#sick because of everything riko took from them

[adamsrcnan]

imagine kevin came back with the foxes instead of staying in west virginia after riko died and he's looking around their dorm room in despair after he sees the damage that jean's rage induced grief inflicted. he's helping clean up & goes to throw stuff in the trash when he see's a pile of andrew's candy bars in there. it's so ridiculous & such a jean thing to do that he actually laughs and suddenly he misses his first and longest best friend so much that he feels sick with it

[nizhspo]

lover, you should've come over.

chapter eight: it’s never over

m.list

pairing: toji zen'in x f!reader

synopsis: you were a nurse with a steady hand and a soft heart. he was a killer who kept coming back with blood on his shirt and your name in his mouth.

toji feels it in his spine. in the marrow of his bones, like something dying slow inside him, twitching as it’s eaten alive.

he’s never felt like this. not when he was sixteen and bleeding in the zen��in compound, back split open from “discipline.” not when they threw him out and called it mercy. not even when he let himself stop wanting anything, thinking that would make the needing go away.

but this—this is worse.

because you were the only softness he ever had.

not comfort. not convenience. softness. warmth. you cooked for him. cursed him out when he left blood on your floors. peeled his clothes off like you weren’t scared of what you’d find underneath. patched him up, not because you liked what he did, but because you cared anyway. you didn’t just know his scars, you learned them. memorized them. pressed kisses to the worst ones.

and he took that softness and fucking ruined it.

every breath feels sharp now, like his own ribs are stabbing inward. he tries to sleep, but your voice keeps echoing in his skull. that cracked whisper. that “she was a child, toji,” like you couldn’t even believe him anymore. like you were mourning someone already dead.

he’s not even sure if it’s her death you were mourning. or the death of what you thought he was.

he thinks about knocking again. does, actually—just once. soft. his hoodie is soaked in rain, blood on his hands not even his this time, and something in his chest throbbing like it’s about to give out.

he hears you move. heard you bedroom door creak, then click. locked.

he doesn’t break in. not this time. he can’t. he just stares at your door like it might open if he wishes hard enough. like he could explain this. like he could fix it. but it doesn’t.

so he walks away, fists clenched, shoulders tight. and his heart dragging behind him like dead weight.

he still kills, still takes jobs. but all he does is gamble the money away, and even that rush doesn’t feel good anymore.

not when he remembers the look on your face. not when he remembers how your voice cracked, how your shoulders curled in like you were trying to hold your own heart together, how you looked at him like he was something monstrous, not because of the blood, or the body count, but because he made you believe he was more than that. because he made you feel safe, and then ripped that safety out from under you.

he can’t stop thinking about you. your scrubs. your kitchen. your hands. your breath on his skin.

he thinks maybe the money wasn’t worth it. maybe you were right. he was going to gamble it away anyway.

he knows gojo’s out there now. alive. pissed. he’s waiting for it: the confrontation. the retribution.

he’s not sure he’ll win this time, and he thinks maybe he doesn’t deserve to.

…

at the hospital, it never quite gets quiet again.

gojo heals, of course, the freak of nature that he is.

he limps less each day. flirts in that annoying, forced way, like he’s trying to pretend things are normal.

but suguru—he doesn’t bounce back as easily. he’s quieter now. colder. the kind of grief that sits under the skin.

you try to help. you always do. you tend to their wounds with trembling fingers, but your heart feels wrong in your chest. off-balance. complicit.

you feel naïve. feel stupid. feel so, so hurt.

you think about riko a lot. you think about the way you smiled when you ate lunch the day before everything broke. the way you kissed toji’s cheek while soup bubbled on the stove.

and you feel sick.

…

one night, you’re on shift in the cursed ward. graveyard hours.

it’s quiet at first, just you and the machines humming low.

then a noise down the hall.

you turn, frowning, and the cursed energy hits you second. dense. roiling. dark. like a storm you didn't know was coming. like gravity reversing, your stomach lurching, skin tightening, something primal in you whispering danger.

and when you look down the hall, suguru geto's there.

he's standing at the far end, framed in the cold fluorescent light, bare feet planted on the tile. his hospital gown hangs lopsided off one shoulder, stained with blood at the side, where it's soaked through the pale cotton in maroon smears. the tie at his waist has come undone, dragging behind him, and the thin fabric clings to his body with a wetness that's more sweat than water, clinging in patches to his chest and stomach.

his left arm is coated in blood. it runs down from the crook of his arm in jagged rivers from where his IV has presumably been ripped out. his fingers twitch. every few seconds, they clench.

and the cursed energy bleeding off him is awful. it coils in the air like something alive, something feral, pressing against the walls, crawling up your spine. it doesn't feel like suguru. not the one you've spoken to. not the one who came in with a cracked rib months ago and made dry jokes between pain meds.

“geto?” you whisper, taking a few steps forward. “hey. are you okay?”

he doesn’t look up, just murmurs under his breath. words you can’t quite catch. until you do.

“she was a first year,” he says, soft. “an orphan. she didn’t want to die.”

your heart skips.

no. not skips—drops. violently. like it slipped through your ribs and shattered at your feet. you stop walking. because you know exactly who he’s talking about.

“geto—”

“she wasn’t ready,” he says, louder now. “she didn’t even get the chance to become anything yet. and they sent her to die anyway.”

his cursed energy lashes again. it scrapes across the air like barbed wire, sharp, vengeful, crawling under your skin. your gut twists in response. guilt. grief. fear. it’s cold and ancient and furious, like a thousand teeth gnashing in the dark.

and then curses start to appear. crawling out of the cracks in the tile like maggots from a corpse. slick-bodied, smoke-skinned things that slither and twitch and weep without sound. one drags itself up his ankle, tendrils writhing. another peels its way out of the shadows behind him, spindly and starved, jaws gaping.

they shudder when he moves. jerk when he breathes. they’re not just reacting to him. they belong to him.

you take a step back, bile rising in your throat.

these aren’t the kind of curses you’re used to. not the ones your patients survive. these are born of hate. of pain so thick and festering it drips off the walls. one of them snaps its head toward you, eyes too human, smile too wide.

“i’m not—” you start, throat tight. “i’m not like that. i didn’t—”

“but you loved him.”

his voice doesn’t rise. doesn’t crack. just cuts, and your breath stops. your blood runs cold.

he looks up. his eyes aren’t furious. they’re not even accusing. they’re just gone, hollow. like something inside him has already bled out.

“you loved him,” he says again, quieter this time. “the man who killed her.”

you’re frozen.

because how does he know? how could he know about toji?

your stomach flips, clenches, threatens to cave in on itself. the hallway spins for a second and the taste in your mouth turns metallic. because this is your worst fear solidified, spoken aloud, pressed to your throat like a blade.

“i didn’t know,” you whisper. and it’s true. but also, somehow, you feel like it isn’t.

because you did know. not about riko. not then. but you knew what toji was. what he was capable of. what he’d done.

“i didn’t, please—”

but the words feel stupid. thin. like paper trying to hold back a flood.

but it doesn’t matter.

you can see it in the way he steps forward. in the curse pulsing behind his shoulder. in the way your hands tremble when you reach for your staff badge.

it happens fast. too fast.

a curse rips from the air behind him, something he’s swallowed before, something bloated and twisted, and slams into you with the force of a wrecking ball.

you feel it. you feel everything, unfortunately.

the impact hits first in your spine, then your skull, and the wall behind you gives a hollow crack that vibrates through your bones.

your vision flashes white. the world tilts sideways. your knees buckle when you hit the floor, but you barely feel them. it’s like your whole body is ringing.

your ribs shatter. your lungs seize. your head spins, and your throat fills with blood, and you can’t breathe. you try so hard to breathe, but nothing. just a sharp, iron taste on your tongue and a high whine in your ears.

he steps closer. places a hand on your chest. looks almost sorry. “this isn’t your fault,” he says. “this is just how it has to be.”

your vision flickers, and there’s warmth spreading down your stomach, slow at first, then thick and wet, soaking through your scrubs like spilled tea. you blink. once. twice. the hallway swims. your knees don’t hold. the floor doesn’t catch you gently.

you think about your apartment. the chipped paint by the door. the smell of instant miso on the stove. the dent in your couch from all the nights he fell asleep there first.

you think about toji.

his voice in the dark. his back turned to you at the window. the way he once said, low and tired, “you don’t have to keep fixing people who won’t change— but we’re both too far gone for that, aren’t we?”

back then you didn’t know how to answer that, because even then, you knew. you knew he might be right, and he was. because now the world tilts. your blood pools. your fingertips twitch, sticky against the linoleum.

when the cursed energy finally lifts, the air feels thinner. but not lighter. not better.

and suguru—you don’t even see him leave.

you just hear your own breathing, shallow and ragged and wrong. each inhale tighter than the last. a whistle in your chest. a burn in your throat.

your arms don’t move. your vision darkens at the edges.

and then it fades altogether.

…

when toji wakes up, the TV isn’t on horse racing.

that’s the first thing that doesn’t sit right.

he’s still in yesterday’s clothes, a shirt clinging to him with dried blood, shoulder stiff from the fight, fingers aching from how tight he’d gripped the blade. he hasn’t even showered. hadn’t meant to fall asleep at all, but the couch took him under. the silence woke him. not the buzz of odds being calculated or announcers shouting through static. just silence. static. news.

tokyo: 112 dead in rural village.

he sits up slow. blinks. his eyes sting.

tokyo general nurse found murdered in closed off ward.

the world shifts. something inside him jerks sideways.

and then: your face.

your fucking face on the screen. smiling. the photo you took for your badge, hair pulled back. a soft, hopeful thing in your eyes. you took it long before you met him, but you always complained to him about how you hated how wide your smile was in it. he told you to shut up, you looked fine.

his heart doesn’t drop to his stomach—it shatters. shards of guilt, shock, disbelief pierce straight through his ribs. he stands. too fast. knees almost buckle. the room tilts. he stumbles forward, closer to the tv.

“nurse identified as age 26.”

he barely hears the rest. something about a patient on a rampage. a man in black. your unexplained wounds and slow death. how your wounds matched those of the village hit. mass destruction.

it blurs.

all toji can see is your face. all he can think is no. no, not her. anyone but her.

because you were supposed to be the one good thing he kept. the one thing untouched by all the fucked-up shit he’s done. and now you’re gone.

gone because of him.

and he knows it. fuck, he knows it. the second the curse settled in his gut like bile, he knew something was gonna rot. he just thought it’d be him—not you.

he sinks to the floor, but doesn’t cry.

not because he doesn’t want to, but because his body won’t let him. it’s like something’s frozen in him. hollowed out. not even grief knows how to move through what’s left.

his hand clenches the remote so hard it snaps in half.

he should’ve come over. should’ve knocked again. begged. gotten on his knees. should’ve tried harder. should’ve changed.

but he didn’t.

because he thought he could be what he was and still keep you. he thought he could have blood on his hands and you in his bed. thought you’d always be there to wipe it clean.

and now he’s got nothing.

you were it. your laughter in the kitchen. your lips on his scars. the ghost of your touch under his jaw. your smile in the dark.

and now you’re in the ground.

some fucking funeral, probably. some parade of mourners stepping through puddles and whispering about the tragedy of it all. but none of them know what it meant. none of them know what he lost.

he doesn’t even know how to say it, but it sits in him. splits him down the middle.

so, he burns. packs his weapons, cleans his blade, doesn’t look at himself in the mirror.

and when he walks to jujutsu high, it isn’t for redemption. it’s not even for revenge. it’s just because he doesn’t want to keep walking this world without you in it.

he doesn’t get to kill suguru geto.

gojo finds him first.

white hair, blue eyes, god in human skin. and toji smiles, just a little, because yeah. of course. this is how it ends.

“any last words?” gojo asks.

his mouth is filled with blood. throat crushed. ribs caving in. he can barely speak. but in his mind—

he sees your hand reaching for him in sleep. feels your thumb brush over his scar. hears your voice call him by name like it meant something.

he wants to say your name. wants to say i’m sorry.

but he just closes his eyes, because he knows there’s no you on the other side. no soft light, no reaching hand, no warm laugh echoing down the hallway of whatever comes next.

if there’s an afterlife—and he’s not sure there is, people like you don’t end up in the same place as people like him. you, with your clean hands and bleeding heart. him, with all that red on his ledger, so deep it’s stained the marrow.

he knows what he’s done. knows what it means. knows this is the only ending that ever made sense.

and he wishes, more than anything, that he’d been better. not to be saved. just so he could’ve deserved you. just so there could’ve been a world where you met again. but not like this. not like this.

he made a good thing go wrong. and that’s the last thing he’ll ever be sure of.

[lev1hei1chou]

By your side

Gojo x reader Genre: Angst to fluff Words: 4.8k Synopsis: Gojo survives the battle in Shinjuku Masterlist

Everything felt like a sick, twisted nightmare. It all started back in 2006, when Gojo and Geto were tasked with escorting the Star Plasma Vessel to Master Tengen. Although the duo tried their best, Riko Amanai met her end, which really affected Gojo.

To make matters worse, your and Gojo's very close friend, Geto, ultimately decided to choose a different path which definitely did not earn the approval of any sorcerer. Well, his ideals weren't the most practical or ethical, but nothing can really be done once he's fixed his mind.

Seasons dont wait for anyone, and just like that, a good number of years passed. You, Gojo and the others you studied with were now teachers at Jujutsu high. A new student by the name of Yuta entered jujutsu high and was welcomed with open arms. Well, not by the higher ups but no one cares about them. You pitied Yuta, for he was haunted by the girl from his past all because of a curse he bestowed upon her unintentionally.

The boy managed to fit in but the news of both him and Rika reached the ears of Geto, who took this as an opportunity to try exterminate all non sorcerers. The night parade of a hundred demons sure was eventful, but it also marked the end of Suguru Geto, the sorcerer.

To finish off his very own best friend with his very own hands was definitely a great ordeal for Gojo, but you were there for him throughout his mourning period. You shared his grief and helped him recover, atleast for the young talents that were now the responsibility of the teachers.

A year passed, and the boy you saw growing up was now old enough to be enrolled in Jujutsu high. You were proud of how Megumi was doing, since you witnessed his growth right from when Gojo brought him in.

History repeated itself when another teenager was put up for execution by the higher ups, but this was for a different cause. It was baffling, as Yuji Itadori was now a vessel of the great Ryomen Sukuna, due to the turn of events.

Megumi took up the task of narrating the events of that night to you. Although it was hard to process the wave of information, one thing was clear. Yuji does not deserve to get executed and this feeling was mutual to you as well as Gojo. You trusted Gojo well enough and knew he wont let it happen.

Months flew by and it was the 31st of October. Many sorcerers were called to Shibuya. A large curtain was cast, and civilians were trapped inside. It was later made clear that it was orchestrated by Pseudo geto, or Kenjaku and this was a plan to seal Satoru Gojo.

It was painful, to say the least. Your lover was now sealed and put out of commission. And seeing your friend's body get used like this was even more disappointing.

Everything now lay in the hands of the active sorcerers, and that itself was a huge burden to bear. Each and every sorcerer went beyond their limits, and that's when Geto's morally gray ideals ran through your head like a broken record. Forcing yourself to shake off the thoughts, you moved on.

The dreadful night came to an end and the aftermath was something no one ever expected. Your comrades were either dead or fatally wounded, the prison realm was in the hands of kenjaku and Sukuna ransacked the entire area within a short period of time.

To make matters worse, Yuji's sentence was now back.

After recovering from your injuries, everything sunk in. Nanami, your closest friend, was gone. Your students went through hell too. Gojo was sealed. And Yaga, was killed by Gakuganji. You werent particularly fond of the old geezer and this only added to how irritating his whole existence was. As fuel to fire, you heard through someone that Yaga was ordered to be executed by the higher ups, which just increased the level of hatred you had for them. Masamichi Yaga, the only proper and trusted adult figure you had in your life, was now gone.

After a list of events, it was obvious that Kenjaku was unstoppable. He went on with his next act of terrorism: The culling games.

The culling games were just as bad as what you faced on the 31st of October. Multiple sorcerers went against each other with only murder in mind, so you had to prepare yourself mentally. You believed in your students' abilities to make it out alive, but who knows what kind of people they'd have to fight.

Most of your comrades were a part of the games, from students to co-workers and the other allies made in the way. It felt like the heavens were against you being peaceful. There was no going back now.

You ended up running into allies, and when talks of the prison realm and unsealing of Gojo Satoru came up, you learnt that the only two items that were capable of nullifying the realm were the Inverted Spear of Heaven and the Black rope. All you could do was facepalm when you realised that the spear of heaven was in a location known only to Satoru, and the rope was burnt away when Miguel fought against Satoru. There wasnt any left. Sweet.

It was hard to deal with the absence of Satoru. Not only was he a significant other, but also a trustable partner and ally when your job was concerned. The one thing that kept you going was the fact that he was still alive, and could be unsealed one day.

And thus, you set out to find other possible ways to unseal him. After battling against a good number of curse users, you met Yuji, Megumi and Hana. You asked them about how they were doing, especially Yuji. Then, you found out that Hana could possibly be the key to unseal Gojo.

A twisted turn of events occurred, and Megumi was now Sukuna's vessel. Who wouldve guessed that the latter had set his eyes on the former. Yuji was no longer the vessel of the king of curses. Tsumiki was a vessel for some curse called Yorozu. Tsumiki was someone who you cared deeply for. She was an extremely caring person who wasnt even capable of causing harm to anyone. To think she was the one to become a vessel was painful, to say the least.

Sukuna battled out against Yorozu, and as an end to it, the latter lost and was killed, thus putting an end to Tsumiki Fushiguro. You wouldnt blame megumi for falling deeper into an abyss of darkness, as his own hands were now stained with his sister's blood.

A player has added a rule to the culling game. Rule 13: As of this moment- 9:09 PM. on November 19, 2018- No new players may join the culling game.

A player has added a rule to the culling game. Rule 14: The game ends when all players except Suguru Geto and Fushiguro Megumi have died.

Kogane's voice rang when you were with your allies. "To win, we just need to defeat Kenjaku and Sukuna" Maki said to you and Ui Ui. The young boy retorted stating that it was no easy task. Ofcourse it wasnt, but Satoru Gojo would make his return soon.

Everyone regrouped at the room and Yuji entered. You had a good number of formidable allies which gave hope for the next mission to be a success. Choso handed over a book to Yuji. And everyone in the place were now awaiting the return of the strongest sorcerer.

After a long discussion as to why it wasnt a good idea to unseal Gojo inside the building, the location was moved to a different place. The allies took refuge behind the rocks that lay. Your heart pounded with anticipation and hope. Angel used the jacobs ladder to unseal Gojo but he was nowhere to be seen.

Hours later, you were informed that Gojo was inside Shoko's lab with Ijichi and Ino. You were beyond elated to see the love of your life after 19 grueling days that were anything but uneventful but a hint of nervousness lingered for some reason. With shaky arms, you reached out to the handle. Taking a sharp breath, you opened the door and your breath stopped.

There he sat on the bed. For a moment, you felt like all the weariness from the past one month vanished into thin air after taking one look at the man. He seemed better than you thought, with extra muscles and all that. You pinched yourself slightly to confirm that this was all real, and thats when you teared up a little.

Shoko noticed your presence and signalled the others to exit the room. What a thoughtful soul. Satoru was now looking at you as well, smiling widely like the dork he is and waved at you to come nearby. Taking short steps, you walked and took a seat next to him silently.

"You couldve taken a picture when you stood at the door, it would last longer" he teased while taking your hand. You had prepared yourself beforehand to not cry, considering the fact that he wouldve been overwhelmed with all the news from the time he was gone. The task however seemed impossible as you broke down right there.

Satoru was shocked for a moment but then quickly regained his composure as he pulled you into his lap. Hugging him tightly, you cried, as if he'd disappear if you let him go. He was at a loss for words too, which was very unlike him, but hugged back and peppered soft kisses.

Breathing hard, you pulled away and wiped your face. Looking into his eyes, you took his face in your hands and kissed him softly, hoping to pour in all your feelings through the kiss. He was quick to reciprocate with equal love and even smiled while kissing. You realised how much you had missed him.

Pausing to catch your breath, you leaned your forehead on his, and the silent acts of intimacy conveyed all the unspoken words. You hugged him again. "I met Sukuna and the bastard in Geto's body" he started. Not liking where this was going, you hesitantly nodded. He took that as a sign to continue "We'll fight on the 24th of December".

You knew the date very well. This was inevitable from the start, so you decided to put all your belief on your boyfriend. A relationship is all about trust..right?

The fact that he didnt say anything about Megumi puzzled you, but it was better to not ask. "Promise that you'll come back to me safely" you said. He gasped, as if he was offended by the mere thought of you questioning his strength. "Are you serious?" he asked incredulously. "Its not that i dont trust you, Satoru. Its just that its Sukuna you're going up against." you paused before continuing "He has his own techniques and ten shadows." He was still visibly offended and turned his head to the side.

Sighing, you smiled and asked again. "Promise?" "No." he snapped jokingly. Slapping his shoulder lightly, you shook your head at how childish he was. "Fine, I promise" This moment made you forget everything that happened and you breathed in his scent, wanting this to last forever.

Atleast you had one whole month left, until worry would consume you completely.

As expected, the much dreaded day arrived and you waited for Satoru along with your students and allies. Yuji turned to look at someone and there he was, in all glory, accompanied by Utahime and Gakuganji.

The audacity of this old geezer to show up you thought. Hopefully he makes himself useful somehow. Just the sight of him made you want to charge and obliterate him right there, but you held back as his help might be needed. The hatred would never subside though.

"Sensei, your cursed technique's in the way"

Satoru smiled and pointed at his back, and Yuji took the chance to slap his back as a good luck. And just like that, Gojo left to the battlefield. Ijichi created a barrier and Utahime started dancing. Within a short while, the much anticipated battle started.

You stayed back with the allies, in order to observe every detail of the battle that unfolded, ready to jump into action whenever necessary. Anything could be the outcome of this battle and everyone was prepared for that. Anyone will have to jump in, with no concern for their fate and give their all.

The ongoing battle never seemed to stop even for a moment, with both sides using their techniques and domains. The result was hard to predict. Everyone keenly observed the intense fight between the duo.

The thought of what kenjaku might be up to lurked in the back of your head, but there was a well devised plan made, so you turned a blind eye towards the thoughts and went back into observation mode.

A strong and terrible gut feeling made you nauseous. Albeit putting your trust in Satoru, you couldnt ignore the bad vibe. As if your suspicion was being proven, something unexpected happened. Something that left horrified expressions in every face.

All you saw was Sukuna with Mahoraga, unleashing his next attack. Everything froze as you stared in utter disbelief. Satoru's body was cut into two parts, and his upper half fell to the ground. He laid in a pool of blood and you felt nauseous.

It was so quick, that you couldnt process it properly. Yuji stood up in shock, and Yuta reached out to unsheath his katana but Maki stopped him. Everyone else were frozen in shock and Miwa walked up to you and hugged you silently.

You couldnt even cry, as it all felt absolutely unreal. A million thoughts ran through your head. It felt like a sick joke. To get him in your life, to almost losing him to Toji, then getting him back, then the whole shibuya incident. Did the forces above hate you so bad?

Why make you meet the so called love of your life just to take him away? For fucks sake, he was all you had. The only family you had. The students were like family as well, but nothing measured up to Satoru. He was your everything: your love, your reason. When you felt like the world was against you, he stayed by your side. When you reached a standstill, he helped you. When you couldnt trust at the initial stages, he kept giving you reasons to trust him and fall hard.

Every single memory you had with Satoru played in your mind like a movie. Swallowing a thick lump, you reached out to pat Miwa weakly.

When you came back to your senses, you realized that time only froze for you. Kashimo was already rushing towards Sukuna. Breathing in and out, you noticed Yuta walk up to you. "Sensei, we need a plan to retrieve Gojo sensei's body" he said. Well, he had a point. But your brain already had too much going on.

Ieiri stood next to you and said "Get it together y/n. I know its hard, but we've got priorities. If you manage to retrieve his body somehow, I'll try my best. I wont let the only people from my life slip away again" "I'll help as well sensei" Yuta chimed in.

Inhaling sharply, you nodded. You didnt bother about what could possbily happen to you. With only one goal in mind, you sneaked into the battlefield with Yuta. By then, Hakari was out of the allies den and by the looks of it, he was going to fight Uraume.

Sparing no glances towards Sukuna and Kashimo, you and Yuta retrieved Gojo's body and narrowly missed a huge iceberg that now fell in the place where your boyfriend laid. With wide eyes, you looked at Yuta, who signalled that both of you had to leave. The nauseous feeling came back as you felt the crimson liquid seep through your clothes. Regardless, you thanked yourself mentally for acting quickly and not wallowing in your sorrows. There wouldnt have been a chance to retrieve your lover's body then.

For whatever reason, you looked back and what you saw made you feel a little terrified. Sukuna now was in a much different form; his face looked different, he had another extra pair of arms and he had a mouth in his stomach. The king of curses looked absolutely menancing. He also yielded cursed objects in his hand.

You then entrusted Satoru's body to Shoko and Yuta, and went back to watching the battle. You trusted their abilities, and your presence might be a distraction to them. Besides, your help might be needed in the battle at any time.

Within a matter of seconds, right after you settled in your seat, Ryomen Sukuna had put an end to Kashimo Hajime. By the looks of it, Hajime's one time attack barely had any effect on the king of curses.

Higuruma Hiromi and Yuji Itadori rushed into the battlefield, not wanting to waste any time. Yuji was fueled by pure hatred, as Sukuna was everything but good to him. Not only that, he massacred thousands while in Yuji's body and also took over his best friend's body now. Hiromi was strong as well. He'll have to read out Sukuna's crimes and let the judge do the work. But truth be told, that wont be an easy task.

The battle was intense again, with Yuji landing black flashes and Hiromi using his own techniques. Retrieving Megumi was important, but the question of how hasnt been answered yet. Sukuna doesnt show any signs of fatigue. Heck, he only looks stronger now.

There were no signs of stopping, and for hours allies swapped in and out to face the monster there. You went out to duel against Sukuna a few times as well, and now your body was decorated with injuries. He was extremely strong, even with lesser cursed energy. You felt that he was weakening physically, but to bring him down? Its going to take an indescribable amount of time.

You were capable of using RCT, so you managed to heal yourself and helped heal the injured allies as well. Everyone seemed exhausted, and the only thing that kept them going was the determination. After coming this far, it would be disgraceful to go back now. It wasnt even a choice to begin with. To give up would mean Sukuna happily finishes everyone off, causes terror and rules the world with Kenjaku.

More than that, to you, this was about your friend's and adoptive son's body getting manipulated like this.

A few more hours passed, and with combined efforts from your side, the curse that terrorised the sorcerer and curse user community fell. You were immensely proud of how every single person on your side fought for the same cause with so much determination and coordination. You also had a sense of gratitude towards each and every one of them.

You were worried about the man who was getting healed by Yuta and Shoko, but you were also glad that a main root of problems was a part of history now. The door opened and the duo walked out, visibly tired. They took one look at all of you and it didnt take long to realise that the enemy had been defeated.

Ijichi walked in with a figure in his arms. Everyone turned and now was facing him and realised it was none other than Megumi. The state he was in made you want to cry. Atleast the past didnt repeat itself fully like it did with Geto. The boy you saw growing up now lay helplessly, body full of injuries. You thought of what he wouldve went through and it pained you heavily.

When Ijichi announced that the boy was alive, you turned towards Shoko, unintentionally holding your breath.

She smiled a little and said that hes alive and well. And then, you crashed onto the chair, completely done in, letting exhaustion take over you. You were still bleeding from a few spots as you prioritized healing the others and now your cursed energy levels had been depleted.

----

When you woke up, the first person to greet you in the hospital bed was Kugisaki. Just her existence there made you tear up, as her return after the incidents of Shibuya was a question mark. Reality sunk in and you let the tears flow freely. The goals were achieved. Your first years were safe and sound. Sukuna was gone. Your second years and third years were safe as well. Satoru was okay as well.

Maybe the universe wasnt completely against you. It just presented you with multiple hurdles. You mentally patted yourself on the back for holding on. It does pay off in the end.

Nobara enveloped you in a hug, and cried with you.

"How are you?" you asked her. "Im okay, Im just glad youre awake."

Right at that time, Shoko walked in, pleased that you were finally awake. "You were out cold for two weeks dummy" she said, letting out a puff of smoke.

"Atleast I can breathe easy now" You got up and hugged her. She was caught off guard at first, but then she hugged back and relaxed. She wasnt particularly a big talker, nonetheless you understood what she wanted to convey.

"What about Kenjaku?" you enquired. "Oh that. Yuta finished him off. We have the body safely with us" Nodding, you walked up to the door. "Ill go meet Yuji and Megumi"

Maki, Panda and Toge were on their way when they noticed you walking towards Yuji's room. They called out to you and after chatting for a while, you learnt the details of Yuta and Kenjaku's fight.

Waving goodbye, you continued and knocked on the Yuji's door. You felt the wind getting knocked out of you. Oh its just Yuji himself. "Im glad youre okay, sensei" he spoke enthusiastically. On the corner of your eye, you saw Choso sitting on the chair. Smiling at him, you asked Yuji to put you down and pat your clothes down.

You spoke to him, and figured he was doing well emotionally, physically and mentally. That's good, you thought to yourself.

Then, you went on to meet Megumi. You were definitely worried about him. You smiled to yourself after seeing him sleep peacefully. Apparently he had already awoken a couple of days back, and even visited you thrice.

Not wanting to disturb him, you finally went to Gojo's room. The same feeling of nervousness hit you like it did when you met him for the first time after he was unsealed. You opened the door slowly, and it seemed that your boyfriend was already aware of your presence outside the door.

He smiled at you again, and opened his arms. He looked different for sure. You ran straight into his arms and he lifted you up in the air, hugging you tightly. This was really him. Your Gojo. He was alive and well. Cue the waterworks, you held each other and cried together. This was a very vulnerable moment for both of you. Satoru crying was not something you expected, but after everything, it would only be odd if he didnt cry.

Letting out everything you held in for this long was a nice feeling. Besides, you could breathe now. The love of your life was here, safe in your arms, by your side. There wasnt even an indicator of the events that happened in the past. And then you realized something.

Breaking away from the hug, you reached out to lift his shirt with hesitant hands. There it was. A huge scar decorated his body in the very spot he was cut in.

"Missed me buttercup?" he asked. Ofcourse he was happy to be back too. Tracing his scar softly, you realised he was not a figment of your imagination. "Why wouldnt I be" you cried out and pulled him in for another hug. "I kept my promise, didnt I?" he sniffled. You choked out a thank you. He then kissed you passionately and you were more than happy to return the gesture. "Deja Vu" you whispered out. "I'll always come back to you, no matter what. You should promise me that too yeah?" He whispered out too. Looking straight into his eyes, you said "I promise, no matter what."

"Do you wanna have some kikufuku?" he asked and you could only laugh. Regardless of what happens, your Satoru will always be the same loving, dorky guy you knew from day 1.

---

You felt someone pepper your face with kisses. Slowly opening your eyes, you saw Satoru, and he gave you one last kiss with an audible mwah sound. It was really happening, you thought to yourself. After cuddling for a while, you got up, just to be pulled back into Gojo's chest.

"Cmon baby its late" you said while looking at the clock. it was 12:30 pm. Looks like 2 weeks of sleep was nothing compared to a night of sound sleep with your other half. "Just a little more time pleaseee" Satoru whined out. Cant really say no to that now.

After a while, you both headed out to have breakfast and there you met all the other students. You didnt really want to press him on and ask about how he felt yesterday and ruin the moment. He's always been that confident individual, so you were worried about his mental state, after going through a defeat like that. Satoru isnt the one to talk about his feelings either, so you'll have to pop the question yourself.

After socializing with the students, Satoru pulled you away. But you weren't exactly done speaking to Choso.

"Love, what was that for?" you enquired, clearly not happy about being interrupted. "WOW I've been deprived of my rights to talk to the love of my life. What an unjust world we live in" he spoke out dramatically.

Laughing silently, you asked "where are we going?" "I dont know" he said playfully. Wrapping your arm around his, you went closer and leaned your head on his shoulder. He reached out to stroke your hair.

"Yknow, I met Nanami, Suguru, Yu and Riko" he started. You hummed. "I spoke to them at the airport for a while. Nanami told me to pick between south and north. But now Im glad I chose north" You definitely did not understand a thing, but didnt ask much. "How do you feel?" you asked. "Hmmmm lets see." he dragged out. "Im not very happy about getting defeated by that curse, but I think I'm more humble now" The last sentence made you laugh and he stared in disbelief. "Are you laughing at my agony now" he gasped out. "I'm not. But baby, you and humble dont go in the same sentence" you teased him now. "Oh come on. Im not very pleased to admit I'm not the strongest" he voiced out. "You'll always be the strongest in my eyes Satoru" you admitted. "will I now?" he wiggled his eyebrows and poked your arm.

Laughing at how adorable he is, you continued to take a stroll with him. "He was crazy strong yknow? Im not sure if i could have beaten him even if he didnt have megumi's ten shadows. I felt like he didnt go all out... In a way, I'm happy that someone as strong as him beat me" he commented. "Yeah, he was strong. We had a hellish time against him" you mentioned.

He may have lost against a curse that strong, but none of that matters to you. Satoru Gojo was here, by your side and that is more than enough.

---

A few days later, all the students and the remaining teachers paid their respects to all the souls that fell. Yuji placed flowers near Nanami's grave. Then, everyone placed a flower on principal Yaga's grave. Megumi stood near the grave designated for Toji. You walked up to him. "you okay?" "well i dont really care" he replied. Maybe Toji did care for his son, but never really showed it openly, so this is what he gets. Miwa silently mourned the death of Kokichi Muta. From the corner of your eye, you spotted Gojo and Shoko near a grave stone. You went near them, and figured it was for Geto. Wrapping your arms around both of them from the middle, you silently leaned your head on Satoru's. You were glad that you were able to properly mourn your friend and the others.

While walking back to your rooms, you smiled to yourself. Yuji and Yuta's sentences were now non existent, thanks to the work of someone. The annoying higher ups were exterminated.

Even if you lost loved ones, made multiple sacrifices, almost lost many people dear to you, it all worked out at the end.

You'd do your best to make sure that this peace never gets disrupted. At any cost. Everyone who you valued, were here, by your side.

----

A/N 2: it took me hours to write this and lmao the whole fight after kashimo dying was all just what i imagined. So yeah.

[ninyard]

I Need to hear ur thoughts about the fact that in the aftg wiki kevin is listed as a pet in riko’s family is sick and even more when Nora confirmed that they could never been really friends because of the master/pet dynamic and how riko wouldn’t hesitate to put kevin at his place if he forgot his ( took this from the extras) Kevin you deserved sm better

Saying that Riko and Kevin were friends seems like a lie, but saying they weren't is worse. Riko and Kevin couldn't be friends because the master/pet mentality was something that Riko pierced Kevin over and over again, but they achieved an understanding and balance that they shouldn't have otherwise.

In short, Riko & Kevin were the end of each other's existence. It was what saved Kevin from most of Riko's cruelty, but Riko would have hurt Kevin tremendously if he thought Kevin forgot his place.

There's definitely a huge part of their dynamic that is just; Riko thinks he owns Kevin, and Kevin isn't strong enough to stop him. Riko thinks Kevin is his, his play thing, his property. But he's also smart enough to know that Kevin has the power to take him down if he wanted to. So he breaks Kevin down, destroys his confidence, makes him scared, and now Kevin will never want to step out of line. He'll never want to defy him, and he'll always come crawling back.

I think there might've been a small point in their childhood where they felt like friends, and when they were putting on an act for the tabloids, it might've felt real every once in a while, but Riko didn't respect Kevin enough for them to be friends. After everything they'd been through, they wouldn't have survived without each other for very long. They couldn't play head-to-head on separate pro teams, then together again on the National Court. They couldn't be one person without the other and continue on their lives as normal. Kevin would always feel his heart rate rise when Riko walked into a room, when he seen him on TV. Riko would always feel like Kevin was his. He'd always feel rage about articles comparing them to each other, he'd always want to kill Kevin for succeeding. Riko couldn't live with Kevin being better than him. He would've cracked eventually, regardless of the lives they were living.

[le-panda-chocovore]

Satosugu Hurt/Comfort + Fluff

@get0suguru I said I would so here it is !

Honestly, I don't think I'll write an entire fic but I need to get the ideas out of my head. Feel free to use this for your inspiration (and send me the link please !)

This is not properly written, this was a bullet list of ideas and I just took off the bullets because the paragraph became longer and longer and it was a mess. Feel free to use this for your own inspiration (and please send me the link if you publish something) !

English isn't my first language and I'm very tired, sorry for the mistakes.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

Geto Suguru & Gojo Satoru - 3rd year students

After Riko's death, Suguru slowly starts to spiral and question his role in the world, while Satoru starts training more and more alone and is sent on solo missions. The encounter with Yuki worsens Suguru's state.

Satoru notices that something's wrong and invites Suguru to eat something with him. Suguru feels a bit better when those blue eyes are looking at him. They make the habit of sharing a meal whenever they can.

They spend more and more time away from each other and Suguru's still spiraling, but every time they manage to meet, he allows himself to enjoy the life he has a little bit. Those blue eyes might be worth the pain.

Haibara dies and Suguru's hate for non-sorcerer is growing even quicker than before. He wonders why he's still there trying to protect them. He doesn't want to risk his life for them. He doesn't want to lose his friends for them.

A few days after that, Satoru finds his friend standing alone in the gymnasium. "You look like you're going to disappear." Suguru doesn't look at him when he answers "I'm so tired. I don't think I can keep going on." Satoru hugs him desperatly "Please stay with me. I'll figure things out, I'll make it easier for you, I'll give you everything. Stay for me. Please."

-Alternative to the emotional moment because Gojo won't act serious if he's not forced to (and because I don't know which dialogue I prefer)- Satoru, half-joking : "You look like a ghost, like you could disappear anytime." Suguru, not looking at him : "Maybe I can. Maybe I will. I can't find anything worth the sacrifice, I can't bring myself to be happy in this world." Satoru, rolling his eyes like the dramaking he is : "Duh, I'm here idiot ! Am I not the source of your happiness ? Am I not the best thing that happened in your life ? Am I not the one who brings a smile on your pretty face ? Don't you dare say that nothing in this world can make you happy when you're friend with me, dumbass !" Suguru is speechless, then he laughs and Satoru's proud to be right. Suguru calls him an idiot, but he agrees.

They're even closer than before now, always touching some part of their skin whenever they're together, and Satoru constantly reminds Suguru that everything will be fine as long as they stay together. He says things like "Look at me, I'm here." and "Can you stay for me ?" and "Remember that you're not alone" and "Just try to endure it a bit longer, I'm with you" every now and then. It gives Suguru the strength to keep going day by day despite his deep disgust with the jujutsu world.

Sometimes, Satoru is away for a long time, and Suguru is alone with the disgusting taste of the curses he has to swallow. He feels sick and awful, and he's so close to giving up everything. Satoru calls him when he can but he won't be back soon. He makes him promise to wait, and Suguru's not sure if he can do it. So Suguru crashes into Satoru's room and spends the entire time in the bed, which smells like Satoru. It helps.

One time they're cuddling in Suguru's bed (because Satoru decided he would sleep there that night) and Suguru grows an obsession with Satoru's small waist. Like, he can't stop touching it, it's driving him insane, he feels so high, like he just took every drug existing. Of course Satoru notices "Is that me or are you having an existential crisis over my waist ?" but of course it doesn't bother him at all. Now he uses this too as an argument to make Suguru stay at the school : "You can't live without my perfect body. Can you imagine running away and not being able to touch me anymore ?" The worst part is that it works.

Suguru saves the twins and kills the two adults who were accusing them, but he restrains himself from destroying the whole village. Instead, he calls Satoru who immediately teleports there despite being on a mission elsewhere. Satoru covers the crime scene and tells Suguru to pretend that the two non-sorcerers got killed during the fight against the curse. It's classified as collateral damage. The two of them bring Mimiko and Nanako to the school and teach them about the curses and the exorcists.

Now, Suguru has two more reasons to stay. He's still depressed and he still hates the monkeys, but he starts to believe that things would end up fine. He has people to protect now, he has people to love. He can fight for that.

When they graduate, Satoru and Suguru move out of the school with twins, and they take Megumi and Tsukimi with them.

[blazewatergem]

Made in Abyss Season 1, Episodes 3 & 4

I’m grouping these together simply because I watched them both last night - and my brain is fuzzy right now :’D

I like the repeats of just how dangerous this is. About the covert of a “Last Dive” and even showing how Reg isn’t hurt by the Curse that everyone else is. About this strange sickness that comes and kills on one’s birthday.

Even how Leader knew what was happening, yet still let Riko and Reg go.

“Everything we take from the Abyss, returns to it” seems to be such a important thing for both the culture, and overall in the story. Riko being born in the Abyss, to where it took an Artifact to keep her alive. Reg apparently coming from the depths, only to agree to go back to see Riko to her mother.

Even that just fucks me up in the best of ways. The goodbyes as the other kids knew, if Riko succeeds, she can’t come back. She is choosing to never return, once she gets past that 6th layer.

The series is doing a wonderful job of showing just how important and dangerous the Abyss is. Even without monsters, without other teams or raiders…you go too deep, you don’t come back.

[srirachvbi]

Sakusa and Ushijima taking care of their kids headcanons !

request:  Can I request Sakusa and Ushijima taking care of their baby when their mom!s/o isn’t here ?

a/n: yesss omi and toshi taking care of their kids when they’re babies aslfjkd i love this. tysm for the requests !! i’m really happy to be writing again since i took a break for a bit after school ended!! warnings: manga spoilers, panicking and confused fathers lol

SAKUSA KIYOOMI

why we going so fUCKING FAST DAMN WOAHHHHH

He had the week off from practices and anything else because they had just finished off the season

You, sadly, did not get the same luxury of having a whole week off because even tho your husband made enough money, you still wanted and needed a job

So you had to go to work and your guys’ nanny had called and been like “yo im sick as fuck” and Omi went “ahaha don’t come near us <3″ 

It was too last minute to hire another nanny, but he’s perfectly capable of taking care of your guys’ two month old child... right?

Wrong

It had been a few hours since you had left for work and he was having some weird staring contest with Hitoshi 

Omi knew that Toshi was going to use his diaper soon enough and he just... he was in fear

After sitting there for a few minutes, he started stress cleaning and ended up gearing up to change Toshi’s diaper

Omi: *is literally performing rituals to make sure he doesn’t get anything on him*

Hitoshi: 👁👄👁 pls clean my asscheeks i pooped <3

LMAOOO the second Omi smells the wonderful stench, he almost walks out of the house

Actually he starts to until Toshi starts sobbing and he just

“👁👄👁 they ask you how you’re doing and you have to say that you’re fine--” 

He’s wearing like an N95 mask, silicone gloves, goggles, boots (he doesn’t want to get anything on his feet if he drops it but he also struggled because who tf wears shoes in the house)

Apparently him now 

Disgrace

Toshi’s still crying and Sakusa’s really about to as well LMAO

He finally gains the courage to try and change the diaper and he begins

Even with the mask on, he can still smell the shit and he’s really about to curl up and die

Slowly he peels the dirty diaper off and internally cries as he brings it towards the trash can and realizes he just

didn’t grab another diaper

So Hitoshi’s still sobbing and Sakusa’s running across your guys’ apartment in search for the diaper box

He finds them after like three minutes and is sweating hard

Omi walks over to Hitoshi again and he’s still sniffling after crying nd he feels bad

Like yeah he hates cleaning up shit but that’s his poor son :(

So he cleans everything up and puts a new diaper on

The rest of the day actually goes pretty well unlike the half an hour where he lost probably ten years of his life

You end up coming home around 7pm and walk in on Omi cleaning the table which had food splattered everywhere

He looks so stressed and your guys’ son is just laughing so loud

You end up laughing with Hitoshi and Omi’s like “i think we need a divorce <3″

Jk

He’s actually about to cry because you’re finally home to help him with Toshi

“Never leave again” “👁👄👁 that sounds a little creepy, Yoomi” 

USHIJIMA WAKATOSHI

You were actually hanging out with your high school friends and he offered to take care of Riko instead of you dropping her off at your parents’ house 

He’ s a good dad!! it’s just... he’s a bit clueless sometimes and babies cry a lot

So there are moments where you’re not sure if he should be by himself with her

dw he’s gotten better since you guys first had her-- he no longer stares at Riko and asks her why she’s crying for five minutes

Anyways

He’s honestly kind of concerned that he’s not the most skilled father

Like, he’s used to being the best so why does he struggle with being a dad?

This;ll be an opportunity for him to learn !!

You actually left before Riko woke up again so he was just sitting in your guys’ shared room waiting for her to make noise

You guys have a baby monitor and he stares at it sometimes

The poor machine is super intimidated

When she starts crying, he literally sprints towards her nursery (it’s quite a sight) and accidentally opens the door with too must strength, which leads to it hitting the wall

Cue Riko crying even louder

He’s standing there like

👁👄👁

It takes a few seconds before he’s apologizing to her LMAO

“Ah. I’m sorry.” *crying gets louder*

He picks her up carefully and looks her dead in the eyes, making her stop crying

They’re staring at each other now

SHhhh they’re communicating

“I’ll give you food.” 

She was actually hungry

You’ve seen him do this-- yeah, you’re not sure how he does it either

So he brings her to the kitchen and she’s pulling on his hair

He do be used to it tho 👀

It takes him like ten minutes to find the milk formula thing because every second he tried to put Riko down, she’d cry

So he adjusted and has her literally in the PALM OF HIS HAND

It takes a longer than necessary to read it because he started reading the ingredients and all of the information on the back

Pls Ushijima... 

He throws that bitch (not literally) into the microwave and heats the milk up for her

Meanwhile she’s started to chew on his hands and he’s so confused

“Why are you chewing on my hand? It is not food, Riko.” *CHOMP* 

When her milks done, he struggles to figure out how to hold her but it’s okay, it works out in the end

The rest of the day is full of the same confusion and by the time you come home, you see him reading the ads in Riko’s childrens book to her and she’s passed out

“Waka-chan, you don’t have to read the ads” “But she enjoys them.” 

...

Fair enough 

[shoichee]

Phantom Thieves of Hearts in KNB

Persona 5 x Kuroko no Basket crossover

[knb x s/o reader]

Headcanons on how KNB characters find out you were a member of the Phantom Thieves + what they do afterwards

Warning: very very brief mention of harassment/assault | mild spoilers up to Haru/mild insinuations of Akechi | mild spoilers of KNB’s “Last Game” movie

Part 2 is here! Part 3 is here!

Kuroko Tetsuya

you two started dating for a while, but recently, Kuroko began to notice out how you always seem to weasel your way out of group hangouts or turn down after school dates with him or just altogether disappeared without a trace/word

“Um, do you want to eat together at Maji Burger after school today?”

“Wahhh! I’m so sorry, Tetsu!” you hugged your boyfriend with regret before declining. “I already have plans today…”

or that one time when school ended and right when he turned to ask you if you wanted to walk home together, you were just… gone

you were becoming a Kuroko and he was worried

he tried to ask you about your behaviors but you always brushed him off or deflected the subject elsewhere

while he figured that he should wait before you were ready to tell him, he grew antsier as you grew busier and busier and had no time left for the two of you to hang out beyond just class

one day he decided to follow you using his lack of presence and unknowingly walked into the metaverse along with you

but he then sees your attire changed,

then some other people in costumes,

and weird monsters—

he was just standing behind a pillar the entire time and was waiting for the perfect time to go and confront you when you and the strange group encountered a hostile group of shadows and started battling like pros

his eyes were on you the entire time like: 👁🕳👁

you were so graceful, yet so fierce, and so badass—

after the whole battle, he sneaked up to you and tapped your shoulder for you to whirl around in complete shock

the other PT members were just as baffled about where he came from

Ryuji: “Quick, he’s an effin’ enemy shadow!”

Ann: “Ugh, Ryuji! Be quiet!”

Futaba: “Stuuuuupid, if he was a shadow I would’ve already alerted everyone.”

after Kuroko explains how he came over because he was worried about you as your boyfriend, everyone was gushing (Ryuji was salty that he doesn’t have a girlfriend still, and Yusuke was elated to have found his next art models)

after being sworn to secrecy and lowkey threatened by Haru and Makoto, Kuroko supports you from the shadows (ha ha, get it?)

he asks Riko to teach him how to do massages so he can massage your sore muscles after a rough metaverse run

it gives him more excuses to be with you and touch you and pamper you to his heart’s content

he may or may not have used massage times as an excuse to cuddle and smooch your neck and back

he sometimes asks you what his own “heart” looks like, and you assure him that he doesn’t have a palace because he’s the purest being ever

he pays more attention to the news regarding the PT and gets really worried when even the politicians get involved (you had to reassure him constantly)

he vibes super well with Joker because they’re the silent protagonists™️ with a sassy streak sometimes

he definitely bullies Ryuji, I can feel it

you actually teach him some of your own signature moves to help Kuroko develop new trump cards in future games (especially against Touou Academy)

he teaches you how to diminish your presence to sneak up on shadows even better than Joker’s ambushing

Kiyoshi Teppei 

this sweet man is so attentive to you and your needs, even if you didn’t ask anything of him

so when you came to watch the game between Seirin and Kirisaki Daiichi, you were livid

he did not deserve this

even if you hated to watch the game, you stayed until the end, and after, you rushed to the lockers to check up on him

“Teppei! You idiot!” you were already tearing up. “You’re okay, right?”

you were holding his limbs and checking out all the wounds he was sporting

even when your boyfriend assured you, it went in one ear out the other

you were boiling in anger

he pinched your cheek

“I’m okay, (y/n).”

you grumbled and hesitatingly dropped the subject but that didn’t mean you wanted to drop the matter entirely

especially since you had the power to change other people’s hearts and their actions

but you didn’t want to bring it up to your PT members, since at first seemed more of a personal problem within the basketball matches rather than a widespread societal problem

that is, until Ryuji brought up that their own school’s basketball team got extremely roughed up and injured a couple weeks ago, but there were finally news of it coming out because the school tried to keep it quiet (but several students finally leaked the news out)

you then tentatively brought up about Seirin’s recent match

all of you guys did further research on the Kirisaki Daiichi basketball team’s history and you all found out how every basketball team they went against had their aces severely injured or taken out

time to change some hearts

mainly, the Kirisaki Daiichi starter players

luckily for you, Riko ordered Teppei to stay home for at least a few days to rest up before coming back to school, so you were free to do some thievery

you still visited Teppei’s home once or twice and brought snacks and balms (his grandparents love you)

so off the Phantom Thieves went, and you guys all went to work changing five hearts back to back

holy shit, their shadows in Mementos were just as brutal, all of them having their own special foul play or bad attitudes in some type of way even in combat (Yamazaki was the one who didn’t use foul play, but he had brute strength)

the PT succeeded in changing their hearts but got dark bruises and deep cuts in exchange

you in particular had it the worst

you took it upon yourself to play decoy/bait for all the shadows’s battles separately to let the other members finish it all of with All-Out-Attacks for each of them

you chuckled to yourself at how deja vu it all was to you, and you now kinda see what Teppei was talking about when he was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of his friends

Haru was trying to wrap bandages on your forearms and lower biceps while Ann was applying alcohol to cuts on your legs and a few on your face

when you were treated, you were mostly fine, save for a few blue bruises peeking through everywhere and the abundance of white wraps around your limbs and a bandage or two plastered across your cheek

Joker ordered you to stay home for the next week, and you were fine with it; it would be way too suspicious to show up to school looking completely beaten up

so you were just chilling on the couch, flinching every now and then when your skin brushes over the fabric a little too fast or when your wounds touch anything, to be honest

meanwhile, Teppei was still at home recovering, but he pushed himself to at least be able to go to school starting the next day

day 2 crawled by, and now you’re really feeling the injuries now; everything was beyond sore and that didn’t even account for the natural exhaustion your body felt from coming back after a metaverse trip

in other words, you got double whammied and your body ached to move

you weren’t immobilized but you really preferred to sleep it off all day

you knew that at this time, Teppei would probably push himself to go to school today to see you, so you sighed before you reached for your phone

you texted Riko to tell Teppei that you had gotten sick IF he asked about you; you didn’t want to text Teppei directly because you knew he would immediately come over to your house and then see you in your state, but not letting anyone know where you were would send your poor boyfriend in a panic

you also didn’t want him to worry about you when he had his own body to worry about first

second day passed by without much incident surprisingly, and so you decided to check your phone to see a text from Riko from earlier:

I told Teppei not to bother you or visit you because you needed to recover without any distractions, and him coming over or texting you would just make you not get the rest you needed. Hope you get better soon!

Riko, the MVP

today’s the third day, and your wounds were still so obvious; Joker was right, you were gonna need at least a week

but being absent for a week was also suspicious in itself for student attendance

you heard a distinct knock knock on your house door and you knew you couldn’t avoid Teppei any longer

you shuffled yourself to the door, muttering a few curses of pain here and there before you quietly clicked the door open

when Teppei saw you littered in injuries, he was at first shocked, then confused, then heartbroken that you hid this all from him, and then furious

“Who did this to you?”

“I—uhhhhhhhhh—”

“... Why’d you hide this from me?”

he pushed the door further and let himself in, ignoring your weak protests

he gently scoops you up, gives you a forehead kiss, and walks you over to your room to gently place you on the edge of the bed; he settles himself on the floor beneath you

he looks up at you imploringly to tell him, his arms reaching up with his abnormally large hands to cup your cheeks, thumbing the bandaid on your cheek

“Please… tell me.”

he never uses pleas in these sorts of contexts because he’d feel like he would be pressuring/coercing you into doing something you weren’t comfortable with, but when he did, you knew he was serious, and your resolve easily crumbled

so you spent the rest of the day telling about your double life as the Phantom Thief while he hugged you from behind with his chin on your head

when you finished explaining the basic concepts and the steps to change a heart, Teppei grew silent until he said:

“You still haven’t told me where you got the bruises from.”

“Huh? Didn’t I just tell you that we have to literally battle shadow monsters to change people’s hearts?”

Teppei hums but he taps on the bandaid on your cheek

“You sound like you’ve been doing this for a while, yet this is the first time where you went absent from school, let alone sustain injuries to this degree.”

Shit, you were going to leave out stuff regarding the Kirisaki Daiichi, but sometimes, you forget that Teppei is actually quite sharp despite his oblivious demeanor

so you shyly confessed the rest of the events you hid from him, afraid of how he’ll react once he hears what they did in combat

“I see…” he trailed off, and you held your breath

“And from what you said, they’ll change?...”

you nodded and said, “They won’t be terrorizing any more basketball teams with their dirty plays.”

“That’s a relief,” he sighed. “Although…

I don’t like the idea of you being hurt by their hands.”

“Glad to know our feelings are mutual,” you dryly replied.

he gave a hearty laugh for the first time that day

“I guess so.”

first operation of business once you mostly recovered was to tell the PT that your boyfriend knew and how he came to know about them; everyone took it rather well once you explained yourself and trusted you to keep Teppei in check

thankfully, you don’t get those awful wounds again, but once in a while, when you do come in with a nasty bruise or two, Teppei comes into your house with takeout food and applies a bunch of ice packs for you

Aomine Daiki

you were really good at sports

like... really good at it

sometimes during PE, you would do random trickshots with the ball in the respective sport for the day, or you would do a rather skillful maneuvering to dodge incoming balls from other players, and Aomine LOVED watching his little significant other wiping the floor with your classmates

he, being way too excited at the possibility that you might actually be a challenge for him, challenged you to a one-on-one in basketball

on the street court, you moved as if you were one with the ball, guiding its course as you ducked under his protruding arm, sidestep him as you predicted his change of pace, doing really elaborate spins as you avoided him with ease

were you striking flamboyant poses every time you made a hoop??

he obviously won, but you gave him way too much trouble for someone who he hardly ever saw play basketball

“hey, were you secretly practicing basketball for years and you just never told me?”

you just shrugged and said that you sometimes played for fun with your relatives, but even Aomine, who’s a general idiot, didn’t 100% buy that reasoning 

he first thought you were just a Kise 2.0 who had the natural talent to copy and learn from people really fast… but the more he thought about it, the more it didn’t make any sense

where the fuck would you copy a spin-duck-juke-flip combo move? those movements were nowhere close to the orthodox forms of any sport

one day, while he was still thinking about you on the rooftop, he called Momoi

“Oi, Satsuki, research up my (y/n), yeah?”

after being startled out of her wits that he directly asked her for a favor, she went right to work, closely examining you during PE for the next few days

meanwhile, Aomine has just been poking and prodding about where you learned those moves (spoiler alert: he was clinging onto you and draping his lanky arms all over you to get you to fess up)

Momoi’s results: you were extremely agile and nimble like Aomine but you had a huge streak in creativity and craftiness, especially when outsmarting your “opponent”

you were pretty good at balancing your phantom thief life, love life, and school life (you always finished up homework during school, Aomine always naps up the rooftop in the evening and you had the free time to leave for your PT time)

however, when Aomine started getting clingier because he was so damn curious about you, you were no longer able to slip away and use the excuse of “I have a particular schedule and curfew because of my family” because he’d insist he’ll walk you

you then had the idea to let him walk you to your house first, then wait until he leaves, and then go meet up with the PT gang

it worked for a couple weeks, but the added physical work of walking to your home, and waiting for him to leave, and then you dashing to the hideout to make it on time really leaves you beyond exhausted especially after you go on dungeon grinds

in other words, you started sleeping in class a lot and slept on Aomine during lunchtime at the rooftop (which he at first did NOT complain)

he only really started being suspicious when you out-slept him; he’d always wake up in the evenings just to see you still snoozing

you overslept one evening and when you straightened yourself awake and checked your time, you visibly paled and in a panic, grabbed your bag and booked it without a goodbye

you forgot about a confused Aomine who was right next to you

as you dashed to your destination, he was right behind you, worried about what exactly happened that got you so distressed

you headed to a particular coffee shop in Yongen-Jaya (don’t worry, Touou Academy is located in Tokyo as well), and when you sharply rounded a corner, you activated the metaverse app, accidentally sucking in a trailing Aomine

“Wow,” Aomine whistled, after recovering from his shock from seeing you in a more extravagant/raunchier attire. “Babe, you look great.”

you inwardly sighed

out of all things, the first thing on his mind was how you looked, and definitely not the fact that the atmosphere was all distorted

“Daiki, sit tight… I’ll be back.” you pushed a protesting bluehead out of the metaverse before you turned to your PT friends who were watching the ordeal silently

“This looks like deja vu, doesn’t it Mona.”

“Ugh, I still haven’t forgotten what you did, Ryuji.”

“Lady Ann, I would never handle you like that—”

“Liar.”

you all did business as usual, and you asked Joker if you could at least explain to your boyfriend the basic going-ons; he nodded

the next day after the information sunk into Aomine’s dense head, he still wanted to see you in your phantom thief outfit (you smacked his arm)

still, it finally explained why you were unbelievably nimble

from now on, every free time you had together, he drags you to the court to play one-on-one’s; he might even practice and pick up some of your own moves to use in his games

when you’re exhausted (quite often), he always offers up his shoulder for you to sleep on, or even better, lets you sit between his legs as you lean against his chest, cradled between his arms

after Aomine dumps off his old porn mags to Ryuji, they suddenly become best friends JWBWITBWJ jk, but in all honesty, Aomine was surprised to see Ryuji expressing the same level of passion (about track) like Aomine does for basketball (apparently Yusuke’s passion for art flies over Aomine’s head because “I don’t get it, they’re just scribbles”)

you guys may or may not teach each other different parkour moves, just for fun

Midorima Shintarou

when you first met him, he found it super odd that you didn’t find his obsession with oha asa off-putting at all

sure, you raised a brow when you first found out, but you never really joked about it nor did you seem to care right after

“Is that your lucky charm today, Midorima?” indicating to his ziplock of herbs

“Yes.” he adjusted his frames “Today is an average day for cancers like me, nanodayo”

“Okay”

“Okay?” he thought, caught off guard not only at the fact that you were the first person to bring up that it was a lucky item in a conversation, but you being so casually accepting as well

usually people ask him the more logical question what the hell he was holding rather than if what he had was a lucky item

he chastised himself for overthinking, he probably had a particular reputation and thought rumors spread to most people about his oddities, and that you weren’t an exception

in truth, you saw way more concerning things than some green haired boy holding a phone book around

in other words, the only way to really make you shook is to just pull out something scarier than all those shadows from the metaverse

besides, Joker has a few weird inventory items of his own: moonlight carrots, random accessories and weird trinkets as weapons and gears… you name it, he’s got it all

honestly, Midorima just reminded you of Joker in terms of both of them having the weirdest items but then turning out to be unexpectedly useful sometimes, and you’re just really amused

Midorima would probably start crushing on you once he was panicking because he thought he was careless when losing his lucky item (in reality: Takao decided to fuck around with him), and after you noticed his visible distress, you offered your dried squid (which you coincidentally packed for lunch today as a snack)

you heard him mumbling about where the squid was and so you handed him your package and asked him if this was the lucky item for today

once he quickly nodded, you tossed it him and said that it was his to take

Midorima was sputtering, oh no

he’s fallen and he can’t get up

after beating the ever living shit out of Takao, he’d reluctantly confess that he’s “interested” in you; Takao got the memo and cackled

next few weeks pass by with you two making small talk before class and during breaks, with a snickering Takao always nearby

Takao, being wingman, invites you to watch a Shutoku home game (cue Midorima staring daggers)

so you showed up, and boy you were SHOOK

no shadow would ever be able to do some accurate shots and aiming like that

so it kind of became a ritual of yours to go to the home games whenever you can (if PT activities didn’t interfere), plus you’d figure Joker would do something similar to learn skills useful for the PT

so you decided to observe the team (mainly Midorima) and maybe watch their moves to see if you can apply them to battle

oh, why is he so good-looking even when he’s especially sweaty and—

Midorima will never admit it, but he always looks for your face when he walks into the court before he relaxes 

“Shin-chan, looking for your lover?”

“Shut up, Takao.” 

but his blushing gives him away so badly and Takao keeps busting out laughs, holding his stomach

your presence kinda became Midorima’s new lucky charm for the games

and you two got closer now that you had new topics to talk about (basketball and other hobbies)

it was only until Midorima asked about what you did in your free time that you stopped and just went silent, caught off guard that he was interested in your life beyond school

“Uhhhhhhh…” you couldn’t tell him you steal hearts on the downlow

“I just… do a lot of volunteering”

“Is that so, nanodayo.” he didn’t deliver it as a question, as he narrowed his eye at your reaction (where you were generally normally collected)

one day after school, when Midorima went to go look for you, he found you with Joker

and you looked very close with him

jealousy as green as his moppy hair reared its ugly head and he didn’t know whether to approach you or leave you be… until Takao pushed him from behind

“O-oi!”

“Ah, Midorima! There you are! I was waiting for you!” you called him over, while Joker was silently assessing the green-haired man from the glint of his frames

he awkwardly headed over to you, and you introduced Midorima and Joker together and you told Mido that Joker was a really good friend and coworker

“You work, nanodayo?”

wait wait wait shit that was a bad slipup—

“(y/n) works with me sometimes on several odd jobs around Tokyo—”

“A-and I volunteer afterwards!...”

Joker gives you a look of exasperation and “you suck ass at lying, holy crap”

you wanted to slowly introduce your crush to your PT friends, so you did, every week, you’d ask each one/two to come to Shutoku where you’d introduce them to Midorima

Midorima is secretly happy that you’re opening up about your personal life to him, although he constantly gets a naggy feeling that something wasn’t right, especially when your “friends” kept acting weird sometimes when he asked the specific questions of:

“Do you guys always hang out?”

“Where do you guys even meet up if I never saw (l/n) with you anywhere near Shutoku?”

“How’d you guys meet?”

“How long have you been friends?”

oh no, this was gonna go south for you fast

thankfully, your friends were decent actors (Ann, not you) 

Midorima really vibes with Yusuke’s wavelength, and Yusuke praises Midorima for “his expression of art through the use of his lucky charms”

Midorima feels weirdly happy that someone for the first time is unabashedly praising him about his superstitions LMAO

anywho, so you and Midorima were kind of in the “more than friends” situation as time went on, but he was still frustrated that he wasn’t exactly “close” to you emotionally; he knew you were hiding something from him

one day, you stopped coming to his games for 4 consecutive games

Midorima is kind of dying

he’s dying and really scared that you’re not into him or he did something wrong, but he’d rather die than ever admit it

one day you approached him really nervously, and ask him to come with you to an area in Shibuya aND HE THINKS YOU’RE GONNA BREAK UP WITH HIM EVEN THOUGH YOU GUYS AREN’T EVEN OFFICIAL

you start apologizing at the fact that you couldn’t come to his games and Midorima insisted it wasn’t a problem (yes it was, he was so stressed)

actually, for the past few weeks you were hoping your PT gang would approve Midorima and later on you hoped to tell him about your thievery with your friends’ approvals

you bring him to your PT gang and from there all of you explained what you all did, confessed what you all were hiding, etc. (they trusted him as per your begging and pleas)

you told Midorima that you couldn’t make his games recently because of those PT activities

he thought you all just lost it and he thought you were mixed up with some crackhead junkies and tried to pull your arm to leave ASAP

but Joker just gives a smirk before he activated the metanav and sucked everyone in

Midorima’s reaction is like Makoto’s when she first witnessed the metaverse

after the whole ordeal and him digesting the information, from that point on, he gives you small lucky items/charms and makes you take them along in your inventories “just in case” but we all know it’s because he’s worried for your safety

oh and you officially became a couple ( ˘ ³˘)♥

bonus: you pester Midorima to teach you how to “shoot” more accurately/farther to help with your PT battles especially in throwing projectiles like *model* daggers and shurikens

he gets along best with Yusuke and Makoto

Akashi Seijuro

so in this au, the PT gang more or less goes to Rakuzan with you or at least goes to a school near yours in Kyoto

this headcanon also takes place shortly after “Last Game,” so his “Oreshi” side reigns

so since the o.g. PT originated in a Kyoto school (in this AU, rather than Shujin Academy), Akashi, as student council president, had more or less heard it from the principal to be wary of this similar “prank” with other kids, and to give harsher discipline if anyone was caught doing so

honestly Akashi thought these people were really over-reacting to mere rumors, but he’ll do what he’s gotta do to maintain order at school

nothing escapes this guy’s eye, literally

he noticed how you’re paying more attention to any nearby conversations that mention the key phrase, “phantom thieves”

“Darling, is something the matter?”

“Oh, sorry, I was just curious in what they were saying,” you said, tugging his hand with yours as you walked on ahead

you weren’t lying at the moment, his eye didn’t see any signs that you often did when you do lie

you knew being a phantom thief while dating THE Akashi Seijuro was a suicide mission but you literally prayed to fucking Igor that your acting skills were sufficient enough in getting past his radar (you asked Joker to help you with this; never ask Ann for acting tips)

Joker suggested for you to try to give half truths, and when you give whole truths, to make them vague and casual enough

for the next month, it was all fine, Akashi hadn’t suspect a thing and things were going uphill for the phantom thieves as well

your group was getting coverage from even the big news channels

but if something grows popular, there’s bound to be gossip, malicious slander, and lies

Akashi was just getting overwhelmed by requests from administration and faculty to try to control the students’ enthusiasm for the PT and deter their efforts in openly showing support

of course, you help him with his paperwork often 

you’re just reading all these papers and you’re trying to stifle your laughs

“What’s so funny, love?” he teased, eyes narrowing affectionately at you

“They’re just really ridiculous.” you were honestly dying at the fact that some kids think the PT members were super spy agents from abroad sent to undermine society

and he had to admit, they were, and he responded with a light chuckle of his own

the next day, while you two were cooped up in the student council room to sort through papers, a female student timidly walked into the room and asked for help specifically from Akashi

a PE teacher was allegedly touching female students, and she happened to be one of the victims; none of the adults took her seriously so she hoped Akashi would appeal to them

you were next to him, gritting your teeth and digging your nails into your palms as you were hearing this scared girl being forced to turn to another peer because she couldn’t get help from any adults around

Akashi vows to make her request his top priority and you swore you found another reason to love this redhead of yours

as soon as the student left, Akashi squeezed your shoulder to comfort you and you put your own hand over his, squeezing it back

“Don’t worry. Leave it to me, my love.”

you smiled, although in your head, you’re planning to tell this to the PT to settle this in a different manner

mission success, you changed the heart of the teacher and news spread like wildfire in Rakuzan once he confessed and turned himself in

everyone hailed Akashi as a hero, since the female student thought he must’ve did something

Akashi might’ve talked to some other teachers to convince them to speak out the other day, but he didn’t do anything to warrant such a drastic change in the perpetrator’s behavior

he frowned; you were the only one with him at the time the student asked for help

as more news of PT pop up, this incident was too convenient to call it a coincidence 

it’s time that the two you had a talk

as he walked briskly around campus, trying to look for you, he noticed you and the PT gang together; he’s seen them around with you for the longest time and knew they were your friends, and none of them raised any alarms in his head… until now

“Hey, (y/n), are you sure it was okay to change his heart right after you heard that student’s request?”

“Yusuke, I… know it’d look really conspicuous considering the surge in news coverage,” you started. “But the point of us starting this thing was to help others in need! If we’re just waiting around to keep a low cover just for our own convenience, then what’s the point of being Phantom Thieves?”

Akashi stopped in his place, amazed at your resolve

“... Shall we finish the rest of the Memento requests?” a deep voice rang out, belonging to a certain ravenette, Joker

everyone nods, a unanimous decision 

the metanav activates, and Akashi immediately noticed the change in atmosphere 

he tried to escape it but once it activated, it already pulled him in

the PT members don’t notice him and they walked a few meters ahead onto the tracks, until Futaba cried out that there was a strong shadow

“Guys, careful! Powerful shadow detected right at the entrance of Mementos!”

“Bwah?—that’s impossible!” Morgana hopped to try to look at Futaba’s screen

as everyone runs back to the location, you gasped

“A-Akashi?”

no… there were two Akashi’s, one of them the real person, and the other his shadow

Akashi looks completely lost; it was like facing his “other” dominant self again except it wasn’t in his mind

it was real

“I thought we decided to become one again,” Akashi calmly spoke to his other self

“We have… but a part of you is hesitant to accept the new side that embodies both sides of the same coin that is you.”

“Isn’t that your significant other, (y/n)?” Makoto whispered, and you could only nod as your throat became dry

“Shouldn’t we help him?—” Haru started

“No,” you quietly whispered

it was something he needed to confront alone

Joker nods in understanding as everyone continued to watch, ready to jump in to help in case something goes awry

“You’re still afraid,” his shadow continued. “You still feel the guilt from how you treated others when you were me.”

Akashi said nothing, not denying a single thing the shadow said

“You’re correct, and while I am still wary of you,” he began. “I’m no longer alone. I have friends and a special someone to protect, and they would do the same for me.”

“What if you end up hurting them again? Maybe you’ll hurt your precious lover,” his shadow taunted

“Then they can deal with me however they see fit,” Akashi spoke with resolve. “Until then, I will be someone who will carry himself with dignity and share kindness with others like a true king.”

long story short, Akashi became a persona user after the iconic “I am thou, thou art I” monologue

Akashi took the pain of attaining the persona like a badass with such calmness; the only indication that gave away the fact that he was in pain was that he collapsed onto a knee and winced as he held his head with one hand, the other hand on the floor to stabilize himself

his mask would be like an extravagant masquerade ball mask, with three long, pointy feathers attached to the right side of the mask to give Akashi the silhouette that he’s wearing a tiny crown on the side of his head

Akashi’s attire would definitely have a blazer cape and a simple earring similar to Howl’s from Howl’s Moving Castle; lots of mahogany/burgundy/scarlet + browns color schemes

imagine after an All-Out-Attack, Akashi’s finishing screen says “My Orders Are Absolute” as you hear his voice say “Lower your head” over that

at first, Morgana suggested the codename as “King,” and while it would make sense, Makoto was already “Queen” and you rejected that idea on the spot for obvious reasons

Yusuke was very occupied gushing dramatically over Akashi’s PT outfit and how the colors just worked so well together with his hair too, and he suggested the name “Crimson” or “Scarlet”

it stuck (you can choose which you like better)

while Akashi isn’t an official member of the PT, he’s informed just as much as the official members, and he goes when he feels like the mission is a bit more dangerous than usual in order to protect you ｡•́‿•̀｡

he and Makoto would get along well since they’re both student council presidents and both love to strategize

however, Akashi is different; while Makoto analyzes shadow weaknesses, moves, and potential item drops, he provides position strategies since he noticed everyone just kind of stands adjacent to each other and directly in front of the enemy shadows

he likes to apply basketball systems of defense/offense depending on the situation of ambush to fully utilize each member’s abilities (like how he does with Rakuzan’s team)

once Joker introduces Akashi to Akechi and Hifumi, he’s over the moon

Akechi and Akashi are so similar in wit and personality (Bokushi side though, not as much the current Akashi) that Joker thinks he made the mistake of introducing two formidable figures together

he’s very impressed with Hifumi, and although he’ll still win the shogi matches against her, he acknowledges her as the best challenge he’s had since a long time 

you were kinda jealous that he was spending a lot of time with Hifumi playing back-to-back matches but he made it up to you with cuddles

you and Akashi are the power couple™️

imagine yours and Akashi’s showtime together !!

End Note: howdy there! if you would like to see more persona 5/knb crossover headcanons, just submit over names of other knb characters you would like to see this particular headcanon for hehe

[lyndiscealin]

Akio - Part II

“Boyfriend?” Josten snorts in sarcasm and before he could say something more, Riko stopped him:

“Don’t hurt him. This isn’t about him, he has nothing to do with this.”

Minyard’s eyes narrowed slightly and Josten’s zeroed in on him. Good. The less attention they gave Arthur the better.

“What, because you want to do it yourself? Or did you finally find someone as sick as you?”

They slowly drew attention to their table, but Riko couldn’t care less. It was their problem if they made a scene, not his.

Arthur still stood in front of the table, unmoving, not questioning, relentless. It was amazing how he just trusted him that these people were assholes and not him being one. The prospect of losing this hurt so much, he nearly couldn’t bear it. But he had to. It was his fault and his fault alone that this happened. You reap what you sow after all.

“It’s okay, Arthur.” He said as calmly as possible. “I’m sorry this has to end like this.”

He pulled out some bills and laid them beside his half eaten pizza. The ring in his pants pocket felt heavy as he stood up.

“We will talk later. I have to work this out on my own with them.”

Arthur still didn’t move, he just looked at him with worry in his eyes. “You are not going with them. I will call the police if you do.”

“No, you won’t. Arthur, it’s okay. Don’t call the police. Never call them for me, you understand? Never.”

Arthur looked visibly taken aback, but before he could react further Riko stepped in the direction of the exit: “Later, Arthur.”

There wouldn’t be a later, but the lie was necessary so Arthur would stay out of this. Riko was okay with dying through Minyard’s or Josten’s hands, but he wouldn’t be able to just stand by when they would turn on Arthur, because the idiot thought Riko was worth saving.

He hadn’t even reached the middle of the empty alley half a block away from the restaurant, when someone slammed him face first into the wall.

Josten stepped beside him, so it had to be Minyard who now took his arm and twisted it behind his back until his shoulder nearly dislocated.

“What are you doing here?”, Josten asked coldly. “And don’t even think about lying. You are not the only one who knows how torture works and I am sure we know a few tricks more than you.”

He hated feeling helpless. The feeling crawled up his throat, constricted around his ribcage and pooled hot in his stomach. The lust for blood rose, his head getting foggier by the second. It took everything to stay in the present, to not give in to the sick craving. He bucked on instinct against Minyard’s grip, which sent a hot jolt through his shoulder and resulted in Minyard slamming his body against the wall again in warning.

“I’m in the mafia equivalent of Whitsec.”, he pressed through gritted teeth. “Ichirou kicked me out of the family, gave me a bit of money and said he would kill me if he ever saw my face again. Personally or through the media. He changed my name to Akio Yamaguchi. For all he cares Riko is dead. I live here, nothing else.”

A scream wanted to tear his body apart, but he only managed a gasp when Minyard rammed a fist into his kidney. He would have fallen to the ground if the Midget hadn’t held him by his arm still. His shoulder screamed in agony. “Fuck you!”, he spat, his fingers digging into the wall in front of him in a desperate attempt to not lash out. The dull ache of his fingertips being scraped open was barely noticeable over everything else.

“Why should we believe you?”

“Why the fuck are you asking if you won’t accept the truth anyway? I know what this is. Don’t look for excuses to hurt me more and just do it. Or can’t you bear the thought that you are having fun, doing this? Does it feel good, finally getting your revenge? Do you like the adrenaline rush of looking at someone helpless and knowing they are hurting? It’s nice, isn’t it? When did you realise that you are as sick as me?”

There was an odd pressure at his back for a second and then a warm feeling. Riko’s eyes widened in realisation.

“I was ten when I planned my first murder”, he heard Minyard’s voice, but it sounded odd. Too far away. When his arm was released, he just crumbled to the ground and the last thing he heard were bones snapping. It was just a dull sensation in his left hand at this point. Then everything turned black.

[ourneverendingpossibilities]

Salute! You have turned out such a cool post about Kirisaki as an older brother! He prompted me to this request: Can I ask headcannons Lady knb (Aida Riko, Momoi Satsuki, Arekusandora Garushia, Araki Masako) as your young sister? Thank you in advance) I Wish you health and success!)

Hi there! Of course you can!! I hope you enjoy these! And thanks for requesting the ladies of KNB! (There’s never enough for them!!) I hope you’re staying safe and well!!! :D _______

Alex: 

She was the rebel of the family, always attracted unwanted attention.

When she had to stop playing basketball due to her illness, you were there to support her in every way.. From helping her sneak out of the house to play street ball, to bandaging her up when she got into fights.

You were the one who encouraged her to take on Kagami and Himuro as her disciples, saying it would be a good way to give back when she couldn’t play.

You were her biggest fan, and always made sure she was given as much love and affection as possible.. (Sometimes she would be teased by the men. Other times she’d be beating them up for daring to make fun.)

You had to push her off when she’d constantly try to kiss you... (Some days you’d let her do it.. Because you knew she was upset...) But if she was sick, you made sure she stayed as far away from you as possible... (You didn’t want to catch her cold!)

You weren’t much of a sports person, but you at least learned about the sport enough to help when necessary... (Because you wanted to have some things in common with her, and be able to help out when she tried to take on too much.)

Masako:

Like Alex, she was a rebel growing up. Usually took manners into her own hands..

She had anger issues, and with your help, was able to enroll in a Kendo class, to learn how to control them.

Rarely cried... Always hid her emotions from everyone. But because you were her older sister, you could see through that mask.

You dealt with her attitude on a regular basis, and had to remind her to be kind and polite.. (Though when it came to men and their lack of discipline, she doesn’t hold back.)

Would always put on a brave face because she never wanted to disappoint you or bother you with her problems... After having to wrestle it out of her, she would cry for being such a pest, and you’d console her, telling her everything will be okay! (And she’s allowed to come to you with her problems.. It’s what you’re there for!)

Momoi:

She attracted EVERYONE’S attention. Whether it was male or female. And not always in a positive way.

You spent most of your time chasing away men who tried to get with her, while handling the few females that would bully her because she attracted all the males. 

When things went south at Teiko, you were there to help her through it.. Though you tried to convince her to leave Aomine alone, (because of the way he treated her.)

But she rebelled, saying it was her job to make sure Aomine didn’t get into trouble... And because of that, it was your job to look out after her... (Most of the time it involved shopping trips.)

Momoi admitted to being jealous of you because you were a different type of pretty... (In the sense people saw you for who you were, and not just because of your assets the way she’s seen a lot.) In which case, you’d tell her there’s nothing to be ashamed of.. And the right people will love her, because you’ve always known she was special..

Studying with her was always fun and challenging... (Because both of you were equally smart, and so you’d both throw in curveballs to keep each other thinking.)

Riko:

Keeping up with Riko was HARD. Even if you were the older one, she was more determined and focused with sports and training.. While you focused more on studies and having fun.

You’d both go on morning jogs together... But you never overworked yourself the way she did... And you chose to play on a team, instead of coaching one.

You’d occasionally be her guinea pig, when it came to relationships and cooking... (Though you always had the doctor on standby because she nearly killed you five different times.)

When you realized she couldn’t cook, at all... you made a compromise... You’d do more training with her, if she allowed YOU to do the cooking.. (Because it was hard for you to tell her she was terrible at it.)

She was very much a troublesome child, in the sense she didn’t open up about her feelings much... And it took a lot of your time and patience to get her to crack... But, when she did, you took her to the gym and let her beat out her frustrations on the punching bag... 

When she was a young girl, Riko always cuddled with you... Especially when she was sick.

[sadboyayeron]

THE ONLY VALID MORIYAMA Nikoshi Doe

I came up with this Idea of Kevin having to raise Rikos son who’s name I decide would be Nikoshi Doe aka Niko

Enjoy

So If you Read “Tapping on my Chamber door” 

You know Nikoshi’s mother, Naima Dixon was born in Jamaica but came to the states at a young age after her mom past away.  She lived in the Bronx with her Aunt. She had tight curls aften in box breads or corn cornrows and dark skin with light brown eyes. She was 5’8.  Had a muscular build from all the years of track and had a scholarship to run at Eager Allen University. She was soon to have a spot on the olympic team for long jump, 100, 200 and 400 meters. She was then pregnant with Nikoshi after her and Riko started there little hook up.  The knew of each other but they first met in class.  She noticed Riko looking at her.

“Like what you see.”  I was trying to catch him off guard but he didn’t even look surprise.  But then he smiled.  Something sharp that left me feeling tingly, similar to how I feel before racing.  

“Not to bad, no.”  He chuckled, looked me up and down before he landed back on my eyes, “Want to sit.”

He left me in a trance and I took a seat next to him and sat my books in front of me.  I tucked some braids behind my ear and looked at him again, he was looking back with a smug smile on his face.  

At first I was thinking Nikoshi was Rikos frozen sperm and his mother was forced by Rikos uncle to have him BUT I decide that Riko died before he knew about Naima being pregnant She found out she was pregnant and went to Riko’s uncle for help and he said to give him the kid and she could get her scholarship Back.  So she agreed naming him “Nico” but sadly she died while giving birth from bleeding out. Tesuji doesn’t use that name and changes it to ‘Nikoshi’ stripping him of any last name (Doe) putting the kid into the system in the same place she grow up in Bronx. Ichirou is informed of Nikoshi ten years later after having his Uncle killed. Who then informs kevin.

Nikoshi is from the Bronx has a accent when he speaks. He knows Spanish because of the amount of Dominican and Puerto Rican foster parents he’s had.  Kinda understands broken english two because one of his foster brothers was from Jamaica which is cool because he knows he’s half Jamaican and some type of asian. He wears beat up high top jordan 1s baggy ripped jeans and long sleeves with a baggy jacket. He plays soccer because the system put him on a team and he’s very fast. He didn’t have much clothes but his best ones are the uniforms and he’s fine with that. He also plays street basketball and baseball with some kids in the area.

Kevin has to take Nikoshi in, according to Ichirou. Bringing Neil and Andrew with him. Ichirou just sent him a picture a kid and he was confused until he got that call that explained everything. He doesn’t need to explain who the kid is because you can clearly tell from the picture. Though the kid has milk cholclate skin, and curly hair that falls around his head in a fro.

When he frist sees Nico he has a scrape scab on his cheek, bruises on his wrist and purple knuckles. His ears a surprisingly pierced.

They find out Nikoshi Doe goes by Niko, he likes chocolate and cafe con leche (coffee), he likes shoes, he likes the color green, he uses a lot of slang and sometimes uses broken english and spanglish words, he’s quite but hyper and doesn’t know how to say still, asks why a lot, he hates math and likes to read, he loves listening to music it’s his safe place, he was diagnosed with ADHD/ADD and takes a pill in the morning and after noon on school days, he doesn’t like the way the pills make him feel, he likes Bee, Bee suspects Niko my be Borderline but it’s hard to tell, Kevin explains Riko was too.  When they go to pick up Nikoshi they are informed of his diagnoses. 

“So Kevin Day, It is very nice to meet you my husband loves watching you guys play Exy,” She smiled at them and then opened a drawer in her desk pulling out two folders.“ Now these paper were just printed out today.  One from Nikoshi’s Doctor and another from his psychologist.”  Kevin straightened his back more at that.

“Psychologist?”  She looked up at Kevin.

“Yes, a lot of children in foster care go to see a therapist.  It helps cope with abandonment and makes sure the kids are transitioning well in their new homes.”  She opened one of the folders.  “Nikoshi saw a therapist who recommended him to a psychologist.  He was diagnosed with ADHD/ADD and given medication.  He went through three different medications before he was put on Focalin XR.  His biggest issues are impulsivity, managing feelings, and energy.  There is more information in the folder with getting the prescription at a pharmacy and things to know about his behavior.  He takes Focalin every morning before school, its not needed on the weekends but to long off it isn’t the best idea.  Though if you want him off the medication, if you ever come to adopting him you can do that.”  She looked towards the other two. “Will you two be helping take care of Nikoshi.”

“Yeah we are, is there anything else we need to know.  If he needs a therapist we already got that covered.  We can send her the information.”  Neil replied with a bored tone but

“Thats good to know, he just saw the doctor last week.  He gained some weight and is now at a more healthier weight then he was before.”  She sighed. “You have to reminded him to eat, he forgets to and he doesn't ask for food.  The foster home he was just at was good with keeping a schedule, he ate, took his meds, ate at school, had a snack at home, soccer practice and then dinner.  He gets distracted and has little habits that cause him focus to much on random things.  The meds take away his hunger also, so it important that he finishes.”  She then closed both folders and stacked them together before sliding them to Kevin.  

Kevin didn’t know how to process that.  This information sounded to familiar.  He always had to remind Riko to eat something.  Riko would go days without eating, or sleeping, or even both.  It got so bad the master had to tube feed him because he past out and didn’t get back up.  Niko always got back up.  He was taken out of his thoughts when the lady, Jennifer stood.  He picked up the folders and got up following Andrew and Neil out the door.  Nikoshi was still sitting in his chair, he was singing his legs slowly and seemed fixated on his hands.

“Nikoshi, these gentlemen here are going to be your new guardians,”  Niko looked up at them.  He got a better look at there faces, now that the glasses were off he could easily recognize who the taller man was with the chess piece on his cheek bone.  He was confused o say the least.  This had to be some sick joke, or a stupid stuPID dream.  He looked at the other too, the screw that littered the red heads tan face and the man with blond hair and black studs.

“Deadass?”  He blurted out suddenly.  Fuck.  He did not mean to blurt that out.  Kevin day looked taken back by his statement and the other too snickered from slightly behind him.  The lady looked horrified.

Riko used to self harm, stop eating for days, wouldn’t sleep for days either.  His uncle had to force him into a tube feeder once because of this.  Kevin and Riko had to see a therapist and she diagnosed Riko. His uncle disregarded it and gave him sum type of pills that made Riko’s anger at himself turn down a bit but he was more depressed. He tried to commit 3 times after. Kevin made him promise not to. He flushed the pills and started to abuse others.

Kevin explains this to Neil and Andrew.  They then try to learn more about BPD.  They watch youtube videos, read articles and books on it till they had a better understanding of the disorder.  They learn about the self-destructive tendencies and suicidal gestures that are quite common with the disorder.  They all try there best to build a good support system. 

Niko has a hard time with his identity and ‘who he is’,  he tries to remember that Kevin wants him and isn't going to abandon him, he tries to keep his shifts in moods to himself but in only makes things worse.  He tends to shut down in his room more often then not.  He finds himself getting angry at little things knowing he shouldn’t but he still does.  Anger attacks aren't as bad as the empty feeling he gets sometimes.

When Niko meets all the foxes he drifts more towards Nicky for whatever reason.  He finds that he like Nickys happy vibes and feels it radiate from him.  He likes to soak in it.

Niko likes talking to Neil, he gets candy from Andrew, and he likes playing Exy with Kevin. He didn’t like school and says it’s hard for him but he still makes honor roll no problem.

During the second month of school when he first started living with Kevin he expriences racism for maybe the first time.  He didn’t have any friends, nor knew anybody.  He could tell he was different from the other kids.  They were mostly white with a splash of color here and there.  The way they talked and walked was different then how he did.  He didn’t grew up with white picket fences like they seemed to.  They dressed different too.  He didn’t like the stares he was getting from the kids in his class.

“Nice hair are you a girl?”  One of the boys said, with his little click at his back.  It was recess and Niko stuck to staying to himself drawling in his note book that Andrew gave him. 

“No.”  The boys continued to laugh.  He hated when people talked about his hair.  He didn't like his hair.  Especially when his foster mothers always tugged and pulled on it.  That wasn't just it though.  It reminded him of his foster father Mr. James.

“Such pretty hair.”

The boys crept closers and Niko started to feel closed in.  One of them pulled out scissors and two grabbed him by the shoulders.  One talked about how there dad said them Black boys need to cut there hair.  Another used a slur Niko heard a lot back in the Bronx, used it himself when with the kids in the neighborhood but he never heard it used like this.  He started to struggle but another one grabbed his face and held him down so his face fell between his knees.  He felt chuncks of hair being cut of from his head as they fell down his back and some at his feet.  

He felt his eyes water and struggled harder.  He kicked the one to his right in the shin, knowing how much it hurt from when he played soccer with out shin guards.  The kids let go of that shoulder and he swung his arm hitting another kid.  They all let go once they heard a teacher yell at them.  Niko reached for the scissors and threw them in the grass.  The boys ran away and Niko was left to look at the small and large chunks of his hair on the concrete.  He didn’t mean to bother anybody.  He didn't ask to have this type of hair.  He didn’t ask to be different.  Sometimes he missed the Bronx but then remembered his foster sister getting shot, and his doped up foster parents he used to end up with.  He didn't want to go back, but he found himself missing it sometimes.

Nobody asked abut his hair during the rest of the school day.  Not even his teacher.  Its fine he didn't want to bother anybody.  When Andrew came to pick him up he was wearing his hoodie.  Today Neil and Andrew were coming over, so was Aaron.  Aaron practically lived with him and Kevin now though.  He said nothing on the way home.  He didn't want to bother them.  He was trying his hardest not to.  

But then he got home he went straight to the bathroom and locked the door.  He didn’t hear Kevin nor Aaron calling him.  He stared in to the mirror and glared at himself.  Disgusting. You look like a girl. He ripped off his hood and he felt something in himself crack.  His hair was clearly uneven.  Some areas you couldn’t tell but he could see how his curls on his forehead were shortened compared to the pieces on the sides.  He could tell where every spot was that had been cut, like there were circles showing him where to look.  A broken sob cut through his throat.  The tears rolled down his cheeks.  He always thought he was an ugly crier.  He grabbed his hair and pulled.  He kept pulling till he felt arms wrap around his torso.  He wanted to fight who ever they were off but he couldn't.  They grabbed his hands but they couldn't pry them from his hair.  He heard someone calling his name and found a face to that voice.  He noticed another person accompanied him in the mirror.  Holding on to him.  It wasn’t his voice he heard though.  He saw the other three at the bathroom entrance but it was Aaron standing closest to him.

“Niko its okay, let go buddy.”  He didn’t know if he meant his hands or his feelings but he let them go.  He saw more pieces of hair fall through his hands but ignored it and them screamed.  Kevin turned him around and held him again.  Kevin lowered himself to his knees to let Niko cry and scream into his neck.  He rubbed his back till he calmed down.  Neil and Andrew left to prepare some ice cream and play music.  Kevin noticed the hair that fell to the floor and so did Aaron.  It didn’t match the amount that should still be connected to his head.

Niko told them what happened at school with less emotion then he displayed before.  They were all furious but chose to keep it inside to comfort Niko.  They called the school and told them what happened.  The school apologized but Kevin still wasn't letting Niko go back to that school.  He transferred Niko to another and reassured him it was okay and it was the same distance anyways.  They took Niko to the babor shop and they evened out his hair.  He got it cut some on the sides as well, allowing the back and top to be longer.  His hair showed more off his forehead and ear piercings now.  He felt more exposed, but was happy with the hair cut.

When he meets Dan she gives him oils and creams to put in his hair.  Even showed him how to wash it too, Matt helps.  He got to meet there kids.

Allison braided his hair down for when he graduated Elementary School.  She teaches how how to do other things like twist, braids, and box braids.

When he goes to college Renee helps him bleach the ends of his hair blond.

He has nightmares often. And likes to have hot chocolate to calm his nerves. He gets irritated easily, they learn. When he gets irritated he stops talking and fidgets, tapping his foot and cracking his knuckles. 

Kevin’s night terrors slowly fade as Riko’s dark shadow fades into Nikos warm glow.

Niko definitely learns how to skateboards when Aaron gives him his old one. Kevin likes to watch them practice it together.  Just like Aaron likes to watch Kevin teach Niko Exy.  He joins a team in Middle School.  He's definitely going to be something.

Hope you guys like this.  Leave ask and suggestions about Nikoshi Doe. I would love to hear about it and write the prompts.  

[octopisunsets]

How do Neil and Andrew get together in this Perfect Court AU?

a perfect murder - perfect court AU

It starts with Riko getting Doe - he’s Minyard now, Minyard Nathaniel has to remind himself - off the medication. A stupid mistake on Andrew’s part, to get caught up beating the men half to death just for the sake of a cousin he barely knew. The court case, the mandated medication that kept him flying with dead eyes and a smile that was as bad as Riko’s when Kevin wasn’t forcing Riko’s pills down his throat. 

The teenager Nathaniel met at juvie was cold and considering, faintly amused. The one that comes back to them, finally, to the castle where he belongs is manic and laughing - always laughing. It’s never funny, not when he has a knife in his hand or when Riko thinks he can make Nathaniel afraid. Riko is quick to get tired of it, because he didn’t recruit this diminutive goalie to laugh at them during practice. 

He assigns the withdrawal to Nathaniel, because Nathaniel was the one to convince Andrew to come to Evermore, to be a Raven. The one that made a promise to Minyard. Get him clean, or else, Riko hissed to him, with a knife in his hand that Nathaniel still isn’t afraid of. Not now, not ever. Riko made him a promise, hands off his perfect court, and Nathaniel knows Riko won’t break it. 

So it’s Nathaniel in a black room with Andrew as the drugs leave him manic, then shaking, then sick. It’s Nathaniel that brings him water and food, but never touches him when Andrew says no. Even when Andrew is thrashing, almost seizing in his withdrawal, Nathaniel quietly asks if he can help and it’s Andrew’s hands clasped in his. It’s not wrists pinned down, it’s not platitudes that Andrew will get better, that he’ll be okay. 

It’s scarred hand in scarred hand and Nathaniel telling Andrew that it will pass and Nathaniel is going to get him through this. He made promises.

Andrew cares very much about his promises, because nobody has ever kept them. (Cass tried, but she didn’t know. She couldn’t. Andrew took a knife to his skin again and again to stop her from ever knowing the truth. Now all she can do is cry for her dead son.) 

It takes a week to flush it out of him. The room smells of sickness and sweat, and Andrew is drained and half delirious but he can remember. He can remember Nathaniel’s hands in his own, he can remember Nathaniel asking each and every time before those careful hands ease him up to drink water, to push sweat matted hair back from his forehead, to hold his hands while Andrew empties his stomach of everything Nathaniel tried so painstakingly to get in to him. 

And when he looks up on his first day of sobriety in nearly a year, it’s to blue eyes, so so blue. Like ice, jagged and crystal clear and seeing Andrew. He thinks ‘this will be a problem’. 

Two months later he’s watching Nathaniel pick himself to his feet on shaking knees, the side of his face beginning to swell from the tip of Tetsuji’s cane. Andrew knows there’s more beneath his jersey, stripes of green and yellow that will turn to black and blue and leave Nathaniel breathless as he tries to dress. The beating that he took because of Andrew, for Andrew, because Andrew let goals in during their game with USC. 

Defiant, beautiful, dangerous Nathaniel that gets to his feet and stares at Tetsuji’s retreating back not with fear but with loathing. Andrew thinks ‘this is definitely a problem’. 

It’s a problem because Nathaniel finds him on the roof of Evermore castle a week later, his eyes like pale lanterns in the darkness. He takes the cigarette from between Andrew’s fingers - the cigarette Andrew would be beaten for, because it’s a risk to his lungs, to his health - and sucks on it. Gets the scent of it on his clothes, in his hair. Those dark lips around the filter Andrew’s mouth had just touched. 

There’s a 4 on Nathaniel’s still bruised cheek and a 5 on Andrew’s unmarked one because Nathaniel keeps playing the fucking martyr and Andrew never asked him for this. Never wanted someone to save him. He’d yelled and hissed and spit about it with Riko and Kevin and Jean staring at them. With Nathaniel folding his arms and promising that Tetsuji will pay. Nathaniel will make him pay. Soon. Soon. 

And Andrew is leaning in and smelling the cigarette smoke on Nathaniel’s mouth and whispering “yes or no?” and he hates that Nathaniel smiles at him and he hates the curve of those dark lips and he hates the vicious light in those blue eyes because it’s defiance and danger and it’s been used to promise things to Andrew, to protect him. Nathaniel keeps his promises and Andrew fucking hates him for it. 

He hates the way Nathaniel whispers back, “yes” before Andrew kisses the taste of nicotine off his tongue. 

[cuppachaotic]

Rant ig

I just wanted to say personally, I don't hate Aaron. I know everyone on the team has said some questionable things and made questionable decisions, but that doesn't mean it isn't wrong. It doesn't make it suddenly right. I love Neil, Andrew, and Kevin but some of the stuff they said doesn't sit right with me and I will not deny that. I read a tumblr post (if I can find it I will put the person's @) that was talking about good character vs. good person and I think that's the situation here. I also feel these people are trying to better themselves and a lot of "good people" aren't kind all of the time. Also, in a group chat one of my friends sent me a meme that I think can also fit this situation. Basically the jist is that everything is problematic, you just have to be able to criticize media and still enjoy it (while acknowledging it) (if I find the person who made the meme I will add their @). While I do agree I do think there is a limit to that, I won't really get into it but I will give an example. Riko Moriyama. I get it if you like his "aesthetic" or whatever I guess I get that. but if you like him as a person please unfollow my blog. Please (I mean Riko not Aaron). Maybe and I mean maybe I would get it if Riko had like a redemption arc or something (just saying redemption arc along with Riko makes me feel sick but anyways) but he was mostly shown as an abuser through the whole series so no honey. I mean it took me until Neil forgave Nicky for me to let myself fully like Nicky as a character. I would say that the foxes are very no filter because of their experiences so let's acknowledge that maybe Aaron has a bit of a thing going on with the gays. The thing is that it isn't even just Andrew (I'm mentioning this because people could say "you're only concerned about the one thing he said because Andrew is your favorite") (sidenote: Wymack is actually my favorite and from my memory he has no filter too so I'm not just trying to hate). It's Neil and Nicky too. You could argue that it's because 2/3 of them are his family and Neil is dating Andrew but was it really necessary to say that? So many other words you could have chosen. Many people have been saying that it's because he is worried about Andrew, but that wasn't just hurtful to Neil it was hurtful to Andrew too. Hell, if I was dating someone who went through all that and he said that to me I would punch him too! (Fun fact: when I first read this part I closed the book then I closed my eyes and sighed then said "punch him" over and over again till I calmed down and was surprised when Neil actually did but happy) Neil isn't even sure about all of this (sexuality, I mean) but he is sure he cares about Andrew. He didn't just punch Aaron for himself, he punched him for Andrew too. They (Neil and Aaron) had a cute little feud thing going on but Aaron was being serious (ly insensitive) this time. I mean remember how when Neil first joined he was sure to tell the foxes that he was fine with their sexuality but didn't want to talk about it. That's understandable. Not what Aaron said. I'm not saying you can't love Aaron, feel free. I like Aaron, I'm not in love with him and I don't stan him but I accept him as a fox. Just let me express the fact that sometimes he can be tiring to deal with.

Sidenote: I didn't bring up Nicky that much but since most of the posts I've seen about Aaron mention Nicky let me just say yes, I do think part of the reason is that Aaron feels that Nicky isn't being faithful to his fiancee but I also do think part of the problem is that he is obviously uncomfy with it. Also, if Erik and Nicky have talked about this and said that it's okay for Nicky to feel free to express his feelings then it's okay. Even if you are in a relationship where that is not okay, I feel in some relationships it's important to recognize that you think other people are hot so that you can just say it, get it off your mind, and be like "okay but I'm in a dedicated relationship, I'm in love, and while I find them aesthetically pleasing I am not attracted like that". So don't just ridicule relationships because they aren't like your own. On another note, while he should feel free to think people are aesthetically pleasing he should not have said or done the things he did. You can say someone is cute without being weird about it and if it make someone uncomfortable don't say it or phrase it in another way, maybe something like " I like your outfit today" "I always think your aesthetic is on point" or something like that. Yes, I do think he was partly being a troll but I am not taking it as a joke because no one was laughing and I'm just saying if you read the book do not take it as an example. He can still be your role model because you can build off of his good characteristics, maybe see yourself in him and learn from his mistakes. Just acknowledge that you shouldn't do that if your friends are not taking it as a joke even if you are! And yes, Aaron could get better with the gaY but he didn't in the book and I'm talking about what happens in the book 🥴

Sorry for the paragraph but I felt like expressing my feelings and thoughts. My opinion. I'm not speaking for everyone in the aftg fandom and I'm not saying that this is suddenly your opinion now or you're homophobic or something. Also, I can take a joke because I have a dark sense of humor sometimes but I ain’t talking about the joke, i’m talking about the underlayer to all that.

Also, please tell me if you didn’t understand something. I’m just writing my feelings as they flow and i’m not the best explainer and I get poetic sometimes 😂 I’ve gone over this paragraph multiple times and I just don’t have the attention span to revise it anymore

@radioh (i think that was the person who made the problematic meme)

[ninyard]

Heeey what do you think was that made Kevin finally leave the nest?

I wrote like a 2k word fic-of-an-answer to this one my friend but I wasn’t vibing with it! So I’m starting again. But same thing as the last draft of this answer; I think about Kevin leaving the nest ALL THE TIME

~

(“Keep mouthing off like a pair of fucking frogs.” Riko spat in English to them both. When Jean shut the door, “Do you think you’re better than I am?”

“Your ego will kill you someday.” He looked Riko in the eye. “I think you care too much about other people’s success to make yourself look better. You’re building your Court,” Kevin swallowed hard, still trying to hold his head up, gravity failing him as he started to tremble. “But you think it’s just guaranteed you’ll be on it.”)

~

Mandatory CW for The Breaking Of A Hand and Kevin Has Nothing To Live For. See also: the foxes are foxes and their lives are Fucked Up (suicide mention, overdose mention, panic attacks & drug use)

Okay.

Let’s. Talk. About. Kevin.

Idk if I’m allowed to say that Kevin is an underrated character. I really don’t think I am. But if I was allowed to say that I WOULD. I am so very passionate about Kevin I would absolutely die for him and he’s not even real. So let’s talk about his hand.

Can you even begin to imagine what was going through Kevin’s head that night? It looked like practice, then The Master talking about potential, then Riko is mad, then pain and blood and how do I get out of here? Then is it worth it if my life is over?

I think there probably was a minute where Kevin sat alone, covered in his own blood, just thinking there was no point in being alive anymore. His playing hand didn’t really look like a hand anymore, his life and reputation and everything he had worked for just pumping out of his hand and staining his shirt. He didn’t remember passing out but when he came to Riko was gone, and his body was running on fumes trying to keep the pain from overwhelming his system. He probably threw up, all over the locker room, his blood trickling through the tiles, the echo of his own screams ringing through his ears like a non-stop siren. He probably couldn’t really see properly for a little bit and he probably couldn’t move for a while, either. Riko was a foot shorter than him, but he made up for that difference by channeling every ounce of anger and jealousy he felt for Kevin into his feet to stomp the shit out of Kevin’s hand until he knew he would never play again. Jean found Kevin not long later, maybe a couple minutes, or an hour. Kevin begged him to get Riko out of his room. Jean wrapped Kevin’s hand up as best he could, and promised him to deal with it as long as Kevin was there when he got back. Jean had figured he was a flight risk, and knew if Kevin left, Riko’s French personal punching bag would come in handy to take out all his egotistical frustration on. Kevin promised he’d be there when Jean came back. Jean came back to his jacket and wallet missing, a tiny scrap of paper left on the bed, an almost illegible ‘sorry’ scrawled across it. He burned it in the bathroom sink before Riko could find it.

So Kevin’s in his car, and he’s driving. He doesn’t know where yet, and man, is he a hazard. Twice on his journey he nearly knocked out behind the wheel, his head bobbing as the pain begged his body to sleep. He probably had to pull over a couple times to be sick, or to have a panic attack, or both. I know he went through the stages of grief on that drive to Virginia. He probably turned on his radio at some point and laughed, how ridiculous he looked, how dangerous it was to be driving one handed. It took him double the amount of time it would normally have because he just. Had to keep stopping. There’s no way he made that journey in a solid drive.

But also I think he probably didn’t have a plan before he was driving. He knew the Southeastern district were holding the Christmas banquet that night, but that was a secondary thought. His first worry was getting out of the nest. His second worry was whether he was going to kill himself or not. The reason he didn’t just do it? David. The thing that pulled Kevin back off that metaphorical ledge was Coach David Wymack. The only other people who knew about his moms letter were Tetsuji, Jean and Riko. Kevin knew well that none of them would be calling up to break the news to Wymack if he died, and David would grow old and die without ever having known that Kevin Day was his son. David was the reason he was risking everything on busy streets and highways and whatever roads he drove too fast or too slow on.

So, he’s in Virginia without a plan. He doesn’t know what hotel David’s in, if he’s even still in Virginia, if the foxes even bothered to show up. So he looks at as many hotels as he could find. He narrows down the list by looking at the ones he knew the Class I teams frequented, and he called the all pretending to be David, looking for his rooms number. After the fifth call he found it.

Think about Kevin’s anxiety in the elevator, hand throbbing, not profusely bleeding anymore, but every minute that passes is a percentage off the chances he has at keeping his hand and playing again. His heart is racing, his head heavy, every fibre in his being screaming.

David calls out a “Hold your fucking horses, give me a minute!” when Kevin knocks on his door a second time after his first knock received no answer. David opens the door with Abby just behind him, and his face falls so quickly it could’ve hit the floor.

“Kevin.” He looks him up and down, not yet noticing the t-shirt covered in blood he had wrapped around his hand. “Kevin Day. Mind telling me what the fuck you’re doing here?”

Abby pushes past him to unwrap Kevin’s hand. It must be some nurses instinct, to be instantly drawn to looking for an injury on a person. Kevin pulled it back as gently as he could, looking up and down the hall before asking so quietly it almost couldn’t be heard. “Can I come in?”

David makes small talk with Kevin as he shuts the hotel door behind him. What would he say? What could he possibly say to superstar Kevin Day, who he’d only officially met as a baby, when his mother was alive and he wasn’t destined for Court? He probably tried to make meaningless, awkward small talk until Abby shut him up to ask Kevin what happened. He just started to cry. Small whimpers into chesty, heaving, heavy cries, his body teetering on the edge of a panic attack. David had seen his foxes in bad ways before. He’d seen one of his kids convulsing on a stretcher after an accidental overdose, or a fox who’d choked on their own vomit after an intentional one. He’d seen his foxes in their worst moments, panic attacks and withdrawals, anger and sadness, pulling their hair out and on the brink of death. Something about this was the same but different. When Seth first overdosed on the team it was a cry for help, or when Janie admitted herself to the psych ward for a week, it was because she wanted to try. When Damien asked for a second, and third, and fourth chance David gave it to him because that was what Foxes deserved. It took him a moment of watching Kevin heave, snot and spit running down his chin, his hair falling over his face, his body shaking with anxiety, to remember that Kevin wasn’t a fox. Kevin was a Raven, and by god, that was so much worse.

I think we all know that Abby cares for her foxes like she’s their mother, but Kevin is just different. Abby had been seeing David long enough to know how much Kayleigh Day had really meant to him, and how much it hurt to watch Kevin do her proud. Now Kevin was sitting in front of her, his hand practically lifeless, his heart pouring out of every place it could. She tried not to look at David’s face as he paced the room, watching her patch up Kevin’s hand as best she could. Kevin only started to calm down when she handed him a bottle of Diazepam and some water.

And then Kevin whispers that Riko did it. David almost didn’t hear him. He nearly asked for him to repeat it until it hit him. Riko did it. Riko smashed the hand of his number two so badly it would take a long time for him to play again, if he even wanted to. Abby sent him a deathly glare when he mumbled to himself; “I’ll kill that little jumped up piece of shit”.

The rest is history; Kevin passes out not long after, David carries him to the bus, and they drive to the stadium to pick up the foxes. Kevin sleeps the rest of the way until the sun is starting to rise and they’re back in South Carolina. Kevin doesn’t stop crying on and off again for a couple days, and Abby had to hold him back from escaping more than once. After watching his anxiety consume him, and when he told her none of the Ravens were allowed to be medicated in any manner, she got him a script for some quick-acting anxiety meds for him to keep. It took him a week of energy-sapping panic attacks before she could convince him to actually take them as he needed them.

David took out a loan five days after Kevin had arrived into his care. He called Edgar Allan on the sixth, and the seventh, and the eighth day. By the ninth day Kevin was released from the grips of Ravens. By the tenth day they had started the process of making Kevin Day a fox. I suppose it’s for the best Riko fucked up his hand so badly, isn’t it? At least it gave him the ability to fit into the eligibility criteria for being a Fox. Welcome to the club, Kevin Day, and prepare to be gravely disappointed.

[side-effect-of-the-meds]

Fem! Aftg question - cuddling positions??

Sorry this took me so long, but I had so many thought about this one!!!!! Thanks so much for your patience, love. The short answer is Erin likes to sit in Ania’s lap with Ania’s arms wrapped around her. The long answer the fic below. Thanks so much for you ask and I hope you enjoy!

Erin and Ania are both incredibly touch starved. Both of them finds a way to deal with this but their methods are drastically different. Once Kevin finds out who Ania is, he softens up considerably. They spent a lot more time together as kids than Neil did in canon. As a result, Kevin has always seen Ania as a little sister. They hesitate to show affection for one another in front of the others for fear that they’ll get the wrong idea. However, every night after practice, while Erin is outside smoking, Kevin will sit on the couch with Ania curled up in his arms. 

Back at Evermore, Riko used to deprive Kevin of touch whenever he disobeyed or annoyed her. Even when they weren’t fighting, Riko wouldn’t touch him unless she wanted something from him. She’d drag a hand across the back of his neck when asking him to finish her work for her. She’d wrap her arms around his waist and bat her long lashes as she urged him to rough up the freshman for her amusement. She’d slide her hands up his shirt and watch him turn to putty before asking if she could cut him up. Just the thought of Riko’s blades on his skin pained him but he always said yes anyway. Kevin was covered in the deep scars of Riko’s ‘love’ but it hadn’t mattered to him so long as she kept touching him. Since his flight from the nest, Kevin has had no physical contact off the court and he feels like he’s losing his mind. When Ania admits that she sometimes wishes that someone would hold her, Kevin jumps at the chance. They spend half an hour on the couch every night, clinging onto each other like their lives depend on it. Their sanity definitely does. 

Erin doesn’t get much physical contact due to the persona she’s built up. While she’s drugged sky high, Nicky will chance laying a hand on her shoulder. That simple gesture always floods her with so many emotions. Anger that he would touch her; repulsion at the thought of a man near her; horror at having a man’s hand on her; despair at knowing she’ll have to survive the rest of the week on that alone. There is only one other source of physical contact but the means by which Erin acquires it makes her feel a little sick. 

When Aaron gets drunk, he lets loose. From her perch, Erin watches as her brother’s inhibitions fall away. She watches the smile creep across his face as he sways to the music. Over the pounding music, she can always pick out his laughter. Alcohol and cracker dust mix in together in his bloodstream and Erin gets a glimpse of what Aaron once was. Is this the real Aaron? she asks herself. Or is it just the one that existed before? Whatever the case may be, seeing Aaron like that makes her throat close up. Erin wants her brother by her side. She wants him to be happy, she really does, but not without her. 

On the way home, she watches him in the rearview mirror. His laughter has subsided. Instead, he’s sitting sideways with his legs thrown over Nicky’s lap. A small sleepy smile decorates his face as he listens to Nicky ramble on about something or the other. For once, he looks at peace. When Aaron hugs Nicky goodnight before heading to his own room, Erin feels a knife twisting in her heart. Both boys are too inebriated for them to have even the slightest of chances at remembering the exchange the next morning. Even if Nicky does, he’ll wave it off as a dream. My cousins don’t love me, Erin can hear him chiding himself. 

One night, about a year before Wymack could recruit them, Erin had woken from a nightmare and headed to the kitchen for some hot chocolate. She had found that it calmed her nerves better than anything else. The kitchen light was already on. In the overly bright glow of the tube lights, she saw her brother sitting on the counter. 

“Eri!” he called when he saw her. The smile he turned on her could have lit up the entire Earth on its own. Realizing how loud he’d been he clamped his hands over his own mouth. They couldn’t cover his wide smile. “Eri,” he whispered, just as enthusiastically as the first time. Dropping his hands, he asked, “What are you doing up? Can’t sleep? I can’t sleep either. We have a test on Monday. Did you study? Wait, we can study together!” He clamped his hands over his mouth once more, aware that he might wake Nicky. A half-empty bottle of whiskey sat beside him. He giggled as a sleepy look settled over his face.

“You’ve had enough of this,” Erin said as she walked over to him. Grabbing the bottle, she felt him grab her wrist. She pulled away but he didn’t let go. 

“You want to hear a secret?” he asked, looking very serious. Erin looked deep into her brother’s eyes. It was like staring into a mirror. Brushing her hair away from her ear, he leaned in close. “You’re really, really mean,” he said. Erin stepped back out of his reach as he threw his head back and laughed. 

Is this what I’m like when I’m high? 

“You’re so mean,” he continued. “And it makes everything so hard. You never want to talk to me. You never want to hang out with me. You don’t even let me have friends. You’re so mean, Eri and it makes everything so so hard,” he said. She turned her back on him. She didn’t need the musings of her drunk brother. “But I still love you, Eri.” Erin stopped in her tracks. Distantly, she was aware of Aaron hopping off the counter. She felt him brush past her and heard his footsteps on the stairs. Laying in bed, she stared up at the glow in the dark stars Nicky had plastered to the ceiling. She lost track of the hours she wasted listening to her brother’s words replay themselves over and over again in her head. 

The next morning, when Erin went down to breakfast, she found her brother and cousin already at the table. As soon as Aaron caught sight of her, a scowl passed over his face. He chucked his bowl into the sink and slid past her, keeping a wide berth between the two of them. Erin starts to think she hallucinated last night’s encounter. She has to be sure. That night, once Nicky’s gone to bed, she leaves a new bottle of Aaron’s favorite whiskey on the counter in the kitchen. 

Creeping down the stairs, she sees the kitchen light on once more. She finds Aaron swaying softly to the music wafting through the air from the radio. 

“Dance with me,” he says when he sees her. Erin flinches when he grabs her hands but he doesn’t seem to notice. He spins her round and round in the little kitchen until Erin can no longer stand right. Aaron falls against her, drunk and dizzy. Every nerve in Erin’s body screams in protest. She shuts her eyes tight and tries to calm the racing of her heart. “Eri? Are you okay?” Aaron’s voice cuts through the blood roaring in her ears. 

Pulling herself together, Erin sends him an impassive look. She watches as her brother deflates. He gives her a soft smile instead. It looks just like Nicky’s. If it’s Nicky’s smile, that makes it Luther and Tilda’s smile too. Erin hates that such a kind smile comes from such shitty people. Aaron carefully raises a hand and pets her head softly. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I won’t do it again.” He walks shakily out of the kitchen, using the wall for support. Before he can leave, he turns to look at her once more, “I still love you, Eri.” 

When Erin is sure he’s gone she lets herself collapse on the kitchen floor. Erin has always felt things but she’s never felt anything like this. When Nicky smiles, when Aaron laughs, when they dance, a warm feeling fills her chest. My boys, is always her first thought. Nicky and Aaron are her family. They make her… happy. Erin has been alive seventeen years and, in all that time, she has never been happy. Until now. 

When Aaron gets drunk, he lets loose. His mouth runs too fast for his mind to keep up. When Aaron gets drunk, he tells Erin all the things he wishes he could tell her. Erin has never been grateful for her eidetic memory but now she commits everything about her brother on those nights to her memory without any trouble. He tells her about all the things he loves and all the things he would do if he knew Erin wouldn’t stop him. She isn’t ready to let her brother go. She isn’t ready to let him have all the things he wants but she tries. She always makes sure she picks up his favorite chips and picks up a few clothes in navy blue because she knows it's his favorite color. She records all his favorite shows for him and turns the radio up when his favorite songs play. She knows he knows what she’s doing but he never does more than glare at her. 

At night after Aaron’s downed his whiskey, Erin lets him brush the hair out of her face and cup her face in his hands. She lets him stare into her empty eyes and tell her they’re pretty. She tells him that they’re the same as his and lets herself almost smile when he tells her that’s why they’re so pretty. She lets him spin her around the kitchen as they sing softly along to the radio. When his eyes start to fall shut, she lets him lean on her. She lets him wrap his arms around her neck and carries him back to his room when he gets too tired to walk. She lets him tell her that she’s the meanest person that he’s ever met. She lets him hold her hand while he insists that he wouldn’t trade her for any other sister in the world. 

Alone in her room, she stares up at the stars on her ceiling. Guilt is not something Erin believed in. In order to feel guilt, a person must regret what they’re done. They must feel shame. In the early hours of the morning, Erin lets herself feel shame for hiding behind the smokescreen of her drugs and exploiting alcohol's ability to get her Aaron to drop his guard. 

This goes on until Ania shows up. On Halloween, Erin finds herself drifting towards the kitchen. The light is on and Aaron is just stumbling out of the kitchen. 

“Eri,” he coos. He extends his arms out to her and loses his balance. She surges forward to catch him. She hears him laugh. “I knew you’d catch me,” he says. Erin just sighs and picks him up. As she turns to carry him back to bed, she sees Ania watching her from the couch. How could she have forgotten that Ania was staying with them? This was it. This was how everyone figured out that Erin was really just a soft bitch. She carries Aaron back to his bed and falls back into her own. Staring up at the ceiling she wonders who Ania will tell first. 

The next morning Erin finds Ania sitting alone at the breakfast table. Erin grabbed the box of cereal and poured it into a bowl. After a moment’s consideration, she poured her coffee into the same bowl. 

“That’s disgusting,” Ania says. 

“Who did you tell?” Erin replies as she shovels a spoon full of stupidly sugary cereal into her mouth. It tastes horrible with the coffee but she isn’t going to lose face in front of the runaway. Ania frowns as if she doesn’t remember what she saw last night. A small part of Erin hopes that she did. That hope is crushed within seconds as Ania’s eyebrows shoot up.

“I didn’t tell anyone,” she replies. Erin holds her gaze as she shovels another spoonful of the shitty cereal into her mouth. “Consider this your... compensation. You let me bring the upperclassmen out to Eden’s so I’ll keep your secret. That’s fair, yeah?” Erin didn’t say anything. No one had ever tried to pay her back. Every person she’d ever met was focused on what they stood to gain from her. Men had take, take, taken from Erin all her life. There had been women too, not as many, but just as bad. Sitting three feet across from her sat the first person to ever look at Erin and try to give something back. 

“Oh,” was all Erin could say. Raised voices argued outside. Erin could easily pick out Kevin’s voice in the middle of it all.  

“Sometimes I feel bad for you,” Ania says as she stands. She places her bowl in the sink and heads for the patio door. “You got yourself stuck with two idiots that know how to pick fights but not finish them.” Ania gives her a wry smile as she slides the door open and slips outside to investigate the commotion outside. 

Aaron and Nicky made Erin feel happy. Watching Ania leave, Erin realized that she made her feel things too. It wasn’t happiness that she felt. It was something more. Erin hated it immediately. 

In the months following the upperclassmen’s trip to Eden’s a lot of things happened. From that moment on, Erin’s feelings only intensified. With them came the unbearable urge to touch Ania. Erin didn’t care if it was to rip her still-beating heart of out her chest or feel that same heart pounding in time with her own as Erin wound her fingers through Ania’s hair. She just wanted- needed to touch her. She got her wish just before she got carted off to Easthaven. Ania had snagged her wrists and placed Erin’s hand under her shirt. Beneath her fingers, Erin could feel the ridges and valleys of a thousand scars. There was nothing she wanted more than to trace every one of them with her eyes, her fingers, her lips. If Erin came back from Easthaven in one piece, she wondered if she’d get the chance to do so. 

She did. Every night following the birthday incident, Ania dragged herself back from midnight practice up to the rooftop where Erin say waiting. Every night Erin traced those scars and ground her fingers into the soft skin on Ania’s hips. She pulled at her hair and scratched at her back. She bit up her thighs where no one would see and licked at her core. It wasn’t enough. Erin could never get enough of Ania. The only times, Erin seemed remotely close to satisfied was when Ania sat on the stool in their bathroom as Erin braided her hair. Feeling the heat of Ania’s back pressed against her stomach soothed Erin in a way nothing ever had. 

After Binghamton, Erin realized what exactly it was that she wanted. She wanted Ania pressed as close to her as she could get her. She didn’t ever want to be apart from her again. How could she though? Every time someone pressed against her, Erin felt herself losing her grip on her sanity. Letting Ania run her hands through her hair was already unraveling her. Erin was torn. Either she’d lose her sanity beneath the weight of another person or she’d lose it from the lack of it. 

Erin lasted a few more months before it got too much. Summer practice hadn’t yet started, so Wymack had insisted on taking Kevin to see a specialist. Riko’s death had broken something deep inside of him. She might have been a sorry excuse for a human being but Kevin had really loved her. The same could be said about Ania, Erin thought as she led her up to her room.

Today was worse than most days. Erin could almost feel the weight of someone over her. Sometimes, she thought she could catch the faint smell of alcohol but the house was empty save for her and Ania, neither of whom had been drinking.   She sat Ania down on her bed and stared at her. Ania stared back, her expression colored with curiosity. 

“Yes or no,” Erin asked. 

“Yes,” Ania replied with a soft smile. Erin’s immediate response was to scowl. Ania’s smile only widened. Erin carefully climbed onto the bed, straddling her. She placed her hands on Ania’s shoulders and lowered herself into her lap. Ania’s eyes grew wide as she watched Erin settle in her lap. 

“Hold me.” Arms wrapped around Erin’s waist and her stomach lurched. She could feel herself breathing a little too fast. 

“Erin?” Ania asked as she loosened her grip on her waist. 

“Don’t let go.” The arms slowly tightened around her middle and drew her close. Erin buried her face in the crook of Ania’s neck and inhaled shakily. Seconds, minutes, hours, days passed before Erin finally started to relax. This was it. This was what she had been so desperate for. The hard press of Ania’s body against hers without the weight of it bearing down on her was exactly what Erin needed to ground her. Some soft impulse took over Erin. She pressed soft open-mouthed kisses to every inch of exposed skin she could reach without pulling away from Ania. She basked in the giggles that slipped past Ania’s lips. Sunlight streamed through the window behind Ania, casting a soft halo around her. Erin always thought that Ania was beautiful but, in that moment, she looked ethereal. In that moment, Erin believed in God. Why? Because she was sitting right in Her lap.  

[knbfanfic]

Takao makes sure to lose touch with Midorima after high school because he was in love and it hurt. He had tried confessing once but Midorima shut him down. But it was clear that Midorima knew what Takao wanted to do but wanted things to remain the same. But Midorima found himself full of regret and longing since Takao left. 6 years after high school, at Aomine and Momoi's wedding Kagami lets slip to Midorima that Takao is now with Izuki and that Mr & Mrs Aomine will be their new neighbours...

//Oooh why do I feel like this one might hurt a bit? Lets go~Phew this got rather long so I’m using the usual read more tag. //

((With Takao sick and unable to attend the wedding, the oblivious ace of Seirin returned from America encouraged by the new bride the tsundere and the hawk meet again… But can six years of distance and pain really be overcome over one night?))

                         ~.:.~Flashback to Team Graduation Day~.:.~Following Shuutoku’s tradition after the final game the seniors had to leave the team, and take the remaining time to study and prepare for school. There were quite a few seniors who had remained even though they didn’t get much play time, thanks to the talented rookies only one or two players in the same year as Midorima and Takao got to even be on the bench normally. There was a small party to see off the seniors, then a spartan drill lead by the third year regulars before they were freed. Everyone had split up, and as normal the former ace and point guard were together. There wasn’t really anyone around so he built up the resolve and stopped walking. Takao’s intent wasn’t missed by Midorima who was concerned at the moment the hawk faced him.

Midorima had looked at Takao with eyes full of confusion and disdain, he hadn’t been attracted to anyone that he was aware of, basketball was the thing that took all his time so he recoiled from Takao saying “Shin-chan… Since we’re going to be graduating soon I wanted to tell you something. After all, I don’t want to regret anything after we leave. So hear me out.” His smile was more fragile than normal, but that probably escaped the ace at that moment. The ravenette had taken a breath and looked up at him “I like you, I fell for you pretty hard somewhere along the line… We spent so much time together I didn’t even realize at first… But I can’t ignore it since I noticed… I really like you a lot.” The unchanging expression of shock changed to something similar to hurt and very similar to disgust, Midorima shook his head “…Takao… I…. That’s not something I can do…”

He refused to cry in front of him, and waved it off. The hawk had smiled and nodded “Of course… It’s not fitting for someone from a lineage like yours to be with a guy… I get it~ I just had to say it.” He had glanced at the clock on the wall and smiled wryly to himself “Right… I was supposed to meet my sister soon, I gotta run Shin-chan. See you around.” Turning on his heel he left Midorima reaching toward him hesitating, he could tell something was wrong, but he didn’t know what to say… Things between them had been so precious to him, to both of them he thought, and he wanted to protect that.

Takao might not have been a track star, but when he needed to he could run. And right that moment all he needed to do was run, so he did, leaving his bike at school he bolted off campus heading to a park no one went to anymore. He couldn’t get Midorima’s disappointed and disgusted looks out of his head. Tears were burning in his eyes by the time he got to the park, he threw himself at the ground back to a fence separating the weeded park from a decrepit basketball court.

              ~~A few weeks later~~ Shuutoku Graduation day~~

Graduation day at Shuutoku was always a grand affair, there were so many students and so many athletes continuing on to greatness. The hawk and the tsundere would have probably been standing together if things hadn’t cracked… Takao built up his resolve and after they graduated from the team, confessed to the former ace, who hadn’t taken it well. Takao knew that Midorima was bad with expressing his emotions to begin with, but the disgust that had seeped out made the forgiving hawks heart shatter.

Midorima was surrounded by people trying to recruit him last minute, family and team members who were congratulating him. That day Takao was glad to be part of the shadow family, he slipped out of the press of people after he got his diploma and a couple photos for his family. He avoided the buzz and slipped off campus for the last time like a shadow in the night. He’d lost weight from pushing himself to study, he enrolled in a nearby school knowing that Midorima wouldn’t be going someplace so small he was relieved. As he was aimlessly walking the street a familiar voice had called out to him with a bad joke “Ah! It seems birds of a feather do flock together! An eyesore has appeared!” Perhaps it was the memories from playing Seirin over the years, or maybe it was because he did feel a kinship to the eagle, maybe he just finally lost it… But the tears started falling again and Takao had tried to escape. Izuki had noticed something was wrong and caught him without meaning to at first, and brought him somewhere to talk.

~~ 6 years later ~~

Takao was bundled up in fluffy pajamas decorated with little eagles, he had a facemask on eyes red from lack of sleep and fever. Still he managed to joke “Jeez Shun… Everything will be untied if you stay like this.” With his trembling hands he fixed Izuki’s tie smiling under his mask. Gently he leaned his forhead to the other’s shoulder when he finished “You have to go for both of us… Momoi would kill me otherwise, especially since they’re moving into the apartment across the hall… We can’t just be flighty neighbors” Izuki couldn’t help but laugh at the bad joke and gently kissed Takao’s cheek before helping him back to the bed, his fever was insane. Honestly Izuki wanted to stay and look after him, but Takao would force himself to go if he’d attempted to do that, so there was an impasse. Takao’s little sister was going to drop by around dinner to make sure her brother ate some porridge, since she was attending university nearby she stopped in sometimes.

Reluctantly after tucking his little hawk into bed and putting a cool cloth on his head the eagle headed out with a sunset colored gift bag in hand. The pink and the blue colors had been so perfect for Aomine and Momoi’s wedding gift that the two birds had picked it before they decided on the gift itself. As Izuki headed to the reception hall to drop it off he crashed into Kagami. They chatted and walked to the venue for the wedding together, it’d been a while since Kagami left for America, he came back since Momoi made sure to invite him. After all who would skip inviting on of her husband’s best friends and rivals to their special day. Izuki caught Kagami up on everything he knew about, how Akashi was sponsoring different basketball events as he took over for his family. About how Midorima and Takao hadn’t talked since school, and how he didn’t know what the green miracle was up to but that he was seeing Takao. About how Kuroko became one of the most diligent preschool teachers around, despite his disappearing act. About Murasakibara opening a sweet shop, Kise was staring in films and on television now. Most of them still played ball in their free time as well, Kiyoshi had gone to America to get the best treatment for his leg. The coach and Hyuuga finally got together, they took over the sports gym and barber shop so they alternate what needs to get done. Kagami filled him in of what it was like abroad, how Alex was doing, about having met Nijimura the former captain of the miracles and such. After they arrived and took their seats they settled in to watch the wedding unfold, it was stunning how gorgeous Satsuki had gotten, she was glowing. With Kuroko and Kise standing behind Aomine and Riko behind Momoi everything was radiant. No one believed Daiki could be so gentle as he lifted the veil over his new wife’s face, there were plenty of cheers and tears as the two promised their lives to each other.

Hours later at the reception Izuki was apologizing to the Ao couple for Takao’s absence, he offered to help them move their gifts back to the apartment from the hall as well so they wouldn’t be late for their flight. While they chatted Kagami spotted a rather miserable looking Midorima, it seemed like he had taken the road of being a doctor. Midorima’s eyes had swept over the crowd a few times, appearing rather sad, drawing Kagami over to him without knowing it. They chatted about their professions, since Midorima over exerted himself in high school he had damaged some of the muscles in his arm. To help younger athletes avoid similar injuries he took the path of medicine, he heard a lot about Kagami playing pro overseas. They chatted a bit about the past and Kagami realized how much he was missing Takao, since Izuki-san hadn’t mentioned that Takao didn’t want to see the carrot he didn’t see any harm in telling him how the hawk was doing. Midorima’s hand curled around the small plush bird in his hand and he trembled slightly thanking him, then he dipped out to take a call from his job. Kagami wandered off to catch up with the others and congratulate the couple. Kagami was stunned to learn that the cake was made by Murasakibara, and the catering was done by Mitobe and Kogenai who now ran a catering company.

As the night was winding down Midorima saw Izuki helping Daiki and Satsuki and offered to help, since he had driven down in case he had to leave for the hospital. The blue-pink pair smiled and left Midorin and Izuri to handle the gifts so they could go on their short trip since it was only a few days. Satsuki handed Midorima the key smiling saying “If you could set things up Midorin I’d appreciate it~ You can leave the key with Izurin afterwards” She hugged the two and dragged Aomine away. It was her consideration, even Izuki couldn’t help but sigh. Good intentions pave the road to hell they say, her intentions were so pure no one could argue. Maybe her name should have been Shiroki instead of Momoi. Even Midorima was surprised by the obviousness of her intentions and looked somewhat apologetically at Izuki. After everything was loaded into the car he drove to the parking lot designated for the building and helped carry the gifts upstairs, between the two of them it took about three trips to get everything inside up to the third floor and into the apartment. It would take Midorima a few hours to sort everything and unpack it for them. He was probably going to be house sitting for the newlyweds for the night, Izuki couldn’t help but pity the awkward doctor. Midorima had taken out his phone and was searching for nearby restaurants, after all he’d have to eat something and probably buy toiletries or something. Granted being a doctor he likely had a stash in his car incase he had to stay out overnight.

Taking pity on him Izuki steeled himself and smiled “Why don’t you come over and eat dinner with us… Takao might be sleeping though, he caught a pretty bad cold when he was out doing his last photography exhibition shoot, he was trying to get the perfect photo for Aomine and Momoi’s wedding gift and he fell head first into the ice cold ocean… He’s been recovering for about a week now… I don’t know how he’ll take to it though, after all when you’re sick it’s hard to hold anything together…” Midorima hesitated and Izuki could see the internal struggle, he clearly regretted hurting Takao back then and missed him… Izuki couldn’t help but wonder just how much.

After a bit of coaxing and deliberation Midorima followed Izuki across the hall to the apartment the bird pair shared, they took their shoes off at the entrance of Aomine’s and Midorima just used slippers to cross over since he had to come back to unpack anyway.His little bird plushie was snuggled into his breast pocket since he’d needed both hands to carry that insane amount of gifts. Izuki was startled to see Takao sitting curled up in a ball hugging a deco pillow on the sofa sound asleep. It seems his sister had come and helped him eat, but then had to leave. She left a note on the coffee table ’Sorry Shun-nii, Kazu refused to lay back down and I have a lecture tonight for astronomy so I couldn’t argue! so I bundled him up before I left. He seems to be doing a bit better, his temperature is coming down! Good luck!’  Midorima had frozen in place seeing the hawk, although he had clearly aged, with that mask on and the flush from fever he looked nearly identical to how he was in high school. Izuki stroked Takao’s hair and murmured quietly so Midorima wouldn’t hear “Kazu, wake up love, we have a visitor if you’re up for it… An old friend of yours.” Takao’s eyes fluttered open tiredly and even with the mask his overjoyed smile was obvious on his face as he released the pillow and wrapped his arms around Izuki’s neck pressing his forehead to the eagle’s much cooler one mumbling tiredly “Shun you’re home… I missed you…” He affectionately cuddled for a moment and Izuki stroked his hair smiling, he was really cute like this. A few moments after he finally woke up he froze his steel eyes showed something that startled Izuki, they were full of fear when he noticed Midorima. He returned to hugging the pillow causing Izuki to almost lose his balance as he caught himself of the sofa, stroking his hair he said “Kazu, Midorima is unpacking for Momoi… I invited him over to eat so he doesn’t have to go to a restaurant… Is that okay?” The eagle was concerned seeing his lover so startled, he regretted his choice more seeing him visibly tremble. Midorima was about to say he’d go out after all when Takao’s voice finally responded “I-it’s fine…. Shin-chan probably still hates eating out… Especially alone… He finds people too noisy… And he got teased a lot back then…”

Both Midorima and Izuki were surprised by the answer, but the hawk wasn’t looking at his former teammate he was staring at the tie he fixed for Izuki earlier. Izuki kissed Takao’s forehead and nodded “Alright love, would you like some ice cream to eat with us? Your throat sounds sore.” Takao nodded and looked at his lover clearly nervous. Izuki whispered to him again “It’s okay Kazu, I’m not going anywhere… If you can’t take it anymore just call for me.” Reluctantly he nodded as he watched Izuki pull back and stretch glancing at Midorima smiling “Sit down for a bit, relax I’ll make us something light since it’s late.” Izuki the headed into the kitchen which was separated by an island toward the back of the large room.

Midorima sat in the chair closest to the exit, he smiled almost tearfully at Takao as he was the first to break the silence that spread between them “It’s been six years… Have you been doing well?” Takao was startled that Midorima took the initiative to break the silence and nodded. “I graduated from the same school as Shun with a business degree and a photography certificate… I’ve been doing photography for a few years and playing ball with a local team…. I’ve been together with Shun for about five years now…” Squeezing the pillow tighter to his chest he almost whimpered out “How have you been Shin-chan… I haven’t seen you since graduation…” Midorima blinked smiling kindly nodded “I finally finished my doctorate, I’ve been practicing progressive medicine since I hurt myself a bit in our last year from over exertion. I’ve been busy with my family as well, my father wants my assistance frequently. At the last alumni team meeting the senpai were asking about you, they asked me to pass their contact information to you if I got the chance as your number changed from back then…. I’ll be sure to leave it with Izuki-san for you so you have it when you’re feeling better… You know Miyaji-san has always been a worrier, and he was concerned that you were missing.” A small warmth took the edge of fear out of the hawk’s eyes hearing about their former seniors. The eagle in the kitchen making them fried rice relaxed a bit, this was going better than expected… Though they were rather formal with each other, clearly those two ex-best-friends didn’t know what level of distance to have anymore…

The two had small conversations, about the seniors, photography, their little sisters, their old friends, nothing substantial. This continued over the meal, they ate at the coffee table since Takao probably shouldn’t sit in a dining chair trembling as he was. Izuki sat beside Takao with a cushion between them at the hawk insisting that he might still be contagious. Slowly the eagle was dragged into reminiscing about Seirin and Shuutoku in the past, how him and Takao had hooked up and so on. The pace changed slightly when Izuki went to take the dishes into the kitchen after turning down Midorima’s offer to wash them. Swallowing his pride Midorima gave Takao the little bird plushie that had been his lucky item and said “I’m glad you’re doing well with Izuki-san Takao… Since you left back then I was worried… I didn’t want things between us to change… I loved you…. But you were like a brother to me, I didn’t know how I should respond… I couldn’t handle thinking I might lose you… But because of that, my selfishly believing that nothing would change… I did lose you… I won’t stop by anymore since it’s obvious you don’t want to see me anymore… Thank you for being my best friend and partner in the past… Stay well Takao” After that Midorima had thanked Izuki once again for inviting him and disappeared across the hall, locking the door and unpacking for the newlyweds. Before dawn Midorima had already left, leaving an envelope with the senior’s contact information with the key the the Aomine apartment in Izuki and Takao’s mailbox.

Takao was in shock for a few days and ended up getting more sick from stress, it took Izuki a few days to calm the hawk down and soothe him back to being himself. True to his word they didn’t see Midorima again, but Momoi promised he was doing well. Aomine accidently let it slip that the tsundere had gone on a vacation to recover from a heartbreak. That was the end for them. It was just as jagged as their start… A perfect ending for an imperfect pair, maybe once the hurt was gone once the nightmares of disgust and distance stopped plaguing them they’d be able to attend one of the alumni meets together, instead of one going by day and the other by night… A true light and shadow story. The hawk plushie sits in the bottom of a shoe box in the box with Takao’s Shuutoku things that Izuki refuses to throw away, knowing one day his lover might really regret it.