so i didnt know this about smash for glory. apparently theres a blacklisted server you get redirected to if you get reported enough, and it is such a salt mine.
Imagine if they did this with IRL sports, like if you have enough fouls in basketball you get sent to Dark Basketball and have to play against a bunch of other bastards
latest chapter of Hell-bent, for anyone who’s reading it !
For those that haven’t but are interested:
Adult AU, Criminal Underworld AU. Where Kagami Taiga is a young heir suddenly targeted by 6 rather dangerous members of the criminal underworld (each with their own set of personal troubles), and Kuroko is a bodyguard with a dark past.
First chapter of my first gintama fic if anyone is interested!!
Summary: Hijkata is leading investigations on a new narcotic called "Love" that's been hitting the streets lately.Lucky for him, he has a new source, a mysterious host that works in the dark heart of the city, that has valuable information about "Love".
this is so stupid and his likely been done before but i think about it all the time. anyone else ever imagine a storyline where like. akashi’s “bokushi” left eye was actually taken from himuro tatsuya’s original left eye, which is why we never see it.
set in some super aesthetic made up universe idk idk idk
ft. kagami as a fresh new warrior bab meeting some weird af people during a special celebration
izuki shun as Prophet to Seirin Clan, full of puns and secrets, interacting w (momoi, takao) who are also full of secrets. not so much puns.takao might have a few up his slutty, slutty sleeves.
my heart wants to work this with izuki pining after kiyoshi and takao pining after midorima but with ultimate izutaka endgame, but also want 3P, and definitely want momoriko, and likely want kikasa, and WHO TO PAIR KAGAMI WITHHHHHHH
don’t mind me i’m just spewing here i’ll try to refine it, but if u have any opinions at all i’m fuckin beggin u pls hmu
set in some super aesthetic made up universe idk idk idk
ft. kagami as a fresh new warrior bab meeting some weird af people during a special celebration
izuki shun as Prophet to Seirin Clan, full of puns and secrets, interacting w (momoi, takao) who are also full of secrets. not so much puns.takao might have a few up his slutty, slutty sleeves.
my heart wants to work this with izuki pining after kiyoshi and takao pining after midorima but with ultimate izutaka endgame, but also want 3P, and definitely want momoriko, and likely want kikasa, and WHO TO PAIR KAGAMI WITHHHHHHH
don’t mind me i’m just spewing here i’ll try to refine it, but if u have any opinions at all i’m fuckin beggin u pls hmu
[And He’s Watching Us All With the Eye...of the Taiga]
Kagami, hungering for the thrill of the fight, sits in a hall dense with the scent of raw power, surrounded by the highest tier of elite warriors in the country. Explicit instructions to “sit right here” and “behave” and “seriously don’t move I’ll kill you Bakagami” were given to him about half an hour ago.
Boring, but it’s not like he’s gonna start a fight or anything. Jeez.
The hall is massive and regal, with creamy beige curtains and rich red tapestries covering the ceiling and walls. A warm yellow glow illuminates the space, but the source of light remains a mystery. Similarly, the faint plucky melody of some string instrument rings through the din of the crowd, but no player is in sight.
Everything is refined and intricately designed, even the low wooden tables arranged throughout the hall. As expected from host Rakuzan, the kingdom’s most powerful clan, and host to this most resplendent celebration of the leading clans.
...Or so Kagami is told. This is all pretty new to the fresh new warrior who hails from a much different kingdom.
He’s is sitting by one of the back tables, folded awkwardly on silk cushion that is way too small for his ass, just praying he’s wearing his decorative soldier’s uniform properly. Black and white robes lined with red, folded over his chest asymmetrically to expose his left shoulder. Ankles, wrists and biceps bound with black metal bands; feet bare.
Technically no weapons allowed for such a peaceful and illustrious event, but Kagami’s never been one to wield anything but his blazing force of will. That, and his undeniably superhuman skill in hand-to-hand combat. Hah.
Setting aside from his unquenched desire to one-on-one some of these powerhouses, Kagami is also hungering in the more literal sense.
Just as he’s about to take advantage of the only good thing about this banquet and shove an entire platter of ...whatever the fuck these little white puffy things are…a man appears suddenly.
The sensation of being taken off guard like this is not unfamiliar to Kagami. But he wasn’t expecting it to happen without Kuroko around. This ..surprise man...bounces down to Kagami’s level out of nowhere, a shiny golden whirlwind, as if manifesting from the mysterious lights.
“Hey~” he hums, then pauses as Kagami coughs food up out of his esophagus. Blinking through the tears of agitation sprinkling his eyes, Kagami blearily gives this guy a once over:
Ornate silver chains hang off his exposed chest, jewelry dangling from his wrists and ankles, chiming gently with his every movement. Stunning blue cloths wrapped around his waist. He’s tall (but not as tall as Kagami, hmph), and built (....but not as much as Kagami...maybe), exuding all the essence of a highly trained soldier.
Ah, but there’s thin white veil covering his eyes...so he’s one of the Prophets?
Either way, Kagami’s nose flares: he smells dangerous.
Maybe it’s just a trick of light, but there seem to be sparkles floating around this guy’s eager expression.
“Kurokoch-??? Uhhh, Kuroko?”
An eager nod. Wh….what’s up with this guy?
“N-no, he was kept back ‘cuz of-........due to inju-”
The sparkles immediately wane and fall, as soon as it’s clear Kuroko is not here. The man lets out a sigh of unmasked disappointment.
“Ah, is that so...he’s really not here, then. That’s too bad,” he remarks dryly, the original warmth in his voice cooling in an instant. He’s already turning his attention away from Kagami, rising to leave.
Wh-
WHO does this fucking guy think he is?!
A blood vessel pulses under Kagami’s eye, and he too half-rises, mouth open. But as the golden Prophet gets up, Kagami catches a scent...a flowery incense….no, aside from that….could it be?
Blood?
“Oi- AHH!”
Kagami is cut off by a sharp pain to the back of his head and falls back down to his seat.
“Coach!--ah no, Riko--.....Aida-sama?”
“Calm down idiot. I leave you alone for five minutes….do you even know who that was?”
Snaps Aida Riko, co-leader and clan representative to Seirin, **outfit
“Uhhh,” Kagami mumbles, eyes watering, not sure how to respond to what is almost surely a rhetorical question..
“Kise Ryouta. The esteemed battle-prophet of the Kaijo clan. Bakagami. You should know at least that much.”
Battle-prophet?!
“So he’s strong ..”
“What do you think.”
“Whatever, he was asking for Kuroko?”
Riko sighs heavily, adjusting her robes to take a seat next to Kagami.
“I had him stay back because I know he’s a little too popular with this crowd, but I didn’t realize his connections ran that high up,” she mutters absently, almost to herself, popping one of the little white puffs into her mouth.
“Mmrm, these are pretty good. Maybe I should try making them sometim-”
“NO THAT’S OKAY, COACH”
“And just what do you mean by that, Kagami-kun ? HMMM?”
As Kagami dodges a hit-to-kill from Riko, he feels something bump into his back.
he feels his elbow hit something behind.
He looks up to apologize:
“Ah my bad-”
A pair of bespectacled green eyes glare down at him. Another weirdo guy, this one slightly taller than the last. Long, conservatively fitted robes the colour of fire; a single onion sitting in the palm of his bandaged hands; green hair, bangs falling over his glasses to add a more sinister shade to his face.
There’s a lot going on here. Kagami glares back, his prevalent animal instincts telling him not to back down from this confrontation. A long pause, at least thirty seconds, where they stay perfectly still, eyes locked in a stalemate.
Who knows how long this would last, if not for the interference of a third party. A man in similar robes -- same clan?-- tugs at the sleeve of Kagami’s opponent, pulling him away.
“WHAT are you doing, Takao’s about to take his place, let’s go Midorima”
Even as he’s being dragged away, the Green Asshole maintains eye contact with Kagami. Just before he’s taken out of earshot, he narrows his eyes, and says clearly:
“Hmph.So this is where Kuroko decided to lay his loyalties? Pathetic.”
?
???????
MMMMMMMMMMMWhat. Is wrong with these people?!?!?!?
“Who the fuck-?”
“Midorima Shintarou. Archer for Shutoku, they say his aim is infallible,” Riko leans in to explain , shoving a few more puffs into her mouth aggressively. The implied slight against the Seirin clan does not go unnoticed.
fsdhkhsdfkhsdflkjhsdflkjh he gotta meet ahomine and the touou crew here
“Where’s Izuki-senpai?”
Riko gestures to the front of the hall. The representative Prophets sit together, as the honourable guests of the evening.
[Bird’s Eye View]
...This place really is crawling with VIPs. A lot of elites. (Ehh...the wordplay needs work..)
Izuki Shun, Prophet to the Seirin Clan, bearer of the Eagle Eye: That Sees From Above, has yet to accustom to the fact that he too is now one of those ‘elites’.
He can’t help but feel out of place in this hall of veritable monsters; warriors, leaders, and prophets whose names and clans are all dripping with power and renown, while his own name and clan have been kept in the dark until recently. No one prepared him for this dizzying fate of being displayed as an honourable guest in the country’s most esteemed event.
Still, Izuki maintains a calm composure: his posture perfect, but not overly rigid, as he sits atop his appointed cushion seat. At the very least, he’s no stranger to performing under pressure.
Gently, he brushes his fingertips against the shimmery white veil hanging over his face, testing the feel of the silky material.
It makes sense, having the clan Prophets to shroud their eyes as a symbol of good faith. An occasion like this calls for a ceasefire, no matter the current relations or political climates. Plenty of information will go around over the next few days, but keeping the Prophets and their notoriously lucrative powers on a leash is probably for the best.
Izuzki can still easily see through the milky fabric, which was specially designed to obscure his ‘eagle eye’. He scans the crowd below to see what the others are up to:
In the far right at the back, Riko is dragging Kagami away from...is that Touou’s prodigy warrior? First time at a formal celebration and Kagami-kun’s already starting a fight, such hot-blooded youth~
Kuroko and Hyuuga stayed behind, so that leaves...where’s Teppei? Izuki can’t see him…. He better not be…. kirisaki daiichi***
The prophets are arranged in a row at the front of the hall, on a raised platform. In the centre sit the two most powerful clan Prophets. Host and head of the Rakuzan Clan, Akashi Seijuro, bearer of the Emperor Eye: That Sees Beyond. White formal robes trimmed with pale blue hang from his small but imposing frame like wings. No jewelry save the rings on his left hand, said to represent each one of four his respective generals. King’s rings.
Laughing merrily to Akashi’s right, sits the glittering force of charisma that is Kise Ryota, warrior and prophet to Clan Kaijo, bearer of the Capturing Eye: That Becomes What It Sees.
Whether on the battlefield or in the bedroom, Kise’s reputation and accomplishments reach far beyond expectations. His aura is bright but untouchable. Ice cold gold.
Next to Kise is Momoi Satsuki, the jewel of powerhouse clan Touou, bearer of the All-seeing Eye: That Sees Within.
Peachy pink hair, the colour of cherry blossoms, ripples down her back, in stark contrast to her imposing black robes. Whenever Momoi moves, the shimmers of silvery butterfly print illuminates under the warm glow of the hall’s lights.
Easily the most notorious for information-gathering and tactical analysis that brings her clan’s physical prowess to almost pure victory in times of conflict.
Izuki sits beside Momoi, at the end of the row. Fitting for a member of ‘dark horse’ clan Seirin and especially fitting for Izuki himself, who is well aware that his personal reputation has earned him some…..less formal names. He wouldn’t mind this much, but..
There are two empty seats to Akashi-sama’s left: One for the yet-to-arrive Prophet of Yosen, and the last for Kazunari Takao of Shutoku, bearer of the Hawk’s Eye: That Sees The Unseen. Like Izuki, his place is at the end of the row. For a reason.
Kazunari’s seat is empty because he’s right here, chatting happily (and LOUDLY) with Momoi Satsuki. In contrast to the other Prophets, he wears his robes (of a gaudy, imposing orange) casually, slipping off one shoulder and exposing part of his bare chest. Black beads, like those of a temple priest, dangle from his wrists, rattling happily with every emphasized movement.
Izuki tries not to pay attention, as he has a hard time dealing with these two. Even covered, eyes that have the ability to see hidden things, behind a person’s heart ….uncomfortable.
“And who would’ve thought the five clans-- ah I suppose now it’s the six clans”.
There is a pause, where Momoi and Kazunari turn their veiled faces expectantly towards Izuki. A delicate black fabric veil for Kazunari; deep scarlet for Momoi. Thin enough to betray cloudy glimpses of dangerous, curious gazes.
It’s times like these Izuki finds himself envying his sweet little kouhai Kuroko’s uncanny ability to be ignored. How to misdirect unwanted attention...
“Izuki-san. This is the first time we’ve met under formal circumstances, yes?” So says Momoi, holding up an elegant glass decanter full of red liquid. She fills a silver chalice and offers it to Izuki, who nods politely and accepts the drink with both hands.
Sip.The taste is sweet, fragrant. A flower wine?
“Fermented flower-….fer-men….for men to ferment petals and...peddle them as wine. Ah. Not bad…” Izuki mutters to himself, wishing Riko had let him bring along his notebook.
“Hm?”
“Yes, the first time for us, although I’ve had the pleasure of conversing with the Touou clan leader on several occasions,” Izuki replies without missing a beat, taking another mouthful of wine. That was a little reference; no doubt she’ll get it.
She does. Momoi’s lips twitch up, but she swallows her budding smirk by popping a cherry into her mouth.
“Our Imayoshi-san has been in your care.” That’s one way to put it.
“Ehhh~, what’s this?” Kazunari chimes in, resting his chin on his palm, shifting his long legs to fold them. Relaxed, confident movements.
“So Seirin’s songbird has a voice after all? I’m glad, I thought we’d be getting the silent treatment from Izuki-san all night~”
He raises his own chalice to his lips, pausing to gauge Izuki’s reaction.
A Hawk calling an Eagle a songbird, he certainly doesn’t hold back. Though he’ll have to try harder to test Izuki; with this level of boldness, two can play.
Izuki tilts his head to the side, almost coyly, pressing his fingers against the red band wrapped around his throat.
“Ah, I’m sure you’ve heard, I typically only put my mouth to use after an exchange gold.”
Kazunari nearly spits his wine out. He reaches behind his veil to presumably wipe away the speckles of tears from his eyes.
“OHhhh my Gods, Izuki-san...wh-..whatever can you mean?”
“I find it hard to believe that the infamous Hawk’s Eye couldn’t see that before I worked as a pro-”
The words catch in Izuki’s throat. Wait. Wait wait wait.
He clicks his tongue and glares sharply, taking both Kazunari and Momoi aback. Did he finally get upset…?
“Before i was a prophet I was sold for a profit --, OH. NICE ONE, ME “
Momoi can only stare blankly, while Kazunari succumbs to a fit of silent laughter.
This somewhat absurd bonding moment is interrupted by the belated arrival of the Yosen Clan.
Lead by a small but formidable dark-haired woman with sheathed twin swords at her hips, the Clan enters the hall in succession. Their gentle flowing white and lavender robes do not suit their imposing statures at all.
The din of the hall quiets down as the Yosen clan makes their way to their appointed seats, and so their mumbled conversation can be heard even from here:
“Maybe if Muro-chin hadn’t gotten lost along the way….”
“In his defense, Atsushi, he’s pretty blind right now”
“Ehhhhhh, whatever”
The final Prophet is here, the enigmatic Himuro Tatsuya, bearer of the Blind Eye: That Remains Sightless. In lieu of a veil, Himuro has white bandages covering both eyes, rendering him quite literally sightless. He is escorted up to his seat with the rest of the Prophets by violet menace Murasakibara Atsushi, the ace warrior of Yosen.
Izuki glances back at the crowd. Kagami-kun visibly paler, still for once. To be expected, poor thing. Perhaps he can resolve his troubles over the next few days.
Time for introduction ceremony. Takao gets up. Izuki notes that he pauses as he passes akashi, his mouth set in a hard line.
;sdfjlkjl;fdjl;sdkjf COMPLETELY UNFINISHED IDK IDK IDK
for a while now i got the dumbest lil fic idea that’s 50% self indulgent aesthetic bs and 50% channeling my dumbass sense of humour thru by sweet sweet boi izuki shun
idk who to pair with whom or where 2 take the plot, all i got is like 2000+ words of intro chapter that’s just fancy celebration in a fake historical time period in a fake country and everyone’s just full of secrets and powers and hhhhhhhhh
Summary: Adult AU, Criminal Underworld AU. Where Kagami Taiga is a young heir suddenly targeted by 6 rather dangerous members of the criminal underworld (each with their own set of personal troubles), and Kuroko is a bodyguard with a dark past.
Warning: Violence, Strong language, a lil dark and angsty sometimes. Getting spicier ;^)
[Saturday. 6 hours ago, at 14:11. Rainbow Road Part 0]
People are always saying how Muro-chin is cold, that his expressions are lifeless, that he's just like a doll. "Disinterested". "Icy". "Unpredictable".
Yeah, okay.
The truth is, Muro-chin is always warm to the touch, he gets pissy easily, and he cares so much about pointless shit that it's annoying. Lifeless dolls probably don't have such bad tempers. Probably.
Where are people even looking? Murasakibara can't fully understand all of Muro-chin's emotions, but he can feel them, in his smell, in the clear beating of his pulse as he grips his wrist.
"Atsushi....Atsushi! Slow down, where are we going?"
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Explain. Muro-chin seems so desperate to find out what Murasakibara promised to tell him, about his past, about the current game. Honestly, Murasakibara doesn't give a shit if Muro-chin finds out about all the crap that happened, but sitting down to explain it is kind of a pain.
No, it's just painful.
Still, if that's what it takes to satisfy Muro-chin....Murasakibara runs through all possible solutions to the current problem, and uses the process of elimination to reach a decision.
He stops abruptly, causing Himuro to stumble into him, confused.
"Does Masako-chin need us for anything today?"
"I don't think so?"
Okay.
"I need to introduce you to someone."
[Saturday. 20:11. ????!?!??!??!!!!!!]
"Guess again <3"
So close, Kagami can feel the heat of the unfamiliar voice against his ear.
The young heir wastes no time in getting the fuck back, covering about eight meters of distance between himself and...
...this random...pretty-boy.
At first glance, everything about this guy seems non-threatening, from his carelessly open stance, to the amicable look on his face, to the way his hands are covered by the oversized sleeves of his beige wool cardigan. If Kagami didn't know better, he'd assume this is simply some lost blonde ikemen that just happened to find his way into this apartment complex, and nothing more.
But Kagami does know better; while he's not the most 'academically proficient' person, he doesn't need to be to realize that the stranger standing before him was also the one whose bloodlust raised the hairs on the back of his neck for a second back there.
"Ahaha, relax, relax, I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk. You're Kagami Taiga, yes?"
Random Ikemen says this in a light, playful sing-song voice, not really putting Kagami at ease. Like, at all. He's moving forward, reaching for his pocket... for a what? A weapon? If it's a knife, Kagami is fucking ready to engage, fists raised and on alert. If it's a gun.....well, he can play that by ear.
Running does not even occur to him, because he's that kind of idiot.
However, before Random Ikemen can take another step, something metal whizzes past Kagami headed straight for the stranger's arm.
The guy barely moves away in time.
"Can you please refrain from doing whatever it is you are trying to do?"
Kagami never thought he'd be glad to startle at one of Kuroko's heart-stopping phantom appearances, and yet here he is.
He glances down at his bodyguard's face to find there's something....different about his default neutral expression: there's a spark in his big blue eyes that Kagami hasn't seen before.
The stranger, unfazed by the ...wait, is that a kunai?! What kind of weird ass shit does Kuroko carry around.... that had been flung in his direction, smiles brighter at Kuroko's sudden entrance, and raises his floppy-sleeved palms up in a sign of non-confrontation.
"Ooooaaaa, that was a close one, Kurokocchi! Not holding back, as usual haha!"
Kuroko....cchi?
"It's been a while, Kise-kun."
Hold on.
"Kuroko, you know this guy?!"
The bodyguard shuts his eyes and, if Kagami isn't mistaken, clicks his tongue.
"Oh, Kurokocchi and I go way back. I'm sure he was expecting me <3" Random Ikemen-no, 'Kise', chirps, further driving Kagami into a state of confusion.
Way back..? Expecting...? So he's not here to start shit?
But every one of Kagami's instincts is telling him that this Kise guy is dangerous...much too much to let his guard down.
"Wait. So he's your friend?"
"YEAH!" "No."
Critical hit. Kise takes a moment to stagger back to a proper standing position, barely recovered from the mental blow.
"Ehhhhh, you're so mean, Kurokocchi. Just because we haven't seen each other in forever...or is it because you switched sides?! But that doesn't mean you can't come back! Play with us again..."
.................switched sides?
Whatever they're talking about, Kuroko isn't having any of it. In his usual cool tone, he rebuffs with:
"I know I've made my stance clear; He should understand by now. This will be the last game, if I can help it. Then, if you'll excuse us. Come on, Kagami-kun."
"Wh-? Okay..?"
Of course, no matter how hard Kuroko smashes the Close Door button, Kise still follows them into the elevator, resulting in a very awkward ride down to the main floor; Kuroko stands in front of Kagami the entire time, not exactly glaring, but still causing Kise to lose a lot of HP with his icy countenance.
"Kuro-"
The disembodied elevator voice lady announcing their arrival to "Lobby" cuts Kise off, and the doors swing open.
Kuroko stays close to Kagami, remarking over his shoulder in a tone that is somehow both harsh and gentle:
"I don't know what your job today is, but I should let you know I won't let you touch Kagami-kun."
Oi, what's this guy saying? Okay, so he's Kagami's bodyguard, but somehow... his delivery is really embarrassing!! And what's this 'won't let', Kagami can take totally this risky blonde thing himself..........maybe.
Kise doesn't look happy about the blunt rejection: he's peeking his fingers from without his sleeves to run his hands against along throat, working through some internal struggle. With great effort, he shrugs it off with:
"Ah, I see, okay.............. Well, don't worry about that, I just wanna talk, I have this lett-"
All three men react at the same time.
Kuroko: Moves forward so fast he appears as a blur, extending his arm out to meet the closest assailant, Mask I, docking the man right in the throat. Mask I goes down, fox mask skewing to the side as their head makes contact with the floor.
Kise: In one motion, he reaches down to pick up the gun of the fallen man, pushes his weight onto his arm enough to flip his entire body over and kick Mask II in the face on his way back down. Foot still in contact with their head, Kise uses it as a stepping stone to head onto the next....head.
Kagami: Instinctively rushing forward, ignoring Kuroko's sharp "KAGAMI-KUN", dodges the trained, but inferior-to-Taiga strike of a fist, and elbows Mask III right in the masked face.
"Who the fuck are these people?" he shouts over his shoulder, already faced with another attacker. There are fourteen...no fifteen total.
.......what the fuck? Is this a mob raid? Who sent these disposable, culty-looking guys?? Is this what it's going to be like, living as the 'heir' to his old man, or whatever???
HONESTLY.
"Hey. Pretty-boy."
"Ehh, don't look at me, I'm not with these people!"
While Kise's character and Kuroko's treatment of him leave a lot of room for doubt, Kagami has to admit that he's fighting the Masks. Like, pretty one-sidedly.
His fighting style is almost....graceful, not a single unnecessary movement as he drops three, four opponents at once.
Not that Kagami is admiring that weirdo or anything. (Maybe a little.) Either way, he's much distracted by the sudden presence at his back, a stray Mask that must have snuck up behind him. He turns swiftly, using his right arm to block the trajectory of the hand blade that was surely aimed for his throat.
With no hesitation, he rams Mask (??) into the wall and rams his forehead into theirs, cracking both the mask and the assailants consciousness with the blow.
In the same moment, he experiences a sharp pain in his left inner elbow, as well as his shoulder. Still recovering from the self-inflicted head pain, Kagami grits his teeth and prepares to retaliate.
What the fuck is it now?
The heir rips his arm out from whatever grip is holding it and spins around to face this latest Mask attack. The head is lolling slightly, probably from the pressure of Kise's chokehold.
"Aha, that should be the last of them," he chirps brightly, dropping the 'sleeping' man quite unceremoniously onto the ground.
Kagami is left unsettled...did this guy just sav-...have his back?
"Right, Kurokocchi?"
Kuroko nods in affirmation, which is honestly pretty unnecessary, considering there are like seven bodies lying crumple at his feet.
"Are you alright, Kagami-kun?" he asks, and Kagami isn't sure if it's his imagination that he hears a slight waver to the question.
"I'm sorry that you had to get involved yourself..."
"Nah, I'm fine. It's been a while since my last fight, anyways, and this was nothing." Kagami responds, not untruthfully. He's been restless for a while now, and even though the opponents weren't anything special, he still got to see some interesting stuff. However, he still casually tucks his left arm to his body as he's speaking.
"So? What's with the stock mob characters?" he asks, kicking aside one of ones that are still squirming.
"Yes, and how did they get in? Miss Aida has at least five men stationed around the premises."
"She has what?!!"
"Lower your voice please, Kagami-kun"
"Are you KIDDING M-"
"Oh those guys?" Kise interjects, with a thumb pointing back towards the front entrance of the lobby.
"Yeah, I took care of them on my way in, I didn't think it would cause such a mess. Oh, but I didn't kill anyone, so don't worry! Hehe."
Kagami, still not recovered from the fact that Aida seems to have him protected everywhere and at all times, is now having a hard time 'not worrying' about the fact that some sketchy model-looking motherfucker with superhuman abilities, who apparently knows Kuroko, just casually immobilized Aida's personnel singlehandedly.
But okay.
Kuroko's reaction is more of a resigned sigh, as if he should have known all along that's what happened.
"I didn't think they were with you, it's unlike your style."
Kise cheeks flush red and his golden eyes begin to sparkle, as if Kuroko had praised him rather than just made a casual observation. This pisses Kagami off for reasons he can't begin to explain to himself.
The three men simultaneously look down at the scattered assailants.
"But if you didn't bring them, then....surely... they weren't just sent by some normal group looking to cash in the bounty..."
Um? What else would they be?
[Saturday. 20:15. Bad News]
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
Riko is distraught.
"Are you seriously telling me this is supposed to Momoi Satsuki?!!???"
Mitobe has already confirmed that yes, the picture in Aida Riko's hands is indeed a recent Polaroid snapshot of said informant (which was by no means easy to obtain, but Mitobe wasn't sent on this mission for nothing). Confirmed by at least two of her regulars. All he can do now is wait for Riko's, uhh, passionate reaction to subside.
"She's way too fucking hot..." Riko mutters through gritted teeth, clenching the photograph with trembling hands.
"Isn't this unreasonable? Shouldn't someone with her job be more, I don't know, lowkey? Like, the size of those...and her face...UGH."
".................?"
"What is she so upset about? Well...I think I can guess," Koganei whispers back to Mitobe. He'd use hand gestures to elaborate, but he's still in pain from recent events and doesn't need the holy wrath of Riko to rain down on him on the off chance she notices, in the midst of her (blood?)thirst-fueled rage.
"Oh jeez, she threw it against the wall. Must be tough, realizing your enemy is so attractive, huh?"
"......................"
"Well, she seems to think we were attacked by this Momoi's people, but she still hasn't been able to confirm it, so the revelation of Momoi Satsuki's appearance has been a....blow. God knows how long this display will last haha...."
[Saturday. 20:26. Ciao]
"HUH. What do you mean?!"
"I said," Kise repeats patiently, flapping the photograph and resume in his hand to emphasize his words yet again.
"I'm acting as a messenger for Xx-chan-...umm, Miss Xx of the Xx Family who decided, after news of your existence was leaked through underground channels, that she wanted to arrange a marriage meeting with you. Here's her profile!"
Kagami's hands pretty much move on their own to accept this absurd proposition, as his mind is still trying to reconcile what was just said.
"What. That was your job? That's it?"
He casts a quick look at Kuroko, who shakes his head. Okay, yeah, calling bullshit.
Though this all seems pretty real.......
Also:
"Then why did you fuck with security?!"
Kise winks, he actually winks, and answers without a shred of shame:
"There's no way Kurokocchi would have let me even come close to the building if he'd known I was coming!"
This time, Kuroko nods gravely.
"Though I can't blame him for worrying I'd be up to something worse. You know," Kise suddenly gets close to Kagami, and the heir feels the same shiver as before overcome him. Kise's voice drops down to a dangerous murmur, half-seductive, half-warning.
"If everything goes well for you two, and you manage to survive the others, I'll definitely be back for more."
Kagami pushes him back, his heart pounding in his chest harder than when he was fighting the Masks.
Kise receives this with a smile, flashing a goodbye in the form of a cheeky two fingered salute.
" You're pretty fun, let's play again! And Kurokocchi, even if you don't reconsider, I'll still..."
Pause.
He leaves just like that, as if he had never been here in the first place.
[Saturday. 20:30. Straightforward.]
"What.....was that all about??? I'm so fucking confused"
"I didn't think I'd be faced with such an elusive start. I'm sorry, Kagami-kun, for everything. He...Kise-kun...we met when we were children. There are others as well, on a team, and our upbringing was...unorthodox."
"So you're like childhood friends?"
More like child soldiers.
"I can't explain myself well in this environment, but...in any case, when I caught wind that my former...teammates were assigned to attack you I saw it as my chance. To atone not only for my own sins, but also stop them at any cost. And you just happened to be the main target."
I thought it would be more straight forward, like it was in the past.
"..............o-...oh."
[Saturday. 20:31. Was This Even Necessary For Me To Put This Short Bit In? No, But I Sure Did It Anyways]
A rather happy 8-bit tune resounds through the room, and Riko immediately snaps back to reality to pick up her phone.
"Kuroko? Sorry I didn't contact you until now, I couldn-.........................WHAT?!"
[Saturday. 20:38. For Now]
"Yes. Yes, the situation is under control. I've managed to make contact with the disarmed security, they seem to be fine. Yes. Yes, ma'am. I am sorry about all of this. No, aside from a few scratches. .......yes. Alright. Take care, we will be waiting for you inside the lobby. Yes. Thank you."
A dense silence falls after Kuroko hangs up. The bodyguard forces himself to sneak a glance at Kagami, who is sitting slumped against the wall of his apartment's entrance, head bowed, the shadows over his face making it impossible to read his expression.
Kuroko had known the truth would come out sooner or later, and it's not as if he had done anything wrong, but somehow...there's an itchy, nervous feeling in the back of his throat.
".......Kagami-kun, I-"
Without warning, Kagami stands up suddenly, and Kuroko's words falter.
Is he upset? He has every right to be, being used yet again by the person who's supposed to protect him.
Well, it shouldn't matter, Kuroko can still protect him, there's no particular reason the young master has to like him. But somehow....
"AAAAH. What the hell was up with that, anyways? Geez, am I seriously that valuable? Or is shit always like this in this country? I don't get it. And you,"
He turns directly to Kuroko.
"You know some seriously annoying people."
Kuroko blinks with surprise. He's not wrong.
"But he was strong....really strong. That Kise guy. He didn't even do anything to me, but I couldn't go against him."
The young heir's red eyes are positively blazing now. What was it about this brief exchange that's got him so fired up?
"........Interesting. I don't really get what this 'game' is, but if it means breaking out of this dull life...we'll be up against more interesting guys like that?"
We'll be up against? Kuroko never fails to be amazed by Kagami's boundless energy and passion. Where does it come from...
"You're not upset that you're involved with my former colleague, and the only reason I agreed to guard you was for my own personal dispute with them ?"
"Ummmm" kagami rubs the back of his head, sharp eyes angled back in thought.
"I don't really understand that complicated shit.? The way I see it, we're on the same side, right? Like, us, against...I'm not sure? I'm guessing there's history there you don't really want to talk about? Is it important for me to know?"
Kuroko takes a minute to process this, slowly running through the words over in his head.
"......................Kagami-kun really is an idiot, aren't you?"
".....................you wanna fucking go?"
But Kagami's expression softens, and he turns his head quickly, leaving Kuroko to note the red flush on the tips of his ears.
"Ahhhh, I'm hungry! We still didn't get to eat" The young heir remarks with unnecessary force, looking anywhere but at Kuroko.
Before Kuroko can respond, the loud shrieking of car breaks sounds from the outside, followed by an aggressive slam of a car door.
3
2
1
Click.
BAM.
Aida flies through the door like a bullet. She's wearing a leather holster over her bandaged shoulder, which can be seen from without her poorly buttoned shirt. Her cheeks are flushed, probably from running like hell to get here.
"Oh, thank GOD."
Her check-up takes less than a second, as she discerns that all injuries sustained by the young master are minimal. Afterwards, her body twitches as she makes a motion to throw her arms around Kagami, hesitates, then punches him right in the abdomen.
"When I got the phone call, I thought my heart was going to stop," she murmurs tearfully, ignoring Kagami's belligerent reaction to her method of showing affection.
"Thank goodness you're barely hurt."
"Ummm, you're one to talk, what happened to you?!"
"... Just a scratch, don't you worry" Riko brushes off the question pretty poorly, pulling back to her usual self. She stands back to take a look at the unconscious assailants. She turns over one of them with the heel of her boot, frowning deeply as she scrutinizes his bloodied features.
"This guy..." she mutters, clearly to herself, light brown eyes narrowed in recognition, Kuroko is sure of it.
"That's fine. I'll deal with the rest of the situation here. Jesus, you guys really did a number on these bastards. Oh, and you mentioned a third party, Kuroko?"
"..Yes. He just came to deliver a marriage proposal on behalf of the Xx family. He...left the premises unscathed."
"Hmmm."
Aida bites the knuckle of her index finger as she mulls over her options. Kuroko knows she's nigh-openly suspicious of him, as she has every right to be. But she's also overwhelmed by every single person that wants to kill, kidnap, kiss, and corrupt her principle, Kagami Taiga, and in the end she opts for safety first, answers later:
"Get Kagami-kun to safehouse B. We'll talk later."
It's only a matter of time before everything comes out into the open, but it's nice to have some buffer between truth reveals.
Which is fine. Judging from Kagami-kun's reaction.... it'll work out fine.
"What are you smiling about?"
Kuroko startles at the question: he's never been accused of 'smiling about' something before.
"Was I?"
"Yeah.."
A perfect idiot.
[Saturday. 21:43. Fancy Pants x2]
It has been a while since this house last received a welcome visitor. All kinds of worthless criminals, rebellious elements, 'friends of the family' have been passing through, clouding the halls with their unseemly presence; those who wish to use and to be used, in the worst possible ways.
So for the first time in a long time, Akashi Seijuro finds himself smiling, if only slightly, at the sound of the shoji door sliding open from behind him.
He waits until the soft pad of footsteps on the tatami floor close up next to him before turning around to face his 'guest', who kneels before him. A vial of red liquid slips from out of his sleeves and is placed in front of Akashi, like an offering.
"You're late," he begins, shutting his left eye as he speaks.
"Ryouta."
"Geeeez, Akashicchi, did you know those hit men were going to be there today?"
"As much as you did."
Ryouta lets out a brief peal of laughter, sinking his weight more comfortably against his feet.
"Was it really necessary to get me to sneak blood out of the poor kid? I'm sure there were more legit ways to take care of that..."
"Not so. It seems Kagami Sr. has taken great pains to keep any official or unofficial contact away from his heir."
"Is that so? I guess I wouldn't want strangers putting needles in my son. If I had a son."
This house is usually cold, too cold, but right now Akashi is feeling comfortably warm. It's nice.
"Still, I'm surprised no one asked for blood samples or DNA proof until after the bounty."
"That is because I was the one that originally leaked the information of the existence of the Kagami heir. And my word is absolute"
Ryouta looks amused by this, and he hums in agreement with a curt nod of his head.
His outer appearance is almost too relaxed, but Akashi can tell with a glance that he's strained: the muscles in his jaw are slightly tensed; his hands, which are hidden by his sleeves, are clearly balled into tight fists, pressed against his thighs. His eyes are clear, but for how long?
Akashi sees everything.
"I trust you're ready for the second phase. Or has your resolve wavered now that you've met with Tatsuya?"
Ryouta shakes his head once, twice. He's biting the inner part of his bottom lip.
"Akashicchi.....this game is a little different than the others, huh?"
"The general goal remains the same."
"........Yeah? Well."
The model accepts the envelope detailing his next role to play. Judging from his reluctance, Akashi can tell he already knows the contents. Still, Kise makes no complaint.
He just smiles.
Akashi feels another throb in the back of his left eye.
Next.
[Saturday. 22:05. Bad Girls Do It Well]
Momoi would like to believe her upbringing has lead her to a solid grasp on basic domestic life skills.
Setting cooking aside (she's in denial), the lady is proficient in such things including: sewing (you know, like... sewing wounds shut), handling cleaning products and chemicals (uhhh, though more often than not for uses outside their 'intended purpose'...), wielding kitchen knives (okay, maybe not so much 'kitchen' knives as just any and all forms of blades), and of course, removing blood from all kinds of materials.
That said, it looks like it's going to take more than some cold water to save her dress, which is currently reminiscent of a Jackson Pollock painting. Since no one actually died spattering their blood on the fine crêpe chiffon, there's no need to burn it, so it looks like Momoi's due for a trip to the dry cleaner's...it's been a while.
Ahh, well. Before any of that, the information broker needs to shower off the sweat of today's unexpected labours: turns out the surprise attackers that drove Aida away, subsequently ruining Momoi's plans, were a group of skilled but terribly unfortunate punks from a small gang running loose on the West end of the city.
After spending a good nine hours hunting down the instigators, Momoi had to twist their arms a bit (metaphorically, but also literally) to get them to admit to trying to sabotage Aida Riko because of the recent Kagami Taiga bounty that was issued.
Momoi does not doubt the sincerity of their words, mostly because her little blood-letting demonstration on team leader really showed them exactly how serious she can be. However, her suspicions regarding the incident, especially how convenient it was for these randoms to just happen to come in at that particular moment, are growing stronger. Well, enough about that..
Before she knows it, Momoi's already pulled up to the street next to Dai-chan's apartment. This often happens, her body just finding its way over here, especially after particularly strenuous jobs. That's the power of lifelong friendship, for you.
Checking for any stray late night passersby, Momoi gets out of her car and makes her way up to Aomine's door, which she opens using one of several spare keys she had made.
She steps into the living room to find her childhood friend lying with his back on the ground, surrounded by files and papers. While Momoi knows he's been working much harder now that Tetsu-kun and a game is involved, but even so, it's a little disconcerting to see him awake at home at this hour, when he's usually sleeping or out ...philandering.
"Satsuki," this disturbingly diligent Aomine starts, waving a dossier, not bothering to comment on Momoi's disturbing appearance.
"What exactly is it about this plain woman that's got you so fired up?"
Momoi doesn't need to look at the file to know what he's talking about. She snatches the file out of his hands and puts in on his face.
"Dai-chan isn't the only one that's starving for some real competition, you know?"
Aomine smacks the file off his face and turns his head to the side with an almost-pout.
"You keep saying that shit. I'm not starvin-"
"You mean you didn't quit working for Katsunori because you were hoping he'd send divine retribution your way and you'd finally get the challenge you wanted?"
Aomine has no response for this outside an unintelligible grunt. Nice comeback.
"Aida Riko..... Although she's young, she's known for rising the ranks fast to take over Kagami's security from her father, as well as her exceptional analytical abilities. You're reading her reports, you should know all the delicious things she's accomplished. Besides,"
Momoi places a finger to her smiling lips.
"There's nothing I love more than taking serious, righteous people down a peg."
"Wow, you don't look it, but you're actually quite the sadist, aren't you, Satsuki?"
This time, Momoi doesn't have a response.
"Well! I'm going to use your shower."
"Hmm? Yeah."
Seems he's now preoccupied with a text message he just received.
Momoi gets halfway to the bathroom before walking back and peeking her head into the doorframe.
"By the way, how'd your confession go?" she teases, making sure she gets a good look at Aomine's face to gauge his reaction.
"Hah??? Stop opening your mouth, Satsuki, if only shit comes out of it. What confession?"
.....................................is what Momoi expects to hear.
She doesn't expect Aomine to pause, crinkle his nose in thought, then rest his arm over his forehead with a heavy sigh, still clutching his clutching the cellphone in his hand.
Oi, oi. You've got to be kidding.
"Hey, Satsuki. There's no way Tetsu's gonna go along with that idiot, right?"
"..I think Ki-chan knows that as well."
"Yeah.....so he really hasn't changed. Still chasing after the same old shit."
Momoi's not sure, but it's starting to sound more and more like Dai-chan is talking about himself. She blinks a few times, still thrown back by this sudden burst of honesty.
"........................"
"Satsuki?"
"Dai-chan, are you not feeling well?"
"Huh?"
"A fever maybe? Let me check your temperature."
"Wh- Don't touch me with your gross bloody hands, that's disgusting."
"You sit tight and wrap a blanket around yourself, I'll go make you some rice porridge."
"What, you're going to make me 'food' so I get sick for real? I'm good, thanksss."
"DAi-chAN"
Aomine has to physically get up to usher Momoi into the bathroom. He throws a clean towel in the room and slams the door shut, leaving his childhood friend to raise her eyebrows at the state of the shower. Eugh... he really should clean this up.
She strips off her dress and drapes it over the sink, suddenly overcome by the realization that she has nothing else to wear.
Wrapping the towel around her body, she cautiously exits the bathroom, calling for Aomine:
"Hey, I don't have a change of clothes is it okay if I use your-.......eh, where'd he go?"
She's met with the sound of the apartment entrance door clicking shut.
[Saturday. 22:16. T_T]
Text message: [Unknown: Same place we met earlier today.]
He's sitting there at the bus stop, with his head tilted up and resting against the back of the bench. His skin looks especially pale under the surrounding sickly white fluorescent lights, and his golden eyes are glassy and unfocussed as they stare up at the bleary night sky.
Ah, that's no good. That spaced-out, apathetic expression is reminiscent of a Kise from long ago.
"You actually came for me," Kise notes with a small laugh, sitting up to greet Aomine with what cannot possibly be a genuine smile, not when he was making that face literal seconds ago.
"I didn't think you would."
"Hmph. Why'd you wait, then." Aomine retorts in a rude tone, as if he doesn't actually care to know the answer. He does.
Kise starts to laugh. He holds a hand to his mouth to stifle the sound.
"Doesn't matter anyways, I was already dumped once today."
Slowly, the giggles die out, becoming quieter and quieter, but his shoulders continue shaking until Aomine realizes that Kise isn't laughing.
He's choking back sobs.
AH! WAIT. AHH.
"I know he's not in the wrong, of course K-kurokocchi knows what he's doing. I don't know what but.... but it still hurts."
Tears just start gushing down his cheeks. Something akin to panic wells up inside Aomine's chest, but more than that... this kind of reaction is good. It's good. Compared with the blank Kise from before....
"It still hurtssssss. All I ever wanted was to play together again. B-but I can tell it's not gonna be the saaaaaaame this time."
He covers his face with his forearm, and continues crying.
He's this upset over Tetsu, huh. Since the beginning, Aomine's been ignoring the reality of meeting Tetsu again, and what that's going to mean for him. The emotions are too many and conflicting to deal with, and besides, Aomine's in control of his own feelings. He just needs to uhh...focus on what's in front of him, for now.
For once.
He waits until the sobs subside before slapping Kise on the back. Hardly comforting, and he can tell there's a lot more Kise wants to say, but...that can wait.
"Alright, alright. I get it. Just come back to my place."
He says this in a gruff voice, causing Kise to sniffle and squint up at Aomine with watery red eyes. Somehow being stared at directly like that...Aomine looks away.
"Eh? Why's Aominecchi being so nice......................... Haha that's kinda creepy. Are you okay?"
First Satsuki, now this. These people are so rude, what the fuck exactly is their impression of Aomine?!????
"Sh...shut up. Let's go."
.
Kise's mood improves greatly as they walk their way back to Aomine's apartment. He doesn't say much, but he lets out a hum every so often that Aomine is almost concerned. An emotional Kise is much harder to handle, he'd forgotten.
He pushes open at his unlocked door...
only to be greeted by a dripping wet Momoi, who is clad in what is obviously Aomine's shirt and a pair of his boxers.
"Momo...cchi? What are you... doing here?"
Shit, Aomine had completely forgotten about Satsuki. He feels this situation slipping out of his grasp, and before he can think of the reason WHY he's panicking, Aomine turns to Kise to explain:
"Oi, Kise, don't misundersta-"
"MOMOCCHI!!" Kise cuts him off to run up to Momoi and collapse into her arms, body slumped to match her height.
"KI-CHAN!!"
"Momocchi...sob..."
Kise's waterworks start up again, and the model bawls into Satsuki's shoulder while she rubs his back with a soothing "there, there!" and stares her pink eyes directly into Aomine's. She doesn't need to say anything for Aomine to read the look she's giving him.
She does anyways.
"Don't be jealous, Dai-chan." Momoi mouths, still consoling the sobbing blonde mess with gentle hushes.
Who's jealous?
"You can comfort Ki-chan all night long" she continues, this time with enough volume to the whisper that Kise pulls back, blinking the tears out of his eyes.
"Did you say something, Momocchi?"
"Yes, it's pretty late, you should just sleep over here tonight. RIGHT, Aomine-kuni??"
Two pairs of sparkly expectant eyes stare back at Aomine.
After a pause, he clicks his tongue and turns to leave the room.
"Suit yourself."
[Rainbow Road Part 1. Earlier on Saturday, sometime around 15:11]
A bar?
Of all the places Himuro could have imagined Atsushi dragging him out to....
It had taken about an hour to reach this place, situated on the West side of the city. Neither swanky nor sketchy, the easily missed building holds a sign up front that reads "D R I V E". As it's still early in the day, the interior looks completely empty, with some chairs still stacked upside down on the tables.
As Himuro and Murasakibara go through the door, a very small bell heralds their passage through the entrance, and they step into a small, but tastefully furnished establishment.
Oak wood panels, glossy black furniture, impeccably clean.
The only other person in the room is a raven-haired man standing behind the bar, wiping a crystal glass with a white rag. He freezes upon the arrival of the gangsters, mouth set into a hard line as he somehow stares right through both of them.
Murasakibara is the first to break the silence with:
"'Sup, senpai."
Whoah, whoah, whoah, senpai?
"What the fuck are ya doing here?"
Despite his words, the barkeep's tone isn't hostile, only faintly exasperated. Himuro has never met anyone aside from Madame Araki to speak to Atsushi in this way. And such familiarity...
The man flashes his light grey eyes over to Himuro, and for a breath of a moment he looks taken aback.
"And why'd you bring the Dragon with you? Actually, how'd you find me?"
Murasakibara waves away the barrage of questions with a lazy shake of his head. A lock of his violent hair ends up covering his face; he does nothing to remedy this.
"This place isn't bugged, right? So do me a favour and-"
"A favour?"
"-and just explain some shit to Muro-chin, k?"
"No, it's not 'k', I have a job. Explain what? You're as unbelievable as always."
"Like, I know the deal, okay. It's fine if I'm back in two, riiiight?"
"Goddamnit, Murasakibara. Okay. Can you turn the sign up front to close the bar on your way out?"
"Yeah, yeah. Okay, Muro-chin, this guy's gonna answer all your questions, so I'll be back later, k?"
"What. No, wait, Atsushi--..ahh he's gone."
And with that, the door's bells tinkle with one final farewell, leaving Himuro alone to face the strange angry barkeep. He can feel those grey eyes scrutinizing him, his gaze unwavering, so he just stares back and waits.
"You really are as breathtaking as they say," the man finally states, matter-of-factly, and finally sets down the glass he was wiping.
"Damn that Murasakibara for dumping this on me without warning, but I can't say I'm too upset to listen to your request."
.............................So Himuro wasn't being sized up.. he was just being checked out? Well, at least he's used to that by now.
"....You seem to know who I am."
"Well. The Araki Clan isn't exactly an unknown current in the underworld."
Himuro struggles for a moment to think of the best way to ask this man who the fuck he is and what the fuck is happening. If he's a recommendation from Atsushi, he must at least be trustworthy....ah, but is that true? This is the first time Atushi has ever introduced Himuro to anyone, there's no real precedent for this situation.
"What is .... Teiko? You mentioned it earlier.."
"Oh, cutting straight to the chase are we? How much do you know about what Murasakibara was doing before he joined up with the mafia?"
"Only bits and pieces of what Atsushi told me. He was placed with some other children, they were all trained...to kill, and do other things. Ummm, one of them is a model now, I think?"
"That's all?"
"Uh....Haizaki Shougo,"
The barkeep's eye visibly twitches.
"I met him the other day. He told me that these people play 'games', that change every time. Though he said it was just a 'fucking farce'....well, he said other things along that vein."
The barkeep grimaces for a moment, then reaches below the bar to pull out two bottles of alcohol, one reddish-brown, the other clear.
He drops four icecubes, 1 2 3 4 into a glass, and pours in the bottles while maintaining eye contact with Himuro.
"You really are in the dark, though it's not surprising. And you feel personally invested because...?"
Himuro hesitates: how badly does he want to share personal information with a stranger in a public (albeit closed) bar. On the other hand, while Atsushi might be a little 'out of it' so to speak, Himuro trusts his intuition. And he did say this place wasn't bugged.
"Their collective target this time is Kagami Taiga...I have a lot of history with this person, and I didn't even know he was in the country until Atsushi brought up his mission. I don't want to get involved in the bounty, I just want to see him again, and understand..."
Nijimura nods, slides over the finished drink.
"What is this?"
"Just drink it."
"Oh, no thank you?"
"If you want to hear the whole story, you're gonna want to start drinking."
Himuro isn't generally considered 'obedient', but he complies, taking a tentative sip. It's bitter, but the burning feeling in his throat is not unwelcome.
"Thanks...uhh.."
"Ah that's right, I forgot," barkeep finally smiles, holding his hand out to Himuro to shake.
"Sorry I didn't introduce myself: you can call me Nijimura."
[Sunday. 00:02. Mild Spice]
"Good luck, Midorimacchi!"
"Die."
"Ehh-"
But Midorima has already hung up.
Kise sighs and flops onto his back, flinging his phone somewhere closer to the pillow. He spreads his arms out, acknowledging that today has been a long fucking day.
Aominecchi sure likes to pimp out his sleeping places: the bed is spacious, queen-sized, covered in several layers of silky soft sheets. It smells like him, too.
He could just lie here forever and ever and ever and never leave, that would be bliss. Mhm.
"Yo. Get the hell off my bed."
"Awwww, come on, Aominecchi. Momocchi's got the futon in the spare room, and you can't expect me to sleep on a couch."
"I don't care, get out of the bed. Die."
Ooooh, twice in a minute. That's got to be a record.
Kise just shuts his eyes and folds his hands over his chest. He's way too comfy and tired and willful right now to give this up.
"Noooooo. There's room enough for both of us, isn't there?"
"Like hell there is."
It isn't until Kise feels his place in the bed sink under a weight that he blinks his eyes open once again.
Too close.
Sitting on the side of the bed, one hand pinned down by Kise's head.
He's still wet from his bath, his hair and the neckline of his white t-shirt both soaked. He's frowning, but there's a certain glow to his dark blue eyes. Rather than menacing, Aomine looks...
A tiny drop of water rolls off his face and drips onto Kise's mouth.
"Heh," Kise actually smirks, licking his lower lip.
"Are you gonna make me, Aominecchi?"
"Why," Aomine starts, his deep voiced laced with confliction, his brows knitted with some internal agony.
"Should I share My bed with you!? Only I'm allowed to sleep in my bed!"
And with that, he scoops his hands under Kise's back in order to slam dunk the model right onto the ground.
But Kise is ready with a counter: without hesitation, he wraps his legs around Aomine's waist before he can be tossed off the mattress.
This leads to a brief struggle that ends up with both men tumbling onto the ground. Aomine hits the back of his head against the wall, while Kise, landing on top of him, smacks his forehead into the same wall a moment after.
"Ah, FUCK."
After a brief recovery period of groaning and clutching of their respective head injuries, Aomine and Kise move to untangle themselves from this mess.
"What the fuck are you doing??"
"Ummm, you were the one that started it?"
"HUH?"
Aomine manages to sit up, rubbing his head, with Kise now sitting between his outstretched legs, his thighs still on either side of Aomine's waist. An only marginally less precarious position than the one before.
They glare at each other for a good long minute, gold vs. dark blue.
Kise feels the heat rise in his cheeks.
"Jeez, Aominecchi, you're so inhospitable" he pouts, grinding his hips forward...just a bit. To test.
"Yeah, well you're just fucking annoying" Aomine snaps back, fingers twitching several times before he cautiously slides his hands onto the small of Kise's slightly-arched back, and pulls him even closer towards himself.
"Then why'd you let me cry all over you? Hmmm?" Kise teases, tilting his head to the side, aware that he's treading in dangerous, dangerous territory.
"It's 'cause I'm so great." Aomine replies, brushing his lips against the side of Kise's throat.
The model runs his own fingers through the short blue locks of Aomine's hair. Hmph, not as soft as his own, but that's to be expected.
"Hey, Aominecchi. Are you sure about this-? Ahh."
"Mhm"
The sensation of Aomine's nipping under his Adam's apple almost makes Kise lose his train of thought.
"Like, really, really sure??"
"Mmmhm."
"'Cause you know, you cast me aside in the past, so I was sure you hated m-MPH!"
Aomine pulls back but keeps his head lowered, hand over Kise's mouth all the while.
"Shut up. And what about you?" he mutters into Kise's neck, still not moving.
"Are you okay with this? Even after all this..."
Aominecchi with such stunning lack of confidence is a rare sight...and yet he's not pushing Kise away. He's clinging, pleading in his own way.
Kise can't respond with words, especially not with his mouth covered like this. So he wraps his fingers around Aomine's wrist and pulls his hand away just enough...to kiss his palm.
Run his tongue along the length of Aomine's middle finger, then suckle at his fingertips.
This is Kise's answer.
Naturally, Aomine finally raises his head at this (un?)expected response, and Kise can feel the heat of his dark blue gaze.
He is transfixed with the situation for a while longer, slipping in his index and ring fingers into Kise's mouth as well. But he pulls them out soon enough, to tilt Kise's chin up and sink his teeth into Kise's lower lip, hard, eliciting a small moan of happiness from the model.
After the bite comes a soft kiss.
This is how they are.
Notes from AO3:
So that mild spice piece ^ wasn't anything too risky, i thought, but uhhh, not sure i can say the same for whatever happens next chapter. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
anyways, tag yourself i'm kise responding to 'pretty-boy' as if it's natural
Some fun facts about this chapter, to distract u from my messy plot holes and late update:
-the drink rainbow-senpai made for himuro is called a 'godmother', which i chose just 'cause muro works for yakuza queen Araki Masako lmao idk
-in the character's bible, mitobe's hobby is actually listed as 'photography'. works out great considering i totally didn't know this when i made him riko's photo-informant LOL
- i didn't feature zaki, but did i really need to, he was probably at home wearing vegeta's 'badman' shirt, obsessing over ryou~~ta
-I DIDN'T REALLY FEATURE MIDORIN AND I AM SORRY FOR THAT? like he's next in line to fsu, but i just kind of thought i'd post this and i feel so bad. i love u carrot boy.
✺◟( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)◞✺ at long last....kihaikise....
not even close to finished, but if anyone is interested in reading the start of my (somewhat violent, definitely swear-y) mafia/loan shark au haiki/kihai (subtle hints of nijihimu???!?!) .....here is what i imagine to be part 1/3 of .....chapter 1. orz. i have the rest mostly written out but. i thought i might as well post this and see if anyone actually wants to read more (´༎ຶ ͜ʖ ༎ຶ `)
Haizaki Shougo prefers to adopt an "I do whatever the fuck I want, whenever the fuck I want" sort of attitude to life. Whether it's money, women, bloodshed, booze... anything Haizaki desires, he simply takes. Like this, the notoriously ill-mannered--albeit troubled-- young debt collector runs the high of fucking, drinking, gambling, senseless destruction, bullying debt-wrought businessmen out of their money...and all without consequence. And it's fucking great.
Or at least it should be. But lately...
Nothing is satisfying anymore.
Haizaki clicks his tongue impatiently--this is stupid. He's not seriously about to dwell on this pointless shit, alright?
He tilts his chair back so that it balances precariously on only two legs, then props his feet up on Nijimura's office desk. He kicks same papers off the desk top in the process; (obviously), it does not even occur to him to pick them up.
Bored, Haizaki lolls his head back and glances over at his "coworker", Himuro Tatsuya, who's been sitting in the corner for the past half hour: the hood of his black sweater over his bowed head, wordlessly staring at his phone. ...oh shit, he actually might be be asleep; it's hard to tell, since the guy barely ever moves his facial muscles.
Tch. What a dull plaything.
Haizaki rocks back even farther in his unstable chair, absently fiddling with the rings on his fingers.
He considers riling up Tatsuya, but that seems like it would take too much effort: despite his short fuse and violent streak, it's pretty difficult to get him to break his expressionless doll-face. No, these days Nijimura would need to get involved. And he's not even here--
BAM.
Nevermind. Speak of the devil...the actual devil...
"WHERE!!!"
Nijimura snaps, making a characteristically violent entrance as he kicks open his poor, poor office door, slamming it hard enough into the wall to rattle the office desk from force of impact. The remaining papers flutter off the top, onto the floor.
"WHERE THE FUCK is that bastard Hara?! He's a week overdue with his payments, at this rate I'll be pulling the interest out of his goddamn asshole."
The formidable loan shark Nijimura "bossman" Shuzo appears to be a touch more...stressed than usual. His thin shades have slipped down the bridge of his nose, revealing a pair of underslept, bloodshot eyes; his normally slicked-back black hair hangs limply over his forehead. All-nighter?
Unfazed by his boss's rage, Haizaki raises a hand up lazily in greeting, grinning slightly as he brings his other hand up to his mouth. He flicks his tongue just above the silver band around his thumb.
"What, ya didn't hear? That Hara fuck killed himself just last night." Not entirely true, but he's been dying to push someone's buttons. Even at the cost of his own well-being.
"He what."
Before Haizaki can milk this reaction, Tatsuya (so he was awake, the trick bitch!), cuts in with a cool monotone (ever the killjoy):
"Police report says a body matching Hara's description was found in Tokyo Bay early this morning. Riddled with bullets... And his hands cut off."
Nijimura removes his sunglasses and slides his steel grey eyes back to Haizaki, staring at his subordinate with a look completely void of patience.
"Accomplished all that by himself, did he?"
Haizaki shrugs.
"What? You already knew that fucking idiot was tryin' to fuck over Akashi, of all people. Pretty much suicide, right."
"Not how that works" Nijimura hisses, pressing his fingers against his temples. He steps over the mess of papers scattered on the floor as he walks closer to Haizaki's chair.
"Uhhh, I think you'll find that's exactly how it work-AH FUCK."
Haizaki finds himself very painfully reminded of why he shouldn't bother pissing Nijimura off too much, especially not when bossman is within kicking distance of his chair. He lies there, on the floor, for a few seconds, seriously reflecting for once.
"Whatever," Nijimura exhales, looking much calmer than before; keeping Haizaki's uncouth ass in line is cathartic, it would seem. The loan shark adjusts the cuffs of his mauve button down shirt and puts his sunglasses back over his face.
"Since that shithead actually had the audacity to get killed off by those yakuza pricks before paying his dues, so help me God I will reach into the pits of hell and get back every single yen owed me." Nijimura reaches down and grabs Haizaki by the cuff of his bomber jacket, forcefully pulling him back up to his feet.
"But first, you and I are going to his apartment before it's crawling with pigs...Tatsuya,"
Nijimura's manner of speaking abruptly becomes much gentler.
"You're okay here on your own? All the other guys are out, so you're the only one I can ask."
Himuro smiles demurely and nods yes in response. Oh for the love of-
"What the fuck, why does the wife get to stay behind? Typical." Haizaki complains, earning himself a smack in the back of the already-possibly-concussed head.
"Owww, fine, fine okay fuck I get it. Let's go see if Hara has a secret lovechild we can extort or whatever."
As he follows Nijimura out the door, Haizaki feels the need to disturb a juuuust one more shit, you know, for the road:
He makes a detour to the "doll"'s side of the room and throws an arm around Himuro's shoulders. As expected, Tatsuya reacts violently, but before he can get a punch in, Haizaki swiftly slides a hand down and pulls out a cigarette from the pack tucked in Tatsuya's pants' pocket, then steps back to safety.
Himuro turns his head and glares at Haizaki with his unobscured right eye. Haizaki winks as he skips back, towards the exit, slipping the stolen smoke between his lips.
"See ya later, ane-san" he salutes with two fingers.
Himuro sees him off with a stoically raised middle finger.
Outside, the sky is grey. A gentle breeze blows the taste of pollution through the air. Haizaki throws his arms up to stretch them, somewhat rejuvenated by Tatsuya's vehemence. Still, he can't seem to shake this deep restlessness curdling under his skin....
"Oi, Haizaki," Nijimura calls out, shoving his hands in his coat pockets and rummaging for his car keys.
"Don't antagonize him so much."
"....haha do you really need to be so overprotective? Gross."
Nijimura purses his lips, unlocking the door to his large silver sedan. Time to get going.
***
"Oi, oi, oi, what the fuck is this?!"
Nijimura slams his foot on the breaks of his car, and the subsequent inertia from this sudden move results in Haizaki's entire body jerking towards the windshield. Before Haizaki can open his mouth to complain, he finds his boss has already flown out of the vehicle, bee-lining towards whatever he meant by 'this'.
Disgruntled, Haizaki rubs the back of his neck, craning his head to the side to test for any damage. Today's injuries are really piling up, and it's not even noon yet. He squints out the car window to see for himself what 'this' is:
There, standing by the entrance to Hara's sketchy-ass apartment complex, are two sharply-dressed individuals. To the left, turning to greet the fast-approaching Nijimura, is that... pink Momoi Satsuki woman, the one with the huge tits and dirt on pretty much everyone in the damn city. She's wearing a white blouse today, and her rosy hair is pulled up in a sleek bun today, revealing a sliver of tattoo that reaches all the way up to her nape. And off to Satsuki's right, is an even more familiar face.
Haizaki sits up straight, instantly forgetting his pain. The corner of his mouth twitches: so he's here too, huh. Well, well.
The debt collector takes a moment to loosen his shirt collar, then pulls a gun from inside the car's glove compartment and tucks into his waistband before exiting the car and following the path of his superior, to the front of Hara's building.
A conversation has already started:
"Now, Nijimura-san, we're here on behalf of Kuro-"
"Yeah, yeah, I already know what Akashi's wakagashira is up to here. So if you two could kindly turn back and tell your fucking boss to resurrect that useless Hara bastard so I can get my money back, I'd greatly appreciate it."
Satsuki giggles and takes a drag of the menthol between her delicate fingers, her peachy-pink eyes sparkling knowingly at Nijimura. She proceeds to say something sinister in honeyed tones, but the nature of the rest of the exchange is lost to Haizaki.
After all, he only has eyes for is distracted by..
"Ryouta~," he hisses, pushing towards the man standing off to the side.
"So you're here, too. I thought I smelled a bitch."
Kise Ryouta flinches, his golden eyes narrowing with unmasked disgust as they follow Haizaki's approach.
"Very good, Shougo-kun!" the yakuza chirps sweetly, clasping his black-gloved hands together in mock-praise. The temperature behind his false smile is around -40 degrees of freezing spite.
"As expected of Nijimura-san's stray dog. Such a keen nose you have, it's no wonder your master keeps you on such a short leash."
The corners of Haizaki's mouth twitch up. He grabs Kise forcefully by the collar, pulling him in close.
Fake ass pretty boy piece of shit yakuza.....nothing would please Haizaki more than tearing this bitch down from his high fucking horse and distorting that pretentious, mocking face....
Due to the nature of their respective jobs, Haizaki and Kise run into each other a little too much for comfort. An occupational hazard of working in underground business. And this Ryouta's a real piece of work, everyone seems to think he's an angel.
So damn annoying.
"Taking a break from blowing half the group, are ya?" Haizaki grins, licking his lips, but still carefully gauges Kise's reaction.
....Which is to curl his pale fingers around Haizaki's wrist and squeeze. Hard.
Owww...
"Try not to get too close, Shougo-kun," Ryouta murmurs in a low, sugary voice, but actually leans in closer, so that their faces are only a few inches apart.
"Son of a ...bitch."Haizaki almost recoils in pain as Kise slowly digs his nails deeper into his skin. This little bitch....
"You're still so untrained. I don't want to have to go in for a rabies shot; Midorimacchi has enough on his plate."
For some reason, Haizaki finds himself unable to respond immediately, as he usually would. The reason is decidedly not the fact that, from this proximity, Haizaki can feel the heat of Ryouta's slightly smaller body next to his, nor is it the faint scene of cologne from Ryouta's neck, or....
Wait.
"Ahahahaha, you really wanna die, huh?" Haizaki regains his senses, shoving Kise into the wall of the apartment complex. Whatever the fuck is happening is very clearly a sign that Haizaki should start a fight, right now, immediately.
The expression on Ryouta's face suggests that he's on the same page. Good. Prepare to get fucked up, pretty boy.
However...
"Haizaki" Nijimura calls out in a warning tone, while at the exact same time, Momoi chimes in with a:
"Ki-chan, play nice!"
Both Haizaki and Kise freeze, obviously both having forgotten their respective superiors have been standing, right there, the entire time.
The bitch and the stray exchange a brief glance, then push away from each other.
Tch. This isn't over.
******************************
to be ..continued.....soonly......i hope there was something u could enjoy here.
.when i finish the rest of “ch 1″ i’ll probs put it on ao3 BUT I’M SHY
（╯ ͡° ل͜ ͡°）╯︵ ( ͜。 ͡ʖ ͜。)
kehkljhkrjhe I’M GLAD YOU’RE SHOWING INTEREST IN IT BECAUSE IT’S MORE THAN HALFWAY DONE and now that i’m going back home from my trip i won’t be a busy bee which meanssss i can DEVOTE ALL MY TIME TO K͍̙̮IHA̗̤I̥͔̞͍͕̤͙K͎͙̰̲I̥̘͙̳̺͚ . sobs. thank u @alastriona-eversong T_T. u help fill me with even more motivation
Summary: Adult AU, Criminal Underworld AU. Where Kagami Taiga is a young heir suddenly targeted by 6 rather dangerous members of the criminal underworld (each with their own set of personal troubles), and Kuroko is a bodyguard with a dark past.
Warning: Violence, Strong language, a lil dark and angsty sometimes. Getting spicier ;^)
[Saturday. 12:49. Forgive Me ]
All good things must come to an end, as the smitten public in this café know all too well; they look on tearfully, sighing with collective disappointment when the dangerously good-looking pair finally take their leave. Though they depart now, perhaps the beauties will one day return to grace the shop once more with their presence...one can only hope.
"Th-thank you for your patronage! Please come again!!!"
Back out on the street, Momoi and Kise get ready to part ways.
"Geez, that Dai-chan...he actually took off," Momoi sighs, shaking her head apologetically. It's not like she hadn't been expecting this, but come on. At this rate, she'll have to leave it to Ki-chan, and though Momoi gets it, she's concerned the model may be too consumed with thoughts of Tetsu-kun and the game to give Dai-chan a proper 'challenge' (so to speak).
...Or not. One side glance at Kise's profile is enough to dispel most of Momoi's worries: yeah, that's a nice expression he's got there.
"Oh, I doubt he's gone far," the model mutters in an uncharacteristically dark tone, staring fixedly on something in the distance. After a pause, he snaps his gaze back momentarily to Momoi and flashes her one last farewell grin.
"Thanks for today, Momocchi. I'm sure we'll talk soon."
"Take care, Ki-chan!"
Momoi waves goodbye, then turns to start walking in the opposite direction.
A large part of her hopes that Ki-chan succeeds in coming through to Tetsu-kun tonight, but....well, realistically....
It takes her a solid half hour to reach her next destination, as she makes a point of dipping through back alleys and secret short cuts to get to the more unsavoury part of this cesspool of a city.
Finally, at the end of a long string of dilapidated buildings and deserted houses, lies an old, rundown Catholic church. Judging from the shattered stain glass windows, the vulgar graffiti splattered across the walls, and the layers of grime that have accumulated around the grounds, it would appear that this church hasn't been in use for a long, long time.
After a quick check of her surroundings (doesn't look like she's been followed), Momoi pushes past the heavy oak wood doors and enters the building.
The air inside is dusty and stale, as expected, the floor littered with dirt, cobwebs, and is...that a dirty condom? Not to mention the rat that Momoi's pretty sure is crawling out by the long-unused altar...still, she's too struck with a wave of nostalgia to be particularly bothered.
Even all dark and abandoned, places like these always remind her of the old days, with Tetsu-kun and Dai-chan, when the three of them would sneak out and hide between the pews of the orphanage chapel a lifetime ago...
A small cough from the far left side interrupts Momoi's sentimentality, a signal to the information broker that it's time for an update.
She takes a seat in the confessional booth, and as she does so, the screen between compartments slides open.
"Sakurai-kun. What an interesting rendez-vous point you chose. But did we have to talk through the confessional, or-"
"S-sorry. I didn't want to be followed so I... and, in case anyone sees...in any case I'm really sorr-"
"O-oh, no, no it's fine. So? What do you have for me?"
"Sorry. She ended up taking the bait, but before I could do anything, some third party group moved in and attacked."
Whoah whoah whoah.
What.
"Sor-...I mean, what's this?"
"I'M SORRY. I'm really really sorry."
"No, it's okay, Sakur-"
"-So sorry-"
"It's oka-"
"Sorry. I didn't plan ahead for that kind of situation."
"It's not your fault, you don't need to apolo-"
"SORRY. I DIDN'T CONTACT YOU EARLIER BECAUSE THE INCIDENT MADE ME PARANOID AND I WAITED TO MAKE SURE I WASN'T BEING FOLLOWED, SO I'M SORRY I AM WORTHLESS AND INCOMPETENT"
Having to deal with the likes of Aomine for about two decades has certainly helped Momoi develop a hardy patience, but she isn't sure she'll ever be advanced enough to properly handle the mess that is alias Sakurai Ryou.
"Sakurai-kun, you didn't do anything wrong. Is there anything else you can tell me about what happened?"
"Sorry. There was another guy with her, he looked kind of stupid. Got shot in the right shoulder."
"A subordinate?"
"Most likely."
"How's Aida, then?"
"They clipped her, but she was able to drive away in time."
"And the assailants, what did they look like?"
"They drove past in a black SUV, I couldn't get a proper look. I'm sorr-"
" You did a good job, I'll look into the rest of that later today and contact you after that. Thanks for your hard work!"
Momoi escapes before Sakurai takes the opportunity to squeeze another hundred apologies.
What a troubling development...
Could it be something to do with Muk-kun's news earlier this morning, or is it something else entirely....?
Whoever it is, how dare they get in the way of her fight with Aida Riko. Since Ki-chan's working hard tonight, Momoi must also step her game up.
Speaking of Ki-chan...Momoi wonders how Dai-chan is holding up...
[Saturday. 13:03. Just So We're Clear, That Is A Gun In My Pocket And I'm Not Happy To See You]
By the time Aomine realizes the warm weather is getting to him, he's already made it halfway home, with his shirt clinging to the sweaty skin of his back, and his head and throat suffering from sharp dehydration pains. Probably should have reconsidered walking home under this sun in a black shirt, but it's too late for regrets now.
For some reason, Aomine was too preoccupied to notice all this until now.
Luckily, an oasis in the form of a vending machine is close at hand. Aomine heads straight to it, rifling through his pants' pockets for loose change. He wants Aquarius, but what kind should he get...
Aomine slips the money through a slot, and presses the button for his desired sports drink, and...
Hm. Presses it again.
....one more time.
.................six more times, very rapidly.
Inhales deeply, then tries another button. Nothing.
Okay. If that's how things are going to be, then it's time to change tactics. Gripping either side of the vending machine, Aomine begins channeling his rapidly- growing rage through his hands. He gets in a ready stance, about to show this damned contraption exactly who it's dealing with.
However, before Aomine even has the chance to engage in battle, a hand suddenly reaches under his arm and makes a selection.
A bottle of mineral water immediately drops down from its holding place, and the difference in change rattles out: transaction complete.
".....................Goddamnit Kise.."
"Hey, Aominecchi~. Long time no see."
Ahh..
That voice...this is a hundred times worse than he imagined it would be.
Aomine turns around, dark blue eyes narrowed menacingly to glower at the real fucking problem beaming back at him.
"'Hey~' my ass. Do you wanna die? You'd better buy me my drink right now."
"Ehhhh?? That's what you have to say aft-...ah ! He walked away! Aoooomineeeecchiiii waiiit!!!"
There's a bench sitting under the shade of a bus stop some fifty meters away, and this is where Aomine waits, legs outstretched, for Kise to catch up.
There's really no chance of running away now, huh...
No non ono . What? It's not like that. It's ..not. Like. That.
Before Aomine has the chance to settle his thoughts, Kise is already bouncing back, equipped with a clear plastic bottle.
"Here!" the model chirps, tossing the drink into the air for Aomine to catch. He remains standing, siding himself next to the bench...close enough that Aomine can smell the faint scent of his cologne.
"Tch. Why'd you get me lemon flavour..."
"You left before telling me what you wanted!"
Aomine freezes. Hearing Kise say those words, even out of context and in that playful, pouty tone, is momentarily jarring, for reasons he doesn't fully want to understand. He recovers quickly by twisting the top off his blissfully cool bottle and drains half the contents in one go.
"Oh, you're drinking it anyways..."
"So? What do you want."
The corners of Kise's mouth twitch, and he leans his shoulder against the metal post next to the bench before responding:
"....You were there earlier, right?"
Geh.
"This is the first time in years Aominecchi has come close to me, of course I'm going to take the opportunity to see you."
Ah fuck.
Aomine shifts, so that his body is facing slightly away from Kise, and flips the bottle in his hand nonchalantly.
"Ah, that? Don't misunderstand. It's because Satsuki told me-"
A silence ensues, long enough for Kise to move closer to Aomine, tilting his head to the side expectantly for the rest of the explanation.
"-Because Satsuki told me to do it............By the way, what's with the glasses? They look stupid?"
Nailed it.
"Oh, these?" Kise taps the red frames, golden eyes blinking innocently as he tries to adjust to the abrupt subject change.
"My manager told me to try and hide my face when I'm out during the day, otherwise the fangirls get too much-"
"UGH"
God, the earnest way he answered is annoying in itself, but more importantly: what, is he Midorima to seriously think that throwing on a pair of glasses counts as a disguise?
"I want my concern back..."
"Hmmm?! What's this, Aominecchi was worried about me?"
"Huh, who'd be concerned about a fucking idiot."
"sob.....Aominecchi..."
There's a sudden lightness in Aomine's chest, as if a weight has been pried off him. Though he'd rather die than admit it, he wonders if perhaps this is relief from the knowledge that in spite of everything, Kise's stupid brightness hasn't dimmed out. Even if it's a false light, the familiarity of this banter alone is somehow ....comforting.
Carried away by this rush of this strange new feeling, the (more-or-less unemployed) fighter opens his mouth to speak...
"Kise-"
...only to be interrupted by the untimely buzzing of Kise's phone. Fucking classic.
"Ah sorry Aominecchi, can you hold that thought? I need to take this."
The model steps aside, casting an rueful look at Aomine as he raises the phone to his ear.
" Heyaaaaa P-chan <3. It's so unusual for you to call me!!"
.............Who is he talking to?
Aomine looks away and swallows the rest of his sports drink, ignoring Kise as he chatters away into his phone. No, no, no, the false light is flashy and annoying, after all.
Hpmh.
"Ehhh? Right now? Well, if it's P-chan it's okay, but you'll have to take me to karaoke to make up for it! Ok ok, see you soon."
The model hangs up with a small sigh, then perks up again, raising two fingers in a V.
"Sorry, Aominecchi, looks like I have to go~. Let's catch up another time?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Bye."
Kise turns to go, and as he does so, the silver chain around his neck lifts up from the movement, and the cross at the end catches a flash of sunlight.
"Ao...minecchi?"
By the time his mind catches up to his body, which moved of its own accord, Aomine becomes painfully aware that he's gripping Kise's wrist.
Ahhh.......no going back now, huh.
[Saturday. 14:00. ..........]
"....................................-"
"Mi.....tobe?"
"!!!!............."
"AHaa aww hey...so it must have been you I heard calling out to me..."
"......................."
"Hey, hey, don't say that. This is nothing, I'm totally fin- *cough* - fine. Oooh that smarts..."
"................................"
"'You should've been there' ..? Oiii. Riko gave you an important mission, right, so like, there's no way that's tru-"
"................."
"Mitobe..?"
"........"
"Yeah....me too."
[Saturday. 14:10. Obligatory Indirect Kiss Moment]
"Aaaaah, all that hard work today's made me hungry. Let's stop in here, Muro-chin."
Himuro isn't sure what part of curb stomping a couple of two-bit thugs, sleeping for another six hours, then dragging said thugs halfway across the city to go appliance shopping constitutes as 'hard work', but it's fine. At least that business is done and over with (the installation people are coming tomorrow to restore peace to the Araki safehouse once more).
He follows Murasakibara through the convenience store entrance, pretty worn out himself by the events of the past 24 hours; all he has to show for today's efforts are a massive bruise and a deep sense of dissatisfaction.
Well, not everything is bad; spending time with Atsushi outside like this is nice in its own way.
Murasakibara's fearsome stature attracts attention no matter where he goes, but he's especially eye-catching when in the proximity of snacks. It takes under a minute for the killer to burn through half the store, returning to Himuro already cradling an obscene amount of food in his right arm.
"Was it really alright that we left those two guys like that in the end... you know, you're too brutal, Atsushi" Himuro scolds, accepting the bag of potato chips Murasakibara is trying to place into his hands (what's this? He needs help?? There's actually a limit to how much food Atsushi can carry???) as they head towards the freezers.
"Ehhhhhhhh, isn't Muro-chin way more violent than me?" Murasakibara drawls, extracting four boxes of popsicles at once with his free hand.
In light of today's events, and the events of many a time in the past, Himuro finds himself unable to deny this; Atsushi makes a fair point.
At the cashier, they encounter a dead-looking employee that doesn't so much as flinch at Murasakibara's mountain of snacks. Himuro can't help but feel impressed by the youth, whose dull eyes have seen Too Much from working in convenience store retail.
Ten plastic bags later, and they're out the door again.
"So, about that...." Himuro starts, speaking over his shoulder as Murasakibara comes up behind him, rustling through his purchases to open a bag of candy.
"I did something unnecessary, right? It feels like my meeting with Haizaki Shougo somehow set him off..."
Murasakibara rips the wrapper off a lollipop with his teeth, sucks on the candy pensively for a moment before taking it out of his own mouth and slipping it between Himuro's unsuspecting lips.
"Mmmmm, I think that guy getting involved was pretty inevitable. Anyways, it's Kise-chin's problem now, so Muro-chin definitely shouldn't worry about it."
Strawberry flavour. Still warm from Atsushi's mouth- ah, no, focus, Himuro. Focus.
"Kise...oh, Ryouta. He's another one of you 'Miracles', yeah?"
"Mmmhmm. He'll probably be first coming after your Kagami Taiga, so if you want-"
A shadow crosses over Murasakibara's abruptly displeased face, and the veritable giant grabs Himuro's hand and begins to pull him into a quick pace away from the convenience store.
"Atsushi? What's wrong?"
Murasakibara checks his shoulder, then mutters:
"If we stay any longer, we're gonna run into someone reeeeally annoying. I'll tell Muro-chin everything, so let's just get out of here."
Himuro doesn't have a single complaint with this arrangement.
[Saturday. 14:24. Someone Reeeeally Annoying]
"Don't laugh, Takao!"
"Ahahaa I'm cr-..ahh, Shin-chan, I'm crying ahahhaaa. That thief just ... ahahhaa...to you of all people...and took your bag...do they know they fucking stole a stuffed mouse like.. what're they going to do with that? .... i can't.....owww my stomach hurts."
"Don't be so loud. And this is a serious problem, my life is in danger if I don't have my lucky item with me, this is no time to be laughing!"
"Aha, I know, I know. Let's stop in this store first, I'll call someone to deliver you a new taxidermy mouse..... I can't believe I just said that out loud, I'm gonna pee my pants..."
"TAKAO!!!"
"Ooh, watch your step, Shin-chan, you almost walked right into that pothole. Jeez, you weren't kidding about the bad luck."
"I am not in the habit of 'kidding'"
"Haha ohhh Shin-chan."
[Saturday.15:01. Pure]
What's Riko supposed to do when she's hard-pressed for information on a large, mostly unknown enemy, but the person to whom she delegated the task of finding certain crucial facts is currently kneeling at Koganei's bedside, fingers intertwined with Koga's own as the two of them snooze together peacefully in spite of the urgency of the situation?
[Saturday. 18:33. Resolve]
Kise shivers.
Carefully, so as not to rouse the peacefully-sleeping P from her slumbers, he stands up from the edge of the bed and checks the time: still a bit too early, huh?
The model sighs and looks down at the inside of his right arm; the place where Aomine had grabbed him to pull him back still burns with the memory of the touch.
In the end, the other man had just hurriedly scrawled a 7 digit phone number onto Kise's forearm and sauntered off with the flippant parting words: "I guess I can take one for the team and listen to you ugly cry after you fail tonight. See ya."
How very like Aominecchi, this brash, roundabout kindness. Kise had thought his original intention in approaching Aomine was to force him into acknowledging him, but now the model is not so sure. Rather than settling a score or being noticed, this is more like...
Kise presses his hand against his chest and takes a deep breath.
This feels good: whether it's playing with everyone again, this business with Kurokocchi, that business with Aominecchi, his modeling, his other jobs, even the lovely P-chan over here... there's a thrill here, a sense of life.
That's why he's not going to let anyone take this feeling away from him.
Not again.
[Saturday.19:11. Jealousy Is An Ugly Thing, Dorothy]
Haizaki Shougo is in what some people might refer to as a 'bad mood."
He shakes his right hand out, flicking off some of the blood dripping from his scraped knuckles. Seems like the usual form of stress relief isn't working.
Meeting Atsushi's Ichimatsu doll has lead him to some pretty annoying information (...and speaking of which, as if that fucking one-eyed doll had the nerve to leave without putting up a proper fight? The fuck, so boring.) and now Haizaki has to take care of this shit all over again.
Isn't it embarrassing, the way the so-called 'Miracles' are all still repeating the same bullshit as when they were brats? Playing their shitty 'games' again, hyped up on a sense of superiority while hiding from how fucked up their lives really are...it's pathetic.
And then there's that fucking Ryooooouta.
Haizaki licks off some of the blood off his thumb, smiling a little in spite of himself.
There's no doubt in his mind that the new development has caused that bitch to get ahead of himself again.
If it isn't Haizaki's job to put him back in his place, then what is?
[Saturday. 19:25. Danger: Do Not Cross]
"Uhhmm, Seijuro-kun...haha.. this is not.. what we agreed on.." Client Xy stutters with an unpleasant laugh, openly agitated. He mops a bit of sweat off his forehead with the white handkerchief crumpled in his hand.
Akashi closes his right eye and regards the man in the seat across from him with a silent, piercing golden-orange gaze. His legs are crossed, and the only movement he makes is the tapping of a closed folding fan rhythmically against his knee.
Pitiable, how little it takes for Xy to start snapping under the pressure.
"I mean, really, Seijuro-kun, I thought the Akashi syndicate wasn't affiliated with the yakuza? If I'd known, I never would have...I have a hard time believing your father would-"
Akashi gives one final tap before holding the black fan out in his slender fingers in gesture.
"My father," he begins softly, with eerie temperance.
"No longer has any control over my business."
He does not elaborate, and Xy is at least wise enough to let that one go.
"It's just, n-no one told me you were going to get the Araki clan involved in this," he continues, trying to speak indignantly, which would be more convincing if he wasn't covered in nervous sweat.
"Is that why you sent me such a pleasant surprise last night?"
"W-what are you talking about?"
"Oh? Perhaps your men were the ones from last Thursday, my mistake. It is difficult for me to keep track of all the disobedience."
This is Akashi's idea of a joke: he doesn't make mistakes, and it's not difficult for him to keep track of anything, because he is perfect.
"Now l-listen, I don't know what you're insinuating, but if it's the case that others have been retaliating, maybe you shouldn't be so full of yours-EEP"
Xy's blathering is cut off quite suddenly as Akashi flicks his fan open, revealing it to be an ornate tessen.
"Do you understand, Mr. Xy, that the only reason you are still breathing is because I am gracious enough to allow it? You are useful to me, but not so useful that I will tolerate any more insolence from you or anyone else."
It's unclear whether Akashi's surprise weapon or his unyielding glare is more threatening. Either way, Xy looks like he's about to pass out.
"Though it may not be to your liking, I believe you will find I am complying with every detail of our arrangement. Should you test me, or question my methods again, I will not show mercy a second time."
Mercy isn't exactly the right word, and Client Xy gets that. He really does. Akashi Seijuro has a role for him to play, and he's in too deep to back out now, for fear of ending up having to choose between dying in the ocean or the mountains. Or whatever happened to the 'pleasant surprise' he actually did send out to Akashi the other day.
Fucking kids these days are horrifying.
Naturally, Xy stumbles out of Akashi's residence as fast as his legs, jellied from fear, can carry him, leaving Akashi alone in this cold empty home once more.
After sitting in silence for a couple minutes, Akashi blinks several times and pulls out a shogi board from the living room table.
[Saturday. 20:07. A Date...???]
"Kagami-kun," Kuroko begins, regarding the heir's handstand pushup routine with an inscrutable look in his eyes. The consequent reveal of chiseled abdominal muscles from gravity pulling Kagami's black shirt down is not going unnoticed.
How troublesome.
"Not that I am complaining, but you have not expressed a single wish to go outside today."
"Yeah, so?" Kagami grunts, tucking his right hand against his back and balancing his whole weight on the left. A bead of sweat rolls down his temple.
"Not like I have anything to do out there, anyways."
"Is that so? You were pretty adamant about being 'freed'. Are you sure there is no one you would like to visit, at all? I can always make arrangements..."
"Who would I even visit?" the heir mutters, slowly returning his feet to solid ground, and straightening himself back up to a standing position. His cheeks are still a little red from all the blood rushing to his face.
"I've only been living here for a couple of months, it's not like I really know anyone besides Aida's men... and you, I guess."
"...................."
".....w....why are you looking at me like that?"
"How sad. That the young master is unable to make any frien-"
"Sh-shut up, Kuroko!"
Oh dear. Teasing Kagami is far too easy. Truly, the young heir is a pleasant surprise in many ways.
"Then, did you want to go out anyways?"
"Huh?"
Kuroko gestures to the door with his thumb.
"That burger place we went to yesterday....I liked the vanilla shakes."
Taiga stares down at Kuroko for a few moments with his double-brows furrowed, as if processing the bodyguard's words, then grins.
"Fuck yeah, let's go."
It's almost certainly too dangerous to be wandering about at night in these trying times (Kuroko has no doubt at least one of the main players will make their move tonight), but the bodyguard finds that, aside from the initial objective of wanting to bait the enemy, he there's also these knew sentiments coming up: Taiga clearly doesn't have it easy, but he's so strong-willed and bright that Kuroko can't help but want to see him shine brighter.
His determination is now absolute: Kagami Taiga will be protected, at any cost. This does not impede Kuroko's initial objective; rather, it serves to strengthen his will with no regrets.
"Yes, let's go."
[Saturday. 20:10. Hello?]
"I'm going on ahead," Kagami calls over his shoulder, shoving his hands into his pockets as he heads towards the elevators. He presses the down button and waits, feeling strangely excited.
Honestly, he had thought that this personal bodyguard bullshit was just Aida making him suffer, and even though Kuroko is still infuriating and a little spooky, Kagami finds himself thinking it might not be such a bad arrangement after all. He's interesting, to say the least. And it's true, Kagami hasn't spoken one on one with people outside Aida's circle lately, so it's ...well. Fun.
The light above the elevator lights up with a PING, and Kagami steps forward as the doors slide open.
But he can't move.
Every nerve in his body tenses up, as if to brace itself from the sensation of overwhelming bloodlust suddenly aimed directly at him. Something like a glint of gold flashes by him, and the sensation fades just as quickly as it had appeared.
Heart pounding in his chest, Kagami looks around, alarmed, but is only surrounded by empty halls.
The elevator doors close shut.
Kagami's trained ears hear nothing save for the sound of his own breathing. And yet, he's sure there was something...someone there.
What the hell is this? Could it be-
"Kuroko-?"
"Guess again <3"
Notes from AO3:
i hope one day Momoi and Kise return to that coffee shop with Himuro, thus completing the trifecta of KNB in-universe beauty queens. Tho I'm not sure it's safe for the innocent public if that trio ever gets together...
naturally, by the time this ever happens, Ahomine will have riko to join him in jealously watching from the safe distance of the noodle shop. such is the fate of irritable possessive people whose love interests are far too popular and carefree.
also RIP muro and midorima in every bit i write for them, ever lol sorry you two i always make you suffer
THANKS AGAIN FOR READING I HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND WILL CONTINUE READING THIS SILLY STORY OF MINE
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