There's some commotion in the living room, and the only reason I'm even going to wander in is because I've just gotten off work, and I have a ton of leftover treats. I suppose it would be best to change out of my uniform as well.
"I'm home." I say as I slip off my shoes.
"Welcome back!" The sound of Mrs. Akashi's voice surprises me. I offer her a smile. "Where were you?"
"I was at work. I just got off my shift." I reply cheerfully. "I work at a sweets shop. Would you like any?" The pink cardboard box is placed on the table, opened to reveal an assortment of pastries. I'm very concerned as to how they got in. Perhaps Daiki answered the door? But there's blue hair no in sight. I wonder if Sei has a key of his own, someway or another.
"How did you get in?" I make sure the question is phrased as politely and peacefully as possible so I can mask my surprise to the best of my ability.
"I called Daiki." Sei replies. I raise an eyebrow.
"I'm surprised he'd even be awake." I respond, unclipping my nametag and tugging my hair out of its high ponytail. The redhead gives me a very noncommittal shrug. I bet he just terrified the bluenette. "Anyway, was there something you wanted to talk about?"
"Just checking in on you." Mrs. Akashi says pleasantly. "We saw your game on TV last night. It was a surprise for both of us." She's probably referencing her husband.
"It was on TV? Seijuurou's was on TV so I listened to that one, but I didn't think ours would be, too." I wonder if they think less of me for the way I played, for how I had to be led off the court.
"You fought it again." Sei's comment surprises me once more, but I don't deny the statement.
"Don't I normally do that?" I reply, sitting across from the Akashis. He shakes his head in disapproval.
"You got stuck again. I saw." I scratch the back of my head.
"Ah. That's unfortunate." I say, reaching over to steal a cookie and bite into it. Walnuts and chocolate mingle pleasantly across my tongue. "It worked itself out, though. It was a mistake, but it was rectified."
"New vocabulary? I'm glad you're still learning." Sei's father interrupts our conversation. I offer him a grin.
"I do my best to expand my known vocabulary. I have to, if I want to be fluent." The door opens suddenly, slamming against the wall and closing suddenly.
"I'mreallysorrybutjustbarewithme." Kagami's voice is familiar and rough and sort of strained. I hear barking outside.
"A dog." I say with a sigh. "Kagami-"
"C'mon out, Kagami-kun." Tetsuya's voice filters through the door. "I'm sure Hai-chan doesn't want you in there." The redhead gives me a most pitiful look, only to start glaring at what I assume is the bluenette, who I can hear emerging from my bedroom.
"Tetsuya, would you mind moving Nigou so that we can herd Kagami out?" I ask, sauntering toward the door. "I'd rather not keep him in here at the moment."
"Ah, just a minute." Comes the reply. It takes some effort to pry the redhead from the door. I then hold my hands out expectantly, knowing full well that Tetsuya will place Nigou in my hands. The ball of fluff is delivered silently, and I leap to the other side of Kagami as rapidly as possible.
The redhead looks nothing short of betrayed as he darts out the door. I release the fluffy husky and allow it to roam out the door in time to bark at the rapidly fleeing Kagami. "Good work as usual, Tetsu." I say cheerfully. "He should really learn the importance of knocking." The bluenette offers me a smile before vanishing. I close my door once more.
"Sorry!" I say, scratching the back of my head. "Daiki, I hadn't realized you were here. For some reason I thought you went out." The bluenette steals what I assume is a bear claw and goes to raid the fridge.
"Out of peanut butter again." He says. "And bananas. And bread." I can sense the stares of the Akashis, and it's a bit more than awkward.
"If you want them, you can go and get them. Otherwise, wait until Wednesday." The boy raises an eyebrow before noticing our rather redheaded guests.
"Mr. and Mrs. Akashi. Seijuurou." Daiki's voice almost gives away the discomfort that I see in the twitching of his fingers.
"Do... you two live together?" Mrs. Akashi asks. I'm worried about making her angry or tainting the way she sees me, but I nod nonetheless.
"We do." I can only assume that Daiki's met them before.
"Who... which teammate of yours is this?" Mr. Akashi sounds calmer about this.
"Aomine Daiki. He's Touou's Power Forward." I say fluidly. I wonder if I should mention anything else when Seijuurou cuts in.
"Alex and Daiki have been dating a while. A month or two, I believe." He doesn't bother to confirm that with either of us. "Daiki stays here when his parents won't have him." Great, now the parental units are looking at the blue-haired wonder in concern.
I can't explain away Daiki's problems. Those are his own business, and for me to draw upon them as excuses of some kind would be like trampling across his trust. I don't offer the redheaded adults any sort of commentary. "What kind of trouble are we talking about, Aomine-kun?" They ask in falsely sugarcoated words.
The bluenette offers a chillier glance than usual. "We don't get along." He says frostily. "Differences in opinion and stuff."
I want to walk across the room and slip my fingers between his own. I want to wrap my arms around his torso. He saves me the trouble by seating himself next to me. I hold his hand as tightly as I dare.
I want my guardians to accept Daiki for the way he is. Even though I'm sure they don't approve, that they're sure to think he's a bad person for no reason, they should at least factor in Sei's connection to him, even if they disregard how tightly I'm holding his hand. "You two haven't been doing anything inappropriate, right?" Mrs. Akashi asks hesitantly.
I shake my head and shift my weight. "Nope." I answer calmly. This discussion is going to make me blush. "We have more common sense than that." Should I wonder if they approve of Daiki? I've never wondered about that sort of thing before. If he makes me happy, I don't need anyone's approval. I just hope Daiki doesn't snicker.
My new mother opens her mouth to no doubt embarrass me when the door slams open. "Hai-chan! I heard you came back with pastries!" squeals Satsuki. My eyes widen with surprise.
"Satsu-" My would-be greeting is cut off by a very tight embrace, most of which is cleavage. I try not to suffocate.
"Do you have any elephant ears? Or cake? The cherry ones you guys make are so sweet!" My face is turning red, and I can't make any noise to stop her. I tap her arm quickly. It's become ridiculously hard to breath. She relinquishes me as quickly as what appears to be possible for her.
"Cherry cake. One slice. Two elephant ears." I croak, moving to get some water. "Take what you want." The water moves down my throat sluggishly.
"On a different note," Sei says smoothly, "don't play in the Touou-Seirin match." I instantly start choking on water, my eyes widening rapidly. This again?
"What?" I cough out, trying to catch my breath. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me." Sei's voice is flat and firm.
"Akashi-kun..." Satsuki tries to reason with the redhead while anger boils in my blood. Even Daiki says something. All is silent, however, when the glass in my hand breaks. I stare at the shattered glass in surprise.
"Ah, my bad. My hand slipped." I say flatly. I bend down and pick up the glass, hidden by the counter. The little pieces are easy to pick up, even though they cut my hands in a few places. I rinse the blood once all the pieces are gone.
"Give me your hand." Daiki's voice is rough and a little irritated, I think. I shake my head.
"They're shallow. Doesn't matter." I reply as I wash my hands. The bluenette grabs my hands.
"Hold still, stubborn woman." Daiki places band-aids over the two cuts that bleed most, and one more over a small cut on my pinky. My eyes turn to the calculating redhead as soon as Daiki is done.
"Tell me your reasoning." I say coolly. "I see no reason why I shouldn't. It's the only game I'm looking forward to." Why are you insisting on this?
The redhead shakes his head no. "What you're looking for isn't there. Seirin will break if both of you play. You have no self-control when it comes to how hard you compete. It'll be a waste of time, and it will let you down." I try my best not to look annoyed.
"I'll consider your point, but I still plan to play." I say firmly. "I want to play Seirin." My lips curl into a frown. "Besides, at their current level, they'd need a warm-up before playing Daiki. I know how to play a part like that."
"Don't wanna play Seirin." Daiki growls. Satsuki gives him a reprimanding glare, one that never ceases to amuse me.
"There." I say flatly, pointing at the bluenette. "That solves it. Even if this one changes his mind, I can share. I owe their ace another match since our last one got cut short." Sei raises an eyebrow.
"You shouldn't play them." He says flatly. I'm starting to feel irritated with the redhead.
"That isn't your decision, Seijuurou. I play for Touou, not Rakuzan. Satsuki and my coach can figure out if they want me to play, and I'll accept their decision." As much as I try to cloud the annoyance leaking into my blood, it still makes an appearance in my voice. It seems there's nothing I can do to keep my temper in check.
"I'm always right." I wonder why Sei's parent's, my guardians, aren't saying anything to us. I wonder why they appear to be monitoring this discussion with the most placid expressions I've ever seen. The only emotion I can sense in the room is coming from me.
"Right and wrong don't matter when it comes to this. Whether I play or not isn't your decision." I answer firmly, trying to calm the boiling of my blood. "You might be right. You could be wrong. Nothing's as certain as you think it is."
"You always were a pessimist." Sei says as he inspects his nails with all the calm in the world. "I was right in the past. I'll be right about this, too. Consider this your warning." Is it only me? Am I the only one upset by this intrusion of my playing schedule? Why am I the only one who feels like violence? I wonder if he can sense the thoughts that cross my mind.
"I have an obligation to my team to play in as many games as I'm wanted in. Seeing as you're neither my coach, nor my manager, nor my team captain, unfortunately, you have no say in whether I play Seirin or not. My apologies. I'll take your statement into careful consideration and be sure to give it plenty of thought before I make my decision." Do I sound like ice? My words have more venom than I'd anticipated. I guess it can't be helped. Following directions has always made my teeth grind and my jaw clench, no matter whom the orders come from. This suggestion however, isn't one I plan to follow. I'd rather break my wrist.
"I totally forgot!" Satsuki squeals suddenly, making me jump at least an inch or two. I drag my eyes away from the calm redhead and look at the pinkette carefully. "Mr. Wantanabe wanted to see you! Something about a tournament that's happening after school this week? He wants to see if you can make it! We better get going!" My surprise is more than evident when she grabs my wrist.
"Seijuurou mentioned that you were playing softball. Isn't that a bit much for a high school student?" Mrs. Akashi asks suddenly. My head turns fast enough to give me whiplash. I blink in surprise.
"It hasn't been a problem." I say fluidly. "If it becomes one, I'll solve it."
"We need to go..." Satsuki says as she drags me forcefully out the door. I blink in surprise. If Coach Wantanabe has anything to tell me, he would've done it at practice on Friday, or send me an email or a text or anything but going through Satsuki. I'm not about to call her out on this, but I detest lying. I'm sure she's reasoning that it's for my own good, that she can't avoid it at all, but none of those are gonna fly. I just won't let them.
I say nothing until we're a few blocks away. "Satsuki, why did you just lie to five people?" I ask, raising an eyebrow to make sure she knows I'm not all that impressed. It isn't my job to police my friends, and it isn't my job to teach them right from wrong at this point, but I'll let them know where to draw the line. The pinkette presses her lips together.
"You looked like you were going to jump Akashi-kun." Satsuki says hesitantly, fuchsia eyes looking incredibly cautious. I open my mouth to protest when she interrupts. "I know you wouldn't, but I thought you should get outside before you snapped or something. You already cut your hands, and broke a glass, and glared at him. You don't need to have his parents see you practically murder their son with your eyes." I press my lips into a thin line and try my best not to sigh loudly.
"I guess you're right." I say as we walk into a clothing shop. "Why are we going in here?" She gives me a devilish smile.
"I need your opinion on something~!" The pink-haired girl chirps, dragging over toward some all too familiar racks. Dresses and other rather girlish articles of clothing flood my vision. I am so killing someone.
Three hours, several headaches, and the promise of gyouza pass before I'm finally allowed to escape the pink-walled boutique. "Gyouza, gyouza!" I chirp cheerily, bouncing next to Satsuki. The pinkette offers me a long-suffering sigh, opens her wallet, and drags me into a small shop. It's her fault that I didn't eat earlier. Now she has to suffer with my insatiable appetite. I'm allowed an enormous to-go box of dumplings. They're really more like pot stickers. I guess they are pot stickers, but gyouza sounds so much more dignified. Less clingly, for sure.
I want to go home now. I want to sleep, and share my food with Daiki since I ordered too much out of habit, and watch TV and maybe play some basketball. We have a game tomorrow, so maybe no basketball, but I'm up for a jog or the cages or hell, even doing Daiki's homework. I just want to keep myself busy, although I don't know why. It's okay though. Busy isn't bad at all. Busy sounds good. Maybe I'll check in at work and see if I can get some extra hours in so my bills don't look so daunting.
I don't want the Akashis in my apartment again, but I refuse to kick them out; rather, they can come, but they can't tell me what to do in my own place. I don't dislike them. Mrs. Akashi is sweet, and Mr. Akashi is firm, and Sei is Sei. They've done more than enough to protect me. I'm infinitely grateful toward them, and I can hardly comprehend how much I owe them, but I won't hand over my free will that easily. That, despite however much time I spend here, is something I can never allow to slip away. I'm just that type of person, I suppose. I have trouble fitting in and going with the flow.
"If they're inside, you play nice." Satsuki warns in her usual mothering tone. "Do that, and I'll buy you the coconut buns you love so much." My eyes brighten at the thought of sweet buns. I had them when Sei went to China for a week over summer break. Knowing my appetite for sweets, and Atsushi's addiction, he brought some back for us to try. Atsushi wasn't a huge fan, although he was happy to try it. Fortunately, they were saved from being wasted since I had a little too, and found myself addicted, I suppose. They've been my favorite sweet ever since.
It takes a long while to reach the apartment again, especially since Satsuki keeps stopping to buy things, like clothing, and making it up to me by getting me more food. All in all, an hour to return isn't as bad as it could be, although I've gotten to know Satsuki's measurements by heart, and have memorized the interior of a few too many shops. I also now know what a halter top is. I didn't feel an urge to know that.
The apartment is void of the Akashis, although Mrs. Akashi did leave me a note in neat, tiny script stating that she'd like me to call her after the tournament ends. Daiki is here, though, and gladly relieves me of some of my food. Satsuki ups and leaves, allowing me to curl into the bluenette's side and try my best not to allow him to take all my food. "Daiki, do you think I shouldn't play?" I ask, glancing up at him. The bluenette doesn't break eye contact with the television screen as he relies to me.
"Isn't that your choice? How stupid do you gotta be to realize that he's testing you?" He answers. I smile to myself.
"Yeah, it is my choice." I say. "Let's see if Seijuurou likes the results he'll get."