TAKE XXIII.

    “So….” The class rep, handed me a piece of paper. “These are your scripts. Please memorize them. I’d need it in an hour.”

    I jaw dropped. “AN HOUR!?!! I AIN’T SUPERHUMAN!”

    “An hour or you’ll be cleaning the classroom alone.”

    “Are you aiming to be Akashi?”

    “Huh?”

    “Never mind.” I rolled my eyes and stared at the paper.

Romeo: Oh Juliet! This is our fate! No one could reverse this cruel destiny!

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Romeo: I love you, Juliet. Death shall never do us apart!

    I blinked repeatedly. “THIS IS TOO CHEESY I CAN’T!!!!” I screamed. The class rep patted my shoulder.

    “Have patience, Akihiko-san. You’ll survive this…. With my guide!”

    “What!? No! No!!!!”

* * * *

    “I think my soul just….” I muttered and landed on the cold floor of the classroom.

    “Stand up, Akihiko-san. We have another twenty lines.”

    “Why are you torturing me!?!!”

    “This is called training.”

    “No! You’re certainly trying to kill me!”

    “As you wish.”

    “Mou~!!”

    “Fine. 15 minutes break.”

    I pouted and got out of the classroom. The class rep is scary. I walked past the student council meeting room and heard voices so Akashi won’t be in his room. I’d want to meet Snowy, but it’d be rude to barge in without him inside. Okay, since when did I become this polite?

    Anyway, I went to the vending machine to buy my favorite drink, which is plain water Evian. While drinking, my feet moved towards the basketball court. It’s like walking on air. I felt so light and on cue, I threw my empty bottle into the dustbin and grabbed one ball.

    Will I be able to play like before?

    Will I be able to feel the passion of basketball like before?

    Will I be able to love basketball again?

“He is watching over you. Hold this basketball, close your eyes and feel his gaze. He’d want to see you happy with his passion.”

    Akashi’s voice lingered in my head.

    “I shall believe in you once and for all, Akashi Seijuurou.” I told myself and ran to the tip-off line. Dribbling, I stared at the basket.

Love this again.

    As if there’s a defense in front of me, I turned my body partially and ran to the left. Stopped at the three-pointer line and shoot the ball. It went in perfectly. Grinning, I went to take the bouncing ball and dribbled it, running towards the other basket. I dodged the air, imagining as if there’s defenses. I made another three-pointer and grinned wider. Can’t believe I still manage to shoot it.

    I ran to the opposite basket and this time, jumped and attempted a dunk. I almost…. ALMOST touched the rim and the ball hit the backboard. I gasped, realizing how far I was from the ground and yelped when the ball reflected and hit my face. And together with the ball, I fell down from the attempted dunk spot. It was far, to be honest. I hit the floor with a loud ‘thud’ and I did a super mega ultra big mistake.

    I landed on my legs first. The force exerted was concentrated on one point and it HURTS LIKE HELL ASDFGHJKL!!!! The ball bounced away and I fell on my butt, wincing, laughing my ass off.

    “Oh my God! If anyone did see what I attempted to do, I’ll kill myself because it’s embarrassing HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!” I laughed, punching the floor repeatedly.

    I stared at the spotlight above. Hey, maybe this is the joy of basketball. Maybe this is it. Maybe…. The light has been shining on me once again.

“I….”

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“..Love….”

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“Basket….ball….!”

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.

    I giggled to myself. “I love basketball!” I yelled and rolled on the floor, giggling. “I! LOVE! BASKETBALL! YEAY!” I shouted and squealed. Tears formed at the corner of my eyes. Kazuki, dear brother. I’m sorry I abandoned what you love. I’m loving basketball once again. Hey, but then, soccer is my life now. Wiping the tears off, I grinned and sat up. Guess I should be thanking Akashi, huh?

.

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    “I see you’re having fun.”

Speaking of the devil….

    I turned my head and waved at him. “Yo~ Mister President!” I said. He approached. “Let’s have a 1 on 1!” I offered. He picked up the ball that bounced off earlier and dribbled. I stood, straightening my uniform. We faced each other. He went to the right so I followed, defensing but the unexpected happened. He stepped backwards and I moved forward but a stabbing pain pierced on my legs making me fell forward.

    “Ah!”

    Akashi caught both of my arms before I could fall on my knees. He supported my body weight. The ball bounced off somewhere. “So, are you gonna kill yourself now?” he spoke.

    I looked up. “What?”

    “You said you were going to kill yourself if anyone did ever see your attempted dunk earlier.” He smirked.

    I blushed. “You were watching?!”

    “Don’t worry. I didn’t watch that much.”

    I blinked.

    “I came here when you took a drink from the vending machine.”

    I made a ‘=_=’ face. “You midget!” I mumbled.

    He stepped on my foot. “Say what?”

    “A-ah, ow! It hurts, alright I’m sorry!”

    He chuckled and lifted me up bridal style. “Wh-wh-what are you doing!?!! PUT ME DOWN!” I yelled and blushed madly like WHO WON’T BLUSH IF YOU’RE BEING LIFTED BY A HOT RED-HAIRED PRESIDENT OF STUDENT COUNCIL—

    We entered the infirmary. “Nurse, if you may help her.” Akashi spoke when the nurse smiled at us. He let me sat down on a chair in front of the nurse. She examined both of my legs.

    “Hm, it’s swollen terribly. What happened?” she asked.

    Uh…. To say or not to say?

    “She dunked.”

    The nurse gaped. “Wow. That’s dangerous. You’re short, you can’t just dunk like that. The hit must be terrifying. Must’ve hurt.” She commented.

    I scratched the back of my head. “I’ll be fine in a few hours!” I told her.

    She just smiled and started doing whatever necessary to treat my legs.

~.~

    “Lean on me if you can’t walk properly.”

    I wore the outdoor shoes and grabbed Akashi’s arm, as I was about to fall. “Whoa, it hurts.” I mumbled and walked slowly. The pain is decreasing but it still hurts somewhere around there. We started walking back home.

    “Hey, Akashi.”

    “Hm?”

    “Thank you.”

    He glanced at me.

    “Well, I was confident to play basketball once again thanks to your words. You encouraged me to love it again. Thank you.”

    “It’s nothing serious.” He said.

    “Hm, really? You’re such a kind man!” I said then laughed.

    “I’m gonna kill you for real.”

    I giggled. “I have rehearsal tomorrow so I may be late. You can go home first.”

    He kept silent.

    “Let’s go out this Sunday. I’m bored.” I said.

    “I’m fine with it.”

    “Yeay! Then I’ll meet you at the bakery around 10am!” I smiled.

    He nodded once and I jiggled in happiness slowly.

    “You’re really talkative.” He commented.

    “If I’m not, I won’t be able to make friends. Like Akashi, you have to smile more often! People will love you like Uchiha Sasuke.”

    He frowned.

    I laughed and swayed slightly. “I look like a drunkard.” I said.

    “You just realized that?”

    I pouted.

[A/N: HAHAHAHA I know I’m supposed to be in update hiatus for two weeks but studying is so boring so I decided to update a chapter. LOL I hope this satisfy you XD do you guys need more “mummy and daddy” scenes? Because I like that theory HAHAHAHA //slapped.

Okay fine.

Love, Ryuuki <3<3

By my leave, mortals….]