Edited 10.31.2021
Humbly Asking for Help
Hana hardly slept again that night, which admittedly, was becoming a terrible habit.
Her mind was torn between worrying about the upcoming game this weekend and about how to get Akashi to agree to her proposition. It wasn't an easy task. She had debated on the best course of action for hours before finally deciding on blackmail. Now, it was just a matter of finding something that would successfully work against Akashi Seijuro.
The sun had just come over the horizon when Hana forced herself to crawl out of bed, hair twisted into multiple knots above her head.
Her cherished binder was laid out beside her body pillow, multiple pages dog-eared and memorized for today's main event. She stared at the dang thing for a minute before a tired sigh crawled out of her throat. A tired hand ran over her eyes and rubbed harshly as her other hand half-heartily combed through her hair.
Eventually making her way into the bathroom, she brushed her teeth and stared at her weary face. The face that stared back at her did not look prepared for the next few hours.
This is the day I die. She mentally moaned. I'm so going to die.
xXx
The Shogi club room was deserted when she arrived, and Hana thanked every deity listening to her silent prayers. She crept into the dark room and stared at the multiple game sets, chewing on her lip before huffing out a giant sigh. Now or never. Her feet moved slowly, as if attached to chains, before she stood in front of the set closest to her.
With another silent prayer, she picked up the king pieces and dumped them into her bag. The rest of the pieces soon followed.
She repeated the process for the remainder of the sets before leaving the room as quickly as she came. With a superstitious glance down the empty hallway, Hana slowly shut the door behind her and crept into the school— hoping her delinquent activities would remain unnoticed for the rest of the day.
School passed by quickly and before she knew it, she was sitting beside Kuroko in math again. Kuromota-sensei's lecture was going in one ear and out the other as Hana stared at the boring beige walls, her fingers twitching anxiously on the desk. She didn't notice Kuroko's curious looks or the way he watched her nervous fingers. When the bell rang, she didn't even notice that class had been dismissed until she felt a sharp poke into her shoulder.
"Imumura-chan? Are you alright?" Kuroko seemed to be asking her that a lot these days.
"Ah, yeah, I'm fine," she smiled half-heartedly at him. He didn't believe her, judging from the two raised eyebrows that greeted her lie, "Kuroko-kun, you guys have makeup practice this afternoon, right?"
A slow nod, followed by a soft frown, "Yes, is there something you needed?"
"A bodyguard," Hana mumbled under her breathe before continuing, "Well, you see— I have something to ask of Akashi-san and I was hoping to come with you to your practice."
"I'm sorry?" He must have heard her wrong.
Hana sighed. She really didn't want to spell it all out for him, "Can I walk with you to your practice? I need to speak with your captain."
"…That would be fine," Kuroko blinked, "If you don't mind my asking, what is it you need of Akashi-kun?"
"I have a favor to ask him," she smiled, nervously tugging her lip between her teeth, "And I'm really hoping he'll agree to my terms."
"Alright, Imamura-chan," Kuroko spoke slowly, as if talking to a child and Hana forced herself not to get offended, "Is there anything you need to gather before we go?"
A sudden thought of gray hair had her smirking, "Yeah, that would be great."
Fifteen minutes later, Hana was dragging Uoya by his collar behind her. Kuroko was walking a few steps ahead, but he'd occasionally glance backwards in bafflement. Uoya, himself, was loudly screeching and sputtering out the occasional curse. She had to admit, they must have made an interesting sight.
"Hana-channnn! Nooooo!" Uoya whined, struggling against her ironclad grip, "You can't do this to me!"
"Hell, yes I can, you little coward," she shook him by his collar, "You threw me under the bus yesterday!"
"That was Futabatei-sempai!"
"It was all of you!"
Kuroko shot another glance at them before commenting drily, "We're here."
"Eep!" Uoya shrieked in surprise, having momentarily forgot about the sixth-player's presence, "So quiet…"
Sending an acknowledging nod to Kuroko, Hana tugged Uoya's collar closer to her. The walk had gone by too quickly; she hadn't had enough time to prepare her speech. Her hands were shaking, and she'd bet money that Uoya was the same. She could already feel the cold sweat dripping down his neck and Hana had to repress a shudder. Kuroko looked at them, shook his head, then pushed open the gym doors.
Immediately, noise filled the halls.
"Yo, Tetsu! You're late!"
"Kurochin, did you bring any food? I'm so hungry~ "
"Kuroko? What is this?" Now, there was the voice she'd been fearing.
"Akashi-kun, Imamura-chan and Uoya-san had something to ask of you," without further ado, Kuroko threw her to the wolves. He offered Hana a small nod before heading toward Aomine and retrieving a ball. Momoi was by his side in an instant, making sure everything was okay with subtle hand gestures.
"They did, did they?" crimson-colored eyes stared at her, accompanied by a blank mask, "Was it perhaps to apologize?"
"Apologize for what?" Uoya whispered. He had situated himself directly behind her, using her body as a literal shield, "Hana-chan, why do we need to apologize?"
She should have known Akashi wouldn't let her earlier disrespect slide. Ignoring Uoya, Hana addressed Akashi, "Nope, sorry that's not the reason for today's visit. Today is strictly basketball." And a little blackmail, she amended mentally.
"That's not good," the captain sighed, almost looking honestly bereft, "I would have been much more accommodating in your requests if I had an apology."
Her jaw clicked shut with an audible clack, fingers twitching on her hold of Uoya's collar as she forced her tongue to settle. She heard Aomine's chuckle in the background before it was cut off by an elbow jab from Kuroko. Akashi's red brows arched regally, cataloging her expression with disinterest.
"Uhm," Uoya started, "I don't know what's going on here," he motioned between Hana and Akashi, "but our captain asked us to come here to request your permission to borrow some players for this weekend's game."
Akashi glanced at Uoya, causing the sixth year to duck back behind Hana, before continuing, "Your captain couldn't do this himself?"
"No, sorry," Hana smiled brightly while mentally biting her tongue, "Said he had more important things to do."
"Hana-chan!" Uoya gasped, his elbow connecting to her sternum.
"It just slipped out, I can't help it!" She whispered back to him.
Akashi had his eyes narrowed on the duo and while he wasn't exactly glaring, he wasn't pleased. "Well," he drawled, "My team also has important matters to attend to this weekend."
"Akashi-sempai, she didn't mean it—" Uoya began, but Hana cut him off.
"I thought you'd say something like that," and she was telling the truth. She'd spent at least an hour last night going through possible conversation outcomes. There were too many to count, but most of them could be foiled by her next actions.
The basketballs dribbling in the background had stopped at this point and Akashi's frown had turned into a full out glare. "Is that so?" He mused, but it didn't sound so much as a question as it did a threat.
"You better believe it, tomato head," she murmured under her breathe causing Uoya to choke. Akashi hadn't heard her comment, but Kise, who stood by the bleachers, did. The golden-haired teen blanched and covered his mouth to stifle the escape of traitorous chuckles.
"Like I said, I thought you'd say something like that," Hana pulled her backpack off her shoulder and rummaged through it, knocking a few pieces of paper to the floor, "That's why I made a backup plan."
"We didn't talk about a backup plan!" Uoya hissed at the same time Akashi spoke.
"Interesting…"
"You've got an important position in the Shogi club don't you, Akashi-san?" She blinked at him innocently, fingers latching on the plastic bag holding her failsafe plan, "I know you can probably buy replacements for all this, but that'd be quite troublesome, wouldn't it?"
Pulling the plastic out of her bag, Hana couldn't help but worry she'd made a mistake. The full force of Akashi Seijuro's stare was nothing to belittle.
Dangling in her outstretched hand was the baggie full of Shogi pieces, the florescent lights twinkling off their shine. The whole gym had fallen into silence, she couldn't even hear anyone breathe, and Hana felt a nervous sweat drip down her spine. Even Uoya was quiet, but his trembling had increased ten-fold. The air felt static and hung heavy with anticipation
Akashi stared at the bag for a few moments before a small smile stretched across his lips. That's the smile of the devil, I swear it!
"You're right," he pondered, "That would be very troublesome indeed."
Red eyes clashed with Hana's defiant green and his smile grew even larger. The tension from their standoff appeared to have traversed throughout the whole grouping. Kuroko watched warily from the court, the basketball sitting unused at his feet. Even Aomine and Murasakibara were watching the spectacle with interest. She had a feeling no one had ever tried to blackmail their captain before. Much less succeed.
"… Okay," Hana coughed uncertainly, fingers clenching around the plastic bag, "That went better than I expected? So, if I give you these pieces back, could second-string borrow two of your teammates this weekend?"
Akashi continued to stare at her, his smile twisting into a minute smirk, "Yes, Imamura-chan." The way he said her name was beginning to get on her nerves, "But, as I mentioned earlier an apology would really be appreciated."
"Oh hell," Uoya moaned in tandem with Aomine's snort.
Hana's blood began to boil in warning, the smug triumph radiating off the captain's face fuel to the inferno, "My apologies, your majesty," she snarled, "How could I have forgotten?"
"Hana!" Uoya hissed in warning, "Don't!"
She glanced back at her friend before rolling her eyes and turning her attention back to Akashi. She glared the red head down, waiting to see if he'd break. When nothing changed, she scoffed before preforming a curtsey, fingers skimming the ground. Her voice rang out icily, "I apologize for not being able to hold my tongue in the presence of such a magnificent…"
Uoya begged under his breath, "Don't do it, Hana."
"Tomato." She finished with a saccharine smile as Uoya groaned dramatically, but Kise's and Aomine's startled laughter covered it.
She risked a glance at Kuroko only to see him smiling softly at the ground, before responding to a stunned looking Momoi. Midorima was clutching his lucky item and watching Akashi warily while Murasakibara frowned at the redhead. But the most surprising reaction came from Akashi himself. The captain didn't look too murderous— his eyes were hooded but he was still smirking at Hana when the unbelievable happened. He let out a low chuckle.
"You're almost amusing," he admitted before turning his back on the duo to retrieve a basketball, "I'll accept your apology for now and I'll have two players ready for your disposal tomorrow afternoon. Do you have any preferences?" he asked.
Hana shared a bewildered look with Uoya. There was no way that just worked. Tugging her lip into her mouth, she ventured warily, "Don't take this the wrong way… But preferably people who can actually work with a team?"
Uoya slapped her shoulder, "Don't say it like that!"
"I said it the nicest way I could!" she hissed back, rubbing the smarting skin.
"Ah, so Kuroko would be a good choice, correct?" Akashi interrupted smoothly. Said boy looked up at the mention of his name, curious to see who his partner would be.
"Yes, sir, Akashi-sempai!" Uoya responded.
Hana rolled her eyes at his eagerness before reluctantly looking back to Akashi. This was were it got dicey. Whoever he chose for the second player could make or break their next game. Kuroko could work well with all of her teammates, but it would heavily depend on the second player to ensure the game went smoothly.
"Hmm," the captain resumed, "It would be a good opportunity for Kuroko to teach Kise too." He ignored Kise's whine, "Expect for both of them to be at your practice tomorrow afternoon."
"Thank you, Akashi-sempai!" Uoya bowed and forcibly made Hana bow with him. "We appreciate your help!"
As soon as Hana straightened up, she pushed the sixth year's arm off of her and scowled at him. There was no need to bow, dang it. She turned her attention back to the amused captain and his team, before sighing in resignation. Come on, swallow your pride for a second.
"Thank you for your generosity, Akashi-san. I apologize," she grumbled the word out, "for our past first impression and for interrupting your practice today."
The knowing smile he gave her in return made her stomach twist into knots. The rest of the team looked on with various blank looks or their own sly grins. Kuroko waved his hand in a quick good-bye with Momoi cheerfully following his example. But it was the actions of his soon to be partner that set her nerves racing. Kise was watching her with curious golden eyes, flickering between her head and Uoya's before offering her a mischievous grin.
"See you tomorrow," Kise sang out as they left.
With Uoya tugging her toward the door, Hana glanced back over her shoulder to shoot Kise a snarky retort but came to a pause when she saw the devious expression on his face.
Why do I feel like this is a bad idea…
