One afternoon, while sitting at the veranda, a girl caught sight of violet-blue in the garden of flowers. It was just one, yet it stood tall with its petals spread out – proud and elegant. The first bloom of the Japanese irises – the last irises to bloom – reminded the girl that it was already July.
July meant midsummer, final exams, summer break, more training for the Nationals, his –
She stopped her own thoughts as she made a mental note of buying something later for her first agenda in July, 'It's time'
"So the time has finally come."
The girl, Tsumiko was distracted by the sight of the single flower that she had not been sure if she had heard the person from the other end of the line right.
"Pardon?"
A light giggle escaped her best friend from elementary, Igarashi Sena – all the way from London – before she continued, "You've been crushing on him since..." – another pause – "..I don't know. Anyway, remember when you kept on telling me how you were right about him not being naturally blond when he returned his hair back to black? You've always said that it's just a simple crush, but I knew it would soon turn into something more serious."
There was another pause and Tsumiko could almost feel her best friend's mouth forming into a smug grin, "And I was right. Now you really do like him."
Eyes blinking at the tall, proud and elegant iris, she suddenly felt small and embarrassed, "This just feels weird. I haven't even told Mizuki-chan and Chitose-chan yet. I've only told Momoi-chan before you."
"Well, she's wise to trick you, I'd give her that. But, let me remind you, I'm still the first person you had told about it."
Igarashi Sena was one of the smartest people in her class. It was the very reason why they became close. Back in fourth grade, when Tsumiko had just transferred to Tokyo from Kyoto, their teacher - seeing how Tsumiko was still adjusting and needed help in her studies - decided to ask Igarashi to be her study buddy. Wanting to tease her friend, who always stood tall and proud with her long brown-black hair secured in a braid, Tsumiko tried to smart-talk her, "Oh come on, Sena-chan. Even if you're the first one who knew about my crush, you're only the second person to know about who I like."
"There's no difference if your crush and who-you-like is the same person, Tsumiko-chan."
Well, the keyword was 'tried'. Tsumiko just couldn't win against her friend, who actually had a point in her argument – as always.
She could only admire the iris – hoping that the rest of the buds would bloom just in time for Nationals. But for now, to accomplish her first major mission of the month, she drew inspiration from the first bloom of the Japanese iris.
Nijimura Shuuzo woke up earlier than usual so he took his time at the bathroom – staring at the mirror and running his fingers through his dark hair.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow will mark the passing of a year since the day he had done one of the most stupid yet satisfying things in his life.
Dying his hair blond.
...
"Oi Nijimura, you turn thirteen and you turn full delinquent?", Kubota remarked, the day after Nijimura dyed his hair.
Not even giving Nijimura time to retort at his fellow naturally-raven-haired first year, Sekiguchi gave out a whine, "Hey man, no fair! I'm supposed to be the special one - the only blonde in the group. Now, Kubota's the special one."
He just rolled his eyes at them – preparing to curse at them, when he saw their team captain approaching them with a basketball in his hand and an annoying bright smile in his face.
Great.
"Looking good, Nijimura."
Irosuzuka Yuuta's smile then turned into a more threatening one as he continued, "Hope you didn't join any gangs. We still need you not beaten up and whole for the Nationals."
The fucking bastard.
The raven-haired third-year was definitely getting on his nerves. But, he was not in the mood to punch anybody, so he just settled with a death stare.
"Shut up and give me the fucking ball."
Nobody dared ask him about his hair nor openly stare at it since then.
Except for one.
It was when they got back from the summer break. Coach Shirogane introduced a girl to the team. She was the same girl he had caught a glimpse at during the Nationals, and apparently she was the sister of their captain.
Her name was Irosuzuka Tsumiko. She was in sixth grade, yet she was going to be trained to be a coach and was going to be their unofficial manager until she officially attends Teikou. Her brother's hair was black, yet hers was white.
How the fuck are all these even possible?
"Nijimura Shuuzo, first year."
Oh and she blatantly stared at his unnatural blond hair, as he introduced himself.
What the fuck is wrong with her?
His thinking was interrupted when he felt someone smack his back. He faced the person he knew was responsible for it and hissed, "The fuck was that?"
What met him was feign innocence from their captain, "Oh I thought you needed a pat to help you relax and to stop you from glaring at our guest."
He directed a glare at him as he said, "I wasn't glaring at her", then stole a glance at the girl before continuing to mutter, "You siscon."
"What was that?"
Knowing that he had provoked the bastard, he smirked, "Ha? Want me to say it louder?", then emphasized every syllable, "You-sis-con."
What came next was something he have trouble remembering – or rather, something he didn't really want to remember. All he knew was he heard a faint laugh coming from the girl and that her eyes were dark - like his own - but they were shining like opal.
She rarely visited the team due to school, but thankfully whenever she does visit them, her staring at his hair lessened. In exchange of that, though, he got to see her dark opal eyes directed at his own dark eyes, reminding him of that one irritating similarity she has with her bastard of a brother – their eyes.
There was also a time when she was gone for like a month, then she popped out of nowhere one day during the week before the school year ends.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm not blonde anymore, so stop staring"
He once again found himself frowning at her, as her old habit came back, along with her presence in the gym.
With her eyes still fixed on his head, she did a single nod – as if she just had confirmed a theory, "Your hair is black."
Trying to prevent himself from fuming at the younger girl, he took a deep breath then exhaled, "Yeah, and?"
She giggled a bit then shifted her gaze to his eyes, "I guess black suits you better."
There was a pause before she offered him a smile, "Captain."
This caused something to stir in him.
He was probably not used to be called 'captain' yet. It's only natural since it was just days ago when they had appointed him as the captain. He was shocked, of course, but what he didn't understand more was that Irosuzuka Yuuta was actually the one who had suggested the ridiculous idea to the coaches.
Again, that fucking bastard.
Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with these siblings?
He could only lightly flick her forehead and feel the corners of his mouth rise a little, as he watched her eyes blink in mild surprise, "Of course, you idiot."
...
Nijimura Shuuzo found himself blinking at the mirror. His train of thoughts were a proof that he was really taking his damn time in the bathroom.
Finally finishing his morning routine, he took one last look at the mirror and scoffed.
"Happy birthday, asshole."
Nijimura Shuuzo was feeling uneasy.
He doesn't exactly know why, making him even more uneasy.
While he was packing his things since class had just ended and he had practice to attend to, he recalled that during morning practice, nobody from the team had greeted him. Only Sekiguchi and Kubota greeted him when they were on their way to their classrooms – not forgetting to tease him about dying his hair blond again the next day.
Those jerks.
He had finished packing his things, and he headed towards the door, nodding goodbyes towards some of his classmates. Sekiguchi was surprisingly nowhere to be found inside their classroom, and that's when it came to him that the moron has recently started going out with a girl from another class – Kubota's class, as he recalled. He better not be late in practice, especially not today. He was not in the mood for crap today.
Today was his birthday, and remembering about it just makes his mood even sour.
He had stopped caring about birthday greetings around a year ago, so, he was sure he wasn't bothered because of the lack of greetings from the team. Honestly, he had his suspicions, but knowing his team and their coaches, he had immediately threw these suspicions down the bin. Besides, the training has been more intense these days due to the nearing Nationals. They also still have the final exams to overcome before the summer break. Therefore, it was only understandable if the first-stringers were tired and stressed to greet him – more so, to remember or even know his birthday, especially the first-years.
Ah, the first-years.
Ah.
'This first year', he mused as his eyes landed on a familiar mop of white.
His gaze trailed down to the person's face and he was greeted with the slightly widened opal eyes of the first-year leaning against the wall across the classroom.
Instantly, the girl's expression changed to a calmer one as she addressed him, while giving him a small smile, "Senpai."
"Sup."
"Is it okay if I walk with you to practice?"
Not showing his confusion, he replied, "Uh, sure."
She then started to walk, and he effortlessly caught up and walked beside her. The two walked silently together, making the older boy feel even more troubled. It was only when they had descended the first flight of stairs that he broke the silence, "So."
She halted in her steps, and taking it as his cue, he did the same and continued, "This is just random, you know. What's up?"
He watched the younger girl tense at his question. She proceeded to look forward and sigh, then met his eyes for just a second and replied, "It's nothing, senpai."
"Let's go?", she asked – not really waiting for his answer, as she started walking once more. He followed suit, deciding to let this go, while inwardly groaning in frustration.
When they got outside, she stopped and spoke again, "Senpai. I, um", with the rest of the words left mumbled under her breath. The taller boy was about to lean down to hear her, when she dismissed whatever she had just mumbled as 'nothing', and walked once again – much more quickly this time.
The fuck.
Having enough of this, he had again effortlessly caught up with her and this time, turned her around. Holding both of her shoulders, he looked her in the eye and questioned her, "What–", he was still thinking rationally enough as he censored himself, "– is wrong? What's this about?"
Her eyes rapidly blinked as she looked up at him. Afterwards, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Locking her eyes into his once more, her lips slightly curved upwards.
"Happy Birthday, Nijimura-senpai."
The fuck part two.
His grip on her shoulders loosened.
"Sorry, I just remembered about your birthday when I saw my clipboard after the morning practice. Also, I'm sorry for suddenly showing up in front of your classroom and making you worry. I just thought that I should greet you before practice starts since I might forget about it after", she gabbled as she refused to look him in the eye.
Ah, so that was it.
He released his hold on her shoulders as he tried to stifle a laugh. Somehow, the uneasiness he has been feeling faded. He believed he was thinking too much. What did he expect from the girl who had shamelessly gawked at his hair during their first meeting anyway?
Her eyebrows were knitted at him and in response, he grinned at her and flicked her forehead, earning him a glare from her, "You little idiot."
Before she could even speak, he grabbed her shoulders once again and spun her around, while saying "Thanks, but we better hurry to practice, brat." He simply ignored her protests as he pushed her forward and guided her towards the gym.
As soon as they reached the gym doors, Tsumiko forcefully shrugged his hands off her shoulders and abruptly turned around to face him. She then said in a low whisper, "After practice, I'll be waiting at the gates."
Puzzled once again, he simply watched her as she entered the gym. He stood outside for a second and when he finally opened the doors, he was greeted by a unison of –
"Happy Birthday Captain!"
What the actual fuck.
The said captain recovered from his shock when a piece of confetti got stuck on his slightly opened mouth. That was when he realized that the first-string members and some of the managers were in front of him. He also caught a glimpse of their two coaches watching them at the sidelines. Lastly, he saw their coach-in training smiling at him apologetically, making him realize that everything – from the lack of greetings this morning to her lie about almost forgetting his birthday and her being extra weird earlier– was all part of the plan. Nonetheless, he was still confused about the last thing she had told him.
He was about to give in to this damn plan and allow the corners of his mouth to raise, but Haizaki just had to approach him with a scowl on his face, as he was holding a huge cake with lighted candles on top.
He imitated the scowl on the brat's face and asked, "Why?"
"We let the first years decide using rock-paper-scissors and he lost, winning him the prize of handing you your birthday cake. Now, Haizaki?", Obura, a third-year regular, answered for the first-year, who turned a little red from anger and embarrassment.
At the cue, the newest member of the team rolled his eyes but greeted him anyways, "Happy Birthday...captain" – mumbling the last word.
Seeing how this usually impolite brat turned into a shy kid, he couldn't help but smirk and ruffle his gray hair, "Thanks, brat." The brat, in turn, stomped on his feet. After throwing a dirty look at Haizaki, he scanned the gym before saying, "Thank you, everyone."
Feeling a little bad for the brat, he quickly made a wish and blew the candles, before shouting, "Let's all work hard, do our best and win the Nationals!", to which everyone responded with a loud "Yes, captain!", followed by cheers and applause.
When everyone calmed down, the head coach decided to start the practice. They all needed to train faster and more intensely since the practice was delayed – much to the disappointment of almost everyone, who was, ironically, spouting about 'working hard' and 'doing our best' just moments earlier. Noticing this, Nijimura announced, "After practice, I will share the cake to those who worked hard this practice", and just like that, almost everyone was hyped again.
These idiots, seriously.
In the end, he had shared the cake to everyone. He had given Midorima a larger slice of cake, since it was his birthday a few days ago. The boy simply tipped his glasses as he murmured a 'Thank you'. Only Murasakibara protested, but thankfully, Akashi gave him his share, saying that he needed to be conscious about his diet for the Nationals, without forgetting to remind everyone that they should too. With the mention of diet, he saw Momoi shove the remaining piece of her slice into Aomine's mouth, causing the latter to almost choke. He simply shook his head as he watched Tsumiko pacify the childhood friends.
"Hey man, what'd you wish for?", Sekiguchi asked him, while playfully bumping onto his side.
Nijimura had learned that this surprise was Sekiguchi and Kubota's plan, and that they had asked Tsumiko's help in convincing the other coaches to allow them to take a few minutes of the practice.
Kubota, who was on his other side, snorted, "If he told you, it wouldn't come true, stupid."
"You believe in that? Nijimura doesn't believe in it, right Nijimura?", the small forward asked.
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and answered, "Whether I believe in that or not, I still won't tell you what I'd wished for, you jerks."
"I bet it was a lame wish." Despite his bangs covering his eyes, Kubota could feel the daggers directed at him, so he patted the captain's back and said, "But it will come true."
"Gee, thanks", Nijimura sarcastically said, as he patted Kubota's back as well while saying, "Advanced happy birthday to you." The shooting guard, whose birthday was five days from today, simply nodded in response.
After they finished eating the cake and cleaned up, the members exited the first-string gym. Some of the first-years were already ahead and as they neared the gym doors, a silver head turned and glanced back at him. This was all it took for Nijimura to remember her words, and for the feeling of uneasiness well up inside him once again.
It took him some time to get to the gates alone, since he turned down the invitation to dinner of some regulars, saying that he already had plans. They teased him about it, speculating that he might secretly be dating a girl, but he just shrugged them off.
Well, they weren't entirely wrong since he was going to meet a certain white-haired girl – except that she happened to be his kouhai and at the same time, their team's aspiring coach and most importantly, they weren't dating.
Eyeing the girl at the gates suspiciously, he interrogated, "What's this? Are there more surprises?"
In response, she waved her hands defensively and explained, "No. I just wanted to apologize for tricking you, so – ", she took something out of her bag and handed out a wrapped gift, "Here. Happy Birthday."
Well, he didn't expect that.
She probably felt too guilty, so he took the gift from her. Seeing the girl's lips curve upwards, he couldn't help but mirror her expression.
Her smile grew wider and he has to shift his focus on the gift and unwrap it, revealing a white wristband.
She seemed taken aback at his actions, "I-I noticed you wore wristbands during matches, and I haven't seen you wear a white one so I um.. if you don't like-"
"I like it. Thanks."
He then placed the gift inside his bag. This made the girl exhale in relief, "I'm glad. Honestly, I was thinking about getting a rainbow one since I thought it would be funny, but then I thought that it might be too corny."
The boy only chuckled and started walking forward, stuffing his hands on his pockets.
"See, it was a corny and stupid idea indeed", she concluded as she caught up to him.
"It sure is, but I already have one at home", he informed her as he stared straight ahead.
In his peripheral view, he saw her snap towards him, "Pardon?"
With eyes still kept on the road ahead, he supplied, "My dad gave it to me last year before the Nationals. Told me that I can wear it during the Nationals to match my already colored hair", he then shrugged, "I didn't."
"Oh."
Again, in his periphery, he saw her look down at her hands that clutched her bag, and based from her tone, he knew she was already feeling guilty of her previous remark.
"Don't feel bad, it's still corny and stupid. It's what dad jokes are all about."
He tried to lighten up the mood and it was effective as he heard her little laugh, "I can't believe I unintentionally had a dad-joke-train-of-thought."
"Yeah, you're too young for that."
He noted that she was looking straight ahead, just like him, as she asked, "Well, I'm guessing you still won't wear it this Nationals?"
Looking pensive, he replied, "Actually, I've been thinking about wearing it this year."
"That's great! I really want to see you wear it."
Noticing that the girl faced him once more, he decided to meet her excited gaze, and smirked.
"How 'bout the one you gave me? Don't wanna see me wear it?"
.
.
.
The fuck did he say.
"Eh? N-no, I didn't say that."
He was greeted by the sight of a stuttering girl, with a bit of pink dusted on her cheeks. She probably noticed his lips tugging upwards – indicating that he was teasing her – as her expression changed to a warning look, which, for some reason, didn't seem to be as threatening as usual.
Weird.
Oh, he totally regretted what he said, because it was making him feel weird even more.
Okay, maybe he didn't necessarily regret it entirely.
Feeling satisfied with her reaction and seeing the familiar black car, he decided to drop the teasing, "You're driver's here."
"Well then, I'll be going now. Happy Birthday, senpai."
Shortly after he arrived home, his older sister, who was in her 3rd year of high school, also arrived home. They then changed their clothes and went to the restaurant they all liked, along with his younger brother, who was a 6th grader, and father, who was an engineer.
Dinner was fairly simple. They had eaten good food, shared stories, laughed, and simply enjoyed each other's company.
This.
This was his wish.
This year, he decided to stop wishing for his mother, who was a scientist, to come back from the States. He finally believed that it might be impossible because even if their parents weren't legally separated, they were still pretty much anyway, since his mother was practically married to her work.
This was why he changed the wish he had had for almost two years already.
This year, he had wished for his family to stay happy and healthy – especially his father.
He didn't want what happened last April to happen again. He didn't want his father to collapse again. He didn't want to hear his older sister's shaking voice, as she told him over the phone that there was an emergency. He didn't want to see his younger brother's worry-stricken face.
"Shuuzo, hope you like it."
His musings were broken when Nijimura Ryotarou, his father, handed him a bag.
Seeing the box inside the bag, he immediately knew what it was. Excitedly, he took out the box and opened it. He was welcomed by the sight of the limited-edition basketball shoes that he has been eyeing on since its release. Gaping at the shoes, he poked it to test if it was real.
It's fucking real.
"Woah, thanks dad!"
His father beamed at him and nodded in satisfaction.
"Nii-san, I helped dad order it online", Nijimura Toshiki blurted out proudly.
"I helped dad pick the color. Just so you know, Shuu-chan, he was about to pick the colorful one, because of rainbows", Nijimura Rui added, pointing at the black shoes with light blue soles.
His face contorted in horror as he imagined the colorful shoes. He then nodded towards his sister and brother, "Thanks, Rui-nee, and of course to you too, Toshi."
"But we're all rainbows so it just makes sense", their father defended his sense of style.
There was contentment as he watched his siblings tease their father more and his father pretending to sulk, in return. He couldn't help but place a hand on his father's shoulder, and tell him, "Yeah, old man, we are rainbows. I'm thinking that these shoes would look good together with the rainbow wristband."
The fuck did he say part two.
"Shuuzo!" "Shuu-chan?!"
"Um, can we have the cake now?", the youngest Nijimura pipped up.
Ignoring his father and sister's contrasting reactions, he patted his younger brother's head, "Hell yeah, Toshi."
The waiter then served them a circular chocolate cake, with fancy candles on top. Much to his embarrassment, they sang the happy birthday song. Before blowing the candles, he made another wish.
He wasn't sure if one can make multiple wishes on his birthday.
But fuck it.
Today was his birthday and he wished to win the Nationals.
Nijimura Shuuzo was not feeling uneasy.
No, he wasn't. He just couldn't sleep.
That was what he has been telling himself during the past hour he has spent lying down on his bed, with eyes darting to the phone in his hands, every so often.
Oh, he was so pathetic. Didn't he say that he had stopped caring about birthday greetings? So why the fu–
"Shuuzo? You awake?"
Startled by his father's voice behind the door of his room, he darted into a sitting position and croaked out, "Uh yeah, why?"
The door then opened, and he watched his father wordlessly sit beside him on the bed.
Nijimura Ryotarou spared a single glance at the phone on his son's hand, before speaking again, "Texting with your girlfriend?"
At that question, he would've shown his father his best grimace and denied his speculation, if he didn't happen to unmask the true meaning of the question.
"If you're worried if I'm gonna dye my hair blond tomorrow, don't – because I won't."
It was true, he wouldn't. It was also true that last year he had hated his black hair.
"Shuuzo, I can call her if – "
"No."
It was true that he had always resembled his mother, Seiki, more. It was also true that he had wanted to change his hair color, so that he would look less like her.
"Even if she doesn't call or message me until the last second of tomorrow, I don't care."
It was true that last year he had waited until the next day for her, because of the time difference. It was also true that she had forgotten to greet him last year.
She – his own mother – the one who gave birth to him.
.
.
.
"Okay. Just let me know if you plan to dye your hair blond again. You looked good in it, son."
And just like that, his uneasiness was gone, thanks to his father's stupid – but comforting – statement. He then realized that since his father's hair was black like his mom's, maybe – when he would ignore the laws of genetics – he actually got his hair color only from him.
While he was occupied with his pondering, his father stood up and was about to open the door, when he looked back at him, "Actually, you might want to try a different color. How about...red?"
Back from his daze, he showed him a glare, which was weakened by the slight twitch of his lips, "Go away, old man."
"Good night too, and happy birthday."
After his father closed the door, he made one last look at his phone and when he saw nothing, he decided to let go of his phone and think of all the people who had greeted him today. Among them, he was certain that someone had greeted him more than the usual.
No, he didn't really count how many exactly. He wasn't sentimental.
Oh, who was he kidding, his best subject was Math. He did count. But only out of habit from Math. He wasn't that sentimental.
Three times. Or four – if he was going to consider the group greeting.
In total, he got a lot of greetings today. That was enough to keep his hair in its natural color.
After all, black does suit him better.
A/N:
Phew, this chapter beats Chapter 1 in being the longest, so far. (lol) Soooo, here, we got to know more about Niji's thoughts, and of course, his family – especially his father and mother :(
In a lighter note, to everyone who follows this story and who has this story in their faves, thank you again! I really really hope I'm doing okay so far? T-T And to those new in this story, please bear with me and enjoy :)
