In a good mood, Ritsu was humming a song while she headed to the music room. The pain in her wrist had subsided, it wasn't completely healed yet, but at least she could use her right hand for her daily life again and more importantly, she could write. Today was the end of this bloody essay.

For almost a whole week, her parents had nagged her for her lack of diligence, indifferent to her injury as they kept pushing her to rewrite it again and again. Because of that, she was able to write a little with her left hand, even though it was still scribbles.

In retrospect, that was actually the first time they were so harsh on her. She understood their cold treatment, somehow they truly cared about her. If that wasn't the case, they could have ignored her or implied to quit her volleyball club. Fortunately, she was a loved child. However they could have expressed their love in a different way...What kind of parents would give writing an essay as a punishment?.. Particularly when the injury was a wrist sprain.

Ritsu laughed internally when she remembered the dumbfounded faces of her new friends from the basketball club, even Akashi wasn't able to keep a poker face. Thinking of him, she wondered if he would mind being treated to lunch one day...given the fact he had tried to refuse a simple drink, a meal was maybe too much.

These past few days, Akashi had been a great help to her regarding lessons by giving her his notes every day when class was dismissed. His initiative was very troubling at first, for the simple reason that she didn't ask for his help.

One day he turned to her, suggesting her to take his notes home out of the blue. His help was welcomed yet she accepted with some reluctance, remembering he might need it later with midterm exams coming up soon. Akashi brushed it off, explaining that listening to class was actually enough for him and his notes were just a precaution.

That was Akashi in all his splendour. A boy gifted in both academics and sports. No wonder he was so fascinating to common people.

She knew little about him but the more she talked to him, the less she was able to look away from him. Had she never spoken to him, this growing admiration wouldn't even exist.

Losing herself in sentimental thoughts, she inadvertently bumped into someone. By reflex, she turned to the person to apologise but there was no one above the staircase. She blinked several times while looking behind her, certain she had bumped into someone...or something else perhaps, like a ghost. At that thought, she nervously smiled, trying to keep a minimum of rationality.

"Asa-chin...What a coincidence."

With a jolt, she drew her attention to the familiar voice. Murasakibara was standing at the bottom of the staircase, completely depressed. His half-opened violet eyes were slightly narrowed, seemingly upset by something.

"You're not eating yet?" She asked while going down the stairs.

"I forgot my wallet..." He pouted.

"Why not asking Akashi-kun or Midorima-kun? They certainly won't refuse to treat you for once."

"I didn't find Aka-chin." He pouted even more. "And Mido-chin said it was divine retribution, so he won't help me."

Somehow Ritsu smiled nervously at how silly it sounded. "«D-Divine retribution»..." She repeated in a low voice as she could perfectly imagine Midorima spouting this kind of nonsense. "W-What about Momoi-chan or Aomine-kun?"

Murasakibara shook his head very slowly. "Mine-chin is broke... Luckily Momo-chin gave me some candies but..."

"That wasn't enough, I suppose?" He responded with a nod, his eyes dropping.

"Then I'll share my lunch with you. I didn't eat yet."

Gawking, Murasakibara's half opened eyes widened and sparkled with happiness. His expression was easy to understand. Like an innocent child, he wore his heart on his sleeve.

"You're kind, Asa-chin."

"Let's say that I know what it is like to be starving the whole day." She replied with a chuckle. "Shall we go then?"

As they stepped into the music room, a grin showed on her lips. Because of her injury, she prevented herself from coming into that room during her free time, knowing she would eventually be frustrated. She really missed its quiet atmosphere.

However, piano was not a priority at the present time. She had a hungry giant with her to feed. She unwrapped their lunch, placed the wrapping cloth on a desk and carefully laid out the food.

Before Murasakibara's glittering eyes, the first box was revealed, filled with white rice, with a small square of seaweed on top of it and sprinkled with sesame; in the second meat balls were displayed, a fried omelette and pickles. Ritsu opened a separate box where onigiri were lined up.

She looked up to him and smirked as Murasakibara was almost drooling from hunger.

"Here, you take the small fork and I'll take the chopsticks."

It was time to dig in.

"It's simple but help yourself."

The giant boy took a bite of the fried omelette, and his face lit up with satisfaction as he grabbed an onigiri. "Ich gwood."

"Glad to hear it."

While they were eating, silence stretched between them but neither of them felt awkward. They both enjoyed the meal in a comfortable silence. Ritsu glanced at Murasakibara who couldn't stop eating.

"It's quiet here." Murasakibara broke the silence, giving a look around the room.

"Do you mind?"

He shook his head slowly. "Nah. I like it when it's quiet. I don't have to hear annoying things."

"Do you mean the rumors about you?"

"Hm. They talk to much. It's annoying."

"I kind of understand you. But you really stand out, Murasakibara-kun."

Among the four, Murasakibara Atsushi was the most surprising she had met. He was quite well-know at school given his giant body, he was taller than the average boys his age and he inevitably stood out in the crowd of tiny students because of his height.

She caught sight of him several times before their actual meeting five days ago. From afar, he gave off the same laid-back attitude as now, walking nonchalantly with a disinterested look on his face as if passion never lit up his eyes. All of his movements were kind of slow, making the least effort in everything he did. «Effort» was that word even in his vocabulary? Was what she wondered during her brief observation.

When she heard he had joined the basketball club and was actually part of those famous freshmen in the first string, she was stumped as she had a precise image of him and that piece of information didn't fit in at all. It was mean to think that way but she couldn't imagine a nonchalant boy like him in a dynamic sport like basketball.

Although her opinion of him was mixed, she appreciated him as an individual. Despite having the body of a grown man, his mind was that of a child. This contrast surprised her at first but his innocence was cute...with a few minor exceptions.

"It's not my fault that everyone is so small." He blurted out before he gulped down an onigiri, then glanced at the food to see what he would pick next. "But Asa-chin, you're taller than other girls."

She was taller than the standard but compared to Murasakibara, there was still a long way to go until she would be considered a giant among girls, unlike her senpai Hoshino who was the tallest girl in school.

Murasakibara tilted his head. "Is that why you're playing volleyball?"

Ritsu mirrored him. "Not quite. It's true that height is advantageous in volleyball but I joined for the simple reason that I love it."

His lips pouted, keeping the small fork pressed onto his chin. "Hm...Mido-chin told me you play piano very well. He said he liked the sound of your playing."

A light flush dusted her cheeks. "Coming from Midorima-kun, that's quite the compliment..." She paused, trying to get back to their conversation. "But I don't understand. Why are you referring to my piano skills?"

He tilted his head to onee side then to the other, thinking on how to put his thoughts into words. "Asa-chin is skilled in piano but not in volleyball."

Her brows were twitching in suppressed anger, feeling the urge to reply something. She was aware of his bluntness, yet it didn't mean she was indifferent to his curt remarks. It was the second time she had been looked down on by him, the first time during their first meeting when he told her straight up to quit volleyball if she was weak.

"What makes you think that way?"

"You lost to Aka-chin in volleyball." She gave him a suspicious look, waiting for more of an explanation from him but nothing came.

"Is losing making me weak?"

"Hm...Maybe. Even though you're in the volleyball club, you didn't win."

Ritsu sighed and leaned back on the chair, crossing her arms. She had forgotten those words: "Ever victorious", striving for, and only for, victory, that was Teikō's motto.

Every club was following it, including the volleyball club, but only the basketball club truly embodied the school's principle by making it into the top five of the best basketball clubs in the country.

Yet she had a problem with playing for the sole purpose of victory. The weak were bound to give up and the strongest remained, such was the pressure most could feel. Links, hardships, enjoyment, everything was just secondary. That was the price to pay for victory.

Ritsu, like anybody else, sought victory but not to the extent of sacrificing her youth. Victory was just the next step after hard work.

"Are you angry, Asa-chin?" Murasakibara asked, fidgeting on his chair, frustrated for having finished all the food as he was still hungry.

"A bit. I don't really like the way you're denying my effort."

"I don't understand...Asa-chin is playing piano perfectly without even trying so why bother with volleyball?"

There was no point in getting angry with him. Rather than words, Murasakibara seemed to be more receptive to actions. So for now she had to bear with it.

"Like I said, I love volleyball as much as piano. But if you want a more serious answer then I would say volleyball is my present and piano my future."

The giant boy frowned, trying to catch what she had just said. His reaction got a smile out of her in spite of the slightly tense atmosphere between them.

"Asa-chin, you're talking like Aka-chin..." He noted with a pouting expression.

What a silly thought. Akashi was one of a kind. For him to actually be compared to an ordinary girl like her was ludicrous.

"Ah! Speaking of Akashi-kun, do you know where he goes during lunch time?" Murasakibara was his teammate, so maybe she could get a lead on his habits.

"Huh, Aka-chin...?" He looked up to the ceiling in contemplation. "Dunno. Outside basketball practice, I don't see him that often. Instead, shouldn't Asa-chin know better being in the same class?"

He got a point. They had become a little close, chatting together when the opportunity arose, but they were still not close to the point where they shared time outside the classroom.

"He rarely stays in the classroom. So I thought he might eat with you guys of the basketball club."

Murasakibara shook his head. "Most of the time we spend time on our own. But Mido-chin might know. Those two get along well... Hum...Why are you asking about Aka-chin?" The purple haired boy wondered curiously.

"I intend to treat him to lunch someday to thank him for his help but..."

She picked his interest; Murasakibara fixed her with his full attention which kind of made her nervous.

"He would probably decline." In fact, she didn't owe him anything, he offered his help of his own initiative. It was merely politeness on her part. She couldn't bring herself to be ungrateful when others showed her kindness.

"Aka-chin is like that."

"That's what makes it so difficult..." She mumbled, putting her left hand under her chin. "Plus, he isn't the type to forget his lunch or his wallet. Otherwise I might have a chance he'd accept."

As she voiced the thought, Murasakibara was looking at the small lunch boxes, now empty, and then his gaze returned back to Ritsu. "I can help you, Asa-chin."

"With what?" She inquired, noticing a peculiar glint in those nonchalant purple orbs.

"Making Aka-chin accept your invitation." He replied, a little smile distorting his flat traits. "I can make sure he won't have a lunch or his wallet with him."

"Y-You took me seriously...?!" She just blurted out her thoughts; she never expected Murasakibara to take it literally.

"To thank you for today. Asa-chin is kind."

"...You're welcome. But are you really going to do it?" She still didn't believe her ears.

"Yes."

"Do you have an idea in mind?"

"I don't know...Maybe I can try to take his wallet. That way you're free to invite him."

"M-Murasakibara-kun, that's stealing...You can't do that."

"No, if I give it back to him later then it's just borrowing."

She laughed nervously. Although Murasakibara seemed dense at first, he was in fact quite clever. The boy before her never ceased to surprise her. She wasn't wrong when she thought he was the most surprising.

"It won't be easy. Akashi-kun is always on guard." Given the giant body of Murasakibara, she doubted he would be able to proceed smoothly...and discreetly. Moreover, at first sight, delicacy and subtlety didn't appear to be his strong points.

That detail made her worry.

Murasakibara shrugged it off and looked away. While noticing that faint sign of disinterest, Ritsu mused about him.

She didn't take it bad, Murasakibara only suggested his help and the longer she waited the more he'd lose interest.

"Murasakibara-kun, do you have a cell phone?"

He nodded.

"Let's exchange numbers. That way, you'll know when I need your help."

"Okay."

Murasakibara is finally introduced~! And what can be better than a scheme against an alien to create a strong bond? Aha.

To be continued~

Thank you all for reading my story and for the reviews!