Chapter Two: Momoi Satsuki
The friendship between Momoi and Itō began with a few pieces of homemade biscuits.
Momoi had always been seen alone in class, her pink eyes occasionally casting envious glances at the food her female classmates had shared with each other happily during breaks. That was why the homemade biscuits that Itō had offered one day during break had struck her heart, literally. Nobody saw the ash brown-haired girl alone ever since—not when Momoi would find every opportunity at school to cling on her. Thus, it was a mystery as to how and when her friend had met the vice-captain of the basketball club.
"Saya-chan~ You didn't tell me that you already know Akashi-kun!"
With her palms on Itō's desk, Momoi demanded an answer from her confused friend.
"I-I do?"
Itō blinked at her friend's sudden assertion, her mind trying to remember all the people she had met at Teikō for the past two months, but the name did not ring a bell.
Momoi drew her face closer to Itō as her pink eyes stared at her friend with suspicion.
"M-Momoi-san? Your face is getting too close…!"
The pair of pink eyes remained locked on Itō. "You really don't know who Akashi-kun is?"
Itō shook her head. Momoi then pulled her face away and crossed her arms, resting her fingers on her chin.
"But Akashi-kun said he knows your name." The pinkhead shut her eyes, her mouth giving a slight twitch as though she was deep in thought. "Hmm...oh well~ It doesn't matter if you don't know who he is. He's not that important anyway, at least to us."
Itō felt a little sorry for the person her friend had just casually brushed aside.
"By the way, Saya-chan," Momoi said as she slammed her hands on the desk of her already startled friend, "how many times have I told you to stop calling me in such a polite way! We've been hanging out so frequently and I still haven't heard you call me by my first name yet."
Momoi wrapped her arms around Itō's neck, her cheeks brushing against her friend's hair.
"Call me Satsuki or Sa-chan," Momoi said, her lips pouting, "anything but Momoi-san!"
"Momoi-san...I...c-can't...breathe…"
"Ah, sorry, Saya-chan!" Momoi released her arms and heaved a heavy sigh. "If only you weren't raised in such a strict and traditional family."
"Momoi-san..." Itō muttered under her breath. "I'm sorry that you have to bear with this…"
Momoi shook her head and hands. "No, no! It's not your fault at all! Sorry for raising this up..." The pink girl felt guilty for forgetting that her friend would subconsciously show small signs of sadness whenever the word family was mentioned.
"Who's the polite one here?" Itō gave a slight giggle. "So who is Akashi-san?"
"He's our basketball club's vice-captain."
Itō did not remember meeting anyone who belonged to the basketball club, let alone a vice-captain.
"You really don't know who Akashi-kun is, do you…"
Momoi suddenly beamed at her ever-confused friend. "Oh, yea! Speaking of which, congratulations, Saya-chan! You're now officially the basketball club's temporary assistant manager!"
It took the ash brown-haired girl a few seconds to digest what she had just heard. "When did I...How did I…?"
"Remember when I asked you whether you're free for the entire last week of July?"
"That was during yesterday's break, right? When you immediately left the classroom after I said yes?" she commented. "I thought you asked me so we could spend time together and have fu—oh." Itō paused as a sudden realisation hit her; so that was the definition of fun that Momoi had in mind. "Does that mean I'll be the basketball club's assistant manager for that week?"
"That's correct~ You always know what's on my mind." Momoi grinned at Itō, who seemed already tired of the surprises she had received in a matter of minutes. "Saya-chan, don't get mad. I've always wanted to spend more time with you outside school. Please join us!" Momoi placed her small hands over her friend's shoulders and jiggled, causing her friend's head to swing back and forth. "Pretty please? It'll be fun, I promise!"
Itō was dazed, but she knew that her bubbly friend meant no harm; she had always preferred expressing her feelings physically, sometimes in a way slightly too strong. "Of course I will. But before that, Momoi-san, I'm getting a little dizzy."
"You're the best, Saya-chan!" Momoi's face glittered at her friend's answer. "By the way, what do you think of the meals I've made so far?"
Itō hesitated, her mind reluctantly going through the memories of the meals that Momoi had made her try during lunch breaks. "They're...edible?"
"Edible, huh…" Momoi pondered over Itō's reply; she knew she was not the best cook, but she did not know how she fared with the other girls her age when it came to cooking. "But it's not bad enough to make Akashi-kun ask me to find an assistant manager to host a second menu tasting session, right, right?"
"Right…" Itō felt sorry for the people who had had to try the dishes Momoi had prepared in the first menu tasting session. Whoever this Akashi person was, he had made the right decision.
It was another sunny afternoon at Teikō Junior High. A week had flown by since Itō had become an assistant manager of the school's famous basketball team. The students began to swarm in the corridor where the sound of the school bell vibrated; Itō was among them, walking in the opposite direction where everyone was heading. She stood in front of the classroom where the menu tasting session would take place, her mind swirling with thoughts of the basketball club members that she would be meeting later this evening. She rarely had the opportunity to interact with boys her age: when she did it would be with her father in either shōgi study groups or formal shōgi occasions. However, she was never particularly bothered by her scarce interaction with boys; she was merely curious about what it would be like to have fun with both genders like normal teenagers. She was especially curious about the mysterious boy who appeared to know her name even though she did not have the slightest clue about his; she did not recall anyone in class whose surname was Akashi, and she did not belong to any club, so how could she have met him? Itō's question was immediately answered by a familiar air that filled the room as she gently slid the door. For the second time, the pair of widened hazelnut eyes met the calm, scarlet ones.
"It's been a while, Itō-san. I've been waiting for you."
"You're…"
"Oh, I thought Momoi would have mentioned to you about me already."
"Akashi…-san?" Itō blinked a few times as she took a few small steps into the room, trying to regain her composure. "The vice-captain of the basketball club?"
The redhead walked away from the chalkboard he had been facing. "So she did."
He was now standing face-to-face with the stunned girl, a usual smile plastered on his face. "It's nice to see you again. I hope you've been doing well."
"I-I hope you're doing well too, Akashi-san," Itō stuttered. "I wouldn't have guessed that you're part of the basketball club."
"Aa. I would have assumed you'd be surprised by this." Akashi was amused by the confused look across her porcelain face. "Anyway, I'm just here to properly say hello before the rest of the first-stringers arrive after practice."
A chuckle slid between the girl's lips. "You wouldn't be here to just say hello, would you? Is there something you would like me to adjust to the menu?"
Ah, yes. The scarlet boy had missed her unpredictable remarks. "There was, but after looking at the menu written on the chalkboard, everything's fine. There's a first-stringer who is allergic to nuts, so I wanted to make sure it's not included in the ingredients."
Itō warmly smiled. "No wonder you're already the vice-captain of the basketball club."
She had realised from the shōgi game against Akashi that he was an extremely attentive person who would efficiently use all his pieces to covertly approach his opponent's king. After observing and playing hundreds of shōgi matches, the girl could peek at the players' personalities through the way the way they moved their pieces.
"I'm glad that I could meet you again, Akashi-san, even if it's not under the circumstances that I'd have considered."
"It certainly isn't under the circumstances I expected either," commented Akashi as he approached the door, his eyes shut and a normal smile hanging on his face. "Anyway, I'd have to leave now since our practice is starting in a few minutes."
Itō did not turn around to face the teenage boy. "Good luck with your practice."
"Aa. I look forward to the menu tasting session later this evening. Good luck with the preparation."
The sound of the shutting door filled up the empty classroom, followed by a quiet chuckle.
What a strange boy.
Itō dropped her bag on the desk, tied up her long, silky hair, rolled up her sleeves, and put on the apron hanging on the side wall of the room.
"Right, it's time to prepare the meals!"
Under the orange sky, the chirping of crows melded once again with the distant moans of the exhausted basketball club members. The starving first-stringers left the gym without changing back to their school uniforms; they could not wait for the impending menu tasting session, only because they all knew it had not been prepared by Momoi.
The first-stringers scurried in the corridor like hungry dogs, trailing the inviting scent of curry emanated from the home economics classroom. They slid the door and found themselves welcomed by a nervous smile of an ash-brown haired girl who was tending to the tall stock pot of curry soup.
She's c-cute!
"Oi, oi! You guys are standing in the way! I need my food!" Aomine shove into the crowd of frozen first-stringers who were blocking the doorway. "Oh, so you're Satsuki's friend? What's your name again?"
The brownhead turned her attention to the tanned boy that had been whined about all too often by their mutual friend. "My name's Itō Saya. Nice to meet you! Are you perhaps Momoi-san's childhood friend?"
"Aa. I'm Aomine Daiki. Nice to meet you!" Aomine stood beside Itō, his dark-blue eyes casting a long look at the bubbles forming on the curry's surface, a huge grin forming on his face. "Thank goodness they look way better than what Satsuki usually makes."
"Hey! What does that mean, Aomine-kun?" The pink-haired girl squeezed her way into the classroom. "They're not that bad!"
No, they are, the first-stringers thought unanimously, a sweat drop hovering over their heads.
"Saya-chan~ How's it going?" Momoi leaped and hugged Itō's neck, her tiny nose sniffing at the curry soup. "Mm-mm. It smells delicious as expected~"
"Oi, Satsuki, stop fooling around with Itō. You'll ruin the food that we've been waiting for all day."
"I don't want to, you meanie," said Momoi, her tongue childishly stuck out to her childhood friend.
"Mmm~ It smells good. Is it okay if I eat it now? I'm hungry," commented Murasakibara as he sauntered into the room.
Midorima joined the group of colourfully bright-haired teenagers. "No, you can't. Couldn't you see that the food's not ready yet?"
"It doesn't matter~ I just want to eat. If not, I'll just finish off the snacks that I have left."
"Murasakibara!"
As usual, the purple-haired boy ignored his teammate's scolding and started opening the pack of popsicle in his hand.
The once empty room was now crowded with hungry and tired first-stringers. It was Itō's first time to be part of such a normal, lively group of people at her age; she embraced this experience fully, yet could not help but gulp at the notion that she had to prepare meals for such a large amount of people for the entire week of the summer training camp. No wonder why the basketball club needed a temporary assistant manager.
"The food is almost done. Please wait for a little longer, everyone!"
Itō glanced at the rowdy teenage boys as they took their seats opposite of her, her eyes faltered a little over her disappointment that she could not spot the red-haired boy.
"I'm here if the person you're looking for is me, Itō-san," said Akashi, his face right beside Itō's flustered one. "The curry looks good."
"You keep on surprising me today, Akashi-san." She wondered whether he was the sort of person who subconsciously enjoyed surprising people with his sharp observations.
Akashi replied with a chuckle, "Well, think of it as my return for our first encounter."
"Your...return?"
Before Itō could wait for his answer, her eyes caught the boiling curry seeping through the steamed cover. When she had done take caring of it, Akashi had already left to talk to the captain.
Little did the two teenagers know that a pair of pink eyes had been throwing a furtive glance at them.
"The food is now ready, everyone!"
In a flash, the curry and rice that Itō had placed on the dozen of plates before her were completely wiped out, not a single grain of rice found. Itō blinked at the contented first-stringers, her mouth gaping in shock.
"Thank you for the meal!" everyone shouted.
"That was delicious!" Aomine uttered. "It's been a while since I've last had a meal this good at school."
"But I make you bentō almost everyday." Momoi tossed a glare across the table.
"That's why," the tanned boy whispered.
The first-stringers turned to Aomine with their sympathising nods, some lightly patting his shoulder to show that they knew the dark-bluehead had had it hard.
"It was tasty," Murasakibara commented, oblivious to the conversation Aomine and Momoi had just exchanged. "Who made the meal again?"
"It's Itō-san. Pay some attention to your surroundings, wouldn't you?" Midorima remarked.
"Hmm. So you're Itō, aren't you," said Murasakibara as he turned to face the relatively tiny girl. "I'll remember your name."
"Appreciate it, Itō." Aomine nudged the rather tense girl. "It's very rare of Murasakibara to remember people's names."
"It was decent," stated Midorima as he wiped his mouth with his slender fingers, his eyes closed.
Tcch. Aomine grudged, "Don't put on such a poker face. Just admit that the food was good, Midorima."
"I will if it were."
"It seems like everyone's happy with the food. There shouldn't be any problems with the summer training camp then, Nijimura-san," Akashi said to Nijimura, who was sitting next to him at the other side of the table. "Nijimura-san?"
Nijimura was still grinning widely; the heavenly meal he had just had was still lingering in his mind. "A-aa. There shouldn't be any problems. I look forward to the camp." Especially the food. No, only the food.
Akashi left his seat and walked towards the still frozen girl. "Thank you for the meal, Itō-san. I look forward to working with you in the training camp."
"Oh, Akashi-san!" Itō was too busy focusing at the energetic teenagers to notice the red-haired boy standing beside her. "I should be the one saying thank you." She gave a bow. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity. And Momoi-san," said Itō as she turned to Momoi who was standing behind them, "thank you."
After seeing such a warm, unfamiliar smile radiating from her friend, Momoi knew she had made right decision to ask her friend to become a temporary assistant manager, at least temporary for the time being.
Shielded against the scorching heat, Akashi stood inside the gym with his arms crossed, overseeing the training his fellow first-stringers were following due to the captain's absence in today's practice. They were barely keeping up with the programme, which the red-haired boy understood as a call for improvement in their stamina this summer.
"Akashi-kun, here are the notes that you asked for." Momoi delivered the huge pile of papers filled with her data-analysis of the school team Teikō would be having a practice match with next week.
"Thank you, Momoi."
The pink-haired girl lowered her head, trying to peep at the scarlet boy's face as he went through the notes.
"What's wrong?" said Akashi; his red eyes did not leave the notes.
Momoi shook her head and hands, letting out a nervous laugh. "I-it's nothing! I just thought you were somehow different when you were talking to Saya-chan yesterday, or maybe it was just my imagination."
"Were you eavesdropping our conversation?"
Momoi let out another anxious laugh. "I just happened to overhear you two talking! Yes, yes. By chance!"
"Is that so." Akashi's eyes were still focused on the papers. "Although I do believe I talk to Itō-san the same way as I talk to you, Momoi."
No, you don't. The pinkhead begged to differ, but restrained herself from blurting out her true thoughts.
"She's an interesting being; that's all there is to it."
"Interesting, eh." Momoi's dropped her gaze to the ground, her long strands of pink hair covering the sad smile across her face.
The sound of sports shoes squeaking on the court vibrated in the quiet air between the two teenagers.
"Um, Akashi-kun."
"Yes?"
"It's not anything important! In fact, it might sound trivial to you but," Momoi muttered, her eyes still on the ground, "thank you for letting Saya-chan become our club's assistant manager, even if it's just temporary."
Akashi lifted his eyes from the notes and smiled kindly at the worried pink-haired girl. "Momoi, you don't have to say thank you. Itō has proved herself to be a valuable addition to the team for the summer camp and everyone agreed. I should be the one thanking you."
"No, really! It's just," Momoi blurted, her hand clenched on her chest, "I'm sure Saya-chan appreciates this opportunity very much too."
She brought her hands down and pressed them together, her slim fingers twitching tensely. "I've always been worried about her."
"Worried?" Akashi raised his eyebrow ever so slightly.
Momoi nodded. "From time to time I see her staring outside the window in class, as if she's lacking something and is searching for it. Her eyes sometimes seem so...lifeless. It's just my intuition, though..." She paused and murmured, "...since she rarely talks to me about her life."
Momoi recalled the first time she and Itō had spoken to each other: it was a month ago in a lesson where the students had been asked to divide into small groups of the same gender. The girls had blatantly excluded Momoi because they were jealous of her popularity with the boys and closeness to the popular first-stringers of the school's basketball club. Itō had offered Momoi to join her group even though her group members had not liked it. Ever since that day, Momoi had started to see more instances of Itō by herself in class, a sense of guilt washing over her. But Itō had not seemed to be affected by the sudden exclusion, and instead had eagerly given Momoi biscuits she had baked one day. Momoi wanted to get closer to her, to know more about her, to break the wall that her friend seemed to have subconsciously built.
"She's my precious friend," stated Momoi. "She's helped me once. And now it's my turn to do the same."
"I see. So you believe this summer training camp may help Itō-san find what she's been searching for?"
"As expected of Akashi-kun! You already knew what I wanted to say." Momoi grinned.
Akashi closed his eyes, a tender smile spread across his face. "I don't know whether the summer camp would be of any help to Itō-san's search, but I'm sure she'll be fine, especially with you around her."
"Akashi-kun…!" Momoi looked up at the kind boy, feeling deeply touched by his words. "Thank you! I—"
A basketball suddenly flew to Momoi's direction, only to be stopped by a huge, dark palm. She could feel the force exerted by the tanned boy standing before her, along with an irritated glance darting at both her and the first-stringers across the court.
"Oi, what are you guys doing? You guys can't just throw the basketball carelessly wherever you want!"
"S-sorry!" An apology was heard from the other side of the court.
"Oi, Satsuki!" Aomine turned his attention to the startled pink-haired teenager. "What are you doing over here with Akashi! I've been calling you several times to bring me the towel that I've been waiting for God knows how long!"
Momoi's surprised face grew annoyed in a matter of seconds. With her fists closed tightly, she stomped towards the bench and grabbed the towel lying on top of it, then stomped back to join the tan-skinned boy. Her trampling footsteps shook the court, causing the first-stringers shiver in fear upon their manager's rage. Aomine gulped as his childhood friend approached him.
"Here's...your...TOWEL." Momoi threw the towel at Aomine's face. "Didn't you see I was talking to Akashi?!"
Aomine removed the towel from his equally annoyed face at Momoi's outburst. "What's up with you? Why are you getting mad at me over nothing? I should be the one who's mad since you kept on ignoring me."
"Because you're being insensitive as always!"
"Insensi—What did I do?"
"Aomine-kun, you idiot!"
Momoi stomped off the gym, leaving behind the relieved first-stringers and a disgruntled Aomine.
Akashi uttered a small sigh at the end of another typical basketball practice as he ambled in the corridor. The warm evening rays penetrated through the windows and softly touched the scarlet boy's skin. He turned his head to the windows to embrace the light, his ruby eyes stumbling upon a female silhouette heading towards the entrance on the school grounds, one with which he was fairly acquainted.
Lifeless, eh.
Author's Note:
Thank you for reading the second chapter of Unspoken! Hope you all enjoyed it. :)
It seems like this story will develop into a novel or something similar since there are so many things about both Akashi and Itō that I want to explore, and I'll do so slowly since they're characters that don't jump into things quickly and are quite slow at realising some things. *wink*
Also, I don't know whether I gave out the clue successfully but I'll be pairing Momoi and Aomine because that's what the Replace novels have suggested and I do like the idea that they're too close to realise some things~
On to reviews!
Wikked: Thank you so much again for your review! :) Akashi hasn't changed his personality yet, but I do believe that he has always carried this authoritative aura with him even during his Teikō Junior High days, although to a less extent. His other personality will start appearing (through glimpses at first) later in the story and Itō will have quite a tough time dealing with it, but right now he's still the original Akashi, or oreshi as some people call.
I also took your advice and made a short summary for the events that I have in mind. I really appreciate your advice! It turns out the Teikō arc that I've planned out will contain at least twenty chapters. I still haven't written the summaries for the Rakuzan arc yet, but it may turn out to have equally as many chapters or maybe a little less. It may sound a lot but there's so much development that I'd like to explore and share with you all in details so please be patient with them! :)
Sentimentalcircus1002, Rizuki Dhan, miyuchan12: Thank you! Please look forward to the future chapters!
007: Благодарю вас за ваши добрые слова! :3
Again, thank you so much for the reviews, follows, and favourites!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke written by Fujimaki Tadatoshi-san. All credit to the wonderful people that contributed to the creation of the manga and anime for this series, and to the translation team for their hard work in putting on subtitles for the anime that are used in this fanfiction.