Mina-san! Arigatou for reading and reviewing. I'm glad to know that you guys like the Kineno couple-I do too.
Chapter 26 is officially my longest chapter as of this far.
As you all may have noticed, this story is supposed to fall under the Romance/Friendship genre. So now that our Sayu-chan has come back, I'm going to lean more towards the romance side. Let me know if I'm not giving certain boys a fair chance. ^^
Chapter 26
Kagami sat at the window seat of Maji Burger and looked out at the group of people getting off work and rushing along the crowded streets.
"Kuroko. Did you see that?" Kagami turned to look at the boy who looked up from his cup of vanilla shake.
"Kineno-san?" Kuroko asked, a little second guessing himself. The redhead nodded.
"Yeah. Wavy golden brown hair in the white shirt and black shorts." Kagami shifted to see the disappearing figure.
"I don't know. We got the last three wrong. Do you want to chase after her?" Kuroko asked blankly.
"What do you mean?" Kagami shot Kuroko a glare. "You saying I'm mistaking Kineno with other girls?"
"No. It's just that the last three we chased down weren't Kineno-san." Kuroko calmly sipped through the white straw. Kagami shifted in his seat once again and opened the wrapper of another burger.
"I must be seeing things then."
...
Sayumi quickly skimmed past the streets. In the first few days of her return, she already lost her wallet. All during her frantic but futile search, she never once looked up from the ground. Somehow she has terrible luck in finding anything. The girl closed her eyes to back track all the places she visited.
Convenience stores, restaurants, home...I checked everywhere. Maybe someone took it. Why does this happen to me? Wait... I had it yesterday. But since I couldn't sleep because of jet lag...I went to...
Sayumi quickly ran through the streets, passing all the familiar restaurants including her favorite fast food hangout, and rushed to the park.
...
The tall purple-haired giant snapped open a black wallet and took out some cash to pay for the sweets. That morning, he so happened to pick up a camouflaged wallet on the floor near the park. There was no address. No name. No nothing. The only thing it had was money, a transportation card, and a few receipts, one being a purchase of an entire box of Nerunerunerune candy. Seeing the receipt inspired him to spend the money on more sweets.
...
After thoroughly searching every inch of the park, Sayumi again found nothing. She checked every spot of it, including under and inside the green plants, trees, and bushes. But still, no luck. Just like the time with the basketball.
Maybe someone did take it like last time. *sigh*
As the hopeless girl sluggishly exited out one side of the park, a navy-haired boy entered through the opposite side.
...
Sayumi didn't stop scolding herself from the park all the way to the residential area she was walking through. Before she turned at the corner to the next street, the girl stopped in front of the big house. The melodious sound of the piano drifted soothingly to her ears. She remembered. This house belonged to Midorima. The interested girl inched closer to hear better, but then the music suddenly stopped. Within a few seconds, the front door flung open and a tall boy with glasses was standing in front of the stunned girl.
"You again?" Midorima eyed the little eavesdropper, all the while holding a green frog that resembled a certain wallet of a noisy blonde in the popular ninja anime.
"Midorima-kun... um...um...I wanted to ...uh..." Sayumi blushed and emptied the pockets of her black shorts and finally pulled out a brown and white hook necklace. The girl bowed and extended her gift.
"What's this?" The green-haired boy inspected the object given to him.
"This is a makau. It's a Hawaiian pendant meant for good luck." Sayumi blushed as the boy wore it after hearing the purpose of it. "I wanted to say thank you for the present you gave me at the airport. It really is lucky."
"Of course. Horoscopes are never wrong." Midorima responded confidently. The boy stared at the girl standing awkwardly outside of his house.
"Sorry. I didn't know how else to find you so I came here." Sayumi glanced at the handsome boy and then shot her eyes back to the floor. "That's all. I just wanted to say thanks." The girl fled right after.
One minute interaction and I'm already like this. This is so embarrassing.
...
Right after Sayumi entered her house, there was a phone call. Since both the landlords were out of the house, Sayumi dashed to pick up the phone.
"Ojii-chan? Yes. Yes. Where? Oh. Okay. Now? Okay. I'll be there in twenty minutes. What? Fine. I'll try to be there in ten. Okay. Sorry. I'll eat less then. Bye."
Sayumi hung up and shot up the stairs and opened the drawer and found the bag Ojii-san ordered her to bring to the shogi community center.
...
After Sayumi dropped off the bag to Ojii-san, she lingered a little longer at the center. She walked around, occasionally bending down or tiptoeing to see if he would be there. She gave up after half an hour. Besides, it was late and it wasn't even the weekend yet.
The girl eventually stepped out of the center and walked out to breathe some fresh air. When she approached the end of the street, she caught a glimpse of a girl putting a very familiar black wallet into her purse. Without thinking, Sayumi charged towards the girl stepping onto the curb of the next street.
The loud and shocking sound of a car horn scared her out of her senses. The girl turned her head only to be blinded by the flashing light emitted from a huge object that she made out to be a truck. The speed the vehicle was going at wouldn't allow it to stop in time. Sayumi froze. It was red light.
A strong arm wrapped yanked at the girl's waist, just in time to save the idle girl from being crashed in the middle of the otherwise empty road. The truck stopped a little further ahead. If she remained frozen, she would have been crushed under the several thousand pound truck. A furious driver came out and cursed at the stupid girl before driving away. Everything happened too fast.
Sayumi looked at the stoplight. It just turned green. Jet lag. What a pain. When she finally let the whole event process in her head, she glanced down to look at the firm arm around her waist. She turned her head and let her confused eyes meet the calm heterochromatic pair that was focused on her.
"Seijuurou. I was looking for you!" the girl exclaimed happily.
Akashi stared at the girl and released her willingly. She was almost crashed and she acted as if nothing happened. There was clearly something wrong with her.
"Don't charge when you see red. It's dangerous."
"But you're not dangerous at all," Sayumi replied quickly. She thought again. He was referring to the light. Can she be any more out of it. "You were talking about the lights, weren't you?" Sayumi ducked down shamefully. Of course he was talking about the lights. "Erase what I said earlier. I...I...Why are you here?"
"Weren't you looking for me?"
"You came because of me?"
"No. I was seeing a friend. I just passed by."
Sayumi felt herself turn red. Of course he wasn't looking for her. She scolded herself silently for jumping to conclusions again.
"Of course. I wasn't really expecting to see you..." She didn't expect to see him, but hoped that she would.
"Stoplights are made for a reason." Akashi turned to leave.
"Seijuurou." Sayumi called from behind, surprised at how unnecessarily loud it turned out when he was only a few feet away from her. The emotionless boy turned to look at the boisterous girl with a hint of annoyance in his eyes.
"Um...I...actually...never mind." Sayumi bit down on her lip from stuttering any more. Even she found herself incredibly annoying. Why was she suddenly so shy around him. "Be careful on your way home." Sayumi waved energetically to the boy who stood still and stared back.
Akashi took a step towards her. "What?"
"Be careful on your way home?" the bashful girl repeated in a whisper.
"It's not me who needs that advice."
"Yeah. It's me who needs it more. Sorry. I...well...want to...never mind..." Sayumi was at a loss of words.
"I'll walk you home." Akashi's tone came out more as an order than an offer.
...
The two walked separately throughout the entire trip back home. The redhead deliberately walked a normal pace, but the girl still managed to lag behind. There were no words exchanged between the two, only occasional awkward glances when they waited together at the intersections.
This time, Akashi didn't turn at his usual route, but followed through in escorting the shy girl all the way back home. Sayumi was glad he did and he knew she wanted to say something except she just wasn't ready. Curiosity motivated him to spend a little more of his precious time with the unusual girl.
Sayumi stopped in front of the entrance and turned to the boy. She was finally ready to tell him. Last minutes are always the best way to push things.
"Seijuurou. Um...Can you wait here?" Sayumi didn't wait for a response, but rushed into the house, leaving the boy standing outside of the open door. In less than a minute, the girl flew back down the stairs and stopped at the doorway.
"Seijuurou. Kaa-chan told me to give this to you." Sayumi leaned towards the redhead.
Akashi was startled when the shorter girl's arms wrapped around his broad back. The slight elevation from the doorway to the outside made it a little easier for Sayumi to embrace the surprised boy. The girl patted the alarmed boy's back. "Arigatou."
For a short moment, a particular feeling rushed through him. It was sincere and warm. He stood still. Sayumi let go when she felt it got a little awkward. She pulled her face away from his chest and blushed.
"Kaa-chan wanted you to have this along with the hug." Sayumi revealed a teddy bear. "I told her that you wouldn't like something like this, but she insisted to give it to you. She said bears always have open arms to give love and hugs. She wanted to thank you in person, but is kind of busy so she came up with this. I know it's silly. If you don't want it, I'll just -"
Akashi's left hand grabbed the bear. Sayumi's surprise was illuminated in her honest expression. The speechless girl watched as the stoic boy turned and headed towards the direction of his own home.
After arriving back to his big and empty mansion of a house, Akashi placed the bear on the shelf in his bedroom next to a few other of his treasured items left to him from his late mother. This was the first time anything from anyone else made its way up there.
...
Early the next morning, Sayumi was wakened by the knocking on her door. Obaa-chan invited herself into the girl's bedroom.
"Sayumi-san." The girl rubbed her eyes and sat up to look at the elderly woman.
"Ohayouuuu..." the girl slurred sleepily.
"You were already asleep when I came home yesterday."
"Hmm?" Sayumi waited for Obaa-chan to continue.
"Yesterday, I met up with a friend of mine. She was telling me about her diligent daughter. Her daughter helps manage things for many popular celebrities."
"That's nice," the tired girl commented.
"But she is preparing for maternity leave. She can't fully relax until she finishes her current project. It's a lot of work to manage so many things all alone." Obaa-chan looked at the lazy girl lying on the bed. "So I volunteered you to assist her until she officially takes her maternity leave."
The girl looked at the woman in bewilderment. "You what?"
"It's an easy job. Just listen and help her. You'll get paid. Don't worry."
Sayumi's alarm evaporated. She was looking for a job anyway.
"When do I start?"
"Now. Dress casually, but not sloppily. You have forty-five minutes before they expect you." Obaa-chan smiled.
"Forty-five minutes? Why didn't you wake me earlier?" Sayumi pulled open her drawer violently and scavenged for an appropriate outfit for the occasion.
"It's more fun to rush things. Breakfast is downstairs." Obaa-chan chuckled and left the girl alone in the room.
...
"You must be Sayumi. I appreciate that you're so willing to help." The older woman in a white business blouse and gray striped skirt glanced at her watch and then at the panting girl. "You're right on time. Work hard."
"Hai. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" The young teenager dipped her head down which led the woman to let out a laugh.
"Don't worry. I just need you to help run a few errands." The woman's attention was stolen by the noisy crowd gathered around the entrance. A tall shadow surrounded by an entourage of a few men in black suits passed by and turned to the long hallway. "You came in for a treat, Sayumi-chan." The woman winked and motioned for the girl to follow in the same direction as the mysterious boy.
Sayumi was led into a bright room. She observed the high technology that composed the room. There were many people equipped with headphones and mics running around doing their own things.
"Sayumi-chan. Help these people move those things to that side. Afterwards, go buy these things." The woman handed her the required list of supplies and gave her a card. "Don't forget to bring the receipt back." Sayumi nodded and carried out her first tasks.
...
By the time the tired girl completed her assignments, she reported back to her boss.
"Now go get me a cup of fresh brewed coffee, no milk no cream. Go ask everyone else what they want. Just use the same card to buy everything."
Sayumi, exhausted from traveling to so many different places, froze and stared at the woman. "So I need to ask and buy drinks for everyone now?"
The woman nodded before turning to carry on other duties. After carefully recording the list of beverages requested, Sayumi went out and returned with all the orders. This job was definitely not easy.
...
"Here. Your green tea frap, no whip. And you also ordered a hot chocolate."
The woman pointed at the closed gray door.
"That's for him. Bring it inside."
The inexperienced girl nodded and entered the room. She saw a blonde boy sitting on a chair with his back facing her. His arm was on the armrest and his head was looking down at the huge textbook sitting heavily on his lap. Sayumi quietly crept towards the boy to give him his hot chocolate, but when she approached him, she heard him snoring quietly. Her eyes shot to the textbook which was turned to the first page. She got a laugh from that. She bent down to see the cute boy who was sound asleep.
Her hands cupped over her mouth when she recognized the handsome face of none other than Kise. Of course it was. Blonde. Pierced ear. Long legs. Why didn't she realize it the minute she stepped in. Her heart skipped as she stared at his innocent sleeping face. Sayumi unconsciously drew out her phone to take a picture for her mother, but thought twice and didn't. It was best to respect his personal privacy, no matter how cute the picture would've turned out.
She placed the hot cup on the table and slowly removed the textbook from the lap of the snoring boy. The girl looked around and grabbed a light blanket sitting on the couch and covered the boy in the thin sleeveless shirt. It was the season when people were most vulnerable to catching colds.
After Sayumi covered the boy in the light blanket, she made her way over to the comfy red couch in the corner and fell fast asleep herself.
Not long after, the blonde model woke up from his short nap. He was disappointed in himself for not noticing when someone placed a blanket over him. He drank from the cup of lukewarm hot chocolate. When he got up and turned around, he caught sight of the girl sleeping on the red couch. Her face was buried in the sofa cushion which made the young model smile at her ability to continue sleeping soundly despite the suffocation from lack of oxygen.
The thoughtful boy approached the sleeping girl and placed the blanket gently over her shoulders. Before walking out of the door, he couldn't help but glance behind. He couldn't see her hidden face, but something about her looked strangely familiar. A little too familiar. Kise walked back to the sofa, but before he got a good look at the girl, his manager called him out to start his shoot.
...
The rising model perfected all his photo shots and the job was finished smoothly. He hurried back into the room the minute he finished, but much to his dismay, the peculiar sleeping beauty was no longer on the couch. He yanked out his cell phone and turned it on.
{Text from Kise Ryouta}: Guys. I think I saw Sayumi today.
{Kagami Taiga}: I thought I saw her yesterday, but Kuroko insisted that I didn't.
{Kuroko Tetsuya}: Kagami-kun. That's because we previously had three false alarms.
{Murasakibara Atsushi}: Really? I'll call Kine-chin. Hold on.
{Aomine Daiki}: Don't involve me in your group texts.
{Murasakibara Atsushi}: Someone answered. But it's not Sayumi. I think she changed her number.
{Aomine Daiki}: Isn't Sayu in America?
{Kuroko Tetsuya}: I thought so too.
{Kise Ryouta}: I was at my model shoot and then there was this girl sleeping on the couch. I thought it was her.
{Aomine Daiki}: Why didn't you check if it was her?
{Kise Ryouta}: I had to work.
{Kagami Taiga}: So was it her or not?
{Kise Ryouta}: I don't know. Maybe not since Kinenocchi would've said hi.
{Kuroko Tetsuya}: I still have the basketball.
{Murasakibara Atsushi}: And we took the time to convince Aka-chin to sign it.
{Aomine Daiki}: Tetsu did all the work.
{Kagami Taiga}: If she did come back, she would've let us know, wouldn't she?
{Kise Ryouta}: She may be afraid to bother us so she didn't contact us.
{Murasakibara Atsushi}: Annoying people think like that.
{Aomine Daiki}: Sayu is annoying.
{Kagami Taiga}: Thought you didn't care.
{Aomine Daiki}: I don't.
{Kuroko Tetsuya}: Why don't we just all go check tomorrow. It's Saturday. We don't have school so she shouldn't either.
{Kise Ryouta}: I don't have work tomorrow. I can go.
{Murasakibara Atsushi}: Let mee known if u find him.
{Kagami Taiga}: You mean HER.
{Aomine Daiki}: Murasakibara's probably shoving too much candy in his mouth to type correctly.
{Murasakibara Atsushi}: Yeah. I bought a load of sweets back home with the money in a wallet I found near the park.
{Kise Ryouta}: You used someone else's money to buy candy?
{Murasakibara Atsushi}: What else was I supposed to do with it?
{Kise Ryouta}: Lost and found at the police station?
{Murasakibara Atsushi}: It had nothing except some receipts, one being for a whole case of Nerunerunerune candy.
{Kuroko Tetsuya}: Was the wallet black with many pockets?
{Murasakibara Atsushi}: How'd you know?
{Kuroko Tetsuya}: Who else would buy so much candy aside from Murasakibara-kun?
...
Kise watched his manager walk in with the usual pile of fan mail.
"You should read some of these and reply. You need to do some fan service once in a while."
"Alright. I'll go through them." The manager left the room and Kise opened the first in the pile of pink and white envelopes.
...
After going through the entire pile, Kise found something that finally sparked his interest. At the very bottom of the pile, taped onto the desk, was a white post-it. He lifted the sticky note and read aloud.
"Kise. Where'd you go? I thought you'd wake me up. I wanted to contact you but my phone died and so I lost all your numbers. I don't feel right to write down my number here, but I'll be at the park tomorrow at the usual time." Kise smiled. She was back. "Man. She has terrible writing. Is she even a girl?"
{Text from Kise Ryouta}: That was Kinenocchi. She's going to the park tomorrow.
{Kagami Taiga}: You saw her?
{Kise Ryouta}: She left a note.
{Murasakibara Atsushi}: What if it wasn't her?
{Kise Ryouta}: Her handwriting is terrible.
{Kuroko Tetsuya}: I'll bring the ball.
{Kise Ryouta}: Don't forget to bring the wallet you found, Murasakibaracchi.
...
Saturday shogi had the same expected outcome. Sayumi lost to the unbeatable Akashi who marked his fourth victory against her. Tired from close to eight hours in the center, the two walked out of the center.
"Seijuurou. Wait."
Akashi looked at the girl leaning near the house at the corner of the street.
"Do you hear it? The piano?" Sayumi asked excitedly as she closed her eyes to absorb the beautiful melody. "I always hear him play-"
The music stopped before Sayumi finished her sentence. Akashi looked at the disappointed girl and then laid his eyes on the boy who opened the door.
"Akashi." The green-haired boy stepped out. He tilted his glasses and looked at the girl next to him.
"Shintarou."
"So you two know each other pretty well."
The two boys looked at the girl who was obviously speaking out of turn.
"Sorry. Don't glare at me like that Seijuurou."
Midorima quickly scanned his former team's captain's face. That was very odd. The girl just addressed Akashi so informally and he had no reaction. The guts to actually dare call him so casually. She's not to be underestimated.
"Where are you two headed?" Midorima asked the boy and girl standing outside his house.
Akashi allowed the girl to answer. Sayumi glanced at her clock and a surprised look took over.
"Seijuurou. I have to go the park tonight. There's people there I know you would like to meet. They're also basketball players. You don't have anything to do right?"
"No."
Midorima's eyebrow lifted. Akashi just agreed to accompany the girl somewhere. No way was he missing out.
"I'll go too."
...
When Kagami stepped into the quiet park, he took a seat, thinking he was the first one there. After hearing strange slurping noises, he turned and found a boy sipping a large vanilla shake sitting right next to him. A tall blonde model trailed in soon after and greeted the two boys. Then came the tallest player with his bucket of newly bought sweets. A certain fashionably late individual also arrived earlier than usual.
Two other unexpected guests arrived right after, creating an uncomfortably tense atmosphere. This was one of the rare occasions where the entire Generation of Miracles united.
The awkward silence was broken by the panting of a girl running outside and heading to the courts.
"Seijuurou...Midorima-kun. Why'd you suddenly start sprinting?" Sayumi was a little disappointed that she was left behind.
"We were only jogging."
Sayumi squinted at the tall Midorima who didn't even break a sweat. At the corner of her eye, she saw Akashi. He wasn't tired either. Only her. Ojii-chan was right. She's out of shape.
"Kineno."
Sayumi, who didn't notice the other guests sitting on the other side, finally looked. Every single one of them were here.
"Guys..." Sayumi didn't expect this. Her eyes were becoming wet. She didn't know she missed all of them that much until she saw them. She assumed that they didn't know of her temporary absence.
"Finally free to play?" Sayumi hid the slight shaking of her voice.
"Kineno. Where were you?" Kagami stepped forward. Sayumi looked at the teddy-bear figure. His eyes showed that he missed her as much as she missed them. As if by instinct, she ran towards the boy and gave him a big hug in which he awkwardly returned to the shorter girl.
"Kineno-san." Sayumi turned and looked at the ghostly shadow next to her. She missed the feeling of being shocked.
"Kuroko!" Sayumi threw her arms around the two Seirin basketball players.
"Kine-chin. I don't want to hold this anymore." Murasakibara held out the black wallet which was now much lighter than when he picked it up.
"Murasakibara!" Sayumi jumped on the giant who almost fell to the cement floor from the impact. "I brought a lot of sweets back. It's not as good as the ones in Japan, but they're pretty sweet."
"You bought enough for everyone right, Kinenocchi?" The blonde model joined in. He helped the small girl down from the giant's shoulders. He was rewarded with a warm hug.
"Kise." Sayumi felt the most calm with the blonde. He was just as kind and caring as she remembered him. "I wanted to wait for you yesterday but my boss scolded me for falling asleep in your room and made me run more errands."
The taller boy patted her on the head. "Next time, wake me up."
The bouncing of a basketball interrupted the touching reunion between the girl and the boys. Midorima tilted his glasses to look at the tanned boy who made a thundering dunk.
"Are we playing or not?" Aomine smirked. This was going to be an interesting game.
...
"It's only fair that way."
"How so? You're putting Aominecchi with Akashicchi."
"But Kuroko and Kineno are also on their team."
"What's that supposed to mean? Kuroko and I don't need Aomine and Seijuurou to win."
"Can we just start? I'm getting hungry."
Kagami and Aomine were chosen to perform the tip off.
"Kineno-san. Why are you giggling?" Kuroko whispered before the game officially started.
"I just thought it would be hilarious if I was chosen to tip off. So glad it's not me." Sayumi and Kuroko both smiled and the game started.
...
Akashi was guarded by Kagami and Kise. With an effortless backwards toss, the ball was passed to the invisible player. The ball was sent violently flying to the direction of Sayumi who barely managed to catch it. The girl took no time to think and shot the ball, but the tallest opponent grazed the basketball, interfering with its otherwise smooth journey through the basket. The ball fell off the rim, but Aomine easily tipped it back in. Another basket.
"Twenty-one twenty." The game was over.
The strong navy-haired boy tossed the ball to the panting girl who barely managed to catch it.
"What?" Sayumi looked at the ball. Throughout the entire game, she didn't notice the scribbles all over the basketball. Her hand went over the black signatures.
"Don't lend this one to anyone." Kise flashed his adorable smile.
"Ah. Kineno don't start tearing up. It's just a basketball." Kagami put his hand behind his head.
"Everyone...thank you..." Sayumi stared at the ball and memorized every inch of it. "Now I don't want to bring it out of the house." Sayumi hugged the ball tightly against her white shirt.
"Sayu. It's dirty."
"I can't believe Aomine dunked you so hard. If I knew..." Sayumi pouted and patted the ball as if it was a little kid.
"Kinenocchi. How'd you manage to meet the entire Generation of Miracles by yourself?"
All the boys looked at the wide-eyed girl. She didn't know. She still didn't know. Kise laughed first. A few others joined in with the exception of Akashi and Kuroko.
"You're the Generation of Miracles?"
Kuroko nodded. "Except Kagami."
Kagami lightly knocked at Kuroko's head. "I'm a separate miracle."
"Why didn't you say so earlier? If I knew, I wouldn't have passed the ball and let Aomine dunk it more than once. Kagami's at fault too. You smashed it. Kuroko...you passed it to Seijuurou. That was painful. And Murasakibara...you...you...made it a little sticky..." the girl complained.
"Kise copied Aomine and slammed it as well," Kuroko conveniently slipped in.
"Sayu. Why aren't you blaming him?" Aomine pointed at Midorima who was chuckling at the boys Sayumi pointed out.
"He threw the ball." Kagami asserted.
"That's different."
"You're being biased, Kine-chin."
Sayumi blushed. "No I'm not."
"Hand the ball over. We're playing again." Akashi finally spoke.
"No! Get your own ball!"
The desperate girl grabbed the ball and sped out of the park. The remaining boys slowly turned their heads to look at their former team captain. No one ever says "no" to Akashi Seijuurou, not unless you have a death wish.
"Aka-chin...do you want some candy?"
"..."