Sei's parents are not what I imagined them to be. I mean as people, ya know? I though they'd be far more intimidating than Sei himself, so I'm left wondering how he got to be the way he is. "We have the paperwork done, so all you need to do is sign." Mr. Akashi says, pushing formal looking paper toward me. "We've filed a suit with your government for a new birth certificate." I nod.
"Do I need to do anything else?" I ask, signing after carefully reading the paper over. Sei shakes his head as his parents confirm that things are almost all completely settled.
My hands feel clumsy as soon as I pull them back. "I don't know how to thank you." I say after another minute. "I don't know if there are any words I can use that will show you how grateful I am. Even if I were to say it in English, there are no words strong enough." I stand straight and bow as low as I can. "Thank you, very, very much. I'm incredibly grateful."
All is silent before I upright myself. The look on the Akashis' faces is incredible, really. It's as if they've never seen someone bow so low, although I'm sure they probably have. "Hai..." Mrs. Akashi looks completely stunned.
Bowing as low as I did is, admittedly, rare. Westerners aren't exactly famed for their bowing, either. I suppose it doesn't help that I have a lot of pride as a person, and so my bows are sparsely given.
"You better call me Mom now, got it?" The tall redheaded woman says as she smothers me in a hug so tight I find it hard to breathe. My body stiffens with shock, and I don't know what to do with myself.
"Y-Yes." I say with surprise. After a few moments, I raise my arms to hug her back loosely. My arms eventually hold her tighter. I wonder if she knows that all my emotions are playing across my face, even though her shoulders hide them from view.
When I'm allowed to pull away, my face is much more calm and collected. I'm about to address both Sei and his father when my phone bursts to life. It surprises me so much that I nearly jump straight out of my skin. At a nod from Sei, I open it and answer. "Hello?"
"Alex." It's been a while since this sort of anger has been directed toward me. "You ignored our earlier calls?" My face drains of blood.
"Who is this?" My pulse is racing. My knees are starting to feel like Jell-O.
"I thought I told you that your sister would be staying with you." My mother, huh? "Give me your address." I try to calm my heart.
"I don't want to. I'm not going to tell you." Seijuurou looks like he's finally figured things out. "I don't want to talk to you anymore."
"Don't hang up on me!" Her voice shrieks so loudly that I'm sure even Sei's parents could hear it. "I know you're living with a boy! I know you're probably sleeping with him. You are, aren't you? I didn't raise you to be like this! You damn-" Sei plucks the phone from my hand.
"I don't think you have permission to speak to Alex that way." Seijuurou's voice sends shivers down my spine as I watch him, half concerned, half afraid. "After all, she's no longer your daughter."
I can hear her voice screaming something, half of them swears, before Sei closes the phone. "You need a new number."
"I'm sorry." I say somewhat lamely. "I didn't realize she had my number. I don't remember giving it to her."
"She's very eloquent, isn't she?" I do my best not to flinch at the statement. "Why are you so different from her?" I pause a moment.
"My dad's a very gentle person. I think I'm more like him. He never really talked much." I frown. "But staying with Tetsuya and his family probably shaped how I am." I grin. "His parents are nice, like yours."
After a few moments I shake my head and sigh quietly. "My mother is... different from how she was." Silence permeates throughout the room for a few moments before a heavy hand lands on my head.
"Listen now. That is your mother." Another hand points to Sei's mom. "That is your brother." A finger points to Seijuurou. "And I am now your father. Understood?"
I wonder if he can see how surprised I am. I wonder if he sees how much speech like that means to me, and how he's made my insides feel warmer than they have in years. "Yes." I say after another heartbeat. "I understand."
"Say 'yes, father.'" Mr. Akashi says. He says it gently, though. Like my own dad would've.
"Yes, father."
My apartment seems a little brighter when I get home. Daiki sits across the couch, sleep, with the TV blaring and all the lights on. "Daiki..." I call over the sound of tinny laughter.
He doesn't make much of a response, other than to groan and squirm slightly. I turn off a couple lights after slipping off my shoes and shedding my jacket. It takes me another minute to find the remote so I can lower the volume.
"Daiki." I say softly. "Don't sleep on the couch."
The blue-haired wonder groans and opens his eyes lazily. "You're back, Alex." I nod.
"Yep. I'm home." I say with a grin. "You shouldn't sleep on the couch. You'll get stiff."
"C'mere." Daiki extends an arm toward me and gives me a beckoning motion with his fingers. I drop my backpack and move toward him.
When I'm within arms reach, he grabs me by the wrist and tugs forward, sending me flying. I land rather unceremoniously on top of the lounging teen. I wonder if he can see how surprised I am. Heat rises to my cheeks.
"Daiki?" My voice sounds more surprised than I actually am. Cool air brushes past my skin from the open window.
"Be quiet." Daiki groans. His hand comes up and presses my face against his chest. My body feels like it's on fire. At least Daiki is comfortable. More comfortable than my futon and the couch combined.
"Daiki?" The boy shushes me. His hand rests on my head, occasionally stroking my head or playing with strands of my unruly hair.
"Just stay like this." He mutters. I hum in response. Even though this is comfortable, I'll have to get up eventually so I can eat. My stomach is empty and incredibly hungry.
I squirm a little, trying to find a more comfortable position. Daiki groans unhappily, shifting beneath me as I move up closer to the back of the couch, and higher up his chest.
The bluenette groans slightly when I accidentally grind against him. "Sorry." I murmur, kissing the underside of his jaw. "I didn't mean to bother you."
"Idiot." Daiki growls. Within a few moments, I'm trapped between Daiki and the couch, his arms on either side of my head.
"Daiki?" My voice sounds breathy, like I've lost the ability to retain air. Dark blue is staring into me intensely. I almost forget to breathe. The boy makes a strange noise above me, almost a growling noise, which sounds like music to my ears.
I don't know how it starts, but I can't seem to find my breath. Daiki is demanding and aggressive as he kisses me, but I don't mind. My body feels alight and alert as heat floods me. My hands are busy gripping the bluenette's short hair.
Daiki's hands are everywhere and nowhere it seems. They rarely stay in one place, but they never stray where they're unwanted. I want to pull him closer, so I do. "Daiki..." His name slips from my lips without my consent.
The wunderkind leaves my lips for my jaw, and then my neck. I make a slightly strangled noise as he reaches the underside of my jaw. Daiki makes a noise of what almost sounds like approval before nipping at the skin and moving down further.
I can't help but gasp when he reaches my collarbone, or moan when he goes just below my jaw. "Daiki..." I tug at his hair as he bites down on the crook of my neck. Daiki hums, and I wonder thoughtlessly if he's drawn blood.
Daiki then kisses the spot more gently and bites down on it again. What's he aiming at? It feels kind of uncomfortable and almost painful, but it doesn't bother me much. "Mine." Daiki growls. I pull the bluenette back up to my lips. "Mine." He says once more.
I make a noise of affirmation. "Yours." I murmur. Daiki's hair is soft and slippery between my fingers. It's almost sort of strange, how although Daiki leaves his weight on my legs, he's careful not to crush me. He's more thoughtful than I give him credit for. "Dai-"
The door slams open suddenly, giving me a heart attack. My heart is hammering against my chest. Keeping a hand on my chest to keep me down and out of sight, Daiki raises his head above the arm of the couch to glare at the person who's bothered to enter without knocking. "What are you doing here?" He growls. I'm more then curious as to who is at the door, but it might be better not to ask.
"Wow, I knew you two were close, but I didn't think it was like that." My face darkens with embarrassment.
"What are you doing here?" I ask, wincing as my voice almost rises an octave.
"English test tomorrow." I groan and hide my face with my hands.
"You couldn't call? Or even tell me earlier?"
"Weeeellll...."
"Alex, I think you should know the whole first string is here." Susa says flatly. I can't see him, but I wonder if he knows my face is a million shades of red right now.
"Right. First string. In my apartment. For no reason." My brain isn't functioning properly right now. "There's no way that all four of you have an English test tomorrow."
It takes me ten minutes to pull myself together. My face is still a little flushed when I come back from chastising myself on the balcony, but my shirt and hair are more properly placed. "Tell me what you want to work on." I say with a dissatisfied groan. Honestly, have they never heard of knocking? Or calling ahead of time?
"Listening." Imayoshi gives me a sheet of paper with the dialogue written in slightly messy handwriting, but it's nothing that I can't read.
"Fine." I answer. "Get out a paper or something. I'll read it as soon as you're ready." When I have the okay, I start reading. "Mike and Sarah are going to the mall today. Mike is nervous. He hasn't seen Sarah in four years, but he's also excited. Sarah is taller than she was four years ago. Her hair is shorter, above her shoulders. Her face is longer, and she seems thinner than she used to be.
"Mike hasn't changed much. He's very tall now, much taller than Sarah, but he looks the same. Mike's hair is a little darker, and a little longer. He's not as thin as he used to be." I glance up at the duo that scrawls their answers rapidly. "Would you like me to repeat the dialogue?" Imayoshi shakes his head, although Susa nods. I read it one more time at a normal speaking speed.
"Do this part." Susa says, pointing to the bottom part.
"You two are so buying me food for doing this." I say with a groan. "Rejoinder, Lesson Fourteen, part B. Speaker One: 'Kelly, how far is it from here to Los Angeles by car?'
Speaker Two: "a. You have a car?'; b. 'I can drive you there!'; c. 'You should go by plane.'; d. 'About four hours.'" I look up at the third-years. "Do you need me to repeat anything?" They shake their heads, and we move on along down the sheet. I'm asked to correct grammar, pronunciation, and sentence structure for the next hour. Wakamatsu and Sakurai watch some NBA game that's on the TV.
"I'm telling you Susa, if you don't put quickly before or after ran in this sentence, it makes less sense!" I say after ten minutes of arguing with him. "He quickly ran, or he ran quickly both make sense, but 'he ran after quickly the thief.' makes no sense! You can say 'he ran after the thief quickly.' though, if you really wanted to."
Susa sighs and rereads the sentence before moving the placement of "quickly." I sigh with frustration, running a hand through my hair and blowing my bangs out of my eyes. "How much more do you two have?" Imayoshi glances over his work.
"I'm done. Susa?" Susa nods in agreement, leaving me with relief flooding my veins. They can finally leave. "As payment, I'll ask my mom for an extra bento for you. How's that?" I give Imayoshi a suspicious look.
"Yeah, that'll do. Thanks." I say in response. Even if the four-eyed sadist did get me sick, it would be bad for the team, too. He isn't the sort of person to do something to his teammates. Not intentionally, anyway. After a half an hour, though, my teammates haven't left yet, and Daiki seems a little agitated.
"Yo, if you guys aren't gonna feed us, we're gonna have 'ta ask you to leave." I say, a yawn tugging at me.
"I gotta get going anyway." Wakamatsu says. "Sakurai, you live near me, right? Let's go together."
"Sure!" Sakurai supplies. Both boys say their goodbyes, with Susa following close behind. Imayoshi lingers at the door.
"Look, I understand how it is between boys and girls and you two," He says, tugging on his shoes and picking up his bag, "and I'm warning you as your captain that while I'm not going to interfere or tell you what to do, I don't want whatever you guys have going affecting how you play. Keep any of your issues off the court. Am I understood?"
Daiki gives a huff of annoyance while I offer a gentler smile. "Yeah, we get it." I reply. "The only thing that's important on the court is basketball." Imayoshi gives us a nod and slips out, closing the door and saying good night. I'm locking the door when I sense Daiki behind me.
"Aomine Daiki, what do you think you're doing?" I ask with an eyebrow raised as I turn around. The bluenette looks intense once more. "I'm hungry. Have you eaten already?" Daiki rolls his eyes and moves out of my way. "That's not really an answer, ya know."
I heat up leftovers from a couple nights ago. Gyouza is wonderful no matter how often I have it. Dumplings in general are a serious weakness of mine, along with any sort of grilled meat, noodles, and pizza. Being the generous person I am (not) I offer Daiki some. He just picks up the dumplings from my plate, leaving me pouting. I eat and send him an unamused glance. "Did ya do anything today?" I ask.
"Got some food. A few drinks. They're in the fridge. Why were you out so late?" I'm still stunned that Daiki had the ability to put things in the fridge instead of leaving them on the counter like he usually does.
"I was in Kyoto. Sei summoned me again, so I met with his parents and stuff. We're sorting everything out." I say. "But I think I might be able to become a citizen soon, so I'm excited." Daiki looks surprised, even happy. He allows me a few minutes to eat without stealing more of my food.
"That's good." He says pleasantly. I nod and give him a grin.
"I won't get kicked out of the country, so I'm pretty happy." I try not to let my smile melt at the next sentence. "My mom called though. It wasn't... good." Daiki raises an eyebrow once more.
"She sounded really angry. I don't know what I did wrong." I say. My appetite is suddenly lost as I stare at the half-eaten plate. "I did everything I could, ya know? I did everything she said and I never talked back and all I got was swearing and yelling in return. What did I do wrong, Daiki?"
Daiki is chewing almost thoughtfully. It surprises me that he's taking this seriously. "It's not your fault, ya know? Not everyone's meant to have kids." He says finally. "Don't get down on yourself, idiot." His hand reaches over to muss my hair roughly. I blink at him in shock, unable to react to his statement properly.
Another piece of gyouza makes its way into my mouth as I chew thoughtlessly, wondering if the problem is she or I. I can't really tell at this point. I've been gone so long that I don't really know what she's like anymore. I know she's angrier, older, and likes me far less than she did initially, but that's the gist of all I know. "Stop worrying, you idiot." Daiki says suddenly, stuffing three gyouza into my mouth in rapid succession. I can only blink in surprise and try not to choke at the overstuffing of my mouth.
It takes me a while longer to chew, swallow, and breathe, before I shove the remaining gyouza into Daiki's mouth until he makes a noise and ducks away from me. "You look dumber than I do!" I say teasingly. "Don't talk with your mouth full!" I add as he makes a muffled sentence. I've angered the demon, and it shows. Daiki sprays me with water, I throw an empty can at him, and it all escalates until I'm somehow covered in suds and soy sauce, and Daiki looks like he had a trashcan dumped on him.
Not a bad day, all in all.