Hey, everyone! Glad to be back here so soon! I have a few things to announce about the fic for those who read the six last updates (if not interested, skip it because it'll be long A/N).
As you may have noticed (or not), I erased several chapters - all those concerning the last semester of the first year - and before going on, I want to apologize for those who enjoyed reading them and waited for the next part. However, I decided to rewrite this arc because I couldn't enjoy writing them and noted many problems story/character-wise.
After reading the whole fic not long ago, the recent chapters were too heavy and the angst way too present to depict Asaka's future in the volleyball club, which completely overwrite the light-heartedness of this story. Usually, I try to even up the serious and fun moments but in the recent chapters I could not feel this balance. Because of that, I found it very hard to read them.
Of course, you all know where this story is heading, so this light-heartedness will gradually fade to a darker setting. But considering the timeline of the story, the atmosphere must stay bright and joyous. Not gloomy and depressive, like Asaka gave the impression to be in the recent chapters (it is my opinion here).
In the state she was, I couldn't imagine her in a romantic mood, or even be in her usual playful mood. For that reason, it somehow felt like something was off when I wrote the Akashi/Asaka interactions. She thinks of something serious and important then the next moment she laughs like those thoughts didn't bother her. Given the emphasis I'd put on her problems, she shouldn't be laughing so carefreely.
The second point is : Have you noticed how little Akashi part was in the recent chapters? Since they centered around Asaka's character development and Kise's arrival, obviously the spotlight wouldn't always be on him but his role seems like toned down, as if he's been demoted to being a side-character instead of having the main role along with Asaka. Which is not good because Akashi plays a big part in Asaka's character growth and should always be.
And well, it also explains the lack of romance between the two. Not to mention time is limited once I reach the second year on that aspect. If the story had progessed with the same pace, a certain event would have been too sudden and surely not as impactful as I want it to be.
Anyways, those are the main reasons for the rewriting. I don't know how you felt about them but I hope you'll be sensitive to the change and like it better by reading this new version. Some of you will be disappointed but this is the closest version to how this story should be for now (and I wish it to be).
Also, I can already tell you that it will only take three full chapters to get to the end of the first year. I'm not rushing it, this is more than enough to set the premise of second year. In the old version, I wanted to say too much and lost sight of what I must write.
Thank you for reading this long A/N and enjoy.
Thank you for following, favoriting and reviewing this story!
A new year rolled in and marked the start of the last school term. Nothing particular changed for the first and second years, except this was the time for the third years to prepare for graduation in March. All of them retired from club activities and left the place for future members to bring a fresh impetus in the next school year.
But before new faces come to show up, their retirement would leave the place where they used to go and play so quiet, emphasizing even more on the lonely aspect of winter.
It was so silent. Especially in the volleyball club where Hoshino's war cries always livened up the gym, Hibari's pieces of advice resonated across the court and Hareki's mischiefs never failed to lighten the mood. Normally, they should have retired after the Nationals since it was the last official competition of the year. However, the three of them decided to extend the period a little longer till January, all to help in bringing up the new team on their two feet before they must leave. Nonetheless, their main reason was to make the most of their third year in Teikō.
But all good things must come to an end and it was now official : Hibari passed the torch on to Kazehaya to lead the new team.
Ritsu missed their presence the first week after their retirement. She always knew the club with them around and couldn't help it feeling lonely. She got attached to them. To the team they formed. If she felt that way just for playing a year with them, she could not imagine the loneliness of the three sophomores of the team. At their retirement speech, Ugai bawled her eyes out and Yūzuki tried to hold back from crying but to no avail. Kazehaya was the only one who didn't shed a tear but everybody could see she was as much as affected as the two other girls with her glistening eyes and a soft expression that she seldom showed. No wonder those three would react this way : they had played with Hibari and Hoshino for two years.
It was the same as saying goodbye to a friend without knowing when you're going to meet them again.
Yet, after the goodbyes, the new team had to move forward. Just as Kazehaya got new responsibilities as a captain, Ritsu as well as the rest of the girls had theirs too ‒ more important ones.
Since the Nationals, Yagami and she worked together to become a reckoning force just like the Hibari and Hoshino's combination. Yagami as the setter and she as the ace of the new team.
And now that Hoshino and Hibari would not show up at the club anymore, Ritsu could feel the pressure on her back. Sometimes, she was feeling anxious and wavered about herself, wondering if she could become a brilliant player and ace as Hoshino. Until now her mentor was there to give her some tips and she followed after her but in a few months from now, it'd be her giving tips to the new members as a sophomore and play a part in leading the team as the future ace.
There was no longer someone to guide her. She was the one who must open the way.
Honestly, those negative thoughts weighted on her mind but she supposed that was the way things should go. For every new changes, new problems and questions arose. She just wasn't used to them yet, like it felt like yesterday that she was appointed as a regular. That said, perhaps when the new school year comes, with the new members in front of her, things would naturally come to her. Well, that thought relieved her from the stress at least.
But really, to think in just a couple of months, she'd be a sophomore. Time really flew by and this year was quite eventful and full of new encounters, she mused amusedly. She didn't meant to feel so sentimental here but it just showed how precious her first year in Teikō became for her.
And one of those persons who made it so special and gave her hope that the next two years in Teikō to be just as joyful and eventful as this one was walking right beside her.
"So now, you've leveled up to shōjo manga magazine. Your recent passion for the genre is getting quite scary, Akashi-kun." Ritsu teased the redhead while browsing through the magazine, full of sparkles and tons of beautifully drawn big-eyed characters.
This morning, Honda and Akashi held their little meeting about shōjo mangas. Those, which were only a occasional thing at the second term, recently became a weekly talk as they had a lot to discuss about the stories they read and shared with each other. Still, what brought the change was Akashi's initiative. He didn't satisfy himself with getting recommendations from the girl anymore but also recommended works to her as well.
Guess that explained their eagerness and long talks.
"Honda-san recommended it to me since there's works I'm following inside. I usually prefer to wait for the full book rather than a chapter per month but the waiting period makes worth it. Also it's a good way to discover new works." Akashi replied with a light chuckle. "And I like the additional and promotional contents in them."
"You're speaking like a true manga expert now." Ritsu kept browsing the magazine and curiously looked for the works Akashi would likely follow. She didn't participate in their talks since she wasn't much of a manga reader and prefered to leave the two experts in their own world talking freely. So the only work she knew was Akashi's favorite : "By works you follow you mean A Magical Girl's Notebook of Mystic Spells?"
"No, it's not published in this magazine. This one is more oriented in slice-of-life and school life genre."
The opposite of his number one work. But the mention of the magazine genre retained her attention and intrigued her even more. She read enough shōjo mangas to have a bit of knowledge about it and was genuinely surprised to note his interest in those because no one would read it for nothing but the romance.
At least in A Magical Girl's Notebook of Mystic Spells, even though the base was romance, it was cleverly combined with action and fantasy.
She could not imagine Akashi reading pure romance fiction.
"And which ones are you following?" She asked, handing him the magazine to show her.
Akashi leant towards her and turned several pages before stopping.
"This one."
Ritsu then skimmed through the pages. It seemed like a typical shōjo manga but the art was quite different from what she generally saw. Every panel was drawn with so much detail that she could almost imagine the environment around the characters lived in and feel their feelings just from a glance.
It looked beautiful and quite unique.
When she reached the last page of the chapter, Akashi waited a bit to check she had finished before he went on and showed her another work.
"And this one."
Now she got her typical shōjo manga with its beautiful characters all over the place and emotional moments.
"You might like the story of this one."
"You think?"
"It's simple in its own way. Although the comedy is the proeminent, it doesn't ruin the story. The characters have all interesting personalities with well-written backstory. They are the strength of this work. It is funny to read how those characters clashes together and find themselves in comical and unrealistic situations yet they're always depth behind those moments. I like the way some details are connected together ; it invites you to read the previous chapters just to see the connection."
Listening him talk, she had her whole attention on him instead of looking at the manga. Akashi was wholeheartedly enjoying speaking of it. There wasn't a trace of his usual formal tone here. It was just him speaking like a teenager of his age.
Putting it like that, it seemed like Akashi was different from the others and even if she did wish to deny it, it was impossible. Everybody could feel some sort of distance when talking to him. Of course, he wasn't the problem but it just the way he behaved, or perhaps must act in front of people. He wasn't raised in an ordinary family and his upbringing must have been quite strict for him to be so hard on himself as well and would explain the perfect control he had on himself. She could understood that as she was raised with a strict education – well, not as strict as Akashi's apparently was – but she was thoroughly taught how to behave in front of people. And sometimes she was told she was being too formal.
So this remark of him behaving like a teenager of his age might emphasize this wall between him and the others as if it was abnormal. But in her opinion, the right word would be rare. It was such a rare and lovely sight.
As it showed that there were people around him with whom he could loosen up a bit, and maybe feel comfortable with.
"Hmm, you sell it so well, Akashi-kun." Ritsu laughed lightly. "You want me to read it."
"I want to share what I like with you. And I genuinely hope we will. I'd love to hear your opinion on it."
Bare of his «defense», Akashi was the most charming. So she could understand some girls' jealousy over Honda's new friendship with Akashi. You seldom see him act and speak so casually AND fondly of something. Moreover, something like mangas.
"Mind if I borrow it?"
"It's all yours. I already finished reading it."
Ritsu closed the thick magazine and glanced at the cover. The illustration featured the main couple from the work he recommended to her. Pastel colours were used and brought out a warm feeling called love. Nothing strange from a shōjo magazine but imagining it shelved in Akashi's bookcase sound sort of funny every time.
"To be completely honest with you, I didn't imagine you'd grow liking shōjo manga."
"You don't sound like a great fan of the genre."
"I like them and the pure romance they depict. Every girl would love to live this kind of romance, me included. But you reading them is another story."
He smirked. "Because I'm a boy?"
"You're free to read what you like." She replied with a chuckle and looked at him, "I'm just surprised you show interest in love and romance. I may upset you but you're not the most romantic person I've met until now."
Just thinking back at the pair of cats made her laugh inwardly. He took it as a prize among others instead of being interested in the thing they represented. Insensitive would be the word but she knew Akashi well to choose another one – a more accurate one.
He was just a pragmatic boy.
"Maybe not." He conceded. "Broadening my horizon has always been an entertaining process for me, and who knows? Those knowledge might come in handy one day."
"Huh?"
Her brain froze.
"A-Are you saying that you'd use them as reference materials for love matters?"
"Isn't it why you learn things? So you can use them."
He didn't mean it as a joke. In fact, he didn't seem to see a problem in that at all. And that was what worried her a bit. How pragmatic can a person be?! The day he'd fall in love, she feel sorry for that person because they might be thrown off by him more than once.
"Hm, well...I don't know if I should laugh or not." She mumbled, averting her eyes. "I can't imagine you wooing and confessing your love to someone."
"Well, I'm generally the one confessed to."
"Are you boasting about it?" Though it was hardly a refutable fact. Many girls have mustered their courage to ask him out since the first term. And with Valentine day coming up, as one of the sought-after boys, he would continue to be on their list. "But I guess that's the way it's meant to be for Akashi-sama. You're not the type to chase after but be chased. You're some sort of an unattainable boy."
Akashi let a soft laugh escape him. "Then, the way I see it you're the type to chase after, Asaka. I can easily picture you confessing your love."
Ritsu chuckled in response. As a romantic girl, she would have preferred the other way : being the one confessed to. And how wonderful it'd be if the other party happened to be Akashi. But he wasn't probably totally wrong about her taking the initiative. Although she barely had experience in love matters so far, knowing the intensity of her feelings towards him, it'd be hard to keep them bottle up inside over a long period. And the more they got stronger, the more she'd find it hard to hold them back.
Wasn't it why she attempted a kiss on him?
And as things currently were, she doubted her feelings for him will ever subsided and instead kept growing stronger. Unless something disappointed her.
"Guess I'm not good at hiding my feelings."
"You really aren't, but above all, you give me the impression of being a girl who'd give their all when you love someone. Considering how far you'd go just to thank someone, I can only imagine you doing the same in love."
If she saw him as an heartless alien, Akashi completely saw her as a very stubborn and impulsive girl. Though she could only blame herself for that, she did give enough stuff to think that way.
"The last part was gratuitous, Akashi-kun."
Yet it was strange to have this conversation with him. Maybe Honda should be thanked for opening him the door to romance.
"Still, I suppose you do learn from shōjo manga. Reading them seems to have mellowed you out. "
Akashi glanced at her before cracking a smile, "Not only."
The two teenagers reached the main hall and put on their outdoor shoes. Ritsu cast a glance outside, at the rain. Then she thought with little disappointment how lovely it'd be if it was snowing instead. And well, she prefered to walk under the snow than the rain. Sadly, the temperature weren't enough cold for that, though the freezing wind of Winter still bit.
She felt it soon enough, when Akashi opened the door for her.
One step outside, she happened to notice the slender silhouette of Midorima a few inches next to Akashi, gazing absentmindedly at the rain. Ritsu exchanged a curious look with the redhead. The greenhead didn't seem to have noticed them yet despite their proximity.
"Why the melancholic face, Midorima-kun?"
He didn't react, only a scowl twisted his profile. Nope, he had noticed their presence, he just wanted to ignore them. The ashblonde leant slightly forward and smiled at him, having a full view of his displeasure.
Midorima was ticked off even more but his green-eyed gaze remained on her before it travelled down to the thick colorful magazine clutched against her chest. From his expression, he had a lot to say about this sight.
"It's not mine." Ritsu said, anticipating a remark from him. "It's Akashi-kun's."
"Quit messing with me, Asaka. Aren't you getting tired of it? Akashi would hardly read this type of magazine." The shooting guard eventually spoke, clearly not buying such a blatant lie.
Midorima had literally zero patience with her. But the most terrifying thing of all was she got used to it, enough to predict his every reactions when speaking with him. Well, that was why she often couldn't help teasing him a little bit but did a Cancer's carapace had to be that hard to crack?
"It's mine, Midorima. I lent it to Asaka." Akashi calmly cleared up the misunderstanding before it had a chance to escalate. Because sadly, when the two of them interacted together, neither of them listened to the other and without someone to stop them it could drag on.
Guess Akashi too knew them well not to leave them be unattended.
At the revelation, Midorima's glasses thickened and his lips drew into a thin line.
"So it was true. I was wondering why Aomine, Kuroko and Momoi bought you a full collection of a shōjo manga for your birthday." He mumbled in a bad mood after connecting some facts together.
"If you're looking for the responsible one, she's not here." Ritsu told him, noting his long gaze on her and the magazine.
"It's none of my business." He huffed dropping the subject already. Yet he scrutinized the pair. "Though you two are getting along awfully well recently."
Ritsu stared him back curiously. Although Midorima never hid his disapproval about their friendship for multiple personal reasons, it was the first time he made that kind of comment to them, as if noteworthy.
"Is it worth mentioning?" Akashi came to ask him.
"Yes."
He left them at that, shifting his attention back on the rain. Ritsu wanted to hear more but she guessed Midorima didn't look on them getting closer with a favorable eye since she had done such a wonderful work on giving him a bad impression. In short, she equalled to (pointless) troubles for Akashi.
"By the way, what are you waiting for in the cold, Midorima-kun?"
He must be waiting for a while as his cheeks and nose were red from the cold weather.
Midorima sighed, wishing to be left alone now the conversation was over.
"I'm waiting for the rain to stop."
Ritsu refrained herself from asking him what happened for him not have an umbrella, which would be taken as a teasing attempt. Rain was forecast on yesterday news, so Midorima should have taken his precaution...
"Something happened?" Akashi reached the same conclusion as her.
Midorima was reluctant to answer but resigned himself. "One of my classmates took my umbrella by mistake and left me with a broken one."
"That's bad luck." She sympathised with him.
"You don't say." He hissed, readjusting his glasses.
So there he was waiting. Ritsu checked on the rain, it didn't seem like it'd stop anytime soon. But well, he could make a run to the nearest train station by using his bag as a cover since the rain wasn't strong. That said, she could hardly picture Midorima doing such a reckless thing at the risk of catching a cold (which by the way hadn't spared anyone since the beginning of the term).
She took a look at Akashi holding his black umbrella. She had hers as well in her school bag. They could lend one to him.
"You can have mine if you want, Midorima-kun. We can't leave you here when we can help, right Akashi-kun?"
"Indeed."
She put the magazine inside her bag and took her umbrella out before handing it to him.
"I'll be fine on my own." He refused flatly.
The ashblonde didn't give up yet. "I can be stubborn too."
"I'm not being stubborn."
"In that case, why don't you accept my help? You won't have to own me anything."
He furrowed his brows as she tried to make him spit a reason for her to leave him alone.
"You're insufferable, Asaka."
Ritsu was a bit offended by his word choice. Her affinity with him must currently be at deep sea level to get such a strong rejection, but wasn't that kind of exaggerated? Although she was conscious that she was being too insistent there, her intention wasn't to poke fun at him or anything. She considered him as a good friend despite getting constantly the cold shoulder.
"You'll be left without an umbrella. How do you intend to get home then?"
She tilted her head. "I can always go under Akashi-kun's umbrella. Ah, unless you mind it?"
She turned her head to the redhead for getting his approval for the sudden idea.
"Not in the slightest."
"So you heard him." Ritsu shifted her attention back to the greenhead, happy to finally have cornered him into accepting her help.
But Midorima still would not take the umbrella.
"Akashi lives in the opposite way from your house. You two won't make all the way home together. Don't you have to walk from the bus station to your house?"
Ritsu slightly gaped in surprise, realizing the reason of his stubbornness, or must she say «concern». Midorima came over to her house several times after taking Shōhei home whenever he was forcefully invited to play basketball with him, so he knew that it was fifteen-minutes walk from the bus station to her house and a twenty-five minutes walk from the nearest train station.
In any case, she had to walk some distance before getting home.
He was certainly concerned about her walking under the rain after getting off the bus.
"Oh...Is that you worrying about me?"
"Hmph." He huffed as she hit the nail on the head.
«You're insufferable». She truly was for making him spit most of his concern and she might continue to be a little more.
"Now I can even less leave you alone."
Much to his dismay. Before the conversation looped again, Akashi intervened.
"I can make an exception for today, Midorima."
Both Midorima and she darted a surprised look at the redhead.
"If you're so opposed to take Asaka's umbrella for that reason, I can take her home. That way, everything works for everybody. You can go home safely and Asaka as well."
"But Akashi..."
"You'll do that?"
It was the best solution for the two of them but Akashi would be the most inconvenienced out of the three. Like Midorima said, Akashi lived in the opposite way of her house. He'd make a very long detour and it might take an hour for him to commute from her home to his.
"Midorima is right. We can't let you walk under the rain, especially when people tends to catch a cold quite easily at this period of time. You may have a strong resistance to the cold but let's avoid it."
She should feel bad about inconveniencing him so much, however, her heart fluttered in happiness instead. Nothing obliged him to go that far. Of course, he was only thinking of her health here, but even though her brain reasoned it that way, her heart hoped for more.
How could it not? When he cared so much about her.
"Know that I'll properly thank you later, Akashi-kun."
"I know."
Those words left his mouth like a gentle whisper and shaped his lips into a lovely smile.
"Problem solved then. Take it, Midorima-kun."
The shooting guard stared at the vice-captain with disapproval, the idea seemingly not convincing enough to go along with it.
"No. I can't impose that on you, Akashi."
"You're making things quite difficult." The smaller boy retorted, curious to hear the reason of his second refusal.
"Let me finish." He frowned because of the quick judgement. "I'll take Asaka home since we go the same way. She lives in the neighbouring district to mine."
Silence ensued, only leaving the patter of the rain filled their ears. Akashi was staring him out – long enough for both Midorima and she to feel his slight displeasure at this turn of event. Though it was understandable. All that time wasted for, in the end, getting about the same result if he'd accepted her help right away.
Still, for a second, she felt his red eyes on her.
"You should have been honest from the beginning." Akashi said as he pointed out his fault, causing his teammate to keep a low profile. "Shall we go?"
He opened his umbrella to lead on and waited for the other two teenagers to get ready.
"I'll hold it." Midorima suggested, earning a surprised look from the ashblonde. "That's the least I can do."
"Okay."
Both under the same umbrella, they finally stepped under the rain and joined Akashi's side. The patter of the rain punctuated their silent walk. None of the three teenagers felt the need to speak and fully appreciated the charm of a rainy day.
Ritsu sneaked a glance at Midorima's profile. Having a proper look on his face, he was quite the handsome boy. If he stopped frowning all the time and learnt to smile a little more, he could turn into a girl's magnet. Though some work on his personality might be needed. By that she didn't mean a 180° change, she just wanted him to sometimes be more honest around others because he was such a handful in its own way. Which was a shame as Midorima had some good points about him.
Despite his distant attitude and his sharp tongue, he revealed to be a thoughtful boy but perhaps too detail-oriented and socially awkward for people to fully appreciate his kindness. Because, yes, he tended to get on people's nerves. Still, his sensitivity was a precious thing.
Especially when she noted the droplets falling on his left shoulder. In a subtle, discreet way, Midorima was slightly leaning the umbrella towards her side for her to be fully sheltered.
A real gentleman. If that didn't show his caring side..., she mused amusedly. But his attention went to straight to her heart. As this warmth spread inside her, the romantic aspect of their situation - where they shared an umbrella - surged in her mind.
Really, it looked like a scene coming out straight from a shōjo manga.
At that thought, her gaze travelled to Akashi walking by her side alone. She missed the chance to share an umbrella with him. Yet, she wished she'd taken it. Just to by close to him but not only for the romance pretext. Truthfully, it was a strange thing to say after she developed feelings for him. However, the desire to be his side and of support for him wasn't born from the moment she fell in love with him, they were there since she befriended him.
So the limit between friendship and romance wasn't as defined as it probably must be for her to view and tackle things in a more passionate way. But could she currently satisfy herself with a platonic relationship? Not anymore. No matter how dearly she held on their friendship, she could possibly not ignore the change of her feelings.
And from this newborn love for him stemmed a new feelings. Ones she wouldn't feel towards him in such a strong way : this desire and will to treasure and protect him.
She didn't want him to be alone.
As a friend.
As a girl who loved him.
Though when she looked at him, it sure must be a silly, and at some point ridiculous thought. Akashi could stand on his own and was just fine that way. But who said that he didn't anyone by his side?
Along this line of thought, she wished to continue being a friend to him but also hoped to become this one and only person walking alongside with him without letting go.
In the end, maybe she'd be in a romantic mood more if she was the one to shelter him under her umbrella. Just imagining the scene of Akashi waiting for her under the rain melted her heart.
"What are you giggling about?" Midorima creeped out as she suddenly acted weird next to him.
"Girls stuff. I can't help myself. This kind of occasion only happens when it's raining and this makes me happy."
He scrunched up his brows. "What is there to feel happy here? We're merely making the way home. I can't understand in what way the rain makes it so special."
Ritsu stared at him with big round eyes before bursting into laughter. She took it «romance» was not a word included in his vocabulary yet. But what a shame. He was such a gentleman here, and yet, he wasn't even conscious of creating a perfect romantic mood. Not even for one second, he considered it as a romantic setting. That just got over his head.
Well maybe it should explain why he wasn't feeling nervous at all about sharing an umbrella with a girl. On the other hand, although she did sympathize about the girl with whom Akashi would fall in love, she also felt the same for the one who'd come to love Midorima since she might need a tremendous amount of patience and have to become quite aggressive for him to realize her feelings.
Really, next to Midorima, even Akashi would turn out to be the most romantic person out there.
"Learning a bit from shōjo manga would not do you any harm, Midorima." Akashi commented, the faint twitch of his lips suggesting a suppressed laugh.
"You too, Akashi?" His expression darkened as his teammate sided with her. Far from liking to be poked fun at freely as he suspected him to be as clueless as him there, he then dared him to speak his mind : "In that case, let me hear it why."
At the provocation, Ritsu tried to regain her composure, even though the gravity painted on Midorima's face made it hard for her. Why did he always have to be so worked up over trivial matters?
As a moment of silence settled between the three, the ashblonde pricked up her ears to the distant yet loud humming of a car. Just the time to put her eyes on the road, she was forced into making make a split-second decision after all the information she got from that glance. First : the car driving at full speed. Second : the huge puddle on the side of the road. Three : Midorima walking on the road side and not paying attention to it.
Predicting what would happen to him, her body moved on instinct.
"Midorima-kun! Watch out!"
Ritsu yanked Midorima by the arm and pulled him abruptly towards her as she switched place with him. One second later, the car drove over the puddle and splashed water all over her.
"Waah! It's cooold!"
She was soaked to the skin from head to toe. That was a huge splash! As if a wave crashed on her.
"Asaka!" Akashi came to her help and check up on her. "Are you all right?"
He sheltered her under his umbrella and handed her his handkerchief.
"Can't say I am." She replied with a light chuckle after thanking for his attention. Her whole body was shivering from the cold. "I probably should have buttoned my coat up, I wouldn't have gotten my uniform wet and be freezing as I currently am."
"You're quick to act as ever." He sighed and gave her a disapproving look. "Always in the most reckless way possible."
Ritsu let herself be scolded. She acted before thinking and may not have taken the best option of all, so she understood his concern. But at least, Midorima was safe...
...and glaring furiously at her.
He was totally mad at her. She braced herself for a cutting remark, even a lecture, for protecting him.
"I thank you but do not think I'll praise you for that. Never do that again, Asaka."
Despite his harsh tone, all she heard was genuine concern for her.
"Sorry, my body moved on its— Atchooo!"
Both the boys frowned on the spot at the sneeze. She'd definitely catch a cold if she didn't warm herself quickly.
"You should hurry bring her home, Midorima."
"Yes." The shooting guard agreed and readily went to pick up the umbrella he'd let go earlier. "We have a problem. It's broken."
It must have happened when she pulled him away from the road side. Because of her abrupt movement, he lost his footing and collided his back against a tree in his attempt to avoid knocking Akashi next to her. The impact was surely pretty hard for it to break one stretcher and bend two ribs.
"Well, since I'm soaked to the bone already, I don't need an umbrella anymore."
"We won't have it." The redhead opposed strongly.
Ritsu then looked for more support from the bespectacled boy. But the latter was silently examining her, the severe scowl on his face let on all of his sentiment guilt for this situation. Had he paid attention to the road, he'd have seen the puddle and avoid any of the them getting splashed.
"I agree with Akashi. Don't be stupid. You're freezing, Asaka. I can see your legs shaking. At this rate, you won't end up with just catching a cold."
He paused and pushed his glasses up his nose in a faint nervous manner.
"What do you suggest, Midorima?" Akashi caught the glint of an idea in his eyes.
"...We can stop by my house. It's only ten minutes away by train and I live near the station. We can wait till it stops raining and Asaka can warm herself up over there."
Although he tried to suppress his blush as best as he could, his nervousness was enough to know he wasn't very familiar with having friends coming over to his house. But both Akashi and she didn't mention any of it, grateful to him for suggesting the idea despite it.
"Can I ask you to come with us, Akashi? At least, until we reach my house. You're the only left with an umbrella."
"Do not mind me."
"I'm sorry for imposing that on you."
"Lead on."
Nuvola De Demone : Asaka really does embarrassing things. When I write those parts, I sometimes wonders if it isn't too much because some of them made me cringe given the silly situations she put herself and others in (lol).
Guest (May 8th) : Sorry for making you wait!
AnxiouslyWaiting : Your review made my day! I'm glad to read you were sensitive to the way I portray the characters, I always struggle to make them stay in character and try to show some different aspects of them we don't see enough in the anime or manga (sadly! that's why I decided write this fic! And well, I love the Teikō arc with all its drama). Also happy to know,you like Asaka that much. Fleshing her out is the most difficult part since I don't want her character to have impact on the original story but make it a parallel one along with the GoM. Haha, I don't know if they will be love rivalry for Asaka's heart since like you I'm not fond of harem fics. But as the story progresses, I sort of like the way Midorima and Asaka interact together and it'd not be strange for him to developp feelings for her but...No, I don't think I'll ever write that. I want to keep the romance simple, with Akashi and Asaka. However, I'm not saying that there won't be time for Akashi to be jealous of some close relationship with the other GoM. Imagine Kise. Anyways, to answer your last question, the high school years would surely be made into a sequel of GaaFR. Even so, I'm not sure of making it a full story since I haven't thought a lot about it yet, just some little interactions when they met but not something concrete. I already know how the story ends for the Teikō part and which school Asaka will chose to attend in the end, however, the most difficult part is how to get there and make it impactful. Haha, it sometimes happens to me to imagine Akashi and Asaka's future and it's sooo cheesy! (lol) But well, it's just me fantasizing here.
ms. meep : I write this fic with the objective of making Asaka an external character who only knows what happens to the GoM through her interactions with them, like some sort of side character on which we suddenly have put the spotlight on. That's why she won't change anything to the original story despite the bonds with the GoM and the romance with Akashi. But I'm glad I make her an interesting character to you, the premises aren't very exciting. Everything will go faster for her development in second year. First year is to lay the problem she'd face in second year and to explain her future decisions. I know it feels like dragging (and perhaps I overdid) but a future chapter with Akashi - the last one of the first year - might give you your answer.
carsonforgeel : Akashi is genuinely a very hard character to write and balance. Especially in the romance parts xD. I'll keep writing it as long as there are people reading it, even though it sure has become harder to keep motivated.
Qserata : Yes, it is obvious! But conquering the heart of an emperor requires patience (cringe). Asaka will do the necessary though. The romance will continue!
Guest (Feb 25th) : Sorry in this new chapter there's no a single trace of Akashi but he will come back soon. So happy you like the way I depict Akashi. Oreshi is really fun to write, not so sure about Bokushi but he'll eventually appear. And the question is how Asaka will react and say to him. *suspense music* . Hope I'll keep you entertain with this story!
Kanzaki Mizuki : Glad you still like the story even after coming back to it! Considering their age, I write their romance as fluffy and pure as possible but gosh Akashi doesn't make it easy (lol). It's hard to picture him falling in love - at least for me. But I could have it worst! Imagine Akashi 2.0 in love! I'm just kidding. Haha, the second year will be the most dramatic part of GaaFR, just like in the original story. Only add romance drama to it for making it more heartbreaking. As for Asaka's high school choice, even if I want to spill it, I can't say anything about it since it plays an important part for the ending. Hope you'll keep reading this story in the future!