[Kuroko's Basketball] Warm Red

As they walked, a musician sat on the side of the road, fragmentary melodies came.

"Wait, I seem to know this song..." Sakura stared at the musician on the street, and the melody flowing out from his strumming the strings of the guitar made her stop in her tracks.The musician raised his eyes and glanced at her lightly, "Little girl, do you know the lyrics? This is a song from Kyoto."

Akashi stopped after him, and he turned to look at her when she heard her say, "I learned it from Oyama-sensei."

"Would you like to sing?"

Sakura looked back fiercely, sure that it was a suggestion from Akashi's mouth, in case he regretted it, she ran forward and bowed to the musician.

That was when she was seven years old, which was still too early for beginners to practice archery, but Master Dashan smiled and handed her the lightest bow, telling her that it was the first one used by his grandson.Sakura always looks at the back of Teacher Dashan. The posture of the teacher with his bow fully drawn is her eternal longing, as if she can see the light of the sun every time, which makes her heart warm.

She always overlaps the backs of Zhang Yi and Teacher Dashan, their shapes are exactly the same, but Zhang Yi is the grandson of Teacher Dashan, otherwise there will be ghosts.She didn't know what had changed between them, but Teacher Dashan always looked lonely when he talked about his grandson. The teacher said that he didn't let Zhang Yi persist in the archery that he should have. She could always hear the teacher blocking his throat. between sighs.

The melody of the guitar has a sense of quiet lightness, and the vibration of the sound hole resonates with Sakura's heart when she starts to strum the strings, and her vibrato becomes long and full of complex emotions.

It is such a teacher who has allowed her to visit for a long time, and has not contacted her, only the senior brothers and sisters with the instructions to hide.

A song Bi Zuocang opened his eyes only to find many people gathered around him, applause rang out, mixed with approval in Kyoto dialect.

"The little girl is good, she can know the songs of the Kyoto region."

"One more song?"

Sakura looked at the strange crowd in the street she was unfamiliar with, she shook off the complicated emotions in her heart that was difficult to find a breakthrough, looked at the musicians, and sang several songs in succession.For a moment, she forgot the depression that had been lingering in her heart for a long time, and the smile on her face was as if she had arrived in another world that no one knew.

Akashi looked at the center of the crowd, Sakura's face seemed to be shining with the brightest light, her orange eyes hid stars, and her wrist was raised high while holding the microphone, pointing at the highest point in the crowd, which made it impossible to see. Looking away, he remembered that this was the real Sakura.

Not only them, Sakura has also changed, and Akashi seldom sees such a Sakura, he quietly found a comfortable position and stood there for a long time.

But although this presumptuousness was rare, it took too long. Sakura seemed to forget herself in singing, and she didn't know that her voice would be tired. She simply rolled up her sleeves, and just as she was about to start another song, she was pulled out by Akashi.

Insatiable.

"Do you want to sing the rhythm of the day here?" Akashi pulled her shoulder bag and dragged her away from the center with a pair of hanging eyes. Oh, sorry, she forgot that there was Akashi.

Seeing that this short stage was about to say goodbye after all, Sakura reluctantly stretched out her hands to look at the microphone that she couldn't touch but was getting further and further away. She waved to the musician with a bitter face and tears.

"Little girl, we have a chance to work together again!"

"Hey, I haven't tried hip-pop and rock yet!"

As a result, Akashi turned his head, revealing half of his face, the orange-red pupils flickered coldly, Sakura smiled and looked away, and immediately felt guilty and said that he was just joking.

So fierce, Sakura pouted secretly behind her.

"Okay, okay, let's move on to the next place." Sakura regained her mood, lifted her shoulder bag, and walked side by side with Akashi on a street that was completely different from Tokyo.

Kyoto as a whole preserves the historical buildings intact. The wooden houses at a glance reveal a quiet and calm temperament, and the breath of antiquity blows towards the face, just like Akashi's calm face. He has long since lost the map guide in his hand.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked.

Akashi glanced over, then turned back to the front, speaking briefly. "Basketball court."

Is this a tit for tat rush?

Sakura blinked her round eyes, she patted the basketball and looked at the bent body in front of her, concentrating very much on Akashi who could intercept her dribbling movements even if she came over at the right time, Sakura suspected that she was not The trump card of the archery department seems to be the basketball department.

"Then what... I think my motor skills are good, but you are too serious, Akashi-kun?"

Akashi raised his eyebrows, "Wouldn't it be a joke if you didn't take it seriously?"

That's right, her companion raised her eyebrows and looked up at the sky, but she couldn't come to a conclusion. She bent her knees, walked around Akashi, and expected to break through.

"It's better to be respectful than obedience." Facing Akashi who quickly reacted and blocked her, she secretly said that she is the captain of the basketball club, but she didn't admit defeat that much.

"Ah! It's Midorima-kun!" While dribbling the ball, she straightened her body and pointed to the outside, intending to divert Akashi's attention, and immediately dribbled the ball and turned around to get rid of Akashi's interception.

But on the contrary, because of his acting skills, he looked out of the field and lost his concentration, but Akashi didn't pay attention to her at all.

When he came back to his senses, the ball in his hand was stolen by Akashi in an instant, and Sakura was stunned when he saw Akashi's serious and rigorous face when he intercepted the ball. Didn't he put in a lot of effort to play with her?

"Akashi, do you want to be so serious!!!"

With a whoosh, Sakura didn't see his movements clearly before the basketball was taken away. After a few steps and a few seconds, he drew a perfect arc in the air and went into the basket. The blow bounced a few times on the ground and rolled to the side.

Akashi couldn't breathe, couldn't sweat, and was very relaxed. He didn't look like he had been exercising at all, his shirt and tie were still neat, and he turned around with a pair of strange-colored eyes without evaluation.

"Sakura, you failed because you talked too much."

……oh.Realizing that they were not on the same level at all, Sakura couldn't react at all, and at the same time regretted her ego just now.

"So why am I playing basketball with the captain of the basketball club!" Sakura leaned back with his hands on the bench, lamenting towards the blue sky.

The basketball rolled and stopped by her outstretched legs. She tilted her head and looked at Akashi standing in front of her. He was standing with his backlit, but the red hair was shining with sunlight.

"I said Akashi, don't you like basketball very much? Then why?"

"You seem to be very obsessed with this question." Akashi didn't answer, he bent over to pick up the basketball and threw the temporarily borrowed temporary prop at the original owner.

"That must be persistent." Sakura thought she had finally returned to the past with Akashi, she hadn't had such a relaxed time with Akashi for a long time, and she didn't want to face that cold person who couldn't feel the emotion again Akashi, she doesn't want the same between them, and Akashi himself probably doesn't want to.

But she didn't say what she thought about herself, she retracted her legs, and looking at the lines of her calves, she would think of the lines of his tie when he raised his hands to shoot, and the arc of the basketball when it entered the frame. Hope you never forget.

"Akashi-kun, don't forget us even if high school is different."

"of course not."

As if this sudden instruction was too inexplicable and reasonable, Akashi smiled gently.The sunlight flashed, blurring the contours of his face, and the color of his pupils also became unclear. Sakura felt satisfied for a moment, and the faint pain in her heart made her smile, and briskly uttered a syllable in response.

"It feels like we haven't been like this for a long time, Akashi-kun."

"Not that long."

Sometimes Akashi has a bad personality, sometimes he is domineering, third grade Akashi becomes cold and cruel, and sometimes he is gentle Akashi.

Sakura really wanted to reach out and touch his back.

Sakura looked away, twisted enough to cover her reddened eye sockets, and looked at the streets of Kyoto. She calculated the distance between the two cities in her mind, which would never be able to fill the gap between them.

"Kurina, I have two people."

"It's not like that." Sakura said, Akashi saw her raised orange eyes blending with the streets of Kyoto, she frowned, as if she didn't like his words.

"You are probably the only one who thinks that way, Akashi."

"Akashi-kun is only Akashi from the beginning to the end, who do you say you are?"

She denied his explanation, staring at his face and asked back.Akashi raised the corners of his mouth, and he squinted his eyes, one red and one orange, shining the golden light of the setting sun, like the brilliance of an emperor.

"Of course I am Akashi Seijuro, Kurina."

"You just changed, Akashi is still Akashi."

changed?Akashi chuckled, he told Tetsuya that he changed because of the change of the team, and Sakura was not the cause of his change, so he didn't need another majestic and powerful appearance in front of her.So from her standpoint, there shouldn't be a difference between the front and the back, Akashi has always thought so.

However, in fact, this girl is as sensitive to his changes as his teammates.

Even so, when he acknowledged the existence of two selves in his body, her bright eyes were still looking straight at the same him.

There was a moment of relaxation in Akashi's heart, he stepped forward and held her wrist, the corners of his mouth curved slightly, and his voice was soft.

"Kurina, do you want to see the red leaves?"

She froze for a moment, as if attracted by his eyes, she didn't hate the heat from his wrist, but it seemed like her heart exploded with a bang.

Yes, is he talking too vaguely, or is she too dull?

"Akashi, Akashi..."

He laughed again, and she dazzled, thinking that the gentle Akashi had returned for a moment.

"Let's see if we have enough time."

"Yes, yes, it depends on the time. Is it time for us to gather?" Sakura changed the subject in a panic, her face was flushed and she wanted to hide it from Akashi. .

She was so flustered that she couldn't find her phone, and her face became hotter and hotter.

Something had to be done, she had to respond something, she had to say something...

Suddenly, with a flash of the knife, the strap of the schoolbag she was carrying was cut, and a slender cut was made on her wrist. It didn't hurt that much, and the heat of friction made her take half a step back.The next moment the strange man's collision made Sakura's mind go blank, and she was knocked to the ground.

Was, was interrupted.Sakura's breath stagnated, and he felt relieved from the bottom of his heart.

Her bag... and her phone!It hurts.Only then did she feel the pain, and when she raised her hand, she found a wound that was bleeding in one piece, with blood dripping down, one drop or two.

"Kurina!"

The blood dripped on the feet and formed two stains, Akashi immediately reacted, his anger was revealed instantly, the frightening coldness appeared from his brows, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket to cover Sakura's wrist and chased after him.

"wait for me here."

"Akashi!"

After realizing what happened, Sakura felt terrified. It was the first time she encountered such a thing. She covered her wound with Akashi's handkerchief with shaking hands.But no matter how much I covered the blood-red area, I kept getting dizzy, tick-tock.

She was afraid, obviously the wound was not deep, but why... she fell down alone in a strange street, and Akashi was nowhere to be seen.She had never been so afraid of Akashi's departure, staring ahead, not knowing what to do.

After a while, Akashi ran back with a serious face, holding her bag in his hand, the sight of him returning to her side made Sakura's throat tingle, and Sakura gritted his teeth to prevent tears from falling.

Falling to the ground and unable to exert all her strength, she raised her head and looked straight into his eyes. As soon as Akashi approached and squatted down, Sakura grabbed his arm tightly, lowered her head and trembled all over, and her palms were covered with cold sweat.Akashi looked down at the terrified Sakura, and instead held her hand tightly, with the other hand covering her wrist that was dripping blood.

His voice was low.

"Kurina, don't be afraid, I'm back, don't worry, things are back too."

Sakura's pupils were dilated, and the scene on the concrete floor in front of her was trembling constantly, she couldn't get together, she was really terrified.Not only the robbers who came out of the blue, but also Akashi's unspoken confession that was interrupted just now.

She didn't let go of Akashi at all, her whole body was unstoppably cold, her hunched shoulders were shaking, and yellow blood slowly oozes from the bleeding place on her knee.

The fingers held by Akashi turned white, and Sakura's heart beat, unable to calm down for a long time.Akashi helped her run along her back counting the seconds in case she caught her breath.

Unable to bear it, Sakura closed her eyes, trembling hands trembling on the ground to touch her own backpack which was taken back by Akashi, her teeth chattered.

"Aka, Akashi-kun..."

She likes Akashi.But I don't know why she doesn't have the joy of consensual desire at this moment, the joy that seems to have finally come true, but a kind of escape and panic.

When Akashi reacted instantly and ran towards the robbers, Sakura looked at his back and felt a sense of emptiness that was missing, and when he came back, he would have a sense of peace that his collapsed world had stopped being destroyed.

The tighter she held Akashi, the stronger this feeling became, and the more certain she was that she liked Akashi, the more painful it was that she couldn't accept his feelings.It doesn't matter whether it's a gentle Akashi or a cold Akashi, but it's also because Akashi didn't recognize himself, Sakura didn't want to decide everything rashly by relying on a simple sympathy.

Her legs were weak, Akashi hugged her shoulders, exerting a little force, his voice gradually made her recover. "Kurina, it's okay."

"I'm sorry..." Sakura clutched her chest, breathing unsteadily.

"Let's go back first." Akashi's expression didn't waver at all. He didn't speculate on what her apology was aimed at. According to his judgment, the most important thing right now is for the two of them to return to the school's organization as soon as possible, including cleaning the wound and Subsequent processing.

"Sorry to scare you. I'm rarely in such a panic, can you hold me for a while longer."

Akashi moved his eyes, but her calm face couldn't hide her cold hands. The person he wanted to scare was her, not him.

He can hold her hand if she needs it.Akashi really thinks so in his heart, but this is not the time to flirt with girls, and Akashi's original intention is not so frivolous, Akashi just thinks that if Sakura needs support, he can always stand by her side.

"Sorry, I haven't protected you from the sidelines."

"No..." Sakura responded softly, and she tightened her grip on Akashi's arm.

This conversation may sound polite to others, but Sakura can understand the meaning of Akashi's expression, and she feels heavy.

After all, even if the two are in love, so what, confess to each other and start dating, she can't accept the current Akashi, their views have diverged, this will only repeat the same mistakes, and it will only become the same as Ryota at that time The relationship is exactly the same, besides, does Akashi really like her?When Akashi finds his true self, will that gentle Akashi still like him?

She let go of Akashi's hand, and went to lift the handkerchief covering her wrist. Akashi's simple gray handkerchief was soft and clean, but it was stained with a spot of blood.With a slight movement, she tore away the thin, clotted blood scab, and immediately new blood oozes out.

It's hard to return it to him without washing it.Sakura was in a dilemma.

Ah, I'm going to lose love again.Sakura was indeed able to face her feelings directly this time, she sighed.

The author has something to say:

They are so tired of talking about love...