KnB (Kagami x Reader): Butterfly on my right shoulder - Part 1
For not the first time that day, Kagami wondered how he got himself into these things.
Oh wait, I know. It was Kise that got me into this.
Gritting his teeth, he pulled himself upright with a grunt of effort. A slight adjustment had him careening to the left. He windmilled his arms, trying to keep from falling painfully.
Kise, that smarmy bastard, was tutting as if this wasn’t all his fault. “Kagamicchi, I expected more from you. Your sense of balance is terrible.”
Moriyama, equally smug, started sprinkling salt into his wounds. “That’s right. What’s the point of growing up in America if you can’t skate?” He skated a few lazy circles around Kagami to rub it in.
“For the last time,” Kagami growled, “I grew up in L.A. Los Angeles. There isn’t exactly a pile of snow to wade around in.”
Moriyama wouldn’t let it go. “But surely you had ice rinks like this one? I mean, it isn’t winter here either.”
Kagami had to admit he had a point. The red-head chose not to exacerbate the situation by giving Moriyama more fodder, and instead concentrated on unfolding himself. On the bright side, Kasamatsu was as bad or possibly even worse off. Kaijo’s ex-captain was clenching on to a rail with a death grip, knuckles white.
Moriyama gave Kasamatsu a hearty thump on the back that almost sent his feet out from under him.
“Moriyama, you idiot, are you trying to kill me?” Kasamatsu’s voice came out even raspier than Kagami’s.
“My dear Yukio-chan, you will never get a girl like this. It’s a good thing the rink is almost empty, or I would be hiding from second-hand embarrassment.”
Kagami tottered to a standing position and looked around, surveying the area. Aside from a couple of kids, who seemed to be leaving, there was no one on the rink. He was silently congratulating himself on not having anyone witness his humiliation when a girl, about his age and dressed in black, glided out onto the ice. She gave them all a brief glance and then proceeded to ignore them, settling a pair of headphones over her hair.
Moriyama was instantly on alert. “It’s girl. A CUTE GIRL. This is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate my masculine appeal and flirt with her. Kise, come with me!”
A bewildered Kise attempted to resist. “But why do I have to get involved in your business, senpai?”
“Because you’re pretty and she will be much more susceptible to my charm with you blinding her.”
The girl in question was totally oblivious, moving in a smooth serpentine figure across the length of the rink. It brought her closer to where they were standing near the edge, and Kagami saw that Moriyama’s assessment was correct. She had a pretty, sharp face, set in concentration.
Kise continued to refuse to participate in Moriyama’s absurd plan. “I don’t want to, Moriyama-senpai. It sounds troublesome.”
The senior would not be deterred. He grabbed Kise’s arm to pull him forward. “Come now, Kise. Listen to your elders.”
Kagami saw a series of disastrous events happen in slow motion. Kise tugged his arm back, sending an unprepared Moriyama off balance. He toppled over, crashing into Kasamatsu, whose already precarious stance was instantly destroyed. Kasamatsu flailed, grabbing the not-very stable Kagami for support. Unfortunately, Kagami had been standing with his back to him, so this just made him wobblier than before and he pitched forward. His last thought as the ice came hurtling up to meet his face was that he’d never trust Kise again.
What he didn’t expect was the fall to be so…pillowy? He opened one eye, propping himself up with a hand and looked up to see a pair of cobalt blue eyes. He blinked in fascination, caught in the crystalline depths of the girl’s irises.
You, however, were not amused. The boy you had caught from falling was about half a foot taller than you, and a lot heavier. You just wanted his deadweight off.
“Say, this might be comfortable for you, but honestly I could do without this experience.” Your voice was flat.
“I…err…what?”
Kise hissed at him. “Kagamicchi, get off of her! You’re in a really embarrassing position!”
He looked down and flew back like a scalded cat. Kagami’s face sizzled, almost electric in its redness.
WAS MY FACE JUST RESTING IN HER CHEST?
He stuttered, burning in the awkwardness of the situation. “I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to…your chest was soft…I mean, I didn’t realize…I’M VERY SORRY!”
You were hardly paying attention, now that you were free of the cage that had been his body. Though you had to admit his arms, in the brief contact you had with them, had been intriguingly muscled. You suspected you could break wood on his biceps.
I wonder what he does that he’s got muscle tone like that but no sense of balance.
You slid your eyes in his direction, brushing off your clothes. He froze, waiting for the inevitable crackdown.
“Be more careful next time. It’s difficult to skate if there’s blood on the ice.” With that, you sailed away, already stepping back into the routine to set up for your jump.
Kagami watched, stunned, as you smoothly skated backward, twisted and jumped with a leg outstretched and landed in a dizzyingly fast sit spin. Kasamatsu’s voice came from behind, awed.
“That’s…amazing. It looks really dangerous.” Before Kagami could agree, Moriyama cut in.
“More importantly, let’s talk about how Kagami conveniently fell face forward on to that young lady’s chest. I’ve never even been that close to a girl, much less her…softer parts. Tell me, Kagami, how did it feel?”
All three of them stared the ace with unblinking intensity, waiting for a response.
Kagami went back to the shade of his hair again. “WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME THESE QUESTIONS? Besides, whose fault is it that I ended up doing that, anyway?!”
The culprit was unrepentant. “Kagami, you have no game.”
Kise and Kasamatsu’s face took on dubious casts. “Look at who’s talking. You’re in college and you still haven’t found anyone to put up with you, Moriyama.”
He waved it away. “Anyway, Kagami, I think you should get that young lady’s number. I think she likes you.”
The duo of sceptical faces turned into a trio as Kagami turned to Moriyama with a flabbergasted look.
Kise finally showed a modicum of sense and intervened. “I think we should just go for lunch now. Kasamatsu-senpai, lead the way.”
As Kagami followed them off the ice, he cast one last look at you, gliding across the rink, and became a little wistful.
I wish I had asked for her name.
XXX
Two weeks later, Kagami had his wish granted. In a manner of speaking. Looking back on it, he supposed he had Aomine of all people to thank for it.
Kagami growled in frustration as Aomine ducked past him, yet again, and moved into a graceful layup, the movements fluid. The second boy sauntered back, grinning, not even bothering to watch the ball fall into the net.
“5-3. My win. Again.” Aomine took a swig out of his bottle to emphasize the sentence.
“Tch. I can’t believe you became even faster than before. Was that really necessary?” Kagami wiped his face with his wristband, trying to catch his breath.
“Should have thought about that before you and Tetsu decided to bulldoze everyone at the Winter Cup. Made us all fired up. What did you think was going to happen?”
Deciding not to delve to deeply into it in case he discovered Aomine actually had a point (and what a horrifying thought that was), he shook it off and looked at the tanned figure.
“Shall we go at it one last round and call it quits?”
“Still haven’t had enough punishment? Fine then, I’ll take you on.” He sunk into a defensive position as Kagami began dribbling the ball.
Kagami decided to try something new and moved to the left, speeding up. Aomine kept up easily, eyes narrowing as he leaned forward to snatch the ball. Kagami abruptly gave the ball a sharp push downwards. Aomine was startled as the ball bounced off under him, coming up behind him in time for Kagami to dunk it into the net. The red-head landed with a victorious thud.
“Ha. Take that for punishment, Ahomine.”
The person in question had wide eyes. “What in the world was that?”
“Something I worked out with Kasamatsu-san. Though it doesn’t always work, because most players are shorter than me.”
Aomine looked down in horror. “You mean I could have permanently been disfigured?! Bakagami, were you trying to kill me, or does it just come naturally to you?”
Kagami opened his mouth to retort when he had a crawling sensation up his neck, like he was being watched. He whipped his head around to find the girl from the rink watching him with her hypnotic blue eyes. He dropped the ball in shock.
You slipped the headphones from your ears when recognition dawned. “It’s the clumsy oak tree from before. Yo.”
“You’re…I mean…um…hello? It’s nice to m-meet you!” His ears had gone red, and he was making frantic gestures.
You slid your eyes to Aomine, who was watching the whole interaction with interest and took him in.
Hmm, this one’s physique isn’t bad either. Are they still playing one-on-one? They were here when I went by half an hour ago.
You moved to put your headphones back in. “Do continue. Didn’t mean to interrupt your game. See you around.”
A hand on your wrist stilled you. You looked up to find, once again, Kagami’s sturdy form looming over you. He tugged your hand up gently. “What happened to your hand? Are you injured?”
His long fingers were rough and calloused, easily wrapping over your wrist. A bloom of warmth spread out from his touch. You replied, still sounding bored. “Nope, it’s just a sprain. I fell, it happens.”
He sucked in a breath. “Don’t tell me it’s from that day…”
You were vaguely fascinated by how his face had gone from gruff concern to abject sadness, so it took you a second to catch up. “Huh? Oh. No, this was another fall.”
Kagami had some practice with emotionally unreadable personalities (i.e. Kuroko) so even he didn’t fail to notice the way your face darkened. It was subtle, but still present. He suddenly felt the need to pick you up and press you to him.
He dropped your hand like it was on fire and backed away.
What was I thinking just now?! And since when did I just go around grabbing people?
Aomine decided enough was enough. “Oi, Bakagami. Either we finish this game or you flirt somewhere else. Don’t waste my time.”
Kagami’s already strung out nerves felt like they’d been put through the dryer. “W-what are you talking about? Shut up, Ahomine! Who said anything about f-flirting?”
You watched them go at it for a bit, face expressionless. Eventually, when you could tell no progress would be made, you spoke up.
“Is it alright if I stay and watch you guys play?”
They both stopped mid-argument and turned their heads to you. You thought their coordinated robotics were rather fascinating.
“What?” Aomine sounded annoyed. Well, more than before.
“You still have one game left, yeah? If it doesn’t bother you, I’m going to watch from over there. Whenever you guys are done bickering like five-year olds, that is.”
They both had the grace to look chastened. Kagami ruffled his hair nervously. “If…if you want to.”
You nodded and settled yourself on the bench, crossing one knee over the other. Kagami swallowed his self-consciousness and turned back to find a gleefully vengeful Aomine.
“You’re going down, Bakagami.”
In the end, it was a very close match, but Aomine won again. Somewhere along the way, he’d gotten so absorbed in the game that he’d forgotten you were there. So Kagami flinched in surprise when your voice floated out to him.
“That was really impressive. Do you guys play for your school teams?”
He looked up from his prone position on the ground to see you leaning against the base of the net. Your expression had finally shifted from indifference to one of interest. His heart skipped a beat.
Aomine mumbled from his similarly horizontal posture. “We’re the aces. Couldn’t you tell?”
“Not at all. Which school is it?”
Kagami belatedly realized introductions had never been made. “I’m Kagami Taiga, second-year ace for Seirin High. That moron over there is Aomine Daiki, second-year ace for Touou Academy.”
There was a pause as you took this in. “I see. I didn’t realize it was you two. That’s interesting. I suppose it’s my turn then. I’m ____, third-year in Komae High. Nice to meet you.”
Kagami sat up, surprised. “Y-you’re older than me? Ma’am!” You blinked, unconcerned.
Aomine lifted an eyebrow in interest. “Is that the girls-only school famous for their cute sailor uniforms?”
You nodded. “That’s the one. Oh, before I forget, here.” You held out ice-creams to the both of them.
“I was on my way back from the konbini. Take those and cool off.”
Aomine accepted his without any hesitation and bit into the popsicle with a sound of joy. “Man, that feels good. Thanks.”
Kagami, still reeling from the revelation that you were a whole year older than him, was slower. He jolted as his fingers brushed yours, sending electricity up his arm. You seemed unaffected, biting down into the popsicle with a hum. He had to turn his head away to hide his blush.
Do not think about her lips and the ice-cream. Do not. DO NOT.
He cleared his throat to distract himself. “So, um, what club are you in, ____-san?”
You released the lolly with a pop to speak. He gripped his own ice-cream harder. “None at the moment, I guess.”
Aomine sucked back the last bits of ice and inspected the wooden stick. “I guess? Wouldn’t you know if you were in a club or not?”
You seemed to curl up into yourself at the question. Kagami mentally cursed Aomine’s bluntness. He was curious too, but he didn’t want to torture the reply out of you.
Your voice was subdued when you spoke. “I did have something I liked to do until recently, but I’ve stopped. So for now, I don’t have a club. It’s probably for the best. I should focus on my exams this year.”
You clearly didn’t want to broach this subject any longer, so Kagami said the first thing that came to mind. “Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?”
Two pairs of blue eyes widened at this. Kagami realized all the implications of the statement and backpedalled.
“I mean, like, as thanks! Not a date. Or anything romantic. To thank you for the ice-cream and as an apology for knocking you over that time. It can be lunch or something. I’m a decent cook, I swear.”
Aomine seemed to have recovered from his initial shock and was now finding the whole thing hilarious. “It’s true. He might have no brains, but he can cook like he does.”
Your lips had tilted up in vague amusement. “I suppose I should take advantage then. I have high expectations of you, Kagami-kun.”
Kagami had to work hard to supress the riot of feelings that your words caused. He couldn’t believe that he’d get to meet you again. On purpose.
And she called me Kagami-kun…
He snapped back to reality to hear, Aomine Daiki, of all people, giving him dating advice. “Bakagami, you should probably exchange numbers now.”
“Eh?”
“If you want to take her out for dinner. Or do I need to pound it into your thick skull for you to get it?” Aomine’s voice managed to be low and frustrated at the same time.
“Ah. C-could I have your number please?” His heart pounded as you looked up from your bag.
“Yeah, sure. Just give me a second. I’ll give you my phone so you can give me yours too.”
Kagami gulped as you handed him your absurdly delicate looking, snow white cell phone. It looked so fragile in his hands.
I’m really doing this. I’m giving a girl my number. So we can meet up again. Coach would be proud of me.
When he was done, you snapped your phone shut and swept your gaze over him. “I’ll call you, Kagami-kun. It was fun meeting both of you. I’ll see you later then.”
He managed a coherent reply. “Okay, see you around, ____-san.” He turned to leave before he could mess this up any further.
“Oh, and Kagami-kun.” Your words stopped him midway. He turned to look over his shoulder.
“Yeah?”
You gave him a heart-stopping smile, full of secrets and laughter. “I wouldn’t mind if it were a date.”
Kagami barely heard anything Aomine said on the way home, his brain was too busy falling apart.
