"I'm surprised Akashi never told you about me."
Sayuri narrowed her eyes at the boy, feeling the pit in her stomach grow bigger as he began his words.
"I thought he'd at least tell you about the fun he had humiliating me in front of the whole Teiko basketball team. All because I wasn't 'good enough' for his Generation of Miracles," he said in a mocking tone, causing her to widen her eyes at the revelation of new information.
"Y-You went to Teiko?" she asked. It all made sense; he was a transfer student from Tokyo, how could she have cancelled out that possibility?
He chuckled, "Yes I did, and we've met."
"No, that can't be right. If we did then I would've known you from the beginning." That was a lie and she knew it. She always had this lingering feeling that he was someone she knew, but she didn't want to admit that now when he clearly looked agitated.
"I loved basketball more than anything in the world back then. So much that I decided to join Teiko on my third year. I wanted to meet the Generation of Miracles... I thought I would improve if I played alongside them," he trailed on, fully grabbing her attention now.
"You have no idea how hard I trained to stand a chance against them; for them to acknowledge my efforts. But," he sneered, "I guess hard work doesn't pass with those monsters."
His voice leaked with animosity as he recalled his middle school days, "The happiness I felt when Akashi said he'd consider me for the first string; god, was that incredibly fulfilling."
She had a really bad feeling about what he was going to reveal next.
"Imagine how fucking happy I was when he told me to prove myself through a match with the Generation of Miracles. Holy shit! I was gonna play alongside them! My dreams were gonna come true!" he blustered, as his voice gradually increased in volume, causing her to flinch slightly.
"But do you know why he asked me to do that?" he said, his tone lower than before as he leaned closer to her face.
"Just so the fuckers can play a game during an official match by making sure I don't get to touch the ball."
Sayuri's eyes widened in shock and she wanted nothing more than to just run away. She knew that the Generation of Miracles had a falling out during their third year of middle school. She knew that this was also the time Akashi changed for the worst. But even then, she didn't know that it got to that extent.
She stopped watching their games after the end of their second year when Akashi repeatedly reminded her that it wasn't worth the hassle anymore. With each passing match, she noticed how dim the glint in his eyes became, and after countless arguments, she eventually decided never to ask him about the team anymore.
Maybe that was the reason she doesn't remember Kaito.
"W-What do you mean?" she stuttered.
"It was your dear emperor's idea. He used me for his team's entertainment. What I hoped would be the best basketball match of my life, turned out to be the absolute worst," he chuckled, "I mean, imagine this! I was in the court with them, playing my damn hardest when I realized, huh- why aren't they passing the ball to me?.. Why aren't they letting me touch the goddamn ball?!"
He was fully screaming by now, "And then it hit me, it was a game to them. I was a game for them. The monsters used me for entertianment during a game that we were supposed to win together!"
He was slowly creeping in on her, causing her to take cautious steps backwards in an attempt to maintain their distance.
"And now, you're complaining about me sabotaging his team?" he let out a menacing laugh as he threw his head back, "Just as I thought, you're as messed up as he is."
"That's-"
"Oh! And wanna know something more?" he interrupted, cutting her off rudely.
"He stole my girl," he said, his voice dripping with murderous intent.
Amidst her growing fear and the slight tremble of her body, she still noticed the way he swiftly held onto his silver dog tag, brushing the metal surface with his thumb.
She then remembered the name that was carved on the pendant.
Megumi.
Was that the girl Akashi stole? Her mountain of questions grew larger in size.
Her attempt to maintain their distance was deemed meaningless when he suddenly advanced towards her at an ungodly speed. Without warning, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to him, his fingers clasping at the sides of her neck as he ruthlessly strangled her.
"And you know what I'll do to his girl?" he growled.
Sayuri was now grasping onto his wrist, struggling helplessly to loosen his grip on her neck.
"I'll mark what's his."
Suddenly, she felt harsh pressure dawn on top of her lips. He loosened his grip on her neck just enough so she could breathe but sucked it right out of her anyway as he bit down on her bottom lip.
She yelped in pain and pushed him away in terror, and it took every drop of her strength to finally break free from the distasteful kiss.
"You're fucking insane!" she scowled as she hurriedly wiped her lips with the sleeve of her blazer, the blood from the open wound staining the dark material.
He chuckled uncannily, the smirk not leaving his face, "I'll see you around, Sayu-chan."
* * *
"Where is he?!"
"He's in his room, Hamazaki-sama-"
She stormed up the stairs before letting the housekeeper finish, eager to hear Akashi's explanation. She was so emotionally fragile at the moment that she didn't know who to go to except him.
She knew there was some truth behind Kaito's revelations, but she at least wanted to hear it come out of Akashi's mouth herself. Plus, Kaito wasn't the only person suffering during their third year of middle school. Akashi was battling his own set of demons and it broke her heart to realize now how mentally strained he must have been to resort to something so cruel.
She swang the door open to Akashi's room and stormed inside, heading straight towards the redhead who immediately stood up from his desk.
"Sayuri-"
Before he could even speak, she attacked him with a desperate hug, her arms wrapping around his torso as she felt warm tears run down her face uncontrollably.
He stood rigid, her soft sobs catching him off-guard. But he completely softened at her embrace and patted the top of her head gently.
"Hey, what's wrong, princess?" he murmured in a subtle tone. He could clearly feel the hiccups in her breathing which caused her body to tremble against his.
Seeing her in this state felt ten times more painful than any other loss, and he would gladly accept defeat over and over if it meant seeing the smile on her face appear again.
He swore he wouldn't let the person who hurt Sayuri see the light of day.
He held onto her shoulders as he gently forced her to look at him. Suddenly, the angry bruises on the sides of her neck immediately caught his attention, and he could feel undeniable rage slowly overtake his senses as he stared at her busted lip.
He wanted nothing more than to demand an instantaneous answer but he knew that calming her down was his top priority.
Taking a deep breath, he placed his hands on either side of her face and wiped her tears away with his thumb. Her sky-blue eyes were brimming with a mixture of emotions and it was taking everything to stop himself from going berserk.
"Hey, look at me. Who hurt you? Who did this to you?" he asked her softly, making sure to mask the intense fury building up inside him.
She looked up at him with crystal eyes, feeling the weight of Kaito's assault suddenly drop onto her shoulders.
She hesitated before speaking but Akashi's presence made her so vulnerable that she couldn't help but burst out in more tears, "N-Nakamura," she mumbled, lowering her head on his chest until she felt her forehead touch the fabric of his shirt.
Akashi tensed up, he clenched his fist so tight that he could feel his nails dig into the skin of his palms.
That sly bastard.
Pushing his anger aside for a second, he softly shushed the girl and made her sit on the edge of his bed.
They stayed there in silence, with Akashi standing in front of her as she held onto him for comfort. The only sound echoing through the walls were Sayuri's irregular sobs and he made sure that she was fully calmed down before probing her with more questions.
Once her tears were dry and her breath was steady, he kneeled in front of her, pushing her blonde locks aside to take a good look at her face, "You feelin' better, love?"
She nodded, glancing up at him slightly only to see a worried expression appear on his face.
"What did he do to you...?" he asked softly, as he stroked her cheek.
Sayuri told him everything; from noticing the familiar chain around his neck, to their most recent encounter at the school courtyard, and he took it all in as calmly as he possibly could.
He knew that she wasn't in the best state of mind and his added aggression would probably only add more fuel to the fire. Though he wasn't going to lie, hearing about how he physically hurt her made him feel unequivocal wrath rush through his body.
He was enraged and he won't let Nakamura Kaito get away with what he's done.
"I just- I just don't get why he said you stole his girl," she said, sounding a lot more stable compared to a few minutes ago.
"Takeuchi Megumi. I think he's talking about her," he started, securing her full attention.
"He didn't quit the Teiko basketball team, nor did I ever forced him to leave the second string. A few months after being demoted from the first string, he got expelled for stalking a girl named Taekeuchi Megumi from a neighbouring school," he continued.
"Only the coach and I knew about it at that time, and we were asked to keep it a secret to protect his identity," he sighed, "From what I know, he attempted to harrass her when she turned him down, and she had to move all the way to Kyoto for the restraining order against him to really take effect."
Sayuri's eyes widened in shock.
"Her rejection didn't stop him from obsessing over her, and I can only guess that the pendant with her name on it is proof of that," he said.
"But I never stole her from him. I never even saw her during middle school. So my theory is, he probably followed her to Rakuzan and coincidentally stumbled upon me in the process."
"Wait, Megumi. As in the Megumi from our school?" she asked, if what she was thinking was right, then it would make sense for Kaito to declare that Akashi stole her from him.
"Yeah, why?" the redhead replied.
"Remember that day when you caught me in the council room with scratches on my neck?"
He nodded.
"I got into a small catfight with Megumi," she admitted. "She likes you."
Akashi sighed, "Well then that explains a lot. Kaito probably found out about what she felt about me and immediately concluded that I stole her from him."
"Yeah... I guess," she whispered, still overwhelmed by the insane amount of news.
"I have something to confess as well," he admitted, as he looked into her eyes.
"I kept my distance from you the moment I realized who he was, because I was afraid that what happened with Haizaki would happen again," his voice grew softer, as guilt laced his words.
"I think I'm getting punished now for the horrible things I've done in the past. But I just couldn't allow you to get hurt in the process," he explained, "I knew that he wouldn't forget the way we treated him, and I also knew that if he found out I had someone I cherished, he would surely do everything to make sure I don't feel the happiness just like he didn't."
He laughed sadly, "Though, I guess it's too late now," he said, as he looked up at her with remorse. He lowered his head and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, "I'm the worst. I can't even protect you."
She grabbed his wrist and forced him to look at her, "That's not true! There are just some things I have to deal on my own. I might be your fiancé, but I'm not your responsibility, Seijuro. I'm my own person, and yeah, sure it's great to know that I have you to lean on when it gets tough, but you're not accountable for what I go through. The same way you told me not to blame myself for the changes you went through."
Akashi looked at her in a daze, stunned by the realness of her words. He gave her a warm smile and pulled her closer to his chest, "I promise this will be the last time he can hurt you like that."
He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head and reached out his hands for her to take.
"Let's go and get those bruises treated, okay?"