#gotta step up my game for my kuro followers

[auxiliarydetective]

Out of the Well

More Lux and Zoro? More Lux and Zoro.

Enjoy!

Zoro panted heavily, eyes fleeting between trying to find a new crevice to cling on to and gazing up into the moonlight. Only maybe two or three feet more then he’d be free. First, he’d have to find his swords and then he had to warn the others. Suddenly, he noticed a shadow creep in front of the moon. When he looked up, he was staring right into Jirou’s face. In his shock, he lost his grip along the slippery wall of the well. Just when he thought he was about to fall, he felt Jirou’s hands around his wrist, digging into his flesh. Once again, he was entirely stunned.

“Are you just gonna hang there or what?” Jirou growled, a strain on his voice.

Quickly, Zoro tried to catch his footing again and take some of his weight off Jirou’s shoulders. After all, he was sure to be significantly heavier than this twink of a man.

“Don’t pull me down there with you.”

With heavy breathing and straining muscles, clinging on to Jirou whenever possible just as he clung on to him, Zoro finally managed to climb out of the well, resting against the damp wall as he tried to catch his breath. As he did, his eyes trailed across Jirou once again, like so many times before. He had left behind his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, his collar partly unbuttoned but his holster still sitting across his chest. Wet and dirty stains from Zoro’s hands were scattered across the white fabric of his shirt, making the fabric slightly transparent. For some reason, that caused a spark in Zoro’s brain, one that travelled throughout his muscles and his veins. Could just be the exhaustion… What mattered most, however, was that Jirou was carrying Zoro’s swords.

“You want those back?” he asked, seeing Zoro eye them.

“Yeah,” Zoro groaned, stepping away from the wall. “Why did you come for me?”

“Because I need your help,” Jirou said. “Sorry about the bottle thing, by the way. I hope I didn’t hit you too hard.”

“It was nothing.”

“Yeah, sure. The blood on your scalp says different.”

“Why do you want my help anyway? To kill more people?”

“I didn’t kill Merry, okay? That was Kuro. And yeah, killing might be part of it. I need you to help me save Kaya. If Kuro and the others get in the way, fair game.”

“Why should I trust you? You tried to kill me last time I saw you.”

“Goddammit,” Jirou hissed, “don’t be such a baby. I didn’t try to kill you. I literally tried to be as gentle as possible while knocking you out so it looked like you were dead but you wouldn’t actually die. How was I supposed to know they’d throw you in the well?”

“I still don’t trust you.”

“Kuro has been tricking me into thinking I was sick just like he did with Kaya. The only reason I didn’t get him yet is because I was too weak, I knew nobody would believe me and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to beat Kuro, Buchi and Sham all at the same time. – Also, I’m gonna help you save your captain.”

Now that caught Zoro’s attention. “Luffy? What did he do this time?”

“He drank a full pot of poisoned soup meant for Kaya. He’s still alive but he’s being dragged away by the Marines.”

“Fucking hell…” Zoro grumbled. He reached out his hand. “My swords.”

“That means you’ll help me, huh?”

“Yeah, just give me my swords back before that idiot gets taken off the island.”

“Good boy,” Jirou cooed with a smirk, loosening the belt with Zoro’s swords from around his hips and giving it back to the swordsman. “Follow me – and try to keep up. We’ll cut them off before the main entrance gate.”

-

Further away, on the main road, Luffy was doubled over on the ground, coughing up thick blue soup. Koby was kneeling next to him, gently rubbing his back. Finally, it seemed that all of the goo was out of his system.

“Koby,” Luffy, croaked, looking into his friend’s eyes, “I gotta go back. The butler. He’s gonna kill Kaya. And then he’s gonna go after my crew.”

But Koby only lightly shook his head.

“I’m under direct orders to bring you in,” he said pleadingly.

Luffy placed his hand on Koby’s shoulder. “You said you wanted to help innocent people. Kaya’s innocent.”

“You know what, screw this,” Helmeppo sighed, taking Koby’s attention away from Luffy. With a click, he pulled out his gun.

“Helmeppo, don’t!” Koby called, standing in the way of his shot.

“Father always said, ‘Dead pirate weighs the same as a live one.’”

“Garp gave us strict orders.”

“He gave you strict orders. – Start walking, pirate,” he told Luffy, “or die.”

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the trees surrounding Luffy and the Marines. With a growl, a large cat jumped out onto the road, right into the Marines standing at the front. With its sheer speed and strength alone, it knocked one of the soldiers over, then attacked the next, biting his arm, making him drop his rifle. With a terrified whimper, Helmeppo tried to flee the other way, but he was met by Zoro beating up the soldiers at the back, now staring him right in the face.

“Hey, haircut.”

“Wait!” Luffy called just before the cat jumped at Koby. “He’s my friend!”

To Koby’s surprise, the cat listened. It peacefully sat down on the ground and licked the blood off its muzzle, yawning and watching as Zoro knocked Helmeppo out with a single punch. Now that it was sitting still in the light of a streetlamp, Koby could tell that it was a pretty big lynx with soft-looking fur, white splotches across its body, tufted ears, and now very friendly, amber-colored eyes.

“Zoro!” Luffy happily walked over to his first mate’s side. “How’d you know where to find me?”

“I didn’t,” Zoro said. He nodded at the cat. “He did.”

“Ah. Kaya said she had a pet lynx. – Hi, Bowie! Thanks for the help, big guy.”

“Mhm. Only she lied.”

In front of their eyes, the lynx started morphing in shape, standing up straight before revealing the face of a very familiar person.

“Jirou?!” Luffy gasped.

“Hiya,” Jirou replied with a lazy two-finger salute. “And it’s Lux now, thank you.”

“You-“ Koby stammered, “you’re—”

“Uh-uh. Lux Jirou the Wildcat, formerly of the Black Cat Pirates. But now, I’m the security guard of this place, and I don’t give a shit about your orders. You wanna take these pirates with you? Well, tough luck, ‘cause they’re with me now. That butler in there, that’s Kuro of a Thousand Plans, and he’s trying to kill Kaya, and I can’t let that happen. And don’t think he’s gonna stop at just Kaya. I know him. He already killed Merry, and there are more people to follow. So, if you’re a good Marine, you’re gonna let us go, alright?”

Koby just stood there and stared, his thoughts racing in his mind, duty versus morals.

“Koby,” Luffy said decidedly yet gently, “I know you’ve got a job to do. But we’re gonna go back and help our friends. So, don’t try to stop us.”

With those words, he put his straw hat back on and ran off towards the mansion. Zoro followed right behind. Lux threw a quick smirk at Koby before setting after them, shifting into his lynx form. Within mere seconds, he was at the front of the group and shifted back to explain:

“They put the house on lockdown. We won’t get in trough the main entrance and cracking all the outside security locks would take way too long; we’ll have to take the emergency passage.”

Without even waiting for an answer, he shifted back into lynx form and jumped off the main path, leading Zoro and Luffy into the garden. They were running out of time!

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Taglist: @starcrossedjedis @oneirataxia-girl @daughter-of-melpomene @supermarine-silvally - let me know if you’d like to be added or removed!

[midnight-in-town]

John Brown as the mastermind behind the Blue Sect and the recent sad events?

Disclaimer: Spoilers and long post. As such, this theory will initially be a little chronological to try and make the explanation simpler. If any point is unclear, feel free to ask @thedarkestcrow or me about it as it is something we discussed together. :)

First of all, here’s what we know about the current arc (ch127 happens mid-November 1889):

Bravat (who’s most likely human) knew from the beginning that Ciel is the Watchdog (”Earl Phantomhive”), that Seb is a demon, that Lizzie is Ciel’s fiancée and that the Starlight Four committed crimes at Weston.

Bravat’s sect is at least one and a half year/two years old (ch125). However, seeing as there was no hint of massive blood collects and death before August/September 1889, we’ll assume for this theory that the 4 star lords were put in Bravat’s care at some point during Summer 1889, which is when Bravat started using the S4 to promote the Sphere music hall in order to collect as much blood as possible.

Othello said that, considering the anormal progress of the sect’s technology, a supernatural being is most likely behind it (ch119/ch125). This supernatural mastermind is very probably the reason Bravat knew about Sebastian being a demon (and about Lizzie and Ciel). 

While the reason tying Lizzie to the sect is still unclear, we’re going to assume for this theory that Bravat’s mention of her to Ciel (ch123) might mean that she’s seen as a possible hostage to use against him. 

Lastly, about the 2CT: it seems like it’s almost confirmed.

Lord Sirius being Ciel’s twin (aka Real!Ciel, a “bizarre doll”) is a popular theory

Agni’s reaction when he found the burnt picture of Ciel’s family (ch126) was quite telling that something was unexpected about this picture.

I hope all of this makes sense for you guys! Onto the theory about John Brown...

1) Going back in time...

...To December 1885, Vincent is killed and his sons are bought by a satanic cult that intends on using them as sacrifices in order to summon a demon. In January 1886, Real!Ciel is sacrificed on the altar and our!Ciel manages to summon Sebastian, selling his soul to him in order to survive and get revenge. He then becomes the new Queen’s Watchdog in March 1886.

Fastforwarding a bit, ch125 told us that the old Lords whom Bravat used to transfuse regularly should have died more than one and a half year ago, meaning that Bravat’s sect has been at least existing ever since Winter 1887/Spring 1888.

A possible link to Ryan’s Aurora Society or the mysterious Osiris company mentioned during the Campania arc is possible but we don’t have any hint vouching for it yet.

Fastforwarding again, it’s February 1889 and the Circus arc happens, resulting in a messy ending, with Ciel lying to the Queen about his report for this case, not knowing that the Double Charles and John Brown (as well as the Undertaker) witnessed what he truly did.

As a result, Queen Victoria organizes a grand punishment in March 1889, starring Charles Grey killing an important German lord and trying to have Ciel take the fall for the murder in front of witnesses. This ends rather well though, as Ciel manages to trick Grey and blame someone else for the murder.

In April 1889, it’s the Campania arc, where the Undertaker introduces for the first time his Bizarre Doll project, indirectly mass-murdering many people seemingly without a care in the world. He manages to run away, leaving his chain of lockets to Ciel and with Sebastian concluding the arc on...

They obviously did run into him again though, in June 1889, when they end up facing ameliorated BDs, because of several murders committed by 4 students (the Starlight 4).  At the end of this arc, Ciel makes his report to Queen Victoria, telling her about the S4′s crimes but also about the Undertaker’s Bizarre Dolls. Strangely enough though, she doesn’t find Ciel’s explanation to be senseless and once he left, this discussion about BDs happens between her and John Brown:

So, Queen Victoria seems to find the idea of having BDs as “allies” to be very fancy. And, as the following arc happening in Germany in August 1889 will show, it seems that Queen Victoria finds that idea to be oh! so very interesting because she’s actually preparing for a war against Germany, which is also why she asks Ciel to bring Sieglinde and her latest deadly invention (the SULIN gas) back to England, so that Sieglinde can invent new war weapons that the Queen will then use against Germany.   

At least that was how the clever plan getting Victoria new deadly war weapons was supposed to go. 

Because two slight problems arose:

the Undertaker unfortunately doesn’t happen to be Victoria’s greatest fan (most likely because she’s the reason Vincent, and maybe Claudia Phantomhive, ended up dead thanks to the Watchdog duty), so trying to make friends with UT to get the BDs probably wouldn’t work at all.

Ciel unfortunately saw through Victoria’s plan for Sieglinde and the SULIN and he tasked Sebastian with getting rid of the very deadly gas in ch108, double crossing “his master” by doing so.

Unfortunately though, Ciel’s plan kind of backfired at him, since Queen Victoria and John Brown made it rather obvious in ch108 (late August 1889) that they saw through his little game, which means that it’s the second mistake (or act of defiance) that Ciel made as the Watchdog in less than a year, causing Brown/King Albert to...

...compare him to his very murdered father. 

@thedarkestcrow​ and I (and other readers of course) took this as a rather serious threat against Ciel (something he probably realized as well), perfectly fitting with the theory that the Queen and John Brown might have something to do with the murders of Vincent and Rachel, for a reason that’s still unknown. [x] [x]

In any case, while Victoria saw through Ciel’s little game with the SULIN quite obviously, she doesn’t appear to have punished him (yet?) and anyway, ch114 told us that she was actually visiting Sieglinde often, probably because she hasn’t given up on Sieglinde creating something useful for her war. 

As for her desire to get allies in the form of Bizarre Dolls, if the one who initially had the idea (the Undertaker) can’t be found and convinced to help her, maybe she could ask another supernatural being to make them for her?

One she already knows; one she trusts because he comforts her when she’s sad and missing her husband; one who knows about her war plans and who promised to protect her; one who traveled in record time from England to Germany without riding his horse and without triggering the traps in the forest; one whose eyes are always hidden, hinting that maybe they would give away his true nature should they be seen...

...Or maybe John Brown is making it all a surprise in this arc because he’s very dedicated to her...?

2) John Brown (and Queen Victoria?) as the mastermind behind this arc

Starting from here, this is all hypothetical, but maybe I should say now that @thedarkestcrow​ and I started considering that the supernatural mastermind Othello hinted at had to be someone who was not the Undertaker ever since Ciel became targeted in the recent events. For now, it’s unclear whether Soma really was the target of the attack of ch126/127 or if Ciel was, but, even if the target was Soma, it most likely inherently had to do with Ciel. 

So, considering the Undertaker’s attachment to the P family, we tend to agree with Sebastian when he once said that the Undertaker “doesn’t seem to want to cause [Ciel] harm”. Besides, so far, the Undertaker’s BD project mostly was based on alterations of cinematic records, so the fact that the 4 Lords (if they’re indeed supposed to be BDs) seemed to be dependent of blood always made us wonder why he’d change his methods now (especially after BD!Algares who was almost perfect). 

However, John Brown if he’s the mastermind trying to “make things go according to her majesty’s wishes” (no matter what kind of supernatural being he is), wouldn’t know how UT managed to create his BDs, so maybe that’s why the 4 Lords seem to be different, needing blood when UT’s dolls didn’t. 

John Brown could also be behind Bravat’s technology ever since the old Lords started to be transfused at least two years ago, simply because Victoria is preparing for war and as Wolfram put it in ch114...

So after researching about blood transfusion, Brown used these important old Lords to experiment his blood transfusion technique by the intermediary of Bravat’s sect, thanks to the technology he developed as a supernatural being (that device that Othello was impressed with in ch125). 

Brown as Victoria’s footman and as the supernatural mastermind behind Bravat would also be aware of:

Ciel being the watchdog

Seb being a demon

Lizzie being Ciel’s fiancée

the S4 having committed crimes and making for useful pawns.

Finally, if we’re saying that the blue sect is a cover for Brown researching how to make bizarre doll-like beings that will be used as war weapons, I know it does sound strange (if she is aware of what he is doing) that Queen Victoria deliberately put Ciel on Bravat’s trail. 

So, this part is really a wild idea but what if it all was a part of her plan, because no one can know what she and John Brown tried to create using the Sphere music hall as a cover? After all, imagine the scandal if people were to learn that the Queen is indirectly responsible for bleeding to death a part of London, because she’s involved with senseless experiments! 

Which is why she asked Ciel to go investigate the Sphere music hall...

...even giving him the list of these old Lords that were being transfused by Bravat over the last two years...

...maybe hoping that Bravat purposedly endangering Lizzie by making her join the sect at the same time would be a good way for him to focus on settling this case with as much efficiency as possible?

Settling the case might not be what she’s expecting of him at all... Rather she wants him to get rid of Bravat and his sect, Lizzie used “as a hostage” being what should motivate Ciel to do anything to eliminate the ones who endangered her (and obviously Bravat wouldn’t know that he’s expandable). And it’s not such a crazy bet when we see how Ciel solved most of the other cases given to him.

Of course, if John Brown has his own agenda (or if the Queen doesn’t know that he might be supernatural), it’s possible that the Queen might not have known that Brown was trying to create the “bizarre dolls” that they talked about back in ch84, hence why she put Ciel on the case. That being said, considering how she didn’t seem surprised that things as strange as Bizarre Dolls could exist back in ch84, if Brown is supernatural then she might be aware of it.

3) About the events of ch126/127

A really hypothetical part yet again, just to point out that...

...Whoever Agni’s killer is, he’s stronger than a normal human because Agni himself was a very good fighter and he almost couldn’t fight back. So, while we’re not 100% sure of who this man is yet (Lord Polaris? maybe John Brown himself?) and same for the gunman, it would make sense to think that they’re linked to the Sphere music hall.

If the two men who attacked Soma and Agni are Lord Polaris and Lord Sirius then, if they’re really supposed to be equivalents of UT’s BDs, maybe the fact they need a lot blood could also have to do with a possible enhancement of their physical capacities. That would explain the strength of Agni’s killer.

Take Finny for example. Do you remember where Finny is from? A German research institute that the Queen had Ciel raid, for the same reason she sent him to Sieglinde’s village. So if Germany had found a way to enhance physical capacities, it’s not impossible for England to have found it as well, especially since it would be very useful for war. 

In any case, the fact that Ciel’s house was targeted might have been for a simple reason: maybe it was a way to experiment if the “dolls” (Lord Polaris and Lord Sirius in that case) were following orders correctly as well as how they would manage against a strong fighter like Agni (or maybe even Sebastian). As for why choosing Ciel’s house as the target of the experimental attack... well, maybe this (hurting Soma and killing Agni) is Ciel’s punishment for taking the SULIN away from the Queen... Unless it’s an initiative by Bravat of course, because he’s tired of Ciel trying to stop him. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thanks for reading and sorry that it was so long!

As always, this post could be totally off (the theory about Ciel’s twin wanting revenge still holds, even if I just can’t see UT as the mastermind behind the sect anymore after the events of ch126/127) especially since this theory doesn’t completely explain everything, so please take everything with a grain of salt and feel free to share your thoughts about this theory if you feel like it. 

We’ll see if this will go anywhere next month. :)

[knbfanfic]

Would you possibly do a HQ crossover with Kenma and Takao?

It was strange going on college tours, that was always true. Takao had been chatting with Midorima for a while, but the reverse carrot had gone off to talk to some instructors. Pouting a bit to himself he started to wander, trying to avoid the recruiting tables. He heard all the voices blurring together, join this club or take the pamphlet for this one. Shaking his head he tried to clear the noise pollution away, unfortunately when he opened his eyes he was about to crash into someone walking with their head down also having a similar problem who was clearly trying to focus on a game instead. Uh-oh, this is going to suck. Although he could see it coming, there were too many people to dodge and he didn’t want to make this pudding pop drop his game.

Takao knew how expensive those systems were, and even a phone would be something best not to drop. Taking a breath he decided to take a risk to keep them both from getting hurt and from having the system break. The hawk was used to falling anyway, so upon the impact he fell backwards, this caused the startled cat to fall with him, the game system sandwiched between them.Thankfully this red clad kid didn’t weigh much, Takao still coughed hitting the paving stones, they were harder than the wood floors.

Kenma’s eyes widened and his thoughts were racing as he fell, it was a jumble Oh no, I wasn’t paying attention… I must have lost Kuro… Ack… I just got this system if it breaks I’m gong to have issues getting a new one… Wait? This guy… He’s falling to make sure that this doesn’t fall? Of course the system had slipped out of Kenma’s hands on impact, but it was caught by Takao’s chest. Wincing he tried to catch himself to avoid crushing this guy, he looked very uncomfortable to land on in the first place with those muscles. Unfortunately Kenma failed to catch himself and landed entirely against the point guard. Sighing he pushed himself up, tucking the system in his pocket seeing it wasn’t damaged and the GAME OVER screen was showing. “Er… Sorry… I wasn’t paying attention…” He slowly got up and offered a hand to the other wanting to escape the eyes that turned to them as soon as possible.

Takao blinked seeing the fact this kid wanted to escape he got up. Smiling he nodded and laughed lightly “It’s fine, it’s fine~” He chuckled ignoring the stinging pain on the back of his arm and draped it over the kid’s shoulder to hide him from the views of others and lead him off to a fountain he saw on his ventures, it was out of the way of people and wouldn’t hinder either of them. Once clear of the people watching and squawking at them Takao let go and rolled up his sleeve “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable~ You just seemed to want to get out of there as soon as possible~ Being so small you would have been harassed more given that game you were playing right in front of the gaming clubs.” The hawk laughed checking out the reflection of his elbow and splashing some of the fountain water on it, a fabric burn stung like heck but at least it wasn’t bleeding.

Kenma was startled again, he sort of froze when Takao wrapped his arm around him and didn’t have a clue where they were going, stumbling along beside him he had no real choice but to follow confused. When he was released he exhaled and realized he was trembling, he fidgeted with his hands a bit before sitting on the ledge of the fountain watching the other. He mumbled “Er… Thank you… And again… For helping me twice…” This guy was similar to the current Kuro… He was really out going and very courteous, and perhaps deviously smart… Kenma tilted his head “Erm… How did you react so fast…” Takao looked up seeing the other had actually responded to him his eyes widened slightly he smiled He’s cute and honest and curious, unlike Shin-chan~ This is surprising. The point guard rubbed the back of his neck giving an awkward laugh “I wish I could have had a better reaction~ I have really good vision so when I saw we were gonna crash I knew that your system would fall… They’re way to expensive to fix or replace so I just did what would save it… I play basketball so I’m used to hitting the ground a lot… I was surprised though you’re also dressed up in sports gear~ What do you play?”

The cat blinked a couple times listening to Takao’s explanation and tilting his head “Really good vision?” He hesitated and nodded “Mm… I play volleyball…” Takao laughed again and nodded “Yeah~ I basically have crazy strong eye sight, I can see everything around me about the distance of a court when I’m playing ball, about half of that normally… It’s super crazy and I used to get a ton of headaches from it.” Takao whistled softly “Volleyball huh? I never actually tried that one~ The rules were really annoying to keep up with” He smiled sheepishly  and Kenma blinked hesitating before muttering “Oh… I can understand that… That’s why I keep my bangs in my face… I see or hear too much otherwise… It’s really distracting…” 

Shock filled Takao’s steel eyes as he nodded totally understanding, it was rare for him to find others who understood the pain of sensory overload like this he nodded again and grinned “I’m Takao Kazunari, nice ta meet you~” Kenma smiled very, very slightly, maybe he wouldn’t be a bad person to befriend “I’m Kenma Kozume… Sorry about before.” Takao grinned brightly and plopped down on the fountain beside him stretching a bit as he did, leaning so far it looked like he’d fall into the fountain if he moved back anymore. The cat’s golden eyes widened as he muttered “You’ll fall in…” Takao sat forward before he did fall thankfully and smiled “Nn I would have deserved it if I did~ Aren’t the sports teams recruiting in the gym? Wanna go check them out? Since I’m guessing you got dumped by your friend too?” The ravenette seemed as if he’d be foolish, but he really was intuitive. 

More hesitating Kenma finally nodded and murmured “I probably should… My friend was headed there…”  It was obvious they got split up by the crowd, and with the pudding cup being so short it probably wasn’t obvious right away for someone with normal vision, even if they were talking, which Takao assumed it was one sided. Getting up the two headed to the gym, the volleyball team and basketball teams were using half courts to try to recruit, there was a net in the middle but if anyone used power a ball would fly straight through, and the sidelines were always a risk naturally. As if to prove the thought right a volleyball from the court in front was hurdling towards the two who just walked in and were adjusting to the lighting change.

 A startled voice had called out “Watch out!” Both of the two were blinking when Kenma sighed putting his hands up quickly despite his lazy movements from before he was entirely different. He set the ball back easily, the game system was falling out of his pocket from the movement though, since sports jersey’s weren’t meant to hold such large things. Takao had recovered enough to see that and catch it with an “Utto. Not again” There were some surprised gasps from the volleyball side seeing the nimbleness of the two freshman who had just walked in to observe. Kenma put the system back in his bag almost petrified it’d break on the third incident. Takao laughed before Kenma could thank him and grinned “You’re like a different person when you play~ So serious, thanks… Even though they’re softer I don’t doubt that would have hurt.” Kenma gave another rare small smile and nodded before shifting behind the hawk not liking the attention again, earning another chuckle from the hawk as he lead the way over to the net to watch.

Humming softly Takao acknowledged the people watching them, and saw a curious tall black haired player watching with a sheepish smile give a slight nod. Clearly that player was Kenma’s friend, also the one who yelled. From the other side there was another yell. Takao flinched shaking his head self deprecatingly Just who did I piss off to be targeted for pain today? Taking a breath the hawk adjusted himself his shifting caused Kenma to step back instinctively to not interfere, the hawk caught the ball flying toward the spectators clustered here. The normal hollow sound seemed a bit louder as it impacted at such high speed, having been swatted away during the scrimmage. The hawk sighed and threw it back to the guy chasing it shaking his hands afterwards for a moment to get rid of the tingling. The hawk sighed and shook his head muttering to the setter behind him “Maybe it would have been better if we didn’t come… It seems everything is targeting us at this point huh?”

Even Kenma couldn’t help but shrug wanting nothing more than to turn invisible… This might have been a mistake, he could even see Kuro smirking from the court. Takao might not mind attention, but even he couldn’t help run his hand through his hair and quietly laugh to himself I wish Shin-chan were here, at least carrying that damn globe he’d steal the attention away, this is so awkward… Clearly not caring the two were loathing the limelight there were managers with clipboards from both sides who scurried over chirping their recruitment pitches. The hawk and the cat sighed in unison, Takao chuckled and was trying to charm the two into calming down, which seemed to take a while. While Kenma apathetically nodded just signing the form to make her go away, making it clear he didn’t want to say much. The girl pouted and joined the group bugging Takao. Kenma retreated to the wall to avoid getting dragged in again. 

What seemed like ages later a slightly tired but still smiling hawk escaped and joined the blonde who was fiddling with his phone. Takao handed him a scrap of paper and sighed “The guy I came with messaged me while I was dealing with that, he wants me to deliver him home so I gotta go… Sorry about that Ken-chan~ That’s my contact info and game tag, add me if you need any help clearing anything.” He grinned and headed out. Disappearing like a storm that he came in as.

Kenma smiled a bit watching the other leave he saved the contact info adding it to the maybe ten contacts he had saved and recorded the gamer tag to add him later when he got home. He wouldn’t mind meeting that bubbly hawk again. 

[anime-matchmaker-blog]

A Cat and the Iron Wall

Kenma wasn’t great with directions to begin with, but even then, he knew when to admit when he was lost. If this was Tokyo, he’d walk around until he found a train station, but this was Miyagi. He knew he could always call Kuroo and ask him for help, but he was the last person Kenma wanted to talk to. In an attempt to escape his provocations, he had stormed off without taking note of his surroundings. Now, he was in a shopping district of some sort, his location unknown.

He sighed, spotting an empty bench beneath a tree off to the distance. He sat down and opened his bag, blinking at his water bottle, onigiri, coin pouch, and phone charger, frowning at the missing umbrella. Rain was in the forecast and he didn’t want to be caught in the middle of a storm. So long he could find a café somewhere, he should survive.

“Oh!” a familiar voice startled him. He looked up with eyes wide, the person before him dressed in casual clothes, bright orange hair untamed. “Kenma?”

“Shoyo.” Kenma had thought it was unlikely for him to run into anyone from Karasuno, but he was glad that it was someone he was close to. “Hello.”

“Hi! What’re you doing here?” Hinata asked. “Are you alone?”

Kenma nodded. “Yeah…I got lost. Kuro…he made me mad so I went off…and now I don’t know where I am.”

“Oh! I know where this is - Izumin Shopping District. I’d take you to my place, but it’s pretty far away and you’d need a bike.” Hinata sat down beside him. “Wouldn’t Kuroo-san get worried if you’re gone for too long?”

“Probably. I’ll just let him know I’m with you.” Kenma took his phone out, scrolling passed all the other messages his team had sent him, and tapping a quick text to Kuroo. He slipped it away to ignore the reply. “It might rain soon…”

“Yeah. I don’t have an umbrella either.” Hinata looked up at the sky. “Hmmm…I don’t really know what’s nearby…we should find somewhere to keep dry.”

The duo stood up and started walking. The first raindrops came slowly, then came pouring down all at once. With bowed heads, they started running, following the road without keeping track of their surroundings. Eventually, they reached a large building, a fence encircling the property. The giant nameplate they passed announced that they were at Dateko.

“All the way here, huh,” Hinata said, straightening up. “We’re pretty far out. We should-“

“Is that Karasuno’s shrimp?” a voice made him freeze and he whirled around, letting out a surprised squeak. Kenma looked up as well, coming face to face to a group of boys, all of whom contributed to an intimidating presence.

Aone took a step forward, bowing politely at Hinata. The shorter middle blocker bowed back once he recovered and he glanced at Kenma. “Ah, Kenma, they’re members of Dateko’s volleyball club. We played against them during the Inter-High.”

“What’re you doing out here?” Futakuchi asked. “Karasuno’s a long way from here.”

“We, ah, tried to find somewhere to wait the rain out,“ Hinata answered quickly. “We ended up here somehow.”

“Oh, really? You should come with us,” he offered. “We’ve got a bunch of umbrellas lying around in our clubroom. But, we’re not going to give them to you for free – practice with us for a bit.”

“Huh?” Hinata squeaked. “Practice? With you?”

Futakuchi gestured at his group. “We’re missing some of our guys today. You can keep us company until they show up.”

Hinata glanced at Kenma. “What do you want to do, Kenma?”

“It’s fine,” Kenma replied. He was wearing his sweats and a T-shirt beneath his jacket anyway. “I’ll just tell the others where I am and they can come on their own.” If it weren’t for him still being mad at Kuroo, he would’ve declined and braved the cold somewhere else. Since he didn’t have his game, the second-best way of releasing steam was through volleyball.

Along with umbrellas, Dateko had an abundance of court shoes, most of them being secondhand. Kenma ended up wearing a pair of mismatched shoes, accepting a towel to dry his hair off. Hinata had his gear with him and he was quick to change, ecstatic at the prospect of playing with a rival school. He bounced the entire way to the gym.

A net had already been set up, Dateko’s school banner hanging along the catwalk. Futakuchi unlocked the storage room to roll out a bin of volleyballs, the rest of his team introducing themselves to Kenma. “What position do you play?” Futakuchi asked him.

“Setter.”

The captain raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. It’d be a nice break from the crappy setter we have now. Let’s see…how about we play a three-on-three game?” a grin shaped his lips, his expression reminding Kenma of someone he knew too well. “Let’s shake things up, shall we?”

Kenma formed a team with Futakuchi and Obara, Hinata, Aone, and Sakunami being their opponents. The name Dateko was vaguely familiar – he probably read about them, or heard about them in passing, but he knew nothing about them. If they rivaled Karasuno, however, they had to have some skill.

Hinata started the match off with a serve. Obara received it, the ball sailing toward Kenma. He raised his hands, his eyes following Futakuchi, watching the captain make his approach. He jumped, tossing the ball in a nice, high arch. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Aone step into position, jumping just as Futakuchi pulled his arm back for the spike. The giant middle blocker forced the course of the ball to a cross, which Sakunami saved.

“Nice save!” Hinata called out. He sent the ball underhandedly to Aone. “Aone-san!”

“Say, Kozume.” Kenma glanced at Futakuchi. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

“Um, no.”

“You’ve never heard of the Iron Wall of Dateko before, then?”

“No.”

Futakuchi smirked. He jumped, Kenma following his lead, as Aone jumped for the spike. Kenma watched his opponent’s eyes dart across the court, searching for a free area. Futakuchi caught every movement and his arms moved in time to block the cross. The ball landed on the other side of the court.

“Don’t mind, Aone-san!” Sakunami called out, Hinata echoing him. Obara praised Futakuchi for the block, Kenma watching the captain for a moment longer. Was this what he meant? Dateko has the highest blocking rate in the country. Kuroo’s voice echoed in his mind. They’re the very definition of serve and block.

So that’s where he heard the name from. Futakuchi bounced the ball in his hand before jumping for his serve, Sakunami receiving it. Aone sent the ball to Hinata, who jumped after watching the toss. Futakuchi was at Kenma’s side immediately, giving him cues under his breath. The duo jumped and Hinata aimed for a feint, Obara diving to save it.

“Nice save!” Futakuchi backed up for his approach. “Left!”

Kenma sent him the ball, Futakuchi spiking the quick effortlessly. Sakunami missed it by mere centimeters, grabbing Hinata’s hand when he offered it. “You’re pretty good,” Futakuchi said to Kenma, “or I’m too used to crappy tosses.”

“Thanks. Um…is your setter new?” Kenma asked.

“Yeah, he just started in high school. He’s a first-year too, which makes things even worse.” Futakuchi sighed. “Well, when you’ve got a team with first and second-years, you just gotta make do with what you have.”

The match continued, the points going back and forth. Both teams were balanced – Aone was an unbreakable wall and Futakuchi was a fast and cunning spiker. Obara was able to spike a few times, fortunately, Hinata included. Kenma didn’t hear the giant middle blocker say much so he couldn’t quite judge him, but after his feint was blocked, he knew Aone had to be a genius of some sort, or he had insane reflexes.

Whenever he jumped with Futakuchi for the block, Kenma became aware of how he lacked power to be a decisive wall. Kuroo made it look so easy – even Lev could become a wall if he wanted to. Blocking was too much work for him, Kenma decided. Setting probably had the most work out of all the positions, but his team supported him. With Dateko, the team worked together to create an impregnable defense, to slam the ball down without fail.

The match ended with Kenma, Futakuchi and Obara winning. Hinata demanded they switched the teams up again for a rematch, but the doors creaking open interrupted him. “Sorry I’m late!” Koganegawa shouted. “Senpai, you have visitors!”

“Huh? We do?” Futakuchi turned, watching Nekoma fan out behind the setter. Kenma ducked his head when Kuroo caught his eye. “Oh, you’re probably Kozume’s teammates, yeah? Sorry for kidnapping your setter.”

“It’s fine. Thanks for taking care of him.” Kai bowed politely at Futakuchi. “Kenma, we have to get going.”

“’Kay,” Kenma mumbled. Aone took a step forward, his narrowed eyes focusing on Yamamoto. He pointed at him, causing Yamamoto to put on his best punk face.

“You wanna go?” Yamamoto challenged. “I’ll show you what I’m made of-“

Kuroo shoved him away. “Sorry for the trouble. We’re just here to pick up our setter. You can keep the shrimp, though. He’s not ours.”

“Hey!” Hinata protested. He turned to Kenma. “I guess you have to go with them, right?”

“Yeah.” Kenma straightened up. He turned to Futakuchi, giving him a bow. “Thanks for everything.”

“No problem. Thanks for playing with us.” Futakuchi smirked in response. “If you’re in the area, swing by. We’ll play against you any time.”

The rain had stopped during the match, the sky still crowded with gray clouds. Kenma walked in between the first-years, keeping his distance from Kuroo. Somehow, the captain found his way to him, his head turned in the other direction. “I’m sorry, Kenma. For saying all those things.”

“It’s okay.” Kenma didn’t look at him either. “If you didn’t, I wouldn’t have gotten to play with them.”

“You forgive me, then?”

“I guess.” Kenma paused. “If you teach me how to block properly.”

“What brought this on?”

Kenma thought back to Aone and Futakuchi and the rest of the team. If they ever played against each other in an official match, he wondered who would win. “There are strong opponents waiting for us.”

He didn’t need to turn to his friend to see the sly smirk on his face. Kenma knew that if Kuroo and Futakuchi ever met, their teams would have the time of their lives watching their interactions.

A day trip to Miyagi to serve as a break from volleyball somehow became a volleyball practice session. Kenma didn’t mind though – he learned something new and he met new people. It made the trip much more worth it.

[dothewrite]

okay, i just can't stop thinking about this? but like, i imagine that if kuroo has an s/o, they're probably going to be friends with kenma, right? i, along with probably the rest of the fandom, also headcanon that kenma has anxiety. so can you do a scenario where said gf is with JUST kenma (probably waiting for kuroo or planning his surprise party or something) and suddenly kenma gets a mental breakdown so she kinda comforts him while kuroo gets a call and rushes to where they are?

I have so many things to say with Kenma, but I hope that this turned out to your satisfaction. Honestly, I think Kenma is very strong. But even the strong have their weak moments, and they deal with it the best they can, right? So I think that his way of dealing would be his silence, and all his different sides just collapsing into each other, and Kenma forgets who he is a little. I’m no expert on anxiety, and I can only base this on my singular experience, but I only wish that when it happened, I had been around someone I could trust, like Kenma has.

“Butjust because it burns doesn’t mean you’re gonna die,You gotta get up and try, try, try.”-Try, Pink.

Kenma’s never been one for many words. It’s a quiet afternoon,a rare day in Tokyo indeed, and Kenma’s silence as you manoeuvre his mouseacross his monitor is more than the approval you need. Maybe he’s just in agiving mood, or maybe there’s something about the way the sky’s darkening today,but just because you can’t put a finger on it, doesn’t mean it’s less valuablein the slightest.

“I’m going to press create, okay?” You glance downonce at your friend’s defeated posture and grin. Kenma doesn’t even bothernodding, or speaking, he simply looks up at you with that exasperatedly deadexpression on his face, and you know that it’s ago.

You press create, like you had said, and the ‘createyour character’ screen pops up immediately. As expected of the newest graphicscard, there’s zero lag in this gamer’s build.

“Alright,” you tell him as you lean back, “now it’sall yours.”

“I see I shouldn’t have been glad when I found outthat Kuro’s girlfriend is a gamer too.”

“What’s wrong?” You grin some more, channelling a bitof Kuroo yourself, “this is a game! It’s a good game! You can’t just play onthose tiny buttons all the time.”

“This is an MMORPG, and yes, I can.”

“Since you don’t want to socialize in person, you cantalk to people online.”

Kenma looks at you witheringly. “I’m talking to you,aren’t I?”

“You’re the one who invited me over,” you practicallyglow at the memory.

“Yeah, that’s ‘cus you wouldn’t stop bothering meabout this game.”

“Not because you like me?”

“Get out.”

You laugh, an unfeminine, cackling laugh and somehow,the corners of Kenma’s lips tilt upwards just the tiniest bit.

“C’mon, Kenmaaaaa, make your character!”

Kenma rolls his eyes, but turns back to the screen asdirected. You watch eagerly as his fingers drape over his streamline mouse, elegantfrom years of practice, and wait for the first change he’s going to make.

Nothing happens.

The cursor remains unmoving, and those thin, setterfingers stay exactly where they are. It’s a beautiful picture, but it’s lessentertaining when all your friend is doing is staring at the shimmering blue creationscreen without a single movement.

“Hey… are you alright?” You dare to shift a littlecloser. “I’m sorry if I was bothering you too much.”

“It’s fine,” he says so quietly that you’d have missedit if you weren’t almost draped over his back.

The hairs on the back of your neck raise in anxiousnessanyway, Kenma’s reassurance bouncing off you completely. “You don’t have toplay if you don’t want to. I know I was really pushy but-“

“-I’m fine,” he repeats, firmer.

You sit back on your heels, falling silent. Kenmararely spoke to you like that, or anyone, for that matter. As the silence growslonger, the more you feel in the way, as if you were blocking somethingprofound from happening, as if there’s a voice in the background begging you toleave.

So you do, and you get to your feet without any resistance.Maybe Kenma noticed, but there’s no movement from him that indicates eitherway. The steps towards his bedroom door feels heavy, but you don’t let themdrag.

“I’ll leave,” and those aren’t the words you want tosay, but they come out anyway- blunt, more honest than anything else you’d beable to conjure. Your hand rests uselessly on the doorknob, and you count tofive for a response before you left the house for good.

It hits four, then five, and you turn the handle.

“It’s not-“ he begins like a startled bird in winter, dartingout and back in. You almost miss it, with the flurry of shame that rushes toyour cheeks. “-it’s not you. I-I…” and you feel like you’re losing him, beingdragged away by the current, and the boy who never speaks meets the girl whonever fights.

You feel the metal slip away from underneath yourfingers as you sink down to the floor. Afraid to look up, or perhaps todiscover what you’ll see, you make your way across the traditional Japanese flooringon your hands and knees until you’re a reasonable distance from Kenma again.

His hands have fallen away from his PC and onto hislap. He doesn’t seem to be looking at them, however, but to the side, countingthe ridges on a square of flooring.

“I’m not afraid of talking to people,” he finallyspeaks up.

Somehow, you know that you’ve lost this round, thatyou’re the one left to catch up as Kenma takes one step by one step away fromhis comfort zone and you’ve yet to attempt. Heck,if you’re catching up, then you’re going to catchup.

“What are you afraid of?” Confidence comes slowly, butit swims upwards as your sentence comes to a close. Perhaps this isn’t what you’rebest at, as the words you want always seem to dance in front of your fingertipsand slip away at the last moment, but you- you love this kid. As a friend, as ahuman being, and when he turns around to look at you in a soaring act ofbravery, you’re humbled.

Kenma’s shaking, just barely, and just because, you reach out and pull his frail shoulders againstyour own. He falls into you without much resistance. His posture is stillrigid, his angles unfriendly and his breathing hostile, but he’s close, and you’rethere, and you’re going to sit there with him until that upwards twitch of hislips comes back.

“I’ve got anxiety,” he announces dully, like it’s unavoidablehow the sun rises in the east, “GAD.”

“Okay.”

“I-I don’t like people around when it happens.”

You say nothing, because it’s the right thing to say.If Kenma doesn’t want you here, then you wouldn’t be. And his interruption isas much of an invitation for you to leave as was your five seconds at the doorwas to go.

“I think Kuro’s the only one who’s been around when itgets bad,” he adds.

“Would you like me to call him here?”

Kenma doesn’t reply, but you see how his fingersclench and then unwind again, so you reach for your phone with one hand andtype in the message.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t haveto,” you murmur. “But what happened?”

“Just now.”

“Mhm.”

His silence returns, as does his shaking, and all youcan do is hold him with your own small heart. And, you wait. Soft, hesitantstrokes up and down his back you offer, and he shrinks away at first but leansinto your touch after a few seconds. Another act of bravery; you count two.

“I think of gaming a lot,” Kenma begins, “and I starta lot of games. So this MMO… it- I keep on starting things, and it’s like aloop.”

You know he can feel you nod against his hair, andsomehow, his heaves for air grow just the slightest bit more regular, althoughlouder. Like he’s not trying to hide them as much anymore.

“A loop where nothing ever ends,” he breathes, and ifa beautiful dream could be a nightmare, this is its battle cry. “I never start anythingmeaningful in my life, I only start things that take up my time, start games,beat levels- and then next game… I’m in a fucking loop.”

This is the first time you’ve heard Kenma swear withsuch vehemence, and it makes him sound present in ways you can’t bring towords.

“I’ve never really thought about what I’d like to do,or what I can do. Even volleyball I’vefollowed Kuro around and joined because he made it fun for me- it’s likenothing I’ve done is for myself.”

“Your hobby is you, too.”

“But they’re just hobbies,”he gasps, desperate. “I can’t be just games,that’s just really sad.”

Your fingers tighten, but you’re not going to saysomething you know won’t be welcome right now.

“And I don’t know what I’m capable of. Maybe it’snothing, maybe it’s just being a mediocre setter.”

He isn’t.But you can’t tell him that yet.

“I can just see it- all my life I’m going to be tiredand useless and just a quiet guy who games and doesn’t like people. I can’teven like people,” and Kenma laughscruelly against your shoulder. “What am I going to be? When will I ever getanywhere? What if I don’t care? I’m the most afraid of not caring. It’sprobably the option that’s going to come true the most.”

“I don’t think you have to care,” you offer quietly. “Whohas the right to guilt you into caring about things you don’t?”

Kenma moves to slap you about the head. “Society,dumbass.”

“Seriously, Kenma.” You sound serious. “I-I’m in noplace to say much but, I think you’re allowed to be you. You don’t have topunish yourself for being you.”

“It doesn’t help, being me,” he answers. Toeing theline between snarky and exhausted, he sounds like Kenma again, and you know forone that his laugh won’t leave you.

You shrug. “It might not help, but we can make do,right?”

“Is that the plan? To wing it?”

“I’ll help you,” you promise, tentative and feathery,like a wish made in a dream, and all Kenma has to do is to reach out and graspit. “Kuroo will help you. All your friends will help you. We can’t control everything,right? So we just gotta make do. Some things we just can’t plan for.”

“Some things,” he echoes.

“Yup.”

“Maybe I should stop gaming,” he says, and sounds somiserable saying it that it almost makes you laugh.

“Don’t! Who else would I play with? Besides, you’renot losing things because of your hobby. It’s just a hobby,” you tell himagain, “it’s okay to like it. But it’s also okay to try new things too, so wecan figure out together ‘what you’re capable of’, yeah?”

Kenma heaves a defeated sigh, and smiles. It’s a weaklittle thing, but it makes your chest warm. The only appropriate response is tocuddle him even more, to which he can only protest feebly against death bybreasts. Naturally, you don’t hear a word of it.

It’s also how Kuroo finds the two of you- he’s pantingand looking far too disheveled and sweaty for his fashionable lookingensemble, and there’s a funny little dance his face makes as he tries to decidewhether to be worried, baffled, or tsk.

“You put some effort into your clothing today.”

“Someone bothered today. Wow.” Both you and Kenma sayin unison, with varying levels of enthusiasm.

Kuroo shakes his head, a parent home to find thirddegree destruction, and flops down next to the two of you. You yelp, because he’sa big guy, and very capable of flattening both you and Kenma.

“I was worried sick,”he whines. “Then I rush here to find you two going at it-“

“We were not!”

“Oi Kenma,” Kuroo drapes himself almost entirely onKenma’s back- which is supported by your own frame, and you definitely feel thestrain. “Are you trying to steal my girlfriend?”

“Like hell,” Kenma rolls his eyes again, “she wouldn’teven leave me alone about that stupid game.”

Kuroo reaches over to ruffle your hair, and you curlinto it unconsciously like a cat.

“Which game, eh? Can I play?”

“You really should ask her instead-“

“Whaaaat, you haven’t even passed the creation screen?Kenmaaaaaaaaaa.”

“JesusChrist, alright, just shut up.”

Kenma drags his unwilling flesh body over to theabandoned PC and taps at his mouse with the weariness of a dying god. Kuroohovers happily around him, pleased enough that the tension drains out from thewires of his muscles.

They make such a picture. You’re tempted to take outyour phone and snap one, but something holds you back and you decide that the betteroption is to leave the two of them to it for now.

You’re a simple step away from the open doorway, butyou can’t resist the temptation to glance back one more time.

Kuroo’s eyes meet yours, a stolen secret, and when hesmiles at you- relief, gratefulness, pride, love- you don’t bother hiding youranswering one.