Someday {Akashi Seijūrō}

d a y e l e v e n

"Haha..."

"What?"

~~

There was something going on. Something definitely weird. Ever since that time Reo came to tutor instead of Akashi. He was acting indifferent. Well, he was always indifferent. Although I didn't doubt the fact that it would fade away before I realized it, I was still surprised. What could've caused Akashi, the Absolute Emperor, to act like this?

Usually, during the tutoring sessions, he would immediately jump on any error. It was apparent that he was slower in responding.

Finals were coming around, and there were only a few more weeks to study. I couldn't make a slip up this time like I did during midterms.

Despite winning at the Inter-High, the Rakuzan basketball team still practiced hard, training for the Winter Cup rolling around in a few months. Though, due to Akashi's spartan training style, he probably made the process more brutal than it needed to be. Then again, maybe not.

With a textbook open on my lap, I stared at the team practicing on the court. I had given up a while ago, my elbows on the open pages and my pencil in the crack between. Finals were in two or three weeks and I knew I should be studying, but there was nothing I could do in a school gym. Kazuno had gone out somewhere. However, I had to stay here and wait for Akashi to finish, so we could go back and start where I left off while waiting. Not that it was going to be far. I was certainly going to get a scolding for it.

Suddenly, a ball was flying towards me. This view seems familiar, I thought as my arms shot up. In the process, the textbook slipped off my lap and flipped over onto the floor with a thud. I felt the ball slam into my palms and lowered my arms, the basketball clutched in my hands. It did sting a little.

Hayama ran over and farther behind him I could see Akashi eyeing me, but he quickly went back to directing practice. I tossed the ball to Hayama. "Why is it always you?" I asked jokingly.

He laughed nervously, "Well, last time was an accident..."

I raised an eyebrow, "Are you saying it wasn't this time?"

"I was wondering, [Last Name]-chan, if you know what Kazuno-chan thinks about me?"

"What?"

He blushed a little, "I want to ask her out."

I stared at him. He was able to say all that without hesitating or stuttering at all. Hayama sure was something.

"Oh... I thought you two were already dating," I deadpanned.

"What? No..."

"Well, all I can say right now is that she would probably want you to ask her out, too," I said quickly, words blurring together. "But if Akashi-kun were to find out you did this on purpose, then he'll--"

"Kotarō," Akashi's voice echoed around the quiet gym, save for the tap of basketball's hitting the floor. I jumped and noticed that Hayama visibly tensed up.

"... Yes, Captain?" he answered.

"If you're going to spend your time chatting, it's better spent doing twenty laps around the track."

Hayama let out an inaudible noise and dropped the ball onto the floor. He raced out the gym doors as quickly as he could as to not anger Akashi any more than he already had. I shivered. Knowing how large Rakuzan's track was, it was a harsh punishment. The rest of the team focused on the practice, though I caught some stealing glances at the open doors. I shook my head and let a chuckle or two escape, bending down to pick up the fallen textbook.

~+~+~

When Akashi deemed practice over, I immediately started towards the court. Although I didn't need to help with the clean-up, it had almost become second nature to me. Hayama wasn't back, yet. My guess was that he was probably dying on the track, and if he didn't come back before tidying up was finished, I would think of him as dead. Though, I wouldn't want to be the first to discover his rotting body on the school track...

"How far did you get?" Akashi asked.

"Um..."

"Not far. You wouldn't have been able to get far with how much slacking you were doing."

I picked up a ball and tossed it to him, saying nothing.

He just smirked.

"Anyway," I said, walking over with a ball in hand. "Don't you think that punishment was too harsh?"

"That's nonsense," he answered. "In fact, I think I was being too generous."

"Oh," I said, then mumbled an apology to a person I bumped into. "Rakuzan's track is big, though. Bigger than the other schools in the prefecture."

Akashi took the ball from my hands, not responding to my statement, and I felt his fingertips brush mine.

And for a moment, just a moment, my heart fluttered.

~~