Summary [chapter 22]: When they said that their break-up was mutual and friendly, they weren't lying but it didn't make it less painful. Ending their relationship meant saying farewell to the mutual comfort and familiarity they felt in each other's presence when it was what they needed the most at that moment. They couldn't seem to build the courage to end their relationship until their crushing defeat at Regionals. Miyuki learned the hard way that timing was a bitch.
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
[HALCYON DAYS ARC]
FRAGMENTS
~.~
Chapter 22: still
"This is the end," she said, her voice echoing in the now empty locker room.
She just broke the balance. That painful stillness vanished.
They couldn't pretend their eyes didn't meet. How each other's gaze made their attempt to hide how bad it hurt miserable.
"It is..."
Emilie closed her eyes, her stomach twisting in a ball of anxiety as she gathered the courage to murmur the words she had been afraid to say outloud. "Is it about the match... or about us?"
The defeaning silence during these few seconds felt worse than the cold shower she just took. The tears started to prickle her eyes as she stared at his trembling shoulders.
The usual warmth from the hand now interwined with hers wasn't there anymore.
"Both."
Miyuki woke up in her bed, disoriented and with tears streaming down her cheeks.
It took her a moment to understand that she wasn't waking up directly from that defeat in Regionals but from a dream... memories. Her heart was beating as fast as it did when it happened.
She wiped the tears with her hand before unlocking her phone. August 15th, 5A.M.
"Ah."
Her team lost Regionals final on February 15th. She and Jean broke up in the darkness of the locker room after that utter defeat. They weren't in love anymore so her tears weren't due to heart break. Not the romantic one at least.
She even became better friends with Jean than they had been compared to the very start and they still loved each other as friends and partners on the pitch...
It didn't change the fact that it still hurt sometimes. Between preparing Nationals and leaving for Japan, she never really had the time to fully move on from him... Especially considering she and Jean had pretended to still date each other in front of their teammates after Regionals to avoid making them sadder.
Waking up in that empty apartment only made the void more considerable. She truly missed the lingering comfort in familiarity that she had felt with Jean. It had been hard for the both of them to leave it behind... As well as her partner, her other teammates, her family and her home in France to come to Japan and even having Taiga back and making new friends there couldn't completely fill the emptiness she felt.
Today just felt emptier because it had been six months. Six months seperated her from these memories.
"Shit..." she whispered, now curled up in her bed.
It was useless to try to fall back to sleep. Without even thinking, she started standing up and walked toward Taiga's apartment to climb in his bed. Her best friend was still soundly sleeping and didn't noticed her presence.
She turned her eyes to the window. The sun was rising, the pinkish ray of light reaching the window gradually. She really missed going to her morning jogging with Jean and Théo.
But they weren't there anymore.
And she couldn't run anyway.
"Emilie?!"
She let a small smile appear on her face at the sound of Taiga's groggy voice before turning to face him. "Hey."
"Hi... Did something happened last night?"
She frowned, confused."Last... Give Midorima more credit, he's only being childish when you're around!" She gently tapped his shoulder. "In fact, he was quite the gentleman. He's a good friend."
She kept to herself the fact that Midorima carried her to her bed after she fell asleep on the couch. There was no other explanation... She remembered the door had been locked, meaning Midorima probably took the spare keys hung near the door.
She owed him again.
Taiga blinked. "I thought– Nevermind. Are you okay?"
"I...", she started before remembering that the last time she snuggled into the cushions of his bed, she ended up breaking down in his arms. "It's been six months."
He started to awkwardly pat her head almost too gently.
"Do you, uh... still love him?"
"Not in that way anymore," she replied in a heartbeat. She pretended she didn't see the tension in his shoulders disappear. "But I miss him. I miss them all," she revealed in a small voice.
"I know..."
"We lied to the team about us breaking up a week after Regionals. I only told you and Tatsuya about what really happened." She had gotten used to repeat the same modified version to her team that she even told the same to her new friends during the joint training camp with Shutoku. And she had almost started to believe it herself.
Almost.
"It's your own business. You don't owe anyone an explanation, not even me."
She closed her eyes. That was what she appreciated about her best friend. "Right."
The ugly truth was that they both knew their romantic relationship has run its course.
It wasn't that they were starting to hate each other, their dynamic just gradually shifted into something new but definitely not simply romantic anymore. It wasn't platonic either but they never put words into it. But it would've been way more simpler and less painful in another world where they weren't both considered as France's football's rising stars and hopes.
When they said that their break-up was mutual and friendly, they weren't lying but it didn't make it less painful. Ending their relationship meant saying farewell to the mutual comfort and familiarity they felt in each other's presence when it was what they needed the most at that moment.
They couldn't seem to build the courage to end their relationship until their defeat at Regionals. Harsh criticisms had been thrown from the media and the hate againt them became virulent.
Jean and she had broken down in each other's arms in that empty locker room, their hair still wet from the shower and their bodies shivering from the cold.
"The funny thing is that the third person who knew about our breakup just after it happened outside of Jean and I was indirectly the trigger."
The one who defeated them. The one who won and made them realize they had to refuse to simply stay in their comfort zone. Ironically, they also played against each other in Nationals' final. He even became Jean's best friend.
"That guy, uh?"
"Yeah, he... was waiting for us outside the whole time and saw us looking like shit."
If she was anyone else, she knew Taiga would slap her head and tell her she should've kicked him... Or more exactly, if it would've been in another context, Taiga would've said that. However, he knew her defeat at Regionals hurt her even more than the breakup. It was a remembrance of her final in middle school.
The aftermarth she and Jean had to deal with had been terrible, the pressure and expectation had been too much. Granted, they hadn't played at their best level but in no way they deserved to be called 'frauds'. At least, they still had each other's support to go through that.
Even if they had just broken up, they remained partners.
"I'm scared... When my knee will be healed, I know I'll have to face it again."
All that pressure.
The injury along with her departure to Japan only bought her some time. The sixth month 'anniversary' of that defeat was only another reminder. She would have to explain her career choices and face the appraisal Jean was now facing for choosing to still play for his highschool instead of signing a professional contract.
"... Kise wants us to go to some festival tonight."
She was thankful for the change of subject. "Us?"
"Seirin... and Midorima. I think that guy took an interest in Furi, it's creepy."
She did notice pretty face had quickly changed his behavior with Furihata-kun during practice. Pretty face probably saw the potential she was trying to develop...
Unfortunately, it also meant there were some signs manifesting his interest. Pretty face could be slightly... overwhelming and the reason why he didn't behave in that excessive and dramatic way with her was probably because he knew that not only she didn't mind it but also because they were similar on some points.
"Furihata-kun can deal with it." He was now completely comfortable with her after all and even returned her teasing. "Say, isn't that part of the Japanese traditions?"
"Uh?!"
"The festival, matsuri! We can wear yukata there, right?" She had always been fascinated by Japanese culture and wanted to finally experiment it by herself. And she needed to get over it already. "Maman made a yukata for both of us, we should wear them!"
"Auntie?! Er, sure, why not..."
There were times where Taiga really felt like a jerk for not remembering stuff about his best friend. He just wasn't the type to pay attention to anything that wasn't food or basketball... Emilie was an exception but he still wondered how the hell did he get a girl as his best friend sometimes (but he would never say it outloud and protest whenever someone teased him with that).
The thing was, Taiga should've known she still missed home. Home for her was still France. It was the country where her family and her (former) team lived. Today was one of those bad days since it had been six months since that defeat and that breakup.
The bashing and the pressure she and ugly face (Jean) had been under after losing one single match had been huge. The media and even fans started doubting them, calling them 'just lucky' or 'overrated' (and that had been far from the worst things said about them).
Taiga should've known that even brave and determined Emilie felt insecure about what would happen once she would get back on the pitch and how the media would have high expectation.
After all, she had to pretend to be okay in front of anyone who didn't know who she truly was (a girl playing as the one guy who was considered as a potential Ballon d'Or in the next decade) and in front of her team... But she could also used that as a shelter to avoid facing the consequences in some moments, unlike Jean.
Taiga wasn't the best person when it came to cheering up someone. He would've called Tatsuya if he wasn't living on the other side of the country... He sighed, knowing there was only one person left. He stared at one of the names in his contacts before finally clicking on it.
"Kagamicchi?!"
Of course he immediately picked up the phone.
"Yo. We're going to that festival thing you talked about."
"Is everything okay?"
Taiga lowered his voice to make sure Emilie couldn't hear hear what he was saying while she was taking her bath. "How did you know?"
"You called me instead of just texting me, duh."
Damnit, that guy was more clever than he had thought. Emilie had a point.
"It's kinda a rough day for Emilie, she..." he trailed off, knowing that he shouldn't bring up the breakup thing. "She misses her family and her friends from France more than usual and it's been six months since that whole disaster in Regionals."
"Regionals?!"
"Argh, this is too hard to explain and I don't have time, just google 'championnat régional foot lycée 201X'."
"Okay..."
"Anyway, I called you to ask you how the hell can I cheer up her?"
Kise's booming laugh almost made him hang up in annoyance. "I'm serious Kise! Stop laughing!"
"Right, it's just so... not Kagamicchi to freak out about this! You're her best friend so you know that better than me. I'm kinda a newbie with the whole thing..." Kise's voice grew quieter. Well, shit. Now wasn't the time to deal with the Generation of Miracle's fucked up social skills and complete ignorance about friendship.
"Yeah but we usually just play football or b– but she's injured so... That's why the festival show can be good but what the hell am I supposed to do the rest of the day?"
"Kagamicchi, I know Masukocchi enough to know that you being here with her is enough... but good food would probably help too."
Noted. He would prepare a nice lunch today instead to just buying something from the cafeteria. "Thanks. See you at seven tonight."
"See you!"
"Who was that?"
Taiga jumped in surprise. "Jesus, stop doing like Kuroko!"
"It's just so easy to scare you..."
"Shut up! It was just Kise, he was being annoying with the festival thing." He added an eye roll to make it more convincing.
They proceeded to eat breakfast and walk to Seirin peacefully, Taiga filling the silence with anecdotes about Kuroko using Nigou to terrify him while she had gone to Kaijo to observe (scout) them. They were the first ones to arrive in the silent locker room and they started changing their clothes.
"Miyuki-san..." a voice whimpered.
"Good morning Tetsuya," Emilie calmy answered as she put the plain shirt she used for sports over her head.
Taiga jumped. How did she even know the guy was there, he was a ghost! "Argh, Kuroko you bastard! Stop popping out of nowh– Are you blushing?!"
She turned her head to see Kuroko's pale face colored with a fiercy blush spreading on his cheeks. "No..."
"You are!" she exclaimed, finding the whole thing endearing.
"I just... I didn't know Miyuki-san would change her clothes... here..."
It was somehow the most expressive Kuroko had ever been and he almost felt bad for the guy. Emilie was so casual about it sometimes and forgot how guys could be sometimes (but at least she had boundaries and a minimum of modesty unlike Alex).
"I'm sorry, I got used to change in a locker room full of boys. If it makes you uncomfortable, I'll change my clothes somewhere else."
"No, it's just... Miyuki-san deserves some privacy... to get undressed."
Taiga met his best friend's eyes, in disbelief at the sight of Kuroko's shifty-eyed and flustered expression before understanding it was the culture gap again.
Taiga got the feeling that not only Kuroko was the gentleman type but he was also reserved and very Japanese. It probably was his first time seeing a girl in a bra in real life.
"Tetsuya, I can assure you that I don't mind. I feel comfortable with you and... I trust you and the rest of Seirin. I know you wouldn't do anything bad to me."
Taiga had to fight the urge to smile. Emilie had really come a long way since last year (or even six months ago). He wasn't good with dealing with deep stuff but he was trying for those who were close to him, especially Emilie.
(and Tatsuya)
He knew that hearing her say she trusted Seirin was something big. Kuroko might have noticed it given the shift in his demanor.
"I got it," he finally said.
Kuroko let Emilie attempt to fix that ridiculous bed hair of his with her delicate hands.
"Good," she replied in a soft voice before closing her locker and starting to walk toward the gymnasium.
"Need help?" Taiga automatically asked.
She huffed. "Don't worry Taiga, I'm fine." He had a doubt about what she was talking about. "Really," she insisted before leaving with slow and delibarate steps.
She had her pride too.
He sighed. Well that answered the question. She was pretending to be okay again, as if she wasn't close to burst into tears earlier.
He was left alone with his teammate in the lockeroom and he slowly turned back his head, feeling Kuroko's silent question.
"It's a rough day for her, I'll explain later but you can ask Kise about it... Just don't let her be alone for too long."
"Hai."
Practice went smoothly with Emilie still coaching the first years only. She focused most of her attention on developing their stamina and Taiga felt like dying.
"Come on Taiga, it's not with that kind of stamina that you'll be able to surpass me!"
"Shut up!"
She always knew how to get on his nerves. He slightly increased his speed, carefully avoiding stepping on Kuroko who was in his way.
Literally.
Kuroko was lying on the ground, trying to catch his breath. Furi was about to join him and Kawahara was running (walking) very slowly in the back. Only Fukuda along with him kept running.
"If it makes you feel better, I also ran the distance you're running at the same speed and it worked well for me... eventually," she added with humor.
Taiga hated that she was always right about that.
"As a coach and a manager, I shouldn't be saying that but as an athlete, I have to tell you I hated doing laps," she mentioned as she gave Kuroko and Furi some water. "Alright everyone, time for a break!"
"Did you really run the same distance? That's insane!" Furi whimpered.
"Not every day but we focused on stamina for two weeks then we did it once a week." They were now all standing around Kuroko and Furi. "At the start, I couldn't even the whole time but after that, I managed to finish it even if I was trailing in the back with the goalkeepers. I managed to be in the middle whenever I was determined."
And awake enough, was the part Taiga knew that Emilie left out on purpose.
He took a look at her wistful smile. It was bad.
"Is there one of y'all who knows how to wear a yukata?"
Furi seemed to have picked up the reason of Taiga's sudden change of subject and snorted in pretence. He mouthed a silent 'thank you'. "Since when do you even care about that kind of stuff?"
Okay, perhaps he should take back that 'thank you'.
"I don't but there's this festival thing that Kise invited all of us to... and yes, it includes Seirin. Auntie made some yukata for Emilie and I but it's our first time going to that kind of thing."
"You never went to a matsuri?!"
Taiga scratched his head. "Uh, no..."
He never had interest in that kind of stuff... What was the point without his old man, Alex, Tatsuya or Emilie there anyway?
"It's gonna be great!"
"Now that I think about it..." Emilie started. "How did pretty face convince Midorima to go with us?"
Wait. "Oh shit, you're right... He's probably countin' on you to convince this guy."
"Me? Why?"
Taiga scoffed. She really could be dumb sometimes. He was about to spill out that she got Midorima around her little finger but it was too dangerous and too embarrassing so he settled for another reason."Do you think Kise's texts would convince him... Kise's. Texts."
There were way too many emojis to even decipher them.
"Good point," she agreed. "I'm calling him, you still have ten minutes left for your break," she precised before looking at her phone, a subtle frown visible on her face.
He could feel Kuroko and Furi staring at him. Taiga had some explanation to give.
Kouki knew how to recognize danger when it was coming. In his case, the danger in question just spotted him in the streets and had blond and shiny hair.
"FURIHATA-KUN!" Kouki winced at the sound of Kise Ryouta's loud voice coming closer and closer.
Welp. There was no way to escape from him...
"Hello Furihata-kun!"
He remembers my name?! Kouki realized.
"H–hi!" he replied in a high-pitched voice. Kouki got scared easily and the members of the Generation of Miracles were the scariest thing possible in basketball.
And now, Kise Ryouta in front of him, sparkling and wearing a light blue and white yukata.
He took a deep breath.
You can do it Kouki.
Kouki was sociable enough and he managed to befriend with Midorima. Not to mention that Kise had been nice and friendly when he went to the street basketball tournament with them and when he came to watch Seirin's practice session.
Kouki's paranoid self had the feeling he was being observed by Kise but there was no way it was true because he was just plain and ordinary Kouki while Kise was... Well, Kise, the supermodel and basketball prodigy.
Still, it was weird. When practice had started, Kise had been polite but a bit... cold with everyone but Masuko-chan, Kagami and Kuroko?! Kinda like Kagami before Masuko-chan arrived. Except that Kise was all apparent friendliness and smiles. And the friendly part didn't seem fake. Not at first sight.
"Are you going to Kagamicchi's apartment?" the blond asked.
Kouki energically nodded, not being able to voice the fact that he never went there. He was scared he would get lost given Kagami's... vague instructions.
"We can go together, I've already been there!"
"Hai!"
How could Kouki start the conversation? Did he need to do that? He probably put too much thoughts about everything but he couldn't help it. Kouki always overthought and ended up panicking.
"Did Kagamicchi told you to come too?"
"Uh, it was Masuko-chan who invited me to help with the yukata..."
"Ah..."
Kise looked like he expected another answer.
"And wh–what about you?"
He shrugged. "Kagamicchi told me to come-ssu."
"He told you why Masuko-chan isn't okay today, didn't he?"
"How... Yeah. What did he tell you?" he asked, his tone suddenly somber, softer.
"Kuroko and I noticed she wasn't like usual during practice so we asked told us about what happened in Regionals final and... Has Masuko-chan already talked about him with you?"
Kise looked utterly confused. "Him?" Didn't Kise know about him... "Masukocchi doesn't really talk about her old teams."
"Uh..." Kouki hesitated. Should he say it?! It was only a hypothesis Kouki had made but... "I'm talking about the teammate who was her partner on the pitch... They used to date and I think they broke up after losing Regionals." He remembered thinking something about what Masuko-chan told them during the joint training camp was wrong. And Kagami talking about the treatment by the media and the fans after Regionals only confimed what he thought. "Masuko-chan told they broke up a week after Regionals but it didn't go with the rest of the story."
There was a moment of silence before Kise finally answered. "I knew it, now I can see why Masukocchi took an interest in you."
Wait what?! Was it his way to tell him to shut up? To tell him that his theory was stupid? He had no idea what he said what had to do with Kouki's theory.
"S–sorry, I'm probably annoying–"
"Not at all, Furihatacchi!" ... cchi?! Kise dropped his over the top happiness for a moment, nodding. "I saw Regionals finals took place on February 15th so it's been six months since they broke up... if it happened that day. Do you think she still likes him?"
Kouki thought about Kagami's words. For someone so dense about how to treat girls, it looked like Kagami had put lots of thoughts about Masuko-chan's situation. It was sweet.
"No, the breakup was mutual and they're good friends. Masuko-chan did say they had pretended to be together for their team but they never went back together so... yeah."
"As I thought."
"What do you mean?"
"You see, Masukocchi and Midorimacchi–"
"Domo," a voice said.
Both he and Kise jumped. It could only be one person.
"Gah!"
"Kurokocchi! Since when are you here-ssu?"
"I've been here the whole time," Kuroko flatly stated. His eyes met Kouki's. Kuroko didn't look surprised by the hypothesis Kouki just made. "We just arrived."
"Ah, right." So that was Masuko-chan's and Kagami's apartment complex?! It was located in one of the most affluent parts of Tokyo.
"Kagami's apartment is the one with the penthouse, right?" Kouki asked.
"Hai. Miyuki-san's apartment is just below."
Kouki pressed on the bell and he was surprised to have someone opening the door not even ten seconds after. It was Kagami.
"Finally!... Heh, you came together?!"
"We met on the road."
"Ah... You can get some drinks in the fridge," Kagami said.
Kise and Kuroko were visibly used to that, as they knew exactly where was the genkan for their shoes. Hell, Kuroko even had his own pair of slippers.
That simple thought made Kouki happy for his teammate. It was rare for Kuroko to get comfortable. Everyone in Seirin knew it, that was un unspoken fact. They respected and appreciated him the way he was but Kouki wish Kuroko would share some of the burden he felt and be more comfortable around the team...
But somehow, Kuroko looked at home there. He had that quiet happiness in his eyes that made him glow and less invisible.
Kouki walked toward the living room before stopping. "How... Your place's huge!"
"Why are y'all sayin' that?"
"Are you rich? You have to because there's no way you..." Kagami probably didn't realize it was a huge apartment for Japanese standards.
"Uncle is, he does corporate consulting for a living." Masuko-chan's voice replied behind one of the doors in the corridor.
"Did you find them?" Kagami shouted.
"It took me time to find them among all these cardboards but I did!" Masuko-chan exited from the room with two yukata made of fine fabrics in her hands. "Good evening Tetsuya, Furihata-kun and pretty face! You all look amazing. And thank you for coming to help us."
Right, Kagami told her they were coming to help them with the yukata, which was true, but they were also there to cheer her up.
She handed Kagami the dark grey yukata and the red obi. "Pretty face, can you help me with the makeup, please?"
Kouki was apparently wrong when he thought that it was impossible for Kise for sparkle more than he already was. "Of course-ssu! We have to start now or we'll be late!" Kise excitedly grabbed Masuko-chan's arm to drag her back in the room. "Kurokocchi, Furihatacchi, help Kagamicchi with his yukata."
"The things I do for Emilie," Kagami grumbled.
"Where are they? I'm hungry! These first years, I swear..."
Hyuuga-san definitely was almost as frightening as his senpai, Shintaro mused.
He had no idea how he ended up with Seirin waiting for the rest of them to arrive. Or why he even accepted to come... Perhaps it was because it was hard to tell Masuko "no" (just like it used to be the case with Momoi in some ways) or perhaps it was because Kise's text without (!) any emojis alarmed him.
Then he had a second thought about Masuko's call itself.
Shintaro ended up asking Sayuri about said Regionals to which his sister threw him an odd look before telling him it's been six months since she lost Regionals final. It had even made the news on a national scale in France.
Selfishly, it was in these moments Shintaro was grateful baketball didn't have an important place in Japan. The more important a sport would get, the more pressure said sport's athletes would feel from the media. Only basketball magazines and some sports magazines took an interest in the Generation of Miracles. They hadn't needed that since they already had Teiko's philosophy permanantly reminding them victory was mandatory.
For Masuko, it was the opposite. Football was France's most important and watched sport and according to what Sayuri told him, even regular newspaperss took an interest in Masuko and her partner. Not just sports magazines...
"Kyaa!"
Shintaro sighed. He knew what these high-pitched screams were announcing: Kise's arrival.
"Finally! Here they are."
He turned his head and a voice that sounded too much like Takao came to his mind.
'You do think she's cute, don't you?'
Masuko was wearing a dark blue and purple yukata with a starry night pattern that reminded him of the photo of her at her highschool ball. It was a color that suited her well. And the low chignon she had left the fair skin of her delicate neck visible...
Shintaro averted his eyes in shame.
Masuko was his friend.
Just a friend...
What kind of friend was he with that kind of thoughts?!
"Everyone, hello!" Irritation replaced his shame at the sound of Kise's loud and annoying voice. It was only now that he noticed that each of Masuko's arm was linked, with Kise on one side and Kuroko on the other.
Shintaro blinked. It was one thing to see Kuroko accepting Masuko's physical contact, it was another thing to see the other way around. Masuko seemed confused but pleased. She didn't seem to care about the whispers and hostile stares all around them either.
"Good evening."
"You look amazing, Miyuki!" Iron Heart said.
"Thank you, Teppei."
"I made her make-up!" The eyeliner and the sparkly purple eyeshadow flattered her dark blue eyes. Shintaro didn't know much about makeup but from what Kise and Momoi kept blabbering about during middle school, it was obvious Kise was good at it. "Don't you think it looks beautiful? Right, Midorimacchi?"
Everyone turned their head to watch his reaction. Shintaro wanted to be swallowed by a black hole and disappear.
"Stop teasing him, pretty face." Masuko lightly elbowed Kise in the ribs. "We're sorry for being late, Taiga was ordering food for himself at a stall."
"Hah?! You made us wait for that?" Hyuuga-san slapped Kagami's head who in return almost chocked on his food.
GOOD.
"What're we supposed to do durin' a matsuri anyway... sir?"
Hyuuga-san sighed before answering. "Right, you two never went here... This is a national matsuri, obon. Like in every matsuri, you can buy food and drinks in stalls around us and you can play games, kinda like a funfair. There's also a firework show at the end of the festival but what's specific to obon is that we also pay tribute to our ancestors and since today is the last day, we can let paper lanterns drift in the river."
Kagami and Masuko attentively nodded all along.
"We should go wherever we want and gather to watch the firework show and for the lanterns in three hours."
"Hai!"
Shintaro and two of Seirin first years walked towards Kise, Kagami, Kuroko and Masuko. Apparently, Furihata also went to Kagami's apartment.
Despite his ordinary appearance, Shintaro knew from what he saw from the joint training camp that Furihata, despite being a skittish person, was also passionated about literature, clever and perceptive to details... which was why he took pity in him when he noticed that.
Kise unfortunately took an interest in him.
"Ne ne, Furihatacchi! Let's buy food too-ssu!"
Furihatacchi?! What happened?
"Ha ha, yeah..." Furihata looked overwhelmed but not to the point of panicking, which was probably better than expected.
"Say, can you recommend me some food?"
"Miyuki-san should try takoyaki, okonomiyaki or yakisoba, these are the typical food in matsuri."
"Yakisoba... as in Japanese noodles?! I never tasted real ones." Now that Masuko mentioned it, how come she had never come to taste Japanese food? Wasn't her mother Japanese?
"I see. Let's try this yatai, it has enough seats for us." Kuroko showed a food stall and ones of the wooden tables installed.
Masuko eagerly nodded along with the rest of them. Shintaro was tempted to order an okonomiyaki.
"How do you call these kebabs? They look delicious."
"Yakiniku and yakitoru."
"Meat! I'm going to order some too. Taiga said he'll pay everything for me tonight!"
Kagami scoffed but didn't deny it. "Take that as a repay for all these times you paid for us at Maji burger."
She laughed. "If you say so..."
If there were two things that Shintaro learned with Masuko, it was that she strangely knew everything about French food yet nothing about Japanese food and that she had the tendency to make heartfelt declarations at random moments. These two notions clearly had nothing to do with each other but that precise moment made Shintaro ponder.
"I'm grateful to have you as my friends," Masuko declared as she finished her yakisoba.
All discusions stopped and they all blinked, confused. "Er, are you okay?!" Kagami asked.
"Not really." Shintaro's eyes widened at her blunt answer. Kagami realized his mistake and was about to apologize but she stopped him. "But it's alright... I don't know how much Taiga told you about it but I'm better now, it's just that today is a reminder of some of my numerous failures."
He watched her fluttering eyes avoiding him. What to answer to such self-deprecating remark? Shintaro was a man of unspoken words. He didn't know how to be as gentle and comforting as Masuko had been that time at the hospital.
"Emilie, you don't have to..." Kagami started. "I only told them about Regionals final and the media and the fans' reaction, nothing more."
"That's surprisingly considerate of you."
"Hey!"
"We lost 5-1 and Jean and I had to continuously apologize and try to explain this defeat." Shintaro's chest tighten. Now that he knew how terrible someone could feel when they lost crippled him, how humiliating it could be to their pride...
But Shintaro also felt guilty to be so relieved he hadn't been Teiko's captain. What a selfish thought given how he saw how Akashi deal with everything. Granted, they never lost but Akashi had to calmy justify every performance that wass below what they could usually do, especially when they didn't score more than 100 points.
"Losing happens, dealing with the backlash is another thing, it..." Masuko started to fidget uncomfortably under their gazes. "It reminded me of last year."
She took a deep breath before talking again. "Quite frankly, I'm not ready to talk about it to you in details yet... I'm deeply sorry." The remorse in her eyes hurt Shintaro. In no way Masuko was to blame for her friend's accident.
"Of course, Masuko-chan."
"Yeah, just know we're here for you!"
She smiled and they all pretended that discussion had never occured for her sake. Except that Kise held her hand tight while they were all walking around. Furihata and Kuroko battled to win a football poster at the wanage. Kagami bought her a ringo-ame and a wataame to eat. And Shintaro won her a plushie at shateki.
No one said a word either when Masuko and Kagami lighted two lanterns for obon.
Miyuki read for the twelth time Jean's text she got the same morning. There were times where she selfishly forgot the breakup had also affected him. And yet, he had always supported her and tried to cheer her up as a friend... Even today.
Of course he remembered it happened six months ago.
To her own surprise, the explicit mention of their failed relationship didn't leave a tight feeling in her chest anymore. In fact, she found herself being amused by it. Maybe distance and time really made them move on...
It still didn't erase the fact that she felt as if she had been left behind.
"I'm a terrible person," she whispered to herself as she eyed the reply she started to write before erasing it to write something else.
All discussions around her stopped as she felt eyes on her.
"Ah..." It wasn't supposed to be heard by her friends.
They were on their way to home in the train and there were now only Tetsuya, Midorima, pretty face, Furihata-kun and Taiga left.
"What did you just say?" Miyuki was surprised to hear how harsh Midorima's voice was. She hadn't heard it since that face to face discussion at the hospital.
"Jean and I..."
"Emilie–"
"We broke up just after losing Regionals. I guess we had a thing for having a bad timing."
She didn't know herself if it was about them breaking up just after losing a crucial match or about them breaking up one day after Valentine's Day. Or it might even be about them falling in love in the first place.
He was home, and letting him go was hard.
"It's stupid, I just... I really liked him. Still do but as a friend. And having him texting me that he's getting his first notification from the French football federation for the French youth team among other things makes me happy but I also feel... as if I'm being left behind. He's also the first healthy rival I ever had so I can't help but wonder if I'll manage to catch up to him again."
If my knee heals, that is.
Today was a remembrance of her first romantic hearbreak. But it was also a cruel reminder that her fears were still there.
Football could be cruel. But it also was what saved her again and again.
Miyuki didn't know how she ended up having pretty face's arms wrapped around her nor how she found herself in the middle of a group hug with herself still sitting on her seat but she knew she would be okay.
Admitting her insecurities was a first step. Allowing herself to show weakness in front of her friends was another.
That had been her therapist's words back then and they were still relevant.
It was a small step but it still mattered. She knew she wasn't alone, even there in Japan, she thought as she pressed her cheek on green soft hair. What Miyuki didn't see was the new text she got from papa.
'See you in two days!'
A/N: HAPPY HOLIDAYS, HERE'S AN UPDATE FROM THIS STORY. I just noticed Fragments almost got 100 favorites and over 100 followers, I'm surprised yet deliighted, thank you so much!
This chapter is about falling out of love and letting go. It's about allowing yourself to admit you're scared. More than an angsty breakup and failed first loves, Masuko got so much from this particular failure (losing Regionals). It'll make more sense in the next arc...
The title and the content of the chapter was inspired by Daughter's song (Still). But I promise it'll be lighter (most of the time) in the next chapters. But the reason why it gets sad in most of the recent chapters is because Halcyon Days is an arc heavily relying on the past and the nostalgia felt from Masuko, Kagami and Midorima. I ended up writing more than planned (and added a kind of cliffhanger at the end?!).
I'll include more of Seirin again in the next arc but I really wanted to make a reference of them going at a festival (it was written in Riko's agenda in the manga). Furihata is an interesting character, there's no doubt he would've gotten more development if Fujimaki didn't rush like he did to end the manga.
I'm also thinking about whether including other pairings (between canon characters) or just leaving subtle hints in the later part of the story... Ironically, I have part of the Winter Cup written already but not much about the two next chapters yet (hopefully I can publish one either next week or in late January?!)
I would like to thank the people who has favorited or/and is following this story after I published the previous chapter: GettingLoki'd, xX-Moon Guardian-Xx, FrenchWeirdo, TECKK, Dina Sana, logiebtrforever, Heartdiamong, Amuto4Lifee, Buggy98, blackwolfe99
Once again, thank you for the fav/following! Don't hesitate to post comments, I'll make sure to answer them on next chapter's A/N or through PM :)