#the fact that he can even smile still when talking about Ace takes remarkable strength

[sunfish-studies]

Pen and Paper

✄・・・ Crisp Leaves [Aoba Johsai Manager Series]

➜ Pairing: Aoba Johsai x Manager! Reader

➜ Warning: I wonder if crackhead-ness of this team could be considered as a warning? Temporary mute reader.

➜ Notes: Manager in this story will be portrayed as a girl. She will be tall, around 170.5 cm.

↷ SUMMARY ↶

People need to watch what they say because it will sometimes bite them back the least they expected–leaving a damage worth hundred times more.

If Oikawa wasn’t having the best mood, then everyone expected mutiny like this happened–him channeling all of his frustration in his jump serves. Not just one, not just two, the whole trolley of volleyball will be finished by him alone–and still not enough.

It was pure raw strength–the ball ricochet and the loud sound it produced once it slammed to the ground was no joke. The first years and second years was hesitant to remind him not to push himself too much, somehow knowing if they did that they will feel the spare of his wrath.

Only third years and the coach could throw hands in this matter.

Practice was over almost an hour ago and Oikawa wouldn’t be stopping soon. Iwaizumi was gripping the ball in his hands a little too tight–signaling that he was indeed in the brink of exploding himself. Maybe around the next minute there will be chaos.

“Tooru, practice is over. We need to go home,” that’s where [Name]’s duty lies. As a manager, it was necessary for her to take care of the members and remind them not to overwork.

Being ignored by the said brunette was expected–this happened countless of times back in their middle school days and somehow didn’t change. She hoped to evade violence as much as she could, especially when Iwaizumi doesn’t use words and proceeded to punch the lights out of Oikawa instead.

“Tooru, your knee is injured,” she said again. “The doctor said about not putting too much pressure on it. It’s time to stop.”

The third time’s the charm, she prayed. Sighing harshly from the lack of respond and on-going rebellion forced her to grabbed onto Oikawa’s arm. “Tooru-“

“Can’t you just shut up for once!?” he yanked his arm away with a harsh bat. Facing her with pure anger apparent on his face was something usual–however, it still brought her shoulders tensed up from the pure fury shone from those brown eyes. “Shut up and leave me alone! Isn’t that simple enough to do!?”

“Oikawa,” Iwaizumi already growled with the same intensity of anger, marching towards the two as he rolled his sleeve. There will be unavoidable fist fight and then more problem will ensue.

“Stop it, Hajime,” [Name] stated sternly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “If you two got into fight, you’ll be banned from practice for the whole week. Coach made it extremely clear about fighting between teammates.”

She wasn’t even joking about it and both Oikawa and Iwaizumi knew, which was why with a click of his tongue the brunette began gathering the balls in fast pace. After he finished tidying up, he went straight towards the exit–slamming the door shut.

“He needs to cool down for some time,” [Name] remarked, loud enough to be heard by the whole members left behind. “So, just leave him alone for now. Until he decides to talk like he used to, let him be.”

“Y-yes, senpai…”

                                                           ✎ . . . .

“WHAT!?” and the first minute of practice started with an unexpected chaos from the most least person who’s likely did so. The whole team instantly had their attention zeroed on their assistant coach, Coach Mizoguchi. Not only that, Coach Irihata had his eyes widened in disbelief. In front of the two was their manager standing.

“Do you need a break?” the older man questioned, eyes radiating worry. The reply he got was a head shook from their manager. There was pregnant silence before the coach continued. “Are you sure? Isn’t it the best to get some rest?”

A head shook became an answer, which made Coach Irihata sighed in defeat–probably relenting on her insistence on something. “Alright, but if you’re not feeling well somehow just tell me and you’re excused to go home.”

“Everyone, gather around!” Coach Mizoguchi called out, and automatically they left their activities behind to line up in front of their coaches and manager. Once the man studied all of them to made sure they were all gathered, he started with a sigh. “We have an unfortunate thing happens.”

“Your manager can’t speak at the moment,” Coach Irihata didn’t want to beat around the bush and decided to straight up telling the whole team the truth.

“Uhm, what do you mean Coach…?” Iwaizumi asked slowly, trying to comprehend the statement from before.

“Apparently, your manager lost her voice.” The older man repeated. “And for the time being, she will communicate with all of you using her notebook.”

There was silence that befall the gym for a few minutes before chaos ensued.

“WHAT!?”

“How did that happen!?”

“Are you okay, Otohaku-senpai!?”

“But that doesn’t mean she’s not participating in practice or anything, she will do her work as usual.” Coach Irihata continued, his words successfully got the team’s shrieks of disbelief under control. “That’s why, if I found out that somehow you’re troubling your manager, there will be drills to compensate. Do I make myself clear?”

Series of gulps could be heard from the subtle threat looming over. “U-Understood, Coach…”

“Now, dismiss!”

                                                          ✎ . . . .

“Oi, are you sure you’re okay?” Iwaizumi was the first one to ask, however he was followed by the others almost immediately once the coach told them that it’s break time. Giving them already-filled water bottles was [Name]’s duty, and he thought it was a great time to begin questioning. “Shouldn’t you be home and getting bed rest of something?”

After handing the Ace his bottle, [Name] automatically reached out for the notebook in her jacket pocket. Opening an empty page, she began scribbling for some time then shoving the object onto Iwaizumi’s face.

‘I’m fine. There’s no fever or anything. In fact, I feel normal besides losing my ability to speak.’

“Do you have a doctor’s appointment for this?” Matsukawa questioned next.

‘My mom already arranged one. Maybe we’ll go a day after tomorrow.’

“S-senpai,” this time, it was Kindaichi. “D-do you maybe do something or eat something that could possibly led to this?’

[Name] hummed soundlessly, contemplating about her junior’s words before she’s back to writing. ‘Nothing in particular. I had dinner like usual, finishing my homework, and sleep normally. Just after I woke up, I realized I couldn’t reply to my mom calling from downstairs.’

“Are you sure you’re alright, senpai?” Watari asked in concern. “Maybe you really should take a short break like the coach suggested…”

‘I’m fine, Watari-kun. This doesn’t hinder my work at all. On the good side, you don’t need to hear my annoying voice-‘

“DON’T SAY THAT!!”

Oikawa’s voice suddenly booming across the gym–startling all of them in the process. Pairs of eyes focused on him and his abruptness.

“I-We love your voice, [Nickname]-chan!” the brunette stated. “You always cheered on us, taking care of us, helping us in team meetings! I know it’s my fault because I told you to shut up, it’s just my anger speaking! I didn’t mean any of those words!”

“Ah, so in the end, it’s your fault,” Iwaizumi smiling, however the aura oozing from his figure was anything but nice. He was out for blood–and the grip he had on the water bottle was borderline dangerous it could break the object.

“I-I didn’t mean to, I swear!” Oikawa shrieked, raising his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry!”

The vice-captain was absolutely ready to give their captain a good beating, fortunately, a notebook shoved onto Oikawa’s face came to save his day (and probably his life). Holding onto the book carefully, he read every single word written on the surface of the paper.

‘It’s not your fault, Tooru. Sometimes, anger blinds us. I know you don’t mean it, so it’s alright. You have a rough day too, right?’

“[Nickname]-chan!!” in return, he jumped onto their manager–giving her a tight hug, burying his face into her shoulder. She sighed soundlessly at his childish antic but still returning the gesture by patting his back gently.

“So, it’s because of what happened yesterday?” Kunimi concluded. “Could this be karma for Oikawa-san?’

Hanamaki laughed. “You can count it that way.”

 -ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Extra [The Next Day]

“Good morning, everyone!”

“OTOHAKU-SENPAI!!”

“Yahaba-san, you’re crying…”

“Let him be, Kunimi. We’re all worried about her, aren’t we?”

“Issei, where do you put the bibs away?”

“Oh, it’s in the box next to the poles. I moved it.”

“[NICKNAME]-CHAN!!!”

“Stop clinging onto our manager, Shittykawa!”

Ah, yes, finally another normal day in practice.

[jesswritesthat]

hey babe! i love your writing so much!!! so i recently watched kaguya-sama: love is war and i was wondering if you could do a headcanon of kuroo, bokuto and atsumu where their crush gets sick and they visit her and she drags them into her bed to sleep with them? you can decide how it ends. thank you so much in advance if you do end up writing this! i love you and take care of youself💞

Hello lovely! Thank you so much for this, I’ve never seen Kaguya-Sama but it sounds really cute. Also take care of yourself too and I hope these are okay! Much love 💕

Summary: Bokuto, Kuroo and Atsumu checking up on their sick crush headcanons

>>>>—————————>

Bokuto Kōtarō:

• Has felt like he's been missing something all day but couldn't quite decipher what it was until Akaashi mentions how you're off sick.

• Thats when your phone is bombarded with ‘urgent’ messages inquiring about your wellbeing to the dramatic extent of:

[ Kou: (N/N)! You haven't answered me yet, are yOu StiLl AliVe?! ]

[ (N/n): no ]

[ Kou: Aw, can I have your cool headphones then, since you won't be needing them anymore? 😁💕 ]

[ (N/n): Wow Kou, I'll haunt your dumbass at Volleyball games for that. ]

[ Kou: Even in death, your support means everything to me. ]

• Despite his nonsense he kept updated with you throughout the school day by sending memes in hopes of raising your spirits. The most peace you got was during Volleyball Club time - the Ace too invested to message you at that point.

• At the end though he calls his team for a serious discussion and they're all expecting major improvements on their gameplay ready for Nationals.

But no.

"What can I get (N/n) to make her feel better, this is crucial. I need only good ideas!"

• They all knew about his crush on you, he wasn't exactly secretive about it but you were none the wiser. Even so, Fukurōdani offered what advice they could to their friend because like him, they cared about you too.

• "Akaashi picked up your schoolwork." Bokuto says as he walks into your room, waving the papers and placing them on your side.

"And you didn't think to take notes for me?"

"Nah, I wanted to bring you good stuff."

"Fair point."

• Bokutos likely brought everything he could find once he went home and changed/showered - he's got flowers, your favourite snacks, drinks, medicine and some movies to cure your boredom. Like how much do I owe you???

He's says it's fine though, in return you have to be better by tomorrow.

That's not how it works Kou.

• You're both seated on your bed watching some shitty movie when you start getting a bit sleepy and you just want warmth.

"Can you give me a hug Kōtarō? I just need a hug, I know how weird that sounds..."

• Doesn't even think twice about it, he practically tackles you onto the covers which elicits lovely giggles from you - the potential of him getting sick too isn't even considered, he's just focused on being with you and making you feel better.

• His arms are so warm and they’re beautiful, you forgot how toned he is and you grow so comfortable in his embrace. He’s also really relaxed about it and is calm enough to ramble on normally - except when you nuzzle against him during a cold shiver. Bokuto full on freezes mid sentence, releasing a cautious breath prior to changing the subject.

• It’s obvious he’s content with you though, and surprisingly falls asleep first which makes you laugh. Kōtarō keeps a strong but delicate hold on your body and is subconsciously receptive enough to your every move. You adjusted yourself slightly which stirred him, his voice is much huskier than before due to sleep but remains concerned.

“Can’t you sleep (Y/n)? I can-“

“I’m fine, you’re keeping me warm.”

• With a nod of understanding he’s gone again and you follow shortly afterwards, the both of you unintentionally making the nap a sleepover. Which you only realise the next morning - still in his arms even if the position has changed. You take a few minutes to enjoy it.

• Miraculously doesn't get sick, his immune system must be immortal as he's brimming with energy once he gets up. His radiance is actually contagious as you feel much better in yourself too and his vibrant attitude really motivates you for the day despite being physically exhausted from beating the flu.

• "Your partner is going to be blessed if you bring them breakfast, I mean talk about amazing." You comment as he brings up a plate that he’d crafted in your kitchen, which is surprisingly decent. You suppose he must keep his body fit somehow.

"My crush will have to do for now."

"Wait I - ah, you have a crush on me?"

"Hah, didn't you know? I never tried to hide it or anything."

Kuroo Tetsurō:

• Notices your absence immediately, he's observant by nature but especially where his crush is concerned and he isn't afraid to contact you before class starts.

• "Hey (Y/n), it's Kuroo, are you running late today?"

"Hnn, I'm not gonna make it. I tried but I feel awful - Sickness: 1, (L/n): 0." Already by the grogginess in your voice he can tell you're under the weather and winces at the sound of you stifling a cough.

"Ah geez, go to bed would you? And drink plenty of water, I'll inform the teachers and everything."

"Thanks Tetsurō, I owe you one."

• Will message you at regular intervals throughout the day regarding your health with cute little reminders. You were on his mind frequently, he’s lowkey worried okay?

[ Tetsu: Drink water, and eat breakfast if you can. ]

[ (Y/n): Yeah yeah I have, go learn something. ]

[ Tetsu: Why are you replying? Shouldn't you be sleeping it off - I don't want your germs. ]

[ (Y/n): Sharing is caring. ]

[ Tetsu: Oya? It took a cold for you finally admit you care, so is it gonna take a pandemic to say you love me? 😏 ]

[ (Y/n): 🖕🏻]

• Is actually considerate enough to tell you he'll swing by after practice, and asks if you want anything from the shop so you give basics like water and tablets. Comes equipped with the extra notes he's taken from all of your shared classes and requested papers from teachers in those you don't, so you're not falling behind.

• Aside from the bare minimum you requested, he chucks your favourite snacks on your desk stating that it’s important to keep morale high too. Liar. He just wanted to do something nice for you.

• Checks your temperature despite your protests of not being a child, he only does this because it vexes you and Kuroo finds that cute. As a silent apology for teasing the Hell out of you, he’ll make you some tea and you both get lost in conversation.

• Notices you’re starting to doze off, rest you should’ve had instead of texting everyone - but ensuring everything is fine, he’s about to stealthily exit until your fingers grasp his wrist and tug him back slightly.

"Stay Tetsurō..."

"You'll likely regret that request once you wake up."

"S'ok, it's you."

• The strength you have when tugging him into bed with you catches him completely off guard and he’s actually blushing - doesn’t know what to say but knows he has to at least maintain some composure.

“So uh, never knew you wanted me this badly.”

“Ugh shut up dumbass, I can feel your rapid heartbeat from here.”

“Right...”

• Kuroo goes all shy, you’ve wrapped your arms around his waist and are comfortably leaning against his side and he absentmindedly runs his fingers soothingly up and down your arm to settle his own nerves.

• It’s peacefully silent, simply enjoying one another’s company before he hears your muffled sniffles indicating you’ve fallen asleep and a soft smile graces his lips. If you were his, then he’d definitely kiss your forehead, and lips to be honest, but the fact you aren’t leaves him with a disappointed sigh.

• You both end up taking a nap, waking up wrapped in each other’s arms and noses practically touching which startled the Captain - Kuroo literally falling off of your bed with a yelp much to your amusement. Afterwards, he departs suggesting you get more rest, get better soon and he’ll see you at school next week.

• At least that was the plan, which altered with the text exchange the following morning.

[ Kuroo: Sharing is not caring, I wanted your snacks not your sickness! ]

[ (Y/n): RIP us. 💀 ]

[ Tetsu: You owe me one remember? I've got the house to myself this weekend so would you like to suffer together? I have blankets, entertainment and food. ]

[ (Y/n): Beats sniffling alone, I'll bring the tissues and drugs. ]

• So, you went over with a trail of sneezing in your wake and ended up snuggled with Kuroo under a blanket with a variety of games gracing the TV as you skilfully passed around the tissues. Aside from being ill, spending time like this with him was perfect.

• "Sickness: 2, (L/n) and Kuroo: 0..."

"No, Kuroo: 1.”

"How so? You K.O. a sneeze or something?"

"I got to spend the day with you didn't I? That counts as a win in my book."

"Tch careful, anyone would think the Scheming Captain cares~"

"I do smartass, I care about you a lot (Y/n)..."

Miya Atsumu:

• Atsumu wasn't one to act needy in any way, the only excuse for him to contact you in regards to your absence was to do it with a remark and hope you'd elaborate.

[ Atsumu: Yo, are ya ditching me to survive English on my own? That's cold (Y/n) 😭 ]

[ (Y/n): Sorry 'Tsumu, I'm too busy dying to care rn. Have a fun missing me loser. ]

[ Atsumu: Hah you wish, you alright tho? ]

• You're good friends but he's never really expressed genuine concern about you before, not verbally anyway. You thought the final "K" after you'd told him you were gonna rest would be the end of it.

So you were beyond surprised when he rocked up to your house later that evening.

• It took everything you had not to mock him for his embarrassed stature, solely flustered by the fact you'd seen him so considerate. Admittedly you were also exhausted and probably couldn't think of a snarky reply anyway.

• "What's up? Was there homework or - ugh, or something?"

"Huh? Oh I dunno. But uh, I got 'Samu to make you some Okayu, and a Umeboshi Tea since it's good for colds and stuff."

• Totally pestered Osamu all day to help him make you something and had to do stupid favours in return but Atsumu will deny it if you ever ask.

• “I love how you don’t care what you look like when you have guests over.”

“Take your stupid backhanded compliments and shove them up your pretty litt-“ You bite back, flipping him off in the process while Atsumu remains proudly victorious.

“Nah ah, is that any way to speak to the man who brought you dinner?”

“It’s the way to speak to the man whose currently annoying me.”

“You’re welcome, this is revenge for ditching me in class gorgeous~”

• Despite how irritating he could be, Atsumu stuck around for a bit to make sure you ate everything he’d brought and taken the appropriate medication.

• “Oh yeah, I brought that movie you were talking about the other day. Figured it might pass the time a bit.”

“Thank you! I’ll give it back once I’m better - thank you so much ‘Tsumu.”

Your excitement was endearing, and he had to collect himself a bit since admiring such little quirks was out of the question - his crush was bad enough as it is.

“Wanna watch it now? I haven’t got anything to do so I can give you spoilers.”

“Sounds good - and not a word!”

• You spent the afternoon watching the film and playfully wrestling the blonde in order to shut him up whenever he made an attempt to spoil it - he would never, but provoking you was too funny.

• You settle down later on, putting on a mindless tv show for background noise before collapsing onto your bed with groan. Atsumu raising a smug brow at your exhausted state as he threw his jacket on.

• "Wanna sleep with me?" It was innocent, at least you didn’t think much of it then.

"Do I what now?" He was smirking, thankful that your panic left you oblivious to the blush crawling up his neck at the mere insinuation alone.

"Sleep wit- ohh I did not think that through! I meant sleep in my bed, next to me, to help me drift off. Maybe it's the sleepiness or medicine but I really want you Atsumu..."

"Not helping your case at all." Again he smugly responded, dropping his jacket to the floor with a sly smile.

"Stop smirking and just hug me okay? Then you can leave and tease me about this later."

• Atsumu isn't awkward about it, subduing his nerves enough to pull you into his arms as he sits up - dutifully ignoring the butterflies in his stomach due to your close proximity and the intoxicating smell of your hair.

• Atsumu becomes unintentionally soft, his fingers slowly begin to glide through your hair and he hesitates when he feels the hum of contentment you release before continuing. Your whole body just relaxes against his and he subconsciously does the same, not even realising he was this tense around you - was his body always like that in your general presence?

• As you start quietly talking about nothing and everything, he notices a weakness - you’re a lot more open when drowsy and god he wants to take advantage but knows you’ll remember the questions he asked and murder him for it when you’re able.

• Intead he attempts to protect any dignity he thinks he has left with you - jokes on him, it’s absolutely none. You guys are way past that level and he knows it.

“You better get healthy quick, not that I care but English is really borin’ on my own ya know?”

"The people you truly care about must be really lucky to have you 'Tsumu..." The mumble is enough to make him roll his eyes, but he waits until you’re asleep to reply.

"Yeah... you are..."

<——————————<<<<

[ Masterlist ]

[unfunny-quips]

Snippet from my (other) overly complicated Akeshu Time Loop fic where everyone except Akira (mostly) remembers the previous year:

Akechi Goro’s apartment was nothing like what Ann had expected it to be. Though admittedly her imagination had been a bit conflicted on what she should expect.

The shiny, polite Ace Detective facade he showed the world suggested she should expect a living space ripped straight out of a designer magazine. Attractive but stiff, nice to look at but difficult to actually live in let alone be comfortable in when visiting.

On the other hand, what she’d seen of his other side - the feral, blood thirsty and thoroughly nasty Black Mask - made her think of a dungeon like space. Chains on the walls, maybe one of those disturbing cluttered spaces shown on crime dramas when the heroes were hunting a serial killer. Pictures with blacked out eyes pinned to the walls, red string connecting disparate and terrifying thoughts and images, a collection of weapons on display.

What she got was…neither of those.

Shiho led her down the kind of pleasant residential area that put Ann in mind of the best kind of summers as a kid. A big park, open friendly faces, a community that seemed friendly and kind to each other. Shiho smiled and waved to a number of people on their way, the few they stopped to chat with for a bit telling her to give their hellos on to Akechi before letting them continue.

The apartment itself was the converted guest house in the back garden of what looked to be a cheerful family home. Ann counted no less than three fat cats lazing about and when they approached a delightfully plump old woman seated in a rocking chair on the front porch sat up from her reading to say hello and welcome Ann. Shiho called her Obaasan and rushed to give her a hug like she really was Shiho’s beloved grandmother before the old woman ushered them down the side path towards the back of the house.

“That’s Goro’s landlady, Shibata-San,” Shiho said as they walked the narrow path that led along the side of the house and through a truly beautiful garden. “She’s super sweet but has trouble with her arthritis sometimes. She gives Goro a deal on the rent since he helps her out so much around the house and with her gardening.”

Akechi Goro being nice to little old ladies. Ann wasn’t certain if that was exactly what she expected from the deranged killer pretending to be a charming teen detective or something so far out of the realm of expected as to be laughable. She chose to make a polite hmm noise of interest instead, not wanting to break the good mood Shiho was in by bringing up how very much Ann hated Akechi. She was rewarded by Shiho smiling warmly at her, which was really all the shorter girl would need to do to convince Ann to murder someone in Shiho’s name.

Shiho knocked at the door and Ann took a final calming breath to prepare her for the night that lay ahead of her. It was just a few hours, and she’d be there with Shiho and there would be plenty of other people to help buffer her from Akechi and Akira. Ann had helped shoot a god in the face once, she was ready for anything Akechi might throw at her over a few hours of talking about a book.

She wasn’t even close to ready, as it turned out.

The realization settled in the moment the door opened to reveal a yawning Akechi standing before her with messy hair and Featherman themed pajamas. Rumpled and clearly well worn Featherman pajamas.

Ann felt her eyes widen comically at the sight of the boy that had once been her and her team’s arch nemesis. A known and dangerous killer who had taken countless lives in the name of his twisted revenge scheme. 

He was wearing adorable unicorn slippers. Their horns were rainbow.

“Ah, Shiho!” Akechi said through his yawn, face stretching into a warm smile as he spotted the shorter girl on the other side of the threshold. “Just in time, I need help hauling Akira’s dead weight to the bedroom.” Ann watched him scratch lazily at his chin before blinking his attention over to her and offered another smile. It was a  brittle, plastic thing in comparison to the honest warmth he’d offered the shorter girl. All polish and teeth, no actual emotion. “And Takamaki-San, I’m so glad you could join us for the evening.”

He looked anything but, especially with the white knuckled grip he had on the door handle.

Ann offered a strained smile of her own. She’d made a promise to Shiho damnit and she’d see it through if it killed her. Or if Akechi killed her. Whatever. The point was that she was going to try damnit.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world!” She said as Akechi stepped back to allow them inside. Shiho gave a faint wince at the overly perky tone Ann had and shoot she’d overshot the enthusiasm a bit. Oh well. Better to be too excited than not enough. She followed Shiho’s lead in taking her shoes off and slipping on a pair of house slippers before turning her attention to the apartment itself.

It was…surprisingly cozy.

Ann was surprised too by the amount of clutter taking up the apartment. A laundry basket of half-folded, clean clothes sitting next to the couch, a knocked over bag tossed on a side table by the front door, more pillows and blankets than Ann would have expected making it seem like a nice place to curl up and read in. The apartment still managed to look tidy despite the half hearted attempt at organization.

Most of the space consisted of a living room with a tiny kitchenette tucked in a corner. There was a small nook beside the cooking area likely meant for dining. The small table placed there was taken over by a nice looking chess set, leaving no room for any actual dining. A small blackboard hung on the wall beside it, tallying victories of each player - tied, from what Ann could see, between Akechi and Kurusu. Other than that there were a couple doors leading to what she presumed to be a bedroom and a bathroom. 

It looked so remarkably normal.

Hardwood floors, plush rugs thrown everywhere, overstuffed bookshelves, pictures on the wall. There was a larger one hung over the couch showing off the entire book club smiling brightly at what looked like a cat cafe. Shiho, Akechi, Kurusu, Yoshizawa, even Togo Hifumi and Iwai’s son Kaoru. All of them squeezed together to fit, hands up in peace signs or giving each other bunny ears.

They looked normal. Just kids hanging out, enjoying each other’s company and reading books. It was hard to reconcile the photo with the mental image Ann had of several of the members as potential agents of Yaldabaoth.

Seeing how happy Shiho looked in the pictures didn’t help.

Ann pushed the thoughts away as best she could and followed other two to where a half asleep Akira was laid sprawled half under a large kotatsu. The delinquent had his head thrown back on the couch behind him, one of the many throw pillows Akechi apparently owned curled in his arms. She was surprised to see his usual oversized glasses he so often hid behind tossed haphazardly on the kotatsu. His eyes were closed, but he cracked one open when he heard them come over.

“M’fine here.” He muttered, curling up further around his pillow.

Akechi rolled his eyes. 

“There is a bed literally right there.” he pointed at one of the two closed doors for emphasis, mere steps away. Akira was already turning away and wiggling further beneath the kotatsu blanket. “Just go to bed Akira, no one else is even going to be here for another hour at least.”

Ann blinked. “What?” She turned from the drowsy Akira to Shiho, the shorter girl giving an unapologetic, challenging smile.

“Goro said we could come over early so you could get settled in!” Shiho said, chipper and all too aware of the fact that Ann had been banking on keeping her attention on other people in order to ignore Akechi. She really shouldn’t have been surprised. Shiho really did know her too well.

Akechi offered another brittle smile before turning his attention back to Akira, his expression softening again. Ann watched as the detective attempted to scoop the dark haired boy up, only for Akira to slip out of his grasp by going boneless, earning an undignified swear from the detective. 

Ann watched as the detective attempted to drag the delinquent away by an arm, amused as Shiho strolled over casually and hauled Akira up over her shoulder - pillow and all - in a fireman’s hold. She did it with such ease that Ann was a left little breathless at the show of strength. Akira wasn’t heavy by any measure but he was tall and she’d seen him working out at the gym the one time she went with Ryuji. The boy had muscle and that couldn’t be light. It didn’t matter to the short girl and her exceptional strength and well… Ann was weak to Shiho in so very many ways.

A few minutes later Akira had been safely stowed in a proper bed, the faint sound of soft snores heard from the dark haired delinquent before Shiho had even made it through the door. Which just left the three of them standing awkwardly in the living room.

Joy.

“I’m not nearly as good as Akira or Boss,” Akechi began, “But I can make a passable cup of coffee with what I’ve got here. Would you like one?”

There was a very real chance he might poison it. Ann nodded anyway to appease Shiho, resigned to the fact that she really was willing to do anything to see the shorter girl smile. 

Akechi shuffled towards the kitchenette in his ridiculous fluffy unicorn slippers and began fussing with the various coffee supplies that took up almost all of his very limited counter space. He was even nice enough to pull out a container of some cookies - a favorite brand of Ann’s on top of it - that hadn’t even been opened yet from a cupboard. She felt secure in the knowledge that those at least hadn’t been tampered with as she began happily devouring them.

“He’s still refusing to move in?” Shiho asked Akechi softly as she settled on the plush loveseat adjacent to the couch, tugging Ann down beside her. The dark haired girl pulled her feet up and under her, Shiho’s expression turning concerned as she watched Akechi work.

Akechi gave a soft sigh as he began boiling some water for the coffee. “He’s just so damn stubborn.” The detective said, shoulder’s drooping as he measured the freshly ground coffee out. “That place is killing him, but every time I bring it up he digs his heels in.”

Shiho gave a soft sigh before turning her attention to Ann to explain. “Akira is…” She paused, frowning, “His living situation is…bad.” Ann flicked her attention to Akechi as she heard him mutter a faint fucking understatement of the year under his breath. “Goro has offered to let him stay here but Akira’s worried that his record would hurt Goro’s reputation.”

“Oh,” Ann said, turning her attention on the delicate chocolate dipped cookie she held. Akira’s criminal record, that had been made public and well known by Mishima at Komashida’s request. Because Akira had stepped in and kept the teacher from getting to Shiho. Something Ann should have done. “Isn’t there something he can do? He’s staying with a guardian right? Couldn’t he just request to be moved under someone else?”

Akechi snorted bitterly. “Great idea, so that scam artist can report him as being “dangerous” and get him sent back to Juvie?” Red eyes turned to Ann, pinning her in place as Akechi’s mouth twisted into a sour frown. “You know about shitty adults. You know there really aren’t options like that for people in Akira’s position.”

Ann was struck again by the strange clash between what she expected from Akechi from the last run of the game and what he was showing her in this one. 

A facade of niceties for the camera, a howling soul of insanity for anyone who got in his way. Where, exactly, between those two extremes lay concern for a friend in a difficult position? Where did friends lay in that mess at all? Where did the cozy apartment, helping out an arthritic old lady, the weekly book club, the Featherman pajamas? Was there a graph somewhere that might map it all out? Or was she just supposed to guess at what was a real glimpse at the boy that had once murdered her friend’s father and what was an act to get what he wanted?

“Here,” Akechi said, and for a moment she half expected him to hand her the answers she wanted. He didn’t, of course, instead handing her a cup of coffee resting on a matching saucer. Both cup and saucer had cute chubby cats on them. “Cream? Sugar?”

She blinked and nodded, watching as he turned on his heel to get her what she asked for. Shiho beside her shifted where she sat, butting their shoulders together gently. Her face, when Ann met her gaze, was thoughtful. Considering Ann as if she was the puzzle and not the serial killer juggling a carton of cream and an oversized container of sugar across the room. Trying to stow her apprehension away for the night, Ann offered her friend the best honest expression she could while knowing how many lies she’d given the shorter girl over the past months. 

Shiho’s expression shifted slowly, the look in her dark eyes difficult to read. Ann watched as the other girl turned to sip at her coffee. Shiho didn’t even wait for it to cool. She always liked her drinks hot enough to scald.

“You know, maybe it’s the way you’re asking.” Shiho said, the complicated emotions Ann glimpsed the moment before shuffled away as the dark haired girl turned a devious smile on Akechi.

The detective looked weary and wary all at once. “Shiho…” His tone had something like a weak warning to it, though the bite Ann was used to hearing from him was absent.

“I’m just saying,” Shigo said, looking delighted, “You’re asking him to move in with you as a friend.”

“Don’t.” Akechi said, it might have been sharp and snapping if it wasn’t for the color rising high on the boy’s cheeks. Ann blinked in bewilderment. Was Akechi Goro blushing?

“Just ask him to be your boyfriend already!” Shiho said, all cheer and delight with an undercurrent of something challenging directed at the now definitely blushing Akechi. “We all saw you two kiss at the ice rink! It’s not like the thing between you it’s a secret!”

Ann choked on the cookie she’d just popped into her mouth. Akechi - so red that Ann was fairly certain he was going to turn purple soon - made a high pitched squeak and buried his face in his hands.

Well that put a new light on things.

“You kissed Kurusu?!” Cookies crumbs went flying as she spoke but Ann didn’t care. The news was just too big to be taken in calmly. Makoto had suspected that Kurusu, a known criminal, was a pawn in Akechi’s devious plan and the rest of the group had been thinking the same. Morgana suggested that the dark haired boy might even be the new player they’d been warned about.

At no point at any of them considered Akechi could be so human as to simply just like Kurusu.

“It’s not that - you’re taking things out of context!” Akechi almost wailed, not a psychopath ready to kill at a drop of a hat but an embarrassed teenage boy being teased about his crush.

Shiho laughed, “You two held hands!” 

“I didn’t know how to skate! Kurusu was helping me balance!”

“You stayed on the ice during the couple’s song!”

“We just didn’t want to get off the ice!”

“You stopped, in the middle of the rink, looked deep into each other’s eyes while holding hands and kissed.”

As if to drive her point home, Shiho lifted her phone to show a picture - a bit blurry at the edges but clear enough to make out - of Akechi and Kurusu definitely having a sweet, romantic kiss on the ice. Clearly completely oblivious of the world around them as they did so. It was possibly the cutest thing Ann had ever seen.

Any idea Ann ever had of Akechi Goro being intimidating was thrown right out the window.

[nomazee]

Thinking Things Up And Not Thinking It Through

iwaizumi hajime x reader, oikawa tooru & reader friendship 

word count: 2300+

content: oblivious & ooc iwaizumi, pining reader, light swearing, (title is a reference to listerine by dayglow)

(i was thinking ab the first iwazumi/oikawa fic i posted (and the first fic i posted....EVER) and almost cried thinking about it cause its SO BAD and i felt like i needed to atone for my sins so here it is!! 

i wrote this in one day, pretty quickly, and it’s unedited & might not make sense in some parts. regardless, i hope it’s concise enough and that you all enjoy it !!

thank you for the continued support on my work. it really makes me happy to see that people enjoy the things i write. i hope i continue to make you guys happy with my stuff!!

also, as always, here’s a reminder that my requests are open!! feel free to send one in after reading my rules :)

happy reading!!)

☾.:°∗★.:☆:.★∗°:.☽

You and Oikawa were friends. Oikawa and Iwaizumi were friends. You and Iwaizumi, however, were not friends. 

It’s not like you two were sworn enemies. You got along quite well, actually. But you just… weren’t close enough to consider yourselves friends. 

It was really a shame. You were sure you were practically in love with the guy. 

Oikawa knew about this--him and his annoying, prying self figured it out after digging it out of you during a sleepover. He laughed hysterically when he found out and developed the habit of throwing teasing remarks your way whenever Iwaizumi was in both of your presences. 

“How do you manage to like someone who barely talks to you?!” He screeched into your ear that night through bouts of laughter. 

You huffed and slapped his shoulder with as much strength as you could gather in your embarrassed state. “Shut up! Half your fangirls have never had a proper conversation with you yet they’re still in love with you.” 

“Yeah, but that’s me. You’re talking about Iwaizu--”

“Can you shut up?!” 

It was just your luck that Iwaizumi seemed to shut down any advances you made towards him. Not really “shut down,” though--if he outright told you he wasn’t interested then you wouldn’t force that on him. It was more like he was completely oblivious to any moves you made to approach him. It was funny. And disappointing. And hysterical, to Oikawa. 

You knew how well Iwaizumi interacted with his teammates, and from your rare moments of sentiment with Oikawa you learned that Iwaizumi was no stranger to adjusting to the needs of his teammates and friends. 

Good to know that you were in neither of those categories. 

You put yourself out there for him more than you normally would, greeting him every morning, starting conversations, even going as far to invite him to outings in an attempt to just get to know the guy, for fuck’s sake. 

“There’s this really nice diner a few blocks down from my house. It’s family-owned and the food there’s really good. Do you maybe want to go there someday?” 

Iwaizumi blinked, looking up from his lunch tray. Oikawa had left one point to “go to the bathroom” (you’d told him of your plan to ask the ace out, and he was supportive enough to give you a window of time to do that without you friend’s presence making you nervous), leaving both of you alone as you grasped at loose threads to try and start a conversation. 

“With Oikawa?” 

“...with me.” 

“....and Oikawa?” 

Oh. Cool. So he just wasn’t comfortable with you in the slightest. Good to know. 

“Yeah. Sure.” 

You had to sit through the humiliation of explaining to Oikawa that it absolutely did not go as planned. He treated you to dango after laughing hysterically. 

You didn’t want to stoop as low as asking Oikawa to interrogate Iwaizumi about his opinion on before, but you were really starting to consider it. 

You figured maybe a gift would be easier than that. This revelation led to you sobbing in your kitchen while on facetime with Tooru as you tried to figure out why the dough for your melonpan had the consistency of thick oatmeal and glopped along your kitchen counter whenever you tried to pick it up. (Yet again, the brunette setter went out of his way to buy another small gift of condolence the next morning after being absolutely no help to you the night before.)

You eventually managed to turn out a few decent looking (and decent tasting) buns, packaging them neatly in paper bags to give to Iwaizumi the next morning. 

Iwaizumi blinked at you, then at the bag you forced into his hands without a word. “...what is this?” 

“Melonpan.” 

“...oh. Thank… you?” 

He didn’t even look into the bag. Didn’t say anything else after that. You stood in your place, expectant for some other response but knowing that, realistically, you wouldn’t be getting one. 

“I hope you like it.” And with that, you spun on your heel, stumbled, and walked away with an awkward awareness of how you were stepping. 

During lunch, Oikawa and you sat separate from his friend, making up some excuse that you two had to review something from class and sneaking away to discuss your next step. Tooru was enthusiastic about this whole thing. You were not. 

“He ate the melonpan, you know,” your friend remarked, taking a sip of canned juice before continuing. “I caught him before I went to class. He seemed to like it.” 

“Oh. Good to know it didn’t taste like shit.” 

“Hopefully it doesn’t give him food poisoning.” 

“Will you--!” Oikawa burst into peals of laughter, body bending at the waist in a show of just how amusing this was to him. You huffed. 

“This is, like, the dumbest thing ever. I’ve done so many things--”

“Like, two things--” 

“--to try and drop a hint, any hint, and he just acts like an oblivious dumbass and ignores everything I throw his way. It’s stupid! He doesn’t even talk to me! How does he put up with you all the time yet when it comes to me he can’t even look me in the eyes?!” 

Oikawa’s laughter quelled as he listened to you ramble momentarily. When you fell silent, he looked up at you and gasped at the sight of your eyes brimming with tears. 

“Hey, [Y/N]--” 

“No! It’s fine! I’m sorry, I’m just dumb and emotional and I’m not actually that upset,” that was doubtful, “but maybe I’m just… not a fun person? Not as fun as I thought I was. Not fun enough for a guy like Iwaizumi to be around.” 

Tooru was silent. He was no stranger to your comedy-induced mood swings but this seemed to be serious. This whole Iwaizumi thing was making you doubt your ability to make friends and it made the brunette’s heart hurt to see you in this state. 

“Hey,” he approached, tone uncharacteristically gentle, “you got me to be your friend. And that’s saying a lot. People like me, sure, but I don’t like a lot of people as much as I like you.” 

Your breaths slowed down. Oikawa snapped back into character. 

“As a friend, obviously. I don’t think I could handle the emotional experience of having to date you.” 

“Asshole!” 

“Love you!” 

You both laughed in the comfortable quiet before Oikawa spoke up again. 

“I don't think it’s that he doesn’t like you. Maybe he’s scared of you.” You furrowed your eyebrows incredulously. 

“How can I be scary to anyone?” 

“Well… scared in the sense that, he’s never really had girls approach him.” 

That was a shocker. Iwaizumi was a looker--a fact no one could deny. And while, yeah, maybe he’s tough-guy disposition made him a little unapproachable, you were still surprised that it wasn’t at least a little common for girls to approach him. 

“Has he ever, like… said anything about me?” 

Oikawa thought for a bit, chewing on a piece of milk bread he’d torn off. “No, not really. When I mention stuff about you, he listens but doesn’t really comment. He gets kind of quiet, really.” 

You hummed. Maybe Oikawa was right about that scared-of-girls thing. You were prepared to go through another set of trials to get this boy to warm up to you at least a little bit. 

A week later, Tooru got sick. You lectured him over the phone about how irresponsible he was with his health before simmering into a soft demeanor and promising to make him soup when you got home. (“Aww, so sweet of you, [Y/N]! It almost feels like I’m your boyfriend, not Iwaizumi.” You screamed at him for that one and threatened to take soup privileges away.) 

At the end of the day (which dragged on longer than usual due to your friend’s lack of presence), you stood under the awning, watching the downpour from beyond the protection the roof gave you. You never picked up the habit of checking the weather forecast, which proved to be your downfall many times. This being one of them. 

You sighed. You couldn’t wait out the rain. It looked like it would probably go on for a while, and you needed to get home to make food for Tooru and finish your homework. Sighing again, you prepared yourself (emotionally more than physically) to run through the rain like a madman. 

Footsteps sounded from behind you. Instinctively, you looked for the source, surprised to see Iwaizumi blinking owlishly at your lone form. 

You looked at his hand. He was holding an umbrella. 

You repressed a smile. Maybe today was actually your lucky day--you’d ask Iwaizumi to walk you home, letting you stay dry while also getting closer to the boy, for once. 

“Hey.” You greeted him. He gave a small smile and nodded back, walking up to be level with you. 

You both stood in silence for a bit, watching cars pass through wet asphalt and kick up puddles. 

You turned to him, mouth parting open to ask if he wanted to walk home together--

“Have a good day, [L/N].” With that, he walked out from under the awning and made his way home. 

Your mouth remained agape, looking at his retreating form with a mix of emotions--frustration, embarrassment, confusion. 

Minutes passed. With a sigh, you realized you didn’t have much of a choice. You took your blazer off, holding it above your head, and ran into the street. 

You got home. Made soup and suppressed shivers from the remaining cold of rain sticking to your skin. Walked to Tooru’s house (with an umbrella this time), relayed what happened to him, and tolerated his hoarse giggles once again. 

Tooru got better quite quickly, and you were lucky enough to not get sick despite sprinting through the rain and spending your evening in the presence of a sick person. 

You felt a sense of deja vu during lunch when Oikawa stood up and excused himself to the bathroom, sending a wink in your direction that made you flush in embarrassment and panic. You certainly hadn’t discussed any future plans with him. Why was he leaving you alone like this?!

Iwaizumi folded hands on top of the lunch table, playing with his fingers absentmindedly as a way to occupy himself. His lunch had been finished a while ago, leaving him with only his hands to fiddle with as he pointedly avoided your gaze and the prospect of interacting with you. You frowned a bit at the action. 

“So…” You were surprised to hear him speak first, but perked up immediately to listen to him. “You and Oikawa…?” 

He didn’t elaborate any further. You stayed quiet, brows knitting together in confusion. Iwaizumi sighed. 

“You guys are a thing.” You choked at how forward he was with his statement, coughing a few times to clear up the invisible ball in your throat. “It’s… that’s cool. You guys are cute. You go together well, and stuff.” 

Oh my God. Oh my…? What?! He could not be this oblivious. He could not be this blind-- You were speechless at the words that were coming out of his mouth. 

“What the fuck.” You hadn’t even noticed the words coming out of your mouth until you saw Iwaizumi’s eyes widen at you. “I-- Sorry-- Tooru and I… are not dating…?” 

It was Iwaizumi’s turn to be confused, apparently. “What? But you guys are so close, and… you’re always around each other, and stuff. And he talks about you sometimes. So I figured, y’know--” 

“Absolutely not.” Your words were choked out between dry laughs, eyes darting left and right as you tried to gain a sense of reality again. “I would never in my life date that boy. Never. No. And don’t you think if he had a girlfriend, he’d tell you? Right off the bat? He’s no stranger to inflating his ego by bragging. How the hell did you even draw that conclusion?!” 

“Well, it’s not my fault! You two are always hanging off each other, who wouldn’t assume there was something going on between you two?!” 

“Who would?!” 

“Me, apparently! Which was stupid, ‘cause for the last six months I’ve been trying to avoid you because I thought you were off-limits and I didn’t want to get my ass beat by Oikawa--” 

“Off-limits?” 

“Well, yeah! Like, for dating.” The both of you quieted down, the silence of your table a great contrast to the petty scuffle you’d just been having. Neither of you dared to look at each other. Neither of you dared to speak. 

Oikawa came back after a few minutes, noticing the tension in the air and becoming too nervous to say anything. When he asked you about it as you left the cafeteria, you muttered harshly under your breath, “Just so you know, I would never in my life date you. Ever.” 

He only laughed, concern still evident in his features but simmering down the slightest bit after realizing you were well enough to joke around. 

Before you could enter through the doorway of your classroom with Tooru, a hand grabbed your forearm harshly, shoving you off balance at the unexpected force. 

You turned around to view your captor, freezing at the sight of Iwaizumi Hajime, in all his glory, panting as if he’d just chased after you. (Which he probably did, let’s be honest.) 

“Um,” his seemingly confident demeanor collapsed in your presence and his eyes left yours to find interest in the floor. “Friday. Let’s go to that diner, the one near your house that you wanted to go to. At noon, if that’s okay with you.” 

You paused. He remembered the diner. A smile slowly found its way onto your face and you laughed a little bit. Iwaizumi’s eyes flicked back up at yours, trying to get a read on your reaction before you could properly give a response. 

“Yeah. That sounds good. And no Oikawa.” 

“God, no Oikawa.”

[laceymorganwrites]

Red lily

Word Count: 2,662

Pairing: Tendo x fem!reader

Warnings: swearing, slight mentions of bullying (Nothing explicit)

A/N: okay so this is really self indulgent. All of the Habits and past About the Reader are taken from myself (except for the homeschooling lol). And I´m Pretty sure I wrote Tendo ooc. But whatever. I quickly wanted to say why I wrote him like this: I relate to him a whole lot cause like him People were scared of me as a child too. I´m also regarded as the weird one and I wanted you guys to know that that´s okay. if you´re different and People tell you you´re weird, take it as a compliment, I know it´s hard, but you got this! Being weird is Nothing to be ashamed of

You didn´t belong in Shiratorizawa and everyone knew it. You just stood out with your quirky habits and weird looks as well as your behavior, you were different from your fellow students.

Never being one to like it when all the attention was on her, the elite school wasn´t a good match for you.

Of course your parents thought otherwise, once you had the grades to be able to enroll, no other options existed anymore. You were thankful for the opportunity at first, after all Shiratorizawa´s reputation preceded the school.

And once you were there it felt like all your dreams and nightmares came true at the same time.

For one the school was very prestigious and large, there were so many interesting classes and clubs that you had trouble to choose in which one you wanted to partake.

The students and teachers seemed really nice too at first, the volleyball club was the absolute pride of the school, making everyone else feel invisible which you were thankful for.

You never knew how to make friends anyway, nobody ever wanted to be your friend and for as long as you could remember you were always alone, an outcast, a weirdo, a girl who just didn´t know any better. How could you when nobody ever taught you how to be socially acceptable?

The bullying didn´t bother you until middle school, you didn´t comprehend it back in elementary school, you simply concentrated on your school work until the bullying got so far that you couldn´t even do that anymore.

Middle school was rough, you almost got kicked out because your bullies tried to pin the blame on you, which was easy enough. If one was different it was easy to make them the bad guy. Your parents had you home schooled from then on.

They were always supportive of you, giving you enough freedom to do all the things you wanted, to try out different things and they were still close enough for you to make you feel loved.

Because of that you never bothered meeting new people in school, why should you? They would only be scared of you again.

It was always rough being the odd one out at the beginning of the year, but your initial fear of Shiratorizawa´s students being entitled luckily turned out to be false.

Naturally most of them left you alone, which was way better than actively bullying you, you just weren´t like them and for the first time it felt like that was fine.

For the first time in your life school wasn´t a horrible place you didn´t want to go to, it was a place where you could study the things that interested you, you finally had fun studying again. And in club times you sat by yourself, doing homework and writing poems.

It was weird how you still had that hobby when it was one of the most major reasons you were bullied in the first place, the contents of your poems were rather dark, which people didn´t like from your experience.

You were always writing something in every free minute you got, even in lunch breaks you stayed inside the class room.

But you liked it that way, you liked being creative, you never thought of it as a negative isolation, rather as not disturbing others.

“What´re you writing?” Tendou has been staring at you for a while now, you just didn´t seem to notice it, you were always so focused on whatever you were writing. It intrigued him, everything about you was vexing to him. You and him have been in the same class ever since the start of the year and yet you never uttered a word to anyone. But you also didn´t seem shy or rude or arrogant, he just couldn´t figure you out. Tendo could read people easily normally, but you were a mystery to him. And you didn´t even give off the attitude of a typical mysterious girl.

You raised your head to meet his eyes, looking at you curiously, he was a weird guy, you had the feeling that he somehow always knew what was going on in people´s minds and that scared you.

His intense gaze scared you and yet his eyes looked rather soft and amused, contradicting the wicked smile he wore.

“Oh...um...nothing special” you answered, subconsciously going into defense. You were used to people making fun of you because of your writing so you didn´t want to say too much.

His grin grew wider, you weren´t used to this much attention so you blushed a bit at his intensity.

“So mysterious!” he rested his chin on his hand, tilting his head slightly, still focused on you.

“Oh, really? I´m sorry” you said, getting embarrassed, this is why you kept to yourself, sometimes you felt like you didn´t know how to talk at all.

You hated it, hated not being able to have a normal conversation with anybody.

But maybe that was why you and Tendou could have one, because you weren´t normal.

“Who said that was a bad thing?” he smirked at you, lowering his voice, his eyes glinting.

Before you could reply anything the lesson started.

It was interesting enough, though you had to admit it was hard to concentrate with Tendo´s eyes piercing you again, it was hard not to notice that, but a little voice in your head still told you that it was nothing, that you just imagined things, that nobody was interested in you in any way.

You only looked back at him when the teacher announced you would be working together for a project.

He gave you a grin again, turning to you.

“So we meet again, mystery girl” he teased you.

You gave him a shy smile, making his eyes go wide.

“Oooh she can smile!” he chuckled.

You crossed your arms, feeling like a little child.

“Of course I can! And I´m no mystery girl, I´m (Y/N). And there´s nothing interesting about me...” you mumbled.

“Girls like you always say that” he remarked, but he knew you weren´t like other girls, his intuition never failed him after all.

“Well, maybe...but that doesn´t change the fact that it´s true. And we should really get started with the project” you said, avoiding his eyes at all cost, they made you feel exposed. Not necessarily in an uncomfortable way, just in an unusual one. It was certainly new to you to be watched this intently.

Tendou obliged and you two worked hard for a while, you were focused on your task until your eyes went wide in embarrassment.

“Oh shit! What´s your name, I totally forgot to ask, I´m so sorry” you rambled, something like could really happen to only you. So much for not knowing how to socialize.

“Tendou Satori, but you can call me Satori” his lips curled into a smirk again, but this time it was softer.

Over the course of the next week you warmed up to him, you managed to relax and collect your thoughts, hell you were so comfortable around him that you started conversations on your own.

And instead of trying to ignore his stare, you now returned it with a smile, which made him happy.

You worked well together and got a good grade for your assignment.

Even after school you stayed in touch, having exchanged phone numbers and texting frequently now. Texting was easier for you since you could control your words that way, you liked yourself better when you wrote or texted, not so much when you talked, not at all when you talked.

Tendou didn´t mind that though, he thought it was one of your many charms, he didn´t make it a secret that he liked you, or so he thought.

It was hard for him to express his feelings that way, he was so used to rejection and dislike that he built walls around himself in that department. He was so confident in his knowledge of people and yet you managed to make him insecure, he just never knew what was going on in your mind and it drove him crazy.

Of course after months of being friends, something that neither of you had had in your entire life, it was easier for him to understand you. But that didn´t mean it got easier for him to understand himself. The two of you shared intimate moments, such as talking about your pasts and you showing him your poetry, he always felt so special in those times, and yet he couldn´t get that nagging feeling out of his gut.

Tendou wasn´t aware that he was even capable of falling in love, but of course you had to prove him wrong.

He first noticed that the feeling wouldn´t go away when you were watching him practice. It wasn´t the first time you accompanied him in the club, after all he too happily obliged when you asked him to teach you about volleyball. But he expected you to focus on Ushijima like all the others, he wouldn´t even blame you if you did.

And you did a certain amount, you could acknowledge his strength but your eyes were always on Tendou. To be honest you knew you had a crush on him for a while now, but decided not to act on it since you thought you were overthinking again.

That feeling didn´t go away however, so instead of telling him, you found your outlet for those feelings in your poetry.

Your eyes were fixed on Tendou as he blocked one ball after another, you were fascinated at how he was able to foresee where the ball would go next, he was always one step ahead of his opponent and you were in awe of that.

“You´re amazing, Satori” you smiled at him excitedly after the training, you went home together.

“Hm...not really, Ushijima´s amazing, he´s the ace after all. I just have good intuition, that´s all” he told you, making you frown.

“Ushijima might be the ace but to me you´re the one that´s the most fun to watch! And...it´s not like you to talk yourself down like that...” you said, you were a bit worried about him lately, he seemed to be in his head a lot.

Tendou gave you a sad smile at that.

“I guess it´s not, but I can´t help but think that they´re right sometimes… that I´m just some weird demon kid that scares everyone away, that I should just stay to myself” you stopped in your tracks, pouting.

“I used to think like that too, but you know what? Yes, you are a weird demon kid, but that´s exactly why I hang out with you, because I´m a weirdo too. And us weirdos gotta stick together, right?” you tried to cheer him up, not one of your strong suits.

“So you´re saying you only hang out with me out of pity? Oh, that´s just great, (Y/N). But if that´s the case then I´d just rather be by myself again” he coldly stated, walking away from you. You didn´t mean it that way, you tried to go after him, explain yourself but your feet wouldn´t move. Why was he angry at you? You didn´t understand. Maybe you pried too much into his life? You went home and texted him that you were sorry. But he didn´t answer.

He also didn´t talk to you in school, he didn´t even look at you. You felt like absolute crap. For the first time in your life you felt utterly alone. And you didn´t like that feeling one bit.

You couldn´t concentrate all day in school, in your lunch break you read over one of your poems about Tendou again.

The strange girl in the back

And the boy who sees through her

Both have something they lack

Found it in each other

His moon and her sun

Mysterious and complex

And yet they resonate

Reading those lines again gave you an idea, you hastily got out a piece of paper and started scribbling down everything that was in your head.

After school, right before training began you managed to catch Ushijima and handed him a note he should give to Tendou saying he should meet him after training.

“Thanks, oh and could you tell him that I´m sorry and that I miss him, please? Wait, not that I miss him… that sounds weird….um, sorry, I´m holding you up!” you rambled and excused yourself.

You were really anxious, so you went to buy a red lily before going back to school. Somehow you doubted that Tendou would show up, he could do so much better than you, he had so many other friends, friends that didn´t fuck things up like you did, friends that could actually formulate what they meant when speaking. And yet there he was, sitting on a bench.

You sat down next to him, he tilted his head to look at you, a big smile plastered on his face, making you raise an eyebrow.

“Ushijima told me that you missed me” he teased you, to which you blushed.

“And honestly, I miss you too. Look, I´m sorry too, I knew you didn´t mean what you said in the way I thought, but a part of me still thinks everyone´s playing with me. But I didn´t want to make things awkward so I just ignored you, which was really stupid and I´m sorry for that” he told you, his head hanging low.

Your hand subconsciously wandered to lay on his shoulder comfortingly, making him raise his head to face your sweet smile.

“You know I suck at talking, so sorry for the misunderstanding. It´s nice to talk to you like that again, I missed this” you admitted, your heart hammering in your chest. Why did you think it was a good idea to confess right now again?

“What´s that?” Tendou pointed to your hand in which you still held the lily.

“Oh, um...that´s for you...” you shyly handed him the flower, earning confusion from him.

You gulped and took a deep breath before speaking the next words.

“Well, um, it´s a red lily and uh...they stand for passion and they….reminded me of you. And um, maybe….to understand it better you should read this. I wrote it for you, I´m better at writing words than actually saying them” you handed him the poem you wrote for him earlier with shaking hands.

Tendou didn´t know what was going on, never would he have imagined you to be so upfront. You really always did manage to surprise him.

You may be a demon

But that only makes me a satanist

The way you read people

Makes me want to be a book

You have my favorite smile

And are so misunderstood

But to me, if that matters

You truly are, everything

“You wrote that for me?” he breathed out, Tendou never felt so touched, nobody ever did such a great thing for him in his entire life and he wanted to cherish this moment forever, he wanted to cherish you forever. Not knowing what else to do, he hugged you.

You nodded, hugging him back with shaking hands. He was so warm, he felt so familiar, like home, his scent instantly calmed you down, you wanted to hold him forever.

“Does that mean you like me too?” he asked, he still wasn´t sure.

Your heart skipped a beat.

“What do you mean ´too´?” you abruptly said, pulling away from him, cheeks flushed.

“Oh shit! Well, um...I mean I kinda like you...no, fuck that, I like you a whole lot, I thought it was obvious” he chuckled awkwardly.

“Well I think my poem made it obvious too, but because you´re an idiot I´ll say it again for you: I like you too, Satori.” you didn´t know where the sudden confidence came from, maybe it was the adrenaline, but now the secret was out. And you didn´t regret it one bit.

[katastroficwriter]

Fic title, "vulnerable"? :)

vulnerable

Summary: Kiibo and Ouma should never be together.

Especially when exploring a decrepit high school with rotting floorboards.

In which Kiibo and Ouma dug themselves a deeper hole than expected when they accidentally crashed to the bottom of a run down school with no other way out.

Tags: Supernatural, Heart-to-heart conversations

                                         ———————————-

“So ghosts, am I right?”

“GAAAH!!! SHUT UP! STOP TALKING ABOUT GHOSTS! I DON’T SEE NO GHOST! GHOSTS AREN’T REAL! YOU PROBABLY JUST MADE GHOSTS UP!” Momota’s sudden outburst easily grabbed everyone’s attention from whatever conversation they were having..

The next thing they saw was the face-splitting grin that slowly took over the supreme leader’s face.

“What’s the matter, Momota Kaito-chan, “Luminary of the Stars”? Scared of a few ghoooooosts~?” he cooed mockingly. “Then again…you know what they say! The more terrified they are…the louder they howl. Wow~!  You’re such a big coward, Momota-chan!”

“SCARED? ME? Of-of-of c-course not! Why the hell would I b-be s-scared of something that doesn’t even e-exist!” the astronaut stammered, taking a couple of steps back. “And I’m no coward!”

“I beg to differ, Momota-kun. There have been countless traces of the souls of the dead roaming in plenty of villages I’ve visited in the past, ku ku ku…” Shinguuji added, waving his index finger a little. “It was truly a wondrous experience. I still remember it as if it were only yesterday.”

“See? Even Shinguuji-chan says they’re real,” Ouma snickered. “And that’s why I want to see them for myself!”

“I-It has to be a lie! You probably roped Shinguuji into this! As long as you’re involved, it has to be a lie!” Despite the strength in Momota’s accusation, everyone can tell how badly his legs were shaking like a newborn fawn’s.

“You’re just afraid of the truth, that’s why you always dismiss it as lies,” Ouma tapped at his lips with a deceitfully serene smile.

“Everybody settle down!” Akamatsu huffed, placing her hands on her hips. “Anyway…what’s with this sudden interest in ghosts, Ouma-kun?”

“Finally! Someone asking the right questions. I knew I can count on you, Akamatsu-chan~” Ouma waved his arms up and down with uncontained excitement. “You see…I wanted to propose a class bonding activity in the form of a test of courage!”

“A test of courage? Hah! I’ll ace that like how I aced my astronaut exam!” Momota slammed a fist against his chest, color returned to his face.

“After your shameful display? I highly doubt that,” the supreme leader made a show of flicking dirt off his nails.

“Ouma you bastard–”

“But a test of courage in Spring? Isn’t that a little…off-season?” Shirogane spoke, raising her hand. “Wouldn’t Summer or Autumn be a more suitable time for those kinds of things?”

“Oui, Oui! Shirogane-chan!” Ouma crossed his arms over his chest. “But you see, the abandoned Saishuu Academy would be demolished next month! We absolutely cannot afford to wait for Summer or Autumn!”

“Saishuu…Academy?” Saihara lifted the bill of his hat as he spoke. “Why there?”

“Huh? Is there something going on with Saishuu Academy, Saihara-kun?” Akamatsu tilted her head to the side.

The detective tugged his hat lower, “Um…none that I know of. It’s just…my great-great-grandfather used to go there during his time.”

“Exactly!” Ouma pointed at the detective. “Saishuu Academy is one of the, if not the oldest school in the entirety of Japan! It’s bound to house a lot of ghosts in it!”

“What makes you so damn sure about that, you gremlin? It’s not like people fucking died there!” Iruma scoffed.

“Shut your stinky mouth and listen, pig, you might actually learn something if you do,” Ouma slammed a hand on his desk.

“H-hiiee!” 

“The school has a clean record, sure. But I’ll have you know that Saishuu Academy was in fact built over an execution ground for criminals! A prison! There’s plenty of deaths on that land, that’s for sure!”

“Nnngh…you’re probably just lying again!” Yumeno pointed an accusatory finger at the leader, though her bravado was belied by her pale face. “Y-you’re just saying that to d-disrupt my mana flow!”

“Oh, but what Ouma-kun said is in fact true,” Shinguuji chuckled. “I even have records of it in my lab. I would present it to you all, however, it’s a very old record and thus very fragile to the elements. I do not wish to damage it.”

“S-stupid! This idea is stupid anyway! Why do I have to go through a test of courage when we already know how courageous I am!” Momota slammed his fists together. “G-ghosts or a-ayakashi, or y-y-youkai, they aren’t r-real and are just stories invented to t-torment the feeble-minded!”

“No need to be shy, Momota-chan, we all know you mean you,” Ouma smiled. “Anyway! If anyone wants to join in the fun, just go meet me and Kiiboy by Saishuu Academy’s school gate. I’ll only wait for 10 minutes. I’m entering the school whether or not you all come, just saying.”

“Wasn’t this supposed to be a class bonding activity?!” Chabashira raised a fist.

“That was a lie, really. I’m just making this announcement in case I die while exploring the place, nishishi! That way you’ll know where to look for my remains.” The leader hopped off his seat and approached the albino robot, who was currently sitting idly by the wall in sleep mode while he charged.  “Speaking of which, I really love nature so make sure you spread my ashes in the forest, okay?”

“B-bullshit! Stop fooling around!” Momota gritted his teeth.

“That aside…did Kiibo-kun already agree to this? I didn’t think he’d be the type to go on trips like this one,” Amami rubbed his nape.

“Oh, he doesn’t have a choice, really,” Ouma proceeded to poke and prod random buttons on the robot’s body. “I just needed something to take paranormal photos of! Kiiboy’s a machine, so he can definitely detect ghosts and print out a photo for us or two!”

“H-hey, you should stop messing with Kiibo, what if he blows up or something?” Momota shuddered had the thought. He still needed to go to space! There’s no way he’s going to die from an explosion!

“…Mmm? Huh? Up already? But I’m only at 79 percent…” Kiibo mimicked a yawn. “How did–”

“Morning sleepyhead~ Wanna go on a test and courage with us later?” the supreme leader flashed the android a toothy grin.

“O-Ouma-kun? Test of courage?” Kiibo’s brow furrowed as he began perusing the recording of the conversation which he slept through. “What for?”

“Just for some good ol’ class bonding,” Ouma tucked a strand of hair behind an ear. “You have no choice by the way, I only asked you for the sake of formality.”

The albino frowned at the remark after reviewing the entire conversation he missed. “You might as well have forgone the pretense of being polite, Ouma-kun. Go use your smartphone instead. After all, it’s still a machine which can also take photos.”

“Whaaat? No way! It has to be you, Kiiboy!” Ouma shook the robot by his shoulders, fake tears streaming down his cheeks. “Your flashlight function is way better than a phone’s! And you don’t need to hit a shutter just to take a photo! You’re more useful and convenient than any old smartphone for this!”

Kiibo paused at the unexpected praise. “…You’re just saying that to butter me up.”

“I’m nooot! I don’t just mean your camera function, I also mean your recording device! You can pick up subtle sounds right? Maybe you can pick up the messages of the dead too! That would be so cool! Come on Kiiboy, pleeeeeeease?” Ouma gave the android his best puppy dog eyes. “And didn’t the professor fix your shitty battery usage problem? That makes you even more useful!”

“Well…true…” Kiibo rubbed the back of his head, still a little weirded out from the leader’s behavior. “…Fine, I guess. But only to keep you out of trouble.”

“Yippeeeeee!!!” Ouma released the robot’s shoulders and started jumping around. “You’re the best, Kiiboy!”

“Kiibo-kun is so easy to sway as always,” Yonaga chimed.

“He still has a ways to go,” Hoshi tugged his hat lower. “He’s too soft, which is exactly why Ouma never stops bothering him.”

“That said, who’s going?” Amami asked, turning to look at the others. “I hardly know anything about the school since I’m almost always overseas, so I’m kinda curious about it. I’m going.”

“I will. I can’t help but worry,” Akamatsu raised her hand. “If something goes wrong, having more people around would make it easier to find help.”

“I will too! It would just be like Ghost Hunt! I’m so pumped!” Shirogane bounced in her seat excitedly. “I actually learned some basic warding spells from some monks for my cosplay research. If something does turn up, we won’t be completely helpless!”

“I’ll pass, this is a waste of time,” Harukawa played with one of her pigtails. “Not to mention dangerous. This is just asking for trouble.”

“I’ll pass too, unfortunately! I have to offer a special prayer for Atua tonight. I can’t afford to miss it,” Yonaga squished her cheeks together.

“I’ll go. I would love to do some recording of my own. Maybe I would be able to discover something new to add to the one I already have,” Shinguuji chuckled.

“Hyahaha! I’m cumming alright! I’m gonna take my ghostbusting gear with me!” Iruma grinned. “Ghosts or not, as long as I can test out my babies then it all checks out!”

“Gonta and Toujou-san are still away on a trip. It’s a shame that they can’t go,” the artist sighed. “Everyone seems so lively about the idea!”

“I don’t want to risk my entry in the next Tennis Tournament if I get in trouble for this,” Hoshi murmured. “Take care though. Don’t want any of you getting hurt.”

“That’s sweet of you, Hoshi-kun,” Akamatsu smiled.

“Well I’m not going! Tests of courage are nothing but a sneaky ploy for degenerate men to get handsy with girls!” Chabashira huffed.

“Mmmm…I’m going, I want to test out my exorcism magic I’ve been honing…” Yumeno rubbed her chin with a thoughtful look.

“If Yumeno-san is going then I will too~!!!” Chabashira pumped her fists in the air.

Saihara chewed on his lower lip before nodding to himself. “I’m going too. I’ve never seen its interior before, but I’ve heard rumors that it had plenty of secret rooms.”

“Wh–you too, Shuuichi?!” Momota gaped.

“It’s totally okay if you don’t come, Momota-chan! Just because your bestie is going doesn’t mean you have to. You don’t have to push yourself so hard,” Ouma cooed.

“Why I outta–”

BING! BONG! DING! DONG!

Ouma said nothing but smirked at the astronaut as he was literally saved by the bell, much to the other Ultimate’s chagrin. Their homeroom teacher entered a few minutes later, successfully ending their discussion about their plans later.

—————————————————-

“I’ll have you know that I’m leaving as soon as an hour is up,” Kiibo spoke as he carefully avoided stepping on rotten floorboards.

“What? Why?” Ouma stared at his partner in disbelief. “Don’t be such a spoilsport Kiiboy! Live a little!”

“Yes, I want to live, that’s why I do not want to stay here any longer than what’s necessary,” huffed the android. “I don’t want to worry the Professor for staying out too late. Not to mention this entire building is a hazard to everyone.”

“Tsk, fine, whatever. But you better get some good shots of ghosts you hear? I don’t want to leave this school empty handed,” Ouma pouted.

“That’s hardly something I can control, Ouma-kun,” Kiibo sighed.

Before entering the school premises, everyone drew lots for their pairs: Kiibo and Ouma; Shirogane and Shinguuji; Saihara and Yumeno; Chabashira and Iruma; and lastly, Akamatsu and Amami. It turned out that Momota’s evident fear of the supernatural made pairing up easy for everyone. They were all going to enter the school in that order, but they were free to explore any of the academy’s floors.

“Still, this really is a big school,” the android said with awe.

“Mmhm! It has tons of stuff in it. A church, a dormitory, clubrooms–” Ouma looked around the area, taking note of tattered and worn school festival fliers still posted on the cracked walls. “The land the property was on is really big, they were going to tear the school down and build a new mall.”

Kiibo looked at the fliers with dismay, “That’s…a bit of a shame. To have a place so full of memories get torn down for something like this.”

“Yeah. But time waits for no one. Money makes the modern world go round. Something abstract like memories don’t have economic value,” Ouma frowned, but eventually relaxed. “Anyway, detected any ghosts yet?”

Kiibo reviewed his memories and shook his head. “Sorry, still nothing.”

“Gahhh that’s so lame. How about we take the other way around?” Ouma huffed.

“N-NGAAAAAH! WHAT IS THAT? A ZOMBIE?!”

“Yumeno-san calm down! That’s just an old human-body model!”

“SAIHARA WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO YUMENO-SAN?!”

“Quite the loud bunch aren’t they?” the raven-haired Ultimate shook his head. “Maybe that’s why ghosts aren’t showing up. Maybe inviting them wasn’t such a good idea.”

“I think it’s better this way,” Kiibo chuckled. “The more the merrier, as they all say.”

“Nishishi! Maybe so,” Ouma huffed in amusement. “Mm? Hey, have we checked this room before?”

“Hmm…I don’t think so,” Kiibo looked up at the rusty signage above the dislodged door. “The library, huh.”

“Oooh! They probably have valuable books left behind, that’s a nice find. Let’s go in!” Ouma grabbed the android by his wrist, skipping through the doorway.

“Wait, not so fast Ouma-kun! The floor might give out–”

*CRACK*

“Huh?”

“Ouma-kun, hold onto me–!”

The floorboards had collapsed under their combined weight the moment they took their first step inside the old library. Down, down, down, they crashed. How many floors have they gone down exactly? None of them could keep count with both of their eyes shut tight. The only thing Ouma could register was the feeling of falling and strong metal arms wrapped around him protectively.

————————————————————-

CRAAAAAAAASH!

Akamatsu’s head perked up at the loud noise. “Oh no…”

As though reading her mind, Amami pulled out his cellphone and sent everyone a text.

‘Yell out your names if you’re safe. If you’re inside a room, get out so we can hear you.’

The pianist and the survivor nodded at each other before initiating the roll call.

“AKAMATSU KAEDE!”

“AMAMI RANTAROU!”

There was a beat of silence until the next person followed.

“YU-YUMENO HIMIKO!”

“SAIHARA SHUUICHI!”

“IRUMA MIU!”

“CHABASHIRA TENKO!!!”

“SHINGUUJI KOREKIYO!”

“SHIROGANE TSUMUGI!”

Silence followed.

“That can’t be right…where’s Ouma-kun and Kiibo-kun?” Akamatsu’s forehead creased with worry.

“That could only mean that they were the ones who crashed. We better look for them fast, they’re probably hurt,” Amami hastily tapped another message, telling everyone to meet up at the entrance hall. “Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

Akamatsu and Amami carefully proceeded towards the meeting place, mindful of their footsteps now more than ever. Shirogane and Shinguuji arrived at the designated place before everyone else, followed by them, and the others arrived shortly after.

“Ouma’s probably messing with us again,” Iruma scoffed, tapping her finger against her arm.

“I agree! What if he didn’t do his roll call on purpose to spook everyone after destroying part of the school!” Chabashira nodded.

“I don’t think Ouma-kun would do anything to risk his own safety,” Saihara murmured. “Not to mention, Kiibo-kun was with him.”

“Correct! Even if Ouma-kun decided not to do roll call, Kiibo-kun still would have done it himself,” Akamatsu’s brows furrowed in concentration. “Was anyone near the crash?”

“I was on the first floor with Shinguuji-kun,” Shirogane raised a hand. “We heard something crash nearby but we didn’t see anyone at all. If Kiibo-kun and Ouma-kun did fall…shouldn’t we be able to find them on this floor?”

“That’s a good point.” Amami rubbed his chin. “How close were you to the crash, exactly?”

“Not very close, but I can pinpoint us to its general direction,” Shinguuji raised a hand.

“Alright. Everybody stay close. We can’t have anyone else getting hurt,” Akamatsu took a deep breath and slapped her cheeks. “No use panicking! Focus, focus!”

“Shouldn’t we call the fire department for help?” Saihara asked.

“But what if they were taken by ghosts? No one would believe our story!” Yumeno interjected.

“Shh! Everyone focus!” Shirogane turned to look at the others. “Now’s not the time to entertain thoughts like that. We need to try looking for them first before calling the fire department.”

“I’m on board for that. We practically broke some rules just entering this shithole,” Iruma flipped her hair.

“We’re here. I’m not sure of the specific source of the sound, but it should be around here,” the anthropologist proceeded to tie his hair in a neat ponytail.

“Okay, let’s split the rooms among ourselves. Got it?” Akamatsu regarded her friends with a look of determination.

“Got it!”

Their search didn’t end up being completely fruitless when Saihara managed to locate a hole in the infirmary’s flooring. But that very same discovery led them to their next problem. If there was a hole on the flooring of the first floor…then where does it lead to exactly? They were met with darkness even after flashing their lights on the hole. Ouma and Kiibo should have landed on the first floor if not any of the floors just above them.

“This is a big problem.” Amami concluded.

————————————————————

“Ouma-kun. Ouma-kun, wake up.”

Ouma hissed in pain as he shifted to his side. “O-oww…what–what happened?”

“The floorboards collapsed from under us and we fell a couple of floors down,” Kiibo replied, helping the supreme leader sit up. “Take it easy, you have a slight head injury and a twisted ankle.”

Ouma instantly raised a hand to touch his head, only to feel his scarf wrapped around his head. “What floor are we on, exactly?”

Kiibo pursed his lips. “…We would be in the equivalent of the basement floor. I reviewed my memories and we already went past the first floor by a couple of levels.”

“The basement level? The map didn’t have anything like that at all,” Ouma withered in pain, resting his weight on the robot.

“That’s what I thought too. This was probably one of the secret rooms Saihara-kun meant,” the albino paused to point at the spot across them. “…Though judging by the look of those rusted iron bars…we’re actually inside an underground dungeon.”

“If it weren’t for the fact that I’m in pain and we’re currently stuck, I would have thought that this was cool,” Ouma groaned. “Tch. There’s no use texting the others, there’s no way there could be reception in a place like this.”

“…I’m sorry, Ouma-kun.” Kiibo looked down.

The supreme leader raised a brow. “For what?”

“If only I had the ability to fly, I could have gotten us out of this mess right away,” the android explained. “I don’t have the strength to carry you out of this room either.”

“You could have just explored the area, searched for the exit and then come back for me afterwards,” Ouma huffed.

Kiibo shook his head. “That’s a risky idea. I don’t want to leave you alone during a crisis like this. What if more of the school gives out? If I left, there’s a big chance that we’d be separated by debris and only one of us could get out.”

“That’s…true. Heh. I guess my head isn’t working as well as I hoped right now,” Ouma chuckled half-heartedly. “I’m…sorry too. I got us into this mess in the first place. I wasn’t being careful earlier, so we fell. We’re more or less even.”

Kiibo was taken aback by the sincere apology, but did not dare to comment on it. They couldn’t exactly afford to bicker during an emergency like this one. It was clear that Ouma was too hurt to put up his usual mischievous demeanor, too.

“I’m glad you were my partner.”

“Huh?” the albino stared at his companion in confusion.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Ouma huffed as he slowly sank into a lying down position, resting his head on the robot’s cool lap. “If I had fallen with anybody else in our group, one of us would have already died; or worse, both of us would have just died and rotted together with this school. Look at you. It was a nasty fall, but all you have are scratches. You really are something, huh.” He grinned up at the albino.

Kiibo chewed on his bottom lip, a little embarrassed from the praise. “I don’t mean this in an offensive way, but–”

“Go ahead and say it.”

“Okay.” The albino took a deep breath. “Ouma-kun, did you rig the pairing lots so that I would be paired up with you? You did point out all of the convenient tools and functions I had for your exploration idea…”

Ouma simply chuckled in response. “You probably won’t believe me, but that was all luck. I never really cared about who you get paired up with, I just wanted the ghost pics.”

“I see…I thought just as much,” Kiibo nodded along. “I wonder if…the others are looking for us right now.”

“They are. You’re with me after all. If it were just me alone, they probably would have just left me behind,” Ouma sighed nonchalantly. “Then again if I were alone, I’d already be dead. Nishishi!”

Kiibo frowned. “Even if you were alone, we would still look for you, regardless of whether you’re dead or alive.”

“And what makes you say that, Kiiboy?”

“We’re friends, Ouma-kun. If such an obvious answer wasn’t clear to you, then you probably need to rest as much as you can right now,” the robot’s frown eased after finishing his sentence.

“Heh…I guess I can do that,” the raven-haired Ultimate shifted in his position a little, careful not to aggravate his aching leg as he did so. “I don’t wanna sleep in a shithole like this though, so you and I are going to be talking for quite a while until we get rescued.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Kiibo smiled.

Being stuck in a very deep hole was probably the worst time to start getting to know a person more. But since that person is Ouma, a crazy situation like this is probably the only thing that could get him to talk sincerely. From his love for shounen manga to his hobbies, these were all things Kiibo had hoped to learn from the supreme leader at school and not in some hidden dungeon.

“Kiiboy, can I level with you for a moment?”

“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing for a while now?” Kiibo lifted a brow.

“Just shut up and listen to me,” huffed the other teen.

“Alright, sorry.”

Ouma released a sigh before speaking. “…I honestly think I’m going to die here. But even if I die, surely you won’t. That’s why I want you to record something for me.”

“…You mean a will?” Kiibo’s forehead creased with worry.

“Haha! Not quite,” Ouma shook his head. “Just some things I wished I was able to tell everyone before we both got into this mess. A confession of some sort.”

“Ouma-kun…”

“I want you to show it to everyone in the worst case scenario,” Ouma continued. “But if I ever survive this, whatever I’m going to say is going to be just between you and me. Understand?”

“Y…yes, I understand,” Kiibo nodded, though his worry was still very much present on his face.

“I’ll start now, ready?”

“I’m ready.”

“Then I guess I should start about my parents…”

——————————————————————-

It had already been more or less two hours since Kiibo and Ouma crashed. The firemen struggled with trying to figure out how to pull them out from such a deep and dark pit. The realization that their two classmates had fallen lower than what they had expected brought chills down their spine. It took the firemen another hour to finally be able to rescue the missing Ultimates, much to everyone’s relief.

The EMTs carefully strapped Ouma to a stretcher and ushered him into the ambulance so they could take a better look at his wounds. Everyone then got off with a heavy scolding both from the rescuers and their respective parents for doing something dangerous without even contacting an adult. Though for Kiibo’s case, he was praised right after for his quick thinking during the emergency, otherwise the supreme leader would have been in a critical state.

“I hope you all learned a valuable lesson from this experience,” a fireman huffed.

“Yes, sir…” the teens all responded in unison.

“Let’s go home and get you fixed,” Iidabashi gave his son’s hair a ruffle. “Also cleaned up, you’re terribly dirty.”

Kiibo’s gaze lingered at the ambulance before turning to look at his father. “…Okay.”

The premises of Saishuu Academy was completely locked down the next day in light of the incident during the previous night. Both Kiibo and Ouma were sought after by the Newspaper Club, determined to secure an exclusive interview from them regarding their experience of being trapped. Unfortunately for Ouma, his twisted ankle prohibited him from escaping their pesky advances. And just as unfortunately for Kiibo, he still had the stamina of a senior citizen, but his father did improve his strength in order to assist him in emergencies.

“Ouma-kun, may I speak with you for a moment?”

It took Kiibo about two weeks before he could muster the courage to talk to the raven-haired Ultimate. They had to keep a facade that things were back to normal after all.

“Depends on what you wanna talk about,” Ouma leaned against his chair. “If it’s about that then no. I don’t want to hear anything about that stupid school anymore.”

Kiibo shook his head. “It’s…kind of related, but it’s not about the incident.” He pulled out photos from one of his pockets. “I thought that maybe…you needed to see this.”

Ouma lifted a brow, curious, as he accepted the photos.

The android shifted in his place. He specifically chose to speak to Ouma today since everyone was out eating at the cafeteria and the supreme leader had slipped away from the group not completely unnoticed. It was the only chance where they’ll have some form of privacy during school hours.

“UWAAAH! WHAT THE HECK! THAT’S SO CREEPY!!!” Ouma shuffled out of his seat in a panic, haphazardly throwing the photos on the table.

“…You did say you wanted photos,” Kiibo murmured as he picked the photos up. It was a photo of his memory during the incident; specifically the time right after they landed in the hidden dungeon. For a brief moment, he had caught a glimpse of a woman cradling Ouma–she disappeared as soon as he blinked though. That was why he wasn’t able to record her face in high definition.

“Y-yeah! But not when it involved me!” Ouma pointed an accusatory finger at the photos in the albino’s hand. “Have an exorcist burn it!”

“But Ouma-kun…” Kiibo shuffled through the different photos and picked one out to show the other Ultimate. “I think…it’s your mother.”

Ouma’s eyes visibly widened at the photo. It wasn’t taken inside the dungeon, no, the setting was entirely different. In fact, it was right when Ouma got brought inside the ambulance. A translucent woman stood waiting outside of the ambulance. Thanks to the lighting, her face was properly recorded. Even more so when she was looking right at Kiibo, giving him a wave. 

Jet black hair, soft, lilac eyes…

Her features alone were a dead giveaway that she couldn’t be anyone else but Ouma’s mother. 

Ouma shakingly took the photo from the android, this time staring at it with awe instead of fear. “…It’s really her…”

“Yes. That’s why I thought that you needed to see this,” Kiibo scratched at his cheek nervously. “…Do you really want to have these burned?”

Ouma let slip a sincere smile, “…Maybe not.”

Kiibo perked up, pleased to be able to make him smile.

Bonus:

“I’m only keeping this one. Buuut—!” Ouma snatched the photo of the hidden dungeon and showed it to the android. “You definitely have to show this to Momota-chan!”

Kiibo shook his head, “I don’t see why you need to–”

“Show me what?” both Ultimates turned their heads to face the astronaut.

The android paled at the very sight of the grin that took over the supreme leader’s face.

“Kiibo showed me this really cute photo he took on the way to school! And I thought you’d like it too!” Ouma chimed, slightly limping his way towards the taller Ultimate to hand him the photo.

“Momota-kun, wait–!”

Alas, Kiibo’s words fell on deaf ears.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!”

“Nishishi! So ghosts, am I right~?”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP, OUMA!!!”

———————

If you’re wondering why I never explained what those memories were…that’s because Ouma survived. Kiibo’s not obligated to show you what it was.

[sophcaro]

Destiny | WMatsui - Chapter 15

The sales of the second single following Rena’s graduation were catastrophic. In fact, it was the first time in the history of SKE that a single managed to have such low numbers. Of course, Jurina knew that Rena’s departure would have consequences on the group. Rena was not just any random member, but one of the figureheads of SKE. When she left, many desperate fans lost their oshimen, and started showing less interest in the group. Despite being well aware of those facts, Jurina didn’t believe Rena’s graduation would hit them so badly.

Undeniably, fans were having a hard time accepting Ayuka as new WCenter, often calling in question her surprising and unexpected push. Why Ayuka? Why choose a 12-year-old and not very popular girl? Wasn’t a long-time member more legitimate to fill in Rena’s shoes? Jurina had tried to ignore all those negative remarks for months, but it was hard when they kept coming one after another, and increased tremendously at the beginning of January 2017 after the stinging failure of SKE’s latest single.

Jurina didn’t share this opinion in the least. In her eyes, Ayuka was perfectly capable of assuming Rena’s role, and the younger girl had definitely done everything in her power to meet management’s expectations. Ayuka had fought so much to prove that she deserved this great honor bestowed upon her. Whether alone or in the presence of other members, she had rehearsed songs and choreographies again and again with all her strength.

Jurina couldn’t be more proud of all the hard work her WCenter had accomplished since August. Despite her young age and the incredible pressure upon her shoulders, she never saw her slacking off a single time. She was a studious student during rehearsals and followed each one of her instructions obediently, never protesting when it sometimes meant spending very long hours in the dancing room to perfect her moves.

However, it appeared not all fans shared her opinion on the matter, and SKE’s management seemed to follow the same route. Of course, the staff never said anything in public, but Jurina could tell by their troubled expression that SKE’s recent bad sales were making them progressively doubt in Ayuka’s true capacity to assume a leading role along her side.

A few times, Jurina had broached the subject with Yuasa, assuring him that the younger girl was in no way responsible for the single’s low sales. The group was going through a rough patch because of Rena’s recent departure, and fans still needed more time to adjust to the situation, and accept Ayuka. However, as evasive Yuasa remained about the tricky subject of Ayuka’s future in the group, Jurina knew he didn’t completely share her faith in Ayuka.

The next single of SKE was supposed to be released in late March – three months from now - and, after the recent setbacks, it didn’t take a genius to figure out management was seriously considering the idea of replacing Ayuka. No matter how many times Jurina supported Ayuka publicly and repeated to management more privately that the girl deserved another chance, she was well conscious that she wouldn’t be the one making the final decision.

Yes, her opinion was valued and management listened to what she had to say. However, one thing was certain. If the staff decided it was best to choose another girl to ensure the durability of the group, then she would have no other choice but to bend to management’s will.

Jurina knew that Ayuka had already been affected by the limited success of their summer song. At the time, the younger girl had covered her disappointment with a polite smile. However, her dismay had clearly showed when the news of the catastrophic numbers of the following single came out a few weeks ago.

Ayuka was still working hard and doing everything that was asked of her, but Jurina didn’t miss her mood darkening slightly day after day. Until now, it seemed Ayuka was holding on nevertheless but today, as they were finishing rehearsing their dance move in preparation of an upcoming showcase in Nagoya, her accumulated fatigue had visibly managed to get the best of her.

Jurina didn’t realize immediately what was going on as she was busy preparing her gym bag to take off and call it a day, but she became aware of Ayuka’s distress when she caught the small voice addressing her tiredly.

“Maybe what they are saying is true, “Ayuka whispered, in a slight trembling voice. “Maybe management should replace me on the next single.”

Jurina stopped instantly what she was doing to turn and look at her in surprise, feeling a pang in her chest when she witnessed the tears springing to her eyes. After months of keeping her thoughts and feelings to herself, it appeared she was finally willing to let it out. It should be a good thing that she was finally confiding in her. After all, Jurina had long ago stated Ayuka was free to come and talk to her whenever she seemed fit, even more when something was troubling her. However, it was always heartbreaking to watch another group member cracking in front of you. No matter how many times it happened in the past, it was impossible to stay indifferent.

“Don’t say that,” Jurina protested gently, reducing the distance to brush away the few tears now rolling down her cheeks. “You are doing great. Don’t give up, Ayuka.”

“Jurina-san is always so nice with me,” Ayuka smiled faintly. “But I’m not naïve. Things started to fall apart when I was appointed WCenter. How… How can I not be held responsible!?”

“Look at me,” Jurina requested, holding her cheeks when the younger girl started avoiding her gaze. “You are not to blame for all this. Do you hear me?”

Despite her statement, Jurina knew Ayuka was having difficulty agreeing with her. Her sobbing was showing no sign of stopping – even now increasing a little - and she was still refusing to meet her eyes, in a mix of shame and despair. When words unfortunately didn’t have the desired effect Jurina pulled the younger girl into her arms, realizing her WCenter was definitely in need of physical comfort when she immediately leaned her head on her shoulder.

With her left hand, she caressed Ayuka’s back gently, while listening sadly to the manifestation of her WCenter’s distress. What could she possibly add to calm her down? No, Ayuka was not naïve. She may be very young, she was completely aware of her surroundings and of what people were saying behind her back. Thankfully, members were nothing but supportive and really encouraging her, but not the same could be said about all the fans and a part of the press.

Jurina couldn’t help but see some similarities with the situation she had herself been going through when she was suddenly introduced to AKB’s fans with Oogoe Diamond. Fans were viewing with a jaundiced eye her unexpected presence alongside AKB’s center Atsuko Maeda. Who was that newcomer who was daring to steal the spotlight from other girls? Jurina would never forget all the negative comments she had received at the time, nor the fans that manifested their disapproval by refusing to shake hands with her during handshakes events.

It was a very difficult period of her life, Jurina would not deny it. Oh yes, the idea of quitting had crossed her mind more than a few times. Tears would also flow down her cheeks when she had had too much, hiding carefully her sorrow in a quiet room where no one could see the allegedly strong ace of SKE breaking down. However, she was convinced those moments of hardship shouldn’t only be viewed in a negative light. Not only they had helped her grow as a human being, they had also shaped her into the strong-willed and successful idol she now was.

Jurina held the other girl close for a little while, relieved when she heard the crying progressively decreasing. Despite it, Jurina guessed Ayuka still needed to get a few more things off her chest, and she invited her to take a seat with her when she appeared more calm. When she set her eyes on her again, the first thing she noticed were her puffy eyes and rosy cheeks. A part of her wished Ayuka had not kept her emotions bottled up inside all his time. But after all, wasn’t it common for them to keep their true feelings to themselves? Wasn’t it a core value implanted into every little girl and boy’s mind at a very young age?

Checking briefly the time on the clock, Jurina realized Ayuka’s mom was supposed to come and pick her up in roughly thirty minutes. It wasn’t much, but Jurina was well decided to take advantage of that time to restore Ayuka’s confidence.

“SKE is entering a new era, and things will never be the same anymore,” Jurina started, noting she now had Ayuka’s full attention. “Change is always hard to accept, whether for members or fans; but what other choice do we have? I love SKE, and I know how much the group means to you too. This is a difficult period of transition, and you are hearing unpleasant things but… fans barely know you. It’s destabilizing for them to see a new face, especially after being used to Rena’s presence for so many years. They need time. Time to learn more about you and like you. After the next single, I have faith they will realize you are a perfect match for that position.”

Jurina paused, and watched attentively Ayuka who seemed to be processing everything she had just uttered. Somehow, she could tell by her lasting silence that she was not entirely convinced, and still doubting herself. She didn’t really expect any less. Yes, she had tried to make her words as sincere as possible, but they had no magical power. You couldn’t change someone’s opinion so easily, especially when many external factors were playing against you.

As seconds went by and Ayuka didn’t reply, Jurina ended up believing their conversation may be truly over. Nevertheless, she mulled it over in her head what else she could add to reassure her once again, until the latter broke the silence in the most unexpected way.

“Everyone misses Rena-san. Fans, members. You both were the perfect WCenters, and no one will able be able to match your level. I didn’t know Rena-san very well, but I miss her too. I miss her so much.”

Jurina was momentarily caught off guard by the admission and the evident melancholy in Ayuka’s voice, trying to understand the reason behind it. It is true to say Rena and Ayuka had never been really close while in SKE, mainly because the young kenkyuusei had always been way too impressed by the charismatic aura surrounding the older Matsui to approach her. However, Jurina was starting to get an idea of why she had suddenly mentioned SKE’s former figurehead.

Jurina was conscious it was not an easy task for Ayuka to assume such important position. She would never forget the emotion submerging her when they found themselves alone after Yuasa announced the senbatsu composition of their summer single. Evidently, Ayuka would have preferred if Rena was still in SKE. Not only because she was one of the leading members who contributed to a large extent to the group’s popularity, but also because she wouldn’t have then the heavy task of replacing her.

“I miss her too,” Jurina confessed, a certain nostalgia invaded her as the words left her lips naturally. “But Rena is gone, now. We need to accept it and move on. It’s essential for the survival of SKE.”

Even though she believed deep down every word she had uttered, it was still a bit painful to admit the truth. Rena had been gone for six months now, but the consequences of her graduation could still be felt after all this time. Jurina didn’t fool herself into believing SKE would get over it fine and fast. On the contrary. After all, had it not taken her months to accept the harsh reality that Rena would never be by her side in SKE anymore?

However, Jurina wanted to believe SKE would overcome this difficult moment of transition in time. She adored SKE with all her heart, and every member had worked very hard to transform the small sister group of 2008 into a solid, popular group. Of course, their sales numbers couldn’t compete with those of their mother group, but they had nothing to be ashamed of when you saw how many SKE members were well ranked during the general elections.

Giving up was not an option. In a few years, when SKE would have found worthy successors to Rena and her, then she would gladly pass the torch and graduate. Until then, she was going to keep representing SKE and prove to the whole country that Rena’s graduation didn’t sign the end of the group. As of Ayuka, she had indisputable potential to be the next ace, and Jurina hoped management wasn’t going to waste her talent.

   Jurina couldn’t possibly ignore how exhausted she felt when she arrived that evening at Rena’s apartment. A little voice inside her head was telling her it wouldn’t take her long to reach the bedroom and sleep, yet she didn’t regret one bit having that important conversation with Ayuka. When they split up, she could sense by the younger girl’s sincere smile as she waved her goodbye that she felt a little more appeased.

A pleased smile crept upon Jurina’s face when she noticed Rena preparing dinner, and she entered the kitchen once she placed her coat in the hallway and removed her shoes. A small sigh left her lips when the older girl greeted her with a warm hug, taking the necessary time to relish the comfort of her girlfriend’s arms.

These last four months, they had been able to see each other practically every day, considering most of Rena’s jobs occurred in Nagoya. To be honest, Jurina had been startled about this discovery, really expecting the older girl to travel often between Nagoya and Japan’s capital, and for longer periods of time. As curious as it was, she never questioned her about it once.

First, Jurina was never one to meddle into Rena’s career and second, she had to admit she appreciated having her girlfriend by her side so much. No, Rena was not in SKE anymore, but she was still able to see her on a daily basis as if nothing happened. Somehow, that fact made all the changes occurring in her professional life easier to accept.

After that, Jurina joined the bedroom to take a quick shower, her sleepiness reaching a new level when a yawn inadvertently escaped her lips on the way. Oh yes, her head was definitely going to hit the mattress as soon as she would have finished dinner. No television for her tonight. Once her shower was over the young ace took a seat on the side of the bed to finish getting dressed, her thoughts wandering back unconsciously to Ayuka and the future of SKE.

Next month, management was going to take a decision regarding the fate of her WCenter. Were they going to listen to her advice and renew their faith in her? Or SKE was going to know their third WCenter in six months? Jurina refused to imagine the look on Ayuka’s face if they chose to replace her. The poor girl was going to be devastated, and evidently take it as a sign of failure.

Ayuka didn’t deserve such a treatment, but Jurina believed to already have done everything in her power to prove her worth. Now, Ayuka’s fate was in management’s hands, and Jurina really hoped they would make the right decision when the senbatsu for the next single would be announced.

Rena’s voice warning her dinner was now ready jolted her out of her thoughts, and she stood up to join her. On her way out she took a brief peek at Rena’s desk, her curiosity piqued when she discovered a thick script resting on the table. The temptation was impossible to resist and she turned the first pages, understanding by Rena’s few written notes in the margin that she had been offered a new role.

Her concern for Ayuka fell at the back of her head as she rejoiced this great news, her immediate thought being to congratulate the older girl. However, she guessed something was not right when she entered the kitchen, and her girlfriend greeted her with a slight nervous look when she mentioned enthusiastically the script she had seen on her desk.

Jurina frowned at her peculiar reaction. Shouldn’t Rena be happy about the new job opportunity she had received? If she had already made notes, it was evident she was seriously considering accepting. So why was her enthusiasm met with an unusual, lasting silence?

“About that…” Rena started hesitantly, Jurina’s confusion increasing a notch when she took a seat at the table, and the older girl seemed to be searching her words as she was pouring miso soup in their bowls. “I haven’t accepted it yet, because I wanted to talk to you about it first.”

Jurina stared at her in bewilderment, processing her words as the older girl was now taking a seat opposite her. Since when did Rena need her opinion about a role? Until now, she had always managed her career alone, leaving her out of the decision process. Jurina never minded it and even less felt offended by it. Rena was a very independent person, who always preferred to make her own decisions by herself.

Jurina understood it, and accepted it perfectly. It was Rena’s career; she had no business butting in. That was Jurina’s core belief. So why was Rena suddenly acting as if she needed her permission? It didn’t make sense at all. Unless…

Wait. Now that she thought about it, there had been a contentious issue between them recently. A certain scene Rena had chosen to shoot without warning her beforehand, an omission that led them to have a serious conversation when Rena returned from Kyoto in September. Could it be the reason for Rena’s hesitation?

“Are you… going to do kissing scenes?” Jurina asked, not feeling very hungry anymore as she gazed at her in mild apprehension. She couldn’t lie: the idea certainly didn’t appeal to her. It was unpleasant to imagine your partner kissing someone else on screen, especially when the kiss was not fake as you could expect, but very real. When she had recently finally caught up with Destiny she had refused to see any intimate scenes involving her girlfriend, and skipped them without the slight remorse.  

“No, nothing like that. My character doesn’t have any intimate scenes,” Rena quickly reassured her.

Jurina relaxed instantly. Of course, she never had any intention of protesting if the actress had announced it was indeed the case. Rena was in control of her career and she accepted every one of her decisions, even if they didn’t always really appeal to her. However, it was an undeniable relief that her prediction ended up being wrong. But then… what was it all about?

“You see…” Rena’s hesitant voice brought her attention back to her. “I’m not sure to accept because the shooting will be in Osaka, and is supposed to last for at least a month. I know SKE is going through a difficult time, and I’m not sure it’s wise for me to leave right now.”

So that was the reason, Jurina mused as she watched the older girl who had fallen quiet again. Jurina couldn’t help but look away, letting the news sink in. To be honest, she should have expected it. It was obvious Rena was not going to stay in Nagoya eternally. Of course, those four months they spent together were bound not to last.

Jurina nibbled on her lower lip, well aware of the other girl watching her attentively and waiting for her reaction from the other side of the table. Even though Rena had not specifically asked any question, she could read between the lines easily.

Jurina was deeply moved Rena was considering refusing a job for her sake in the light of the difficulties the group was recently going through. Her impulsive side wanted to ask her to stay in Nagoya, at least until SKE’s situation was more stable and Ayuka’s fate more clear. As long as she remembered Rena had always been her rock – a true moral support - and there was no denying that having her by her side those last months had been a great help to overcome the aftermath of her graduation.

But could she let her selfishness speak in regards of such an important decision? They weren’t teenagers anymore. At the age of twenty-five Rena had a solo career to manage, and she herself would be turning twenty in March, marking her passage to adulthood. There was no place for such childishness in their life anymore.

“Go to Osaka,” Jurina declared, refusing to listen to her selfish desires any longer and burying them deep inside her. When she noticed a flicker of doubt still present in Rena’s brown orbs she knew she had to put an end to it, and she immediately reached across the table to take her hand. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

It was sometimes very curious the paradox that could exist between what your mind was telling you to do, and what your heart truly wanted. It was not the first time Jurina found herself in a situation with such conflicted feelings. As she gave Rena a smile and laced their fingers together, she was conscious she was not completely honest with her. Did the older girl see through her lies?

If that was the case, then she didn’t say anything about it. After a little while, Jurina retracted her hand and tore her eyes away from her to look down to her untouched miso soup. Unconsciously, apprehension filled her chest progressively at the idea that they would be separated again, but she tried to ignore the unpleasant feeling. It was out of the question to hold Rena back. That thought in mind, she took her spoon and started to taste Rena’s soup, well decided not to come back on her words.

  Two weeks later…

It was already dark outside that Thursday of late January when Jurina waited alongside Rena for her taxi to arrive. As she let her gaze wander around the small street of Nagoya and noted how very quiet it was, Jurina really wished she didn’t find herself so nervous at the imminent departure of her girlfriend. Somehow, she strongly believed two weeks would be enough for her to accept the idea of their new separation. After all, it definitely wasn’t the first time they were going to spend some time apart, and it wasn’t the longest time Rena would be away either. Despite being aware of those facts, it didn’t make things any better. Visibly, parting with Rena was something she still wasn’t able to get used to.

No matter how many times she tried to silence her selfish desires, a small part of her still somewhat wished the older girl had changed her mind along the way, and decided to stay in Nagoya. Each time she would hear that voice surfacing again she would silence it in a mix of frustration and shame. She was supposed to think as an adult; so why was the desire to keep Rena by her side remained so strong?

“I’ll call you as soon as I arrive at the hotel,” Rena spoke calmly as she turned to face her. “And of course, we’ll stay in contact on LINE every day.”

Jurina nodded, the current knot in her stomach preventing her from doing any more than that. She knew the taxi would arrive at any moment now, and she couldn’t help but pull the older girl into her arms. At first, the older girl didn’t reply to the embrace – visibly startled by its suddenness – until Jurina felt a pair of arms slipping around her neck progressively.

Jurina hummed lightly as she listened to the older girl whispering gentle, soothing words in her ear, trying to take the most of their last moment together. When she felt emotion starting to submerge her she closed her eyes shut firmly, refusing to let tears slide down her cheeks. Why on earth was she being so emotional? This wasn’t happening as planned. Her smile was the last thing Rena was supposed to see before entering the taxi.

When Rena pulled away to glance at her she mustered her best smile, but the older girl didn’t seem fooled by it considering her slight concerned look. Seeing the question starting to form on Rena’s lips she impulsively captured them into a kiss, but barely had time to relish the sensation of Rena’s soft lips against her that the older girl pushed her away quickly.

Saying that she was taken aback by her reaction would be an understatement, and she tried to decipher the reason behind her action when she saw Rena staring back at her in shock. When the older girl diverted her attention from her to look around her in alert, that’s when the stupidity of her impulsive action hit her. She had just kissed Rena in public. Something they had promised each other to never do.

Jurina immediately scanned the dark street in concern, her heart beating a little faster inside her chest at the thought their relationship could have been discovered because of her recklessness. The air had become way heavier as they were both nervously checking that no one had witnessed such an intimate moment, but relief progressively spread through Jurina’s chest when there was not a living soul in sight.

Still, she was feeling terribly guilty at what she had dared to do in public, and the apology left her lips naturally. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to. I…”

“It’s… it’s fine,” Rena interrupted her gently when she started babbling, incapable of finding the right words to justify her action. “No one saw us. It’s fine.”

Jurina realized the older girl truly didn’t hold it against her when a sincere smile plastered her face, and she placed a soft kiss against her cheek the moment after. In the distance, Jurina noticed the headlights of a taxi approaching, and she knew the moment of the separation had finally arrived. Taking a step back she watched carefully the older girl who was now looking in the taxi’s direction expectantly, trying to imprint every little detail of her face inside her mind.

For a month, they would have to settle for simple conversations on LINE and occasional video calls. They had been going through a similar situation already when Rena was shooting Destiny in Kyoto, but Jurina knew she was going to miss the physical contact the most. Hours of chatting could simply never replace your girlfriend’s gentle kisses or her warm embrace.

When the taxi arrived at their level Rena let the driver place her suitcase inside the trunk, and she turned to pull Jurina into a tight embrace one last time. The young ace smiled when a lingering kiss was placed against her cheek, and her heart fluttered when – just before stepping inside the taxi - Rena didn’t forget to renew her affection for her in the form of three little words.

[soyoureviewhiphoptoo]

Reviewing 4:44

4:44 Released: June 30, 2017 Label: Roc Nation, Roc-A-Fella First Week Sales: TBA Certifications: TBA Peak Chart Position: TBA

Jay-Z is the greatest rapper of all time. It might be up for debate but it is hard to refute.

There is a handful of artists (not just limited to hip-hop) that can make the world pause and question everything when you put a message on a billboard. Jay-Z has grown to become one of them. After orange posters with 3 numbers written on them began to appear in Los Angeles and New York, the internet started to fathom the meaning of these three mysterious fours. Numerous fan theories, three black and white trailers and a multi-million-dollar partnership with American telecommunication giants, Sprint later…we had the answer. The answer was his thirteenth studio album, 4:44.

Your favourite rapper cannot get a billboard to promote their album like this…probably

Since the release of the lukewarm Magna Carta… Holy Grail four years ago, a lot of things have happened to Jay-Z: he relinquished his ownership of NBA team, the Brooklyn Nets, he would become owner of Ace of Spades champagne, he launched a sport management company, he supported Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, he’s thrown shots at Drake and so on and so on. But there are three things that happened in this 4-year gap that are not only large impacts in his life but impacts toward this new album: his altercation with his sister-in-law Solange during the 2014 Met Gala, the acquisition of streaming service, Tidal and (this one is very important), the release of Beyoncé’s Lemonade.

What’s worse? Being jealous or crazy? Taken from Beyonce- Hold Up

With the release of an album discussing the infidelity of a husband and his wife going through stages of denial, anger and depression before she is willing to accept him back into her life and rebuild the broken relationship, many listeners began to speculate whether this was just an album concept or a reflection of Beyoncé’s own marriage to Mr. Shawn Carter. Lemonade would act as a justification to Solange’s actions years prior or even older song lyrics that may have been overlooked. Many people (myself included) thought this was far-fetched and assumed it was a part of an elaborate ruse to sell records and up Tidal subscriptions. In some respects, 4:44 acts as a response to Lemonade and it proves the suspicions correct but in such a way that leaves you searching for words.

Referencing this first in the opening track, Kill Jay-Z, Hov mentions

“You almost went Eric Benét Let the baddest girl in the world get away”

Eric Benét is the ex-husband of Halle Berry. The pair divorced after his own continued infidelity. Jay draws parallels to Eric, noting that his own infidelity almost led to the same outcome. It was on the titular track, however, where Jay spills his heart. He makes it crystal clear that he had been unfaithful to his partner in the past and tries to justify these actions. In a wave of open honesty, he talks about his emotional immaturity going into the relationship fifteen years prior, the toll of not being able to be present for Beyoncé following a miscarriage in 2010/2011, the feeling of watching her change emotionally due to his actions but not being able to rectify it, how his actions drove a wedge between the two of them and how this negativity forced them into isolation. The most daunting aspect of this song is how the first few lines link with the final verse.

“Look, I apologize, often womanize Took for my child to be born See through a woman’s eyes Took for these natural twins to believe in miracles Took me too long for this song”

In these lines, Jay openly admits that it took the birth of his daughter, Blue Ivy for him to truly see the errors of his ways while the birth of his twin children, Rumi and Sir, made him see miracles, like the birth of twins or Beyoncé taking him back, are possible. In the third verse, the thoughts he would have when looking at his children become apparent as he questions how they would look at him if they were to learn that their father cheated on their mother, comparing it to learning Santa Claus was fake or that the Tooth Fairy didn’t leave any money. Without further explanation, it is very clear this has taken a lot out of him. What makes the song even more impactful is the production. The use of Hannah Willaims’ Late Nights and Heartbreak as the sample literally exudes emotion, putting Jay’s message in very simple terms “Never gonna treat you like I should”.

Despite this very prominent message from this album, 4:44 is not just a rebuttal to Lemonade, offering so much more insight and knowledge. A strong entry in this album is The Story of O.J. In this song criticises the decisions of black males in America, openly telling them that they do not know how to use their relatively new-found wealth. Rather than just spending the money on lavish possessions, Jay advises Black Americans to make wise investments into businesses or property. This is interesting as Hov himself has been in the position of just throwing money away on nice things and he’s been forced to look back at his mistakes. What makes this song even more interesting is the hook;

“Light nigga, dark nigga, faux nigga, real nigga Rich nigga, poor nigga, house nigga, field nigga Still nigga, still nigga”

The idea of this is that no matter what you do or how you act, as a black man, you will still be viewed as a lower-class citizen by certain social circles in America (just like O.J. Simpson, who’s namesake is used for the title). In fact, the ideas of unifying the black community under one view, supporting black owned businesses and establishing black wealth and not just riches, is a re-occurring theme within 4:44, further expanded in Family Feud, Moonlight and Legacy.

Aside from actually listening to this album, the one thing I want you to do is to find a way to watch the music video for The Story of O.J. It is remarkable.

Another interesting takeaway from 4:44 comes from Smile. In this song, he reminisces upon bad memories. In the first verse, Jay-Z reveals that his mother is homosexual. The idea of her living her whole life in the closet, the fear of the possible prosecution she would receive and even entering a marriage with a man as a means of disguising her true self is frankly heart-breaking and yet finally she was able to smile. This strength is clearly hereditary as Jay shares this same fortitude, being able to live through struggles in the hood yet he was able to accomplish so much…and smile.

With the spectacular production by No I.D. on the ten tracks, Jay-Z is able to deliver a concise yet impactful sermon listeners (more specifically black listeners) can absorb and truly learn from. While I am not entirely a fan of this album being a Tidal exclusive, this album has definitely made it worth applying for a membership. With three bonus tracks on the way when it goes on sale and a prospective visual album experience soon to come, it is hard to dispute the greatness of this album.

Jay-Z is the greatest rapper alive. It might be up for debate but it is hard to refute, especially with this album

Rating for Jay-Z- 4:44

Thank you, Mr. Savage…it’s a new thing I’m doing. The point is, 4:44 is a 5/5

[mayphoenixfanfictions]

Quiet Voice — Chapter IV

Universe: Haikyuu!!

Title: Quiet Voice

Chapter: Chapter 4

Author: mayphenix

Characters: Iwaizumi Hajime, OCs, Oikawa Tooru, Hanamaki Takahiro, Matsukawa Issei, Aoba Jousai

Pairing(s): Iwaizumi Hajime x OC

Genre(s): Romance, Friendship, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Family

Overall Rating: K

Summary : Shy, socially-awkward Akiyama Kiku never was noticed by anyone. She didn’t speak up and the gods forbid ever making eye-contact with anyone. So, she couldn’t understand why Oikawa Tooru suddenly decided that she was the perfect match for his best friend. Iwaizumi Hajime would never admit outloud how grateful he really was to his friend.

Chapter warnings/triggers: /

(This fanfic can also be found on fanfiction.net here ; I am the same author)

Table of Contents

Chapter I  — Chapter II  — Chapter III — Chapter IV

FANFICTION

HAIKYUU!! : QUIET VOICE

CHAPTER IV : Witchcraft?

“Someone has said that it requires less mental effort to condemn than to think.”

― Emma Goldman

“There's a big difference on being wise and being crafty. The former is the attribute of God, and the latter is that of Satan.”

― Michael Bassey Johnson

“Cats are cute. Cats are adorable.” Iwaizumi suddenly said out of nowhere.

The three other third-years glanced at him with wide eyes. The only sound that was heard was the slurping sound from Matsukawa as he swallowed the noodles through his lips all the while staring, a little dumbfounded, at the Ace.

“Yes?” Oikawa answered hesitantly, not quite understanding where this was going.

“But there's nothing wrong in thinking that? Like… it doesn't mean that because you think a cat is cute you're emotionally attached to it or anything?”

“No?”

“What the hell? Do you want to adopt a cat or something?” Hanamaki asked.

“But you don't want to be seen as a cute little guy who loves cats, you still want to keep your tough looks, that's it?” Matsukawa continued.

“Uuh… I don't want to adopt a cat.”

“But you want a pet.”

“No?”

“What the hell?” Hanamaki said once again with a confused look – it gave a good summary of the conversation.

“Iwa-chan, are you all right? You've been off during all day and practice…” Oikawa said, staring worriedly at his friend.

“Do you have a fever?” Matsukawa asked.

“You were missing your usual setter, is that it?” Hanamaki added.

“No I don't have a fever, and no I didn't miss Oikawa!” He growled annoyingly, scooping some noodles with his chopsticks, “And yes I'm all right. I was just thinking about stuff.”

“Don't think too much without a brain or you'll get an actual fever, Iwa-chan. ATCHA! It HURT Iwa-chan!!” Oikawa exclaimed after being elbowed harshly.

“That's for insulting me, Assikawa!” He hissed back.

Once they had finished their ramen, they all went their separate ways to go home.

“Do you feel ready for the practice match against Karasuno?” Oikawa asked.

“Of course I do. Kageyama or not, we'll win.” Iwaizumi answered grumpily.

“By the way, the doctor said that by next Tuesday, I might be able to use my leg! So maybe I'll get to play after all – sorry, Iwa-chan, you might not get to be the Captain!”

“I don't care about that. But don't push on your leg if you do play, got it?”

“Aye, aye~”

“Did you tell Kanemoto about what happened?” Iwaizumi continued, referring to the almost sponsor of Oikawa.

At this question, Oikawa's smile faded and his shoulders dropped. He glanced away, a distressed and slightly pitiful expression on his face…

“Yes… She scolded me… Even over the phone, thousands of miles away, she can be scary…” Oikawa murmured.

“Of course she scolded you. At least, you have one person able to whip you in shape.”

“I always get scolded! By you, by Aya-chan! You're all just cruel!”

“Perhaps you just deserve it?”

“Mean!”

Iwaizumi smiled lightly to himself, amused by his friend's reactions no matter how many years went by. Oikawa never seemed to understand that he was being teased.

“By the way, Iwa-chan, your weird question from earlier, about cats…”

Iwaizumi stiffened lightly, hoping that keeping his hands hidden in his pockets would help him go unnoticed.

Tooru watched him very carefully and even if he noticed the way his shoulders stiffened lightly, he didn't comment on it. He just smiled knowingly before continuing:

“Is this because I remind you of a cute kitty~?” Oikawa asked.

“UH.” Was Hajime's only answer with a massive rolling of eyes.

“Oi! What is that supposed to mean?!”

“You're far from being as cute as a cat!”

They've arrived in the building where they both lived and after saying goodbye, they both went their separate ways. Being neighbor with Oikawa meant spending much more time with him but also being closer than anyone else. Thinking back on Hanamaki and Akiyama being neighbors, Hajime wondered how they could be neighbors without knowing each other more than just acquaintances.

His phone vibrated suddenly and he checked it, an avalanche of pictures sent to him by Oikawa. Pictures of cats and kittens. Hajime rolled his eyes, waiting for all the pictures to be sent but his friend was apparently having a lot of fun – especially when he added some selfies in the middle (but that wasn't surprising).

Am I not as cute as these kittens~ Here, have some more cute cats! Oikawa sent, more cats' pictures arriving.

“What the hell am I even supposed to do with all that, dumbass? I don't want a cat…” Hajime muttered to himself, still mildly amused by the pictures of cats and his friend's antics.

Suddenly, a picture that was not of a cat or Oikawa arrived. Iwaizumi almost screamed and jumped, his phone almost dropping until he caught it at the last moment. He almost had a heart attack when he had received a picture of Akiyama Kiku – how the hell Oikawa even had a picture of this girl on his phone?!

What the hell, Trashykawa?! Iwaizumi typed quickly.

Ah~ Iwa-chan, you finally react! I knew you'd like this picture in particular~

No I don't! How did you get it anyway?! Have you never heard of the word privacy?!

I just asked a friend of mine to take a picture of Kiku-chan for me a few days ago~ You know I have lots of pictures from lots of people~

That's just down right creepy!!

But aren't you glad you have this picture now?

No I'm not!!

Deciding to ignore his friend to give him a lesson, Hajime threw his phone on his bed and ignored it vibrating for long minutes afterward. Then, it stopped – Tooru must have gotten bored by this game. For some reason, Oikawa had taken a liking in Kiku – or rather, he had taken a liking in teasing Iwaizumi about her.

For a short moment, he wondered what Tooru had in his mind before shaking his head, not wanting to think about Trashykawa or his classmate. Even if Hajime had thought that Kiku was adorable for a short moment, that was it. It was true that he had been observing her ever since he had noticed her – by hitting her with his bag – but noting a few things about people wasn't a bad thing. It just meant he was observant. He could note lots of things about his friends and his other classmates, it didn't matter. It wasn't like he was particularly curious about Akiyama Kiku or anything. She was a mystery in several ways – she was always alone and no one seemed to be willing to put up with her, he didn't know a thing about her and no one else seemed to know but Hajime could tell there was more to her than just the shy and socially awkward girl everyone avoided. She had some passion – for her club or wherever she was going after class – and if she had looked at him with the demon-eyes it meant she had more strength than what people gave her credit for.

“Oi… idiot, stop thinking about her…” He muttered, trying to think about something else.

He kept repeating to himself 'stop thinking about her' until he felt comfortable again – but his thoughts were then invaded by Trashykawa's injury. Hajime couldn't tell which was worse.

On Thursday, lunch time…

Hanamaki and Oikawa were arguing about where they'd go have lunch with Matsukawa and Iwaizumi, the last two just watching them in slight annoyance.

“But it's so sunny outside! I want to eat under a tree today!” Oikawa exclaimed.

“Why not eat on the roof as we usually do? There's wind up there!” Hanamaki replied, crossing his arms.

“Iwa-chan! Mattsun! Where do you want to eat today?!” Oikawa continued, whipping towards them.

“Don't care…” Matsukawa answered with a shrug, “I'm hungry…”

“Uuh… don't care either… but outside would be a nice change – plus it'll be faster to get there than the roof…” Iwaizumi shrugged.

“Then I choose outside.” Matsukawa remarked at the simple fact that he'd eat faster this way.

At once, an overly smiling and happy Oikawa turned towards Hanamaki, giving him the sparkly eyes.

“Tch… Thanks for the betrayal guys…” Hanamaki mumbled before grabbing his bento, “Let's go outside then…” He sighed.

“Yoohoo!!” Oikawa exclaimed, jumping up and down.

“Easy on your knee, dumbass!” Iwaizumi cried out at once.

They went outside with their bentos, chatting about everything and anything when Oikawa suddenly stopped.

“Ah, isn't it Kiku-chan over there?” He asked, pointing at a wooden table.

No one was surprised to see her eating alone, headphones in her ears.

“She's all alone…” Oikawa added, sounding almost mournful.

“So? It's not surprising?” Makki said with a shrug.

“That's the girl you were talking about the other day?” Matsukawa asked curiously, “Your childhood friend?”

“We're not friends, just acquaintances. I'm sure Iwaizumi knows her more than me.”

“Uh? I don't know her at all…” He muttered, raising an eyebrow.

“Then! Why not get to know her?” Oikawa exclaimed cheerfully, clapping his hands together.

The three other young men glanced at him sparkling happily.

“Where did that come from, Oikawa?” Iwaizumi asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at his friends.

He was now sure that Oikawa had something planned – otherwise he wouldn't be obsessing with Akiyama so much.

“But, Iwa-chan! She's your classmate, shouldn't you worry a little bit more about her if she's all alone? I won't let an innocent young girl be–”

“This tree is a nice spot to eat, right?” Matsukawa interrupted him, pointing at another tree.

“Let's go then,” Makki agreed, already walking there.

“Wait! Mattsun! Makki! Let's invite Kiku-chan to eat with us!” Oikawa exclaimed, jumping in front of his two teammates to stop them from taking another step.

“Why?” Makki asked.

“Who cares about this girl?” Mattsun added, raising an eyebrow.

“This is why you don't have any girlfriend…” Oikawa said very seriously.

The two suddenly felt a vein of annoyance popping but Oikawa ignored them – they wouldn't hit him the way Iwa-chan always did. Realizing that said Iwaizumi wasn't saying a thing, he glanced over at his childhood friend. As surprising as it was for the three young men, he was staring at Kiku from afar. Of course, Tooru was overjoyed by it.

Sensing glances on him, Hajime looked back at them, confused when he noticed them staring.

“What?”

“Ah, she's leaving,” Makki said, “Let's sit on that table then,” he decided.

“Ah! We're too late…” Oikawa muttered but everyone ignored him, walking past him, “Nee! Iwa-chan!” He called, grabbing his arm.

“What is it?”

“Do you really not feel guilty to see her eating all alone?” He asked while the girl went back into the building and disappeared from view.

“…It's not like I can change anything about it anyway… If you want so badly for that girl to not be alone anymore, go talk to her or something…” Iwaizumi said with a half-hearted shrug, not understanding why Oikawa kept rambling on and on about Akiyama.

“But I'm not the one in her class.”

Iwaizumi stared at him, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly before joining their teammates to avoid answering any further. Annoyed by his reaction, Oikawa clicked his tongue then followed him, the event forgotten as they continued their initial conversation.

It was only when they went back into their classrooms that Oikawa's strange behavior once again left his teammates confused.

“We're at your class, Iwa-chan!” He exclaimed cheerfully, “Then, we'll see tonight at practice!”

“Uh? But there's still time left before the end of lunchtime…”

“Ah? Yes, but I wanted to discuss something with Mattsun for a while – about blocking!”

“Uh?” Matsukawa said.

“I'll stay with you then,” Hanamaki told Iwaizumi.

“AH!” Oikawa screamed, grabbing Makki's arm, “And I need you for a new theory! A new form of attack we'll need to try when I'm back!”

Silence fell on them, all staring at the setter.

“…Oikawa,” Iwaizumi started with a dark voice, “Are you trying to avoid me or something?”

“Avoid you, Iwa-chan? But I would nev–”

“You know what? Whatever, I don't care. Do whatever you want.” Iwaizumi said angrily, entering his classroom.

Oikawa swallowed hard before glancing hesitantly into his friend's classroom. Iwaizumi sat angrily, arms crossed and right at his side was Akiyama Kiku who startled when he sat so suddenly.

Smiling, Tooru turned around, starting to push his two friends away from class 5.

“Oikawa, what are you planning?” Hanamaki asked.

“It's not like you to push Iwaizumi away. You usually cling to him like a child to his mother.” Matsukawa added, both of them staring at the setter in confusion.

“I am ensuring Iwaizumi's happiness, that's what I'm doing,” Oikawa answered.

“Even though he must be relieved when you're not around to annoy the hell out of him, I’m pretty sure you didn't make him very happy by telling him to fuck off on his own…” Makki remarked, “What are you planning exactly?”

Feeling a little guilty after hearing these words from Hanamaki, Oikawa realized that he had been acting a little weird – and that Iwa-chan probably didn't like the way he was kept away from the three others.

“Well… I am planning for Iwa-chan and Kiku-chan to start dating soon.” Oikawa answered.

Hanamaki and Matsukawa took a double-take, not understanding at first what he meant. Then, their Captain's words echoed in their heads and they almost choked.

“What the fuck?!” Mattsun started.

“WHY?!” Hanamaki screamed, eyes wide in shock.

“The hell you're thinking?!”

“No way he'd fall for her!!”

“Calm down, please!” Oikawa exclaimed when people started glancing at the three of them in the hall, “Keep it a secret from Iwa-chan!!” He pleaded, clapping his hands together.

“NO WAY!” Makki immediately shouted.

“You can't just go and try to decide of his love life for him!”

“That's just wrong!!”

“Shhhh!!” Oikawa exclaimed, shushing them.

They finally stopped screaming while Oikawa glanced around and sighed in relief when people ignored them.

“They're the perfect match for each other – they just don't realize it yet!” Oikawa said, hands on his hips.

“No, no, no. Akiyama is a perfect match for no one. She's not– she's just… she's so not… she's not a dating possibility for anyone in their sane mind…” Hanamaki said with wide eyes, not even wanting to imagine his friend with this girl.

“That's just awful to say, Makki…” Tooru murmured, eyes wide in astonishment.

“I don’t know that girl but I agree that she's not… if you want Iwaizumi to date someone, pick a girl more… less… Uuuh… whatever she is…”

“You can't even find out what you think is wrong with her! Why do you reject this idea so vehemently?” Oikawa exclaimed with a scolding tone.

“What's wrong with her?” Hanamaki started, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows, “Other than her personality and complete inability to speak up with anyone, ever, she's not pretty. She's… even shorter than average, she's not thin at all and she's so…”

He made his cheeks puff out and his arms spread out to show that Kiku didn't have a body he considered attractive in the slightest.

“Just say it – you find her fat.” Matsukawa said bluntly.

“Exactly!” Hanamaki exclaimed, nodding.

“Just because she's rounder than average doesn't mean she's fat. Plus, Iwa-chan isn't the type of men to judge a girl by her appearance!”

“But even someone who doesn't judge by appearance wouldn't want of this girl! Even a blind man! She never says a thing, she's awkward and just… crazy! Ask anyone who tried befriending – and I know what I'm talking about because I live five meters away from her – she's messed up!” Hanamaki exclaimed, shaking his head.

Oikawa seemed thoughtful for a moment before speaking up again:

“With all due respect, Makki, did you talk to her – really talked – since you were children for anything other than casualties? Did you try to get to know her? Did you ever see anyone going to her home and befriend her? Did you ever see anyone with her?”

“…No but that just proves she's not normal…”

“No, it just proves that you're only prejudiced – just like everyone else.” Oikawa concluded.

Sighing, Hanamki and Matsukawa glanced at each other, not knowing how they could convince Oikawa that he was making a mistake.

“Iwaizumi doesn't seem interested anyway. There's no way he'll be from now on.” Hanamaki finally said.

“Ah AH! And that's where I – Iwa-chan's childhood and best friend – get to disagree!” Oikawa piped up happily, putting his hands on his hips proudly, “Iwa-chan's type is… short and cute girls!!”

The wing-spiker and middle-blocker glanced at each other before looking back, unimpressed, at the setter.

“And you base that knowledge on what exactly? He never had any girlfriend before and he never had a crush he told us about either.” Matsukawa said.

“Iwa-chan always turns around and stares at short, cute girls when they walk by him. Also, when we talk about girls, he only ever mentions short, cute ones – and his favorite actresses usually are short, cute o–”

“Ok, ok, we get it. His type is short, cute girls. Akiyama may be short, but she's not cute.” Hanamaki cut Oikawa, shaking his hand disdainfully.

“Here you go again, being a meanie!” He scolded, frowning lightly at his friend.

“Nope, just being honest.”

“The pitiful choice of a girl aside – why do you suddenly want Iwaizumi to get a girlfriend?” Matsukawa asked.

Shocked, Oikawa took a step back, putting a hand on his heart, faking a hurt look on his face.

“Is my best friend's happiness not reason enough…?” He asked with a trembling voice.

“…You're Oikawa Tooru. You must have another reason in mind.” Hanamaki said, Mattsun nodding in agreement.

“I'm hurt…” He replied, a deadpanned expression on his face before sighing, “But if you really want to know… I have personal reasons to wish for Iwaizumi to get busy with a girl.”

“Personal reasons? What sort of reasons?” Matsukawa asked suspiciously.

Oikawa put one hand on his hip and the other up, shaking his finger 'no' while ticking his tongue.

“Ta, ta, ta. I won't tell you for the moment. Just promise not to say anything to Iwa-chan, ok~?” He said with a wink – which, unlike his fangirls, didn't work at all on his two teammates.

Hanamaki and Matsukawa stared at him before sighing deeply.

“It's going to slap you back hard, Oikawa…”

“But well, if you really want to keep it a secret – it'll be a great show to watch…” Matsukawa said with a shrug.

“You're the bests~” Oikawa hummed happily.

On Friday, 3rd year class 5…

“Everyone, quiet!” The History teacher exclaimed when he entered the classroom.

The conversations quieted down and the few students that had been standing took their seats. Everyone turned their attention to the teacher who spoke up:

“Before starting today's lesson, there is something I want to talk to you about. You will have some papers to do that you will present in front of the class.”

Iwaizumi heard a pen drop and when he glanced at his left, he noticed Kiku looking pale before taking her pen back in her trembling fingers.

“You will be in group of two or three that I will choose–”

Almost everyone started whining at once at this, they were bound to be paired with people they didn't get along with. But when the teacher continued, most people shut up to listen to what he'd say:

“On the other hand, you are free to choose any topic that we will be studying this year. It will be only a ten minutes presentation but I want you to work seriously on it – it will be a fourth of your final mark.”

“Waaah!”

“No fair!”

“No way!!”

“Stop complaining!” The teacher scolded, hitting lightly the blackboard to bring back attention, “I want your topic by Monday – decide it this weekend and it won't hurt to start working on it as well. I will now give you the pairs and the date you will present your paper. Listen carefully because I won't be repeating.”

He started calling the students' names from a sheet he was reading on. A few minutes went by, some chatting about their temporary paired classmate.

“Akiyama Kiku.” The teacher called, making the girl startle nervously.

At once, all the students who weren't paired with anyone yet glanced worriedly at the girl – of course, no one wanted to be paired with the awkward girl in the back who never talked and even less to have a fourth of their final mark depending on Akiyama when she couldn't speak up in front of anyone. She moved her fingers anxiously while the teacher stared at her before opening his lips to speak up the other name of the person she'd have to work with.

“Iwaizumi Hajime.”

Iwaizumi was yawning in boredom when he heard his name and choked. Everyone else sighed in relief while he stood up abruptly, almost making his chair fall over.

“W-what?” He asked, eyes wide.

“Stop sleeping in class, Iwaizumi-kun – you're paired with Akiyama-san for the paper. You'll present it on Thursday in two weeks. Then…”

The teacher continued while Iwaizumi felt his heart beating a little too strongly as he glanced down at Akiyama. She glanced up at him at the exact time, looking a little relieved to be paired with him but baffled by his earlier reaction.

And I didn't want to think about her anymore…! Oikawa will have the time of his life teasing me now! He thought to himself, flushing in embarrassment and glancing away.

He sat back awkwardly, not daring to glance in Akiyama's direction.

What the hell? Was the only thing he could think of for the rest of the History class.

Once the idea that Akiyama and him would have to work on a History paper together settled in, Iwaizumi didn't really mind. He just hoped she'd be able to speak on her own without too much trouble. And also that she'd choose an interesting subject of paper.

At the end of class, almost all pairs gathered around tables to discuss their papers.

Iwaizumi glanced at Akiyama who was fumbling awkwardly with something around her neck – was it a necklace?

She glanced at him and when she noticed he was staring, she quickly pulled her necklace back behind her uniform ribbon.

“So… uh… you have an idea of paper?” He asked, head resting on his palm.

Akiyama seemed hesitant before opening her History book. She looked for something for a moment until finding a page she had been looking for and finally, turning it towards Iwaizumi.

“W-would i-it… be… a-all right…?” She asked in a low voice, pointing at some samurai from a History lesson about the Edo era.

Overjoyed about working on samurais, Iwaizumi instantly lit up, a huge grin spreading over his face.

“Yeah! I like it! Let's do that!” He exclaimed.

Kiku grinned brightly when he liked the subject, making Hajime take a double take at her face brightened by her smile. He blinked but almost instantly, as fast as it had appeared, the smile had disappeared from her face and she quickly turned away from him.

Some time later, while changing clothes for practice, Iwaizumi mentioned the paper he'd have to work on with Akiyama, making Hanamaki and Matsukawa blink at him in disbelief – Oikawa was sparkling excitedly at another side.

“Uh…? Repeat that?” Hanamaki hesitated, blinking.

“The teacher paired Akiyama and I for a History paper – I'm glad she chose to work on samurais! Never thought she'd like this sort of things though…” Iwaizumi said with a little smile, “I'm going ahead, hurry everyone!” He said with a little wave.

Hanamaki and Matsukawa followed him, staring at his back as he walked off.

“I can't freaking believe it…” Matsukawa muttered, eyes wide.

“Do you think Oikawa paid the teacher to pair them together?” Hanamaki asked in disbelief.

“Nah, it's more like witchcraft…” He answered just as Oikawa waltzed by them proudly.

“It's called fate~” He answered with a wave, “Iwa-chan~! Wait for me~!” He shouted, following his best friend.

Hanamaki and Matsukawa glanced at each other before going to the same conclusion:

“Witchcraft,” they said in one voice with a nod.