No. No. nonononono. This can't be happening. No. just, no. NO.

Currently, our young detective while laying down on her stomach on the bed in the Akashi Manor, is having a little battle with herself inside her room,. After that little incident in the shinkansen, Shizune has been feeling this weird feeling (which she can't really explain since it's the first time feeling it) whenever she gets near Akashi. She also keeps getting the urge to see his face or hear his voice even though they practically live under the same roof.

According to what her friends told her, she might have fallen for the chibi captain. She strongly, absolutely, obviously, extremely denies it even though all the signs are there. Why, you ask? Because she's the stubborn type who wont admit liking someone she considers not her type. Mibuchi is an exception though. Although staying with the Akashis had made her relationship with the redhead become rather tight, he still distanced himself from her. Not letting her in the invisible wall he built. She was quite disappointed by that but that exact same thing made her think that actually falling for him was out of the question. It is logically impossible. In her logic, that is.

Okay, world. What kind of game are you playing with me now? First, you make me like Ren. Well, that ended quickly maybe because I like him in a brotherly way…? Then, you make me like my senior who isn't even straight which kinda hurts. Now you're making me fall for someone who is like a stranger to me? Genius work. I would like to give a knuckle sandwich to the guy who is in charge of my love life..

Before she could continue ranting in her head, a knock was heard on her door and guess who let himself in. yes, the antagonist Akashi Seijuro himself. In a dashing black suit as an addition too. The redhead clicked his tongue when he saw the sour look on the brunette's face then smiled amusingly when the faint blush on her face was noticed.

"what do you want, Akashi?"

"father wants us to come to a dinner with his acquaintances so I came to help you get dressed."

Those words hit the female like a metal pipe which fell from the heavens. A guy, not to mention someone who she possibly developed feelings to, helping her get dressed? And by his own free will? What the hell is going on in this bastard's head!?

"I'm joking."

"it doesn't sound like one when you say it…"

"is that so.." He looked at her for a moment before lightly throwing a maroon dress at her. "wear it. your mother sent it from America." Ignoring the groans she let out upon seeing the clothing, Akashi shut the door behind him to let her change and he leaned against the wall beside it to wait for her.

After a few minutes, the door opened and out came Shizune in the one piece she despised so much. It was a simple short sleeved collared dress which reached just above her knees and had a black coloured belt-ish strap on the waist area. Getting no comments on how she looked, the girl frowned and walked to the limo with the redhead. Once they exited the manor, they were greeted by a very chilly autumn wind which made the duo scurry into the warm, heater-equipped limo. The surrounding air felt like winter even though it was only still autumn.

The very silent car ride almost killed the female so you can guess how glad she was that they were already at the rather fancy restaurant. A waiter guided the pair to a table which was reserved under the name of Akashi. His father and his three guests were already seated and chatting happily with each other. Upon noticing the arrival of the two youngsters, a woman nudged the older Akashi and smiled playfully while asking.

"ara, I thought Shuusaku had only one child. Where did the other come from?"

"oh, she's a friend's child who is staying over for some time and please don't call me by my name, Asegawa…"

"is it wrong for me to call my life long friend by his name?"

The woman called Asegawa giggled before setting her gaze on Akashi & Shizune who took their seats beside each other wearing very fake smiles. They turned faker the minute Shuusaku explained the reason of inviting the kids which was because he wanted to introduce his son to the people who would be his partners in work when he takes over the company. Shizune was just a might-as-well-invite-her-since-there's-a-chance-she'll-work-with-them-too. Though he didn't say it out loud, she knew the man was thinking it.

"Seijuro, Shizune, this is Hatamoto Gin. Head of the Hatamoto Group. Beside him is Kiyama Naoki. 5th heir of the Kiyama Medical Company. Finally, this fine lady next to me is Asegawa Takako from the Asegawa Plutocrat and a good friend of mine."

"my, I'm flattered~"

"oi, oi, Akashi-san. Why give a special introduction to only Asegawa-san? Aren't we good enough?"

Kiyama jokingly asked and the adults laughed heartily leaving the highschoolers feeling very out of place. They kept on talking about their business and stuff unrelated to the silent duo until Asegawa's decided to converse with them.

"by the way, I heard that Seijuro-kun is a basketball player in school"

"yes I am."

"is your school participating in the Winter….Cup, was it?"

"yes we are."

"my, that's great! I wish you luck!"

Luck is not needed because winning is a given for me… "thank you, Asegawa-san"

"what about you, Shizune-chan?"

"eh?"

"which club are you in?"

"basketball. as the manager"

"so it's the same as Seijuro-kun, huh? that means you can cheer for him in a close range during the match, right?~"

The hell would I do that… "I guess so.."

After eating, Shuusaku said that he and the other three were going to do some more talking about work so the kids can either stay to listen or head home first. Of course, they chose the latter. Not wanting to wait for the limo to arrive, the two put on their coats and walked on the streets side by side without any sound. Akashi pulled up his scarf to cover the bottom half of his face as another stream of cold air blew past them. His eyes unconsciously turned to the female beside him who put on an emotionless expression but it was clear that she was affected by the cold weather.

The coat she was wearing didn't do a good job in keeping her warm and she didn't bring her scarf with her. Nevertheless, the words "I'm cold" didn't come out from her. It could be because her pride was high and she didn't want to show weakness to someone who isn't close to her. The boy, who however noticed how she was feeling and being the gentleman he was, took off his scarf and wrapped it around her neck the moment she stopped to see what he was doing.

"you're going to catch a cold. I'll lend it to you for a while."

Gesturing for her who was still clueless of why he did that to follow him, the two continued their silent little journey. Half way through, the brunette decided to start a conversation in hope to know him better. Honestly, she had forgotten all about her real motive to apply as the manager for the basketball club. The members felt like family to her so they had made her completely forget about it. The reason she felt like asking was because she thought it might benefit her in the future and because she was sick of the silence.

"Akashi." She begun. "what was your middle school life like?"

"why the sudden curiousity?"

"nothing really. So, what was it like?"

"I had a pleasant time in school and I was blessed with good friends."

"I heard that a Generation of Miracles were from your school. What were they like?"

"They were an interesting confederation, although their abilities were far too advanced and it was quite difficult to deal with them, they each have their own charm."

"I guess you're gonna face them in the Winter Cup.."

"exactly."

"I see…sounds interesting" she chuckled.

"…what about your school life before coming to Rakuzan?"

"you wanna know?"

"might as well ask." He answered in a quite nonchalant voice.

"oh. Well, it was normal excluding the crazy amount of cases I had to deal with."

"you might be cursed or you're the reaper himself."

"oi."

"I'm joking."

"it doesn't sound like one when you say it…"

"that's the second time you said that today."

"why are you counting?..."

"we have reached."

"he ignored me?..."

The maids greeted the pair with a warm cup of tea which they declined then retreated to their rooms. After changing into a pair of shorts and a T-Shirt, Shizune slumped on her chair and started surfing random websites on her laptop. If she was going to praise the Akashis for one thing, it would be their internet connection. It was really speedy and there was no lagging making the girl stare in awe for a few moments before she could surf the net properly.

"nn? This is…"

She clicked open an article from today's news which she didn't get to read and read it in a very monotone voice.

"Seirin High Basketball Club managed to book a spot in the Winter Cup… Tōou Academy, Kaijō High, Rakuzan High, Yōsen High, Shūtoku High, Seirin High. The schools possessing the Generation of Miracles will now be facing against each other…Just one month left and the first match of the Winter Cup— Tōou against Seirin —will take place in Tokyo. Which team would Lady Luck smile on?..."

She rested her head on her fist as she searched for more information about Seirin High Basketball Team and Tōou Academy Basketball Team. There were a lot of articles about the two teams and their matches in the past. There was even a special article about the players from Seirin and she was fascinated by Seirin's No. 11 player.

Name, Kuroko Tetsuya.

He was dubbed as the "Phantom Sixth Man" and was a member of the GoM even though his presence is very low and his only skill was making passes. Sure the No. 10 player called Kagami Taiga is much more superb than the sixth man but he seemed like the normal protagonist stereotype so she didn't gain much interest to him. As she continued reading about Kuroko, she failed to notice a person approaching her from behind.

"oh? You're doing research on Tetsuya?"

A loud, very unfeminine shriek could be heard from the mansion. Shizune put a hand over her chest and took a deep breath before standing up and scowling at the cause of her shock.

"Akashi! Don't do that! what would you do if I actually died from a heart attack?"

"celebrate, really. Still, I didn't take you for a person that gets scared easily."

"anyone would scream if they were in the same situation! And what do you mean by celebrate?..."

"why are you looking at information about Tetsuya?"

"ignored again…." The girl hung her head in defeat. "I was just surfing through the internet and I found an article about a school called Seirin. I did some searching about it and came across this Kuroko guy."

"I see.."

"that aside, what are you doing here?"

"my scarf."

"ah" she realized. "sorry. Here ya go."

"no need to apologize." He said, accepting the scarf and turning his back on her to leave. "ah" Akashi stopped and slightly rotated his body to face her. "you better sleep early. It is unhealthy for a girl to stay up until late in the night. Also, lock the door. You wouldn't want someone either than me to come into your room uninvited, no?"

"Sheesh, I will." She lazily replied and gestured for him to leave. "Now shoo."

The girl was about to turn and continue on her internet surfing when a warm hand gently patting her head was felt. As the hand distanced itself, the boy said in a soft whisper as he headed towards the door.

"good night."

The brunette stared blankly at the shut door before putting her own hand on where his was a few moments ago. Her cheeks slowly turned pink and her heart started pounding.

Crap…

She quickly shut down her laptop and locked the door before turning off the lights.

Crap, crap, crap! I…!

She jumped under the covers and buried her face in the pillow, trying to ignore the pounding noises and her slightly warm self.

I… have fallen for Akashi…

Once those words passed in her mind, the pounding noises stopped and her body temperature turned normal. She turned around and stared at the ceiling in disbelief.

What was the trigger? His looks? The bizarre stuff he can do? His sleeping face in the shinkansen? Tsk. Such a pain…or maybe it was because…

Because…

He…

Akashi returned to his room and locked the door before doing the usual procedure when going to bed. After laying down on the soft object, he raised and stared at his own hand which he could faintly see in the darkness of the room.

Why did I do that..?

Is it because…

She…

.

.

.

.

.

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""Seemed similar to me…?""

ossu!
well, I owe an apology to Kagami and his fans..
real sorry!
hope you liked it though...^^"