#also the conversation where she asks kiryu what he would do as a girl and the ‘correct’ answer is that he would go on a date w a guy

[hedgerlogs]

not going to lie a lot of how rina (the lesbian hostess in yk1) was written was a bit.um. you know. but anyways when she calls you about going to the dollar store to buy a suit and gets mad that theyre all too big. throwback to when i was trying to find a suit for my aunt’s wedding and i had to go look in the children’s section 💔

[squishylemonbubbles]

How about some of your favorite KZMJ headcanons? :Dc Or favorite tropes you like writing the most?

OOH MAN the hard questions!! ty!!! >:3

i love focussing on goromi and kazumi bc of those genderqueer feelings. i went on that rant the other day PFFT but it can be really hard to find characters that have a mixed/gnc presentation that aren't just treated as a joke, which. don't get me wrong, that is how goromi's introduction is treated, yet she's also given the hostess routine with a genuine conversation, which is. more than most i've seen lmao.

i think it's hard to come across online bc you don't see any of my physical mannerisms or my inner thoughts in their purest form, but my masculinity and being a man are extremely important to me - as well as my femininity, my being gnc, the days where i like settling down as a "cute girl" while never being solely that. soooo i love putting a focus on gender, presentation, the rules and what it means to break them. i will infect everyone in this series with gender if i have to (<- joke lmao)

i also love like… the interplay of majima and kiryu not necessarily taking care of themselves all the time, but absolutely putting it in for the other, and the kinds of tension that can bring when going too far to help. i do think i write kiryu in crisis more than majima - that's less trope preference though and more seeing myself in his problems a bit clearer than majima's, giving me more perspective to write from, and some of kiryu's troubles (or like, hypothetical troubles lmao) being lesser explored in my eyes

uhh hmm specific headcanons.

kiryu and majima both know JSL, but ironically it's majima who knows less - between them majima is the one with hearing problems, being another one of his complications from the hole, and another that he tries to hide. meanwhile, kiryu's generation in sunflower included a deaf kid, so it was ensured the caretakers and other kids would know at least the basics. nishiki and kiryu in particular took to becoming conversational, using it between themselves if they needed to keep things quiet, quickly flash each other a code, the works. so kiryu and majima use JSL together, not as much as speech, but it can help with keeping things quiet, or alternatively, when one of their brains is on the fritz lmao. both of them have times where they lose their speech, usually from stress, so it's nice to have signs to fall back on. (however, they can't use JSL to keep secrets from haruka, as she's learning it too!)

kiryu has kleptomania (impulse control disorder; the urge to steal is disconnected from one's thoughts on the morality of stealing, and even liking stealing at all), majima knows this, so sometimes he leaves around trinkets/straight up gifts to give him the thrill of stealing without the consequence. if he needs something back he knows he can just ask and kiryu will return it, and he trusts kiryu not to lie and say he didn't steal something when he really did.

if kiryu had to pick one favourite physical trait of majima's, it would be his face. but okay, let's say he's not allowed to do that and he has to pick any other part of majima's body? he'd say majima's back. he loves his irezumi and what it represents, not only for its intended symbolism, but also the numerous scars both physical and mental that his irezumi try to hide. he would spend hours focussing on the hannya if he could, comforting her to comfort majima in the process his next favourite trait? majima's hands. no further comment.

if majima had to pick one favourite physical trait of kiryu's, it would be his tits. this would, in fact, be a little bit of a lie. he likes the comfort of hearing kiryu's heartbeat - sometimes he has trouble feeling like he's still alive (hence my take on the zombie majima persona; it's not always a fun act) so getting to hear kiryu's life helps. but that's more embarrassing to say than just saying tits, and i mean, they are a good set of tits regardless hehehe his next favourite would be kiryu's arms. he loves that strength and, on a sappier note, those hugs.

okay i am now thoroughly brainfarting on any more to say at the moment WHOOPS 💖

[bluerosesburnblue]

Nothing upsets me more than a legitimately good story being ruined by “extra” content. I’ve already complained at length about Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon’s story changes over the original games so now it’s The World Ends With You: Final Remix’s “A New Day’s” turn because CHRIST

I’m writing this as I come across points while watching a playthrough, so:

God, Coco is the single most insufferable being. “totez hilar” just dated this content so baaaad, and I’d even say it was dated language when Final Remix came out. No other character abuses modern slang as their entire character. Like, slang is used but not as a substitute for personality. Beat speaks in a very casual, urban style but it never ends up being detrimental to his character as a bit of a punk with a “perfect little sister” that he wasn’t as naturally smart as, so he just gave up on trying and ended up being a bit of an aggressive slacker. Heck, he tones it down a bit for emotional moments, too. Coco, though, comes across like her ultra-modern “cutesy” text message slang is supposed to be her personality, and even when it’s revealed that she’s the villain of the episode you just can’t take her seriously through the “like, ohmigosh, I can’t believe you’re ruining my plaaaaaans” bullshit. What does she have going for her if you rewrite all of her lines without that speaking style? She’s just a generic manipulative brat

Frankly I also just disagree with the entire premise of A New Day and the plot threads it sets up for a potential sequel, i.e. “having Neku and Beat run through a game again as a trap to get Neku into yet another game in a possible sequel.” TWEWY is a complete experience and had been for at least a decade. Literally every character had a complete arc. The worldbuilding was rich enough that they had more than enough to come up with a sequel set in the same world, but in an entirely different town with an entirely new cast and, heck, even entirely new rules for the Game that would’ve expanded upon the world of the games without taking away from the characters whose time in the Underground was already done

But, noooooooo, we’ve gotta bring Neku back. Can’t have a game without Neku they literally SAY THAT (”The Game, like, literally can’t go on without Neku.”). And let’s bring Minamimoto back, too, as a good guy! The fans loved him! This doesn’t come across as pandering at all!

Just... you have the girl with the red headphones designed! Make the sequel set in Shinjuku with her as the main character! (Hell, I don’t think I would have even minded Minamimoto coming back for that because there was enough leeway in the base TWEWY for him to have survived his encounter with Josh, just leave Neku out of it). This is the most infuriating part because it actually takes away from Neku’s story. The entire GAME was a test of character to see if even the worst, most closed off person could learn empathy and respect and Neku DID. And in return, that sparked a change in Josh. His story is done. Coco using Neku, though, has nothing to do with him as a character and everything to do with him being the face of the game and it shows

And why the hell is Neku so trusting of Coco anyway? I get that he opened up over the course of TWEWY, that was kind of the point. But you come back to life, everything’s fine, and then suddenly you’re in a death game again and so is one of your best friends, like, he should be WAY more concerned and suspicious. But one little Reaper gives him the sad eyes and he just caves instantly like “fine, come along.” Even when Neku grew to like some of the Reapers, like Uzuki and Kariya, it was still far more of a rival-like respect. He knew damn well that it was their job to see him gone and while he accepted their help when they gave it and helped them when their lives were in danger (possibly, up to player choice), they weren’t buddy-buddy with each other, knowing that as soon as the immediate danger to them had passed they’d be on opposite sides again. And these are the Reapers he’s closest to, even at the end of the game. And then all of a sudden Coco goes “but I’m a wittle wost baby weaper” and Neku’s response is, “well, shit, welcome to the team.” WHAT

I hate using the term “Mary Sue” but Coco is absolutely a Mary Sue in its original meaning. The plot bends over backwards to accommodate her at the expense of the main characters’ personalities or reason, all while giving her a clothing style incongruous with everyone else’s meant to stand out and make her look special and not having her face any repercussions for her actions (so far which is, again, another issue with the very premise of A New Day since that’s exactly how things will end off if TWEWY doesn’t get a sequel, the possibility of which is not a guarantee AT ALL)

Shiki and Rhyme start saying blatantly false things about themselves and handwaving it away with “ohhh, that must have been our new Entry Fee! Just the exact same ones as the first time again!” and only BEAT is suspicious and NEITHER OF THEM are suspicious of Coco, the only non-generic Reaper they’ve met so far. Christ, I appreciate Beat being attentive with matters of his sister because that’s in-character but NEKU was always the more paranoid AND observant one yet all he thinks about is “gee, I’m sure having weird visions today, huh?”

And then Coco starts BLATANTLY gaslighting them about Kariya and Uzuki’s personalities and they’re STILL not suspicious of her like ughhhhhhhhhhh. Nekuuuuuuu you LIVED THROUGH JOSH WEEK 2, you have BEEN IN A SITUATION where the mastermind partnered up with you to divert your suspicion and keep an eye on you how are you less suspicious of this brat than Beat is???

And why are none of the characters bringing up the fact that you have to be DEAD to be in the Game??? You all spent three weeks of hell to claw your way back to life, how are you not more upset about what seems like you all dying again, basically immediately after you just got brought back? And I know the Shiki and Rhyme in A New Day are illusions, but Neku and Beat AREN’T. Nobody even comments on the implication that they’re dead again and what that means!

I can’t believe they made new expressions for the fake Josh’s changed personality but still refuse to make anything for Shiki’s true appearance

Hell, there’s enough lore with Josh that you could make an entire prequel about him becoming the Composer instead of this mess and, you know, EXPAND on someone’s character and what led to him being so disillusioned with Shibuya as the Composer instead of employing the Happy Ending Rewrite on Neku and then gutting his personality to make Coco the focus. I’d LOVE a Josh prequel with competent writing. Kingdom Hearts made the Xehanort prequel and hooked me in a single chapter with expanded worldbuilding and interesting ties with Xehanort’s character to friends that humanize him, do the same for Yoshiya “Joshua” Kiryu!

Pfffffff hire me and let me make the dream TWEWY trilogy: Joshua prequel > TWEWY sans A New Day > sequel set in Shinjuku starring Red Headphones Girl with Occasional Josh and Hanekoma Interaction

It is so unnecessarily cruel to make Beat relive Rhyme’s erasure and subject Neku to believing that Shiki was erased as well, and yet they do NOTHING with it except have it be cheap tension for five minutes. The characters basically say “wow, I’m so sad!” and then IMMEDIATELY move on to “OMG is Neku seeing the fuuuuuture?” Your LITTLE SISTER and FIRST REAL FRIEND IN YEARS just seemingly died permanently! When Rhyme was erased the first time it took Neku one and a half in-game days to even talk about it because he was so upset, and from then on he was focused on avenging her/bringing her back. Shiki was his entry fee in Week 2 and that made him hyper paranoid the whole time! WHY ARE WE JUST GLOSSING OVER THIS especially since they made SUCH a big deal about how they just finally started believing that the fakes were real (after a whole TWO conversations)

And then at the end they say that they’re inside Coco’s Noise that is SO BIG that it has an ALTERNATE DIMENSION INSIDE IT and Hanekoma’s like “I’ve never met a Reaper POWERFUL enough to make a Noise like this. Wow, Coco, you’re so POWERFUL that even I, an Angel, am impressed!” This. Coming from the guy who specifically chose Minamimoto as his failsafe to kill the Composer should the Game go wrong because a Taboo Minamimoto, heavily refined using forbidden methods, would be strong enough to defeat THE COMPOSER. And he’s now going on about how Coco’s the strongest Reaper ever, basically admitting that she’s probably stronger than the Composer of Shibuya. SURE. BECAUSE COCO WASN’T BAD ENOUGH ALREADY SHE HAS TO BE THE STRONGEST REAPER EVER, TOO

And then it just ends with Josh and Hanekoma exposition dumping about how Shinjuku got erased as Noise entered the RG (WHAT?), Neku’s visions were probably caused by the red headphones girl who’s super special (who???), and Coco’s just so special powerful (why...), but it’s not their problem so fuck it. Oh, and also Josh doesn’t care about Neku anymore, despite that being the whole point of TWEWY. Yeah, the guy who flew off all upset when Hanekoma asked him if he wanted to hang out with his friends at the end of the game. Uh huh. Even if he’s lying, why even put that THERE instead of saving it for the sequel?

And then Coco just... revives Minamimoto. Even though, oh, right, the Taboo Refinery stuff was so precise that the only reason Minamimoto came back the first time was because Hanekoma, THE PRODUCER AND AN ANGEL, set it up for him. But I guess Coco’s just soooooo super powerful and knows FORBIDDEN HIGHER PLANE KNOWLEDGE and can just do whateeeeeever she wants. Not like Hanekoma was so paranoid about someone finding out what he did for Minamimoto that he went into hiding, certain that he’d be reported to the higher Angels and destroyed

A New Day is so painfully shallow from a writing experience. It’s a poor continuation off of the solid, complete TWEWY story experience that just doesn’t have a handle on Neku’s character, turning him into this bland vision machine with no emotional connection to anyone. The way that it expands the worldbuilding with “Inversion” does one thing that I HATE, which is taking an emotion-and-character driven story and turning it into a generic “end of the world” scenario, “raising the stakes” in a way that divorces it from what made it memorable in the first place. If Kitaniji directly effecting the RG during the main Game’s plot was the point where he crossed the line in-universe, then that loses its special nature and impact if you then go “oh, btw, Noise can destroy the RG city if you let them”

And then there’s the absolute black hole of a character that is Coco Atarashi. She wasn’t designed to fit into the world of the game, she was designed to stand out. On its own that’s not a bad thing, especially given the themes of the game that revolve around owning your true self and baring it to the world, but then you combine it with no personality beyond being a manipulative brat obsessed with the events of TWEWY, extremely lazy text message slang dressing up her dialogue to make it stand out, the way that Neku and Beat’s personalities change to accommodate her presence just to shoehorn her in and then have a cheap “omg she was bad” twist, and then dumping powers on par with Josh and Hanekoma on her and there is NO saving her character

The only good part of A New Day is “Wake Up.” And even then, there’s better TWEWY songs, I just like the vaguely Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance vibes it has in parts

[cryoculus]

How about a soulmate au, maybe the first words one. With ushijima and maybe the words were really weird like "wow I like your balls".

Part Two →

» Word Count: 3,703 words

Note: This was re-written on 07-15-2019 but no major changes were made in the overall plot (⌒ω⌒) This work is also cross-posted on AO3 and it’d mean a lot if you left your feedback on this post or in the link!

*** 

Naturally, Tendou laughed in his face the first time Ushijima showed him.

“Wakatoshi-kun,” he breathed, wiping a tear from his eye, “you better find your soulmate soon so I can tape record the whole thing!”

Ushijima frowned, eyes drifting back to the words marked on the underside of his left index finger. Contrary to popular belief, Shiratorizawa’s ace did have a sense of humor, albeit minimal. He wasn’t so oblivious that he wouldn’t notice if some phrases connoted an underlying meaning to them.

But was, ‘Man. I really like your balls,’ something anyone would say in a regular conversation?

The words written in elegant handwriting on Tendou’s wrist were simple and didn’t leave a lot to ponder on. ‘Hi, I’m the normal guy.’ Couldn’t he have been bestowed with less suggestive first words from his soulmate, as well?

“Maybe you’re going to a brothel in the future,” Tendou offered when he noticed his captain’s obvious distress. “The miracle boy Ushijima Wakatoshi, the unmovable ace, actually seeking pleasurable release. Hmm, but that’s  still a ways away if you ask me.”

The ace knitted his brows together at the middle blocker’s assumption. Ushijima had more tact than that. One would never catch him dead anywhere near a red light district. But he supposed Tendou only meant it as a jest.

“When you get ideas dropping by Kabukicho or somethin’, tell me, okay~”

…Or not. 

***

“Niiyama Girls’ High?” Ushijima echoed.

Coach Washijou merely huffed. “I’ll be away this Sunday when they arrive for the joint practice. Try to learn what you can from their play style. I trust your judgement in seeing what is fit to take note of and apply with our own strategy.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are a girls’ volleyball club’s tactics truly applicable for us, coach?”

“Don’t underestimate them women, Wakatoshi,” the old man chided. “They’re more graceful than you meaty idiots. More elegant with their plays, too. Have I made myself clear?”

Ushijima could only nod reluctantly. 

***

“I heard the girls from Niiyama are called Queens,” Tendou drawled as he tossed a volleyball into Shirabu’s direction. The young setter caught it swiftly, wedging it under his arm.

“Tendou-san, we’re not finished inflating them yet,” Shirabu sighed.

The middle blocker stuck his tongue out. “How many do we even need? There’s tons piled up in the ball cart already.”

“Tendou, refrain from jeopardizing Shirabu’s responsibilities,” Ushijima spoke flatly as he finished the rest of his warm-up, throwing a cautionary gaze in his direction which the redhead pointedly ignored.

“Wakatoshi-kun is so uptight,” Tendou sneered. “Eh? Is it because a bunch of girls are coming over? Is Wakatoshi-kun flustered all of a sudden?”

“I am simply carrying on Coach Washijou’s request of keeping things orderly in his absence.”

“Hmph,” he simpered. “I just wanna have fun with some cuties, Wakatoshi-kun.”

Ushijima dismissed Tendou’s reasoning to crack his fingers. The crunch of the cartilage beneath his skin was a satisfying pop in his ears, and it eases the cricks that have formed in his joints, eliciting a soft sigh of satisfaction from him. 

“Everyone, listen up please,” Coach Saitou emerged from the gym’s entrance, clapping his hands loudly to garner everyone’s attention. “Niiyama’s already here. Compose yourselves and finish up with your respective warm-ups. We’re going to have a practice match.”

Semi wrinkled his nose. “Coach, isn’t there a bit of an imbalance?”

Coach Saitou smiled. “You’ll know in a minute, Semi-kun.”

As most of his teammates discussed trivial matters among themselves, Ushijima leaned against a wall to bask in his own silence. He was not one to question direct orders from Washijou himself, but this particular joint practice left him with some questions that he’d like to be enlightened with.

If he was feeling it, Washijou would go as far as to invite Mujinazaka so Ushijima could go toe to toe against Kiryu. Why he suddenly took interest in the powerhouse all-female volleyball club of Niiyama was beyond his comprehension. Men and women’s volleyball were separated for a good reason, after all. 

His train of thought was derailed when Goshiki let out an unhindered gasp and Hayato chided the young ace for ‘being so obvious’. The captain shifted his field of view, expression poised as usual, while their guests filed inside the gymnasium one by one. 

The girls of Niiyama High’s volleyball club all had one thing in common: short hair. It made sense. Sure, many professional players he’s seen wore their hair in taut ponytails and bangs bound by headbands. But it’s known to be much easier to play when their hair didn’t grow longer than the napes of their necks. When they managed to settle inside, the rest of Shiratorizawa’s players fell silent, scrutinizing the visitors clad in red and white uniforms.

“We’re the Niiyama girls’ volleyball club,” a light-haired player wearing the jersey marked with the number one proclaimed; a bow swiftly followed her introduction. “Thank you for inviting us.”

“Thank you for inviting us!” the rest of them resounded.

Noticing that his teammates were stunned into silence by the mere presence of the other team in their gym, Ushijima cleared his throat, walking over to them.

“Greetings should be returned with the same vigor,” he reminded.

His words seemingly impelled boys to compose themselves the next second, each one lining up properly in front of their guests.

“Let’s have a good game!”

Ushijima could hear Coach Saitou snickering from where he stood, and even he could see why the coach was finding this quite humorous. It seemed Tendou and Reon were the only ones apart from himself that remained unfazed by the arrival of such unlikely guests. 

As the girls began their own respective warm-ups, Ushijima rounded up his own teammates to minimize the chances of someone making a fool out of himself. Though Shiratorizawa has a reputation that suggested that it housed the most sophisticated students, that didn’t seem like the case when taking the volleyball team into consideration. Outside of a game, most of them tend to be swayed by the strangest things, and Ushijima was certain that being in the same space as a group of girls in the same age group was one of those things.

“Coach Washijou really is the devil,” Reon chortled as he walked over to Ushijima’s side. “Did he really want a one-sided match for us that badly?”

Upon hearing the wing spiker’s words, Ushijima’s mouth downturned into a grimace. He could very much remember the warning in Washijou’s voice when he told him not to underestimate these girls. They were a constant participant at nationals after all. But, still, it didn’t make sense why they would even agree to a practice match against Shiratorizawa, knowing the circumstances.

“Can I have everyone’s attention?” a woman, presumably Niiyama’s coach, called out from the side of the court. All the people in the room halted their ministrations at once. “Since the manpower of each team is obviously disproportionate,” she began, “we’ll be handing out draw-lots to determine who goes on white and black teams respectively.”

So that was how they were going to address the issue that’s been plaguing Ushijima for days. He affixed a thoughtful gaze on the plastic cup in the woman’s hands. It seemed fair, but the idea didn’t completely sit well with him.

“But only those in the starting lineup will be participating in the practice match,” Saitou supplied with a hint of remorse. 

“It’s alright, coach,” Semi assured. “It’s quite fun to see something different every once in a while.” 

The players on each team’s starting roster came forward when called to draw their colored sticks. Ushijima eyed Niiyama’s members with calculative curiosity. Each of them wore a calm and collected demeanor that rivalled his own, as if the idea of going up against one of Miyagi’s powerhouse schools didn’t even faze them at the slightest. But his gaze was particularly drawn to one of the girls that wore the number three jersey. There was a confident spark in your eye that Ushijima only saw in opponents who were certain of their victory. 

When it was his turn to draw his lot, Ushijima got a white stick. 

“Aww, I’m gonna have to play against Wakatoshi-kun?” Tendou groaned, holding up a black stick in disdain. “I can totally beat him, but his spikes can induce fractures, coach!”

Ushijima managed to overhear you complain to your captain, who seemed to draw a white lot as well. “Mei-chan, going up against two captains is hardly fair!”

“I’m sure you all can manage,” Saitou insisted. “We made sure the number of boys and girls on the team is equal. Liberos will also be playing full-time to even out the numbers. But do another rotation when they’re in the setting and serving positions. Now then, please go to your respective sides on-court and introduce yourselves!”

*** 

If Ushijima were to describe the practice match with one word, it would be…interesting. 

The first set had extended up to the thirties, and the ace was already sweating profusely despite it still being early in the game. A noticeable crease was embedded in Ushijima’s brow as he caught his breath, wiping away a sheen from his sweat-stricken skin. He’s conditioned himself to have stamina like no other, but the power he’s forced to use just to get past the opposing blockers was draining him far more quickly than he anticipated.

“Shiratorizawa’s got a monster blocker, yeah?” Niiyama’s captain and one of his team’s middle blockers, Haruno Mei inquired. 

He stared at her, considering her words. “Are you perhaps talking about Tendou?”

“Yeah. The red-haired guy,” she affirmed, keeping her gaze straight. “Well, let’s say that we’ve got our own monster blocker, too.” 

He could have interpreted that as Haruno talking about herself, but he knew what his temporary teammate meant by her words. Just on the opposite side of the net, you were discussing something with Tendou with interest sparking your eyes. When you caught the ace staring, a smirk stretched across your lips.

Ushijima narrowed his gaze. Tendou was already a troublesome middle blocker on his own. He was one of the few that could actually stop Ushijima when he’s already set a momentum for himself. But that’s only because Tendou knew of his habits on-court. You, though? You’ve shut him down in one set more times than any of his rivals have in his entire career despite not having prior knowledge about his style.

“(Name) is a little timid when blocking alone,” Haruno supplied further. “But when she’s paired up with another seasoned middle blocker, they’d be a double threat. I’m sure you’ve heard about Niiyama’s Gemini blocker, right?” 

No, he really hadn’t heard of the title, but it suggested exactly what Ushijima had been observing since the match started. Whenever you and Tendou rotated together in the front, the ace felt as if he wasn’t just being stuffed by one Guess Monster, but two. 

When the game resumed at the referee’s signal, Ushijima unknowingly set a goal for himself.

He was going to crush you.

***

“We gave you quite the run for your money, didn’t we, Wakatoshi-kun?” Tendou slung an arm over Ushijima’s shoulder. “You looked plenty mad back there~”

As usual, Ushijima ignored Tendou’s taunts while he picked up a lone volleyball on the floor. After the practice match—with his team as its victors—everyone was provided ample time for free practice. 

“Ah, that one chick on my team was a real demon, too,” the middle blocker continued, despite his captain’s obvious indifference. “You’d love to have her on your team, Wakatoshi-kun. She’s just like a second me!” 

Ushijima spared him an unreadable look, but he found himself frowning at the redhead’s proclamation. It seemed that he wasn’t the only one who noticed how similar your blocking style was to Tendou’s. But Ushijima didn’t particularly feel the need to articulate his concern.

“I do not believe anyone could be as…lively as you are, Tendou,” is what he told him instead.

Tendou barked out an amused laugh. “Of course not! Even Eita-kun told me I’m like a monster on steroids. I meant the way she played. Her guesses were as good as mine. It’s like we’re meant to be~” 

Once the words left his teammate’s lips, an uncomfortable sensation seized the ace in the preceding moment. Brows knitting together, Ushijima placed a palm over his chest, trying to check for any irregularities in his heartbeat, but everything seemed to be fine. 

He recalled the brief conversation he had with Haruno. Niiyama’s captain implied that you had a peculiar talent for drawing out the best of your fellow blockers’ abilities. It made Ushijima wonder if you truly were a second Guess Monster or simply a genius who could conform with your teammates’ play styles at an exorbitant rate. 

In the middle of his careful contemplation, Tendou offered to play catch with him, and Ushijima was about to accept until—

“Man, I really like your balls.”

Hearing those words aloud made every muscle in Ushijima’s body go frigid. His fingers felt cold, and goosebumps erupted on the flesh of his arms. He could see Tendou freezing up from where he stood in his peripheral vision, too. It was no fluke that he heard the words he was destined to hear right now, in the middle of a joint practice. That only meant…

He turned around. You met his olive-eyed stare with playful amusement. 

“I’ve been meaning to convince Mei-chan to change up our volleyballs to Mikasa ones,” you sighed, twirling one of the balls in your hand. “Molten is just out of trend, you know?”

For once, the captain didn’t know how to act accordingly. His mouth felt dry, like his tongue turned into sand, rendering him unable to make a sound. His fists clenched tightly at his sides, blunt nails digging into his skin in an attempt to calm himself. Thankfully, Ushijima had a talent for retaining his composed demeanor under duress, which made you entirely oblivious to the shift in his countenance.

“Thank you,” he imparted, voice schooled into neutrality. “Our second years made sure to inflate them with the recommended air pressure.”

“They’re in good hands, huh?” You grinned. 

“Oh, Wakatoshi-kun is also in good hands, (Name)-chan,” Tendou snickered, earning him a glare from his usually stoic captain. But the middle blocker didn’t even bat an eyelash at his captain’s reaction. 

“By the way, sorry about earlier. It was just a practice match but I poured everything into it. It probably doesn’t matter since you guys won, right?” You scratched the back of your head, cheeks tinged with a warm color that Ushijima, though he loath to admit, almost found endearing. 

“It is only proper to give everything you have in whatever task given. Any effort given at one’s best will never be pointless.” He chose his words carefully, not wanting to let any semblance of discomposure slip from his mouth. 

You nodded, mouth hung in awe. “Such a straightforward guy you are, huh?”

“Not always,” Tendou coughed and at that point, Ushijima was already contemplating on spiking him in the face to make his chatty teammate shut up for once. 

When the idea popped into his head, Ushijima gulped the next second. It wasn’t like him to think violence upon others, regardless of how much they grated on his nerves. With that, he could almost hear the words his father had told him about soulmates just before he had to leave for another country.

“There’ll come a day when you’ll meet the person who’s going to utter these words to you,” his father had said, tracing his fingers over the strange words on his son’s much tinier ones. “When that day comes, your heart will go into overdrive. You’ll act in ways you never have before. It’ll be like a hurricane tore through your whole being—your soul.”

Those words had been theatrical at best, and dreadful at worst. Ushijima was a bright boy for his age when he was imparted with them, and the first reaction that was excited from him was cold skepticism. 

If that’s true then why are you leaving me and mother behind?

He’d wanted to ask Takashi that one question, but he knew that his father would only leave him with some vague answer and a pat on the head. He never was a straightforward man when it came to things that didn’t include volleyball—always opting to talk in riddles and insisting that Ushijima would ‘know when the time is right’. 

Ever since his father left Japan, Ushijima had always despised the concept of soulmates; it didn’t guarantee happiness or satisfaction. The deity responsible for such a thing simply lumped in random people together even if there was no compatibility whatsoever. 

His parents were a clear example of that and the last thing he’d want to do is to engage himself in something that would do more harm than good to him and his emotional well-being. 

But once today’s joint practice came to an end, he simply couldn’t help it. The way his heart fluttered like a hummingbird’s wings when you stopped to wave your hand at him in farewell was accompanied by an unfamiliar sensation that spread across his entire being. It felt…it felt soothing. 

“Wakatoshi.”

The sound of Reon’s voice yanked him back to his senses. Ushijima blinked, realizing that he’d been standing by the gym’s entrance ever since Niiyama’s players departed, quite lost in thought. 

Unlike Tendou, Reon was better at reading people, even Ushijima—placid and stoic Ushijima—himself. When the wing spiker cast him a knowing look with those thoughtful eyes of his, the captain felt like Reon was picking him apart with a single gaze.

“Is there anything you want off your chest?” was his icebreaker.

Ushijima considered his words, contemplating whether or not the thoughts plaguing his mind were worthy of a discussion. It was but a trivial little thing. He’s faced dozens of discrepancies before that were much more troublesome in nature. Eliciting a sound that sounded like a sigh, but not quite, Ushijima went back inside the gym with the intent of assisting with tonight’s clean-up.

“Nothing at all.” 

***

“Wakatoshi-kun, you’re no fun,” Tendou huffed as he shut the door to their shared room, immediately climbing up the ladder to the top bunk. 

Ushijima eyed him from where he stood, shrugging off his jacket to hang on the hook behind the door. His expression morphed into subtle curiosity because this was the first time he’s talked to Ushijima since practice ended. Tendou had been giving him the cold shoulder throughout dinner, and he wasn’t being discreet about it either. 

Deciding to see where this will go, he took a more neutral approach. “You’ve told me such numerous times already, Tendou.”

“You know what I mean.” He merely frowned. 

For the past three years, Tendou had these sporadic mood swings from time to time and Ushijima had gotten used to them. However, no matter how long they’ve been sharing this room together, the ace never seemed to understand the pattern in his temper. But for some reason, Ushijima subconsciously knew that, this time,  Tendou’s irritation wasn’t entirely baseless. 

When the captain said nothing in response, Tendou clicked his tongue, hopping across the bedrail to land gracefully on the carpeted floor. 

The middle blocker grunted, placing his hands on his hips in an accusatory gesture. “Why didn’t you tell her she’s your soulmate? You a pussy or something?”

Looking over the fact that his heart lurched in his ribcage at the reminder, Ushijima managed to say, “(Surname) did not seem to react strongly to me when I spoke to her. The possibility of her not being my ‘soulmate’, as you put it, is still there, Tendou.”

He clicked his tongue again with more vigor. “That’s ‘cause the first words you told her were, ‘thank you’. How many times does a person hear that from strangers? A whole fuckin’ lot, Wakatoshi-kun.” He graced his dialogue with exaggerated movements from his hands that seemed oddly fitting. “Meanwhile, you’re here with the same exact words she hit you up with tattooed on your fuckin’ hand, and you’re turning a blind eye? Is Wakatoshi-kun a dumbass?” 

The snark in Tendou’s seething rage complemented his words in a strange way. They were enough to catch Ushijima off guard, since Tendou was someone that never lost his twisted glee unless an opponent on-court was besting him. But they were not playing volleyball, and no one was besting him at all.

Or was there?

Tendou fisted Ushijima’s shirt and brought his face closer to his. Carmine eyes bore into his own with an emotion he isn’t familiar with. 

“I’ve been dying to meet who mine is, did you know that?” Tendou whispered airily. “I’m always searching for ‘the normal guy’. But who the fuck is just gonna tell that to my face? You met your own match today, but chose to ignore it? It—it fuckin’ pisses me off, Wakatoshi-kun.”

Ushijima exhaled, refusing to let Tendou’s rash words faze him in any way. He acknowledged his teammate’s strong feelings about the whole soulmate matter, but telling you still wasn’t his decision to make. Not when Ushijima still had his thoughts all over the place. 

“Go to sleep, Tendou.” Ushijima pried his grip off his shirt. “Spring Interhigh Playoffs begin tomorrow. You best forget about this and get some rest.”

Tendou’s glare never let up as he scoffed, making his way to the door. “I’m going to hit some serves in the gym. Don’t follow me.” 

“It was not my intention to.” 

His roommate responded by slamming the door behind him with more force than what was necessary. Almost immediately after, Ushijima could hear Semi barking about the noise in the hall, to which Tendou replied with a muffled, “Fuck off, Semisemi.” 

The captain sighed, sitting on his bottom bunk bed to quell the apprehension rooting itself under his skin. To an extent, Tendou had been right about him being ‘a pussy’. But it’s not as if it mattered. There was no need for him to rush things, nor did Ushijima wish to.

He would tell you in his own time.  

***

Part Two →

[j-exclamationmark-l]

Koiryu Junji scenario

I finished the Junji scenario of Kiryu’s dating sim a while ago. I don't remember it as well as I apparently remembered the guitarists' scenarios, also it bugged me pretty bad so I wasn't terribly invested in it.

The story begins the same as the others', with the protagonist finding herself suddenly in 1800s Japan at the mercy of five dragon gods. Mahiro freaks out to find a human woman at his shrine and threatens to kill her when Junji steps in and stops him. Mahiro relents and lets her stay at the shrine. That night, Junji confronts the protagonist and tells her she needs to show with her actions, not just her words, that she’s willing to help them, which apparently means sitting still and allowing Junji to pretend he’s going to kiss her before he pulls back and laughs. “looool jk u shoulda seen ur face u really thought i was gonna kiss u loooooooooooooool!”

The next day, it’s agreed that the protagonist will go to the establishment Yoidzuki and do work as an oiran to try and gather information for Kiryu on demons, as they cannot return to the Ryuuguu without eradicating all demons from earth. The protagonist spends the night drinking with Tomoya, a high ranking official in the Meiji military. In addition to having something of a man-crush on Junji, he tells the protagonist of a demon called the Bakeneko, or Cat Demon. The protagonist takes this information back to Kiryu.

The six set out for the Bakeneko’s shrine, using the protagonist as bait to lure out the cat demon. Junji saves the day, but gets injured in the process. They take him back to the shrine, where he develops a fever from the poison in the cat’s claws and the protagonist does her best to nurse him back to health and cook for him, which makes him very happy as “no one has cooked for me before.” The protagonist begins to realize she’s falling in love with him.

Also, at some point, the Bakeneko returns in a harmless form, looking to help Kiryu, and Mahiro decides he likes it better than his comrades. Junji names it Takemaru.

At Yoidzuki, a rumor begins that ghosts are haunting the place. Protagonist tells Kiryu, and they decide that every day, one member of Kiryu will go and request her while simultaneously looking for clues about how to draw out the ghost of the Botan Doro, but Junji is scheduled to be last, as he is still recovering from his wounds. The first day brings Mr. Kujou, who does not look for clues, but proceeds to get very, very drunk until Hiyori is called to carry him back home. Some of the oiran allude to the fact they know Hiyori is a man, which puzzles the protagonist as clearly Hiyori is female. Mitsuki comes the second day, refusing to drink. He says he noticed the protagonist and Junji have become close, and asks if Junji told her he already has a fiancee. This breaks the protagonist’s heart and he devotes the rest of the night to comforting her instead of looking for demons. The third day, Mahiro comes, immediately finds the seal protecting the place from the Botan Doro, and stabs the ghost to death.

The latest demon issue resolved, the protagonist goes to work the next day and is requested, much to her surprise. She walks into the room to find none other than Junji, who felt left out that he never got to drink with her. She brings up the fact that he has a fiancee and he promises it doesn’t mean anything. He kisses her and she runs away.

After a while, Junji decides he’d like the protagonist to accompany him to the dojo he owns to learn how to fight; however, for unclear reasons, he decides she’d better disguise herself as a boy named Ryuu. Junji spends all day teasing “Ryuu” during their practice fights and making the girls at the dojo accuse the two of being gay together.

Suddenly, Hayato barges into the dojo, demanding to fight Junji. “If I win, you must give the dojo to me!” he proclaims, and for... reasons I can’t understand, Junji agrees. In any case, Junji wins, and Hayato throws himself at Junji’s feet, begging Junji to take him on as an apprentice, and again, Junji agrees for some reason.

The days are busy for the protagonist, training during the day at the dojo and working as an oiran at night. Tomoya eventually joins the dojo and the protagonist tells him that she’s a pair of identical twins. Tomoya confesses to “Ryuu” that he is in love with Ryuu’s “twin.” Meanwhile Codomo Dragon joins the dojo as well and constantly pick on “Ryuu.”

At Yoidzuki, the protagonist picks up on a new rumor that though it is spring, corpses have been found on the edge of town frozen to death. Mitsuki and Mahiro begin searching for the cause. One day at the dojo, Junji and the protagonist are called away immediately by Kiryu to come help fight the demon they’ve found. They travel to the edge of the village and find a snowstorm. It’s voted that Takemasa should be the one to go check it out, but Junji and the protagonist volunteer to accompany him. In the snow, they discover a fallen woman whose face is obscured by long, black hair. She immediately sees through everyone’s disguises and accuses them of being liars. Junji realizes this is the Yuki Joro and begins trying to fight her, telling the protagonist not to meet her gaze or she’ll be frozen to death. The rest of Kiryu joins the fight and defeat the snow woman, but Junji, Takemasa and the protagonist appear to be suffering from hypothermia. They decide to return to the dojo.

At the dojo, the Meiji government has stepped in and announces it is searching for the Dragonball. Kiryu does its best to pretend they have no idea what that is while trying to take care of the three frozen members. Junji cuddles up with the protagonist beneath a blanket. After the Meiji military leaves, Hayato tells Kiryu he followed them and saw the battle with the Yuki Joro and knows who and what they are and that he knows they have the Dragonball.

Junji and the protagonist spend more and more time with each other until Junji promises to forget his fiancee in favor of the protagonist and they agree to be a couple in secret.

One night, while Junji walks the protagonist through town, a cart nearly topples over on top of the protagonist and almost kills her... but doesn’t, sadly. A mysterious figure seems disappointed.

The next day, the two are walking together again when they notice a white-haired woman fleeing. She runs into Junji, and he identifies her with alarm as his fiancee, Otohime. He takes her back to the shrine, but Kiryu immediately tries to reject her. Mahiro suddenly stops complaining about the protagonist, raving that she’s been super helpful to them and their mission. Mitsuki flat-out tells Otohime to go screw herself and Hiyori and Takemasa sulk around, whispering bad things about her, but Junji seems enchanted by his fiancee, spending every moment with her. Hiyori warns the protagonist that there’s nothing worse than a jealous female god. In the halls at night, Otohime confronts the protagonist, stating ONCE AGAIN that she’s Junji’s fiancee and that the protagonist should back off.

At the dojo, the Codomo Unit agrees that they prefer the protagonist to Otohime and wish the latter would go back to wherever she came from. I don’t really understand why, though. Why do we constantly have to compare the two female characters? Why do we have to pit them against each other? I’ve always had groups of friends that were half male and half female and I have literally never noticed conversations like this occurring organically. Besides, no one even knows the protagonist is a girl, why would... uuuUUUGGHHHH. Why do they two girls have to hate each other? In my opinion, Junji’s the one who’s in the wrong in this situation for lying and being indirect and leading both women on. I feel bad for Otohime. He promised to marry her; who am I to waltz in and take that away from her?

Hayato challenges the protagonist to a duel to get her mind off Otohime, but the protagonist is so distracted that Hayato falls over on top of her and discovers with a strategically-placed hand that she’s actually a girl. The protagonist makes him promise to keep it secret.

Junji tells everyone later that the Dragonball is missing; as it turns out, not only is the Dragonball missing, but so are the special items that belong to the White Tiger (Codomo Dragon) and Black Tortoise (Royz).

Just then a monster is seen, calling all three groups to come and fight it. Otohime reveals that she summoned it with the three artifacts, knowing that once Kiryu was done fighting this last demon, they would have to return to the Ryuuguu and she and Junji could finally be married. Junji is appalled at her, having realized why she was running when they first met (she stole Royz’s artifact). He then demands to know how she managed to come to earth, and she tells him that she sold her soul to be reunited with him once she saw him making out with the protagonist. The protagonist uses the Dragonball to fight off the last demon, but Otohime is gravely injured and without a soul, she will not move on to the next life. The protagonist fights with all her might to keep Otohime from dying and is able to save her and kill the last demon, but by doing so, the protagonist is sent back to 2017.

The protagonist goes about life again as before at her company. Eventually the events she underwent begin to fade like a dream - though she felt she was gone for a year, only a week or so went by in present day, and no one really noticed her absence. She misses Junji terribly and visits a cherry blossom tree like one he was fond of to mourn her loss of him... only to have him approach her, having... magically... found a way to present day to take her back?

In the end, Otohime lives and decides to be fwiends with the protagonist, who will now marry Junji, and everyone lives... happily ever after?