[Kuroko's Basketball] My Years Studying at Teiko: Part Two

Candlelight flickered on the silver candlesticks, bathing the dining room in warm gold.

"Sir, do you know what a replacement romance is?" Qiu Yuan joked, her face so pale it seemed translucent.

Akashi sat upright at the other end of the long table. His rose-red eyes were still as a deep pool in the shifting light. "..."

"Back in middle school, you had a teammate you really liked named Kuroko. Then you went to different high schools, so you found someone who looked a lot like him. His name was Mayuzumi, the one who stood in for Kuroko."

"...The person I liked in middle school was you, A-Qi." Akashi's shirt cuffs were folded with meticulous care, and red bangs fell over his forehead. He sat with elegant poise.

"Is that a confession?"

"Yes."

"If one day Xia Quan sat across from you just like I am now, would you like her more, or me?"

"That hypothetical won't come true."

"Why?"

Akashi replied calmly, "Because you are her."

"...I'm not her." Qiu Yuan raised her eyes, looking at him through the candle flames. "If one day I fall asleep just like her, I hope you won't have to suffer from headaches anymore."

Akashi's fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around his fork, his knuckles turning faintly white. Candlelight danced deep within his pupils.

In the long silence, the only sound was the faint crackling of the burning wick.

"But I will never love you." Qiu Yuan lowered her eyes, as if she had used up the last of her strength.

Akashi slowly leaned back in his chair. Light and shadow divided his face into two halves. After a long while, he finally breathed two icy words from his lips. "Qian Quan."

"I don't hate you, because even if I took revenge on you, A-Chong still wouldn't come back to life. You made me lose the person I loved most, so the gods will punish you for me, making you suffer the loss of the person you love... forever."

Theme: The real dealer returns to the game.