It was now the very next day and Sakina stared out the classroom window as she hummed to herself, not bothering to listen to the teacher's lecture.
Her mind was still running over the events of the tennis match between Atobe and Akashi.
She peered down at the classes who were outside for gym not really paying them any attention.
She continued to hum to herself and gaze out the classroom window right up until class was over.
A soft tap on her shoulder alerted her to the class's end.
"Geez, at least pretend to pay attention," Sakura said, a stern look on her face as she shook her head, her pink pigtails swishing to the sides.
"Sorry," Sakina said, gathering her things and standing up.
Sakura sighed heavily and walked with Sakina to the tennis courts.
Sakina was seemingly lost in thought and didn't notice the change in atmosphere around her. Many of the Kohai were looking at her and whispering around her.
"Hey, Saki, is it just me or is more and more guys here at school staring at you?" Sakura questioned.
"Hn?" Sakina turned her head and gave a confused look, signalling her absentmindedness.
Sakura rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"I gotta go, see you later," Sakura said, giving Sakina a pat on the back before walking in the opposite direction.
Sakina nodded and entered the changing room and quickly got dressed into her Tennis clothing.
Exiting with her racquet in hand, Sakina was stopped in her tracks by a group of Kohai staring up at her with glittering eyes.
"Y-you're Sakina right? C-can you sign my magazine?" A boy asked, thrusting said magazine in front of Sakina.
She blinked. On the cover was a picture of her wearing a cute outfit. It was a photo that was taken of her when she was headed over to Aomine's house a few days ago.
"S-sure..." She murmured, signing her name.
A few other boys asked for her to sign theirs as well which room up a total of ten minutes.
After completing all of their requests, Sakina realized that she was late for practice. A rush of dread filled her and she ran as quickly as possible to practice.
As expected, the regulars and everyone else were already in the midst of practice. Catching sight of Tezuka, Sakina knew, before she heard the words, "One hundred laps,"
As she ran her laps, Sakina couldn't help but feel sympathetic to Kise who had hundreds of fans interrupting his practice.
Sakina began to think back on all the times she's ran one hundred laps and realized that running these laps have come to be sort of like a habit.
She finished running much faster than she anticipated and wiped her forehead as she twirled her tennis racquet in her hand. She sighed and peered up at the blue sky.
"You seem to be slacking off. If you've got time to stare at the sky you should play a match," Momo said, interrupting Sakina's thoughts.
Sakina looked at him curiously and could see the smile on his face. She smiled as well, "You're on!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sakina sighed heavily as she walked home from practice. The sky was getting darker and the cool air felt refreshing against her skin.
But despite the gentle atmosphere, Sakina's mind wandered back to the chilling gaze of Akashi's emperor eye. She shivered in spite of herself and clutched her tennis bag closer.
After seeing the eye in action, She should be able to copy it. But...
Sakina closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can copy it. I bet I can! Yeah..." she murmured, an unsettling feeling in her stomach.
Was it fear? Or was it uncertainty? Sakina wasn't sure. She sighed before placing a bright smile on her face.
"Everything will be alright!" She shouted, pumping her fist into the air.
"Are all middle schoolers loud like you?"
Sakina's face heated up in embarrassment as she turned to face the individual who spoke.
A pair of dull grey eyes stared down at her with a bored expression.
"Mayuzumi!" Sakina shouted, surprised to see the expressionless male.
Mayuzumi walked past Sakina and said no more.
Deciding She had nothing better to do, Sakina followed after him.
The two walked in silence. Every now and then Mayuzumi would look down at Sakina with a frown but said nothing.
It wasn't until the two stopped in front of an average looking house did Mayuzumi say anything.
"What are you doing?"
"Hn?" Sakina looked up at him innocently and feigned a look of confusion.
"Why did you follow me home?"
Sakina placed a finger on her chin, as if seriously contemplating the reason.
"Because I felt like it!" She responded moments later with a happy expression.
A look of annoyance flashed across Mayuzumi's face. "Go home,"
"Hmm...nope!" Sakina replied with a cheerful smile.
Without permission, Sakina approached the front door of the house and opened it before stepping inside.
"It's nice to be here!" She shouted, removing her shoes.
When Mayuzumi entered to see her already shoeless, his annoyance grew. "Get out of my house!" He growled, grabbing ahold of her and attempting to push her out the front door.
Sakina shook her head no and dug her heels into the ground momentarily halting her progress towards the door.
The sound of grunting, mild swearing and a loud shout of "No!" drew the attention of the mother of the house.
What she saw before her caused a gasp to escape her lips.
Mayuzumi halted and glanced back at his mother with whom he bore a striking resemblance to.
"Mom, I was-"
"Is that girl a friend?" His mother inquired suddenly, interrupting her son.
"Yes I am! Mayu-chan is being mean to me again!" Sakina whined.
When Mayuzumi looked at her, Sakina stuck out her tongue and winked.
It was through the kindness of the mother that Sakina sat at the dinner table next to Mayuzumi.
Dinner was served and Sakina's stomach growled in anticipation. She picked up her chopsticks and began eating.
"Boy! Ms. Mayuzu's cooking is delicious!" Sakina said with Her mouth full.
"That's disrespectful," Mayuzumi whispered, giving Sakina a deathglare.
A chuckle was heard and Mayuzumi was shocked to see his mother blushing at the comment.
"What a polite girl you are. You're so cute too. This is the first time Chihiro brought home a friend, and a girl at that!" She commented.
Sakina's cheeks turned pink and she quietly finished her plate. After resisting the urge to eat more, Sakina excused herself to go to the bathroom.
After she had freshened up and She was on her way back downstairs, Sakina noticed a room that looked as if it belonged to Mayuzumi. Unable to resist her curiosity, She snuck a peak.
Mayuzumi's room was not like Aomine's at all. It was neat and tidy with a bookshelf next to a desk with school supplies on it.
The bed was neatly made and was a dark blue and Brown. There were no posters up but there was a single calendar on the wall next to a wall clock.
Sakina stepped inside and was drawn to the bookshelf. Although she hadn't been reading as of late, She used to be a huge reader and loved books. Scanning over the different books She noticed most, If not all of the books were either graphic novels or light novels.
Spotting a familiar title, Sakina took it off the shelf and began flipping through it.
She hadn't noticed it but somehow she had become completely engrossed in the graphic novel. She was flipping through it so intently that She didn't even see Mayuzumi enter.
"What are you doing In my room?" he questioned.
Having not sensed his presence, this scared the living daylight out of Sakina. She let out a scream as the book was flung in the air.
Mayuzumi made a quick break for the book, successfully catching it before it fell to the ground. "Don't throw my Graphic novels!" he scolded.
After collecting herself, Sakina dusted a stray strand of hair out of her eyes.
"Then don't scare me like that!" She responded.
Mayuzumi slid the book back in place on the bookshelf before sitting down at his desk.
"When are you leaving?"
Sakina pondered for a moment. "Hmm...I Don't know,"
She sat down on the bed and let herself fall backwards staring up at the white ceiling.
"I remember when we first met," Sakina began, closing her eyes. "I was at the library looking for a book. We ended up reaching for the same one but neither one of us wanted to share.
We agreed to let one of us read it first and then give it to the other at the park bench. Somehow that became our rendezvous spot. That was two years ago wasn't it?"
Mayuzumi didn't respond.
Sakina sighed and placed a smile on her lips, "Back then We were reading buddies. But I guess we won't talk much next year huh? That's such a shame because you're so fun to tease~ Mayu...chan?"
Sakina hadn't noticed his presence yet again, until she felt the weight of the bed drop. Flinging open her eyes, to her surprise, She was face to face with Mayuzumi. He was leaning over her with a blank expression.
"You're annoying Sakina," he said.
For some strange reason, Sakina's heart was beating rapidly in her chest. She could feel her face heating up.
"M-mayu-chan, what..."
Mayuzumi abruptly moved closer to Her and Sakina instinctively shut her eyes. She waited. For what, She wasn't sure.
After a few seconds of stillness, the weight on the bed shifted.
Sakina opened her eyes and sat upright. She was sure her face was a bright red tomato.
"W-why did you do that for!" She shouted, pouting slightly.
"Do what?" Mayuzumi responded with another blank expression.
"You know! T-the um..." struggling to put it into words, Sakina glanced at the floor and bit her cheek.
Mayuzumi turned away, "You should go home, it's getting late."
"Y-yeah!" Sakina replied, standing up and glancing at the clock. She let out a gasp of surprise. "It's already eleven fifteen!"
Mayuzumi glanced at the clock as well before frowning. "It's going to be a bother," he muttered.
"What's going to be a bother?" Samoan inquired.
Mayuzumi opened his door and glanced back at her, "Are you coming?"
"Ah, yeah!" Sakina said with a nod, chasing after him.
The walk to Sakina's home was quiet. When she reached her house, She glanced up at Mayuzumi's bland expression, then it hit her.
"Y-you! Face! Bland! No presence! Shadow! Kuroko!" Sakina shouted rapidly.
"Huh?" he questioned giving her a glance.
"You resemble Kuroko Tetsuya!" she yelled.
Mayuzumi gave no answer and turned, walking away.
At that moment, Sakina's front door burst open and Sakura ran outside.
"Its late! Where were you! I was worried sick!" She shouted running over to Sakina and smacking her on the back.
Sakina flashed a reassuring smile. "I'm here now right? Lets go inside," She said, quickly rushing into the house.
Sakura stood there confused before rolling her eyes and going inside as well.