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#first year kenma just really reminded me of a black cat even though i know he's a officially a calico cat haha
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deluluass · 3 years
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Then, the dam breaks.
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Content warnings: rape/noncon; nsfw; dacryphilia; mild infantilization
Kuroo's not a bad person. 
Not even by a long shot. "Bad" is willfully stretching out a leg, hidden like a predator among the bushes; hungry for an unknowing soul who's naively secured with their surroundings and the crack that resounds when face finally meets floor.
Or, murder! Murder is bad, he believes.  
No, Kuroo isn't capable of any of those things. He might seem like he has a mean streak about him. What, with his sharp tongue and that incorrigible self-satisfied smirk (according to Yaku) and his words that may or may not sting like a backhanded slap sometimes. But that's all in good humor. 
Well-deserved, too, when given to the right asshole. And if he does manage to get under the skin of the wrong person, Kuroo's not above offering an apology. 
And he means it. (Occasionally.)
There's no pleasure to be had, if anyone would ask. Because, again , he's not a bad guy. He's sly: he knows that much, though he wouldn't taunt someone into visible pain just for the thrill of it.
There's a method to all this. A purpose. Not a profound one, but a reason all the same. 
So he has to admit he's feeling kinda lost figuring out why, of all people, it just really had to be you. 
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There wasn't much of an option to begin with.
Art clubs had already been full. The other ones, you weren't much interested in. And by the time you realized your homeroom teacher would stop at nothing to remind you that this year was your last chance to do something other than study and prepare for exams, for once— well, it had already been too late to reconsider joining those.
Then a flyer was handed out to you.
"V-volley," the boy trailed off. 
Try as you might but you couldn't recognize him. A feat, that, considering his blond mohawk that you could spot among a crowd of thousands. 
He seemed like he'd caught a nasty spell that prevented him from meeting anyone's eyes, even as you deliberately searched his face for any sign that he'd explain himself to you. Surely, he must have a lot to say after he'd outright ambushed you from entering the cafeteria. 
"You...want me to join?" 
You were on the verge of asking for more details, focusing on the black cat (though it didn't look like it) drawn on the center of the curiously damp paper, only to find out that you'd been conversing with an empty hallway. 
A soft grumble left you. 
"Weird," you concluded, barely a whisper. "Weird, weird, weird ."
You were the volleyball team's manager since then. 
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"She's not much of a talker."
Lev hunched to his knees again, sounding very much like he's running out of breath.
It should've been Kuroo's cue to gently ( gently) tell him off, that Nekoma's ace would handle a minute of catching a ball with their face with much more tenacity than he does, or that Nekoma's ace shouldn't have to catch the ball with their face in the first place, period.
" Zoning out already, Ace? " he'd planned on jeering, but instead he followed the direction of the overgrown 10 year old's gaze. 
Someone was talking to you. 
Apologizing , was more like it, if the other student's incessant bowing until his torso fell from his body was any indication. You were outside of the gym, clipboard tucked under an arm, so it was impossible to catch a word you were saying.
Not that you were saying much. Or anything at all. You only nodded. And nodded again. And after what seemed like the world's loudest "I'm so sorry, senpai!",you immediately went back inside to refill the water bottles lined atop the bench. 
"Hey," Kenma sighed, the ball in his hand aimed for a toss. "Focus."
And the cycle of Lev being an utter disappointment to the blond setter continued. 
Kuroo let out a noncommittal hum, eyes never leaving you, trailing like a lost pup as you handed out water bottles to Nobuyuki and the others. 
"Not a talker, huh," he muttered to himself. 
How long has it been? Two weeks? Three, maybe? Kuroo could scarcely remember for how many days you'd been showing up to this sweaty pit to perform your duties. On the dot. Always. Without fail. 
What he does remember was the first day.
Chin up; head held high. You strutted into their lives as if you were leading an entire militia to battle and had no time to waste.  
He teased you for it when you'd already busied yourself with clean up duty a few minutes after your (short) ( extremely concise) introduction.
("Slow down there, general," he told you with a wry chuckle. He expected any reaction from you, really.)
(He just didn't expect you to actually slow down on your cleaning and pick up on the Coach's remaining paperwork right then and there, going through it like a forest fire.)
It would take him a few more days to realize that that's just how you are. 
Even when you rejected a tongue-tied Yamamoto when he tried to ask you out. For a meal. With the other boys, of course.
Even when you took a hurtling ball to your leg and lost your footing and had the whole team scrambling for a stretcher, only for you to stand on your good leg, tell everyone "I'm okay," and walk to the nurse's office on your own.
(Kuroo doesn't think he's seen someone limp with so much grace before.)
His throat suddenly felt incredibly dry. 
Water . Water was what he needed. 
Right. 
You didn't see him coming from across the court. You were sitting on the bench and your back was turned, scribbling on that clipboard propped on your lap, yet— like clockwork, your idle hand shot out to give him the last bottle to your left before he could even finish asking for one.
He felt his lips curve as he muttered his thanks around the lid.
"Say," Kuroo began.  
You were reading the things you wrote back to yourself. 
"Mind telling me what was that about?"
You paused. You blinked up at Kuroo. 
The attention hits him like a freight train. 
That clear as summer sky gaze, unclouded and bright. 
It's nuts how unreal it felt. How can something so elusive be now all on him. 
(Just for him.)
"Earlier," he added, licking his lips and feeling silly for the way his chest tightened. "Seemed kinda intense."
"He borrowed my notes," you said. Then back to the clipboard again. 
Kuroo made himself comfortable next to you, elbow propped on his knee as he rested his chin against an open palm.
"Got a test coming up?"
"Cram school. He's in the same class."
Of course .
"Of course," Kuroo grinned. "What happened? Heard the guy apologize to you like you were about to kill him."
Laughter bubbled out of his chest. Unfortunately, you didn't seem to find it as funny as he did. Pity. 
He sighed.
"Nothing too bad, I hope."  
The noise of ballpoint pen scratching against paper halted. 
From way at the back, Lev was prattling Kenma's ear off again. Kuroo guessed they were about to leave, walking away from the court, away from the gym and to god knows where. The whole team, too, for that matter.
Everyone seemed to have gone, diminished in that second. He couldn't hear them anymore, didn't bother to see if they're still there.
He was looking at you, after all. Really looking at you. Your grip on the pen was a tad severe, he thought; fingers determined to squeeze the ink out of the barrel. 
Your face betrayed nothing. Indeed, anyone could spare you a glance and immediately guess that this is just another empty chat between acquainted individuals, conversation just for the sake of it. 
Kuroo wasn't just anyone, though.
Chin up and head held high; as you'd always done. But Kuroo's close enough to see it now, unlike before: the gulps you take in between breaths; the falter in those eyes that only ever looked forward.
Chin up and head held high, but Kuroo sees now that the neck he could easily break with one hand is so tense it's essentially a string pulled too tight that's on the brink of snapping. 
Oh.
"Oh," Kuroo whispered.
Oh .
"He lost it didn't he?" Kuroo realized. "Your notes."
And it did snap.
"Just..!" You looked down and bunched your pants in your fist. "No. Of course not. It's nothing," you huffed, putting the ball pen's cap back on. 
You were leaving.
Kuroo stood up.
"You look upset, manager-san," he said softly, his larger frame blocking your attempts of escape. "It is bothering you, hm?"
"My notebook got-got ruined, sure," you said. "But juice stains aren't bothering me, Captain ."
There it is. You were meeting his gaze again. 
" Too late for that ," Kuroo thought. There's a stutter to your words when there had been none. 
Your arms are trembling and you look  uncomfortable. He should stop. He knows he should stop , but whatever it is he said is chipping away at that impenetrable wall and he doesn't get what's happening now but damn, damn if that tingle running down his spine doesn't feel so fucking good. 
"My bad," he chuckled. "Sorry."
He raised both his arms in a show of defeat. 
"I'm- it's fine," you said through gritted teeth. "If you would just— excuse me."
Kuroo shrugged a shoulder. 
"Sorry about your notes, still," he said. "Must've been important to you. We all know how much you take your studies very, very seriously." 
Kuroo smirked. "You shouldn't have let him have it then." 
That made you stop in your tracks. 
"What do you mean?" you sought, confusion breaking your voice into what sounds like the smallest it's ever been.
Kuroo felt his breath catch in his throat.
"He needed my help, though," you rushed. "I can't just turn people away." 
"Really?" Kuroo sniggered, eyebrows lifting in fascination. 
"Could've sworn you were good at it," he said; whispered it so lowly, you couldn't have heard it. But you did.
You heard him, all right. Loud and clear.
Because it was just like watching someone take a bullet to the heart. 
First, the disbelief. 
Skin, muscles, and ligaments weren't made to be broken like that. A person wasn't created to bleed to death. And when it happens, well, all one can ask is: how could someone hurt me like this? 
So you stand before him, immobile, disbelief written in those wide eyes, because how could he hurt me like this?
Then—
Then, the dam breaks.
Kuroo doesn't think that you know it; that you're gaping at him with tears streaming down your face; that you're falling apart and stripping yourself bare the more you try to temper those quivering lips with that cute little nibbling you do.  
Kuroo doesn't think you know it, too.
That no one has ever been as beautiful as you are, right in that very moment.
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You're not a good person.
Not even by a long shot. "Good" is an open hand, warm and soft and prepared to accept anyone in need of it. It's many things, goodness, but it most certainly isn't a dismissive attitude towards a well-meaning person who only wants to get to know you.
You hadn't gone this far in your uneventful life ignorant of what people say behind your back. "Frigid" is one. "Indifferent" on a good day. "Bitch" when someone feels like being mean. 
It's not like you're mad or anything; not as if you'd built up some sort of resentment within you that now you've settled for being perpetually friendless. You have plans, is all. You just can't afford to be a constant helping hand when you've got so much to do.
So you take it. 
Be a sport about it, was what you've always been told. Stiff upper lip, as they say. You remain silent about it and you endure and maybe you shed a few tears later as you lie in bed and maybe you entertain the possibility that you'll never see the end of this loneliness. 
But that's neither here nor there.
The point is, this time shouldn't have been any different.
(But sometimes even the strongest walls can crumble. All it takes is one crack, then the rest would follow.)
It was a bad day. 
You woke up late. You messed up the tally in the first set of practice games. You forgot the homework you'd stayed up all night to do. 
And the person whom you've lended your notes to for the college entrance exams lost it. 
He lost it. Conveniently just a month before the actual thing. 
"I- It's nowhere to be found, senpai," he explained. "I tried looking for it everywhere but- but I.." (You don't remember the rest.)
It's fine, you told yourself. You're fine. You can do something about a little inconvenience like this. You always have.
But then Kuroo Tetsurou asked. 
He's an amazing captain; even someone like you who only had a rudimentary knowledge at volleyball could understand the level of skill it requires to do what he does on the court while still managing to reign in the polarizing characters in this team together. And like most people, Kuroo Tetsurou has never cared for you. 
That's what you'd always thought, concerning him. Even when there had been times when he'd let slip what he thought about you. ("You're so cold, manager-san," he pouted once after you'd refused to eat with Yamamoto and the others.)
So it blindsided you, to say the least. 
The way he looked at you, as if he's privy to your darkest secrets, like he's seen you at your lowest and somehow knows you more than you did. 
When he'd jabbed and poked at what you'd only later realize was already a festering wound. (" It is bothering you, hm?" he said.) And before you could think about telling him to stop, to please, please let it go, it had already happened.
(" Could've sworn you were good at it ," he said.) 
This isn't news to you. Besides, there have obviously been worse digs. 
But hearing it from people who think you're not listening and being told about it to your face are two vastly different things. 
(Maybe it's because deep inside you'd always hoped that not everyone disliked you. That even though you're not a good person, you're not entirely bad either.)
Right in front of you, swift and without warning, he spoke only the truth.
You just weren't prepared for how deep it could cut. 
"I have to go," you murmured.
It took you a few seconds to realize that you'd been crying. And when you did, you immediately wiped your cheek with the back of your hand, turning away from him and the others still engrossed in their drills.
You let your feet do the thinking, allowing it to take you wherever they wished to go ( not here. not here. anywhere but here ), finding it impossible to do so yourself when your vision is clouded with welling tears. 
You moved forward, never once looked back, until you ended up inside the stark darkness of the gym's forgotten neighbor. 
The shed has long been abandoned and had nothing but dust, a couple of furniture in disrepair, and the occasional bug to keep it company. It was good enough for you. You didn't need much anyway.
Except for silence. 
The breaths that you'd desperately tried to control shook like dried leaves hanging onto frail branches, much like your legs, eventually collapsing at the slightest gust of wind. 
All you needed was silence.
Crouched down, the feeling of bones reduced to jelly was a lot more palpable. And despite the pins and needles that you know would eventually appear like a vengeful mistress, you stubbornly pressed your knees closer to your damp face.
Stuttering inhales and short-lived exhales  soon enough filled the gnawing emptiness of the shed as you count back to the moment you'd started the day to when your classmate told you that he'd lost your notebook to when you'd been told of how much of a shitty person you are and you wonder how you would've changed your decisions and how could it have gotten to this point how could it go wrong like this what did I do what did I do wrong what went —
"There you are."
You clamped your mouth shut, clenched your teeth so hard to stop their chattering. How useless. 
The creaking noise of the door being closed— punctuated by the sound of the latch clicking, rendered that effort futile. 
Kuroo Tetsurou locked the door.   
"C-can you," you panted. "Can you please leave."
"I need some time alone," you said, every beat of your heart like the ticking clock of a time bomb. "Please." 
You waited for him to do as you'd told. Maybe what happened earlier was a mistake, a slip of tongue that hurt more than it should've, and he's here to apologize. Of course. That's it, isn't it? Why else would he be here?
"I- If you want to say something, we can- we can— later." 
It was as if the entire world had gone still. He said nothing; neither could you hear any hint of movement. You turned around.
"C-captain..!"
He was right there. 
Right in front of you, crouched and staring right back at you. His face a hair's breadth away from yours. 
Your legs shot upwards. 
"What are you- ah !" You hissed, feeling every cell in your body being incessantly pricked. Finding it impossible to stand on your own, your hands scrambled to get a hold of something, anything, maybe the almost dilapidated table behind you— only to be caught in between large, strong arms.
"Careful, now," he murmured against your neck. His scalding breath like frostbite, chilling you down to your bones until you were numbed from the pain.
He slithered a hand around your waist. With blood thundering to your ears, you bit back a shriek and pushed him away with all your might. But have you forgotten? Despite that indolent swagger of his, you've witnessed how this boy pushes himself to exertion for each match and beyond. What made you think you could win against him? 
And when you attempted to open your mouth and yell, he effortlessly covered it with a palm while hauling you towards the table. The thing rocked under your weight. It is amusing, what the fear of falling does to you. One moment you're thrashing your way out; the next, you're holding onto your tormentor for dear life.
"No one's gonna come for you." He shushed you like how one would when placating a rabid animal. "You really believe they would bother? With an attitude like that?"
Down, down, his hand sank to your thigh, kneading the aching flesh until all you could do was mewl out a hoarse, "S-stop. I beg y-you."
Because it's all that's left for you. No one's going to save you. Or maybe someone would. But, who? And would they, really? 
(Go on, then. Try. See for yourself.)
"Kuroo-san," you whimpered. " S-stop ."
(Would they even believe you? It's your word against his. Him . Their beloved captain.)
"Tetsurou," he only said, dipping his hand lower, wrapping your freezing legs around him. "Say it."
He's everywhere. Lips tracing your chin, teeth grazing your throat; all the while your weak, pathetic arms stayed on his shoulders, thinking he'd regain his senses because he has to. He has to. He's not a bad person. He wouldn't hurt you, not in that way. 
Even when rough palms are already caressing the sides of your breasts and you feel a bulge rutting against your stomach, hot and rock hard and large, his hands grabbing your ass to bring your crotch closer to his—
"Cap- Tetsurou!" You cried, trembling hands back on his chest as you sobbed and pleaded please, please, let me go, I won't say anything, I-I'll keep quiet .
He did stop. But he didn't let you go. (You're a stupid girl if you think he would). Instead, with a forefinger under your chin and a thumb on your lower lip, he gently tilted your head to meet his gaze. 
And when your murky vision adjusted to the shadows, the heart that wanted to escape from your chest ceased its clamoring, arresting your breath with it.
The afternoon sun peeked through the crevices of the shed's wooden walls. Red-orange light revealed a pair of iris swallowed by blown pupils, only for it to pass and shroud him back into the darkness. 
"Say it again," he whispered, deep voice cracking. " Tetsurou . My name."
You tried to speak and protest once again but only a croaked snivel left you, your babbling becoming less coherent when he began planting soft kisses on both tear-streaked cheeks. 
"You've been all alone, haven't you? Keeping everything to yourself all this time."
He kissed your forehead and it was so tender you wanted to die. 
"My strong, brave girl," he breathed. "I'll take care of you. I'll take care of you. I- I-"
You heard him chuckle as he pressed his forehead to yours, felt it crease on your skin. "I love you."
No. No, no, no . You shook your head and closed your eyes and prayed to anyone who's listening. 
"I love you," he repeated, strongly now, as if he only realized it this time around. 
And then he kissed you. Just a peck. And then he kissed you again, deepening it to probe a wet tongue into your mouth. And the hand sitting lax on your neck felt like a gun to your temple.   
You remained just as you were, like a plaything to do with as he pleased, as you felt calloused fingers creep inside your sweaty shirt.
"Such pretty tits," he grunted as he raised your bra over your breasts to brush your nipples, rolling and pinching and pulling them with his thumbs.
He muffled the noises you made with his own mouth still when he continued fondling you. You soon enough tasted the salt off of his palm when he left your lips to lick and pepper bites on your neck, on the valley and mounds of your breasts, sucking and lapping the stiff peaks until he was satisfied.
You tried counting, one to whatever. And when that did not work, you tried biting your own tongue to rid of the heat you fear would burst in your belly. 
All that went to waste when he reached inside your pants. 
"Not- not there!" you gasped, breaking your silence and wriggling out of his grasp.
He cooed. "You'll feel good. I promise."
After hooking long fingers over the hem of your panties, he briskly parted the hair and lips underneath to pull the thin cotton over the folds, over the throbbing nub trapped in the middle. 
"Your pussy's so wet, sweetheart," he sighed, the tip of his middle finger drawing light circles on your clothed clit. 
It was so lewd and dirty and the fact that your panties were soaked with slick was enough to burn you with shame.
"You like it, hm?" 
Perhaps you whimpered out a meek "no." You couldn't tell anymore, heaving out while he continued to toy with a sore nipple as he rubbed your slippery cunt, preying on your puffed out, swollen clit.  
"Feel what you do to me." He squeezed your wrist and forced your shivering hand on his crotch. "Take out my cock, baby," he whispered, scattering kisses on your neck.
"Tet-Tetsuro…san," you cried. "I can- I can't."
"Yes. Yes, you can ," he said, not halting the ministrations between your legs. "You're a big girl."
As if held by a string, he guided you, wrapped his hand around yours as he— as you stroked him, scorching and thick, up and down, just like that . 
"Good girl. My good little girl," he groaned, parting your panties to the side to tease your dripping hole. 
You wept harder, the inevitable only a few seconds away from you. A single finger, at first. And when he added a second one, you realized you preferred having a hand on your mouth than his lips on yours.
(Because then you wouldn't have to think of an excuse why you're suddenly swirling and brushing your tongue in time with his.) 
For a while there had been nothing but the sound of two wet lips pursing against each other (along with those embarrassing squelching noises). 
He treated you as if you were made of porcelain, your plush walls stroked oh so gently as he circled the sensitive bundle of nerves. Even when he ended the kiss and removed your hand from his cock, spit and pre-cum connecting you to him, he still handled you as if you would break at the drop of a hat.
That's why it snuck up on you, what happened, after he brought his mouth to your ear.
"Don't scream," he whispered. 
Then, he rammed his fingers in your mouth. 
You tasted yourself as he forced you on your back, slamming you down on the dirty table yet still carrying your weight all throughout, never letting go.
The bitter acceptance of it— that what began earlier can only conclude to this , did not prepare you for the feeling when he finally thrust himself into you.
They say it shouldn't hurt at first. If it does then he's doing it wrong. 
You hardly know if it's relief or horror that dawns on you when you realize how he stretched you out so easily, despite his size. Because, by all means, this should be wrong. This is wrong. 
"Gonna ruin you," he panted. "Gonna ruin you and— fuck put you back together myself."
He grinded his cock inside you deep and slow and when he hit that spot you couldn't control yourself from jackknifing so hard he had to hold you down. He does this mercilessly, pace growing more delirious until you're nothing but a choked and sputtering fool around his fingers.
"I won't ever leave you. I’m here," he cooed, stroking your hair and kissing your face as you bawled and shattered in his embrace. "I’m here ."
"So cry all you want."
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readerinsertz · 4 years
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Omfg I love your reader inserts! Can I get an Alpha! Bokuto Kōtarō x Omega! Fem! Reader? A scenario where Reader-chan goes to Nekoma and is the male volleyball team’s manager, reader chan gets stuck in heat and Bokuto gets jealous of Kuroo trying to help reader-chan? Smut would be nice but it doesn’t have to be fam! Have fun!
Rating: Explicit, MDNI
Genre: Omegaverse AU (Alpha!Bokuto, Omega!Reader)
Word count: 7.4K
Warnings: 18+ content, MDNI, afab!reader, heat sex, fingering, bokuto being whipped for you, soft sex, biting, doggy, okay maybe not that soft, knots
AN: I made it extra smutty since this was requested a while ago!!
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 You could tell before you had fully sat down for Registration that it was going to be a bad day. You had only just woken up on time, having forgotten to plug your phone in last night to recharge, you’d left your lunch at home and didn’t have enough money to buy some at the cafeteria. You forced the fiercest scowl on your face, learnt from fellow Omega Yaku to ward away anyone who wanted to talk to you. You were definitely not in a talking mood.
“You okay, (Name)-chan?” A quiet voice spoke, your aggravation melting away as Kenma asked about your well-being.
“I’m as good as my current circumstances allow me to be,” you told him, pouting as you were forced to remember how horrible your week had been. Due to the harsh rain and living on the first floor, your apartment had been flooded quite badly. Thankfully, the landowner was getting it under control and wouldn’t be charging but you, and the rest of the first floor, had been forced to move out of the building. You had moved into a cheap flat but since you hadn’t had much time to pack, you’d had forgotten a lot of your things. 
“Do you know when you’ll be able to move back in?” Kenma asked, golden eyes worried.
“Hmm, probably not in the next week or two, there’s going to be a lot of renovation from water damage,” you relayed what your landowner had told you when you had rung her earlier.
“What about your,” Kenma’s eyes swept across the class to make sure no one was listening in on your conversation and moved closer to you, “Suppressants?”
In your haste to pack enough clothes, toiletries and technology you didn’t want to get water damaged or stolen, you had forgotten to grab your Suppressor Pills. For pretty much any Omega living in Tokyo, they would have been one of the first things packe. You, however, had gone to a small middle school in the Miyagi Prefecture that had had a very small number of Alphas in attendance. As a result of the limited interactions with the other Designation, you hadn’t really needed Suppressants. When you had chosen to attend Nekoma High in Tokyo, which was bound to have a much greater population of Alphas than your previous school, you had decided it would be best to go onto the medication. The first year of High School had been split between managing the Nekoma Volleyball Team and testing out different types of Suppressants. It had only been at the start of the second year, after almost giving up trying to find medication that worked for you, that you’d finally found Suppressants that didn’t make you feel nauseous or had your moods constantly swinging from high to low. Unfortunately, the few months you’d been on the Suppressants hadn’t been enough for them to be given enough importance that you would remember them in your travel packing list and so you had left them in your flat. Your flat that was currently inaccessible… For the next few weeks.
“Eugh, don’t remind me about that problem! I tried to swing by to grab them but I wasn’t allowed entrance- they said that the water may have damaged the structural integrity of the first floor and it’d be too dangerous for a ‘small Omega to go in’,” your face turned into a nasty frown as you quoted to your fellow Omega what one of the construction workers had told you, “so I’ve not been able to get them. I’ve had to make do by rolling as much Scent Blocker, which I had to buy from the pharmacy ‘cuz I forgot that as well, as is physically possible on all my Scent Glands.” Your frown turned into a grimace as you recalled the chicken dance you were forced to do every morning to dry the amount of Scent Blocker applied to your body. 
“Isn’t there anyway you can go buy some more Suppressors? I’m not sure how much longer you’ll remain out of Heat, especially since you’ve been on them for a few months now,” Kenma mused. You just sighed at his suggestion and rested your head on your folded arms on the desk.
Whilst Alphas and Omegas had to first go to their local doctors to discuss going on Suppressors and trailing ones that worked well for them, once they had decided on a Suppressor type they could set up a standing order for that prescription and collect it over the counter at a pharmacy of their choice. As you had had bad reactions to the most common Suppressors, you had been forced to use a type that was produced in smaller batches. A limited number of pharamices stocked those pills and only one was reasonably close. The owner of that pharmacy was an Alpha that still had archaic views on Alphas and Omegas and the roles of each Designation. 
“The Suppressors I’m on aren’t ones that are made in huge quantities. If I go to her and ask for some emergency Suppressors since I’ve left my previous prescription at home, she’d probably spend an hour lecturing me on how all Omegas are unreliable, knot-driven beasts that spend most of their time thinking about Alphas instead of taking their pills. She won’t even listen to my reason!” 
Kenma regarded you with sympathy. Since he was on the most common Suppressant, one you’d had reacted to with severe cramps and vomiting, he couldn’t just give you his and get another month’s worth from a pharmacy that wouldn’t judge. The male’s eyes widened as he thought of a temporary solution and moved to his bag. Struggling for a second, he untied the jumper that his alpha, Kuroo, had given him that morning. 
“Here, it should cover your scent and give other Alphas second thoughts on approaching you.” You smiled your gratitude and quickly pulled it over your head. Unlike many Alpha-Omegan mates, Kuroo and Kenma didn’t mind if their scents weren’t just on their mates- the entire volleyball team were like this- so you’d often been given articles of clothing from Alphas who had mates to ward off any bothersome Alphas. Before you could discuss anything else with Kenma, the teacher walked in and your class fell silent.
Sweat beading along your hairline had you huffing and quickly swiping it away. The sun was blazing down on the gymnasium but the team you managed were dedicated to training and so you had been forced to endure the heat with them. Not that you could say, with all honesty, that you really minded since the Fukurōdani team had come to practise with your team. You looked up just in time to see the Alpha Captain spiking the ball, it bouncing on the shiny floor before Yaku could get to it. Your gaze remained on the third year, taking in how his muscles flexed as he moved around the court. Even though he was on the opposing team, you couldn’t help the smile as he scored another point- or maybe it was because of his cute celebration. 
“Ho, ho, ho, what prey has caught your eyes?” Kuroo asked, sneaking up on you in your brief lapse of attention. He had wanted to sit on the sides and observe his team to locate any big weaknesses in their teamwork or form so wasn’t on the court for the friendly game. Tracing your stare back to where you had been looking at, Kuroo’s smirk widened. “Cute, our lil’ Queen has had her interest piqued. And by a bird, no less- at least it’s a bird of prey. I’m sure he’ll be able to handle your claws.” Kuroo curved his hands to resemble claws and winked at you. You scoffed and rolled your eyes at his antics.
“Just because we’re members of the Nekoma Volleyball team doesn’t mean we’re literally cats, Kuroo!” You side-eyed him. “I still don’t know why you know the term for a female cat.”
“I’m in Class 5, y’know, a college preparatory class.”
“Yeah, but you’re you! You know the full word of DHA but don’t know that sleeping without those pillows over your head will cure you of your serious bed hair.” You stood on tip-toes to pull at a strand of his black hair. The two of you both jumped apart at the louder than normal sound of a volleyball hitting the floor. Looking over you saw how Bokuto was glowering in your direction, though he seemed to be staring at Kuroo. The cold look he had on his face instantly melted when your eyes met with his and he gave you a beaming grin. You tucked a piece of hair behind your eye and shyly glanced down at the gym floor. Whilst you would have normally sent the male a smile and a wave, Kuroo standing there, no doubt observing you two, had you feeling more timid than usual.
“I’m sure, if you ever get tired of this dancing around each other, you could just go over and declare your want to Court him,” Kuroo spoke, your eyes bulging and heat blooming on your cheeks.
“Kuroo! Oh my God, why-what-would?!” You spluttered out. 
“What?” Kuroo shrugged his shoulders. “I thought you were all about being a progressive Omega. It’s not a bad thing if an Omega starts a Courtship- it’s the twenty-first century after all.” The captain studied you for a few seconds. “If you’re afraid of rejection, I’m sure that won’t happen; you two have been flirting with each other since the end of your first year- how many times has he taken you out for ice cream after a joint practice? Bo is clearly into you, look he’s puffing his chest out for you.” Peeking up you saw that Bokuto was, indeed, puffing his chest up, the action of an Alpha wanting to impress an Omega. 
“Shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, watching your own team for errors?” You prompted him. Kuroo narrowed his eyes at you, not liking your stubbornness. He was tired of having to spend ages listening to Bokuto gush about you plus Kenma had told him that you often texted him about the owl-looking captain. It was clear that you both had a lot in common and had great chemistry but you came from a traditional family who would disprove of you, an Omega, making the first move. It also didn’t help that you both went to different schools and were on rival teams- he had barely been able to hold back the first time someone remarked on how close you were to the Fukurōdani team, especially their captain. Since you were similar to Kenma, you wouldn’t want that type of negative attention directed towards you. 
“This isn’t over,” Kuroo warned, pointing a finger at you and turning to head back to the bench. You just laughed and moved to one of the open doors, intent on refilling the team’s water bottles to give to them once the set was over. 
Luckily, when you returned from filling the canteens up, you were greeted with a soaring Bokuto spiking the ball down onto the floor. The sheer power behind the ball forced it through Lev’s block. When both of his feet were on the ground, Bokuto knelt down and punched the air with both fists. The whistle blew as the first set went to Fukurōdani. Bokuto stood up, arms still curled not noticing how you stood in the doorway, transfixed over how his top clung to his frame in such a way that you could see the silhouette of his back muscles. 
As he walked off the court he brought up the hem of his blue shirt, using it to wipe off the sweat on his forehead, and revealed part of his six-pack. The simple action had you flustered, hand coming up to fan your face for what seemed like the fifth time in a minute. You had asked a few members sitting on the bench earlier if they had thought it was hot but all had replied with a ‘no’. The air-con and opened doors helped to keep the heat from becoming sweltering yet you still felt like you were trapped in an inferno. Before you could dwell on your sudden heated body, your team was huddling in front of Kuroo on the edge of the court and you jumped back into action.
The box filled with the drink canteens dug painfully into your hip as you shuffled to where the sweaty players were gathered. In your peripheral vision, you saw a flash of white dart forward and what sounded like the start of your name being yelled before Kuroo sauntered over and grabbed the heavy box from your grip. Normally, you would have spat at him that you could manage. Instead, you gladly handed the crate over your arms feeling both weak and heavy simultaneously.
“You okay?” The Alpha asked, worry flitting through his face as he took your flushed appearance in and how you leant on him slightly. His eyes did a quick sweep over the gym to see if there were any Alphas loitering- there had been a few occasions where a knit of brave, or dumb,  Alphas had turned up during practice to flirt with the Omegas on the team- but stopped at the pouting Bokuto. Akaashi was holding the back of his shirt to stop him from doing whatever the captain wanted to do. Judging by how his body was tilted in your direction, Kuroo assumed the Alpha was jealous of how close you were standing to him. Kuroo didn’t take it to heart that Bokuto, in his obvious attraction towards you, thought of him as a rival even though Kuroo had his own mate. He was an Alpha too and occasionally found himself growling low when he saw another Alpha near Kenma.
“I…I feel a bit faint,” you muttered, bringing his attention back to you. Frowning and handing the drink box to his Beta, Kai, he brought the back of his hand to your forehead and felt your temperature. 
“You’ve got a bit of a fever,” Kuroo muttered, hand sweeping to check your cheeks. There was a loud shout and the sound of heavy footsteps before Bokuto was next to you.
“Are you okay, (Name)-chan? Do you need to go to the infirmary?” The captain bombarded you with questions, fretting over your weak body. By this point, most of the team members had noticed your situation and were looking in your direction, Bokuto’s loud voice not helping. Your cheeks just burnt more at the extra attention. 
“I’m f-fine, Bo-kun.” You didn’t see how he lit up at the nickname, chest puffing out instinctively. “It’s probably because I haven’t had much to eat, I left my lunch at home,” you sheepishly admitted. Immediately, you heard the chirping sounds of several Alphas, an instinctive response to situations where harm could or had occurred to an Omega- the team still teased Lev over the time he had spent five minutes chirping and cuddling Yaku when his mate had gotten a paper cut. 
“(Name)-chan, that’s bad for your health,” Kuroo gently chided. Seeing that the teams were beginning to get agitated from sensing an Omega in distress, Kuroo ordered Kai to lead Nekoma’s team back onto court whilst he dealt with you, hoping that the Fukurōdani team would follow suit. Thankfully, the males fell back into place on court though Bokuto remained by your side, waving off his teammates’ questions. 
Kuroo led you to the locker rooms, knowing you wouldn’t be a fan of the attention. It was an indicator as to how out of it you were when you didn’t protest as Bokuto’s arm wrapped around your waist to help support you. You leaning into the other captain’s touch had the messy haired male raising his eyebrow but not saying anything. Kuroo instead focused on rummaging through his locker to find the spare snacks he kept there. You laid on the floor, half of your body on Bokuto as he propped you up whilst leaning his back on the wall. When Kuroo turned back, brandishing the packaged food, he noticed the white with black and gold striped jacket that your lower half was sat on; he couldn’t help but smirk at how the other Alpha’s attempts to keep you as comfortable and off the cold, hard ground as possible. 
“Here, (Name)-chan, I’ve got some food. You should’ve told me about your lack of lunch, I’d have happily shared my bento,” Kuroo gently scolded. Bokuto growled deep in his chest, arms flexing around you to pull your back closer to his chest at Kuroo’s words. Even in jest, it was a bad idea to insult the mate of an Alpha, or an Omega as Kuroo came to find out when Kenma jumped onto a female Beta for insulting his mate’s unruly hair. 
Kuroo opened the wrapper to prevent a fight. A conflict with his friend was not going to help you at all. As his Alpha was howling at him to help an Omega in distress, one, who though not his mate, was a member of his Pack, Kuroo didn’t think before he held the dry cracker up to your lips. 
Before your lips could even open to accept the food, a hiss came from Bokuto, his eyes almost glowing in the state he was. 
“Bo! She needs food, calm yourself!” Kuroo snapped at his friend. He could see your body respond to the aggression that was coming from the two males. The feline captain knew that Bo wanted you to be his mate but had thought that, since you were in his Pack, the other Alpha would be respectful enough to let Kuroo help you. At the very least, he had assumed that Bokuto would swallow his instincts if only to make you feel better quicker.
A whimper left your lips, your eyes scrunching at the fire that was flooding through your body. Immediately, you had both Alphas’ attention on. You wiggled in Bokuto’s lap, the male groaning at the feeling as your weak hands tried to pull off your tracksuit jacket. A more pathetic whine fell from your lips when you were unable to pull the zip down. The Alpha you were in the arms of being to cluck to comfort you. 
“Off, puh-lease,” you moaned out, just having enough function over your hands to tug on your jacket. Instantly, Bokuto was unzipping the clothing but stilled when the zipper was almost at the end. 
“Are you sure, (Name)-chan?” He asked, uncertainty dancing through his eyes. Even now, he didn’t want to take advantage of you. You nodded your head violently, regretting it when the action made the room swim. With as much care as he could, Bokuto took off the offending material. The moan you let out once the air met your flushed skin had both males blushing. Deciding that just having your jacket off wasn’t enough to cool you down, you pulled your black undertop as high as possible, the edges of your bra just peeking out. Bokuto swallowed and forced his gaze away from your stunning body
The owl-like captain clenched his jaws shut, eyes scrunched closed as he tried his hardest to reign his inner Alpha in. He didn’t understand why he was responding so intensely to Kuroo or you; he had been around you many times before and had had to witness your Pack cuddle you but had learnt to restrain himself. The saccharine scent that wafted into his nose had Bokuto’s eyes flying open. From your previous year testing out Suppressants, he had become accustomed to your lavender scent, though it had become diluted from your medicine. But now, it was a lot stronger than he had ever smelt.
“I… I think she’s… she’s in Heat,” Bokuto informed Kuroo.
“That’s impossible, she’s on Suppressants,” Kuroo told him, staring only at your flushed form. You had a light sheen of sweat on the skin bared to the air and you were panting. Heat would also explain your sudden spike in temperature. “Unless…. Shit!”
“What?” Bokuto asked, cradling you as gently as he could and cooing down at you when you whimpered in pain. Without thinking, one of his large hands slid over your shirt to rest on your right side, rubbing circles into the flesh. It calmed you down, your eyes sliding closed and your body turned to lay chest to chest with Bokuto. 
“Her apartment got flooded last week, she had to vacate it. (Name)-chan forgot to pack her Suppressants. She told us she was going to go back and get them yesterday but obviously she wasn’t able to,” Kuroo spoke softly, taking your appearance  in. He ignored Bokuto’s warning grumble, the male stroking your head to try and ease your pain. “Stop breathing her scent in!”
“I can’t help it!” Bokuto whined, nose pressed into the crown of your head. “She smells so good.”
Kuroo sighed, hand brushing through his black hair as he tried thinking of something. From the brief glimpse he had got, your pupils were extremely dilated and you had stopped responding to them in anything other than monosyllabic noises or through your body. 
“Did she come into school in Pre-Heat?” Bokuto’s voice was almost feral as he pictured all the Alphas leering at you. You mewled in his arms, worming your face into the crook of his neck.
“Bo, you really need to try and control yourself, she’s mainly reacting to you.” As he was already mated and your Pack Leader, your body was, at the bare minimum, not reacting to his Alpha scent. If your sudden Heat got too bad, you might start actively rejecting him since he wasn’t a viable Heat Mate.
A Heat, or Rut, Mate was typically an Alpha or Omega that stayed with another Omega or Alpha, helping them with their Heat/Rut but wasn’t their actual Mate. Heat/Rut Mates were becoming increasingly more popular, especially to the younger generations, as society changed with its civillisation’s evolving perceptions of Alphas and Omegas. This allowed Omegas and Alphas to not go through as many Heats/Ruts in as much pain without having to first find their Mate. 
“Does she have a Rut Mate?” Bokuto wheezed out. The look on his face betrayed his fear that you did have someone to help you through this intimate time. Kuroo knew that, if you did, Bokuto would let you go to them even if it would pain him.
“No,” Kuroo shook his head, eyes wandering around the room. Thankfully, all the doors and windows were shut so your scent would remain locked in the changing rooms for about another half hour. 
“We’re gun’ hafta…. Hafta move her to a… Heat Room,” Bokuto grunted out, losing himself to your enticing scent. Heat Rooms were rooms found in almost all buildings from schools, workplaces and even in some shops which were completely sound and scent proof with locks on either side to prevent Alphas, or Omegas if it was a Rut Room, from getting in and mating with the in-Heat Omega or in-Rut Alphas. 
“There’s one on the other side of the sports field,” Kuroo told him. He stood up to peer out the window. “I can’t see any Alphas out there so I think her scent has been contained so far.” He moved towards you but halted when Bokuto growled a warning at him, eyes flashing. By now your slick had made your pants completely wet, your skirt dampening as your body continued to produce it, the short material not fully hiding the sweet smelling fluids that had stuck to the back of your thighs. 
“Did you hear that, sweet ‘Mega, we’re gunna… get you to a…a Heat Room,” Bokuto whispered to you, still struggling to control himself with your scent rolling over him. He trailed a hand fervently along your cheek, heart swelling when you turned your face to nuzzle into it, eyes opening to stare up into his.
“Alpha…please,” you begged, rubbing your thighs together to try and quench the need you felt. Kuroo turned, reaching out to you in order to take you from his friend to carry you to Nekoma’s Heat Room. To his surprise, he saw you extend your arms in Bokuto’s direction. 
Although it wasn’t under the best circumstances, Kuroo knew that this could be the push you two needed to get together. He forced his Alpha down, the animal inside of him ordering him to go and protect an Omega in his Pack, and turned to stare down at Bokuto. “She’s chosen you.” He hoped that Bokuto would understand what Kuroo was implying but by the grim determination that flitted through his face had Kuroo almost growling. Whilst it was admirable that Bokuto was silencing his Alpha and the black haired male knew that he could trust the other to get you safely to the Heat Room, Kuroo was sure that Bokuto would resist all your temptations and it would end with you two dancing around each other once again.
With little effort, Bokuto scooped you up, his arms also picking up his jacket that you had been sat on. Without even looking at it fully, he could tell it was sodden with your slick. Once you were securely tucked into his chest, the Alpha sending a small cluck to tell you it was all going to be okay, he strode out of the room. The feeling of the sun’s rays directly on your skin had a quiet whine falling from your lips. Bokuto hushed you, maneuvering you so that he held you with one arm, freeing his other hand so he could pull your top down and his sports jacket around your arms to protect you from the additional heat.
You don’t really pay attention to the walk to the Heat Room; there might have been a time or two where the Alpha carrying you stopped and growled at something or someone but you weren’t fully conscious of his actions. By the time he had reached the small building which would secure the Omegas and Alphas, you had begun to beg under your breath for him to take you. Him gripping the flesh of your legs and sides was the only response he gave you to your pleas.
The Beta nurse stationed at the Heat/Rut Room jumped up from the desk and took charge, ordering Bokuto to place you into one of the free rooms. He swiftly moved around your sweating figure, checking your vitals and asking questions to the Alpha that stood by your side, hand holding yours as he answered to the best of his ability. He watched on as the nurse managed to coax you to drink a full bottle of water and take a few bites of a Heat Bar- snacks packed with as much nutrients as possible to help an Omega through their Heat. When he deemed you as stable as he could get you to be, the Nurse moved to the entrance of the room, gesturing for Bokuto to follow him. The ace did so unwillingly, keeping his hand wrapped around yours for as long as possible. When you made a noise of protest, he stopped and pressed a kiss to the back of your knuckles, promising to be by your side as quickly as possible.
“You’ll have to get her to drink a full bottle of water once every thirty minutes. A Heat Bar should be consumed about once an hour. From what I’ve gathered, this is just a Flash Heat- normally when an Omega suddenly goes off their Suppressants they can get a Flash Heat. It’s not an actual Heat as it doesn’t last as long and while it does have similar symptoms, they’re not to the extremes that an actual Heat can produce.” The Nurse didn’t give Bokuto any time to respond, leaving the Alpha to stand there and nod dumbly. “I’m assuming that you’re on Rut Suppressors; you’re under twenty, so your sperm isn’t potent but use these anyways,” the Nurse thrusted a handful of condoms into Bokuto’s arms, ones specially designed to accommodate an Alpha’s knot. “I would predict her Flash-Heat should end in probably three or four hours so you won’t have to spend the night here. Just make sure she’s as hydrated as possible and also be ready to explain this when her Flash Heat does end, she’s probably going to be very disorientated.” The Nurse looked at Bokuto, an eyebrow raised when the Alpha made no move to go to the Omega in the room. “Aren’t you going to tend to your Mate?” 
“Ah, no, I’m not her Mate!” Bokuto yelped. “Not that I wouldn’t want to be her mate, I’d love to be her Mate, but she’s not mine.”
“Right. Look, there’s an Omega in a Flash Heat in that room who is quite clearly calling for you. Her symptoms are pretty extreme for a Flash Heat, the only reason why this one so closely resembles an actual Heat is because her Mate must have been around her.” The Nurse nudged Bokuto towards the room, nodding at the unsure Alpha. With a final explanation on how to lock the door from the inside, the nurse closed the door.
The strong scent of the forest and mint had your eyes opening to see Bokuto at the foot of your bed. Everything the nurse had done to stabilise you had worked and you were more coherent; if you wanted to, you could just spend the entire time just wrapped in the Alpha’s arms as his scent would be enough to keep you settled. The Nurse had advised it would be best to mate with him at least once to flush the Heat completely out of your system. Recollections of him looking after you came back to you and, as your Omega preened at how such a strong Alpha had helped you when you were unable to look after yourself, you knew you couldn’t deny her any longer. Just seeing Bokuto there had slick dripping from your hole. You saw how the Alpha gulped as you opened your legs, allowing the scent of slick to spread to him.
“(N-Name)-chan,” Bokuto began, eyes never leaving the wet spot on your pants. 
“Please, Alpha,” you begged. “Need you.”
In a trance, Bokuto walked over, his hand trailing softly along the skin of your leg as he climbed onto the bed and knelt over you. The skin where he had traced both cooled at his touch but was also set alight at the Alpha’s caress. Your thighs fall open to give him more room yet Bokuto’s hands remained fisted in the bed sheets on either side of your hips. 
“Tell me if you want me to stop, ‘Mega,” Bokuto breathed quietly, licking his lips as he saw how his voice affected you.
“Please don’t. Never stop, my Alpha.” The words broke through his restraints and the captain closed the gap between your lips. Your lips met in a frenzied manner, lips parting to let his tongue into your mouth. Your hands moved up his chest to tangle into his hair to pull him even closer. A growl left Bokuto’s lips as he dominated the kiss, drawing back to pepper kisses down your jaw. When his lips came to where your neck met your shoulder, Bokuto began to kiss the area, dragging his sharp teeth over the skin to leave it marked and you keening. As much as he wanted to, he wasn’t going to claim you fully with a Mating Bite when you were in the middle of a Heat. 
“Wish we could be d-doing this under better c-circumstances,” Bokuto told you, hands never stopping roaming your curves as if to reassure him that this was really happening.
Urgently, you tugged at the white hair at the base of his neck to guide him back up to your lips. Your tongues met in a dance of passion and when Bokuto pulled back, your teeth nipped his bottom lip to show your displeasure.
“Now, now, pretty Omega, behave,” Bokuto ordered, large hands squeezing your hips to drive his point across. You were unable to prevent your hips from bucking against him, your clothed arousal rubbing over the tent in his shorts and forcing a feral growl from him.
“You smell so fucking good,” Bokuto praised, words pouring out of his lips now that he no longer had to fight against his Alpha instincts. His hands pulled your shirt off of you, taking a few seconds to understand how your bra unhooked before it was sent flying to the floor in a similar fashion to your top. Immediately, his hands were cupping your breasts, pressing kisses to one nipple whilst his hand toyed with the other one. Bokuto’s calloused fingers had your head tossing back as he rolled your nipple between his volleyball-toughened fingers. At the sound of your gasp, Bokuto moved his head from where he was creating a hickey just below your left breast, directly over your heart, to ask you what was wrong.
“Sorry, my hands are really rough. I don’t want to hurt you,” the Alpha apologised, taking his hands off of your soft body to stare dejectedly at hands he deemed unworthy to touch you with.  You grabbed them, bringing one to your breast and pushing the other one under your skirt.
“I want to feel your fingers on my clit and curling against my walls until I’m hoarse from screaming your name, Alpha,” you whispered against his lips. You were answered with an unhinged growl. Bokuto’s eyes began to glow gold as he stopped trying to control his Alpha instincts.
His face lowered to your neck and began to leave love bites from the column of your neck to your breast, heaving as you tried to regain your breath. The sharp pricks from his teeth and how his lips kissed the marks better, switching to sucking hickeys into your flesh every so often had loud moans falling from your lips. Desperately, your hands bunched the fabric of his shirt and tugged harshly on it, making it clear you want it off. Complying with your non-verbal command, Bokuto leant back long enough to rip the shirt off his chest before bending back down and placing a kiss on your right left collar bone in response to your whine at the sudden distance. Bokuto couldn’t help the slight huff of amusement as he saw how badly you needed him to be close to you. 
Your breath hitched when you felt the Alpha’s finger press against the damp spot on your pants. The spike of pleasure as his hands brushed your clit had your fingers dragged down his broad back, fingernails leaving pink lines on the skin. Bokuto growled in his chest as he felt how wet you were from his ministrations.
“Fuck, you’re soaked,” Bokuto cursed as he felt your arousal. 
“Please, touch me,” you begged him, fingers curling into his biceps.
“I am touching you,” Bokuto smirked, pressing a quick kiss on your lips.
“Don’t tease me, not like Kuroo-kun.” Saying the other Alpha’s name was a mistake as the Fukurōdani’s captain ripped your pants off and threw them over his shoulder. Your cry of his name turned into a moan as two of his fingers immediately went to circling your swollen clit. The pleasure had your eyes rolling back and offering your hips up for more. Bokuto pressed his fingers down, gathering your slick in his fingers then pulled his hand away; he hushed you gently when you let out a whine of displeasure but was busy staring at his fingers that were spread apart, your slick clinging to his fingers. 
“Look at this, so wet, ‘Mega. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” You moaned at his promise and wrapped your legs around his waist to try and persuade him to hurry up.
“Patience, (Name)-chan,” Bokuto chided. He sighed then added, “I really want to go down on you, oh, what a sight you’d be as I eat you out- your thighs tight around my head and my arms pinning your hips down onto the bed so I can pleasure you how you deserve.” You felt even more slick gush out of your needy hole at his words. “But, more than anything, I want you to feel better so we’ll leave that ‘till after you’re out of this Heat, how about that?”
Before you could answer him, Bokuto pushed two thoroughly slick-covered fingers into your pussy. You both groaned as he began to pump his fingers in and out, curling his fingers so the pads massaged that spot that had your thighs shaking. Cautiously, he added a third finger, keeping his eyes on your face to know if you were in pain. When you only wiggled your hips to encourage him to continue, he began to move them in and out again to make sure you were properly ready for his cock. 
“Alpha, p-please, need your knot,” you babbled, nails scratching from his shoulders to his elbows at the pleasure. Thankfully, Bokuto just wanted to make you happy so quickly complied. Within a few seconds he had shimmied your skirt down to your ankles and guided you to turn over onto your hands and knees into the Mating Position. After a few seconds of nothing, you swivelled your head to see him pulling his shirt over his broad shoulders and push his shorts down enough to free his erection. One of his big hands traced up your thigh, taking a second to grab one of your butt-cheeks in his hands, rumbling at how it fit perfectly in his hand. The non-verbal praise had you blushing and bending your spine to push your ass into the air more. When nothing else happened, the Alpha lost in a daze as he admired your pose, you wiggled your hips to make him move. A second later, his hand came down to softly spank your rear, though with not nearly the same power as his spikes as he didn’t want to hurt his Mate, telling you to behave. 
“(Name)-chan, one last time. Do you want this to happen?” 
“Yes, Bo-kun, I want you, wanted you for the longest time. Please, please give me your knot- I need it, please.” The Alpha scrambled to rip open the condom package and pulled it over his hard dick, cutting off your pleas as he pushed his length into you. Your head dipped back as you finally felt full, Bokuto pressing his forehead against your shoulder blades, similarly affected. Bokuto stayed still for a few moments, wanting for you to be fully adjusted to his size and girth before he started to really move.
“Ready?” The white-haired male asked as he brought his right hand closer to your own hand spread out on the bed sheet. Bokuto slid his fingers between yours to give you something to hold onto. Your hand latched onto his, giving it a quick squeeze.
“Yes, Alpha, I’m ready. Oh, and Bo? Don’t hold back.”
Bokuto pushed his head into the part of your neck that met your shoulder as he withdrew from your tight walls. When only the tip was still in your pussy, he slammed back in. You groaned as you felt the pleasure race through your veins at how he stretched you out perfectly. Bokuto began to speed up his pace, the animal inside of him caring little to draw it out or make it more romantic. The sounds of skin slapping against each other quickly filled the air as Bokut continued to slam into you; each time, the tip of his cock brushed against the spongy tissue that had your shaking arms soon unable to hold you up properly.
Unable to keep your top half up your stomach fell onto the bed, deepening the arch of your back.
Bokuto moved his hands to hold your waist, the two being large enough to wrap around the majority of your frame, and held you up with his muscles. Somewhere distant in your mind, you pouted at being unable to scratch your nails down his back but you didn’t dwell too much on it as Bokuto continued to fuck the Flash Heat out of you. Putting his weight on one hand, the ace moved his free hand to rub figures of eight on your neglected clit. Your hands curled into the sheet as you felt yourself rapidly approach your high, the swelling of Bokuto’s knot helping you reach your end. Your thighs spread out more, your back bowing further as you threw your head back from the pleasure coursing through your system.
“Alpha… Alpha please, g-gunna cum,” you wailed a warning. 
“Cum on my dick, ‘Mega,” Bokuto panted, licking a strip of flesh from your neck to the back of your ear. Your entire neck was turning purple from the amount of marks he had pressed into the flesh, the sight making the Alpha preen and his knot swell.
When the Alpha raked his teeth down the right side of your neck, you came with a shout, your Heat having enhanced everything by a hundred. Feeling your walls clench around him had Bokuto roaring and coming undone, his knot catching on the rim of your pussy and tying him to you. The Omega in you whined at how you couldn’t feel his cum spurt deep inside of you but just the feel of his knot expanding had you purring.
You started when you felt a tongue lave over some of the bites on your necks, Bokuto beginning to groom you. A giggle left your lips as you tilted your head back into him, not used to this. The volleyballer grinned at how at ease you were, the Alpha in him also content. Bokuto wrapped his arms around you so he could gently manoeuvre the two of you into a laying position, doing his best not to tug at where the two of you were connected to not overstimulate you. Once on your sides, the captain reached to the bedside table where the Nurse had left a few bottles of water and snack bars. He twisted the lid off, your half-shut eyes greedily drinking in how his muscles flexed at the action. When he pressed the bottle to your lips, you gulped down the water, only realising then how parched your throat had become from the Mating. When it was half empty, you pulled it away and nudged it to Bokuto to drink. He finished it up and threw it into the bin near the room.
“How long will your knot last?” You asked, sighing as his muscular arms draped along your waist. 
“Thirty minutes maybe.” You almost choked at how long it was- most knots lasted for fifteen minutes. For his to last so long showed just how strong an Alpha he was. “How are you feeling? Still feverish? Hungry?”
“I think the Flash Heat has gone, just you being near me was enough to drive most of it away,” you admitted, a hand absently trailing along the veins running along his forearm. The Alpha behind you nuzzled into the back of your neck. 
“That’s good, I’m happy that you’re feeling better. Maybe after this we can go get ice cream… y’know, to replenish the lost calories.” You couldn’t help but giggle at how he was still not asking you. Replaying what Kuroo had told you earlier, you decided to just go for it.
“Bo-kun, after this is over, would you let me… Court you?” 
“WHAT! NOO!” You cringed at his rejection but soon relaxed as he continued to shout. “I was supposed to be the one to ask you that! No the other way ‘round.”
“Bo-kun, do you want to Court me?” You asked with a giggle, interrupting his sulking moment. He instantly perked up, a massive grin on his face.
“I would be honoured to!” You smiled and leant in to press a chaste kiss on his lips.
“Don’t worry, I’ll tell the rest of them you were the one who popped the question.”
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potatoswritingblog · 3 years
Text
Tittle:Breaking Free
Show:Haikyuu!!
Pairing:Kuroken
Genre:Angst
TW:Suicide and cheating
Also all characters mentioned are adults.
Before you start reading: this is a rewritten piece of work I wrote about a year and a half ago. I wrote this as a reader insert based on the song "Breaking Free" by Night Riots and the reader was Kenma and Kuroo was supposed to be reader's ex or crush. These are fairly out of character but I tried my hardest to write them. This is my first actual fanfic I wrote. Anyways I hope you enjoy!
You have 4 missed calls from Kuroo
'What the hell does he want? Does he really think I want to talk to him? Well I don't, he could die for all I care.'
Or so Kenma thought. I mean after all Kuroo was Kenma's first love and even his first friend, but he did cheat on him. Why should Kenma care? Kuroo obviously didn't care about him.
Even though Kuroo did cheat on him he still cared about him. He couldn't stop thinking about the cat-eyed male. When  Kenma called off the relationship after finding out, he stopped seeing the other person in hope to get you back. 
Obviously it wasn't going to work. 
Kuroo P.O.V.
I regret cheating on Kenma, I really, really do. I know what I did was wrong and there is no way to get him back, but I can't help but reminisce on the past.
I drive to the top of a cliff once a month just like Kenma and I did. 
We went at least once a month to see the sunset. It was stunning, how all the colors would swirl together over the ocean below. 
Kenma didn't know why he wanted to go back to Kuroo so badly. He tried to convince himself he didn't want him and that he was just someone from the past.
He thought that there was something wrong with him. Why would you want to go back to the person who shattered your heart into a million pieces?
Kuroo P.O.V.
I've been drinking a lot more recently. It drowns my sorrows of not having Kenma with me. 
I've been having violent thoughts recently. Sometimes I want to hurt myself for being such an idiot, other times I want to take it out on others around me.
Kenma checked his phone and like the past few days he had no missed calls from Kuroo. 
He didn't understand why it hurt him so much not receiving any calls or messages from his ex.
Kuroo P.O.V.
I've found someone new, they remind me a lot of Kenma, but it still isn't the same. I often catch myself imagining that it really is Kenma next to me, but it never is.
I hope that one day I'll wake up and everything will be just a dream. Kenma lying next to me 
Sometimes I wish I could go back to the night I met Kenma. I wouldn't ever dare to think of cheating on him.
Even after I started seeing someone else I still drove to the Kenma cliff and I would visit; however, normally I would drive to the top of the hill before sunset, but tonight I'm not. In fact it is pitch black out right now. I can't see anything except the pain I'm focused on and I want to feel it all.
I thought that maybe finding someone new would help me get over you, but it hasn't done a damn thing. 
My vision begins to blur with my tears. I began to drive faster and faster.
I'm already at the top of the cliff, but I continue to drive. Next thing I know I'm driving through the guardrails and right off the cliff, exactly how I wanted it. 
I felt the violent waves of the ocean as I crashed down. They'll hold me until I fall asleep. I know that I'm as good as dead now. 
I want to be next to him though. All I can think of is him holding me.  But it doesn't make me feel better, maybe because I know that he isn't not mine and never will be because I'm an idiot.
Everything that has happened since the end of our relationship reminds me that others can't fix me and nobody can be my savior, not even Kenma. 
If I could I would take everything back. I wish I could still be with you Kenma, but I'm not you were just someone I used to see.
I love you Kenma, goodbye
Kenma P.O.V. 
(Time skip to next morning)
I was playing my video games when I'd gotten a call from Bokuto. I hadn't talked to him since I broke up with Kuroo since he was more Kuroo's friend than mine. I answered to see what he wanted, hoping it wasn't him on behalf of Kuroo.
"Hey, what do you want Bokuto?"
"Have you seen the news this morning?"
"No, I've been playing video games all day. What is so important that you called me?"
"Kuroo is dead. A person reported seeing a vehicle break through the guardrails on the cliff you and Kuroo always went to. He was already identified."
I hung up the phone in complete shock and despair. I know I said I didn't care if he ended up dead, but I feel a deep pain of sorrow and guilt build up in me. 
I stopped playing my game and went to the bathroom and took a bath to try and calm down. It didn't work and I only started to think more and feel more and more guilty. I slowly got up and made my way over to my medicine cabinet and grabbed a bottle of pain relievers. 
I feel broken maybe I'm just breaking free
Bokuto's P.O.V 
Within an hour of Kenma hanging up suddenly, Akaashi and I went over to his house. We knocked on the door but there was no response. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting even though it was probably only a few minutes we decided that we would just have to break in.
Of course Akaashi didn't like this idea but I convinced him that something could be wrong with Kenma.
When we finally got in, due to my amazing strength and big muscles, we didn't see any sign of Kenma. We decided to check his room upstairs but he wasn't there. I noticed that the bathroom door was shut and the lights were on. I knocked on the bathroom door to see if Kenma would respond. There was no response. 
I slowly opened the door just in case Kenma was in there and doing something and just didn't hear us. When I had the door fully opened I saw Kenma's body in a full bathtub with a bottle of pills on the edge of the bathtub. 
Akaashi, being right behind me, immediately called 911, knowing that he needed medical attention.  I didn't know how many pills he took and if he was unconscious or dead. I was frozen in place but Akaashi wasn't. After he told the dispatcher where we were he immediately went to check Kenma's pulse. He was able to find it but it was very weak. 
When the ambulance got to Kenma's house he was already dead. 
Within two days I had lost two highschool friends. Neither explaining why.
~~~~~~
PLEASE READ!!
If you ever have suicidal thoughts please, please, please talk to someone whether it is me or someone you actually know. Trust me people care.  Suicide is never the answer.
I'm here for anyone who needs to talk <3
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keishins-ukai · 3 years
Text
I Just Wanna Be Your Favourite Boy
(here’s a link if you prefer reading on ao3)
The amount of alcohol flowing in Kuroo’s veins was not enough to distract him from how pathetic all of this truly was . He was at his first University party, he was surrounded by beautiful people and free alcohol, he should be having the time of his life, right? Tetsurō sat in his friend’s garden with his back resting against the cold brick of the house, his head resting there too. His arms were balanced on his pulled-up knees, his eyes closed.
To any party-goers that ventured outside this would look normal, like the first year partied too hard and passed out super early – it's not like that kind of thing doesn’t happen all the time. Then they’d notice the earbuds still in his ears (though they weren’t playing anything, he just didn’t want to speak to anyone), the dry tear tracks down his cheeks, the ever so slight shaking of his chin. Well, that or the glitter-like sparkle that seemed to be all around the black-haired boy
Tears had become a very common part of Tetsurō’s life recently, a fact he hated with every fibre of his being. Six months ago, you would need the saddest song on earth put in the background of the saddest video on earth and he might have considered crying. Now all it took now was the thought of blond and black hair, golden eyes, mint vodka that smelled like his shampoo…
The stars hadn’t appeared until his first day of university. He had texted Kenma when he’d woken up - Kuroo always texted as soon as he woke up – some dumb chemistry joke he’d found the night before, trying to convey his excitement at finally starting his course. Kenma never usually replied immediately, though this day he did, though Kuroo didn’t actually know why (Kuroo would look back and see it as the first sign. Kenma told him everything)
Kenma had only sent a gif of a cat showing almost complete apathy, but Kuroo’s heart started racing nonetheless, mind spiralling at all of the possible meanings behind the response and never once landing on the real answer (Kenma just woke up earlier than normal). They’d texted a lot of the day, Kuroo only turning his phone off during classes, not wanting to make any bad impressions.
While it obviously hadn’t been the reason, in the following months Kuroo had started to blame turning his phone off as the inciting event as when he turned his phone on he got the notification, the moment that changed everything. It was so small, so seemingly inconsequential.
Instagram: Kodzuken has posted a photo
Kenma’s Instagram consisted mainly of photos from games he was playing, purposely unflattering pictures of himself or animals. But that day was different. He posted a picture of him and Hinata, and the orange-haired boy was positively grinning into the camera, Kenma wasn’t even smiling but Kuroo could tell he was happy, that he was less stressed than he had been for a lot of the summer.
Kuroo knew that what he told himself was unfair, that there simply wasn’t enough data to support the idea of ‘he likes Shōyō more’. But none of that mattered, Kuroo just knew. He didn’t need evidence to prove that Kenma had feelings for the shrimp, the ever so slight dimple was proof enough – even Kuroo had only seen that dimple once, and he wasn’t the one who bought it out.
Crying in the men’s bathroom, as it turns out, is neither very comfortable nor as discreet as one would imagine, though that didn’t matter to Tetsuro as the itching and burning sensation was the only thing he could think about. ‘What the hell is this?’ repeated in his mind as he did his best to stop the small glass-like crystals from falling to the floor and creating even more noise. After spending what felt like an eternity researching what could possibly in all hell be happening to him he moved, hating the quiet twinkling sounds in his pocket.
‘Of course this would happen to me.’ Kuroo would think to himself repeatedly over the next few days ‘Star fucking tears’.
-
Stars Tears
Caused by intense but unrequited love, always romantic, ‘star tears’ is a rare condition wherein the afflicted will secrete small crystalline shards from their tear ducts, the crystals often being compared to stars which is where the illness got its name. Side effects from stage two ‘star tears’ can include
-          Leaking tear ducts
-          Dryness of the eyeballs
-          Itchiness in the eye area
-          Blocked tear ducts
And in some extreme cases
-          Partial or complete colour blindness
-          Partial or complete sight loss.
As the disease is caused by unrequited love there is no ‘mainstream’ treatment which can cure this, some patients never being cured while others were reportedly healed if the person they loved also loved them back, in a romantic sense.
-
Even though he was aware of how bad an idea it was, Kuroo remained sat in his friend's garden, though now his earphones were playing something. More specifically he had his ‘Kenma’ playlist on which was playing all of the songs and bands that the shorter boy had ever introduced him to. They were playing at full volume to drown out his own thoughts - the ones nibbling on his mind, making him think of lazy nights playing ‘Majora’s Mask’ with him , of the nights leading up to Christmas making their cinnamon and raisin cookies, of the toothbrush that had been Kuroo’s spare but that he’d stolen because of their frequent sleepovers.
He really didn’t want to cry again, having decided that his new rate of three times a week was far too much, but the stars demanded more still. In the beginning, they would only appear if he’d seen his face, whether it be over skype or as a photo. That had been remarkably easy to handle - Kuroo had just moved all of the photos of him to the ‘hidden’ folder on his phone, and minimise the skype screen when they talked. Easy.
But then Kuroo started to really miss him, started to think of him almost every moment of the day, affecting his sleep and work schedule. That’s when he realised how truly fucked he was. You can’t just pick and choose what parts of friendship you want to participate in and expect it to remain completely intact. Kenma didn’t know what was going on, but he could sense a change, making more of an effort to start their conversations, to not leave Kuroo out of what was going on his life, to make sure that the elder knew that they were still friends.
It was unfair how this made everything worse, that Kenma’s thoughtful inclusions made Kuroo feel more excluded than ever, made him feel both like he had a chance and also made him know that Kenma saw him as his closest friend and that he wouldn’t be more. Kenma had always worried with his crushes that initiating things with them would scare them off, that he would be seen as overbearing. Rather than risking anything, he would just wait until he thought the other would like him back before asking them on a date.
The tears started to increase, them coming at just the thought of Kenma when Kuroo hadn’t got any prevention methods. His most effective was to drown out any other noise with the sound of his own music, even investing in better earphones to ensure that he wouldn’t be hearing any other external noises. However, his playlist choice could definitely be improved upon since every voice, every chord, every bar had the Kenma Kozume seal of approval, making the task of not thinking about the boy almost impossible.
Not even twenty minutes alone and his mind wandered, going to almost every stop in Tetsurō’s brain before stopping at one that made his heart dance. If it were a book the edges would be folded, the spine broke, and some of the pages ripped just from the sheer amount of use.
“Stop looking at my ass!” Kenma had demanded, trying his best to wriggle away from Kuroo “This isn’t for you”. The blond wasn’t looking at him, trying to pretend that his attention was on the syringe in his hand.
“You’re the one who asked me to do this.” Kuroo reminds, reaching over for the injection. “And knowing I was coming over to do this you decided to wear trousers rather than shorts when all I need is your thigh, so…” Their eyes meet and the elder man winks.
Kenma’s face scrunches up in retaliation, fingers lingering for just a moment against Kuroo’s, placing the syringe gently in his hand. “What are you trying to suggest?”
He pretends to think for a second when he wipes a disinfectant wipe on his leg, knowing that he technically didn’t need to but also wanting to be as safe as possible. “That maybe you wanted me to see your ass?”
The youngers face calms into a neutral expression. “Dream on Tetsurō.” Despite being quite scared of needles, he had decided on having testosterone injections rather than pills or any other alternative, finding that needing to do injections more infrequently benefitted him more. He’d also figured that getting someone else to administer the injection would have negated his fear.
Kuroo had agreed, why would it be more difficult for an injection to occur when you’re not the one putting the needle in your skin? The answer; Kenma was a wriggler. He moved back on the bed every time that Tetsurō tried to move closer to him “Come on, kitten.” he chides, the pet name tacked on as a joke.
His only answer is a hiss, a literal fucking hiss, as Kenma tries to move his leg away again, but is caught by the ankle and pressed back down to the bed. Kuroo eventually managed to give Kenma his testosterone, despite the difficulty and found that when he went home there was only one thing on his mind. The hiss.
Most people who met Kenma Kozume thought he was polite, shy and awkward. And he was all of those things, but he was also so much more. He was funny, intuitive, self-assured and weird and Tetsurō loved that so much. As soon as he thought the word ‘love’, everything seemed to make sense. Every look that lasted too long, every thought replaced by one of Kenma, every feeling of longing to be with his best friend.
Tetsurō was in love with his partner in crime. He still is.
Rex Orange County is a band that frequently blasts on Kuroo’s phone, them having many songs that fit the themes of unrequited love so well that he had no choice but to really connect with their music. Though there was one song in particular that is constantly on his mind, the song being called ‘Best Friend’.
At some point in his reminiscing Kuroo had put on the song, immediately pressing the repeat button as he moved his head to stare into the night sky.
But no, it wasn't meant to be and see, I wasn't made for you
And you weren't made for me
When he was younger he’d wanted to be an astronomer, having found the stars and the moon fascinating, but he couldn’t stand the sight of them anymore. His hands were shaking, shoulders shaking, lip shaking. Maybe if he got some closure he could move on and get rid of this disease, finally feel whole again.
Love someone for loving you instead of someone really cool
That makes your heart melt
Tetsurō needed to turn this song off, to stop fucking thinking about him, about the man he had literal scientific proof that he doesn’t love him back, but the pure boost of serotonin he got when he thought about Kenma was worth it. It was worth the pain, it was worth the constantly itchy eyes, it was worth feeling sick to his stomach anytime he sees a twinkle.
Oh, I still wanna be your favourite boy
I wanna be the one that makes your day
The one you think about as you lie awake
He started typing the text before he could stop himself, feeling like he was watching himself make this extremely poor decision but having absolutely no power to stop himself. Even if it wouldn’t make Kenma love him it would be cathartic, right? And as long as he’s vague enough he could preserve their friendship, maybe even claim plausible deniability if necessary. The text read: ‘listening to this and thinking about you’ along with a link to Best Friend.
Kenma’s response was very short, only three words but enough to send his heart into a tailspin, for it to stop completely in its tracks, to make him feel like he’d never breathe again. ‘I’m dating Shōyō’
That night Kuroo lost the golden hue of his eyes.
--------------
A special thanks to @wanderlustsky for beta reading this! it was amazingly helpful <3
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h1kari · 3 years
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For my dear mutual, @a-magey
summary: kuroo and The Gang (tm) suprise you for your bday 🥺
warnings: tiny bit of angst maybe? Not really, just feeling sad for a bit. Oh, and shitty writing 😭 it’s my first one
btw the messy drawing at the end was made by me :) happy bday!!!
🎂 (You) 🎂
19. Finally here. The age everyone starts treating you pretty much like an adult. Almost reaching the 20’s, a new beginning.
That was something many kept reminding you
“God, almost 20 huh?” “The last teen years!” “You’re like a whole adult now”
Look- it wasn’t exactly that the fact of turning 19 bothered you or anything, it’s just that the way they say it as if your life is over or something. Plus everyone mentions that basically every year. “You’re turning 16, almost 17!” “You’re turning 82, almost 85!” Yes that’s precisely how aging works.
You weren’t gonna let that ruin your day. You’d have a nice date with your boyfriend, Kuroo, and then you’d go hang out with your group of friends. However, the universe decided against that.
“God baby I’m so sorry, I won’t be able to make it. You know how my boss is, he doesn’t really waver much when it comes to work.”
You sigh, well- internally, you didn’t wanna make Kuroo feel guilty. It’s work after all, right?
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. We can do it another time”
There was a silence
“I love you”
“Me too, good luck at work”
You weren’t gonna let this ruin your day but god did you feel disappointed. It wasn’t his fault of course but the lonelieness still crept slowly upon your body. Well, what about your friends?
“Super sorry!” “I’m so sorry!!” “Gaahh I won’t be able to make it! Sorry”
Now you actually sigh
Guess It’ll just be a you-day, huh?
🍰 (Kuroo) 🍰
“I want to die”
Kuroo exclaimed dramatically after his excrutiating call. His chest tightened at the sound of your voice slowly quieting down, with a hint of sadness melting on it. He couldn’t bear to wait any longer, he wanted to see you right there and then. See your pretty face lightning up when you discover that no- of course he wouldn’t work on your birthday! It was just a surprise, see? Then you’d hug him and kiss him and-
“Earth to Kuroo-san”
Yaku snapped his fingers in front of his former volleyball captain, with a slightly smug look on his face,
“C’mon we just need to fix some things up and we’re finished, you lovestruck bastard”
Kuroo stood straight, groaning. Yeah, Yaku was right, just some more stuff and he’ll get to see you, but damn the image of a sad you made him want to pull a fuck-it and run to you. He sure was an absolute dork for you.
🎂 (Back to you) 🎂
Walking down the street you felt the light buzz of your phone, excitedly checking it, only to sulk when it was just Lev asking you to get him a book from the library because he needed it for some uni stuff and you usually spent most days there anyway. Putting your phone away and heading toyour beloved library, you looked around you, you’re still there, you made it to 19 and that’s a privilige not many have. Again you repeat to yourself, you won’t let yourself have a bad day.
Looking around the library, taking in that familir scent, warm lights, concentrated looking students, wooden tables. A feeling of home. You notice a woman with the work uniform speed walking up to you, a determined look on her face.
“Hello! This may seem a bit weird but, here”
She hands you a note with a location, the farmers market you love going to with your boyfriend
“Oh?....OH”
You start catching on. Excited, you quickly thank the lady, and rush out of the library, as she whipser-yells “Happy birthday!”
Makes sense you though Kuroo was acting weird! You don’t know if you wanna kill him or kiss him, porbably the latter, yeah, most definitely.
You finally got to the farmers market, and a nice santa-looking guy taps your shoulder, handing you another note with a warm smile. The park, a usual spot for you to hang out with then “Neko gang” as you like to call it. Repeating your previous actions, you thank the man and go to your next, and final stop.
You reach your destination and decide to head to that one spot you guys claim as yours, in the middle of the park’s green field, farther away from other groups. You’d usually play cards, talk and mess around, read and even just nap there. It’s warm and cozy, it’s perfect.
🍰 (Kuroo) 🍰
“Alright guys, get ready”
Kuroo waited for your arrival like a loyal puppy (well- more like a cat 🥴) and seeing the top of your brown hair slowly coming up the little grass filled mountain, made him feel a weird sense of relief. He irrationally worried about whether you’d just gone to your apartment and stayed there sad, alone. He’s ecstatic to be able to do something like this for you, you’ve done everything for him by just being by his side. He wants to return the favor, and he wouldn’t mind doing so if that meant spoiling and being with you forever.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!”
Seeing your face was definitely worth it.
Everyone launged themselves at you, making you all fall down, giggling like idiots. Kenma was able to get everyone to let you breathe (“Kuroo jesus christ you were apart for like 20 minutes, calm down”)
🎂 (You) 🎂
Standing up, you thanked everyone. After that, you spent the whole afternoon talking about your memories with each other, how you’d met, how you’d become friends, inside jokes, trip togethers, etc. You ate delicious strawberry cake done by Yaku and Lev, opened presents (which included paint brushes, cookie cutter and various murder mystery and romantic books). You had the time of your life. Everything was perfect. Just as Kuroo planned, you forgot about any sadness you felt during the date. These are your people and you love them.
After saying your goodbyes, you and Kuroo entered your apartment. Your black haired boy fixed up a nice, warm and bubbly bath for you both, proving that yes, he wanted to spoil you even more. You got in, getting comfortable against Kuroo’s chest. He started trailing sweet kisses on your shoulders, nape and chest. Innocent, even if the position didn’t seem so. You were both still quiet, not uttering a word since you came back from your little suprise. Even without saying anything you both knew well enough,
You loved each other.
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kodzukuroken · 4 years
Text
Seasons change, but people... Do too I guess.| Chapter 1, Watercolour Cats
Genre: Angst, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers
Summary: You and Tsukishima had been friends for years but upon the arrival of a very special invitation, your relationship takes a sudden change. Will your long-harbored crush for your best friend finally come into the light? Or will your relationship be altered for good?
Aka, Reader is an artist who is in love with Tsukki, there's angst, there are laughs, there are three established captain relationships! What could a person want?
Pairings: Tsukishima Kei x Reader (Kuroo Tetsuro x Kenma Kozume, Bokuto Koutarou x Akaashi Keiji, Daichi Sawamura x Sugawara Koshi)
Warnings: Drinking, Swearing, Eventual Smut
Read on Ao3 | This will update before Tumblr
This is the second chapter! I really love writing this story, there are currently 5 chapters out on AO3, so if you’d like to read past this chapter that’s where you can do it! Enjoy!
You screeched, audibly screeched when you’d first opened the beautiful pearl coloured envelope with gold embossed letters on the front. It was exactly what you thought it might be, but that didn’t mean that you could contain your excitement any easier. Inside the envelope was a card littered with small watercolor paintings of cats (your handy work, by the way) with beautiful gold lettering that read:
“Dear (Y/L/N Y/N) you are cordially invited to the wedding of your friends,
Kuroo Tetsurõ and Kenma Kozume.
Saturday 18th at 3’oclock.”
Below was the information about RSVP and plus-ones, but you knew all the information already; you were just excited that the invite had finally arrived. You’d known that Kuroo was going to propose for months but just hadn’t had the right opportunity yet. You also knew that the only way he could agree to Kenma going ahead with a real wedding was if he planned everything in advance so that he didn’t have to worry about meetings with florists or bakers. So that's what he’d done, with the help of you and a few others Kuroo had planned his and Kenma’s entire wedding before he even popped the question. Of course, there was no doubt in anyone’s head that Kenma would say no. He and Kuroo had begun dating right after high school and it was about time that they made some kind of commitment. But once every detail was planned and every deposit had been paid, the only thing left for Kuroo to do was to ask. You’d begged him to call you when he eventually popped the question, but he’d just laughed and said
“I love you (y/n) but I think it would kind of ruin the moment if I suddenly celebrated my engagement by calling you. I’ll send out the invites the next morning, you’ll know by the end of the week”. And that you had, the invite had arrived in the mail the very next day after Kuroo had said he would propose, and you could not be giddier.
You took out your phone and called the most recent contact in your phone, the phone trilled for a second and then a very bored voice picked up.
“I told you not to call me at work, I don’t have time to chat with you during the day,” Kei said, but made no attempt to hang up the phone so you proceeded.
“Kei! Did you get it? Did you get yours?” you squealed. You could hear him tensing up at the tone on the other end.
“And what exactly is that I’m supposed to have got?” He asked as if this wasn’t something you’d both been waiting for for weeks. Well, more so you than Kei, but he’d had to listen to you talk about it constantly.
“Your invite Kei. Did you get your invite?” you heard him click his tongue and the shuffle around his desk a little. He read the same words that were on your invite out loud.
“You are cordially invited to the wedding of your friends, Kuroo Tetsurõ and Kenma Kozume.”
“Yes!”
“I’m not going,” he replied completely uninterested in your excitement. You scoffed,
“You abso-fucking-lutely are Tsukishima Kei” you knew he would be difficult about this, even though he helped plan the fucking thing.
“It's all unnecessary. They’ve been together for years, why have a party now?”
“It’s not a party, Kei. It’s a wedding ” you clarified.
“Same difference, besides who puts cats on a wedding invite. Their heads are weirdly shaped too.”
“I drew those cats you asshole!”
“I know,” you could hear the smirk in his voice.
“Keeeei” you begged.
“No”
“Pleeeeeaaase,” you begged again. He was silent this time and let you continue “We haven’t done anything fun in months. Besides, you’re Kuroo’s friend too and I know for a fact that he wants you there, plus-” you paused.
“Go on,” he pressed as if he already knew what was coming.
“I think this will really help me get over Ren,” you say. You can feel him rolling his eyes, Ren was your boyfriend of the past three years and you’d broken up just over a month ago. You were devastated when it happened but never really got an explanation as to why it did. Kei had found you after a couple of days of no replies sitting on the floor of your apartment weeping. He’d sat with you all night, letting you vent, before sending you to shower and buying you dinner. You hadn’t talked about it since then.
“Oh my god”
“It's true!”
“What does that have to do with me?” he asked, you could hear him typing on his computer now. He’d obviously realized that you weren’t going to let him get back to work.
“Because Kei! It's a wedding, I can’t go alone, that would be pathetic!”
“So you’re asking me to be your date now?” there was a small amount of evil delight in his voice, but you didn’t waver.
“Yes, I suppose I am.” He paused and you waited in the silence.
“Fine, but you’re paying for gas and buying dinner when the food is crappy” you squealed again and he huffed.
“Thank you Kei! You’re the best!” He didn’t reply, just hung up. You stood in your quiet apartment beaming to yourself, you had to call Kuroo.
You spent what felt like weeks planning for the wedding. Finding the perfect gift, making sure that Kei actually had something nice to wear, you even made him come along to help you pick out a dress which he was the opposite of thrilled about. You were about four dresses deep when you finally came out in a small dark green number, it hugged your waist well and the skirt was plenty full for a wedding.
“What about this one?” you turned to Kei who was sitting in a chair just outside the dressing room tapping through his phone boredly. He took one fairly indifferent glance at you and said
“It’s good.” You sighed and smoothed the fabric against your palms, in his defense this was the best answer you’d gotten all day.
“Really?” you asked, “you don't think its too-”
“Slutty?” he interrupted an evil grin on his lips. You hit him across the back of the head.
“I was going to say revealing” you turned to look at the back of the dress, it did cut a little shorter than you’d usually like. You sighed and waited for him to reply. He looked you up and down again and rolled his eyes.
“It’s shorter than the rest, yes but not by much. Plus it's a summer wedding” a rather pleased smile grew across your face. He saw how delighted you were with his genuine reasoning behind the choice.
“I’ve been around you long enough to know what kinds of things you like to hear,” he said plainly “Don’t start thinking that I actually care about what you wear.” But you just kept your bright smile and bounced back into the dressing room to change. You had your dress, now all you had to do was actually get him to go.
When you got to the wedding that day, you weren’t exactly shocked at how beautiful it looked. Rather, you were just reminded of the incredible taste that Kuroo had hiding somewhere in the back of his dumb jock brain. The wedding was simple, minimal flowers with lots of white and small red accents everywhere. Both Kuroo and Kenma wore black with small red hibiscus in their lapels. The ceremony was short, intentionally you figured so that Kenma didn’t have to stand in front of so many people for too long. But he looked probably the most relaxed you had ever seen him while not sitting in front of his computer, it was pretty amazing really. You and Kei sat near Bokuto and Akaashi, one of whom cried the entire way through the ceremony. You’d laughed quietly when Kei turned to Bokuto next to him and whispered
“I never pegged you as the romantic type Bo” Bokuto looked at him through teary eyes and nodded his head in response. Akaashi laughed and placed his hand on Bokuto’s to calm him a little.
Before you knew it the ceremony was ending, and just as the priest was finishing up his last words you turned to Kei and asked him something softly.
“You don’t actually believe that do you?” you asked, just loud enough for him to hear.
“Believe what?” he asked in a low voice.
“What you said on the phone before, do you really think that weddings are unnecessary?” He thought for a moment, and then shrugged just enough for you to see.
With that, Kuroo and Kenma were kissing lightly and a small blush was rising in Kenma's cheeks, the whole room erupted in applause and the two began to walk down the aisle. As you rose to leave, Kei’s lips found their way to your ear again
“I suppose it works for some people, you know if you find the right person.” The words sent electricity down your spine, what was he insinuating?
The reception was a little more Kuroo and Kema than the wedding had been. There was apple pie instead of cake and a small row of arcade games in the corner of the room, something that Kuroo had been insistent on in order to do something for Kenma. After everyone gave their speeches and the “surprisingly not the crappy” food was served ( Kei’s words not yours). Everyone began to make their way to the dancefloor besides the two of you and a few others. You watched as Bokuto swung Akaashi around wildly while Akaashi merely complied with whatever his boyfriend was doing with a small smile on his face. There were a few of the guys from Kei’s old volleyball team here, but he made no attempt to talk to any of them. It wasn’t until a tall boy with dark hair and freckles made his way over to the table that the two of you even noticed he was there.
“Yamaguchi!” you cried, completely delighted. He smiled kindly and wrapped you in a hug.
“It’s so good to see you!”
“You too (y/n)! It’s good to see you too Tsukki!” Yamaguchi paused for a response.
“Hey” Kei offered and you rolled your eyes. Yamaguchi just chuckled.
“You haven’t changed Tsukki I can tell you that” you laughed along with Yamaguchi before it was Kei’s turn to roll his eyes at you.
“I’m getting a drink, do you guys want anything?” Yamaguchi shook his head, but you offered to go with him. The two of you headed to the bar, pushing through the large crowds to a man in a vest and tie who was serving the drinks. Kei ordered for the both of you and you stood close to him you both watched the bartender make your drinks.
“You could be a little nicer to Yamaguchi you know,” you said it lightly but he knew you were serious.
“I was plenty nice,” he replied, his eyes on anything but you.
“Kei, he was your best friend i-”
“Yeah, in high school, but we’re not in high school anymore are we?” he was a little more pointed this time, and you felt it in your chest.
“So what? We were friends in high school and we still are now, or is that not what we are?” Kei was silent for a minute and met your eyes with his golden ones, you could see that he was thinking but you weren’t exactly sure about what.
“No,” he replied.
“No?”
“No, that's not what we are. You’re just the crazy girl who seems to have never left me alone since first year” he smiled into his newly freshened drink and you scoffed.
“Well that's just rude,” you whipped your head around dramatically, trying to act outraged. You heard him chuckle and it made your cheeks warm.
Then you felt his finger tapping your elbow, you sighed and tried to look distant and dramatic.
“I’m not talking to you until you apologize Kei,” you said and suddenly felt him pressed close to your back. Your heart raced and blush rose up your neck as you felt every inch of him pressed against you, if you didn’t know him any better you would have thought he might be enjoying it as much as you did. With that, he leaned down to your height and brought his mouth to your ear for the third time today.
“Let’s dance.” Your eyes widened as you twisted around, you looked at his face that had returned to it’s normal height.
“You don’t dance,” you said, eyes narrowed. He sipped his drink again.
“No, but you do and it’s a wedding.” You still looked unsure so he rolled his eyes “Plus it’s a slow song which is safe and it will get you to stop sulking” you couldn't argue with that.
You let him guide you over to the dance floor where everybody else was swaying in each other's arms. You smiled, a little nervous, you always liked to dance at parties but you were never much of a slow dancer. But you let Kei pull you in effortlessly and place his hand on your hip and hold your other hand in his. You brought your spare hand to his shoulder and let him guide you around the dancefloor slowly. For someone who didn’t ever dance, Kei was surprisingly good at it, it had even left you a little flustered when he managed to spin you around flawlessly in time with the music. You smiled up at him, and figured your look must have been an intrigued one because he asked,
“What?” you held your tongue for a minute but figured it was safe to address it.
“You can dance” your voice had more disbelief in it than you intended and Kei rolled his eyes.
“It would seem so, yes”
“I didn’t know you could dance” he spun you around again before you could say anything else and then came close to your ear again.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me (y/n)” your breath hitched in your throat before you brought your head to rest on his shoulder, deciding it was too dangerous to antagonize him when he had you in such a state.
When the song ended, Kei stopped and you looked up at him. His golden eyes looked softer than you had ever seen them, the light of the hotel ballroom bouncing off his glasses just enough to make them twinkle. Your heart swelled as you thought about the last seven years of your friendship together and finally, the words he’d said to you at the wedding earlier that day returned to your head.
“I suppose it works for some people, you know if you find the right person”.
Your heart stopped, how could you have been so stupid.
He was just about to ask if you were okay when you grabbed his hand and mumbled something that sounded like “Come with me”. Before you knew it you were out in the quiet hallway, the music from inside muffled by the large doors, it was cool out here and you shivered a little from the sudden change.
“(y/n)?” Kei asked, he sounded a little annoyed but confused more than anything.
“Just, give me a second Kei,” your own voice was muffled in your ears. Everything suddenly felt completely hazy but also clear as day. God, how could you be so stupid? All these years you’d been trying to preserve your friendship, thinking that Kei had no interest in you whatsoever but you knew now that wasn’t true. He’d come with you tonight, he’d laughed with you and held you while you danced together. He liked you.
~
“(y/n)? We can go, leave, if you’re not having a good time” he began “seriously if you’re going to be we-”. He was cut off by your lips crashing into his. He was tense for a moment, completely confused as to what the fuck was happening. But when he felt your hand lace into his hair, he relaxed a little. You stood there holding each other in a kiss for what felt like an eternity before breaking away to breathe. You looked deep into his eyes and smiled, your eyes were filled with tears. But Kei was too dumbfounded by what had just happened to even notice, he looked on at you blankly trying to process what had just happened.
“Kei?” he looked at you for real this time, fully coming to terms with what had just happened. You’d kissed him.
“I can't do this” he heard himself saying before he could even think about it.
“What?” he knew you’d heard him. “Kei what are you talking about, isn’t this what you wanted?”
“Yes,” he replied without hesitation. Fuck, what was he doing?
“Then what’s wro-”
“We can’t. Not now, I can’t” before he knew it he was backing away from you. He cursed himself as his arms disconnected from your waist.
“I’m sorry,” you said, you were crying fully and his heart tore in two, “I thought this was what you wanted”. You were looking down at your shoes now, just like he used to watch you do when you were younger. God, he was an idiot.
“I’m sorry (y/n), I just ca-”
“ Can’t. I fucking get it Kei” you spat at him eyes averted. He’d never seen you look this broken in his life and he’d caused it. You turned away from him and began to shake, all he wanted to do right now was hold you. Hold you, and apologize and kiss you again, but he couldn’t. After another beat of silence, you sniffled and turned your head just enough so he could hear your broken words.
“Just go Kei. Leave, please”. His heart shattered at the finality of your words, but he did as you said and left without another word.
~
After you heard the large door to the wedding swing shut behind you, you began to sob. You tried to stop yourself, you told yourself to breathe, but any air that came out of you was broken and hitched. At some point, you had managed to walk yourself over to the large spiral staircase nearby and perch yourself on the steps, before crumbling into tears again. How could you have been so stupid? Of course, Kei didn’t want you, you’d been friends for years if he was in any way interested in you by now he would have done something. God you were an idiot. In one night you had managed to lose your best friend just by giving into a feeling that you’ve been harbouring for years.  You thought about how sad he looked, how confused and shocked his face was as you pulled away. You thought about how your heart shattered when he pulled his hands from your hips. What the fuck had you done? You’d ruined everything.
You sat for what felt like forever, weeping silently to yourself when eventually you heard the doors to the wedding swing open again. There was a small part of you that had prayed he’d come back. That he’d just been scared and that he really did want to be with you, but you weren’t so lucky. You looked up from where you sat and there in the doorway was Bokuto, the smile fading from his face as he saw the tears coating your own. He rushed over to you.
“Hey, hey, hey, what happened are you okay?” he sat next to you and put a hand on your knee, but the sudden comfort just made you cry even more.
“I-it’s K-Kei” you managed to get out after a few minutes.
“What happened? Was he an asshole to you? God that fucking guy” Bokuto put his arm around you and began to curse Kei out, but you shook your head.
“N-no, it was me. I r-ruined it Bo” you sniffled your head resting on his chest now.
“Ruined what (y/n)?” he asked innocently as if your whole world hadn’t crumbled around you not ten minutes ago.
“Us. Me and h-him, everything we had. It’s gone.” Bokuto sighed and pulled you in closer.
“Don’t be crazy, you guys have been friends since high school. I’m sure it wasn’t that bad” you shook your head again.
“I ruined it, Bo. I ruined it”. Those were the only words you managed to get out for the rest of the night. At some point, Bokuto had carried you up the spiral staircase of the hotel to a room. He placed you on the bed lightly and then sat down on the one next to you.
“Stay here with me and Kaashi tonight, we’ll keep an eye on you”. You nodded, too weak to protest. He sat on the bed next to you for a while, just watching. Eventually, your eyes grew too heavy for even tears to fight off and you fell into an unrestful sleep.
The next morning, you awoke to dappled sunlight dancing across your face. For a moment, you had completely forgotten what had happened between you and Kei last night, it wasn’t until you heard a familiar voice whispering somewhere nearby that it all came flooding back.
“I don’t know Kaashi, she wouldn’t say. She just kept saying she’d ruined things” it was Bokuto. You cringed and tried to squeeze your eyes closed even tighter to make it go away.
“Do you think he tried something?” it was a different voice now, one a little softer than Bokuto’s, you heard Akaashi sit down on the bed next to you.
“No, I doubt it, Tsukki’s an asshole but not that type” there was a silence, you figured that they were looking at you. This was as good a time as any to make your presence known. You sat up slowly and groaned a little. You were met by Akaashi’s soft eyes, and Bokuto’s expecting ones.
“Hey,” you said, voice a little hoarse from all the crying last night. Akaashi handed you a warm mug.
“Here, tea will help” and smiled up at him softly.
“Thanks, I’m sorry if I intruded on you guys last night” you took a sip of the tea and tried to focus on how warm it made you feel.
“Oh don’t worry about that” Bokuto said, a little too loudly for your sensitive head, “we’re just worried about you that's all”.
“Bo” Akaashi snapped trying to be quiet about it.
“It’s ok, I appreciate your guys’ concern,” you said, setting you tea on the side and getting up to stretch. Akaashi nodded and sipped from his own mug.
“Are you okay then?” he asked, you hadn’t expected the question to hit you so hard. You plopped back down on the back.
“No,” you could only be honest here, they’d already seen the kind of state you were in last night. Bokuto sighed and came to sit next to you,
“You have to tell us what happened (y/n), did he do something?” you shook your head hard, you didn’t want there to be any confusion as to who was at fault here.
“He didn’t do anything, it was me” Bokuto looked confused because he knew Kei, and he knew the kind of asshole he could be and he never expected that you could have been the one to cause this damage.
“I kissed him” you peeked over to look at both Bokuto and Akaashi, but they were both staring at each other silently.
“And that's bad because?”
“You don’t understand Bo, I kissed him and I didn’t say anything at first I thought he liked me, between the wedding and the dress and the dancing” you were on your feet pacing around the room now “and then what he said, a-at the reception I thought it meant something”.
You looked to Bokuto and Akaashi for some kind of understanding but you were left with two vacant looks. You sighed and leaned back against the wall.
“I led him out into the hall after we danced, and I kissed him” you closed your eyes, replaying everything in your head “and he… he rejected me. He pushed me away and said he couldn’t. I tried to push him for a reason but he just kept saying he couldn’t. And then he left”.
You looked at Bokuto and Akaashi again and now their faces looked solemn. You laughed bitterly
“I never should have assumed he liked me”.
“(y/n) no!” Bokuto said Akaashi put his hand on his boyfriend’s knee attempting to calm him, but it was to no avail.
“It’s Tsukki, he’s always had feelings for you! The two of you belong together!”
You were completely taken aback by Bokuto’s words, you’d know you’d always thought these things secretly but you had no idea that anybody else could see it. But then you remembered Kei’s face after you asked him why, he looked so confused and betrayed he couldn’t possibly have thought the same things that you and Bokuto had, you were wrong.
“He doesn’t want me, Bo, I ruined it” tears began to sting your eyes again, luckily Akaashi interrupted just in time.
“Why don’t we take you home yeah?” you nodded and the two guys pulled you into a smothering hug.
“It'll be ok, (y/n). You guys will figure it out” you couldn’t make out which one of the guys this had come from, but dear god you hoped they were right.
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girloftheglade · 5 years
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Kuroo x Reader: Feline Jealousy
I have been getting love on my last one shot with Kageyama and I’m cryin :,). 22 notes is a lot for me, especially since I just started posting writing on Tumblr. So I thought I’d share another one-shot, even though this one was already written and posted on my AO3. Just have it. Your comments and likes make my day. <3
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“I don’t wanna be just friends, it’s no coincidence it’s a kitty-incidence.”
---
“Soooo cuteeeee~~~”
[Name] cooed at the cat purring happily in her lap as she gently stroked his head. Cats were her favorite animal, and she completely melted at the sight of one at one. [Name] was visiting Kuroo’s house at the time and enjoying some time with the furry companion, meanwhile Kuroo sulked in his desk chair, somehow abashed and infuriated that he was jealous over a cat. 
“How long have you had him, Tetsu?”
“About two years now,” he answered coolly. There was no way he was letting her in on his jealousy. “Got him one day when I was walking home with Kenma. He was left in a box on the street in the rain. Kenma couldn’t take him home, so I decided to take him in and kept him.”
“That’s so sweet, Tetsu!”
Kuroo gave her a warm smile. Maybe this cat was stealing all her attention for now, but he loved his pet, too. He had fond memories of watching it grow. “He’s alright I guess. He’s playful but he also sneaks into my bed at night and scares the crap out of me.”
“Haunting your dreams, is he? This angel would never. Would you, sweet one~~~.”
That’s it. He was jealous of a cat. Very jealous.
As [Name] nuzzled her face into the cat’s silky black fur and began to giggle as he purred and rubbed against her arms and face, Kuroo’s blood boiled and he stared down his pet. She’s mine, you know.
“Is someone getting jealous?”
Kuroo snapped out of his glare, hiding his blush and scowling. “Not at all.”
“You are.”
“So what?”
[Name] giggled, the melodious sound which was Kuroo’s favorite echoing in his ears. She placed the cat gingerly on the ground, and he quickly scurried off to grab his food downstairs.
She tried so hard not to keep laughing at Kuroo, but the way he crossed his arms and furrowed his brows cracked her up. “Tetsu, come here.”
Kuroo looked at her open arms, but stayed still. “Come on. Are you mad at me now? I was just petting him!”
“He was stealing all of your attention. Maybe you come just to see him.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen him, you doof!”
The two burst into laughter as Kuroo finally smiled again. “Come here,” she urged, and Kuroo finally left his chair and settled himself in her embrace. “You know you’ll always be the center of all my attention.”
“Yeah, I know. I just like being reminded.”
“Wipe that grin off your face!”
[Name] shook her head as she kissed his cheek, nuzzling her face into his neck. “You’re adorable when you’re jealous, really. But it’s not a good quality to have.”
“Well,” Kuroo answered with a playful grin, “when it means I get to have as much affection from you as I want, I’ll be jealous as often as I can.”
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Just Us - Kozume Kenma/Reiai
Fluff!!! Non-otome
Fandom: Haikyuu!! Characters: OC/Kenma Written for: @narekashi  Written by: @lokiiwood
A/N: Happy holidays, Reiai! When I saw you write you liked Haikyuu!! I couldn’t help myself. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it ^^ <333
The bus tires finally slowed to a screeching halt and the people's loud murmurs of frustration grew in its place. In her list of top twenty nightmare scenarios, this was one of them. She was living it - experiencing it - and didn't know what to do. Not only had she left her book at home for what was supposed to be a short trip, but she was also trapped on a bus with a bunch of strangers. Reiai stopped considering the things that would make the ordeal worse - the lack of escape route, the blizzard outside… Well, she tried to stop considering it, anyway. She dug herself further in her jacket.
The crying of a microphone denoted the bus driver’s third announcement. The first one was a warning for a possible tire failure and not to panic, the second was its confirmation, and this one was the unfortunate notice that yes, the bus was stopped and no, he had no idea when they would get help. She buried her head in her hands, enjoying the warmth while it lasted. Would she perish here of boredom or of cold? Perhaps a car accident despite being on the side of the road? The possibilities were endless, really!
Sensing movement, Reiai peeked out of her hands to glance at the boy who’d taken the aisle seat beside her. He’d been buried the entire ride in his video game, not looking up even once to at least pretend he was concerned about the situation. He slowly raised his head, the blonde hair covering his face finally parting as he glanced around. Wait...did he really not know what was going on? She’d laugh if she wasn’t so disturbed. After a few seconds of watching and listening to the other passengers, he turned towards her. Reiai quickly glanced out her window.
But there was no way he didn’t catch her staring.
Another top ten nightmare scenario. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying to anyone who would listen for him not to say anything, for the nightmare to end.
His voice was quiet, barely a whisper. If Reiai hadn’t been listening intently, she wouldn’t have even heard him.
“Excuse me sir...do you know where we are?”
Crisis averted.
She gulped and turned to face him, clasping her fidgeting hands together in her lap.
“Bus?”
Wait, why did she say that?
She gazed into the boy’s cat-like golden eyes and felt her breath hitch. She had expected them to be red and dry, not for their depth to be a pool of crystal honey ready to suck her in. The boy’s eyebrows furrowed for just a moment at her response before he glanced down at his game and turned it off.
“...Sorry,” he muttered.
“No - I’m - uh, we’re at…” She opened up her phone as she peered out the window, double checking the GPS was even functioning in the storm. “...Highway 32.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
She stared at him as he continued to look at his black screen. Was he okay?
“Um, do you have somewhere to be? Will you be alright?”
Reiai didn’t know why she was prying into this stranger’s life so suddenly. Maybe it was because he looked her age and had no idea what was going on? She’d hate for him to be as miserable as her, even if she didn’t know him at all. She attempted a smile for him.
The boy raised his head again and regarded her with patient eyes. She shifted in her seat, uncomfortable with the silence that accompanied his gaze. But he finally spoke, his words careful and sure.
"Yes. Based on the speed and direction of the snow outside and the road visibility, I think this is only a ground blizzard. If this region has already been like this for two hours, then at a minimum we'll only have an hour left to deal with it and two hours at maximum. The tank was three-quarters when I came onboard, so the fuel should last us if we just use heating."
Reiai blinked at him, her eyes and smile becoming genuine as it widened. That’s what he’d paid attention to? The fuel tank when he got on the bus? The other guests’ passing details of the longevity of this area’s blizzard? Was he some sort of genius?
“Wow…”
He quickly looked back down, as if ashamed at her surprise.
“Thank you,” she whispered, giving him her best, reassuring nod even though he wasn’t looking.
“Yeah.”
Sensing that their limited interaction was done, she sighed and returned her gaze to the window, watching the snow swirl around the black pavement and slow cars pass by. Reiai wondered what it would be like to be a handsome genius with pretty eyes, not noticing that the boy beside her was staring at the back of her head, wondering what it’d be like to be a pretty girl with a disarming smile.
        °。°。°。°。°。°。°。゜。°。°。°。
        。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°
The boy had been right. The blizzard cleared after an hour and mechanics came not even twenty minutes later to replace the faulty tire. Reiai had gone home and enjoyed her following December days without further incident other than the occasional sight of a honey-eyed stray cat that reminded her of a stranger.
“We’ll be having another neighboring school’s sports teams joining us this year for our Winter Sports Festival. That makes six, which means I expect everyone to help.”
The classroom faux groaned in unison but set off to complete their individual tasks with enthusiasm. Reiai volunteered for something new this year, too exhausted from a late night of writing and watching shows to goof off with her classmates - much to their dismay. She made her way to the infrequently used gym closet that was hidden away behind large mats. Grimacing, she pushed past the rusty hinges and crude marker drawings to the equally dusty interior to begin. It was a single-person task away from the loud hubbub of excited students, only requiring her to check inventory on the old volleyballs, bats, and cricket balls.
She finished it early but didn't leave. Reiai set a timer on her phone for when she needed to be back in class and sat in the closet, sipping on her water as she read the novel she brought with her. So engrossed was she, that she didn't notice the door opening and quickly closing back.
His hand rested on the knob. No way. Was he seeing things now? There was no way that girl from the bus ride was in this very closet. This was the worst good karma he could’ve asked for. Strange, either way. Well, not too strange, the probability of seeing her again wasn’t low if he considered that they both were in high school in the same region that enjoyed exchange-like events.
Kenma made up his mind, turning around to return to his friends who were scouting the volleyball court before he heard them shouting amongst each other.
“Anybody found the volleyballs yet?”
He sighed. Right. These people would destroy the place even though they weren’t supposed to be using the court at all. He wanted nothing to do with it. It didn’t occur to him that he might be using it as an excuse until he opened the door again, cold feet making him pause in the doorway as wide, brown eyes stared up at him.
There was still time to go back.
“Oh! You’re...um…!”
She stuttered, quickly closing her book and relocating it behind her back. Was she scared of being caught reading? There had to be a reason she was hiding out in this strange closet. She glanced behind him and worried her lip. He should probably let her be. “I just came to find a volleyball,” he decided on.
She nodded vigorously but kept checking the door.
“Sorry,” he muttered. Kenma quickly jerked it close and she gasped behind him.
“Ah, wait, don’t-!”
A sinking feeling set in as he heard her quickly stand and rush to his side to touch the door. Her hand carefully twisted the knob - and twisted it was, completely off its mantle. Oh no. Kenma glanced at the hinges, rusted and useless, then to the doorknob sitting ominously in the girl’s hand.
“Oh, no..”
Kenma opened his mouth to apologize once more, but sighed instead. Great. She probably thought he was an idiot for not noticing such obvious details like broken door hinges and loose doorknobs.
But she just started to laugh and he blinked over at her, taken back. There was that alarming smile again - it sounded like holiday bells and felt like snowflakes sprinkling on his head. Maybe he was delusional, finally driven mad by his obnoxious volley teammates who demanded so much of his attention.
“I’m sorry, I should’ve stopped you,” she sighed. “Do you have your cell phone?”
Kenma sighed again. “No...I left everything in my bag in the bleachers…”
“Oh…”
They both stood there, staring at the door until he cleared his throat. “What’s - um - your name?”
“Reiai.”
Reiai. A nice name. He felt better now that he knew - a sense of relief that was surely misplaced.
“I’m Kenma.”
She hummed in response, and he tilted his head to look at her just as she did the same. Reiai’s expression changed to something he didn’t recognize, and he watched her curiously as she returned to sit beside her book on the floor.
“Well, we’re going to have to wait until someone finds us then.”
Kenma surveyed the room. It was dusty and unorganized. Being found might take a while, he may as well get comfortable. He sat down against the door, staring at the ground and hoping she didn’t pay him much more attention. He was nervous - beyond nervous - even though it was just one, friendly person in the room with him. He couldn’t accurately describe the feeling of feathers tickling his insides, only that he didn’t like it.
“Kenma, do you play volleyball?”
His head shot up to heed her as she rubbed a volleyball off with a towel.
“I’m...Nekoma’s setter.”
“Oh, that’s so cool! You must be pretty good.”
“It’s nothing...my teammates came to scout your school’s court for the upcoming festival…”
Why was he telling her things she didn't ask? It was just like on the bus when he ran his mouth off about the blizzard. He'd been so shocked at himself then that he couldn't find words to continue the conversation.
“Maybe they’ll come find us, then.”
Doubtful. But he didn’t want to damper the mood even more.
“Do you want to pass the ball?” she asked.
Kenma stared at the dustless ball in her hands as she smiled over at him. Maybe she was trying to uplift the mood in her own way. He didn’t mind playing along.
“Sure…”
She tossed it to him - sloppy with no technique but an earnest attempt all the same. He watched its trajectory and waited for it to bounce off the wall before opening his left palm and catching it without much effort.
“Oh wow, you are good!”
She laughed and sat up straighter, her brown eyes glistening like dark caramel as she focused on the ball in his hand. Kenma felt his cheeks growing hot. This kind of attention, he realized, was the precise type he didn’t want. Expectations brought the ability to disappoint. If she could just keep smiling at him, if they could just enjoy their silence together, that would be better. Well, she didn’t have to smile if she didn’t want to, but…
It would be nice if she did.
And she smiled every time he successfully taught her something new about volleyball. So he kept talking - explaining basic techniques and praising her perfect attempts. It was peaceful. Reiai was admittedly fun to be around. Her jokes weren’t obnoxious, and she wasn’t overbearing. In a way, she reminded him of himself when she was honest about also being nervous on that bus and how she liked being comfortable. She even reassured him that when he called her ‘sir’ on the bus, she didn’t even register it. Kenma had been anxious over nothing at all.
“Kenma?”
“Hm?”
“You’re finally smiling.”
“What?”
He touched a finger to his lips. Sure enough, he was.
“I…” He paused for only a moment, unsure what he was even saying, “...guess I’m glad it’s you I’m stuck here with.”
Reiai's eyes widened and Kenma immediately regretted admitting such an embarrassing thing. Hopefully, she didn't think he was weird?
“I thought the same thing,” she whispered, rolling the volleyball between her hands.
Relief made his shoulders relax again. This wasn’t so bad. Talking and being honest with Reiai wasn’t so bad, anyway.
“Kenma?”
“Reiai?” He said her name only because he hadn’t before. He wondered what it would feel like to speak it, and now it rolled pleasantly off his tongue.
“I-I was wondering...um...the festival - it’s really nice. There’s lots to do and see, so…”
“Yes.”
He lost his mind indeed - agreeing to do something he didn’t even know the details of.
“Oh,” she giggled, holding the ball to her chest. He drank in her sweet laughs, letting the snowfall cool his heated face.
The door opened before she could clarify what she meant.
Lev stood behind him, his tall frame akin to a giant compared to his sitting one as he cheered. “Ah! Kenma, there you are! Were you stuck in he-oh? Handsome!”
Kenma sighed, knowing his ears were probably turning red but too annoyed to care.
“Don’t yell,” he muttered. Lev grinned wide and he frowned as Reiai shrunk away. Kenma slowly stood and glared at him before turning back to her. As he took in those confused eyes, his body acted on its own. Kenma walked over and gently took her hand, the volleyball falling to the floor as he helped Reiai to her feet.
And Kenma didn’t let go, clasping her hand tighter and leading her out the closet past Lev.
“Where are you going now?” he whined. “Aren’t you coming back with us?”
Kenma walked to the bleachers and threw his bag over his shoulder, glancing at Lev before locking his eyes with Reiai. His heart skipped a beat as she watched him, wide-eyed and giving him all of her focus - attention - expectations - the ability to disappoint.
“D-do you want to go back to class now?”
Reiai hesitated before that beautiful smile graced her lips again and her fingers entwined with his.
“No.”
He inadvertently smiled back, not needing to touch his lips to know he was.
“Then let’s go.”
“W-what about - don’t we need the volleyball?”
Kenma hadn’t even considered it. He shrugged the suggestion off with renewed confidence, the feathers in his stomach feeling less alien and increasingly fun as he stayed by her side.
“No, just us.”
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tetsookie · 6 years
Text
Merry Christmas @cawnvictofmurder​!! I’m your secret santa for the @haikyuuwriters​ exchange! >u</
Title: Try your Luck Rating: Teen and Up (just for mild swearing) Pairing: Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei, Bokuto Koutarou/Akaashi Keiji Chapter: 1/3 Summary: Kuroo didn't think of himself as an unlucky person, but the universe had to prove him wrong. Thankfully, a little bird came to tell him that was all about to change. (Also on Ao3!)
Kuroo was screwed.
The man sighed, letting the book’s thick binding flutter shut as he lay his head on the desk in defeat. This was it. His entire academic career was in shambles.
Kuroo figured he really should’ve studied harder. Maybe, done a bit more work or met with the teacher a smidgen more than a grand total of two times. He felt confident that his charm could’ve won that old hag over even if everything else had failed. Not that it mattered now that all his classes were over, and yet, he couldn’t help worrying anyways.
Because he honestly never would have imagined—heck, nobody could have imagined that Kuroo Tetsurou, valedictorian, ladies’ man, university spokesperson, and all around accomplished third year student would be failing a class.
Given, he really should not have taken a class outside of his chemistry major, but he honestly believed he could handle whatever ‘Advanced Theoretical Physics’ had to dish out. It seemed easy enough—just a tad more difficult math than he was used to, and the professor was a little wonky, but he had confidence he would be able to pass with flying colors.
Obviously, he was wrong.
Kuroo traced a line with his finger under the book’s title, “Common Unlucky Symbols” that was etched across the cover. He had studied all he could and crammed the rest, and now that all hope was lost and he didn’t have anyone to blame but himself, he felt desperate enough to search for other godforsaken reasons the universe hated him. No matter the excuse, he was going to have a big fat ‘FAIL’ on his transcript and he would have to deal with the consequences of explaining the whole ordeal to his parents, and worse yet—risk losing his scholarship.
He groaned again as his head connected with the desk and the man with poorly bleached hair behind him gave him a glance.
“Is that really the best way to feel better?”
Kuroo grumbled in response, refusing to lift his head from the desk, but clutching the book in front of him with clenched fists. “No, but I’ve reached a new low asking for academic advice from Bokuto of all people. He told me that maybe I was cursed or ran into more black cats than I was supposed to or broke a mirror in a past life and it’s led me to—” he gestured wildly in the directions of the book’s contents. “This.”
“Hm,” the man turned his attention to the shelves, resuming his task. “Maybe you should’ve asked Akaashi to help instead.”
“He’d never let me live it down, you know that, Kenma,” Kuroo moaned.
“And, you don’t think Bokuto won’t tell Akaashi anyways?”
Kuroo paused, bolting upright, his hair even more of a mess than usual. “Fuck.”
“You really didn’t think this through, did you, Kuroo?”
“Cut me some slack, I’m trying here!”
“Then can you try to help me with these books? If you didn’t know, we’re supposed to be working, not researching wild superstitions.”
Kuroo sighed, running a hand through his hair once before getting up to organize books with his co-worker. He had only started volunteering at the public library since last semester and although the work was tedious at times, Kuroo tended to enjoy the labor more than he abhorred it. He had honestly applied for the position to fill up his resume at first, but overall, it wasn’t too bad. It gave him some down time between classes and he got to talk to all types of people whenever he manned the reference desk. It beat his last job as a waiter by a landslide, and he was paid for that job.
Still… it didn’t stop him from feeling antsy about ending his shift as soon as he could so he could tackle the twisting in his gut. Kuroo’s eyes seemed locked on the clock on the wall, ticking away ten minutes from 4pm. Sensing his unease, Kenma sighed next to him.
“Kuroo.”
“I know, sorry, sorry,” Kuroo stammered, fumbling with some magazines. “I just feel like I’m wasting time here when I could be doing something.”
“It’s the last day of the semester, there isn’t anything else to do.”
Kuroo knew it, but it didn’t stop the sting. He sighed, trying to keep his nerves at bay as he arranged the last of the issues in his hands onto the displays.
“We’ll have a few days off work too, so you can relax.”
“Right…” he murmured, slipping the last magazine in its place.
“Kenma!”
Kuroo turned to see a familiar redheaded boy leap through the entrance and head towards his co-worker, a smile like sunshine on his face. Kenma smiled softly.
“Shouyou.”
Kuroo watched as the two friends greeted each other and discussed plans about playing video games now that they had more free time. Kenma quickly gathered his things and the two of them made for the door together.
Kuroo sent Kenma off, giving a final comment about ‘kids having fun’ which earned him an eye roll from Kenma. After their footsteps receded, Kuroo felt his shoulders slump, and he retreated into the backroom to stack some of the remaining books onto the rolling carts.
Damn. It was summer break now, he should be out having fun like Kenma and his friend. It wasn’t as if the two were too far apart in age and yet, Kuroo himself felt a bit worse for wear. How far was retirement again? Even though he applied to continue volunteering over the summer as well, he wondered if that was the wisest choice given his current academic circumstances.
Kuroo suppressed another sigh as he took off his employee tag and dropped it into the cup at the front desk. The receptionist at the computer gave him a look, and without saying anything, pushed a book across the table towards Kuroo.
“Yaku, what’s—”
“Take it,” Yaku said, fingers already typing away at the keyboard in front of him. “For the summer. You were looking at it before.”
Kuroo looked more closely at the book to verify and sure enough, the words “Common Unlucky Symbols” stared back at him. He nearly erupted in laughter, but the surprise kept his thoughts steeled.
“No, I really don’t nee—”
Yaku waved him away with a free hand. “Already checked out under your name.”
Kuroo stopped, as if to argue the point, but didn’t seem to find the strength in him to do so. He sighed, tucking the book under his arm. “Thanks. I’ll see you. Let me know if the new intern gives you trouble.”
Yaku made a face, pausing his work momentarily. “If Lev hasn’t alphabetized those folders by the time I finish up here…”
Kuroo chuckled, heading towards the automatic doors at the entrance. “Good luck.”
Stepping outside, Kuroo started walking back to his apartment complex, flipping open the book to pass the time. He skimmed through several pages he had seen before: number 1, black cats, number 7, broken mirrors, number 11, salt spilling, and ironically numbered 14, the number 13. The list went on and on, reaching all the way to one hundred. Despite the ridiculous attributions to bad luck these symbols seemed to point to, and the complete lack of scientific basis most of these superstitions had, it was no doubt somewhat entertaining to see the many things people blamed for their misfortunes. Kuroo had to admit, some of these unlucky symbols he had never even thought of before like number 26: passing a cemetery. Bad luck could be avoided if you hold your breath while passing the cemetery. However, you could avoid the unlucky consequences if you run into a black or brown dog.
Kuroo couldn’t help feeling the entire ordeal was ridiculous. What if that unlucky person never encountered another black or brown dog? Would he need to hold his breath until he himself ended up in the cemetery?
As if to stop that thought process, the book flew out of his hands as Kuroo walked right into a collection of trash cans and onto the floor. “Common Unlucky Symbols” skid across the concrete a few feet in front of him, pages splaying out on the ground.
“Sh—” Kuroo swore, awkwardly adjusting himself on one of the trash cans while watching the rest of them clang across the neighborhood, the contents of some emptying all over the place.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair and reaching for the book when something caught his eye. At first sight, it looked to be a black garbage bag, but upon closer inspection, it was some kind of… cat? Kuroo rushed forward to see the animal that had popped out of the trash can and turned it over to reveal a fairly large crow.
Kuroo nearly doubled back in shock. It wasn’t uncommon to see crows around the city from time to time, but one this big and close to him was definitely something he wasn’t used to. Kuroo figured it had probably hopped into the trash can to search for food when he had coincidentally disrupted its dinner.
Kuroo straightened up and was about to fix the mess he had made when he realized the crow wasn’t exactly moving. He paused, wondering if the bird was even alive.
Curiosity got the better of him and he found himself stooping in front of the animal once more. With unsure fingers, he reached forward to brush the feathers back. The black wings were softer than he expected, and he found himself drawn closer and closer to the bird.
Suddenly, the crow twitched, as if awakened from a deep slumber. It shook its wings deftly, and Kuroo’s hands yanked back, anticipating the bird’s flight.
The bird stood up on its two feet, gave Kuroo a good look once over and then hobbled away before falling over once more.
Kuroo felt his heart twinge. Its leg.
Don’t do it, a voice in the back of his head reminded. You’ve more than likely lost your scholarship, you can’t afford to take care of it.
It’s just a measly little bird.
Kuroo watched the crow seem to angrily look down at its bad leg before getting up again and tripping over its own beak. It made several more attempts before resting on the ground for a bit, giving Kuroo a look as if asking the human to leave.
As if he could.
Kuroo clenched his fists, cursed his own good nature and walked the few steps over to pick up the bird with both his hands. The crow seemed to protest this, fidgeting and squawking, seemingly sending glares the college boy’s way. Yet, after a moment of fighting, the crow seemed to give up the physical struggle, opting to shoot Kuroo daggers instead.
Hastily, Kuroo stood the rest of the trash cans upright before hurrying back home, the crow cradled into the crooks of his arms. He must be crazy, bringing a wild animal into his apartment. Not to mention a crow of all things.
The crow watched as he fumbled with his keys, jamming them into the keyhole with more force than was probably necessary. Kuroo probably didn’t need to rush—after all, the crow had shown quite a bit of attitude. It was with no doubt doing fine, minus its slight physical defect. Yet, Kuroo couldn’t stop himself from caring. That had always been his strength, but probably his greatest weakness as well.
After all, there were a number of things he really should’ve considered. What if the crow had rabies? What if it was sick to the point beyond recovery? What if taking the time to save it was foolish on his part?
Moments before he stumbled through the entrance to his apartment complex, one final thought flashed a warning through his mind.
“Common Unlucky Symbols”: Number 13, Crows.
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Text
Flower
Kenma woke up to a heavy body on top of his successfully trapping his body on the bed while simultaneously providing him the heat that he needed for early spring. He looked at the mess of hair on his chest and the pillow blocking the face of its owner.
He’s going to suffocate. He thought as he tried to remove the pillow without disturbing the sleeping guy.
When Kenma has successfully taken the pillow away and set it beside him, the face scrunched the other curled farther into his chest. Kenma’s arms wound around the others body then kissed his head.
Looking around there was barely any sun shining through the curtains. His eyes finding the clock, he finds that it wasn’t even seven am. His gaze lingering longer, he finds the button near his phone and beside that the accursed ring.
He remembers how his best friend changed his life with a few words.
===============
It was finally here, a time high school students were waiting for, graduation. As a spectator Kenma stood with his underclassmen as the ceremony draws to a close. With a final congratulations and a few ending and parting remarks, it was over. The volleyball club (or what has remained of it) goes outside of the auditorium to wait by the gym.
The volleyball team had planned it before they even went to nationals, Kenma would even go as far as to say that it was planned before Inter High itself. Sitting down near the door, he took his game out and began playing knowing full well that the confessions to his seniors will take fairly long.
He had already cleared three levels when someone sat down beside him.
“You’re not even going to congratulate me, vice-cap?” Tetsurou asked.
“You don’t need my congratulations.”
“You know you could be nice to me every once in a while Kenma.” He said while resting his chin on my shoulder.
“It would only do to your head, we don’t need you to have a bigger ego.” Kenma told his friend and the other only drew himself closer.
“Kuro, if you keep doing that I’ll lose.” He only grumbled and continued his cuddle attack.
“Kuro.” Kenma groaned.
“Come with me outside.” Tetsurou said finally creating some distance between them.
“Why? Isn’t the party gonna start yet?”
“No, we’re still waiting for Fukurodani. Please, Ken.” He said his gaze shifting nervously albeit fondly as he looked into the cat-like eyes of Kozume Kenma.
Able to sense the shift in his best friend, Kenma wordlessly stood up then waited for Tetsurou to do the same. Tetsurou called out that they would be back warranting him a few “Good luck”‘s and knowing smirks. Confused, Kenma looked to Tetsurou for an explanation only to find that he was shifting nervously. Odd. He thought, he was about to ask what it was about when they were stopped by a girl walking up to them blushing and near tripping on her own feet.
“Kuroo-san, congratulations.” she said.
She’s pretty. Kenma thought. With her wavy black hair reaching her waist, her curves, her almond-like eyes, pink lips and make-up perfectly done to complement every asset that she had. He knew where this was going and he didn’t know why Tetsurou had to drag him here to witness this.
“Ah, thank you, Hana-san.” He replied. What a fitting name.
“Uhm, Kuroo-san, it’s our last day here and I keep hearing that you haven’t given you button to anyone yet.” she said. What? Kenma thought surprised.
“Oh, yeah, I’ve yet to be alone with my special person.” Tetsurou said while scratching the back of his head.
“I know this is highly unlikely, but I’d just want to tell you before we part, but...” She bowed at her waist while holding out a letter. “I like you Kuroo-san.”
Oh, did he really take me here to accept a confession in front of me? Was I supposed to be witness of some sort? Kenma thought bitterly. She’s perfect for him, beautiful, caring and smart from what I’ve heard.
“I’m sorry Hana-san, but I’ve already have someone special to me. I really hope you find the one for you.” Tetsurou said smiling sadly. He’s turning her down.
“I know Kuroo-san.” She smiled back. “I’m just letting you know, I’ve been your classmate for three years after all.” She then winked then pushed the letter to his hands.
“I’m not asking for anything but for you to read this, I guess, it’s the thought of every girl that has taken way too much interest in you.” She said walking away.
“I know he feels the same, but...” She paused and looked at Kenma. Kenma staring at her in surprise and confusion for even acknowledging him. “Good luck anyway, be brave Kuroo-san, you’ve had longer than I did to confess.” Tetsurou laughs and nods waving as she turns the corner.
“You haven’t given you button to anyone?” asked Kenma when Tetsurou pulled him to the other side of the building, the side near the fence and far from the people who want to go to the gym. They stop before Tetsurou answers him.
“No, like I said, I haven’t had the chance.”
“Is it someone from Fukurodani?” Kenma asked.
“Uh, also no.” he then started fidgeting. Kenma was confused, the last time Tetsurou was with nervous when it came to him was when they first met.
“Oh.” said Kenma. Good going, Kenma. He though to himself.
“Is that all you’re gonna say?” Tetsurou laughed.
“What do you want me to say?” Kenma countered.
“Let’s leave that at that.” Tetsurou said then wiped his hands on his slacks then puts both his hands inside his pockets.
“Can you be honest with me?” He asked Kenma.
Kenma could only nod, confused and a little anxious. He was scared, he was always so good at reading Tetsurou, what made this any different?
“Please tell me you’ll listen, that you’ll let me finish, that you won’t run away?” Tetsurou near pleaded. Kenma nodded one more time.
“Please say it.” He said. It’s been so long since Kenma has seen him this vulnerable.
“I’ll listen, I’ll let you finish, I won’t run away. But you need to calm down Kuro.” Kenma told him in a soft voice, afraid to scare him further.
Tetsurou breathed out a laugh and straightened his body.
“Kozume Kenma, Kenma, Ken, my best friend, my other half. I’ve been hiding something from you...” He paused.
“I didn’t want to tell you, I didn’t want anything to come in between us. I wanted to be with you for the entirety of our lives. When you met Chibi, all I could think of was your face whenever you played him. How you were positively ecstatic when you looked at him. All I could think of was why couldn’t I have made you feel like that? It’s been so long since I met you but not once have I seen you react like that to me...” Kuroo smiled in the same way that Hana did.
Kenma wanted more than to stop him, to tell him he had always made him feel like that. That he didn’t need volleyball to make Kenma feel happy. That volleyball was trivial when it came to how much Tetsurou made him happy.
“But seeing you grow, it made me so happy Ken. To see you happy without me, to see you excited about something that I didn’t force you into. It made me so happy yet I kept wishing that was me that made you smile, that it was me that made you feel that way...”
You’ve always been, Kuro, Tetsu, it’s always been you.
“I was ready to surrender when you collapsed and said that volleyball was fun. When you thanked me for getting you into volleyball, I was happy yes, but mostly, I felt resigned. I resigned the fact that outside of being the annoying guy next door, I was nothing to you...”
How dare you say that?
“I hid my feelings for you for so long it’s become a second nature to me, but even I couldn’t help but feel hurt when you went after Chibi in the match with Kamomedai. I finally realized then that I had lost and it was Hinata that I lost to...”
You haven’t lost me Tetsu, I’m still here. Tetsurou took his hands out of his pockets and bowed, he held out both hands as it enclosed around something.
“I’m sorry to put all this unnecessary pressure on you Ken, I promised myself that. But please, at least accept this.” He said, his voice cracking by the end of it.
The wind blew and Kenma stood there shell-shocked. Tetsurou remained in his position until Kenma put his hand on top of the other’s.
Tetsurou slowly loosened his grip on whatever it was he was holding. It was a button. The second button of his uniform. The button closest to the heart. Kenma was speechless, Kuroo Tetsurou, his Kuro, his Tetsurou, had saved it for him. Only when he has taken the button did Tetsurou stood straight again.
Looking at him now, Kenma was reminded on how Tetsurou clutched his father’s pants in an attempt to hide from him.
Then Kenma hugged him, he hugged him until Tetsurou hugged back, until the other’s heartbeat returned to normal, until he can feel the other’s tears soaking his uniform, until his Tetsurou whispered a very soft I love you that was almost lost to the wind. Only then did he pull away, only then did he whisper his own I love you back while staring into the other’s eyes.
Tetsurou froze and stared at him, he then fell to his knees taking Kenma with him. He began weeping harder and holding Kenma closer and tighter to him. Finally calming down he spoke up.
“I thought you’d reject me.”
“Why would I? Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to hear you say that?” Kenma said. Tetsurou hugged him tighter.
“I have one more thing to tell you...” he paused then pulled away leaving them kneeling in front of each other.
“I don’t know what I did in my past lives that the gods have warranted me such a reward as our co-existence, but I’ll gladly take it. To think that you reciprocated my feelings is one of the best think that I’ve heard. I want to give you something, to confess with I guess.” Tetsurou takes out a small black velvet box and Kenma feels his heart speed up.
“It’s not a proposal, I swear, I just wanted to give you something, it’s actually for the two of us.” Tetsurou opens the box and there inside were two rings, he takes out the smaller of the two and takes Kenma’s hand. Before the ring was slipped into his finger, he saw something engraved and lined with black on the inside.
“What’s engraved on it?” he asked.
“相棒 (aibou), to remind you that before I loved you, you were my friend, my partner, the one that helped me out of my shell.” Tetsurou told him as he slipped the ring on his ring finger.
“Tetsu.” said Kenma. Tetsurou was moving to put the ring on his own finger when he took it from him. He took the other’s left and and slipped the ring into the other’s finger. before letting go, Kenma pressed a kiss to the ring then the knuckle of his ring finger.
Kenma looks up to Tetsurou’s face only to find him staring at him in shock with a blush tinting his cheeks. Tetsurou held the other’s face in his hands and leaned in to touch their foreheads together.
“Can I kiss you?” Tetsurou whispered. Kenma nodded in reply.
They eased into the kiss, it wasn’t fluffy, it wasn’t heavy, it didn’t cause sparks to fly. For them, it felt familiar, it wasn’t puppy love, it wasn’t searching for the one, it didn’t feel like a teenage dream. It was real, it was them.
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owlsshadows · 7 years
Text
Sculpted Memories (Akaashi x Kuroo)
There’s nothing Kuroo Tetsurou has in common with art galleries. He’s not a huge fan of modern art – or rather, he has absolutely no idea how to interpret it. Still, he stands in front of a gallery exhibiting exclusively contemporary pieces.
It is the debut of Akaashi Keiji, the sculptor, after all.
10 years after canon timeline, an adult Kuroo Tetsurou decides to face his teenage crush.
Fandom: Haikyuu!!
Pairing: Akaashi Keiji x Kuroo Tetsurou
Audience: T+
Huge thanks for @brokuro and @skiecas for their help with proofreading!
Keep reading, or find the story on AO3!
PHANTOM PAIN
There’s nothing Kuroo Tetsurou has in common with art galleries. He’s not a huge fan of modern art – or rather, he has absolutely no idea how to interpret it. Still, he stands in front of a gallery exhibiting exclusively contemporary pieces.
Going to an exhibition is not really Kuroo’s cup of tea. It was originally Kenma’s idea to come, yet he bailed out on Kuroo last minute. He has always been a master of not going anywhere. This time, he said it was diarrhoea; Kuroo guesses it was the release of a new game. Not that he minds… he could never really get angry at Kenma for skipping out on social activities (apart from that one time Kenma stood him up and left him alone when they had promised to have a double tennis match against Bokuto and Akaashi, because Bokuto was not convinced that it’s a bad idea to play 2-on-1, and that one game nearly killed Kuroo). He simply feels awkward, standing here alone, in a place he knows he doesn’t belong. It would be good to have Kenma with him, to have some of his silent reassurance, or his deadpan comments which can miraculously ease Kuroo’s nerves. But Kenma is at home, curing his non-existent diarrhoea with a video game console.
Kuroo Tetsurou is envious of the kindergartener who walks past hand-in-hand with his mother in front of him on the pedestrian walk. This is the difference between a child and an adult: the latter is the same as the former, only more panicked without the familiar hand to hold on to.
Kuroo swallows hard, gathering his courage to enter the gallery. Since he has already arrived, he decides to enter. It is the debut of Akaashi Keiji, the sculptor, after all.
He didn’t hear about Akaashi for at least three years.
During university they still had their regular get-togethers, with Bokuto being the glue holding their friendly cycle together, but since the ex-ace’s shotgun wedding, their casual gatherings became rarer and rarer, and finally they died off around the time Kuroo won a scholarship abroad.
It’s been two years since he has been back in town now, but apart from Kenma, he doesn’t really meet with anyone on a regular basis. The Nekoma kids scattered: Yaku moved to the countryside, Lev has been playing in Russia, Fukunaga applied to a university in Sapporo, Taketora moved to Sendai to run a restaurant with the Tanaka siblings of Karasuno, and Kai was off at sea on some fishing boat to observe marine life.
It is not so much different with Bokuto either.
Naturally, they have been in contact, going out for drinks every second month or so, catching up on life. They still favour the same brand of beer, have the same sense of terrible humour, and have a common affection for volleyball. Yet, there is an untraceable, slight shift, caused by time and the wind of events, slowly drifting them apart.
Bokuto by now is a father of three, his proudly announced “second son” turning out to be twin daughters. He has stories of kids going wild, complaints about the Shirofuku in-laws, and the price of diapers.
Kuroo holds a degree in international business, and has a well-paying job and a nice apartment in Ikebukuro. Occasionally he talks about his job and sometimes about his black cat, whom he has rebelliously named Shiro.
In high school, they had a lot in common. Nowadays Kuroo has the feeling that he has less and less to talk about with his friends, and that life is going at a much faster pace than he is, with all his friends running past him.
Even Kenma, the forever gamer, extreme-shut-in Kenma plans to marry the fiery mandarin of Karasuno.
Here he stands, drifted away from his friends, like a sailing boat that has lost its anchor – floating further and further from reality, he feels – standing all alone in front of an art gallery, hesitating to enter.
It is the now he is lost in.
He has been standing here for what feels like ages since the taxi dropped him off. He wavers, even though he had made up his mind before. Walking in the lion’s den all on his own seems more and more dangerous with every passing second.
The door opens just as Kuroo is about to change his mind and turn on his heels to run. Through the door comes a man, sharp and spry and so breathtakingly beautiful that Kuroo freezes in motion.
The man doesn’t notice him, turning away from the door to light a cigarette. In the orange light of the gas lighter, Kuroo can see dark shadows cast over deep set eyes and hooded lids. Akaashi seems tired, but ever so stunning.
He blows out the smoke. His forever lazy looking eyes glance up the sky.
Kuroo has nothing in common with art in general, but in this moment he thinks of Akaashi Keiji as a masterpiece.
Memories flick through his mind, and the sudden feeling of guilt drives him into the building.
The first room he walks into makes him want to turn back instantly.
In the center of the hall, lit with a myriad of lights, stands a sculpture of an amorphous torso with no head or arms but at least twelve legs casting shadows to the walls.
Fear strangles Kuroo, gluing his eyes on the abomination. It looks like a centipede – and God knows Kuroo is bad with those – or a huge spider with human legs, and Kuroo knows it will haunt him in his dreams. Still, he finds the sculpture intriguing. There’s something in it – behind the layers of gross and grotesque – that he can resonate with.
He cautiously walks closer, ready to flee the moment the sculpture does something usual matter is not supposed to do.
“Pursuit,” he reads the tag under the abomination.
His insides churn with whatever unidentified feeling this is, which connects him to this huge mess of legs.
Kuroo stares, now up close, at the toes and ankles and knees and the curves of muscles and the thin lines of popliteal tendons, and he wonders how many models Akaashi had used to shape all these forms with such detail.
Kuroo feels drawn even closer, face bare centimeters away from a toe. It looks almost alive. It’s almost like a wicked living-breathing thing. A sudden urge awakens in him to lick it, but he suppresses his dirty impulse for the much more innocent poking of a finger, still an act unfavourable towards pieces of art.
The sculpture is not cold to the touch, not warm either. It’s smooth, even too smooth. It feels artificial.
Kuroo lets go of the toe, hurriedly glimpsing around, but no one has noticed him touching. He releases a deep breath – he didn’t notice he was keeping it in – and steps back from the sculpture.
The title troubles him.
Pursuit… of what?
So many legs.
Kuroo walks through the second room, with smaller sculptures, all pure white under red lights, all with the motif of legs.
There is a sculpture of a horse, which has human legs.
There is one of a tree with legs clutching around its trunk.
There is another with footsteps half washed away.
There is an installation by the wall; nothing much but a door swung open by a leg on the doorknob.
As he walks from sculpture to sculpture, the suspicion that Akaashi Keiji has a leg fetish is growing stronger and stronger in Kuroo.
The third room is small. The walls are covered in black drapery, the floor is carpeted likewise. On a well-lit pedestal stands a pure white sculpture in this darkness. It doesn’t take long for Kuroo to make the assumption that he has arrived to the most important piece of the exhibition, no matter how little interest or knowledge he has in art or galleries.
Kuroo has a feeling he is peeking in on someone’s secret as he steps closer, examining the sculpture. This one is much smaller, almost tiny compared to the abomination showcased in the first hall, yet it feels bigger, with all the darkness and the placement on the pedestal.
A kneeling male figure – the first entirely humanlike creature Kuroo has seen at this exhibition – is holding a lifted leg to his lips. The leg ends in large frills mid-thigh high, forming almost a flower in full blossom. The scene reminds Kuroo of Cinderella and the prince who puts the glass slipper on her foot, with the exception that the leg in the sculpture is undeniably that of a man’s, and instead of an odd shoe, a kiss is planted on the foot.
It looks romantic. A bitter feeling sinks into the pit of Kuroo’s stomach. This here is different from the fantasy nightmare in the other rooms. It’s very much a memory. A secret shared by no one else, but him and Akaashi.
They’d had a moment together; a split second they silently agreed to not talk about.
It happened during the summer camp of Kuroo’s last year in high school, when they had 3-on-3 matches with Bokuto, Lev, and the Karasuno first years.
“You’re bleeding, Kuroo-san,” Akaashi pointed out mid-game.
“True! There’s blood!” squeaked Hinata, and Tsukishima joined in with a murmured, “This is what you get, when you dive in so carelessly to reach the ball.”
As Kuroo looked down, he noticed the scrape on his knee. “Oh, this is nothing big,” he said absent-mindedly, “and you should be thankful I saved that point for us, Tsukishima, rather than grumbling to yourself.”
“You can’t play like this,” argued Akaashi. “Let’s clean it at least.”
“Let’s take a break?” Tsukishima offered.
“Yeah, five minute break!” Lev announced.
“Want me to teach you something fun?” Bokuto asked Hinata, and the two stormed off in an instant, shouting wildly at the other end of the gym.
Akaashi murmured something before turning to Kuroo. “Come,” he ushered Kuroo to the bench, rummaging through his bag.
“What are you looking for?” Kuroo asked, smearing blood off of his shin.
“Water and disinfectant. Don’t touch your leg with your dirty hands, please.”
Kuroo halted his movements and let Akaashi handle things. The boy looked quite adorable, dead serious and deeply in focus, as he started his ministrations on Kuroo’s knee. He has squatted down and rinsed out the scratch, washing away the dirt from the scraped skin, and then blotting the water softly with a tissue. He put disinfectant on the wound skillfully, then his hand slid down Kuroo’s leg to stop by his ankle. He held Kuroo’s foot up, examining it with squinted eyes.
“Your ankle seems fine,” he said.
Kuroo instinctively rolled his foot around. “Yeah, everything’s fine,” he replied, voice hitching as Akaashi’s hands touched his foot.
“Thank God,” the boy murmured, lips so close that Kuroo could feel his breath between his toes.
It was a brand new feeling, strange yet impulsive, which ran over him like lightning or a summer storm, and Kuroo wanted to squat down to reach Akaashi to touch him and to hold him in his arms.
It was a frightening thought.
As if on cue, Akaashi looked up and their gazes met.
Kuroo knew that if not for the others in the gym, Akaashi might have  kissed his  foot already. The thought intrigued him. It caught him off guard. He wished, he realised, for it to happen. This realisation was alarming.
He yearned to lean down and kiss the boy himself.
As if they had popped out of time, Kuroo felt as if their surroundings all slowed down and blurred, the noises of the others  fading. He felt Akaashi’s fingers on his sole slightly tremble, but he didn’t break off eye contact.
It was desire. It was some weird flame engulfing them, burning them to ashes and leaving them for the wind to blow them away. It was a sudden physical aspect attaching itself to their well-established bond of mutual respect and friendly bickering. It gave a whole new dimension to their story, an element unknown to Kuroo before.
He had never considered this as a possibility.
His face flushed red, flustered.
He freed his leg from Akaashi’s touch, pulling his socks and shoes back on in the speed of light.
“It’s not good for your face to be so close to my feet, I sweat a lot and you may faint from the smell,” he jabbered, looking away.
“I see,” Akaashi said. Kuroo glanced back, and as their eyes met, a silent agreement formed between them.
They would never talk about this.
Then, Kuroo was seventeen, and he was afraid.
Now he is twenty-seven, and he searches for the title of the sculpture fervently like a stranded man looks for water in the desert.
“Phantom pain”, he reads.
It’s a medical condition he has heard of; it’s when the sensation of pain is coming from a body part that's no longer there, experienced by people after amputations.
“It’s quite roundabout,” he murmurs.
“You think so?” asks the man standing beside him. “Thank you for dropping by, by the way.”
Kuroo gets a small heart attack when he realises that he is not alone, but Akaashi’s smirk is not something he is willing to give in to. At least, not so soon.
“That leg has never been part of your body, to start off with,” he says.
Akaashi lets out a small chuckle.
“True,” he admits. “It still hurt, when we got separated.”
“Don’t you have a bit of a leg fetish, dear Akaashi?” Kuroo turns to the man.
Akaashi’s lazy eyes wander off, as if contemplating the answer.
“People tend to say so, but I have no idea why.”
“Are you sure?” Kuroo gestures around.
“I have no interest in legs in general, but I have a pair of legs I am particularly fond of. I’ve been searching for a replacement for them, but I failed to find anything so perfect.”
“So that’s what the Pursuit is about,” Kuroo whispers, almost mockingly.
“That’s a feverish nightmare.”
“But so many legs…” Kuroo teases.
“People can get eager,” Akaashi agrees.
“I hope you know that people’s legs change in ten years.”
“If I were you I would be careful with my words, Kuroo-san. People might take them as an invitation.”
Then, Kuroo was seventeen, and he didn’t dare to cross the line. Now Kuroo is twenty-seven, and he realises that there has never been a line to begin with.
He looks at Akaashi.
“You should take it as an invitation,” he says.
A/N: written as a Christmas (and birthday) present for @immodea!
Let’s say I am fashionably late...
Thank you for reading!^^
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waveswordswhispers · 7 years
Text
Next Time
Title: Next Time Author/Authors: @waveswordswhispers Day/Prompt: Day Two - Reminiscent and New Life Rating: T Warnings: Major Character Death, Minor Character Death, Slight Violence, Blood Side Pairings: Kuroken Summary:
As the words, "Next time," fall from red painted lips, Bokuto lets out a sob.
Links: Ao3 Wattpad
@bokuakaweek
Birth.
Life.
Death.
Repeat.
Bokuto has never been a fan of this cycle mortals face.
Don't fall in love with mortals.
A rule Bokuto has never really cared for.
A soul is destined to suffer once the mortal and a god fall in love.
A rule that Bokuto knows is painfully true thanks to things he's seen.
For a god to get involved in a war is not against any rules, it's just rare.
Bokuto usually pays rapt attention to these scuffles, why humans would sacrifice millions over small squabbles is beyond him, but he never involves himself directly.
Until Kuroo decides to join, out of interest and boredom.
Bokuto doesn't particularly like fighting, he's been told he's actually quite good at it, but the blood, violence, and death that war brings isn't something that appeals to him.
He follows Kuroo, partly because he wants to watch Kuroo's back even if gods can't die, partly because he wants to see why humans fight and how.
He's just planned to mostly observe.
Nothing else.
Things never go according to plan.
A rule Bokuto should start to accept.
Bokuto can count the amount of times a mortal has caught his attention on his finger and toes.
He can count the amount of times they've kept it on one hand.
He needs to add the last finger to his first hand.
The human's name is Akaashi Keji.
He's in Bokuto's unit, a mess of slightly curled black hair, steel blue eyes.
He's fierce, cunning, not a mindless follower of orders.
Perhaps that's why he still lives.
He's also not one to bite his tongue, he speaks his mind without hesitation.
He berates Bokuto for charging into an attack that could've killed a normal human despite the fact that Bokuto is a higher rank than he is.
Bokuto's intrigued.
When he tells Kuroo, Kuroo laughs at him before sobering up.
"You shouldn't." Kuroo's eyes are fixed elsewhere and Bokuto follows his gaze to land on another male, dark hair with light, gold colour eyes that remind Bokuto of a cat. He wears a medic uniform.
"I know." Bokuto looks away, his eyes drifting over the scarlet ground, smoke stained sky. "I don't plan to."
Kuroo's laugh is more somber this time, picking up his sword when the medic calls his name with a hint of annoyance.
"Just be careful, Bo."
Things never go according to plan.
The rule that Bokuto tries to forget.
Bokuto attempts to keep his distance, to not let his curiosity get the best of him but he can't help himself.
He finds himself talking to Akaashi whenever he can, doing sentry duty together, sitting next to him when they eat, listening to Akaashi reveal little snippets of his life.
When he fights along Akaashi, it feels exhilarating.
Yanking Akaashi out of potential death situations, running alongside him as they charge into battle, fighting back to back in the hell they call war, Bokuto keeps telling himself, you're not in love, you're not in love.
He's not, or at least he thinks he's not until one night, he's talking with Akaashi while they sit next to a campfire and when he stumbles over his words excitedly, Akaashi smiles softly, not his usual smirk or mocking half grin and then Bokuto realizes, he is.
"I'm not even sure if he loves me," Bokuto babbles as he panics. "I mean, we only met half a year ago, love doesn't happen that fast."
It doesn't.
Does it?
Kuroo shoots him a sideways glance, unreadable as he polishes his sword.
"Love's mysterious," he finally says cryptically. "What's his name?"
Bokuto sighs heavily.
"Akaashi Keiji."
"Oh." Something in Kuroo's voice makes Bokuto stop in his tracks.
"What is it?" Kuroo shakes his head, glancing around, sheathing his sword, troubled smile playing over his lips.
"Nothing."
Bokuto wants to argue, maybe even pry it out of Kuroo but an explosion signals that they're being attacked and he has to leave.
Everyone makes mistakes, even gods.
Bokuto despises that rule.
One moment of not paying attention is all it takes.
One moment, Bokuto's practically flying through the battle, the next, his foot catching on a corpse.
He stumbles and while he's reorienting himself, a sword glints in the corner of his peripheral vision.
He's prepared to take the blow, it might even hurt a bit but he doesn't anticipate the ring of metal when Akaashi skillfully blocks the attack with his own sword.
After dispatching the attacker, he turns and stares at Bokuto sternly.
"You should be more careful."
"Akaaaaashi!" Bokuto exclaims. "I would have been fine!"
Akaashi raises an eyebrow.
"Of course." His voice isn't mocking, it's slightly fond and Bokuto grins widely at him, looking away for a moment.
"HEY!" Bokuto's head snaps up when Kuroo's voice echoes through the air, panicked.
A soft whoosh and the harsh thunk! of an arrow sinking to flesh reaches Bokuto's ears.
He stares at Akaashi who looks back, eyes glazing over in pain, the arrow piercing his chest.
Akaashi collapses, Bokuto barely managing to catch him, lowering him onto the ground gently.
Bokuto can't pull the arrow out, he can't, it'll just make things worse and he can only watch as Akaashi's breathes become slower.
Kuroo's leaping over the fallen bodies, the medic right behind him but Akaashi's eyes are fluttering shut, trying to draw in breath, his chest rising and falling weakly.
A god can't use their powers to directly interfere with a mortal's fate.
That rule has never particularly affected Bokuto until now.
"Akaashi," Bokuto huffs out, grasping the hand that Akaashi slips into his. "A medic's coming."
Akaashi shakes his head slowly, steel blue eyes dull.
He wheezes softly, scarlet splattering over his armour.
"Keiji."
"Next time?" Akaashi murmurs, his voice barely audible. Bokuto can't bring himself to answer, throat stuck until Akaashi offers him an apologetic smile, eyes sliding shut.
Just as Kuroo reaches them, Bokuto manages to force out a, "Yeah," just as Akaashi's breathing stops. "Next time," Bokuto whispers mournfully.
"Are you Bokuto?" A small voice rips Bokuto out of his trance, golden, cat like eyes staring at him.
"Yeah."
"Akaashi often talked about you."
"Oh." Bokuto curls up again, a painful twinge in his heart.
"I'm Kenma. Kenma Kozume."
Oh.
"Kuroo's hu-friend." Kenma tilts his head, eyes swirling with grief.
"I'm not sure if Akaashi ever told you," he says quietly, the cold making puffs of air visible as he spoke. "But he cared for you. Deeply."
Bokuto doesn't reply and Kenma looks over his shoulder at the cross that marks Akaashi's grave.
"I just think Akaashi would have wanted you to know that."
Bokuto stays silent and Kenma takes it as his cue to leave.
Three months later, Kenma's killed in the crossfire and Kuroo exits the war.
Bokuto stays behind.
There's really no set rule for a soul's reincarnation, it's sporadic at best.
Bokuto meets Akaashi's reincarnation three more times.
After the third one dies another early, unfortunate death, he vows to leave Akaashi alone so perhaps, Akaashi will live a full life next time.
Bokuto becomes a teenage boy and enrols into a high school, taking his mind off it by trying out a new sport.
"I'm Akaashi Keiji."
Fate is being cruel.
Bokuto shakes Akaashi's hand, grinning widely, offering his signature, "Hey, hey, hey!" while biting back an, I know.
"What position?" Konoha asks and as Akaashi answers him, Bokuto steals a quick look at Akaashi.
Nothing's changed about him.
Akaashi makes it onto the team and becomes a setter, his setter.
As time passes, Bokuto allows himself to be lulled into a false sense of security because this time, there's no war or conflicts that could possibly endanger Akaashi.
"You're forgetting."
Kuroo's gaze is burning holes into him and Bokuto can hop onto one foot then the other nervously.
"Tetsu," he sighs. "It's peacetime."
Kuroo lets out a pained laugh, his posture sagging in defeat.
"It was peacetime for Kenma as well last time. It didn't end well." Bokuto remembers.
Accidental drowning even though by accounts, Kenma had been a strong swimmer back then.
"You're still with him," Bokuto points out and Kuroo narrows his eyes.
"That's different. I know what will happen. I'm prepared for it. Are you?" The question hits Bokuto harder than he expects and he thinks, mind whirling.
'No' is on the tip of Bokuto's tongue but he swallows it.
"Careful, Bo." He's heard that warning thousands of times.
"I know."
He knows but what difference does it make?
Akaashi introduces Bokuto to his younger cousin who joyfully greets Bokuto and chattering excitedly.
Bokuto's enamoured.
Just as their walking down the street, the volleyball Akaashi's younger cousin is playing with tumbles out of their hands, rolling into the path of an incoming car.
Before Akaashi and Bokuto can yell at them to come back, Akaashi's cousin is darting across the road after it, Akaashi close behind.
A screech of tires.
A cry of pain.
The slow bounce of a volleyball.
The horrified wailing.
Bokuto sinks to his knees next to Akaashi, squeezes his eyes shut urging himself to not cry.
The life drains out of Akaashi once more.
As the words, "Next time," fall from red painted lips, Bokuto lets out a sob.
Steel blue eyes gaze sightlessly up at the sky.
Bokuto hasn't ever added a finger to his second hand.
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nyxysabyss · 7 years
Text
LEVEL HORIZON; YEAR FIVE.24 1/3; Resolve & Potential
Chapter 34!
It is in my nature to be kind, gentle, and loving, but know this: when it comes to matters of protecting my friends, my family, and my heart, do not trifle with me, for I am also the most powerful and relentless creature you will ever know. ~Anonymous
~Five Months Later, High Summer~
Tobio Kageyama lands lightly in the middle of the main road running through a small town, his leveler dropping beside him a little less gracefully. Lev appears out of nowhere with a grin, Yaku at his elbow.
“That was the longest flight so far.” The tall cat says, his green eyes bright as they are joined by the owls, Noya, Asahi, Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima. This is the first trip they’ve taken away from home since last fall… since Hinata’s wings ruptured into existence. Everyone had been going a little stir crazy over winter and spring, and it is probably well overdue now that they’ve hit summer and they’d had yet to take one.
The jaunt hadn’t been entirely welcomed by everyone; Yachi had worried constantly the last couple days, and had extracted any number of promises from all of them that if Hinata was getting tired, that they’d stop. She’d insisted that he not be allowed to push himself too hard, and that they rest if he was having a hard time. Kuroo had forced them to plot out a course this time and then secured a commitment to send ravens every other day to let everyone back home know they were still okay, much to the cynical annoyance of Tsukishima. Daichi had told them not to do anything stupid, and Suga had sent along a few extra coins in case they hit a bind somewhere. The only one who’d seemed at ease with letting them go was Kenma. The golden cat had smiled happily with a small wave as they’d taken off right after Tanaka had told them they’d all better come back in one piece.
Natsu, on the other hand, hadn’t been happy about being left behind at all. And since Natsu wouldn’t be allowed, the bald crow had remained behind as well; when the girl would wake in the dark with panic because she was positive the snakes were coming for her, he was the only one who could reach her.
“I go, too.” Tanaka had shaken his head at her even though he’d been put out about being stuck back home, too.
“You wouldn’t be able to keep up, Munchkin. I told you this would happen if you didn’t do those conditioning drills. Besides, you have lessons with Taji and his sister. You prove you can stay airborne for three hours, and pass your tests, and maybe you can go next time.”
Yeah, that had gone over well. The girl had settled into a perpetual sulk before they’d left. Coercing Natsu had been necessary, though. She could fly now, but she’d opt to walk over taking to the sky if given the choice, so she lagged heavily in her flight skills.
And it had been disappointing to discover that she could neither read nor write. She’d never been given any type of schooling during her time with the snakes, so they’d promptly set her up to learn not only written skill, but also a verbal regimen alongside Suga’s young cousins. They had no problem with she and Hinata conversing in their ‘island babble’, but for Natsu to be able to succeed in the world around them, she would have to be able to read, write and speak the crow lexicon like her brother. Hinata draws in a large breath and looks up at the grey cat with a grin.
“You guys are good rabbits! We almost lost you twice!” Hinata says with a laugh. Kageyama smiles slightly.
The trip isn’t just to restore Shouyou’s sanity and craving for adventure and human interaction. It’s also to build his strength and condition his wings, to actually field test them and put them under stress. It is to push them without breaking them, to increase his stamina and control, to restore the redhead to his pre-grounded state.
‘Catch the rabbit’ was one of their drills that they’d been doing as they moved from town to town. A modified game of tag or hide and seek, the cats would zip along in an unpredictable and often chaotic pattern across the forest floors, the airborne group working to keep tabs on them. It was actually eye opening to see what they were truly capable of physically. They could really stretch out, their movements fluid and sleek, until Kageyama and the others would be pushing their upper limits on speed. They could stop and turn on a dime, something that really forced any of them with wings to use every muscle and skill to keep up with their switchbacks and banks. When the cover grew thick, they’d slow and test the avians’ eyes and see if they could keep track of them in the heavy undergrowth.
And, skies, could they leap. Just the other day, they’d been pushing along at a clip and Kageyama had seen Lev clear a fifty-foot river in a single bound with ease. It had immediately dispelled his misconception that the river had stopped Kuroo when he and Shouyou had been headed back to the rookery after Hinata’s grounding; he’d never underestimate their abilities in that department again.
“You look a little pale, Hinata. You pushed too hard, didn’t you?” Yaku asks with a frown. Hinata beams at him, the smile a little too tight.
“Not at all! I could go all day!”
“Uh, huh,” the small cat says skeptically before turning to Kageyama, “We should probably stop for today.”
“We don’t have to!” Hinata says hurriedly, but Kageyama is already nodding.
“Take Noya or Bokuto or someone and go find some lunch.” He says and the redhead stops dead and turns to him questioningly.
“Where are you going?” The avian heir turns a bland look on him.
“Find some gingko leaves.” He says flatly, and Shouyou’s face scrunches into a scowl.
“They don’t hurt that bad, Kageyama. Really.” An eyebrow creeps up Kageyama’s forehead.
The crow setter raises one hand and drives an index finger into the muscle on his shoulder. Hinata almost drops to get away from it and Kageyama gives him a pointed look. His face puffs into a sullen pout and the avian heir suffocates his amusement.
“I’ll join you. I intend to get some basil, because you guys are all weird and can eat tasteless food twenty-four-seven.” Yaku says.
“That’s because you ate salt for decades at sea. You don’t have any taste buds left.” Noya says with a grin and Lev turns to the small cat.
“Is that why you’re so short?” He asks. Hinata snorts right alongside Noya and Bokuto, and even Kageyama can’t keep the smirk off his face. He’s quite sure the lanky cat will never learn.
“You aren’t getting laid for a week, Haiba.” The short cat deadpans, and Noya bursts out laughing.
Kageyama’s smile threatens to split his face as his leveler and the streaked owl quickly follow suit. Yamaguchi can’t keep his own down and even Akaashi’s mouth quirks. The only ones apparently not amused are the large bearded crow who just looks scandalized and Tsukishima who watches them with a very ‘I have never met any of you, don’t ever speak to me’ look. Still, Kageyama can feel his ears burn just a bit; he still colors at vulgar comments from his companions, but he’s gotten far more used to them— unlike Noya’s leveler.
“Yaku!” Asahi protests and Bokuto waves him off.
“What’s the matter? Natsu’s not around right now so he doesn’t need to mind his mouth. It can run all he likes; when they start gettin’ friendly is when it’ll be a problem. Let’s find some food before Yaku goes back on that threat in broad daylight, Hinata.” The streaked owl says throwing his arm over Shouyou’s shoulder.
“Akaashi, control your idiot before I drop kick him.” Yaku growls.
“That would be a wasted effort. The first and last time I tried that, I told him to get lost— you can see how well that went.” The smaller owl says with a quiet smile before drifting toward Kageyama. “Bo, I’m going to head over with these guys. They find a shop that carries gingko, they probably have a decent tea, too.”
“Maybe I could look for kukicha!” Yamaguchi says hopefully.
“Then I guess it’s up to us to get the food. Anyone not with us doesn’t get to complain about what we bring back.” Noya says, waving at them as he turns with Shouyou and Bokuto to head down the street, Asahi trailing after them like a child’s kite.
Kageyama feels that small pull in his gut that he always gets whenever he’s left watching Hinata walk away from him. He intrinsically knows his leveler will always come back to him, but it doesn’t make it any easier to let him wander around without him; he mentally thanks the streaked owl and large crow for accompanying the two short avians, because they are each imposing enough to be a large deterrent to anyone who might want to mess with them.
That small smile stays fixed at the corner of his mouth as he watches them start away, his leveler already arguing animatedly with Noya and Bokuto about what they should have for dinner. He’s enthusiastically invested enough in their meal prospects that his face lights up and his wings twitch with anticipation. Kageyama knows that whenever Hinata is around, he’s as easily distracted as the smaller boy himself… and right now, he should be looking for a place that sells ginkgo, but his gaze lingers on his leveler a few more moments.
Hinata without wings would never have been normal, but Kageyama has yet to get entirely used to them being back; it is still incredible to him that Shouyou is flying once again. Hinata’s perfect, white ticked black wings have gained over another foot in spread since that day he’d taken his first clumsy flight again in almost five years. They continue to stretch, and Kageyama knows it’s painful even if he never says a word.
Kageyama estimates that he probably has maybe another foot yet to go before they are back to the size they were before he’d lost them, and he still glows every chance the stupid bond gets. They have to be careful anytime they aren’t at the beach house, and they still can’t find sleep together. It has been particularly frustrating on this trip, and nearly everyone has had to remind them about it when one of them would subconsciously gravitate toward the other.
But… Kageyama would go through it all a hundred times over again just to see Hinata smile so freely like he is now. It’s an expression they’ve rarely seen in the last two years, and one that has slowly been making a comeback. Kageyama can see the way the others brighten in subconscious response, especially the streaked owl.
Kageyama knows Bokuto has been fixated on Hinata, trying with all his might to bring back that obliviously sunny insanity that had perpetually fueled the redhead when they’d first met the owls. He knows that’s the reason the streaked owl had been one of the first to step up to help him train in his new wings. He knows the larger man has acutely felt the difference in Shouyou since their run in with the snake nest… because Shouyou is different.
But Bokuto is wrong about two things.
Bokuto thinks that he’s mellowed because he’d had to take a life… but that’s not right. Kageyama had actually asked him about it once because it had bothered him, too, and Hinata had looked at him with surprise.
“That’s not it at all, moron.” He’d said frankly and Kageyama had frowned with confusion.
“But the nightmares since then—”
“They always end when you or Suga or Natsu or somebody dies. Kageyama… killing someone wasn’t the nightmare, it was being unable to save someone.”
“Then—”
“It’s because we went after my sister in the first place. I barely remember her from before I came to the rookery. When we ran into her, I had no idea what she’d been through, hadn’t even realized she’d survived. I do wish I never had to take lives, and I hate that I’m the reason that someone will never come home. But I don’t regret it because Natsu wouldn’t have been safe otherwise.
“What frightens me is that I readily placed all of our lives on the line for someone I didn’t even know. She could have been a plant and it wouldn’t have mattered because I’d have still tried to get her out. And that choice... we could have all died and we did nearly lose Sugawara and Sawamura. Two people to save one isn’t an even exchange. And I know it’s two for two in retrospect, but at the time, none of us knew she and Tanaka were levelers. It was an impossible call, because she’s my sister no matter how much a stranger she might have been, and I know things all turned out fine, but Suga and Daichi… Kageyama, I gambled their lives— all of ours really— to try and save someone I couldn’t have told you the first thing about.
“And it’s scary because if we had lost them… I’m not sure I’d have ever been able to look at Natsu the same, knowing that she lived free by their sacrifice. I’m scared to death that I’d have held that against her, because you and everyone from Karasuno, the cats and owls and girls, and even Tsukki and Yamaguchi— they’re family, and I love them all. I’m not willing to trade any of their lives for anything, and yet… I nearly did. And I did it with ease, no hesitation. I never thought I’d be someone who could do something like that.”
Kageyama had been quietly stunned that Hinata didn’t agonize over having killed snakes, but rather the illusion that he’d made the choice to endanger the others for the chance to save Natsu. Hinata was wrong about that notion, because they’d all made the choice to go after his sister, not just him, but it had tormented him all the same. And Bokuto never failed to pick up on that.
But he’s been trying to restore the redhead’s buoyancy in the wake of that emotional turmoil all along when it’s never really been gone. Hinata is still Hinata, and that brilliant shining happiness that he’d always radiated… it’s still there— it’s just tempered by a brush with harsh reality now. It might not be as obnoxious as it was before, but it’s far from gone.
He still gets ridiculously excited about the littlest things and he’ll still exclaim over Yachi and Shimizu’s meals. He still loses his mind when he gets one of their freaky fast hits off in Volley. He still avidly participates in pranks with Noya and Tanaka, and he still smirks right next to them through the rebukes from Daichi or Kuroo.
The difference is that Shouyou doesn’t miss much at all anymore; it’s not just Kageyama— he’s far more attuned to those around him than he ever was growing up, and it’s made him a little more quiet. But that brilliance that has always been his trademark is still there, and Kageyama can see it even now.
“You look like a lovesick idiot.”
Kageyama blinks and turns a nonplussed look on the ibis as Yamaguchi stifles a chuckle, but he has no comeback. The blond has always been quicker on the uptake, his barbs always sharp and on point. Kageyama has never been able to rattle off insults as well or fast, but for once, it isn’t his leveler rising in his defense.
“Better lovesick than love starved.” Yaku mutters pointedly and a smirk tips the avian heir’s mouth as Tsukishima rolls his eyes. The cat doesn’t even give the ibis a chance to respond and ignores Yamaguchi’s indignant squawk before he’s wandering off in search of a place that will carry his basil, and Kageyama drifts after him without conscious effort.
“Speaking about a lovesick moron, you missed it Yaku. You should have been awake after we found you and Lev after the wave. He wouldn’t let you go even to let Suga put his entrails back inside him.” Akaashi says with a smile and Kageyama huffs through his nose, because the lanky cat hadn’t released the russet one beside him for close to two days.
“No one ever said he was intelligent.” Yaku remarks flatly.
“That was mean Mori. You told me just the other day I was a genius—”
“Shut up, Lev.” The small cat snaps, taking a page from the blond he’s just shut down.
Akaashi laughs easily and Lev’s own mouth pulls into a covert smile. Kageyama has the distinct impression that the lanky cat knows exactly what he’s doing every time he opens his mouth, and that Akaashi is far too comfortable with this conversation, because his own face is already burning.
“Mori, what about—”
“I will end you, you mangy mongrel feline.”
They follow the russet cat inside a small shop, Lev still pushing his buttons and Yaku slowly developing the twitch over his eyebrow that signals a swift kick isn’t long in coming. Which will soon be followed by a suspicious absence. Kageyama wonders if he should have stuck with his leveler instead of Yaku and his exhibitionist other half.
He has zero desire to ever be privy to their activities again, he’s already had one front row seat, thanks. Seriously, he can totally sympathize with the expressionless look of distaste on Tsukishima’s face… and isn’t that bizarre. He and the ibis agreeing on something is like spotting a unicorn— it doesn’t happen. Resigning himself to the coming mortification, he heads for the counter where an older man he assumes is the store’s proprietor stands.
“Do you have ginkgo leaves? Also, opium lettuce?” He asks and the shopkeeper glances at him curiously.
“We carry both, but I wouldn’t recommend them used together. They can have… unintended effects.” He says.
“That’s fine.”
“Are you looking to trip your shrimp out or something? You’re far more depraved than I thought.” Tsukishima says from behind him and Kageyama’s face drops into a glare.
“They aren’t both for him, you degenerate. He isn’t the only one who’s frequently fielding pain. Natsu hates the taste of ginkgo, but she took to the opium lettuce much better.” He says, tossing an annoyed glance back at him.
“Oh, that’s right!” Yamaguchi says with a smile. “She was more willing to do flight drills when she got a good night’s sleep and wasn’t in as much pain.”
Natsu might have had wings the entire time where Shouyou had lost them, but she’d never used them. At least Hinata’s back muscles had had the muscle memory yet; she was starting from scratch and probably frequently in as much pain as his leveler. But where Shouyou would never complain as their rigid military upbringing had demanded, it was easy to tell when Natsu was hurting because she’d get cranky and Tanaka would in turn get surly.
“It’s tougher to come by around Sheru Bay, so I’m going to bring some back now.” He says as the door opens behind him.
“Will that be all then, Sir?” The shopkeeper asks.
“For me. The others might need time yet.” He answers.
“Tobio?”
Kageyama mentally stumbles, his mind half-shutting down on him.
Tobio?
He blinks slowly, wondering if he’s just hearing things, because he hasn’t heard that voice in over five years. His cobalt eyes find the russet cat five steps away by the dried herbs, his brow pulling down into a frown.
There’s no way he actually heard that. He’s going to have to start taking some valerian like they give Natsu for sleep at night if he keeps hallucinating crap like this.
But the small feline is watching him sharply from the corner of his eye, a question in his expression, and Kageyama’s thoughts finally starts clicking again.
“Tobio Kageyama.” The call comes again, more certain, and his spine stiffens.
He hasn’t heard that voice in five years… and he can’t tell himself that he isn’t hearing it now, because he will never forget who it belongs to.
His mind kicks into gear, mentally tabulating where everyone is at. The two cats, Akaashi, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi are all here with him… which leaves only Bokuto, Noya, and Asahi with Hinata. His gaze finds Yamaguchi over the russet cat’s head, his hazel eyes also staring back. The ibis beside him is still fixed straight ahead at the shelves of herbs, but his jaw is a rigid outline, a dead giveaway that he’s hyper aware of his surroundings. He can’t find Akaashi or Lev over his other shoulder without being obvious about it, and he feels a muscle beside his eye leap. The freckled crow’s mouth clicks shut, and he turns with a bow to the shopkeeper before heading for the door, Kageyama’s unspoken request loud and clear: Find Hinata and the others.
They aren’t prepared for this, how are they going to get out of it? Their first trip back out this year, their first since Hinata’s wings have returned, and they just had to run up against this. They’re scattered and out of combat practice, tired after a day of travel. Is there even a possibility at this point of them all escaping? Is there any chance they all come out of this alive?
Slowly, he turns to the doorway, his cobalt eyes finding the Grand King exactly where he knows he will, Iwaizumi just behind him. The rookery leader stands just inside, his face slack and eyes large as Yamaguchi slips past him and Iwaizumi. There are a few more worry lines in his face now and Kageyama might be mistaken, but he thinks he sees a few strands of gray in his wavy brown hair. He still looks the picture of health and poise, but… Daichi was right. He looks older somehow to the avian heir. The crow over his shoulder shares his expression and Kageyama’s gaze skips over him with a single cursory glance of accusation.
What the hell, Iwa. We had a deal.
“Good Afternoon, Grand King.” He says automatically.
He can’t explain his need to draw their attention from the others in the room. Hinata might not be here, but he wouldn’t be the only one in danger right now. Memories of Kuroo’s threats on account of having lost friends and family alike to Kageyama’s father make him want to do everything he can to keep the two cats in the room nothing more than background scenery. And the extra feathers that decorate Akaashi’s face mark him as an owl… if he can be kept unnoticed as well, that would be ideal.
“You are alive.” The Grand King says with marked amazement, and Kageyama tenses as Tooru takes a step forward. The others near him shift, and to keep the focus on himself, he also steps toward the rookery leader.
“Last time I checked, sir.”
“All this time, you’ve been here, Tobio?” Kageyama’s chin lifts, a spark of irritation slipping through his tension.
“No, first time. And I wouldn’t have even been here if I’d known you were coming, Father. My source obviously dropped the ball this time.”
He doesn’t look away from Tooru, but he catches Iwaizumi’s abrupt tension. He also catches the slight jerk Yaku does and prays that they all just stay silent.
If the Grand King doesn’t realize they are connected to Kageyama, they might be able to escape this confrontation— because he’s certain this will resolve in no other way. All he needs to do is keep Tooru’s attention on him.
His father will never let him just leave, he’s more than positive. They can’t flee by air; the Grand King can simply follow. They can’t go back home in case the rookery leader sets a tail on them. Even given the severely strained relationship between himself and his father, Kageyama is sure he’d never be able to kill him. Doing so would start a relentless hunt regardless, and none of them will be safe; their best option would be to somehow incapacitate Tooru and Iwaizumi— which shouldn’t be that difficult if they all act, but he doubts they are here alone.
He doesn’t remember a time where his father had left the rookery without a contingent of at least three units always with him, so he’s fully banking that there are others in the near vicinity. Which makes this tricky: they aren’t going to be up against some half-trained gutter snakes who don’t know the first thing about battle efficiency and technique, these are all sentries who’ve had the exact same training they did. These people will be conditioned daily through all those drills, will probably have the upper hand because of that; the last time he’d sparred with the others was over a week ago and their skills won’t be as sharp. The Grand King’s head tilts with a slight frown despite the smirk that twists his mouth.
“You wear the same face… but I hardly recognize you, Tobio. Your voice and expressions— you don’t even carry yourself the same. You’ve… grown up almost overnight. I’m disappointed to have missed it.” He says, and by the time he’s finished, that mask of a smile that Kageyama remembers so well has returned, all trace of his surprise vanished once more.
“Where have you been all this time, Tobio?”
“Wherever you are not.” He says bluntly and his father’s gaze fractures but that smile doesn’t waver.
“That’s awfully harsh, Tobio. And Shrimpy? Is he still alive, too?” He asks with that fabricated cheer that used to infuriate Kageyama.
“He is… but I doubt you really care about that. I have no desire to discuss him with you in any case.” The Grand King blinks at him with a shadow of surprise once more.
“To the contrary, Tobio, he is the reason you left; is it so hard to think I’d have an interest in his well-being?” Kageyama feels his eye twitch at the way he phrases it, as if it does matter to him.
“I imagine his getting iced somewhere along the line would be ideal for you, wouldn’t it?” He says before he can stop himself, unable to keep the bite from his voice. The Grand King glances back at Iwaizumi with a crease of… discomfort? But Kageyama can’t decipher the look before it’s sliding back under a layer of incincerity.
“Tobio, that’s not—”
“I’m not coming back.” He cuts him off, and Tooru’s jaw hangs for a moment before it closes with a tight smile.
“You’ve definitely grown into your own person. The rookery could use you. You should return, Tobio.” Kageyama’s brow cocks, knowing already where this conversation is headed, knowing the Grand King will try and strong arm him into doing as the rookery leader deems. That can’t happen. He will not fall prey to his father’s manipulation.
“How many men did you bring, Sir?” He says more than asks and Tooru’s brows crease in puzzlement.
“I’m here with Iwa’s unit. Probably ten of us or so.” Kageyama blinks, struggling to keep his surprise off his face.
That’s it? It might be possible to escape then. Provided his father isn’t lying.
Iwaizumi’s been unusually quiet through the entire exchange, his sharp eyes flickering between himself and the others, and it makes Kageyama wonder if the sentry leader hadn’t, in fact, foreseen this encounter. And when his dark eyes settle on him with a firm set to his jaw—unease, Kageyama banks that his father is telling the truth. One sentry unit; ten people. He settles back, sets his feet, his chin lifting just a touch. He knows there will be no doubt on where he stands with his next words.
“That’s not nearly enough.”
His father stares at him in bafflement, clearly unused to him pushing back. But his face quickly slips into a surprisingly real grin, and Kageyama realizes that Tooru’s taken it as a challenge. The flash of joyful rally in his gaze sets Kageyama on edge, because he’s never won a debate or argument with this man. But he’s also calm; the rookery leader has nothing to coerce him with this time— all the people he could have used are no longer under his control.
“For what? Bringing you back? You are one crow; you yourself might be strong, but eight or even six will be far stronger.” The Grand King says with a smirk. Iwaizumi shifts behind him and his attempt to intervene cements Kageyama’s gut feeling that the sentry leader hadn’t banked on this encounter either.
“Sir, we should maybe—”
“I don’t think he realizes he’s surrounded, Feathers.” Yaku says and the room stills.
The Grand King’s eyes flicker and they slowly drift to the russet feline. The avian heir can see an entire monologue of thoughts flipping through his orbs despite the neutral expression that takes over his face. Behind him, he can see Iwaizumi’s breath still, the muscle in his arms go taught. Kageyama wants to smack the cat, because he’s just undone any invisibility Kageyama’d bought the others by engaging in this verbal spar with his father.
Well, there’s no helping it now.
“...Obviously.” He drawls, hoping there’s a way to salvage this situation. The Grand King glances at Iwaizumi for only a moment and looks back at him, his expression closed off.
“Tobio… that’s a cat.” He says matter of factly, and one of Kageyama’s brows arches.
“Is it?” He asks, the sarcasm in his voice almost Tsukishima worthy.
“What are you doing with a cat?” Tooru asks, his entire face smoothing into bafflement. Kageyama almost smirks.
“Living.” He distractedly hopes the ibis is paying attention, because he feels like he’s on a roll at the moment.
“Sir.” Iwaizumi tries once again to intervene, but Tooru’s gaze skips around to the other faces in the room that all now watch him. He sees the ibis, his flat look as unimpressed as ever, notices Lev in all his lanky graceless glory, and he lingers on Akaashi, Kageyama certain he doesn’t miss the decorative feathers.
“… and these others?” He asks, a note of incredulity sliding into his voice. Kageyama’s head tilts.
“The same.”
“We’re all on his side. And this isn’t even everyone.” Lev supplies with a cheeky grin and once more, Kageyama wants to facepalm, because the tall cat is giving away information that is probably best kept under wraps.
“Really Tobio? Cats and owls and…” the Grand King trails away as he focuses on the ibis with scrutiny, “a gull?”
“Try again.” Tsukishima mutters, and Kageyama’s mouth almost quirks. Most people treated the Grand King with extensive respect; he’s probably been subject to more scalding sarcasm in the last two minutes than the entirety of the last six months.
“You trust these people?” Tooru asks and Kageyama deadpans.
“They’ve had my back time and again where sentries and a rookery leader failed.” He says defensively, and Tooru’s eyes find him once more, a slight frown creasing his face.
“You don’t have to live like this, you can come home.” He says and Kageyama scoffs quietly.
Did the Grand King honestly think he hadn’t had a choice in all this? Did he think he stayed with cats and owls and songbirds against his will? Did he think he was here by any other means than under his own power? And did he that actually bothered him?
“The reason I left would still be there.” He says evenly and Tooru’s face creases again, and Kageyama gets the distinct impression of pain at the words. It makes him blink in surprise, because it’s something he’s never seen from his father unless his mother had been mentioned.
“You can do whatever you want, Tobio. Live in the private sector as a civilian for all I care, but come back.” Tooru says lightly, contradicting the deep look the line between his eyes gives him.
Kageyama bridles at the order cloaked in the guise of a peaceful request.
“Not a chance.” He says, his response quick and sure and his father blinks.
“Why ever not? You don’t have to be a sentry, you can do whatever you want.” He says again, a note of sincere confusion sliding into the repeated proposition. Kageyama shakes his head slightly. Pity slips into his gut and he curses his flux of compassion towards his father’s ignorance.
“Why?” He says softly, positive he’s going to regret his next words. “You’d have killed my leveler.”
Silence. The Grand King and Iwaizumi stare at him and he stares back. He catches the look his companions cast at him, the glances of covert alarm.
What are you doing, Feathers?
He can almost hear their panic, but he knows how his father will react.
“Your… your leveler, Tobio? Those were stories we tell kids. Don’t tell me you believe them?”
Of course, he wouldn’t know what it was to have a leveler. He might have loved her, but his mother had died and his father had remained; they hadn’t been levelers. His father has never felt the burn of a breaking fight or the quiet content of a binding heal. He hasn’t known the fear of dying because it will kill his other half. He hasn’t watched another at death’s door knowing that it won’t be one person they bury, but two if they don’t pull through.
“Stories. Stories… the only reason I would ever return to the rookery would be to visit Mother’s tree and tell her of everything that’s happened. I’d apologize for how I’ve missed the last five years and make her a promise to try to return sooner… but I’d never guarantee it.” His father’s face fractures, the mask completely cracking away. And in that moment, there’s nothing but pain and sorrow.
“Tobio—”
The door bangs open and Kageyama wants to curse every deity when he sees who comes through it.
“Kageyama, I’m pretty sure I saw sentries, we should probably—” Shouyou breaks off as he finds the Grand King and Iwaizumi, his almond eyes blowing wide as the others crowd in after him.
“Shit.” Noya spits, automatically grabbing and shoving the redhead behind himself.
The Grand King’s eyes have already found them, though, Iwa’s not a moment behind. Kageyama had never intended for them to meet again, never intended that they even had a chance to see one another. But they stare at each other now, Hinata’s gaze solid and flat, the rookery leader’s wide eyes taking him in from head to toe, from limb to wing, and Kageyama knows he’s overwhelmed. But Hinata is calm.
“Grand King.” He says with a formal nod, centuries as a sentry demanding the acknowledgement without conscious thought.
“Sh… Shrimpy?” He says, his voice half shelled. “You… your wings— how— ”
“They’re just stories, right Father?” Kageyama says, recalling Tooru’s attention. His brown eyes snap back to him, stunned at a reality he’s being forced to acknowledge.
“They were Mother’s legacy. You can drag me back any number of times, but the only way you’ll succeed in keeping me there is to chain me to the garrison floor. And if you so much as try to force me through him, I promise you, I will destroy the very empire you and Mother worked so hard to build. I am compromised, and I cannot lead, Father; find someone else.”
Tooru’s eyes flicker between himself and Shouyou, skips over the others around them, back to himself and his leveler before settling once more on him.
“Fine, Tobio. I won’t ask you to bear that responsibility again. But you can come home. You and Hinata. They all can.” He says in an oddly strained voice while gesturing to Noya and Asahi, and Kageyama sighs lightly.
“That can’t happen. What message would it send to both your allies and enemies that you’ve welcomed back an heir and his unit after desertion? You would have an uprising. I knew the consequences when I left, and I know you do, too.” He says, and starts toward Hinata.
“So what happens now, Tobio?” Tooru’s voice is plaintive and he can’t decide how much of it is sincere. He straightens and glances back at the Grand King.
“Ideally? You return to the rookery safe in the knowledge that I’m alive, and I return back home with my leveler and companions unhindered and unsupervised.” He says and the Grand King’s head tilts.
“You expect me to go along with that?” He asks and Kageyama hates the half-strangled sound of his voice. It’s a sound he’s almost never heard from his father, and it infuriates him that Tooru is using it now. Does he think he will be moved just because he’s slightly altered his tactics?
“I do, because if you don’t, we will slip through your hands once more and you won’t see us again. I’d rather not since we are comfortable and safe where we live, but we are prepared to do whatever it takes to guard our lives.” He murmurs, turning away from him, his gaze finding Shouyou’s wide-eyed almond one like a lifeline. It’s a threat that could make his father act to prevent their escape and throw them into a physical confrontation as much as force his father to back off. But Tooru does neither.
“I’ve only just found you again.”
Kageyama curses his feet for pausing. He hates feeling like the Grand King is prodding at his resolve with that voice and those words, and he can’t stand the idea of being manipulated anymore when his entire future stands by the door flanked by crows and an owl. He will not bend and endanger him again.
“That should put your mind at ease, then.” He says evenly.
“He’s kind of right, Feathers.” Lev interjects and Kageyama turns a furious scowl on the lanky cat. He’s not the only one either… the rest of them turn incredulous glances toward the grey feline, the least of which would be his father’s.
What in all flaming feathered hell was going through his head? Did he somehow miss the part about this being his father? The man they’ve been hiding from for five years? The entity who’d have had Shouyou killed?
But Lev’s green eyes crackle with perceptive intent that makes his feathers stand on end. His eyes hold that glint that makes him think the cat is actually two steps ahead and knows precisely what he’s doing.
“It’s been five years, Feathers, let him have more than five minutes. Give him a chance to see that you really are okay and content.” The grey cat says and Kageyama can’t keep himself from glaring with massive irritation. But he has to keep his control. His father is a master at exploiting weakness and to lose his temper would be an excellent opportunity the Grand King could capitalize on.
“What exactly did you have in mind, Lev? Do you propose we sit and drink tea over biscuits? I think you have the wrong impression of the kind of relationship he and I share.” Kageyama growls but the grey cat’s bright green eyes flash with devious triumph.
“How about Volley? There was a net on the edge of town—we could have a friendly match.” He says. Kageyama blinks, blindsided by the suggestion.
Of course, it would be Volley. Everything began and ended with Volley. Damn that cat.
“What do you think, Hinata?” Bokuto asks and Kageyama’s head snaps toward his leveler and the streaked owl.
The redhead glances up at Bokuto who watches him with an avid enthusiasm and the short spiker’s head tilts. The smallest smile tips the corner of his mouth and he looks back at Kageyama, his eyes creasing with a telltale excitement.
“I’m okay with it.”
Kageyama scowls darkly. This isn’t helping them escape. In fact, he’s quite sure this is doing the exact opposite. The rookery leader clears his throat lightly and he looks back at him, not relishing whatever input he’s going to have.
“A Volley match would be... perfect.” The Grand King says, a strangely skewed smile on his face.
It makes Kageyama think that the rookery leader is trying to pull the mask of fabricated enthusiasm back into place and failing. Like it hurts to say the words, but he will stomach them no less. Like he’s not satisfied with that, but he will settle for it just the same.
Like he’s reaching for even the barest threads.
The notion that his father might be agreeing just for the chance to see and talk to him is totally foreign to Kageyama, bizarre and wrong. The idea that he’s willing to bargain for Kageyama’s time makes his skin crawl because it’s unnatural. This man had commanded his life for centuries, a tool structured and honed for a carefully planned out future. That he might actually want anything more from him… is irreconcilable for the crow setter.
“Tobio?” Hinata asks and he jolts at the name, the feeling he gets when the redhead says it completely different than the one he feels when Tooru does. The avian heir runs a hand through his hair in frustration.
How had this encounter been taken out of his hands so smoothly?
There are so many things that can go wrong. The Grand King could try to kill the cats and owls the moment they turn their backs and then it will be down to just the he and the other former sentries, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi. His father could wait until they’ve spent most of their energy on the match and then command that they all be taken prisoner when they have none left to fight. He could have them subdued and return with more sentries to ensure he succeeds in dragging them back to the rookery where they’d likely be detained indefinitely where they’d have no bargaining power, no means of buying their freedom…
Wait… wait. That… might work. That could work.
The idea hits him and he doesn’t even give himself a chance to second guess it before he’s turning toward Shouyou.
“You think you’ll be good?” He asks quietly and a brilliant smile lights his face, anticipation skyrocketing in his almond eyes.
“For one match? I think so!” Kageyama’s gaze narrows slightly.
Somehow, he didn’t quite believe that. They’d just busted ass across the sky the first half the day; he’s pretty sure his leveler is underestimating his level of fatigue.
A heavy sigh escapes him all the same, and he looks up at the Grand King.
“If we give you a match, do you give us your word that that you will leave us be?” He asks, banking like hell that his father will be up for making a deal.
There’s a spark of joyful gratification in the rookery leader’s eyes— as if he’s won something, and Kageyama almost instantly wants to take it back. He wonders how much he’s going to have to fight or promise to get what he wants.
“It’s yours, Tobio.” He says, a small smile, real and honest breaking his features, the mask forgotten completely and eyes sincere.
And for a moment, Tobio Kageyama doesn’t even register that Tooru agreed without any hesitation—no conditions or reservations, because he can’t breathe under that look filled not with deception or calculation, but pride, happiness, and more than anything, relief.
Level Pair ; Chapter 1; Chapter 33; Chapter 35
A/N:  So... start of the end. I feel like it is going to be VERY lackluster after everything else, lol. This one didn't have more than like one rewrite and I think everyone is very out of character -_-
I hope it still comes across well enough. I'm sorry for being slow to post, these are all still being hashed out almost as I'm posting them so they are really rough. I apologize for mistakes/errors/boring. I'm currently home with family for the first time in years and being pulled in 8 directions which means I'm writing these when everyone else is asleep lol. I'm being summoned to go play rummy, so take care and have a magical evening guys!
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nyxysabyss · 7 years
Text
LEVEL HORIZON; YEAR THREE 5/9; Reciprocity & Ensurient Amity
Chapter 22!
If I could make this go away, I would. If I could stand in your place, I wouldn’t hesitate. But I’m left with only one choice, and that’s to stand by your side through the end. I won’t waver, I can promise you that. ~Patch; Becca Fitzpatrick
 Kuroo’s expression is flat as they approach the tavern and Koushi Sugawara wonders about the contact they are supposed to meet. He’s never seen the cat so stiff-backed and visibly on edge.
But then… they’ve all been on edge.
The last few hours since the snake came for Natsu have passed like sap in winter, and everyone has been wrapped in the same circling thoughts after Kuroo’d lectured Hinata about their scaly opponents. The little girl was caught in the grasp of a bunch of these awful monsters; how were they going to get her out?
Hinata hadn’t been able to stay still and had finally given up an hour in and begun a pacing loop around the village, his leveler shadowing him silently with his own wings pulled a little more taught with unease. Daichi had sat down with the larger cat and asked him everything he could possibly think of about snakes, determined to be as prepared as possible. Tanaka had settled at the table as well, his gaze fixed vacantly at a wall as he listened to Daichi and Kuroo, but his projected tranquility didn’t fool the thrush. The bald crow’s muscles running into his limbs were outlined in chiseled definition, betraying his tension, and Koushi’d known that the only reason he remained at that table instead of outside making village rounds with Feathers and Hinata was by sheer force of will.
The only one who’d seemed mostly unfazed was Kenma, so it was him that Koushi had gravitated toward to help keep himself more calm. When the thrush had asked him about it, the small cat had shrugged.
“This is how it always was back when Kuroo still actively hunted snakes. He was always gathering information and planning out the next move. This might not actually be the toughest rescue he’s attempted.” He’d murmured. Koushi had turned to stare at Kenma with surprise.
“Not the toughest? If this isn’t, then what was?” The golden cat had glanced at him briefly.
“Mine. For this to be as ugly as that was, he’d have to lose the other eye.”
“That’s how he got that?” Kenma’d nodded.
“He was lucky, that was all. The snake had two blades; it was sheer chance that he got him with the one not tipped with venom or things would have been drastically worse. Kuroo’s speaking from experience when he says not to bull rush these guys. He might be fine now, but it took him a few years to adjust.”
Suga’d promptly jumped when a knife had embedded itself in the floorboard beside them, and the only reason he didn’t leap defensively to his feet was because Kenma hadn’t batted an eye. He’d looked straight up unimpressed, actually, and Koushi’d glanced around in surprise. Nothing else in the room seemed to have changed; Daichi’d still been speaking with Kuroo and Tanaka’d still been resolutely studying the wall.
“Eh?” He’d asked with confusion and Kenma had simply stared blandly at the black cat.
“He gets cranky when I bring up his poor decisions.” The golden cat had said with a bored expression, and when Koushi’d looked back at the larger feline, sure enough, an ear had been fixedly swiveled in their direction. The black cat hadn’t been joking when he’d said he heard everything. Koushi’s face heats slightly at the memory of how the cat had pointed that out the other day.
When the sunlight had begun to angle and the restless younger level pair was just coming by on about their eighth lap around the little town, Kuroo had finally stood. Kageyama, Hinata, and Tanaka had been right there at his elbow in an instant, but the cat had huffed at them with amusement.
“You guys are awfully jacked when we’re just going to find something to eat.” He’d said and Hinata had balked immediately.
“What about the tavern and your contact?” Kuroo had fixed him with something of a very ‘Tsukishima’ smirk.
“Does it look like nightfall?” The redhead had scowled up at him, his nerves clearly fraying by the moment.
“It will be alright Hinata. We wouldn’t want to go into some fight on an empty stomach, anyway.” Koushi had said and Hinata had caved with a sullen scowl.
Thankfully, the meal had been brief and little more than pausing at street vendor stalls; the thrush didn’t think the redhead would have been able to sit through a full meal. Now as the last light is falling, they follow Kuroo to the tavern, everyone alert and on edge.
Koushi doesn’t think he’s ever seen the black cat quite so tense, what with the way his shoulders are pulled rigidly into line instead of their normal half-slouch, and his hands curl into loose fists instead of relaxed against his sides. Koushi wonders if he realizes that his unease is gearing up at least the youngest three avians; Daichi appears as controlled as ever.
But Kuroo pauses just outside, an ear cocking askance. Then the black cat fluidly kneels to the gravel outside the entrance, appearing to study the pebbles and grit, the ear still twitching off to the side. Koushi wonders if anyone else feels as awkward as he does, watching the large feline run a hand through the dust as if he were contemplating the meaning of life.
And then, quick as a viper, he spins and whips a small stone in the direction his ear had been twisted. It ricochets off the limb of a tree as movement from its branches draws their attention. The cat stalks toward it as a graceful form drops to the ground, the man fleet of foot and gracefully agile. Deep red hair frames his sharp face, but black triangular ears poke through the auburn locks. His rusty gold eyes take them in with hard focus.
The man turns and leads them to a secluded area down a dim alley before turning to face them once more. The low light thrown from the first evening lanterns casts the sharp angles of his face in steep shadow as his head tilts toward the black cat.
“Bold of you to bring people with you. You must not value their lives much.” He says conversationally and Kuroo scoffs.
“Save it, Mutt.” His insulting greeting is brisk and Koushi’s eyebrows rise.
A canine?
The man’s face darkens just a touch but his tone remains even when he addresses Kuroo as he comes to stand in front of him.
“I’m very selective of my contacts, Tetsurou, as you are well aware. It’s the reason I’ve survived this long, and I will remind you that it is expressly because of you that that list is so short.” Kuroo rolls his eyes, but Koushi’s brows draw down just a bit.
Tetsurou? These guys must have been… close back in the day. Not even Kenma calls him that. He doesn’t think he’s even heard that name more than once in the last three years.
“That was centuries ago.”
“And you weren’t the one who was under scrutiny for the next three hundred years.”
“No, I just had to drop off the grid to avoid a knife in the ribs.” Kuroo rebuttals and the man’s eyes narrow.
“You almost got me killed. I had to shut down nearly all communication lines and go dark. Do you have any idea how difficult it was to balance movements without igniting suspicion? Or the scope of damage you idiocy unleashed? You’re as much a reason for the snakes’ resurgence as that blasted Crow regime. I’ve ensured others’ silence for far less.”
“Tch. Don’t think I forgot the price you had for mine.”
“Obviously wasn’t high enough; you’re still around.”
“Enough, fox. You didn’t come all the way out here to trade threats.”
“Indeed. I came to see if you really did escape with your skin that day— though you are down an eye. And your choice in company has changed. What do you need, Cat?”
“Information.”
“Obviously. What are you offering?”
“We will take down the nest that’s here.”
“Bull. The last figure I had for this place is a couple years old so it’s no longer accurate. Since sentries have cracked down in the southern areas, this hub has boomed. I don’t care if your friends are all highly trained mercenaries. You and six…” He says before eyeing the golden cat disdainfully, “five people won’t have a chance against four hundred snakes— and I guarantee that’s a low number. I hope you have something better or this was a wasted trip.” Kuroo releases a huff of frustration, and Koushi frowns at the odd slight against Kenma. But neither he nor Kuroo even seem to notice it and the black cat is replying without hesitation.
“What makes you think it’s only us?” The fox’s expression flattens.
“You stormed the main western slave port alone. I can’t see you having gained an affinity for the masses.”
“They had Kenma.” The black cat returns and Koushi knows just by the sound that he’s on the defensive.
“And if you’d used your head, you could have simply had me buy him and release him back to you instead of quite flagrantly announcing your existence to the rest of the snake world as well as your connection to me.”
“Whatever, it worked, didn’t it? We both got out, so I wouldn’t be so fast to think the rest of us couldn’t take down this place.”
“You’re a fool, Tetsurou. Do you have anything better to offer than a weightless promise of pulling this nest to its knees?” Kuroo looks to the side and scowls.
“I knew you’d be a bitch to work with.” He mutters before looking back at the sharp gold eyes. “How about a free pass.”
“To what, your funeral?” Kuroo rolls his eyes.
“If you are ever caught by sentries from the crow rookery, ask for Iwaizumi. Any crow in their ranks should know him.”
Koushi has to focus to keep his surprise off his face. It somehow makes him uncomfortable, selling Iwaizumi’s protection without the sentry leader’s consent or knowledge. The fox’s brow creases.
“I know him. He’s just a sentry leader.”
“Not just a sentry leader. He seems low profile, but he has the ear of the Grand King. You drop his name and you should be afforded some clemency— at least temporarily. When you see him, tell him you are Kuroo’s source. It might not get you out, but it will likely keep you alive.” The fox’s eyebrow rises.
“You must not trust this rookery rat much if you aren’t even on a first name basis with him.”
“Funny. I place exactly zero trust in you.” The fox smirks and huffs through his nose.
“You surprise me, Cat. But if you know someone that high in their ranks,” His burnished golden gaze slides across the rest of them calculatingly, “Sentries. You’ve been flying under the radar with sentries. How times change, huh?” He says with a predatory smirk.
“Alright, I’ll bite. What are you doing here, Cat?”
Koushi sees the tension slide just a touch in Kuroo’s shoulders and knows the mood has shifted; the fox is asking in earnest.
“Covert entry. We need to know layouts and the best way in.”
“What happened to toppling the nest?”
“Leave that to me. I’ve got one more ace up my sleeve that no matter your asking price, I won’t reveal. What I need from you is details.”
“Well, my earlier admonition still stands. There were over four hundred in this nest at last count, but that was before the crows cracked down on them a couple years back. The actual number is probably somewhere closer to five. You might have a death wish, but what about them? They have any experience with snakes?”
“No.” The fox’s expression creases into a scowl.
“Seriously, give me something to work with.” He mutters, running a hand through his hair before fixing the black cat with a hard look.
“The rookery rats figured out early on after their first few attempts to blast the network in the south that ignorance isn’t a good gamble. A few casualties in and they made adjustments. I hope you remember that if you’re caught, I’ll gut you myself to keep you out of torture. Them, too.”
“Capture probably isn’t going to be an issue.”
“You sure about that? That one ain’t native.” The fox says canting his head toward Hinata. The black cat glances at himself and the others.
“Unlikely. His leveler is the crow. Of the seven of us here, there are three pairs. All the same,” Kuroo says to them his gaze landing solidly on Tanaka, “He will kill you if you are caught.”
For the second time in as many minutes, the thrush is surprised at the information the cat volunteers, and knows by the dark crease in Kageyama’s brow that he isn’t happy about it either. Still, they’ve opted to trust Kuroo’s insight and lead, so he keeps silent. All the same, Koushi understands why he fixes on the bald crow; if either half of a level pair bites it, both will, but the scowling crow doesn’t have one. Tanaka shrugs.
“If we can get Natsu out, then I can probably live with that.”
The fox’s eyes flash sharply, and Koushi wonders if he imagines the shadow of anger that crosses his face. But it’s gone in an instant and the fox glances at Kuroo with exasperation.
“Another rescue mission? Didn’t you learn from last time? Who is it and I’ll just buy them for you.” He says with a hard frown and an annoyed shake of his head.
“It’s my sister.” Hinata says stepping forward and the fox frowns, taking in the redhead a little more fully.
“Exotic, which means expensive...but doable. Who picked her up?”
“No one, she’s been here for centuries.” Kuroo says and the fox watches him for a long moment and then raises a hand to his temple.
“I take it back. She’s a nest egg. Usually nothing short of a faction kingfish can get someone to release those.” His brow furrows in thought before he huffs and looks back at them.
“Well, at least it’s an extraction. That will increase your chances. Asset retainment isn’t located in the main nest, so you will have fewer snakes to contend with… wait, if she’s been with them so long, how did you find out she was here?”
“She found us in town. The snakes were using her as bait.” Kuroo says but the fox frowns.
“Not likely. They don’t bait close to their strongholds. They get the wrong person and they run the risk of drawing retaliation from the surrounding population. She might be a plant.” Hinata shakes his head firmly.
“She’s not!” Kuroo looks mildly affronted at the redhead’s outburst.
“We don’t think she is. She’s quite young to be able to pull off an act like that.” He murmurs.
“Then she’s a blind. When they need someone to run errands, snakes sometimes use captives that will blend into their surroundings to help hide their actual numbers. People don’t question their movements and activities when they don’t feel their presence. But if she’s a blind, then she’s almost hardwired to obey them. She’ll have been through enough punishments to ingrain it into her head that she can’t escape even if she has the freedom to move around.”
“The snake caught her talking to us. How do we know she won’t be transferred or something in case we come after her?” Daichi asks.
“They are already right next to one of the biggest nests in the vicinity, why would they feel the need to flee? Five and a half people is hardly a viable threat and not nearly enough to make them feel pressured enough to move from the shadow of safety the nest grants.” The fox says and Koushi is momentarily distracted by his second shot at the small cat, but they again ignore it. So he does, too.
“If she’s a, um… ‘blind’... then would she still be where they keep the rest of the captives?” Koushi asks uncertainly.
“Most likely, but it’s not a guarantee.” The fox says and turns to Kuroo.
“Start there. If she’s in trouble for interacting with outsiders, I’m confidently comfortable saying that’s your best bet. If she isn’t, then I hope your ‘plan to crush the nest’ isn’t just you talking out your ass, because that’s the next place to look. I hope you intend to brief these guys before they head into this hell; they will die horrible deaths if they aren’t prepared.” Kuroo nods.
“That’s a given. Tell me about the retaining outpost.”
The fox nods and produces a quill and a couple sheets of paper. He snags Kenma by the arm, making Kuroo tense, but the fox merely turns him and flattens one of the papers against his back. It’s a curious action that, combined with his earlier remarks, gives Koushi the distinct impression that he thinks very little of the small cat, and he wonders how Kuroo can just bite his tongue, because he sure wants to say something. It makes him think there might have been more to their last encounter than either have divulged through their volleying insults.
The black cat keeps his expression frigidly neutral, however, and Kenma’s own features barely change at the fox’s manhandling. With a flicker of surprise, Koushi realizes by their collaborative lack of reaction that quiet restraint is the price of this advantage. In an instant, he realizes why these two are a level pair… even if it calls for quietly suffering the fox’s blatant disrespect toward Kenma to ensure his full cooperation, they still work as a seamless team to secure it. The revelation pairs with the fox’s actions and Koushi is inexplicably certain the black cat and the canine somehow have a far more complicated history than just working partners and contacts.
Placing the quill tip to the parchment with swift, precise strokes, the fox begins a sketch.
“The holding point is a league north of the actual nest, situated on the bank of the river gorge. It’s close enough to provide immediate backup if an alarm should go up, so know that if you trip it, you will rapidly find yourself overwhelmed by hostile company. It’s mostly underground so you will be nearly on top of it before you see it; the best way to approach is from the north. Don’t try climbing the gorge cliffs, they usually have guards posted that side. Alarm stations are here and here…” The fox rattles off, still scratching away while Kuroo and the others crowd around him.
Koushi watches as the fox gives an in-depth explanation of both the holding point and the actual nest, Kuroo or Daichi periodically pausing him to voice a question. He doubts that Daichi missed the curious tension between the two cats and the fox—doubts any of them did, but he marvels at how they all follow the two felines’ lead and calmly disregard the fox’s actions to focus on the task at hand. They are, after all, trying to coordinate a rescue attempt.
It’s only a few minutes before the fox straightens and releases Kenma from table duty.
“There’s not much else I can tell you. But…” He reaches into a pocket and pulls a couple small vials out and hands them to the black cat with a single nod. “If any of you catch a slow fatal hit.” He says gruffly. Kuroo closes his hand around them with a returning nod before pocketing them.
“We will need a way to escape quickly. Can you hook us up with a means of transportation? Something that can handle flightless individuals?” The fox nods.
“Leave it to me. I will have it together by the large oak just outside town tomorrow evening for you.”
“Tomorrow? We have all the information now; what’s keeping us?” Hinata asks with a frown.
“Trust me Shrinky-dink, she ain’t going anywhere. You now have everything I can provide at your fingertips. Use the time you have to come up with a sound strategy to make it work for you.” The fox says before nodding at the black cat.
“I expect to hear that this nest has been decimated in three days’ time, Cat.” He says with a wry smirk. Kuroo raises a hand in silent farewell and the fox melts into the darkness outside the ring of lantern light.
Kageyama turns to Kuroo with a frown.
“Who was that guy?” Koushi wonders if the cat realizes the crow setter’s question is probably far more than just a question of ‘how he knows so much about snakes’.
“That, Feathers, is the top bookkeeper who presides over most of their operations. He’s got a bottomless memory and catches every detail. He’s nearly one of the kingpins of the snake ring himself, but you won’t find another person on the continent who knows as much as he does about the intimate workings of it.”
“He works inside the trafficking network? As in helps them commit their crimes by assisting with record keeping?” Tanaka asks incredulously.
“I get it, though.” Koushi breaks in softly, drawing their attention. “He can do so much more from the inside.” Kuroo nods before turning to Daichi and handing him the paper with the holding point sketched out on it.
“I will catch up with you shortly. I have one more raven I have to send.” He says taking Kenma’s arm with a mild frown. The two quickly disappear, and the thrush wonders if Kuroo is off to offer him a groveling apology for having to put up with the fox. Koushi ducks his head with a smile and tosses an arm over Daichi’s shoulders.
“Shall we go argue over the best way to do this until he gets back?” He asks lightly.
“Mm.” His leveler murmurs and they head back to their inn.
The thrush watches his leveler with quiet fondness, knowing that he’s probably humming as badly beneath that calm facade as Hinata and Tanaka. Koushi knows Daichi. He’s entirely capable of extreme violence when provoked, but he’s cautious, too.
The silver-haired setter knows he and his leveler aren’t fundamentally the same. If it comes to it, Koushi will accept death with grace because everyone dies… but Daichi will not.
Daichi is loyal, devoted, and kind… and heartbreakingly selfless for the things he cares the most about. When it came time to make the decisions that will place both himself and Koushi in mortal peril, the thrush is positive he will waver.
Koushi smiles slightly. He might be Daichi’s little ‘silver star’, but Daichi was Koushi’s entire sky.
The grey-haired setter isn’t afraid of death. He’s walked this world for hundreds of years and he’s never once been afraid of anything when Daichi was beside him.
He’s also selfish. He will readily put himself to the hazard, knowing full well that if he dies, so will his leveler. That is what keeps that fear of death at bay. The fact that he won’t be facing it alone means it will just be another adventure they share.
And it’s because he knows Daichi so well that he knows the taller crow will understand and never hold it against him. If Daichi were fighting only on his own behalf, he’d be able to think the same… but Daichi’s never been able to sideline Koushi, and so the thrush will step up and do it for him.
It will be a last resort, of course— the thrush loves life, and would very much like to live this one out to its complete fulfillment— but he will not shy from the impossible decisions. He will make the calls Daichi cannot, and he will fight with everything he’s worth for the people he loves.
Koushi leans into Daichi a little more, reveling in the contact. He really does love this crow. Daichi had set him free so very long ago and having known what it’s like to have no inhibitions places the thrush at peace. His eyes sparkle, just a bit, a silent challenge to the weaver of fate, a dare to bring her worst, because Daichi stands beside him.
He doesn’t fear death.
Level Pair ; Chapter 1;  Chapter 21; Chapter 23
A/N:  So. Um, foreshadowing much?
Eh, never mind that, how about my contact? I wasn't sure how I felt about my fox in the end. The more I wrote his character, the more I hated him. I was going to name him and then I ws like, yeah, he's the master of secrets and information, why would he tell his name to anyone? And you guys know how a character can kind of just go off and do its own thing on you? Well, my fox did and as he fleshed out a little more through this scene, I was like, 'I don't like you and I'm not sorry I didn't name you'. He started out this grey character with a peculiar proclivity for details and ended up... well, this. I was so annoyed with him that I was editing this right up until my posting deadline which is now. Apologies if there are errors -_-
Have to go play VB, so I am out for the night; have a good one you guys!
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