Here's the promised update! I haven't updated in a long while because of school and assignments, I'm on break now so expect updates now and then! First off though, I have lots of entertaining activities to do as well! Books to read and games to play~! Enjoy!

This chapter is bit rushed I think…

Pairings : Undecided

Warnings : Teikō Middle School Days.

Disclaimer : I own only the OCs.


Chapter 28 - Among the stillness were pounding hearts

Amongst the many events of Teikō's Festival, there were several events for both guests and students alike to compete and try to win the prize. An event by the name of Quiz Corner, held by the sister of the Riddle Club, the Quiz Club, was one of these. They accepted entries on the spot moments before the start of the event itself. The participants were mostly nearby people or those who actually kept track of the events schedule.

It's one of those traditional events held every year and continued by the next generations, thus they're allowed twice the amount of general budget the other clubs were allotted. Thanks to that, the prizes they offered the winners were miles better than other clubs unless they pitched in their own wallets. The event was annually held in the square near the school gates to attract and hype the crowds.

"Good afternoon, everyone! Are you enjoying Teikō's Festival? We're now holding a Quiz Corner! There're amazing prizes to win and the entry is free! Come on, step up! Answer the questions and win the prizes! Any brave challengers here?!" a male student in an eye-catching suit yelled out from the stage, motioning for people to come.

At the announcement, Momoi's peachy orbs were sparkling and before her lips parted open, her bestfriend knew she was asking for trouble. "Hey, hey! That looks fun! Let's participate, Yuu-chan!" she tugged enthusiastically at the other girl's arm.

By now, the group of six teens had stopped and the boys were carefully watching the brunette's response to her friend. Who appeared to in quite a disagreement to the idea. "...I don't think I will. Uh, you can go with Daiki-kun? I'll cheer for you." she gave her a small smile, trying not to pull away from her grasp to avoid hurting her friend's feelings.

Walking around the festival filled with hundreds of people was one thing. Standing in front of those numbers paired with excruciating noises were just not it. Really. Yume didn't want to participate in this Quiz Corner or whatever it was.

So enlighten her as to how it ended up like this? ***

"Here we are folks! Three new entries! That completes our five pairs match-up! And let's the quiz begin!" the MC announced happily, standing to the side to show the participants behind the small desk with a red buzzer.

From left to right; Momoi and Yume, Aomine and Midorima, Akashi and Murasakibara, two female Teikō sophomores, lastly, one male Teikō senior and one male Teikō freshmen. Each with their own expressions. The excited ones were Momoi and some of the Teikō students, those who couldn't be bothered were Aomine and Murasakibara, those who were confident and amused were Midorima and Akashi, while Yume seemed like she wished she was anywhere but there.

"Let's win this, Yuu-chan!" Momoi exclaimed with joy, her face lit up and her peachy orbs sparkling in contrast to the brunette's strained expression.

"...Sure." she murmured dejectedly.

The MC appeared hyper, no doubt trying to invigorate the crowds as well as the participants. "Since this is Teikō's Cultural Festival, how about a question involving Teikō for the opening question? Teikō's students, you can't get it wrong!" he exclaimed to the audiences before facing the participants.

"Question 1. Who is the name of Teikō's current Principal?"

Red light lit up seconds before the question ended, along with buzzing sound. It's Akashi and Murasakibara's team.

"Kobayashi Hideyoshi-sensei." the redhead answered calmly in that confident and charismatic tone that could only be his. Perhaps even swooning some females on the crowds.

"Correct! 1 point to Red Team!"

At that statement, Midorima appeared to be giving Akashi the stink-eye. Momoi puffed her chest to urge herself to do better. The redhead was just smirking that frustrating lopsided smile of his.

"Next! Question 2. The book 'I Am a Cat' was written by a famous writer. Who is this person?"

Concerning the previous given score (and his arch-rival Akashi), Midorima was quick to swipe the bell this time, lighting the green light on his desk. He adjusted his glasses to give off the clever vibe.

"Hmph. That's too easy. It's Natsume Sō—"

"DORAEMON! The answer is Doraemon! That blue round cat in that futuristic anime! He always yells that he is a cat! Right, Midorima?" the tanned teen grinned victoriously as he elbowed his partner in the game, not noticing how quiet the surrounding was after his loud proclamation.

Said greenhead grew a huge tick on his temple. His entire body gestures seemed to be screaming profanities at the sorry excuse for a man as he stiffly turned to face the still-grinning-idiot.

"WHAT PART OF DORAEMON IS REAL –NANODAYO?! HAVE YOU NO BRAIN?! YOU... YOU BAKA GANGURO!" Losing control was something Midorima rarely did. However, it seemed his frustration with his tanned friend had reached its peak for the day.

And Aomine was as pissed, he returned the yelling. "HAH?! THAT'S HIS FAMOUS LINE, YOU SEAWEED-HEAD! WATCH SOMETHING OTHER THEN THOSE HOROSCOPE SHOWS THEN YOU'D KNOW!"

Soon, only the heated discussions of the two male teens could be heard throughout 10 metres radius. And acting by this judgement, the MC had to disqualify the two participants for 'being overly excited' and 'disrupting peace'. The personnel in charge even had to literally drag the two boys away from the stage since they wouldn't stop arguing.

And Yume's comment to the whole situation was whispered to Momoi: "...I didn't know Daiki-kun watches Doraemon that often."

To which Momoi sweat dropped and minutely nodded. "He likes anime since we were kids." she confessed.

"U-Uh, pardon that intrusion and let's get to Question 3! Okay, here goes! 'In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king', who is the na—"

*PING* *PONG*

The pink light lit up without concluding the question and it was attributed to a concentrated pinkette grasping firmly to her friend's hand, which she used to press the bell despite of the latter's reluctance and (losing) opposition.

"The question isn't even finished!" the MC complained. Why were this year's participants awfully rowdy?

Momoi turned her sparkling eyes to the brunette. "Yuu-chan! It's history, your specialty! It must be the name of the person! You know the answer, don't you?" she asked excitedly.

This whole walking-through-the-school-festival-with-friends was new to her and she wanted to enjoy and memorise every seconds of it. It was truly fun for Momoi and she sincerely wished her bestfriend would feel the same way. Her friend was reserved and she might even say that she had difficulties interacting with people despite being surrounded by them on regular basis.

One day, Momoi hoped the day would come where her friend wouldn't have to force herself around her. She was aware of how the brunette tried her best to keep everyone around her happy and at arm-length most of the time. She wasn't sure why, but she knew that it had to change. It wasn't easy, but they would succeed. And until then, she just had to get her out of her comfort zone more often than not.

"...Oda Nobunaga." Yume muttered defeatedly, her head hung low and light pink tinted her cheeks. Was there any chance for her to hide her identity from these people? It's... embarrassing.

The pinkette then relayed the answer in a louder, clearer voice that echoed. "Oda Nobunaga!" she chirped.

"Correct! 1 point to Pink Team!"

And so, questions were delivered one after another and answered just as quick. There're the enthusiastic Momoi, the less-so Yume, the confident Akashi, the laid-back Murasakibara and the two overwhelmed Teikō pairs.

"Water property expands instead of contracting between the temperature of 4 degrees C to 0 degrees C and it becomes less dense. What is the name of this phenomenon?"

Colourful lights lit up the stage, mainly red and pink if not the rare yellow and orange, accompanied by the buzzing sound of bells.

"...Anomalous expansion of water. Can I eat now?"

Points after points were added into the panel of each team. Some garnering more than the others.

"C-Correct! Another point for Red Team!"

Thus came the end of the Quiz Corner. The victors, which were hardly doubted even since the beginning of the match, were the Red Team; Akashi-Murasakibara pair, with Momoi-Yume a close-second, two teams left in the dust and a disqualified (and disgruntled) Aomine-Midorima pair.

The prizes were then distributed to the winners, the first and second runner-ups. Whereas the the other participants left, the colourful gang remained in the vicinity as they discussed and compared each other's rewards. And apparently this was the prologue to a redhead's Dojo Challenge which would begin in a year to come.

"Momo-chin and Mana-chin are lucky... I want all-you-can-eat-sweets too." Murasakibara gazed longingly at the two vouchers held by the two girls. He didn't like his prize.

Noticing his envy and her friend's reluctance in parting with her share of the vouchers, Yume offered hers to the purplehead. "Here, Murasakibara-kun. I'm not really taken to sweets so you can have this. But please be mindful of your teeth." she smiled slightly.

Murasakibara immediately lit up, joy radiating from him. "Eh? It's fine? Then I'm taking it. Thank you, Mana-chin." he took the voucher and glanced at his own share of prizes. "Mana-chin takes this. I don't need it." he handed her a voucher, a different one from the one she gave him.

The 1st place's prizes were two 3-in-1 Free-passes to Aquarium, Amusement Park and Zoo which were valid until the end of the year while the 2nd place's prizes were two All-you-can-eat-sweets vouchers at a famous patisserie, owned by one of Teikō's sponsors.

"Eh? You don't need to, Murasakibara-kun." Yume refused, but at the purplehead's insistence for a trade, she eventually relented.

On the other hand, Momoi pouted petulantly. She was kind of put out since she was planning on going with Yume to the sweets-feast, but other then that, she was beyond blissful with her rewards. She loved sweets, and while not as keen as the giant's sweet-tooth, the concerned patisserie made her favourite cakes.

"Na, Satsuki. Weren't you saying something about putting on weights just the other day? Was it 2 kilos? I think you swore to cut on cakes." the nonchalant, somehow mocking voice belonged to none other then the pinkette's beloved childhood friend who kindly remind her of the conversation they had on their way home from school few days back.

Mostly, if not everything, Momoi said, would go through one ear and out the ear to the basketball-crazed teen when it didn't involve anything of his interest - basketball - so it's quite a surprise that he actually remembered what she said about cutting on sweets or even gaining weights. Could he actually listened to her blabbering?

That's a food for thought for another day. For now, Momoi was simply depressed because she wanted her sweets badly. Sadly, losing weights went hand-in-hand with controlling her diets and sugar was definitely her worst enemies; those white creamy of pure goodness on top of smooth tasting filling with golden tart baked to perfection. Yes. Exactly that.

"Momo-chin not going? Can I have it then?" Murasakibara offered gladly and everyone could tell the joy radiating from the purple giant's fave, nor would they miss the sparkles in his eyes.

He only seemed happier when the pinkette begrudgingly gave him her sweets-voucher. It was hard. Her hands trembled and her fingers latched on the paper so tightly that it crumpled. Momoi really was rethinking her decision.

"Murasakibara, one is enough for you." Akashi frowned, scolding the taller male like he usually did since he was the only one the purplehead listened to. Although, that list seemed to grow one of these days.

The redhead had no problem snatching one voucher off the purple giant even with their height differences. "Anyone else wish to have this?" he asked everyone with his eyes.

Aomine really couldn't care less. He's not a big fan of sweets, most of his allowances went to basketball-stuffs, and when it wasn't, it went to... somethings of his developing interest. Midorima preferred Japanese-sweets with less sugary taste and more refined palate, which wasn't included in the deal. Momoi truly wanted to say she did, but somehow the ganguro's reminder grated her and she was determined to show him she could lose those extra weights.

So the voucher went to Yume, who didn't really have any reactions and were blinking in bewilderment when said voucher was placed on her hands next to her received ticket from her previous trade. "Uh...? I don't think..." she muttered hesitantly.

Akashi sighed at this. Murasakibara couldn't be allowed to have more than one sweets-voucher, Momoi had her diet and Yume already had the ticket he and Murasakibara won. They were just being difficult. However, he might as well solve it.

"Let me borrow this, Manai-san." Akashi spoke before he took the the free-pass from the brunette and walked away from the group towards the Quiz Corner's committee.

From the teens' standpoints, they could see the redhead was talking with the person in-charge but couldn't hear what it was all about. After a few minutes, the person left and return with new... vouchers? While Akashi offered his two free-passes. It was a trade, it seemed.

When said redhead reached the confused group, Midorima was the first to voice his question. "Akashi, what did you do?" he asked rather bluntly.

The addressed's lips quirked slightly to show what now appeared as six free-passes to the Amusement Park. "I traded the two free-passes for these. This way everyone can go. And Manai-san can keep her sweets-voucher."

Yume wanted to say she didn't need any of those but after the troubles her President went through, saying so would warrant her undesirable result from the redhead, so she kept her tongue.

Amusement Park? The always crowded, overly loud, long lines for one ride and time-consuming activities? Yume was proud to say she only went once during her lifetime and she was happy with that.

But she didn't have a say when everyone else only accepted it without so much of a complain but a few clicked tongues here and there. In fact, they seemed excited. These students were in the end, mere teens and enjoyed fun-filled activities.

"Thank you, Akashi-kun! At least we can all go together! I'm sure it'll be fun! I can even make our bento!" Momoi offered cheerily, her idea soon shot down mercilessly through the subtle and careful use of words.

With that settled and a promise to go to the Amusement Park in the coming date, the group resumed their walk through the festival. They passed through another big, annual event, the Miss and Mister Teikō Junior High event. Momoi was offered a participation but refused since she didn't like being in the limelight. There's even a Best Couple Contest, which accepted walk-in entries.

All in all, it was an enjoyable afternoon.

Nearing the end of Teikō Festival, was the last event held only for the students of Teikō. The widest Gym was the venue and the host was Takeda, the PR Committee of the Student Council. As was his position description, he was an energetic sort of individual, making him a suitable person for the job.

"I hope everyone have fun with the festival this year! And worry not, we're going to have even more fun soon! There're few things we've to run through first, so bear with me!" Takeda grinned through the speakerphone he was speaking at.

"Okay! So welcome to our last event in this year's Teikō Cultural Festival! Look to your sides and know that nearly all the students body are here! The rules are simple!"

This event is student-exclusive. Please leave the venue if you're not a student of Teikō.

This event requires everyone to blindfold their vision. Please grab one for yourself from the boxes in the front.

One of the committees will carry around a small box containing coloured strings.

Everyone will choose one string and hold on to it.

The strings are connected to another person and you will search for your partner in the darkness.

The time is 5 minutes.

Those who successfully find their partners (within an arm-length) will receive a prize.

Best of luck!

"Your partner may be a girl or a boy regardless of your gender! So don't be too disappointed when you discovered that this event isn't like one of those dramas you watch so often! Just be happy that we offer you prize for finding your partner!" Takeda continued as he ensured that all participants had their blindfolds on hand.

Chatters filled the room as everyone were excited and curious for the event. Momoi was one of them, while Yume was quite apathetic about the whole excitement.

"I can't wait! Maybe I'll find my prince charming today!" Momoi squealed as she tightened her grip on her blindfold.

Yume could only offer her a wry smile, not sure how to respond to her fantasies. "Yeah, maybe..." she replied vaguely.

"Everyone got their blindfold? Yeah? Then we can start without further-ado! Wrap the blindfold around your eyes and make sure you tied it right! We from the committees will do a round-check!"

Within 5 minutes, the committees had finished their round and the participants had their eyes covered.

"On three... two... one..." Takeda chanted slowly, making eye contact with the nearest person-in-charge to the light switch. He signalled for it.

"GO!"

As soon as the signal was given, the students all began to move and follow where the strings led them to, while bumping the people close to them and having troubles weaving through the other strings obstructing theirs. Without their visions, it was even harder and nearly impossible to do.

Which was why it was no surprise that half a minute before the time was up, a certain teen tripped and fell on someone else.

"Ugh... What's this? It's... soft and squishy? Warm too?" he muttered in confusion and frustration. If it wasn't for those people, he wouldn't even be here now!

He couldn't see anything but darkness and when he attempted to cheat with his blindfold, he got caught by the committee and as a punishment, the committee tightened his blindfold until his head was hurting.

It didn't come as a surprise when he tripped and fell. In fact, he was surprised it didn't happen sooner. The good thing was whatever he fell on, it was soft and not hard like the floor. He tripped on someone's feet, at least he thought so. He was sure he heard a low 'oomph' when he crashed.

"Time's up! Everyone found their partners?" Takeda shouted as the light was turned on, leaving a disastrous scene in its wake with many students in various poses as they wrestled with their strings.

Amongst these was a pair of teens, dumbstruck as they stare at each other's eyes, struggling to process their situation. The reason was simple; the boy had his head and his hand on the girl's developing chest.

Heat rushed to their cheeks in seconds after their realisation. But the two were as still as an iceberg, unmoving.

"Well, it seems there's quite a number of successful pairs this year!" Takeda spoke as he surveyed through the crowds for the successful pairs who looked worse for wear.

Unsurprisingly, the two teens were hidden in plain sight due to most of the students were all noisy and busy with their own partners and tangled strings.

The girl finally broke off whatever trance she was in, and in her extremely flustered state, pulled out of the situation, leaving the boy crashing to the floor since he was leaning on her before she stood up and left in a frenzy. Even then, it seemed the boy still wasn't sober.

The only individuals to notice the two teens were a redhead and a pinkette, friends to the teens.

"Huh...?" Momoi mumbled as she squinted her eyes at the back of someone. "That person running? Isn't that...?"

"...Manai-san?" Akashi finished, without knowing that he completed another's sentence.


*** What actually happened

As usual, the obvious refusal of her bestfriend fell on deaf ears to the pinkette. "Ehh? It's going to be fun, Yuu-chan! Just this one time? Plea—se?" she whined while pursing her lips and utilising her best puppy-dog eyes.

This time, Yume refused to meet that ultimate move head on and she averted her gaze before she could even glance at it. "I really don't feel like it at the moment...! B-But I'm sure Daiki-kun will!" she almost pleaded the flinching tanned male next to her.

"Hell no! What makes you think I'm going up there?! Need I remind you my grades?!" Aomine looked affronted that she even suggested him going up there for a quiz contest. Him of all people.

Soon the situation was where Momoi was shooting puppy-dog eyes at Yume, who then directed her pleading look at Aomine, who appeared lost and finally turned to ask for the three boys' assistance, especially the redhead who seemed to hold all the answers in the world.

Akashi sighed inaudibly at this. He raised his gaze to meet the brunette's, whose eyes widened a fraction when she locked gaze with him instead of her initial target. He gave her that smile. "Now... I'm sure it's going to be a good experience for all of us. As members of the Student Council, we have responsibilities to liven up the festival, no?"

Needless to say, any energies to resist the entry was immediately aborted and it left Yume as her shoulders slumped visibly.

This was why she didn't want to join any organisations nor clubs. They came with more responsibilities while she already had enough of those on her plate. But of course life just had to make it more difficult for her. And she wasn't even living her life badly.

Yet somehow she was blessed with these rainbow-coloured individuals who cared about her opinions as best as next to zero.

If it wasn't this life, perhaps she screwed up so badly in her previous life that earned her this?

That said, her President would always get his way one way or another, and this was just one of those times. He is Akashi Seijūrō after all.

"...Yes, Akashi-kun." she whispered dejectedly.


So yeah, how is it?

Reviews are very much appreciated!

Next time, Who are the 'two teens'? And how will this affect Yume and the rest?