Yeah, so these are my Kirisaki Daiichi redesigns. The uncrowned kings and their respective squads have all the fun potential and I intend to use it.
Kirisaki Daiichi and Hanamiya being the most slept on team for character design of them all because you can’t make a canonical “bad boy” team and not have them be emo, goth, and punk for the funsies. For the visual “pen egg chest qua” (je ne sais quoi). For the fun, stereotypical edgelord flair we all deserve to indulge in every now and then.
Makoto’s og design simply didn’t scream spider enough for me and I was tired of so many key characters having this longish, same shade of black hair (him, Himuro, Mibuchi, etc). Like, I know giving the black and brown a colored tint can subtract from the uniqueness of the GOM, but not even a little? So, yeah, fuck allat, I’m using desaturated colors every now and then.
I also loved drawing Makoto in some casual clothes and much needed drip. Villains are required to serve most. I wanted to draw the rest of them in some casual outfits because trust Kojiro and honestly all of them dress immaculately but life and time restraints. Maybe later.
Story wise, each player and Makoto maybe have their own reasons for turning to hurting others through basketball and I hope you catch some of the story threads I threw in. Whether or not they deserve or have the capacity to change is entirely up to you all with Makoto having the most potential to be entirely complex or cartoonishly evil (I like both). I’m a sucker for a bit of character complexity and things that leave room for interpretation.
Sometimes knb can be very black and white in its themes…
Well, let me know what you all think! Thank you, for everyone’s kind words and support. See ya!
Just ramblings about the dynamics of them being romantically involved. I think I wrote most of this three years ago lol
This is also somewhat of an extension of the ‘type of girls’ post I did.
Hanamiya
The slow-burn of the ages
It’ll take awhile before Hanamiya will fully accept/embrace a romantic relationship, even while he is technically in one.
A consequence of lying so much and putting up the false pretense of a nice guy is that he can’t make heads or tails of how he truly feels or how to express it genuinely.
Because what does being “genuine” even mean?
He’s bad at ‘freshness’ apparently, which partially means being open and authentic in communication and emotionally.
Or even if he knows he does like someone, it’ll take a lot for him to spit that out.
It’d be a relationship that “vaguely” exists. Where one would always question “I am dating this guy right???” or if they can officially refer to Hanamiya as their partner.
He wouldn’t be open with it and would treat his partner as if they were still just peers, in public anyway.
His partner would have to be the one to initiate any physical touch, such as hand holding.
Further down the relationship, he’d be more accustomed to it, particularly enjoying pinching his partner’s cheek and tugging it, even though this could hurt at times.
I still subscribe to the idea that his type being a “stupid girl” partly means that one would have to be very stupid to want to be with him, despite everything.
And I think that’s why at the early stages, he really doesn’t take the relationship seriously, cause he figures the person will just leave at some point. After all, he’s not one to let new people that close into his life often.
He’ll even do things that would make the average person call it quits, unintentionally or otherwise, almost like a defense mechanism to not let them get too close to him.
And then he’s like “???” when they still choose to be with him.
It would also get incredibly annoying when it gets to a point where the person can read him ‘almost’ like a book, and can tell when Hanamiya is showing his bizarre ways of being affectionate. His insults just end up falling flat, they almost get the “Kiyoshi” reaction.
Furuhashi
For his first relationship, just like joining the basketball team, it just sort of happened.
At the beginning he’s all “You’re old enough to take care of yourself”, especially when it’s one of the first relationships he’s been in. Not keen on the idea of “babying” his partner(the way he sees it) like walking them home or holding their stuff.
Furuhashi becomes more protective and caring further down the relationship.
He didn’t really understand relationships, but as he spends more time with them, he finally gets it.
He also thought he wouldn’t be the jealous type, but is proven wrong eventually. As I said in another post, Furuhashi is the type to have to actually be impacted by something to care about it, and not just hypotheticals.
When I was first writing this years ago, I was thinking about the perilla leaf debate(look it up) and how the boys would feel about it (it was going to be its own post but I didn’t get far with it.)
For Furuhashi, I can see him initially thinking “I wouldn’t care, its just a vegetable”
But once he’s actually in the situation, he now understands why one would have an issue with it. And it honestly frustrates him that this bothers him.
Expresses his feelings mainly through touch and silent gestures. Big on extensive hand holding because of how simple and yet effective it is.
Also big on gently running the back of his knuckles against his partner’s cheek, silently taking in their beauty.
Almost like how one would gently caress a flower.
Initially isn’t too gentle with his partner, but learns to treat them with a similar delicacy as he would his flowers.
“I’m the only one allowed to hurt them” kind of thing.
As I stated in the "type of girls" post, his type being a masochist partly means that his ideal partner would love him as he is. Both for his sadistic tendencies and his eyes.
He isn’t that self conscious about his eyes, but he’s aware that they can be off putting.
And initially, he doesn’t really care if his partner felt the need to tell him how much they love his eyes and how “cool” they are, cause it just seemed like unneeded pity to boost one’s ego (like “oh what a good person I am for complimenting this person’s eyes that they clearly must be insecure about”).
But he does eventually get some comfort from it, even if just subconsciously.
More observant than he lets on. They think he doesn’t pay attention to them or the interests they talk about, and maybe assume he forgot it was their birthday or their anniversary, given that his responses are very succinct.
But surprise, he remembers and will get them a curated gift with their interests in mind, along with the usual homemade bread.
Kind of related, and something he keeps internal, but he discovers he enjoys when his partner’s eyes light up in surprise or joy. And he’ll subtly (or sometimes not so subtly) do things just to get that reaction from them.
Eventually, he would remember his partner’s medicine schedule and he would be very stubborn about them taking their meds timely.
Enjoys those times where he and his partner can just co-exist in the same room, doing separate things, without feeling the need to fill the dead space with chatter. Just being together can be enough.
Hara
Initially not the type to be tied down to one partner and had a bunch of “no-strings attached” flings, sometimes multiple at a time, so it’s a surprise to him when he eventually finds someone he wants to be not only monogamous with, but also romantically involved.
He’s openly affectionate but has trouble being genuine with his feelings or expressing them.
He could really genuinely love someone but he can’t say it straight.
He masks this with being handsy or saying off-putting stuff or overly-cheesy pick-up lines that he totally didn’t look up online.
Gives great hugs, and loves to give them from behind especially.
Can, at times, act like a bit of a spoiled princess. He exaggerates any sort of “pain” or injury he may experience (like a paper cut), to try to get his partner to comfort him and take care of it.
I unfortunately do get “weaponized incompetence” vibes from him, but he’ll grow out of it…maybe. Think if this resulted in a possible break up, he would change…eventually.
Kind of tangential, Hara would sometimes hustle and convince his partner to make a bet with him on something (maybe beating a game for example), only to then destroy them, loving seeing that surprised reaction after he was underestimated.
It can also be difficult to tie him down and have any sort of serious talks or communication (which is obviously essential for relationships), and it’ll take a few tries and jokes before Hara finally takes his partner seriously.
He's still in HS after all, but he'll have to learn eventually that he has to mature up if he's serious about someone.
Yamazaki
He has anger issues but would never ever take it out on his partner. I think he is actually very good at bring it down a level when he’s with his partner so it's never really a risk.
Assuming he is with his type (cheerful girl), it's one of the few times where he can lose some tension.
Just seeing a bright smile is enough to disarm him.
Especially seeing that happy expression on their face when they see him, as they run up to him for a hug. He’s still shocked that that’s their reaction to seeing him.
He’s the type that would just completely melt with his partner. Big on laying on their lap, as they run their fingers through his hair. And if it’s at the nape of the neck?? He’s gone, he’s ascended.
Has insecurities with wanting to appear “tough” in front of his friends/team. So he’s not one to be openly affectionate in front of them.
Never mind the fact that Yamazaki was too oblivious to notice that the team had already “caught” him being really sweet with his partner a few times, since he’s not that great at concealing it.
I can see this being a point of conflict, where maybe the team insults his partner, and he’s too insecure to stand up for them. But eventually, he will defend them to death.
Can also feel the need to be seen as tough with his partner. Cue letting his partner have the umbrella when it’s raining, insisting that he doesn't need to share, or insisting his partner have his coat when it's cold, even if this leads to him getting sick.
But hey, this means his partner taking care of him through it, so it’d be worth it.
He can be forgetful of things and as a result would forget their birthday or anniversary, but he would feel regretful and do his best to make it up to them.
This is related, but throwback to this post, which I still think is quintessential Yamazaki being in a romantic relationship lol
Seto
Very chill and it starts off slow and it initially feels like a romantic relationship in name only.
Wouldn’t really initiate anything at first. Seto would let their partner decide the plans, and he just goes along with it, kind of just doing the bare minimum.
Eventually has to learn that he needs to do more than just show up.
His partner would deal with his bouts of sleep, and they think he forgot about dates they have planned and think he would oversleep, and they're surprised with how punctual he is.
He prefers staying at home and chilling, especially when they lead to thoughtful conversations. Even though he enjoys contributing to the conversation, he discovers that he also enjoys just listening to them talk.
In fact, this can lead to unintentional late nights, where he and his partner are just talking for hours. And he’s not ashamed to admit it when asked why he’s sleepier than usual the next day.
Initially preferred the solitude of his walks (and he will still need his alone walks at times), but having his partner join him is a surprising added bonus for him.
Speaking of added bonus, even though he can fall asleep with ease, he wouldn’t argue against lying on his partner’s lap, while they run their fingers through his hair. His partner’s touch lingering on the mole on his forehead doesn’t escape him.
He’s a good person to vent to, as he will make his partner reevaluate the points they made in an objective matter, and deescalate stress.
He will though also not mince words and won’t provide false platitudes, if a situation was really bad and there was no fixing it.
Overall, he usually takes a “it is what it is” stance(Obviously this is dependent on the situation), in the sense that what’s done is done, and the only thing they can do is move on and he will point out things they can do in the future.
And of course he would not subtly suggest taking a nap with him to take their mind off of things.
for anon who asked "if kirisaki worked part time, what kind of job would it be and how would they behave?" i'll get round to doing hanamiya + zaki + maybe the others eventually, but i figured it was better to post something than nothing. also because it was matsumoto's bday last week and there's nowhere near enough matsumoto content out there. kiridai's unsung hero <3
Hara Kazuya
cannot keep a part time job to save his life
he doesn’t need one for the money but his parents thought it would be a good idea for him to get some real world experience instead of doing whatever the fuck it is that he does all day when he’s not at school or on the court
the problem is though that not having a financial incentive to keep a job means that hara doesn’t take them very seriously
the corporate environment - and most of his part time jobs have been corporate, working for family friends’ big businesses - bores him to death
and when he’s bored, the urge to bother poor innocent accountants and administrators, who are just trying to finish their 9-5 to go home to their family, is unbearable
what do you mean ‘have sympathy for middle-aged and depressed old salarymen who were minding their own business?' thinks hara as he sets forth on yet another mission to find someone to terrorise
so yeah, it’s not surprising that the jobs don’t usually last
i mean, he practically fires himself
like he gets called into the boss’s office, or into hr, or whatever, and they minute they say “so, hara, i think we need to discuss your behaviour recently…” hara interjects with “it’s horrible, isn’t it? guess i’m fired. sick. see you never.”
and is out of the office before they have time to call him back
the longest part time job he ever held down was at a music store, which worked for a while because he got along with most of his coworkers, and liked fiddling with some of the instruments on sale
but, yet again, bored hara + customer-facing role = very dangerous combination
even though some of the customers liked hara's very rock ‘n’ roll attitude to customer service, the minute his manager had to make cuts, hara was the first to go
(in retrospect, maybe it was something to do with how often he’d mock the manager for not having made it as a singer. hara just can’t help himself when it comes to kicking someone who’s already down.)
Furuhashi Kojiro
i’m not going to try be creative here, and anyone who knows anything about furuhashi already knows what his part time job would be
furuhashi works part time at a flower shop / garden centre type deal
furuhashi loves the flowers and plants under his charge, genuinely loves them like they’re his children
furuhashi hates the vast majority of his customers, with the same scathing fury that any animal lover would have if they had to let people with a history of animal cruelty adopt an animal in their care
when furuhashi sees that one person who 'loves' plants but can’t keep them alive to save their life (as they always tell furuhashi with a sheepish smile, “i love having them around but i just don’t have the knack for it!”)-
yeah the look on furuhashi’s face could kill
(n.b. the customer in question is probably hayama because he’s sort of got that vibe)
really furuhashi deserves our pity for having to spend so much time dealing with people he would gladly stab to death given a dark alley with no cctv
these being people who forget to water their plants; people who keep buying bouquets for their loved ones, bouquets that never end up watered and die an early death; people who buy a plant even after being told its high maintenance, ignore looking after the most basic needs, and then come back a week later like “uhh you sold me dying plants”
”i sold you dying plants,” repeats furuhashi, very slowly, eyes more less dead-fish and more piranha-on-the-prowl
“yeah, so can i get a refund or what?”
“i sold you dying plants,” says furuhashi again and his voice is getting lower, raspier, like a movie character who’s about to swear he’ll get vengeance on his wife’s murderer
luckily the customer realises its not worth taking a punt trying to get a refund they don’t deserve, in a darkly lit garden centre where they’re the only customer around, and they flee the scene before furuhashi starts an experiment on whether human flesh is a good fertiliser
honestly furuhashi’s probably the only person who’ll ever experience a garden centre to yakuza pipeline, because one day some oyabun’s going to scout him based on that anti-plant-killer rage alone
Seto Kentaro
torn about what to say here because, on the one hand, i can see seto being a trader as a part time job - after all, the man likes maths so he’s going to be good with spotting patterns
but, on the other hand, i really struggle to imagine him committing to a part time job whilst he’s in high school, or even university
there’s no motivation for him to have one, since his family are well-off enough to support his studies without him needing to pay for anything; and between studies, sleep, and basketball, does he really have the time for a job?
his parents would rather have their son studying to make sure he gets into tokyo university, than have him waste time with a part time job since he’s already got a work ethic (sort of)
maybe, like hara, seto’s parents get him a gig at a family friend’s company? you know, to get him out there networking in the world
but this would just be a part time job over the summer, and probably not many hours either, more just something for him to put on his cv
(though with a network of rich people, who needs a cv? hahahahaha…. ….)
and to be honest, i think seto would probably do alright in the corporate environment (by corporate, i mean big bucks corporate), even as a high schooler
he’d have to do something mentally stimulating - because if he was told to just deliver coffees to people, he: a) wouldn’t be bothered to do it, and b) would be too insulted to do it
but if he was doing something mentally stimulating, and maybe working with a team of fellow smart young people, then i do think he’d work hard and even enjoy what he was doing.
the man needs more hanamiyas in his life
(a sentence that applies to very few people in this world)
Matsumoto Itsuki
works at some sports equipment chain store as a sales assistant. he’d be lying if he said he enjoys the job, but it does mean discounts on his gear and gym membership, and, unlike many of the students at kiridai, he does appreciate having some extra money on hand.
when he’s at work without stuff to do, he’s usually twirling a basketball on his fingertips or trying to convince his coworkers to let him do inventory checks and avoid the customer-facing side of things
unfortunately this usually doesn’t work because a) matsumoto wasn’t gifted with a silver tongue and b) the guy who’s usually on matsumoto’s shifts with him refuses to let matsumoto live down the time where he hid in the storeroom to avoid hanamiya and hara who had just popped into the shop, and then locked himself in there by accident
‘course, that was when matsumoto had only recently joined the basketball team, and was still filled with teen angst and awkwardness
these days, if a teammate comes to the shop, he sticks his middle finger up at them if they ask for help and essentially treats them like he wishes he could treat all the customers
on the other hand, he always applies his employee discount to their purchases, even when the customer in question is hara in a particularly irritating mood. so let it not be said that matsumoto doesn’t have a soft spot for his teammates.
but, yeah, in general customer service is not matsumoto’s thing
he does genuinely try to help customers out and does a very good job of not punching annoying customers in the face (this is easier said than done in matsumoto’s case; after all, he spends most of his time with a bunch of guys who all believe violence is The Solution TM), but sometimes he lets his guard down
like the time someone came in saying they were new to play golf and wanted recommendations for a suitable club
“why the fuck would you want to play golf?” says matsumoto a little louder than intended.
“excuse me!” goes the customer
“what?” replies matsumoto before remembering he is talking in the real world and not in his daydream land where he beats up customers. “shit. um. let me go show you the club brands we stock.”
the only reason he didn’t get fired afterwards was because the store’s running low on staff as is
oh and matsumoto’s the only guy the manager doesn’t scold for not smiling at customers, because matsumoto’s customer-service smile makes him look like a gun is being held up to his forehead
it scared away far more customers than it attracted
request: hello there darling, can i ask for something with hara, seto, nebuya and hayama and their s/o who’s the drummer? i I love music very much, i play guitar and drums. i used to do bvb covers when i was in middle school!
author’s note: hello! i accidentally deleted your request, but remembered it and wrote this request in my own words xD i’m sorry, anonnie. but hope you like it! love u!!
— KAZUYA
↘ I have a headcanon in my head that Kazuya likes this type of music; AC/DC, ONE OK ROCK, Sodom, the GazettE and of course Black Veil Brides.
↘ He loves to come to your home after a long training session and relax listening to it all live; he likes to watch you develop, how much you enjoy your passion, how you try to create your own songs.
↘ Kazuya may look bored a lot, but he loves talking about music with you and going to various second-hand bookstores looking for old vinyls and other valuable items (vintage drumsticks, funny stickers, guitar picks, etc.).
↘ He gets excited (although he doesn’t show it) when you let him sit on your drums or give him one of your guitars and teach him to play at them. You made him love music even more.
— KENTAROU
↘ Seto doesn’t like music in general, prefers to sleep and play basketball, but for sure – as long as it has something to do with you – he will start to be a little more interested in it all.
↘ He doesn’t talk too much, but he likes to listen to you when you talk about your purchases in an instrument store, when you talk about songs by artists that you like very much and when you say you’ve learned something new. He just likes to see you happy.
↘ I think that Kentarou’s love language are gifts, so expect lots of boxes with CD’s, lots of small things to clean your music equipment and tickets to various concerts.
↘ You always tell him it’s not necessary, but as I said, he likes to see you happy.
— EIKICHI
↘ He’s so HYPED about it.
↘ Eikichi knows very well that playing drums requires a lot of strength in the hands and thighs/feet. He knows that the hitting the drums and cymbals must be strong enough for the sound to be loud and smooth. He admires your power and passion in your soul and body.
↘ You talk a lot about your hobbies; about sport and music. Often – during his outdoor training sessions outside your house – you open the garage to play and admire his basketball techniques at the same time. Your music gives him as much energy as lemons in honey (or even more).
↘ He definitely loves coming to your school shows or other music competitions. His large person holds an equally large banner, giving you lots of motivation and happiness.
— KOTAROU
↘ As excited as Eikichi or even more!
↘ Kotarou asks you LOTS of questions about music, drums, artists you like, songs you love. He remembers everything and then, at the next your date, he discusses various topics with you, which impresses you a lot. What you really love about him is that he tries to catch up with you in your passion, although he cannot play drums and has no musical ear.
↘ I think he listens to completely different music (something like Nico Collins or Doja Cat) but he still loves what you do. He loves your slightly altered versions of the original songs. He appreciates your independent contribution and how much time you spend on it. And when you do covers of his favorite songs... daaaaamn, he’s in love with you even more.
↘ He definitely goes to concerts with you and even if he really doesn’t understand this type of music, he loves to watch you sing and put your hands up while having fun with the other fans of the band. He’s so supportive and sweet that you just want to strangle him with your love.
You both watched about four movies in total since he was there. After dinner, you both went back to your room. You got on your bed, and he sat beside you again.
“So, how is basketball?” You asked, tilting your head.
“Eh, it’s okay. Ever since we lost, we have constantly been practicing.”
“I see; it must be rough.”
“Yeah, that is why we are looking for a manager,” Yamazaki said. You were surprised since Hanamiya seemed like the type to want to do everything himself.
“Really?”
“Yeah, on that note. I was wondering if you wanted to be our manager?” He asked, turning his entire body towards you. Your eyes widened as you looked over at him, and you quickly shook your head.
“N-No way~.”
“Why not?”
“I-uhm-”
“Is it because of how we play?”
“Well, yeah… and Hanamiya kinda scares me,” you looked down, hugging your stuffed animal. Yamazaki rubbed his neck and looked off to the side.
“Can I be honest with you?”
“Sure~ won’t change my mind, though.” You said, and he chuckled slightly.
“Well, he wouldn’t do anything to hurt you deliberately… I don’t think. Maybe, okay, he is sadistic. So I can’t guarantee that, but it was his and Hara’s idea.”
“You didn’t help your case none, at all.”
“Yeah, I know. I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I just can’t even attempt to lie to you,” he said. You laughed, and he cracked a small smile before pulling you close. A slight blush was on your cheeks, but you allowed him to pull you on top of his chest as he laid down. You both began to cuddle, and you fell quiet, closing your eyes. You only opened them again when he started to speak again.
“Please? For me? It would mean we are together again, and I can walk you home all the time.”
“Zaki, I don’t feel comfortable. Plus, a lot of schools hate you guys. What if I become the target? I am not much of a fighter,”
“I will protect you; the basketball team will protect you.”
“But~” you trailed off when Yamazaki cupped your cheeks slightly.
“You have nothing to worry about. I promise,” he said. You met his eyes, and a blush covered your cheeks before sighing softly.
“I need to think about it,”
“Mm, okay, but try and come up with an answer by tomorrow. Or else Hanamiya is going to ask you himself,” he warned.
“Huh?”
“He already said if I couldn’t convince you. He would.”
“Oh, uhm…” You trailed off and hid your face in his chest. He tightened his arms around you and placed a small kiss on your head. The action caused your cheeks to heat up. You pulled your head up from his chest and looked at him, surprised. He had that typical boyish grin on his face. He couldn’t help but admire how innocent and cute you looked from his action.
“What was that for?”
“What?”
“The kiss?”
“Just a friendly gesture, unless you want it to mean more,” he teased. You slapped his chest, huffing with a bluff.
“Idiot, you can’t do that.”
“Yes, we can; it’s not like it was on the lips. It was on the head; friends do it all the time.”
“So, you and the basketball team do it?”
“Hell no,”
“I thought friends did it.”
“Basketball team is teammates, not necessarily friends. Me and you, we are friends,” he said. You rolled your eyes, but he cupped your face and brought it down to him.
“H-Hiroshi~ stop….” You said, and he laughed, letting your face go.
“Sorry, sorry. It’s so fun to tease you, though, you just turn so red, and it’s a cute look.”
“I hate you,” you huffed. You rolled off of him and turned your back to him. He wrapped his arms around you, holding you to his chest.
“Don’t be mad; I am sorry.”
“Fine…”
You both fell quiet again, and you leaned into his hold. Cuddling was a thing you guys always did, but it has been a while since he held you like this. You felt your heart race a bit as he nuzzled his face into your back.
“I missed this. Can we make this normal again?”
“Yeah, whenever you aren’t busy.”
“Alright, every Friday and when my parents aren’t home, and I spend the night.”
“Deal.”
You turned to face him, and he smiled at you before closing his eyes. You did the same, and you both began to drift off to sleep.
Your mother knocked on the door two hours later to let Yamazaki know the spare room was ready. When she got no answer, she walked in and covered her mouth at the most adorable sight before her. Your head was on his chest, and he held you protectively to him. She took a picture of you two and sent it to his mom. She was definitely, going to frame this and hang it on the wall of many memories. She quietly shut the door, not even bothering to wake them up. After all, she watched Yamazaki grow up and knew she could trust him.
The following day, your phone went off, and you let a small yawn out. You buried your face into the warmth that surrounded you. Arms tightened around your waist, and your eyes slowly opened as the alarm was shut off. You looked up and met the sleepy eyes of your neighbor and close friend.
“How did you sleep?”
“I slept good, you?” You asked, slowly getting up, but he pulled you back down. He didn’t let you go and sighed softly.
“I want to sleep longer, can’t we be late? Or skip?”
“No, my mom would kill us both.”
“Fair, your mom can be terrifying if bad choices are made.”
You both got up, and he went to the spare bedroom to get ready for school, and you did the same.
A sore loser takes his anger out on you when he loses to Kirisaki Daiichi.
“There she is...”
You were completely unaware of all the attention you were receiving from across the hall. Your eyes were solely fixed on the tall figure before you. His slicked-back hair a sign that he had been called on by Hanamiya today.
“Sorry I missed it was hard getting time off work.” You pushed your hair back over your shoulder in an attempt to placate your wild locks. They had gone through significant turmoil as you rushed and ran the last few blocks.
“You should quit,” Hanamiya bluntly suggested. He wasn’t a fan of overachieving students like you who tried their best to the point of exhaustion.
His blunt statements no longer fazed you. Ignoring him completely, you strode past him to attach yourself to the owner of your heart. He was warm and sweaty but you could care less. The sight of his slightly exhausted face made you want to take him back to your place for a nap.
Seto comfortably leaned into you, his hand resting on the small of your back. His lips gently pressing against your forehead in the usual gentle greeting ritual that was a stark contrast to his appearance.
“You should have gone straight home.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate your presence, rather he was worried knowing how hard they worked you at your part-time job.
“I wanted to cheer for you.”
Hara pointed out you were still in your uniform which did nothing for him, unlike your usual short school uniform skirt. “Shouldn’t you wear something sexier to raise our spirits?”
The comment earned him a glare and click of your tongue. You knew “I don’t give a f*ck about your spirit.”
Unbeknownst to you, the opposing team was grumbling as they glanced in your direction. A couple of them scowled feeling a sense of misplaced anger towards you who they had seen several times cheering on their cheating rival. Their captain instructed everyone to get over the loss and get ready to leave.
A few of the younger members didn’t agree with him. They thought they had a duty to look out for their seniors. They wanted to do something about the injustice they faced.
“I’ll be waiting outside.” You let go of Seto’s hand so he could follow the guys into the locker room. The night was relatively warm but the cool breeze made up for it. It was ideal idling around weather.
You leisurely walked with your phone in hand, mindlessly scrolling through social media until you got to a bench behind the gymnasium that was empty. It never crossed your mind to take a look around so you were legitimately startled when someone called your name.
“Y/N-”
A guy with light brown hair sat beside you on your left while a blonde took the right seat. One look at their uniform was all you needed to know why they were here. This wasn’t your first time being approached by guys from other schools. It was your experience that told you it was best to avoid them.
“That’s your name right?” His eyes roamed to your chest where your nametag gave away that he was indeed correct.
You got up to leave but only took a few steps when the light haired guy quickly caught up blocking your way and nearly making you bump into him. You took a step back only to bump into his friend.
“What the f*ck do you want?”
They were both slightly taken back by your language, not expecting the expletive.
“You’re that guy’s girlfriend right?”
“That’s none of your business-” when you took a step to the side they followed.
“That guy hurt our captain’s shoulder. Coach said he might be out for the rest of the season.”
Honestly you weren’t in favor of the tricks or their manipulative plays. After watching for so long you were desensitized to their behavior. It was beyond you to feel their pain. Instead you celebrated Seto’s victory.
You sighed.
“Listen, talking to me isn’t going to change anything so back off and go home.” You looked back to his friend making sure they knew you were talking to both of them.
This time when you tried to leave the light haired guy held onto your arm and tightly pulled you back. The quick motion caught you off-guard for a moment causing you to crash into him.
The moment was all seen by Seto who had been looking for you. He didn’t know what their business was with you and he didn’t care. All he knew was what he saw.
“Oh they better run,” Hara taunted with laughter when he saw Seto walk faster than he has ever before. “Should we watch?”
Hanamiya didn’t even stop to look. “What’s the point, it’ll be over the moment they see him.” He knew physical violence was unnecessary for such a scary looking guy like him.
Those first years were nothing but benchwarmers. They had only seen Seto from afar, failing to recognize how overpowering the army of one could be. As soon as he came up to them he pried the unknown guy’s hand off of you with no effort.
You happily joined his side now that they could no longer stand in your way. When you reached for his hand Seto noticed a bruise forming on your wrist.
“Did they do this to you?”
The guys took a step back, their faces a mix of anger and frustration. “We did nothing compared to you. Our captain’s shoulder is probably broken-”
“So?” He caught them off with one word. Then ignored them for a moment to grab his jacket out of his bag when he felt the wind pick up. He draped it over your shoulders to ensure your warmth.
“Better?”
You nodded appreciating his attention to detail.
His lips curved up at the sight of his oversized jacket on you. It was gone in an instant when he turned his attention back to the offenders.
“Don’t come near her again,” Seto’s voice seemed deeper when he warned them. “If you have a problem with me then you come to me.”
The guys had to stretch their necks to look at him. The height difference was enough of a threat, however these two knew Kirisaki Daiichi would deliver on their threats on or off the court.
“Whatever, let’s go.”
“That’s no fun,” Hara booed when he saw them leave with their tails between their legs.
You leaned on Seto to take your shoe off and throw it at Hara. The bubble-popping weirdo caught it despite your wishes to have it hit him.
“Don’t mind him,” Seto picked you up and carried you over to Hara to retrieve your shoe. He took a hold of it and continued to walk home with you in his arms.
“I can walk.”
“It’s faster this way.”
You didn’t mind the stares but you wondered where this burst of energy came from. Usually after games he lazily leaned on you the entire walk home. When he walked past your home and into his you only gave him a look of confusion.
“From now on you aren’t allowed to leave my side.”
“We literally live next door to each other.”
He nodded in understanding but, “No one is home.” He couldn’t leave you to fend for yourself again. From now on he had to pay closer attention to your safety.
He brought you to his room and finally set you down.
You were touched by his sudden overprotective behavior brought on by today’s incident. “I’m fine Ken-kun” you brought him over to sit on his bed. With him seated you stood in front of him, between his legs, now able to meet his eyes. “I’m actually pretty tough, you know?”
“I know,” his arms wrapped around you. “I still worry.”
“I know,” you copied his monotonous response. A giggle erupted at his stern look. “Thank you for worrying.”
At this height you were better able to kiss him, so you did. First it was a peck on the forehead then on the lips.
But a peck wasn’t enough.
Seto held you closer as he captured your lips. The two of you kissed in the silence of his home forgetting the whole ordeal. When it got intense he fell back onto his fluffy bed bringing you along on top of him.
One thing you loved about your boyfriend was his passion for rest. Since he loved to sleep, his bed was always well-maintained. He kept the sheets clean, invested in a good mattress, and pillows.
“Oh,” you smirked playfully. “I thought you wanted me to rest?”
“Rest after.”
-end-
A/N: Thank you for encouraging me to write this one and hopefully I’ll get to Hanamiya too ^^
