Hi! Here's another chapter :). As always I will leave you to Chiara and Akashi, who decided to go on a little trip. Wonder how it will go, hm? Yeah, I don't know it either, maybe they'll let us know haha! Thank you so much for all the support and I'll see you soon, if they don't kill me with university work. Are you perhaps studying too? Then you surely know what I mean. Bye, lots of love. Please, take care of yourselves, since winter is coming. I don't want any of you to catch a cold!:)

As predicted, his driver appeared perfectly on time on a Monday morning, keeping the door for the backseat open. I could only growl in irritation, letting him take my suitcase. Akashi was waiting for me inside, with a blanket wrapped around his legs. He offered me a cup of tea. I accepted it, watching him carefully. What if he had put something into my drink?

"There's a long trip waiting for us, so I thought you'd appreciate a nice, warm drink. Go on, our train leaves in an hour, we have some time."

We got seats next to each other, but since Akashi was looking outside the window, I decided I could pull out a book. I barely managed to read few pages, when I felt his sight on my reading. I moved a little bit to the right, hoping he'd get the hint. He closed the space between us, trying to see what was I holding in my hands.

"You could have asked, you know?" I smirked.

"It would be no fun if I did so." he replied, finally getting information he needed. The first half an hour was spent in an absolute silence, as Akashi took care of some Council's papers. Sometimes he'd just show me a document, so I could sign it too. Nothing interesting, really, mainly some agreements and brochures.
After a while my eyes felt tired of all the text in front of them, so I put the book down, looking around. Akashi was playing shogi on his tablet, but I couldn't figure out if his opponent was a computer or someone online. I shifted my head, trying to get a better angle of watching.

"It's rude to stare like that." he said, his eyes still glued to the screen. I blushed lightly and turned my head away.

"Nevermind, you do the same."

"Wanna try?" Akashi sat more comfortably and put tablet on my knees. I look confused at the game; I barely knew what was going on. I could play chess quite well, but still shogi was something different for me. I was aware of the basic rules and even some special moves, but in the end I always got lost. We played a little in Teikou, during a free time in Student Council.

"You know I can't." I muttered, shoving the gadget away. He didn't become discouraged though; he only smiled bitterly.

"It's not a problem. I can play and explain it to you once again. I'd like to challenge you one day. We need more areas to fight, don't you think?"

"No, Akashi, this one is enough." I tried to refuse. But the pieces were calling to me. It wouldn't be bad to try at least, right? "Anyway, what is this weird situation your General is in, hm?"

The redhead only smirked and put his head on my shoulder. He was moving his hand over the tablet, speaking quietly next to my face, and that's how our trip flew by in a blink of an eye.

Akashi simply took the key from the receptionist, using all his charm as he always did in Rakuzan and Teikou. Well, he was raised to resemble a prince, travelling on his white horse to save his precious princess. In Akashi's case I should just replace 'prince' with 'emperor'. Suits him better. I gave my luggage to the pageboy and pressed the button for lift to come. After those hours in train I craved for a hot shower. And something tasty, as I could feel my stomach growling. The redhead nodded at me and we entered the room. What we saw was rather... unexpected.

"You've got to be kidding me" I mumbled. If I recall it correctly, we were supposed to get a high-class suite, then why do I only see one bed. And do I have to mention it's a double one?! I immediately turned my head to Akashi. His lips were pressed into a thin line. He suddenly blushed in madness and stormed out of the room. God, I'd better go and check him, or the whole staff will be left unemployed.

I barely managed to catch him, he was almost running. His usually intimidating aura reached its maximum, I thought.

"Akashi, please, it's just a simple mistake, you don't have to put you anger outside..."

"Silence. You think I don't know how to behave in public?" he stated with his usual cold tone. Well, that was something I couldn't understand. If the problem wasn't the mistake, then what? He didn't like the color on the walls or what?

"Excuse me." we finally reached the reception. The same young woman who gave Akashi the key to the apartment smiled at us cheerfully. Oh, she didn't know what was coming.

"How can I help you, sir?" she asked, but as soon as she saw his face, her smile got wiped away. She narrowed her eyes, not quite ready for the upcoming hell.

"We came here for a conference for high school students and our school, Rakuzan High, apparently made a reservation for a suite room for both of us." Akashi turned his gaze at me for a while. Like he was trying to drill a hole in my face. "But suddenly we got a double room. Can you please change it as fast as possible? My vice-president is tired and would gladly take a shower and rest."

I looked at him in disbelief. How did he know?! Besides, why is he using me as an excuse? The receptionist only nodded nervously and typed something in her computer. She bit her lip as she returned the gaze toward us.

"My sincere apologies, but in our base it seems that yours school booked exactly this type of room. And even if we wanted to change it, there's no spare suite room now. I'm really sorry."

Akashi clenched his fists. We could always change the hotel. But was it really worthy? Who knows how the situation looks there? I grabbed his hand and almost unnoticeably squeezed it. Man, his face was priceless. The cheeks were matching his hair right then.

"Well, I guess there's nothing we can do about it. Sorry to bother you. For now we'll take it, but if anything changes, I'll let you know." I took over control on this conversation. Even Red Emperor could loose his temper. We came back to the room. I finally had some time to look around.

The room was pretty nice. It had this light green walls, with white ornaments and ceiling. The furniture were made of mahogany, rather modern, but with this classy side. I smiled seeing so many pillows on the bed. It shouldn't be that bad. I reached to my suitcase.

"Don't tell me you're alright with this." I heard. Akashi was standing in the doorstep, not really keen on coming in. I pulled him inside and closed the door.

"Of course I'm not. But we have to behave, remember? If you're so afraid of me I can always sleep on this armchair, just give me pillows." I said, looking for the towel. There it was - the annoying side of him, that always made me want to punch him. Straight in the face. He'd make a perfect dummy for my judo practice. I sighed, giving up. It's like talking to a wall. My words made no effect on him.

"If I'd let you. I just hope you're not drooling when you sleep." he said, taking out his phone.

"Don't worry, I'll kick you out right after you fall asleep." I answered. He smirked and I just rolled my eyes. Yes, our conversations are that clever, even though we're considered the smartest students in school. Probably we're too smart to hold a normal talking. I left to take a shower and for those ten minutes under rushing water I could finally forget about everything.

I'm not mad at the staff, they probably typed the reservation wrong. If it happened in Teikou, he'd probably try to cool it down, but now... He was blushing. His cheeks were so flushed! I'd never admit it to anyone, but he looked cute.

I left the bathroom dressed in black jeans and green shirt. My body waited only for something to eat, so I planned to go downstairs to the restaurant. When I stepped into the room, Akashi was finishing his call. I raised my eyebrow. Are we going to change the hotel?

"Don't worry, it was just Reo. He was wondering if we got here safely. And if you survived my humour, whatever that was supposed to mean." I chuckled lightly. Oh, Reo-nee, you're irreplaceable, really! At least he behaves like a grown-up.

Akashi also changed his clothes. I barely had a chance to see him in something different than school uniform or basketball clothes, but I had to admit it - he knew what made him look good. He had grey polo T-shirt and dark jeans. The left corner of my lips raised a little. During my attendance in Teikou it was always Kise who got most attention from girls. But if someone asked me, I'd say they were all popular. Well, what would you expect from a bunch of young boys being not only handsome but also incredibly talented? I smirked at those sudden memories and caught my bag.

"Any wishes for your meal?" he asked. I shook my head.

"Anything will be fine, just want something warm."

He agreed and like a true gentleman took me to the nearest restaurant. The waiter took our jackets and showed us to the free table. The atmosphere inside was rather intimidating. We were surrounded by lots of businessmen, busy with their papers or phones, always writing something. Delicious food that was put in front of them was almost unspoiled. Was earning money really that important? I sighed lightly, looking through the menu. Akashi didn't even bother to do so. He rested his head on the palm and stared at me. Why is he always doing it, damn?! His gaze is always so intensive it makes me wanna scream.

"Am I dirty or something?"

"Oh, I bet you can get really dirty if you want..." he started, but I interrupted him.

"Don't sass me, Akashi. I know you've probably been here with your father or something, but can you at least pretend you're enjoying this? I'm not gonna make you smile, but just relax. It would make everything easier." I said, carefully playing with strand of my brown hair. Small, but still pretty waitress approached us, ready to take our orders. She smiled at Akashi, but he still was looking at me. Maybe he was thinking about my earlier comment? I didn't know, so I decided to write a short reply to Reo.

Whole dinner made me feel unease. As long as we were in restaurant we didn't have to think about the unsolved problem of the bed. If I was the one to decide, I'd just sleep on the edge of the bed, not really caring about the redhead. But he seemed truly concerned. I know his father is a very strict man, who would probably never allow such a disgrace to happen, but still... Because of his character, Akashi was raised without typical relationships with opposite sex. I have nothing against his manners, but he's just too mature for his age. And I guess that's the reason why all those girls only hover him from afar. They just don't know how to get him. Not that I know...

We finally came back to our hotel room. We were supposed to stay here for almost a week, what seemed like eternity. We both left our clubs in vice-captains hands, but it wasn't the same as if for example getting injury and just watching them from behind boards. Oh how I needed Sebastian or Paul next to me then. But I had to cope with Akashi myself.

"It's getting late and we have to wake up pretty early. Which side of the bed do you choose?" I asked. Akashi only raised his eyebrows and chuckled.

"Whichever you prefer. I'm not that picky, you know?" he answered. I muttered some Italian curses and searched for a book in my bag. I really got used to reading before sleeping. Even if the plot in the book was quite fast and interesting it always made me sleep easier. The redhead was still sitting by the table, finishing some report for school. It was probably the first time I felt happy that I didn't have to do it. I still had to leave my signature, but... life was much easier now, and quietly I admitted that Akashi was right.

Time flew by pretty fast, my eyelids felt heavy. I left the book on the bed table and wrapped myself in the blankets. Akashi was still doing something, but definitely he tried not to interrupt me. I closed my eyes. The power of tiredness stroke me in a second. Morpheus' arms couldn't be more comfortable than that bed right now. I didn't know how long I was laying, but I couldn't sleep. Probably I was too tired. Or maybe too excited to be sleeping with Akashi?

Small noises travelled to my ears. I opened my eyes just in time to see Akashi taking of his shirt. He was standing in front of a small mirror, flexing all his muscles. I tried to bury myself under the pillows, so he couldn't see my embarrassed face. Oh, how could I forget about his Eyes...

"Should I do it slower? Or maybe you'd prefer me to turn around?" he teased me. I'd probably jump out of the bed and kill him, if he wasn't that distracting. I raised my eyebrow in disguise.

"No, thanks, I'm not in the mood to return everything I ate earlier."

"Who's the sassy one, Chiara?" he smirked, putting on his pyjama. Well, I wouldn't mind if he came to the bed naked... Damn, where's my bow so I could kill myself?! Thanks to my usual pensiveness I didn't notice how quickly he changed his clothes. The weight of his body made the mattress drop down a little. I turned away from him and came back to my thoughts.

He's always been well-built. Not as buff as Aomine, but more slender and toned. I guess if I touched his chest, I could feel every single muscle under his skin. Nothing new, Akashi always did his best, overpowering his teammates. His training regime was more strict, and I've always seen him staying after practice. Like seriously, has this guy tried to overpower himself? But watching him now, in Rakuzan... damn, I bet no one from the Miracles could beat him.

My eyes finally felt heavy enough for me to fall asleep. I drifted into Morpheus' arms, completely losing my consciousness. The official conference was coming closer and I really needed strength to manage everything.