Summary [chapter 5]: The day of Masuko's surgery finally comes and part of the question haunting her mind will be answered : will she be able to play with her knee once operated ? Between creating new bonds and remembering what she had in France, Masuko is trying to find a balance.
Update: I rewrote some details but the main modification if the point of view. It's still in the third person but I decided to truly write the story from the characters' POV.
Following the canon chronology with some additions for the purpose of the story. Main pairing of the story: Midorima x OC.
Written in the third person. The words in italic are characters' thoughts and the words written like this are said in another language (French or English). No harem x OC.
A/N: I decided of at least two other pairings for this story (between characters of the manga) if you want to know them, just tell me! Also, I can't believe the anime really ended... I'm really happy and really sad at the same time. At least, we still have Extra Game and the OVA in December.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OCs
[HOSPITAL ARC]
FRAGMENTS
~.~
Chapter 5: croissants et chocolatines
Miyuki slowly woke up to the delicious smell of waffles and hot chocolate before realizing what day it was.
"Crap!" Miyuki swore. She panicked, snapping her eyes wide open. "I forgot to set the alarm clock!"
She looked at the time.
8A.M. She exhaled. It was fine, she wasn't late.
She closed her eyes again, wanting to stay in bed for ten more minutes but she suddenly got hungry.
"Yo."
Miyuki opened her eyes once more to see her best friend with a breakfast tray in his hands.
"Good morning, Taiga!"
Seeing him there just after waking up became an usual yet pleasant occurrence after she had given him her spare keys. He did the same since they lived in the same apartment complex.
Taiga usually came to her apartment to help her to install the items she brought from France and they went to his apartment to eat dinner, since her family was still not there, and Uncle was still in America for work.
It was in those moments where she realized how much she had missed Taiga's steady presence...
"I made you waffles made without any butter and some tea."
No excessive quantity of food and no high fat nutrient were allowed for today's breakfast before her operation meaning no butter, margarine, oil or cheese for her.
The joy of getting a surgery, she lamented.
Seeing the frown on her face, Taiga casually said, patting her shoulder, "Everything's gonna be okay!"
Taiga had always been bad at lying. In fact, 'bad' was an understatement. He was terrible at it.
He always tried to sound casual but she could hear the slight gentleness in his voice, the awkward tone he used whenever he was trying to cheer her up... And it felt terribly wrong.
Taiga trying to cheer her up like that only happened whenever things weren't okay.
She pinched her nose. Overhinking before drinking her cup of tea was a pain.
Rubbing her still sleepy eyes, she forced a smile. "Don't worry..." She took the tray he gave her as she felt her stomach making gurgles. "I'm so hungry I would eat anything!"
She tried to smile again and he grimaced despite what she just said, because they both knew what she just said had another meaning.
'No need to worry about me!'
"Oi, you idiot," he said, slapping her head and messing her hair at the same time. He had given up on trying to act all sweet and gentle with her. "Don't give me that crap! Stop being a worry wort for everyone and try to think about yourself for once." He continued, in a lower voice as he scretched his neck, "There's no need to hide your problems to me, we're best friends!"
So Taiga directly saw through her façade... But then, he still knew her quite well despite their long separation.
Despite the fact the both of them had changed over the years, they had managed to stay close to each other.
The only reaction she had was to throw him in a deadpan voice, "Lisa called me."
"What?"
He was obviously not unexpecting that answer.
"Lisa called me," she repeated, the heavy feelings on her chest lessening at her confession.
Tagami was oddly calm.
Too calm.
The only thing that betrayed him was his clenched fists.
"When was it?" he asked, with a slight edge to his voice.
"Yesterday. She said she just called to 'check on me'," she sarcastically quoted her.
He snorted, "Yeah, sure. Was that 'bout your promise?"
"Hm."
Riko-san and he were the only ones in the team who knew her new goal for now.
She would tell the rest of the team later... She was just waiting for the right moment, after she got out of the hospital.
"Show her that you will! With me and also with Coach's help, it's impossible not to. So you better eat quickly and go get this surgery!"
She happily complied and enjoyed the delicious taste of waffles and maple syrup as they began to discuss about the tutoring sessions she would give him for the review test.
Riko-san agreed to let Miyuki be in charge of Taiga's tutoring in every subject except math and Japanese since... Well, she was good enough in math, but she loathed it.
As for Japanese, the school had made suitable questions for her tests because she just arrived there and still struggled with kanji.
Once her breakfast over, she gave him back the now emptied tray and changed her clothes while he went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
"Taiga, can I ask you something?"
He came back in her bedroom, the tea towel still in his hand. "Sure."
"Can you keep my medal and my ring close to you while I'm on surgery, please."
His eyes widened. "You sure 'bout that?"
She was silent for a moment before she looked at him. "It might seem odd, but I think I can't keep these two precious items alone, not even for a few seconds. You're the one I trust the most to keep them safe, especially the ring."
He firmly nodded before placing his hand over hers. "You're so weird sometimes."
She giggled heartily before he joined her in that laughing fit. That was the reason why they were best friends.
As he helped her to sit on her wheelchair and took her luggage, Miyuki thought she was glad she came to Japan.
"Let's go!"
She woke up for the second time of the day, feeling groggy and numb... But that time, she was lying in a hospital room. She could feel the effects of anesthesia slowly fading as the pain on her left leg increased.
As she started to come back to her senses, she could hear a voice.
A man's voice.
"–suko-san... Masuko-san? Can you hear me?"
Her mouth felt too numb and dry to even speak, so she just nodded, her eyes still close.
"Good afternoon Masuko-san, you finally woke up."
Good afternoon?
Was it already afternoon? Did it mean her surgery was longer than expected? And that voice...
Yes, she finally recognized it. It was Osawa-sensei's voice.
"We had some complications during your operation but I can assure you we were able to completely repair your anterior cruciate ligament tears."
She asked in a rough voice, "Do–does it means that..."
She couldn't even finish her sentence and hissed in pain.
He nodded. "You will be able to play sports at a high level again. However, whether you gain back or not your anterior level depends on of the success of your reeducation..." He stopped a few seconds, examining the files he was holding. "You know I do not completely agree with your choice, but I respect it. I will ask you to stay here for at least three weeks to start to learn to walk again."
"I know, Osawa-sensei," she replied, her voice shaken with emotions as she slowly opened her eyes.
She didn't have the energy to care about being seen so vulnerable.
She was so happy... So happy and relieved she successfully made that first step.
She bowed in gratitude despite the pain.
"From the bottom of my heart, thank you."
"No need to thank me again... and there is no need for you to move yet. A nurse will come in a few minutes to inject a sedative," he said before leaving the room.
"Very well."
After trying (and failing) to pour herself a glass of cold water, she observed the room that would be hers for at least two weeks.
The walls were stark white, as expected from a hospital, but the paintings framed made the room less cold and hostile.
Fortunately, she was the only one occupying the room, leaving her the intimacy she wanted. A table, in front of her bed was there for eventual guests along with chairs but most of all, Miyuki noticed the presence of a TV mounted high on the wall.
And in the middle of those paintings, there was also a clock...
It was 4 P.M, meaning classes were already over.
She thought about her classmates and friends, Taiga and Kuroko-kun: would they survive without the notes she took for them?
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts, "It's the nurse, can I come in?"
"Of course."
"Masuko-san, how are you doing?" the nurse asked her.
"I... Feel numb... And my leg hurts, but I'm okay."
At least she could now talk more or less normally after her throat finally got hydrated.
"Alright, I'm here to increase the morphine to calm the pain. This analgesia pump is here to help you to bear the pain in your leg, you'll be on the intravenous drip for at least two or three days. Now, tell me how painful it is on a scale from zero to ten."
Right, that was why it was there. Her leg was hurting although she wasn't completely awake... She only felt an average amount of pain. It was bothersome, but it was nothing she couldn't bear.
"Five."
"Alright." Miyuki closed her eyes as she wondered what time it was in France. She opened her eyes to see the nurse just finished with the dosage. "Done! If you need anything, just press on the button here. I'll come back in a few hours to check on you."
"Thank you, have a great day."
Someone opened the door again. "Emilie!"
Taiga was standing there awkwardly, still in his school uniform, and holding a bouquet of flowers in his hands. She noted with amusement the nurse ogled him with curiosity before leaving. Things never changed: older women still found him cute.
"Taiga!"
"Erm, I brought you flowers and stuff from the team... The flowers were Coach's idea."
She cleared her throat. "That's kind from her. Thank you for helping her to choose the flowers!" He was too stubborn to admit he remembered her favorite flowers so she just kissed him on the cheek as he came closer.
He layed the bouquet in the vase in an oddly delicate way. She looked at the red and white flowers with fondness.
Taiga was still scratching his head, showing her the plastic bag he had in his other hand.
"Kuroko told me to give you these books and said stuff 'bout him and Furi visiting you to talk 'bout your book club project or whatever. Mitobe-senpai made you chocolate and the other bought snacks for you." He let them on the nightstand before putting her chain and the medal beside the pillow.
"There, I give you 'em back."
She was sincerely touched by Seirin's attention, as well as Taiga's care.
"Thank the team on my behalf, please. And thank you for keeping these precious items safe."
He nooded before looking at her nervously. "So..."
"The surgery was a total success!" she answered with a tired smile.
He nodded, visibly relieved.
"You look like shit."
Déjà vu.
It was Taiga's way of asking 'how are you feeling?', just like her rival did.
"My leg hurts and I can't move but I'm relieved. I'll begin the first step of my reeducation in two or three days... Anyway, did you bring your books with you?"
She could feel the depressing aura forming around him when she referred to the tutoring.
"Yeah."
"Let's start with English!"
"Huh?! YOU are going to teach me English?!"
She decided to opt with the most effective technique against him: hurt his pride.
"Of course. I'm way better than you in Enligsh and at least, I don't have this Japanese accent when I'm talking," she mockingly said.
It worked.
"Oi! I've been here for two years, 'course I kinda lost a bit of the American accent!"
"You think I could have used English at school? In France?" She scoffed. "Did you see their level?"
Miyuki shivered as she remembered the horrible grammatical faults she had seen... Unforgivable.
"But you're tired!"
"Maybe, but I can't really sleep with the throbbing pain on my leg."
He made a grimace, as if he was in pain too before giving up. "Fine, let's just finish this!"
A bubbly voice on the doorstep stopped them. "Good afternoon Masuko-san, how-"
The blond stopped, looking incredulously at her best friend.
"Hello, Kise-kun!" she greeted him as he remained speechless.
She turned her head to see that Taiga was doing the same face.
"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING HERE?!"
"I proposed to tutor him as well, remember?"
"Yeah, but... Does it have to be now?"
"Yes, Taiga. Does that bother you?" she asked in an all too sweet voice.
She saw him flinch at the look she was now giving him.
After thirty seconds of silent glances exchanged between Kise-kun and him, he finally muttered a reluctant, "No..."
"Good."
She now looked at her guest who was still standing in front of the door.
"Take a seat Kise-kun," she offered. "I'm sorry I can't tutor you around a proper table for now, I just had the surgery this morning so it's still too painful for me to move."
"That's not a problem! After all, Masuko-san is kind enough to tutor me. Here, I bought you flowers-ssu..."
She laid her eyes on pretty face. Amusingly, the flowers he was holding were just like him: bright, yellow and joyful.
"Is there something wrong?"
"Your um–"
His whole face went red. She followed his gaze and finally understood.
Well, shit.
Just before the operation, she remembered one of the people in charge of her operation ripping her hospital outfit to wider the collar, maybe a bit too much.
"Hey, don't look at her like that!"
Only Taiga (and she, since she was still under the effects of anesthetic) wouldn't notice that the outfit revealed more than necessary... If that could even get called an outfit.
It was cute to see pretty face blushing and trying to look anywhere but there. Miyuki shrugged it off. She didn't really feel uncomfortable with nudity.
She was an athlete and she had spent a scholar year in a men's team after all...
Miyuki wasn't walking around naked but her teammates got used to see her in underwear. Not to mention she and her teammates had walked in on each other after a shower several times.
So yes, she ended up seeing more than she should have seen of some of her teammates' anatomy and vice-versa. And some of them stopped caring at one point and start walking around naked in her presence.
Not that Taiga needed to know that.
"Taiga... Could you just... ride up my... whatever this thing I'm wearing is."
The most shameful thing was how she couldn't even do it herself.
"Thanks Taiga... And thank you, Kise-kun. Don't worry about the tutoring sessions, it's nothing. I couldn't let one of Kuroko-kun's friend and Taiga's rival not participate at the Inter-High due to low scores!"
He finally looked at her again, his face still slightly flushed.
"So you've noticed how Kurokocchi and I are close, does he talk about–"
"Alright, what were you saying? English, right?" Taiga cut him, suddenly looking eager to get to the tutoring session.
She chuckled. Taiga told her about Kise-kun's tendency to ramble about how amazing Kuroko-kun was.
But she understood, Kuroko-kun was one of the kind.
"English it is. For the two next hours, I'm going to only talk to you in English and you're going to do the same as well. No Japanese allowed. We'll do grammar first so be prepared!"
"What–"
She looked at them almost mockingly as she replied in English "Now!"
"Good job, guys."
The two hours had unexpectedly passed more smoothly than she had planned. She thought they would get through senseless hassles but they were calm, focusing on trying to correctly talk and write in English.
They were making impressive progress, especially Kise-kun. She suspected it was because of the skill Kuroko-kun had told her about after their meeting at the restaurant...
Copying technique.
... Not to mention the fact that the two of them were having a competition about who was the best at English, the glares they gave to the other after having praised one of them proving it.
Taiga's stomach made noises, telling them it was time for dinner.
"I'm going to find us food at the cafeteria!"
"Okay but just don't take everything there, will you?" she said in an amused tone. She was only half-joking though, not that whatever she would say could change something because when it came to food, no one could stop him.
"Haha, Kagamicchi really eats a lot!"
"That's Taiga for you," she agreed.
As she continued to read one of the novels she burrowed to Kuroko-kun, Miyuki could feel Kise-kun's gaze on her.
He was observing her, as if he was trying to figure something. And at that moment, she remembered he was way more than these good looks and cute smiles he gave her at the restaurant.
She could see it because he was the same type as Kuroko-kun and her: someone hiding their sharp observations behind a façade.
Hers was excessive and almost cold politeness. Kuroko-kun's was his infamous deadpan attitude. And his was his overexcited behavior. Quite a contrast with his silent observation to copy other players, but it strangely worked with him.
And the fact that he had a pretty face probably helped too. Curiosity winning over her, she stopped pretending she couldn't feel his gaze on her.
"Kise-kun, could I ask you something?"
"Of course Masuko-san, what is it?"
"You're awfully good to me... Why?"
"Heh?"
She laughed lightly, trying to find a good way to say it. "We don't really know each other but you have this friendly attitude towards me... And I know despite appearance, you're not the kind of person to behave this way with someone unless you judge them as worthy." Resting chin on hand, her lips were smiling at him almost slyly. "So, how am I be considered as 'worthy' by you? I'm not someone with the same blessing as Taiga or Kuroko-kun."
Lies, she thought.
Not exactly... she thought once again.
His eyes widened as she finished her sentence. He was now smirking, examining her with interest.
"Masuko-san is amazing, after all. The last person who could see it that quickly was Kurokocchi." Unsurprising, she thought. "I'm curious about the person who could control Kagamicchi so well and make Kurokocchi feels comfortable so quickly. But I partially understand now."
Although she didn't like the way he worded the first part about Taiga, but the last part confused her.
She frowned. "What about Kuroko-kun?"
"You see..." he started before sitting on the side of the bed. "Kurokocchi can be blunt but he is a polite person so it was surprising to him to ask someone he just met to sit on his lap in a public place. Or, this book..." She looked at the light novel in her hands. "It's one of Kurokocchi's favorite books since middle school and I can't see him lend it to someone he doesn't trust."
It was her turn to be surprised. "How do you know?"
"My eyes can see it." A simple yet elusive explanation. That type of answers worked with people generally more appealed by his pretty face than by what he said. But not with her.
"You really are something. I can see why you're so interested by Kuroko-kun."
"But why does Kurokocchi trust you?"
There was no bitterness or jealousy in his voice, just curiosity.
The truth was, she didn't really know why.
Lies, she thought again.
She felt a natural connection with him.
It wasn't the blinding sparkle that she had with her football teammates but a warm and reassuring friendship. And an understanding. So the only thing she could say to explain it was, "Maybe it's because we're the same kind, like you and I."
For the first time, Kise-kun genuinely smiled at her. "Yeah, you're probably right!"
She concealed a smile back, a sincere one that time. There was no over politeness in it, just the feeling that she just formed a bond that would hopefully last. And she was sure he understood.
When Taiga came back, he was visibly confused by the two of them grinning at each other like idiots.
"What are you guys doing?"
"Masukocchi and I were just– EH? You took way too much food!"
"Uh? Since when do you call her with '-cchi'?"
"That's because Masukocchi is a good tutor, just like Kurokocchi was the best instructor when we were in middle school and I just entered the first string and..."
As he continued to talk about Kuroko-kun, Taiga sighed as he put the food on the table.
"I shouldn't have asked..."
Miyuki woke up the following day to the sound of birds squealing.
It was 8 A.M. She groaned.
Great.
She wanted to keep sleeping but couldn't because of the raw pain in her leg. She guessed that she didn't feel it while pretty face and Taiga were with her because they were distracting her attention from her leg... And also thanks to previous dose of morphine.
And now, there she was, mentally prepared to be bored to death until they came back and suffering until the nurse would come to increase her dose as she stubbornly refused to beep on the button.
Or so she thought until she heard a familiar voice coming from the corridors.
"I'll come to help you after classes, nanodayo."
Miyuki recognized that deep voice. She couldn't help but ask out loud to herself, "Midorima-kun?"
The steps in the corridors momentarily stopped and the door of her room was being open slowly, almost hesitantly. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw a tall green haired man looking at her with shock.
"You..."
"Good morning, Midorima-kun! What are you doing here?"
He blinked several times before touching his glasses. "My father runs this hospital," he tersely stated.
"I see."
So that was probably his father he was talking to a few seconds ago.
Silence settled between the two of them, but it was different with the one they had two days ago in the rain. Surprisingly, it was him who started the discussion.
"How did your surgery go?"
"Good! I was informed I'll start my reeducation tomorrow."
His eyes went on her swollen knee before he replied a simple "I see."
Shintaro threw a glance at her knee.
The girl is awfully calm for someone who is about to go through half a year of intense physical reeducation.
He wondered if she would still be Seirin's manager during that time. If so, he would have to consider that fact into his future plans.
The last time, he had to admit he greatly underestimated Kagami... And her. She might not be Momoi but he knew she had contributed to Seirin's victory. He didn't know how or to what extent, though.
While he made his silent observations, he felt her eyes on him.
"Are you starting classes later?" she asked, tilting her head.
He didn't move to go closer but put in the bag on the floor.
"Yes. I begin class at 10 A.M today."
She nodded. "That's good. I was supposed to start at 8.30 A.M today... I hope the boys will be okay without me." She only muttered the last part and he didn't know who she was talking about.
Curiosity got him.
"Who?"
"Taiga and Kuroko-kun. We're classmates."
Seirin's light and shadow...
"They are in the same class as well..." he muttered, suddenly irritated at the mention of Kuroko and Kagami.
"Does it mean you have someone from your team in your class as well?"
Did my tone give it away?
"Takao," he simply answered.
"That's great! Having a teammate in your class is always more fun. I had several teammates in my former class who made my year better." He threw at her a dubious look. He wasn't convinced at all. Especially after Teiko. "The day you'll fully understand what I told you the other day, you'll agree with me."
The fact that she referred that day made him uncomfortable but his curiosity once again won over his discomfort.
"What do you mean? Not that I care, nanodayo," he quickly added as he tried his best to remain stoic.
"You just realized you really love basketball that day but you still need to realize you can count on your teammates," she uncharacteristically answered bluntly.
His eyes widened. "How– I mean–"
"How do I know you realized you do love basketball? I saw the pain you felt after your defeat." She looked at him, her gaze full of compassion. That was something he used to see in Kuroko's eyes. However, compassion wasn't something usually given to any of the Generation of Miracles members. What he got was always either despair or disgust after they trashed them in a match instead. "Your tears proved it. And you will love basketball even more once you'll be a true team with Shutoku, especially with Takao-kun."
He felt warmth rush to his cheeks.
She did see me cry.
He attempted to hide his blush by coughing and touching the bridge of his glasses again. Okaa-san had told him it was a bad habit.
"Kuroko said you're high school national champion from your home country. How is that possible?" he asked, trying to avoid the subject.
He was sure she was a first-year student, like him.
"You mean how a first-year highschooler has already won the championship? Well, because school starts in April here, I'm continuing my first high school year that I started in France in September due to my level in written Japanese. Otherwise, I would've been in my second year in high school in France after summer holidays... I know, it's convoluted."
Complicated... Seems like the right way to describe her.
He didn't say anything and she kept looking at him, the room now silent. As he watched the analgesic pump and her swollen knee, he couldn't help but wonder why she was so calm.
A knee injury at that age generally led to another injury later. The girl probably knew it too.
And yet, she willingly choose to become Seirin's manager.
Was she foolish enough to lower the importance of her knee reeducation?
The nurse coming with breakfast and morphine cut his thoughts.
"'Morning Masuko-san... Midorima-san? Good... Good morning!" she almost stuttered for the last part.
Masuko waved and greeted her while he nooded to greet her. "Good morning, Hiroe-san!"
He was still watching Masuko's knee as he greeted the nurse in return. "Good morning."
"Masuko-san should rest her arm. I brought your breakfast, a western one just like Masuko-san asked me last night. Does Midorima-san want breakfast as well?"
He declined the offer, picking up his bag. "There's no need to, I was going to leave."
The nurse nodded before focusing on Masuko again. "On a scale from zero to ten, how much painful is it?" the nurse asked.
Masuko ignored on purpose his gaze and focused on the nurse. "Eight," she calmly replied.
The nurse seemed to be about to scold Masuko for not calling her sooner but she decided against it due to his presence. She started injecting the morphine as Shintaro left, understanding she didn't want to be seen like that...
In pain and vulnerable.
"You're going to school now," she said, stopping him in his track.
"Indeed."
He opened the door to leave but stopped once more when she said, "If you want, you can come here to visit me sometimes."
He stayed silent for a few seconds and considered her offer. He barely knew her but considered the fact that she might tell him more about Kagami's technique – he still couldn't understand how the two of them could be best friends – and about the answer he was desparately looking for.
"I'll come this afternoon to help my father, nanodayo."
"Very well," he heard her say before he closed the door.
"I told you, World War II ended in France when Americans came to save our sorry ass with le Débarquement de Normandie. It was June 6th, 1945."
"Oh, I think I get it now."
Second day, second subject: World's History.
Miyuki loved that subject... obviously not as much as English but she enjoyed learning more about the past and studying historical events.
"Woah, I finally understandd this war."
She had been horrified to see what Japanese schools taught their students on World War II, which was even worse than nothing. Their nearly revisionist version of the War baffled her so she decided to teach them things that weren't necessary for the exam. they didn't protest so she took it as a win.
"I like Masukocchi's methods!" pretty face said.
"I think appropriating a content to yourself makes it easier to memorize it."
"Just like basketball! But I didn't think Musukocchi could talk like this. You're usually so polite," he said, in reference to her polite speech.
She smiled, remembering one of her teammtes in France told her the same thing. "I see what you mean but being polite doesn't always work where I used to live..."
(Not to mention her politeness was a way to keep distance with people).
Taiga snorted. "That girl always gets in trouble."
"That's not true!" Maybe she was simply in denial but it was not that bad, was it?
"ARE YOU KIDDING? What about the street fights? And your injury? And what you did to–"
"Okay, I think I get your point," she admitted, before trying to refute one part of Taiga's accusations. "But I never get too reckless, I always take the risks into account."
"STREET. FIGHTS."
She cringed. It was probably the first time someone other than Théodore was there during their bickering about her getting involved on purpose with street fights.
"Just thinkin' 'bout it hurts my head..." Taiga whispered, massaging his temple. "Damnit, I'm hungry now!"
You're always hungry, she wanted to say.
But then, she was getting hungry too and he was the one to provide her the food she liked.
"You're right, it's time to eat."
"Shit, I made food for us but I left it at home! Just wait, I'll be back in 15 minutes."
"Look if I got letters, please."
She was relieved to hear that because to be honest, she couldn't handle weeks of tasteless hospital food.
"Yes ma'am!" he answered in English mockingly. "And you two better be hungry 'cause I made a lot."
And before either of them had time to answer back, he already left.
"Does Kagamicchi really know how to cook?"
She was glad pretty face didn't ask about street fights. And she supposed Kise-kun's uncertainty concerning Taiga's cooking skills was justified.
Her best friend didn't look like the kind of person who knew how to cook... Or to be good at anything except basketball, according to most of the people.
But they were wrong. Dead wrong.
Taiga might not have academic intelligence but he wasn't an idiot. And he had many great skills other than basketball.
"Taiga is the best!" she proudly said.
They both knew she was also talking about basketball. He didn't answer back but he nodded with a smirk on his face.
"Masukocchi... I've always been curious about when you met Kagamicchi! You seem to know him for a long time."
She smiled fondly at the memory. "You're right. It was when I was in the United States during our third grade! And even after I went back to France, we've always stayed best friends."
"Woah, that's a long time!"
"I guess you're right..."
A knock on her door stopped their talk. She was sure it wasn't Taiga – he never knocked –
"You can come in."
"Masuko-san." The young man in front of her bowed to greet her.
Seeing him again made her inexplicably happy. "Midorima-kun, you came back."
Pretty face repetitively blinked as Midorima-kun's eyes widened. "Uh?"
"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING HERE?" Midorima-kun shouted, pointing an accusing finger on Kise-kun.
The blond gasped, offended. "I should be the one to ask you this-ssu!"
Was it always the same with men?
"I'm tutoring Kise-kun for the tests and Midorima-kun kindly accepted to come to visit me this morning," she explained.
Kise-kun blinked again, as if he wasn't sure it was real. "Midorimacchi did?"
"Of course not, don't be stupid," Midorima-kun replied. "I came here to help my father."
"Ah." That was odd. She expected from Kise-kun non-stop babbling but they instead got a simple 'ah' from him.
Midorima-kun didn't seem to care, though.
"Did you have a good day at school?"
"Hm."
"Isn't Midorimacchi supposed to be at practice?"
"This week's practices have been lessened due to the review test."
"I see. I'm sure Midorima-kun is doing well at school," Miyuki said.
Midorima-kun was the only one who didn't seem overly worried (as in: scared to death) after hearing the words 'review test' at the restaurant.
He huffed. "Of course."
"Masukocchi is doing super well too, she's clever and she makes boring things to learn become interesting!"
"Kise-kun is exaggerating, I'm just used to do this for years," she added in reference to her tutoring sessions to classmates. "By the way, did Midorima-kun eat dinner?"
"Not yet."
"Then stay with us," she proposed. "You'll get to taste delicious food."
"Yeah, come on Midorimacchi! It would make Masukocchi and I happy!"
She confirmed what Kise-kun stated with a warm smile.
She knew Kise-kun didn't say that sentence randomly. His reason was unknown to her but the way he said that gave it away.
"I suppose I cannot refuse." A small sigh escaped his mouth.
However, Midorima-kun just indirectly said he accepted.
She took it as an encouraging sign.
"You can take this seat or this one."
"Does Masukocchi know what we will eat?"
"I'm sure it will be American knowing –"
"Yo, I'm back!"
She felt like that situation was a déjà-vu.
Taiga and Midorima-kun were making the same faces in the restaurant and she felt some uneasiness between them but at least it was... Well, not as drastic as two days ago. At least they weren't yelling insults at each other. Yet.
"Before you both start to yell, Midorima-kun came to visit me because I asked him if he wanted to and Taiga is here because I'm tutoring him as well and– Taiga is Taiga," she started explaining before any of them could protest. "So please, make a temporary truce. Believe me, being rivals without bitterness is so much better."
Maybe she was being selfish to ask that... But she had had enough last year and she didn't want people to go through it again. And she didn't want to witness it in a hospital either.
Especially when her best friend was concerned.
Taiga looked at her with wide eyes. "Emilie..."
Of course he understood.
He was one of the people who took the broken pieces and helped her to fix them. She truly couldn't handle going through that again...
The feeling of witnessing a situation and yet not being to do anything. The last time, it ended up quite badly.
So she hoped Taiga would get along with his rivals, or at least not end up hating them. Rivalry was one thing, becoming enemies (including with their own teammates, especially with them) was another...
On the other side, it truly was selfish from her. Could she really ask that to the one who had already sacrificed so much for her?
She was about to ask him to just forget it when Taiga surprised her.
He put what he got in his hands on the floor and offered a handshake.
"Kagami Taiga, nice to meet you."
Silence.
Midorima-kun stood frozen before nodding slowly. Miyuki was stunned by what he just did.
He agreed.
Having rivals who can be friendly with you was so much more fun. And to her shock, Midorima-kun shook her best friend's hand.
"Midorima Shintaro, likewise."
They were unsurprisingly glaring each other, challenging each other to dare tell 'NO' and put a stop to it but they were still cooperating.
Miyuki gave a silent 'thanks' to Taiga with her eyes. She would make sure to properly thank Midorima-kun later.
"What did you make for dinner?" she asked to try to diffuse the tension in the room.
"Shrimp jambalaya and madeleines."
Typical.
"I knew it would be American again..." she muttered.
"You're the one to talk with your French food! And I made the effort to bake madeleines so you don't get to complain!"
She pouted. Desserts were her weakness, and he knew it.
"If you say so..."
Kise-kun stammered, like every time he was trying to interrupt their bickering.
"Uh... What– what are these dishes?"
She forgot how Japanese dishes were different... Or rather she didn't remember that until she had to buy ingredients in the convenient store to fill the fridge.
She had to adapt most of the recipes she cooked since cheese was so expensive in Japan.
"Shrimp jambalaya is an American dish with rice, shrimp, ham and chorizo and madeleines are french small cakes with almonds or lemon zest. I hope it's lemon though."
"Yeah, yeah, I followed your recipe. It's good I brought five plates with me."
"Why would you–"
Miyuki rolled her eyes.
This guy is unbelievable.
"He planned to use three plates for himself. May I remind you that his stomach is a black hole?"
"Ah."
Taiga didn't even try to refute it and started serving the dishes in the plates. "Here you go. Tell me when to stop."
The two other young men seemed genuinely surprised. She knew what they thought: the food looked – surprisingly – good.
"Itadakimasu!" they all said before starting to eat.
Kise-kun's eyes widened. "Kagamicchi, that's... really delicious-ssu!"
"It... doesn't taste bad," Midorima-kun admitted.
"But it tastes good!" Kise-kun continued, flabbergasted. "How is that even possible?"
"Oi! I live alone so I have to know how to cook instead of starving."
"You live alone?"
Taiga nodded as he swallowed the food. "My old man was supposed to live with me but he had to come back to the States."
Miyuki had a lot to say about Uncle.
She loved him and she knew Taiga loved him too but she thought Uncle was irresponsible for letting Taiga in Japan alone since he was 13 when he didn't even have any friends or relatives there... Especially considering the fact he knew about Taiga and Tatsya's fallout.
A year after Auntie passed away, he had started being absent often and prioritizing his career instead, from what Taiga said. She couldn't fully say it for herself since she had moved out in France a bit after that but she knew from her best friend's wording that he was trying to defend Uncles's behavior.
She had thought it would change once they would come to live in Japan so when she heard only Taiga would live there, she was disappointed in Uncle once more.
Kise-kun's face showed hesitantation. He looked almost scared to ask something. "Doesn't it feel... lonely sometimes?"
That was what she wondered sometimes. She knew he missed Uncle over the past years but he never openly talked about it. He only complained about everyone being weak in basketball in Japan and him not having friends because he looked too intimidating for them.
"Nah, not anymore. Emilie comes around to eat with me every day."
Kise-kun gave her a questioning look and she didn't know if it was because he saw her struggling the fork or because of Taiga's statement.
"We live in the same apartment complex and I eat with him because I live alone too," she said, wishing she could freely move her arms without feeling that pain from the multiple catheters.
"Masukocchi too?"
She nodded. She was glad her parents chose that location on purpose. They didn't leave her alone. "My family is still in France, they'll come here in late August. About that, did you look if I got letters, Taiga?"
"Yeah, you got two letters and this huge box."
Her face lightened up. She didn't know who wrote one of the two letters but she knew who sent the box and what its content.
"They sent everything!"
Even Taiga was totally clueless.
"Uh?"
"I didn't have time to empty my locker so my teammates did it for me." Was it a lie? The truth was that her leg hurt too much and that she other obligations. Not to mention the media hype around her team made it difficult to find time as their captain. "They probably sent some of the pictures as well."
"I want to see them Masukocchi, can I?"
Miyuki smiled at the sight of Kise-kun practically bouncing in excitement. "Of course, Kise-kun. And you as well Midorima-kun, if you want."
She opened the box carefully to find on top of the contents a sheet of paper.
"A letter? Surprising."
Opening it, she laughed, recognizing the terrible writing.
"Look Taiga, someone is writing in French just like you write in Japanese."
"Oi you bastard, it isn't that bad!"
"Shh, let me read it."
'Dear Emilie,
What's up?
Hope you're doing well and that you're taking care of your stupid injury so we can play together again next time.
As you required, we've taken everything from your locker and send it back to you. We add some stuff like the album we've completed for you. You kept too many books and useless items in your locker by the way – who would need cake recipes there? –
Anyway, we won that other fancy bonus tournament even if you weren't here but we still haven't officially filled the captain sit yet despite your nomination for your successor. For now, he remains our temporary captain.
School is ending next week for us, so we'll be able to make a Skype with the whole team.
Everyone misses you here. I swear I saw Coach cry when he talked about how he missed you because 'keeping us in line is impossible' by himself (he was being dramatic as always, I mean we're not monsters or something). I asked him if he was really crying but he slapped my head and denied it. Pffffffff...
In case you weren't informed, the Class Council took place yesterday: you got the highest honors from them and 17,7/20! The others did well too and guess who listened to your advice about going to literary studies?
So you better do the same for yourself next year or someone will take a ticket to Tokyo to kick your ass!
With you leaving to go to Japan and the other three going to university, we lost half of our defense and our number two scorer but we saw some potential players at the school's Open Day.
Being the French Football High School National Champions made our school less repulsive, can you believe that?
On a serious note, you really turned into some kind of folk hero here, I think they know you made that painting.
After you left, people couldn't stop asking about you. Your duo gave to the kids and people here some hope back. Look at the final! And what you did for the semi-final is proof that everything is possible for an outsider. And some of your old teammates wanted to patch things between you so we gave them your new address because we want to help you. But we're deeply sorry for giving your phone number to Lisa. We didn't know it was her until Coach told us. He gave us 10 laps around the school as punishment.
We hope you're happy in your new country. Keep smiling with Taiga and Tatsuya, make new friends but don't give up on croissants et chocolatines pains au chocolat (not chocolatines!), you're still French!
And because I know Taiga will be reading it with you: for God's sake, don't let her being involved in physical fights anymore. You look away for 5 seconds and she manages to get into trouble, how is that even possible?
By the way, you won the Best Captain award again, congrats my Lady! We put it in the box for you :) Be sure that we'll come to Japan next year for a reason.
Love, the Team."
She laughed at the chocolatine inside joke. She almost forgot how much she loved them.
Her team.
Although she enjoyed her new life in Japan, she would have liked to finish her scholar year in France, perhaps even achieve her three high school years there. But she cherished the memories she had with them during that one year and she felt so happy they treasured her as much as she treasured them.
"Masukocchi's teammates seem great-ssu!"
"They're the best."
There was no other way to describe them: the best.
"They're a bunch of weirdos but they're good lads... And what did I read, Emilie? Street fight? AGAIN? Seriously?" Taiga scolded her.
She rolled her eyes. "I won so calm down."
But after saying it out loud, she felt like that would not calm him down.
AT ALL.
"That's not the problem! And there's somethin' written on the other side."
She turned the sheet of paper "You're right. 'PS: we found some underwears of yours in the locker. I won the bet, I knew it. C cup! How could you even run with boobs is a mystery to me, seriously.'"
She faced palm. Men could be so stupid sometimes.
She was too busy to pester against the guys of her team she didn't even care about the two young men in the room blushing.
Taiga was unfazed.
"Yeah, now that I think about it, that must be rough for you..." he pondered.
"Taiga, you only notice this... now? Really?"
But then, this was Taiga. The one who didn't even fully realize she was a girl for months and didn't realize Alex was a woman at all. It had been something obvious for everyone. He remained oblivious about it until someone at school pointing out 'how it sucks to be trained by a girl', to which Taiga replied he didn't care as long as they were strong in basketball.
"Masukocchi..."
Nervous laugh. Shifty eyes.
Was it because of the underwear thing? Definitely.
"Um, this... What you just read is uh– strange. Aren't they all girls too?"
"What are you talking about? I was in a men's team." She frowned. She thought she had made it clear.
Or... maybe not judging by their expressions.
"WHAT?" If Midorima-kun was voicing his surprise out loud it meant she didn't make it clear AT ALL.
Oh, the joy of explaining it over and over again. It hadn't happened for weeks.
"My high school didn't have a women's football team or even a men's football team so we created one since we wanted to play together."
"But wasn't it harder for you?"
"I did struggle at the beginning because of their style. The way men tend to make fewer passes and be more physical compared to women's football was unsettling but I was already used to it by the time the club was founded. And I have a new football now... Anyway, let's just watch the album," she said, not wanting to reveal more at the moment.
She wasn't sure they would understand since they were men and couldn't fully grasp how difficult it was for a woman to even reach their physical level. She had made an enormous amount of efforts to fill the gap. And she had something boys sometimes (often) didn't use to compensate: a brain.
To make a strategy.
She opened the album to find the first picture of this scholar year. Or to be more precise the summer vacation before her first year in high school.
"That was in July." She knew she looked like hell on this and her smile was too forced. That was just after her last day of middle school. "Wow, did I look that bad back then?"
On the following picture (taken two weeks later), she still had bags under her eyes but she wasn't faking her smile anymore. Taiga was also by her side. She was still grateful for what he did back then as the comment she left behind the picture said it...
'Merci, Taiga.'
"Your hair..." Midorima-kun whispered. He was cooly laying his eyes on the picture although he looked slightly surprised by the pixie haircut.
"I cut it but it grew back, yeah." There was no need for them to know it happened after that incident...
She turned the page. The first picture with her team. "This is my team... Well, half of them."
At that time, they were just playing street football and the club hadn't been founded yet.
"Hey, I remember that. I took this picture!"
"Yeah, and you're on this one." That picture had been taken while Taiga was arguing about the typical 'what sport is better?' debate with her teammates.
Did men all bond by shouting at each other?
The next photos were them playing in the park of the neighborhood. She stopped at the one taken the first day in high school.
'Le véritable début de notre aventure :)'
"That was the day we decided to create a football club," she explained.
The next picture was the traditional group photo of complete team in their uniform for the first time of the season.
"Where is Masukocchi-ssu?"
"She's here, baka," Taiga replied as her pointed her on the photo.
"It's a guy."
She chuckled, now used to that remark, "No, that's me."
His eyes widened. "But why–"
"I thought that was obvious... Girls aren't allowed to play with boys in French football clubs, at least not at this age category anymore. I'm proud to be a girl but I really wanted to play with my friends. And I can play as well as them so not being able to play I have breasts is stupid," she retorted.
Not to mention that none of the rules officially stated she couldn't play... Technically speaking.
"Oh... Masukocchi looks dashing."
"Thank you! Same goes for you, Kise-kun!" she praised him back to his delight.
She turned the page while pretty face hugged her tight.
'Notre première victoire à un tournoi official'.
Their first tournament and their first official victory.
There were also pictures of them during practice, mostly with her boys fooling around. School time. Her birthday.
'30 Septembre: 15 ans!'
She sighed. "I can't believe I'll be 16 and still in my first year here."
Another sigh from Taiga. "Same. And the holidays..."
"Yeah, I'm already missing the two-month vacation and– that one looks good!"
'Halloween 201X'
"It was fun. Everyone made an effort that day!"
That was the first time she hadn't spent the night with her family for Halloween but that was one of her best memories with her friends. That night, she created bonds with the members who entered the football club in September.
"Weird, that looks familiar..."
Of course it looked familiar. She wore something like that in their childhood for Halloween.
"It was based on the one I used to wear at the States when we were kids." It was bittersweet. They were three of them at that time and now two of them did not even talk to each other for two years.
She could see realization and melancholia in his eyes.
"Right..."
'Photo de classe: 2nde - 3'
Looking at those who used to be her classmates made her frown. She disliked most of them, except the few teammates with her and three other persons.
'Bataille de boules de neige!'
Another fun day with her team, though that snowball fight made half of the team catch a cold. That was the first time for years it had snowed in their city.
'Noël 201X en famille'
That photo was obviously going to bring questions to Taiga.
"Is that–"
"He went to visit me during Christmas holidays."
She noticed the way he was playing with the ring nervously in his hand but failed to notice she was doing the same thing.
"It's great, I... Uh, I haven't see him in a long–"
"Cut the crap, Taiga." She hadn't intend to be harsh but he had to understand there was no need to lie anymore. At least, that kept him silent as she see the surprise in everyone's eyes for her vocabulary.
That wasn't going to be easy.
She softened her voice, feeling guilty. "I knew something was wrong. I had felt it in the past year and a half but I was waiting for you to say it. I guess you wanted to say it last summer but... Yeah. And Tatsuya ended up being the one telling me everything. That was stupid of you."
"But–"
"And that was stupid from the both of you to hide it from me but I can't say I don't understand. Let's just..." Miyuki paused, searching for the right words. "... talk about this after the Final League."
She knew he wasn't happy about it but he understood.
"Okay," he agreed
They looked back at the pictures.
'Nouvel an 201X: Tatsuya me porte chance :)'
That was a week later for New Year's Eve and it was probably one the the only pictures she had of him where he was smiling brightly, instead of his usual half smile.
"You look cute together! Is he your boyfriend?"
Taiga chocked on his saliva. He cursed at Kise-kun while she started laughing. That kind of questions was so frequent she ended up laughing over it instead of getting angry or offended.
"No, he's not. He's my other best friend."
"You both look... Intimate."
She couldn't blame Midorima-kun for saying that. For Japan's standard, it looked too intimate.
"It's a French tradition. At midnight for New Year, we kiss under a Viscum album, a special kind a mistletoe to bring luck to us. It's supposed to be on the mouth but I just kissed him on the cheek because we're not dating."
She had questioned herself about that sometimes. She couldn't deny it, at least to herself.
Yes, she truly believed in friendships between men and women but that didn't mean there wasn't any attraction between them sometimes.
Both of her best friends were attractive in a different way. She didn't need to be romantically interested in them to see that.
However...
Whenever she asked to herself if she felt romantic love towards Taiga, it was a big 'NO!' in capital letters but whenever it was about Tatsuya, it had been a hesitant 'I don't know...' until last year.
Taiga turned the pages of the album for her. Pictures taken during classes, games...
'Carnaval du lycée'
They had won the overall second price for their themed costumes. And sweets. Lots of sweets.
'Champions Départemental!' 'Vice-Champions Régional: prochaine étape champions de France!'
It was great to see the steps they had made to reach the top. Regionals included.
'Anniversaire du petit'
"Wow, the kid grew up a lot!" Taiga said at the sight of her little brother blowing the candles on the cake.
"I know... It's sad, isn't it?" she complained.
"Uh?"
"He's going to grow up and become a basketball idiot just like you instead of becoming a football player like his big sister," Miyuki whined.
"Oi!"
The next page showed her little brother at a game.
'Match de Nate: victoire 34-50'
"Woah, lookin' good!"
"Kagamicchi can read French?"
"A bit. I can talk too with what Emilie taught me when we were kids. in what position is he playin'?"
"Power Forward... The little guy can't even do it right," she answered as she shook her head.
She was definitely being childish but she would have wanted to see her baby brother becoming small forward or point guard like she used to be. Surely Taiga would influence him once he would be there.
"Told you."
She would never admit he was right. Not out loud.
'Bal du printemps 201X'
"I can see you Taiga, just laugh outloud once for good."
"Pff... HAHAHAHAHA I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"
"Did the guys on the pictures... do something funny?" Kise-kun asked.
"It's just... pfff... Emilie willingly goin' to a ball is as rare as snow falling on L.A on summer."
And there were two reasons. One: she hated that sort of event and two: she hated dancing in public.
(And there was a third reason Taiga and she wouldn't talk about)
"I went there because I knew it would be my last. It was surprisingly fun!"
"Did you put a dress and all? Come on, these guys must have taken pictures."
Miyuki groaned. "Just turn the page already!"
Taiga was enjoying it too much to her taste. But he went silent after turning the page.
"You..."
"What?"
He wasn't laughing anymore, his eyes focusing on the pictures.
"It suits you," he said, his eyes going soft.
Miyuki looked away and scratched her neck, embarrassed.
"Thanks."
'Début du tournoi'
('Start of the tournament')
"They added new pictures."
'1/4 de final: record de buts marqués en un match pour l'équipe.'
'Air Move: heel jungle by the Lady'
'1/2 final: fiers de notre capitaine.'
'FINALE!'
"That was taken from my last game with them," she explained.
It also the first and only time she had officially played as a girl in the tournament... And also the time where she had gotten injured but bringing the cup with them was worth it, she had no regret.
'VICTOIRE!'
('VICTORY!')
They were all smiling and holding the cups on the picture, smiles and tears of joy mixed together.
Miyuki sighed, feeling nostalgic. "I can't believe it was less than two months ago."
"I wish I could've watched it," Taiga said. "It looked like one hell of a match!"
"Coach filmed it," she offered.
He blinked repeatedly before laughing. "You're a weirdo!"
She hit his arm lightly with her elbow. "I'm just trying to be professional!"
"What are you talking about, Masukocchi, Kagamicchi?"
"Her dad's their coach," Taiga explained.
"Is that even possible?"
Miyuki cringed. "I was the team's coach at the start but it was too hard to keep going on with the schedule." 'Schedule' was another way to say that their captain was trying to hide she was a girl. "I asked papa's help. Anyway, he filmed most of the match for you and he will probably send you this soon. It was aired on TV too, there were a few cameras around."
"Tch, I bet he was shouting at you when you kept playing with that injury."
"You mean he nearly killed me."
"You deserved it!"
"Thanks for your support, Taiga," she answered, deadpan.
'20/03/1X: football avec les jeunes!'
15/04/1X: spectacle de street football'
"We played with the kids of the neighborhood once a month and sometimes, we made some street football show downtown."
"Don't you have other pictures?"
"I do, but I'll complete this album with my new memories here." There were pictures she would rather put somewhere else. "Taiga, can you give me the box?"
"Sure."
She opened the box and started looking at its content. "Spanish test... Ugh, math test... There, an old English test. Look Taiga, that's how you do it!" she said, gloating at him.
"Bastard!"
"Thirty euros... My recipes. My camera, I thought I left it at home!"
Her favorite picture was there too.
"That's..." It was the first picture they had ever taken along with Tatsuya. It was when Taiga and she were still in third grade while Tatsuya was a year above. Back then, she had short hair and had a tomboy look. She always wearing boys hoodies and was sometimes mistaken for a boy.
She had changed since then and had come to appreciate wearing dresses but she still appreciate wearing comfortable clothes.
It was good times. Simpler times.
"Was... Masukocchi taller than Kagamicchi?" Kise-kun asked, bewildered.
Good time, indeed...
"Yes, I was until our fifth grade."
And to say she used to mock him about his height... And now, he was the one to do it, much to his delight.
"How many books do you have here?"
"I like reading, books are fantastic! Taiga, don't touch them!"
"What? I was going to give them to you."
"I can take my own underwears, thank you." To let men see some of her panties was one thing but to let them touch it was another, even if it was her best friend. She would have to talk to Alex about that... She took them and put them in thr nearesr drawer.
"Man, it's getting late."
"Hm."
"Kagamichi is right!"
11 P.M. She hadn't even notice what time it was until now.
"Well, see you tomorrow. Just take some of Taiga's madeleines with you and don't forget to take your Japan's History books."
"Hai!"
As they left surprisingly quietly, she thought that even if she would never give up on croissants et chocolatines, she was indeed making new friends with Taiga by her sides.
A/N: The more I write this story, the more I make long chapters! To explain the title's chapter: 'croissants et chocolatines' is a reference to famous french viennoiseries ('chocolatines' are also called 'pain au chocolat' in France, depending on where are you from: North or South). I chose this title because this chapter showed you a glimpse of her past, or more precisely her past with her highschool team in France and that's a way to say although she now in Japan, she'll always love France because she spent years there and loves food from there haha.
This chapter was more like a transition. I needed to settle properly the beginning of a friendship between her and Kise and Midorima. For Midorima, romance will come late but I believe characters just like people in real life need to know each other and become friends before something else.
About Masuko's past, I'll just bring the pieces by pieces but as you can see it has two parts: her time in the U.S with Kagami and Himuro and her time back in France, in middle school (and high school).
Also, I made some hints about her social background. In case you wonder: indeed, she isn't from a rich family. Most of the people who play street football are from there but it's not a bad thing because, for example, Masuko is proud of where she comes from and wanted to change the things in her neighborhood with football. I think it was important to represent that because not everyone is rich and comes from a wealthy neighborhood.
Once again, thank you for the fav/following guys! Don't hesitate to post comments :)