#C: Ryou

[ry0ubakura]

[zombiemollusk]

knowing bakura "prefers games to girls by far"

knowing yugi's name means "game"

🤔

[chiralberry]

I'm going to punch somethign

[xdeerlybelovedx]

Doodle night at work ✨

[hyaciiintho]

🌸｡*ﾟ+. @theunknownmasks | smol starter

"You're not real." The silveret breathed, having experienced the NIGHTMARE phantoms of his past more often than not. This would be no different, surely? "You're just... i-in my head." He insisted with fervor, fists clenched and eyes hard set. "Go. Away."

Clearly, he was feeling unwell again, was all. Nothing else made LOGICAL sense, after all, even with his feline companion hissing from the corner before FLEEING moments later into the safety of his room. Oh what a mistake he had made.

[bosstoaster]

OKAY I talk too much for the post comment character limit so bringing it back to your inbox: GOSH see so since you mentioned this, it is something SO INTERESTING TO ME that I think about every time I am thinking of this fic (so hearing you say that is lighting up every neuron in my brain atm. I could literally discuss this fic for years, I have so many questions and SO MUCH INTEREST) but re: the Ryou genuinely not caring thing. Is his not caring about it a lack of self-worth or at least what he thinks of as a lack of entitlement? Is he able to comfort/distance himself from it a bit bc tho he remembers it at his own experience, he knows rationally that it wasn't he - Ryou - who had made that choice because he literally didn't exist yet? It was Shiro, and he just got implanted with the experiences of another man? Or does it actually make it even harder on him, because he doesn't feel entitled to struggle with these awful memories because they aren't really "his"? Or is it a combination of both? One of the things that I find so fascinating about any Shiro and Kuro story that is and could have been is this struggle. Part of me feels like it would be so easy for them to hate each other, with so much Shiro self-loathing to go around, but equally easy to sympathize with each other because of how empathetic and generally nice guy he and they are. My Shiro stan heart forever ruminating on this. You have another fic that sticks with me a lot, where the Ryou verse boys meet the canon boys post S6, and they get so angry at everyone for letting Kuro die to save Shiro like he didn't matter, and I can't remember the exact quote, but someone questioning whether Kuro still is alive in Shiro or if Shiro just has his memories, and Shiro (exhausted and untethered and raw and recently back from an eternity alone, practical to a fault canon!Shiro) being like "Is there a difference?" and no one could say anything.

Ahem, sorry for rambling, your Shiro fic is forever among some of my favorite stuff in the fandom, I could fawn over it and discuss it for days.

Okay, so first of all: thank you SO MUCH for a chance to talk about my favorite thing to explain, which is Ryou Shirogane, my boy, my scrungly creature, my actual son.

Okay, so, Ryou's lack of caring on the subject of what Shiro did in the arena. Under the cut b/c this is long

So, Ryou remembers all of it perfectly. Better than perfectly, even. The memories were implanted into his brain through the nervous system connection in his arm. They're permanently etched.

But Ryou has a few advantages here. First and foremost is that Ryou did a lot of work in his own head to separate him from Shiro. A big part of that was the acceptance that the Black Lion was never going to accept him. He was never and would never be the team's leader - or, at that point, he didn't even think he could be a paladin.

That was a blow, because being Black Paladin was what Shiro used to separate himself from what he'd done in the arena. He's a good guy, he fights the very obviously evil bad guys who do evil bad guy things, the lion of being Responsible and Leaderly thinks he's worthy.

Ryou is not.

So at that point, Ryou said 'fuck it, if I'm not the leader, if I'm not a paladin, why hold myself to these ridiculous standards of perfection that Shiro expects of himself?' And he cut it out. He essentially literally took a hack job to his own personality. Fuck it. If he can't be a leader, he won't act leaderly. He won't care about the big picture, only about his people. The universe is full of terrible shit and pain and disappointments, but he has a family and he's going to protect them.

THAT is the start of the Yellow Paladin personality, actually: These are my people they are mine and no one can hurt them, because that's all I have in the universe. No role, no greater purpose, because I wholeheartedly reject the thing I was literally made to do.

From there, Ryou and Shiro did not expect to like each other. And honestly, my goal wasn't even to make them! Just to get Shiro comfortable enough with Ryou's existence to keep them from being at each other's throats. Because it IS easy for Shiro to hate Ryou. He's a physical manifestation of how he was abused by the Galra, and he represents everything Shiro tries to hide about himself: the damage, the parts that aren't nice, aren't leaderly, aren't buttoned up and perfect.

Except Ryou refused to feel the same way. He looked at Shiro and went 'literally no one understands you like I do, and I don't give a shit about your posturing. You're suffering. I remember how you're suffering. You need help. I am going to help you.'

And thus, Shiro became one of Ryou's People. It's only later that Shiro met him at that same place.

But that's why Ryou doesn't care. Because it's sad that the kid died, but it's not actually Shiro's fault. He knows how Shiro feels, he knows why Shiro feels that way, but he can also see him from the outside. And Ryou doesn't care because Shiro is more important. That kid would have died no matter what. Shiro was being abused and starved. He survived. Nothing else matters to Ryou. Shiro could slaughter whoever he wanted if it meant he came home.

Ryou loves Shiro.

Ryou protects Shiro.

That's all that matters to him, at the end of the day.

[dokitm-arch]

REVAMPED TAGS ... ships with @peachiiihearts !

🖤 ' ⟪ otp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / yoimiya n. & aether. 🖤 ' ⟪ otp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / sara k. & aether. 🖤 ' ⟪ otp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / shuichi s. & kaede a. 🖤 ' ⟪ otp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / rapahel h. & fay h. 🖤 ' ⟪ otp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / itto a. & fay h. 🖤 ' ⟪ otp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / mondo o. & chihiro f. 🖤 ' ⟪ otp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / ryuji s. & ignis c. 🖤 ' ⟪ otp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / itto a. & link. 🖤 ' ⟪ otp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / michelangelo h. & mavis d. 🖤 ' ⟪ otp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / itto a. & yoimiya n. 🖤 ' ⟪ otp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / itto a. & noelle. 🖤 ' ⟪ otp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / silver & noelle. 🖤 ' ⟪ otp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / ryuji s. & raven k. 🖤 ' ⟪ otp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / leonardo h. & raven k. 🖤 ' ⟪ otp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / malleus d. & raven k. 🖤 ' ⟪ otp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / ryou s. & sato h. 🖤 ' ⟪ brotp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / beidou & aether. 🖤 ' ⟪ brotp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / ryuji s. & deuce s. 🖤 ' ⟪ brotp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / mary & ib. 🖤 ' ⟪ brotp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / ryuji s. & akira k. 🖤 ' ⟪ brotp. peachiiihearts. ⟫ / yusuke k. & akira k.

[kujakumai]

On the subject of being good with children, which characters do you think WOULD be good babysitters?

YUGIOH CHARACTERS AS BABYSITTERS, RANKED

TOP PICKS:

Seto Kaiba runs an entire company dedicated exclusively to safely entertaining children, and unless his parks are getting continually sued I believe he knows how. Your kindergartner is not only safe with him but will probably leave knowing how to play chess and write in C++. He may allow them to play with knives, but only if they're 9 or over, plus he has all the emergency numbers on speed-dial.

Hiroto Honda babysits his niblings on the regular. Can warm a bottle and change a diaper. A level-headed and practical guy. He’ll be fine as long as his friends don't drag him into a horrible game-themed deathtrap. Don't ask why that caveat exists.

Rishid Ishtar is safe, experienced, has dad energy, however he will crumple like wet paper at the first sign of conflict re: ice cream for dinner / no bedtime / blood-soaked cross-country quest for revenge / an extra episode of cartoons over the screentime limit.

Ishizu Ishtar would make a great babysitter. I don't really have a quirky joke here she just would.

"MAYBE"S

Jonouchi used to watch his little sister and I think he'll do about as well as any other teenager you're paying minimum wage, and with a lot of earnest enthusiasm. Your child will be fine at the end of the night, though they will probably have eaten some junk food and played a T rated videogame.

I do not think Atem would know what to do with a baby, and may panic about it, though if you have an older child he will be happy to offer a rousing speech and some deep-voiced mentorlike advice while teaching them to play board games. Not a bad choice, just try not to leave him with anyone under seven.

Yugi knows zilch about kids and often appears a little annoyed by them. Same general rules as Atem--do not leave him with a baby, but he'll probably just teach an older kid to play shogi or something.

Mai Kujaku will put the kid in front of the television and order pizza while she paints her nails. Honestly, though, what more are you paying her for?

Listen, I love Anzu. I do. She’s smart, driven, and big-hearted, but she is also sort of short-tempered and impatient, and patience is like 90% of child-rearing. Please do not ask Anzu Mazaki to watch your children. She WILL say yes because she needs the money, and she WILL go into it with optimism and gumption, and yes, both she and your child will both be in one piece at the end of the night, but it will be clear from both of their frazzled expressions that she lost most of her sanity an hour in after the fifth "Why?"

DEFINITELY NOT

Ryou Bakura would in theory be a perfectly good, if kind of spacey, babysitter, but you cannot trust him to remain Ryou Bakura, and the other guy is definitely not someone you want anywhere near your children.

I don't think Marik Ishtar has ever interacted with a child for very long and the number of people he talks to that are even his own age is in the single digits. And he is definitely not getting spat on or dealing with any bathroom stuff. I'm not saying he can't figure it out but the learning curve is going to be steep.

I have to put Yami Bakura here in principle and yet for some reason I think it wouldn't go that bad? I mean he definitely doesn't care about the safety of your child. And he may enlist them to the armies of darkness. And he's not cleaning anything up. But he's like, a weird socially awkward over-the-top guy? And children love those? Honestly I think they would both have fun. For at least an hour until everything goes horribly wrong.

Please do not summon Zork Necrophades to babysit your child.

[deputyyugioh]

My husband and I came to the realization if Ryou Bakura was our son, we wouldn't have realized he was possessed probably more than 80% of the time.

A. Yami is a good enough actor

A. He's suddenly moody/acting different? He's a teenager

B. Into the occult? He's a teenager

C. You catch him sneaking back into his bedroom? He's a teenager.

D. He goes missing then comes home and the he eats me out of house and home? He's a teenager

E. Tells you he's the darkness and your time will come to be consumed by it? He's a teenager

I mean...wed be STRESSED...but NGL I don't think I would have realized my son was possessed and dueling by force. Just that he was a teenager.

[shinayashipper]

This close, Yugi could see the ink black veins marring the spirit’s neck. “…Does it have something to do with that?” The spirit noticed where Yugi’s eyes had fallen to, and tried to adjust the collar of his haori. “The blight is my penance. There is nothing else left beneath my roots.”

The First Leaves that Fall - Chapter 12 - by @c-l-y-d-e

PLEASE help me as I cannot Stop expressing Things thru Drawing this fic...... Activating my Brains like no other.... PLEASE let it be a much Gentler DATE NIGHT

I'm Very Concerned over the black veins... plEASE PURIFY HIM, RYOU!!!!!!!!

Thank you Clyde for always letting me draw these

[phanto-ghost]

Hey I’m back look at that

Find me: [Insta] [ao3] [otherkin/therian sideblog] [bluesky]

Art tag: #phantart

Writing tag: #phantfiction

Talking tag: #phantongues

Kin tag: #phantombstone

Kemetic tag: #phantankh

Yugioh tag: #phanduelist

Politics and advocacy tag: #phanalytical

mentions tag (this goes both ways): #letters to my moots

oomf tag: #clown to clown communication

Basic DNI criteria applies; if you give me the ick I’ll block you on sight

Other stuff abt me below cut ^_^

Graphic design major

Yumeshipper (ships self with Yami B; I don’t do gatekeeping here so if you also yume with him then you’re okay to follow)

Major kins atm include: Yuugi Mutou (YugiohDM), Ryou Bakura/TKB (YugiohDM), Julian Devorak (The Arcana), Knuckles (sth)

I have two seasonal kins that pop in-and-out throughout the year; if you see me posting abt BBC Merlin or TDiRS that’s why

I have 150+ OCs and post about like 3 of them at a time

Copinglinker; c-link with an AU version of Yami Malik (have been c-linked with canon!Yamima since 2017)

[ry0ubakura]

HE'S A LITERAL ANGEL

[zombiemollusk]

i was wondering when someone would notice that

sleepy cuddles

[chiralberry]

Towa: You stole my bunny >:(

Fujieda: You have no proof. *steals his pocket watch right in front of him*

[xitty]

Ensemble Stars Stats 2024

ES Countdown 2024 -> 2025 stream revealed some statistics of Enstars again. This is of JP server content in 2024. Data collected until December 10th. Previous years here: 2022 // 2023

Most Read Event Stories 1. VS Princess (first 4piece/Main Story pt. 3 event) 2. Matrix (Alkaloid/Crazy:B event) 3. Gambit (Knights climax event)

Hardest Song (Least Expert Clears) 1. Keep Out (74.91%) 2. Shougai Zettai Souai Sengen ♥ (85.25%) 3. Savage Love Affair (85.61%)

Most Viewed MVs (in-game) 1. Limit Break Dreamers (880 689 views) 2. Ringing Evil Phone (736 745 views) 3. Ryou Kataomoi no Kousaten de, Kimi ni Mata Aitakute (507 204 views)

Highest Jump in MV 1. Makoto Yuuki in Shiawase no Uta (95 cm) 2. Mitsuru Tenma in Jumpin' Luck Beat (85 cm) 3. Nazuna Nito in Jumpin' Luck Beat (78 cm)

Face Closest to Camera in MV 1. Niki Shiina in Soushitsu Guui -Lost Ballade- (18 cm) 2. Esu in Shougai Zettai Souai Sengen ♥ (21 cm) 3. Natsume Sakasaki in Ringing Evil Phone (26 cm)

Most Winks in MV 1. Nazuna Nito in Jumpin' Luck Beat 2. Mitsuru Tenma in Jumpin' Luck Beat 3. tie between Hinata Aoi in Polyphonic World and Makoto Yuuki in Whatcha Gonna Do?

Best-selling Office Item 1. Transfer Student's Desk 2. Limit Break photos (Flare B set) 3. Limit Break photos (Flare C set)

L$ Earned by Players in Total 84 191 156 L$

Total Number of Fans Acquired for Idols 51 091 516 705 fans

Most Viewed TikTok Videos 1. Leo Tsukinaga solo cam (Fight for Judge) 2. Special for Princess! debut announcement 3. Hiroki Takahashi (Shu) dancing with Big Subaru 4. Shougai Zettai MV clip 5. Big Subaru Christmas campaign video

[kunikame]

like planets in orbit. - k. youichi

warnings : fem!reader, cussing, more astral references guys i cant stop., violence mention, lmk if i forgot anything, tooth rotting fluff, miyuki and ryou are presidents of kuramochi bully club (eijun is a honorary member), if the fandom is dead i will cry

w/c : 3.6k

kuramochi youichi has witnessed the ever changing inconsistencies life brings with it.

he's seen many people cry over jobs lost, family members gone, or friends who have left; he likes to think he's pretty observant and can tell when something is wrong with people, or get a clear read on their feelings before they know them themselves.

that skill, however, does not apply to himself. when it comes to his own emotions, he is, for lack of a better word, clueless. this, he comes to realize in his 2nd year of high school, after the devastating loss in the finals.

life brings with it many inconsistencies, junior high youichi notes.

most of the friends he had in his younger days he doesn't talk to anymore, some of his grades aren't as good as they used to be, and he himself has also changed over the years.

the one constant in his life– other than his family, however, were you (and his atrocious (your words, not his) yellow hair).

the young girl he met at the playground at the age of 4, when he accidentally ruined your sandcastle with a stray ball.

you didn't cry or scream, like any child would, instead you accepted his apology and got to work on rebuilding it all the while smiling softly. he couldn't deny he felt bad (it looked like it took a while to build, the castle was more of a palace with a town to accompany it), so he stuck around to help you instead.

that started the lifelong friendship between kuramochi youichi and [name].

you accompanied each other to 80% of the places you went, people started thinking of you as the "constantly bought in pair, do not separate" type of oddity around town. if youichi was in one place, there was a high possibility you were somewhere near, and likewise.

dating rumors started spreading at some point, but they were quickly shut down by both of you.

and yet.

when youichi started going around doing his 'punk stuff' and getting into fights, you were there to patch him up. who else would he go to? even though you tried stopping him, very nearly bashing his skull in with your words (stars forbid there be any weapons nearby lest you actually do it), he continued ignoring your efforts. if you were as worried as you said, you'd cry for him, wouldn't you? shed a tear or two? but you never did.

then he got scouted for seidou and you joined shortly after him, through the entrance exams. it's not that you were simply following him– seidou was actually one of your choices even before youichi got scouted, it was a lucky coincidence that you ended up together even in high school; but it was comforting knowing even in a different place with new faces and surroundings, there was still something that resembled home.

he joined the baseball team, and here, you admit, you followed after him– as a manager.

it wasn’t too hard to adjust to the managerial duties or the daily practice sessions, you’ve been helping youichi practice since the day you met him, and the way of the scorebooks was properly explained to you by your fellow managers– thank the universe for them, seriously. the only thing you were having slight trouble with was the fact youichi didn’t seem to be doing too well at the start. 

with what was left of his previously-bad-reputation in his system, you were afraid he would pick fights he couldn’t possibly win. all of the 2nd years are so tall and strong– with the exception of kominato– and youichi was.. well, for lack of a better word, a twig. yeah, he picked fights in junior high, and he actually won most of them, but junior high kids are still just that. these are middle schoolers who’ve been on an extremely strict baseball training regimen, which youichi has just started. with his aching muscles and exhaustion, he really would get his ass beat. 

so you continued watching over him, from the sidelines this time.

(and, yes, watching over him entailed taking care of him also. it was like second nature– to listen to him complain about minor setbacks, to study up on massage techniques so he can get some relief from his aching muscles because he's youichi and you’re you, to patch up his wounds. all of it was like second nature. you cared for him and in turn, he cared for you.)

wherever youichi went, so did you. wherever you went, so did youichi. 

those were facts– laws known by almost everyone the pair of you acquainted yourselves with, mostly the baseball club and your families, but those 2 are almost the same thing, if you were being honest.

the facts you were well aware were true continued to be proven time and time again, even more so when neither of you went to nationals.

which you think would be obvious with how you were the team's manager, so if the team didn’t go, neither did you– not as anyone important, anyway.

at the first lost chance, you didn’t cry. you didn’t just shrug and move on either, you simply took a deep breath and with the words, “maybe next year” you smiled at your seniors and friends and left the stands.

that night you headed out to the seidou baseball grounds alone.

in the lone serenity under the stars, you sat on the mound and cried.

not for the loss that could’ve been a win, not for losing the chance to go to nationals and experience the thrill, but for the 3rd years who lost their final chance.

but wherever you go, youichi goes– and on that cloudless night where he first saw you cry, he promised you he would take you to nationals.

you, in turn, promised to tell him a secret when he does.

he thinks if you smile at him like that again, he might just do anything you ever ask him to.

it is in his (and your) second year of high school when kuramochi youichi has a realization, one he can’t simply shrug off.

mundane things concerning you and him that used to be normal and done without a second thought now had his hands shaking ever so slightly, his heart rate spiking, and his cheeks feeling just a tad warmer.

which would all be okay and simply shrugged off, had it not been for sawamura and miyuki, the bastard duo (and ryousuke, purely because he enjoys bullying youchi).

“so, have you finally admitted your crush to yourself? or are you, perhaps, still in denial?”

for how much miyuki claims to hate having people in his business, he himself sure loves to poke into others. youichi feels his eye twitch.

“what–”

“what crush are you talking about, miyuki kazuya?!”

great. now the other one’s here too. and you seem to have noticed the commotion, since you’re turning his way (he wouldn’t have noticed, had he not been staring at you this entire time) with an eyebrow raised in question. youichi does an exaggerated eye roll while tilting his head towards both annoyances at his sides, and with a giggle you turn back to furuya.

“why, didn’t you know? our dear kuramochi has a–”

“aaand that’s where i’ll cut ya off,” youichi said, slapping his hand on the brunet's mouth, “i don’t have a crush on anyone.”

“but, kuramochi-senpai, you’ve been staring at [name]-senpai for the past 5 minutes. i’m pretty sure you didn’t even blink!”

now his other eye is twitching. he thinks he can actually feel the vein in his forehead bulging the more sawamoron continues speaking.

“i was not!”

“were too, we all saw,” his pink haired senior said, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, his intentions written all over his face clear as day.

“i wa– okay, since you’re not gonna listen to me anyway, i’ll just prove there’s nothing between us. on either side. never was, never will be,” said youichi, getting up from his spot on the bench, which had sawamura falling over as he was leaning all his body weight on the green haired shortstop.

he makes his way over to you with an easy goal in mind: have a calm and collected conversation, without triggering his (seemingly) symptoms of illness so he doesn’t worry you, turn around and leave.

question is, what is he gonna talk to you about? conversations with you usually flow naturally, but for the first time ever, youichi finds himself nervous at the prospect of talking to you. his frustrated fast paced steps gradually slow down the closer he gets to you, contrary to his thoughts which are speeding up– he finds himself unable to keep up with his thought process for the first time ever in your presence. 

and he doesn’t know why. 

for the first time since he befriended you, he realizes the mere thought of you renders him unable to think properly.

sensing his presence you turn his way and his thoughts come to an abrupt stop. all he hears is white noise– like his brain got unplugged and it’s showing one of those black and white static screens– until you utter his name.

“youichi! i was just about to go over there to check what the commotion was about. I’m pretty sure i heard eijun ask about a crush or something. does he like someone?”

why do you want to know whether the first year moron has a crush or not? “him? nah. i don’t think he has the brain capacity to pull someone,” he says offhandedly, a little late to realize you took a liking to his roommate.

“youichi!” you repeat, though angrier than when you greeted him, “don’t say that! he’s just a guy. i think he could be a good boyfriend to someone. he’s nice.”

he finds his frustration growing at that, and still, he doesn’t know why. then you seem to notice something behind him because suddenly you’re grinning and waving. when he turns his head he finds it’s the previously mentioned first year and tanuki bastard and his blood boils– he tries, really, he does, to not let his thoughts bleed through his expression, but with the way miyukis smirk widens a tad, he believes he might have fucked up.

“anyway, what did you need?”

“huh– oh, i was just wondering if you needed help with anything, since you were just standing around here,” he internally apologizes for lying through his teeth, but he can’t have you finding out the real reason.

“mm, not really. jun-san did most of the heavy lifting we needed done already, so unless you wanna stay late to help us collect the balls, nothing much.”

“ah, alright. i’ll stay to help, then. i’d hate it if our poor managers did all the hard work.”

“now you’re just making fun of me.”

“me? why, i would never, who do you take me for? miyuki?”

“you’re even worse than kazuya.”

this is okay, youichi thinks. this is how it’s been for the past 13 years, this is how it should be. friendly banter. you bully him, he bullies you, you take care of him, he takes care of you. that’s how it’s always been.

he chooses to ignore the slight shake in his hands and the sudden warmth on his cheeks.

the next day you’re not in class and his only conversation partner (read: professional bother) is miyuki kazuya. which isn’t necessarily unusual, but usually it’d be the three of you engaged in conversations initiated by you, and now that he’s alone youichi misses you more than ever before.

“are you gonna answer my question or not? are you, perhaps, too shy~”

“if you don’t shut your damn mouth soon i will literally take this pen and stab you with it.”

“how scary~” the tanuki bastard let out his very tanuki like giggle and youichi nearly snapped his pen in half, “come on, you can tell me! i’m your best friend after all!”

“the absolute audacity you have to call yourself that. you know very well my best friends are ryou-san and [name],” though, he can’t particularly deny he has began considering miyuki a close friend as well.

“i believe i’m still a better person to talk about this than either of them. unless you’d prefer to discuss it with sawamura?”

the shortstop lets out a deep, heartfelt sigh of pure annoyance, and miyuki celebrates his victory. only in the depths of his twisted little soul, of course, but celebrates nonetheless.

kuramochi turns in his chair to stare at his friends desk, and with a frown so deep it genuinely concerns miyuki, finally speaks what’s on his heart, “.. i’ve been wondering about this for a while, but what makes you guys think i like [name]? i personally don’t think we’ve done anything to make it seem that way, we’ve always been like this, so–”

“you haven’t,” kuramochi looks up then, only to see the brunet more serious than he’s ever seen him be outside of baseball, “you haven’t always been like that, don’t lie to yourself. had you said that to me last year i wouldn’t have questioned you– granted, i hadn’t known either of you for long back then, but this year you both started acting differently towards each other. it’s not much noticeable to people who don’t know you, but since i spend nearly every waking moment around you guys, it’s about as clear as sawamura wanting the ace number.”

“different?”

“you.. really haven’t noticed? kuramochi, you can’t be serious.”

he slowly shakes his head in denial, thoroughly confused on not knowing what it is he should have noticed. he thought he was supposed to be observant, what happened to that?

miyuki, with his mouth hanging open in disbelief for mere seconds, decided he was nice enough to lead his one (and only) friend in the right direction, at least. if even that fails he might just have to straight up out kuramochi to kuramochi himself.

“you became more.. nervous? flustered, should i say? around her this year. you get fidgety and your hands shake after physical contact sometimes– yes, i noticed, stop staring at me like that. sometimes– actually, pretty often you just stare at her with hearts in your eyes.”

“i do not–”

“oh you do. you stare at her like she hung the stars in the night sky, like she’s what makes the sun shine. you look at her like a man in love would.”

that was kuramochi youichis final straw, he thinks.

a week after kuramochis one-on-one eye-opening talk with his friend, he starts to notice that maybe, perhaps, theoretically, the tanuki bastard might have been right.

the keywords being the verbs expressing his uncertainty.

each passing minute he spends with you, however, he finds himself running out of verbs.

he’s caught himself staring at you very often these past few days. which would be good and all, were you not quite literally staring at him also.

these new occurrences end with both of you looking away with cheeks that are just slightly more tinted than they are naturally, and (usually) miyuki rubbing his forehead in annoyance.

if his newfound realization gets in the way of his practice, coach kataoka will have him sit out the fall tournament for sure. he can’t have that happening, so he shrugs off whatever awkwardness this caused between you to focus on getting to nationals.

he did promise you he would take you there, after all.

with that thought in his mind, he feels his lips curl into a smile, and his fielding starts to look less half-assed than before.

okay, so maybe the tanuki bastard was right, youichi thinks, so what.

it’s normal to have an eeny weeny crush on someone you know better than you know yourself at some point in your life, is it not? 

which would be all shits and giggles, were it an ‘eeny weeny’ crush, rather than a ‘oh my god she’s in the same room with me how do i breathe why is she so beautiful oh my god call an ambulance oh my god?’ crush.

he slams his head against his desk, lamenting whatever it is he’s done that got him here. why can’t he just see you the way he’s seen you before?

wait. how exactly did he see you before?

sure, you were always beautiful and nice, helpful to a fault, generous and extremely smart, but have you always sparkled like you do now?

yes. yes you have.

to kuramochi youichi you’ve always sparkled and shone brighter than the lights in rooms you occupied, brighter than the full moon in the night skies and the sun during daytime.

you entered the classroom and upon hearing you greet him his head snaps up and– is that a fucking halo?! (it is a figment of his imagination fueled by the many shojo mangas jun made him read) why are you glowing?

miyuki can only sit back and observe from his seat behind kuramochi as the shortstop looks at his life-long friend as if she herself hung the stars, brightened the days and nights– as if she put the planets in orbit. 

and if the planets in the question were kuramochi youichi and [name] was the sun, then perhaps you have. youichi somehow finds himself sucked into your atmosphere, somehow always orbiting you, always in your presence or not far from it. you are always in his thoughts and in his heart, a part of you is always in his conscience and he can do nothing but accept it, embrace it. he is kuramochi, but he is not youichi without you. similarly you are [l/name], but never [f/name] without him. if only he would’ve known sooner that neptune’s slow departure from the solar system symbolized his common sense leaving when he’s around you.

in your second year of high school, with a lot of hard work, you make it to nationals.

during the victory announcement, youichi could’ve sworn he saw a tear stream down your cheek, but it could have just been a trick of the light.

that night you once again meet under the tranquility of the stars on the diamond, but this time, it’s on a more positive note than last year.

“so, what’s the secret i was promised?”

you freeze for a mere moment, as if you yourself have forgotten you ever made him such a promise, then the shock clears out of your eyes and you turn to look at him.

“can’t we push the due date a bit?”

“wha– no! what was it all for?!” he’s waving his arms around to exaggerate his point, “i’ve waited a year for this, wondering each day what could possibly be so special, and now you tell me to wait more?! man..”

you watch his lips curl into a pout and his brows furrow and you know.

“.. not that i wouldn’t, i’d wait however long it takes, if it’s you..” you know.

you feel your face heat up slightly, even though it’s exactly what you predicted he would say. you reach out and your fingers tap against his cheek first, then you place your palm against the warm skin (it continues to grow warmer under your touch, you note).

“thank you for fulfilling your promise, youichi. i love you.”

he can physically feel his heart skip a beat and his neck very nearly break with the abnormal speed he turns his head at. blood is rushing to his head and all he hears is white noise (or perhaps that’s just the cicadas) and your words on a loop in his already you-filled brain. stars, what have you done to him? he thinks he might short-circuit.

but, then again, this could just be a normal, friendly ‘i love you’, as you usually say. he shouldn’t get his hopes up, nor be weird about it, lest you catch on and start distancing yourself from him (not that you would do that, since you didn’t after he threw lizards at you when you were 7).

“you’re welcome,” he smiles, “love ya too, stupid.”

you shake your head and he pauses, “no, youichi. i love you. always have. that’s the secret.”

“.. i’ve always loved you, too..? what do you mean,” he shakes his head to mimic you, then raises an eyebrow in question, as if not agreeing he loves you was a crime (at this point, it might even be).

“i’m in love with you, idiot,” you resist the urge to just smack him at this point, “have been for the past 10 years.”

he’s struck by lightning. hit by a truck. squashed by a rock, even. he can’t even properly describe the bolt he feels striking him upon realizing he is, in fact, an idiot. and so are you, apparently.

idiots in love, as ryousuke once said. now he knows why.

the shortstop grabs you by your shoulders and shakes you back and forth with an almost crazed look in his eyes, “oh my god. i’m in love with you, too! oh my god!”

there’s a sudden sparkle in your eyes and you grab onto his arms, “oh my god! i thought i was going insane whenever i saw you acting like a schoolgirl with a crush!”

he momentarily wonders how much money miyuki will rack up for the bets placed on who will confess first, but that’s an issue for tomorrow.

for now, youichi thinks, the only issue is finding out if your lips are as soft as they look.

(they are.)

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