A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay. To tell you honestly I already finished the whole plot for the prologue, but things happened, so I'm truly sorry. Now that everything is start falling back to pieces I'll try to update at least once in ten days or two weeks at max :)
Thank u so much for Fuwacchi who helped betaing my story and be there right when I'm about to give up, xoxo. Welcome to the series; Daniela, realnoobs, AnnaLorenzo, kkaebsong, and AVisitorAXMfan, and thank u so much for all of u who have read and review. I really appreciate it *kisses*
Without further ado, here's the chapter two..
Oh, and for Guest who were wondering: This story is before Akashi had his dramatic person changes, and it's in chronological release for my stories RedMixPink. Feel free to check all of them on my profile.
xXx
Momoi glances shyly to the boy beside her. Her heart's thumping and her cheeks are flustered from time to time. She quietly thanks God for this moment, because she needed it. She's been stressed lately as she hasn't been able to watch the basketball she likes, or help the team she loves, and she doesn't see him often. She thought he didn't care if she wasn't around, but now here he is, walking side by side with her after he said he missed her at practice, and he even personally asked her to accompany him to the mall.
It's a bit too crowded for her, but she doesn't mind as long as she's hanging out with him. Besides, this is the perfect site for that, hanging out, just the two of them. She wonders if this is a date.
"You look very happy, Momoi-san," Kuroko says to her softly.
"Of course I do! This is the first time you've asked me out, Tetsu-kun," Momoi responds cheerfully, and the boy smiles at her, making her blush (again). Oh my God! What if he asks me to date him after this! I can't faint! She thinks, distractedly.
For a second, she forgets about a certain red head's cold words towards her that made her feel down for the entire week.
"May I ask something?" says Kuroko as he leads her to the left.
"Anything," she nods.
"Why did you fight with Akashi-kun?" asks the boy casually.
Momoi almost slaps her forehead but manages to restrain it. Of course he'll ask this, sooner or later, she should've seen it coming. "Ah, umm, well..." she stutters, feeling very uncomfortable just thinking about it. "It would be better if you don't know. Can we not talk about this?" she forces a smile, half guilty because he seems really curious, but she really doesn't want to remember about it, at least not now.
"I see," Kuroko nods and respects her decision. So, it is serious, he thinks quietly to himself.
On the other hand,
the certain red head who occupied her head this entire week just arrived at the same mall with two boys who are taller than him. "Daiki, Ryouta, why are you suddenly asking me to go to this crowded mall?" Akashi Seijurou observes the crowd of humans in front of him with annoyance. He seemed a bit grouchy after the last game, and now he already has his arms crossed, posing a defensive stance.
"W-we need to buy new basketball shoes, and we figured that you'll be the best to help us, ssu," Kise reasoned reasons nervously.
"That's right. You're always right after all," Aomine supports him with an awkward chuckle.
Previously, their alliance had decided that there would be two people who will guard this one, since this person will be too much to be handled by one person alone. Believe it or not, Akashi Seijurou has that kind of skill. And after a long period of arguments, eh, I mean, discussion, that ended up miserably in jan ken pon (except for the phantom sixth man since he already got his task), both losers ended up with the captain.
"Are you guys by any chance.." Akashi looks up to them both. "Hiding something from me?" he inquires with a hint of suspicion.
Both Kise and Aomine try so hard to maintain their composure. Somehow they have a feeling that they won't be able to get through this mission alive.
"They're almost there, Midochin," Murasakibara informs his partner lazily as he watches the group of three boys walk awkwardly towards their target.
"I'm texting Kuroko right now," Midorima pulls out his cell and begins texting super fast with his left hand.
Both he and Murasakibara are hidden pretty well in the pet shop, amongst the cute fluffy animals which stares at them curiously.
They're almost there. Retreat.
Kuroko flips his cell close. It's time to initiate the plan. He glances at Momoi who is looking really delighted as she paces around him, observing the basketball gear. He feels a bit bad to have to lie to her, but this is for their own good, so Kuroko takes a deep breath and makes up his mind.
"Momoi-san," he calls out and approaches her.
"Hmm?" Momoi turns to face him with a bright smile plastered on her face.
"I need to go to the bathroom, can you wait for me, please?" he fakes a reason that he had planned with the others a couple of hours ago.
"Sure, I'll wait right here," the girl nods instantly.
"Okay. Umm.. you can look around if you want, but you can't go out," says Kuroko as he walks backwards, looking a bit unsure. He has to make sure that she'll stay put.
"Got it, Tetsu-kun," Momoi responds by saluting him jokingly. He gives her one last smile before leaving to join the scouting party. What is this? He doesn't want to be separated from me that badly? thought Momoi blushes like mad at the thought.
Meanwhile, the uncomfortable group that has just arrived at the spot...
"Ah, this is the place!" Kise looks around and acts like he's excited about it. They're finally here, at the sport store.
"Ooohhh! It looks cool, good pick Kise!" Aomine, supports his statement. Like usual, the power forward doesn't seem to be able to come up with words of his own and only manages to talk after the blonde.
"Why didn't you answer my question?" Akashi's brows furrow, ignoring them. He looks more annoyed than before.
"Because we have nothing to hide, ssu," Kise lies, hoping that his bright personality can make up for his awkwardness. But that over bright personality is what makes Akashi feel more uneasy about them two. Suspicious.
"Let's go inside," Aomine suggests, helping the teen model. Now that's weirder for Akashi, since Aomine has never objected against Kise and has followed his directions at all times today. "Woah, it's pretty large," the tan boy comments as they walk around.
"And stuffed," Akashi add uncomfortably, both hands still crossed and eyes staring coldly.
Secretly, Kise gives a hand signal to Aomine, and soon the bluenette is trying his best to catch the red head's attention while the blonde carefully checks his latest text.
It's from Midorima: Kuroko is backing away. Move on to the next phase, now.
The small forward sighs nervously. This is it. "Whoa! My wallet is gone!" Kise yells in panic, checking all his pockets.
"What, really?" Aomine soon draws into a fake panic mode.
"Yes, I guess I dropped it somewhere, ssu," Kise continues to act.
"You're so reckless, Ryota," thankfully, Akashi seems to believe it and starts turning his head around.
"Aominecchi, would you help me look for it?" Kise uses the chance immediately. It'll be bad if the target finds them before they leave.
"Sure," Aomine nods in understanding.
Akashi is about to comment, but...
"Akacchi, sorry, but can you take a look around for a while?" Kise interrupts by clasping his hands in front of his body and quickly dashes from the scene after that.
"We'll be right back!" Aomine also waves hurriedly at him and runs after his teammate.
"Oy!" Akashi protests, but they've already disappeared amongst the crowd. "What's wrong with them?" he asks himself in confusion.
The captain sighs in defeat. There's no use chasing them now, and since he's here, maybe he can start finding the right shoes for them both so they can go home immediately after Kise finds his wallet. So he starts walking to the basketball section.
Meanwhile, Momoi glances at her watch worriedly. It's been ten minutes since Kuroko's went to the bathroom. She wonders if he got a stomachache or something, and she hopes he's alright. She set down her wrist for the third time today and looks up. That's when she sees a certain someone with red hair that she knows all too well.
"Akashi-kun?" she calls out naturally before she can stop herself.
She regrets it as soon as he stops walking and turns his head to look at her. His stare changes soon after.
"Well, well, isn't it our manager? You've been skipping practice lately, and are you stalking me now to apologize?" he smiles even though the smile doesn't reach his eyes. There's no hint of teasing or mocking in his voice, but his sentence states it clearly.
Momoi quickly looks away. "I'm on a date with Tetsu-kun!" she tells him proudly, puffing her cheeks.
Akashi's eyes widen. "Tetsuya? That's odd, he's taking you out," he sounds out his doubt.
"What's wrong with that?" the pinknette protests in annoyance.
Akashi ignores her and looks around. "Where is he now?"
"He said he needed to use the toilet," Momoi sighs sadly. She misses her date partner already.
But Akashi seems to have a different idea, as if someone just pressed a switch in his head. Oy, oy, just a minute here... Ryouta and Daiki were... he thinks and tries to unite the fragments. He finally reaches a conclusion and feels very much unhappy about it. I'll give them a lesson later, he glares at the entrance.
Momoi watches his reaction, and she wonders what made him so mad so suddenly. H-he's scary, she thinks.
"So, I heard from the coach that you want to resign," the captain decides to change the topic and looks back at the manager.
Momoi is caught off guard at his blunt statement. "That is correct," but she regains quickly her composure and answers calmly.
"Whoa, Momocchi is amazing!" compliments Kise, his eyes sparkling with amazement. He and the alliances are watching them secretly and carefully behind the wall outside.
"She doesn't feel intimidated by Akashi, nanodayo," Midorima nods in agreement.
"Because she feels that she's right," Aomine sighs tiredly for having to repeat the fact.
But Murasakibara focuses and reacts differently from the three of them. "I can't believe Sa-chin already told the coach about her resignation!" he says sadly and even stops eating his rice cracker.
"That's really unprofessional, I expected better from you." Back at the store, Akashi has returned to crossing his arms and lecturing his manager firmly.
"What did you say?" Momoi is finally starting to feel a bit impatient. The memory of how Akashi scolded her in front of the team is still fresh in her mind.
"Just because of a small conflict with me you choose to run away. Tell me, how is that not unprofessional?" Of course, the point guard does not hold back.
"I'm not running away. Besides, what are you suggesting me to do? Apologize to you?" Momoi shakes her head violently, her voice beginning to rise slightly.
"You can start with that," and it works like a fuel towards Akashi.
"Hey, even I can see that this is bad," Murasakibara informs his teammates.
"I guess we need to reenter," Kuroko decides before everything will be too late.
"B-but-!" Kise protests.
"He's going to slaughter us both!" and Aomine supports him.
Enough! Momoi thinks. He's just a middle schooler like me, and no one can look down on me! Especially when I didn't do anything wrong, she decides.
The Teiko basketball team manager almost yells at her own captain (who is frowning now) when she feels a light tug on her skirt. She quickly looks behind her, but there's no one there. So she looks down, and she's surprised when she sees a little girl about four years old looking back at her with her big, bright, pink pair of eyes.
"Mamma.." the little girl mumbles, somehow she sounds glad and relieved.
How cutttttttteeeeeeeeeeeeee~ Momoi inner self is yelling around, love-struck. "What's wrong, little girl? Did you lose your mom? Onee-chan will help you find her," she quickly bends down and lightly pats the little girl's head. The child laughs lightly at the touch, her cheeks are blushing.
Akashi watches the two interact, and even though he's the captain and also the brightest student in school, he's still a middle schooler and he can't help but want to tease the girl who annoyed him, just a little bit. "Well, I didn't know that you have a child," he says casually, earning a smack at his upper arm and a frown from Momoi as soon as the girl stood up.
He is stunned by her reaction, she never did that to him before. He stares at her warningly, and she stares back upset.
"Dadda~" another word from the little girl's mouth. She gains their attention and they're surprised when they see her pointing towards Akashi.
Both the manager and the captain freeze.
Akashi is the first one who snaps out of it. He clears his throat. "Wait here, Satsuki, I'm calling security."
"O-okay," Momoi nods at him, unsure. She's so confused; just a few seconds ago she was about to yell at him, but now she's obeying him even though he made her angry.
When the red head walked away, the toddler's face changes abruptly. Her face scrunches, her brows knits together, and her lips tremble. "Aaaaggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" and she scream, crying with tears and all.
Both teenagers are amazed by her action. "W-what is it, are you hurt?" Momoi is flustered and checks her carefully, while Akashi only observes her confusedly.
"DADDDDAAA! NO GOOOOOOOOO!" the girl wails incoherently.
"What's wrong with her?" the point guard raises a brow, watching both girls. "I'll be quick," he says after the little girl calmed down a bit, and continues on his way.
Again, the girl cries when he takes another step. "NOOOOOOOO GOOOOOO!"
Suddenly, Momoi notices something. "No, Akashi-kun, don't leave!" she grips Akashi's arm and forces him to stop. The boy scowls at her but does as she said. "Here, Dadda no go, okay? Stop crying, don't cry again, dadda is here.." Momoi lets his hand go and assures the girl softly. The toddler finally stops crying for good. "Oh, you poor girl," the manager sighs and pats her soft and small head lovingly.
Akashi flinches slightly when he notices how the kid glances at them both. "Is she considering us as..?" he can't finish the sentence.
Momoi looks up at him, looking unsure. "I guess so," she mumbles, frightened.
Suddenly, they hear people talking behind their back. "Oh my God, look at them," says the first person while looking at them in disgust.
"Teens nowadays are so shameless, I bet it was an accident," the second person shakes her head.
"That poor little girl, she has no idea that her parents are not ready.." the third person adds and makes the situation worse.
Momoi's face burns, while Akashi's turns pale. "Satsuki, bring the kid. We're going together," he orders firmly as soon as he regains back his self-control.
"Y-yes," Momoi grabs the little girl quickly into her hug and stands. Akashi leads the way and she followshim closely.
Meanwhile, behind the wall…
"What was… that?" Five people couldn't believe what they just saw and only manages to murmur faintly to each other.
"Now what, nanodayo?" Midorima glances at Kuroko.
"This is a big hit for all of us," the teal haired boy concludes the obvious.
"CLEARLY!" successfully earning a yell from his teammates.
Kuroko now realizes how chaotic the situation is from their reactions. "I guess we have to wait a bit longer and see," thankfully he manages to think clearly.
Far from them, Akashi and Momoi have finally arrived at the mall main office. They transferred here after they came for help to the information center.
"I already gave the announcement and the securities will patrol after this, so no need to worry," says the woman behind the desk as she closes the phone. "Water?" she offers to the teens who sits across from her. Akashi raises his hand politely, while Momoi shakes her head.
"What kind of parents let their child slip away like that?" Teiko's captain sighs and glances at the child in Momoi's lap.
"It's the beginning of the month and coincidently, a weekend. So it's really crowded, and it normally happens like that," says the woman sympathetically.
Akashi lips draw into a thin line, he doesn't like that explanation. "Alright then," he says as he stands up.
"Where are you going?" Momoi's expression grows worried as she watches him turn away at the door.
"Home," the red head answers simply.
"Uuunnnnggg~" again, the girl in Momoi's lap starts scrunching her face and wailing quietly.
The pinknette realizes that and rocks her gently in her arms. "No, dada is not going anywhere.. Akashi-kun!" she calms her and puts on her brightest smile, after that she looks around to Akashi and yells at the boy.
The Teiko's point guard halts. "What?" he doesn't mean to snap but he does as he faces her again.
"Can't you see she's going to be sad and cry without us?" Momoi explains gentler and tilts her head to the sad child.
Akashi follows her gesture and studies the toddler, another pair of eyes are looking back at him longingly. "It's not like we can do anything about it," finally, he sits again and pats her head tiredly.
Momoi sighs in relief. "There must be something," she assures him.
"Why don't you guys babysit her until her parents come to pick her?" the woman behind the desk suddenly suggests, earning a confused look from the manager and a glare from the captain. "That, of course, is if you don't have any plans," she adds quickly.
Momoi carefully tries to manage eye contact with Akashi, and when she succeeds to exchange glances with him, "Well, tomorrow is Sunday," she smiles at him, sweetly, trying to hide her nervousness and hoping that he'll agree.
She's still mad at him, she's aware of that, but she doesn't want this child on her lap to be sadder than this, and it's better to walk outside than in this boring room.
"Okay, let's get out of here," after what felt like hours, Akashi finally gives her a slight nod and signals her to stand up. She complies and rises instantly. "I'll give you my phone number, please contact me if you find something." After that, the point guard takes the pen and paper on the table and does the rest of the things.
-TbC-
Yay, they're baby sitting!
Don't forget to review, have a nice day my lovely readers!