Edited. Enjoy! 😊

IV.

I entered the music room and I was greeted by the sight of instruments lying down on their respective positions.

I sat on the seat and positioned my fingers on the dusty keys of the grand piano. It has not been used for a while now.

I decided to play the musical piece of Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven. I learned that song when I was six and it was by far one of my favorite pieces until now. Whenever there was a party or a celebration, either my parents or one of our close guests would urge me to play the piano, cello or the harp. And I was fine with that. After every performance, the crowd would either overwhelm me with cheers and claps or shower me with compliments that at such a young age, I played like a professional musician. Then my father would say something like, "Well, she is going to be the heiress of the company, so I'd train her under my guidance to become one of the best."

Just as I hit the last note of the piece, someone clapped their hands. It was Yukari. "Such a beautiful melody," she said sorrowfully, wiping the tears away with her fingers.

I chuckled. "Why are you crying, goofball?" I stood up and pulled out a handkerchief. She gratefully accepted it and continued wiping her tears away.

"You were so good, though," she chuckled then sniffed.

But not good enough.

"What are you doing in here, by the way?" I asked her.

"I was looking for you because lunch time is almost over and then I figured you were here." She explained then returned my handkerchief. "Does my eyes look red and puffy?"

I stared into her eyes for a little while. "A little."

"Your fault." She accused with a pout which made me laugh. "Oh, and didn't you know that Akashi-kun was checking you out like three minutes ago?"

"You mean he listened to me play?" I tried to correct her.

"No, he was more than focused on you instead on the music though."

"Didn't anyone ever told you that it's rude to stare?" I sighed. "It's a good thing he didn't take you for a creep, though." I mimicked her voice on the last word.

Yukari giggled. "Well, it was Akashi Seijuro after all." She wiggled her eyebrows. "And he immediately walked away when he seemed to notice me."

I grinned at her. "You're obsessed."

"You bet," She agreed with a smile. "Come on, let's go back to the classroom before we get a detention."

--

After class, Yukari and Eri approached me with excited grins on their faces.

"Yuri, let's go shopping at the mall! I heard there are new arrivals from my favorite store." Eri said excitedly, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

"And for girls' time, too!" Yukari added, the excited expression equal to Eri's.

I smiled but then it immediately vanished when I remembered what I really had to do.

"I'd love to guys but I'm sorry I can't go."

"Eh?" They both whined. "Why not?"

"I have to study for the upcoming exams," I explained simply. "And I'm not allowed to go out until the exams end."

"You barely go out," Eri retorted.

"And you can perfect the exams even without studying!" Yukari added.

I know that, but... My father wanted to make sure I don't make mistakes.

"Okay, when the exams end and I get the perfect score, we'll go out." I offered and it seemed they are not pretty convinced. I sighed. "I'll even treat dinner." I added and they grinned.

"We won't turn down free food." Yukari informed me and Eri nodded with a toothy grin.

"So, we'll just have to pray that you get the perfect score?" Eri asked.

"There's no need to pray for her, Eri," Yukari said. "Nor does she need cheering."

"Okay, okay, just get out of here. You two are disturbing me."

The two girls looked at each other then back at me then shrugged. "Suit yourself," they said in unison.

"Good luck, Yuri," Yukari sang and then they're gone.

I sighed then continued doing my worksheet.

After a few minutes, I yawned. I was getting a bit tired. I rubbed my tired eyes and huffed out a breath whilst putting my textbooks inside my bag, preparing to leave.

While I was walking around the deserted corridors of the school, I heard a sound of a ball dribbling coming from the gym.

Curious, I took a peek at the ajar door of the gym and my eyes widened in slight shock.

Mibuchi, Mayuzumi and Nebuya against Akashi. A 3-on-1 match and right now, Akashi has the ball and being double teamed by Mibuchi and Mayuzumi while Nebuya was waiting under the hoop. Quite a difficult situation if I was on Akashi's shoes.

Akashi dribbled that caused the two players guarding him to lose their balance, allowing him to pass. Is that what they call his infamous ankle breaker?

"What are you doing at this late hour, Miss?" A voice asked from behind me and I yelped in shock. I hope the guys inside the gym didn't hear me.

I turned around to see who had scared me. It was Hayama Kotaro, another member of the basketball team.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," he quickly said but the look on his face didn't mean it.

I leaned against the sliding door of the gym and I sighed. "Please don't go appearing out of nowhere."

"I'm not," Hayama defended. "I was here watching with you the whole time."

What is he, a ghost?

Then suddenly, the gym door opened and I yelped again, falling backwards and once again, caught by the same wall. Except that this wall I hit was... slightly wet and sticky.

I looked up and saw the same heterochromatic eyes that I saw a while back and was narrowed at me.

Deja vu, anyone?

My heart stopped at our sudden contact and it took a few moments for me to regain composure and quickly stand a few feet away from the guys.

"We thought we heard noises so we came to check." Nebuya was the first one to break the silence.

They seem not to notice the thick tension surrounding us. Or they are just plain ignorant and numb.

Hayama chuckled. "Yeah, I just scared her. I didn't know that she was this jumpy," he commented and I glared at him.

Actually, I was about to leave when this creepy Hayama guy suddenly talked behind me.

"Are you alright, Yuri?" Akashi asked, his eyes focused on nothing but me.

I bit my lower lip and tightened my grip on my bag. "Yeah, why not?" I tried to make my voice sound confident but I felt the shakiness drop off by the end.

"Really? Because you are blushing really hard right now." Akashi stated.

My hands went up to my face to hide the blush and embarrassment that crept to my cheeks. I shouldn't have come in here. I shouldn't have let the curiosity get the best of me.

"This... it's nothing," I stuttered.

The guys around us were more than amused with the scene. Well, except for Mibuchi, though. Mayuzumi seemed to care less.

"Anyway, you should head home now. It's not good for a girl like you to stay out in an hour like this." Mibuchi commented.

"Y-Yeah," I stuttered then cleared my throat. "Yeah," I repeated. "Then, I'm off."

I walked away, fast, containing and calming down my wild heart. It was so embarrassing! No wait, it was an understatement. It was humiliating! I want to punch something!

I went into the school gates and waited for Tadashi to pick me up. But when you are on standby and waiting, you just can't help but remember the things you least wanted to remember.

Akashi was wearing a plain white shirt that was literally drenched from sweat, the features of his muscular body getting a bit see through. Same goes for his teammates. And my body got in contact with his sweaty body and he still smelled so good. It didn't disgusted me to be honest, I didn't know why.

But aside from that, it was pretty humiliating that they caught me peeking at their practice. I really want to punch something so badly right now.

"It was so embarrassing!" I screeched whilst throwing my fist in the air and I solidly hit Tadashi's face. I didn't notice that he already arrived. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry, Tadashi!"

"It's okay, young miss," Tadashi mumbled whilst rubbing his chin. "But in all fairness, you can be a professional boxer." He joked.

I cracked out a smile. "You really had the nerve to joke around even though you got hurt." I remarked. "I'm really sorry, Tadashi, I didn't mean to punch you. Does it hurt?"

"Yes," He groaned slightly. "I will be okay, don't worry young miss." Tadashi offered me a reassuring smile. Was my punch really that hard? "I'll take you home."

Tadashi walked towards the car door and opened it for me. When I was about to take a step inside the car, Akashi and his team emerged from the school gate. Akashi and I locked eyes for a few moments. When his lips twitched up into a smirk, I immediately looked away because of shame and quickly got in the car.

My phone suddenly vibrated inside my bag, announcing a new text message. I frowned, who could be texting me at this hour? I mean, I was dejected and I am barely in the mood to talk--

Oh wait, it was Akashi.

Akashi texted me.

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Oh, sweet mother of hot redheads! Akashi-sama just texted her! XD

I just can't wait for the new episode of Kuroko no Basuke. I can't wait for more flawless dunks of Akashi-sama~

Have you listened to Moonlight Sonata? The melody is quite relaxing and breathtaking. I sometimes listen to it while I write. :D

Okay, anyways, thank you for reading. I really appreciate it a lot! It motivates me to write more, really! XD

Until next time~

*Baymax rocket fist bump*