This can't be happening to me. It's getting too difficult to remember things. I've been quizzed who knows how many times. I don't even know when I started getting questioned like this, or why. Everyone keeps saying I hit my head today, but how can that be? It would explain my headache and the strange stiffness of my neck, but I can remember bits and pieces of today, and I don't recall a fall of any kind.
"Hai-chan!" Satsuki scares me out of my skin as I walk down the street. How did I get here? Why am I here? Everything is confusing. "Hai-chan, where are you going?" I blink in surprise. What's she doing here, anyway?
"I... don't know." I say, frowning as harshly as my face will allow. "How did I get here?" My eyes are burning. Why am I ending up places when I don't recall going there. The pinkette grabs my hand as soon as I start to sniffle. "I'm scared, Satsuki!"
All I get is a carefully constructed look of confidence. "It'll be okay, Hai-chan." Why am I scared again? I guess I'll just have to trust the pinkette. I'm not even sure why she's holding my hand, but I won't complain. I just want to go home.
It takes time to get home. I'm not sure how much, but it takes some amount of time. All I am sure of is that I'm cold and I'm hungry and I want to sleep and I have a headache. Also, I'm crying for some reason. Not sure why, but I can't really control it. At least I'm quiet enough that Satsuki hasn't noticed. Maybe she has, and I've forgotten it.
"Alex! Where did you go?" Seeing Sei here, standing next to Daiki, is both a shock and not a shock. My eyes burn.
"I don't know." I say as I try to hold back the urge to wail. My hands rub my eyes with unnecessary roughness. I just want to sleep. I just want to eat and shower and sleep and remember.
It's dark outside. I wish I knew when it got dark. I wish I knew more than the weird pieces flying through my blank memory. I wish I knew why I keep forgetting things.
What is more than a shock, more than any surprise could equate to, is that as Sei walks closer and closer, he isn't at all terrifying. He looks sad and concerned and above all, worn out. Frankly, it's worrying to see such a proud character in this state. I go rigid as his arms wrap around me.
"Seijuurou?" Am I supposed to hug him back? My arms respond hesitantly to the situation, hugging him gently as I try to understand why everything is weird. This is not like Sei. "When did you get here, Sei?" What I really want to ask is when did I get here.
"I've been here for a few hours, Alex." My face pales, my eyes burn, my nose runs. I think I'm actually going to cry.
I wonder if there's any merit to fighting off the inevitable. I barely manage to do so, hiding my face is Sei's shoulder until he relaxes his grip and steps away from me. "She needs to sleep. Tomorrow it should be a little better." Sei says to Daiki and Satsuki. I wonder why he won't address me.
As soon as the thought is completed, Sei looks to me. "I'll be staying nearby for a few days." With that, he exits without another word. I blink in surprise.
"I'm going home, Hai-chan. Be safe, okay?" The pinkette says after another unidentifiable amount of time.
Daiki and I stare at each other for a long while. Then I glance down, down at my feet and wonder why I'm wearing shoes. I take them off slowly, and wonder why I'm taking them off. This is getting to be a little too much. No, that's a lie. This is going to push me over the edge. I take a piece of paper, a pen that is close, and scrawl over the top I am going to bed. Daiki raises an eyebrow, but doesn't comment as I brush past him quietly.
I glance at the paper every now and then, reaffirming that my walk to the bedroom has a purpose, and that I'm not doing things on whim. I fall asleep feeling confused and wishing I understood what was happening to me.
Every once in a while, the bed shakes. Each time, I open my eyes blearily, only to be bombarded with questions. Each time I wake up, it feels like it's the first time I've heard these questions, but it also feels like I've heard them before. I don't know what time it is when Daiki wakes me. "Aomine Daiki, what exactly are you doing?" I hiss, cracking open my eyes. "This is the second time you've woken me."
"You remember the last time?" With a start, I sit up, glancing at the blue-eyed boy with shock before grinning like a fool.
"Yeah! I remember you've woken me up before. A little while ago, I think. You asked me if I remembered anything." A grin is threatening to split my face, and I'm all too happy to allow it. The fact that I'm remembering things is a good thing, it's great actually.
In the darkness of my room, I can see the frown that's a near constant feature on the bluenette's face ease and melt away. "Why do you keep waking me up, anyway? What time is it?"
"Uh, three, I think." He says with a yawn. "They told us not to let you sleep more than a few hours before waking you up to ask you questions. Since you've started remembering things, it looks like we worried for nothing." The urge to roll my eyes is overwhelming, but I suppress it. Daiki was worried, from what I can tell. I appreciate the thought.
"Thank you, though." I say as the bluenette releases another enormous yawn. He looks tired; I can see that now that my eyes have adjusted to the darkness of my room. His futon is a mess of tangled sheets, with cans of a couple energy drinks littering my floor. He really deserves to sleep better than that. "You should go back to sleep. You look tired."
The bluenette makes a sort of grunt of agreement before splaying out his limbs all over my bed. About half of him is on top of me, pushing me back down into the bed. "I'm taking your bed as payment." He grumbles into my pillow. "You can be a bed warmer." I suppose there's really no use arguing with him, especially since he's pretty much passing out and curling his limbs around me. It's not like I have any real complains, after all. Daiki isn't really a snorer, and he's pretty warm. All in all, my only complain is that my bed is a little more cramped than I'd like, but what does that matter? We're both tired. I'll deal with problems as they arise.
My next problem, well, I shouldn't really count it as a problem, but it comes as I walk into the gym at Touou. I guess it isn't a problem-problem, just a problem. It's hard to explain, but you get my drift, don't you? "Seijuurou, what are you doing here?" My head is pounding, my history lesson went way over my head, and all I honestly want is to play, something I'm not allowed to do for the next few days. Parts of my neck refuse to turn as much as I'd like them to, but I won't complain. I'm just happy I'm remembering things.
The redhead is sitting elegantly on the raised part of the gym that I think doubles as a stage for events like the entrance ceremony. Red and gold eyes watch me carefully, as if judging something I have yet to show him. Satsuki told me quite firmly that if I so much as stepped on the court, she was going to throttle me. I decided that judging by the way she was glaring daggers at my steps toward the gym, she was dead serious. I'd rather not be strangled, thank you very much.
With a bit of a struggle, I hop up on the lip of the stage and sit down next to the redhead. "Alex." Sei studies me for a minute.
"Well? Are you going to answer my question?" Some amount of tension seems to ease from the redhead; something I didn't know was actually humanly possible.
"You've regained continuous memory." I guess it's a statement, and not a question. "How far back do you remember?"
"Mm? Since about three this morning." I reply. "I have no idea what happened between the start of the game and then, though." Concern furrows Sei's brows as I rub the back of my head gingerly.
"I see." Sei murmurs. "And your head? Does anything hurt?" Sei's always like this, I think. With me, at least. He's always taken to looking after me, especially after what we like to call the Fallout. I shrug slightly in response.
"I get some headaches and my neck is sore, but other than that I think I'm okay." The redhead leans back to examine me, but sits upright when he can't see any serious damage. I didn't even bruise, which I suppose is a good thing, although it irritates me that I still got all the stiffness possible. I can't even hold my head at an angle without using my hands to relieve my neck.
"We went to a doctor." Sei says briskly. "He didn't think it would be too serious, but did tell us that if this didn't go away within twenty-four hours of the impact that you'd be in some trouble. It seems to have cleared up." I nod my head, wincing at the stiffness I'm met with. "What were you doing at three in the morning?"
"Daiki woke me up to ask me questions. Was it the second time? I'm not entirely sure, but I remembered he did it before." I answer, tilting my head slightly. "By the way, I think you're scaring Sakurai. Don't glare at him like that. He'll have an apologizing fit. It's troublesome once it starts." Sei redirects his gaze quickly, dismissing the brunette. It would be a little irksome to have Sakurai apologizing for the next fifteen minutes.
"I see." The redhead says. "Why did you go to school? Stressing yourself will only slow you down." I'm practically ready to mourn my lost history lesson just for the sake of getting Sei off this topic, but I know it's only going to confirm what he already knows.
"Didn't want to miss more than I had to." I murmur, slouching and feeling a little deflated. "Could be worse." The nausea that strikes my stomach makes things take a turn for the worse. "Not much worse, but worse."
And to make a long story short, Sei got concerned; my headache came back, and let's just say that there aren't many people who've used Sei's lap as a pillow. It's probably well worth any punishment though, since his lap is actually quite comfortable. It's quite interesting really. It's a bit of a waste, since nobody else really uses his lap anyway. When all's said and done I guess it can't be helped. Not that I'm complaining, anyway. I don't have the right to.
I'm on the verge of falling asleep when a stray ball flies dangerously close. It bounces off my stomach, causing me to whip upward, and for pain to shudder down my spine. It takes most of my self-control not to yelp and glare. Instead, I rub my stomach, reach for the offensive ball, and toss it to a very anxious-looking second year. "Let's go outside, Se-" I pause to see that Sei definitely isn't where I left him. It's a little disturbing, to be honest. Where exactly did he go?
It takes me a while to find Sei again, glaring daggers into the back of the second year. I hastily drag him outside so he doesn't end up murdering someone rather innocent. As much as it's nice to be outdoors, away from the constant studying of a certain pink-haired manager, I haven't really escaped, and all I've been met with is a sort of sweltering heat. My mouth begins to feel dry. I should've brought a water bottle today, but I guess it can't be helped. I'll just deal with the heat (barely) and suck it up (I hope).
With all the tolerance possible for a dehydrated, headachy, somewhat flustered teenage girl, I keep my mouth shut about the heat and incredibly humidity. At least a skirt means my legs will be able to feel some breeze, but the "cute" little sailor top? How about no. At least it doesn't reek of sweat and testosterone out here. Just suffocating perfume from the girls walking by. "Where is Daiki?" Sei asks as I lean back against the outside of the gym.
"Hm? Probably sleeping. He actually stayed awake during class to take my notes." I reply fluidly, a yawn escaping my lips once more. The redhead raises an eyebrow elegantly, and I can't help but want to laugh at the very unusual act. I guess, in a way, Sei is more human around me than his with the others, although I don't understand why. I can't really explain it. Maybe it's because auras like the ones around him and Daiki and Tetsu and the others never really affected me to begin with.
But today, today Sei is more human than I've ever seen him, offering me a place to sleep and raising his eyebrow and having an amused smirk toying at the edges of his lips. I want to make him laugh, just to see if it's possible. Then again, I'm not really the funniest person around. I wouldn't count on it happening in the next hundred years. "The game against us is coming up tomorrow." Sei says much more seriously. I see the way his personality flips, and I know what's coming. "I think you know what I'm going to say." With a sigh pressing at my lips, I nod.
"You don't want me playing, right? I understand. I won't play in the game against Rakuzan." The redhead nods with approval, crossing his arms.
"Daiki will not be playing, and neither will I. " It makes me uncomfortable to purposely not play, but a game against Sei isn't in my best interests. I'll play, I'll snap, and then, I'll lose. Sei always is assured of victory. That aside, I don't like playing against my former teammates. I'm not against it, I just don't like it. I don't want to taste defeat at Sei's hands. The sigh I'm holding pushes past my lips with more force than I thought it would have.
"Yeah, I understand." I murmur, running a hand through my hair.
"You want to play?" I can practically see the eyebrow rising once more.
"I always want to play." I answer with a bitter taste filling my mouth. "But Satsuki would kill me if I played tomorrow." The words I choose not to speak fail to cross the distance between us. I'm sure Sei knows what I want to say, but it holds no impact. It never really did to begin with. All I need to do is play as I'm told, and everything will eventually work out the way it's supposed to. Besides, it's not like I'd purposely avoid a game against Sei. It would just be unpleasant, unsatisfactory, and unproductive. It's a guaranteed loss for Touou from where I stand.
It's sort of uncomfortable to have the knowledge that we'll be throwing this game against Sei. He didn't say anything about playing Atsushi, but I'm fairly certain we'll win since the purple-type giant has absolutely no drive, and Daiki will take the time to play then. He'll probably be in for a challenge since Atsushi is incredibly good at what he does. I guess the game to watch will the Touou vs. Yosen. I do hope we give a fairly good fight during the Touou-Rakuzan match, although I don't have high hopes.
"That's what you get for playing two sports, Alex. You can't specialize properly if you have your time split." I feel a twitch coming.
"I can." I say. "Besides, the injury isn't my fault. She purposely barreled straight into me. It's an interference call. I would've gotten two outs if it weren't for her." I sound much more bitter than I really should, but what's there to not be bitter about? It's her fault I have a huge blank in my memory about what happened yesterday. It's her fault I'm still tired and I keep getting headaches and that my neck feels like it'll tear in two if I even move just a fraction too fast or a fraction too far. I'm bitter. I'm definitely very bitter over it, but what can I do? I'm not going to hunt her down. She goes to Kaijou. We'll just obliterate them.
I don't know how our game turned out yesterday, and frankly, I'm not all that inclined to ask. I mean sure, I should, just so I have the record straight, but that game is already a scratch in my book. Two injured starters? Not a fun day for the coach or the manager. It's not like we won't get Kaijou back for what they did. I'll make sure we mercy them in our next game, that we destroy the Ryou's team. I guess half of it is out of bitterness, but I honestly want a match against Ryouta. I want to see if his perfect copy will apply to me. I guess I'll have to mimic Tetsuya for another game, but what do I care? Seeing Ryouta play seriously is a lot of fun. I'll have to watch a Kaijou match sometime soon.
Sei has remained silent, assessing me. I guess he's making sure I'm not going to do something stupid, but in all honesty, if I wanted to do something stupid, I would've done it already. "Be ready." He walks away.