Lost in a Pursuit

"Look forward."

3pm at the library later. See you.

I received a text message from Akashi during lunch, noting the details of the time when I would, together with him, help that Aomine Daiki-kun understand the concepts of each subject. I wasn't too happy, but I wasn't too annoyed either. Then again, re-teaching someone the content actually helped me to remember the stuff.

2.55pm came. Quickly, I grabbed the relevant materials of the subjects I was in charge of (the sciences and English) and hurried down the corridor to the library.

I walked towards the tables and chairs, passing by aisles of books. As usual, I found Akashi easily with his hair colour. He was already sitting there beside another tanned-skin guy with navy blue hair, presumably Aomine. Wait, why do people who play basketball in Teiko have weird hair colours?!

"Great, Shizuko, you're here," Akashi greeted with a smile as I pulled out a chair and sat opposite both of them.

"...Yeah, hi, Akashi and... Aomine-kun..." I stared nervously at the other guy.

"Hi," Aomine greeted, although sounding a little annoyed. Using one hand to cover his voice, he tried to whisper to Akashi, "Oi, Akashi... you didn't tell me a girl was coming? I have my pride..."

"I can hear you," I said sternly as I creased my eyebrows. What did he mean, anyway?

Akashi just brushed Aomine's words off. "Whatever your opinions are, the aim of today is to help you study and improve your grades. Unless you want to skip the finals match---"

"O-Okay, fine, I'll study! Is that good enough?!"

"Good. Then, let's start with Biology," Akashi looked at me after finishing his sentence.

I fished out my book of biology notes, along with some sets of flashcards. Then, I flipped open the notes to the very first topic --- cell structure.

"Nah, I think I know this topic pretty well already," said Aomine.

"Well, then which topic?" I asked. Darn, missed my chance to make the pun about cells taking cell-fies with their cellphones...

"Uh... the digestive system, maybe."

I wasn't surprised since that topic was the most complicated and full of words to memorise. And that's when flashcards come into play. After flipping to the desired topic, I took my set of flashcards dedicated to the key phrases of the digestive system.

"Woah, what's with all these... colours? And... random... weird doodles?"

"Uh, you can ignore the those doodles. I drew them when I was bored. As for the colours, I used orange highlighter for words written in blue, and green highlighter for words written in red. Since they're complementary colours, when placed together, they will get the most attention, so the important keywords can get stuck into your head easily," I explained, smiling and feeling very professional. After all, I learnt these from Art lessons. "Oh! And, on a side note, pun intended," I glanced at Akashi, "I've already organised the parts and pieces so it's easier for you to read."

"You sure are enjoying Art," Akashi chuckled at me. I chuckled right back at him.

"Com...comple...what? I don't get it?" Aomine asked.

"Okay, never mind! Just read the notes. First, we start off with the mouth. Food enters the mouth, then..."

***

The rest of the day continued with Akashi and I switching turns to teach. It was a little frustrating to having to explain the things to Aomine but I somehow managed to do it, using visuals and imagination in our heads. Hopefully it worked.

After that, Akashi and I decided to walk to the train station together, since Aomine was going in a different direction. To be honest, I was a little happy about this arrangement, especially when the other person's presence was too awkward for me to handle.

Or, maybe there were other reasons? my brain suddenly told me. Did you suddenly start to like Akashi?

What?! I... I turned to look at Akashi while walking, and an image of Yuuichi flashed through my mind. ...Maybe.

Just then, he started a conversation, "Hey, Shizuko?"

"Yeah?"

"About the school festival after end-of-year examinations, I'm thinking of performing a piece on my violin---"

I gasped in excitement and almost screamed, "Oh my god YES YOU SHOULD---" Then I covered my mouth. I shouldn't have done that. "S-Sorry, haha... But I still want you to play the violin!"

He seemed a little surprised, then broke into a slight smile. "That's great. I could do a duet with Midorima playing the piano..."

"Yes!" I suddenly jumped(which might have scared Akashi a little) in uncontrollable elation. "I love piano and violin duets!"

Then I was reminded of Yuuichi again, that one time he played as an accompanist to a violin during a concert. He was really awesome with his fingers, playing that difficult piece in such quick tempo. Being his last performance before middle school started, that moment was deeply engraved onto my mind.

I suppressed my ardent smile before continuing into silence.

"Is there something wrong?" Akashi asked with full concern.

"... It's just... You know," I began with a serious tone, "Sometimes, I wish I could turn back the time and return to those old days. I'm not saying I don't like you or Miyano or my classmates but... I just prefer the past over the present. I miss Yuuichi. And I can't help but brood over the past."

Then I realised how heavy the mood must be now due to my words and apologised, "I'm sorry."

Akashi suddenly grabbed my wrist. I almost jerked. "W-What?"

He walked a step further in front, along with a faster speed and taking me along with him. "Really... Shizuko, you need to stop worrying about the past. Look forward. There will be more beautiful things if you do."

Look forward. His words and voice immediately resounded within me. However, I sensed, rather than persuasion, his tone sounded a little more like he was... annoyed? I couldn't put my finger to the correct word. But I had one in mind.

"Akashi..." I spoke, ignoring the embarrassment crawling inside me, "If... If I said that 'I like you', how... how would you react?"

---End of Chapter 14---

A/N: I'm sorry if the part with Aomine seemed too awkward or something! I'm not very familiar with him, so yeah >< Next chapter out on 21/11(Saturday)!