"Hai-chan." I jolt upward, startled out of my half-sleep on a park bench. I suppose it really is rather dangerous for me to sleep out here, but Daiki's annoying and Satsuki won't stop talking. Forgetting to look for the voice that startled me out of my sleep, I lie down again and attempt resting once more. "Hai-chan." My eyebrow twitches in annoyance.
"Yeeeesss?" I reply, hoping my annoyance drips like venom.
"It's dangerous to sleep on park benches." I crack one eye open, and low and behold, there's Kuroko, staring at me with his usual placid expression.
"What's your point?" I reply, shifting away from him. "I already know that." Kuroko sighs, a long, drawn out, exasperated sound.
"Hai-chan, don't be difficult." My eye opens again at that statement.
"You're as painfully blunt as ever." I say with irritation.
"You're just as lazy." My eyebrow twitches once more. Silence follows, and I naïvely assume that Kuroko has walked away. He has not, and I only come to realize this when he pokes me forcefully in the ribs. I squeal and fall off the bench.
"How cruel!" I whine pathetically, attempting to tug at his near-nonexistent heartstrings. "Kuroko-kun that hurt!" Kuroko simply looks at me flatly. "Fine, fine, Kuroko. I get it."
"Why are you here anyway?" Kuroko asks as I pull myself upright and walk side by side with the short bluenette.
"Ah, Satsuki and Daiki won't stop talking to me. This was the only place I could think of where I could hide for a bit." I reply calmly. "And you? It's unlike you to simply walk through this park." Kuroko is quiet.
"I wanted some peace. Things are busy at school." I nod for a few moments, gazing around placidly. The days, admittedly, are shortening drastically, but the sky is still pretty light. Trees are rustling softly and a gentle wind blows my hair about sweetly. I sigh softly.
"Back home we don't have a variety of seasons like Japan does." I say suddenly, watching colors stretch across the dusking sky. Kuroko looks at me in surprise. "I mean, the rest of the country probably does, but my hometown doesn't. It's always sunny and fairly warm. Boring."
"It sounds pleasant." Kuroko says quietly. I laugh slightly in response.
"Yeah, sometimes. It meant I could play sports year-round outdoors, but it also meant that almost every day was always the same routine. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing." I reply quietly.
"You're talkative today."
"Just with you." We lapse into a more comfortable silence as street lights flicker on, casting strange shadows across the pavement as people walk by. "Ah, I'll part ways with you here. See ya, Kuroko." I reply, a hand raised in farewell.
"You too, Hai-chan." He responds, nodding. I turn down the street and walk past the usual bustling shops, listening to the laughter that surrounds me. Sometimes I can catch glimpses of conversations I don't fully understand, and other times I catch simply single words. I sigh silently. I still have a long way to go before I'm fluent, huh?
Without a second thought, I walk into the nearest convenience store and buy at least an armful of sweets, along with a week's worth of bentos for both Daiki and I. My wallet stings by the time I leave, but the minty-fresh gum in my mouth fixes everything. Well... almost everything. Worry runs through my blood like currents in the ocean. I try to ignore it. Drowning won't help anything.
"Where've you been?" Daiki asks the instant I walk through the front door. He practically shoots up from the couch, moving faster than usual as he approaches me.
"Oh, I'm doing well, Daiki. And you?" I respond, shifting my hold on the relatively heavy plastic bags. "It's chilly outside. I wish I'd brought a jacket."
"I spent two hours looking for you!" Daiki hisses irritably, grabbing a few bags from me. His fingers are frigid as they graze over mine. "You didn't answer your phone! Where were you?" I blink at the unusually annoyed bluenette.
"I went to clear my head." I reply coolly. "It didn't work as well as I'd hoped."
"Why did you buy all this?" Daiki asks with a rough sigh, sounding unusually surly.
"I find it irritating to make bentos all the time, so I bought some so I'd have a bit of a break." Daiki falls silent as he helps me place the bento inside the fridge.
"I can always crash somewhere else, Alex..." He starts. I cut him off abruptly with a sharp glance.
"I'm not telling you to leave, Daiki. That isn't what I meant." I respond, blowing hair out of my eyes. "I don't usually make food. When you're at home and it's just me, I always end up ordering take-out or eating at Maiji Burger or something. It's a nice change of pace to actually make food, even if it's usually pretty simple."
"Besides," I add, glancing at the taller bluenette, "I like helping my friends. You're my friend... aren't you? I don't turn my back on my friends... Especially..." I frown suddenly glancing around. "Where's my candy?"
"Oh, you mean these?" Daiki drawls, lazily picking up the bag and raising it over my head.
"Yep. Gimme~!" I reply, jumping pathetically in an effort to grab the bag from his long arms. "Candy, candy!"
"Didn't you get these for Atsushi? There are quite a few of them, hm?" I jump higher, my fingers brushing the bottom of the bag ever so slightly.
"I like candy!" I reply "They're mine, although I was thinking of sharing until this happened." Daiki gives me a sinister grin as I jump a little bit higher.
"Sweet, sour, salty, but never spicy or bitter, huh?" Daiki grins manically. "What happens when you eat spicy food?" He leans forward as an unidentifiable expression spreads across his face. I'm about to reply when he pops something ridiculously spicy and bitter into my open mouth. My jaws snap shut instantly. My quest for sweets is dropped as I surge forward, rushing for some water before attempting to spit out whatever the hell this is.
"No, you don't." Daiki says, clamping his hand over my mouth firmly. My burning mouth is momentarily forgotten as surprise floods my body. Then the burning heat and strong surge of bitterness comes surging back and I lunch forward. "This is my revenge. I had to go and look for you. You weren't answering your phone, and I had no idea where you were." I attempt to bite Daiki's hand, but my jaw refuses to work.
With my eyes watering, I continue to try to spit out this food from Hell. It doesn't really work since my mouth can't open properly. It's too big to swallow like a pill, and even if I wanted to, I can't swallow pills dry. I gag on the bitterness, and my mouth waters from the heat. Eventually, the stupid thing is small enough to swallow and I down it, feeling it scorch my throat on its way down to my roiling stomach. Daiki's grip loosens, and I turn on the tap as fast as I can before drinking greedily from it, trying to sort the disgust coating my tongue. My eyes are burning intensely enough for tears to form, but not fall.
"Aomine Daiki..." I growl, turning to glare at him. It's then that I realize we're hardly a few inches from each other. I take as much of a step back as the space between the sink and me will allow, but it isn't much. The bluenette looks at me with this unidentifiable expression. My mouth is burning still, but it's been subdued to a mild burn that I can ignore for a while longer. "...Daiki?"
Daiki's gaze is unusually potent right now. Dark and angry and worried and confused and maybe even a little bit scared. For a moment, all the different emotions in his eyes leave me absolutely breathless. "That was kind of cruel." I say quietly, trying to read his reaction. Daiki's gaze changes ever so slightly, but I can't tell how.
"Next time, don't let m- us worry like that." Daiki says lowly. I nod my head absentmindedly and drop my gaze, my mind racing through a million different thoughts. Luckily, a loud knocking at my door rudely interrupts our semi-awkward silence. It takes some agility to escape my cramped space between Daiki and the sink to reach the door.
"Who's there?" I ask, pausing just behind the door.
"Hai-chan! You're back!" My door flies open and whacks me in the face forcefully. I stumble backward and clutch my painful nose. "Hai-chan?"
"Satsuki." I groan, raising my head to look her in the eye. "Did you ever think that I was maybe, perhaps, right at the door?" Venom practically smothers my speech as I rub my face awkwardly.
"Did I hit you again?" She asks desperately, her eyes comically wide. I respond with a glare. Her eyes widen even further -something that should be impossible- once my hands leave my face. "Y-Y-Your nose!" I glare further.
"What about my nose?" I hiss angrily. Pain pulsates across my face. "Ow... ow, ow ow ow..." My hands fly up to cradle my nose once more. "Geez, Satsuki! How on earth did you pack so much punch into opening a door?"
"Your nose is bleeding!" Satsuki finally exclaims, as I taste iron on my lips.
"Is that so?" I reply flatly, a growl rising in my throat. My temper raises its rather hideous head as I stumble to the kitchen. The pain radiating across my nose and cheekbones makes tears form in my eyes.
"Satsuki? Alex?" Daiki pops his head out of the kitchen as I run into the edge of an end table and drop several serious swears.
"Ice pack." I croak hoarsely as Satsuki hovers helplessly about me, worrying enough for the two of us. "Ice. Need ice." Daiki doesn't hesitate to grab a dishtowel and one of my many ice packs.
"Here." He says gruffly, practically shoving them into my hands. I place the ice gingerly over my still-bleeding nose and flinch at the coolness that combats the heat of my face. "How did you manage this one?"
"I slammed the door open and she was right behind it!" Satsuki says in a huge rush of breath. "Oh no, should we take you to a clinic? Is it broken? Does it hurt? Do you need more ice? Can you breathe? Is it swollen?"
"It hurts like hell!" I reply sharply, "And no, I can't breathe. I don't know if it's broken, and this much ice is pushing my limits already!"
"H-Hai-chan..." Satsuki says gently. I try my hardest not to glare at the worried pinkette.
"Look, I don't know what to do. I'm not good with facial injuries if they're on my own face." I pull away the ice. "What do you recommend?"
"We're going." She says instantly. "Daiki-"
"You broke it. You take her." He says instantly. My head pounds painfully. The two continue to bicker for another ten minutes. When they show no signs of stopping, I pull out my phone.
"Hello?"
"Imayoshi? It's Hai. Can you take me to a clinic?" The two childhood friends are yelling now.
"Is that-"
"Satsuki and Daiki."
"Right. I'll be there in a few." Imayoshi hangs up quickly. The feeling in my face is surging in and out of existence where the ice pack is.
True to his word, Imayoshi only takes a few minutes to show up. Mindful of the door, I grab a jacket and slam the door shut behind me to announce my departure. With the way Satsuki and Daiki are fighting, they probably didn't even hear it.
"Why are they fighting?" Imayoshi asks suddenly.
"Satsuki wants me to go to a clinic. Daiki doesn't want to take me." I reply hoarsely.
"For? You sound and look like shit, by the way."
"We think Satsuki broke my nose." I reply tersely. "And thank you. You really brightened up my day. Hooray."
"Hope you don't mind some company." Imayoshi says. Wakamatsu and Sakurai are downstairs, leaning in the doorway of my apartment building. I press my ice pack a little more firmly to my nose.
"Doesn't matter to me." I reply flatly.
"H-Hai-san! There's blood on your shirt!" Sakurai exclaims.
"My nose is bleeding." I reply easily.
"Then what's the use of the ice pack?" Wakamatsu asks. I bite back a stiff growl.
"To reduce swelling." I answer with irritation.
"Did you break your nose?" I swear that boy only knows how to yell.
"I don't know yet." I snarl. "Excuse my bad mood. My face hurts like a bitch and two of my closest friends, one of whom is responsible for this, are too busy yelling to even tell me which direction the nearest clinic is. I'm not a good conversational partner right now." Wakamatsu opens his damn mouth again only to silence himself after wicked glares given by both Imayoshi and me.
I get dizzy halfway to the clinic and unfortunately have Wakamatsu, the loud-mouthed buffoon, carry me the rest of the way. I can't really recall if they ran after that since I start to become a little out of it. I end up filling out some paperwork about my medical history, but much of the kanji is unfamiliar and I keep bleeding on the paper by accident. Sakurai fills the paper out for me as the nearest nurse gives me something to slow the bleeding.
It takes us a long time for me to finally see a doctor. He's a rather disgruntled looking man with comically slanted eyes. The boys are somehow allowed in the room with us. "Let's take a look." The doctor says with a sigh, a frown creasing his otherwise calm face. I pull away the ice pack and whatever the hell this bandage like stuff is. His eyes widen comically.
"What did you do, get in a fight and have the shit beaten out of you?" The good man exclaims in a panic.
"My friend slammed a door into my face by accident." I reply drowsily. "She's very excitable."
The man tugs on a pair of rubber or latex gloves and nears me. They smell faintly of rubber. "I'm going to feel the area. Tell me if it hurts." I wince when he feels about my cheekbones, but it isn't too bad. It's another story when he actually touches my nose. I cry out and swat his hand away, covering my nose as I lean forward.
I don't quite hear what he says after that since my eyes are stinging and my nose won't stop stabbing me with daggers of pain. "Look, sweetie, did you get into a fight?" The man asks yet again. I shake my head once more.
"I told you! My friend accidentally hit me with a door!" I reply in a strained voice.
"I need you to sit up, okay? You said you have difficulty breathing, and your nose is still bleeding. I need to check the inside." It takes all my willpower to allow the doctor to examine my nose again. Lots of words begin to pass over my head again, so the doctor addresses Imayoshi and the other two starters instead of me in rapid Japanese.
After a few minutes, the doctor, who has turned out to be very gentle indeed, spreads an unusually icy gel over my nose and under my eyes. I hiss at the temperature difference and nearly flinch. Then, without warning, he realigns my nose. I yelp in surprise and pain as he does so, my eyes watering violently.
I'm given a pill that I down without questioning and allow the doctor to place enough gauze in my nose to crush all hope of breathing. Then he places this bandage-like brace over the bridge of my nose. Surprisingly, it isn't bulky and terribly ugly. He gives me another ice pack, hands me a lollipop, and addresses Imayoshi whilst giving the captain some slip of paper.
"Can we go home?" I ask sleepily, stifling a yawn before sticking the lollipop in my mouth. It's very sweet, probably some sort of cherry or strawberry.
"In a little bit." Imayoshi replies as we approach the waiting room once again. "We're waiting for some medicine."
"I wanna go home." I respond, sinking into the uncomfortable chairs once more. "Sleepy."
"You're rather childish, aren't you?" He sounds amused.
"Well your personality seems to be suffering greatly for all your maturity." I sound irritated. My phone rings. "Hello?" I sound sort of drunk, to be honest.
"Alex! Where are you?"
"Huh? Daiki?"
"Alex, tell me where you are!" I yawn sleepily.
"I'm with Imayoshi and Wakamatsu and Sakurai." I answer, sinking lower. "I'm sleepy."
"Alex, are you in a clinic?"
"Yeah. Imayoshi says we're waiting for some medicine." I respond.
"Let me talk to him." I offer Imayoshi my phone.
"Daiki wants to talk to you." I say as he raises an eyebrow.
"I would've thought your phone would be more girly." Wakamatsu comments as Imayoshi takes my phone. I shrug.
"I don't really have a need for girly things." Imayoshi's conversation sounds rather barbed, but that's the only thing I can tell from his tone of voice. I don't brother trying to understand any of his actual words. It's too much work right now.
"Imayoshi." Wakamatsu says after a few minutes. "They just called us over the loudspeaker."
Imayoshi hangs up and gives me my phone after a few more moments. "Hai, stay here with Sakurai." I nod and look at the apologetic brunette beside me.
"Sorry to have dragged you guys out here." I say when the duo returns. "I didn't mean to ruin your night like this."
"It's fine." Imayoshi says with a sigh. "It probably would've been worse if Aomine and Momoi took you, or if you hadn't gone at all." I nod slightly and fail to suppress a yawn.
I do walk part of the way home, I promise. Unfortunately, it's only about a block or so. Wakamatsu offers to carry me the rest of the way, and I let him. Between the warmth of his back and the streaking lights about us, I end up dozing off several times, much to my chagrin. We reach my apartment after another fifteen minutes.
"Alex!" Satsuki practically explodes from my apartment building, almost slamming the door into my face yet again. My eyes widen before Imayoshi stops the door.
"Satsuki..." I say, trying to control my temper. "Have you learned nothing?" The pinkette flushes in embarrassment.
"So what was wrong with your nose?" She opens the door much more reasonably.
"Oh it's definitely broken." Imayoshi says pleasantly. "He realigned it and prescribed some pain medication."
"What about basketball?" I ask, tugging on the edge of his shirt.
"No practice for a few days." I release a sigh of relief.
"There's another practice game in a few days." Satsuki murmurs. "We'd like you to play."
I grin slightly. "Then why don't we plan on me playing? I'll tell you beforehand if I don't feel up to it." Satsuki looks at me dubiously before nodding.
"I am sorry about your nose." She replies.
"Yeah, I am, too." I mutter, glancing away. "I'm tired. Thanks for going with me, guys." Satsuki opens the doors little wider so I can slip past her. I'm sure that Daiki has left or gone to sleep, but am somehow pleasantly surprised. He stands in the doorway, arms crossed, a frown marring his face.
"You could've said something." Daiki says after a few heartbeats. His eyes look kind of dangerous.
"You were yelling and wouldn't have heard me." I reply easily. "Besides, it's done." Daiki grumbles something I don't quite catch before Satsuki bounces up to us.
"Ah, Imayoshi left me with the doctor's orders and your meds. You took one there, right?" I nod.
"I think it makes me drowsy." I murmur, pushing past Daiki.
"It says here that it'll make you sleepy. I'll notify your teachers, okay? Take them directly before you eat, and only with water. Come to practice like usual, but you can watch or nap or whatever, okay?" Satsuki sounds a lot like an older sister.
"Yeah, yeah." I mutter. "I wanna sleep."
"Eat dinner first. There are some leftovers in the fridge. I'll reheat some." Daiki sounds unusually compliant.
"But sleep..."
"Eat and then you can sleep."
"...Fine." I comply, but only because Daiki's being pushy. I slouch at the counter that serves as my table and rest my head on the cool surface.
"Hai-chan, I'll leave your meds on the counter by your toaster. See you!" I groan a reply and lapse into silence. Eventually, I begin to nod off into dreamland.
"Alex." I crack open on eye. "If you don't eat this, I'll steal your food for the next week."
"Hurry up." I whine childishly, flopping backward. "Hungry. Sleepy." Daiki only laughs before my food is placed before me. The take-out teriyaki we'd had last night lies before me. "Yum." I say with a grin. "This is food." I have to fend off Daiki's chopsticks a couple times when he takes more than a few bites of my food, but I end up laughing each time he takes food faster than I can snatch it back. Daiki...