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The new term of the school year had started. After telling the driver that he did not need help getting back home, Seijūrō walked into his chosen school, Teiko Middle School. Not something he bragged about, but people from his family attracted attention whenever they went. His presence alone demanded their undivided attention. It was the usual until he saw a flash of gentle blue from the corner of his eyes. When he turned his gaze to find out what it was, it was gone, nowhere to be found. He blinked, wondering if he perhaps imagined it.
And so, he brushed it off. Unfortunately, that was the first of many sightings he encountered within the school grounds. He prided himself of not missing anything when it came to observation but somehow this "thing" or whatever it was kept eluding him. If he could be honest with himself, it started to get on his nerves.
"Akashi?" Midorima's voice brought him back to the present.
"I will be late for today's club practice."
That was all he said for Midorima to leave him alone as he aimlessly walked around the school properties. He was not one to ditch something he already set his mind on pursuing, but he wished to get this distraction out of the way. The sooner he found out whatever it was he saw that day, the sooner he could focus on his play. But of course, not everything would go according to his plan. He had been looking around for a month but luck was not on his side and just when he stopped, he found what he was looking for.
That flash he saw that day was a girl. He did not know her name yet but the soft blue colour of her hair was unmistakable. He honestly admitted, to himself, that he had never met anyone like her. Her lack of presence explained why it had been so difficult for him to find her in the first place. He was on his way to meet their basketball supervisor when he turned his head and coincidently saw her.
She was standing under the blooming Sakura tree. A gust of wind made her loose bun come undone and her long tresses danced with the wind along with the falling petals. His breath caught in his throat when he witnessed her gentle smile as a petal fell into her hand. It might sound corny but the image she made was that of a beautiful painting.
Just before he could do more than taking a step forward, a particularly strong breeze made him close his eyes. By the time he opened his eyes, she was nowhere to be found, again. Dismayed he might be, he was assured that he was not imagining things and that she was real.
Two long weeks later, he still had not found the blue-haired girl. If only he could find out her name, it would have been much easier. He was not one to believe in fate, destiny or the likes as he was a logical person, but he could not help but feel fate seemed to be messing with him.
Or maybe not. He was discussing the club activities with his supervisor when the girl he had been searching for entered the faculty room. Her hair was up in a bun again, and there was a stack of papers in her hands. She moved to whom he knew as the homeroom teacher of Class 1-B.
"Kimura-sensei."
The said teacher jumped in his seat with a hand over his heart as he turned his shocked face to the girl. "Please try to make a sound when you move, Kuroko."
There was a knowing smile on her lips. "Here are the submitted History assignments from our class. Everyone, except for Sanada-san, who was calling in sick today."
The teacher nodded and accepted the papers. "Thank you, Kuroko."
"Please excuse me." She gave a small bow before leaving.
Unexpectedly, his supervisor asked a question that led him to know her first name.
"Kimura-sensei, just now..." his supervisor trailed off.
The middle-aged teacher confirmed, "Yes, Kuroko Tetsuya. My class's top student. Smart but very, and I really mean it, very quiet girl."
For some reason, that tidbit of information pleased him like no other. It was not long for him to discover the library was where she spent most of her time, as expected from a top student. Truly, he found it odd that he had never encountered her when he checked the library before, but then again, her lack of presence was the main cause of him being unable to find her in the first place.
By looking at the title of the book she was holding when he sought her out, he deduced she just loved to read. She briefly looked up from her book when he pulled out a chair from the big table across from her.
"Hope you don't mind," he said quietly as he looked into her blue eyes.
"I don't," she replied, just as quiet.
"Akashi Seijūrō."
"Kuroko Tetsuya."
From then on, they always shared a table in the library. He would be lying if he said he did not want to know her more, but he did not feel the rush. Slowly, but surely, they both became closer to the point that he no longer sat across but beside her. The more he found out about her likes and dislikes, the more he liked her and the desire to keep her by his side was stronger than ever.
By December of the same year, he took her hand while they were reading, and she responded by lacing their fingers together. On that same day, he finally walked her home, which was also in the same neighbourhood as him. He could not help but thank the gods for that. He left a good night kiss on her forehead and she, of course, surprised him by kissing his cheek and called him "Sei-kun" for the first time. From then on, they were together.
Seijūrō was used to being the centre of attention, but he did not like the crowd as much as other people believed. Tetsuya wanted to visit the nearby shrine for their first new year together, and he did not want to miss the opportunity to see his girl in a beautiful kimono. Called him biassed, but Tetsuya was truly the most beautiful girl when she dressed in his colour. Small red flowers scattered across the soft white fabric of her kimono.
She had her long hair pinned down by the red rose kanzashi he gifted her the day before just for this occasion. It went without saying that he, too, was dressed in formal kimono to match her. When they arrived at the shrine, they sure became the most attractive couple if the sighs and whispers from those around them were any indication.
After they both were done praying, he let Tetsuya step away to get the fortune paper for the numbers they drew. Just then, he heard the familiar voices of his fellow basketball club members.
"Ah! That is-" the loud voice of Kise was interrupted by Momo. "Akashi-kun!"
He turned his body to face his schoolmates who dressed casually for the day. "Happy New Year, everyone."
Everyone returned his greeting cheerfully before Momo asked, "I thought you had a plan today, Akashi-kun. We could have come here together."
"I did refuse the invitation because my day is already booked," he replied with a small smile. He heard the approaching geta and without turning, extended his left hand to the side. "Since everyone is here, let me introduce you."
Amusement filled his eyes as he saw the jaws of all the members, even Murasakibara, drop upon seeing the girl who placed her hand on his.
He turned his head to smile at his girl. "Everyone, here is my girlfriend, Kuroko Tetsuya."
Tetsuya squeezed his hand as she gave everyone a small nod. "Pleasure to meet you all. I have heard a lot about you guys from Sei-kun."
"Good thing, I hope!" Momo was the first to recover from the shock of THE Akashi having a girlfriend.
It was not as if he was hiding his relationship with Tetsuya, just that he did not say anything since it was his private life. Soon enough, the rest caught up, and questions of how, when, where they met were fired at rapid speed.
Everyone was shocked to find a fond look on their ever strict basketball captain's face when he gazed at Tetsuya. This was the side they had never witnessed before, and it was truly something.
"That is for me to know, and for you to find out," he replied mischievously.
As expected, they were all disappointed for not getting any clear answer from him but did not push. At the very least, it finally made sense to them where their captain had gone to whenever they had no club activity. Momo immediately extended a permanent invitation to watch the basketball team practice, which was accepted by Tetsuya with a smile.
Of course, he had invited Tetsuya to watch him play a couple times before, but she always declined as she wished to enjoy their alone time a bit longer. She was his princess, so there was no way he could refuse such a request.
"But, seriously, I can't believe Akachi got a girlfriend before all of us. I'm just so curious how you two got together," Kise commented, still in disbelief.
He shook his head while he watched Tetsuya chat with Momo with a smile. To be honest, he had never thought the flash of gentle blue that he saw on the first day of school would become his most important person. The story of how he found Tetsuya would only be known to him alone, or maybe his future children. It was too early to think about making a family of his own, but he had no intention of letting Tetsuya go as he took her hand into his and as usual, she responded by lacing their fingers together.
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