Gazing at a fading rainbow

by Sky divider

Red, green, blue, pink, purple, yellow and pale blue...She knew these colors. She once shared a bond with them called friendship and just like an ephemeral rainbow, those colors faded away into the distance. So why not gaze at those dazzling colors one last time?

47. December 20th - last part

It took her minutes to regain her full composure. That image of her attempted kiss no longer played in loop. This craving desire burning her whole body had subsided as she welcomed the cold touch of winter wind on her face. Her heart finally stopped pounding against her rib cage, now the noises around were the only things that reached her ears.

It was reassuring to have a hold on her emotions again. In order not to lose this peace of mind, she prevented herself from asking what happened to her then. She did it in the spur of the moment. She was aware that she had crossed a line there because there wasn't the slightest intention of a joke.

She meant to kiss him.

And were there a million of ways to interpret this? That might truly and genuinely be... Before the words could be spelled out, Ritsu shook her head and released a faint sigh.

She should stop thinking about it. Akashi didn't bring it up either, and when she thought about it, she should be grateful for him not asking questions.

"Asaka."

Absorbed in thought, she hadn't noticed that they had been walking at a different pace. Was it her that had walked too fast to get as far away as she could from the alley? Or was it him being patient enough to leave her space and time alone to collect herself?

If it was the latter, she felt awfully bad. What a way to kill the mood.

"It's getting pretty late."

"Oh."

A grimace fleeted across her face as she realised that time had eventually run out. Would it end like that? On that awkward note?

"We should consider going home soon."

"Huh?...Soon?" She picked up the word, startled.

Akashi nodded, "We still have a bit of time left before that, so let's make the most of it and make this place our last stop."

As she took a glimpse at said place, her eyes immediately caught sight of countless of UFO catchers and some group of students roaming around and having fun.

"A game center?"

"I'd like to play the crane games. Kuroko told me that there are unique items you can only get from those and you can also obtain brand-new goods for a few yens, depending on your ability that is." His attention was focused on high-school students attempting to catch a pikachu donut plush near the entrance. "It sounds quite exciting and fun. I've actually never played it, it's worth a try."

Sheer excitement was sparking in his eyes. He was up to the challenge, and the UFO catchers would undoubtedly give him they fair share. Even so, Ritsu hung back. Ideally, she'd rather like them to continue shopping around. She needed to use that remaining time to find his birthday present, and she wouldn't find it in a game center.

But how could she refuse when his eyes twinkled like that?

"Well then, let's see if you can take down the UFO catchers."

Just a step inside, the idol pop music made their ears bleed. Laughter and squeals from teenagers roaming around as loud and high as the music enlivened the place. The metal jingles of the tambourine resounded not far from them where a staff member in a blue haori was congratulating a couple of high school students for catching a huge king penguin plush.

"Satoshi-kun, you're so cool~!" The girl squealed, clinging to her boyfriend's arm.

"I get it for you, Marisa-chan! Isn't it cute?"

"Satoshi-kun...! You're the best! I love you!"

And the two lovebirds went into their own little bubble, hearts flowing everywhere.

That kind of display wasn't rare. Although arcades weren't the most romantic place to visit with your lover, teenage couples could have fun here for just a couple of yens. And there was this popular game among couples : The UFO catcher. That was where the boy showed his skills to impress the girl by getting her a cute plush. But it was easier said than done.

The UFO catchers were like the king of this bright and merry land of challenges that claimed all your pocket money. So many tried to beat them, so many hit a brick wall. This Satoshi guy was pretty lucky out there to win one of those big plushes, they were the hardest to get. Ritsu almost laughed at herself for wanting to call Midorima and ask Sagittarius' horoscope and lucky item because Akashi might need a fair amount of luck to win against these evil machines. But as she gazed at his small yet confident back, it seemed that he didn't need any more luck than he already had.

Undoubtedly, Akashi was born under a lucky star to always come out the victor. That boy must have done a incredibly good deed in his past life (or he wasn't from this planet).

"I'll try this one."

Ritsu's eyes settled on a small plush toy that looked like an acorn with spaghetti-like arms and legs holding a sword and wearing a viking helmet. From the tag, she read the character's name : Kunugigaoka's mascot, Kunudon. Among all the prizes, that was the first one he set his eyes on?

"You have very funny taste, Akashi-kun." Ritsu remarked while studying the prize, trying to catch the charming point of this plush. Perhaps those tiny round eyes? But silly thoughts aside, she'd expected him to go for a bigger challenge. "You sure about this one?"

"It's cute."

"Ah, no, that's not my point. I thought you'd aim for something like this first." She pointed at one of the biggest plushes out there, a giant and fluffy llama.

Akashi smirked. "A mountain isn't climbed without preparation. First, I should grasp the basics."

Know thy ennemy, Ritsu could almost hear those words coming out his mouth. Akashi would never engage someone in a fight without a mininum of preparation. Observation, analysis and patience were the keys towards victory.

Regardless, this was wise of him actually. A warm up might not be a bad idea since it was his first experience with the crane game and a good lesson as well. He'll learn to curse the claw for letting his prize slip away every time.

"Good luck. This game isn't as easy as it looks."

"You are talking from experience."

Ritsu tilted her head from side to side vaguely.

"I often come here with my teammates to wind down after practice. Hibari-senpai said that crane games can teach us a good lesson because one is bound to lose more than they win against those machines. And since it's only a game, it's rather easy to give up and move on to some other games where your chances are higher. But that's not the mentality of a winner. A winner would try a thousand times even when his chances of victory are close to zero. To make a long story short, what she meant is," Ritsu cleared her throat then pointed at Akashi with her finger, "«If you want something in life, you go and get it! That's how you carve your own path!»."

"Hibari-san is quite the amazing character." Akashi spoke with admiration.

"You don't say." The ashblonde pulled a face. Although she respected her former captain, she wouldn't give too much credit to her words as she knew what the real purpose of these arcade trips was. "That might be admirable, but in all honesty, I think Hibari-senpai uses the crane games as some sort of punishment, for me especially."

"Punishment?"

"She dragged me to game centers with Kazehaya-senpai every time she was ticked off by my play during practice and forced me to play crane games despite knowing how lousy I am. The more I tried to refuse, the more she turned into a demon."

She shivered just thinking about it. At the time Hibari was still on the team, Ritsu still had yet to fully figure out why her senior was so set on making her play crane games. She understood the message she wanted to convey, that in order to win, one shouldn't give up and keep trying. But did it have to be through a game machine?

"You don't know how much money I spent on them! And the worst is that I've never won..."

"You can't win them all."

"That's rich coming from you. That's your first time here."

As a small frown creased her forehead, Akashi switched his whole attention on the UFO catcher.

"Then, what are we waiting for?"

The redhead reached into his school bag and fished out his wallet.

"One game for 100 yens, 6 games for 500 yens." He read from the board. He took a 500 yen coin out fo his wallet and inserted it without hesitation.

How cautious of him, Ritsu mused on his choice. In truth, she wouldn't have been surprised to see him take the bull by the horns and snatch the prize on the first go. But boldly charging right into it wasn't Akashi's style.

The boy was a tactician more than a man of action, and a good tactician was aware of his own limits. As such, Akashi would not aim for the impossible and would carefully take every detail into consideration so as to plan the best approach. He wasn't foolish enough to believe he could win immediately and six games was probably not enough for him to win the prize.

But who knows? Akashi was a fast learner.

The boy was poised to begin his first attempt at UFO catcher.

"Don't stop the claw until you get to your objective, or else the machine will take it as an attempt." She advised the novice he was, "I was caught off guard on my first try and wasted one game. I didn't expect the claw to be so sensitive and stopped moving it after just a few seconds when it tried catching the prize."

"Roger."

His red eyes scanned the pile of Kunudon a brief seconds, when he put his hand on the directional buttons activating a merry sound effect as the claw started to move. The small claw swayed a little from the sudden motion, but Akashi continued to lead it to a Kunudon atop the pile with no other plushies next to it which could have hindered or even halted the claw from seizing the desired item properly.

It looked like an easy win.

Reaching the right spot, Akashi stopped touching the commands and watched the claw drop slowly. The thin and mechanic arms opened up before picking up the prize.

Ritsu stopped breathing.

The plush toy followed the motion of the claw as it pulled it up. Yet, the grip was so weak that the claw didn't even manage to lift the small prize up in the air and let it slip away.

The claw returning to its initial position, Akashi and she stared silently at the plush toy that had barely budged despite the attempt.

"I see. Very tricky." The redhead remarked, manifesting a growing interest for the game instead of a sign of frustration. "The claw is weaker than it looks and cannot lift something as light as a plush of this size."

Akashi immediately spotted where the real obstacle of crane games lay. The difficulty of this (cursed) game was not essentially due to the size, the shape or the weight of the prize but the claw itself. Obviously you didn't need to be an expert to draw this conclusion but wasn't it kind of disheartening to know that your chances of winning were close to zero because the claw was awfully weak?

"Hm, that explains why the prizes are so hard to get. There's no balance between the claw and the weight of the prize. It always seems too 'heavy' to catch."

Akashi chose a plush easy to catch thanks to its acorn shape. Had the claw been able to carry its weight, he would have already won. Though if it was that easy, she wouldn't have been ripped off of her money by those rigged machines. And certainly, Akashi would not be looking so eager to challenge the UFO catcher again.

"Even weak, the claw isn't useless as long as you know how to use it."

He smirked like a devil.

A merry music was triggered as Akashi controlled the claw for his second play. He aimed for the same plush as before but the position of the claw was slightly off. Predictably, the claw only managed to grasp the helm part of the Kunudon but somehow raise it up enough to make it stand, when the plush fell back on the pile as the prongs no longer held it.

However, the result was here. Compared to his first go, the Kunudon had actually budged from his position. Not by much but it was better than nothing.

This didn't break Akashi's concentration. The redhead went on almost instantly.

Watching Akashi was the same as watching a cat play with a mouse. The plush was restlessly teased by the claw, swung from side to side until it tumbled down the pile.

Ritsu gasped. Half of the Kunudon were hanging over the edge. Just one more push and it'd fall. Akashi used the claw to lift the opposite side up and make it tilt downward the hole.

"No way! You won!" She exclaimed in disbelief.

He bent down to collect the acorn plush and looked at his first prize at a game center with satisfaction.

"How much luck do you exactly have, Akashi-kun?" She furrowed her brows, slightly jealous of his success. In only six games, a beginner won a prize while she had never been able to get a single one, even after countless tries. If that wasn't beginner's luck, she'd like to know his secret move.

"I make my own luck."

"I really start to believe that you're coming from another planet. You're waaay too perfect."

A delighted smile tugged at his lips.

"Let's try this one next."

Akashi was on a winning streak. He snatched every prize on his way, nothing could stop him. And the most incredible was that this game monster kept evolving. The more he played, the more his techniques felt almost innate. It was so smooth to watch, just like watching a basketball sinking into the basket without touching the rim. Depending on the position, the size and the claw, Akashi was even able to get it in two or three plays.

«Once you understand the rules and logic of a game, the rest becomes intuitive.» Ritsu recalled his words. Forget fast learning, he was a bona fide prodigy at this level. She should know it by now, but she couldn't help but be struck with amazement by the way Akashi made things look so easy and simple in whatever he did.

Which was certainly so intriguing about him. Was there even something that could give this alien some trouble? Certainly not the UFO catchers apparently. She peeked at the six plushies resting in her arms, keeping them for the boy while he played. When a seventh came to join the lot.

"Got it."

In his hands, a senor cactuar from a famous video game.

"What are you going to do with all those plushies? As much I'd like to see you cuddle them, you aren't sleeping with them, right?"

"I'll put them in my collection."

"Just what sort of collection do you have Akashi Seijurou? How big is it?!"

She already noticed this habit of his. Akashi loved collect those items as victory trophies and certainly he didn't do things by half to expand it, considering the santa bag he carried during the whole school festival and all the plushies he won. His collection must be enormous, perhaps the size of a room since there was a fact that she couldn't overlook : Akashi always wins.

But did he put them on the same shelves as his competition trophies and medals? Just imagining his Interhigh championship medal lost between plushies was kind of hilarious.

"You might see it one da—"

A whistle interrupted them.

"Woow, look at this! You're one lucky miss to have your boyfriend catch you so many plushies!" The staff member clapped his hands as he approached them. "Here! Please use it!"

He opened the plastic bag he brought for her.

"Oh, thank you."

He was the same man that had happily congratulated the Satoshi-Marisa couple earlier. «Aikawa» stood on the badge pinned to his blue haori.

"You're quite good, sir! It's my first time seeing you here, but I can tell how much you wanted to impress the miss!" He winked at Ritsu, his bright smile was practically glued to his face. It never waned, and this kind of outgoing and bubbly person was very blinding to look at. They shone, no, they sparkled. "Not many guys managed to win that much when they're with a girl, they usually get one or two prizes at the most. Probably, nervousness! Aah, youth!"

His positive energy was somehow contagious, Ritsu couldn't help but smile. He talked like an old man, even though he was nowhere near that age. He was in his twenties at the absolute most, certainly a college student working part-time.

"But I've never seen someone winning THAT much. I've been watching since your first win! You're like a fish in water!" He moved his arm like a wave as he said it. "And you won every time! How long did you train to reach that god level?"

"I'm playing those games for the first time, actually." Akashi replied humbly.

"For real?! You've taken to his place like a duck to water then!" Aikawa cackled then he started jiggling the tambourine he pulled out out of the blue. "You're awesome!"

"People do say that a lot about him." Ritsu confirmed in a teasing way.

"Hearing you boasting about him...You look so proud of him, miss! Well, even I would be if my lover goes out his way to win all those prizes for me!"

"Ah no, you're mistaken. He didn't win them for me. I'm just carrying them while he's playing."

"W-H-A-T?!" He interjected utterly shocked. "You let such a cutie carry your prizes and you don't even think of claiming one! No, no, that won't do, sir! When a man brings a girl to a game center, he ought to win a prize for her. That's a rule, what a true man does! A man's duty is to lay the whole world at her feet!"

There was no such thing. Having said that, this Aikawa guy would get along so incredibly well with Hoshino. The ravenhead said about the same thing. Even though she could get it herself, she always dreamed of a day where her boyfriend would win her a prize, saying that nothing beat the feeling of receiving his love.

"Come on, miss! You should tell him! Don't be shy!" He motioned for her to step forward and face Akashi.

"Eh? But I don't really want him to get me a prize."

Instead, Akashi was the one who had to receive something from her for his birthday.

"Stop(pu)!" He hushed her as he raised his hand. "Give and take is important in relationship! You can't be the only one to give your everything! Love is not supposed to be one-sided! Listen to the expert in love! Sparks of love fizzle when two worlds collide and merge into one!"

Ritsu was speechless. How was he able to spout those words without batting an eye? They weren't totally nonsense though. She'd be lying if she said that she'd not be happy to receive something from Akashi.

"Thinking of it that way, you do have a point." The ashblonde looked at the redhead with wide eyes. Did those words actually make sense to Akashi? "How about it, Asaka?"

Past the bewilderment, Ritsu felt hesitant to indulge but where was the harm? "Well...I'm not completely against it to be honest. I'll let you choose."

"Perfect!" Aikawa clapped his hands as he got the desired result. "Get the miss something cute that matches her loveliness! I can recommend some to you!"

Without rushing, Akashi scanned the whole area, searching for this specific item. Ritsu tried to follow his line of sight, somewhat curious. Something cute that mached her loveliness, she wondered, no she looked forward to see what sort of plushie Akashi would choose only for her.

"Over there."

The little group moved further back and reached said machine.

"Oooh~ A man's dream, I see." Aikawa fully approved. On the other hand, Ritsu darted a skeptical look at the two males.

A magical staff.

This was THE item that mached her loveliness in his eyes. No denying that it was cutely designed so as to bring out the charm of its owner. The long pink rod was ornamented with a big, crystal red heart and one pair of wings on each side.

Yes, only magical girls owned those types of girlish and extravagant staffs. And when this stupid fact struck her, she seriously asked herself what had crossed Akashi's mind when he caught sigh of the magical staff. Did this mean he wished to see her do the magical girl? Did seeing her with pig-tails push some weird switch in him?

"Good choice, sir! Girls look a thousand times cuter with a magical staff! You sure have expert eyes!"

Akashi smiled, "I'm merely convinced that Asaka knows how to use a magical staff."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She frowned suspiciously as the shadow of a smile confirmed her assumptions.

"That the sight of you holding this staff is easy on the eye."

He was such a smooth-talker. Even though she should be used to it, this line flew so melodiously in her ears that she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks.

"Aww, you lovebirds are being so lovey-dovey~ I almost feel bad to be here." Aikawa observed them with a tender expression. "But before I leave you two in your own bubble..." He tapped on the UFO catcher board, casting a challenging look to Akashi, "You better not disappoint the miss after that declaration! Don't get her hopes up and fail."

"I won't. This staff will belong to her."

"I'm getting goosebumps! I like your confidence!" The staff member grinned, "But just so you know, only two people managed to win that magical staff so far."

"So few." Ritsu commented in surprise.

"The shape is what makes it so difficult. It's long, thin and the weight is uneven. The best strategy is to aim for the head, but even then you might need to try many times to get it." He warned him as he was an experienced player himself, "So good luck, sir! The miss and I both believe in you! The power of Love wins all."

Akashi inserted a five hundred yen coin and so his battle to reclaim the magical staff began.

Like a hero in epic stories, Akashi fought his way through the battleground and met several obstacles. Yet, with his unrivalled intelligence, his fine swordmanship and claw-y as his companion, he pushed forward until reaching the doors of the Demon Lord's throne. The last battle ensued. Thunder rumbled, the ground trembled, the clash of swords echoed fiercely deep inside the raging chaos, when a cry pierced the sky and the Demon Lord took his last breath. After slaying the great Terror of the kingdom, one last thing remained to do for Akashi and claw-y. He brought the magical staff back to the Princess.

*Plonk*

The sound of a tambourine resounded, saluting his unbelievable accomplishment.

"AMAZING! You really did it!" Aikawa shouted in awe, unable to contain his excitment as he kept jiggling his tambourine. "That's the power of Love for ya! Your love for her is unconditional to be able to win all the time!"

Akashi grabbed the staff. After evaluating the quality of the plastic toy in his own hands, he turned to the ashblonde. His lips curled up into a warm smile as his red eyes met her gray-blue ones.

"As you requested."

She gave him the two bags and accepted the magical staff, "Thank you, Akashi-kun."

As she held the magical staff in her hands, Akashi and Aikawa appreciated the sight to its fullest.

"You sure know her well. She's absolutely divine with it. She has the potential charm of a magical girl!"

Akashi said nothing yet that faint twinkle in his eyes spoke hundreds of words. Ritsu gripped the magical staff tighter as that rare glimmer of happiness stirred something inside her.

She wanted to see stars in his eyes.

And she had certainly had the power to make it true with this magical staff. Although she didn't know much about the world of magical girls, she did more than enough to know «how to use a magical staff»— And become a magical girl herself.

Resolute to make Akashi's heart squeal, Ritsu looked straight into his eyes. Her keen gaze seized him from within, almost forcing a gasp out of him.

She grinned before she flashed her most dazzling smile at them. So bright that she looked like a different person with all those sparkles flying around.

"Daisy! Poppy! Peony!" She started reciting those random words like a spell while twirling the magical staff from one hand to another. "I'll make Love bloom in your heart and show you the sparkly colours of Spring! Just watch me! Your heart will start doki doki then go kyun and your world will kira kira like a star-filled sky!You've been warned! Chu!" She blew them a kiss. "Here I am! Magical girl Ritsun! "

She winked at them as she struck her cutest pose, holding up two fingers like a V in front of her open eye.

"..."

Cheeks red as tomatoes, Ritsu didn't dare to move a finger, apprehensive of the two males' reactions. What a terrifying performance! She completely got carried away!

Suddenly, she flinched when a roar coming from the soul broke the silence.

"OOOOOOOOOHH! RITSUN! RITSUN!" His excitement spilling out, Aikawa applauded enthusiastically and chanted her name like he would in a concert of his favourite idol. "Aren't you secretly a magical girl? Crap, I felt that dokyun in my chest! You pierced my heart with the arrow of love! You have it in you!"

While the older male was blown away, Akashi looked like he forgot how to breathe, unable to get a word out. Something she should be proud of, but she hoped it'd have lasted longer. He regained his composure almost instantly.

But then the corners of his lips twitched and pulled up. Akashi smirked as if he couldn't hold it back.

"I am always right after all." He said to himself, fully satisfied.

Did she succeed? Ritsu rejoiced at his reaction.

"Seriously, how come you haven't married her yet?" Aikawa asked, inching closer to the redhead.

"We still have plenty of time ahead of us before that."

"Ah, come on! After feeling that kyun knock at your heart, no guy would be patient enough and wait for years to bring it to the next level! Now's the time for fireworks! Promise her your eternal love at least in wait of your marriage!"

"In the right order of things, a love confession should come before vows and promises."

Aikawa was about to retort but stopped half-way as a silly yet important detail jumped out at him.

"A love confession?...Huh? Wait a minute! You two aren't a couple?!"

"We never said we are."

"And you never said otherwise! Don't let me go crazy on my own" The older male shouted back betrayed.

"We're sorry." Ritsu said apologetically, causing the man to sigh and scratch his head. She symphatised with him. Earlier, she had been in the exact same position as she almost crossed a dangerous line because of his silence.

"Ah, don't mind it. It's my fault for assuming things." Aikawa laughed it off. He then studied the pair of friends, standing next to each other. "But you've got a lot of guts to make a fool out of someone older than you! That I will not forgive easily unless...Come with me, you two."

They followed him till Aikawa grinned tapping on a peculiar UFO catcher.

"You win this plush."

It was two puny round cats cuddling each other under an umbrella. Ritsu found them so irresistibly cute but still missed the part why Aikawa requested them to get it.

"Why?"

"I may have been mistaken about you being an item, however, you can tell from a mile away that you both care for each other veeery much. Spring might just be around the corner."

"The two of us?" Ritsu sounded dubious, giving a sidelong glance at Akashi. She didn't doubt the boy's affection but she hardly believed it to be something akin to romantic love as Aikawa seemed to imply.

"The two of you. So I thought that you'd like the idea of sharing a prize to symbolize your, um, good friendship."

Aikawa's intention was as clear as water just by glancing at the pair of cats glued together like a couple in love. Also, the fact they shared an umbrella was full of meaning ‒ a romantic symbolism. In elementary school, she often saw many of her girl friends drawing an umbrella and writing their name and their crush's under it as they dreamed of sharing a romantic moment with them.

And when Ritsu looked at those cats, it made her think exactly of that sort of romance. The umbrella was a subtle hint of love, but no mistake, it was the same as placing a red heart with "LOVE" written on it between them.

In short, that wasn't a plush friends would share but that of a couple.

At that obvious conclusion, Ritsu tried to catch Akashi's eyes. However, the redhead didn't seem to pay much attention to the conversation, his whole focus kept on the mountain of plushes.

"Which colour do you prefer, Asaka?" He then asked, overlooking her astonishment.

"I...Why do you look so eager to get it?"

"A prize is a prize. Moreover, if we can both have our share, all the better."

...Where was the romance? Ritsu posed the question to the older male who was holding himself back from bursting into laughter. There wasn't the slightest hint of love there. Not that such indifference was very surprising from Akashi. Like any boy, he lived more for the thrills of life than for romance and love.

Somehow, the thought made her laugh as this situation made her recall a similar one at the school festival. He had chosen the Lover's path at the Haunted house, caring little about the romantic aspect as long as he could have the ultimate prize. Thinking back to this experience, there wasn't a single doubt that Akashi paid no interest whatsoever to concepts of love.

"If I didn't know you, I could get the wrong idea."

"Maybe you aren't imagining things."

Aikawa wriggled his brows but she decided to ignore his comment. No matter how much he twisted things to push them together, this would never happen. Neither of them held any romantic interest toward each other, was what she tried to convince herself of. So then, what was the meaning of the attempted kiss earlier if not love?

Would she kiss anyone in the heat of the moment? Imagining herself in the same situation with Aomine, Midorima or Murasakibara, and the answer was a definite – Impossible. Nevertheless, remembering the sensations from earlier, the idea wasn't so bad with Akashi. The heat of his body, his breath, his scent and his gaze.

But it occured to her like a slap to the face. Why was she remembering it as a sweet memory more than a shameful one? She should be regretting, feeling embarrassment instead of happiness.

«Spring might be just around the corner.»

Her gaze lingered on a red umbrella. Red, the colour of love.

Ritsu looked away. Attention back on Akashi, she pointed a finger at one couple of cats.

"The yellow umbrella."

Her choice made, Akashi started controlling the machine. Using his winning strategy, the pair of cats was no match to his skills and fell down the hole in just three goes.

"Is it really your first time at crane games? At this point, that's no longer beginner's luck!" Aikawa praised. "Can I have it for a sec?"

He tore the cats apart in a brutal movement, much to their surprise. Holding one in each of his hands, he then handed the plush to the pair of friends.

"Here your prize both of you. The caring cat holding the umbrella is for the miss, the lonely cat waiting under the rain is for the young man."

While examining it, her fingers rubbed against a velcro part on the side of the plush thanks to which the two cats were glued together. She peeked curiously at the all-smile furball resting in Akashi's hands. It looked so small without his other one that it somehow was heart wrenching seeing them apart from one another. They looked so much happier when together.

"You have the same plush. Doesn't it feel special? Oh, but don't forget to put them back together on the day of your marriage."

Before Ritsu had time to react, Aikawa winked like a cool guy and scurried away as it was eventually his cue to leave the boy and girl alone and let the magic happen. He flew to another couple to lead them on the road of happiness.

Calm returned. Akashi kept the plush in his hand. The two cats were facing each other in wait to be reunited again.

"Another one to add to your collection. But you're fine with having only half? You already won the staff for me so..."

"That's how those couple things work. It has to be shared."

As she assumed, Akashi knew all along and still got it regardless of the romantic meaning. But was he that insensitive towards romance?

"Exactly, they are to be shared but I hope you don't do those kind of things with just anyone or you're heading straight into trouble in the future, Akashi-kun."

Akashi waited for her to finish to say :

"I only share with the ones I love."

Ritsu was taken aback, hearing a pounding in her chest. How could he talk so smoothly? Just with a few words, he made his way right to her maiden heart. The romantic she was was unable to remain indifferent, even though that line seemed to come straight out of a shōjo manga.

Although she wanted to blame it on his recent interest in those, she must admit that Akashi had his way with words. He always succeded in stirring warm and fuzzy feelings inside her.

"So what do we do now, Asaka?" Akashi came to ask after putting the cat inside the plastic bag.

Ritsu stirred out of her thoughts. "...You've had enough?"

"I should stop for today."

"I thought you'd take the giant fluffly llama as your last opponent."

"Another time. I've spend more than enough money on crane games."

She cracked a smile. "In that case, would you like try arcade machines? They're on the second floor. Since it's your first time here, we should enjoy it thorougly."

"Lead the way."

They climbed up the staircase and entered a new territory. From the idol pop music to sound effects and character voices, noises came from everywhere, all blending in a huge cacophony. The voices of players almost sounded like whispers in that chaos, even though it seemed to be a lot people up here. The lights were dim and constrasted so much with the world full of light and sparkles below.

In comparison, the first floor was a peacuful sanctuary.

Ritsu showed Akashi around the place. He listened to her relating episodes with her teammates. What he retained the most from them was those moments of competitions and this insatiable desire to break a record.

Catching this flash of interest, Ritsu showed him two machines with red, green, blue and yellow buttons and a joystick on the board.

"So, how about a bit of competition? A fighting game might be a good introduction to arcade game. Let's have a one -on-one." She challenged him. On the screen, the title of the game was 'Rural fighter IV'.

Without hesitation, Akashi accepted. "Sounds good."

"Before, you should have a go alone, just to familiarize yourself with the buttons."

As Akashi sat down on the stool, Ritsu inserted a coin and grinned at him.

"I want a fair and square fight."

He didn't insist but enquire out of curiousity. "And you?"

"I can go without warming up. I may not look the part but this game has no secret from me thanks to Kazehaya-senpai. She's like a pro gamer."

After selecting his character, the battle ensued. Just the time to learn which buttons corresponded to kick, punch, seize and protect, Akashi chained basics attacks into short yet efficient combos.

"Oh, your fury gauge is full. Hold those buttons and you can activate your limit break." The advice given, he waited for the right to land the finishing strike.

'You win' popped up on the screen, his character doing a victory pose.

"Simple, isn't it?"

"I got the hang of it."

"Okay then. The time has come to defeat you."

"Your wish on Tanabata may come true."

A laugh escaped her. To think he'd still remember this silly wish she made that day. As is the custom on Tanabata, she'd written it on a piece of paper and hung it on a bamboo for it to reach the sky and come true. Her wish was to win against Akashi one day after he affirmed his superiority at a rock-paper-scissors.

"Would I get the gratifying sound of tambourine if I win?" She joked, imagining Aikawa jiggling the instrument gleefully.

The redhead chuckled in turn.

"We'll go for best out of five."

She placed herself on the neighbouring machine and inserted two coins. Connected to Akashi's, she picked her favourite character from the list. Their selection made, the loading screen showed their respective characters confronting each other. And a couple of seconds later, the battle of fists started.

No mercy was the watchword. She went full power and rained down punches and kicks on Akashi. Her fingers went over the buttons like piano keys, each one of them pressed them down in the right rhythm and order to chain her attacks. She couldn't afford to underestimate him only because he was a beginner.

That alien could adapt to any situation straight off.

She won the first round but Akashi responded in kind and stole victory by a hair's breadth in their second fight. They immediately followed up with the next fights, choosing the same characters.

Combo after combo, neither of the two gave ground. Each round finished with them winning by a nose. With her experience, Ritsu knew exactly what moves could put her opponent in difficulty but Akashi learned her pattern fast and knew when to avoid critical damages by protecting himself and sometimes by counter-attacking. Having said that, Akashi seemed to have his limits as well; he barely managed to keep the advantage against her, who cut his momentum and showed him the difference between an occasional player and a complete novice. It may be just a game, but even that required skills and technique that couldn't be acquired with just a couple of plays.

Even so, the last victory went to Akashi.

"I was so close!" Ritsu shouted in frustration, reading the 'You lose' on her screen. "I shouldn't have done that...!"

"You weren't lying when you said you had a few hours of playing under your belt."

It brought a smile to her lips. "Kazehaya-senpai loves arcade games, those online fighting game in particular. Nobody in our team has managed to beat her. And I tried, more than I can count. Surprisingly, only Yūzuki-senpai can give her real trouble."

"Still water run deep."

"There's no denying that." Ritsu made a 180° degree spin on the stool, "Anyway, you won't mind playing this one next, right? I'm in the mood for more."

Not far from them, two replikas of taiko drums linked to the highly-coloured machine caught his attention.

"That's a rhythm game. This one is my favourite! It's so fun!"

Akashi saw it in her eyes and let himself be guided to their next destination, "What are we waiting for?"

In front of the machine, Ritsu quickly explained the basics of the game to him, which consisted of hitting the taiko drum in rhythm to the music and the notes scrolling on the screen, and obtaining the highest score. She then selected the tutorial for Akashi to learn the commands.

They both grasped their respective sticks. Red for the first player. Blue for the second.

After Akashi had attentively followed the game mascot's instructions, Ritsu chose the VS battle.

"Ready for the real thing?"

"I should be okay."

"Then, let's settle the score in three rounds. If I can't win this, I'm pretty sure I won't in any other game."

"Fine by me."

Once agreeing on which song to play, Ritsu and Akashi were entranced by the game from the very first notes. The red and blue markers scrolled on the screen matching the speed of the medium-paced music. The 'Good' and 'Ok' chained into combo at every one of their hit until the music paced down and stopped before their score appeared on the screen. Although they didn't break their combo with a 'Bad', Akashi had accumulated more 'Good' than her resulting in him winning the first session. But she hadn't said her last word yet.

"You've got a good sense of rhythm, Akashi-kun. You kept your combo till the end and chained the 'Good'. Not bad at all. And to say I'd hoped for a clean and perfect victory against you on this game! Guess I should satisfy myself with a simple one."

Akashi smiled, "I suppose that you'd have gotten a higher score on a faster song. When you play piano, I noticed that you can play flawlessly up-tempo songs but make a few mistakes on slow ones."

It was true that the song was bit to slow for what she was used to and liked. By trying too hard to get the right tempo, she happened to hit the taiko too fast or too slow. And those slight mistakes were the difference between 'Good' and 'Ok'.

"And a musical ear as well." She added, not minding him pointing out her flaws. "Shall we test it?"

They both decide to increase the difficulty by choosing a more fast-paced track. As soon as it started, the markers kept scrolling restlessly, alternating between the red (hits on the face of drums) and the blue ones (hits on the rim). Yet, Ritsu and Akashi kept up with the fast tempo. Unstoppable till the end. The song finished and the game loaded their score.

She won. Her score was a lot higher than previously.

"You do keep a good eye on me." She remarked to him.

"As much as you do."

Ritsu couldn't contain her smile from spreading over her face. Going back on the menu screen, she picked a random song with Akashi but when selecting the difficulty, she looked at the redhead with a mischievous grin.

"To spice up the last round, what about we play the hard mode? I think that it'd be a fitting challenge for the both of us."

"Have you tried it out?" He enquired.

"Two or three times. It's nothing impossible but the difficulty is here. Depending on the song, sometimes it goes so fast that you stop following the markers and hit the taiko randomly. Makes me curious to see someone playing the Oni mode. Only pro-gamers can play it."

As he listened to her feedback, he then said, "You're setting the difficulty pretty high there."

"You won't be dissuaded regardless." She affirmed, seeing him nod his head.

Once she picked the hard mode, there was no going back. She was aware that she shouldn't have changed the difficulty if she wanted to secure victory. But the good fun prevailed over the air of competition. She wanted to see Akashi hitting the drums like mad while it lasted.

The song commenced playing while the anime-like background unfolded before their eyes. Once their time to play came, Akashi and Ritsu kept drumming, doing their best to match the crazy speed of the markers.

Red. Red. Blue. Red. Red. Red. Blue. Blue. Red. It went on almost endlessly, but after two minutes and a half of insane drumming, the two teenagers could finally get their breath back.

The winner was Akashi, though there was only a few hundreds of points difference between his score and hers. Comparing their two scores, Akashi didn't accumulate as much 'good' as he did in the two previous matches and he had broken his combo once as one 'bad' had been recorded. Ritsu gathered a few more 'good' than him yet had been unable to maintain her combo very long and ended up collecting too much 'bad' to reclaim victory.

"I admit defeat." She exhaled, "I guess that's all for today. At this rate, I'll go broke before I get to win against you."

Akashi nodded, "It's late. We better go ho—"

He fished out his cellphone and was about to check the hour, when she darted at him and flipped it shut. Her hands clutched the device, forbidding him to open his cellphone.

"NO!" Ritsu shouted at his face, only to regret it soon after.

They could not go home just yet. Once they leave the place, it was game over. She wouldn't have the time needed to get him a birthday present. That said, at this point, she should already give up on it; what was there to buy at the game center? Nothing...unless she won something - whatever - and gave it to him as present. She didn't fancy the idea of playing a UFO catcher considering her lousy skills and giving Akashi a mere plush won from those machines, but this was her last hope.

She must buy time and find a way to sneak away from Akashi just the time for her to go catch a plush.

"...I mean, not yet." She reiterated in a shy voice, averting her eyes.

His eyebrows arched up.

"You..." The ashblonde tried to think fast. "You can't let me. I...I can't go home. Not yet. Even though we play for the fun, it'd still hurt my pride to have been defeated so many times in such short time span."

"You want a return match?" Confused, Akashi tried to guess what she expected from him.

"No, I already admit my defeat. But I'd like to go home with a happier memory!" She darted her eyes around, looking for the machine that could buy her time. Catching a glimpse of a machine with two gun replikas, she seemed to have found it.

Tower of the dead. She often watched Hoshino and Ugai play this game and go at it for a while. As long as it wasn't game over for the both of them, they could keep playing until they reached the final stage. Though Ritsu has never actually seen it. Hoshino always ended up getting eaten by the zombies and left Ugai all alone against an army before she also got annihilated.

This game was perfect to buy her time. Without arousing Akashi's suspicions, she'd let herself die and sneak away to the first floor while he kept playing. For a while at least, Ritsu prayed, but in truth she surely didn't need to worry about it. Compared to her, Akashi would not be food for zombie and survive.

"Over there." She motioned him to look in said direction with a movement of the head, "It's a shooting game. We can play in cooperation. No more competition. We'll form a team and beat the final stage together! Like that, I think I can forget all those defeats. What do you say?" The girl took in his silence and then looked hesitant to say something but eventually voiced it, "You...You can leave me here if you want, but I won't go home without playing it...And you can't leave a girl to walk home alone when it's dark outside..."

Her cheeks tinged red.

Her hands was squeezing hard, or rather, crushing the cellphone in his grip. Her gray-blue eyes were trying hard not to look away out of embarrassment, staring at him with a rare intensity, the same as a child throwing a tantrum. She'd not give up until she heard a "yes" from him.

Akashi generally disliked that kind of childish stubbornness, and even more to yield to it. A dark and concealed part of him whispered him to condemn that behaviour and act in accordance. Yet, Ritsu was no stranger to him. When that stubbornness of hers bordered stupidity, it meant she had something planned for him. Good or bad, but usually good – She always succeeded in getting a smile out of him despite her lousy schemes.

So...

"...So?"

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to play one more game." He gave in but reminded her, "It's still getting late nonetheless, Asaka."

"I know. This is the last." She released her grip around the cellphone. "Thank you, Akashi-kun."

Ritsu briefly explained the goal of game, which was to reach the final stage and beat the boss, and of course to obtain the highest score at the end. She then showed him the ropes : how to reload, to change weapons, etc...

"Headshots gives more points than simple killings, so try to aim for the head the best you can. That way you can save a lot of ammunition since you kill zombies in one shot." After giving him advice, she grabbed the gun, "Ready to go?"

"Ready."

Both armed with the gun replikas, the pair of friends stormed inside the tower, shooting at the swarm of zombies trying to eat them. They cleared the first stages rather easily since the zombies were slow and didn't deal a lot of damages and the IA was quite stupid. But Ritsu also had to point out Akashi's flawless support. There were many times she could have gotten critical damages if he hadn't come to her rescue or covered her back.

Reaching the tenth floor, they encountered the first boss. He didn't last against the rain of bullets, and they continued raiding the tower. The difficulty increased with each new floor. The number of enemies grew, they gained in speed and intelligence and new monsters appeared as well.

It was overwhelming. Ritsu no longer knew which ennemy to shoot first. She was also wasting too much ammunition on every zombie, three to five bullets as she missed the head but her target as well sometimes. No need to calculate to know that she'd be out of ammo soon while the zombies kept flooding from every corner.

A drop of panic ran down her cheeks. Three monsters walked towards her, getting closer despite the bullets piercing their rotten flesh.

"Ah! I-I can't stop them...!" Ritsu cried in a panic. Like in a movie, her gun let her down in that critcal moment while the zombies advanced until stains of blood appeared on the screen at each blow dealt. And she eventually died.

"I didn't make it in the end."

"I'm sorry, Asaka. I should have come for you sooner." Akashi apologized for not being able to come to her resue, as he kept the zombies at bay.

"Do your best to avenge me. I'll cheer you on from now on." She picked up her belongings from the floor.

Now that Akashi was busy with zombies, she waited for the right timing to sneak away. She watched Akashi play while placing herself in his blind spot little by little. But near them, she noticed a bunch of middle schoolers peeking curiously at Akashi's play.

"Hey look, that guy's pretty good. I didn't see him miss one target and he kills most of them by headshots."

"That's badass!"

"Yeah. I watched Goro playing the other day but his score wasn't that high at the same floor."

The little bunch stayed and commented from afar so as not to break the redhead's concentration. Akashi was totally immersed in the game and without breaking a sweat, he riddled the third boss with bullets.

Fascinated by his shooting skills, the middle schoolers put their shyness aside and inched closer without invading the player's space. Their lively whispers continued like birds' chirps and piqued the interest of some players around.

A few of them had gathered around Akashi. Ritsu took this opportunity to sneak away and climbed down to the first floor in a hurry.

Returning to the UFO catcher land, she wondered what plush she could catch. She had to look for something easy but not insignificant. As much as she'd like to catch something big for Akashi, it'd result only in a waste of time. She'd never win the smallest plush at crane games, though she admitted that she didn't bother trying very hard. But this time, she would as many times as necessary.

She swore on her honor that Akashi was going to have his birthday present at all costs. It certainly would not be the best thing he'd ever gotten, but she hoped that it'd make him happy regardless.

She changed three thousands yens into coins and went to look for the first plush to catch her eyes. It didn't take long for her to find it. A chibi lion plush captured her heart instantly. His round tiny eyes and that flower-like mane were the decisive factors of her choice.

She dropped her bag on the floor and put the cat plush and the magical staff over it, determined to catch this lion for Akashi.

However, the task didn't look very easy. The lions were mixed with other animals like tigers, panthers and lynxes, and they were few. From where she stood, she only saw four lions, the rest must be buried under the other plushies. Not to mention, none of the four lions were ideally postionned for the claw to reach. Two of them were half-buried, which she already dismissed as potential targets. The two others were possible to grab but only after countless nerve-wracking attempts.

It looked hopeless.

What bad luck. She sighed, on the verge of giving up. Aries must be at the bottom of the rank today. Should she go look for another plush?

"Hey, isn't it magical girl Ritsun here? Having a try at crane games too?"

"Aikawa-san." The sight of the joyous man brought a smile to her lips.

"Hm, but I dont see the flamboyant young man with you."

"He's still upstairs playing Tower of the dead. We were playing together but I died before him."

"Ah, too bad." Aikawa sympathised heartily, "Well, he won't last long without his partner by his side, that's usually how it goes. He'll join you soon, miss."

"Acutally, I hope not."

"Huh?"

She read sheer surprise on his features. The genuine reaction startled a laugh out of her.

"I hope he keeps playing – At least, until I win him this lion plush. Today is his birthday, and because I had forgotten about it, I had nothing prepared for him. I've been trying to look for a present all day but maybe I was being too indecisive about what to get him and too adamant about giving it to him today as well. So in the end, I'm running out of time and the only option that is left is to catch a plushie as a birthday present. It's lame, but..."

Truthfully, she was very desperate of her – it was laughable. All celebration plans had been put off for what? A plush won at a crane game. Talk about a birthday present. She couldn't help but apologize to Momoi and Kuroko for such a disappointment.

Aikawa shook his head, reassuring her with a soft, warm smile. "He's one lucky man, that friend of yours. For you to go out your way just to celebrate his birthday."

"That's the least I can do. He's a precious friend."

"Aww. Crap, there's no way I woudn't lend you a hand after hearing this! Well, I would have anyway. So that's the lion plush you want, right miss?"

He took the black lanyard off his neck, inserted the key in the small lock and opened the pane. Then he grabbed a lion and set it up for her. He placed it at the top of the pile of plushies and tried to keep it standing on its four legs.

"It should be a lot easier for you to catch it now!"

Ritsu regained hope. The lion was within her reach.

"Thank you, Aikawa-san!"

"Go get it!"

Wasting no time, the ashblonde took control of the claw and moved it towards her prey. She watched the prongs spread, and in her attempt, the plush tumbled down the pile near the edge. Just as she wanted but that was where things became difficult. She had to pull it closer to the edge in order to tip it over and let it fall down the hole.

She observed before making her next move. The next attempt resulted in failure. The plush barely budged. Bad approach. Another failure. A miscalulation?

Seeing her in a pinch, Aikawa guided her. "Aim for the tip of the head. It should do the trick." Not refusing Aikawa extending a helping hand, she followed his piece of advice.

"Yeah, carefully. Don't go too far." The man commented while he kept wachful eyes on her movements. "Stop! Just here."

The plush almost got back on its four legs and fell closer to the edge. The next moves came naturally to her, she could tip it over in two more goes.

Ritsu was careful not to rush, she absolutely couldn't afford to ruin her chance so close to the goal. Half of the plush was suspended in the air. She exhaled deeply, relaxing a bit but not completely. Never count your chickens before they're hatched.

She proceeded with caution. The claw dropped slowly, almost too slowly for her racing heart. The prongs grasped the other half, lifting it up until gravity pulled it down the hole.

*Pom*

It resounded like the sweetest sound ever. Ritsu didn't move, barely realising she had won. The adrenaline out of her system, she spun, wanting to share that joy with Aikawa.

"I...! I dit it!" She exulted like a kid.

Aikawa was grinning from ear to ear, raising both his hands up. "Good job!"

They highfived, overjoyed.

Ritsu bent down and seized her very first crane game prize. She contemplated the small furry lion with a sense of accomplishment.

"It's my first time winning at crane games! It's all thanks to you, Aikawa-san! I couldn't have done it without your help!"

Eternally grateful, she bowed her head, clutching the plush against her chest.

"Oh stop, you're going to make me blush. I wanted to help. A girl in love has the most beautiful smile in the world."

Her lips parted, only to swallow back her words.

"In love, huh..." Ritsu mused, staring at the lion ponderingly. She wouldn't even try to object and asked the question to herself. Those words rang in her head and called everything into question. Unfamiliar yet warm feelings tingled and swirled inside her heart and seemed to keep growing with every moment by his side. She could forget about them but not erase them, they would always surge back up one way or another. They were strong enough to awaken desire and passion that she'd certainly never felt for anyone before. She wanted to share everything with him, make him the happiest, touch him, monopolize him.

But the one desire seemed to be the strongest of all : To be with him.

So had her friendly affection for Akashi morphed into a form of love? And since when? She wondered. In all honesty, although she somewhat trusted those feelings to be the buds of love, she saw Akashi more as a her best friend than a potential lover at the moment.

Or maybe she just couldn't see it?

"There you are."

Ritsu jolted upon hearing the voice belonging to none other but...

"A-Akashi-kun!"

She hid the plush behind her back in a panic and darted her eyes around, looking for a better hiding spot. Her school bag...she crouched and stuffed the poor lion inside, using Aikawa's body to cover her. Then, she got up and stood ramrod straight under his sharp gaze probing her.

"...I'm sorry for leaving you alone. I had an urgent matter to deal with..."

Unconvinced, Akashi stared at her yet accepted the poor excuse. His suspicious gaze shifted to the animal plush. No doubt he suspected her of playing the UFO catcher. He said nothing about it though, thinking she probably went to have a go at it while waiting for him to finish.

"How did it go?"

"I beat the final boss and got the top score." He said like the most natural outcome.

"YOU'RE KIDDING!" Aikawa exclaimed, his eyes nearly popped out of his head in utter shock. "Y-You beat Nijimura the gunslinger's score?!"

"«Nijimura the gunslinger»...?" Ritsu repeated the nickname. She only knew one Nijimura, the captain of the basketball club and Akashi's senior, but the world wasn't that small, right?

"Yeah! I named him like that! That kid could wipe out an army by himself. Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta!" The man imitated said boy's shooting skills. "Nijimura holds all the top scores of the shooting game machines upstairs. Nobody has been able to defeat him, well until now...Hum, I wonder what that thug is doing now?" He crossed his arms in genuine concern, "It's been a while since I last saw him coming here. Half a year, I guess. Hope he didn't get into trouble. Though he seemed to have turned over a new leaf. You might know him. You two are students from Teikō middle school. He wore the same white uniform as you. If you do, tell him to drop by!"

So it really was the same Nijimura. Ritsu exchanged a glance with Akashi, who looked amused by what he was hearing.

"But, you're damn amazing! I'd like to see you two compete with each other or team up." Aikawa chirped, "Can I ask for your name, sir? I'm Aikawa Wataru by the way, a third year business student at Meisei University."

"Akashi Seijūrō."

"A name I won't forget, believe me. And you, miss?" The man turned to her.

"Asaka Ritsu. We're both first year at Teikō."

"Do you mind me calling you 'Ritsun' from now on? You shine like a true magical girl!"

"Ah, if you say so...Sure. It's kind of embarrassing but I've brought it upon myself." She agreed, timid. She actually didn't mind being called like that by Aikawa at all. In that short time, the man seemed to have taken a genuine liking to Akashi and her. And well, that was her way to repay him for his kindness and friendliness.

"Now, enough talk. You kids should go home; it's almost dinner time. Don't make your parents worry!" Aikawa put one hand on Akashi's shoulder, the other on hers, and made them turn around toward the exit, "But before you go, why don't you commemorate your time here with some purikura?"

Two large photo booth machines were aligned on each side near the exit.

"You do want to remember this day, right?"

Aikawa winked discreetly at Ritsu as he knew she'd like to keep a memory of it. Of Akashi's thirteenth birthday.

"Shall we strike the pose before we go, Akashi-kun?"

"It's on the way. Why not?"

"It's decided then." Aikawa pushed gently forward and waved at them, "Don't forget to come by anytime! I'll be here! Ritsun! Akashi!"

"We will."

On that promise, they walked up to the photo booth machines and chose the one nearest to the exit. Ritsu pushed aside the plastic curtain and went inside, followed by the redhead. The inside was spacious enough to welcome three or four more people. Before posing for the camera, she told Akashi they should take their coats off and put them away with their other stuff in the designated area.

"You're keeping it?" Akashi asked as she kept the magical staff with her.

"A magical girl makes great shots. I'll flash my best smiles so I expect you do the same." She said with a toothy grin. "Make yourself look the cutest, Akashi-kun!"

"You might regret it."

"It's true you're more scary rathen than cute but you do know how to smile. Girls wouldn't swoon over you otherwise, would they, Akashi-kyun? Before becoming the popular prince charming «Akashi-sama», you were and are still called «Akashi-kyun» by some. They wouldn't have attached that 'kyun' part to your name so casually if they didn't find those dazzling smiles of yours charming."

"Which sounds better to you?"

"«Akashi-kun». Just Akashi-kun is fine by me." Ritsu answered on the spot, there wasn't anything to debate. "Most casually call you by that name, but how do I say it...I think it conveys the most the affection I hold for you. I can't imagine myself calling you otherwise because Akashi-kun is Akashi-kun. «Akashi» would do, maybe, I feel like something is missing though. I do find the '-kun' quite endearing after your name. Akashi-kun."

She giggled after repeating his name. Nothing could replace the sweetness in her ears when saying his name.

"You sure are simple, Asaka."

"Well, wouldn't it be embarrassing for you and for me if I call you by another name? Would you be able to call me «Ritsun» without batting an eye?"

As she dared him, his lips started to move. Of course, he would! The word 'blush' and 'embarrassment' didn't exist in this alien's vocabulary.

Ritsu jerked towards him and pressed both her hands against his mouth.

"No, no, no, please don't do it! I shouldn't have dared you. I don't want to hear it from you, it sounds very embarrassing."

"Yet, you allowed Aikawa-san."

The ashblonde raised an eyebrow. Was he perhaps jealous to not be granted that privilege too?

"Because you want to call me «Ritsun»?"

He vaguely shook his head.

"«Ritsu» also sounds nice."

Her first name.

"...Are you going to call me by my first name from now on?"

He shut his eyes and uttered with a soft smile :

"I merely wanted to tell you that the idea grows on me."

Which meant someday, he would call her «Ritsu».

«You can see from a mile away that you both care for each other veeery much. Spring might just be around the corner."

"The two of us?"

"The two of you.»

And it also meant his affection was big enough to make a step closer to her. Akashi cared about her as much as she did about him.

Her heart was fluttering.

"A-Anyway, we should take the photos."

They approached the touch screen, two styluses on either side. Ritsu put the money in the slot and ran the stylus over it, sorting all the set up options. She consulted with Akashi for some but he let her decide for the most part. She finally reached the background selection.

"We have six shots. Which backgrounds would you like for each?"

Normal, pattern, aura, frame, decorated. Akashi browsed all five categories, dozens of options were available in each. It seemed that it'd take an hour just to review them all.

"The choice is overwhelming."

"Even for you, it seems." She noted with amusement. "Let's choose the normal ones." She let the boy choose among the colorful backgrounds. As he picked four, Ritsu came to ask him, "What about those cat stamps and that frame of sparkles for our last two ones? The cats are the same one you won earlier."

"You have the final word."

Her finger pressed on 'decided'.

"Ah, hurry!" Ritsu urged Akashi to get ready. The two positioned at the center of the frame, without actually doing anything.

"And now?" Akashi asked curiously. Generally, people struck crazy and funny poses when they took purikura.

"We'll just stand there and smile for a start. I can't ask you to play the pop idol right off the bat. Oh, and another thing, look at the lens, not the monitor! Or you won't be looking at the camera."

She brought herself closer to Akashi, leaning a bit on his left shoulder. She gauged his reaction, seeing his facial muscles relaxed.

A couple of seconds later, the shot was done.

The next shot followed. Ritsu instructed him to follow the demonstration pose on the screen. However, by the time they figured out how to coordinate their poses to make a good photo, they ended up forcing a smile at the camera again. Ritsu did manage to make bunny ears on Akashi.

They were more inspired by the next pose the screen showed them. They struck the pose of an evil duo. His head and body slightly turned away from facing the camera, Akashi had his arms crossed against his chest, looking down at whoever would come upon the photo. While Ritsu stood next to him, stretching her right arm towards the camera with a spiteful smile, commanding them to bend to her will.

"Let's do this next. Akashi-kun hold your finger up as if a basketball is spinning on it. And don't forget the smile!"

Back to back, Ritsu raised her hand as if she was serving an invisible volleyball.

The following background was the one with the cat stamps all over the frame. As they aligned with the camera sensors, a fluffy ball was resting on top of Akashi's head, another was on Ritsu's left shoulder.

And here come the last - the frame of sparkles. Ritsu took the magical staff she'd left on the floor and handed it to Akashi.

"This time, it's your turn to transform into a magical boy."

"Just watch me. I never fail to meet anyone's expectation."

Holding the staff in both hands, he then faced the camera. Ritsu waited for him to strike the pose, which didn't seem to come. Forced to look at the camera by the time, she used the same finishing pose as she did earlier for a magical performance. She winked at the camera and held her two fingers up like a V over her open eye.

As the last second came, Akashi moved and everything was over in a flash.

"Eh? Did you..."

It lasted an instant, Ritsu almost thought she'd dreamt it. Moreover, Akashi looked like he didn't do anything.

"It should be on the photo."

Wanting to see it, she hurried to the touch screen, showing them all their photos. She ignored them, going straight to the number six.

Here it was – The magical boy version of Akashi. She hardly believed it to be the same person, and that he was undoubtedly capable of making such a cute expression.

The image of him winking at the camera and striking the same pose as her seemed unreal. It was out of character, and at the same time, dangerous. That felt like something that shouldn't have been seen.

He was way too dazzling for her eyes.

"I can't look at it. I've never seen you so sparkly!"

"You asked for it."

"And you did a marvellous job as always..."

They gave each other a look and laughed warmly.

"Any objections if we take them all?"

"No. Those are great."

"Let's make them even greater."

She took one stylus and handed the other to the redhead.

"We'll work on it together. Starting with this one!"

Once she'd explained the decorating options like the pen, the stamps, the pre-written messages, etc...Akashi expressed his artistic sense without restraint, his stylus raced over the screen, adding his touch to all the pictures. To make things funny, Ritsu and Akashi decided to personally decorate each other.

A couple of the photos turned out very funny. On the evil duo, Akashi turned her into a witch and drew a bubble saying "Fear me.". Inspired, the girl drew horns on his head and also added a line : "Kneel.".

On the third photo, Ritsu put a basketball stamp on his fingertip, adding some sfx. Akashi mirrored her with a volleyball. Ritsu laughed and wrote their jersey number.

N°9 for Akashi. N°7 for her.

Only two photos remained, the magical combo and the very first one. Since it was a timed activity, they didn't have much time left for decorating but there wasn't a lot to do on them. So, both agreed on signing their stellar performance. Akashi signed the picture with an appealing 'Akashi-kyun' on Ritsu's request, and the girl signed it with 'Ritsun'.

Only one left. The first picture they took yet the last one they worked on. Seeing it up close, Ritsu tilted her head from side to side. She didn't feel like decorating it. Both had gentle smiles. It was a quiet scene of happiness. Adding anything would ruin it.

"Shall we leave this one plain?"

"It's perfect as it is." Akashi nodded as he put back the stylus.

Nonetheless, Ritsu added one little thing. With the pen, she jotted the date on the bottom right corner.

20xx年12月20日

Upon reading the date, it seemed like Akashi meant to say something, a breath crossing past his parted lips. However, they closed the next instant, silently glancing at the girl who hadn't noticed.

"We're done! Let's wait for the photos outside." Ritsu chirped after choosing the layout.

They gathered their stuff and waited in front of the machine. A couple of minutes later, they were out. The two teenagers took a look of the final result and as expected they were so funny to look at. Ritsu grabbed the scissors available and cut the prints in half since they were two copies of the photo set.

"Here you go! Our first purikura together!" She gave him the other half. "We'll have good memories of today!"

"Indeed."

Akashi peeked at the plain photo of them together, his red eyes shifting from the smiling ashblonde to the date. He lifted his nose up and regarded the girl with appreciation and gratitude.

"I think it's about time we go home." Ritsu told him, looking outside.

---

The two teenagers walked in silence and cut through a small plaza along the way, both wishing to appreciate a bit of quiet after their crazy and eventful moments at the game center. There, the place was deserted, compared to the main street. Only a few people could be spotted from afar, crossing through or resting near the fountain.

But the place was so quiet, it seemed like it was just the two of them.

The steady sounds of their shoes reverberated through the plaza as they enjoyed this little stroll.

Ritsu inhaled and closed her eyes for an instant. Those moments of peace were the best. She didn't have to think about anything, just feel the calm and enjoy the presence of friendly company.

Suddenly something cold dropped on the tip of her nose before melting.

"Look. It's snowing, Asaka."

She reopened her eyes to the cloudy night sky, snowflakes filling her view as they fell by thousands. Enchanted by the snow, she stopped in her track and contemplated the sky, raising a hand to catch snowflakes. They melted into dropplets on her warm palm.

Akashi stayed by her side watching glee spread on her face.

"Did my little wish come true?"

"You surely have done a good deed."

At his attempt to humour her, she laughed heartily as she met his gaze, "I wonder what."

Instead of reading playfulness in his regard, his expression was the softest he'd ever shown. Clear and steady. He was looking at her.

She found herself looking into those gentle red eyes too. A sensation of warmth enveloped her heart and seemed to spread througth her entire body, as if a flame had lit up inside her. In all honesty, this feeling was so nice. So precious in this floating moment.

Just as he was. Was it the joy of seeing snow falling that made her sentimental all of a sudden? Or was it this sentiment of him being within her reach? Maybe she should blame it on this insecure part of herself, but she usually had the feeling that his heart seemed unreachable, like no matter what she did to grasp him entirely, there would be an inexpressible sentiment of distance between them.

Ritsu had never been this close to him before than in this fleeting moment. It was such a strange, confusing feeling but she felt that if she were to reach her hand out to him, he'd take it and hold it instead of ignoring it. As if he allowed her to step closer to him.

And she'd never felt so happy to be this close to someone. To be by someone's side.

Yes, this feeling was precious. From the bottom of her heart, she wished she could convey it to him. Even just a little.

"Akashi-kun." She called, "I know, it's quite late but there's something I'd like you to accept."

She opened her school bag and pulled the lion plush out of it.

Akashi took a glance at it, noticing it was the one she had awkwardly tried to hide from him.

"It's for you."

His eyes flickered up at her.

"Today is your birthday, right?"

"..."

Was he too surprised to accept?...Hesitant or even disappointed by the gift? The redhead didn't make a single move to accept it and didn't utter a word. She couldn't stand the silence anymore when those thoughts crossed her mind.

Ritsu bowed her head, almost apologetically, while thrusting the lion plush at him. Her fingers dug into the plush as she clenched it hard out of nervousness.

"I should have given you something better than a simple plush, but.."

She bit her lips, hesitant to reveal that she'd forgotten his birthday. In truth, he didn't need to know. However, after reading what could possibly be disappointment on his face, she was unable to keep the truth from him. Even though it'd sound like a pathetic excuse to get his sympathy and force him to accept out of kindness, she still wanted to get her genuine feelings across to him, that she went out of her way to find him a suitable present.

"The truth is I forgot about your birthday! If Momoi-chan hadn't reminded it to me, I wouldn't even have wished you a happy birthday. It's the worst forgetting this single thing about your friend, not to mention your best friend..." She raised her head to face Akashi again but averted her eyes, unable to cross his gaze until she has finished speaking. "I dragged you into town in hopes of finding a present but I couldn't find something special enough for you, and...and I ran out of time and won this plush so that you would have a present today." She fidgeted, "This is not the best present I wish I could have gotten you. As a boy, you many not be very happy to get a stuffed animal, nevertheless..."

She paused, getting a hold of herself to face him.

"Even if you won't accept the gift, let me at least say it properly."

She looked up at him again, straight into his soul.

"Happy birthday, Akashi-kun."

The snow kept falling silently, without a sound to disrupt this peaceful scenery. Ritsu fought back the urge to look away, praying she would see the shadow of smile. Just one. She opened her mouth once more. One of them had to speak.

"I—"

"Ritsu."

In a light whisper, her name caressed his lips. A loud pounding echoed in her chest, and she lost her voice and held his gaze, no longer remembering the words she was about to say as if they were washed away.

He accepted the lion plush from her.

Eyes on her, his lips shaped into a graceful smile.

"Thank you."

The beauty of his smile was beyond her wildest imagination.

Has Akashi ever looked so beautiful in her eyes before?

He looked the happiest, and was it to presumptuous of her to assume he sincerely was? His soft expression conveyed a warmth that invaded her whole being, fueling the flame within her. It was growing, she felt it burning inside her. Sending her heart into beating wildly.

Has he ever made her heart pound that loudly?

Snowflakes falling all around them, she could hear nothing but her heartbeats and see nothing but Akashi. It was loud, so loud that she couldn't do anything to stop it but to be deafened by it. It almost sounded like sweet music. Following its rhythm, her body moved on its own.

One. Two. Three steps. Her feet led her towards Akashi. She cupped his face in her hands, feeling the warm contact of his cheeks against her cold hands. In a delicate movement, she brushed his bangs aside.

And kissed him on the forehead.

For a whole second, the world seemed to have stopped. There were just the two of them. Only for an instant, he belonged to her.

Before everything started moving again.

Ritsu pulled away from him, a bit of warmth lingering on her lips. Without uttering a word, she backed up several steps, mindful to put some distance between them. They needed to get themselves together. Both of them.

Akashi was staring at her. Through his eyes, multiple emotions and thoughts seemed to keep churning around in his head, but stupor was the one she was reading clearly on his face. Maybe for the first time, he looked completely bare, his emotions out and without protection.

Vulnerable.

A rare sight – one she would have appreciated in silent satisfaction under normal circumstances. But it wasn't. This time, she had done it. She had crossed the line without thinking. And she was awfully conscious that no excuses or explanations would be enough for the both of them to pretend like nothing happened.

So, even at the risk of being honest to a fault, she'd tell him.

"Y...You looked really cute. That's why I kis—did that..." Her quivering voice trailed off. It didn't seem like her heartbeats would calm down unless he said something. As if her voice stirred him out of his stupefied state, his face reverted to its usual composed and hard to read expression. "I couldn't help it...You're small. Just a little smaller than me but still...You know what people say about small things...They're cute. Because you were small and cute, I was...kind of tempted to kiss you...And well, you called me by my first name all of a sudden and I've never seen you smile like that before...You were..."

She babbled on and on, hoping that Akashi would put a stop to her words before she'd blurt out even more embarrassing things. But much to her dismay, the boy kept his steady gaze on her, having no intentions to intervene and listened to everything she was saying down to the smallest detail.

This became unsettling. Ritsu hesitated in pursuing, a bit ruffled by his long silence. Why was she always the one talking in those situations? Sure, she caused them most of the time, but didn't he have a lot to complain about?

"...Say something." She demanded weakly.

He did. Eye to eye, he declared :

"I won't forget it, Asaka."

An enigmatic smile crept across his mouth. Akashi turned away, leaving the poor girl at a loss for words. What did he mean? Did he mean the kiss, her words or the whole birthday thing? Whatever he actually meant, the ashblonde couldn't help but take it as a warning for the future.

His words rang the same as the Terminator's 'I'll be back'. That didn't sound very good to her. What kind of fate was he planning for her?

In one long exhausted sigh, Ritsu exhaled, blowing out all those questions and emotions that agitated her up even more. She must regain some composure first before anything.

Falling into step behind him, she caught him raising his hand up to his forehead on which she'd planted a kiss.

Despite everything, this was certain for the two teenagers.

His thirteenth birthday has been etched onto their memories.

---

Alone, Ritsu ambled on her way home. Snow continued to fall and pile, covering the streets in a thin layer of white. She watched the silent scenery in full appreciation; everything was so peaceful. But ever since she parted ways with Akashi, she could hear something like a little melody play in her head. It was such a sweet and gentle melody that her lips twitched into a smile and sometimes her fingers were moving in rhythm as if playing the tune. She was brimming with happiness whenever she heard it.

And also warmth. That gentle music made her think of Akashi. But those thoughts about him felt different than before. Was it the reason why this music started playing in her head? She's never felt something like that before. Has something changed?

She traced her lips with her fingertips. It had – those unfathomable desires surging from within whenever she was alone with him like wanting to know more about him, to touch him, to stay by his side and spend every single moment with him.

Yes, her feelings towards Akashi seemed to have changed. They were stronger and more possessive, maybe a bit too much for her to grasp them fully and understand them with reason. However, was there even something to understand? Those desires spoke for themselves.

Although, the idea of kissing him on the forehead again dusted her cheeks in pink. If she had to do it again, she would without a second thought, was she what she truly felt.

Perhaps it was time to face and embrace those feeelings instead of questioning and turning a blind eye to them.

The answer was already there, burning inside her.

Her affection for him has gone beyond friendship.

*music starts playing*

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*Snowy landscape fades into black*

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December 20th

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*Ending credits start rolling*

[music theme : Serenade for Two - YoI!]

.

.

Whenever I hear you, bands begin to play

It's our serenade for two

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*Music stops*

*Black screen*

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xxxxxxxx

The Akashi household

After wiping the snow off his coat at the threshold, Akashi opened the door and was welcomed by the family butler, Hyōdō, waiting for his arrival ever since he saw him coming through the gate.

"Welcome home, young master." He slightly bowed his head, "We were worried as it started snowing and you called saying you'd be coming home late. Matsui-san was ready to come and fetch you if necessary."

Akashi smiled politely as he took his coat off, "I'm fine. I got home before the snow piled up." He cast a glance outside, "It sure snows heavily. At this rate, we'll wake to a snowfield tomorrow."

"It was forecast for tomorrow." Hyōdō exhaled a faint sigh, disliking these sort of unexpected events as everything tended to fall behind schedule on his perfect daily agenda, "But you must be cold after walking in this weather for so long. You said you were out with your friends."

The middle-aged man peered at the two bags hanging from his left hand and the lion plush he clutched against him with his right arm.A faint smile tugged at his lips, recalling the last time he came home with a big santa bag on the festival day of his school.

"It seems you've enjoyed yourself."

"I had fun."

Without prying any further, Hyōdō said, "Dinner is ready. Imai-san has prepared your favourite, tofu soup. But perhaps you'd like to take a bath before?"

"Ah, I'll put those things in my room and go take a quick shower. I will come down once I finish." Before he headed to the stairs, he curiously asked one last thing, "And father?"

"The master should be home sometime soon. He is on the way. He also said he'd like to have dinner with you tonight."

"Then I'll wait for him. I'll be in my room."

The butler nodded, standing at the bottom of the stairs while Akashi made his way up.

"By the way, Hyōdō," He looked up to the redhead, "Could you tell Ogawa-san to pack milk in my lunch box and also serve a glass of milk for breakfast from now on?"

"Milk, you say?" The butler enquired bluntly at the surprising request. Since childhood, the boy only drank milk occasionally. Why the sudden change of regime?

Ignoring the astonishment of the older man, the boy simply smiled and stated :

"There's a battle I cannot afford to lose."

Hyōdō blinked away his surprise and regained his composure as the butler of the prestigious Akashi family.

"As you wish, young master."

xxxxxx

Somewhere in the city (while Ritsu and Akashi were shopping around town)

His turn coming, Kuroko spun the Garapon (drawing machine) around one time and stared at it until a small golden ball came out from the hole and bounced on the table.

"We have a winner!"

The clerk was jiggling a bell while shouting out loud.

"This young man has won the onsen family trip for Hakone! Congrats!"

Once the announcement was made, disappointed sighs ensued and the line behind Kuroko scattered.

"Here you go!" The clerk handed him the first prize cheerfully and congratulated him again.

Kuroko took a good look at the tickets, raising them to his eyes level as he couldn't believe it. Stars filled his eyes.

"Tetsu-kun! You're amazing!" Momoi rejoiced as she flung to him and took the opportunity to hug him. "You won the trip!"

"Talk about luck. This year might be your year, Tetsu!" Aomine gave the tealhead a friendly slap on the shoulder while grinning at him.

Kuroko returned with a faint yet content smile, "My grandma will be very happy. She loves hot springs. But what about Akashi-kun's present?"

He asked, spoiling the mood a little bit. All three had decided to play the Garapon because one prize had caught their eyes, a limited pair of basketball shoes which was temporarily out of stock in Japan. For a basketball player, it was a suitable present.

"Bah, we'll find him something else." Aomine shrugged his shoulders, "Besides, good for us we didn't get to win those basketball shoes. Rather than giving them to Akashi, I'd have taken them for myself. It would have been a waste on him."

"Aomine-kun! Your bad vibes ruined our chances!" Momoi puffed out her cheeks.

"I'm just telling the truth. And Tetsu's won an onsen trip for his family; where's the bad luck?" The navy-haired teen rolled his eyes, "Anyway, let's move. I'm freezing out here! We've been waiting our turn in that fucking cold for one hour."

"Why don't we go over there?"

"Huh? A bookstore?"

"Akashi-kun likes to read." Kuroko said.

"A book as a birthday present?" Aomine wrinkled his nose as he caught his drift. A book was the last thing he'd ever like to receive as a present.

"That's a nice idea, Tetsu-kun!" Unlike her childhood friend, Momoi immediately approved of the idea. "Akashi-kun often reads on his way home! I see him doing that a lot of the time when we seperate at the school gate. But I've never gotten the chance to take a peek at what kind of books he reads. He uses book covers so I can't see."

"Maybe he doesn't want you to know. Akashi's a guy too. He might be reading erotic novels."

"Akashi-kun isn't a pervert! He can be weird and scary but he's surely not a pervert!"

"Who knows what he's thinking behind that vicious gaze?" Aomine snickered.

"Asaka-chan told me he mainly reads classic literature, the foreign ones as well. But I think we should pick a book he isn't used to reading. It could be interesting! Do you think he likes romance novels?" Momoi tilted her head ponderingly before she stopped, something crossing her mind. "Or manga? That reminds me. Not long ago, Nijimura-senpai has caught Akashi-kun reading manga – shōjo manga!"

"There's no way he'd read manga, and even less shōjo. Akashi has a heart of stone."

"It's possible. Akashi-kun is quite open-minded. I don't think he'd say no from the get-go before even trying."

"You think if you recommend him an erotic novel, he'd read it?" Aomine mocked the logic.

Kuroko shrugged, "Aomine-kun should test it."

"Bring it on! I'll do it just to see his stupid fa—Oi, Tetsu!" The tanned boy spun around to said boy who put the foolish idea into his head. "You wanna get me killed?! He's gonna make me work out until I turn into a living corpse!"

Even he was aware how bad of an idea it was. Who would dare to approach Akashi with this kind of stuff?

"I'm curious." Kuroko replied, expression blank. "Akashi-kun isn't really the type to get flustered easily."

"And it's enough for you to send me as a sacrifice?"

Ignoring their banter, Momoi took the tealhead by the arm and pulled him towards the bookstore.

"Let's find it out! We'll pick a book that'll make Akashi-kun blush! I'm curious too!"

And so the three teenagers went to the bookstore. In the middle of their search, Aomine found himself staring at one big-breasted angel in a suggestive pose on a gravure book cover. Like any over-curious teenager, he browsed through some of the pages and liked what he saw, in spite of the light pink blush on his cheeks. Even Akashi would fucking blush upon seeing such big breasts! He was tempted to buy it, not for that devil midget (though despite the danger, he was curious as well to see the latter's reaction if he ever were to stumble upon those kind of books) but for himself.

Sadly for him, the only thing Aomine would buy this day was the whole collection of a shōjo manga with a flat-chested heroine.

However, his pure mind only remained till the New year. Not long after, he went to buy the gravure book, which was by the way his very first one, and became an unconditional fan of Horikita Mai ever since, but that was another story.

xxxxx

The Asaka household

"I'm home!" Ritsu greeted as she scurried into the spacious living room. The sound of the piano stopped at her appearance and three pairs of eyes landed on her. Shōhei was in the middle of piano practice, surpervised by their mother standing by him while their father was reading on the couch.

"Welcome home, Ritsu." The ashblonde man greeted her back warmly, lifting his nose up from his book. "You look like you had fun with your friends."

She nodded cheerfully.

"Have you seen that snow? It has suddenly started to fall on the way home, and is piling up!"

Her mother peeked over her shouder and looked through the glass wall opening to the garden behind her, which was covered in a thin layer of snow. A sigh was forced out of her.

"You two have done it again. The weather forcast has predicted only a little snow for tomorrow. Which one of you has hung a teru-teru bōzu upside-down?" She came to probe the two siblings, making her husband smile for somehow believing that a mere cloth doll could actually be the cause of this troublesome weather. "I told you many times not to do those kind of things."

"Not me. And you, nee-san?" Shōhei answered sincerely, although the grin plastered on his face couldn't hide his excitement for the unexpected snowfall.

Her mother's gaze shifted to her daughter.

"I didn't do it either. I was surprised as well." Ritsu said in the same tone. "Though I did pray for the snow to fall when I saw the gray clouds and noticed the temperature dropping. I thought it'd be nice to have snow tonight. Last year, we couldn't even make a snowball with how little it snowed."

The chesnut-haired woman didn't press further, knowing all too well how much her children loved snow. They could play for hours in the garden when it snowed, and sometimes ended up with a high fever the next day.

"But at least, you didn't catch a cold." Her mother said. "You should go take a bath and warm yourself up, Ritsu. Your face is red and your hair slightly wet. You don't want to fall sick and stay in bed right before Christmas, do you? According to your call, you've been outside since you've left school. You may have a strong constitution but you're not as resistant to the cold as you think."

"I'll go take a bath right away..." The ashblonde replied weakly, unable to argue the fact.

The woman nodded in satisfaction as she complied.

"I'll warm up the dinner for you. We've already eaten."

Ritsu was about to head to her room but Shōhei stopped her in her track.

"By the way, nee-san, what's with the magical staff?" Since she came home, the boy was curiously peeking at the pink rod sticking out of her school bag.

"Oh." She pulled it out and revealed the magical item to the whole family, "Akashi-kun and I went to play at the arcade, and he won it for me. Don't I look like a magical girl while holding this?"

As she looked at the pink staff, she recalled Akashi's face when she performed the magical girl. And it put her into a playful mood. When would be the next time she'd play the magical girl? Probably never, so she decided to do one last performance, because even though she'd not admit it out loud, she came to have fun doing so.

"Daisy! Poppy! Peony! Get ready for the fireworks 'cause I'll spark the fire of Love in this world and show you all the most sparkling flowers across the night sky! You've been warned! He—re I come!"

She twirled it and spun around before she struck the pose that had managed to crack the redhead's perfect composure.

"I'm magical girl, Ritsun!"

"..."

The silence was quite long – eternal.

"Chu~" She blew a kiss in attempt to break it, and it did. A little heart floated toward Shōhei and bursted as it poked his forehead, which caused the boy to pull a face.

"Nee-san, don't go down the wrong path."

Ritsu smiled, somehow expecting this kind of lukewarm reaction. Then her gaze moved to her mother near him.

"She's completely taken after you, Kiyotaka." Her mother was pinching her nose bridge while shaking her head. "Father and daughter are sometimes being exceptionally embarrassing to watch."

The ashblonde man laughed heartily. "But you cannot deny her charm. And this Akashi boy seems to know how to bring it out to its fullest." Her father looked up at her face, peculiarly the accessory in her hair, "That hairpin is new. When you left this morning, you didn't wear any."

"Akashi-kun put it on me, and I kind of like it so I ended up buying it. I haven't bought hair accesories for a while. But it looks nice, doesn't it?"

"It does."

On those words, he stared at her. She sensed his gaze appraising the two items which Akashi had chosen for her.

"An interesting boy has entered your life, Ritsu. He knows perfectly well what he's doing."

As her father returned to his book with an amused smile, the girl cast a confused look at her mother. But with a mere movement of the hand, she was told not to give it too much thought and to go take a bath.

---

Akashi and Asaka attained support level A.

What did you think of this Asaka x Akashi chapter?

Did you feel the love? It is overload with romance and fluff and must be very shōjo-esque. But at least, there is some progress. Asaka admits having feeling for Akashi. Some might find it a bit rushed but to be honest, I hated the idea of Asaka wondering whether she had a crush on/was in love with Akashi or not endlessly, when it's, well, obvious to all. It was already hard writing Asaka like that in this chapter, so I wouldn't have bore it for ten more chapters. I tried my best to make her change of feelings as smooth as possible.

Let me know what you thought of this chapter full of romance, because happiness never lasts.

See you next year!

Happy birthday Akashi!