#seizenber

Translation: Captainabsolute “Because stabbing from the front is better than stabbing from the back.” -Akashi Seijuurou's quote of the day.

People talked behind them. About what was going on between both of them because people believed that it was impossible if they were just a friend. Or just a captain and his manager.

Well, people also knew that Momoi was madly in love with Kuroko, even Akashi could tell. But, her feelings in their opinion was too childish to take it as a reason for someone to fall in love. They would say that her platonic relationship with Aomine was more “make-sense” than her feelings toward Kuroko.

But when it came to Akashi, nobody would deny that they were like attracted to each other. Yet they just denied to their question about their relationship or tried to avoid them. They were worried if everything they would say could be a misunderstanding.

To be honest, Momoi herself was also wondering about what Akashi thought about her. Or at least about their relationship. But it seemed that he wasn’t really interested to have ‘that kind’ relationship. She couldn’t tell if he liked her or not because she should admit that she started to like him.

Momoi had no idea when did it happen because it happened all of sudden. She started to search for his presence whenever she came into the gym. Or trying to have a conversation through the chat with him (and suddenly she would scream ‘Hooraaaay!’ when Akashi called her to talk about the match).

But it would be weird if she started to show her feelings toward him. Because she believed that he knew so well about she liked Kuroko–before.

“I like you,” and this moment came all of sudden when she was with him in the gym after the practice ended. When she couldn’t hold this anymore, “Don’t you know that, Akashi-kun?”

He stopped to play with the basketball before turning his eyes to look at the girl who sat beside him.

“Sorry?”

She gulped. “I think you heard what I say clearly, Akashi-kun.”

He looked surprised.

“I like you,” she repeated, “ … so much.”

There was a silence for a long time. He only could stare at her in surprise. But it was just making her more embarrassed. She felt like an idiot somehow.

“Well,” finally Akashi talked and he looked more awkward with this situation, “To be honest, I’m never expecting something like this will happen, Momoi.”

She almost lost her breath.

“ … I’m sorry,” he said before continuing, “I think I never considered your feelings before.”

Now she understood. She only smiled bitterly and gave him an empty laugh.

“Oh, okay. I can understand it, Akashi-kun,” she said while she was biting her bottom lip, “Sorry if it’s annoying. Well, … I have to go now.”

Akashi didn’t say anything when she left the gym. Or even ran to her who left that place with tears. . . . After the day she confessed her feelings, Akashi always thought about every word she told to him. It didn’t mean like he used to hate her or had a thought that she was the same with another girl.

He was confused. He never felt something like this before and then at the same time hearing her confession just made him more confused. He didn’t what to say at that day. And he should regret his awkwardness that making both of them made a distance now.

“What should I do?” Akashi asked himself. He never felt so confused like now. He thought about her every night, but couldn’t make sure if he fell in love with her or not. He looked at the text from a coach of Rakuzan’s basket team who offered him to enter their team. And all of sudden, he knew that he should ask her to go with him.

But why? Why should she go with him?

He chuckled. Of course because he wanted to meet her everyday.

Akashi walked in the quiet corridor of Teiko. It was too early in the morning for school, but then he heard someone’s voice inside the class in the corner of the corridor.

“Have you decided it last night?” Akashi could tell that it was Aomine’s voice.

“I think I will enter Touou with you, Dai-chan.”

Suddenly, Akashi just like lost his hope. He walked backward and leaving. . . . Finally they met again in the park near her house. It was such an awkward meeting since the last time they met when Akashi decided to leave Tokyo to Kyoto and being Rakuzan’s student.

Momoi saw him sat on the white chair alone in the park, almost not noticing her arrival. He seemed having so many things inside his head until all of sudden his eyes saw her and then he stood up from his position.

He was going to say something, but then closed his mouth again though he was still standing in front of her. And suddenly it was getting awkward.

It had been 7 years. Even he couldn’t believe with what happened 5 hours ago, he called her after such a long time and asking to meet her. He felt so brave when decided to call her, yet his confidence disappeared when she picked up the phone.

Momoi probably thought that he was like some weirdo out there. Even he realized how was their relationship since Teiko era. And he knew that he couldn’t say that they were close enough to be called as ‘friends’. Perhaps she was thinking that they were just ex captain and ex manager.

What a regretful thing to do that Akashi never said 'Hi’, 'Hey, it’s been a while’, 'How are you?’, 'You did such a great works!’, or 'Your team did a good job. So do you have a boyfriend now?’. Yes, he never said anything when they accidentally met during Interhigh and Winter Cup during Senior High School. Even he was avoiding her too much.

“So,” Momoi tried to open the conversation, “What’s going on, Akashi-kun?”

“Please, sit down here,” he was offering the seat beside him before he cleared his throat. “I apologize if I disturb your activity tonight, Momoi.”

Momoi sat and then looked at him. “You don’t. It’s just … weird to have you called me after never talk to me because the last time we talked was in the last year of Junior High School.”

“I know that your respond would be like that,” he paused, “I’ve been thinking about it for these years.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed. “I thought that everything would be fine though we never talked anymore since the day you confessed your feelings to me. I was surprised when hearing your confession and to be honest, I truly never had a thought about ‘I like you’ or ‘consider you more than a friend or manager’. But when you left me alone and we rarely talked, I found something different.”

“I ... I don’t understand,” she shook her head, “I mean, you really rejected my feelings. At least, I got the answer that you didn’t have the same feelings like me.”

“I know it. And when I knew that you went to the same school as Aomine did, I was scared if I lost my chance to see you like I used to do. And I ... during these years, I’ve thought about everything about us. The first time I came to Rakuzan, the first thing came into my head was I wouldn’t see you there for 3 years. 3 years without you and then we went into different universities for 4 years,” he paused and then chuckled bitterly, “It’s the worst punishment for not giving an accurate answer to your feelings.”

Momoi couldn’t blink her eyes. “W-what ... ?”

Akashi didn’t answer anything because suddenly he stood on his knee in front of her and then took out something from his pocket. A maroon small box and she could see a beautiful ring inside it. She looked at him in surprise meanwhile he looked at her eyes intently.

“I apologize for make you waiting so long, Momoi Satsuki,” he said, “Please, forgive this stupid men. But you must know that this men really loves you and this men, Akashi Seijuurou, asks you to be his life partner. To be his home whenever he finishes his adventure. To be the only one who knows his bad and good things.”

She sighed as the tears came out from her eyes. Momoi looked down and Akashi could hear she laughed between her sob. Then she looked at him in the eyes. Her tears and her laugh were explaining everything, so he didn’t need her answer because Akashi hugged her tightly.

“Thank you so much,” he whispered. He could feel both her arms were hugging him back.

“I love you, Akashi-kun.”

“ ... I love you too, Satsuki.”