Because what the hell do think you can gain from it?" Eiji asked him and Hitoshi blinked at this, slightly shocked that the second oldest would be the one to say that.
"I don't know. But I'll be doing something with my life instead of just lying around doing nothing." Hitoshi snarked back at him and Hikari gulped while Atsushi glanced between his siblings, knowing that this wouldn't be settled easily.
"…Have you talked with a recruiter about this?" Fumio asked and Hitoshi bit into the apple, shaking his head no. Eiji released a breath at this and folded his hands together, looking at Fumio again.
"…Take more time to think about it, Hitoshi. It could be a life changing moment and you could be not ready for it." Eiji replied and the second youngest raised an eyebrow at this.
"…Why do I feel like this is due to something else? I would have thought you guys would be happy that I'm thinking of doing something with my life." Hitoshi continued and Fumio sighed before removing the cigarette between his lips, stubbing it out on the ash try on the table.
"It's not. Just leave it be. We'll talk about this more after getting more information from a recruiter." Fumio said and Eiji looked more annoyed at that before the eldest got up, glancing at his other siblings and moved on, "I need to head out. Don't wait to have supper with me."
Hikari sighed at this and the eldest was gone in a minute while Atsushi simply blinked as Hitoshi sat down in his spot. Eiji was already moving too and the only female rubbed her eyes at what just went down, glancing at her two younger brothers.
"…Do you know why they were like that, Nēchan?" Atsushi asked and she shook her head no, plastering a fake smile on her face.
"No, reason, Atsushi…How about we get to helping you ask Emi-kun out on a date?" She suggested and Atsushi nodded at this, letting the previous matter drop.
He sat in his bed, staring at his phone as he tried to figure out how ask Emi out on a date. He had no prior experience and even though his other siblings have had relationships, none of them were like Emi. She was completely different to the rest of them and he tried to think of the right words to ask her but it only came up blank in his head. He scoffed at this and pushed his lavender hair away from his eyes, rain hitting heavy against his window.
How could he ask her?
"How you doin' Atsushi?"
The voice of Fumio caught him slightly off guard as the eldest pushed his door more open, letting himself in without asking for his permission.
"…I still don't know how to ask her." He grumbled out and the light of his phone screen glistened off of him while Fumio decided to sit down on the edge of his bed. His eyes looked distant and out of sorts while Atsushi frowned at the appearance of him, hoping to have figured it out himself.
"…that's fine. Ask her when you feel confident and believe that you will know her response." He advised and Atsushi simply nodded at this until he noticed the dark bags under his brother's eyes.
"Ok, Niisan. You should go to bed. You look like you're about to fall over." He said to try and get him both out of his room and to sleep. Fumio glanced over to him before sighing and pushing himself off the bed, slowly walking out before turning to him.
"…You know, Atsushi, I don't mean to turn Hitoshi down about the idea of him being in the coast guard but I do not think mother would have been ok with it." He said and Atsushi blinked at this, confusion crossing over his face.
"Why wouldn't she?" He asked back in mere curiosity and Fumio sighed at this, his shoulders shrugging down at the question.
"…She had…her own feelings towards them I guess." He tried to explain and scratched his cheek, causing Atsushi to narrow his eyes at this.
"You are hiding something, Niisan." Atsushi shot back at him and Fumio stared his youngest brother before glancing down the hallway.
"…How about you focus on asking out the girl. You don't need to be concerned about Hitoshi's plans." Fumio stated back and Atsushi remained silent before an unwanted idea formed into his head, anger stifling up at the thought.
"Does it have to do with our unknown old man?" Atsushi asked back with narrowed eyes and Fumio blinked at this, slightly shocked on his then released a breath before brushing back some of his hair with his hands, the bags under his eyes growing.
"…Maybe but again it's none of your concern. Focus on yourself, you're still in high school and young. Don't worry about difficult stuff like this. Go to bed if you're tired. Good night." Fumio said and left the teen to think about both the conversation and his older brother's idea.
Emi Kiyoshi laid down in her bed with a broad smile across her face as her heart was warm from the text she received by the giant. She didn't think that he would ask her out on their first date so quickly but she was ok with that.
She couldn't have been happier.
She held the phone close to her body as the bright light reflected up at her and she could still see the giant's text to her.
Hi, Emi-chin. I hope they didn't bother you today at work. I'm sorry that we couldn't hang on as much as we could because of them. I was hoping to make up for today if you want to go out with me next weekend?
Her heart wouldn't slow down at those words and she knew that it must have been hard to have asked her since they only just started dating and he had no prior relationship experience. She sat up on her bed and brushed back part of her hair, glancing down at it and gulped.
It was getting long again. She would have to cut it.
She looked back down to her phone before she started typing away too, writing a response to him so she wouldn't forget about it.
That sounds great, Atsushi-san! :) I would love to go out! Where would you like to go?
She put the phone down and moved to her small desk, opening up one of the drawers and dug out a pair of scissors. She stared at the edge of it and looked at the mirror sitting in the corner of the room. She walked over and grabbed it, staring at her reflection as her chocolate eyes were dark and her hair was slowly reaching her shoulders. She tugged over her waste basket and ran her fingers through her hair before stopping right above her chin. She opened the scissors and placed them at the edge of her fingers before snipping away at it. The hair fell down and she felt instant relief at the hair being cut down.
Her phone rang out an alarm and she turned to it, staring at it for a few seconds before picking it back up.
I'm fine with whatever you want, Emi-chin. You can pick what you want. I'm happy that you want to come with me for anything.
Her heart soared at this and her cheeks turned red at the response, her feet kicking at the knowledge of letting her pick where to go.
It would nice to go out and eat somewhere nice. Especially if she could choose where.
She started typing up a response to him and her eyes were glowing at her own words before hitting send.
Could we go out to eat somewhere? I am fine with anything and I'm sure you know plenty of places around we can go to! You can pick the restaurant since I choose what we are going to do.
She looked back to the mirror and grabbed more hair, measuring the length between the other side as she went at it again with the scissors. She continued to cut her hair with as much skill and precision she mustered before stretching to reach the back of her neck, cutting what she could get with the angle was at and without cutting herself on accident. She looked to her reflection in the mirror and a breath of relief escaped her lips at seeing how shorter it was and that it was an ok job done.
The phone buzzed again and she picked it up, seeing his response and her heart fluttered more at his idea.
There's a good simple Japanese restaurant not to far from here, if you're ok with that, Emi-chin. Do you have a certain day you want to go?
She brought the phone closer to her chest before she typed her response back to him.
That sounds great, Atsushi-san! I can't wait! :) I hope that you don't mind waiting until next week so I can schedule a day off from work.
She took one more glance at the scissors before putting them away and moved everything back to its original placement. The tickle of her chin was gone from her being cut and the nerves she felt earlier were gone. The familiar ring of her phone returned her attention to it and she smiled at how nice Atsushi treated her.
That's fine with me, Emi-chin. You take as much time you need. I'm heading to bed. Good night, Emi-chin.
And with those words, Emi laid down on her bed and her eyes slowly shut on their own as she sent out her finally text to Atsushi before falling to sleep.
Thank you, Atsushi-san. Good night and I will see you in the morning. 3
