Blush (Akashi Seijuro x OC) | Kuroko no Basuke

Chapter 4: A New Day

She leaned her head on Seijuro's shoulder, unaware because she was deep in her sleep. The student council president should already be angry at the girl, what with her persistence on a request that was impossible to do. And after what happened in the cafeteria, Seijuro should be ignoring her right now. But for some reason, he couldn't. When he saw her leading Shelter at the orphanage, it was like something inside him clicked. Not that it wasn't there before. No. He knew it was already there, waiting to be acknowledged. Though he didn't know its name, just, now, it was like he could not hate Risa Mikaela.

He didn't know when it started but he became interested in her actions, her mind, and her firm beliefs. Instead of getting under his skin, lately, it only made him more curious about the girl. Maybe, somehow, Risa and he were much alike.

Risa stirred and her head almost fell. Seijuro caught it with his hand and placed it back on his shoulder. He could not help but inhale her scent. She smelled like wildflowers and vanilla. It was still hours away before sunrise, and before anyone noticed that they were locked inside the stockroom, so he played and watched the videos of Shelter and the orphans practicing using his phone.

"Look here! Look here, Yumi!" said Risa's voice in the video. A group of kids was lined up and singing a song. The video panned to the Shelter members instructing in front of the kids and holding a manila paper where the lyrics were written.

"Borrow!" A little boy with a runny nose was seen in the video but Risa told him no and wiped his snot. She was giggling.

After the clip on the singing kids, Seijuro watched the one with the kids practicing a dance number. They were good. And they were having fun. Video after video, the boy watched them again and again until his eyelids became heavy and he also slept.

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"Are you feeling alright?" greeted Akashi's voice.

It was like it snowed in August. Recalling what happened the night before, Mika couldn't believe that the cold-hearted Akashi Seijuro had helped her, stayed with her, and watched Shelter's videos with her without as much as complaining or giving her a cold shoulder.

She looked at the window on the wall of the storage room. The sun was already up, but they still could not hear anyone outside.

"Just about an hour more and somebody will open the door," Akashi said, as though he read her mind. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I-- Uh... I'm fine." Were they sitting this close throughout the night? She could feel Akashi's breath touch her cheek and feel his warmth on the side of her body leaning against the boy. "I am actually surprised that you helped me." She sat up straight and tore her eyes away from him."I thought you hated me."

"Before, yes. But now, not anymore." He was straightforward.

Mika wanted to ask what changed but she didn't, happy that at least he didn't hate her now. Outside, the birds were chirping, and in the distance, a dog barked. She stood because her body was starting to feel numb from staying in one position for hours. She stretched her body, and Akashi stood up, too. What about Shelter? Mika wondered if he changed his mind about their venue.

"Why are you so dedicated to helping others?" The boy suddenly asked.

The girl stopped stretching. "I'm not sure, but I think, I just feel more alive when doing it. It's hard to explain. It's kinda like air for me, you know, or water. I need to do it and I love doing it. It makes my heart swell with joy." Even only thinking about the kids made Mika smile. She asked Akashi a question, too, "What about you? Why basketball?"

"My mom introduced me to the sport, then I found it fascinating how a player has to use both intellectual and physical skills to play the game. I figured it could be a good way to improve myself." He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the wall. "I've been playing it for a long time. I guess it's like air or water to me too. I cannot imagine myself not doing it."