A draft I wrote to get out of my slump. Enjoy~
7th July
.
.
.
.
On a fine July afternoon, three colorful players of the Teikō basketball club had their daily study session at the school library.
Five days ago, Akashi had suggested the idea to help Aomine in his studies after seeing his great shorcomings in most subjects. Although the latter was totally against it, not wanting to do something as annoying as review lessons every day, Akashi still had him do it with a bit of persuasion.
However, Aomine wasn't the only one to receive the redhead's private lessons. Along with him, Murasakibara also had to come despite the unexpectedly good results he'd showed during the very first session. It seemed that Akashi was worried that he would eventually fall behind with his reviews if he didn't stop putting them off until the day before the final exams. The giant boy had tried many times to persuade and bribe his vice-captain with candies and sweets to escape those spartan study sessions but to no avail.
Just like for Aomine, Akashi would make sure that he passes his exams. If one of them was to fail, they'd have to attend supplementary classes and make-ups next month, which comes about the same time as the Basketball championship.
But Midorima didn't have such worries. Even though nothing forced him to come, he still joined his comrades at the school library. Apparently it has to do with homeroom teacher's request. As the top of his class, he was asked to tutor his classmate Aomine since the latter flunked his mid-term exams.
So, every day after class, all four usually meet and study at the school library.
"I don't get it at all! What's the point of adding letters in a multiplication?! And what're the brackets for?"
Aomine finally lost it. He'd been racking his brain on a factorization question for fifteen minutes and his paper was still blank.
"Just how hopeless are you?! I explained you factorisation and the method to solve it just a while ago! Were you even listening to me?" Midorima snapped back.
Seeing the two boys bickering for the umpteenth time of the day, Ritsu casted an exasperated look at Momoi who only responded with an expression telling her to wait for Akashi to come. The latter was called in along the basketball captain after class for a meeting with their coaches regarding their upcoming training camp. So Midorima was teaching the two lost causes until the meeting ended. But just like the first study session, the greenhead could hardly get Aomine - and Murasakibara as well - to listen to him and his lessons.
"It just doesn't sink in!" The blue-haired boy retorted, then snatched the reference textbook from Midorima's hand and began to read out loud : «Factorization is the decomposition of a mathematical object into a product of other objects, or factors, which when multiplied together give the original». What's that even supposed to mean?! It doesn't make sense at all!"
"That might be too difficult for Mine-chin...He can only do simple additions, substractions, multiplications and divisions after all," Murasakibara chimed in.
"Oi, Murasakibara, are you making fun of me? As if you can solve it yourself! You didn't rank high in the mid-term exams either from what I remember."
"But I was above average. Unlike Mine-chin, I'm not stupid. I only got two failed marks, and even scored 82 points in Physics!"
"Why do you look so proud about it? I bet it was just a stroke of luck." Aomine quirked an eyebrow as a victorious smile was creeping onto his teammate's face.
"I can solve the equation." Murasakibara affirmed, looking down on his teammate.
"Yeah, yeah, show me." Aomine gave him his notebook on which the equation was written.
The intense concentration on the giant boy's face left the whole table speechless. They seldom saw him with this kind of serious expression.
Suddenly, Murasakibara's eyes opened wide as if he got struck by a divine revelation, then he started to write the solution down.
All the perplexed gazes were over the notebook, and after seeing what he wrote, only one question crossed everyone's mind :
"Hmm...Mukkun, where's the rest of your calculations?" Momoi asked with a crooked smile.
Below the equation, only the solution was written in big.
"Huh? I calculate it in my head...Like always."
"«Like always»? Are you a genius or what?" Aomine retorted, astonished. Nobody around the table could believe their ears.
The giant boy shrugged his shoulders and said nonchalantly, "Not really. And I don't see why I should bother to note them down when the solution is what gives you points...it's too troublesome."
"That's not actually true, Murasakibara-kun. Your reasoning counts as much as the solution. You don't get full points if you don't show how you get to the final result," Ritsu remarked, then took a glimpse at the reference book on the table. "That said...You're kind of amazing to get the correct answer by only working it out in your head. You might really be some sort of genius!"
"What?! It's correct?"
Shocked, Aomine turned to Midorima for confirmation.
"...Surprisingly, it is." The greenhead said with a hint of incredulity in his voice after checking the answer out.
"There, you have it, Mine-chin."
"I can't believe it..."
"Me neither," Midorima spoke up. "Murasakibara, I'll have you do another one."
"Eh, why?"
"Just do it. Here."
Midorima handed him the reference textbook and showed him the equation he had to solve. Murasakibara took a look at it relunctantly but solved it the same way as before.
"I-It's correct," The bespectacled boy declared, dumbfounded.
"You're kidding?"
"Happy, now?"
Midorima and Aomine quietly swallowed their pride as they came to learn a new fact about their nonchalant teammate : Murasakibara was smarter than he looked.
"That's why I told Aka-chin I don't have to come to study, especially with someone like Mine-chin. I can pass the exams without his help. I just have to pay attention in class and take notes, it'll be all right."
"You pay attention in class and take notes...?" Momoi repeat his words in disbelief. "Mukkun, how can I put it...You're really full of surprises. I didn't imagine you take classes so seriously."
"...Classes are boring, but when I told Aka-chin that I'm too lazy to study at home, he said that if I listen carefully in class, I don't have to review a lot for tests or exams."
"Isn't that what you are normally supposed to do during class?" Midorima commented.
"But doesn't that only apply to Akashi? You can't remember everything, even if you take notes."
"Hm, ever since I listened to his piece of advice, I study much less at home than before and my grades have gone up."
"Maybe Mukkun is really a genius."
"If he truly was, he wouldn't have barely passed the mid-term exams," The shooting guard still had doubt concerning Murasakibara's intelligence.
"Japanese litterature and history classes make me sleepy. I can't help but sleep when the teacher reads or explains a text, so I don't remember much of the lessons. And when I try to study it at home, I barely understand anything since I don't have notes."
Momoi tittered as Midorima gave her a "you-heard-that" look. "Let's just say that if Mukkun makes the effort, he can do it!"
The said boy nodded positively while Midorima rolled his eyes. For the latter, the day Murasakibara would give his all in something like his studies, the end of the world might be near.
"Anyways, let's take a break! If I see another equation, I swear I'll tear this book apart and burn it to a crisp!" Aomine shouted out, pushing the math textbook far away from him and closing his notebook.
"A break now might not be a bad idea. Akashi-kun must be on his way here now. He said that the meeting shouldn't take him more than thirty minutes. Let's wait for him to come to resume," Ritsu said while checking the hour on her cellphone.
Everyone agreed at the table. When Aomine tried to get up from his chair, Midorima immediately refrained him from leaving by catching the frying pan near him, which was his lucky item of the day. They started fighting.
On their side, Murasakibara and Ritsu ignored them, their attention were drawn to Momoi who was rummaging through her school bag to find something.
"What are you doing, Sacchin?"
The pink-haired girl took a small but thick brown envelope out of it.
"The photography club gave them to me at lunchtime. It's a photo selection of the school festival! They took photos of every events and booths of each class that day," Momoi chirped as she scattered some of them on the table. "Look, Asaka-chan!"
What she showed her brought a smile on the ashblonde's lips : it was a photo of the duel scene between the Prince and the Witch, where they were lunging at each other.
"If I ever have to do another play next year, I'll be careful not to be Akashi-kun's ennemy. Or I want to be on the winning side."
Momoi laughed at her comment. "No one could have done a better job in the Witch role than you! You were fantastic when you defied Akashi-kun! But I wouldn't have been against you playing the Princess, a beautiful dress would have looked good on you."
"Ah, no, no, the play would have been completely different and my performance as a princess, terrible. This kind of role doesn't suit me at all."
"That's right, you like to play trick on Akashi-kun after all!" The basketball club manager noted cheerfully. "And he doesn't seem to dislike it to go along with your jokes. The wallet, the haunted house, the hug, the dance here, in the school library..."
"Y-You sure keeps tabs on me, Momoi-chan. But you're wrong about the dance thing, I was tricked by him..."
"It's because Aka-chin has a soft spot for Asa-chin. Whatever she does to him, he lets it slide...Aka-chin has never scolded or punished Asa-chin for her wrongdoings."
"I think we've already had this conversation before..." Ritsu mumbled as she was glowered at by the purplehead.
"Ah! I smell jealousy here~ Are you perhaps jealous of Asaka-chan because Akashi-kun is very strict with you, Mukkun?" Momoi asked, a glint of mischievousness shining in her eyes.
"It's unfair."
"Well~ Akashi-kun can't have the same attitude with her and his seniors."
"Eh?" Murasakibara and Ritsu said at the same time, not understanding where Momoi was getting at.
"Even though we were all born the same year, Asaka-chan is the oldest of the group since her birthday is on April 14th," Momoi took a notebook out of her school bag and continued with her explanation while skimming through it, "I was born on May 4th. Midorin is next, born on July 7th. Aomine-kun on August 31th. Mukkun on October 9th. And finally, Akashi-kun's birthday is on December 20th."
She closed the notebook, "So in our group, Midorin and Asaka-chan are like our eldest brother and sister, and therefore Akashi-kun has to be a little more compliant with them. It's no good to be arrogant with your seniors!"
Ritsu was baffled to hear Momoi spouting nonsense so smoothly. Who could believe such far-fetched argument? Here, even Murasakibara didn't seem to fall for it. He was staring silently at the pink-haired girl until he titled his head in a vague manner.
"Our eldest brother and sister, I see...that's why Mido-chin always keeps nagging me, just like my older brothers. Now you point it out," The purple-haired boy casted a glance at Midorima who was still busy in taming a wild Aomine with his frying pan, "Aka-chin also goes easy on Mido-chin. Most of the times, he's on mine and Mine-chin's back, but seldom on Mido-chin. I thought it was because they're getting along well but in truth, there's more..."
"Right?" Momoi nodded, seemingly excited.
The ashblonde facepalmed. The only reason Akashi wasn't too strict with Midorima was because the latter abided to the rules without much complaints. Not because he was the eldest, like Momoi tried to persuade her comrade of. That said, while witnessing their banter, Asaka couldn't believe Murasakibara was that guillible to swallow those nonsense so easily.
"But Sacchin..." Murasakibara said in a low tone that doesn't bode well, "Aka-chin is the youngest of us all, then. I'm older than him, which means that I don't have to listen to whatever he says. It's him who has to listen to me."
Momoi cringed in response.
"Momoi-chan, I think you've just set a bomb off," Asaka whispered to the pink-haired girl.
"Asaka-chan!" She retorted, "And Mukkun, that's not so simple. Asaka-chan is nine months older than Akashi-kun, and you only three."
"But I'm still older than Aka-chin." The center said stubbornly.
"Y-You are, but you two are still pretty close in «age»...?, so he probably doesn't draw the line with you as definetely as he does with the seniors and older people."
"So you're saying Aka-chin doesn't listen to me because there's only a three months difference between us...? I should just crush him then. When he learns who's the strongest, he'll have nothing to say to me."
At this point, Momoi gave in, thinking she'd certainly created trouble for the busy basketball vice-captain. Just by looking at her face, Ritsu could almost hear her say «Sorry, Akashi-kun!».
Given the situation, the ashblonde had no choice but to intervene. She couldn't let Murasakibara's childish mind come up with other silly ideas against Akashi, because he might really put them into action in the boldest way, like the wallet episode for example.
"Ah! July 7th, isn't it today?" Ritsu shouted all of a sudden.
"Oh! I-It is! It is! Midorin's birthday!" Momoi immediately followed up in a cranky way.
Midorima looked at both girls suspiciously, wondering why they suddenly brought up his birthday.
"So, your birthday is on Tanabata, Midorima-kun. The Star festival, huh..." Asaka mused, an amused smile spreading across her face.
"What's so funny about it?"
"Nothing. I just thought you were born on a very auspicious day. It's no wonder you believe in your luck and have Fate on your side! With such divine blessing upon you, your wishes are bound to come true if you strive for them. How lucky!"
«Man proposes, God disposes.» Midorima said it himself. It was his motto.
The shooting guard furrowed his brow even more, "...That's irrelevant."
"Really? Superstitious as you are, it should be important. You seem quite fond of mystical stuff and all."
"I'm not superstitious."
Asaka glimpsed at the frying pan in his hand and teased: "That's hard to believe coming from someone who listens to Oha-Asa Horoscope every morning and brings his lucky item with him every day."
"Everybody needs luck to accomplish things; and a great amount of it to reach excellence. The lucky items are only necessary for me to be in my best form. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Hmm, in that case, wouldn't that be okay for you to just pick a lucky charm? You know, like a five yen coin you've treasured since little or a victory briefs that you're always wearing for important games or events. They, too, have the same power as your lucky items. And they may surely be even more reliable, in my opinion."
"You understand nothing, Asaka," Midorima said, exasperated. "I don't rely on luck. I create my own luck. I already told you that I do everything in my power to achieve my goals, and if I can push my luck thanks to the lucky items, then I'd be a fool not to acknowledge their worth."
Asaka stared at him in a long silence that ticked the shooting guard off. He looked askance at her.
"See? You really do believe in their «power»." She eventually reacted.
"Hmph...What do you want from me?" The slender male scowled, as he got the impression she had made a fool of him all along. The gray-blue-eyed girl only shrugged her shoulders, exchanging an amused smile with the rest of the table.
"Mido-chin isn't very honest."
"But isn't it funny to tease him because of it?" Momoi concurred in giggles.
"If you ask me, it's better to leave him alone. Talking with him is the same as talking to a wall," Aomine followed up in a half-bored tone, rocking back and forth on his chair, his arms crossed behind his head.
Singled out by his comrades and at his wits' end, Midorima chose to stay silent, his hand clutching the handle of the frying pan.
"Aww, don't go sulky, Midorin! It's your birthday! And look! The photography club managed to get a shot of you two!" The pink-haired manager leaned a bit over the table and showed him a photo, which twisted the face of the bespectacled teenager in horror.
Asaka, who was sat next to the latter, looked at it with big round eyes, unable to take them away.
On the photo, the squirrel mascot from 1-D was running away from a group of crazy-looking guys - certainly Momoi's secret admirers – and swept up his arms, Midorima, dressed in the Teikō female uniform since his class had decided for a gender swap café for the school festival.
"I-Is Murasakibara-kun carrying Midorima-kun in a...a bridal style...? What's with the pink wig on his head?"
'In what kind of situation did they get into', Ritsu asked herself. Although Murasakibara's face wasn't on it because of the mascot head, she knew it was him as she recognized the tailor-made costume he wore that day. Plus only he would be able to carry a 1.74m tall teenager bridal style without a sweat.
But speaking of the latter, Ritsu remembered his looks as a girl very well. He had looked like a very cute and meek girl with his long hair neatly tied in two bunches on each side. So while she was gawking at the photo, her curiosity was as its peak, wanting to know why Midorima was wearing a short pink wig that closely resembled the one Momoi had worn that day instead of his green wig and why Murasakibara was carrying him this way. Back then, the tallest out of all of them hadn't demonstrated that much delicacy with his manager; he had carried her like a mere sack of potatoes.
"Oh, right, we haven't told you yet! Do you remember when we got separated during the school festival because of my admirers? Mukkun and I ran into Aomine-kun and Midorin and asked for their help!"
"You threatened us!" Aomine corrected angrily.
"I was chased by unknown guys, what do you want me to do? Besides, you two left me no choice! You didn't want to lift a finger to help me!" Momoi countered in a pout.
"We were dressed as girls! How the hell did you expect two guys in skirts to stop a bunch of crazy fanboys? We wouldn't even have been able to put up a proper fight!"
"Ah?! The Dai-chan I know would have stood up against them for me! I don't remember him being a coward ganguro!"
"There's a difference between standing up for you and fighting a whole pack of freaks head on, ugly!"
The two of them stared each other down, wanting to have the last word, even though their argument was as childish as they currently were.
Seeing this pair of childhood friends squabble like this, they were really like brother and sister. The smallest things could spark off a fiery dispute.
"Hmph!" Momoi huffed, "What are you upset about? You didn't do anything anyway! It was Midorin who kindly came to my aid and used himself as a decoy!"
"Kindly, huh... Don't make me laugh." The tanned boy scoffed and sneaked a glance at said boy who grew more sullen with each passing second.
That said, because of them arguing, Ritsu had a bit of trouble understanding what had actually happened that day. It was only thanks to her power of deduction that she could somehow get the picture.
"In short, Midorima-kun was your knight in shining armor. He came to your rescue since there was no other way. Without him deceiving your admirers, you wouldn't have been able to shake them off," She concluded randomly. She only wanted the pair of childhood friends to stop squabbling and start giving her a proper explanation of the event.
In reaction to her words, Aomine and Midorima shot daggers at her.
"He lost at rock-paper-scissors."
An awkward blank ensued. Realising she had probably said something unnecessary, she sent a silent apology to the poor victim of Momoi's trick and uttered with all her sympathy :
"Oh. That was bad luck."
Then, she glanced at her friend. Right now, she might have an idea on how Momoi gets by in the basketball club and earned the respect from her peers : she has the team totally wrapped around her finger that it was kind of frightening. It's no surprise Akashi commended Momoi's ability as a manager.
Honestly, who was the real mischievous one?
"My plan was perfect! Until Midorin had to screw everything up!" The bubbly girl exclaimed, puffing her cheeks. "To save his own skin, he sent them all to you, Asaka-chan, telling them I was with you!"
"That explains it..." Ritsu commented as flashes of memory of a certain event popped in her mind – the one where Akashi and her had been furiously chased by a bunch of freaks all of a sudden. She now had an explanation for it.
"Your hostility towards me is deeper than the sea, Midorima-kun. It's quite shocking," She remarked dramatically, but unexpectedly it made said boy a bit uncomfortable. He seemed to want to say something but his words never came out, only a sigh of exasperation.
Midorima can't be completely honest.
A faint smile spread across her face.
"But, Asaka-chan, how did you manage to get rid of all of them? They chased Mukkun and Midorin for a while."
"They were such a pain in the ass...and so stupid to not even figure that it wasn't Sacchin."
The two other boys involved in the mess nodded in agreement.
"Well, I didn't do anything... in fact Akashi-kun was the one who put a stop to their madness," Ritsu answered sheepishly, scratching her cheek with a finger.
At that time, while both of them were running around the building to lose Momoi's crazy admirers, Akashi's santa bag full of his winning prizes got stuck on a prop in the hallway, and they couldn't get it off quickly enough without tearing it open. But despite the urgency of the situation, Akashi rejected that option without a second thought and instead, he chose to deal with their chasers directly.
"I guess he was quite upset back then. With just one gaze, he'd completely frozen them. And when he asked them their reason for chasing us, they scrammed at once." Ritsu told them light-heartedly.
Upon hearing the story, the rest of the table was dumbfounded by one preposterous detail .
"In short, A-Akashi-kun stopped them because he didn't want to abandon his bag...?" Momoi vocalized the question that was on everyone's mind, still in disbelief.
"Funny, isn't it? I, too, thought that he wouldn't care at all about his bag given the critical situation. But when I'd suggested him to leave it behind and get it back later, he stubbornly rejected the idea."
His silliness at back then had definitely confirmed to Ritsu that her supreme friend was more of a child than he's willing to show. Playful and stubborn as a mule at the oddest times, these were the cute facets she'd learnt at the school festival about the cool boy named Akashi Seijūrō.
"It was surprising to see him act so childishly. Even Akashi-kun has his silly moments!"
"Hmph. Akashi acted kind of strangely all through the festival. Pulling people's legs, carrying a santa bag with him everywhere, absolutely wanting to win a chick plush...He was in unusually high spirits."
"He was just having fun, is all. Everyone has been, except you, Midorima. You're such a stuck-up."
"Shut up, Aomine."
The power forward clicked his tongue, cutting the conversation short.
"Say, I didn't want to ask him," Murasakibara's bored voice broke in, ignoring the tension between his two teammates, "but why was Aka-chin dragging that heavy bag at the festival? Asa-chin mentioned his winning prizes. What winning prizes?"
"Akashi-kun played all the games standing on his way and won them all. Without exception. That's why his bag was so big. He kept them for his personal collection." Ritsu told them amusedly, but then Momoi leaned over the table and jerked her towards her out of the blue, her nose stopping a few inches away from hers and her magenta eyes looking straight at her as though she sought some sort of confirmation in her gray blue ones. She exclaimed :
"So it really was Akashi-kun! The rumored «King of games»!"
"Momoi-chan, don't scare me like that!" Ritsu shouted back. She almost fell off her chair to avoid the girl out of reflex.
"Akashi, a king of games? Right!" Aomine sneered at this load of rubbish.
"At the festival, a «king of games» supposedly appeared aiming for all the best prizes out there and rising victorious from all the games and challenges thrown at him without breaking a sweat, that's what the rumour says. He's a student here," Momoi her comrades clued into the funny story, "And the most surprising thing of all is that he didn't suffer a single defeat!"
"Seriously?"
The expression hard, Momoi nodded in confirmation and continued, "He's undefeated. No one could beat him once in intellectual or sports games. Not even the best members!"
"Eeh...and you think they were talking about Akashi?" Aomine asked half-heartedly. Honestly, it just sounded like bullshit. As if such a guy could exist, and that it was probably his strict teammate, Akashi.
"There might be some truth when you put all the pieces together." The slender teenager stepped into the conversation.
"Don't tell me you actually believe this crap, Midorima."
The latter silently readjusted his glasses up his nose bridge.
"Um, A-chan and Mi-chan heard from some people that he was small, had red hair and vicious eyes."
The profile established, the three basketball players looked at each other and seemed to have drawn their conclusion. Aomine eventually declared : "No doubt about it, it's Akashi."
"What?" Momoi interjected, failing to agree with them. "But Akashi-kun doesn't have vicious eyes! It could have been someone else!"
"Ah? That's the part that bothers you?" The tanned male spluttered. "That's him, no matter how you look at it! I only know one guy with red hair out there and it's Akashi. Moreover, he's the smallest guy in the basketball club's first-string and he HAS vicious eyes! You just can't understand since you've never been on his bad side!"
Unable to counter, Momoi darted her eyes over to Ritsu for support. The gaze trained on her was so expectant that the ashblonde couldn't hold it and looked away with a crooked smile, already feeling guilty about what she was about to say.
"Truth be told...after spending the festival with him, I can't totally deny that a small part of him is dangerous. Akashi-kun is someone you should absolutely not cross."
"Asaka-chan!"
Let down by her own friend, the pink-haired girl sulked. Quiet finally returned around the table but not for long.
"I don't believe it."
All eyes shifted to Murasakibara, not understanding what he was suddenly bringing up. However, he didn't elaborate any further.
"What, that Akashi has vicious eyes?" Aomine raised an eyebrow.
"That Aka-chin is undefeated. That he won all of his prizes without suffering a single defeat."
"It's just stupid rumour. Who knows what's true or false? Either way, we all know what kind of extraordinary things Akashi is capable of, but even he must know the taste of defeat."
"So Mine-chin doesn't believe it either."
"Like hell. And even assuming it's true, it must have been his lucky day of the year. He should have played lottery instead, he'd have won millions," The power forward snorted, slowly rocking back and forth on his chair.
Midorima was of the same opinion as his teammates. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but have lingering doubts.
"But has someone ever seen him lose a game?" He raised the question, only to receive perplexed looks from the rest of the table. Perhaps, was he reading too much into it and he could hardly believe this thing about Akashi was an absolute truth, but perfection and excellence were two traits ingrained in the latter. Therefore, it wouldn't be so surprising to hear he has never lost once in his life yet. Just a little.
"I've recently started playing shōgi with him during breaks, but I have yet to win against him," The shooting guard stated, still wanting to get a response from his comrades.
"Don't you just suck at it?"
"Aka-chin's brighter than Mido-chin." Murasakibara seconded.
Despite the childish and prickly remarks, Midorima kept his cool and sighed in response before saying : "I stand a chance against him. I do not think I'm weaker than him in shōgi in any way."
"Um, Midorima-kun might have a point by asking. It is hard to picture Akashi-kun frustrated or crying over a defeat. The way he carries himself shows that much, he has full confidence of his capacities and himself."
"And it's enough for you to believe that he's never lost once? Come on, Asaka..." Aomine grunted, not understanding how the two of them could believe such nonsense about the basketball vice-captain. Excellence was one thing, but he'd never swallow something like an absolute record of zero defeat.
"That sure must sound silly to you. On the other hand, don't you have the impression Akashi-kun is sort of perfect? When you look at him, you can't imagine him making blunders, fall or lose. It's something in his aura – and it's rather powerful for an ordinary teenager. You can't help but feel awed. Maybe it's because of this feeling of maturity and respect he exudes..." Ritsu then rested her chin on her hand with a soft smile, "Besides, girls don't call him «Akashi-sama» for nothing; he's their prince charming."
Aomine grimaced, especially at the last part, "That's your impression of Akashi?"
"More or less, I'm not saying that Akashi is perfect in every way, but you must admit that even you must have marveled at him at least once or twice after seeing his prowess. Like «That guy's awesome!» or something along those lines."
The power forward let a loud grunt and grumbled:
"Whatever! Akashi's strength may be real, but I won't lose to the likes of him. The only one who can beat me is me."
"In that case, why don't we test it? Whether one of us can beat him in a game or not."
Midorima's idea startled everyone. The look in his eyes was serious; it wasn't a joke. Apparently, his repeated defeats in shōgi might have affected him more than he'd let on.
"I'm curious about it," He said.
"All of us?" Murasakibara's eyes circled around the table and stopped on the two girls, "Asa-chin and Sacchin too?"
"Gender doesn't matter in games."
"But they can't play basketball."
"We won't play basketball, Murasakibara," Midorima affirmed, folding his arms over his chest. "I'd like to test him in something less specialized, like the games at the school festival. He wasn't named «King of the games» for his talent in basketball but for his strength in common games."
"So you want to challenge Akashi in an unknown field? Is that what you want to say?"
"Yes. It should be at least fair for both sides."
The giant boy tilted his head, bothered with the last statement, "If we just want to beat him in a game, why don't we pick a game he's weak at or doesn't know at all?"
Murasakibara had a point. If they meant to defeat Akashi, they should put all the odds on their side. Choosing the game was only an advantage among others.
"And you have an idea of what sort of games he's possibly bad at?" Aomine asked him.
The center shrugged his shoulders and turned to the girl next to him.
"I don't know. Let's just ask, Sacchin."
"Um... Akashi-kun is still shrouded in mystery, but from my basketball data, his player stats are pretty high overall!" Momoi checked her basketball data notebook and skipped to Akashi's page, "Physical and mental strength, stamina, technique...They're top level, and needless to say, so is his IQ. When you combine everything, Akashi-kun will be a tough opponent to deal with in games. Besides, I've yet to detect any striking flaws about him, he seems perfect on every level...There's no weakness to take advantage of."
Akashi in his entire splendor.
"Then," The blue-haired teen's voice broke the short silence, "Mr Perfect might not do great in stupid games."
"What do you mean, Aomine?" Midorima gave him a quizzical look.
"He may be all brain and stuff, but if we pick a game that isn't too technical and that won't give him time to think or plan a strategy, Akashi can't fully rely on his brain or skills. Rather, the game'll be decided on a battle of instinct."
Much to everyone's surprise, his idea wasn't stupidly bad. Far-fetched but worth of consideration.
"And no one can beat me when it comes down to it!"
Aomine grinned in full-confidence at his statement.
"Where would we find this kind of game?" Midorima raised the question, half-convinced.
"Ah! I know!" Momoi suddenly shouted, slapping the table with both hands, "Rock-paper-scissors! Hey, look that way!" [Jan ken pon, acchi muite hoi!]
The name of the game took a few seconds to sink in the minds of Midorima, Murasakibara and Ritsu.
"Rock..."
"Paper..."
"Scissors..?"
"Look that way! Hoi!" Momoi finished cheerfully, raising her arm up. Then, she giggled, "We will definitely defeat Akashi-kun with this game!"
After regaining his composure and having given it much thought, Midorima spoke, the shadow of a delighted smile creeping on his lips, "I see. This might work. Even Akashi can't possibly win all his matches against us in rock-paper-scissors." He paused, "Moreover, according to Oha-Asa Horosco—"
"It's decided, then!" The pink-haired girl clasped her hands, cutting the boy off mid-sentence. The latter cleared his throat, but didn't continue what he was about to say and grabbed his bag.
"Aomine, Asaka," The two teenagers turned their attention to the shooting guard, their gazes dropping to the thick book in his hand. "Your signs have the best luck today according to Oha-Asa's predictions. But I only have your lucky item, Asaka. Keep it with you for the day."
A pair of black gloves. Ritsu hesitated a moment, she was thankful of his consideration but she didn't know what she was supposed to do with them. It wasn't like she believed in daily fortune, and they were Midorima's. By the way, why did he have a pair of gloves in his bag in the middle of summer?
"If it can help me win against Akashi-kun...But you're sure you want to lend them to me? You clearly don't like me."
"I told you, I will put all the odds on my side to achieve my goals."
Ritsu could clearly read determination in his green eyes.
"And you're set to defeat Akashi-kun today."
"Yes."
She then gladly accepted the gloves that she slipped in her skirt pocket.
On the opposite side of the table, Murasakibara was unusually fidgety.
"It's great and all, but has someone thought of a way we'd make Aka-chin play rock-paper-scissors? He doesn't seem like the type to accept and play those games...In fact, has he even played,…ever?"
A short blank ensued. They completely forgot about this problem! There's no way Akashi would say «Ok, let's play rock-paper-scissors!» with a big smile when they are supposed to review for the final exams. They'd definitely be lectured by him.
"Well..." Momoi began, trying to think of a way, while her magenta eyes scanned the group for some ideas. But nothing came.
"You're all studious today."
Everyone darted their gaze at the poised voice and met the eyes of a familiar red-haired teen.
"A-Akashi-kun!?"
Though Momoi's over-reaction surprised him at first, Akashi greeted the group with a faint smile, "I'm sorry for being late. The meeting has dragged on a bit longer than expected."
The group tried to act normally in front him, although an awkward silence surrounded the table; it didn't escape the redhead's attention.
"Is something wrong?"
As he posed the question, he noticed the dozens of photos spread over the table.
"Are these shots of the school festival?"
"Yes, from the photography club," Ritsu replied, "...We were in the middle of break, and Momoi-chan took the occasion to show us their special shots of the festival."
A glint of interest shining in his red eyes, he glanced over them.
"They are pretty well-taken." He said, taking a close look at one. "From the feedbacks, the festival was a great success. I had fun there. There were some interesting games, some I didn't even know existed."
"And you won them all? Even if you've never played them?" Aomine enquired.
"Once you understand the rules and logic of a game, the rest becomes intuitive."
Here and there some gazes were exchanged in the group. The way his red eyes shone as he remembered them, there was no longer a trace of doubt in their minds : Akashi was unquestionably the rumored «King of games».
That truth lead the group to act; at least one of them.
"Um..."
Akashi turned his attention to the hesitant sound, but waited patiently until Murasakibara decided to speak.
"Aka-chin, have you ever played acchi muite hoi?"
"Acchi muite hoi?" The basketball club vice-captain was caught off guard. But noting the unusual seriousness on his giant teammate's face, he answered, "I have played rock-paper-scissors on numerous occasions. That said, I've never heard of the last part. What is it?"
An innocent curiosity rose in Akashi.
"It's sort of an extension to rock-paper-scissors," Momoi came to explain him this new game, "First you play rock-paper-scissors and whoever wins the duel has to point a finger at the other player while saying «Hey, look that way!». Then, you can point your finger up, down, right or left while the other player has to avoid looking in the same direction as you point. If he looks in the same direction, he loses. If he doesn't, then they start all over again until one of them eventually fails."
"This sounds interesting."
"Un, it is a fun to play," She confirmed with a point of nervousness, but seeing that Akashi seemed to show interest in the game, she rose up from her chair and looked straight at him. "Ah! Do you want to try playing it, Akashi-kun?"
From the mischievous glint in her eyes, Momoi was up to something, although the group feared that her approach might have been too direct.
"Now?" Akashi asked, his voice pitching in surprise.
"Yes! Just before you arrived, we were discussing about celebrating Midorin's birthday after school!"
"What? I've neve―" Midorima suddenly shrieked in pain as Aomine kicked his shin under the table. Judging from the cry, the latter must have kicked pretty hard.
"Midorima's birthday?" The redhead cocked his head, disregarding the strange behaviour of his shōgi partner.
"Yes! It's today! I've heard of a great crepe shop at the park near our school! They have over 70 different possible fillings and the crepes are reputed to be sweetly delicious! And so, we thought of celebrating Midorin's birthday there. He has always wanted to try one! But Midorin is too embarrassed to go there alone!" The pink-haired girl said in her usual cheerful tone despite the lies she was spouting much to the greenhead's dismay. "Oh, I almost forgot to ask you first, do you want to come with us, Akashi-kun? Unless you already have plans..."
"I'd be my pleasure to come, especially as it is a friend's birthday."
The girl beamed at him.
"Having said that, Momoi, I have yet to understand why Murasakibara and you have brought up rock-paper-scissors all of sudden."
"To spice things up a little!" She giggled, "We'll play rock-paper-scissors to decide who will buy the drinks for everyone. But that's not all! The loser will also have to go order the crepes all alone!"
Ritsu gaped in surprise, her reaction contrasting with Aomine's, who was totally clueless about the trick Momoi had in store for one of them.
"What's the deal if just one of us goes to order the crepes?"
All the boys, Akashi included, didn't have the slightest idea of Momoi's devilish intention.
"You don't know, Aomine-kun? Their customers are mainly female, and since it's a famous spot among girls, most of them from our school and the neighboring ones usually hang out there after class," Ritsu came to enlighten the group of boys. "You'll completely stand out as a boy in this girls' lair. Though it'd be a different story if you were to come in company of Momoi-chan or me."
Just the thought made Aomine shudder. Any guys who step in that shop would definitely be laughed at by girls. Not on his life!
"Oi, Satsuki!" He yelled at her, demanding some explanation for this stupid idea. "That sounds like a fucking punishment game for us boys! What about you girls? "
"Another time maybe!" His childhood friend chirped, "That aside, we seldom spend time with just the six of us after school. The only times you four are together are in the basketball club, and even then you don't interact much! So, we should at least take this opportunity to create bonds, and make this moment fun and memorable at the same time! Tehehe!"
"Don't «thehehe» me! Like hell I'm gonna do as you say! And why are you guys are so quiet about this?" Aomine protested and darted his gaze around his fellows, absolutely not wanting to experience this humiliation of buying crepes surrounded and gawked at by dozens of girls.
"I find Momoi's idea fairly interesting. We have yet to get to know each other well, we might as well take this opportunity to deepen our relationships. Also, bonding won't do us harm, and might improve our performance on court as a team."
"That's not the point, Akashi! Why do we have to go through a punishment game for that? Doesn't that embarrass you?"
"I don't see any problem at all. As long as you win, you don't have to worry."
"Me neither." Midorima seconded as if he was the weird one of the group.
The tanned boy rolled his eyes, wondering why of all the guys in the first-string these weirdos had to be his teammates. They were not on the same wavelength at all!
"Oh, but Midorin, since it's your birthday, you're already the winner of the day!"
"Tsk," Aomine screwed up his face upon hearing this, barely even tolerating Midorima's special treatment, when his attention shifted to the other two challengers he'd have to face, "Meaning the punishment game will be decided between Akashi, Murasakibara and me."
"Don't forget us! Asaka-chan and I are playing too!" Momoi added, hands on her hips, but he completely ignored her. Aomine was eyeing his teammates carefully before a grin curved his lips.
"Hope you're mentally prepared. I'll beat the hell out of you in rock-paper-scissors, Akashi, Murasakibara! There's no freaking way I'd go through this humiliation! And I'll make sure of it by sending one of you out there! Especially you, Akashi!"
That'd be payback for making him run around inside a haunting house at the school festival! He didn't forget that scary experience!
"You're in high spirits, Aomine," Akashi commented, not taking his threat lightly. They stared at each other, tension rising.
"Mine-chin...I go because I want to eat those famous crepes, so I won't lose to the two of you. The punishment game will be decided between Aka-chin and you," Murasakibara declared, not letting himself left out, "But honestly, I'd like Aka-chin over Mine-chin to go buy the crepes. I'm sure that if Mine-chin is going to order, he will mess them up and pick the wrong fillings. So Aka-chin is the best choice; at least I'll get the crepe I want to eat."
Even if it wasn't intentional from Murasakibara, it also meant that he wished Akashi to lose. And this fact didn't leave the latter totally indifferent.
"Besides, I don't think Mine-chin can afford to pay the drinks for all of us."
"Murasakibara, you bastard!" The bluehead countered instantly.
"Ahem," Midorima coughed faintly to cut in the conversation, "It doesn't matter whether I get a special treatment or not, I'd still like to play rock-paper-scissors. I have my reasons as well."
Challenging Akashi in a game was his idea, he wouldn't miss the chance to confront him.
Though the vice-captain had no idea what awaited him. The latter felt the fierce gaze of his green-haired partner on him. Puzzled, he watched his three teammates warily who were showing him an unusual amount of hostility for reasons unknown to him.
"It seems like you're their prey today, Akashi-kun." Ritsu observed.
"Most likely." The red-eyed teen noted, "I barely understand what has suddenly gotten into you all, but I don't intend to lose either, everyone."
"Yosh! Let the battle begin!"
Aomine stood up from his chair, ready to fight anybody standing in his way.
"Hey, we can't play here! We're in the library, have you forgotten?" The pink-haired girl intervened.
"Outside, then! We can be loud all we want."
"It's too hot outside..."
"For once, I agree with Murasakibara. I prefer to avoid going outside. The sun is still high."
Against the lack of cooperation from his own teammates, Aomine's enthusiasm deflated. He plopped back on his chair and rested his chin on his hand in annoyance, daring the others to submit a better idea.
"How about the music room? I have the keys. At this hour, nobody should be using it and we won't bother anyone either," The ashblonde proposed, dangling the keys of the room from her fingers. Since she often played piano at school, her music teacher allowed her to keep a duplicate with her so she could use it whenever she wanted.
"Nice Asaka-chan! Let's use it! Is that okay, everyone?"
Without a single objection, the colorful group packed up their things and moved to the music room.
Where Akashi's fate would be determined.
"How will we proceed?" The red-haired teen asked once they settled in the room.
Momoi exchanged a look with Ritsu about their next step. Now that they managed to lure Akashi into playing rock-paper-scissors, they had to find a way for the five of them to have a fight with the «King of games». The only purpose of bringing him here was to prove the rumor wrong that Akashi was undefeated in games.
"Akashi-kun, you said you've never heard or seen people play this version of rock-paper-scissors before, have you? So what about a small demonstration first?" Ritsu came to suggest him.
"Right! A demonstration is better than words. Asaka-chan and I can show you how to play it!"
"It wouldn't hurt."
"After the demo, we'll start off the matches. A propos, I have a suggestion: why don't we have the winner of the demonstration and you, Akashi-kun, start off the first game?"
It didn't even occur to the three boys that Ritsu might be scheming something as they glared at her mulishly; they were eager to play against Akashi. Nonetheless, flat out ignoring them, Ritsu went on with her explanations:
"Then, depending on the outcome, the loser steps down and another player comes to face the winner and so on and so forth. When one gets a total of five wins, he/she's safe while the others continue to play until only one remains ‒ who is the loser and the one who will buy the drinks."
After getting the full explanation, if finally clicked for Momoi and Midorima. With this configuration, they could all challenge Akashi one by one...As long as the latter doesn't lose midway, of course. And even if he lost it would only prove the rumors of him being invincible false.
"Fine by me."
Akashi accepted, unknowing to his comrades' true motivations.
"Let's start!"
For the demonstration, the two girls got into position in front of the room, facing each other and their right hand closed into a fist, while the boys watched them from the desks.
"Ready, Asaka-chan?"
"Anytime."
A brief silence filled the room before the battle.
"One, two, three..." Momoi counted. Then, the two girls sang in unison:
"Starting with rock!" [Saisho wa guu!]
They held out their closed fists.
"Rock, paper, scissors!" [Jankenpon!]
Ritsu and Momoi both played scissors. Seeing the results, they immediately continued the game.
"It's a tie!" [Aiko desho!]
"Paper!"
"Scissors!"
Winning the first match, Ritsu pointed out her finger at the pink-haired girl and shouted : "Hey, look that way!" [Acchi muite hoi!]
She pointed left while Momoi nodded her head upward. They started all over again.
Going on a third round, both girls started to laugh, amused and thrilled. Momoi played rock next and Ritsu, paper. Having lost the duel, the ashblonde watched with careful eyes her friend's movement. The moment the smaller girl finished shouting her sentence, Ritsu turned her head right, only to see that Momoi was also pointing in that direction.
"Ah!"
"Yay~!"
"You got me. Well done, Momoi-chan!"
The latter savored her victory.
"Hehe, you had such serious eyes when looking at me! I thought you'd figured out my move!"
"But I was completely mistaken. I tried a bit too hard, I guess." Ritsu said with a chuckle.
"Just feel it and move, Asaka. Let your instinct kick in!"
"I should listen to your advice, Aomine-kun. I must do better next time if we want to send Akashi-kun to buy the crepes."
Aomine beamed at her, sharing the excitement with her. However, her statement did surprise a certain red-haired boy.
"You're in league with them as well, Asaka?"
Ritsu couldn't help but laugh. His expression and the way his voice pitched, it all made it look like he couldn't believe she'd go along with his teammates' plan. Out of all the people in the room, he may have thought she would be on his side since they were close.
"I'm rather excited to see you walk into that kind of place. It might be the chance of lifetime to have the mysterious Akashi Seijūrō go buy and eat big and sweet crepes filled with cream and sauce."
Akashi let out a soft chuckle, "You have a rather twisted opinion of me. Granted, I don't usually go to these sorts of places, but they aren't ones you can enjoy alone. As far as I am concerned, I'd rather spend my time leisurely with someone there than go alone." His lips curved into a lovely smile and he then asked her, "Well, how about it, Asaka?"
"How about it...?" Ritsu repeated warily, not catching the point of his question. No– In fact, she did have an inkling of it, but that was too preposterous of an idea. Was he actually inviting her?
Given how Momoi just gasped in shock at the innocent question, it seemed that she came to the same conclusion.
"...Are you asking me out?" The ashblonde enquired to be sure.
Akashi stared at her. The longer he did, the harder she tried to get an answer out of him. But his red eyes were reflecting nothing but herself. She couldn't tell if he was serious or making fun of her, so she quirked an eyebrow to which he eventually reacted.
"I am. These places are best enjoyed in company of a friend."
"And I am this «friend»?"
"A fact that you tend to forget easily."
Ritsu blushed faintly. A shy yet happy smile surfaced; she was unable to contain her happiness. She wasn't just a simple acquaintance for him.
Perhaps, Momoi wasn't wrong back at the festival, when she said Akashi had a deeper affection for her than the rest of the group. No wonder the bitter «Aka-chin has a soft spot for Asa-chin» that came from Murasakibara.
Akashi liked her way more than she gave him credit...
"You should remember it once and for all."
"Yes, sir."
She responded in giggles.
"...So that you won't have to scheme behind my back whenever you wish to invite or treat me for a meal," He added in a patronizing tone, which instantly changed Ritsu's expression.
Her smile froze before it stretched nervously. Just now, his last comment, she got the awful impression that her supposed friend had made fun of her. His sense of humour was as cringeworthy as ever.
"Now, that's why I have a twisted opinion of you..." Ritsu muttered, but it only accentuated the delight on her friend's face. She sighed and half-smiled at his expression. In spite of it all, she liked him for that.
"Can we begin?" Murasakibara chimed in, urging them to stop talking with a flat stare. Judging from his mood, he was growing impatient.
Well, delicious crepes were at stake here.
"Ah, yes," The ashblonde responded, noticing the faint yet dangerous aura emanating from the center.
She drew her attention back to the red-haired teen.
"Akashi-kun, are you ready to go? Even though it's just a rock-paper-scissors game, you better stay on your guard in this version. Depending on your opponents, the pace can go up very quickly right off the bat." She warned him then took a glimpse at the three other basketball players. "Especially if they are dead set on taking you down ; they won't let you breathe."
"Indeed," Akashi concurred with her statement, not in the least fazed by the determination of his teammates. Rather, he looked thrilled by the upcoming challenges : "I expect nothing less from them."
At this declaration, he turned his head toward the basketball manager, his traits softening a little at their eye contact. "Including you, Momoi."
The pink-haired girl was taken aback by the last statement, not expecting that Akashi would regard her with the same esteem he held for his teammates. A faint blush tinted her cheeks pink, but his words also seemed to boost her spirit. A confident smile spread over her face, ready to confront him at any moment.
She straightened and declared, "I won't go easy on you, Akashi-kun. This may be the first time you play this version of rock-paper-scissors, but I don't intend to give up on my advantage here and let you gain confidence."
Her smile almost shaped into a smug smirk. Her expression said it all, it seems that she already had an idea on how to take down Akashi.
"Your reflexes are extraordinary, yet you still need some time for adaption to play at your best. Even you can't be good at something right off the bat. Following that logic, I'm going aggressive."
"As expected of our manager. You also have what it takes to be a fair challenger."
The two of them faced each other, ready to go.
When observing Momoi getting in battle mode, Ritsu was having goosebumps. Her facial expression was completely different from when she was against her. She wasn't about to show any mercy to Akashi on his first game.
"Wow, Momoi-chan is pretty fired up."
"That's one of Satsuki's good points. A game is meant to be won. She's fully aware of that," Aomine stated almost indifferently, flopping into the chair, but still kept a calculating gaze on his childhood friend, "Even if she doesn't play sports, Satsuki has a really strong sense of competition. Friends or foes, as long as you're her opponent, she's taking you out with everything in her power."
Ritsu saw her pink-haired friend in a new light. She was so used to her bubbly personality that she could hardly picture her as a threat, or at least she always thought it was out of fun. But she made a grave error of judgement; she shouldn't have taken that fact lightly. Momoi's strength doesn't only reside in her cheerfulness; she could be stronger than anybody. That expression of full confidence and determination is truly proving her wrong, and also...
Her gaze shifted from Momoi to Aomine, seated at the desk next to her. As it landed on him, a warm smile fleeted across her face. Despite his casual attitude towards his childhood friend and their bickering, Aomine was genuinely looking after Momoi. He fully acknowledges her and her skills.
They had such a wonderful relationship.
Back to the two challengers, Momoi started counting down, then...
"Starting with rock!" The boy and girl shouted in unison and held out their fist. "Rock, paper, scissors!"
[Incomplete]