Besides the cone and individual exercises to boost stamina, everything else about practice was boring to Aomine. The only ones that had a shot at standing as equals to him didn't feel like challenging him either.

"If you do this next week, you know what will happen, Aomine."

"Yeah yeah." After kicking the cart of basketballs, he left the gym, as Himeragi glanced over at Sanada saying nothing. It irritated her that he didn't have any courage to say something to Aomine, when he was the only adult in the gym. Midorima looked at Himeragi and shared her sentiments: they were both frustrated that even if a meeting was convened to deal with Aomine, it'd only end in him still playing in all of the important games. Despite their efforts to impose more restrictions on athletes' careless behavior, Sanada was still giving too much leeway to Aomine.

"Himeragi, go after him." When Midorima was going to argue against that decision, Himeragi surprised him by saying that she couldn't carry out that command.

"I wouldn't know what to say to him so I'm sorry, head coach, I can't." When she went to put the basketballs back into the cart, she left Sanada in shock.

"Coach, sending any one of us after Aomine would be futile." Midorima said, as Akashi watched the interaction. It was true that as the Generation of Miracles, they would have rather Aomine didn't get demoted but that wasn't as important as avoiding conflicts. If they followed after him, they'd probably just fight with him. Murasakibara and Kuroko weren't up for a three on three, just to quell Aomine's temper. If the head coach didn't put his foot down about punishing Aomine, then they wouldn't care either. Practice continued in silence, as everyone could feel the tension in the air.

"Azu-chan, are you… really irritated?"

"Yes. Aomine is getting on my last nerve." She said, almost splitting the towel she was holding in two. Momoi felt hurt for the innocent towel but understood where Himeragi's anger was stemming from. "But none of us can do anything right now, if the head coach is allowing this to happen." There could be some breakthroughs if Sanada made some decision to stop letting Aomine act as he pleased but because they'd probably get demoted or dismissed first, it wouldn't make sense to talk to Sanada. When they handed out the towels, Kise was the unfortunate one that received the towel Himeragi was taking her anger out on.

"W-What is this?" He asked Kuroko, who only responded that it was slightly ripped.

"Don't take out your anger on the towels." Akashi whispered to Himeragi and she agreed, knowing it was immature. He looked at her once more, knowing that she hadn't given up on Aomine. Before he could say anything else, Himeragi stepped away. Without telling Kise how that came to be, Himeragi put another towel on his head. Before she could hand out the rest of the towels, Kise held her wrist, turning her around to look at him. "Can you help me study for English, Azu-cchi?" His sparkling gaze didn't work on her or any of their friends for that matter, and Momoi laughed when Kise became embarrassed instead. When Kise felt that he was about to be rejected, he thought of adding another person into the mix. "How about helping Kurokocchi and me?!" Just as Kuroko was going to decline, Momoi decided to help Kise because it would help her as well.

"Then I'll tag along too!" Himeragi quietly agreed to help for an hour and Kise swung his arm around Kuroko to celebrate.

"Kise-kun, we're both sweaty so it's best to not touch one another right now."

"What's the big deal~" The girls watched the interaction from the bench that Midorima, Akashi and Murasakibara sat on.

"Ki-chan is really…" Momoi would have finished her statement with an adjective along the lines of "crafty" but surprising all of them, Himeragi had a totally different thought.

"I don't ship them but Kise might ship himself with Kuro-kun." Momoi was about to nod her head before actually thinking about what she was going to agree to. Midorima and Murasakibara judged with wide eyes too.

"Uh Azu-chin, I really don't think so."

"I agree with Mukkun." The conversation ended with Himeragi still not having her misunderstanding resolved but Midorima sighed in relief that Kuroko and Momoi were going to be studying with Kise and Himeragi.

"But doesn't Kuro-chin have a soft spot for Azu-chin too?" Murasakibara asked, when he confirmed that Momoi couldn't hear him. Akashi nodded his head as Midorima looked at Momoi's back view as if to plead for her to keep an eye on both of his teammates.

"The Vice-President knows the most English out of the bunch so she should have control of the situation." His teammates nodded, not doubting for a moment that Himeragi could get herself out of a strange situation. But it wasn't Akashi's intention to calm their worries. "Although I've heard that if Kise had to choose his best subject, it'd be conversational English." Now Murasakibara and Midorima understood what Momoi wanted to say at the end of her sentence.

"Kise-chin/Kise…" Even though they were tired, they couldn't resist the urge to check up on the study time because Momoi and Kuroko were supposed to be late.

" 'I think about you all the time.' What does this mean?" Midorima and Murasakibara stopped in their tracks. This review session was bad news after all. Murasakibara watched Midorima become increasingly upset at the turn of events, asking him if he wanted to go in and stop them. As they watched Himeragi chuckle, they hoped a romantic comedy wasn't unfolding.

"I'll tell you if you can write the sentence down." Knowing that Kise had a hard time writing English because he didn't understand the grammar patterns, Himeragi proposed the idea. Kise lost interest and went onto another sentence, as this time he couldn't even recite it. When Himeragi took a look, she also had to take a look at the title of the book he kept getting the quotes from. "Was it your intention to learn English from a book of compiled English pick-up lines?" The ambience soon turned humorous, as Murasakibara stifled a laugh.

"That's lame, Kise-chin…" Kise was embarrassed by his friends' set-up, wishing that he knew better than to use their resources to study for the upcoming English test. As Kise denied that he did this on purpose, Himeragi put her elbows on his desk and laughed. Because they were so close, Kise felt ten times more nervous. Midorima was feeling nervous as well, for a different reason.

"D-Don't tease me, Azu-cchi~"

"What's with that high-pitched, embarrassed voice?" Himeragi's glare told him to stop creating misunderstandings as he quickly simmered down. Just as Akashi had said, Himeragi could take care of herself, as Kise internally cried that she really was a brick wall.

"If you're not going to go interrupt, I'm going home, Mido-chin."

"Idiot. You're going home either way." The two of them would later find out that Momoi persuaded Kuroko to not show up to the study session and instead walk home with her. When Kise received a text from Momoi that only said "good luck," he almost dropped his phone. Himeragi didn't react, diligently doing her own homework. Seeing her up close, Kise recalled why he thought she was pretty to begin with. Always busy with work but not giving up or trembling under the pressure, she wore a placid look on her face that emphasized her unblemished pale skin and cerulean irises. And when she was called…

"Azu-cchi." She looked up from her notebook and made eye contact, not showing any particular emotion on her face. In addition to her hair being blown by the wind and her matching earring studs, her gaze was electrifying; she could see through one's emotions and unnerve them yet she didn't always choose to make this move.

"Hm?" When she smiled playfully, as if to tell him that she knew he had nothing in particular to say, Kise laughed.

"You got me. I just wanted to say your name."

"Shall I not answer the next time you say it then?" He immediately got back to working and asked her one of many questions on the practice sheet that he didn't get right. When she explained that he used the wrong version of "be" for "they," he sighed. His racing heart aside, he was going to fail the test at this rate. "If you can read the already written sentences on the test, it will help you in this section because they all use the words you have to fill in." She told him to recite the sentences that he did know how to say and wrote down notes for him to study up on later. When he had the chance to look at her again, he realized she gave off such aura for someone so small. He'd dare call her pocket-sized if he knew he wouldn't get hit for it.

"Can we make a bet? If I get over an eighty on this test, will you do a photo shoot with me?" They knew that the score he was proposing was double what he scored on the practice test but he knew he had to aim high if he wanted Himeragi's attention.

"... Why use a bet for that?"

"Because then I'd get to choose the conditions for the photo shoot." Himeragi didn't look unwilling but with that blank expression on her face, Kise couldn't decipher what she was thinking. Although unoriginal, he took interest in her for being unreadable and not interested in him. She nodded her head, firing him up to work harder. "As for Aominecchi, I need some more time until I can take him on." Stunned for a moment, Himeragi's lips curved into a smirk.

"When that time comes, I'll cheer you on." Perhaps she underestimated their competitiveness. Even if it seemed the other Generation of Miracles didn't care to fight Aomine, it was likely that they were all brimming with fighting spirit after all.

"Damn it! So what, you're here just to stand under the hoop and do nothing?!" Aomine was making a fuss again but this time it was directed at Murasakibara. He just yawned, as he didn't want to get tackled by an irate Aomine.

"Aominecchi—"

"What? What do you have to say when you still can't get past me?" Aomine knew it was a low blow but no one was good enough to make feel even remotely better about attending practice. Kise clenched his fists and walked away, not willing to go through another one-on-one with someone this stubborn.

"I'm listening to Aka-chin and not fighting but this is irritating…" Even Akashi let Aomine also walk past him without a warning. If this continued into next week, Aomine would have a meeting by next Friday. Momoi stepped in front of Aomine, extending her arms to stop him.

"You can say whatever you want to me but don't take your childishness out on Mukkun and Ki-chan!"

"I already did, Satsuki. How are you gonna stop me from yelling, huh?"

"Seriously what is going on, Aomine-kun? Why are you not listening to what anyone says anymore?" Momoi wouldn't have known but this was quite possibly the worst time to have called him "Aomine-kun."

"Seriously go away. I'm tired of having to listen to you." Midorima told him to watch his words, as Kuroko helped support Momoi when Aomine pushed her out of the way. After seeing Murasakibara kicking the bench after being lashed out on by Aomine and Sanada still standing there not doing anything, Himeragi put down the water bottles and grabbed Aomine's wrist.

"I'm going to go do some damage control. Please continue practice." Even though they were all not in the best of moods, the starters who saw the expression on her face, one of silent fury, shivered for Aomine. She looked like she was innocuously dragging him out of the gym but they knew better than to think Himeragi was just going to talk to him.

"Aomine will be demoted the next time this happens." Akashi didn't think Himeragi's actions would have a huge impact on Aomine's behavior but figured it was a better measure than just having Aomine storm out again. Himeragi's destination was the outdoor basketball court, which was only going to be around until the end of the year. Seeing as no one used it because it was getting colder, it was the perfect place for an uninterrupted match.

"If I can stop three of your shots, promise me you won't lash out like that again."

"Are you serious?" The look on Aomine's face was clearly mocking her for suggesting such a thing, when he was crowned the best power forward. She didn't look like she was joking, passing the basketball to him. She couldn't adjust to his speed so quickly and would need to keep him engaged until she could figure out his tempo. Creating chances for fouls wasn't fighting him head on so she'd just have to use as much agility as she could muster up. When Aomine passed her the first time, he didn't even have to look at the hoop to know that he'd make the basket in. But he was surprised to see Himeragi analyzing the way he shot the ball in, even giving up time to chase after him. If there was one thing about her that was interesting, it was the ideas she planned in that brain of hers.

"Okay!" she said, to motivate herself. Fascinated by her spirit, Aomine smirked.

"Oh, it's Himeragi… And Aomine?! They play basketball together?!" As even Akashi looked at the spectacle with the rest of the First String players who finished training for the day, Aomine was not letting up against Himeragi, who was trying to jump to the same height as him.

"Wow, she's really trying." they commented, as she wasn't able to reach Aomine's height but smirked anyway. They were all equally surprised when Aomine missed the formless shot, as Akashi realized why Himeragi had been purposely using the wrong shooting technique.

"What did you do, Azusa?!"

"I made you copy the terrible shooting from my palm technique." As the other players were shocked by her intelligence, Akashi continued watching with no evident emotion. The game continued with Aomine being even more fired up and ready to do a lay up, before he and the others realized that Himeragi was putting her own safety at risk by jumping with Aomine. Everyone knew his instincts would be to tackle back the opponent and score the lay-up, even if it was a match against a girl. Seeing the fearless Himeragi decide to jump anyway and end up falling on her butt from fighting a losing battle, Akashi was intrigued.

"Knowing that her stamina won't hold and that she wouldn't be able to keep up, why?" Being logically inclined as well, Akashi was baffled by her decision to battle against Aomine.

"Geez Azusa! Why—"

"I'm your opponent. Of course I know that your body knows best what to do in that situation. I don't want you to go easy on me just because I'm a girl." Even though it was time to leave, everyone was captivated by her attitude as she stood back up. It was her turn to dribble the ball and although she wasn't as good as any of the starters, the boys did agree that her skill was evident.

"I can't believe she has the guts to play with Aomine," they said, as Momoi looked on in worry. Because she didn't even have speed to keep up, Momoi couldn't attempt this with Aomine. Even though they all expected Himeragi to lose the ball to Aomine, they were surprised by her quick reflexes that allowed her to keep up with him. Just when he side-stepped out of the way, she took a step back and a step to the left, as he wondered what she was planning with her hands extended outward. When he released the ball while looking at her, he realized immediately that he misjudged his distance to the hoop, as the basketball hit the rim.

"Hah… You have guts, Azusa." he looked like an awakened wild beast. Because his instincts were so strong, he knew that she forced him to take a step closer to the hoop, which hindered his perceived distance to the hoop. Himeragi knew that she awakened some fighting spirit in him and prepared herself for his incoming dribble. The same situation happened, as Himeragi did her best to keep up with his dribble. She could tell from the hesitation in his eyes that he wasn't planning to break through and predicted his formless shot. In order to do so, he needed to lean back and when she saw his foot step backwards, she waited a second before jumping before he did. When Aomine became flustered by Himeragi's smile and her resolution to stop him, he released the ball but fell backwards, as the ball didn't make it to the hoop.

"Wait, what?!" Himeragi was also caught by surprise by his mistake and didn't have time to regain her footing either. Momoi and Akashi stepped forward, worried that she was going to be injured.

"Damn it, I messed up." Aomine said, after saving her from another fall by shielding her from the floor with his body. Akashi knew very well that basketball was also a mental exercise but seeing Himeragi smiling with Aomine irritated him. He could attest to the fact that all of the starters gave Himeragi some trouble but seeing her deal with all of them in the same friendly manner put his current personality in a bad mood. What was also irritating was the fact that he didn't have a right to be angry. Himeragi, disregarding the open area, leaned over and hugged Aomine, surprising everyone that was watching.

"Don't forget that feeling of playing basketball with all you've got." She said, as Aomine's eyes widened.

"Azusa… I know that. You were there when the head coach said these things to me."

"Then let me paraphrase what he said." She said, giving him a resolute look that made him slightly blush. His reaction didn't escape the observant eyes of Momoi. "If you don't want to worry those that you care about, then make it clear where you stand."

"Azusa, stop it. I don't need to hear this again. I don't need you taking care of me because I'm the ace."

"Hey, I'm the one that has been advocating for you to be demoted for not attending practice." After seeing him ignore Momoi and even tell her to go away, Himeragi's patience was drawing thin. She told him to think about what he had control over, not to have him end up ignoring the people that cared for him.

"Wha—!"

"Say that again and I'll hit you myself. You really think I care about you just because you're the ace?" He looked away but still didn't move away from the hug. The question weighing on everyone's mind was whether or not she was looking after him because she genuinely liked him. "Look, basketball completes you. Even when you haven't found that rival that sparks your fighting spirit, you want to play basketball." Their eyes met and the spectators could feel the intensity of their gazes on one another. "Sure, if you hate being so helplessly powerful, quit playing. No one can tell you to continue or to quit so it's up to you."

"Where's the part where you do tell me to continue? That I will find that rival I'm looking for?"

"How would I know that?" Aomine exasperatedly sighed, feeling like he wasted time even having this conversation when he could have passed the time practicing dunks. "But how can you find that person that fires you up to practice, to sink ten more baskets than they do, when you have these listless eyes?" His eyes widened at that moment, remembering how he and Kuroko met. Both of them had the same glimmer of hope in their eyes, wanting to play basketball together. They got along so well because of their work ethic, because they stayed late practicing. Himeragi took a deep breath when she saw Aomine actually processing her words. "So in short what I'm saying is to ask for time to think. You think we'd deny you time to figure out what you want?" When she poked the area between his eyebrows, he recoiled. "No one wants you to force yourself all the time. Stop frowning, causing wrinkles in between your eyebrows and just play basketball whenever you want." Something on his chest felt lifted, as he looked at Himeragi, who was flashing him a smile. She hadn't changed since the first time they met. She was still entirely too physical with how she handled his matters and still hadn't given up on him or reminding him of how much he loved basketball. "Oh, you look like you just saw me in a different light, Aho-mine."

"Hey! I was just about to say something nice!" The wrinkles between his eyebrows appeared again, making her laugh.

"I'd rather hear that you're thinking about the next move you want to try." He was left speechless by the aura around her: there wasn't an ounce of doubt in her words and he couldn't look away from her clear gaze into his eyes. "You don't have to remind yourself about meeting that rival that fires you up to play basketball. Just keep it in the back of your mind."

"Why would I even need to remind myself when there's some fiery monster out to get me everyday?" He said, finally working up a chuckle as he ruffled her hair.

"By the way, you'll keep your end of the bet right?" Akashi and Momoi recognized her smile to be her menacing one, the one she had on when she was punishing Aomine.

"Uh… yeah, I'll stop getting angry during practice."

"If you do something like that again…" Momoi could tell that Aomine was blushing when Himeragi leaned a little closer. When she felt something was wrong on her left side, she winced when she saw the frightening air around Akashi. It was even worse than when Murasakibara provoked him and Himeragi couldn't even stop Akashi right now because she was busy dealing with Aomine.

"A-Akashi-kun? Is something wrong?"

"I'll take you out with the trash. Got it?" Aomine stopped blushing and immediately repented on his previous actions, being the only one that heard her words. Himeragi would surely carry out that threat. "Mind giving the loser a piggyback ride?" The way she accepted defeat with a smile made him view her even more fondly. None of them took failure particularly well but this girl was willing to fight a losing battle, to calm him down. Aomine definitely felt his anger dissipate, not even having the urge to ball his hands into fists.

"It's nothing, Momoi. I'll be heading back first. Good night." She also bidded him good night but he was clearly still displeased. The only person that could have put him in that bad mood and could help him get out of it, was Himeragi.

"Sure."

"Oh by the way, I meant a piggyback ride halfway to my house." Since she was already on his back, Aomine wasn't about to drop her. The spectators were all shocked by the turn of events and scrambled away, not knowing what to think of this development.

"W-What? Are you crazy!?"

"No? Onwards, Aomine!" As he muttered all sorts of complaints and probably wanted to take back anything nice he thought of her, she just laughed. The scene reminded Momoi of her childhood memories with Aomine, who she constantly asked for piggyback rides as well. Seeing a similar scene unfold in front of her eyes and her not being the girl with Aomine made her feel strange.

"But it's good that Dai-chan is smiling again." On the way to the gate, Aomine was stopped by a surprising figure.

"Aomine." Himeragi was presumably asleep on his back as Sanada smiled at how close they were, even though Himeragi was clearly ready to beat up Aomine. "Come see me early tomorrow okay? I won't demote you if today's incident is the last time you act that way." Aomine nodded his head slowly, not being able to say no.

"Coach, I won't have much to say but if you still want me to come see you, sure."

"Don't worry, it will mainly be me speaking and apologizing to you for putting you through all of this." Aomine was caught off-guard. "Contrary to what you may think, I've committed many disservices toward you especially. So please come see me, alright?" After seeing what Himeragi risked to help Aomine, Sanada knew he had no right to just run away from responsibility, when he was the head coach of the team. Himeragi opened her eyes soon after, telling Aomine to put her down after all.

"I can carry you all the way home you know?"

"I'm making tomorrow's training regime even harder for you so I don't think you'll have time for a sore back." He immediately put her down, knowing that she was not someone to make an enemy of. "I'm joking." she said, winking at him, as she took her change of clothes and school bag from him. The fact that he even went to go get them for her was enough. "You've cooled your head right?"

"Yeah. Thanks Azusa."

"No problem." He watched her gaze at the sunset, agreeing with Kise that she was attractive. If he was someone that didn't care so much for curves, he'd likely fall for her.

"Nah, I'm not changing my preferences." Himeragi understood his drift and flashed a judging look.

"You're not in my ballpark either so good to know." Because their personalities were always at odds, the two argued all the way to Himeragi's home.

"Once again, I apologize for not thinking of your feelings." With Sanada bowing his head to him, Aomine couldn't help but feel guilty, quickly telling him not to do such things.

"It's fine. I already know I'm a troublemaker so…"

"The school wanted me to put you in every game because you're so gifted. I let that pressure get to me and affect the way I'm supposed to coach you." Aomine put two and two together, realizing that Himeragi, Midorima and Akashi lessened that pressure by forcing coaches to be stricter to their athletes. This one week period was meant to tie loose ends and figure out compromises that wouldn't conflict with the new decision.

"I think that regardless of whether or not I attend practice, I'll still have this empty feeling. But I am sorry that I kicked things and yelled at people when I did come to practice." Sanada once again thought that Himeragi's influence was astounding, as she made it possible for even the most disagreeable Aomine to apologize.

"Yes. And that ideology conflicts with Teikō's belief that practice is integral to our success. You already know but this new decision goes against what we chose to let you do. I'm telling you that I want to see you at training every single day, Aomine." Aomine nodded, knowing the consequences. If he didn't have a rival on top of not being able to play any games, he would truly break something in the gym by then. "Your reflexes clearly haven't dulled. I was watching your match with Himeragi yesterday. She was a good example of a tiny opponent that could trip you up." Aomine nodded, as he almost forgot before facing her that not every player needed to be built to be adept at handling a basketball. Having been duped by her tactics, he understood that now.

"I still lack the motivation I once had but yeah, I'll go to practice and not storm out. It's better than not getting to play."

"I'll switch up yours and the other Generation of Miracle's regimes if I see that things are too easy for you." Sanada may have been learning from Akashi and Himeragi as the look on his face slightly scared Aomine. "So as your coach that does truly care for your development, don't give up and work hard with your teammates." Sanada once again bowed his head as Aomine told him to stop once more. He was the problematic child that was about to be called in for an intervention. It was because of Sanada's lenience with him that this was an informal meeting.

"Please stop that! You don't need to bow your head. I get it. I'm not going to get myself in trouble." The head coach was glad to hear that, putting a hand on Aomine's shoulder.

"I'm not the only one that is glad. Please continue being a part of the team, Aomine." When Aomine walked to his classroom, he felt a strange sensation in his heart. He wasn't as alone as he expected and didn't come to hate basketball. There was no particular desire to attend practice but he didn't hate the idea as much anymore either. It was very different from a few days ago, when all he wanted to do was nap. He fought with people because they weren't performing up to his standards when it was obvious that he wasn't supposed to make enemies out of them just because he was annoyed with everyone.

"I'm going to end up being lectured, aren't I…" he could already hear Momoi and Midorima's long criticism of his actions and sighed. He could imagine the backhanded comments Kuroko had in store for him as well. When he saw his friends walking up to him, excluding Akashi and Himeragi who were in a meeting, he facepalmed.

"Thank you for the good work. I will follow up with the treasurer afterwards." After Akashi dismissed the meeting, the secretary left first, leaving only Himeragi and Akashi in the room. There was still time before classes started so Himeragi checked her phone to see a message from Momoi about teaching Aomine a lesson.

"Then I'll head out first, President." But when she got up from her seat, she felt no strength in her legs to stand properly. Akashi quickly caught her before she fell back onto the chair, wrapping his arm around her waist to steady her.

"Thank you for helping me. I'm alright now." Surprisingly, he held on, not letting her go. When he felt her not putting up resistance because she was probably aching all over, Akashi felt yesterday's irritation welling up inside of him again. The distance between her chair and the sofa by the window wasn't far enough to warrant him carrying her but Akashi did it anyway. He stayed kneeling and when she looked at his face, he didn't look pleased.

"Are you angry?"

"Am I angry?" Akashi repeated. He was still frowning and Himeragi thought it wasn't something that she could just resolve; something beyond the situation was fueling his discontent. When he saw her up close, he confirmed the thoughts going through his mind. When he saw her hug someone else, he felt a burning rage that coveted her, that didn't want her to be affectionate with others, even if they were close friends. Seeing her exhausted after working hard for someone else's sake, Akashi felt the need to punish that person for putting her through this. But he always assumed that these were the feelings of the former Akashi, who he sealed away already.

"But why do I feel this way about you… I've always thought of you as a mere object so why is that different now..." Even when he told himself that it would be much easier to manage if he stayed away from her, Akashi still managed to betray his rationality. Now that he didn't avoid Himeragi, he was stuck in a self-inflicted dilemma: he couldn't understand the ambivalence he felt when he looked at her, especially her clear blue eyes. The more he looked at her, at the unperturbed expression on her face, the more lost he became about how he felt toward her.

"Is this your way of being mean?" After being glared at for so long, Himeragi came to the unsatisfactory conclusion. She could have sworn a fire was lit around Akashi, implicitly telling her that her words worsened his mood.

"Do you want me to show you what I'm like when I'm being mean?" Himeragi has an inkling that if she moved an inch at this moment, she would not like the outcome. Forget fatigue, with a situation in which she didn't ask to be moved from a chair to a sofa turning out this way, she was busy enough trying to figure out what she did to wrong Akashi. When she stayed quiet and looked at him with an unperturbed gaze, he moved in closer.

"Am I supposed to answer that question?" He almost forgot that she wasn't affected by situations like these and sighed, still not moving away.

"No. I didn't plan for you to answer."

"Huh, why not?" More than ever, he wanted to seal her lips. Her questions were not clearing his mind. When their lips were within centimeters of each other's, Akashi leaned his head upwards to make eye contact.

"Don't overwork yourself like this, especially for someone else. I don't like it." Rather than being angry that she did something he didn't like, he looked upset that she was even in this state. Himeragi knew not to say a word as it would irritate him further. He was saying unbelievable things in this strange mood of his and she couldn't even ask him to elaborate. He wasn't about to admit that she was driving him ten times more insane than he was driving her.

"Azu-cchi! Are you crazy, battling Aominecchi and ending up unable to move—" After hearing the news of Himeragi going against Aomine yesterday, Kise was worried that she strained herself. When he then received news that she still wasn't back from her Student Council meeting, he raced over to see if she was okay. As soon as he opened the door, he almost yelled "Satan" when he saw the scowl on Akashi's face.

"If you have time to run here, head to class." Akashi said as Himeragi's expression was telling Kise to run while he still could. But Kise mistook the meaning behind her expression, only seeing it as an unintentionally languid, alluring look. Shaken by her beauty, Kise blushed.

"Why are you so red?" Himeragi asked before she winced because she moved her shoulder too quickly, in an attempt to get up.

"N-Nothing! I wanted to say that I got an eighty two on the English test so I'll send you the details to the photo shoot!" He said, proudly showing his highest score yet. When Akashi glared at him again, Kise reluctantly left, while Himeragi smiled.

"Perhaps making wagers draws out his academic abilities." She said, covering her smile with her fist. Himeragi had went well beyond his expectations in trying to persuade Aomine to not be frustrated with basketball and as Kise clenched his right hand, he realized how much he wanted to feel that warmth as well. When he saw his reflection in the window, he realized that his face was red.

"Wait, what was Akashi-cchi doing there?" Momoi saw Kise shaking his head, trying to tell himself that he was overthinking and avoided him, not wanting to know what was making him flip out. Just as Kise realized it was strange for Akashi to be keeping Himeragi company, the captain thought so too, leaving Himeragi to rest on the sofa.

"Just now…" Momoi knew the scent of Himeragi's perfume and wondered why she could smell it on Akashi's blazer when he passed her in the hallway. Why did Akashi look so concerned, this early in the morning? Himeragi also looked like she was solving the hardest problem of all when Momoi came to meet her.

"So was he angry or not?"

"... Huh?" After seeing Kise and Akashi behaving strangely in the hallway, Momoi was beginning to think that all of her club mates were losing it.