Night Walk

Akashi is here.

Standing gallantly in front of my house.

But it doesn't make sense.

Because Namie confessed to Akashi a day before and he didn't reply. She wasn't expecting a reply either. Duh, it's Akashi. The prince Akashi Seijurou-sama.

Why would he stoop so low for someone who can never be even considered as a member of the higher class?

That is exactly WHY, Namie stood in her room with her palms pressed on the glass and her breath fogged up. Her eyes focused on the waiting figure in front of their gate and her mouth hang open.

He might have noticed her since he looked up and nodded as if in greeting. Her stomach felt queasy that she had to hide herself and take in three quick deep breaths like her life depended on it. Outside her room, someone started to knock.

"Namie, someone's looking for you," her mother said from the door. She breathed out a complaint but her mother wouldn't hear any of it. "That's impolite, Namie, you can't just tell someone to leave," her mother berated and would have pulled the door out of its hinges if she hear another complaint from Namie.

The girl mumbled an agreement and asked for a minute to prepare herself. When Namie's sure that her mother's gone, she fumbled through her clothes and changed to a shirt, a cardigan, and her usual jeans. She laid them all on her bed before heading down, in case she needed to go for a short walk after getting rejected.

Breathing—no, almost sucking—a deep breath, she exited her room and walked in a try-hard casual way outside their door and to the gate where Akashi waited. She nervously pressed all the fingers of her left hand with her right thumb and index finger.

"Good evening, Kanae-san," Akashi greeted formally and Namie stood still like some electric charge went through the heel of her foot to the tips of her hair. She flushed and looked at her feet in discomfort.

"G-Good evening, Akashi-kun," she tried to speak casually but still ended up ruining it by choking out the words like it's dirty or revolting. She breathed hard, trying to calm down. When she went out, she was supposed to be ready for his rejection instead she felt like stopping his next sentence and just tell him that she understood.

Akashi doesn't seem aware of her inner dilemma, he looked quite amused. "Can I ask you something, Kanae-san?"

Namie nodded slowly and stared at the ground again, refusing to meet his eyes and read the emotions on it. She shuffled a little and tried to breathe normally. Gosh, I'm acting like I'm going to have a panic attack.

"Would you like to accompany me for a walk?" he asked.

She raised her head, mouth agape. "Yes?"

He looked amused with how she reacted to the question but he didn't say anything about it. "I am asking if you would like to accompany me for a walk."

"I..." though you went all the way here to reject me. The thought itself made her want to laugh. Why would Akashi even come all the way to her house and reject her? He'd only waste his precious time of that is his actual plan. But asking her to accompany him for a walk was also a big deal. "U-Uh, are you sure you came to the right house?"

Because a few blocks from here would be Midorima's house. And Akashi is Midorima's friend, if she placed it on her observations properly.

Akashi nodded.

She thought of any other reasons to beg to differ but she cannot come up with a sound argument so she sighed. "Okay, please wait for me then."

"I will."