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Of Nail files and Trinkets

All sorts of things littered the gymnasium floor as one Momoi Satsuki rummaged through her bags (take note: bags with an 'S') that afternoon. There were notebooks and pieces of paper, pencils and markers scattered on the floor as Momoi emptied her satchel.

When she did not find the item she had frantically and desperately been searching for, Momoi moved on to her gym bag. Soon enough an extra pair of shorts, a shirt, a towel, and… was that a bra? Came flying overhead as she tossed them away one by one.

"Where could it be?" Momoi cried out, having no apparent luck in her search. She then reached for the much smaller bag next to her. "If it's not here, then I don't know where else it could be!" Momoi declared, but a hint of agitation dawning upon her.

If it wasn't in her grooming kit where it should belong, for god's sakes, then the probability of her ever finding it was minimal. Unless, by some miraculous means, it would materialize in front of her. Momoi of course, doubted this.

Press powders were cracked, eye-shadows were dusting the previously spotless floor, lipsticks were all over the place… and the smell of cherries lingered in the air as a bottle of perfume lay shattered amongst everything else.

Momoi would have been devastated at the sight. Her make-up was all in smithereens. Make-up that was pricey. Make-up that she paid for. But there was one thing worth more than all of them combined, apparently. And right now it seemed that Momoi was still a little far off from finding it.

But she was nowhere near giving up. Oh, no.

Footsteps echoed throughout the gym, signaling the arrival of the regulars. A look of bewilderment and possible displeasure (Akashi) was plastered on their faces as they observed at what they were pretty damn sure of was their court.

"Uh… Momoicchi?" Kise began.

Their court was now part school supplies retail store, part thrift shop, part hurricane Katrina victim.

"What's—?"

Momoi hastily stood and faced the blonde. She gripped him by the forearms. "Ki-chan, where is it?" She demanded.

"Where's what?" Momoi ignored Kise, deeming him "Useless!" and went passed him. Poor guy didn't even know what was going on.

By the entrance, Momoi was met by Akashi and Murasakibara, who were still in the process of figuring out what was going on—mostly Akashi. Murasakibara was busy munching on his ever present snacks.

"Satsuki, would you be so kind enough to explain why our court is looking like it had been harassed by your belongings?" Akashi asked mildly. But anyone… anyone would be able to realize the ominous intent encrypted in such simple words.

Momoi's Akashi Senses literally translated it to: "If your reason is valid enough to save this monstrosity you've done here then I'd probably spare your left eye." Then again, it wasn't exact. It could also mean: "I'm suspending you from managing our team for a month", which was even worse.

But as much as Momoi wanted to save her left eye and her career as manager, she really had to go. "I'll explain later!" She said, dashing away and leaving the redhead with a throbbing vein from the side of his temple.

"Hey, Akachin… What's that powdery stuff over there?" Murasakibara suddenly asked as he pointed at some glittery fragments of powder by the bleachers.

"Nothing edible, Atsushi."

Meanwhile outside the gym, Momoi had come across one Phantom Player.

"Tetsu-kun!" She began, all frenetic. "Have you seen a…" Momoi then explained to him what item she had lost and what kind of ordeal she'd be in if she failed to find it. "It kind of looks like…" Momoi made hand gestures describing its size and shape. Kuroko nodded in comprehension. "I swear I put it in one of my bags, but I can't seem to find it in any of them!"

Kuroko apologized, stating that he had not seen such item. "But I think I saw Midorima-kun holding a similar object. I last saw him by the west stair—"

"Thanks, Tetsu-kun!" She said, not even waiting to let the other boy finish, as she quickly speeded her way to her next destination.

Momoi arrived at the specified staircase and there she found the bespectacled greenhead, just like Kuroko had said. Midorima was leaning against the railing at the top step, fiddling with his fingers.

"Midorin!" Momoi called out, making her way up. "Midorin," she said again once she'd reached him.

"Oh Momoi, I was just about to—"

Momoi cut him off almost immediately. "Don't 'Oh Momoi' me," she said assertively, grabbing the other's attention away from his hands. "What do you think you're holding there?"

There was a pause as Midorima analyzed what she was referring to. He noticed that Momoi was eyeing what he was holding. "A nail file?"

"And who do you think it belongs to?"

"Uh, well…" There was another pause. Tension seemed to have built up between the two because suddenly, Midorima became a bit apprehensive. "…You could say that I was in desperate need to shape my nails. And uh…even more so due to our upcoming match with this… uh… academy, what was it again?"

More than apprehensive now as Momoi fixed her fiery gaze onto him, burning holes through his sorry attempts for an excuse. Midorima swallowed. "Anyway, it just so happened that I was lucky enough to stumble upon this—"

"You stumbled upon it?" Momoi cocked an eyebrow in disbelief.

Midorima pushed his glasses up. "To be precise, I casually borrowed it. There was one pouch in the classroom which was left wide open, and I simply couldn't ignore what was peeping out from inside. Of course, I was going to put it back as soon as I was finished. "

"Midorin, did you ever stop to think that maybe some people didn't want their stuff touched?"

"Well, I—"

"That's mine," Momoi said flatly. "Now, please give it." She stretched out her arm and opened her palm.

"Oh, this is yours? Then I guess it is even better, considering that I can just give it back to you later on. I know you're never stingy, Momoi. After all, sharing is caring, right?"

There was a twitch in Momoi's eyebrow as she grew more impatient.

"Give it to me or the lucky item gets it," Momoi warned and reached for the rather misplaced object amongst the school stuff that was sitting on one of the steps.

"I would have to refuse. You have to be reasonable, Momoi. This comes with a buffer and a shiner. You very well know how much my nails affect the accuracy of my shooting."

Momoi ignored him. "…In shatters goes this very breakable, very delicate porcelain swan…"

The shooter gave a huff of defeat. "Fine. But if the slightest damage is inflicted on my nail then—"

"Pleasure doing business with you, Midorin~" Momoi smiled and trailed off in a sing-song tune, cutting off Midorima purposely as she disappeared from the stairs.

Now Momoi finally got her thing back, she couldn't help but feel relieved. "Gosh. What would Dai-chan say if he saw Midorima with this?" She dreaded thinking about it.

It wasn't all those nail care necessities that she was so worried about—those were an extra, and frankly she could've given it to Midorima anyway. What Momoi got so worked up over was the trinket that came with it. A pink-haired doll that looked so much like her, one that Aomine...

"Oi, Satsuki!" Momoi's thoughts came to a complete stop as she jumped at the familiarity of the voice. And the next thing she knew the blue-haired ace was in front, looking suspiciously at her. "So… I saw Midorima holding a particular item today," he said.

"O-oh… Did you?"

"Yeah. Funny thing is it looked exactly like the one you forced me to buy with what's left of my allowance a few days ago. Remember? I didn't get to buy lunch because of that… Or the latest edition of the magazine I wanted."

Momoi gave a strangled sound of laughter. "H-ha…h-ha… You must be seeing things!" Momoi sheepishly slapped the side of Aomine's arm playfully. "Well, I'd best be off. Good luck at practice!" She said and hurriedly scurried away.

"But you're supposed to be watching us!" Momoi heard Aomine call out from the far off distance. She smiled.

Ah yes, the trinket that Aomine sacrificed his lunch for.

. .

TO: Midorima Shintarou
SUBJECT: Hello, Midorin!...

"Hello, Midorin! Just so you know you owe me a grand total of $150.69 for all the make-up you made me break this afternoon. Oh, plus $18.00 for the broken bottle of perfume. Have fun converting!"

TO: Akashi Seijuurou
SUBJECT: About my stuff…

"About my stuff…Akashi-kun… Please ask Midorima for the explanation. He WOULD know. And if you want to tidy out the court, Midorin would be happy to volunteer! If he says no, consider gouging out his left eye. ^_^"

Note: No implied pairings. This had been purely friendship.