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lamnwar · 2 years

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I Can't Remember // KNB Characters x gn! Reader

A/N: it ain't me if I'm not writing fanfic based on my irl experiences bc I'm that one bitch that's always daydreaming, even when she's supposed to be socializing 😩

Context: A long awaited weekend on the beach with your friends finally comes... and there isn't much of it that you can remember. All characters are aged up for plot purposes (early 20s)

Pairing: there's just a bunch of character there so no real pairing, slight Aomine x reader and Kiyoshi x reader tho I really couldn't help myself

Warnings: mention of alcohol, heavy drinking, some flirting here and there, language, 3.6k words because I got inspired lmao but overwise it's just crack 🤭

You open the fridge, hoping with all of your heart that what you've been looking for is here, and to your enjoyment, a last bottle of beer stands in between a block of cheese and yesterday's pasta. You hum, before going outside. As the sunrays hit your face, you squint, the light appearing particularly bright this morning. You finally sit on the small wall between the beach house and the sea, when your eyes have adjusted to the daylight.

“Yo” you hear a voice behind you.

You take a sip before turning around. The blue-haired boy stands nonchalantly against the door frame, looking as if he just came back from a ten days journey in the desert.

“Hey” you reply, voice raspy.

He sits next to you, and you both remain silent for a while, the only noises being the gentle waves, and the very subtle fizz of your drink.

“You look rough” lets out the man.

“Same to you.”

You both laugh. You do, indeed, look terrible. Hair going in all directions, dark circles under your eyes, dry lips and that weird tint on your skin. As for Aomine, it's roughly the same, but he still has his usual charm, even while looking like this.

“Haven't you had enough last night?” He asks while tapping your bottle with the tip of his finger.

“It's the cure to a hangover. This, and dumplings.”

“Give me some then.”

You pass the bottle to him, hands cupping your face as you pull your knees to your chest. You don't have a headache, thank god, and you're pretty sure that you haven't puked, but god are you tired. The thing is, you have no idea when you fell asleep, you just know that you woke up this morning, with Riko's hand on your face and one of your shoes missing.

The rest of the night? A total blur. You have very vague images, but remembering them is as hard as remembering a dream you had ten years ago. You haven't checked your phone, you don't know where it is. Hopefully, somewhere in the house. You better find it soon; beside the fact that you rely on it to function, it's also Sunday and your parents will certainly call tonight as they usually do on Sundays. And this time, when they'll ask you how was your weekend, well... Well, you'd surely have stories to tell, if you'd remember any.

“Daiki, do you remember last night?”

He raises an eyebrow at you, amused by the question. You land a friendly slap on his shoulder – he shouldn't be making fun of you, for all you know, he's probably as bad as you.

“Some stuff. You challenged me to a shot competition, and I won, and then you said that I cheated.”

“You probably did” you scoff, earning a nudge in the shoulder from him.

You sigh. The sky is as clearer as ever, but you can't say that much about your mind. Usually filling the role of the smart one, the one who has an answer to anything – basically being a walking version of Google – it's weird for you to be missing some information. At the same time, you don't want to blame yourself. It has been a rough semester, and you've desperately needed to let off some steam.

“Shouldn't we do something about this blackout?”

Your friend raises his shoulder.

“We'll see it all in the pictures and videos.”

“I lost my phone dude, I have no idea what I've done last night.”

You chuckle, taking a sip of your beer. It amuses you, to a certain extent, the idea that you've been totally unhinged last night. It only makes sense, you figure; you've had your first drink at 3PM, you haven't stopped from that point on. To be fair, you were pretty thirsty after the drive from your apartment to the beach house. In the early summer heat, you were packed in a car with Riko, her boyfriend Junpei, and his roommate Teppei. Sitting at the back between bags and the giant body of Teppei, it only made sense that you required a fresh beer once you’ve arrived. This might be the last time that you’ve had a clear mind, remembering what you’ve been up to.

“I’ve left mine on the couch I think, should we take a look?”

You look up to him, raising your eyebrows. For all you know, the secrets of last night might all be in his phone. Gathering the little energy that you have left, you get up from your seat on the wall, getting back inside. You squint your eyes; you haven’t realized how bright it was outside. The living room is a mess, not as much as you’d expected it to be, though. A couple of glasses are laying around here and there, and you don’t fail to notice to bottles aligned against the wall, witnessing of the wildness of last night. And you obviously cannot ignore the large body of Taiga, passed out on the couch with his shirt opened. You chuckle softly, nudging the blue-haired boy next to you in the ribs so he’ll look at your common friend.

“Shit, he looks rough” he scoffs.

You nod in approval. Deep inside, it feels reassuring to know that you aren’t the only one who has been slightly overboard, and the idea of someone sharing your blackout is rather comforting. You advance towards the sleeping boy, bending in front of me. Despite only half of his body fitting on the couch, he looks comfortable, in deep slumber and you hesitate to wake him up. Yet, you have to, in order to retrieve Daiki’s phone. Granted, you can also wait for the others to be up and question them so you can piece out your misadventures of last night; but you are impatient, and before anything else, you cannot stand being in a blur for much longer. So you take in a long breath, hand slowly poking at Kagami’s cheek.

“Hey big boy” you mutter softly.

He groans, but doesn’t budge. Your hand trails to his shoulder, that you shake lightly. Again, no response.

“You’re being too delicate, shake the motherfucker up” Daiki sighs.

“I don’t wanna be too violent” you pout.

He rolls his eyes, and before you know it, he pushes you aside, his big hand lightly slapping your friend’s cheek.

“Oi, wakey wakey.”

The red-haired boy finally opens his eyes – with much struggle – facing the bored eyes of Daiki. He grunts, taking a moment to fully awaken. For a couple of second, he feels like he comes back from the dead, and reality sinks in at a painfully slow pace. When he finally gathers his surroundings, he lays his eyes on you.

“Sup?” he greats, voice husky.

You smile. He really is in a worse state than yours.

“Feeling like shit. Sorry to wake you up Taiga, but you’re sleeping on Dai’s phone.”

He moves, propping himself up in a sitting position. You’ve never witnessed the basketball player moving so slowly before: in a sloth-like demeanour, he rubs his face and stretches his limbs, before lifting the pillows, looking for the phone. And when he finally does, discovering it in the folds of the couch, he sighs, giving it back to its owner. Daiki shoots him an irritated glance; though he doesn’t say a word, you can read his thoughts clearly on his face. The fact that Taiga’s spent the night sleeping on his phone is enough to annoy him, but maybe somewhere inside him he restrains from making a fuss because none of you are in the state to stand an insignificant quarrel. It takes a few seconds for him to check his battery, then his notifications, before he opens the gallery. You look at him, impatiently waiting.

“Let’s sit” he finally says.

And you do so, joining Kagami on the couch as the blue-haired boy sits between you, ready to show the content of his screen. The first picture is a normal group selfie. Daiki, Satsuki, and Tetsuya, smiling as they hold their cups. It’s cute, but nothing that leads you to retrace your adventures of last night. He scrolls through a bunch of other pictures of that sort, amongst some blurry shots of random moments. Then he stops at a video, exchanging a look with you before pressing on play.

“Whose phone is that? Anyways, look… oh wait, this angle isn’t doing me any good – “

Aomine puts the video on pause, swearing under his beard as he sees the familiar face of the group’s absolute party guy. Kise Ryōta. It’s probably the hangover, but hearing his cheerful voice clearly puts Daiki in a mood, and for a second there, he is tempted to delete the video, so he doesn't have to suffer through it. But the second he lays his eyes on you, he reminds himself of the reason why he absolutely wanted to retrieve his phone in the first place. So he plays the rest, just for your sake. You all stay in silence as you watch the blond change the angle to make him appear under his best light, shooting one of his typical smiles at the camera.

“Looks like there’s romance in the air…”

He chuckles, before zooming behind him. In the darkness of the night, it’s hard to tell what is going on, but you manage to distinguish two bodies standing close on the sand. The video then stops there. What they are doing is unclear, but you recognize the outfits; one being Kiyoshi’s and the other one being yours.

Your eyes open wide. You obviously have no recollection of that part of the night, and you fear what you may have done. It’s not unusual for you to get flirty when drunk, and you have to admit that you’ve always had the sweetest crush on the tall brunette. But it deeply bothers you that you cannot tell what this interaction was about, and what happened after.

“Wow, so you and Teppei, huh?” Kagami lets out.

You groan, rubbing your eyes.

“I have no fucking idea what’s going on there” you complain. “For all I know, it’s nothing… but it might be something too.”

You sink further in the couch, trying to figure out how to sort this out. Unfortunately, your mind is too much in a fog for you to solve your problem, and it takes Daiki scrolling through the pictures again for you to come back to Earth. After some shots of what seems to be a round of drinking games and some weird dancing, your attention is caught by a series of pictures that includes you, in your swimsuit, in the darkness of the night, going for a swim.

“Ah, see, this is what I like” comments Daiki.

“What do you mean?”

“Love to see the little nerd of our group going for a midnight swim. Granted, you’re unfortunately not butt ass naked, but still.”

He laughs, scrolling through more pictures of you in the pitch-black ocean, with the widest grin on your face. And suddenly, you feel some memories rushing back. The feeling of the cool water against your bare skin, the sound of your friends cheering you for going in the water, the splashes of the waves, the smell of the ocean. You sit back for a minute, reconstituting this part of the night in your mind. You remember, talking about a midnight swim with Riko. She said that she’d never done that, and neither did you, given that you’ve never been on the seashore at night before. You remember, pouring some alcohol in your glass while you considered giving it a try. You’ve downed your glass before changing in your swimsuit, and rushing outside in the cool summer night.

“Where the fuck was I when all this happened?” asks the red-haired boy in a state of complete loss.

You furrow your brows, zooming in on one of the pictures, then increasing the brightness of the screen.

“Here you are dummy, right there” points Daiki.

And indeed, it seems that you weren’t alone in your midnight swim. You chuckle lightly, seeing Kagami’s giant body being engulfed by waves, some bits of that moments reappearing to you at the same time. You remember, the tall boy as wasted as you, running towards the waves, stumbling in the sand first before getting up and giggling like a child. You smile at yourself as these memories come; somehow, it is reassuring to know that you’ve done nothing too embarrassing last night. Although, there is still that interaction with Teppei that remains a mystery. God knows what you’ve been doing with him, and for your own sake, you pray it was yet another moment of senseless words and laughs, like the rest of the night seemed to be. You stretch, relieved at your discovery. Sure, the whole night isn’t documented in Daiki’s phone, and your own phone as well as one of your shoes is still missing, but so far, it doesn’t seem as bad as you’ve imagined.

“Good morning kids.”

The three of you jump hearing a new voice, and you eye up to see Kasamatsu standing in front of you, in what looks like a jogging attire. By the coat of sweat on his arms and the earphones dangling around his neck, he indeed looks like he’s just came back from a run, and you can’t help but sending him a confused look. How the hell is he in a good enough shape to go for a run after last night?

“You fucking freak” Aomine shoots a gaze as incredulous as yours to the guy.

Kasamatsu shakes the comment away, going to the open kitchen to pour himself a large glass of water.

“Some of us only had a few drinks last night” he retorts with an amused smile.

It must, in fact, be hilarious to look at Aomine, Kagami and you at this very instant. In appearance, it looks like you’ve been through a lot – and a lot, you’ve indeed been through. And as you get lost in your blurred thoughts, you get a moment of clarity, realising that if you seek more information on your night, Kasamatsu may certainly hold all the knowledge you want. As fast as you can, you get up, rushing to him. Pleading eyes meet his intrigued blue irises, while he finishes his glass.

“You still remember last night, don’t you?”

“I do” he raises an eyebrow at you.

“Good, because I completely blacked out” you complain.

“And you want me to give you some clarity” he reads into your mind.

You positively nod, and he laughs before patting the top of your head. Like the rest of the friend group, Kasamatsu has always known you as the one person who always has everything under their control; you’re the one the rest comes to, looking for answers and some order. But if someone surpasses you when it comes to having their shit together, it must be Yukio. Excellent grades, an apartment that’s always properly organized and cleaned, a healthy social life, and always taking care of himself and the one he loves. It may not be surprising, all things considered, that he is the only sober one after last night's wildness. And it might also be endearing to him to see you like that, knowing that you’ve finally let loose.

“For the most part, you had fun” he starts. “Nothing too wild, if that’s what you’re wondering… except some of your dance moves with Daiki.”

“Huh?” the concerned raises up after hearing his name.

“Yeah, you two got a bit hot on some dancehall. Don’t you remember?”

Your eyes open wide as you look at your friend, barely recalling any of that. The single thought of you getting physically close to Daiki seems like an absurdity, but you also know that Yukio wouldn’t lie. A flash of fright crosses between you and the blue-haired boy, all while Taiga laughs at the situation. And it must be funny, from an external perspective. Everyone knows that Daiki and you are the kind of friends that always keep distance between them. Sure, you tease each other from time to time, but things never go further. Not that you’d want to – Daiki is at best a brother to you, nothing more.

“The things alcohol make people do” sighs Kagami, as if he’s in any position to talk.

You shake your head, when glimpses of this event comes back to you. The image of Aomine’s large hands on your waist appears to you, and for a second, you remember a whiff of his perfume. Red gains your cheeks, when more hazy images come to you. Hips swaying, barely any space between your two bodies, your fingers tangled in his short hair.

“Fuck, you’re kinda hot right now.”

“I know.”

As these words whispered between you resurface, you go back to worrying about stupid things you might have done last night. Just as you’ve finally reassured yourself that you’ve been overall a good kid, you had to be hit by these memories.

“To be fair, it shouldn’t matter if none of us remember any of it” says Daiki.

The issue is that you apparently remember some of it. But he may be right, you both have an alibi. Blame it on the liquor, none of it was done in all consciousness. It’s just dumb drunk people activity.

“Yeah, it doesn’t count” you say more for yourself than for him.

An awkward silence follows suit. If you were in such state that you’ve had a moment like this with Daiki, then maybe you might have done something of the same degree – or worse – with Kiyoshi. The worries that you’ve previously had come back, and you try to rack your brain up, looking for anything. Unfortunately, nothing comes. There is only one way for you to recover the truth, and that would be to ask Kiyoshi about it, with hope that he remembers it. But the possibility that you’ve done something in the slightest embarrassing stops you from doing so. How can you face him if you’ve been acting stupid with him?

But no, you should ask him. You cannot go back home leaving this mystery alive. You need to know, and as the adult you are, you’ll deal with the consequences of your actions in due time. You take in a big breath, gathering all your courage before going to the room where you believe you’ll find the giant brunette. You still remember that he’s left his bags in the bedroom next to the one you’ve been sleeping in. The three boys watch you, perplexed by your actions. The door opens in a silent creek, and you peak inside. The curtains are half closed, and taking all the single mattress, Teppei is laying there, on his phone. The bed next to his is unoccupied; it was supposed to be Hyuga’s but the latter was in the bed you were sharing with his girlfriend. Hearing you, he looks up, shooting you a tired but nice smile. Your heart flutters – you really hope that you’ve behaved yourself last night, because God, do you have a crush on the man.

“Hey there” he says.

You greet him back, closing the door behind you. You figure it’s easier to go straight to the point, so you sit on the empty bed, fiddling with your fingers.

“So, huh… I kinda don’t remember much of last night” you confess. “But apparently we’ve had a little interaction outside?”

“What? Oh, yeah. We had a nice moment outside.”

You nod, looking at him as he moves to face you. You only now notice that he is only in his underwear, which makes you blush furiously. He has no business to look like that when you’re trying to figure out if you’ve made a fool of yourself in front of him or not.

“Did we? I really can’t remember.”

He laughs.

“We did, had a nice talk about stuff. It was fun. Kinda sad that you don’t remember it though.”

“Yeah…”

“Is that all?”

You nod, feeling his gaze on you. A smile creeps on his lips, while he rests his head in his palm.

“You’re wondering if you’ve done or said anything embarrassing, don’t you?”

You sigh, an awkward laugh escaping your lips.

“Yeah, I can get quite… special, when I’m drunk.”

“Well, be assured, you were just the right kind of fun.”

And as these words reach you, you let out the breath you were holding. This morning has been a rollercoaster, as each information you’ve gathered from last night has sparked different reactions. But you feel light now that you’ve resolved the biggest mystery. It’s truly not as bad as you’ve envisioned; as a matter of fact, it isn’t bad at all. You’ve just been talking, nothing romantic there, so nothing to worry about. Maybe this whole fuss is to blame on Kise, he’s the one that framed you in a way that made it look like you were flirting with Kiyoshi or what not. You’ll maybe scold him later.

You shoot a last smile at the brunette before getting up, finally at peace.

“Well, if it was nothing, I’ll let you rest” you say as you go to grab the doorknob.

“Oh! If you don’t remember last night, is the date invitation still standing?”

And here it is, the thing you feared.

“The what?”

You may not remember last night, but there’s one thing that you’ll keep in mind forever, and that is that you will never drink as much as you did ever again.

#the fact that some it was inspired by my friends being blackout after that one weekend we spent together #they'll never know that they served as inspo for my fic tho #aaah to be friends with the knb characters #knb #kuroko no basuke #aomine daiki #kiyoshi teppei #kagami taiga #kasamatsu yukio #kise ryōta #hyuga junpei #riko aida #momoi satsuki #kuroko tetsuya #knb x reader #aomine x reader #kiyoshi x reader #knb fic

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shoichee · 2 years

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Can i get a soulmate fic for kise please? What i was thinking was that they have this "hate" relationship (where they passed the line between love and hate, but they just don't know it yet). Like they argue because it's like routine for them already. Manga (and jealous?? but doesn't know that what he's feeling is jealousy :P) kise please!! It's up to you what kind of soulmate thing, but maybe something that takes time to show since they've been interacting and all that. Thanks so much!!

Paradox

[Kise x f!Reader]

soulmate!au, enemies to lovers!au, manga!kise, cursing!kise to bits, LONG SERIES FIC

Hana is the name I decided to give to the brunette who flirted with Haizaki in s3

Synopsis: Kise despises people like you more than anyone else, the type of people who are shallow, coquettish, and so high-strung on acquiring a soulmate more than anyone else. Nothing good ever comes out of someone who hangs out with the brunette girl along with Haizaki.

You despise two-faced people like him... that's what you like to tell yourself. After all, you're only honest about what you want with people, and if it can help you get a soulmate faster... Where's the crime in that? High-and-mighty people like Kise who didn't believe in soulmates were pretentious, and he was no exception. And you'll do whatever it takes to get what you want, even if it means throwing away your heart in the process, because happiness will come to you once you're with your soulmate... you just know it.

Chapters 3-4 can be found here!

Word Count:

Part 1: 3386 | Part 2: 2131

A/N: This post includes both chapters 1 and 2! Well, it's here... I have the entire brainstorm of where I need this plot to go, but writing it out in fic form as opposed to long headcanons? ... Not my strongest suit but here I go? Please support this series through reblogs/likes and comments! I'd love to interact with everyone!

current 🏷: @nadav-ii, @carinacassiopeiae, @kendrex13, @roppongiperfume, @thesongstressayre, @kimigiri09, @takatul, @evierena, @one-one-one-one @seijurosempress @inum4k1

Chapter 1, Kise’s POV

»»—————　☼　—————««

Addressed to Kise Ryōta:

You will meet your soulmate in a place where there are many other people. You will have your first real encounter with them in a place where you always spend your time through the years. Be careful to keep track of where you are at all times. Your soulmate is always with company, and they are never lonely. You must be careful to not actively seek out for your fated encounter, for you’ll certainly miss them. You must remain committed and seek out things that keep you steady and motivated. Only then is it possible for your soulmate to come to you instead.

Kise would like to think he’s a romantic at heart—cheesy guy even, but on the other hand, he actively scoffs at the letter’s content… that he’s had memorized for years now. He has no choice on the matter of whether or not he’ll remember it. Not when his “letter” was just a measly paragraph. He remembered being awfully jealous and whiny of his past classmates bringing their 2-page letter to class to show off and getting the “ooh’s” and “ah’s” from everyone else. That was one sure-fire way to distinguish yourself from the crowd and make a name for yourself. Over the years, Kise’s learned that it would become a separate type of “popularity hierarchy,” whereas those with the most elaborate, mysterious, or unique soulmate letters are the ones at the top of the social ladder. Bonus points if it somehow involves all three factors.

And somehow, he also ended up at the popular side of that hierarchy too. Not like he cared, but it’s wildly convenient sometimes to get what you want from people. Still, no benefits from being popular this way could ever outweigh the massive inconveniences; he made the grievous mistake of revealing his letter contents to a casual friend in “good-natured fun.” And before he knew it, the entire school ended up knowing about it too… and then the entire neighborhood… and somehow, it went even into the ears beyond that.

Thus, it started his chronic illness of being tailed after by girls of all backgrounds. With no cure in sight for the ailment that he certainly didn’t ask for. It’s almost terrifying how a single day transformed every single girl into a parasitic bee on a search for the brightest, most colorful flower. Kise, already popular for his looks to begin with, suddenly was shoved under a more blinding spotlight of public scrutiny. If he was going to be completely honest… he liked it… at first. The newfound attention was euphoric and foreign, and he relished in it. But just like anything else, it got… boring.

Some might call it the ultimate blessing: it could make searching for a soulmate much easier and less effort on his end, they’d argue. Kise had come to beg to differ. Not when hundreds of the same faces with hundreds of clamors claimed and cried that they were his soulmate. How do fourteen girls suddenly have the “other half of the puzzle” to his own letter when there were… thirteen other girls claiming the same thing?

See, one soulmate gets a letter describing a general location of where they’d meet their soulmate. The other soulmate gets a letter describing a general timeframe of when they’d meet. Not like it actually helps narrowing down the process of pairing up people. Because he knows this shit can take years—decades, in fact—before he can even get a first glimpse of his soulmate. And the ordeal of people constantly screaming in his face that the time they’d meet their soulmate is now and hence, “it must be Kise” got old really quickly.

It’s utterly stupid. Who does this sender think they are to decide how Kise gets to live his life? What type of sadistic game were they playing by forcing the other soulmate to have the other half of the information, which would be, no doubt, just as annoyingly cryptic?

He stopped denying all the rumors of a girl claiming to be his soulmate; for every rumor he clarified and quashed during his naive youth, three more sprung up the next week. Ignoring them sounds counterintuitive, but when he allows the many rumors and girls to multiply and fester, the number of annoyances are still relatively the same: nearly infinite.

Such has become the life of Kise Ryōta.

Worst part of this whole damn thing was, he won’t be able to know when he’d meet his soulmate, not until he shares a “kiss of genuine integrity” with them… and he doesn’t even know where to begin with that requirement. Supposedly, after you kiss the right person with the right intention, something changes in the mysterious letter that would indicate he found the soulmate. Problem is, it’s different for everyone: some get a drawing of their soulmate at the end of the letter; some simply have the name of their soulmate written at the end; some get an engraved stamp; and the list goes on and on. The main takeaway from it all is that his letter should have a visible change at the end… if he could even get to that point at this rate.

“Oh my gosh…! Is that—That’s Kise-kun!!”

“Eh?! Where, where?! Let me see!”

This is ludicrous. What kind of deity up there decided to put a twisted spin on this sappy, fairy tale trope? He gives a harsh exhale before he puts up a polite smile and continues on with his day. His first day at Teiko.

“Please join our club…!” Several girls huddle around the table, eager to show the good-looking boy their information trifold-cardboard and flyers. Unsurprisingly, every single one of them had eyes of ulterior motive. At the sight, Kise resists the urge to roll his eyes at them. He stands there for a bit, watching their mouths move, but in truth, he’s not hearing a single thing out of them.

This girl looks decent… her hair is a bit weird, though.

Oh, she sure has a strange accent… and this girl has odd eyebrows.

Ugh, this one talks too much at a too-high pitch.

“Ah… well…” He puts up a chagrined smile, not knowing where to look before he smoothly waves goodbye. “I have something else to check out. Keep yourselves well, ladies!” With that, he immediately prepares his ears for shrieks of admiration and lovesickness.

Good riddance.

———

As much as he hates to admit it, he still doesn’t know what that letter exactly means to this day. Some of the sentences that consider themselves as “hints” or “instructions” are way too vague to be considered such.

He begrudgingly opens up the envelope containing the letter for the umpteenth time again. Kise sits on his desk in his own room, illuminated by the sunlight filtering through the glass pane. Floating dust particles are instantly revealed where the light hits, but he doesn’t care, his attention only on what’s important. Chin on his desk, Kise lays the envelope and letter on the flat surface, trying to see what he could be missing. By now, the paper is slightly worn out from years of Kise thumbing, flipping, inserting, folding, unfurling—you name it, in hopes of finding any hidden clues as to who’s the sender and how to solve this “riddle” that ultimately determines the rest of his life. The seal wax on the envelope is beyond recognition, cracked and no longer aesthetically pleasing to look at.

An unassuming creme-white envelope laid tactfully on top of the same desk years ago, the light from his room window shining on it like a natural spotlight. Stray dust floated around, acting like confetti to announce its unexpected, (yet important) quiet arrival. Adorned with a wax seal, the middle of it was impressed in the center of the seal with a perfect copy of his “hanko” that clearly had the kanji for his name. Which was weird… wasn’t counterfeiting hankos illegal? Being beyond skeptical even for his young age at the time of the discovery, Kise thoroughly checked every crease and fold of the paper. Yes, he even dared to open the window and looked around in case someone had the gall to play a prank on him. Opening up the envelope did nothing to calm him down as soon as he realized it was the infamous “soulmate letter.”

So God help him.

“Well…” he sighs, picking up the letter closer to his face, chin still firmly on the wood. “It wouldn’t hurt to double-check one more time, right?”

[You will meet your soulmate in a place where there are many other people.]

He frowns not even a second into the letter. Well that’s not EXACTLY helpful, is it? he ruefully thinks, recalling the constant faces surrounding him with hopeful, shining eyes. How am I going to figure out which of them is the right person? He groans in frustration before reluctantly moving on to the next part.

[You will have your first real encounter with them in a place where you always spend your time through the years. Be careful to keep track of where you are at all times.]

This also makes no damn sense. He blows a strand out of his hair in annoyance, but he stops at a realization. I guess I’ve been in the studio for a long time… It has been a couple years since he started out as a casual model, so perhaps he’s on the right track. He allows himself a small grin of triumph.

[Your soulmate is always with company, and they are never lonely. You must be careful to not actively seek out for your fated encounter, for you’ll certainly miss them.]

His grin grows wider. This is it…! It only makes sense that they’re also involved within the modeling industry. Are they a photographer, makeup artist, stylist… or even, are they also a model like him? It would only make sense if they’re never alone like he is. And maybe trying to seek them out when they also attract other people to them would make it harder to face them alone? He frowns. Or maybe it’s because they’re one of my many admirers? That one is still a bit muddy. But he remains hopeful.

[You must remain committed, and seek out things that keep you steady and motivated. Only then is it possible for your soulmate to come to you instead.]

The most cryptic part of the letter. If he’s going to try to base this off of the premise of his soulmate being near his modeling job, maybe he should pursue the pastime beyond just a hobby and turn it into a career? But other than that, all the things he’s tried out, especially sports, have gotten boring and thus, been abandoned. He bangs his forehead on the table, grin wiped off of his face realizing how he instantly got kicked back into square one.

This… this doesn’t make any sense!

———

It’s been two years at Teiko. Still no sign of this soulmate. He’s not surprised that by now, nearly the entire school somehow caught wind of the contents of his letter…. though, rumors have been getting wilder and wilder as days pass.

“Kise-kun.”

“Ee-ee-eeeee!!” The sudden voice makes him jump out of his skin before he whirls around in a panic. “Kurokocchi!! Could you stop doing that??”

Kuroko merely gives his signature blank look before he continues walking on like nothing happened.

“Y-You’re really gonna ignore me?!”

“It’s almost time for practice,” he says, turning back to face him expressing theatrical tears. “We don’t want to be late, or Akashi-kun will find out.”

At the mention of the captain’s name, Kise merely gulps before he catches up with Kuroko’s stride with no further complaints.

“But did you have to pop out of nowhere?”

Honestly, I still don’t get that part about him.

“I can’t help it,” he deadpans, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “It’s not much different from your popularity.”

“When you put it like that,” he sighs, putting his arms behind his head. “I guess I can see it.” He eyes the back of Kuroko’s head—who’s been walking ahead—for several minutes before he finally musters up the courage to ask.

“Say, Kurokocchi…”

“Yes?” Kuroko continues keeping up his pace, but he slightly looks back to Kise in acknowledgment.

“Did you get your soulmate letter yet?”

At the question, Kuroko merely blinks before he replies. “I received an envelope in my locker yesterday. I thought it was strange since no one ever notices me to begin with, so I thought someone must’ve mistaken my locker for someone else’s.” Kise waits with bated breath for him to continue.

“And?”

Kuroko looks away for a second. “Yeah, it had my hanko on it. I opened it to make sure it wasn’t an error on the sender’s end. Sure enough…” he nods before finishing his reveal, “it was in fact, about my soulmate.”

“What did it say?!” Kise nearly jumps on Kuroko out of anticipation, but he barely manages to keep himself in check.

“That I’ll find my soulmate when I’m 17 to 18,” he says matter-of-factly. “So that means… I’d be a 3rd year in high school. But it also said I would already encounter them at several points in my life prior.”

Kise face-palms at his answer. “What the hell? How come yours is so straightforward?”

He only shrugs as a response, because they were already at the front steps of the gym. It looks like they got here on time. Kuroko announces the two of them before he helps pull out the ball carts. As shoe squeaks and ball dribbles echo throughout the interior, Kise stands there mulling over Kuroko’s information.

So Kurokocchi had the part of the soulmate information that only told the approximate time frame… Still, his was way too simple… or did he somehow decipher it really easily?

Kise makes a loud noise of frustration as he grabs and shakes his head, completely ignoring the concerned looks from the other first-string players.

Eurghh!! Why is mine too complicated?!

———

Kise looks at the letter in his hands again. Looking at it sort of pisses him off at this point, the wrinkled font clearly mocking and challenging him to solve it… if he could even do it to begin with. He holds the top of the paper with his two hands, his thumbs and forefingers gripping tighter. He can just rip it. He really can… who’s stopping him?

Actually, has there been anyone who ripped their letter like this before?

He intensely stares at it for a few moments, juggling his options and weighing the consequences if he did choose to shred his fate into pieces. He gives a resigned pout when he comes to the conclusion that maybe it’d be best if he didn’t test that theory out. With a huff, he roughly folds up the paper and shoves it into the envelope before tossing it haphazardly onto a low shelf.

“That’s it,” he declares out to the room. “I’m not going to bother with this soulmate shit. I’m going to live my life however I want, and no one can stop me otherwise.”

And suddenly, he feels ten times better, like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. I should’ve done this sooner, he thinks, yawning as he gets ready for a good nap in his bed. Thinking about this is way too tiring and troublesome. Why should I even care about it anymore?

———

Somehow, his admirers became bolder and bolder, realizing that they should try to push his boundaries and see how much they can get away with. It started with tentative brushes of his shirt and his arms, thinking he didn’t notice. Of course he fucking noticed, when ten other girls had the same idea. Birds of a feather flock together—something he remembers, snorting derisively in his mind yesterday. But what does he do? Put some distance between them and himself with a cheery smile and a fastbreak walk. And then today, they have the audacity to actually grab him?

You’ve got to be kidding me.

“Is it true that your soulmate letter told you that you’d meet someone so beautiful in a place no one goes to?”

“No, that’s wrong! I’ve heard that he’s looking for someone in a place where he works.”

“Should we also apply there then…?”

Kise drops his sunny disposition like a drop of a hat, and those who had their eyes and hands on him immediately flinch at the sudden change. All the loud whispers cease.

“K-Kise-kun…? Is there something wrong?”

“Is there someone bothering you?”

How do you guys have no self awareness?

“Ah, sorry…” Kise gives a placid smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “You see—”

“Oh!!~ Ryōta-kun!!”

Everyone jumps at the sound of his first name used so familiarly, but Kise is more shocked than the rest of them because he doesn’t recognize the voice one bit. What the hell is going on?

A girl ruthlessly pushes through the crowd before she bounces to his side with such a saccharine smile that Kise is almost impressed by the feat. But his thoughts short-circuit when she comfortably wraps her perfectly-manicured hands around his left arm, her brunette hair swept across her shoulder and touching his sleeve. He gets a full whiff of her fragrance, and he slightly grimaces before his thoughts finally catch up to register what just happened.

What the f—

“Everyone is so touchy today!!” she declares with a slight pout, ringing her voice loudly for everyone nearby to hear on purpose. “Don’t you guys know Ryōta-kun is my soulmate?”

“O-Oi—who said—” Kise immediately tries to jump in, but the girl is quicker to cut him off.

“He’s mine! Sorry girlies!” she says with a playful innocence before narrowing her eyes maliciously at the crowd. “... So you’ll have to leave, ‘mkay?” No sooner she speaks those words, the group disperses, and for the first time, Kise’s relatively alone in broad daylight in the middle of a public space. Though, he now has a bigger issue at hand. This girl.

There’s no doubt the entire school would talk about this the next day and weeks to come… probably months too. He drops his nice facade completely with her. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but stop it. The shit you’re doing right now isn’t cute in the slightest.”

“Oh! Ryōta-kun… don’t you know how attractive you are when you look at me like that?” She leans forward with a sneer of her own. “But you should be thanking me, no? I got rid of the pests for you, didn’t I?”

“I didn’t need your help,” he scoffs, beginning to turn away to walk. “If anything, you sound more desperate than I am.” There’s only one reason why she’s here.

He fumes to himself. She’s annoying, trying to use me for my status as a model to boost her own reputation in a hopeful “scandal.” Fucking hell. I’ll have to ask my manager about this later for rumor control… He clicks his tongue, making it loud enough for her to hear.

At least he knows 100% that she isn’t his soulmate. That’s one girl down out of infinity.

He walks with such controlled anger brewing within him that he almost didn’t notice another girl walking past him. Almost.

“Hana-chan!” a voice called out. He presumes that the brunette is who the voice is looking for. “Why’d you ditch me like that? You left me with these boys all alone! You know how starved they are—They totally looked at me like a piece of meat!”

“Aish, (y/n)-chan!” He hears her annoying voice echoing behind him. He walks faster. “Don’t you know you have that charm? Can you blame them?~ I wouldn’t, hehe.”

“Mou—! Hana-chan!” You speed to Hana, completely ignoring Kise as you storm past him. “You’re mean!”

He takes a quick side glance at you before his scowl turns harsher.

Who the hell in their right mind is friends with that bitch??

“Sorry, sorry!~”

But Kise can obviously tell she isn’t sorry in the least. He’s even more pissed off when he hears you pleasantly laugh with her, completely accepting her half-assed apology.

Chapter 2, Kise’s POV

———

“Huh? What’d you say Ryōta?”

“I said I want to play for the starting position.” Kise’s voice takes on an arrogant tone, dropping all polite facade—a rare occurrence, especially around so many people. The other first-string players watch the interaction anxiously, tension building in the gym.

This guy isn’t taking me seriously at all, is he?

Haizaki merely gives him a condescending look when he turns to face Kise. “You just joined the team. Hah—don’t be stupid.” He cocks a brow to taunt him further. “Besides, you can’t even beat me at practice. What do you think you’re doing, eh?”

I know what I’m doing, and you damn know it.

Kise merely gives a cocky look of his own. “I may not stand a chance against the other four, but I think I’m ready to take you.” More than ready. The mentioned Generation of Miracles stand aside to watch Haizaki’s response, not making any particular move to interfere.

“Heh, you must not think much of me.” Haizaki puts his hands casually on his hips. “It’s obvious I just don’t take practice seriously.” He licks his thumb as another taunt. “Fine. I’ll give you a taste of what I can really do.”

Honestly… what type of sick guy even does that? I can’t stand him.

. . .

A dunk there.

Another dunk.

Steal.

Backtip.

“Uh-oh. Kise-chin’s getting destroyed,” a lazy voice rings over the shoe squeaks and echoing ball bounces in the one-on-one match.

Damn it, you didn’t have to say that out loud, Murasakibaracchi… Damn it.

“More! I’m not done yet…!” Kise breathes hard, wiping sweat off his chin with the back of his arm and takes on a defensive stance.

“It’ll end the same way every time.”

“W-Wha—!”

“You and I…” Haizaki deals the finishing blow with a brutal dunk. “... are cut from different cloth.”

Ah… shit. Damn it, I thought I had it this time… I thought… damn…

“Shōgo-kun!” a feminine voice calls out from the doorway. A brunette girl pops her head to peep in. Hana. “Are you done with practice?”

Ugh… not her. Kise inwardly blanches at hearing her nauseating voice filling up the room and remembering the stunt she pulled the other day. Of all people to see me like this too…

“Yeah, sorry. I just finished,” Haizaki calls out, voice turning casual. He walks to her with an outstretched arm, eager for a touch before she recoils in disgust.

“Eurgh—!” she shrieks. “You’re still drenched in sweat!”

“Pft, I’ll take a quick shower.” He leans forward to her face, hands on his hips. “Do you wanna come with me?”

“Oh, come on!” she chastises him with that sickenly sweet voice, knowing fully well of his implications.

Kise huffs a small breath of annoyance, though it doesn’t do enough to convey his irritation for her. What a fake. People like her are so unbearable—the worst.

Aomine sighs, watching from a distance away. “That bastard…”

“Hey,” another player calls out. “Isn’t that… That’s Kise’s new girlfriend. Are they soulmates?”

Bullshit! She’s not—

“Ryōta-kun?”

Don’t use my first name like we’re familiar—

“Yeah.” Haizaki turns back to stare down at Kise, still on the ground with his hands and knees. “This guy just challenged me and lost.”

“Seriously? Talk about lame~”

“Anyways, that’s that.” Haizaki prepares to leave with the brunette. “Later, Ryōta-kun.” He adds an emphasis on the honorific to further humiliate him as he turns around.

Kise begins to tremble, fists tightening. All of you piss me off. He grits his teeth, willing himself to get up from his total loss and stand on his feet again. His hands are hanging loosely at his sides—stance relaxed, but no one around him can tell what he’s actually feeling from the way he hides his face under his bangs. But he can’t blame Haizaki… that’s the most infuriating part. He’s right… I challenged him and didn’t stand a chance—That can only mean I have to get stronger.

“Hey, wait!” Another voice cuts through his thoughts when more running footsteps echo down the gym hallway. Kise looks up with a disinterested expression at the source of the noise. “There you are! I’ve been looking for you! Aren’t we going to the arcade together?”

Haizaki merely smirks at you, giving you a once-over before flicking his hand towards himself to beckon you over. “The more the merrier, eh?”

“Oh, Shōgo-kun! You’re so sly!”

“Ehhhhh?” You dramatically gasp, turning to Haizaki. “But you agreed on going on a date with me today, didn’t you?” Haizaki stops with a raised brow to try to recall before his grin grows wider at you.

“My bad. So I did,” he hums. “Then,” he turns to the brunette, “After the shower, I’ll be with (y/n), yeah? You’re more than free to join, though.”

“Whaaaat?” You tilt your head at him. “We agreed to go alone together, geez…”

Kise merely tunes you out from that point on, no longer interested in you and whatever shit you were going to spew out. Anyone involved with Haizaki like that isn’t good to begin with. He slowly walks to use the exit on the opposite side of the gym to avoid the group for good measure.

She’s just like the rest of them. He yawns.

———

Another day, another practice. Even after Teiko destroyed Meiko in the national finals, there is no excitement buzzing among the basketball players from such an accomplishment, when such wins are simply obligatory and frequent.

“Midorimacchi? Where’s everyone else?” Kise enters the gym nonchalantly but stops to do a double take to see half the room empty. It’s supposed to be another regular day of practice isn’t it?

Midorima pauses, his hands on a plastic bottle before he narrows his eyes. “Those fools chose to ditch.”

Fools? Kise widens his eyes. “You can’t mean…”

“I don’t understand their way of thinking,” he continued, putting down the bottle before picking up the ball. “Those who don’t do everything humanly possible within their limits—I can’t be friends with such people. Luckily, my soulmate will not be the same.”

Soulmate?

“Aominecchi and Murasakibaracchi? And hey, where’s Akashicchi?”

“Quiet,” he says, going into a shooting position with the ball in his left hand. “You’re ruining my focus, nanodayo.” He shoots a half-court shot. All net, as always… nothing less from Teiko’s shooting guard.

“I’m serious,” he slightly sulks, eyeing the ball bouncing out of the court before looking back at him. “I don’t know what’s going on here.” Midorima, sensing the serious tone, turns back as he adjusts his glasses.

“Kuroko quit yesterday. Akashi is most likely gone regarding that. Though, I doubt losing Kuroko would make a huge impact to the starter lineup. Despite that, I believe Akashi wanted to be thorough and make sure there’s a temporary sixth man installed in the meantime.”

Kurokocchi quit? Well, it’s not a big deal. It’s almost the end of our 3rd year here anyways… before we graduate.

Kise further raises a confused brow. “And what’s with the soulmate comment? Did you already…?”

“Obviously not.” Midorima frowns at his insinuation. “It is far too soon for me to get one.”

“Then why do you sound so confident?!”

“Because I know,” he replies, closing his eyes briefly before looking down at the ball cart next to him. “… and trust that they’ll give me someone capable. Naturally, if I were to do everything possible on my end, that would only mean I would be granted someone of the same caliber in the future, nanodayo. There is no room for error or doubt.”

“Uh…” Kise merely gives a judgmental stare. “So I’m assuming you have a soulmate letter, and it told you this?” Midorima stops himself from shooting to stare at him incredulously, as if Kise was the most idiotic thing he’d ever laid eyes on.

“Of course not. I’m not opening that letter until the oha asa predicts the luckiest year for cancers yet.”

“I… wow.” That’s Midorimacchi for you, always the weirdo. Can’t believe he really thinks like that.

“You have no place to speak when you also are nowhere near to finding your soulmate, idiot.” He shoots the ball again. He grabs another one without looking at Kise, who’s currently no doubt giving him the look of a kicked puppy.

“I don’t believe in soulmates,” he grumbles. “Not anymore, anyways. It’s too annoying to think about.”

Midorima widens his eyes to stare at Kise, registering the foreign words coming from his mouth.

Midorimacchi, don’t look at me like that… can you blame me? It’s not that weird for a lot of people to think that, too.

Midorima merely sighs. “Say all you want, but you can’t deny the fates, nanodayo.” He goes back to ignoring Kise again, this time for good. I guess he finds that really strange on his end.

“Well…” Kise gives a heavy sigh of his own. “I guess I can get some drills in.”

———

Kaijo’s nice enough. Nothing’s really changed since becoming a 1st year here for a couple months. The campus might be twice the size of Teiko’s, and the basketball team isn’t that bad. Kasamatsu might be scary, though, but he has no real complaints about him. Well… he reconsiders the thought, feeling his lower back throbbing. Actually… he COULD try to lessen up on his kicks… But I guess he means well. He’s a bit too serious, though.

He still has plenty of complaints about girls following him around, but by now, he’s used to it. Call it a staple of Kise Ryōta, of some sorts. Kise of Kaijo… he thinks, remembering Kasamatsu’s lecture on his first day of scouting. It really does have a nice ring to it after all.

He smiles, recalling the new bonds he’s forged with his teammates these past matches. The Winter Cup is coming soon, so everyone’s buzzing with excitement and anticipation to take home 1st place this year. Kurokocchi might be right about doing what’s good for the team. I need to get stronger for our rematch. His simper only grows bigger.

Thinking about basketball and not worrying about the unnecessary things at hand is so liberating that he pretty much forgets the ordeal. (Like the business of soulmates, but he’s not thinking about that! That’s not even remotely in his consciousness, not one bit.)

Unfortunately for him, his smile is wiped from his face the moment he enters the gym.

“Heyah, heyah, heyah!” He furrows his brows in slight confusion at the voice, most definitely not belonging to any of his teammates. That sounds… familiar.

Your voice reverberates throughout the gym, but it seems like you have no regard for an indoor voice as your eyes sparkle (how creepy) at his teammates. And your own smile widens as seconds pass (definitely creepy). Kise’s frown becomes harsher when he finally recognizes you.

I don’t remember what she looks like… but that damn voice… wait a second—

Kasamatsu sighs at you, but he tries to keep a polite tone with you. Even so, anyone can sense how exasperated he is. “Sorry, look,” he says cordially, eyeing Kise at the door before turning his gaze back at you. “If you’re looking for Kise, he’s not here right now, and if you are going to wait for him, he’ll be occupied with practice from soon until hours later.”

You do that same head tilt you did back at Teiko. “But I’m not here for him.”

His teammates merely sweatdrop at your answer. Right, like anyone believes that. Kise takes a quiet step in to put his duffel bag on an empty spot, no longer even bothering to give you his attention anymore.

“Yeah, sorry.” Kobori steps in with an apologetic smile of his own. “If you want to leave any gifts, you can leave it with the coach.”

“No, no!” You widen your eyes theatrically, waving your hands around in front of your chest to emphasize your statement. “You misunderstand me, seriously!”

Kasamatsu, having enough of you, shoots an exhale before turning to yell to the other players, “Everyone! Start warming up! And don’t slack off, or I’ll kick your ass!”

“I’m not here for Kise,” your voice rings out loud and clear. “I’m here for Kasamatsu-senpai.” Everyone freezes at the mention of the captain’s name. What business did a 1st year have with a 3rd year? They spare a look in the captain’s direction, but even he’s caught off guard. Kise looks up at you from behind, a few meters away.

Does she even know that I’m actually here, or…?

“Because,” you say, a little too brightly. “I think you’re my soulmate, Kasamatsu-senpai!”

Said captain immediately chokes on air.

Every single person in the gym has their jaws dropped.

A few seconds of silence take over the gym.

“WHAT??????!!!!”

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zerolynx716 · 10 months

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kisematsu makes me sooooo emo

yk when in the kaijo vs touou match (dont talk about the kasamatsu crying scene after that okay my heart has broken over it enough times) kise couldnt get up from the court floor because his legs were exhausted from copying aomine ,,, and kasamatsu walked to him and kise looked up at him and said “senpai… im so sorry…” and kasamatsu just picked him up, draped his arm over his shoulder to help him up and said “you did well, kise”

it hurts so much more cuz i get what theyre going thru. the euphoria from winning any sports game is unmatched but that means the misery when you lose is equally unmatched. its so bad

not being able to get up from the court, walking with a limp, looking up at your senior and feeling this huge pang of guilt that you couldnt win for them. its terrible

kise wanted to win FOR kasamatsu. he didnt want him to go through that feeling of loss. but the team lost anyway and he felt horrible because for so long the responsibility of the team winning has been on his shoulders. he was always expected to bring the team to victory and he is legit USED TO BEING HUMILIATED for it if he doesnt. he admits that to a fault he doesnt know how to pace himself. he doesnt know when too much is too much and he overexerts himself on a regular basis

but kasamatsu was ALWAYS there to help him. to tell him that if kise ever needed help making a decision w/ training he could go to kasamatsu. that kise didn’t need to bear the burden of success anymore

im never gonna stfu about this bro the ONLY reason kise developed and improved as much as he did is BECAUSE of kasamatsu. kasamatsu saw what teiko did to him the amount of pain kise didnt know he was bearing and he pulled out all the stops to make sure that kise would get better

he took kise to basketball matches with him. he took his junior OVER his classmates that are more experienced and would have had better insights but no. he did it so he could have more time with kise and si that kise could learn more about the game too. to teach him new things and new team strategies that he couldnt learn at teiko because THEY WERENT A TEAM

kasamatsu is one hell of a leader an amazing friend. he is exactly what a leader should be. hes passionate and motivating, he never EVER gives up. he has amazing mental fortitude and he is always open to teaching people new things especially to kise. he knew that kise was being disrespectful because that was all he knew how to do. kise didnt know what it was like to not be at the center of attention and not better than everyone and not singled out because of his talent. kasamatsu didnt let that go unnoticed. he put his foot down but he didnt do it aggressively. he was rational and respectful. he used all the right words

he knew there was something in kise. sure he was a great player but he had the potential to be a better PERSON. and kasamatsu wasnt gonna give up on him just because kise had a rough start

for so many years kise was alone. he never rlly had anyone close to him or anyone that wanted to help him. in that scene where he was in the floor and unable to get up? the animators made it a point to emphasize that he was ALONE. but a few seconds later, there was someones hand outreached. kasamatsu looked at him. helped him up. patted his head. praised him, comforted him

kise wasn’t alone anymore. he had someone that cared about him. an entire TEAM that cared about him

auauhyfhudhsh6(a ahhahwjjak im so insane about them im so sorry this will happen again

#anime #knb #kuroko no basket #kise ryouta #kasamatsu yukio #kise x kasamatsu

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cat-s0ul · 10 months

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I've come across this old playlist I made for a kikasa fic idea and now I want to rewatch kuroko no basket to finish that fic that must be hiding in my folders.

the prompt was Kise has been an unhappy model for years after quitting the sport for an injury in his third year. Kasamatsu fresh out of university starts working on a marketing project for a hotel where Kise will be modelling. They had kissed at Yukio's graduation and never spoke again after a fight or sth like that

#kikasa #kuroko no basket #kise x kasamatsu #old ideas #Spotify

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knbbro · 10 months

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After months of begging, Kasamatsu let Kise do makeup on him. To Kasamatsu’s surprise, it went well for the most part.

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wipbigbang · 10 months

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The final round of art claims is open at @wipbigbang! We have all sorts of great stories left in multiple fandoms, and we'd love any type of fanart for them: traditional art, digital art, fanmixes, moodboards, fic covers/chapter headers...any kind of art you can imagine!

The synopses are located at https://wipbigbang.dreamwidth.org/173272.html

The form is located at https://forms.gle/yyxkCxyXJopMTyUs8.

Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko’s Basketball

#064

Title: three little words

Pairing/Characters: Kasamatsu Yukio/Kise Ryouta

Rating Teen | T

Warnings/Tags: No Warnings apply

Summary: On the seventh time those three words pass Kise’s lips, Kasamatsu is ready to accept them. (Or: Seven times Kise says ‘I like you’; and how each time the same three words carry a slightly different meaning.)

#fandom event #wip big bang #fanart #art event #looking for fanart #signal boost #kuroko no basuke #kuroko's basketball #kise ryouta #kasamatsu yukio #kise x kasamatsu #queueue

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theholypeanut · 4 months

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Kise Ryota x Love at First Sight

Peanut’s Wheel of Fortune Event

Cw: Kise x Student Council President, gn!reader, slight swearing, Kise being delulu idiot in love, Kise’s pov, 1k words

Plot: Kise was always warned about Student Council President, but he never saw them in person, apparently they are very scary…

Event Masterlist

Kise Ryota was in trouble.

To be exact, he was in trouble all the time, with Kasamatsu-senpai always ready to whoop his ass before a game, but after he noticed that Kise was so eager to misbehave, some of the older team members changed the strategy. They created a scary persona of a Student Council President. Or that’s what Kise thought.

„Kise, if you don’t clean the gym today Student Council President will be very angry”

„You have no idea how angry they can be, I wouldn’t test my luck”

Kise never since he started Kajio Academy seen this mysterious person, who was apparently in their second year.

„They are very busy, but believe me you don’t want to be on their radar: if you end up on their black list it's over for you” said Hayakawa-senpai.

„They are younger than me and I’m still having chills whenever I hear their voice” mentioned Kobori-senpai. „They have this... cold demeanor like your mom, when she is not mad, just disappointed. Nightmare”

Again, Kise didn’t take these words to heart: he felt like they just needed some scary story to make him do his chores or come on trainings on time.

However this one day, he really fucked up. Because of the important match with Seirin coming up, he started to slack at school. He stopped listening during the classes and even with his amazing intellect, he could see his grades were just slipping. But who cares? He was never in this school for the grades anyway.

After one of the trainings, as always, there was a crowd of his fans waiting at the entrance of the gymnasium. He was used to at least giving them a wave and a smile, so they could go home happy, fantasizing that they were the main character in the romance novel, or anything else. Ryota didn’t care: If he did it, at least everyone would stay outside of the court, otherwise the coach would scold him. But this time he saw a person coming to him with a smile, crossing the court lines. To show his good side to the team, with a bright smile he went in their direction.

„Oh, I’m so sorry, but you cannot enter here” he said with the sweetest tone. He was surprised no one from the team yet commented anything. However, when he looked closely, Kise felt his heart dropping. He had never seen such a gorgeous human being in his life. Was it an angel?

„However if you tell me your name, I can give you my phone number and we can meet after the training” he added flirtatiously. You sent him a smile, but it was the coldest smile he had ever seen in his life. „No need” he heard, feeling like he made some sort of mistake. „However I would like to see you after the training, Kise Ryota”

The whole gymnasium stayed silent, and at this moment blonde felt, something was up. It was not his fan? Was he in trouble? Why did it sound like a threat, not a date? However, he decided to keep it cool. He sent one of his brightest smiles.

„Like a date? You are quite forward, I like it”

Everyone in the gym felt like the air was just sucked out of there.

„…I will see you after you change” you said with a cold expression, turned around and left. Ryota had no idea why even his fangirls remained silent. He was just about to go in the direction of the locker room, when he felt a kick on his back, way harder than usual.

„You are such a moron Kise!” Kasamatsu-senpai yelled. All of the crowd vanished.

„What did I do?!” Ryota stood up with a single tear leaving his eye from the impact of the kick.

„Did you just try to flirt with the Student Council President?!” He heard Kasamatsu screaming. Hayakawa-senpai looked at him with the fear in his eyes. „We should say our goodbyes to Kise, this might be his last day…”

Kise’s face brightened up.

„So this is the Student Council President? You never told me they are so beautiful!” He felt a slap landing on his cheek.

„Stop thirsting over them! What’s wrong with you?! They hate you now!”

„I think even coach could feel the shiver down his spine when they asked you to meet after the training… You are in big trouble Kise” Kobori-senpai said genuinely worried. But the blonde model was already thinking about something else. He looked at the door with a dreamy look.

„Our wedding will be in February, on Valentine's Day…”

Kasamatsu took a swing with his hand but Kobori-senpai stopped him with a resigned look.

„We lost him.”

He was right - Ryota wasn’t listening anymore. Till the end of the training to when he was ready to face the new love of his life, he couldn’t stop feeling his heart beating fast. Was that what people felt when they were in love? Kise never could relate to all of those girls swooning over him, but now he could feel his knees giving up just by the memory of your face.

On his way out, his upper-class mates saluted him as he was going into the war. But Kise only looked at them excitedly and said „I plan to get their number today, wish me luck!”

And even if they felt like Ryota was going on his death sentence, they never saw him so happy an excited again, and who knows, maybe this childish arrogant basketball star is exactly what will melt your heart?

Kise did not get your phone number that day. He was scolded. But he will not give up.

Bonus:

#🥠#peanut’s wheel of fortune event #kise ryota x reader #kise ryōta #kise ryouta #Kise Ryouta x you #kuroko no basuke x reader #kuroko no basket #kise x reader #dividers by cafekitsune #knb #knb x reader

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extant-exhaustion · 2 months

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Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "extant-exhaustion "?

Well, first of all, thank you so much for your patience! I know it took me seven weeks to reply to this Ask! I agonized over my list (also, the holidays happened, which kept me busy). But I finally narrowed it down, so here we go, in no particular order:

My Top 10 Favorite Fanfics

died in my dreams by MTrash Haikyuu!! | T+ | 10k | Ushijima/Tendou | futuristic/cyberpunk AU, opposites attract, reluctant work partners to friends to lovers | fantastic characterization, really cool conceptually, a story about trauma and healing and finding your person

Come and get lost with us by boxofwonder Haikyuu!! | M | 150k | Hinata/Kageyama, Daichi/Sugawara | action/adventure, Medieval AU(?) | unlike anything I've ever read before or since; a really masterful integration of an enormous cast and a plot that unravels with absolutely zero fluff or filler

A Second Chance To Say by KazimaKuwabara/@kazimakuwabara Yu Yu Hakusho | M | 92k | Yusuke/Kuwabara, Youko Kurama/Kuronue | action/adventure, hurt/comfort | ft. Kuronue's eternal sass and unwavering friendship, the slow burn of reincarnated already-in-love KuwaMeshi (because Kuwabara doesn't remember it), somewhat menacing levels of intrigue, and Hiei finally winning MVP of emotions on Team Urameshi

Don't Blink or You'll Miss It (Lift Up Your Head) by umisabaku/@umisabaku Kuroko no Basuke | M | 81k | Kagami/Kuroko, Kasamatsu/Kise, Midorima/Takao, Himuro/Murasakibara, Aomine/Momoi | super powers | This story and its accompanying series are so cool and so unique. The characterization is amazing and the worldbuilding is stellar.

neither fish, flesh, nor foam by twoif interactive on Twine Kuroko no Basuke | Kagami/Kuroko | angst, Little Mermaid–esque, interactive storytelling | incredible, but also devastating; a story about how sometimes our doubts can destroy not only ourselves but the good things we build; one of the coolest things I've ever interacted with as a story, a true tour de force

Transient Shadow, True Light by seafoamist/@seafoamist Kuroko no Basuke | M | 322k, WIP | Kagami/Kuroko | angst, hurt/comfort, time travel, historical (Edo Period) | If you talk to me about this story, I will go absolutely feral, because it is my current obsession and the only WIP that is on this list. I'm straight-up insane about its quality and depth. I can't even put this story into words. It knocks the wind out of me.

And lastly, my URL doesn't actually have a story behind it! It's basically just my life, haha. “Extant” is an adjective meaning “ongoing/still in existence” and “exhaustion” is pretty obvious. Essentially, I like alliteration and thought it sounded better than "tired 100% of the time."

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mytragedyperson · 1 year

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Honestly for how much I enjoyed knb when I watched it I do not talk about this anime enough. I'm willing to discuss all of this more.

First of all these characters are so funny and chaotic but they're also such losers and I mean that in the most affectionate way possible. Like I know they're supposed to be cool and intimidating but every time kagami tries to act tough and cool or aomine says "the only one who can beat me is me" or akashi says "i am absolute" or anything emperor like, I just kinda die of a combination of second hand embarrassment and laughter. Like these guys are so funny and they don't even mean to be.

Having said that murisakibara is genuinely one of my favourite characters in any media because he's just so done with everything. He has no fucks to give and he just wants to sleep and eat, and he's such a mood. Ugh I love him. And i ship him with tatsuya because they just seem like they'd be cut together

And aomines introduction actually made him seem so cool. A dick but cool and I kinda loved the whole falling out of love with basketball because everyone gave up and just stopped trying to win thing because even I, as someone who is unfit and doesn't really like sports would get annoyed at playing against people who aren't even trying. So you might lose, someone has to, but if you don't even try you're definitely going to lose whereas if you try, there's a chance, no matter how small that you'd win. And the interesting thing is aomine wants someone to beat him or at least be able to keep up with him. And it's sad because young aomine clearly loved volleyball.

On a similar note, aokaga or aomine x kagami I'd like my main knb ship. I feel like aomine motivates kagami to improve and get better, shows him that you can't always win on your own sometimes you have to rely on your team. Meanwhile kagami is the one that beats and keeps up with aomine, that doesn't just give up no matter how hopeless it seems, who still wants to play against him even if he loses, who doesn't hate him simply for beating him in basketballs. In my head later in life aomine went pro and they met again and became at least friends though of course they still argue. And kuroko keeps in touch with them all and constantly reminds them of the embarrassing things they said and did in high school, middle school and after. Also I like how they're shown as being quite similar in some ways but still being very different people. And ill forever be wondering what it would have been like if kagami had known them in middle school, both as a teammate and an opponent.

Kise is great. I'd say more but honestly I don't think I need to. He's kinda like a golden retriever puppy and is kind of two faced but not really. I like him and I ship him with kasamatsu though they do kinda remind me of oikawa and iwaizumi from haikyuu except they're not childhood friends. They're fun I like them.

Midorima is interesting because I feel like he's supposed to be like the smart need character but he's also really superstitious or at least believes in astrology which is interesting because I feel like more often than not, the smart characters are shown as logical and rational and not really believing that type of thing so I like that it was different here. Also he's friends (though I do ship them) with takao who is like one of the best characters and I love him and he deserves everything good.

I honestly don't have much to say about akashi. The emperor thing is interesting and I like him as a character but I just don't really have an opinion on him beyond that.

Kuroko is probably one of my favourite anime protagonists. He just seems chill and like he's waiting for his friends to sort their issues so.he can make fun of them later. And I always love to see kuroko scaring somebody. Plus he found the dog and dogs are always a win.

Finally kagami. This guy is great. He thinks he's so cool and tough but je is such a dork. He gives me so much second hand embarrassment, more than any other character but he's so funny and I love him so much. He's a loser but he's my loser. I feel like everyone has a character who they love but also love to bully and kagami is mine. I will bully him endlessly but if anyone seriously hates on him I will defend him like my life will end if I don't.

And that's without getting into the actual games. When I watched this anime I'd watch it on a night when my parents went to bed. I'd end up watching like five episodes because they were playing a game and I couldn't just stop in the middle of a match. They're so fun. Ugh I just live it

Edit: I completely forgot Momoi and that is unacceptable. When I tell you this girl made me so anxious every tome she came up I'm that first game. Like, when seirin would do something it would cut to her and she'd be like I know, I thought you might do that, here's how we'll combat that. Like she's so smart and badass while also being girly and feminine and she's so loyal, especially to daiki. Ugh I can't believe I forgot her. I kept feeling like I was forgetting someone but couldn't figure out who. But I do love her I think she's a great character and I'm so glad that she and Riko exist and are more than just love interests for the athletes. Like obviously there's romance hinted at or discussed but that's not all there is to them. They're so badass and I'm so glad they exist in this world. And I love their interactions with each other as well.

#knb #kuroko no basuke #kurokos basketball #kuroko tetsuya #kagami taiga #aomine daiki #generation of miracles #gom #akashi seijirou #kise ryouta #shintaro midorima #murasakibara atsushi #momoi satsuki #riko aida

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lamnwar · 2 years

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Alright people, I'm opening my requests! 💕

Just throw anything in my asks; hcs, fic, drabbles ideas... anything KNB related ofc I'd be more than glad to fill your requests <3

Reminder: I take NSFW requests but please clearly indicate that you are 18+ on your blog if you're doing so, and I reserve myself the right to decline any request that makes me uncomfortable! I won't write NSFW content including Kuroko.

I write NSFW content for fem! Reader only; SFW for everyone.

I also don't write on Hanemiya and Haizaki bc fuck these guys :)

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shoichee · 2 years

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Paradox

[Kise x f!Reader]

Chapter 1-2 can be found here!

Chapters 3-4

Word Count:

Part 3: 3740 | Part 4: 2913

soulmate!au, enemies to lovers!au, manga!kise, cursing!kise to bits, LONG SERIES FIC

Hana is the name I decided to give to the brunette who flirted with Haizaki in s3

current 🏷: @nadav-ii @carinacassiopeiae @kendrex13 @roppongiperfume @thesongstressayre @kimigiri09 @takatul @evierena @one-one-one-one @seijurosempress @inum4k1

Chapter 3, Kise’s POV

———

“Wh-Wh-Wh-What?!” Kasamatsu sputters, with the brightest crimson on his cheeks. You only give a lopsided smile at his reaction, but your eyes show that you weren’t joking in the slightest. “Wh-What the hell?!”

Moriyama only bemoans the development, arm slung over his face in such a dramatic way that Kise completely ignores him to focus on the back of your head.

Is she fucking serious? There’s no way…

“Yet another cute girl escapes from me—my soulmate is still out there waiting for me to rescue her…!” Moriyama cries out, though still, no one bothered to heed his words at all. “Surely, you must have mistaken our captain for me? I sense a connection between us!”

You merely turn to Moriyama before you smile that uncanny grin. “Sorry, sorry! I think Kasamatsu-senpai is the one, though!”

Ouch. Kise looks to see Moriyama absolutely heartbroken from your words. She definitely pulls some punches of her own.

Kasamatsu, frozen this entire time, barely recovers with a cough. “... H-Have we met before?”

You laugh, mirth seeping into the sound as Kasamatsu turns redder, clearly affected by your reaction to his dumbfounded question. “Well, it’s fine if you don’t remember me, but last week, we briefly talked… And, I accidentally bumped into you when I tried leaving in a rush!” You stop dramatically, holding your finger up for effect. Clearly, Hayakawa was buying your theatrics. Kise rolls his eyes. “Then you made the effort to run all the way to me, tapped my shoulder, then shyly gave back my notes. And like, that’s totally unlike the you from your matches! And I thought… ‘oh my gosh, I think he might fulfill my requirements from my soulmate letter!’ So the next week came, and here we are! I was hoping to find you guys at practice… lucky me!”

Kise stops listening to you halfway to pick up a ball across the court. Everyone else remains stuck in their spot, as if you had somehow forced them under a spell to listen to you ramble.

“Uh… yeah…” Kasamatsu clears his throat, before he whips his head around to shout at everyone around you two. “Well, what are you guys waiting around for?! Unless you really want me to kick your ass, then get moving!” Instantly, everyone scrambles to do something and to look busy, but every now and then, they steal a few glances while the captain’s attention is on you.

“Look…” he turns back to face you, voice instantly turning into more of a mumble once more. “W-What’s your name…?”

You beam at him. Kasamatsu bursts into a flurry of nervous coughs again at the sight.

“I’m (l/n) (y/n), ehe!~ ♪ It’s nice to meet you!”

Shut the hell up already, Kise groans in his mind. He dribbles faster to block your presence out, racing down the court to deliver a punishing dunk and letting the rim go with a rattle. How much can one person talk this much anyways? Kasamatsu-senpai, you’d kick me in the face right now if I did the exact same thing… you go way too easy on girls. He stops to look up in thought after the ball bounces unceremoniously away. Then again, I guess I go too easy on them too.

“R-Right.” Kasamatsu clears his throat. “So…” He averts his gaze, thick brows furrowed. “C-Could you… just… Could you wait here until we’re… done, so—”

“Sure thing!” You lean forward to catch his gaze, but Kasamatsu shrinks even further at your forward gesture. You even make the effort to pout at him, reducing Kasamatsu to nothing but a puddle. Kise turns to look at his captain, before he sighs.

Kasamatsu-senpai might need a bit of help here…

“Hey,” Kise briskly jogs over to the two of you, putting on a friendly smile to ease any tension. “Sorry about him. He’s not really used to this type of thing. Can you ease up on him?”

“You—!” Kasamatsu does a 180, ready to whoop Kise into oblivion, but you speak up before he grabs for him.

“Oops! Sorry, sorry! I’ll sit right over here… Don’t mind me! I won’t disturb any of you guys.” And you do exactly that, sitting on the raised platform of the stage overseeing the gym, dangling your legs and crossing them primly with your hands on your lap. You still had the same huge closed-mouth grin on you, though.

Her smile is… so weird.

Kise merely raises a brow, trying to get a good read on you. Something about you irritates him, and he knows plenty of reasons why. But before he can list them out in his head, Kasamatsu interrupts his thought process as he kicks him to get back on the court.

“O-O-Ow!! Kasamatsu-senpai?!”

“If you have time to ogle at someone, then you sure as hell have more than enough time to do eight laps around this perimeter!”

Kise glares at his captain. “I wasn’t ogling!!—erk—okay, okay! I got it, I’m running…!”

———

You sit there patiently, watching everyone nearly barf their lungs out from the drills and practice one-on-ones, but your expression hasn't changed for the most part. Kise can’t help but glance at you every so often. He can’t help it—not when you’re eyeing every single person on the court with scrutiny that doesn’t really suit your facial features. Worst part is, you keep your body near immobile, and you don’t blink much either. It’s off-putting—especially when only your pupils trail after Kasamatsu for extended periods at a time… It’s that unsettling and invasive, the way your gaze has that knowing, expecting glint to it. He looks around to see everyone doing the same thing he was, and hopefully, thinking the same sentiments.

So it’s not just me that feels off about her.

Still, he can tell that everyone’s trying to be polite and disregard you as much as they can, trying to ignore the fact that you’re a distraction. It’s probably because the Kaijo team has never had a girl like this up close to them.

But finally, grueling practice thankfully ends with no real casualties from Kasamatsu’s discipline, and everyone wearily begins to move to refresh, change, and pack up.

Of course, Kasamatsu immediately goes to check up on you even despite his obvious embarrassment. Even through great reluctance, his pride of having great responsibility overrides that hesitancy. While Kasamatsu stumbles over his words, Kise continues to stare at you suspiciously.

… What’s her plan here?

You were clearly friends with that girl from Teiko and somehow even on friendly terms with Haizaki. This can’t be good, not with you showing up out of nowhere and declaring such a bold statement to someone like Kasamatsu… and Kise had plenty of experience with girls who've done that to him… like that girl—Hana, was it?… who just happened to be past friends with you. Which makes a full circle. Who knows what you want from his captain?

It’s troublesome to go out of his way and interfere, but seeing Kasamatsu tripping over by being just in your presence… there’s no other answer than to figure you out and warn his captain of your true intentions. As he sorts out his next plan of action, he watches you give a coy smile and then even giggle when you see Kasamatsu’s reaction. His gaze sharpens.

The captain says something to you despite his shy stupor, and you reply something cheekily. Kise squints his eyes and strains his ears to try to eavesdrop in some way, but he sighs after a few seconds, deeming the effort fruitless. So he opts to wait outside the gym, leaning against the wall next to the door. While he waits, he ignores his teammates exiting the gym, too busy wracking his mind in trying to recall anything he knows of you back in Teiko. Luckily for him, it’s dark enough outside for him to be hidden in plain sight from unsuspecting people. Unfortunately, Kise was never someone into gossip or rumors (rightfully so), so any information in his brain about you is nearly nonexistent. He groans into his hands at the realization.

“Well, well! Look what we have here!” Your bright voice cuts through the still of the night, even louder than the incessant cicadas. He jolts, his face suddenly rising from his hands to stare at you. Has he been mulling over this for that long? How did you manage to spot him? Though, granted… he was standing near the door. He looks behind you to see that you’re the only one left; it looks like even Kasamatsu went home on his own.

You shoot him what he assumes a concerned look and walk to him, but he only gives you a raised brow, still debating whether or not to put on a cheerful front to dissuade you. But before he can stand up completely straight to face you, you suddenly jump to his side and sling your arm over his neck to further bring him down to your height.

“Ehhhh? Now what seems to trouble you?” you muse, giving a little laugh. “Kise-kun, right? I remember you. Quite a reputation you’ve got for yourself all these years, huh?” He immediately glares at your face—unbelievably close to his, by the way—and roughly shakes himself from your grasp to step away from you. He gives you a pointed look, that arrogant aura he’s so acquainted with using for people he knows doesn’t deserve his respect.

“What’s your deal?”

You only blink at his question and tilt your head, crossing your arms to mull over his words. He doesn’t know if you’re doing this to mock him or if you’re that slow.

“My deal?” you inquire. “Eh… well, I guess I like communicating with people so openly. Oh—oops, that’s a scary look on you! My bad, my bad! I won’t throw an arm over you anymore—”

He gives a frustrated quick huff, deciding to get to the point. “What are you planning to do with Kasamatsu-senpai? You think just ‘cause you’re a girl, you can push people around like this? You don’t just go up to anyone and declare that they’re your soulmate or whatever.”

“Ohhhh. You’re concerned about your captain, aren’t you?” You smile at him, but Kise doesn’t like the implications of your “epiphany.” Did you just completely ignore what he said?

Yeah, I’m more concerned about the shit YOU might pull on him, rather than Kasamatsu-senpai himself. But he keeps that thought to himself. Saying that to you may cause you to get the further wrong idea. Besides, he supposes there’s some merit to your words… he does care for his captain, even if what Kasamatsu does is his own business.

“Whatever you’re doing…” Kise says, trailing off to watch your face. “You better not plan anything fucked up, or I’ll be there to pay it back tenfold before you know it. Better watch yourself.”

“My gosh!” you gape comically at him. “Are you really threatening a girl? Honestly, you’re such a brute! I haven’t done a single thing, and you’re getting on my case…” Even despite your words, your facial expressions remain quite placid, though Kise can see a slight furrow of your brows to show that his warning actually does hold some water.

Kise only rolls his eyes as he decides to walk past you. “Look, whatever Kasamatsu-senpai does is none of my concern, but you…” He turns around to briefly face you. “People like you who like to take advantage of the idea of soulmates to manipulate others like that—I don’t like your kind. You might’ve fooled the entire team, but I know who you really are.”

You finally give a real reaction, jumping at the spot and staring at him with genuine widened eyes of surprise. There it is, he thinks. But he puts his guard back up when he sees your next move. You give a crooked grin and that irritating titter that sounds unbelievably ingenuine.

“The ‘idea of soulmates,’ you say…” you repeat what he said, sounding almost offended somehow. “You say that as if it’s not a real thing in our lives. Like it’s just some concept.”

“Don’t twist my words,” he says evenly. “You know what I mean.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you reply. “You’re, like, so weird, Kise-kun. I just want to look for my soulmate… that’s not malicious in intent at all, is it?”

“You don’t need a soulmate to do what you want,” he coolly counters. “Ever thought about that?”

You give him an unreadable look before morphing your features into an exasperated smile. “Haha! Sounds like someone’s a miserable man! Cheer up, Kise-kun! Surely, someone as well-loved as you can find anyone with your preferences to take as your soulmate~ The rest of us normal folks actually have to try to look for ours. Woe is me, especially!”

Kise hardens his glare at you, clearly having a nerve touched by your words. You’re the umpteenth person out there constantly telling it to his face how his search for a soulmate is as easy as he breathes air. Easy? Yeah fucking right. You think you have me all figured out, don’t you?

“I’ll have you know that I don’t care for the soulmate shit. Don’t impose your values on me.”

“Well, then…” You lean forward with your arms crossed, giving him a wink. He scowls. “Don’t ‘impose your values’ onto me either. You’re just as suffocating as the people you look down on, you know.”

You then turn around, back to him but your face is still turned to the side to face Kise to stick out your tongue almost provocatively, as if to piss him off on purpose. And it’s working. “How about you keep your nose out of this? Honestly, people like you who act like they’re better and more righteous than everyone else are the worst.” You finally turn around completely to depart in the opposite direction of Kise, as if you had the final say.

He stands there to watch your back (oh, he’s boring holes into your back) as you skip away, not in the least reassured that you’d refrain from trying anything starting tomorrow. Especially from how you responded to him.

You’re even worse than that Hana chick.

———

“Kasamatsu-senpai…” Kise calls out, looking over to see Kasamatsu in deep thought. Another day, another practice, he would have thought, but immediately walking into the gym today, Kasamatsu isn’t at his usual spot of critically eyeing his teammates before practice. In fact… he’s distracted by a creased piece of paper. “... Don’t tell me that’s…”

“Huh? Oh, it’s just you.” The Kaijo captain flits his eyes from the paper to look at the 1st year before he goes back to concentrating on whatever’s written on the sheet. His thick brows knit together as he goes over the same line over and over, judging by how his pupils were moving back and forth. Kise cautiously walks to his side to try to get a peek… and every other team starter coincidentally has the same idea.

Kasamatsu doesn’t even bother to kick them off to practice, and everyone looks at each other with immense concern and confusion before Kobori is the one to call out his oddities. “Captain, is there something wrong? You’ve been a bit too quiet. You’re unnerving the team a little.”

“Yeah…” was all he absentmindedly said, and Kise shared a knowing look with his upperclassmen. Is it that bad…? Kise flanks on Kasamatsu’s right while Moriyama settles himself on the left, both peering over his shoulders to read the letter as fast as they humanly can:

Addressed to Kasamatsu Yukio:

Your soulmate has been to places you’ve never been before, yet you two will meet for the second time in a place they’d never normally wouldn’t be in. You will ironically meet them the first time in an ordinary commonplace where people utilize to travel about. The place is never a means to the end of a destination and is always bustling with eager activity of all kinds. You will accidentally encounter someone that is completely unlike you among a particularly busy crowd. The floors will be cold and gray, and the walls will be modern. It is long vertically but does not have much depth widthwise. Many doors are located in these types of places as a must. Your fated location, in particular, has many windows and plenty of sunlight shining in with ample ventilation. You do not—should not—think much of this location, like anyone else normally does not. Do not try hard to look for them, or you will certainly miss your first encounter with them. This location is not at the ground floor.

Kise only gets through half a page before Kasamatsu breaks through his stupor, doing an insanely quick prep before he lands a shoe on his cheek.

“K-K-Kasamatsu-senpai?!”

“Idiot! Who said you can snoop around?!”

“What?!” Kise rubs his cheek sullenly before he points an accusatory finger at the other team starters. “They were looking too!! How’s that fair?!”

But when Kasamatsu menacingly spares a glance at where Kise was pointing, the rest of the players already had the keen idea of feigning warming up, putting themselves a fair distance from the captain to avoid retributions. Kise merely balks at the turn of events.

You guys… You guys are so mean…!!

———

After many hours of kicks and spartan orders, Kise somehow finds himself trapped between Hayakawa and Moriyama when he starts heading for home. How do these things always happen to me? He inwardly groans, but truthfully, it’s not so bad with them… you just… need to get used to their quirks. VERY strange quirks. And Kise thinks he’s somewhat grown used to them. Somewhat.

“What was up with that ®ette(l)!?” Hayakawa exclaims, damn near shouting into his own eardrums even if he wasn’t trying. He never needs to try anyways. Kise winces at the sudden volume, putting his fingers into his ear holes to help alleviate the burst of pain. “The captain… he was acting ve(l)y st(l)ange, wasn’t he?!”

“Hayakawa-senpai… you’re a bit… too loud.”

Always too loud.

Moriyama answers the question as if Kise never spoke up to begin with. “Our captain was merely experiencing the awakening of the ultimate blessing… unforgettable romance!! Oh when will it be my turn…!”

And here, Kise thought he was the dramatic one. He merely gives an awkward, polite smile at the woe of his senior. “Though, Moriyama-senpai, the content of the letter was very simple and to the point… It’s not something to freak out over, anyways.” He shrugs with a heavy sigh. “Is it really that bad for Kasamatsu-senpai?”

“... We shou(r)d encou(l)age him to do his best!”

Unsurprisingly, both Kise and Moriyama squint at the offensive rebounder to decipher his words. There’s a moment of uncomfortable silence while the trio walks down the smooth concrete, dappled by the sunset rays filtered through the trees in the neighborhood. As if on cue, gentle wind tousles through their hair strands to emphasize the unnatural… silence? Lack of response? Kise opens his mouth.

“... Anyways. We should mind our own business. It’s his to deal with, you know?”

“I agree!” Moriyama nods aggressively, holding his chin with his forefingers in a “thoughtful” way. “This is the only way Kasamatsu can truly become a man and lead the rest of us! Then, we can utilize his newfound experience to help us all get a cute date… yes, yes… It’s truly a win-win situation!”

“... Right, Moriyama-senpai. Exactly what I said…”

———

Kise knows that he said to mind his own business… regarding Kasamatu and life in general. Definitely more of the latter than anything else.

But what the hell is going on?

Another day, another lifetime of mental toil arrives as he deftly avoids mobs of heads bobbing around him, his mind blurring voices of nauseating adoration as a form of his psyche’s first line of defense to protect the remnants of his sanity. He yawns, faintly registering more shrieks of devotion at the mundane action as he steps past Kaijo’s gates to face another army thrown at him—who, no doubt, were all at his beck and call if Kise truly wanted to take advantage of their blind loyalties. He could’ve been a great general of some sorts, using the crowds to fulfill the desires and whims he sometimes cooked up in his mind, but that idea itself—to use them how he pleased—is also equally revolting. They are always his enemies, so naturally, he never wanted anything to do with them. These are things he’s accepted long ago (actually recently, but that’s besides the point), but what he witnesses at this moment is something he definitely can’t bring himself to ignore and “mind his own business.”

Somehow, your giggle manages to pierce through the disorienting fog of all the censored murmurs and coos of everyone around him—grating and coquettish. He could’ve ignored it all the same—you weren’t the first (and certainly not the last) person to act in such an unashamedly way. But the sight of Kasamatsu with you completely forces Kise to focus his attention on you.

What the fuck is she doing?

Your arms are wrapped around his left arm, pushing yourself up to his side as your lips form a pout with a practiced innocence that Kise recognizes all too well. He’s pissed—no, terrified for his captain, but most of all, he feels sick. But Kise isn’t Kasamatsu’s caretaker or father—hell, he’s not even an upperclassman. He’s more than capable of shrugging her off if she goes too far, he reasons, even if he knew that line of logic is a pile of shit. And if he really needs help, the other senpais can help him out of there. He will mind his own business. For now, he finishes his thoughts with finality. With that note, he briskly walks to his first class of the day, relieved when you and Kasamatsu are gone from his field of vision. His shoulders relax and he releases a steady stream of air, closing his eyes for a momentary recovery. There are too many things to worry about right now, but for now, he’d rather focus on his upcoming English quiz than the what-if’s of your motives with someone like his captain.

You’re just like everyone else, after all.

Chapter 4, Reader’s POV

———

They say that when your soulmate is close within your proximity, your mood begins to lighten up substantially as a sign. It’s just a dumb rumor people spread around, you knew, and yet…

You want to believe in it so badly.

What’s the truth? What’s the lie? All you know is that your soulmate letter is the truth, and all the kisses you shared with countless people ended up being lies on top of lies. You want to believe that your emotions are telling you the truth for once, and that he isn’t like the others. Why would Kasamatsu look so genuinely surprised? Genuinely flustered? Genuinely trying to be nice to you? Why else has your heart begun to beat so fast around him—the first time it’s ever happened to you?

Turning to your side, you curl up your body, clutching your blanket closest to you in the hopes that you can force your body to fall asleep. Ever since you got that momentous letter, sitting daintily on top of the table two years ago, things haven’t been the same. But that should be a good thing, right?

Your fingers automatically move to touch your own lips, tingling at the memories of other countless lips it had already firmly locked with. Your heart just keeps sinking further down the more you run through every single moment.

I have to keep going, you insist, tossing to your other side to dispel those memories away into the backburner of your mind. I have to find my soulmate, I have to…

Otherwise, I…

“You don’t need a soulmate to do what you want…” You subconsciously conjure up an image of Kise back at the gym, eyes cold and brows harsh with a ferocious frown. At the intrusive thought, you form your own fierce frown. “Ever thought about that?”

That stupid ass motherfucker—you curse at him as if he was really there in person—I’ll show you…! When I get my happy ending, I’m gonna rub it in that ugly smug face of yours.

I’ll prove them all wrong, I’ll prove them all wrong, I’ll prove them all…

Somehow, through the cacophony of mantras to yourself, you fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

———

[Your soulmate is of similar age.]

You sigh to yourself as you recall the contents of your letters again, mind so distant from the current reality of your situation. But you’ll never sigh outwardly; instead, you give a placating smile to the people around you as you walk down the hallway, then up a floor to continue down another corridor. Because people always like girls who are friendly, sweet, and outgoing… Those girls are what draw in people the fastest. It’s quite a huge generalization, and you’re aware of that fact, but you also consider that it does hold some truth to it. Your face twitches with a familiar discomfort, but you refuse to let your smile fall, letting your eyes crinkle in an inviting, sweet manner that no person would ever have the heart to deny you a friendly greeting. The brightest flowers always attract the bees, so to speak. Naturally, you have to do your best to attract as many people as possible to you. How else would you find your soulmate?

[You will finally meet them when there is a fresh start—a new chapter—in your life.]

It’s midway through October, approximately six months since you became a 1st year at Kaijo. There must be something wrong… shouldn’t your “first chapter” happen when you first graduated out of Teiko? Or maybe around the time of Kaijo’s opening ceremony? The demoralizing realization almost makes you drop the grin, and to compensate, you grin even wider. Just in case.

“Ah, (l/n)-san!” a classmate called out, catching up to your skipping stride with hurried steps. “You’re so cheery today! Woke up on the right side of the bed today?”

“Awwww, Saori-chan!~” you chime without missing a beat. “Aren’t I always cheery? You’re teasing me, aren’t you!”

“I’d never!” She gave a mock gasp, but her slight giggle after the last syllable immediately gave her away. “I’m just pointing out the truth! It’s really refreshing whenever I see you happy… I think I can speak for most of us when we’re near you… I must be sounding super strange, huh?”

The truth… you wonder about that often.

“Honestly, it really does sound all weird, ehe! Buuuuut…!” you pause dramatically, pleased to see her leaning in out of anticipation. “Hearing that from you makes me happier, of course~” You playfully pinch her cheek with a wink, and you skip away when she immediately blooms a cherry red. You debated whether to blow her a kiss too, but if you were going to win over Kasamatsu’s heart, then you needed to remain steadfast. Of course, it’s a nice change of pace that you don’t have to do anything drastic for once to get someone’s heart beating. For once… you feel a great weight lifting from your shoulders at the realization. No more of any of that anymore—the kisses, cuddles, the games you force yourself to play to find the one. After all—

“W-whoa—!”

“E-eek?!”

Of course, you get distracted when you think too hard about these types of things. Saving a mental berating for yourself during class starting in half an hour, you immediately focus your attention on the poor person you accidentally manage to assail. But your eyes widen when you register a stuttering, comically red captain.

“… Kasamatsu-senpai?”

… After all, he is someone who can have blood rushing into his cheeks from just a simple gesture like a wink and a smile. He is an anomaly—a one-of-a-kind person who you’ve never seen anyone like before. Isn’t he also around your age?

[You will meet them once again when they are most unlike themselves…]

“S-S-Sorry…” He’s already stuttering before he can even face you, and you figure it’s because he recognizes a female-sounding voice coming from you. You quietly watch him pick up the stray papers that manage to flutter out of his binder from the untimely collision, and after he straightens himself, he cranes a neck, rubbing the back of it with his free hand. On second thought… you note. It may actually be harder to win over his affection if he can’t even look at me. And to think he was able to talk to me with such authority in the gym a couple days ago. Oh, what will I do with him…

“H-Huh…? Y-You…?” Kasamatsu finally brings up all of his nerves to at least hold proper eye contact for a solid four seconds before he darts his gaze back to the gray floor. There is no way for him to properly lead the conversation, from the looks of him cowering in your presence, so you decide to speak instead.

“Ah, sorry, sorry!” you say, hoping to break the ice with him. If you are more “normal” with him, as opposed to being your usual outgoing self, maybe he’d see you in a better light? “I wasn’t completely paying attention to my surroundings, and I really messed up, huh? Totally my bad!”

“I-It’s…” Kasamatsu dares to sneak a glance at your face before he turns away again. “... f-fine.” You open your mouth to perhaps talk about the weather or perhaps his class schedule for you to memorize later, but you falter when you see him glancing at you again before averting his eyes. Was there something on your face? You owlishly blink before a flirtatious grin finds its way onto your face again, and immediately, his cheeks predictably lights up a bright pink again.

“Wahhh…!” You lean forward up to his face, hands held together in a gesture of being in love. “You’re really adorable, did anyone tell you that before?~ I’m definitely the first, aren’t I? Right—right?”

“I—!” He’s balking at the shameless assumption, mouth half-opening… half-closing… his mind is in a state of limbo, and he’s being sent into overdrive. “I-I’m… I… mm… nn…” Instinctively, he stumbles a couple steps back, clutching the fabric in the front of his shirt in an attempt to calm himself.

“And wow!” you continue. “Didn’t we also have the same type of run-in the first time we met? I don’t think this is just a coincidence…” You stick your tongue out playfully, fully rendering him speechless and robbing him of any chance to recover his voice.

“N-nn…”

What are his habits? What are his likes? Dislikes? What are his passions and hopes and dreams? You wonder about the countless things you can elicit out of him. Any tidbit about him would be a good start in getting to know him—you tilt your head at him cutely while you continue to assess your options—but how do I ask for it when he’s constantly stuttering or avoiding girls in general? After all, you tried to charm him the other morning, but it was apparently too much for Kasamatsu to even think of any coherent response.

“There you are.” A flash of yellow catches your eye as swoons of mainly women follow close by. “Kasamatsu-senpai! Kobori-senpai has been looking all over for you… you’re going to be late at this point if you don’t hurry up, you know!” Almost as if his voice is a trigger, Kasamatsu whirls around to hurl the usual serving of insults.

“Hah?! Since when were you so confident to tell an upperclassman what to do again? You really want to have your ass kicked again, huh?!”

“Like I said—! They wanted me to go look for you! Not like I had a choice!”

Damn, way to ruin an opportunity like that. You give a quiet sigh as Kasamatsu waves at you shyly before he storms off to find his other teammates to berate them, though you know it was more out of politeness than care from his end. Interestingly, the ace of Kaijo remains behind, watching his senior disappear before he seemingly remembers that you are also here. Flashing a breezy smile at you, you resist your instinctive reaction to twitch an eye as screams fill up the hall in response. But of course, you deliver your own captivating curl of those lips, and suddenly, you sense an aura of hostility spiking towards your end. Ah… so it appears that they view me as a rival, hm?

“Ah… (l/n)-san, right?” Kise laughs, fiddling with a few strands as he tucks them behind his ear, revealing his piercing. “Are you alright? You look like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” Try as he might, but his cheeriness wasn’t able to hide his voice from slipping into a steely tone. … Is he taunting you?

This guy!—you give an airy laugh in response—He’s the fakest asshole I’ve ever seen! Who the fuck is buying this discounted act of his?! When you dare to look around casually though, everyone is hanging onto his every word.

“I guess it’s been getting chilly lately!” you reply. “Maybe I should see the infirmary later for a check up… Thanks for the concern though, Kise-kun!~ But um… shouldn’t you also head to class, too? The warning bell’s gonna ring soon, right?” Even with the friendly tone, you place your hands on your hips while raising a suspicious brow, making sure to jut out your dominant hipbone to emphasize your figure. There’s only so much patience you have in trying to be diplomatic with someone like him. You see no benefit in doing so either, but then again, maybe being on good terms with Kise would allow you to get closer with his captain. Still, Kasamatsu doesn’t hesitate to dropkick him and knock down his ego a notch at all… maybe it wouldn’t matter as much if you just openly hate him. Options, options… Perhaps for now, you’ll see what Kise’s up to.

Ah… You slowly blink. What if he was actually trying to get Kasamatsu away from me just a moment ago? Wouldn’t his upperclassmen classmates come get their captain themselves instead of sending a 1st year to him? Either possibility can happen, but logically… the first option would’ve been more convenient and probable to happen. You scowl at the realization, but just as quickly, you form a tight-lipped smile in an attempt to recover. I warned his ass to stay out of my business too! And to think he’d try to butt in…

“You’re definitely right!” Kise interrupts your train of thought with a bright affirmation. “So I’ll be going on my way to class. You should go too, before you end up late!” You don’t miss the way his eyes go flat on you before he turns to walk away, back to you, immediately pulling away the entire crowd along with him.

“Kise-kun!! Who was that?!”

“Please look at me!”

“No, me!!”

“She’s nothing special at all!”

While it doesn’t hurt to think about his motives, there’s only so much speculation can do within a situation like this. Being openly hostile in front of everyone would serve no one good, and your reputation would tank. And if you lose your reputation, finding soulmates would end up being more difficult than necessary. Besides, if Kise wants to keep playing this farce of roleplay game of “shining knight,” why not join him as another player of “femme fatale sorceress”? Two can play this game.

Don’t worry, you muse to the mobs ahead. That imposter’s all yours.

———

Obviously, anyone can see just how passionate Kasamatsu is about basketball… more than anyone else. Probably even more than the Generation of Miracle guy, Kise. You giggle to yourself, ecstatic to have some type of progress in getting closer. If I learn about basketball, you reason, then maybe he’d have an easier time talking with me? You knew what the “Generation of Miracles” were all about; you’d have to live under a rock to not hear a single thing about them. They’re on the local news, the latest mags, and on the biggest media trends. Many people constantly speculate about their potential soulmates and what they’d be like, even going so far as to associating their known ideal types as holy decrees. But you don’t have a single inkling about what basketball truly entails, and that’s where you’ve been going wrong this entire time.

Nowadays, you find your eyes constantly scanning out in the crowd for a certain individual with cropped black hair, thick brows, and impossibly striking blue eyes. He probably doesn’t even realize just how charming he is. But maybe that obliviousness is also part of his overall charm. But before you can even hit on him, you really need to overcome the obstacle of his stuttering; after all, that was the main aspect that prevented every other girl from being able to talk to him in the first place. You take out a beginner’s guide to basketball rules and guidelines from your bag and lay it out on your desk, not caring about the teacher droning on about the necessity of Japanese literature. You turn to page one and settle yourself into a comfortable position, careful to hide the booklet from the prying eyes, yet you swear you feel a prickling chill down your spine from a piercing stare two seats behind you to your left.

It’s Kise, isn’t it? You can’t help but let out an inaudible chuckle, hand pressed over your lips as you continue to voraciously take in all the information in the book. Weeeell, he can look for all I care. I’m gonna get the last laugh when I play my cards juuuust right…

You manage to reach the last page before the bell rings for the next period, slightly jolting you out of your concentration, and after closing it and placing it back into your bag, you finally decide to turn and spare a look to the model student behind you. He’s putting most of his body weight on the desk, propping the side of his head up with a hand, elbow on the table. Although his body is facing forward to the blackboard, his eyes are honing in on you.

“What?” You stick your tongue out at him. “Can’t resist me after all? You’ve been staring at me all period—gosh, why didn’t you just tell me? You know I’m not someone who’d judge others at all~”

Unlike you.

Your own beam begins to grow at the sight of him gripping his pen so hard that it almost seems like it’s going to snap in half. You knew he couldn’t snap back—not when there were twenty pairs of eyes on him. Imagine your surprise when he barely manages to conceal his revulsion at you… whether he’s disgusted by your words, the way you provocatively stick out your tongue, your delighted smile, or all of the above… you don’t know and you don’t care enough to find out.

“What can I say?” He starts, lips twitching up to force a friendly smile. “I’ve never met anyone like you.” Everyone but you appears to buy his shoddy act, turning to face the front when the next teacher enters the classroom for the next lecture. You shoot one last wide grin at him to signify your triumph, but Kise unapologetically returns a freezing stare… the staredown only lasts for a few seconds before the teacher claps her hands to begin the session, both of you simultaneously breaking eye contact.

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