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Calm, and quiet. That's how Midorima Shintaro would've described the start of his day. It was a Monday in October, and he was feeling incredibly well-rested thanks to the cool weather.
He went about his usual routine, putting on his glasses with his right hand, doing morning exercises, and sitting down at his dining table for breakfast, awaiting of course, the most important TV program in his life.
"Everyone, thank you for tuning in once more to Oha Asa!" Blasted on his tv screen as he gave the television all of his undivided attention.
"Now then, let's see what we have for our daily fortunes! The sign with the best luck today is: Taurus! Your lucky item is a hand-knitted sweater!"
"Now for the unluckiest sign: Too bad! Its Scorpio!"
Midorima blinked as he kept watching.
"Better be careful! You may end up in danger! But worry not my Scorpios, your lucky item is a pink colored pencil! It'll surely help you through the day!"
"And here's the rest of the rankings and your luck items! Tune in again tomorrow!"
Midorima carefully scanned the list before realizing his sign, Cancer, was third. His lucky item was a rubber eraser.
He pushed his glasses up.
"Shintaro."
"Yes, mom?"
"Here." His mother placed two wrapped bentos on the kitchen table. "This one's for you, and this for Shiho."
"Understood."
"You have your lucky item already?"
"Yes. I have a small used rubber eraser in my pencil case, however just in case I shall purchase a brand new one from the stationary shop on the way to school. I have an important practice match later today." He explained.
"I see, well then, take care of yourself, okay? I'll go wake up your younger sister." She said as she took off her apron.
Midorima's mother headed for the second floor as he tidied up his plate before-
("My cellphone? Who could it be this early in the morning?")
He picked up the phone and held it close to his ear before answering the call.
"Hello?-"
"ACHOO!"
...
"Ah, sorry Shin-chan!" said the man on the other side.
"Takao?" Midorima questioned.
"Yeah, it's me." He replied with sniffles in the middle of his words. "I'm, uh, not feeling great.."
"Is that s-"
"ACHOO! M-my bad!"
"... How troublesome." Midorima simply said.
"Yeah... I know right. A-anyways.. Could you inform sensei and Otsubo-san of it? I don't really want to call them when I can barely form a sentence without sneezing."
"*sigh*, I could. Anyways, if you are truly feeling unwell this could be terrible."
"Huh? Are you talking about practice match? Aww, Shin-chan are you worried you can't win without me-"
"Of course not. I do everything in my power. I can't be so reliant on someone else."
"Wow. Kay."
"Anyways, this is solely about you in your current state." Midorima reiterated.
"Huh? Don't get what ya mean Shin-chan."
"Listen. Today's unluckiest sign is Scorpio. If you don't do everything in your power, your life could be in danger nanodayo."
Midorima's sentence was met with silence from the other side. Fearing the worst he immediately tried to call for a response.
"Takao..? Takao? TAKAO?"
"PFFT! HAHAHAH THAT'S WHY YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT ME?"
"Huh- huh...?"
Midorima was left dumbfounded as his teammate laughed on at him from the other side of his cellphone. It was Takao after all.
"C'mon Shin-chan, you should really stop worrying about fortunes so much, I'll be fine! Fine! Its just a cold because of the passing of seasons."
Composing himself, Midorima replied.
"If that's how you see it I can't do anything, however you should know better and heed my warning before your fate worsens. Your lucky item is just a simple pink colored pencil after all. I'm sure you have one in your home."
"Aww Shin-chan, I've never heard you so worried about me before!"
"Ngh! I'm simply saying that you in bad condition could be bad for the team. That's all."
"Hah, that it? Righttt. Well since Shin-chan's so worried about me guess I'll go get myself a pink colored pencil!"
"! Hey! You-"
"Well then, see ya next time Shin-chan!"
Midorima's phone vibrated as Takao hung up and ended the call.
"What a nuisance nanodayo..."
Meanwhile, somewhere else in Tokyo, another Scorpio Point Guard was also having a bad day.
"Nggh..."
Izuki groaned as he tried to move his body. Giving the thermometer to his elder sister Aya, he didn't bother trying to wipe off the unpleasant expression on his face from the pain.
"39.5°C. Yep. You're screwed. I'll tell Mom to let you skip school for the day." She said as she ate chip at his bedside.
"I-I'll be fine.." He stubbornly replied as he unsucessfully tried to get up.
"Nope. Don't get up. Mom'll get mad at me if you do." Aya stood up and headed to leave his room, thermometer in hand.
"And s-stop eating.. You're getting my floor dirty." Izuki said under his breath as he covered his burning face with his left hand. Completely ignoring her younger brother, she continued eating her chips.
Turning the corner to the kitchen where the her mother and younger sister were, Aya immediately showed them the thermometer.
"Mom, Shun's got a terrible fever."
"What?!" She said covering her mouth with hand.
"Nii-san? With a fever? That's rare."
"I'll go contact Hyuga and his teacher, look after what I'm cooking." Their mother replied.
"Kayyy..." Aya said annoyed.
A few minutes of talking on the phone later helped Hyuga and the others get caught up with the situation. Over at Seirin:
"What the heck is he doing?! Getting a fever NOW of all times?!" Riko shouted.
"Well not like we can do anything about that idiot." Hyuga sighed.
Riko turned to the first-years.
"Furihata-kun, could you play starter point guard for the Shutoku practice game?" Riko asked.
"E-EH?! ME?! WHY?"
"Why not? You've filled in for Izuki-kun before right? I'm sure you can do it again!" She encouraged.
"B-BUT ITS AGAINST SH-SHUTOKU! I-I'LL JUST PLAY HORRIBLY AND LOSE US THE MATCH-" He said with a concerning amount of stutters to the point of almost making his speech incomprehensible.
"I don't think that's true! I'm sure you'll play great Furi!" said Kiyoshi.
"I agree. You always make good choices on the court, Furihata-kun." Kuroko added.
"Kuroko..." Was all Furi could say in face of the supporting comment.
In another part of town...
The chime on the door dinged as Midorima entered through. It was still early in the morning hence the low amount of people in the usually busy stationary shop.
His eyes scanned around. Afterwards, he immediately headed for the shelf that stored pencils and the like, grabbing a brand new rubber eraser. Looking around, he also noticed that the store sold some cheap colored pencils on their own, without being part of a set.
He pushed up his glasses.
("Hmph. I guess it would hurt to buy one. It is simply for the sake of the team, after all.") He thought to himself as he grabbed a pink one.
Leaving the store after the purchase he headed for school, patiently walking there as his teammate wasn't there to bike him over.
He walked at a steady pace before standing still at a crossing waiting for the sign to turn green.
"Gosh, I can't believe Riko's getting me to go all the way there... Wasn't Auntie's explanation enough for her to understand the situation?? And she even got me to bring her cooking for him... Maybe I should just throw this out for Izuki's sake..." Mumbled a man passing by on the road.
Recognizing the voice Midorima turned to face the man. The two then made eye contact.
"Midorima?!"
"You're... Seirin's Hyuga-san, are you not?" He said as he fully turned to face him properly.
"Y-yeah... You on your way to school?"
"Yes."
"Huh.. Where's Takao? Ain't you usually riding in that rearcart of his?"
"No need to dwell on that. Anyways, you seemed quite troubled about something. Is there something going on?"
"Oh... Its nothing. Izuki got a bad fever this morning and Riko's making me go and run over there as part of morning practice. Plus there are some things Izuki has to submit today to our teachers so I'll be in charge of delivering it."
"I see. It appears fate is being especially cruel today."
Hyuga looked on confused.
"Fate...? What're you talking about..?"
"Just to confirm, Izuki-san's zodiac sign is Scorpio too, right?" He asked.
"Izuki's? Yeah... He was born on October 23rd."
"Scorpio's ranking today in Oha Asa is 12th. Dead last. In the worst case scenario, Izuki-san's life could be in danger."
("He seriously thinks that being dead last in your fortune could render your life in danger?! How weird is this guy?!") Hyuga thought to himself.
"*sigh* No choice. Here. Please take this."
"A... pink colored pencil?"
"I bought it with the hopes of bringing it to Takao later but you should bring it to Izuki-san. He may not be aware of the dire situation he's in."
"Huh?? Wait- Takao? What about him?"
"He's also down with a cold."
"For real..? Just cause Scorpio's luck today is dead last...?"
"Likely. Now go on. Take this colored pencil to Izuki-san nanodayo."
Hyuga looked on at the small item in annoyance yet considering the fact that he still had to get to Izuki's place as well as run back to school immeadiately afterwards Hyuga knew he had no time to quarrel with Shintaro.
Feeling defeated, he grabbed the dang thing and bid farewell to the fellow shooting guard before making a run for it to the Izuki household.
"Seriously...? Takao's down too? And Midorima bought a frickin' colored pencil for him?" Izuki said with an ugly, hoarse voice.
"Yeah. But hey, who knows? Maybe it'll help your idiot ass recover." Hyuga said bluntly as tossed it over.
"Gee thanks."
Izuki held on to the pencil as he covered himself in sheets again, trying to shield his friend from his numerous coughs.
"Alright, I'm outta here. Before I end up getting your virus."
"Kay... Tell Furi I wished him good luck."
Hyuga smiled.
"Sure."
And as the day passed, Seirin and Shutoku had a friendly practice match in the afternoon. Seirin gained the advantage of being able to make use of Kuroko, however they were also having to deal with trying to make sure that Furi could still keep up with the pace of the game while Midorima still made his shots.
And with our beloved point guards,
Takao quietly spun the pencil around his fingers. He couldn't do it too well of course, since he was still stuck to his bed, but it let him take his mind off things, even if the exchange was his pencil hitting his eye every once in a while.
Izuki on the other hand wasn't having any of this. The only thing on his mind was the constant headache he suffered that prevented him from even thinking of puns. Truly torturous. His notebook was left barren and without notes leaving the boy clutching his own pencil and throwing it in frustration.
Oh, how he couldn't wait for the day to end.