"I love you too, Sorano" He whispered in my ear before both of us slowly drifted away in the world of dreams.
After a peaceful night I woke up later as usually. Seijūrõ lay to my left side, still asleep.
A moment I watched his peaceful face before my eyes traveled down to his chest that was rised and lowered with every breath he took. The end of the blanket was resting on his lower abdomen, revealing his bare abs.
The half-sleep state I was in before vanished completely as the memory of yesterday slowly made it's way back in my mind, leaving a dark red on my cheeks. My slowly working brain finally realised that Seijūrõ wasn't the only one completely naked, I hadn't put on clothes either.
Hastily I pulled the blanket over my shoulders, although there wasn't someone who could see me because the only other one in my room was still in deep slumber.
But thanks to my hastily motion he slowly rolled on his back. I stopped moving, hoping that he get back to sleep, I even hold my breath.
Unfortunately Seijūrõ rolled his head in my direction and opened slowly one of his dreamlike crimson eyes.
"I am sorry. I didn't want to wake you up" Before he could even say something I spoke immediately.
"You could make up for it, you know" he spoke in his morning voice.
"Make up for it?" I repeated. Before I could even ask how, Seijūrõ pulled me towards his chest and encircled his right arm around my back.
Aware of our naked bodies the blush on my cheek worsened and became darker and spread over to my ears.
'What could he mea... Wait' I tried to get off from his chest as I recognized what he was implying. But his strong hand on my back restrained me to gain any distance between us.
"Relax. I was just kidding" he chuckled while his head rested still on the bed.
"That was not funny" I pouted. To worsened my embarrassed state my stomach started to growl.
"Let's put on some clothes and eat breakfast" and without waiting for any respond I got out of his embrace suprisingly easy, grabbed my clothes that were thrown beside my bed before yesterdays evening lesson started, covered with them my bare skin and headed to the bathroom.
When both of us finally finished with washing and dressing we walked to the kitchen and prepared some breakfast together. Just when we finished our breakfast grandma walked inside the dining room, together with my mom.
"Good morning, dear. Good morning, Akashi-kun" my mom greeted.
"We need to talk" my mother said while looking straigth at me.
"Is it about Dad? Is something wrong?" I asked as I watched from Mom to grandma.
"You heard from the doctors that they haven't the possibility to treat him here as he needed to be, right?" I nodded. "But there exist a study in the states. Your fathers doctor contacted them and ask if there exist a chance that he can be participate in it. His chance for healing would be rise more than the half" she paused a moment while she stared at me. For a short moment her glance switched from me to Seijūrõ before her eyes rested on me again.
"They allowed him to participate in it. But that means he has to move to the states and I won't let him go alone. Shuzo is coming too. And now it's up to you what you want to do. I won't force you to any decision. You can choose on your own" She finished her explanation.
I looked from my mother to my grandmother and then to Seijūrõ before they moved back to my mother.
"I want to stay here" I said self-confident.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Yes, I am!" I replied.
"Good. Then you can stay here with Grandma and Shirou. He don't want to move to America either, so he will live here too. It's starts in three weeks when Shuzo graduated from middle school."
Timeskip
Three weeks later we accompanied Mom and Shuzo to the airport. Father would travel with a seperate plane. After the painful farewell Grandma, Shirou and I took the train to get back to Tatsuno. The whole journey we silently sat beside another, not even exchanging one word.
Back in Tatsuno I lay down on my back in my bed, depressed. 'I am sure troublesome days will arrive soon" I thought as I heard Shirou rumbling in his room.
I put on my headphones, hoping for distract myself a bit. But instead I fell asleep.
A knock on my door disrupted my peaceful sleep. I sat up in my bed confused, the headphone lay next to me on the bed. At that moment I didn't know what day or time it was, so deep fell I asleep. Another knock on my rooms door catched my attention.
"Come in" I said.
The door opened and an unexpected visitors made his way in my room.
"Oh, what a surprise. What make you came here?" I asked curiously the male that stood uncomfortable in the middle of my room.
"Nothing special. I was close and thought it was a good chance to keep my promise" The tall brunette answered.
"Are you still feeling guilty?" I confronted him as I felt his uneasyness.
"Hmmm." He nodded his head slightly while averting his emerald green eyes.
I got off from my bed, walked closer to him and flicked his forehead. Toma still standing on his spot rubbed the now reddened skin.
"What was that for?" He growled confused.
"Because you are an idiot and idiots deserve this when they won't stop blaming himself although the other one has already forgiven him" I scolded. "And by the way..." I paused a moment as I revealed my right wrist. "...it's completely healed. So you can finally stop your miserable feelings about the accident and you can move on and forget all of that. It was in the past" With a bright smile I tried to convince him and as an answer I got back a smile on the same level.
The rest of the afternoon we played video games and filled my room with laughing and frustrated call outs. At some point Shirou accompanied us and brought our facial muscles to laugh even more.
In the following week I had one major matter that made me worry a lot and hold me awake almost the whole nights and this time it wasn't because of school business. The thing that made me anxious and left dark circles under my eyes was the strange behavior of my boyfriend. It wasn't that he lessened the amount of attention for me, although he was busier than ever. Whenever we shared a call he was the quiet and passive part. Something was disturbing him, I was sure about it but whenever I confronted him he was avoiding my question or shrugged it off.
I even asked my friends for help but they couldn't help either.
On friday I traveled with a weird feeling in my stomach to Tokyo.
'Will he tell me what is bothering him or should I ignore it?
Will it be alright?
How should I behave before him?
What if it is my fault?
What if he wants to break up and is only waiting for my arrival?
That can't be happening!
No, he won't be doing such a thing...
But what if I am wrong?
I can’t endure that'
More and more questions crossed my mind and made my heart race in pain because of anxiety. For the first time my breath got heavier and heavier without any sporting activitis. My vision went blur and panic swell up inside me, my face cold and sweaty.
I leaned my head back against the seat and breathed in and out deep and slowly.
"Are you okay, Chibi-chan?" A kind male voice ask as the train started moving after he stopped in a town near Tokyo.
Slowly I opened my eyes and saw a tall teen sitting across of me. He had long raven black hair that reached his chin and gentle-looking eyes with outstandingly long eyelashes.
'Unusually' I thought. "I am fine, more or less I guess. Thank you for your concern"
"Don't need for you to be so formal. Will you tell me what is bothering your poor heart?" He asked with a gentle voice.
'From appearance he should be the same age as Shuzo' I suspected before I decided to tell him my situation. Not every single detail of course, only that what bothered me the most.
'Maybe he has an answer for my situation or at least can calm me down a bit' I hoped.
"What a bad situation you are in, Chibi-chan" he stated after hearing my poblem.
"I know. I am a bit afraid to face him" I lowered my head and bit my lips.
"Come on. You should be smiling and I don't think he would break up with such a cute little girl like you. If he would, he were a complete idiot"
The train stopped at the station before I had to leave the train, but the male across me stood up from his seat, much to my disappointment. "This is where I have to leave. Good luck with your boyfriend, Chibi-chan. And don't forget to smile, it will ease the situation" and with this he left before I even could ask for his name .
The train started moving again and ten minutes later I left the train too. I headed to Teiko Middle School and before I put one foot onto the school ground I inhaled the air deeply. Without hesitation or any uneasy feeling I walked inside the gym that was used by the first string basketball team.
I let my view wander through the huge gym to look for my readhead boyfriend. Just the moment I spottet him, our eyes met a short moment. Our expression softened at the time. He broke the eye contact first and restarted overwatching the training program while I made my way to the bench to sit beside Momoi, just like every friday.
And as every friday I watched the trainings program and as longer I watched I realised what exactly was bothering Seijūrõ the whole weeks before. The talent from the other members of the Kiseki no Sedai started to bloom. This time not only Aomines, even Kise, Midorima and Murasakibara got better and better. It was terrifying how fast their talent bloomed within one week.
'But something is off...' I recognized.
'Why isn't anyone smiling anymore?
Not even Kise is his usual cheerful and energetic self'
Confused I glanced to Momoi, a sad expression plastered on her face with slightly dark cirles under her eyes while the usually white sclera in her eyes showed a hint of redness. It seemed as if she had cried a lot lately.
"Sa-chan? What's wrong?" I whispered, but she blocked my question immediately.
"I can't endure to talk about it right now" she muttered.
The rest of the trainings lesson we only sat silently beside each other and just like usually after training the boys went to the locker room for changing while I stayed back alone until Seijūrõ appeared.
"Let's go home, Sorano" Seijūrõ said with a slight smile as he grabbed my hand and entwined his fingers with mine.
Walking home side by side without exchanging a single word, I finally found my courage to end the silence as we stepped onto the land on which his mansion stood.
"Are you afraid of the growing talent of your friends?" I asked directly.
Astonished his eyes widened slightly. He lowered his face to the ground but remained silently. I stopped walking abruptly which consequence was that he had to stop too cause our hands were still intertwined with each other.
As he turned around to me I softly rested my free palm on his cheek. "Don't push yourself to hard. You are you and you will always find a way. You always have" I merely wispered.
"Of course" A marvelous smile painted on his lips as he covered my hand on his cheek with his own.
Timeskip
The following week passed in an instand. With hindrance I arrived at Teiko Middle school later as usually this friday. Thanks to my friends I was too late for the first train and had to take the second one hour later and that wasn't all. My phones energy went to zero and so I couldn't inform Seijūrõ about my later arrive.
As fast as I could I walked to the gym but the wind and the rain slowed down my pace. Luckily this morning I hadn't forgotten my umbrella which kept me from being drenched.
Unsure if Seijūrõ was still inside the gym I ventured a look inside. Seijūrõ was standing in the middle of the gym with his back facing me.
"I am sorry for arriving so late, Seijūrõ" I started apologizing as I walked towards him. Strangely, an uneasyness spread through my body and let a chill run down my spine. Something was different and just the moment he turned around I knew what it was as two different coloured orbs pierced through my soul.
"Who are you?"
Author's note:
23th chapter of this story done (exclude the previous chapter)
Finally. The Emperor arrived 😆
I hope you're looking forward to the next chapter and don't find this one too strange or Akashi too OOC and sorry if it's a bit shorter than usually!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERY SUPPORT YOU GAVE ME. I APPRECIATE IT ALL 😙
UnTiL NeXt TiMe