“JUNE 17, 2012 — OHA ASA’S PREDICTION OF THE DAY: TODAY’S LUCKY ITEM.. IS THE PERSON YOU’RE INTERESTED IN THE MOST!”
Shintaro almost choked on his tea while he ate his soba in his apartment. The surprise in his eyes dimmed, replaced with his familiar seriousness—a low grunt escaped his lips.
The person he’s interested in the most? Oha Asa has never suggested a live, human being before. But he knew never to question its predictions.
He can feel his ears getting hot when a certain someone suddenly pops up in his mind. His grip on his chopsticks tightened, while he adjusts his glasses perched on his nose with his fingers.
He thinks about his seatmate, you.
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You’re still asleep—you were actually planning to stay in and not go to school. Then you wake up when you hear the ringtone of your phone, making you groan.
It is Shintaro. You should check your phone before answering it.
“Shintaro, do you need something?” you mumbled with a raspy voice, it sent tingles over his ear.
Midorima noticed the tone of your voice and huffed. “Have you just woken up?”
“Yeah, I don’t plan to go today.”
He halted tying his shoes, making his eyebrows furrowed in concern. Midorima sighed, “It is unbecoming of a student to slack off.”
“I’m not.”
“Then what reason do you have to slack off?”
You smirked lazily over the phone, “I think I’m having a slight fever… are you going to take care of me?”
He scoffed on the phone. “As if.”
You nuzzle into your pillow, groaning. “Will you please just tell me why you’re calling me at this early hour?” You can feel your eyes growing heavy and droopy; you are already loosening your grip around your phone.
Midorima became quiet. He bit his lower lip, overthinking. He didn’t want to be too straightforward and just casually say it like nothing.
Who cares? It’s not like he is asking you out on a date. He only needs someone to be his lucky item—a person of his interest. You are one of his acquaintances that happen to be not boring like the others.
“Takao wants you to watch our match.”
What did he say?
You blinked your sleep away, dazed. You were confused and flabbergasted because why on earth would Takao want you to watch their match? You’re not even close to him.
And why is Shintaro the one telling you?
“Why can’t he tell me himself?”
The call ended abruptly, making you scoff at the audacity. You look at your phone in disbelief, before sitting up to curse him out.
“This guy—!”
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“Shintaroooo!”
You run quickly towards him and shout out to him with a worried voice, obviously panicking while holding out your unanswered assignment in front of his face. Tears are streaming down your cheeks.
“Please help me!” You shake his shoulders in panic. “I forgot to do my math homework! I’ve fallen asleep after I binge-watched Coffee Prince. I don’t want to fail, please! I want to keep being an honor student—”
Midorima trembles in annoyance within your reach before cutting you off with his finger pressed to your lips. “Will you calm down?! Your voice can reach all the way through the rooftop!”
“B-But my grade—!”
“Stop being dramatic. A tardy submission will not automatically make you fail; our teacher will only give you a deduction.”
“Every point matters, Shin-chan!”
“Don’t call me that!”
You pout before complying. Immediately scooting your chair closer to his seat with a pleading face. “But you’ll help me, right?”
You are too close.
You bat your eyelashes prettily, trying to persuade him. Shintaro’s breath hitched when he feels your face only few centimeters away from him.
He is only met with a bright smile before he is ‘forced’ to help you with your homework—downright snatching it from your hands.
Midorima ignores the fluttering in his heart when his fingers brush against yours.
Why can’t he find himself to resist?
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Takao watches his usual stoic, self-absorbent teammate act unusually. He narrows his eyes at the sight of Midorima mistakenly wrapping his fingers twice—he was unfocused, and it was obvious that something was weighing on his mind.
“Shin-chan, are you alright?” There is no way he is actually nervous about going against Kaijo, right?
Takao was only met with a silent glare from his friend, making him blink in confusion.
Shintaro instantly denied his claim, “Of course I am, why wouldn’t I be?”
“I can see your fingers getting suffocated from up here,” Takao points out with a very concerned look on his face. He gasps so dramatically, like a thunder of realization flashes down in the locker room. “And… are my eyes playing tricks on me?!”
Midorima only looks at him like he has grown two heads.
“I’m not seeing you wiping your teddy bear—or what should it be today, a ceramic vase? A shoelace? That small acorn you asked me to steal from your neighbor’s garden?” Takao points out in surprise, because it was very unusual for him to not have his lucky item. “I’m seeing zero of those today. Is my Shin-chan okay?!”
Otsubo gives Midorima a worrying look. Is the world ending for him?
His teammates snickered at the sight, their coach letting out a tired sigh.
Midorima hears the ping on his phone, seeing your message that you have already arrived at the gymnasium. He does not back down at the teasing of his teammates without an answer—partnered with a scowl. “My lucky item is here.”
“What..? Did you seriously have it delivered here and at this hour?!”
If you look deep into his expression, you could see the red flush blooming on his cheeks, wanting to maintain his composure and give all of his teammates the meanest glare that he can muster. “My luck doesn’t require an exposure to all of you.”
Never in Takao’s life has he heard such a bullshit excuse.
“Are you saying it’s spiritual today? Can that stay permane—?” He was shut up by a kick on his ass.
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海常 KAIJO 秀徳 SHUTOKU
30 - 49
You’re in the bleachers, eyes never taking off the match. Excitement and nervousness fill your body—your leg bouncing up and down in your seat while you stare at the team of your school.
Your gaze landed on the four-eyed shooting guard. Pride swells in your heart every time he shoots a three-pointer. You never fail to show your enthusiasm whenever the whole team scores—especially him.
“LET’S GO, SHUTOKU!” You cheer loudly and proudly, and some of the audience thinks you were the leader of the cheerleader team.
Midorima hears your voice and still keeps his attention to his opponent. For some reason, he can feel the hot rush of blood pumping even more all over his body, passing through his teammates before lifting his arms to shoot a 3-pointer.
30 - 52
“Oh yes, Shintaro! That’s my guy!”
The audience cheer loudly with you—but your words can be heard all throughout the gymnasium. People who are close to you whisper in curiosity at your boldness, while others agree with you.
“You’re so amazing, Shintaro!” you shouted again with a bright grin.
Shintaro flinches, and his heart began to beat irrationally. He only lets out a ‘hmph’, not wanting to show his teammates the effect you have on him.
“You have quite the cheerleader, Midorimacchi,” Kise remarks teasingly, his eye focusing on the ball dribbling by the hand of his opponent. “I’m jealous.”
“Really? That’s coming from you?” Midorima comments snarkily at the hypocrisy of the blonde’s statement.
Takao who is getting screened by one of Kise’s teammates, quickly takes a glance at the bleachers to see you, his classmate who would rather be in an arcade than watch a basketball match.
Though their team is leading the game, he knew something was off with Shintaro’s performance today.
Like he can’t give his all yet.
Then his gaze falls on his friend, someone who is too silent—his hawk-eye didn’t miss the fidgety, uncertainty in his body language turned into relaxation on Shintaro’s face.
As if everything’s fine already.
He connects the two and stifles his laughter at his silent realization.
So that’s your lucky charm, Shin-chan.
“I’m so flattered! He made the basket because of my cheer, right?!” You said to a random stranger, who doesn’t know what to do with the question but agrees.
The match ended with Shutoku winning, and you jumped in your seat happily. You wanted to do nothing but congratulate them—you came down to the court excitedly, only standing by the side while you watched them catch their breath.
Shintaro sees you by the side, who only offers you an arrogant huff seeing the joy on your face. He sees you running towards him, holding a bottle of water and a clean towel (you stole it from their coach).
“Shintaroooooo!”
You engulfed him in your arms, not caring that he was sweaty. Unfortunately, he does not feel the same way—grimacing when he feels his sweaty skin touching your clothes. “You were so amazing out there!”
“Stop hugging me! This is literally so disgusting?!” He tries to distance himself from your grip; somehow, you’re stronger.
“I don’t care, Shin-chan! I’m just so happy for you!” You show him your widest and brightest grin, flustering Shintaro at your compliments. He yelps when he feels you slapping his back repeatedly. “You’re just like me!”
“What part of you exactly screams skilled?!” He was met with a harsher slap on the back, making him bite his tongue accidentally.
“That hurts!”
“ :D ”
Midorima grumbles and stops you by gripping your whole head with his hand. He glares down at you—the lack of anger in his voice tempting you to tease him further. “Hey.”
“Let me treat you out for dinner! All of you!” You have to crane your neck up to pinch his cheeks hard; the cuteness aggression in you awakens. “Awh, you’re just so adorable!”
“Shut up!”
Otsubo and Takao watch the interaction with a sweatdrop. The captain complains, “Do they really to have flirt here?”
“Can you really call that flirting?” Takao murmured uneasily. And it seems like his friend had heard him with how quick his head snaps towards him.
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“Say ah!”
You hold out the tip of your chopsticks with tempura in between in front of Shintaro’s mouth. He was trembling in humiliation at what you were doing.
“I don’t need you to feed me!” he turns his head away, making you sigh.
You are left with no choice but to force it down his throat, making him gag and grip your wrist to live. “Mmm! You are welcome, Shin-chan!”
You ignore his attempt to bicker with you as you happily eat down your food. Takao cannot stop laughing with tears, because watching you two has always been his entertainment.
“Hey, Takao. Is it true that you wanted me to be on your match?” You dodged Shintaro’s hand from silencing your voice. “You could have texted me, you know?”
Takao blinked before looking at Shintaro with a knowing smirk. “Oh, did I now?” Your four-eyed friend looks awfully freaked out. “I think someone else did.”
“Who?”
Takao deadpans at you, “You seriously don’t know?”
“I’m enjoying Shin-chan’s reactions, don’t stop me,” You already knew the truth right after he hung up the phone. You weren’t dumb. “You know how hot-and-cold he is.”
Midorima just wants to get the hell away from your table and bury himself in a hole.
Both of you relish in torturing the poor greenette with devilish grins.
