A/N:
Hey, I'm back!
I'm so so sorry. T-T
If you've read my other KNB story 'How do cupids look like?', I mentioned that it was sort of a preview for this chapter. I also said that I was already done writing this chapter. That was true, but unfortunately, I was unable to find time to edit and re-check this chapter. The past month has been so hectic for me and honestly, I kind of lost motivation. :(
But! I'm back~
"This is impressive, Momoi-san!" Tsumiko chirped, staring at the report of the pink-haired manager.
"I agree. You even found out their shoe sizes, for some reason", Coach Sanada commented, as he flipped through the pages of her report.
Feeling embarrassed, and blaming herself for overdoing things and failing to omit that part in her report, Momoi lowered her head, "A-ah, I'm sorry!"
Coach Shirogane laughed a bit at her, "It's okay Momoi, the more information, the better. Who knows, their shoe sizes might come handy someday. Keep it up." He then gestured the two girls to go ahead, and watched as the two girls head towards the group of first year boys, who were taking a break on the bench. He then faced his fellow coach and said, "These first years are really promising, aren't they?"
Seeing the satisfied and proud expression of the head coach, the younger coach could only agree.
"Momoi-san, you're amazing! I still can't believe you even bothered to look up their shoe sizes."
At the aspiring coach's teasing, Momoi explained, "Mou, Irosuzuka-chan~ I was asking Dai-chan's shoe size and looking up some shoes, when I was researching about them, so I guess I impulsively got their shoe sizes too."
"Stupid Dai-chan! Stupid shoe size!" she ranted, while covering her face – not seeing that they were already at the bench, where 'Dai-chan' and the others were.
"What'd you say, Satsuki? What're you telling Irosuzuka now, huh?"
Suddenly hearing that very familiar voice closely, she removed her hands from her face, only to see her childhood friend's very familiar face close to her own. Startled, she jumped away from him, which earned a nasty glare from him.
"Shoe size, I heard shoe size", Haizaki piped up boredly. Upon realizing what he just said, his face crinkled in a judgmental one, "Shoe size? The fuck you girls talkin' 'bout?"
With this, Midorima paused in drinking water, and gave the two girls a look. Murasakibara was still munching some of his snacks, but he also stared at the two girls. On the other hand, Akashi was only calmly tying his shoelaces, already knowing the answer, as always.
The two girls were confused, as they looked at each other and telepathically asked each other, 'Why are they looking at us like that?'
Akashi decided to not waste time anymore and spoke, "Momoi was asked to research about teams of some schools, so they might be talking about that, am I right?"
That last part didn't t really seem to be a question, yet Momoi still answered, "Y-yes, and I impulsively got their shoe sizes because I was also asking Aomine-kun about his shoe size."
"Sounds stupid", Haizaki spat.
Midorima dismissed everything as trivial and regretted wasting his time, and announced, "I'll be training now."
Murasakibara simply finished his last piece then followed after Midorima. Akashi just nodded to the two girls before going towards the court. Seeing that Aomine wasn't making a move, Haizaki decided to go ahead, as well.
"Sheesh, Satsuki, just ask her already", Aomine randomly blurted out.
Momoi shushed him, "Aomine-kun!"
While Tsumiko was feeling lost, the childhood friends were having a brief stare down, until the girl finally gave in and faced her.
Her pink-haired friend took a deep breath before speaking, "Um, Irosuzuka-chan, are you free tomorrow?"
"We didn't get to buy the shoes Aomine-kun liked last time, so we will be looking for new shoes tomorrow and I thought that you might want to come along? I also want to go shopping and – But! If you already have plans, it's okay", she prattled while anxiously playing with her fingers.
In the background, Tsumiko could see Aomine gesturing her to go ahead and accept the invitation. She mentally giggled at this, before replying with a sweet smile, "Sure. I don't have plans tomorrow."
After hearing this, the taller girl took her hands and cheerily said, "Yay, thanks Irosuzuka-chan! I am so excited!"
The tan boy then lightly bopped the back of his childhood friend's head, before sprinting to the courts. This caused Momoi to puff her cheeks, while glaring at his back and rubbing the spot that he hit.
Black, white and red were exiting the coach's office. Immediately after their meeting with the coaches, Akashi excused himself to go ahead – leaving the other two.
"Hey, want to stop by a convenience store? I'll treat you to ice cream now", the captain asked as soon as the vice-captain left.
Tsumiko snapped her head towards the older boy, "Eh?"
"Now? Tanaka-san will be taking me home today", she continued, with a worried expression on her face.
"Ah, that's right", he replied, with a neutral expression on his face.
"But! I haven't texted him yet. I'll just ask him to pick me up the convenience store later."
He watched her expression change from a worried to an optimistic one, as he found his own expression change to a positive one as well.
"Great. Better hurry up, then", he said as they entered their respective changing rooms.
Black and white were now walking side by side, with a distance that could allow their hands to brush – which could potentially lead to them holding hands, like in dramas and shoujo mangas.
Now, only if their hands were free.
The boy had his hands on his pockets.
The girl's hands held her bag in front of her.
This unfortunate and frustrating thing went on until they reached the convenience store.
After buying ice popsicles, the two middle-schoolers stepped outside the convenience store and once again, stood next to each other – this time, with a cold treat occupying each of their hands.
They ate in silence for a few minutes and while eating the ice popsicle, Tsumiko recalled that one time she had treated the other first years – sans Akashi and Haizaki – to the same ice popsicle. This thought caused her to recall the events earlier during practice.
"Um, senpai, is it strange to know the shoe sizes of people?"
At the randomness of the question, Nijimura simply quirked an eyebrow at her.
"I mean, you know Momoi-san managed to gather the shoe sizes of some teams, and when Haizaki-san and the others heard Momoi-san and I talking about it, they gave us odd looks. Is it that weird to talk about shoe sizes or something? I don't really get what's wrong with it", she supplied before continuing to eat the cold treat.
It was a good thing that Nijimura just finished eating the ice popsicle because he could've choked on it as he listened to her account. He had an idea, of course. He was a male teenager undergoing puberty too. Now, how can he explain to her the baseless rumors about the correlation of foot size to –
'Damn those shitty first-year brats'
"Dunno, they're probably just being stupid like their usual selves", he answered, and thankfully, the younger girl accepted it.
Realizing that the place was getting hotter for some reason, he went on, "Anyway, I'm going to buy one more popsicle. Do you want one?"
"No, thank you", she replied, while showing the almost-finished popsicle on her hand.
He then proceeded to buy another one and as he started eating, Tsumiko blurted out something that made him choke – almost.
"It really is getting hotter these days, isn't it?"
If only she knew that her statement had just assured him, somehow. He was beginning to think that him feeling warmer was because he was placed in an awkward situation with the stupid shoe size thing – but hey, maybe, it really was just because of the weather.
Bullshit.
After gulping down the piece that threatened to obstruct his airways, he managed to croak out a "Yeah, sure is."
This didn't go unnoticed by Tsumiko, as she looked up at him worriedly, "Senpai, are you okay?"
'No' was in his thoughts.
"Yes" was what he responded.
'Fuck those first-years'
Fortunately, the first-year next to him just nodded and averted her eyes away from him. He decided to focus on the frozen snack to cool himself.
After a few quiet moments, he saw a black car approaching the store. Before he could even ask the girl next to him , she spoke, "Ah, Tanaka-san's here."
"Hmm-kay", he mumbled, with the popsicle still on his mouth.
She moved to his front and gave a slight bow, "I'll be going, then. Get home safely. Thank you for the treat!"
After gulping down the last of the ice cream, he replied, "Sure, sure. You, too"
She turned around and walked towards the parked car. However, after taking the first step, she felt a hand tugging hers backwards.
"Wait!"
Tsumiko halted and faced Nijimura, only to see his delighted expression – it was a rare one, by the way.
He held up the popsicle stick on his left hand, that had certain characters engraved, then exclaimed, "I won!"
Due to the wonder she felt seeing the winning stick, her initial thoughts about how warm his hand was and how larger it was compared to hers, were forgotten.
Excitedly, she removed her hand from his hold. With both of her hands, she clasped his other hand, which held the popsicle stick.
"I can't believe that it really is possible to win in these kind of things!", she said as she investigated the stick – not releasing her hold on his hand.
"Senpai, what are you supposed to do after this? How do you claim the prize?"
The shorter girl looked up at the boy, with wide dark eyes – only to be met by his striking dark ones.
He didn't know what got into him, but after noticing how her gaze changed from a curious one to a realizing one, he intuitively placed his other hand above her hands to keep them on their place on his hand.
"I think we just have to show it to the cashier inside", he replied – feeling weird and confused at what's happening.
Tsumiko was about to be dumbstruck, but she remembered that Tanaka-san was still waiting, so she turned around towards the car. Following her gaze, Nijimura momentarily snapped to his senses and removed his hand that was on top her hands.
They both saw that the driver seat window was down and revealed Tanaka-san, who was simply watching their exchange. This caused Tsumiko to retract her hands.
"Um, Tanaka-san, we'll just claim a prize for a minute, if that's okay? I'm really sorry for making you wait", she informed him, as she looked at him apologetically.
Tanaka simply nodded and with this, her excitement about winning was back. This excitement had given her enough boldness, as she took one of the older boy's hand and pulled him back to the convenience store door.
Nijimura, who became even more confused, allowed himself to be pulled, with one confusing thought on his mind.
'I won.'
A certain silver-haired girl, wearing a green shirt beneath a white short overalls, was waiting in front of the station. She was then greeted by a yawning tall navy blue-haired boy in a dark gray shirt and jeans, and an energetic pink-haired girl in a purple striped shirt and purple skirt.
"You're so cute, Irosuzuka-chan~", Momoi bubbly said.
"You too, Momoi-san. I really like your skirt."
"See? I knew you would understand! Dai-chan kept on saying that this skirt is ugly. He just doesn't have taste", the pink-haired girl complained before sticking her tongue out to the boy. He did the same and Tsumiko could only giggle at the sight.
"You two are so cute", Tsumiko semi-squealed.
"I believe you meant, I'm cute, since this boy right here is not cute at all", the slightly taller girl corrected.
The mentioned boy clicked his tongue then held the white-haired girl's shoulders from behind, "You think you're cute? Irosuzuka, here, is the only one who's cute since I'm handsome and you're –" he paused when he saw the sight of his childhood friend cutely – no, stupidly – puffing her cheeks and glowering at him, "–stupid", he finished.
"You meant pretty, right Aomine-san?"
"Pretty stupid, yes."
"Dai-chan, you idiot!"
Before another childish fight between the other two could break out, the aspiring coach decided to be the more mature one, "Alright, you two, that's enough. Let's go now, okay?"
Momoi then clung to her arm, "Let's go, Iro-chan!"
Tsumiko noted the change in nickname, and she immediately knew what those eyes hoped for. Dark eyes just couldn't resist those expectant pink eyes, "Sure, Momoi-chan?"
"Yay! That's fine."
"Okay, you two, hurry up", Aomine said while pushing the two girls forward.
The trio first looked for new shoes for the boy, and this time, they were successful in buying a pair that the boy liked.
"I can't believe we got that discount. That was awesome, Momoi-chan!", Tsumiko remarked, as she replayed in her head the way her pink-haired friend haggled.
Proud at her bargaining skills, Momoi shrugged, "Well, we could've gotten a larger discount if someone didn't threaten the salesperson", then glared at that 'someone'.
That 'someone', who happened to be the only boy in the trio, retorted, "Oi! That guy's a pervert. He was looking at both of you with lewd eyes."
Once again, Tsumiko went to the middle of the two, "Now, now, why won't we shop for clothes?"
Momoi clung to her once again, "Yeah!"
"Yeah~" Aomine overenthusiastically said – mocking the girl in the ugly purple skirt.
Truthfully, Tsumiko didn't expect Aomine to tag along with them while shopping. However, after seeing how the boy glared at those who dared stare at them –especially at the girl in the purple skirt – she wasn't surprised anymore. She wondered if Momoi was aware but seeing how the pink-haired girl acted normally, she thought that maybe she wasn't aware of it or maybe she was just used to it.
Tsumiko couldn't help but smile at these thoughts, while she was browsing some clothes.
With her mind being occupied, the girl in the white short overalls failed to notice the intense stare-down of the childhood friends, that was happening behind her.
Blue eyes versus pink eyes.
Words were being spoken through their eyes, and somehow, blue eyes resigned.
The owner of said blue eyes then drawled, "Ahh, I'll just go to the arcade. Let me know if you're done."
Hearing this, Tsumiko turned around to look at her friends.
"Sure, Dai-chan!", Momoi chirped, feeling very satisfied that Aomine will finally leave. The two actually had agreed that he would leave once they find his shoes, so that she can have her girl time. However, he ruined the plan by deciding to tag along with them.
"See you later, Aomine-san", Tsumiko said as Aomine left them.
Unfortunately, the girl time lasted for almost an hour only, since Tsumiko was already being asked to go home by her mother. She managed to bargain with her mom and she was allowed to stay a little longer to eat snacks with them.
On the way to the café, Momoi asked the question she really looked forward to ask the other.
"Iro-chan, do you have someone you like?"
Caught off guard, the white-haired girl stuttered, "M-momoi-chan! That's really random."
"Well, do you?"
Noticing how the girl next to her sounded strangely serious, she asked, "Is this some sort of training for your data gathering?"
It was the pink-haired girl's turn to be caught off guard, "Eh? N-no, not really."
Satisfied at her reaction, Tsumiko playfully grinned, "I was just kidding."
But seeing her friend still expecting her to answer, she then hummed before deciding to be more honest, "Maybe? I'm not really sure, but I believe so."
"He's from the team, right?"
The coach-in-training of the team stopped in her steps, as she paled, "Wha–"
The manager of the team paused as well, and interrupted, "Captain?"
Tsumiko gasped and was about to deny, when Momoi continued, "Vice-captain?"
Tsumiko closed her mouth and gave Momoi a puzzled look, "Huh? Wait, what made you think I like Akashi-san?"
"So, Nijimura-senpai, then."
.
.
.
Tsumiko's face fell at this.
After recovering from the shock, she deadpanned, "You tricked me", before continuing to walk towards the café.
With Momoi's slightly longer legs, she caught up with her, "Sorry, Iro-chan~"
Tsumiko simply sighed and playfully pouted, "With your bargaining skills and slyness, I can now see why you're good at data gathering."
"Mou, Iro-chan~" Momoi sang at her friend's teasing, as they reached the café.
While waiting for their orders, Tsumiko asked her companion the same question.
"Eh? No one" was her response, which led to dark eyes narrowing at her.
"It's true", she insisted.
The silver-haired girl tried to push some more, "Hmm, how about Aomine-san?"
Pink head shook in denial, "Come on, we're just childhood friends."
Knowing that the girl across her was saying the truth, Tsumiko nodded then crossed her arms, "I see. If you like someone, please let me be the first person you'll tell. You're actually the first person I told this about."
With this revelation, pink eyes widened, as she beamed, "Really? I'm glad, Iro-chan! Don't worry, I shall tell you first."
"Even before Aomine-san?", Tsumiko playfully challenged once more.
"Iro-chan first before Dai-chan!"
The two girls giggled at their own antics – but only for a little while, as a sudden concern formed inside the mind of Tsumiko.
"Wait, is it really obvious that I kind of, you know, l-like him?"
Pink strands swayed as the other girl slightly titled her head to side, "Hmm, I don't know. Well, I don't think so. I mean, yes you two are close, but you're a coach-in-training and he's the captain, so it's not really weird if you're close. Besides, almost everyone in the team seems to be basketball idiots, so they might not notice."
They both smiled knowingly at the latter part of the previous statement, before Tsumiko asked once more, "Well then, how did you know?"
Without even blinking, Momoi responded, "Woman's intuition, I believe."
This caused them to chuckle once again, before Tsumiko threw another question referring to Akashi this time, "How about the other one? Why did you even think that I might, uh, you know?"
All the same, Momoi didn't even blink but it took her few seconds more to answer, "Um, that was just random." She then blinked and cheerily spoke, "To trick you! It worked, right?"
Tsumiko wondered for a second if Momoi's voice was in a higher pitch than usual, but she ignored it and dismissed it as insignificant, because she was still in awe about their team manager's talents.
"Oh Momoi-chan, you're so cunning."
At her comment, Tsumiko observed pink eyes darting away from her dark ones. Before, she could even be suspicious and think anything else, she saw the girl across her raise one hand, as she hollered, "Ah, Dai-chan! Here!"
With the arrival of their companion and the completion of their trio, girl time had officially ended.
When Momoi arrived home, she went to her room and opened a cabinet with few notebooks inside. She took a certain notebook and flipped through it, until she saw a photo placed in between the leaves.
It was a photo of Tsumiko and Akashi together – more of like Tsumiko was on top of Akashi. It was taken at a far distance, so their faces weren't really clear, but those white and red tresses weren't easy to miss.
The thing is that during that time, she was tasked to follow Akashi when he wasn't back. She was about to call his phone when she managed to catch a glimpse of his red hair at the door of a classroom in an empty hallway. She saw him moving and dodging, but what she saw next was white crashing on top of red. As if in instinct, she found herself preparing her phone for a picture, failing to see an escaping yellow-haired fellow. She immediately snapped a photo and ran back to the gym, telling the coaches and captain that she didn't find the two.
Now, Momoi really didn't know why she did that, and more importantly, why she even developed the said picture.
'Woman's intuition' was her answer – as always.
Somehow, she knew that there might be something more in store for Tsumiko and Akashi. Personally, she thought they were cute together. However, after confirming who Tsumiko really liked earlier, she thought that maybe she was just being stupid, like what Dai-chan have always told her.
Deciding that she would support her silver-haired friend and maybe even try help her get closer to their captain, she placed the photo back, hid the notebook very well and deleted the photo on her phone. She can't let Dai-chan or anyone else see the picture.
"Satsuki, what the hell are you doing?"
Speak – or in this case, think of the devil and here he comes.
"Dai-chan! D-don't you know how to knock?"
The navy blue- haired boy crossed his arms, as he leaned on the door, "Since when did I knock?"
Still holding her phone, as she sat on her bed, she glared at him, "Well, it's time you knock. Were not children anymore."
"Not children anymore, huh? So that's why you're looking at your phone in a very weird way?"
With a smirk, he easily and quickly approached her.
"What? No! What are you – Hey!", Momoi cried as she dodged her phone from Aomine's reach.
"C'mon, Satsuki, what're you hiding?", Aomine teased, as he tried to grab the phone once again.
"Dai-chan! Wait – Ah!"
Everything was just so fast, and the next thing Momoi knew was that she found herself lying on her bed, conveniently under Aomine. Thanks to his skills and instinct, he managed to balance himself so that he didn't crush onto her, but this didn't change the fact that they were now so close to each other.
Ah, if only she knew that what happened now was similar to the context behind the photo of Tsumiko and Akashi that she took.
Once again, blue eyes and pink eyes were having a stare-down.
Blue eyes resigned – again.
Aomine moved away and sat at her bed, while she still absorbed what had happened.
"You're so fucking weird, Satsuki."
That insult caused her to pull herself together. Annoyed, she tossed her phone to him, only to be thrown back at her.
"Geez, I was just kidding, you moron. You just looked so serious, it's creepy."
Being an expert at 'Dai-chan language', Momoi understood what he meant. Feeling a bit touched at his concern, she rose from her position and knelt beside him. She then poked his cheek and cooed, "I'm fine, Dai-chan~"
Seriously, why did her white-haired friend even think that there's something more between her and her childhood friend.
Whatever Tsumiko's reason was, Momoi was convinced that it was probably not because of woman's intuition.
A/N:
Finally! They held hands :) If you noticed, Kise has held Tsumiko's hand the most before this chapter happened (lol, even more than Akashi) Niji, honey, sorry, if your turn came later ;A;
Well, how was the shopping scenes of the trio and the girl time? Also, I hope you don't mind Aomine and Momoi moments. These two will play a role, as I build some parallels.
Anyway, I wish to hear more from you. Reading your thoughts about this story will really help motivate me. T-T Thank you!
Lastly, many thanks to all the faves, follows and reviews! :)
