Akashi smiled to himself, pleased with how everything was going according to plan. He had been right in trusting Reo's advice.

"For starters, Sei-chan, you should have a general idea of what you want to say, that way even if you become a mess you can at least try to relay a simplified message."

And he was a mess. His brain was positively not working. If he hadn't practiced his lines in front of the mirror this morning, he would be a blabbering disgrace by this point. Keep the message simple and straightforward. 'I want you to tutor me.'

"Second, you should think of something that could give you an excuse to meet again without letting on to your intentions, especially while you figure out what you really want to do with the Chihuahua boy. The thing you did with the change was good. You need something like that."

He had done extensive research on the subject and balanced many possibilities. Everything from borrowing money, to 'forgetting' one of his possessions in Kouki's vicinity, to 'accidentally' switching their jackets. But his past experience with the money had taught him that, once he delivered the item he'd used as an excuse, his brain completely blanked out. He needed to find something that would help him strike a conversation.

"You could use something you normally feel comfortable talking about. I mean, if you tried to talk about videogames or movies you wouldn't know much of what to say, right? But if you talk about something you're more confident about, it should be a lot easier. Maybe basketball, you have that in common, right?"

True, if there was something he could share with someone so diametrally opposite to him as Furihata Kouki, that would be basketball. But how could he use basketball as an excuse to meet him more regularly? He didn't even know if Kouki still played. Asking him to play one-on-ones could make his partner think he was just using him as a diversion, or even mocking him. Randomly volunteering to give him lessons would give away his intentions immediately and come off as overconfident and condescending. Getting tickets for a basketball venue could be a good option, but Kouki would surely wonder why he was inviting him instead of, say, Reo, who followed him everywhere, or any of his other close friends. No, basketball was not the answer to this predicament.

The other things he was confident about were shogi –of which Kouki surely knew nothing-, and academia. And there he found his answer.

"B-b-but why would Akashi-kun need my tutoring, I thought you got perfect scores on everything…?"

This was a completely expected question, and he'd prepared a flawless contingency plan to answer it. He pretended to rummage through his handbag so that it wouldn't be too obvious that everything up to this point had been prepared with absolute precision, and produced a sheet of paper which he placed at Furihata's eye level.

"It is embarrassing to admit, but I may have gotten overconfident in my academic proficiency. I had expected college-level classes to not pose that much of a bigger hurdle than high school ones, but I was sourly mistaken." He was most pleased to see Furihata's eyes widen in surprise and mild horror as he scanned the piece of paper, a midterm exam with an alarmingly low amount of points. Of course, he wasn't taking any of Furihata's classes –much less failing them-, he wasn't even in the same department . The exam, he had bought it from another student and then used his own computer skills to overlap his name on top, a simple task that was sure to dissipate any doubts about his urgent need for academic assistance. But Furihata didn't need to know any of that, and hopefully if/when he found out, he would appreciate all the efforts he had gone through just to get closer to him.

"Of course I would give you a proper monetary compensation for your services. Would ten thousand per hour suffice?" He added when he thought Furihata might be hesitating on his offer.

Furihata looked up at him and shook his head in refusal. Seijuurou's heart sank. "No, no, that won't be necessary! If it's this much I suppose I could give you a hand, you don't have to pay me or anything."

In a deep corner of his mind he roared triumphantly. He could insist on the compensation at a later date, he firmly believed in paying his dues to those who provided him with a product or service. For the time being, he simply nodded, leaving those victorious exclamations to remain inside his mind only. Containing his emotions was another thing he was confident about.

It was then that he realized he hadn't quite planned what to say once Kouki agreed to his proposal. Perhaps a small part of him had assumed he would refuse since, after all, there was no reason Kouki should lend his help to someone he barely knew and that had treated him poorly in the past. Before Reo had to drag him away in a shameful mess of unintelligible gibberish, he rushedly blabbered that they would settle down the details at a later date and dashed out of the classroom.

Later that night, Seijuurou was staring intently at his phone, Furihata's number shining on the screen. His hands trembled lightly. His last attempt to call Furihata had resulted in utter and absolute failure and he was unsure of whether he would manage himself better this time. He looked up at Reo, who gave him a thumbs up and he pressed the call button.

The line beeped twice and clicked.

"This is Furihata."

Seijuurou froze up. He didn't know what it was about Furihata's voice in the phone that made it really hard to think straight. He actually found it harder to speak with him on the phone than in person. Perhaps it was the fact that he sounded so close, almost as if he were whispering in his ear, in a strangely intimate way that he found unexpectedly pleasant.

"Hello? Is anybody there?"

He opened his mouth and managed to produce an odd guttural sound but nothing more. He looked at Reo again, slightly panicked, and was surprised to see his friend holding a small whiteboard with words written on it. It took him a few seconds to understand, but he finally read the words out loud.

"Hello. This is Akashi Seijuurou."

Reo gave him another thumbs up and started wiping the text away.

"Oh, Akashi-kun! I didn't have your number so I didn't know it was you."

His eyes quickly searched for the whiteboard and the words Reo had written on it.

"I was calling so we could settle on the details of our previous agreement."

"Ah, sure, of course. I have classes all day on Monday and Thursday and I work part-time on Saturday, but any other day I'm free after lunch time. When's good for you?"

He mouthed at Reo asking when he had free time on his schedule because for the life of him he could not possibly remember what classes he was taking, let alone when or whatever other commitments he might have. Reo mouthed back at him and he parroted it to the phone while his friend rushed to write something.

"H-hold on a moment."

In his nervousness, he didn't even stop to consider the words written on the whiteboard and just read them out loud without thinking.

"Sunday 's when you meet your fath-"he bit his tongue. "I mean, I, Ican not make it on Sunday, but any other day should be alright." He wanted to slap himself in the forehead. What a pathetic display he was making. Reo looked like he was having a stroke from second-hand embarrassment.

"Great! So is it okay if we start on Tuesday? The sooner the better?" Furihata's voice came light and cheerful, so wonderfully well-intentioned and blissfully unaware of the storm going on in Seijuurou's head.

Seijuurou nodded furiously, momentarily forgetting that the other man could not see him, and incapable of uttering even the extremely simple word he should.

Reo's eyes widened in disbelief and he quickly wrote a short sentence on the board.

"Yes, that would be fine."

"Alright! So where do you want us to meet? Normally the library or the study room would be fine, but I don't think we can properly talk and discuss things there, and maybe the cafeteria is too loud to study… uh… we could use my place but it would be really cramped and I have a roommate who could interrupt us… uhm, do you have any ideas?"

His nostrils flared. He had considered this possibility, maybe even hoped for it to come to happen, but now that the opportunity was right in front of him, he was, as expected, completely incapable of forming a coherent thought. He looked at Reo and was surprised to see his friend had foreseen the direction of the conversation and written an according response.

"I have a single room in the dormitories. It is not far from campus, so if it were fine by you, we could meet here."

Furihata chuckled, making some bubbles burst in Seijuurou's stomach. "I didn't know Akashi-kun lived in the dorms too, that's quite a coincidence."

"Uh… uh-huh…"

"Okay, so we're settled then. Send me your building and room number and I'll meet you there on Tuesday at… would six in the afternoon be alright?"

"Y-yes… yes that would uh… be alright…" Why had Reo stopped writing? Hadn't he realized that even these extremely simple phrases were absurdly difficult to come up with in his current state of mind?

"Cool, I'll see you then."

His brain was telling him it was time to use a basic good-bye phrase, but that same brain refused to provide him with one. 'I'll look forward to it'? No, too obvious. 'Sure, see you'? Too casual. 'Good-bye'? Too formal. 'Farewell'? Too ominous. And now he'd been quiet for too long and Furihata would definitely discover what a disaster he was. He looked at Reo, who still seemed a little in disbelief, but mouthed something he could repeat at the phone.

"See you on Tuesday."

"Sure, bye!"

The line clicked shut.

"Seriously, Sei-chan, sometimes I just don't know what to do with you."

He didn't pay any mind to his friend's words, relishing in the fluttery feeling blossoming in his chest. A small smile pulled at the corners of Seijuurou's lips. Tuesday. Tuesday was barely one weekend away.

The doorbell rang. A shot of electricity ran up Seijuurou's spine and he felt just the slightest bit of panic. He double-checked that all of his preparations were in order. The room was spotless, the tea was perfectly brewed (and he had a back-up array of many different drinks), all the textbooks he would require were on the table –properly worn down as if he had used them intensively- and he had also purchased a wide variety of "casual" snacks, just in case. Before going to the door, he went to the bathroom mirror, fixed his hair and made sure his appearance was polished but relaxed, his clothes were clean and fresh, proper for a man of his stature, but seemingly effortless. Furihata didn't need to know he had spent the last three hours contemplating on what to wear. He stared at his own face and quickly went over the stock sentences he'd been practicing in case he ran out of things to say or his Broca's area decided to shut down. He was in his home and Reo was not around to pull him away if he happened to embarrass himself, he could not afford any failure. He had also prepared a carefully thought repertoire of essential questions he could ask when Furihata asked what exactly was he having trouble with, all of them meticulously designed to make it seem like he understood the essentials but had trouble with specific, complex details; after all, he did not wish to be deemed as hopelessly stupid by Furihata. Everything was perfectly planned and prepared, there was no room for errors.

Once he was certain the situation was under the control, he walked to the door and opened it, willing his trembling fingers to still.

"Oh, hello Akashi-kun."

Furihata Kouki greeted him with a smile. Seijuurou took in his appearance: he must be the human embodiment of effortless beauty. He was wearing a black t-shirt with a v-neck that allowed him a privileged view of his collarbones (and he would be lying if he said he had never paid attention to those collarbones and how small drops of sweat would pool on them during a match) and bold, white letters spelling out one of those English nonsensical phrases that foreigners made fun of, but Seijuurou would not dare point such a thing out. His jeans were dark blue and fit loosely around his legs –that Seijuurou remembered to be long and slim- but hugged his hips tightly. He was carrying his schoolbag over one shoulder, and he held a coral red cardigan draped over his forearm.

Stock phrases, he told himself, as his Broca's area failed him much faster than he'd expected it to.

"Thank you for coming, I apologize for making you come all the way here to help me."

Kouki's smile morphed into a laid-back grin. "Don't worry, it's not a bother at all. It's not that far anyway, I'm just two buildings away. Sorry for the intrusion."

In all honesty, Kouki still wasn't entirely sure of what to make of this whole situation. It was already strange enough that, of all the people in the world, he'd happened to run into Akashi Seijuurou himself. He didn't even know they were in the same university, let alone the same department. It almost seemed absurd they had never crossed paths in the past three years, especially considering their dorm-room buildings were so close. But that Akashi had actually requested something from him? That was beyond any of his wildest imaginations.

As Akashi guided him inside, he stopped for a moment to admire the spacious room. He'd known Building A had the best bedrooms, but this too was far more impressive than he could've imagined. Calling it a 'room' seemed like a disservice, considering it had a kitchen, dining room and living room, and the latter connected to a long hallway that he assumed led to the bedroom and bathroom. He wouldn't be surprised if Akashi's bathroom alone was bigger than the twin room he shared with a guy from Engineering (Shikitani-kun) in Building C.

Akashi showed him to the living room and asked him to sit by a large coffee table with half a dozen books neatly piled on top. He scanned over their titles and was satisfied to see that Akashi had –as expected- all the essential textbooks. Knowing this, he found it all the more puzzling that a gifted man like him could be having troubles with any of his classes.

"Could I offer you something to drink? I am just finished brewing tea, but if you prefer water, coffee or soda I can get that for you."

"Tea's okay, thanks."

It had not escaped his notice that Akashi was acting different than how he remembered. Granted, he'd never gotten that close to him, they had barely exchanged a handful of words in all their three years of high school, but his aura seemed completely different now. He didn't seem the same confident, intimidating man that had once been the captain of the fearsome Generation of Miracles. Although he still kept his flawless composure, sophisticated speech and that regal aura that made him an undoubted leader, he also felt… nervous, perhaps even a little fidgety and tense. When in high school, he had never seen Akashi stutter or lose his voice, but now it seemed to happen fairly often –sometimes he had even seemed out of breath- and it was quite a bewildering sight to behold. He wondered if something had happened to him in the last three years, but he imagined it would be strange to ask.

Akashi came back a moment later holding two steaming cups and handing one to him. The tea had a gentle, relaxing aroma, and even as ignorant as he was when it came to the quality of tea leaves, he could tell this was on a completely different league from the 100 yen boxes he got from the convenience store.

"Thank you once again for agreeing to help me and making time for this, I deeply appreciate it."

There was also a different sort of gentleness in Akashi's expression. Kouki still remembered the coldness in his eyes when they'd first met, and how radically it had changed after Seirin won the Winter Cup, but this was just… different, in an inexplicable way. It almost felt as if Akashi was looking at him with fondness, but that couldn't possibly be it. He couldn't begin to fathom why would the mighty Akashi Seijuurou look at him like that.

"It's no problem, really, I'll be glad to help you however I can." He shuffled through his bag and pulled out his notes. "I had brought some books over, but it seems Akashi-kun already has all of them." He chuckled heartily and looked up to meet Akashi's eyes. He was surprised to see the faintest hint of red dusting his pale cheeks. He couldn't remember a time when he'd seen Akashi blushing before. It was kind of sweet and he kind of wanted to take a picture for some reason.

"Uhm, can I ask you a question before we get started?" he requested and he lifted his cup to take a sip while waiting for the answer.

"Sure, anything you want to know."

"Do you… uh… I know this'll sound weird, but do you remember… uh…" he wanted to say 'do you remember me?', but it sounded so dumb and strange, but he just wasn't even sure Akashi remembered him –why would he, he had hardly ever stood out amongst his much more talented teammates- and the thought unsettled him for some reason. "Do you remember the Rakuzan game against Seirin when we were third years?"

Akashi seemed rightfully confused about the question. One of his fine eyebrows quirked slightly.

"Of course I remember. How could I not? It was a very fulfilling game. I was very impressed by your performance; I had already noticed you had fine observation skills, but you really put me in a tight spot more than once."

Kouki felt heat rising to his cheeks. He hadn't even expected to be remembered, but to hear that kind of praise from one of, if not the most talented Point Guard of their generation, made him swoon a little. He kind of wanted to hide his face away because he wasn't even sure if he felt overwhelmingly embarrassed or overwhelmingly happy –probably a bit of both- and he didn't know what to do with himself.

"What about it?"

He flinched. "Uh… ah… I… I think I forgot what I wanted to ask, haha, sorry. Maybe I'll remember it later." He looked away from Akashi's inquisitive eyes and flipped his notebook open. "L-l-let's get started, shall we?"

"Thank you once again for all your help. Your explanations are thorough and easy to understand; I have no doubts this will reflect positively in my performance in class."

Furihata scratched the back of his head bashfully, while he waved his other hand dismissively. "It's nothing really, you flatter me too much. I'm glad I can help."

Seijuurou wanted to retort, but he held back. Even if he didn't quite need the tutoring, it was not a lie that Furihata was unexpectedly competent explaining complex topics. He was quite sure that, even if he had been as ignorant of the subject as he pretended to be, he would now be perfectly capable of excelling in any test. While thinking this, he pulled out his wallet and produced three ten-thousand yen notes, which he extended in Furihata's direction.

"Wha-" Furihata stared at the money with wide eyes. "N-n-no, Akashi-kun, what is this, this is too much money!" he squeaked, clearly flustered, flailing his hands as if trying to push the money away.

Seijuurou had to swallow the lump in his throat. It was the first time he had the pleasure of witnessing this side of Furihata Kouki –of this Furihata Kouki, the devastatingly gorgeous one-, and his brain, that was barely capable of functioning under normal conditions in Furihata's vicinity, was now going into chaotic frenzy. Stock phrases, he reminded himself, this was an expected development and he had to remember the stock phrases he had prepared for it.

"I offered ten thousand an hour, I could not possibly give you any less after all the help you have given me."

Furihata flailed even more frantically. "B-b-but I already told you I don't need the money! I'm OK just being of help for Akashi-kun."

"Please, I insist. It would be unsightly of me to allow your kindness and expertise to go unrewarded."

Furihata shook his head brusquely, apparently regaining some of his composure, although a slightly reddish tint persisted on the tip of his nose.

"Even so, there's no way I can take all this money. Besides, we still have a lot of topics to cover, right? We have a couple of months before the next midterms, just this one session can't possibly be enough. But I feel bad saying that when you're giving me this much money." He crossed his arms over his chest, clearly troubled, but his expression was stubborn and determined.

Seijuurou had to contain the urge to smile. Of course it had been his plan from the beginning to have more "study sessions", but he had lacked the opportunity and courage to bring it up, so he was quite pleased that the offer had come from Furihata himself.

"Yes, that would indeed be ideal. But I truthfully could not allow you to help me this much if you would not accept any remuneration; I could not possibly abuse your kindness like that. If you would tell me what kind of payment you would deem appropriate, I would be very pleased to grant it to you."

He was very proud of himself and how effective that stock phrase practice had become, and especially, he was proud of himself for considering so many different scenarios so he would not be caught unguarded with an unexpected situation that he hadn't practiced for. Truthfully, he hadn't expected Furihata to be this stubborn about the money, and he was genuinely curious as to what he would request of him.

He seemed to consider it for a bit, but finally he smiled sheepishly and said. "I really don't want anything in return, but if Akashi-kun's going to be stubborn about it, you could buy me lunch someday?"

Seijuurou cocked his head. This would teach him not to get overconfident in his own performance, for this was definitely not an expected outcome and he didn't have a stock phrase for it. His mind was a little more stable now that Furihata had stopped being flustered, and he used the rare chance to make a quick rundown of the best eateries in town. What kind of food did Furihata like? What did he mean with 'buying him lunch'? Had he just been invited on a date? (his heart hammered in his chest and he wondered just how embarrassingly loud it was) No, he couldn't just jump to conclusions. Nothing in Furihata's statement indicated that he wanted to share this 'lunch' with him. In fact, it would be more reasonable to assume he did not. Perhaps he didn't even want to eat in a restaurant, perhaps he hoped for one of those premium bento boxes that were usually too exquisite to be found in a regular supermarket. How to ask for clarification when his mouth felt so terribly dry was just the extra problem Seijuurou didn't need right now.

"So, uhm… what kind of… uhm… 'lunch', yes, what kind of 'lunch' did you have in mind? Is there any place in particular…? Would you be having any… eh… company? I can get you a spot in any place you like without making a reservation so… uhm…" even though no one had ever suggested Furihata wanted a date with him, after the thought crossed his mind only for him to convince himself that it was not the case, he'd started feeling terribly crestfallen. Was there a significant other in Furihata's life? He hadn't stopped to ponder, but the likelihood was high. In fact, he couldn't imagine that a kind, intelligent, hard-working, and heart-stirringly handsome man such as Furihata Kouki did not draw other people's attention. Perhaps Furihata wanted an opportunity to surprise the person who held his heart by inviting them to a luxurious dinner. He didn't really want to think much of Furihata using his 'payment' to spend time with someone else, but he was not so petty or childish as to not properly compensate someone who had provided him with such an exceptional –although unnecessary- service.

Much to his surprise, Furihata's smile widened into a cheerful grin. "The C Menu from the cafeteria would be nice. We could have lunch tomorrow and go through some pointers to help you study."

Well, that was definitely not what he had expected. He could feel his face heating up. He really wanted to protest, a measly 746 yen meal could not in any way be considered a proper payment, but hearing now that Furihata did want to share this 'lunch' with him had, once again, rendered him unable to think of any coherent sentence.

"Uh… uhm… Y-y-yes. Yes that would… that would be good." He wondered if Furihata was getting troubled by his bizarre changes of mood and speech patterns.

"Cool! It's settled then!" Furihata chirped, and now Seijuurou really hoped he wouldn't be expected to speak soon or he would surely make a fool of himself. "Whoops, if I don't hurry up I'll get locked out of the dorms. See you tomorrow at lunch time!" he waved as he kneeled to put his shoes back on in one swift move before opening the door.

"Kouki." The name escaped his lips (perhaps it would be more accurate to say it rolled off his tongue with unexpected naturality) before he could hold it back as Furihata stepped outside. Furihata turned to look at him, clearly bewildered. "I uh… would you mind if I… called you that? By your given name, I mean."

Furihata tensed slightly and his cheeks turned a light shade of pink. He looked away, his brown eyes refusing to meet Seijuurou's. "Uhm… I suppose it's fine… if you want to."

Seijuurou felt elated for a brief instant, but the nervousness and hesitation in Furihata's eyes did not go unnoticed. After all, he was Akashi Seijuurou, he was naturally skilled at reading people and their thoughts, even when it came to someone who could so easily shake him to the ground like Furihata Kouki.

"Forgive me, it was a strange request for knowing so little about each other. Please forget I said anything." A better time would come. He ought to be patient. Things were moving along smoothly, he shouldn't risk jeopardizing all of his progress so far. "I will be looking forward to tomorrow's 'lunch'."

Furihata's expression changed once again, the short-lived fidgeting making way for a small but quite sincere smile.

"Yeah, I'll be looking forward to it too! Have a good night!" he beamed, waving goodbye as he walked outside into the hall, still wearing that smile that seemed to pierce Seijuurou's heart.

After Furihata left, Seijuurou flipped open his phone and glanced at Furihata's name on the screen, his eyes softening at the edges.

"Kouki." He whispered, tracing his thumb over the characters "Kou as in 'light' and Ki as in 'tree'", he followed the strokes on the screen almost as if he were drawing them. The name felt beautiful in his mouth, almost as beautiful as it looked in written form, and he longed for the day where he would be allowed to speak it to its rightful owner. He hoped with all his heart that the day would come.

To be continued

Y'all I'm completely floored by all the wonderful comments and the positive response I've gotten for this story! I'm so happy to hear everyone's on board with my loser Akashi festival! This is where the plot actually gets started. I'm really enjoying thinking of all the dumb and overly complicated plans Akashi concocts to make Furi believe him. Also Reo is the best wingman and he deserves a raise and a vacation.

Aaanyway, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, there's a lot more fun to come and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks for reading!