Blush (Akashi Seijuro x OC) | Kuroko no Basuke

Chapter 6: Close

It was a fine day.

Birds chirped as they rested on the few trees or circled above the streets that were filled with people leisurely walking around. It was a nice, peaceful Saturday morning. Today was a rest day for the basketball club and, this time, Seijuro intended to have fun so he volunteered to go with Risa to visit the seamstress who made the children's costume for Shelter's event during the school festival. Her other members were busy practicing with the kids at Angels' Place and they were more than happy to accept his help.

Risa was already waiting for him when he arrived at the town square. Her black hair was tied into a neat bun and she was wearing a pink and red long-sleeved, flowy dress. It suited her and Seijuro could not help but smile at the thought of it. Lately, he discovered, he'd been smiling often when around the girl. Something inside him would often stir and he'd be unable to control himself. He didn't hate it though and liked it on the contrary.

"Risa-san!" He ran toward the girl. She looked at him and he almost lost his breath. "Sorry. Was I late?"

"No," she shook her head. "I was just early. Let's go?" He followed her as she led the way. "Madam Blanc is a very skilled seamstress and she makes clothes faster than any seamstress I know. She's a bit cranky so she always loses customers. But she's into charity and you'll soon realize she's nice once ypu get to know her. She has a soft spot for orphans. Fostered two, actually, even without a husband or a partner."

"I sure would like to meet her," Seijuro remarked. The two entered a narrow alleyway. It was muddy and littered with garbage. Risa easily walked through it, not minding even if her shoes get dirty. "Are you sure this is the way?" he asked, reluctant to step on the dirty ground.

The girl faced him and realized what was on his mind. "You can just step on the rocks." She offered him her hand. "Here, hold on to me so you could balance yourself."

"N-no. It's fine." Seijuro refused the girl's help, stepping on a stone and instantly losing balance. He tumbled to the ground, Risa going down with him in an attempt to save him. The mud and dirt covered parts of his clothes and body. Why the heck did the girl choose this damn path to walk on through? Anger began to simmer inside Seijuro but he heard the boisterous laugh coming from the girl.

Risa sat up, dress so dirty and there was mud on her pink cheeks. She was laughing so hard tears formed in her dark eyes. Seijuro could only stare at her and let her laugh travel its way to his heart. He rubbed one of his fingers on his shirt then used the clean finger to wipe the mud at the tip of Risa's nose. She was a bit startled but she just continued laughing. "Gosh, I'm really so tempted to wear one of the kid's costumes right now," she managed to say.

Seijuro smiled and helped her up. "Maybe we should find a new set of clothes first. To make us look more presentable to Madam Blanc," he suggested.

"I agree. She's a bit of a neat freak. Might not let us in because we might dirty her shop. I have alcohol and tissues in my bag." Not surprised, Seijuro followed Risa when she quickly entered a thrift shop right around the corner of the alleyway. "This store's donating a good amount to environmental organizations. Are you okay with simple jeans and a tee?"

The boy nodded. It was the kind of shop he had never dreamed to enter but thought it was at least a decent one and he would be helping the environment somehow anyway. Risa chose a floral mint dress and quickly wore it. Seijuro was fitting a plain white shirt and secondhand jeans when he heard Risa speak from outside his fitting room.

"President, why are you doing this?"

Seijuro stopped wearing the shirt, leaning closer to the brown curtain separating the small fitting room from the rest of the store. "What do you mean?"