A/N:

Hello!

Happy Valentines to everyone! Sending you all my love, by posting a chapter again~ I apologize for the delay T-T But I wish you all are doing great and I wish we all still love KnB :3 It really makes me happy to see new people following this story and making it one of their faves. Thank you so much! I'd love to read comments from y'all!

To Beth-A, thank you for reading! Sorry it took so long, but I hope you're still reading this. :) And yes, we all want Tsumiko to have a good life!

To B-Angel, thanks and sorry for being late! Well, Tsumiko does need time to process all the things that happened :( But! Happy times will come soon :)

Without futher ado, here it is. Enjoy~

Not being the captain of the strongest middle-school basketball team was actually…nice, as Nijimura Shuuzo thought.

Sometimes he wonders why he even became captain, then he remembers it was Irosuzuka Yuuta who had vouched for him. Nijimura – in all his blond glory – once asked him why, but his senior only answered that he 'somehow feels like a captain.' Such reason almost made him stop scowling at the older dude; but said dude just had to ruin it, as always. With an annoying smirk, the fucker mischievously followed it up by saying that he 'somehow manages to look respectable' despite his then 'ridiculously-dyed hair', and that the then-aspiring coach (a.k.a Irosuzuka Yuuta's younger sister) seems to 'have taken a liking to him' – as if he were some toy or pet.

That bastard.

At least when Nijimura suggested Akashi to be the vice-captain last year and the captain this year, his reasoning was less unserious and way more logical as Akashi Seijuuro's very being visibly explains why the redhead deserves to be the vice-captain, and now, the new captain.

Again, being a former captain of this basketball team was nice. Because he gets to relax a bit and at the same time order people around since he's still a senior and he got that captain aura still; just like a regular middle-school sports club.

…except that this wasn't a regular middle-school sports club.

A group of colored-hair second-years, who are just damn talented for their own good, is currently stopping him from relaxing.

And of course, it was those three – his favorite kouhais – who bothered him the most. Weirdly, though, he felt responsible.

Oh well.

First, he noticed the lack of a certain ash-head during trainings, but that wasn't exactly new. However, the rebel's absences this time were becoming more frequent; and the older yet former rebel's gut says that something was going on with the younger one. Out of habit, Nijimura planned on finding and dragging the troublemaker back to practice; but he remembered he wasn't the captain anymore and restrained himself from meddling.

He did see Haizaki show up once, only to see him defeating the newbie Kise Ryouta in a one-on-one, before leaving with a girl Nijimura recognized as a previous classmate from his sophomore year. Irritated at the gray-haired brat's antics, he almost runs to the brat to discipline him; but he stops when his dark eyes landed on the current captain. Akashi's eyes didn't even bother to follow Haizaki's leaving figure.

Speaking of eyes, the redhead had that look in his eyes. He had seen Akashi like this a few times before, and one of those times was when Akashi expressed his opinions on Haizaki to him back when he was still the captain.

Then Haizaki quit.

Nijimura was surprised, but maybe, he did see it coming. Afterall, he was probably the only one willing to push (figuratively and literally) the ash-haired dumbass to attend practice and play better. Still, he couldn't help but feel bad for not being able to at least speak to the troubled kid and know his reasons.

At the gym, however, he didn't show any of this. Instead, he had to act as the senior – captain or not – especially since Kuroko, who was usually stoic, was damn concerned. He then told the light-blue haired boy to go and run laps if he has enough energy to worry about someone else. Well, Kuroko eventually did run to probably find Haizaki. The little shit.

Apparently, Kuroko wasn't the only one visibly affected by the news, because next thing he knew, Irosuzuka was already in the gym and was having, what seemed to him, a stare-down with Akashi. It lasted only for several seconds, but tension was clearly there.

Opal lenses then watched her rush outside. It was only for a second, but when her own opal lenses met his, he knew he at least had to do something.

Which brings him to this current situation. Waving at Irosuzuka from the school's gates, he grinned, "Oh, here she is. Our new troublemaker. How'd your first scolding go?"

With this attempt at playfulness, he hoped to brighten her mood; but she only gave him a polite bow and walked past him.

"A-ah..it went bad, huh?", he awkwardly chuckled, while easily catching up to her steps.

.

.

.

"Are you fine with it?", she voiced out at last.

Her tone made him a bit nervous. But then again, it was expected given how he has seen how stressed and down the young coach was the past week. He couldn't help but think that it all started at the amusement park.

Despite this, he tried to be nonchalant and hummed, "About Haizaki?"

While the girl was silent to his rhetorical question, his mind got loud. He tried to ignore all the times he had seen the certain boy enjoy playing basketball, and instead tried to think of all the times the boy had caused trouble. But even during those kinds of times, he had to exert effort to ignore how much of an idiot and a kid the other was and how the other just had the flair for dramatics, that almost made him adorable.

Oh fuck it. Haizaki wasn't a little brother that reminded him of himself. He was not responsible for Haizaki. Hence, he thought about the team and acted once more as a captain, even if he's not anymore. It was a little pathetic and it made him bite the inside of his cheek, but he still managed to let out a single,

"Yeah."

She gives him a pointed look, and he bet he was caught. At this, her gaze slowly softened to a sad one, before shifting her gaze to her feet.

Silver hair fell at the side of her face, as she faintly spoke.

"Do you think we – ", her breath hitched, "– I could've done more to stop him?"

To be honest, he doesn't know. It was actually something he was figuring out himself.

Letting out a long exhale, he finally settled with an answer, "I don't think there's anything you could really do."

'anything I could really do', he added internally – an attempt to convince himself.

His hands balled to a fist, as he repressed the uneasy feeling forming in his guts.

"He quit. That's his choice."

"But what if someone made him do it?", she quickly retorted – her voice now a little louder, snapping him back before regret took over him.

At that suggestion, something clicked. A certain redhead popped in his head; and the way he acts like a different person at times convinced Nijimura that the other was capable of doing just that. But the ravenhead wasn't an idiot. He realized that this might be the reason for the stare-down that happened between the young coach and captain earlier in the gym.

Not really wanting to add fuel to the fire, he simply responded, "Did he tell you that?"

She shook her head, "He said that he quit because he wanted to. But – "

He saw her clench her hand on the strap of her bag, as she continued, " – he was too angry...for someone who claims to not care about basketball."

And he gets it.

He could almost imagine Haizaki ranting at her. So much for feeling bad, his eyebrows now furrowed at the thought of the possible string of curses the brat had spouted at her. Oh, he was so gonna find that idiot and teach him –

"Would you…"

Irosuzuka stopped walking. He stopped as well and met the dark eyes of the girl who's a few steps behind him.

She continued, "Would you have done the same, if you were still the captain?"

.

.

.

Ah.

He looked away.

Would he?

His eyes travel up until he recognized the tall building of the hospital. He gulped away the guilt that has been rising up inside of him, before shrugging, "If it's the best for the team."

He could feel her stare on him. He guessed she wasn't convinced, but his steel irises remained fixed at the logo of the hospital building. Unfortunately for him, his guilt – coupled with his usual thin patience – was enough to melt steel.

With another long sigh, he turned around – only to find her opal eyes widening at the logo of the hospital.

Guilt washed her face, before she bowed at him, "Sorry, senpai!"

"I…um…I'm being inconsiderate", her eyelids shut as she shook her head, "…and asking you –"

Alarmed, he rushed in front of her, "Oi, oi, oi", while stupidly waving his hands, as if she could see him. He held her shoulders to calm her down, "Stop worrying."

"…I'm sorry too."

The words easily slipped out of his lips, despite the weight such words held. When her glassy eyes fluttered open to look back at him, he couldn't help but wish he could comfort her more –

Catching himself, he instantly retracted the hands on her shoulders.

"Ah, I guess I made you a little mad", he rubbed his head.

She then shyly averted her eyes.

He lightly and stupidly chuckled, "That was kinda scary, not gonna lie."

The white-haired girl was silent for a while, as she appeared to be contemplating about something. To his relief, it didn't take too long before she began, "By the way, senpai…",

When he dropped his foolish act and expectantly met her orbs, she went on, "I was actually thinking of giving an ikebana to your father. I'm planning of using sunflowers, so maybe I could have it sent on July, if it's alright?"

Warmth rapidly spread inside him; and a grin easily formed on his face.

"You can give it to him personally, if you want. He'll like that."

At last – after how many days – she showed him a small smile.

The following day, Nijimura spotted another silverhead at an almost empty corridor in Teikou during lunchbreak.

He swung an arm around the kid, "What luck! Yo Haizaki, how you doing?"

Just like how this shade of silver was darker than the one from yesterday, this one was also a lot rougher.

"Get the fuck off me asshole!"

At that outburst, the corridor instantly became empty except for them.

The senior clicked his tongue, "Tsk, there goes your potty mouth", and tightened his hold, "Scream and curse the hell at me if you want. But you shouldn't have done that to Irosuzuka, got it – "

"– Cut the crap!"

The former rebel's fighting instincts kicked in and anticipated the elbow that was about to hit his gut. Out of reflex, he released the headlock he had on the brat.

Now that the two teens were facing each other, the older one could finally see the expression the younger one had. The gray-haired boy was seething, which was typical. However, there was something more than anger displayed on his gray orbs. Betrayed? Hurt? What the fuck? There's no way. This was so weird.

Haizaki didn't really give him time to process all of this, as he proceeded to hiss at him.

"Fuck you."

And Nijimura felt that in his bones, as guilt crept in him.

Uncharacteristically, the troublemaker didn't shout. Instead, he spoke in a low yet threatening tone,

"Don't fucking talk to me ever again. I don't know you and you –", he scoffed, " you don't know me. So fuck off."

Well, fuck. Haizaki sounded serious. It totally caught him off guard, that he ended up wordlessly watching the ash-haired guy disappear. It was only when he got home that he realized how lame he had probably looked, standing there speechless.

More than guilt, he was pissed at himself for not being able to say what he initially intended to – letting the brat have the last word. Pulling out his phone, he decided to send a message to Haizaki. He typed a text that contained a 'sorry' somewhere, but he immediately cringed and deleted it.

Damn it. They don't do apologies. At least not in words. Instead, their language consists of throwing punches and kicks.

He let out a long exhale; and eventually, he figured they shared another form of language – even if Haizaki probably didn't want to admit it now.

"Call me if you ever want to play 'ball."

He never got a reply nor a call.

Practice the next day was meant to be longer and more intense, as it was a Friday and the last day of training before the exams. Hence, Nijimura already called his father, saying that he couldn't stop by the hospital later. He also planned to talk to the last kouhai in his dumb list, after practice. However, that very kouhai – the captain – moved some of their activities, so the practice became a regular one with just the funadamentals.

So here he was, on the way to the hospital. He thought that he could perhaps just talk to Akashi next week. Besides, he overheard Murasakibara and Momoi talking about how Akashi said that she should go home together with Kuroko, so maybe Akashi and the rest of the colored bunch had plans.

It turns out it was fate that had other plans. Maybe Midorima was right with his oha-asa bullshit – because there at the bus stop, in all his red-headed glory, Akashi Seijuurou was helping an old lady get off the bus.

Approaching the younger boy, he smirked, "Aren't you kind-hearted, Akashi?"

The redhead seemed to be a little surprised seeing him there. But he instantly collected himself, as he tried to downplay his kind gesture.

The two of them ended up walking together; and Nijimura noticed how a few of the shop owners recognize Akashi. Most of them were even grateful for certain things Akashi has apparently done. It was truly unexpected for a rich kid, like Akashi, to be popular with the common folk in this area. This further assured the senior that the younger could be a reliable captain. Because of this, he remembered what he wanted to talk about with the new captain.

"By the way, I heard you prompted Haizaki to quit the club", he tried to say casually.

A beat passed before the other confirmed, "That's right."

And the switch happened. Akashi's eyes were suddenly different, as he went on, "This is the best way to follow Teikou's principles."

Getting a glimpse of this side of Akashi was already one thing. Nijimura didn't even want to imagine what it's like being under the direct scrutiny of this side of Akashi. No wonder Haizaki's stubborn and prideful self had no choice but to quit – which obviously made Irosuzuka upset. Although Nijimura doesn't exactly know what happened between the young coach and the current captain, the former captain couldn't help but be concerned for the sake of the team. Thus, he decided to address the topic and redirect the conversation by starting with a slight detour,

"By the way Akashi, what do you think of Momoi, compared to the other managers?"

The seemingly-orange glint on one of the other's red irises then disappeared. Still, the younger boy retained his serious expression, as he began discussing his analysis of the peach-haired manager's talents and skills.

The older boy internally face-palmed. He should've known that he's not speaking with a typical middle-schooler. Trying to guide the other back on track, he clarified that he meant how Momoi has a great style and a big chest (much to his regret and shame).

'Sorry Momoi', he internally said while scolding himself.

Unfortunately for him, the scarlet-haired genius caught him, as he simply closed his eyes and stated how the ravenhead is 'bad at lying.'

Taken aback, he said the first thing that came to mind – remembering that Momoi and Kuroko were probably walking home together now (if Momoi followed what Akashi said), "But she likes Kuroko, huh."

And he felt stupid since this wasn't really the subject he has planned. Despite this, such statement actually made the other peek at him, so he took it as a good sign.

With both eyes now open, the guy (who Nijimura believed was playing matchmaker) replied, "Yes, everyone has probably noticed by now, except Midorima…"

"Eh? How dense is he?!"

"…However, in the future, I'm certain there's someone who will come between them and shake things up."

Surprisingly, Akashi's ruby orbs widened in realization, as soon as he uttered his very own claim.

But Nijimura was busy being confused on who Akashi was referring to that he didn't mind Akashi's strange reaction that much. Curious, he didn't even mind going a little off tangent for a second, as he inquired, "Someone else?"

Akashi quickly blinked and looked away, "It's just a conjecture, though…being too close can sometimes render one unable to perceive what's in front of them."

Ah. It eventually hit the third-year that the person was no other than Momoi's childhood friend, Aomine.

Before he could even ask for confirmation, though, the second-year continued,

"Kuroko, on the other hand..."

Only for Akashi to instantly halt in his words; and because Nijimura wasn't really patient – coupled with the fact that he was actually intrigued with this gossip (though, he'd never admit it) – he nudged Akashi to keep on going. And so the kouhai obediently did,

"I'm rather curious on whether he's aware of Momoi's feelings for him or not. More so, if he likes her, as well."

After hearing this, he was about to tease the ever-so-serious sophomore for the sudden interest in a rather unusual subject and for acting like a cupid, when a suspicion emerged in his head.

Wait a minute.

There was something in the way Akashi hesitated (and Akashi normally doesn't hesitate) that made Nijimura wonder if they're still talking about the same people.

.

.

.

Huh.

.

.

.

Oh.

Well, shit. It seems like their conversation had somehow arrived close to the destination he wanted – even if he didn't really intend it to be this way. By the looks of it, Akashi didn't intend to, as well.

Trying to play it cool, the taller male shrugged, "Who knows? He seems to be focused on other things…", then quickly clarified, "like, uh, y'know...basketball."

Staring straight ahead, he went further, "Anyway, that other person you said…if my guess is correct…", and finally made his point, "...then I think that he might be a little, uh, blunt sometimes; and that's probably why she gets upset at him and y'know – why she also doesn't notice his feelings for her."

The shorter male's response came fast.

"As I said, it's only a conjecture of mine. It's best to not assume things. Perhaps he doesn't even perceive her in that manner. Besides, he's also absolutely focused in more significant matters…like basketball."

At this point, he couldn't help but be amused at this odd exchange, specifically at the way the other playfully mimicked the emphasis on basketball.

Nijimura snorted, "Well, if that's the case, then I guess it's only fair to think she's also focused in basketball, don't you agree – "

"– Oh my god!"

A high-pitched scream alerted both of them. They saw a woman crying for help and a stroller rolling towards the road – the sound of a baby crying rang loud, along with the sound of a truck approaching.

"Crap!", Nijimura cursed.

Before he even knew it, he saw the truck collide with the stroller

.

.

.

– and freaking Akashi Seijuurou cradling a baby safely on his arms.

Holy shit!

Akashi-sama performed some literal holy shit.

And understandably, the baby's mother thanked him as if she were thanking a god. Once again, though, Akashi downplayed what he just did, as if ordinary people could fucking pull off such bullshit out of their mere mortal asses.

To Nijimura, this just further solidified his decision to hand the captainship to the second-year. The ruby-haired teen was just damn reliable, attentive, and thoughtful. Speaking of which, it now dawned upon the black-haired teen that today's shift to a regular practice was possibly because of this omnipotent figure (disguised as a middle-school student) overhearing his call with his father.

Because Akashi Seijuurou just makes things possible.

Fuck. He makes miracles.

What a damn talented brat.

He could've called him a perfect god, instead – but truth be told, he's still worried about Akashi's split personality and the expectations placed upon him. However, when a certain image assembled in his mind, he believed the kid can overcome it all.

This image consists of Akashi in a basketball court full of rainbow-colored heavenly beings…with a silver-haired angel next to him.

Nijimura let out a long exhale. He realized he's being doing this frequently, and well – doing so does help release the tightness building in his chest.

The current captain, ever-so-observant, sent a curious glance to his way. To this, he responded by shaking his head, and reasoned out that he's just relieved the baby was saved. If Akashi saw through his bullshit, he didn't say anything.

In fact, the rest of their walk was silent. They didn't feel the need to pick up from where they left off earlier. Perhaps, they already had come to an understanding.

Lastly, when they were about to part ways, the taller one ruffled the shorter one's hair – because god or not, he was still one of his kouhais. He then gave Akashi a light push forward and said,

"Go ahead."

A/N:

Omg...Nijimura and Akashi, what are you two talking about, hmm? ;)

Anyway this chapter is just Niji trying to fix some broken hearts (that he may or not may have caused). I mean, these three kouhais are just whipped for their Nijimura-senpai. Well, I would be too tbh (lol). Poor Niji, he's too popular. Seriously, he's just out here breaking hearts without intending to #RainbowSenpaiProblems.

By the way, the talk between Niji and Akashi actually came from the KnB Replace Plus Manga, Chapter 9.2: Extra Story: Akashi Seijuro's Quiet After-School. Like yes. It's true. Akashi and Nijimura actually acted like real middle-schoolers and straight up gossiped about Kuroko, Momoi, and Aomine (lol). Also, Ch. 9.2 is like a side story of Ch. 1 -3, so it's good to read Ch. 1-3 too. It's really funny, cute and wholesome ;A; I wish they animate the replace plus manga as an OVA or something in the future!

Finally, I leave you with an advice this Valentines day, according to Akashi probably.

Ball is life. Break ankles, not hearts.