Chapter 17: What Am I Thinking?
Arriving at Rakuzan High, Satsu-chan and myself stand in front of the prestigious school, our feet, well mine, rooted to the ground as I stare up at the smouldering school. The school where I could potentially be finding myself to play with at the Winter Cup. Exhaling deeply, Satsu-chan places her hand comfortingly on my shoulder.
"No one's forcing you to leave, Yuki-chan."
"I know, I know," I mumble in response, as Satsu-chan and I climb up the stairs, our steps coinciding.
Halting in front of the large, double headed doors, I take a deep breath before placing my hand on the door.
"This is it," I say quietly, more to myself than to Satsu-chan. Nodding her head, she tells me to open the door. Counting down from 3 in my head, I clench the cold metal in my grasp, swinging it open. But instead, the door remains almost glued shut.
"That's odd," muses out Momoi, as she places her neatly filed nail up to her chin.
Nodding my head in agreement, I try again, just to make sure. Once again, the door doesn't budge.
Satsu-chan and I remain quiet, listening in for the sounds of basketballs dribbling. And we hear them. They were coming from around the corner, where the gym was.
"Stay here, Yuki-chan. I'll go and try the gym doors!"
Running off into the distance, I watch quietly as her pink hair swings softly from side to side. Sighing, I lean my body against the door, crossing my arms over my bust in thought. Maybe this was a sign. A sign that I belonged with Seirin, and that Rakuzsn was never in my future, nor would it ever be.
Alone to my crazy thoughts, my ears perk up as I suddenly hear footsteps making their way towards me. Well, Satsu-chan was pretty quick.
"Did you find…a…way…"
My voice trails off into the light breeze as my hair suddenly begins to dangerously whip around my face, as if a storm had just arrived. I suppose that was one way to describe the boy's aura in front of me. It was him. The same boy from the basketball courts. The one I had seen walking by Touou. The one who had somehow cast a spell on me, a spell full of awe and admiration towards the red head. He continues to walk, his heterochromatic eyes staring at me quizzically as a light, barely there smile creeps onto his lips.
"If I knew you were coming, I would've cancelled practice," he says, his voice a light, solemn rasp as he stops before me. Crossing his arms over his chest, he begins to assess my body in an analytical way rather than for personal pleasure.
"I-I'm-"
"I've been told you wish to join Rakuzan," he says perceptively, his words more of a statement than question.
"That's the thing. I don't-"
"If you aren't sure, why bother coming out here? You must already know what you want if you've arrived here unsure."
Laughing nervously, I scratch the back of my head, not sure if I understood what he meant.
"We've already established a team here that works. If anything, you'd be sitting on the bench for all games. Not because of your gender, but because of the threat you pose to other teams," he says kindly, as he gives me a look from the corner of his eyes.
Hesitantly nodding my head in response, seeing as how I couldn't find the right words to say, all I could do was blush and smile at his kindness.
"You have a better chance at staying with Seirin than anything."
"Do you really think that?"
"I know that."
For some reason, something inside of me told me that those words just weren't loosely speaking.
"I-"
"Mind over matter, right?"
With that, the red headed boy pushes off of the glass doors, turning around as he begins to walk away from my confused, yet eased mind. It was odd. I didn't even know his name, and he didn't exactly say much either by telling me that I'd be benched. But why did his words reassure a place in my heart? A place that couldn't be put to ease by the team, Satsu-chan or even Aomine-kun.
Sighing, I begin to slap my forehead. Why would I even think about joining Rakuzan?! Seirin was home. It was family, love, integrity and strength. Everything I ever needed from life. I couldn't abandon them. Not my senpai's, the first years, Riko-senpai, Kuroko-kun and certainly not Kagami-kun after all that he had said. If he didn't like Aomine-kun, I'd make him like him.
Running a hand through my wild hair, I want to ask what the boy's name was, but instead, I find him nowhere, but instead, a running Satsu-chan is replaced with himself.
"Yuki-"
Running into Satsu-chan's arms, I hug her tightly as I nestle my head deeply into her soft chest.
"What's the-"
"Let's go home."
"B-But-"
"I've figured out that I need to learn to think about myself and not what others want. If I want to be with Aomine-kun and still play with Seirin, then no one can tell me otherwise, right?"
Looking down at me, a soft smile overcomes Satsu-chan's face as she pats my head comfortingly.
"Whatever you want," she laughs, her voice residing deeply into my mind as I hold onto her tightly.
Now, here came the hard part. Telling Kagami-kun.
A/N: Hello lovelies! Wow, I've been M.I.A with this story for a while. I've just been really busy and paying more attention to my other fic, an Aomine x OC story as well. Sorry all! Hope to start posting more soon! Sorry for the short chapter as well. I found some spare time and I hope this will suffice for now! Love you all. =)