Summary: working with a different group of people tactical strategy is necessary, but can a hot-headed person like Hirose and tact go together?

word count: 4869

chapter theme: Emancipation (from "Downton Abbey")

Chapter 6: The Trickster Cometh

"Arigatou gozaimashita!" a choric unison sounded after the read-through were finished for the day. It was five minutes to six, and to everyone's surprise, they advanced almost to the Porter Scene. Hirose interrupted from time to time, but it was bearable than the start-of-the-reading disaster. Moreover, Hirose's reading asserted her position strongly enough, so her statements weren't challenged for debates. It was affirmative that with one or two read-throughs, everything will be fine.

After the side actors bid their farewell and walked outside the Shutoku duo called Otsubo, their team captain that they were done for the day, and will return now, but not soon enough to reach Shutoku by 6. Takao shut his cellphone off and started to walk behind Midorima.

"Takao-kun... can I talk to you for a second?" Hirose called Takao with professional politeness and secluded him away from Midorima. The scenery looked bizarre from Seirin's point-of-view. What Hirose could possibly have to say to Takao Kazunari in private? No one could understand, so Riko decided to eavesdrop and too with her captain, the ace, and the phantom passer. Fortunately, they were talking at the outside of the gym, and Riko could easily coup up and perk her ears.

"I can't tell you everything about it right now-" the female voice was understood very well, "—and it seems to be more cumbersome to come here from Shutoku every day after school—if only we could just talk privately-"

"What's going on-" Izuki with the others walked in with curiosity and annoyance written all over their face. With one stern look from Riko, they all piped down, and joined others with the eavesdropping mission, because Kuroko whispered that it was about Hirose cornering Takao from everyone.

"—Okay...I have no problem. Tomorrow is Sunday, and I am free, so let's meet over a coffee and have chitchat!" Takao admitted with jollity and ran away after chasing 'Shin-Chan'.

After the conversation was over, Hirose tried to pull the door handle of the gym from outside, causing people to topple over rather ungracefully.

"Good heavens... people!" Hirose remarked with dispassionate sarcasm and tried to brush it off like nothing has happened, "I assume you heard everything-"

"A little... but not much!" Riko tried to cover up, but it was only so convincing. Hirose glanced sharply at everyone, "then you might have heard that I am going on a coffee date with Takao-kun tomorrow?" Hirose asked rhetorically, "do not worry, it is not a club concern so you don't need to trouble yourself with it!" she walked inside and taking her bag gracefully walked out of the gym. Her polite assurance felt like 'do not get involved if you value your life.'

...

That night Kagami went home with an unsettled heart for no reason. He got lucky because the read-through stopped right before his part came, and all the unnecessary tension perhaps took a mental toll on him. But the unsettled feeling never subsided. He usually does meal prep on Saturdays, so he decided that it was the best way to deal with it.

Before he even freshened up, he went inside his room to fetch the script he forgot today. It was laying on top of his nightstand, and then he remembered how he dozed off after five minutes of reading it. He flicked the pages again to get to the Porter Scene.

"Exactly how someone works this? This is worse than Hyuuga-san's Sengoku Jidai dialects!" he complained on his own as he propped the script against the spice counter as he chopped his vegetables.

"Did she really transcript this from Shakespearean English?" Kagami wondered as he stared at the pages, wondering about how she blew people's mind with her reading. Then he forcefully shook his mind, "—no, no... I cannot be distracted! I will be the first to read with Koganei-senpai next day—I have to be better than Midorima to impress her-"

Impress her? Since when he cared about impressing Hirose? Maybe from the beginning—maybe because he was intimidated by her and didn't like to feel afraid so he worked to get into her good books to get rid of his intimidation for her. Yes, that must be it—nothing else. And what was with the revelation at the Karaoke—Hirose in pin-up suit dancing to lady marmalade! Yeah, it was some stupid thought. He was used to seeing Alex naked, Hirose's body got nothing on her—

"AAAHHH!" the knife suddenly slipped and grazed the side of the middle finger with the jalapenos juice on it. It stung like hell—it always ends with disaster whenever his mind wanders off. He tried to fetch some cold milk to dunk his finger in. Before his burn could subside, his phone on the counter started to buzz.

"Who's this-" he opened his phone with his left hand, and it turned out to be mail.

"Going to a coffee date tomorrow downtown, so won't be able to wheel you around and get your lucky item-Takao"

The message itself blew a blazing storm of fire in Kagami's brain, as he dialed forcefully to reach the number from which the text was sent.

"Why would I care if you are going to a coffee date? And besides, WHY DO I SOUND DUMPED WHEN I DON'T EVEN NEED A LUCKY ITEM OR TO BE WHEELED AROUND! " Kagami bellowed through the speaker without even hearing the other party.

"Eh... warui, wari... I sent it to Shin-chan, but guess I end up sending you too—sorry, forget about it. It wasn't for you-" Takao said it in one breath and disconnected the phone. No matter how much Kagami would scream, none would answer back.

"Does that mean Hirose-san was really going to a date with Takao?" a trail of that inquisition left Kagami with a lasting impression.

...

"Maji wakannai..." Kagami exclaimed with frustration as he walked through the Shopping District next morning to fetch his week's groceries, "That damn Takao and his mishap text—tearing the nerves off my head-" his glares sent small children and women away from his path, but a few girls with solid nerves thought it had a roguish charm about him.

Amongst the crowd, Kagami picked up a certain feline grace of a young woman, as he came a little forward pushing some people aside, he congratulated his instincts—it was actually Hirose, dressed in the same knee-high boots, but with a different coat: it was long and lilac-colored which flared a little in the bottom like a skirt. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and she carried herself with hastiness.

Kagami hid behind a small alley as she walked into a coffee shop that mostly had couples in their twenties. From her side profile, she looked stern and composed, and extremely high-maintenance; or maybe that had to do with the gleaming wiry hoops she wore in her ears. With a mild 'welcome' from the stuff of the cafe, she disappeared into the shop. After a moment of irritated hesitation, Kagami pulled his hoodie on under his jacket and entered the shop where Hirose entered.

"Welcome to our cafe-" a happy looking waiter greeted Kagami as he settled himself on a booth, where he could clearly see Hirose, but she couldn't see him. Kagami glared at the waiter so bad that it was a miracle that he didn't piss his pants.

"One black coffee with three sugars, and keep 'em coming in every half-n-hour" Kagami growled with a distasteful look. The waiter almost ran from the place, with visible tears in his eyes that he must have run into a murderer in the first hour of a Sunday morning. From where Kagami sat, the window could be seen clearly, near where Hirose sat alone. She set her purse at the side and placed the left elbow on the table. The think silver wristwatch gleamed in the sunlight.

A few minutes later, she stood up to greet a very casual looking Takao, and they sat greeting each other.

"So it's true then—they truly have come for a date-"

Kagami startled so badly by those words he almost expected Kuroko in front of him at the shaded booth, but it turned out to be someone else. Despite his aviators and dust mask on his face, his green hair that poked under his black cap revealed his identity clearly enough.

"heh... Midorima? What are you doing here? Te yuka... why everywhere I go it's always you? Are you stalking me now?" Kagami said with annoyance. Midorima in reply just clicked his tongue with irritability.

"I am not that depraved Kagami. I am just worried about Takao." Midorima briefly looked towards the table where Takao and Hirose sat, "he never bails me for a date. Don't be mistaken, Takao goes to a lot of dates, but he always ready to pull the rear-cart if he loses the rock-paper-scissors game-"

"—Sorry, but I don't give a shit about your gibberish! I just don't understand the picture well. One time she is the Sternest Her Majesty and the next she is sitting with Takao in a coffee date! Why the hell should Hirose-san date Takao in the first place?" Kagami said with frustration, "it seems too random in the world! She doesn't even like you guys as much-"

Midorima smirked smugly as he stripped his dust mask "and why in the world you are following them in the first place?

"I am not like you okay? I didn't follow them calculatedly" Kagami answered irritably, "I came here to shop for groceries and saw Hirose-san walking in! And then, unfortunately, I ran into you!"

"Baka ne, Cancer is no 1 today in Oha-Asa-"

"Explains a lot about why Takao didn't pull your cart today-" Kagami replied sarcastically.

"If you would stop your bickering, you could actually see the date is going pretty well." Midorima jerked his head towards Takao's table.

Midorima wasn't wrong; across the room, the couple busked in the sunlight and politely conversed with each other. A waitress arrived with a tray filled with food and laid it out with a very appreciative look. She looked like a college student doing part-time, and while leaving she leaned towards Takao a little to whisper, 'your girlfriend is so elegant'

Takao could not help but to smile goofily and sparing a glance at Hirose, who sat there like royalty in a public meeting, looking appreciatively at the food. Takao's smile faded away from the lips, but not from his eyes, with which he looked at his date.

"This is the third time we have been mistaken as a couple, Hirose-san!" Takao said, "A pity that the assumptions aren't true."

"Indeed-" Hirose answered softly, perhaps her sternness was less severe when she was outside the school, "but what people think is their opinion, not ours—anyway, I am glad you agreed to my proposal today, I am very grateful-"

"How could I refuse your proposal? It's more than I bargained for, and besides it's hard to ignore a request of someone so beautiful-" Takao placed his head on the base of his palm to look at her more intently, "the more I see you, the more I marvel at you and the endless set of your talents—I wish you could meet with our basketball team, Miyaji-san and Otsubo-san would not believe their eyes." Takao smirked a little, waiting for Hirose to react.

Hirose was supernaturally calm to all the advanced of Takao. She neither encouraged nor rejected his advances, but enjoying them rather silently, "if you would give yourself some break to marvel on me, I think you'd rather enjoy the scones and the clotted cream" she sipped on her English Breakfast tea and broke her scone in half to put the clotted cream.

"Usually people order a cappuccino or a frappe in the coffee shop—I was a bit surprised when you ordered tea. That's a bit old-fashioned don't you think?" Takao commented innocently but thoroughly enjoyed the sensation when he nibbed a little clotted cream with his spoon on its own, "This stuff is delicious!" Takao said, "I was grossed out when you ordered it, but... this is delicious!"

"Would you prefer if I call it Devonshire cream?" Hirose said after she nibbled her scone a little, as she looked straight into Takao's eyes. Takao returned the humour with his usual lightness, "no, clotted cream is fine! Honestly Hirose-san, your taste is really refined! Are you an Ojou-sama by the way?"

"No, not really. My father is a Professor of English Literature in Tokyo University" Hirose said plainly, "he is very invested in understanding British Culture and Imperialism. The British and Japanese are quite the same when it comes to food and mannerism—propriety is everything and excess is frowned upon" Hirose mused while putting another layer of cream on her scones, "Tiny islanders, always separated from the mainland—that's what his opinion was" Hirose forcefully put herself back on track it seemed, "so I learned a thing or two about it—"

"Wait a minute..." Takao interrupted, "don't tell me you are Hirose Subaru's daughter!"

"You know my father?" Hirose asked with a mild surprise.

"Attarimeidarou... I read his articles in the literary mags! English is my strongest subject and if I cannot get a basketball scholarship, my Plan B is to get a major in English and in Tokyo too! The apple really doesn't fall far from the tree!" Takao said with excitement, and Hirose responded it with politeness and grace, "Seirin is super lucky to have you! No wonder you are so good with Shakespeare!"

"You praise a little too much Takao-kun..." Hirose tucked a stray lock behind her ear from the side of her baby bangs, and with a subtle movement of the neck pushed her neat ponytail at the back, her eyes briefly looking at her side.

"May I ask you a question Takao-kun?" Hirose asked quietly and waited for Takao's opening, "don't you find it hard to be Midorima's friend?"

"Why would you ask such a random question? Are you interested in him?" Takao casually blurted it out, but deep inside he was enjoying the play of mystery. Hirose showed no apparent change of emotions, but her eyes transitioned amongst caution and secrecy.

"No... just curious. Normal people don't make their friends carry them around in a cart" Hirose said plainly, looking outside the shop window.

"That's just Shutoku Policy; Midorima is a treasured Ace and therefore VIP of the team" Takao laughed "and between us, anyone who losses the Rock-Paper-Scissors pulls it. Unfortunately, I lose every time-"

"Don't you get tired to see your friend getting special treatment and not you?" Hirose looked at Takao square in the eyes, and truth to be told, Takao found it rather unsettling for the first time.

"If you think that way in the sports world, no sports team would exist, and besides Shin-chan is such a handful: he is all about his shooting, oha-asa, and red-bean soup. He may look high and mighty but he is quite a baby-"

"Babies tend to be most selfish Takao-kun..." Hirose said with a cold voice. A small ray of light shone over the nearly finished tea in Hirose's cup, "make sure you don't get hurt-"

Across the room, in a grim corner, Kagami and Midorima jammed into a booth and keeping surveillance on the duo. Their smiles were faltering fast as Takao and Hirose looked quite in tune with each other.

"What does Hirose-san see in him anyway—he seems like a total player!" Kagami said disapprovingly, glugging his black coffee like it was a glass of water.

"I don't deny that but contrary to popular belief, Takao is actually a good person-" Midorima replied, "although his first impression is always appalling, and he flirts too much but once he is convinced he is a very loyal partner. He never fails at the court as a point guard."

"This sounds so wrong dude!" Kagami said, "and that's not what I meant! Hirose-san is so elegant and put together, and Takao is so all over the place. It's like eating dill pickles with gelato."

"You sound like you seem to know a lot about Hirose-san don't you?" Midorima commented sarcastically. Kagami defensively folded his arms and said, "Even a blind man can see the glaring difference between them"

"Don't worry, you're not the one who is blessed with observation skills, I can see it to" Midorima said, "and this time that fool will get a hard blow on his face, Scorpio and Aries do not go well together-"

"Why the hell do you know what Hirose-san's sign is? What are you, a Spymaster?" Kagami commented irritably. A dark smirk played in Midorima's lips, a smirk of deep mystery and terror. It didn't settle well with Kagami, because it was a smirk that would be very natural if it was on Aomine's lips or on Akashi's, but the well-composed Midorima looked very unsettling with it.

"Unfortunately in this case, I know a little too much than the required amount-" Midorima pushed his glasses lightly on his bridge.

"W-what do you mean?" Kagami faltered to finish what he wanted to say.

"Do you think Kuroko just randomly found me to play your lead if he didn't know what he is doing?" Midorima asked with a cold voice, "admit it Kagami, it was fate."

"I don't understand what the hell you are saying!" Kagami said with a frustrated annoyance "especially your horoscope crap. Cut it and makes it straight-" Kagami's words brought a blush of discomfort in Midorima's cheeks. Midorima sat quietly for a few moments as if Kagami wasn't in front of him at all.

"Hirose is-"

Before Kagami could have space and time to get startled and react, sharp pain and pressure were felt on his right ear. Midorima's quick eyes looked at Kagami's ears and panicked so hard that he spilled the glass of water on the table. As Kagami tried to look at his right, his soul almost left his body with fear. Hirose Ren, the fearsome class representative and the tough director was standing there with a death glare in her eyes, pinching Kagami's ears.

"You're like that flu that keeps coming back no matter what!" Hirose said with a cold sarcastic voice as she increased her pressure on Kagami's ears "must you always interfere in my business and ruin everything?"

"—Rose-san, Gomen... I didn't mean to! I just ran into Midorima and we were having coffee-"

"Heh? Shin-chan iru no?" Takao also got up from his seat and came towards the table as the other customers started to stare, "what are you doing here creeping all by yourself?"

"That's offensive!" Midorima snapped, "I have done nothing to be harassed in such a way."

"Takao-kun..." Hirose suddenly called Takao with a slightly more polite tone, "I would like you to excuse me for the day-" she briefly left Kagami's ears and reached for her purse to take out two 1000 yen bills, "gochizousama—" her direct action of giving money to Takao startled everyone, and for Takao it was also little heartbreaking.

"You don't need to do this, Hirose-san, I told you the food's on me!" Takao politely refused the money, but Hirose would not budge, "I insist, Takao-kun..." Hirose bowed slightly and placed the money on the table, "now... if you would excuse me-" she re-grabbed Kagami's ears and almost tore away from him from the restaurant, like an angry master pulling his dog by its leash. A ridiculous display of a nearly six-foot man being pulled away from the coffee shop by a girl who could be snapped half in that man's hand.

"I specifically told the team that it was none of their business..." Hirose snapped, "and you proudly disregard me again? Do I look like a joke to you? Can't you do a single task without disrupting my entire sanity?"

"I told you class rep, I was shopping for groceries and I sort of ran into this place—honestly I was not talking at all!" Kagami defended.

"A very likely story indeed!" Hirose sarcastically fired "it would fool an amateur, but I am no fool—Riko-senpai has put you up to this isn't it? So that she can report my activities to Ono-Sensei and lodge a complaint!"

Midorima and Takao eventually came out of the cafe, seeing the commotion. Midorima looked at Hirose with a worried expression, because her face looked like it would explode any minute. Moreover, they were gathering more people around them than a Kpop style flashmob, and for safety and concern, he put his face-mask on and adjusted the baseball cap.

"Are you worried Shin-chan?" Takao threw a charged question.

"Not really..." Midorima answered promptly, and was thankful that his face-mask hid most of his face, "let's go and leave before this clowning goes any worse-"

"—what's so hurry? Let's stay for a moment. This is getting very interesting-" Takao smiled with a light impishness.

"Why you keep blaming me for shitty stuff I didn't do?" Kagami's frown deepened and his voice rose in anger, "hell, what did I ever do to you that you always berate me and look me down! I don't say anything because you are a lady but it's getting on my nerves-"

"What I ever do to you" Hirose mocked her voice slightly to imitate Kagami's grumpy and raspy voice, "What did you not do to me?—perhaps you could take a look at the trampled primroses at our garden, or dragging me up to a blackmailed contract with the basketball team-"

"—isn't bowing on my knees and apologizing not enough? What do I do? Build a shrine and make you 5 yen offerings?"

"—Don't you dare mock me!"

"Did that piss you off? Did that piss you off?" Kagami said tauntingly "good, because it should—and besides, why can't I mock you huh! You think only you got the permit to berate and judge other people, because boohoo princess, the world doesn't revolve around you. I have tried being the nice guy, I have tried to apologize and step aside because Kuroko told me to—but you keep riding my ass for no reason and judge me from your high horse."

"How dare you insult me with such crudity, you harpoon brow-ed idiot!"

"At least I don't look like my hair has been cut by the lawnmower-"

"You bloody fool; just looking at you gives me conjunctivitis-"

"Then go stab yourself in the eye-"

"In your dreams, you failed Jordan wannabe"

"At least I have some dreams, Miss Hitler"

"I hope you get trampled by a bunch of angry old women and get struck by the lightning to your way to the hospital-"

"I hope you fail all your subjects and all of the school laughs pointing fingers at you, you ginger-munching hag-"

"Oh no, he didn't-" Midorima muttered under his breath, which not even Takao could hear. He started to walk away from that place with lowered head, holding the flap of his baseball cap firmly, because by instinct he knew, things would get messy around here.

The moment those words escaped Kagami's lips, something went wrong. Even Kagami could realize that he stepped outside the line, and clapped his mouth. He dare not to place his eyes on Hirose's whose ones looked widened and gradually moistening. Her lips quivered and shoulders shook and the spectacle around her started to register inside her mind. Everyone was staring at them, no everyone was staring at her—the cold air of Japanese winter brushed against her ears, making it ache almost.

"Hirose-san... I am sorry-"

Smack

Kagami was hit across the face with something very heavy but smooth on the surface. The impact made him fall back on his butt on the street as something slumped in front of him with a subtle thump. Hirose had sucker-punched him with her heavy-as-hell tote bag.

"Go to hell, Kagami Taiga and take the entire Seirin team to burn with you-"Hirose said with an ice-cold voice before she turned around to stomp away. The splashing of tears did not miss Kagami's sight. The initial fear and alienation he felt towards Hirose was being warped into the most terrible form of fear and guilt he felt in his entire life.

After Hirose left, the crowd started to thin out from the place. The time Kagami came out of his stupor, the street was almost empty of overtly curious busybodies and mob, and he was the only one, who stood like a complete idiot with a ladies purse hanging aimlessly on his arms. When his senses came back and his hand finally let go of the leather strap of the bag, he finally realized the sticky situation he got himself and Hirose into.

He was holding her purse since the time she walked away. All of her stuff was in this bag, her cellphone, money etc—how would she get home?

The first thought was reporting to the police nearby, and Kagami was walking towards the police station with fast steps, and suddenly he had to stop because of the ringing phone inside. Perhaps it was someone calling her; someone important and he could pick it up and tell them his location so that Hirose could pick up her bag. He stepped at the side and without looking inside, he fished out the phone. The caller ID said, "Ma". He swiped the green button and received the call.

"Rei-chan... how was the date? Did you convince Takao-kun to be your script supervisor?" Mrs. Hirose spoke in one breath before Kagami had the chance to speak. So that was the reason Hirose arranged the date with Takao-kun? It was not for any 'romantic' issues? Kagami felt oddly relieved with the piece of information

"Hello... Rei-chan are you there? I cannot hear you-"

"Excuse me, Hirose-san; I am not your daughter. I am Kagami, I came in your house with my team's coach and captain few days ago." Kagami spoke sensibly, without alarming the woman on the other side, "I actually ran into your daughter and she forgot her bag-"

"That's very unusual of Rei-chan... she never does that sort of thing—is she all right? She is not hurt is she?" Mrs. Hirose started to panic. Suddenly recalled the situation which caused Hirose's bag to be landed with him and he tried to compose himself as best as he could, "no-no... She is quite alright in health... nothing happened accident wise—I just don't know where she went or how to contact her, so I was going to the Police Station to submit it—would you mind to send me a photo of her-"

"Sure thing sure thing... I will send it right away-"

"And here is my number, please call me if you know of her whereabouts-"

After that short conversation, Kagami went straight to the police station and submitted the bag under the name and school details of Hirose Ren. He also submitted his contact details because he lives nearer and was the submitter of the lost item. The day passed into a late afternoon and still, Kagami refused to budge from the police station.

"Hey kid, it's getting dark... aren't you going home?" police gave him a cup of warm coffee as Kagami shivered under his jacket, "no officer... I will stay here until she comes or I get a call—I won't get home till then."

"You are a stubborn one aren't you?" the police sat down beside him, "who is that? Your girlfriend?"

Despite the word being far from the truth that word was enough to make Kagami a blushing mess. Girlfriend? What kind of a person calls their girlfriend a 'hag' and gets away with it. He stuttered so badly that he almost dropped his cup, "okay okay... I got the message-" the police patted Kagami's back with an elderly affection, "wait all you want."

Suddenly Kagami's own phone rang a couple of times, it was an unknown number and he picked it up with the speed of lightning, "hello-"

"Kagami-kun? Hirose-san desu... yes, Rei-chan just walked in—I am really surprised too, that she walked in without a scratch on her body. Thought I should give you a call, poor thing!"

Kagami wasn't in the right mind to listen to the rest of it. He requested the department to give Hirose's bag with authorization so that he could deliver it himself. The sun had already set behind the glittering skyscape of Tokyo and the Sunday shoppers gathered up in the market as Kagami ran towards the station like a fish against the currents.

what a catastrophic event... please look forward to read further