Queen Of Cards || Akashi Seijuro x OC

Chapter 20

"Luckily it was just a light concussion. Just apply this cream to the bruises everyday and it should fade in around 2 weeks," the nurse said, handing her the small cream bottle.

"Thank you."

She left the infirmary, noting that it was around 10pm. She was lucky that they felt bad for her and they didn't close straight after the Fukuda Sogo versus Kaijo game. She bought chocolates for Alex and Himuro as a thank you for carrying her there when she woke up. On top of that, she promised the next time they met, she would treat them to some lunch.

She would have to call a cab or just walk back to their hotel. Since it wasn't far, she opted for option 2. Pulling out her phone, she was surprised to see 49 missed calls and a bunch of texts.

Coach Shirogane(10)
Reo-senpai (23)
Kotaro-senpai(9)
Eikichi-senpai(7)
Higuchi-senpai(2)
Akashi-kun(1)

Crap.

She decided to run back to the hotel, carrying her miraculously intact sushi. It was terrible luck that it started to lightly rain so she took off her hoodie and wrapped it around the plastic bag and continued the short trip.

She got to the front reception and quickly made her way up, swiping her keycard.

The look of horror and surprise that the Rakuzan team had (with the obvious exception of Akashi, who looked irritated at best) nearly made her panic.

"Tadaima."

Silence.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR BEAUTIFUL FACE?! WHO HURT MY CHILD???" Reo shrieked, wrapping her shaking body in his jacket.

"I'm ok. I just got a light concussion and the doctor gave me some cream for the bruises." She showed the mini bottle to them which didn't really diffuse the situation.

Unwrapping her jacket from the plastic bag, she wordlessly handed Akashi the sushi before heading to the bathroom to take a shower.

~

"Goodnight!" Kotaro and Reo wished everyone before shutting their shared room. Higuchi and Kaito both shared a room and Airi and Coach both got their own rooms. This left the giant and Akashi to share a room.

Airi sat at the provided desk, reviewing her notes for the upcoming match against Shutoku in the warm light of her lamp. Tomorrow, Kaijo would verse Seirin as well. Kise had injured his foot from foul play from Haizaki, though she was glad that the bastard lost.

A knock at the door didn't interrupt her reviewing as she said a simple "come in" without looking up from her book. Marking important factors with her highlighter, she failed to notice the soft footsteps as they stopped right behind her chair.

"Who is it?" She asked, flipping the page and reading the information about Kiyoshi Miyaji.

"Me."

Airi gulped a little in fear, putting her highlighter down and standing up. The bedazzling redhead stood before her looking absolutely fine in sweatpants and tight shirt. She didn't plan out what she was going to say to him and he caught her offguard.

"Did you need something?" She asked uneasily.

He hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh, "take a walk with me."

~

The cold night breeze blew gently against her face. The streets were quiet and the dim streetlights flickered under the stars. Airi walked silently next to Akashi, hands in her coat pocket and eyes locked forward. Her heart was beating furiously, the tension between the two of them sky high.

"Who hurt you?"

You.

"Your former teammate."

"Which one?"

"Haizaki Shogo."

Akashi thought about this for a moment. The pair walked until they reached an empty park where Akashi took a seat on a bench and Airi followed. His face was contorted and filled with an unidentifiable expression.

"He grabbed you by the neck and punched you in the face?"

"Yes."

"I see."

At least pretend to be worried. Please. It's breaking my heart here.

There was no more talking to be heard, just the light breathing of the pair as they watched the occasional car pass by.

"Did your father tell you to befriend me?" Airi blurted out, though she knew the answer. He let out a heavy sigh and looked at her.

"He did."

And just like that, he killed her again. Her broken heart once again shattered into tiny fragments. Holding back a sob she covered her face with her hands and looked down, shuffling her shoes.

"Why... Why did you try and use me like that?" As she spoke, she became more hysterical and couldn't stop warm tears from flooding down her face, her soft silver hair stuck to her face as the wind blew it on.

"I thought we were friends! That you valued me! I can't believe you just used me to get information about my family's company. You... you were my only friend. I trusted you. I still trust you and I don't know why!"

It was brutally humiliating. Here she was, the Queen of Cards, the daughter of the prestigous Yunabami couple, the empress of Rakuzan, crying on a crappy park bench in the middle of the night in front of the boy she liked.

She spilled her entire heart out to the boy who broke it.

"Did I?" Akashi asked, offering the tiniest crack of a smile.

"Did you... Did you what?"

"Did I get information about your family business?"

Pausing, unsure of where this was going, Airi sniffled and sat in silence. Did he? No, she remembered his father clearly said that he didn't. That was why they fought. But why didn't he?

"I had every opportunity to and you suspected nothing. You invited me to your home, let me into your private room, and even fed me breakfast. All your files are neatly labelled on your bookshelf. You left your files open on your coffee table, your laptop open on your desk. It would have been all too easy to get your work," the redhead mused.

"Your piano... it's a Steinway, right? Baby grand."

"Mhm."

"It's quite rare. Impressive."

"Thank you. It was my 9th birthday present."

Akashi returned the book he was holding to it's proper place, running his fingers along the white piano keys.

Crap. He was right. That book he was reading was her handwritten copy of this year's balanced checks. Embarrased at her idiocy and carelessness, she turned red.

"Then why didn't you?"

"At the beginning of the school year, I had every intention of taking your family's information. I became friends with you for that sole purpose. But you... you threw a wrench in my plans. Your very presence, the essence of your being completely stopped me. I didn't understand it at first. I even thought that this was one of my weaker self's flaws. When he took over, I thought I was correct. When I regained control, your spell still captivated me. You were the first one I was incorrect about. You are the first one to bring back my other self. You casually look me in the eye, caught my scissors when I was putting Kagami in his place, and stole my heart."

"What are you saying..." Airi muttered, not understanding a thing and wiping her shameful tears away onto her sleeve.

He laughed his unheard laugh, intertwining his hand with hers under the twinkling stars of the night sky.

"What I'm saying, Airi-chan, is that all of me is completely in love with you."