#you should never let niou give you suggestions

[maruibvbbles]

marui : right, who thinks I can fit 15 marshmallows in my mouth?

yanagi : you'll die not only from choking, but also from the sugar overload- *starts rambling off data*

sanada : you’re a hazard to society. tarundoru !!

niou : and a coward. DO TWENTY.

[milaisreading]

🌱🩷: Smn requested a pt2 of the U-20 team meeting crossdresser!Yn. So here it is!

Warnings: Reader uses she/her. In the story the boys will be using he/him when addressing Yn. Requests for this series are open.

⚽️Blue Lock belongs to Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura⚽️

"Hmmm?" Sendou squinted his eyes as he observed the Blue Lock team.... well, the starters more than anybody else. They were all somewhat interesting, but also boring to some regards, yet he couldn't stop looking at them. Or, better yet, a certain person in the team. The (h/c) haired striker of the team certainly stood out, as he looked way more... softer(?) than the rest of his team. Even his movements weren't like those from the other guys.

"Hey, Sendou. Stop staring into space and listen to what Aiku is saying." Hayate said lazily as Teru and Teppei nodded their heads.

"Yeah, we need to win this game."

"Sae is already being annoying with how 'lukewarm' we are." Cho rolled his eyes as Niou sent the older Itoshi and Shidou death glares.

"Sorry... it's just... that Blue Lock striker over there is very odd." Sendou said as he discreetly pointed at (Y/n), who was busy talking with Hiori and Kurona about something.

"Odd? He is just standing." Niou pointed out.

"Also, you being distracted resulted in him scoring the 2nd goal." Itsuki added in.

Sendou blushed in embarrassment and glared at his teammates.

"Shut it! And he is odd. Even the way he is standing is odd. It's as if I am seeing one of those idol girls."

"You have completely lost it." Teppei said calmly.

"Maybe we should limit your TV and internet access." Teru suggested.

"What are you all talking about now?" Oliver raised an eyebrow as he and Miroku approached them.

"Sendou think that (L/n) guy is a girl." Hayate simply stated.

"I never said he was a girl! I just said he reminds me of those idol girls!" The boy flushed a bright red.

"Oookkay..." Oliver said as he looked over at the said player.

"Regardless, let's just play now. Sae is already being an ass to me."

"Deserved." Miroku and Niou added in.

"Hey!"

As the 3 bickered, Sendou turned to look at the striker again. Sadly, this time, he wasn't as secretive, and Hiori noticed his staring, drawing (Y/n)'s attention to it. The two made brief eye contact, and Sendou swore he could feel his heart doing a flip or two as he stared into the player's eyes.

'Just what is it about you?'

Sendou thought that his encounter with the striker would end when the match ended, but no! They actually met up again at that karaoke bar, and again, Sendou had this weird feeling about the striker.

'He is just too perfect with girls... as if he knows first hand what they want to hear.' Sendou thought as he watched the boy's interaction with the two older girls. Meanwhile, Hayate, Teru, and Miroku were making fun of a pouting Oliver. Sendou watched as the striker's friends pulled him away from the girls.

"Stop being weird, Sendou." Cho warned the redhead.

"What?"

"You are staring at the dude like he killed someone." Teppei noted.

"Please, whatever sort of weird feelings you have for him, sort it out. It's getting stressful to watch." Niou added in as Sendou flushed a deep red as he tried to deny that statement. Itsuki snickered a little.

"You do have a weird fixation." Miroku said, walking over to the group.

"Bachira, please don't make a scene!" (Y/n) yelled as he pulled him away from an argument with Oliver.

"He does remind me of a idol tho... I have to give it to Sendou for noticing it first." Hayate added in.

"Please don't tell me you have been staring too." Niou groaned.

"In my defense, he is cute." Sendou grumbled at the statement Hayate made, and got even more agitated as Miroku and Teru agreed.

"So, a bowling match it is!" Oliver exclaimed, getting the attention of the rest of the team.

"What?" Niou wondered.

"We agreed to a bowling match with you guys." (Y/n) spoke up as she tried to get Bachira off of her arm.

"Losers buy the winners food." The (h/c) haired striker finished.

"Well, in our case Reo is buying the food." Chigiri and Isagi snickered.

"Aiyah... I guess. Bachira, can you let go of my arm now?"

"No." The bicolored boy said, which caused Chigiri and Isagi to grab onto Bachira to pull him off of (Y/n).

"There goes my hoodie." She sighed as the U-20 team watched in amusement... well, except for Oliver.

"And you! Blue Lock's number 12!"

"Ha?" The four looked at him in confusion, as the U-20 team sighed in defeat.

"Here we go." Cho and Teru said quietly.

"When the bowling game ends... how about you be a good brother to me and tell me your tricks on how you swooned those two girls soe easily." Oliver grinned, putting a  arm around (Y/n)'s shoulder.

"What?" The girl asked, dumbfounded by the statement.

"Why is he touching (Y/n)?"

"I don't know... doesn't he have a disease or something?"

"His breath probably smells, too." Isagi, Chigiri, and Bachira commented among themselves, trying to hold themselves back from ripping Oliver away from their striker.

"Eh... I don't know." (Y/n) raised an eyebrow as Oliver pulled her out of the room.

"Hey!" The three Blue Lock players protested.

"Hold it right there! Where are you going with (Y/n)?!" Otoya's voice was heard from down the hallway.

"That's not how you hold a bowling ball, Hayate-san." (Y/n) noted as she watched the white-haired boy struggle holding the ball.

"What?" The taller raised an eyebrow.

"You need to grab tightly onto it with all 3 fingers... that's way too loose." (Y/n) showed the shaky hand that was holding the ball. Although she didn't play or like this sport much, she knew some rules.

"You might injure your hand like that." She said simply finished as Hayate observed her hand for a moment and then repeated the same hold.

"Thanks."

"Welcome, let's have a fair game then." (Y/n) said as Hayate was about to say something, but the girl got pulled away by Nagi. The U-20 player watched with some new found interest the striker.

'Odd... but Sendou was right... there is something about the number 12 that isn't like the rest...' The white haired boy thought.

"You think that something is weird about him too, don't you?" Sendou suddenly spoke up from behind Hayate, who slowly nodded his head.

"There really is."

"Hey, you two! Focus! I need those tips from (Y/n)." Oliver warned the duo, who looked at him in confusion.

"What?"

"I made (Y/n) promise to give me tips about girls, if we win." Oliver simply stated.

"You... are getting dating tips from your junior?" Cho asked in disbelief.

"This is gold. I wish I had my camera with me." Miroku chuckled as Niou held in a laughter. Teppei tried to calm everyone down, but he did find this whole ordeal funny.

"Shut it!" Oliver yelled with an embarrassed blush as Teru and Itsuki patted their captain's back, silently laughing as well.

[therainrogue]

Rain’s Idea Bank (WTW) ☂

Here are all the ideas for fics I want to eventually write ._.)/

☂ Anime Stuff

࿏ enters fast food / sees dabi with cube / work smart not hard / villain enters / she takes the cube and yeets it at him / I was almost done! / you didn't have a single color / I was almost there! / He leaves and mistakenly takes her drink

࿏ Promise to marry. Loves her. Goes to jog, yamamoto asks is he single noya says no lev gets upset and isn't paying attention gets lost can't stop crying she finds him and he confesses.

࿏ Pairing: Konoha x Reader (euph) Trope: Mary Sue (casey) Genre: Angst, Romance (desk-gun) Prompt: Fire (kyokosasagawa) Word Count: 1,111 (janellion)

࿏ Heart Beats #18: Lovers When you return to the cabin, Atobe is awake. You explain what happened and everyone decides to go to bed. Before you can, however, he comments about how the two of you have become lovers. Choutarou flushes and Shishido pipes in thinking that being lovers means having sex, making Choutarou quickly deny the accusation. Atobe chuckles while you facepalm. Atobe then explains that lovers simply means ‘a person in love with another’.

࿏ Flaws, Part 3You accept what you did was wrong - you never should have lied and kept something so dark from the one you claimed to love. It hurts, but you decide that Jirou is better off without you in his life. It hurts, but you let him go. But what if he realizes how empty he feels without you? Can he actually bring himself to overlook who you are and love you despite everything?

࿏ Unnamed, Akaya, Part 1Akaya needs to take a shower after finding himself the victim of a prank, but after hearing the high schoolers talking about how the shower room is haunted, he refuses to go alone. Everyone else is asleep, so he bugs you to go along with him. You plan on standing outside, but he demands that you stand watch inside. Halfway through his shower, a loud and eery moan fills the room. He screams and launches at you, his naked body pressing against yours as close as he could get it. You climb up the wall and pull a knife from your boot to pry the speaker from the wall, showing that he had gotten pranked.

࿏ Unnamed, Akaya, Part 2Akaya was pranked again. You sit in his room while he strips down to his boxers, listening to him complain about why he keeps getting pranked. You simply tell him that it’s because he is cute and that if he stops reacting, they will get bored and move on. He now only has one pair of clean clothes left, so he begs you to wash his dirty clothes for him. Sanada walks in to find the half naked boy sitting on your lap and freezes, demanding to know what’s going on. He claims that you are corrupting the second year. Akaya doesn’t understand what the big deal is, and you simply state that there isn’t one because you’ve seen dicks before. Sanada, trying to hide his blush, yells at you and throws his balled up jacket, hitting Akaya in the face and sending him to the ground. Deciding to aid him, you quickly grab his clothes and head for the laundry room. He rushes to get dressed and follows, sitting ontop of the machine. Again, he questions what the big deal is, since you had already seen him naked and he trusts you. You suggest that he not tell Sanada that. Smut ensues.

࿏ Unnamed, MihashiMihashi is being bullied by some other kids in the park when you stumble across them. Being an ex-gangster, you were easily able to lift the kid off the ground and scare him shitless with just a few words. Mihashi is crying and apologizes for being so weak. You wipe his tears and give him your long sleeved shirt as it’s a bit cold outside. “There’s always someone stronger than you out there. Besides, if you get stronger, I wouldn’t get the chance to save you.” He smiles and your heart skips a beat. You ask if he’s ever had his first kiss and then ask if you can take it from him. He nervously agrees and you pull him close, sharing your first, of many, kisses.

࿏ Unnamed, Marui A high schooler named Murai develops a test syrum that turns Marui into a vampric assassin. After being injected, he passes out and is taken to the nurse’s office. Having had feelings for the boy for a while, you rush to the office as soon as you here and you quickly note the signs that he’s a vampire. After getting the nurse out of the room, you slice your arm and offer him a drink, shocking Niou, who had arrived with you. Since you are the first blood he’s had, he no longer smells the blood of others like a normal vampire does. Like a homing rocket set on a target - it ignores everything but the target.Marui ends up having a nightmare about Murai and his roomates are unable to wake him so they grab you. Hearing your voice brings him back, but he is so upset that you grab him and bring him to your room to calm down. He explains that he had a nightmare about the man who turned him and that he had killed you. This is after over hearing your conversation with Niou about his condition. He’s hungry, but doesn’t want to leave a mark, so she removes her shirt and tells him to pick a spot. He chooses your upper left chest.During a fight, you get a cut on your stomach. Marui smells your blood and comes running, licking the wound. Later, he is with Sanada and the others when he smells your blood again. His fangs appear and he slaps his hand over his mouth before excusing himself to chase after you. Murai sees him coming up behind you and gets excited, expecting him to attack, but instead he hugs you and kisses your back, telling you to be careful. You then take down Murai and learn how to cure Marui. This takes place during U-17.

࿏  keigo arranged marriage, runs away from home

࿏  Super empath can take on the emotions of others just by talking to them and while comforting someone online, she takes on the depression.

☂ Kpop Stuff

࿏  “Pyromaniac” I.M and Jooheon - Reader is childhood friends with Jooheon. She invites him and I.M to hang out in an abandoned building that’s rumored to be haunted. They decide to split up and reader, being a pyromaniac, plays with her lighter as she explores, flicking it open and closed repeatedly. When an ice cold hand grabs her shoulder, she drops the lighter and whips around, only to find nothing there. The hand grips her again and she whips back around to find some cloth on the floor now set ablaze with a transparent woman standing amongst them. She noped out of there, grabbing her friends on the way. The fire department was called and so was Shownu, who questions what happened. “I don’t understand how this could have happened.” to which I.M responds “My guess would be the pyromaniac but that’s just me.” Everyone stares at her and she only shrugs, claiming the fault of the ghost.

☂ Other Fandoms

࿏ obey me - u don't understand how rude it is to step on someone's tail / are you done yet / you don't have a tail ur opinion is invalid / are you serious bro

࿏ It’s been 7 years, and no one has yet made a fanfiction about the College of Winterhold going at the Triwizard Tournament, having the Dragonborn get in the contest as the College’s Champion and so Hilarity ensues.

࿏ finding a home - looking for father for years, it's iron man

࿏  OC never understood ryoma’s love of ponta/lu xia’s love of fanta, until she tried it herself.

࿏  jingwoo goes to ny and gets attacked. his father is friends with the mayor and don, so svu gets the case, but oc has history with this one.

࿏  guard for ri’saad, uses her for warmth

☂ Songs

࿏ world war me theory of a deadman

☂ Other Stuff

࿏ OC adopts a troubled high school freshman.

࿏  Security guard falls for a high school student.

࿏  OC has beautiful hair and always gets complimented but she cuts it and her friends start calling her ugly.

࿏ Mother is a perfectionist. OC is depressed. Mother complains she never does anything. OC tries. Mother complains she did it wrong and redoes it. OC stops trying and feels useless, wondering why she isn’t good enough. OC cries in the park.

࿏  Betsy vs Daburi Skyrim oc face off dark brotherhood

[rlkkai]

Model UN AU - Rikkai as secretariat

more of this MUN AU when I should be doing research for an actual MUN. great prioritisation (sarcasm) !

Publicity/Design - Yukimura

Yukimura’s the obvious choice for Sec-Gen because of his leadership skills and natural charisma, but I can see Yukimura wanting to enjoy himself and have fun designing logos. His ideas turn out super aesthetic and stylish. He’s also the one managing social media, so he reaches a lot of potential participants and enjoys talking to them. Finally, although Yukimura’s official position is Publicity/Design, he dabbles in a bit of everything because he’s genuinely interested in what everyone else does. 

Academics - Sanada, Marui

Academics is arguably the toughest, most content-based job and both have their own takes on this. Sanada reads a few sources extensively and get the big picture first, while Marui collects short articles from different perspectives and slots things together from the details. 

They’re both very driven and motivated. Marui is the type who spends a weekend heavily researching a topic so come Monday, he can casually flex his knowledge and make it look effortless and genius. On the other hand, Sanada spreads his research load over a few more days with a schedule planned out. 

Everyone’s surprised at how well they end up working together. Marui helps diffuse tension when Sanada’s holding people to rigorous standards. Sanada reminds Marui to look at the larger picture and not get bogged down in details. Sanada also has an industrial-strength plagiarism checker program he uses liberally.

Logistics/Finance - Jackal

Jackal is 101% the reason why the team doesn’t collapse mid-conference. Logistics and Finance is not a flashy job, but everyone relies on and trusts Jackal. He does his best to manage the budget even with unreasonable requests (Marui and Kirihara’s suggestions for food). Jackal has the patience of a saint tbh. Although he never shows it, he’s proud of his work and is determined to make the conference amazing.

Outreach/Public Relations - Yagyuu

He seems like the type, doesn’t he? Yagyuu has a lot of MUN acquaintances, so he helps spread the word. But his email replies to some people can get passive-aggressive when he's annoyed. He also helps get sponsorships.

Special Projects/Crisis - Niou 

Like Yukimura, Niou also helps everyone (especially Yagyuu, because their work overlaps). Special projects are his niche - Niou would have way too much fun recruiting political actors. He comes up with very creative crisis councils that make the conference interesting. ‘Interesting’ usually means more stressful for the delegates, but come on, this is Rikkai.

Secretary-General - Yanagi

(No, I’m not biased at all.) Yanagi applied for Academics, so getting Sec-Gen was not something his data predicted. With Yukimura and Sanada’s help, he manages to guide the team, set deadlines, and handle communication. He’s good enough with academics and dealing with people, but put those two together and it’s a steep learning curve. Yanagi does go over to acads occasionally: that’s why the study guides have about 37.87% more statistics than necessary. He leaves chair training to Sanada and Marui, however. 

Operations/Conference Management - Kirihara

Admin - Urayama

As the two youngest members, they help each other out and learn from seniors along the way. Neither of them is naturally organised, so you often see haphazard scrambling near deadlines. 

Kirihara’s very eager to make the conference great. In the weeks leading up to the conference, he puts in 200%. He also helps Sanada and Marui with chair training.

Urayama is a nice kid, so he answers a lot of delegates’ questions when they’re too scared to ask their chairs. He’s super attentive when people are giving feedback. He’d like to do academics or publicity at his next conference, but he’s still undecided. 

Rikkai as a whole

While not as grand as Hyoutei MUN with its 200 staff members and 900 turnout, Rikkai MUN can hold its own and more. Despite their various titles, the Big Three function like an actual troika (the similarity is not missed by war crisis delegates) here. 

When Fuji S. signs up as an external photographer, Yukimura is suspicious but lets him. The two quickly amass over 100 unglams of Sanada, Tezuka and Atobe. All Fuji’s attempts of taking unglams of Yukimura somehow end up with blank images.

Niou and his team of political actors all dress the same for socials night. It straddles the fine line between hilarious and headache-inducing when they emcee.

By the last day, Yukimura, Sanada, and Yanagi are running on a combined total of 13 hours of sleep. They crash in the operations room before the closing ceremony, until Jackal discovers them and Yagyuu discovers the permanent marker in his blazer pocket. Yanagi has a speech in 30 mins and blackmail material on everyone, and no sane person would dare make Yukimura look stupid. Poor Sanada doesn’t understand why everyone can’t look at him with a straight face for the rest of the evening.

Kirihara grows a lot from this experience, and Kaidoh, Hiyoshi, Zaizen are all impressed. By this time, Next Gen have known each other for two years and are good friends. Kirihara makes Jackal give him priority access to the photo booth where Next Gen spend 20 mins with each boy trying to make himself look better than the others. 

After closing ceremony, Urayama and Marui take individual photos with everyone. Marui insists on queuing at the photo booth so he can use the props, while Urayama’s happy enough to use his phone. 

[skypondcrossing]

When We Ruled the World

Part II: Becoming Kings

Sanada Genichirou was four years old when he met Yukimura Seiichi. A three part history on Sanada and Yukimura’s bond from childhood to realization. SanaYuki. AtoSana.

 “Renji in singles three. Marui and Jackal in doubles two, and you to end the matches in singles two.” Renji and Yukimura were at Sanada’s house. It had become tradition for the other two to stay at his house the night before matches, to discuss the line-up while he listened and offered an objective opinion, if it was needed.

 “Total defeat?” said Renji while raising an eyebrow.

 “Of course. There is no meaning in winning unless the outcome is conclusive and unquestionable. It’s the mark of true champions and Rikkai is definitely a true champion. Therefore, we must sweep tomorrow’s matches without losing a single point.”

 “I understand but my data shows that the current Hyoutei is nothing like the team that was defeated last year. Hyoutei has gained a new captain, a second year whom we have had the pleasure to meet after our national matches last year.” Renji’s tone was wry.  

 “Atobe?” It was the first time Sanada had spoken since the conversation had began.

 “Yes. Ever since, he became the new captain, he had put together an incredible strong team. Anyone who loses an official matched is replaced immediately by one of the many in that massive tennis club.” A thoughtful silence followed Renji’s pronouncement and Sanada pictured the arrogant boy dismissing players right and left at the snap of a finger.

 “Yukimura, is that why you have placed our most steady players first?” asked Sanada suddenly.

 “I thought we should defeat Hyoutei swiftly before the members realize that they will lose. A desperate team, that cannot stand defeat, can accomplish miraculous things,” replied Yukimura, smiling. Renji nodded with understanding.

 “That is the wisest plan to follow, but this means the weight of the matches rests on the singles two matches.”  Renji turned to Sanada who was locked in gaze with Yukimura.

 “Sanada, you must win this match. Failure will not be tolerated.”

 “Of course.”

 As Sanada lay awake that night, he realized that it was the first time in a while since he had felt this excited for a match. Little did he know someone else in the room was also having trouble falling asleep, though for a very different reason.

“Doubles two. Niou-Jackal pair, six games to one.”

 The announcer’s voice resounded across the courts and the crowd cheered harder than ever, caught up in the unstoppable momentum resulting from the sweeping victories of the previous two matches. It was a good day for a tennis match. The air was still crisp and the days bright. It was the time of spring, of young dreams and young hearts.

 Sanada picked up his racket and let himself into the tennis court. He walked up to the bench, where Yukimura was sitting and observing everything.

 “I have nothing new to say. Just play normally.”

 “I will.” He turned to walk away.

 “Sanada,” called Yukimura suddenly. Sanada paused and looked back.

 “I believe in you, in your tennis. You should too, no mater what Atobe or anyone else says.”

 “Ah, I understand.” Yukimura’s confidence in him was his greatest resolution.

 Sanada found Atobe Keigo staring at him across the net, looking haughty as ever. He had filled out considerably since the last time he saw him. His hair was longer as well.

 “Let’s have a nice match.” He extended his arm.

 “Of course we will.” Atobe shook his hand. When Sanada pulled back, however, the other boy did not let go and instead tightened the hold on his hand.

 “I hope you still remember my words.” Brilliant grey eyes flashed impishly.

 His thumb smoothed the skin on the back of Sanada’s hand. Sanada pulled free like he were scorched, arousing only mocking laughter from Atobe.

 “You act like an uptight old man, Sanada, yet the looks you keep giving that boy,” he nodded his head to Yukimura, “are anything but innocent.”

 Sanada glanced over at Yukimura, who was watching the two of them with a frown on his face.

 “I’ll have to change that. When you’re with me, you won’t have the time or energy to focus on anything else. You can take that as a promise,” said Atobe suggestively. Sanada raised an eyebrow in skepticism.

 “Delusional musings are unhealthy, Atobe. I thought Hyoutei’s captain would be more sensible than that,” said Sanada coolly, walking to the baseline, Atobe’s amused chuckle was echoing in his ears.

 They rallied the first few balls for a while, each trying to gauge the other’s playing capability. However, Atobe quickly tired of this and switched to a more offensive play style. He broke up the established, steady momentum with unexpected net volleys and corner shots, easily taking the first match.

 “Have you ever seen Atobe play like that?” asked a Hyoutei second year, Jirou Akutagawa.

 “No, I have never seen him playing offense so early in a match. Why is the idiot using so much effort so early in the match?” replied Shishido Ryou, Atobe’s unofficial best friend.

 As the two continued their conversation, Yukimura returned his attention to the match. The unease, which he had been feeling increased.

 “Atobe, game. Three games to love.  Five minute break.”

 Sanada returned to the bench as Yukimura handed him a towel and water bottle.

 “This is only the beginning, do not worry.”

 “Who said I was worried?” Sanada looked up, surprised beneath his towel.

 Yukimura simply smiled without explanation. “I trust you, Genichirou so you should trust yourself.” The look in his eyes sad everything he didn’t need to. It was the same look he had when he told Sanada they would be the national champions a year ago.”

What had I been doing? I had lost to no one but Yukimura and I won’t start now.

 As he walked back to court, Atobe and he crossed paths to their respective courts.

 Atobe raised his eyebrows, “Your eyes have changed.”

 “Atobe, I will end this match now.”

 “Oh?”

 “If I lose to you I would just be another loser, buried, with no way to crawl out of defeat.” Sanada’s voice was not lyrical like Yukimura but Atobe could not help but be mesmerized by the grit. “But he is out there on that stage. I want to reach the place where he is, see how far I can go if I did this with everything I had.” Sanada admitted to himself at last the desire he had to reach the top, which had been suppressed and overpowered for so long since meeting Yukimura.

“Anything other than victory would be meaningless.”

 “If it were easy, then this would not be meaningful,” Atobe said cryptically.

 The match resumed and Sanada was true to his word. Atobe’s aggressive play style in the first few matches took a toll on his endurance and he soon made careless mistakes out of fatigue. Taking advantage of the situation, Sanada began his offensive play.

 “Did you see that? I didn’t even see him swing.”

 “Amazing, I was starting to think the match was one-sided.”

 Startled remarks sounded from the crowd as a renewed sense of excitement overcame them. The stoic tennis player seemed to step into a second skin as he unleashed his full potential, freed completely from any lingering feelings of self-consciousness or awkwardness before the crowd.

 “Game Sanada, five games to three.” Atobe did not score a single point.

 “I have never seen Genichirou play like this. It’s frightening,” said Renji.

 “That’s because this is no longer about tennis or us. Right now Sanada is fighting for his own triumph,” said Yukimura from the bench.

 Yukimura never heard Renji reply for at that moment, an ominous chant rose steadily form the crowd, at first a quiet murmur before growing into a full-fledged mantra.

 “General! General!” The crowd repeated until their throats grew hoarse. Yukimura and Renji shared a knowing smile. This was the day they would gain their title nicknames, which would follow them an entire lifetime.

 “He really commands respect. I have never seen someone play with so much discipline,” the compliments kept pouring in.

 “Shit! Atobe! Shit! Stand up! Stand up!” Jiroh Akutagawa was oblivious to the people starting next to him as he gripped the metal fence so hard his knuckles turned white.

 “Think of how far we’ve come! We can’t just let it go to waste. If we lose here-“ his throat closed up and turned away to hide the burning tears of shame in his eyes. He was surprised when he felt a gentle hand come up to ruffle his hair.

 “I know,” said Atobe in an uncharacteristically soft tone. He threw over his water bottle, leaving Jirou to catch it with widened eyes. He stared after Atobe before snapping out of the trance and turned toward the monstrous sea of Hyoutei’s player, who had gone slack from seeing its undefeated captain on the verge of losing.

 “Come on!” he shouted at them, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “Winner will be Atobe Atobe!” Maybe it was the shock of seeing the mild mannered and kindest member of the Hyoutei Regulars running up and down the stands, screaming and cheering with full limbs flailing. The other players began quickly to join in.

 It was Atobe’s service game and he took his position in the middle of the baseline after each serve. Unsure of the other’s intentions, Sanada quickly returned to ready position after hitting back the serve.

 “Your weakness,” Atobe said under his breath. “I see them.” Sanada could only blink as the ball sped pass him landing with absolute precision in his blind spot. Atobe took the game easily as the crowd, led by Jirou, roared in appreciation.

 “I did not expect to be pushed this far,” said Sanada. “I will concede that you are strong Atobe.”

 “Same to you” The tension stretched before Sanada gave a small smile.

 It was the first time he had played so true to himself. It had been fun, exciting even but now Sanada had to end it. He served. Atobe returned it to a tricky position. The ball was returned easily only to seemingly disappear from view.

 “Rin-silent like the forest” The crowd, like Atobe was too shocked to even do anything but gape wordlessly.

 No matter how Atobe strained and pushed his body to the limit, he proved no match to Sanada’s Furinkazan. The game and match was over and Rikkai would continue on their journey to victory.

 “Sanada!” “Genichirou!” Yukimura and Renji had thrown themselves onto the courts, beaming at him.

 “Yukimura” He turned to the boy with a sincere expression. “Thank you for your words during the match.”

 “I only said what I believed.”

 The three of them walked over to the Hyoutei team. The tension of the matches had dissipated and now many of the players reverted back to their cheerful, friendly selves, sharing banters with the other team, which they had fought so heatedly with just hours before.

 “It was a nice game, Atobe.” Sanada offered a genuine handshake, which Atobe accepted.

 “Yes, I suppose it was…nice but now that the team and I have played once, I won’t allow us to lose the same team again.”

 “I look forward to it.” As they turned to leave, the Hyoutei captain called out suddenly.

 “Sanada, if you think I’m giving up after this, then you have really underestimated me.” Sanada alone turned back.

 “I wouldn’t dream of anything less from you,” he left the Hyoutei captain to ponder his words.

 “He was the strongest player we had faced so far,” said Renji to Yukimura.

 “I agree. Even you, Renji, would have been pushed,” Yukimura words were honest but without bite.

 “Yeah, I will keep close watch of his progress for next year.”

 Yukimura interrupted their musings on tennis with a sudden declaration for celebration. Renji smiled over at his playful expression and asked what the other boy was suggesting. Yukimura remained silent but gave Sanada an appraising look from head to toe, which left him feeling as if naked in front of an audience. Sanada and Renji both noticed the mischievous glint in his eyes, which normally would have left them wary but it for it had been so long since Yukimura were so carefree. Since making the pact with them, Yukimura had thrown himself so completely into the cause for Rikkai’s victory that he rarely had time for other things.

 After years of being friends, Sanada was still a little thrown off whenever his friend was in this type of mischievous mood. It happened more frequently when they were younger, where he would flash Sanada a pleading smile before dragging him into plans like playing his art model. Though he did not enjoy the activities in particular, he was always a willing participant for a chance to see Yukimura happy and carefree like kids their age. They had been through much, always dealing with the people who underestimated them for their young age and Yukimura’ delicate appearance. And the few who didn’t watched from the sidelines for any inkling of weakness to mar the record. Over the years, Yukimura had grown even better at maintaining the act of perfection. Sanada knew it was the only way for him to feel strong when they were in such a vulnerable position.

 “I think we should get plastered and celebrate like true adults! And Genichirou could pass for a young adult anyways.” Sanada scowled, further verifying the statement. Remarkably, Renji did not offer any sensible protests and so Yukimura grabbed them around the arms, chatting cheerfully the whole way there.

 They ended up eating ramen and drinking soda at the food court instead plan aborted when Sanada’s family called and reminded him to be home for a sudden family get-together later tonight. Still it was a great time as they laughed until their bellies ached with Yukimura entertaining them with random stories and tales. Sanada was content just listening to Renji and Yukimura chat and exchange ideas enjoying the comforting presence of his two best friends without speaking. Sanada truly believed the power of their bond and efforts would be enough to overtake the challenges, which lay ahead of them.

 The rest of the tournament passed by smoothly and Rikkaidai once again took home the trophy of the national championships. Increasingly the Troika’s reputation was cemented and the world began to forget when the three did not stand together, undefeated.

 Though that did not mean there were no changes. The first was the presence of a new transfer freshman, Kirihara Akaya. Causing a ruckus on the first day of school, Kirihara managed to accomplish the feat of offending every single member of the Rikkai tennis team. Sanada was determined to throw him off the courts but Yukimura intervened to give the boy a change to prove his wroth. Akaya was feral and wild, lacking too much of measured training to put up a true challenge against the Troika. Even so, the newly appointed captain had quite taken to the boy’s brash and determined nature and was determined to keep him.

 Sanada was appointed with the task of taking the boy in and educating him in the order and discipline of the Rikkai way. It was a tasking role and Sanada’s patience was often worn thin. One day after a particularly tiring day of responding to Akaya’s insolent questions, Sanada, in a sudden outburst, asked Yukimura the reason of putting him in charge of Akaya’s misbehavior. Immediately regretting his impatient tone, Sanada watched in dread as Yukimura eyebrows shot up towards his hairline.

 “I would think it would have been obvious. You are the only person who could control that boy. Your authority is unquestionable.” Sanada snorted in disbelief but refrained from throwing his thoughts back at the other boy.

 “Besides, it will be good practice for my future vice captain.”

 “You’re choosing me?” It was not like Sanada had not considered it but he had always thought Yanagi’s strategic counsel and greater patience would have convinced Seiichi to choose otherwise.

 “Your self confidence is lacking, Genichirou. Who else do I trust more than you?” Sanada felt his entire body grow light from happiness. And truthfully, Yukimura’s words did fill him up with confidence as he thought back to their moment on the bridge and how he was the one Yukimura had chosen to share his aspiration of taking the national championships with. In that way, they were completed aligned in heart, which even Renji would not truly understand. Yukimura had set him apart and the knowledge made Sanada’s heartbeat skyrocket.

 As Yukimura walked away, an amused Renji came over to stand beside him.

 “You may want to be a little more subtle,” he chided teasingly.

 “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Sanada deflected the implications. Sanada was getting more annoyed at Renji’s increasing insinuations about his feelings for Yukimura but, truthfully, he was most annoyed with how on target those comments were.

 “What I mean is you should say something to him instead of making those lovesick eyes at him whenever you think he is not looking.” Sanada grimaced.

 “Am I that obvious?”

 “Sadly, yes.”

 “You know I could not do that. If it doesn’t work out, our whole tennis team would be jeopardized and you know that is everything to him.” Renji frowned but did not say a word in rebuttal.

 Sanada had played the internal debate on repeat for a while now, weighing the precarious consequences with the possibility of sweet relief. Each time though, the result was the same as he put Yukimura’s regard for assured victory over his own feelings.

 Contrary to common belief, Sanada was not a late bloomer. He fully understood what Atobe alluded to in his flirtations, the promise of sex behind the heated glances and constant innuendos. He had grown up after all with an older brother and all his careless trysts during the young and hot-blooded days. Sanada knew Yukimura would never fall in the same meaningless category. It happened after a hard day of practice as Sanada was chatting aimlessly with Renji. He had glanced Yukimura coming out of the shower, the same body he had seen countless times before only to realize he wanted to put action to admiration; he had always watched the other boy but now he also knew what he wanted to do with those fine features and slender form.

 Despite Sanada’s resolve, his attraction only grew stronger. At night he lay awake thinking of Yukimura constantly until sleep overtook him. And though his thighs were sticky, his body was not deceived and yearned for more than just fantasy. It was like drinking seawater, which granted temporary relief but really resulted in more suffering later on. Sanada was left with unsatisfied desires, which weighed more heavily on his battered and growing body.