Queen Of Cards || Akashi Seijuro x OC

Chapter 18

Recap..

Even the thought of him hurt.

He tried to talk to her but she never answered her door. She told her cousin to never open it either. She wanted to be angry, to hate him for what he did.

But she just couldn't.

How did they go from being extremely close to distant in mere hours? Whatever. She would try to do her best to ignore it. Entering dreamland, she never saw the emperor get on the bus.

~ ~ ~

"chan... Ri-chan... YUNABAMI AIRI!"

Letting out a scream, she jolted awake. Mayuzumi-senpai was standing in front of her. Taking in her surroundings, she saw that everyone else had left the bus.

"Mayuzumi-senpai..."

"We arrived 20 minutes ago and no-one could wake you up. We already unloaded all our baggage at the hotel."

Turning a little pink, she mumbled an apology before getting off the bus with her bag. She wondered what had happened on the bus ride. Did Akashi get on the bus? Did he get his driver to drive him here?

Shaking her head, she cleared her mind and made it inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. In the crowd, she managed to spot Eikichi's near bald head on a court. Making her way there, she was both disappointed and relieved that Akashi wasn't there.

"Yunabami. Start warmups and then go find Akashi. I don't know where he went but the game is starting in half an hour," Coach Shirogane instructed.

"Yes sir." Getting the trolley of balls, she pushed it on the court and called over the team.

"Okay guys. You all know the drill, right? Warmups, then layups and shots. I hope you guys revised the info I collected while you were on the bus."

"Yes captain Airi!" Eikichi mock saluted her before walking over to give her a hearty pat on the back. Of course she dodged it, though barely. No way was she getting the wind knocked out of her before the first game even started.

Now to find Akashi...

~

She was just about to give up when she saw brilliant red hair atop a set of stairs. The Rakuzan jacket was neatly around his shoulders, like an emperor's cape. Even from here, she could feel his menacing aura.

She slowly and silently approached. As she neared she saw that the Generation of Miracles, along with Kuroko, Kagami, and who she believed was Furihata, were there.

Why was he there with them? Making her way closer to them, she heard Kagami defy Akashi.

Wait...

That was definitely not good.

She saw Midorima pass Akashi his scissors and she knew exactly what was going to happen. She didn't think, just let her body move on its own. Her feet had never moved that fast in her life.

She couldn't even register what happened, only seeing Akashi's questioning gaze, one eyebrow raised and a mocking smirk playing on his lips.

The hand that wrapped itself around his scissors a mere centimetre away from her face lowered his arm. Taking the scissors gently out of his hands, she handed it back to Midorima, who gave her a nod of acknowledgment.

Her heart was beating faster than ever.

Slipping her hands in her jacket pockets, she simply stared at Akashi, feeling the gazes of 8 people on her.

"Coach wants you on the court." She said flatly, lost on what else to say.

His smirk widened and refocused his gaze on Kagami.

"In light of that display of grace from her, I'll forgive you this time. However, when I tell you to leave, you leave. There will be no second chances. In this world, winners are affirmed and losers are denied everything. I have never lost, and I never will. Because I always win, I am always right. I show no mercy to those who oppose me, not even my parents." His chilling gold and red eyes seemed to glow even more during his mini monologue, staring directly into the eyes of Kagami.

"Well then, I'm leaving. I just wanted to say hello to everyone." He said with a cold smile, beginning to walk up the stairs.

"Oi Akashi. You summoned us just for that?"

"No. I wanted to confirm something but after seeing your faces, there's no need. You all remember the promise."

Airi was confused, though her face remained expressionless. Akashi gave her a pointed look and she followed him up a few steps, still silent.

"Yunabami-san? You go to Rakuzan?"

Airi turned around though Akashi didn't seem to give a care in the world, walking on without her.

"I do."

"What the heck?! You didn't tell us that!" Kagami exclaimed in exasperation.

"You never asked. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a game to attend." Making her way up the stairs, she paused at the final step before turning back once again, her words to them stirring an uncomfortable feeling to the duo,

"Good luck. You'll need it."

~

The quarter finals went well. Now, they were awaiting the semi-finals. Airi had managed to avoid eye contact with Akashi the whole time. She didn't really know what to feel about him. He had been her friend since the start of the year and treated her as such for the most part, even though his father was the one who told him to befriend her.

When did she start harbouring feelings for her best friend?

Why did she have to do that?

Humourlessly laughing as she strolled around the Tokyo gymnasium, she thought about her shitty situation. She must have done something in her past life to make her suffer like this now. Maybe whichever divine being that was up there hated her.

The post-game meeting was the most awkward thing she had experienced, as well as the longest post-game meeting they ever had. Akashi didn't even spare a glance at her, focused on beating his former teammates.

Right now, Yosen and Seirin were warming up, and she knew that she would have to go back inside to watch as per coach's request, but she really didn't want to. In fact, all she wanted to do was cry and eat and sleep.

Sighing, she decided it was time to put her big girl panties on and deal with the hand she was dealt. She would confess to Akashi after the Winter Cup finals, for better or for worse. Nodding to herself, she began her walk back to the court.

Honestly, she didn't know why she even liked him. It wasn't like he did anything and everything for her. He was a demanded ass most of the time, but there was just this air about him. His confident demeanour, godlike looks, and himedere charm had completely captured her heart. She supposed that this was how love worked.

0 logic.

A chilling feeling ran up her spine and she quickly refocused, vigilant and alert. Glancing at the crowded foyer, she couldn't see anything particularly wrong. Just in case, she put her sunglasses on even though it was already past sunset and pulled the hood of her hoodie up, tucking her abundant hair in.

Then she saw him.

She didn't know how she knew it was him, but her gut feeling couldn't be wrong. He was looking directly at her.

A man with a red jersey with the bold lettering of "FUKUDA" was staring at her. His black hair that was in a terrible cornrow style, accompanied by his villainous stare made her shiver. Luckily, it seemed to be a mere glance.

Whoever he was, she knew he was bad news.