Summary [chapter 13]: They said talking could make things easier but could she put words to say what she was feeling ? And how to make easier something that even haunted her dreams... But without realizing, she was not the only one who was making nightmare about red and that person might be the one she relied on and rested on their shoulder.
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.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OCs
[SUMMER TRAINING CAMP ARC]
FRAGMENTS
~.~
Chapter 13: put your head on my shoulder
The training camp was at its half and Miyuki could see Seirin starting to evolve into an incredible team, with Teppei as their new (old) Center. The team was also getting friendlier with Shutoku, especially during breaks and meals. It was amusing to see Taiga always eating at the same table as Midorima yet, both denied they were sitting on the same table because they wanted to (according to them, it was her fault if they had to, of course).
Taiga was doing well with his personal training, his stamina was increasing day by day. She was glad they finally got to reveal their current thoughts. The both of them had many things they were worried about, such as the possibility of a future career (or not) and her thoughts about Noémie.
She had that nagging feeling Lisa would call her just to be sure she was 'okay' again (meaning she would try to mess her up). That ominous feeling went back when she received that call while talking with the boys in their room.
Unknown number. From France.
It was her.
Her palm went cold from sweat while her eyes were still glued on her mobile phone.
"Emilie, what's the deal?"
"Itt's her."
She took a deep breath, noticing how everything became so quiet, all looks on her.
"Oh my God, I know I said I would be ready but I'm scared like shit..."
"Take a deep breath and do what you did last year."
Yes, she would do like she did on the trial.
Cold yet polite.
Cold yet polite... She decided to take the call, telling her name in a cold tone.
"Lisa."
"Emilie ou devrais-je plutôt dire Emile, je vois que tu attendais mon appel avec impatience."
"Ne. M'appelle pas. Par. Ce. Nom."
How dare she?
Only her new teammates could call her like that. The way she said it... It was revolting.
She was mocking all the work she made. Every game, every goal mocked because she had pretended to be a male to be able to play with her friends. Of course, she would find it stupid, she could not understand her intentions anymore.
Forget fear, she was now angry.
"Taiga est à côté de toi, non? Dans ce cas, je vais parler japonais pour qu'il comprenne bien aussi."
Lisa wanted her to put the call on speaker.
Why?
She complied despite her hesitation.
"Taiga, what a pleasure to finally talk to you again."
Her Japanese was still good, she thought bitterly.
"Can't say the same, bitch."
Miyuki looked at her best friend, surprised. It was rare to see him with that face outside the court. Taiga was hot-headed, yes, but it was never that serious.
A sardonic laugh went to her ears.
"So much hostility from you two, how adorable."
"Cut the crap and tell me why you're calling. NOW."
"Aren't you an impatient one?"
"I'm hanging up."
And she was ready to do so when Lisa talked again and said his name.
"Are you sure you don't want to hear about Theo?"
Theo? She did not just say his name, did she...
"Don't fucking come close to him."
Theo had been the one who was the most hurt by the mess that was their last middle school year along with with Noémie. He was the one who was hurt the most by Lisa's atitude. She was there to try to support him when he cried.
"I didn't. Why would I? He's useless."
Useless?
Miyuki clenched her fist. "What did you just say?" she inquired, her tone deadly.
"That both of my exes are useless."
"Uh?"
... Both?
"You heard me well. What did you say to have him be all friendly with Theo again? Even that new boyfriend of yours is being all friendly with him after your last match."
Even Jean was talking to him? How strange... But it might be because they were going to be teammates at the National Youth Team.
"You mean what I told him after you made him threaten me before our match?"
The semi-final had been frustrating and mentally exhausting in many ways and the confrontation with one of her former middle school friends partly explained it. Not to mention the penalty shootout brought back some unwelcomed memories from her last match middle school.
"That's a foolish accusation. I see you didn't deny that pretty boy Jean is your boyfriend."
She gritted her teeth. Her true (past) romantic relationship with her vice-captain wasn't publically known although there were rumors about them... and she and Theo... And basically half of her teammates or past friends in middle school who happened to be guys ever since she had revealed her real identity. "My relationship status with Jean doesn't concern you. And if you want to know I told him the truth and we took the time to have a talk after our match, but it's nice to hear he's doing well."
"Then I should say it is also thanks to you if he is homeless."
"What?"
How could he be homeless? His family was rich, richer than...
Oh.
Oh.
Oh no...
"He said stupid things to his parents about 'wanting to choose by himself' and even defended you and those of your kind. Then he decided to go to your worthlss high school in September. How sad is that?"
Her high school team, worthless? Despite that, her heart skipped a beat at the mention of him going to her former middle school. The thought of him becoming teammate with Jean and Theo brought made her curious.
"Those 'of my kind like' you said, are your equal since we have the same title," she said. "Unlike you, he decided to be brave and stood up against his parents. And he's not homeless. He has Theo and I, as well as my family and I'm sure Jean and the team will welcome him so hear me well: he's. not. homeless. And if you think I don't know what you did to the rest of the old teal, you're wrong. I'll show you how it is possible to lead a team to victory as a real team, even with you in it."
Lisa said nothing for a few seconds and she wondered if she was still there before hearing her voice again.
"What a heartful speech. Let's just hope nobody will have too much trouble. I shall leave you... I wish you luck for your leg, wouldn't it be sad if you don't make it for the World Cup? And Taiga, congratulations. I should onclude that she chose you over Tatsuya. That's a shame since he has been by her side longer than you have been."
"Fuck you!" Taiga answered, clearly affected.
"How rude. I guess Emilie's way of talking comes from you."
"YOU LITTLE–"
She decided to cut her best friend, not wanting him to get deep into her little mind game. "I didn't choose one over the ether, best friends don't do that. You might have chosen to forget what is loyalty but I didn't." Taiga didn't need to feel more guilty that he felt already for the whole losing on purpose against Tatsuya fiasco. "And there's no need to worry about my knee, I was able to play and win Nationals final with it. I had my teammates supporting me. And... Show some respect. Such disrespect to your future national team captain is unacceptable. Goodbye."
She hung up, not even waiting for an answer. She was tempted to throw her phone away. Really tempted.
But that would make her win.
"Taiga, give me my bag please."
He didn't say another word and just stood up, as everyone's eyes were on her.
For a heated moment, she forgot she and Taiga weren't alone.
"What was... that?!" Furihata-kun.
"My beloved former teammate from middle school and my future teammate for the youth World Cup, isn't she sweetest?"
Now, she had to be angry to even talk to Furihata-kun with such biting sarcasm.
"Désolée."
"'Sweet' wouldn't be the right word."
"Here. You wanna write to him, don't you?"
Taiga managed to calm himself down already. Surprising.
"I have to."
"Who's... that guy you were talking about?"
She took a breath, not wanting to snap at her friends. It wasn't their fault after all.
"He was... he's a friend and the now former Captain of the team I played against in the semi-final of Nationals. We used to go to the same middle school."
"Where do I put it?" her best friend asked.
"Put my laptop near the plug and where I can write without being bothered by my leg, please."
Taiga only found the corner of the room for her, since she needed energy for the computer.
"It's fine."
She stood up, mumbling in English while getting her arms on her crutches, "I'm sorry, guys."
If Tetsuya said he wasn't disturbed by Miyuki-san and Kagami-kun's exchange on the phone with that 'Lisa', he would be lying.
That cold, no, icy tone... The calm anger.
Her apparent coolness was hiding a quiet rage and it was frightening.
But as selfish as it sounded, it was also... relieving. It was a relieve to see that someone could stand up again after getting through many hardships and still be fighting for her friends.
Miyuki-san chose a different path to get her teammates from middle school back. He chose to beat them, she chose to be their Captain. It might be because her situation was more twisted than his. It might be because she knew it was too late for her to have her teammates back by winning against them.
They were already too broken.
Tetsuya knew it wasn't too late for his former teammates when he saw Kise-kun's tears and Midorima-kun's sober sorrow after losing for the first time against Seirin. And he hoped to play against Seirin once more in 1‼inter would have the same effect on Aomine-kun.
He didn't know much about Miyuki-san and her teammates from middle school but what Kagami-kun told them was enough to conclude all was left was a disaster.
Emotional abuse, car accident, trial... But Miyuki-san wanted to bring hope, just like Seirin brought that hope he was looking for, not only for him but also for them.
The Generation of Miracles.
Seirin could be their salvation.
He watched Kagami-kun and Miyuki-san on the corner of the room, whispering precipitously short sentences. There an unusual tension between them akin to the one the Generation of Miracles had at the second half of their third year.
"You didn't tell me."
"I didn't know."
"Not talkin' 'bout that."
"Then what?"
"You didn't tell me 'bout your little talk with him."
"It doesn't matter."
"It does!"
"It's strictly between him and I."
"But he broke your heart!"
"You think we don't know that! He screwed up, he acknowledged it and he's changing."
"I was talking about Théo too. He broke Théo's heart."
"I said 'we'. We both know that but that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve forgiveness and redemption."
"He's causing you pain."
"But who doesn't, Taiga?" Her voice slightly raised and went shaky. "Tatsuya and you are breaking my heart but you're still my best friends. I broke your heart when I left but you still love me and Noémie broke our hearts when she forgot us but she's trying!"
"Emilie..."
Breaking other people's heart?
Tetsuya felt pangs of guilt after hearing her words. He remembered lying to Momoi-san under that cherry blossom tree at the start of their third year in Teiko... That was last year.
He remembered making her cry and pretending he didn't hear anything as he walked away.
He was a horrible person.
And not only he had never apologized for that, but he hadn't kept his promise to bring her back her Aomine-kun either.
Their Aomine-kun.
The one who genuinely loved basketball more than anyone.
Momoi-san was the one who was hurt the most during their two last years at Teikou and none of them told her a simple 'sorry'.
He even had doubts the rest of the Generation of Miracles knew how hurt she was. Momoi-san had hidden it well although she always had a wistful look when she thought nobody was watching.
Or it might be because they were too selfishly only thinking about themselves. That would be even worse.
"I forgave him, Théo did as well. Do the same and move forward."
Move Forward...
Tetsuya was trying to do the same. He was moving forward, with Seirin.
"But I... we broke your heart."
A soft laugh filled the room as she put a hand on his cheeks.
Sometimes, Miyuki-san reminded him of a mother. Gentle and caring yet determined.
"I think I can handle that."
"I see," Furihata-kun said softly, not to interrupt their moment.
He turned back, surprised by Furihata-kun's whisper.
"What does Furihata-kun mean?"
"If their friendship is so strong, it's because they've been through a lot together."
"Oi, stop pinching my cheek!" shouted Kagami-kun.
Tetsuya always found himself amazed by how close they were and being capable of being touching and caring yet amusing. That impression was even stronger as he watched them argue heartily, the tension gone.
"Take this as a payback for that punch during our game against Shutoku."
"I made you a breakfast."
"Still, my cheek hurt for days."
"Stop it, we're not eight anymore!"
"I know since I'm not calling you–"
"DON'T SAY IT."
"But..."
"No."
"... but it was cute."
"No."
"Okay, as you wish, Kagami Taiga. Just tie my hair, then," she proposed before handing him a scrunchie.
Miyuki-san began to write on her laptop, probably to her friend. She was typing at an impressive level.
"Braid or Ponytail?"
"A ponytail is enough, thanks."
"Soon 16 and you still don't how to style your hair..."
She shrugged. "I didn't have to style my hair when it was shorter and someone is always doing it for me when it's longer."
"Your hair isn't even long now."
"The guys said mid-long hair suits me. And it's more practical than long hair for games. By the way, I have to buy new studs though I won't be able to play for months." She raised her right hand while still typing with her other hand and waved at them. "Do you want to go buy shoes with us? I need new studs and basketball shoes!"
"Hai." He never really went out with Kagami-kun or Miyuki-san (Maji burger barely counted and these times at the basketball court were not really going out) so he looked forward to it.
They all stood up to go closer, seeing how Miyuki-san finished writing.
"Sure!"
"Shin-chan and I will go too!"
"Why are you talking to me?"
"Why do you want to buy them now? You can't even walk alone."
Even Kagami-kun learned to ignore Midorima-kun and Takao-kun's bickering, after all... But the delicacy was still nowhere to be found.
"It's not now, we can do that at the end of August, it's just that I got my money," she replied, her eyes were oddly shining as she wore a rare childish expression.
"So cool! Hey, that means you'll finally wear adult's studs."
Miyuki-san blushed to everyone's surprise.
"Shut up."
Tetsuya, though being average at English, understood these words since Kagami-kun said it a lot.
"Masuko Miyuki Emilie-chan, quadruple departmental champion, triple regional champion, current national Inter-High champion and Best Captain wearing studs for kids."
"Stop with the titles, you perfectly know I don't like it... "
Why would Miyuki-san find it irritating? Miyuki-san was always smiling while talking about her national's title. And yet, none of them knew she had all these titles. Now that he thought about it, she never talked about her middle school career.
"I know that."
"Come on, is that because of the other day's training?"
"Yep."
"I might have been too hard on you."
"MIGHT?"
"Okay, I have been too hard on you. But I've been under that kind of training as well and I survived!"
"You're worse than Coach."
Miyuki-san? Worse than Coach? But Miyuki-san was kind with them during training, contrasting with Coach permanent 'more laps'. She continously shouted words of encouragement and was always there to help him when he was about to pass out or vomit.
"You're telling me you can't survive this training while Jean and I did?"
"... There's no way I'm losing to that idiot or to you!"
She answered with one of her smirks. If there was one thing he was curious about Kagami-kun and Miyuki-san's friendship, it was how competitiveness about sports could bring the best in each other as athletes, despite competing in different sports. He had see how thrilled Kagami-kun was when she had promised her first basketball game once healed and how he had claimed he wouldn't lose to her.
And yet, competitiveness brought the Generation of Miracles to its separation and to that oath at the end of the year. Competitiveness had brought, from what he understood, the end of Kagami-kun and Himuro-san's brotherhood.
Kuroko noticed everything. He noticed how Kagami-kun would still call Himuro-san 'brother' and how Miyuki-san noticed and either looked or touched the ring on her finger.
"We shall see that. So, do any of you have an idea about what to buy?" Masuko-san asked.
"Not yet."
"No."
"Good basketball shoes, duh."
"Kagami-kun really is simple..."
"Kuroko, you bastard!"
"Maybe one of you can help me with choosing basketball shoes. I know what to choose for the studs, though."
"Oh?"
"I'll buy the Kaiser 5 Liga. Classic but you can always trust them. And I'll have another pair before the World Cup and for free, isn't it great?"
"Perks of being part of Les Espoirs."
"I know! Not only we get money but we also get shoes and sport wears."
"For real?"
"Yes, Furihata-kun. I don't really know if there's this kind of thing in Japan but it helps me a lot since my family isn't here yet and I don't want to bother them with money matters. We're three in the team to receive it since we'll be in the National team."
"Bunch of talented freaks."
He heard that many times and these words were always spat out with such bitter... But not that time. Kagami-kun said it with a hint of amusement.
"Well, thank you. That makes me think of... Oh shit, I've completely forgotten!"
"What?"
"It will be my turn to go on the account tomorrow."
Kagami-kun's expression changed into the one he had when trying not to laugh... "Pffff... Hahahahaha!" ... and failing.
"What is Miyuki-san talking about?"
"Hahahahahaha– Ouch! Her team made a Twitter to get support 'cause they had no money and after their first big victory, it went viral."
"Since we are twenty-three, or should I say twenty-four, everyone takes one or two days per month. I'm not an official player anymore but I created the club with my friends so I still go there."
"I almost died last month."
"Why?"
"Have you already read one of Emilie's texts?"
"No."
Tetsuya did... And it was always developed and constructed like an essay. Sometimes, she reminded him of Akashi-kun's text, which, according to Aomine-kun's words, were essays. He wasn't entirely wrong.
"It's like receiving a mini novel and with Twitter, it's getting ridiculous. Plus she got weird questions... and pictures."
Miyuki-san nodded. "It was flattering yet slightly bizarre."
"Bizarre?"
"People were asking her out though being on the other side of the Earth. 'specially chicks. They're pretty hooked on her."
"CHICKS? Like girls? Actual girls?"
"She was more popular as a dude anyway."
"Uuuh?! But they know she's a girl for real, right?"
"Yeah, everyone does after that whole post semi-final dramatic speech. Few of 'em find it even hotter."
Her smile was mocking them, "That's because I know how to properly behave with them since I understand them... Unlike most of you, boys."
All of them but he and Midorima-kun gasped. "Hey!"
"No offense but I know more or less each one of you and you're all no good with ladies. Except Tetsuya. You're the perfect gentleman."
Tetsuya slightly bowed. "Thank you, Miyuki-san."
"Rude!"
"I'm just saying the truth."
"What about me?" Kagami-kun asked.
"Taiga, you've been around half of my life so it doesn't really count."
"But..."
"You have no delicacy that it's getting sad. Anyway, if you need any romantic pieces of advice or tips, you can always ask... It's part of my job."
"What job?"
"Being your friend. Don't let me see any romantic disaster again, I've had enough of this with my team."
Was Miyuki-san laughing or not? It was considerate of her to do so. Maybe she could do something for Captain as well...
Takao-kun raised his hand, "I've got a question! Do girls talk a lot about people they find hot?"
"Takao!"
"What?! Come on, we've all always wanted to know that."
Miyuki-san interrupted the bickering that was about to start. "Of course. I don't do that a lot since I don't have lots of female friends but when I do, I talk with Taiga."
"With Kagami? Seriously?"
"We talk about everything. I can even do the same with you, you have no idea how much I talked about girls with these guys."
Miyuki-san was only comfortable about that kind of subject for someone so polite and quiet. It might be because she was half French as well. People there were less reserved than in Japan.
"I'm kinda curious..."
He might have thought she was kidding since Takao-kun was baffled when she answered casually, "Taiga is my best friend but I'm not blind: he's hot."
"Stop saying that!"
Seeing Kagami-kun blushing was always amusing.
"What? You have great muscles, you're tall– girls generally love tall guys though you might be too tall– and your face is far from bad, and that's coming from someone whose type isn't you. Tetsuya is really cute and has one of the prettiest smiles I've even seen."
He smiled. She was the only person who managed to make him smile that way after Teikou.
"Thank you, Miyuki-san."
"Seirin members aren't bad-looking, especially Izuki-senpai but I think his jokes made girls run away... which I don't understand since I think they're funny."
"That's just you," Kagami-kun mumbled. Tetsuya silently agreed with his partner.
"Furihata-kun is a sweet young man and has a cute smile. Takao-kun has quite a face and has the perfect height, which is great and Midorima is handsome, I really love his eyes. And Kise-kun is obviously gorgeous although he's not my type neither."
They all looked at her with wide eyes, speechless.
"... Emilie, you're embarrassing."
He looked at the others, amused by the fact all of them were more or less blushing.
"But why? I'm just saying the truth. And Kise-kun was delighted when I told him he's handsome."
Kagami-kun snorted. "That's Kise, the guy's narcissistic."
He had to once again agree with Kagami-kun on that part. Kise-kun loved watching himself in the mirror before and after training at the locker room, the spot was even unofficially known as 'Kise's beauty spot'.
"I must admit I didn't really understand the part where he said I was the second person to turn him down after Tetsuya."
Kise-kun had been sarcastic when he told him that, but it made him thought how drastically his attitude towards Kagami-kun had changed, even adding the 'cchi' suffix.
Kise-kun used it for Miyuki-san, without any explanation. The only ones he called with 'cchi' were basketball players and Momoi-san, and Miyuki-san was not on his former nor current team nor she was a player, making Tetsuya somewhat curious.
"That was the day before you came when we had a match against Kaijou..."
Was Kagami-kun feeling uncomfortable with saying Kise-kun's former behavior towards him?
"So he did ask Tetsuya to come to Kaijou with him."
"How–"
Miyuki-san threw him a her rare annoyed looks (she was someone really patient who ironically threw that look often to her best friend).
"Useless question."
"Exactly. Do you think I want to discover what the guys put there?"
Miyuki-san referred to her former team's account, probably.
"You don't, but I do."
"You're enjoying it way too much Taiga."
"Yep."
"Let's see..."
Beginning to take her phone and writing her password, he looked at the goodies hooked on her phone. A sparkly little fairy, a shark... All from other people, since he could not see Miyuki-san put them by herself.
"Qu'est-ce que c'est que ça?"
"These guys are the best!"
He looked over Kagami-kun's shoulder but couldn't see anything on the screen of the mobile, still in his hands, was blurry and shaky.
"Kagami-kun, please stop shaking the phone."
"Yeah, we want to see too..."
And when he stopped doing so, he saw pictures of Miyuki-san doing what seemed to be a practice dance.
"I'm going kill him."
"He even added videos, hahahahahaha!"
"I have pictures of him I can post too... I actually like that one, it was during the Nationals."
Miyuki-san was standing with two of her teammates in the lockerroom, a peaceful and reassuring smile on her face while the two guys were arguing over something.
The first word that came to his mind was 'colorful'.
The second thought he got was that it wasn't so different from Teikou during their second year.
"You've got new jerseys for this, uh?"
"Indeed. Fadel was the one to make the design."
"Awesome! And..."
Kagami-kun stopped his sentence and he completely understood why. On the picture was standing Miyuki-san in a beautiful blue dress.
It was strange to see her in these clothes, her hair styled in a crown braid accompanied with flowers – was it bellflowers? – and with subtle makeup on her face.
Miyuki-san was a fairly beautiful young woman, although she wasn't as feminine as Momoi-san nor as boyish as Coach (who was cute in an unexpected way according to the rest of the team). She was somewhere in between but carried that natural elegance around her.
And the dressed up version of her on the picture had a regal aura and was yet reserved.
"Pretty..." Furihata-kun whispered.
They all nodded in agreement.
"You didn't tell me there were other pictures."
Kagami-kun's tone softened as he looked at the other pictures and Miyuki-san touched the ring around her finger, unconsciously showing she felt uncomfortable.
"That's because... being the center of attention in that kind of event isn't my cup of tea. I only wore that ball dress for Fadel, he worked hard on it."
"You handled it well. That guy did an amazing work, he even got to wear you heels... but who did your hair?"
"That dress couldn't be wear without heels... And Jean was the one to do it."
"Uh?"
She scoffed, trying to hide her blush.
"Jean was the one to style my hair when it grew back," she repeated.
"And he did it just like that?" Kagami-kun started puffing.
"Don't laugh! I always had someone to style my hair for me so... And Jean was being a gentleman."
"Even after you broke up?"
All embarrassment was gone, a frown appearing on her face.
"Thank you for reminding me that."
"Kagami..."
"Do you even know how to talk to girls?"
(He did not).
"We broke up after talking together but it had been strange for the first weeks, especially since we still pretended to still be together."
"Why did you do that... If it isn't too rude to ask, of course."
"It's okay, Furihata-kun. It was just after our defeat at Regionals and everyone was feeling down... so we decided to wait before telling them because it felt like announcing to their children their parents were divorcing since we were also their captain and vice-captain. The team was more important than the status of our relationship."
Although it was obvious Miyuki-san had been fond of him (and probably still was in a different way), she loved her team even more. Both loved their team so much they had chosen to put their teammates first over themselves.
"It wouldn't have worked 'cause they're better off as friends."
That was inconsiderate to say, even from Kagami-kun but Miyuki-san just rolled her eyes, scoffing.
"And why do you think we broke up? I still consider him as the best first true boyfriend I could ever had though it didn't work. It was even him who chose the flowers on my head."
Furihata-kun's mouth slightly opened. "Oh..."
"Oh?"
"Blue bellflowers mean attachment and 'thank you for being here, your friendship is precious to me'," said Furihata-kun.
"That's really sweet of him," Takao-kun commented.
"That guy isn't all bad, I guess... WHY ARE YOU PLAYING FOOTBALL ON THIS ONE?"
Miyuki-san raised her eyebrows before shrugging at the sight of the picture of herself with a football on her head.
"Mere heels won't stop me from playing and it was just a contest on who could hold the ball on the head the longest."
"Théo won, you went second and dumbass went third."
"Exactly!"
"You could've chosen a better escort for the ball."
Miyuki-san laughed, a clear sound filling the room. It was the first time in weeks where she was laughing so loudly and with genuine amusement.
"You mean dance partner, right? I knew from the sart Jean wasn't going to be my partner for this, boyfriend or not. I promised I would go with Théo for a long time and I did. Oh, I think I'll do a Q&A thing tomorrow, they'll be happy."
"Right..." Kagami-kun had the same expression when she was referring to 'Théo-san' as the surprisingly gentle expression he had whenever Miyuki-san talked about her past. "Why do I feel like half of the questions will be from that guy?"
The answer she gave was enough for him and Tetsuya knew there was something behind it.
"Zahi loves to do that kind of things so it'll happen for sure... I kind of miss that. I can also do a live-tweeting! Live-tweeting is fun."
"Oi, aren't you supposed to do your own re-education training and you know, manager stuff."
"Come on Taiga, multitasking is my strong point. And I have everything I needed to know about both teams for now anyway but I'll still keep making notes to complete Seirin's statistics if it makes you happy."
"I'm not even surprised..."
"What's that, Masuko? Don't tell me you're underestimating Shutoku," Midorima-kun finally said.
There was sometimes a tension between Midorima-kun and Miyuki-san that Tetsuya couldn't describe.
He could only make suppositions since he had not been there while they bonded and became friends but it seemed Miyuki-san unknowingly challenged him in a way he had never been.
"I told you I never look down on any opponent, didn't I?"
He remembered the first time she said these words. It was when Kagami-kun and Miyuki-san met Midorima-kun and despite the fact she was in a wheelchair, he had felt intimidated by Miyuki-san for a moment.
Tetsuya had felt the same.
That low voice almost made him uncomfortable. And the aura around her was completely the opposite of the sweet and polite person she was.
"Emilie, you're freaking 'em out."
"Oh." She smiled as an apology and finished answering Midorima-kun with amusement in her voice. "I said 'for now' because it's obvious each one of you will evolve... I have mixed feelings about my own work, though. I feel like I'm a bit slower than before."
"You're rusted."
"Probably. I still have to tape films of potential rivals for Seirin and watch my former team's game the Nationals."
"You still haven't watched them?"
"Taiga, I was busy with painting my room and papa only sent me all the videos yesterday. I don't know if I want to watch myself getting injured or watch the semi-final."
"I didn't watch them neither."
"I'm not sure if I should show you because you'll get angry at me."
"Too late, I was pretty pissed off but I was too shocked to see you here in Japan."
Miyuki-san laughed, tapping on her best friend's shoulder. "You didn't need to make that speech when I arrived, I know that was reckless."
"Not to mention stupid," Kagami flatly added.
"I know you're used to being the reckless one but sometimes, I can do stupid things too!"
"Hey!"
"You would have done the same thing because it was one a 'now or never' moment."
Midorima-kun frowned, not getting what she meant. "'Now or never'... moments?"
"It's that moment where you think about doing something really reckless that can make something you truly want yours. I really wanted to win that title with them as their captain. It's useless to explain it with words, I hope you'll live one of these moments at the Winter Cup so you can understand it."
"You wish us to be reckless."
And again, Tetsuya felt that tension. Watching Midorima-kun being challenged was interesting, to say the least.
"I didn't mean the kind of reckless that would make you punch another player but the kind of reckless that makes you a better person and player. And that's coming from someone who tended to always listen to her head and never her heart."
"And what happened to that girl?"
Something wasn't right. It was so unlike Midorima-kun to say such things.
"Gone with her regrets."
Again with the head and the heart...
Shintaro might understand the thing in theory but he couldn't see how that could apply to him.
He was a good player, even great. To be truthful, Shintaro was one of the best in the country and still, he hadn't even been able to get to qualify and play at Inter High. That was why he was there, walking in the corridor of the hotel at night (at probably 2 or 3 A.M, he didn't really look).
'Head and heart' 'now or never'...
Why couldn't he just find what it meant? It would help him to win and get revenge on Seirin and–
A heavy breath cut his thoughts, stopping his steps in the process. The whispers were all made in trembling voice and the first thing he noticed was how feminine it was, despite how quiet the noises were.
"... Désolée de t'avoir réveillé, Taiga."
There was no mistake, it really was a woman... And it was Masuko's voice.
She apparently was with Kagami, his name being the only thing he understood in the sentence.
"C'est pas grave."
"C'est encore ce maudit cauchemar... J'avais du sang partout et j'étais encore au milieu de la pluie avec elle dans mes bras."
"Just breathe," Kagami continued in Japanese, his voice soft and delicate. It was bizarre, coming from the guy but strangely touching.
Was she making a panic attack? No, it couldn't be, not when she could still talk...
And suddenly, he felt he was intruding something important again, something he shouldn't be listening. Masuko foolishly pulled out a strong face not to worry anyone and she seemed to feel like she could only completely confide in Kagami.
Did she really think she could not talk to him or anyone on her team? Her pretending to be okay only made Seirin worry even more.
But on the other side, Shintaro could understand why. Kagami was her best friend that she met as a child. And Shintaro was a hypocrite for being... upset (?) she was so guarded, he was the same.
Was that how friendship was? To worry so much about someone else?
"Do you need anything?" Kagami asked.
"Um... Could you get a bottle of fresh water for me, please."
"You sure you don't wanna put some water on your face again?"
"No, it was just a nightmare. It's... It will end at one point."
Lies.
But at least she didn't say her usual annoying 'it's okay'.
"'I'll be there in a few minutes, just stay here."
A shaky but slight chuckle filled the empty place.
"Well, I can't really go anywhere without my crutches."
"Yeah, yeah."
The footsteps grew fainter and the only noise now was the wind outside, bringing cool air in the corridor.
"Midorima, I know you're here."
Uh?
"How?" he wondered out loud.
"You're a 195 cm basketball player so discretion isn't really your thing. It only takes another tall basketball player not to notice your presence."
"But how did you know it was me?"
"Instinct."
Just like Momoi...
'Woman's intuition'
It was Momoi's motto and knowing how she had helped them many times at Teikou, he knew Masuko didn't say it lightly. And he knew he shouldn't take her lightly either. He had done that once and it had let him to defeat.
"Come and sit if you want, Taiga isn't here for now."
Did she really think he didn't want to reveal his presence because he was ashamed since Kagami was there?
Ridiculous.
As much as he found Kagami to be one of the most irritating people he knew (and that was from someone who had Murasakbara, Kise, and Aomine permanantly around him for three years), he was now used to his presence.
He made a few steps and was surprised to see Masuko with messy hair and water –or was it beads of sweat?– on her face and her hair. Even her shirt was soaked and she looked tired, her eyes being already half shut.
"I do apologize for making you see me like that but... I don't want to stay alone, Midorima. Please."
Her voice quavered at the end of the sentence and he decided to sit on her right, not knowing what to say. What could he tell her? He was bad at dealing with that kind of thing, especially with girls and women (Sayuri wasn't an exception even if she was his own little sister).
He laid his eyes on the wall, the silence he usually enjoyed becoming so heavy.
"I..."
Masuko took a breath, searching for words... A rare occurrence for her.
She was always the one to fill the silence with words, eloquently speaking with that quiet yet strong voice. She could choose the most random thing to talk about but he still listened to her. He learned many little things (quite useless to his mind but when he told her that she looked offended and threw him 'you'll take back your words in a few months').
But that time...
"I've been having nightmares for the past year."
He already knew that but he chose not to say a word since he was supposed to know nothing on the matter.
"I'm sure Taiga told you about the accident... because he knows I trust you enough."
So typical from that duo.
But there it was again: the word trust (again), casually thown like that.
How could she say such words easily?
If it would had happened a month, he would have screamed of frustration. In fact, Shintaro already did that but he didn't want to dwell on that embarrassing accident at the hospital... He discovered she was telling the truth every time she used that sort of words or made her speech about teammates, friendship...
How could she? She should be the first to say how ridiculously absurd it was.
"I still feel tainted because I couldn't save my friend."
She touched her hair, replacing the ring around her neck at daytime. He wasn't Kagami, so he didn't know what to do except keep listening.
"I know it's not the case... Not really. I played all the possible scenarios in my mind and it ends up in a similar way, or even worse. No matter what, I still have her blood in my hand."
Ironically, she meant it both literally and figuratively.
Once he got to know her, he discovered Masuko had a weird humor, dry and full of sarcasm. Exactly the opposite of her smooth, usual appearance. She looked so calm that it sounded fake sometimes.
And it was.
The bags under her eyes and the emptiness in her voice proved how fake her attitude was.
"My worst nightmare isn't even that. It's the memory of my friend looking at me in the eyes and telling she doesn't remember me..."
A flash of magenta hair went through his mind but Shintaro closed his eyes, trying not to think about it.
Except it was too late.
Because he got the exact horrible, cold feeling when the other Akashi looked at him.
Of course, it wasn't for the same reasons but whenever he met his eyes, the gold that had replaced the red on his left pupil was mocking him, his cold stare commanding them towards certain victory.
"Of course it's not her fault if she forgot, she's the biggest victim there. But it hurt to hear 'who are you?' from her mouth. It hurt, and it still hurts but... Tatsuya made me understand it is what is it, so I decided to ... start over."
What did she even mean?
Start over with a new team? With her? By leaving France?
He was wrong. Her attitude wasn't entirely fake. She was collected and still was always able to find hope but the words he heard thirty seconds ago showed him another side of her, something she didn't show to anyone, except Kagami.
"You're overthinking again, Midorima."
He stopped watching the wall and finally noticed her eyes were on him. Now he was asking to himself how didn't he notice her compelling eye color sooner, instead of actually asking her why she would say that.
It was the lighting, or rather the lack of it that brought out the blue of her eyes. Her skin looked pale and she had a ghostly aura due to the moonlight. If anything, it only made the bags under her eyes more obvious. How long had it been since the last time she got a full night of sleep?
"I have to apologize for saying things... without explaining... It's the reason why you're still awake, isn't it?"
There was no point in hiding it to her.
"Indeed."
"My head feels heavy... my eyes are closing but I promise... I'll tell you what you want to know tomorrow."
He felt weariness hitting him as well so he could wait a few hours.
"Right."
"Um..."
It became clear Masuko was forcing herself to stay awake.
"What is it Masuko, it's unlike you to feel hesitant."
The usual bite in his voice was absent, feeling himself falling asleep as well.
"Know you don't feel comfortable... about physical touch but... Can I put my head on your shoulder?... Feel tired..."
She was struggling to make full sentences and she could fall into unconsciousness at any moment, so he dropped the cons to avoid any event related to her falling on the floor.
"We're... friends so I don't see why not."
Her head only reached the side of his arm, the height difference avoiding any attempt of having a head on his shoulder. She didn't seem to care.
"Merci... Means 'thank you'," she mumbled, somehow remembering he couldn't understand French.
He felt her slowly slide down and judging by the lack of reaction, she wasn't conscious enough to move so he tried to awkwardly maintain her head up by slouching but ended up placing her head too high.
Her hair was bristling against his face and the weird angle of his neck caused itching and discomfort but he vaguely got the same feeling he had when she fell on him at the hospital.
He didn't know what it was but not only it made him uncomfortable but it also greatly distracted.
It truly deeply bothered him not to know why.
"The other vending machine was out so– MIDORIMA WHAT THE HELL? Is she really sleepin'?"
At least he had at least the decency to whisper not to wake her up.
"You took your time," he simply said, avoiding the question.
Strangely enough, he felt reassured Kagami didn't dwell the fact that he served as human pillow but was rather amazed to see Masuko was sleeping.
"I went to the room to grab a spare shirt for her after buyin' a bottle..."
Kagami didn't even mind to finish his sentence and threw one of those annoying looks. It took Shintaro three seconds to snap at him (the lack of sleeping and having to deal with an idiot combined was by far the worst mix possible).
"What's that look for?"
"You're even more aggressive at night, how's that possible?" he deadpanned.
"You're the one to talk! You're looking at me weirdly with that stupid look!"
"It's just..." Kagami was being serious for once. He even looked thoughtful (something he thought impossible until he saw his concern for Masuko and his sadness at the mention of Masuko's other best friend). "She trusts you... Which is pretty amazing considering her struggle to trust people."
He would say Masuko trusted too easily.
"Why are you saying that?"
"She has that look after talkin' about what's in her mind. Sleepin' has been really hard for the past weeks but here she is, peacefully sleeping on your shoulder", Kagami explained. "I don't know what's weirder: her sleeping on you so casually or you lettin' her. Man, you do care about her... And don't try to lie."
"I wasn't going to deny it."
He was the first one surprised by his own words. A clear, blunt confession that their new bond was important to him. He cared.
Shintaro almost expected a joke from Kagami or a comment that would make him angry but Kagami just helped him with Masuko, putting her head at the edge of his shoulder.
"Better keep her sleeping like that... Sorry to ask you but can you carry her? I'd wake her up if I was the one to do it..."
... 'since she has her head on your shoulder' was implied.
"Fine."
A/N: I promised more Masuko/Midorima so I hope you are satisfied! Midorima is finally truly and clearly acknowledged he cares about her (and to Kagami of all people...). We shall see how comes the talking she promised. With that, coming soon Masuko tweeting her day (and sending pictures) and more of dynamic ! The relationship between Masuko and Midorima isn't the only one to blossom so I do hope you appreciate Kagami and Midorima's friendship (?).
If you do have a favorite line/passage in this chap, do tell me, I love reading reviews!
I would like to thank the people who have favorited is following this story after I published the previous chapter : Hiitsame, S Nightshade, milalo, Aideen Narita.