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rogueyami · 4 years ago

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Haikyuu!! Fic Recs

I love reading fanfics, and I have so many bookmarked that I want to share. Hope you all enjoy and give these writers all the love. All of these are completed works, and they are a mixture of one shots and multi chaps.

Kagehina

where the night goes by bigspoonnoya (M)

Summary:

When their bond loses the immediate context of volleyball, they're left to consider why it's still so vital and important.

Meeting again, by chance, six years later.

Somewhere to Belong by Esselle (E)

Summary:

Once a year, all the villages that follow the way of the sun offer up one of their own to be taken to the sun god's divine temple. Kageyama Tobio, an orphan and loner, never wanted to be chosen—and until the sun god appeared, no one ever wanted to choose him, either. All Tobio wants is to find a place he fits in. What he actually gets is another story entirely.

by this time next year by reeology (T)

Summary:

"I got offers from two universities," Kageyama announces, pointing at his chest with his thumb. "I'm going to play volleyball at Keio this spring."

"You still have to pass an exam, even if it's an easy one," Takeda-sensei hurries to add, although he is beaming and bursting with pride at his fluffy little crow chick taking off to play volleyball at a university level.

"I'll pass," Kageyama says with the same kind of confidence he uses when he tells Hinata he'll get the toss to him. He looks straight at Hinata, and Hinata jerks and turns red, wondering if maybe Kageyama knew he was daydreaming about something as stupid as the way Kageyama talks to him during a game. But then Kageyama just points at him and says, "You'd better get in, too."

Hinata, stupid, naive, idiot that he is, grins wide and nods and says, "Yeah!"

He doesn't know what he's in for.

Not Alone by seconddaysea (E)

Summary:

"I'll visit you," Hinata says. "So you're not allowed to get lonely, you got it?" He turns so they're facing each other, hands warm against Tobio's back. "I'm already lonely," he replies quietly, and he presses his face against Hinata's heart, squeezing his eyes shut, because if this is a dream he doesn't want to wake up.

maps, from me to you by tothemoon (T)

Summary:

This is a (non-chronological) account of the memories they make out of millimeters.

Iwaoi

we can do better than that by spaceburgers (M)

Summary:

Oikawa and Iwaizumi go on a road trip during the summer after their high school graduation. It doesn't go as expected, but maybe that's not such a bad thing after all.

we shine like diamonds by whiitemists (T)

Summary:

Oikawa is nine when he first hears the word. The boys on the playground whisper it like it's dirty, like the way they daringly mutter the word fuck and then look over their shoulders to check their parents hadn't heard.

"You know Abe-kun from class?" they snicker, hands cupped around their mouths like they're passing along a filthy secret. "I hear his older brother is... gay."

here comes your man by newamsterdam (T)

Summary:

Iwaizumi’s left his cell phone on the bench, and while Suga keeps his gaze away from Iwaizumi the phone lights up with a new message.

Iwa-chan, it reads, Have a good day today! Good luck! <3 <3 <3

Suga chokes. It’s hard to imagine anyone calling the scowling and fierce Doctor Iwaizumi “Iwa-chan.” But marriage probably comes with all sorts of liberties.

Mrs. Iwaizumi must be quite the doting wife, Suga thinks. Delivering hand-made bentos and sending along loving messages.

No one really knows much about the new surgical resident, Doctor Iwaizumi, other than the fact that he's married. Suga's determined to find out more, and make a friend of him in the process.

just hear me out by loveclouds (T)

Summary:

To stimulate Japan's low birthrates and take most of the guesswork out of dating, a beeper system was biologically developed in people's wrists, an audible confirmation to show romantic compatibility.

Iwaizumi's beeper has been going off for Oikawa since they've been kids. Oikawa's has only ever been silent.

Call Security! by DeathBelle (T)

Summary:

Oikawa Tooru is attractive, charming, and irresistible.

He thinks so, anyway, until he meets the mall's new security guard.

In which Oikawa has a crush, Iwaizumi has no interest, and a chain of shoplifting incidents brings them together.

Bokuaka

(Don't) Touch Me by DeathBelle (E)

Summary:

Akaashi has always had an aversion to human contact, but earlier in his life it had been bearable. It isn't until his last year of high school that it becomes intolerable. By the time he enters college, any skin contact has the potential to send him spiraling into a breathtaking panic attack.

He reconnects with Bokuto in college, and he seems to be the only person with the ability to calm Akaashi down. He finds himself relying on his old captain more and more, especially when Bokuto deems himself Akaashi's own personal guardian. Despite their connection, he can't touch Bokuto, either; no matter how badly he'd like to.

Upstairs by yoogiboobi (E)

Summary:

Bokuto first sees his neighbour at the supermarket, three days after he's moved into his new place.

[...]

For about a second, a heartbeat, he's met with a pair of dark, piercing eyes, with what is probably eyeliner, looking back at him. It really is just a split second before his hand knocks down three cereal boxes that hit him square in the head, effectively making him break eye contact and drop his groceries to the floor.

In which some of the first things Bokuto learns about his upstairs neighbour are the colour of his eyes and the sound of his moans.

bang! now we're even by Authoress (E)

Summary:

Akaashi only has two rules when it comes to his profession. One, complete the job as swiftly and cleanly as possible. Two, never trust anyone who smells like blood.

Rule three is to shoot Owl Eyes in the face should he ever come across him, but Akaashi never tells anyone about that one.

Crisis Converted by valiantarmor (E)

Summary:

Akaashi Keiji is just a normal cop with a penchant for getting himself into trouble, when quite suddenly he finds himself with a big promotion and a brand new partner.

But his habit of finding trouble hasn't gone away -- if anything, it's only gotten worse.

cracks in the pavement will lead you home by deusreks (M)

Summary:

Bokuto often thinks about Akaashi, especially when he’s running. It’s like his legs know where they’re supposed to take him. He grows into a habit of running a lot, just to keep that feeling going. Cracks and holes in the pavement aren’t fun to jump over if the final reward isn’t seeing Akaashi’s face.

An alternate universe with a little bit of magic and a lot of growing up.

Ushiten

died in my dreams by MTrash (Makaria) (T)

Summary:

If anyone asked Ushijima how it came to this, he wouldn’t be able to formulate a proper answer.

Ushijima likes his quiet, his order, and his solitude. That is, until a loud, talkative and a little chaotic cyber tech convinces him that that's just plain boring.

while i nodded, nearly napping (suddenly there came a tapping) by pseudoanalytics (T)

Summary:

Of course if there was one thing that could be counted on, it was Ushijima’s blunt, total honesty. “Do you think Tendou is attracted to me?”

Reon froze. “T-Tendou?”

“Yes.”

Tendou was notoriously hard to read, but Reon kind of figured that he wasn’t the type to be anything less than painfully overt with romantic affections.

“I... I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I think if Tendou was attracted to you, he would let you know,” Reon said. “I'd guess he just considers you his best friend.” He hoped his answer would satisfy whatever frenzy the guy had worked himself into so Reon could finally take advantage of his last precious hours of sleep.

But instead, Ushijima visibly deflated in front of him. “Yes. That’s what I thought too,” he said miserably.

Oh, Reon realized. Oh no...

Executive Excursion by DeathBelle (E)

Summary:

Tendou is fun, quirky, and interesting.

Ushijima is none of the above.

It's no surprise that Ushijima is drawn to Tendou's magnetic personality. What's surprising is that Tendou seems to like Ushijima, too.

With a little support from his coworkers, Ushijima decides to take a chance and ask Tendou on a date. The results are better than expected.

fascinating facts about geckos by miracleboysatori (T)

Summary:

Ushijima Wakatoshi.

That’s the coach’s name. And he’s the new biology teacher on campus, so not only is he incredibly beautiful, he's also smart as hell.

Tendou can tell he’s completely doomed.

Affection, and other Quantifiable Actions by badbavarois (T)

Summary:

(He's a monster) Ushijima Wakatoshi isn't a monster.

Misc/ Other ships

but not for spring to well up by tookumade (T) OsaSuna

Summary:

After ending a relationship with a fiancé, Suna returns home and tries to heal from heartbreak. Here, he finds friends in the form of the Miya brothers, and learns patience, forgiveness, and what happiness means to him.

the more things change by deadseasalt (E) OiKage

Summary:

“So let me get this straight. You went to the Meiji-Chuo game and saw your old crush and after watching Meiji bring Chuo to a crushing defeat, you realized you were still crushing on him big time?”

Kageyama wishes he could spit in Tsukishima’s drink. “It’s not a crush.”

Tsukishima laughs. “You poor dumb fuck.”

Third Impression by DeathBelle (E) Kuroo x Semi

Summary:

If Semi has a type, Kuroo isn't it.

After their first meeting, Semi concludes that Kuroo is smug, presumptuous, and a little too flirtatious for his own good. Their second encounter doesn't change his mind, and Semi does his best to avoid a third.

Kuroo has other ideas, and Semi finds himself tricked into an impromptu tutoring session with Kuroo himself.

It doesn't go as badly as Semi expects.

Mannequin Men by surveycorpsjean (E) BokuAkaKuroTsukki

Summary:

The modeling world is full of hungry wolves, constantly clambering over the other, snarling and desperate. They fight, and they kill, trampling over anything in their path.

In this case, Akaashi fell in love with the wolves.

Efflorescence by h_lovely (E) MatsuHana

Summary:

"Are we flirting?" "Do you want to be?"

[Efflorescence (n.) a state of blooming, flowering, and development.]

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piduai · 4 years ago

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Interview with Noda Satoru from the Golden Kamuy fanbook

sharing anywhere is fine, but please credit me.

Q: Tell me how you feel about passing 6 years of serialization. Noda: I was already serializing at the time of my debut, so I guess I’d be able to give a summary when I’m finished. I don’t really think about how many years it’s been, it’s merely a checkpoint.

Q: What made you decide to become a mangaka? Noda: I feel like I wrote it down as my goal in my yearbook back in middle school. I also wanted to become a movie director, but as a mangaka you can create the entire thing by yourself.

When Golden Kamuy just took off I was living in a tiny apartment and the postman, a young fellow and a reader of Young Jump, realized that I’m Noda Satoru. The magazine was sending me a lot of things, so it was rather obvious. “Are you the author of Golden Kamuy?”, he asked in a surprised tone while looking around the cramped entryway. I could feel feel his confusion regarding the fact that that vast Hokkaido world of the manga was being created in this modest apartment. Or maybe he just expected me to be making more money and afford a better place. Anyhow, I just thought again about how a manga can be created in even the smallest room in the universe.

Q: Who is your favorite character and why? Noda: As always, it’s Tanigaki. But well, I love all of them. I want to showcase only the best parts of them, and it hurts when I fail. For example I’m very happy that there’s a character who stirs the pot as well as Usami. He’d be Katsuo in the world of Sazae-san.

Q: Which characters are the easiest to draw, and which ones are the most difficult? Noda: Characters like Shiraishi, Tsukishima and Nagakura, they don’t have a lot of hair and even if they turn out a little ugly their faces are well-defined so it’s easy to draw. In general faces that are strongly distorted and resemble caricatures are easy. Meanwhile Asirpa, Kiroranke and Inkarmat have neat facial structures on top of wearing Ainu clothing, so they are a very high-calorie effort for me. Ogata and Kikuta are difficult too. Their faces are distinctive and I have to make them look cool too, which is wearing me out the most.

Q: Have you decided on all 24 convicts at the very start of the story? Noda: Wouldn’t I sound like a badass if I said that that I have? Anyway. There were the ones that were based off real-life Meiji era criminals, such as Shiraishi, Kumagishi Chouan or the lightning couple, and of course there was Hijikata.

Q: Tell me of a funny thing from the manga that you are fond of. Noda: Gansoku’s “Hah! ☆”. And also when Koito Jr. Was flapping his arms and legs around trying to keep himself in mid-air.

Q: Why did you decide on Otaru as the starting point? Noda: I am from Hokkaido, so I’m familiar with Otaru and Sapporo. Otaru is close to both the mountains and the sea. Sapporo used to be a swampland, it’s wide and flat and there is no sea. Otaru is a place where foreigners come and go, there are many criminals roaming around creating danger, and money is found. There aren’t many big cities in Hokkaido. There were Ainu living in Otaru but sources are scarce, however Nakagawa-sensei, the supervisor over the Ainu language, told me not to worry too much about the difference of location, so I figured it would be best to make it Otaru.

Q: Was there any real life experience you had while growing up in Hokkaido that you turned into a scenario? Noda: When I was about 19 someone I knew told me that there is a locust graveyard on a nearby mountain, which sounded so ridiculous I had to laugh in their face. Turns out it indeed was a heap of locusts and their eggs left after a locust plague, that place was the Teineyamaguchi locust mound (a real historical site). I realized I ended up using this in my story. I owe that person an apology.

Q: Was there any scene that was particularly difficult to draw? Could you elaborate on it? Noda: The time Sugimoto went against Nihei and Tanigaki. It gave me a very hard time. Who goes where and does what, how does Nihei carry Asirpa, stuff like this. I had no time to waste either, I just remember that sequence overall driving me insane.

There was also the sequence with Wilk, Sofia and Kiroranke being at Hasegawa’s photo studio. It’s really frustrating to draw something that you know will bore the readers, the story flow becomes less exciting too. I was praying for everyone to have a little more patience and keep reading, because the twist was so good.

Q: If you were to take part in the gold hunt, which group would you like to belong to? Noda: It seems that Hijikata’s group doesn’t have funding problems, and because Kadokura is there the atmosphere is relaxed too. I’d go there.

Q: If you were to find all that gold, how would you use it? Noda: No idea. Had a couple when I was younger, though.

Q: Were you planning to eventually transfer the action to Sakhalin from the very beginning of the series? Noda: Asirpa and Kiroranke have roots there, so I anticipated that the story will eventually move to Sakhalin. I also expected to have to travel to Amur river myself, but couldn’t go after all, only went as far as Khabarovsk.

I was thinking of making Sugimoto eat permafrost mammoth. There was talk of a research team or an ivory excavation team’s dog eating mammoth. However there was no reason to make Sugimoto and Co go as up north as needed for permafrost, so I scrapped the idea.

Q: Tell me something about the hardships you experienced while doing research is Sakhalin. Noda: It was tough, but fun. I was only able to understand the clear differences between Nivkh and Orok people by going there; I couldn't by only looking at records and materials while in Japan.

Complete unrelated, but I was surprised by how many stray dogs wander around there. One time my cameraman and I ended up being chased by one while looking for a factory and we had to run for it. The beast was big, about the size of a German Shepherd. The guide also warned us about junkies, it was really scary.

I also went to the Japanese military pillbox over 50th parallel north and prayed at a cenotaph deep in the mountains. I met a group of Japanese people in the hotel by the place where it's said you can still find remains of Japanese soldiers and their driver, a Russian, seemed to help with collection of the remains on the regular. He said that he's doing it out of reverence, even as a former enemy. As a Japanese, I felt gratitude. The 7th Division are villains in my story, but I don't have any personal bias against either side.

Q: What were the biggest differences between drawing Hokkaido and Sakhalin? Noda: Well... it's Russia. Even though Sakhalin is so close, it's already Europe. The structure of houses is strikingly different. There's also the differences between Hokkaido Ainu and Sakhalin Ainu, and differences between Orok and Nivkh people. There is no manga that will conveniently lay the differences of those down for you.

It seems that the Orok and Nivkh's relation with Japan only got more difficult by the beginning of Showa era, there is only one person in the whole of Japan who can supervise on the Orok language. The professors in cultural studies I consult for Golden Kamuy are truly top-level; not only are they tremendously knowledgeable, they also understand how important to me is to stay impartial.

The wildlife, as well. There's a biogeographical boundary between Hokkaido and Sakhalin, observing animals I would never be able to see in Hokkaido was riveting.

Q: Did Sugimoto really have a hidden plan during the whole stenka business? Noda: No idea. Even if he used it as a pretext to get everyone involved, though... cut him some slack. He's only a man. Sometimes he just wants to fight and win. Not for Ume-chan or Asirpa-san, just for the sake of proving to himself that he's strong.

Q: Your art is dynamic and detailed. I think your style changed quite a bit with time, though. How would you describe yourself as an artist? Noda: I want to preface this by saying that in no way do I think of myself as more skilled than other mangaka, but if you're drawing everyday for more than 10 hours you're going to improve a lot eventually, whether you want it or not. People who are able to keep the same style for years without change are the ones who are impressive, because it means that they achieved the peak of their potential. Ageing and health problems influence your art a lot, you know. I try to draw by observing. I use a lot of references. Drawing by memory alone is not a good thing.

Speaking of other artists, I once had one of the assistants I had working for me for years draw me a door knob from memory, and the result was a truncated cone resembling pre-packaged pudding. The actual shape of a door knob has an intricately angular circular shape. It's the result of being unobservant in everyday life. Good art requires constant observation.

Q: What was the foundation for your style? Is there an artist you were influenced or inspired by? Noda: Araki Hirohiko-sensei, for sure. During my time as an assistant, many authors told me to not even try to be original when it comes to battle abilities, it's already been done in JoJo, it has it all. He's kind of the Beatles of this industry, isn't he?

By the way, I usually have no intention of parodying JoJo in Golden Kamuy, but my friends will tell me that they identified this or that reference from time to time. I read Part 1 about 30 years ago but I was obsessed, so maybe some things were just left in my subconscious. I only did one obvious parody, during the stenka fight. Funnily enough that trope started in Fist of the North Star, though, not JoJo.

Q: What's one thing that gives you the most motivation to write? Noda: Fan letters. I know how straining it is to write long and neat sentences by hand, and am thankful for them. I'm happy that people go that far to share their thoughts about my work with me. I'm really grateful to the people who keep reading and supporting Golden Kamuy.

Q: Did you have an interest in Ainu culture before starting the series? Noda: I did not. I'll be glad if my work makes people interested in the Ainu. Prejudice is born out of ignorance, so if you want to learn about the Ainu, don't limit yourself to Hokkaido only; there are museums all around Japan, and they have knowledgeable curators. It's important to remember to take into account the time period and the occupation of the person on which the research materials are based when you're trying to learn about the subject.

Q: You showed us a lot of aspects of life during Meiji and Taisho eras. Tell us about what surprised or impressed you in the process of research. Noda: It's not that I was particularly knowledgeable, so having to check every single thing was quite exhausting. The Ainu, the military, katanas - all of these needed research on my part.

There are more regulations and rules set for things out there than one could assume, and mangaka who base their works on real life need to be especially careful about this. You have to take into account things like the size of the buttons on a military uniform, how a tea cup is held, and and how different people talk in different ways. For movies there's staff working on costumes and props, there's the cast, there are screenwriters, but in a manga you are the one responsible for every single detail. I wish I had a time machine and travel back to those eras. There are things I couldn't get right here and there that I keep having regrets about.

Q: Golden Kamuy was the main visual in the British Museum manga exhibition between May and August in 2019. I know you went there in person. How was it? Noda: The trip felt like a reward for all of my efforts. The exhibition is jam-packed by opening time, but I got special treatment and they let me inside early in the morning so I could walk around the vast British Museum in solitude. I also travelled between Jack the Ripper's crime scenes at night by taxi.

The driver in a taxi I caught by chance was wonderful, she looked up photos of the crime scenes and surroundings taken at the time of investigation on her smartphone and showed them to me one by one, saying things like "the third victim was found here!".

I've always had a soft spot for Jack the Ripper, back in middle school I even wrote a screenplay for a school festival stage and played him in it myself. It was done in very poor taste, like that one scene in the Addams Family movie where there are arms blown away and fountains of blood gushing out. The audience loved it.

Q: Please leave a message for the readers. Or maybe some advice for the troubled youth. Noda: I want people to say that everyone in Golden Kamuy had a satisfying ending, and I want that for everyone involved more than anything. As for advice for the troubled youth, there's none. Life is survival of the fittest. The weak ones get eaten.

#golden kamuy #noda satoru #translation #i feel burnt out

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mintsuke · 4 years ago

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Forelsket | 6 - No Part of It

Tsukishima Kei x f!Reader smau

Note: Someone should really dry their hair when leaving the showers instead of letting it drip all over the floor.

Disclaimer: I evidently don’t know the physics of falling so I apologize AHA. Also a little cliché I’m sorry.

A/N: I kept second guessing myself with this part, I rewrote the certain scene like five times before finally leaving it as is jfaslfal. Anyways... Thank you for the comments in the last part 🥺🥺 love love you all <3

Masterlist | Previous | Next

“Are you sure you don’t want to join in on extra practice? Bokuto won’t shut up about you.”

You sneak a glance at the spiky-haired male in question, waving when he brightens at your attention and is nearly jumping out of his shoes on the other side of the net. His dark haired setter is sighing and trying to calm him down with no avail.

“He saw me dig and spike a ball once and now he wants to fight me any chance he gets,” you sigh at Kuroo as you hand him a towel and a water bottle, “I’m okay, I swear.”

He smiles in thanks, patting his forehead before taking a generous swig of the bottle you had refilled beforehand. The tall middle blocker pouts and you make a face in disgust at his attempt at being cute. “It’s the last night of the training camp, come on!”

“Nope!” You say with finality as you walk away to collect the empty bottles from the other boys.

Yaku slaps his hand over the boy’s back and snickers, “I like her even more now!”

Instead of responding, Kuroo frowns more seriously to his and Nobuyuki’s surprise. Hazel eyes watch in concern as you chat with the other team members, before he shakes his head and turns away.

He really only wanted to take your mind off things for a bit, especially when the persistent asshole was blowing up your phone whenever he could. There would always be lingering feelings, and he knew just telling you to block him off was a hard feat. He didn’t want to see you hurt all over again.

“So I heard from Yachi that Kuroo-san doesn’t even have a girlfriend.”

Tsukishima casts his friend a weird look. Why was that relevant right now? Did he even want to pry into that annoying rooster head’s love life? No. Not really.

“And?”

“I wonder what that picture was about then,” Yamaguchi ponders without falter, ignoring the slight snap in his friend’s tone, “Ahh they even looked cute together during the camp, love really is dead.” The shorter makes a mock teary frown, feigning a hand pressing into his temple.

Without trying, Tsukishima can feel the irritation building up, his brow twitching at the continued talk of romance. He just couldn’t get away from it, could he?

“Glad you’ve finally realized it,” the blonde agrees monotonously.

The shorter slumps at the former’s curt response, although expecting it nonetheless. “Come on Tsukki, you don’t think about having a girlfriend to cook for you and dote on you?” The thought makes the boy smile dreamily; receiving bento from her and going on cute dates, the thoughts make his freckled cheeks blossom.

Tsukishima scoffs.

“Sounds like a mother, I evidently already have one.”

At that, Yamaguchi pouts, shoulders sagging slightly, “Tsukki...”

“I don’t need any of that,” He retorts with a frown, “Just stop talking to me about those stuff. I’m serious. The idiots won’t shut up about it, I don’t need you pestering me as well.”

The boy zips his mouth shut, frowning at his friend as the two neared the stairwell. It was more notably quiet between the two now, Tsukishima still annoyed over constantly being pestered about dating and such.

He didn’t understand. What was the point of dating? Why waste your time and emotions on a person that was bound to hurt you in the end? Why let yourself be so vulnerable, making it easier for them to manipulate and hurt you? If it was going to be like that, he wanted no part of it.

Moreover, how could those girls even claim to like him? They’ve never talked to him before. He didn’t even know they existed. So how could they even develop those kind of silly feelings?

Stupid, he thinks harshly as they take a sharp turn towards the stairs, his expression twisted into a taut frown. Delusional.

He hadn’t been paying attention until his foot slipped out from under him at a particularly wet spot on one of the steps, sending him falling down the stairs. The world goes turning as his back and elbow land on the hard stairs while his body is still falling down quickly.

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi gasps as the person at the foot of the stairs gets knocked over in result, much like a bowling pin.

You had been heading towards the second floor after finishing cleaning the cafeteria. Staring at your phone, the screen bright and illuminating the dark of the hallway, you glared down at the constant phone calls and incessant text messages from your ex.

Fear and hurt filled your chest. This was exactly why you needed this summer break to recuperate. Kuroo, however, was right, you were safer here, where he and Kenma can watch you. Chances are, he would’ve continued to stalk you or wait around your home, and that scared you.

Being around boys was still taxing, and you really needed some much needed distance from the male gender. After two years of what used to be love and warmth, that had very quickly become manipulative and cold, maybe love just wasn’t for you. If relationships were going to be like that, you wanted no part of it.

Maybe I should just block him, you think anxiously as you let another call get sent to voicemail. You refused to listen to any of the voicemails he left, his chilling and authoritative voice would have done anything and everything to coax you into running back with your tail between your legs. He knew how to make you bend, and perhaps that’s why you still hesitate to block him out entirely.

Two long years.

Trust me (F/n), you can’t live without me. You need me. Stop being selfish. I’ll get angry. You apparently like making me angry, I guess.

You shake your head as you rise up the staircase, turning the corner to head up the second half of the flight of stairs.

Kuroo had mentioned dating someone else to take your mind off of him but that just wasn’t possible. Love was just not it for you apparently.

You sigh before you hear the call of a name, and a shout to get out of the way stupid, but you have yet to register who or what as a body collides with you and your legs are swiped from under your weight. It sends you falling forward as a result. Your eyes widen in shock as you reach out wildly to smack your palms onto the first few steps to stop from potentially slamming your face into the stairs.

Toppled in a heap of limbs, one body over the other, at the foot of the stairs, you both wince at the peculiar jolt of electricity that crackles between the two of you, your lips pressed firmly over his.

Wait. What? You blink in a mild haze at the rush of events.

Blinking slowly, your mind barely catches up to the sudden lack of distance between your face and this stranger. The two of you have yet to fully register the connection between your lips before you both stiffen and pull away instantly in a fit of flustered blushes and looking away out of sheer embarrassment.

“Oh my God! Tsukki!” Yamaguchi exclaims, bounding down to you both, face fallen in fear for his dear friend.

The blonde sits up with a wince, fixing his glasses on the bridge of his nose, noting the ache in his backside from falling down the stairs like a landslide.

“Shut up, I’m fine.”

He glances down at you on his lap, raising an eyebrow as you blink up at him in shock.

“Hey, if you’re okay, then get up already, will you?”

The realization doesn’t seem to settle right away, before your eyes widen momentarily as you scramble off.

“S-sorry!” You stammer, feeling the heat rise to your cheeks. Wow, he was really pretty. Blonde hair and honey colored eyes under glasses? A recipe for any girl’s undoing.

“Whatever, if you paid attention, you could’ve avoided this dumbass.”

Ah.

Nevermind.

“Sorry...” you say again, although slightly irked by his snide remark. Why was he being rude? It was an accident, was it not? He was the one who collided with you, was he not?!

“Stop staying sorry, stupid, can you not listen?” He snaps back, just as irritably.

“Okay... sorry,” You say out of habit, and he gazes back at you in mild annoyance and confusion.

He scoffs, saying nothing else as he stands. You were almost expecting too much as he doesn’t move to offer you a hand. His friend, however, scrambles to help you up.

“I’m sorry for him, are you okay?” he asks quickly, eyes checking everywhere for any visible discomfort from the fall, “Ah! You’re Nekoma’s manager!”

You wave your hand in dismissal, “Don’t worry about it, he must be having a rough day, huh? Also, yes, I’m only a temp though, because Tetsu wouldn’t stop pestering me.”

Tsukishima glares back at you, “I wasn’t the airhead who couldn’t understand get out of the way when told.”

“Maybe you should watch out where you walk from now on?” You retort, completely tired of his attitude, “Aren’t you a first year too? Maybe you should learn some manners as well when talking to your elders.” The dark haired boy covers his mouth to hide the small snort at your tenacity. Not many girls, or at all, fight back against Tsukishima’s foul mouth. The only girls he ever treats tolerably is Shimizu and Yachi, given that they are the team’s managers.

“Hah?” he exclaims back, equally as surprised as his friend, but less amused as he meets your glare.

His mouth opens to insult you when your phone, having also met the fate of suddenly being knocked over, rings obnoxiously. You find it had clattered on the floor from the sudden impact, with thankfully just a small scratch on the screen protector. Thank you phone cases, you inwardly thought as you picked up the vibrating device.

You half expect it to be him again, when you see “Tetsu” light up your screen. A small smile graces your lips, a stark contrast from the annoyed frown from just moments earlier.

“Well, excuse me, sorry once again.”

The expression makes the blonde perk slightly, eyes widening for a fraction of a second as you bow slightly to the two and take your leave up the stairs.

When your footsteps fade away, Yamaguchi lets out a huge sigh and feels his shoulders deflate. “Ah Tsukki... you didn’t need to be so mean,” he says as they resume their trek down the stairs, “She was kinda cute, don’t you think?”

“I think you mean kinda dumb,” He mumbles, looking away to hide the way his ears tinge a shade of pink. You were cute, but he wasn’t about to admit that out loud. You were so soft, and that smile, it makes his chest hurt. He can still smell the lingering scent of your shampoo. The lingering feel of your shared kiss.

Closing his eyes briefly, he willed away those foolish thoughts.

Biting his lip, he wondered what that electrifying sensation was. Static? Maybe. He wasn’t sure. Was kissing normally supposed to feel like that?

Shaking his head, there was no thinking too hard about it or you. Just as you explained that you were only a temporary manager, there was a high chance he’d never have to butt heads with you again.

+Taglist | Open! (Send an ask or comment! | Comment replies from my main @minnochu)

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sz-amare · 4 years ago

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9. “Hard Work” BS

One of the most frequently explored themes in shōnen anime is the concept of hard work vs. natural talent. It is one of my favorites, and it excites me to see how an anime portrays its message on the matter. The general concept that you can surpass anyone with rigorous and strict hard work is very inspiring to the younger demographic, myself included. However, there are many instances where an anime will try to tackle this concept but will either fail or ironically contradict their themes without realizing it. Naruto and Black Clover are the first ones that come to mind, but several others do the same. Although, there is one anime I love that tackles the idea, without really trying to, and succeeds. And that is Haikyuu.

Starting with an anime that fails to portray the message of hard work, we have Black Clover. Now I know I bashed Black Clover in the previous post, but once again, I give criticism is where criticism is due. But to make it up to the Black Clover fans, I will try my best to make an analysis/review on Black Clover in the near future, talking about what it does right and what it does better than most. Anyway, in the world of Black Clover, there are three basic regions in the Clover kingdom. We have the Forsaken Realm, the Common Realm, and the Noble Realm. Nobles in Black Clover tend to have a high affinity for magic and live in the Nobel Realm, while commoners and peasants live in the Forsaken Realm, having a low magic affinity. The Common Realm is between the two; people who live there have average status and average affinity for magic.

Asta lives in the Forsaken Realm, meaning he is a commoner. As I mentioned in a previous post, the main reason Asta wants to become the wizard king is to prove that peasants can become the most powerful mage and thus remove discrimination against them. The only way he can prove this is by working harder than anyone else. The only issue is, Asta is nothing like a regular commoner. As a matter of fact, he is nothing like your average human. He is possessed by a devil that gives him anti-magic abilities, which gives him an edge over people with powerful magical abilities. So… even if Asta became the wizard king, can we really say that other commoners have the potential to become the wizard king as well? No. We can’t. Now yes, Asta did train harder than everyone else in his respective series. Fun fact, if you look at physical strength alone and ignore magical abilities, Asta is the second strongest character in the world of Black Clover. But unfortunately, he doesn’t rely on his physical strength along, but on his anti-magic and devil abilities almost no one else has. His hard work is real and very admirable, but the theme of hard work does not play out with his character’s message, and I find that to be a major flaw.

If you thought the theme of hard work vs. natural talent was badly portrayed in Asta’s character, prepare yourself for Naruto. Before I start, I want you to understand that in Naruto, there are a couple of examples where I think the theme is beautifully explored. Lee vs. Gara is an excellent example, and in this case, hard work loses. Might Guy’s character alone is brilliant to this theme. To think that he was one of the greatest fighters the whole time, but even we, the audience, looked down on him, thinking he was not as strong as some of the Akatsuki, simply because he only used taijutsu.

But there is one example where the series not only falls short but miserably fails to the point where I feel embarrassed. And that is Naruto vs. Neji.

During the Chuinin exams, we see Neji as one of the most powerful forces that Naruto will probably have to face off against in the future. Neji was born in one of the strongest clans, the Hyuga, resulting in him having an overpowerd ability, the byakugan. Then we have Naruto, who has been an underdog his entire life. He was also discriminated against because of the demonic Nine-Tails Fox that was trapped in his body. Naruto was one of the weakest contenders in the exams, but he believed that he would beat Neji, the second most talented contender there, through his hard work. Neji was also spouting some destiny bull crap that Naruto promised his hard work would also defy. But anyway, during the fight, nothing much was happening other than trading fists and philosophies between the two. When the fight starts to get interesting, Naruto asks the Nine-Tails Fox for chakra, giving him a massive boost, resulting in his victory.

I’m sorry, what?! How can you spout some hard work non-sense for over a dozen episodes, claiming that your hard work would trump someone’s natural abilities but end up using an overpowered ability, unique to you, to prove that point? That is completely self-contradictory. It would have been fascinating to see Naruto realize that the only way he won was because of his unique abilities, resulting in him understanding that although he won the physical fight, he lost the battles of ideals. This would spark development where Naruto now understood, or at least began to believe, that natural talent is overall superior but mixed with a lot of hard work, you could become the strongest. That is precisely why Naruto is the strongest at this point. But no, Naruto took pride in the battle he “won,” even though he completely contradicted himself. Later on in the series, we even learn that Naruto is a part of a clan stronger than the Hyuga, the Uzumaki. So technically, Naruto was never inferior to Neji. This mistake is laughable.

For the anime I believe they tackled the theme of hard work vs. natural talent in one of the most unique ways, we have the volleyball anime, Haikyuu. One of my favorite parts in the series is when Kageyama and Tsukishima receive special training while Hinata is nothing more than a ball boy. Hinata has already proved his hard work through his jumping height and speed, but this arc proved something slightly different from the usual. While Hinata’s two rivals are getting special training, he feels the desperation to train so that he doesn’t fall behind in skill. As a result, he tries to join one of the camps to receive the same special training one of his rivals is receiving. He then understands his rudeness for joining uninvited. As a form of an apology, he starts picking up stray balls after they go out of bounds. While two of his rivals are working hard, he is a ball boy. His feelings of desperation slowly rise, but he can’t do anything about it.

After talking to a couple of people, he begins to understand that he can take advantage of his position. He spends each moment staring at the other volleyball players who are training, observing what they are doing to learn something. Basically, while his rivals are working hard in a special training program not many people get, Hinata works hard to find training – working hard at special training vs. working hard to receive training, if you will. He takes advantage of his dire situation and uses it to learn all sorts of things.

Looking now at the end of season four, we can see the fruits of Hinata’s labor finally shine. He perfectly receives multiple crucial spikes and starts to seem like a well-rounded player. After Kageyama, it felt like Hinata deserved the title of MVP for the first time.

In general, I don’t think that failing to deliver a great message through the theme of hard work vs. natural talent will make or break an anime. But when that theme is an essential part of a message you want to portray or pertains to a big part of an arc, failing to deliver can create significant inconsistencies and dial down the quality of an anime as a whole in some viewers’ eyes. Asta’s whole goal should be obtained through the means of hard work alone; otherwise, it creates cracks in the logic of his message. When hard work vs. natural talent is a reoccurring theme in Naruto for about 40 episodes and creates a contradictory ending to the theme, it will cause significant dissatisfaction to the audience who resonated with it. I love the general concept of themes, but when dealing with one, always bring a good closing to it to flesh out the elements of your story and so you don’t turn off your audience.

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chibivesicle · 4 years ago

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Golden Kamuy chapters 251 and 252 - rumble in the brewhouse

These chapters show the beginning of the mess that is happening inside of and outside of the Sapporo brewery. Or as I’d like to colloquially call it Abashiri 2.0. Chapter 251 is a color cover page featuring Tsukishima and Koito. Let’s just take a second to look at this page. I personally love this cover page and as the manga has continued many of you know that I’ve warmed up to Koito since Karafuto.

Both men a surrounded by items related to them. For Tsukishima there is the bag that Edogai made, his bathhouse supplies, one of Koito’s trunks, various firearms, a grenade like the one he threw at Abashiri, a bayonet and lots of shells and military packs and bags. On Koito’s side there are his menko, umbrella from the circus, his childhood motorbike, saber, an anpan and his photos.

What I find interesting is that some of Koito’s items are from his past and are related to Tsukishima as one of his kidnappers while other items are present Koito. In contrast, all of Tsukishima’s items are from the current timeline and events in the manga, but not from his past, e.g. not hair from his fiancee.

One of the question posed on the cover is asking if ‘love’ is found on the battlefield which really gets back to Tsurumi’s epiphany about the power of love and how he uses that to create his super loyal men on the battlefield. Looking at both of them I read it as Koito looking forward to perhaps finding his own ‘love’ and purpose as he stands in a stiff and serious pose. Meanwhile, Tsukishima looks down, his eyes shaded and his hands in his coat pocket. It seems that Tsukishima may be reflecting on all of his past deeds on and off of the battlefield. This makes sense to me since Tsukishima has much more experience than Koito.

We also know that since both me disobeyed Tsurumi’s orders in regard to Tanigaki and Inkarmat, they have tied each other together in their independence from being total Tsurumi loyalists. Well enough about the cover, let’s get into the action.

The chapter starts with Sugimoto leading Asirpa and Shiraishi towards Ushiyama, Kadokura and Kirawus. Sugimoto boldly claims that they need to hurry since Kadokura and Kirawus are unreliable and useless. Burn.

Noda quickly updates us on everyone’s locations while Usami meets his match in Ushiyama.

It is clear that Hijikata’s group is now at a disadvantage as the other groups are running opposite of Jack. Sugimoto comments on Usami trying to fire a rifle at Ushiyama, and the others rush even more quickly to the location.

Usami, quickly realizes that Ushiyama is no man to be trifled with and he drops the rifle in favor of judo. The situation only becomes worse as Ushiyama has a moment of thought in the heat of conflict to ask Kadokura to confirm Usami’s identity. Good job Ushiyama!

Kadokura of course confirms he’s working for Tsurumi and at that point Tsukishima, Kikuta, Koito and Nikaido arrive. Again, Kikuta is the one in charge as he orders them to step away from Usami. Tsukishima has his rifle already drawn and Kikuta has his pair of revolvers ready. This really shows that the 27th is ready for action.

The next page has Koito taking charge, telling the others to stand down so that he can attach with his saber and prevent the chances of friendly fire hitting Usami.

I don’t think Koito is being an idiot rushing in without thinking in this instance. Instead, he’s thinking of the best course of action with the ‘safest’ option to try to help Usami without harming him. The fact that he makes his order and then gives a rational reason tells me that Koito is becoming more mature in how he thinks about things. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know that Ushiyama is no some normal guy. It is Nikaido who advises against close combat and Koito doesn’t even manage to get that close as Tsukishima tells him to dodge as he can see that Usami is about to get tossed into the air.

The next page is a repeat of Ushiyama’s ability to toss people long distances. Recall that back when Hijikata first recruited him to join his faction, he tossed a naked prostitute through the air in a similar fashion. Tsukishima’s warning is enough for Koito to show his athletic abilities and we are even given a slow motion panel of Koito looking at Usami’s face.

I think this shows that Koito and Tsukishima have reached a better level of communication between the two characters. I think if this were back before Karafuto, the timing would have been off and instead of avoiding the UFO (Usami Flying Object) Koito instead would have been taken out by Usami. But he doesn’t get hit by Usami, he’s able to dodge and they are able to quickly recover to pursue Ushiyama, who smartly jumps into the brewery to escape knowing he’s outnumbered since they have rifles and revolvers. This was a situation that could have backfired, but it worked out well as there is good cohesion between Tsukishima and Koito.

With Ushiyama’s escape, Kikuta takes charge again. The fact that Tsukishima has been working with him on and off for a long time likely means that he respects Kikuta as a strategist. We’ve seen indications that Kikuta thinks quickly on his feet and has good basic urban combat knowledge. The failing of Tsukishima, Koito and Kikuta is an inability to reign in Usami.

They saved him fro Ushiyama and ran into the brewery while he gets up on his own and with his bayonet targets his favorite tanuki, Kadokura. It is clear that Usami’s obsession with Kadokura goes completely against his current orders from Tsurumi to catch Jack. For a man who was dedicated to catching him to show his worth to Tsurumi to receive his love, it is clear his love of Kadokura overrides that. Could it be that Kadokura is Usami’s Tsurumisexuality kryptonite?

The adrenaline filled chapter continues with our dapper convict approaching the wee babe Kantarou. Hijikata’s aura is strong enough (indicated by that intense screentone action!) that Jack turns and Kantarou stands up to slow down his escape.

Kantarou is slashed by him, but by slowing him, Hijikata is able to pull up his Winchester and aim at the killer. As a result, Hijikata proves to be an accurate shot hitting him in the left shoulder and takes a few more shots before he escapes around a corner. Hijikata orders Nagakura to launch their firework. This is similar to Abashiri where an artificial light source leads to downstream effects for various players. First off, the result is confusion. Sugimoto is confused and Shiraishi wonders what is happening. Boutarou asks for clarification for the direction of the killer and Toni makes it clear that the gunfire was Hijikata’s, he suggests that they split up. The firework also shows us the location of Vasily.

He’s on a roof with his mosin-nagant ready and looking through his binoculars in search of Ogata. The next page is a dramatic zoom in on a fire watchtower. Thanks to @goldenkamuyhunting updating me on the information from @osomanga that this is a fire watchtower. I had been looking for what it was and the best guess I had come up with was an early grain elevator due to the double roof and the location near the brewery. I thought this was a decent guess since most of the agricultural development was driven by Americans in Hokkaido and the wooden grain elevator was once a hallmark of a huge portion of North America. Noda uses classic manga techniques to zoom in on Ogata’s location from Vasily’s point of view to show that he’s spotted his target.

This creates dramatic tension indicating that Ogata is potentially in trouble as he’s been spotted by Vasily and he’s instead paying attention to the action on the ground. Gasp! Ogata is in danger! Of course, I wasn’t worried since, well Ogata is a main character and Vasily isn’t exactly fighting fair for their ‘rematch’ that Ogata isn’t really even aware of.

Hijikata checks in with Kantarou, as he quickly bandages his forehead to stop the blood from running onto his face. Hijikata is proud of him and gives him words of encouragement that he isn’t the type of man to turn his back in battle. Of course he tells him to follow him and Kantarou is beaming in pride and excitement!

We don’t see enough of Kantarou, but I’m honestly proud of him here. He’s a capable gangster, and is becoming more than just a gangster. I mean his eyes are almost sparkling and the screentone behind him is sparkling. I hope Kantarou doesn’t meet an unfortunate end, he’s a solid guy.

Sugimoto, Asirpa and Shiraishi catch up to Kirawus finally who must have hung back and wasn’t noticed by the 7th. Sugimoto of course charges into the building with Asirpa following close behind as indicated on the next page. Sadly, Kirawus isn’t fast enough to get Sugimoto and Asirpa to pause and he only is able to finally tell Shiraishi that there are five soldiers in there.

Of course Shiraishi is concerned and by time he enters, he’s become separated form Sugimoto and Asirpa as he tries to find them and warns them the 7th is inside. Only after some time does Asirpa realize Shiraishi is missing. Yep, excellent leadership skills there Sugimoto. You can’t even keep your party together!

Sugimoto has his rifle ready as he thinks perhaps he’s found Shiraishi. But of course not! It is Nikaido and he’s ready to kill Sugimoto as Sugimoto aims his rifle with his eyes white with murder intent.

All in all this was an epic failure of so many levels. Shiraishi the brains of their team is lost, Asirpa blindly followed Sugimoto and now he’s up against a man who is beyond obsessed with killing him.

Tumblr started to be weird so, I’ll have to split this meta into two parts. Sometimes it can’t deal with images . . .

#golden kamuy #golden kamuy meta #sugimoto saichi #ASIRPA #Shiraishi Yoshitake #hijikata toshizo #nagakura shinpachi #kantarou #kirawus #kadokura #Usami Tokishige #ushiyama tatsuma #nikaido #warrant officer kikuta #tsukishima hajime #koito otonoshin #ogata hyakunosuke #vasily #boutarou the pirate

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scorpiosanssexy · 4 years ago

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hellohello can i pls request a roommate matchup? basic details: libra, enfp-a, slytherin likes: volleyball (im a D1 athlete) and music dislikes: cooking living habits: can bake but not cook, somewhat an early riser (8-9am), visitors occasionally, and not super organized but always clean hobbies: volleyball, playing piano misc: allergic to dogs, but i love cats

Dear User,

congratulations, we have found you a potential roommate. We have throughly looked through your application and we hope you are happy with your result. Below this post are all the details about them.

Yours Sincerely

The Accommodation Team

Name: Miya Atsumu Birthday: 5th October (Libra) MBTI: ENTP

I headcanon Atsumu to be in Slytherin as well so I imagine you are both have big plans for the future and you help each other grow as people.

Also you are both as snarky as eachother, sometimes when someone is being a dramatic you both look at each other like you are in the office

Not that you’re any better atsumu

Being a Libra you are naturally very charming and sweet and Atsumu defienetely would apprcieate this about you because he is normally a grump

You generally cheer up when he is having a shitty day

anyway also joint parties too!!! ( he would rather share his birthday with you than his brother lol)

He most definetely likes to flirt and tease you but you either completely oblvious or absolutely roasts the living day lights out of him.

Osumu loves it

He comes to you for girl advice tho and you help him becoming a little less intimidating

Atsumu loves the fact you play volleyball at quite a high level

He loves to train with you at weekends, if you are a wing spiker it’s a bonus because he loves setting to all different type of player

When he comes to your matches, he 100% starts to coach you like he can’t help himself. He gives you pointers

He also tries to piss the other team off (eg: making loud noises when they are serving etc...)

You both go out shopping to buy volleyball trainers and equipement together

Also you go to all his games, because he forces you whaaaat

Now when it comes to your piano playing at first he will hate it

but if you keep persistently playing he soon grows to love it

like if he comes home from a hard day at practice and he doesn’t hear the music, then like a over dramatic hoe he is he demands that you play, (his personal fave is Claude Debussy)

He secretly thinks it’s really cool

Now Atsumu hypes him self up to be a really great cook but the only thing this man can make his favourite - fatty tuna

Unless you want to be eating this for the rest of your life I suggest you turn to his good friend or should i say brother Osamu

yeah he pities you too so he comes around cooks for you, which you are forever grateful for whilst Atsumu just broods in the cornor

Thanks your natural people skills, the brothers are slowly becoming friends

Now I don’t see Atsumu as a sweet tooth kinda guy, definetly more savory

but one day you made a green tea cake (for your friend) and you caught him eating it

Thanks to him, you can now also bake some savoury goods which he loves to have during his off seasons

Osamu heard about your infamous green tea cake and now demands you make it for their birthday every year

Atsumu is also the same when it comes to keeping a tidy space, like things are all put away but it is no where near organised.

You too do sometimes lose things quite a lot but it always turns up eventually

You have lots of funny stories because of it.

*kita signing in the distance*

Now Atsumu is one the lasiest mf i know

Every morning at 8am you blast the radio to get him out of bed

He says he hates it but let’s be honest without that wake up call he would be very late all the time

It is the only way to wakeup him ,you have tried pulling the blinds open and pulling the blankets off him but he is an incrediably deep sleeper

Now i headcanon as well that Atsumu is not really a fan of animals especially dogs ( i am sorry to any dog lover rn)

so he is cool with you being allergic because he doesn’t like them too much either so you just avoid being around them

However, when you suggested getting a cat he was horrified

but he eventually warms up to the idea, cats are more independant than dogs so Atsumu can still concentrate on his volleyball without having to worry too much about the pet

You have a photo of him cuddling the cat awww

Overall, you have a funny, intelligent but slightly grumpy roommate

Other Potential Matches: Kuroo Tetsurou and Tsukishima Kei

thank you for your patience

#haikyuu matchup #haikyuu roommate #haikyuu roommate matchup #atusmu miya #atsumu x reader #atsumu fluff #inarizaki #home is where the heart is

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akaashisupremacy · 4 years ago

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Spring Showers

Summary: What’s it like to be in a relationship with Kei Tsukishima, who is now in college?

Genre and pairing: Tsukki x fem!reader/Oc , FLUFF, Slice of life??

Notes: Kaori Miyahara is an original character, but readers are free to put themselves into her shoes!

Read the other instalments Chap.1 (Ao3) || Chap. 2 (AO3) || Chap. 3 (A03) || Chap. 4 (A03) || Chap. 5 (A03) || Chap. 6||

6:00 PM || Amemaru Junior High || Miyagi Prefecture

“Tsukki…are you alright? You look upset.” said Yamaguchi, “You’ve been pissed all day.”

Practice had just ended when Yamaguchi finally broached him on his sour mood.

“It’s been a long week,” Tsukishima muttered distractedly.

Yamaguchi was not convinced. He had been best friends with Tsukki since before Junior High. Something was definitely bothering him. They left their school gym to begin walking home.

Halfway through their route, Tsukki finally opened up.

“I overheard one of our classmates was going to ask for Kaori’s number during graduation next month.” His lips were pursed into a tense line.

Kaori Miyahara was Tsukki’s next door neighbor, who moved to the prefecture at the start of Junior High. She competed as a gymnast. He walked to school with her every morning and she was his only other friend really. Tsukki found her bothersome at first but lately he was slowly growing attracted to her.

Yamaguchi resisted the urge to chuckle. Despite Tsukki’s intimidating stature, he was a jealous softy at heart.

“Doesn’t mean Kaori will actually give him her number.” shrugged Yamaguchi. As their third year in Junior High was coming to a close, Yamaguchi had gotten better at consoling Tsukki’s anxieties about her.

“But what if she does?” Tsukki persisted.

Yamaguchi stopped at his tracks and crossed his arms, “Then maybe you should make a move.”

Tsukki shook his head, “She doesn’t like me that way. I would know if she did. Besides, she told me that she didn’t want a boyfriend. Gymnasts that get boyfriends either quit gymnastics or leave their boyfriends. I don’t want her to quit on me or her sport.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about. If she’s not interested at all, even if she gives him her number, nothing will happen.”

They continued walking. He caught a hint of Tsukki’s smile creeping on the edge of his lips.

“I guess you’re right.” he said.

They reached the intersections that separated their homes. Right across the street was Kaori, on her way home from her gym.

“See you next week,” bade Yamaguchi with a knowing smile. Tsukki shot him a glare. Kaori walked by his side, her hair was out of her usual braid. They rarely walked home together. Tsukki tried to keep his nerves down.

“Are you nervous for your competition tomorrow?” he asked casually.

“Little bit,” she mumbled, “I just want to pace myself. My back is taped up again.” She pulled down a bit of her neckline to show him the athletic tape that snaked until her shoulders. They walked in silence.

Kaori nudged him with her hip, “You’ll come see me tomorrow right?”

“Tch, I told you we’ll be visiting my brother at the city tomorrow…” he trailed. Kaori could not hide her disappointment. He hated to see her dejected, “But it’s only for lunch. We should be done by early afternoon, I’ll go to the Sendai City Gymnasium when we’re done.”

She perked up and smiled. He smiled back. He could never help himself with her.

Tsukki secretly loved it when she handed him competition tickets. It made him feel special because she didn’t give them out to just anyone. He used to keep her tickets in his wallet but later transferred them to an old cookie tin on his desk when his wallet became too tight.

It doesn’t take too much to make him cheer him up. Tickets and her smile were enough.

—————————————————————————————

5:00 PM || Sendai University Gym || Second Year in University, Last Semester

Kei Tsukishima beelined for the gymnasium of the rhythmic gymnastics team. He had just come from his own game with the Sendai frogs, which meant he’d missed Kaori’s last competition of the season. Instead he received updates through Yamaguchi and the inter-collegiate score page. Yachi occasionally chimed in on their group chat.

Kaori’s team placed fourth, just one slot away from qualifying into the National Collegiate Championships. Even though she held the high score for two events, her accumulated team score fell short. As his concession, he promised to pick her up from the gym with flowers in hand.

Just as he got to the corner before the gym, he stopped, sat and waited for her from there. He texted her that he was at their meeting spot. She came for him five minutes later, looking quietly dejected.

“You’re scarily quiet,” he commented.

“I’m just so pissed.” she grunted.

Tsukki awkwardly handed her the flowers. She grudgingly accepted, looking a little scorned by the consolation bouquet. He could feel her fuming inside her head.

He gently nudged her by the waist, accidentally using more force than he realized. She instinctively shoved him back crossly.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” he said, stumbling. He tried to hide his smirk. It was rare to see her so upset.

“Tsukki stop smiling, I can see you from the corner of my eye.” she huffed.

“It’s funny to see short people pissed off,” he chuckled. She glared at him. He slung an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

The university campus was empty today. They could stand a little closer without people talking.

When her head eventually began to cool, Kaori spoke up.

“When I competed in elite, I used to hate being yelled at. I hated it when my coach pulled my hair. I hated being weighed everyday. But I thought it would all be worth it as long as I reached my goal. Why did I endure all that suffering when I’m going to fail? What was the point?” she mumbled.

The sky had grown dark and they were walking under street lights. The campus was eerily silent except for the shuffling of their footsteps.

“Maybe the point was you shouldn’t have endured all that.” he replied.

“I know…it’s days like this when I want to quit. Sometimes it’s so difficult to love this sport when you are put through a mill and you don’t even get your results.” she swallowed with a lump in her throat.

Before her last ribbon routine, Kaori was under immense pressure. One of her teammates had made a costly mistake and she herself had a slight error on clubs. Kaori had the highest scoring potential among her team mates. They could still realistically finish within the top 3, but it was an outside shot and Kaori had to have a lights out performance.

About an hour before her last routine, she called her friends for moral support.

“You’re nervous you just gotta let it out,” Yachi advised through the phone.

“For us to even have an outside shot, I need a record score. Sheeshh!” exclaimed Kaori.

She could hear the two of them breathe at her on Yachi’s speaker.

“Well, I mean you shouldn’t give up just yet…” started Yamaguchi, “But don’t be afraid to embrace that this might be your last competition of the year too.”

“Yamaguchi, I can only choose one.” she said flatly.

“I meant ahh…how do I explain this…” he stammered.

Yamaguchi breathed out and gathered his thought, “This could realistically be your last competition, right? How do you want your last event to go? You have nothing to lose.”

Kaori could still not make it to nationals whether she did well or not. Still she was set to try her best.

“Realistically, Kao-chan” piped in Yachi, “You can do it.

Kaori remembered ending her routine. The gymnasium entirely silent. As she stood to catch her breath, the applause came.

“Was that enough to get us the score we need?” she thought. Her mind was so caught up on the score that she couldn’t even properly enjoy the moment.

Tsukki nudged her back into reality.

“I heard you had a really good last routine though.”

“I did,” she perked up, “You should’ve seen me. There were people crying.”

“I wish I did, but that’s kind of the drawback of dating another athlete.” he sighed, “When we were in Junior High, I thought that you should date me because I totally understood your schedule. I wouldn’t be the type of guy to demand time that you didn’t have only to realize we can’t always be at each other’s competitions.”

“Big talk for someone who couldn’t even own up to me back then,” she snorted. Tsukki was flustered.

Kaori remembered something. She pulled out an unused ticket from her bag and handed them to him. He took it and carefully placed it in his wallet.

“I don’t understand why you’d keep my old tickets.” she shook her head.

They were now heading to her apartment so that she could get changed before dinner.

“I just like collecting them,” he shrugged innocently.

“Makes me feel special.” he thought.

——————————————————————————

4:00 PM || Kaori’s apartment || Second Year in University, Last Semester

“Looks like we’ll just have to stay in today.”

Kaori peered at Tsukki as her lids became heavy with sleep. She could hear the steady trickle of the rain outside of her window.

“What a waste of a beautiful spring afternoon,” she thought. They were supposed to go to a nearby park with some friends, but plans were cancelled because of the weather. She liked the days when they could go outside, but Tsukki probably liked it better when they stayed indoors.

She yawned before lying on her stomach. With her last bit of will, she laced her fingers into his before the lull of sleep overtook her.

The weather was turning warm.The rain had cooled the city again. Tsukki watched as Kaori wafted into her nap. Their seasons had just ended and they were both completely exhausted. Until they recover, this was probably the best way to spend their time: napping.

Kaori would have preferred to be out and about, but he wanted to take a break and catch up on their academics. He wasn’t necessarily behind; he just wasn’t as on time as he would like.

Tsukki pulled out his homework and yellow highlighter from his bag. He popped the lid off with his teeth and began highlighting with just his right hand.

The past year had been a whirlwind. This time last year, he was relearning how to be around Kaori - her quirks, habits, and temperament. Despite having known her for so long, he found that he had to learn many more things to keep up with their changing relationship - how to ask for help, how to be vulnerable, how to make love. Now he was learning how to read with only one hand.

Kaori liked to sleep holding his hand. He was hesitant to pull away and wake her. One year ago, he would spat at how silly the situation was and just pulled his hand away. Now, the gesture was a way for them to make the most out of their scarce weekends and so he let it be.

The smell of wet pavement and plants filled his nose. When they were younger, the thought of touching her skin overwhelmed him. In their first year in High School, Kaori had asked him to teach him how to fold her sleeves.

“You know how to fold sleeves. Why do you need my help?” he had pretended to scoff.

“I don’t know how to do it with the ends poking out. You know…the way the cool seniors do it.”

Truthfully, he knew what she meant. He was doing what he could to put it off because it meant having his fingertips brush her arm. She stuck her blazer off and shoved her arm to him.

Sighing as if it was the largest chore in the world, he unbuttoned the end of her sleeves and began neatly folding her right sleeve. As soon as his finger touch the heat of her arm, he jerked back.

“God! You're so warm, do you have a fever?” Deep down however, Tsukki was overwhelmingly ready to combust. He didn’t know if he could finish the task.

“No, that’s just the blazer,” she brushed him aside. Seeing as her arm was still up. He quickly set to work, tugging the ends of her sleeves to finish.

“There,” he said, desperately hoping he wasn’t blushing. Kaori replicated his folds on her other sleeve, proudly showing him her new found skill.

“Now, I’m a proper High School student.” she beamed.

By the time they met again at the end of their first year, Tsukki had gained more tolerance for touch. He was secretly proud that his palms didn’t get too sweaty the first time they held hands. A year in, he still occasionally got nervous. Old habits die hard.

When dinner started to approach, Kaori dragged herself from her bed and yawned. Tsukki instinctively put his things away and began clearing the sink. She pulled out some vegetables from the fridge and began chopping them up for their dinner. Two pots appeared on the stove top. One for soup and another for their main course.

“What are we having tonight?” he murmured, trying not to cry as he diced some onions.

“I have some curry cubes I’ve been meaning to use up,” she thought out loud.

Tsukki nodded and wiped away his tears, “Well, I hope this is enough onion because this is as far as I can go.” The sting was so bad he had to take his glasses off.

Kaori laughed and tenderly wiped away his tears with her fingers, her palms resting on his cheek. Touch was almost second nature to her, especially next to him.

“You look so handsome without your glasses,” she cooed.

“Yeah, but I can’t see without them so I’ll stick to being mediocre.” he smirked, slipping his glasses back on and pushing his hair away from his eyes.

“Well I do rather you be able to see me,” she smiled.

The pot of boiling water was hissed, ready to boil over. Kaori had forgotten to watch it. For a brief moment she panicked and flinched. Tsukki calmly opened the lid, turned down the heat and added a tablspoon of miso paste. He stirred while she occupied herself with her vegetables.

“I’ll take care of the soup. You finish up on your cutting.” he said, throwing in some wakame and tofu.

Whenever household chores go awry, her first instinct was to brace herself. She had a bit of getting too focused on doing one thing and ending up neglecting something else. Her parents used to yell at her for it. She couldn’t help being an airhead. Being shouted at used to make her nervous, but over her time in gym she had numbed herself to its effects.

“It’s just hot water on a stove,” he said as if reading her mind, “Don’t think about it too much.”

After tossing in her chopped vegetables onto her pot, it was time for the curry. Unable to reach the slot of her highest kitchen cabinet, she stood on a stool to reach for her curry cubes. Her shoulders almost matched the height of his.

“I can see you eye to eye now,” she grinned, with her hands on her waist. She almost always had to tilt her chin up when they spoke. It was refreshing to be able to see him on the same level.

“I’m still taller,” he smirked, gesturing over her head.

She sighed, “Man, you really won’t let me have this.”

“Well, now I can do this without bending down.” He kissed her on the forehead and turned his attention back onto the soup.

Kaori smiled and stepped down from her stool. The mixture was beginning to boil and she would have to add the cubes soon. She began unboxing the curry.

“The table counter is so far when I’m on the stool.” she explained.

When she was younger, she wasn’t necessarily unhappy. “Contented enough” was probably the best description. Cooking with Tsukki on early Sunday evening was a slice of domesticity she didn’t think would bring her so much joy.

As he started on the dishes and turned on the rice cooker, Kaori snuck a glance at him. A year ago, Sundays indoors bored her to death. Tonight, even though they were stuck indoors and the air smelled like spring showers, she found little reason to complain.

-----------------------------------------

Taglist for Chap. 5: @scrappydaisies

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silverliningslurk · 6 years ago

Text

Looking Up

A pinch hit I wrote for @harutobirbi for the HQSSII! I really hope you like it, and I’m very sorry it’s late. It ended up longer and more troublesome than expected.

Pairing: Tsukishima Kei/Kageyama Tobio Word count: 6k Rating: Teen for swearing Potential Trigger Warnings: None. Summary: There’s a mistake with the futons during a camp, and via a ridiculous series of stupid events, Kei is left sharing with Kageyama. This can only go badly. Right?

You can read it on AO3 here! There’s an extra tidbit I wrote that didn’t quite fit on AO3 too, tumblr formatting doesn’t really work for that...

Kei feels a sense of impending doom as soon as they are led into a room full of futons, and one of the faculty gives them an apologetic look as she turns to face them. He feels it, completely, in every one of his bones, when she opens her mouth. He doesn't know why. Maybe it's just having seen those looks before, usually off his mother when she announces they're spending New Year at his aunt's place. Never fun.

"So, I do apologise, but, you see, we made a slight miscalculation on the number of futons we would need, another member of staff saw the name 'Miya' twice and assumed it was a typographical error, and so, you see..." She mumbles, fumbling around with her hands like there is an easy solution to be found there, her red face indicating that perhaps she was indeed that staff member. Kei raises an eyebrow, as do most of the room. They're all tired, and they just want to go to sleep. "Is there a possibility, at all, that perhaps, two of you could maybe share? Only for one night, and we shall do our very best to rectify this situation tomorrow, I understand this is difficult, but I don't believe there are any extras within reasonable distance, you see..."

They all stare at her, puzzled. It's not exactly the first thing they expected her to say; the sense of imminent disaster builds, although Kei will be the very last person to volunteer to share.

Getting even more flustered, she flaps her hands in embarrassment, her face a stunningly bright shade of red. "I'll confer with the rest of the staff and see if there's any other options! Please decide amongst yourselves in case there aren't, though." She nigh on runs out the room, pausing barely long enough to bow deeply, and Kei is certain she started running before she'd fully finished. Not particularly interested in mentally debating whether it counts as a respectful bow if you start running in the middle, he just glances around at the others.

"Before any o'y'all say 'nythin', I ain't sharing wi' 'Tsumu." Miya Osamu drawls, shoving his hands in his pockets. Atsumu sneers at him.

"I ain't sharin' with 'im either! He farts!"

Osamu makes an impressive kind of 'psssssh' sound. "Not as much as you." "How would’ya even know, asshole?! You're asleep!" "So are you!"

"All votes in favour of having them on opposite sides of the room?" Kei suggests, crossing his arms. Most of the others raise their arms, which – thankfully – ends the argument between the twins. Mostly. They keep grousing at each other quietly, while Kei glances around the room again.

Sakusa looks visibly ill at the very notion of sharing with anyone. Kei is with him on that one, certainly. Hoshiumi looks like an ice demon who would warm his feet on your legs, and also seems like the kind of person to jump out of bed at 5am just to announce they were awake. Chigaya looks as though he’s trying to meld into the corner of the room, playing on his phone to avoid the whole situation. Kei guesses if he had to choose someone to share with, it’d probably be him, mostly for the reason that he looks like he’d sleep right on the edge just so he wasn’t touching anyone.

Motoya looks mostly disgruntled by it, like he doesn’t really care either way and just wants it sorted. Again, Kei can relate to that. He kind of wants to pick a futon, but then again, that might volunteer him for it.

He glances at Kageyama, frowning deeply at the Miya twins. Kei genuinely can’t tell if he even understands what’s been asked of him – knowing Kageyama, he’s been in a volleyball world ever since arriving and hasn’t left yet, certainly not to contemplate sleeping arrangements. He probably just assumes someone else will do it, unable to think of group dynamics off a line-marked court. Good for him, Kei thinks a little bitterly. He should probably be one of them having to share, because it seems like it would be funny to see how Kageyama, single child of the century, would react to that. He smirks to himself as he imagines the kind of outrage that would happen, but then gets to thinking who would make the funniest reaction.

Sakusa, certainly, but Kei doesn’t think he could be paid any amount of money to get in the same bed as someone else. He seems like the kind of guy who brought his own sheets because of his distaste of sleeping on someone else’s. Kei is quietly surprised, now he thinks about it, that he didn’t bring his own futon.

The rest of them he doesn’t think would have any particularly interesting reactions. Maybe Hoshiumi, but then those two are so obsessed and single-minded, they’d probably end up not sleeping and practicing instead. That would result in an incredibly ratty Kageyama, and a sleep-deprived Kageyama means everyone gets yelled at way more. Maybe less so here, but it will happen, and if it does, Tsukishima will get most of it, since he’s the one Kageyama is most comfortable with.

He uses the word ‘comfortable’ incredibly loosely indeed.

Although, having him share with either of the Miya twins could be interesting. As soon as he thinks about it, though, it makes him frown for no reason he can really put his finger on. It’s like… Kageyama almost gets on with them, but equally, there’s a feeling Kei gets about Atsumu, and to a lesser extent Osamu, that he can’t really trust them. Atsumu’s interactions with Kageyama set him on edge, just a bit, and he generally chooses to ignore it, and certainly hasn’t examined it closely. It’s probably just a sense that they’re taking advantage of Kageyama, but why would Kei even care about that? He doesn’t care about Kageyama. He’ll admit his talent, and the fact that he’s better than he was, but even so.

He doesn’t care about Kageyama, and that’s final. He’s not even thinking about that simmering weirdness right now, or the fact that Kageyama’s been acting kinda weird for a few weeks even before this camp.

It’s probably just been the thought of the camp itself, but it’s never happened before, Kei doesn’t think. It didn’t happen in first year, so unless he’s had a run in with someone here, but then, the one who seems to be getting the brunt of the weirdness is actually himself.

But that’s a puzzle he’s left in Miyagi, or tried to, at least. It’s Kageyama’s problem, and Kei doesn’t care enough to try to work it out.

He does not care about Kageyama. He’s good at avoiding things, and that’s a thing he’ll ignore wholeheartedly. Kageyama is probably just jealous Kei got invited. Hinata was too, but he’s got the flu. Kei thought there was some saying about idiots, but maybe that’s just colds, rather than the flu. Kei heard his mother had to practically lock him in the bedroom to stop him dragging himself over here.

He probably just imagined that, in actuality, but it's an amusing image. He smirks to himself, then sobers up and mentally thanks Hinata's mother for being sensible and not getting him to spread it. Hinata can keep his damn viruses to himself.

"Psssh!"

With that noise from Osamu, he becomes aware of a growing argument in the room, and realises the Miya twins never quite stopped grousing at each other.

“- you’d probably want to sleep with someone, manwhore.” “Wha’s wrong wi’ that? Too innocent for that kinda shit, ‘Samu?” “Not in a room full of other people, ‘Tsumu. That’s just gross.” “Well, nobody said I couldn’t!” Atsumu remarks brightly, and turns, surveying the crowd. His eyes almost immediately latch onto Kageyama, and gain a gleam Kei would say that he hated the look of. If he had cared enough about the whole thing. Atsumu makes a lewd expression and saunters forward towards Kageyama. "Say, me an’ Goody-Two-Shoes here could always makes ourselves comfy... together... couldn’t we?"

And Kei would normally just let it go. Would have let it go the year before. Should have let it go. But from something about Kageyama's face that says he doesn't get it at all, to not trusting Atsumu as far as he could throw him off the court, to a hot ball of unpleasantness squirming in his guts, instinct takes over the few brain cells that don't think before they act. The remaining brain cells look on tiredly and do not stop him.

Just because he thinks Atsumu is probably joking doesn’t mean he trusts him to not be serious. Everything about it rubs him up the wrong way, and he may not care about Kageyama, but.

So he strides to stand in front of Kageyama and puts an arm in front of him, like that would really stop Atsumu. But it halts him temporarily, puzzled. He feels the rest of them staring at him, and kind of wishes he hadn’t done anything at all.

Why does he care? It's only Kageyama, but then, it's Kageyama. Kageyama who wouldn't know flirting if it kissed him square on the lips, Kageyama who's probably never had a stray thought since he found volleyball, Kageyama who is probably just about dumb enough to go along with anything if he thought it would make him better. The thought of Atsumu too close, unsupervised, to the dense-enough-to-be-a-black-hole Kageyama, makes Kei feel intensely uncomfortable. Makes him kind of want to lock Kageyama in a different room altogether.

The door opens. "I'm terribly sorry, there really aren't any other futons..." She trails off, seeing Kei where he is, and maybe she's just grasping at straws, maybe she thinks it actually looks like they're agreeing on something or whatever, an incredibly stupid chain of thoughts happens in her head and her face lights up in relief. "So you two have decided to share for the night? Thanks for volunteering, we do have a slightly bigger futon over here you can use, you know where the bathrooms are, let us know if you need anything!" She says, and dashes away, as if sensing the disagreement.

Funnily enough, the rest of them snort, then scuttle off to occupy their own beds and mark their territories, leaving Kei and Kageyama in the middle of the room, dead still. Atsumu shrugs, and winks at Kei as if he knows something, and Kei swears murder will happen before these three days are up.

Kei is just trying to process. He was looking forward to a good night’s sleep, he’d brought ear plugs in case anyone snored so he wouldn’t be too tempted to strangle them, and he’d been going to pick the very corner futon to be furthest away from everyone.

Now he’s going to be the one sharing?

He doesn’t know how much worse it could get. Now though, most of them are settling onto futons and are not going to give them up easily.

Atsumu, still looking at the two of them, laughs raucously. "If you don't wanna sleep with him, I could always swap wi' ya?" He drawls, and it seems likely to be engineered exactly to piss Kei off. Osamu snorts. "Bet you ten ramen pots they don't make the night." He pitches in, and it swiftly descends, with the others making various bets as to the transient of this arrangement. Kei hates it, but he's nothing if not stubborn and refused to let people win. Furious, he leans over to Kageyama, still in his daze.

"You'd best not piss me off." He hisses, and storms off to attempt to get to sleep as early as possible. He wanted to read. He wanted to listen to music. "Who said I was gonna piss you off! Maybe you shouldn't piss me off!" Kageyama snaps, his first words in some time. Probably in volleyball dreamland like always, his freakishly sharp mind providing video replays of all the plays he made and how he could tweak them to improve. Instead of focusing on real life. Instead of seeing the things in front of him. So much of his brain is trapped on a volleyball court, Kei swears that’s the reason he’s so utterly stupid off it. Most people would be at the same level of stupidity if only 1% of their brain travelled around with them.

"Maybe if you weren't so stupid and kept responding, it wouldn't be a problem." Kei returns acidly, and grabs his headphones.

"So you want me to ignore you, then." Kageyama spits, and for a second, Kei thinks about it. His heart kind of... droops, when he does, like that would be a bad thing. The very idea that he might care about Kageyama and the fact that he does talk to him pisses him off. His grip on his headphones tightens. "Too bad. You're in the team, so I have to get on with you! Besides I-" Kageyama halts himself dead in his tracks; Kei notices several of the others furtively - or not so furtively - watching, and turns on his heel. He doesn't want to examine Kageyama's weirdness now. He'd not found any solution before the camp, and he especially doesn't want to find one now, whatever he might find, before he has to spend 8 hours sharing a futon with him.

"Whatever. Let's just get this over with. I'm not interested in anyone making money on me." He says, casting acerbic stares at certain parties in the room. Much to his disgust, most of them don't react too much, and mostly with amusement and the occasional 'we'll see about that'. Kei decides to do what he does best and ignore it fully, lying down, tugging his headphones on and putting on his loudest music. Which isn't that loud, but it is at least continuous in its volume, leaving no chances for snippets of surrounding conversation. He hates having it too loud for fear of damaging his hearing – and knowledge of how irritating it is when everyone else can hear music from someone else's headphones – so he sets it at the exact volume required to cover up most things. If anyone shouts he'll hear it, but they don't.

It's only about half a song later when the futon shifts. Kei freezes on instinct, and glances across – it is indeed Kageyama, which just increases his discomfort. Their eyes meet, then skitter away, Kageyama gaining a constipated sort of look in the split second Kei keeps looking. He then resolutely closes his eyes, determined not to look, or make this weird, or think at all.

He has shared with his brother. It can't be any worse than that, surely. Kageyama isn’t as tall or gangly as his brother, and probably not as much into casual touches. Kei’s never seen Kageyama instigate any kind of friendly contact, at least, which is a godsend, but still. So he’s probably not going to find himself hugged to death, but equally, this whole thing is so awkward and irritating, he’s not convinced he won’t. But the thought of people handing over cash and ramen pots because he couldn’t keep his cool in such an annoying situation irritates him more. If he has to deal with their smug faces on top of a bad night’s sleep, he cannot be held responsible for whatever he does do.

It can’t be any worse than sharing with his brother.

But it is. His anxiety is such that every shift Kageyama makes is heightened, and Kei even feels his presence when he is still, an odd kind of emanating presence. The rest of them have started to settle down and someone's turned the lights off, so it just feels so close. He doesn’t want to sleep in his headphones, but the music is the only thing distracting him, so he clings to them for as long as possible.

But even in his edgy state, he’s still incredibly tired, so it doesn’t take too long for his eyes to start feel heavy, the ceiling only taking so much of him burning holes in it. Reluctantly, he pauses his music and delicately places his headphones on the rest of his stuff, then his glasses in their case, habitually softening the snap as it closes, and puts that too on top of his bag, nestled down a bit so neither of them roll off and get stepped on, hopefully. The world takes on an auditory clarity, and a visual blurriness, and Kei tries to relax.

There are blurry light patches where some of the guys are checking their phones, and some hissed whispers he doesn’t catch enough of to understand. There’s just enough light from the windows to make out some shapes. Simply the act of putting his headphones away – and having to look at his phone to pause it – has temporarily banished a modicum of his immediate sleepiness, and he once again becomes aware of his current predicament.

The futon, as the faculty member had stated, is a little bigger than the rest, but it is not big, by any means. Even as close as he can get to the edge without falling off it, their shoulders are touching. It’s a burning heat he can barely stand, mostly because it makes him think.

“Move over.” He grouches quietly, uncomfortably aware of his heartbeat. He’s not used to close proximity with people, least of all Kageyama. There’s a flick of movement, and a hmph sound.

“I’m not falling off for you.” Kageyama grouses back, and Kei recalls the bets, and bites back a returning taunt. Presumably Kageyama is as far away as he can get too, and there goes his thought that perhaps he might avoid that contact.

And he can’t help but think about it. Kageyama’s been acting weird for weeks now. Nobody else had really commented yet, but it was only a matter of time, and if Kei had noticed surely it was obvious enough. He doesn’t even watch Kageyama much, so surely someone like Hinata has picked up that Kageyama’s been acting weird.

Which is in itself weird. Kageyama is consistent to a degree that you could set your clocks to, Kei has always thought to himself. Emotionally, at least. He got the same level of irritated at the same things every time. He got the same type of ecstatic when they won, and the same type of begrudging defeat whenever they lost. He got the same type of glint in his eye when he respected a player, and the same type of anger when someone pissed him off or worse, didn’t try hard enough at volleyball.

Kageyama didn’t act different.

But now he was.

Kei hasn’t been able to put his finger on it. He just seemed quieter than usual, not really challenging Kei on the same things he always would, not rising up to the bait the same whenever Kei taunted him. There was a slight, but noticeable, lack of quality in the shots to Kei, in particular. Sometimes one of the others, but Kei hadn’t seen Kageyama fumble this much since difficult games in first year. Nowadays, settling into his skills and scouted for the National Team, he rarely fumbled like this, and his irritation with it seemed… wrong, somehow. It didn’t seem quite the same as it had – he didn’t promise to work harder, or blame some aspect of the spiker. No, he tended to glare at Kei as though his mere presence had the ability to mess things up, and turned away just as fast.

Kei’s been intrigued, to say the least.

It happened more in practice than in practice matches, although it did happen then too. Every time it happened in a match, the opposing team never really seemed to think much of it, but Kei couldn’t stop. His analytical mind had latched onto it like a difficult maths problem, and refused to let go, even as much as it irritated him. He had to work it out, partly because real matches were coming up soon and it better not affect this year’s chance at Nationals, but mostly because Kei just could not stop thinking about it, and Kageyama.

And the more he thought about Kageyama, and observed, and taunted and spoke to and worked with, the more he noticed. The way that Kageyama was actually always sending him glances. The way he was sitting closer than he ever had, but never really looking at Kei when he did so. The way that he’d shove his homework under Kei’s nose just as much as Yamaguchi’s, now. (Mostly because Yamaguchi was better at explaining maths to them, but Kei was better at English and Science. The rest, as far as Kei was concerned, wasn’t hard enough to help them with. Rote memory, Kageyama had already shown to be very proficient at, so Kei didn’t bother with those.)

So he’s found himself spending a bit more time before and after practices sitting with Kageyama going through homework concepts. Kageyama even seems to get some of them – for five minutes, anyway. Sometimes Hinata is there and other times he gets wrapped up texting Kenma and drifts off like he seems to more nowadays. It’s become a common enough occurrence, him and Kageyama in the library, watching Kageyama get more frustrated with something and him just smirking more and more because it’s funny and kind of- nice, in a weird way. The lights in the growing gloom set a halo in Kageyama’s hair, his brows furrowed and calloused hands twitching to spend fractions of a second sending a volleyball on abnormally accurate courses, rather than holding a pen.

Somehow, he never gets much work done at those sessions, even though he swears he’s working. He blames Kageyama entirely. Him and his unending stupidity.

Stupidity that’s led to this. If he’d responded normally to Miya’s taunts, Kei never would have had to step forward. If he’d even realised, none of this would have happened. Kei would be asleep in his own futon and never worrying about any of this.

“Just so you are crystal clear on this,” Kei murmurs as quietly as he can muster, turning his head to glare at Kageyama, “I’m blaming you for all this.”

He can’t really see properly, but Kageyama looks at him, and frowns. He does not, as Kei would have possibly expected, get angry. “Why.” Kageyama mutters. “I shouldn’t have to explain to you.” Kei returns, and Kageyama huffs. “Tell me.” “It was because you’re thick. You didn’t get it.” “Get what.”

Kei is kind of glad that it’s dark. He can’t believe he’s having to explain this to Kageyama. “What Miya was doing.” “Which one?” “Atsumu.” “What was he doing?”

“Flirting, you numbskull.” Kei only says it, and says it quietly, because he’s sure that the others are just far enough away to not overhear. A few of them have started snoring, anyway, and the phone lights have all gone off. “Oh.” Kageyama says, and pauses. “Oh…” He stops again. “Why is this my fault?” “Because you didn’t get it.” Kei reiterates, annoyed. “What, so you felt you had to protect me or something?”

Kei feels like his lungs stop working for a second. “No,” he wheezes, acutely aware of how unconvincing he sounds. “Of course not. Anyway, this is just ridiculous.” “Oh. Okay.” “I’m going to sleep.” Kei retorts, put off-centre. Protecting him? From what? He didn’t care if Atsumu had his wicked way with Kageyama – except he kind of did.

That is a whole ballgame he does avidly not want to think about right here, in this second, pressed up against Kageyama because there is nowhere else to go. Kageyama hums, and he sounds kind of pleased. Kei turns away, and thinks so hard about music and volleyball and dinosaurs and very literally anything other than Kageyama, it gives him a headache, then bores him to sleep eventually.

The faster he goes to sleep the faster this situation disappears.

Except of course, that it is a situation that reappears upon waking up. The first time he wakes up, it’s far too early, and he’s been awakened by motion. He barely remembers it until later, and then wishes he had properly woken up, because he could have saved himself a lot of problems. The next time he wakes up, it’s to a camera shutter sound, and he feels warm and snug. And safe.

And somewhat trapped.

Kei decides to evaluate his situation firstly, and open his eyes next.

He is laid on his back, nothing abnormal about that. His left side is warmer than it should be, and there is a pressure across his chest, and his legs, and his whole left side.

He can guess, he thinks, but he needs to know, needs to check visually.

So he opens his eyes, and looks across and finds exactly what he ought to have expected. Kageyama is, for lack of any better word, flopped on top of him, head nestled into Kei's shoulder. His face is- remarkably relaxed, for once, not grinding his teeth or scowling like normal, and Kei just.

He doesn't know what to think. He knows what he wants to do, which is to not rouse him, or pull him closer. He feels like smiling, like taking a picture, like staying there for a while, like he's maybe possibly a little bit fond.

Fondness equals alarm bells. His eyes dart upwards, and find several of the other guys looking down at him - them. A smudge that looks like it could be Motoya has got his phone out taking a photo, and Miya Atsumu is grinning like like Cheshire cat. Kei squashes his eyes shut again, to give himself space, to think about this.

There proceeds to be a suspiciously Miya Atsumu sounding murmur of 'hah, gaaaa-yyyyyy' shortly followed by a slapping sound. Kei decides Miya Osamu is probably alright, but still, he's not staying in this situation. He needs to extricate himself and get some quiet. There's a level of controlled panic in the way he shifts sideways, and hears Kageyama groan. Discontent? Kei doesn’t want to think about it. He has just enough forethought to grab his glasses in their case, and ignores some suggestive and smug sounding voices as he pushes through them, to hide out in the bathroom.

Once there, he sets the glasses case on the side, and splashes his face with cold water. It does nothing to soothe his racing heart; it does nothing at all except bring him further into wakefulness and the awful realisation he has arrived at.

He’s fond of Kageyama.

He thinks, for a moment, that his brain has just skipped the friends stage, but then, it hasn’t, really. What are study dates in the library if not between friends? What are the teasing conversations, no longer as barbed as they used to be? What is the glare he gets when he calls Kageyama king, half-hearted and softer than usual? What are the allowances he’s been giving Kageyama, the more time spent with him, the more time dedicated to matching up with him? They’ve been friends, but Kei never realised. Like he never realised how much he’s been watching Kageyama, been thinking about Kageyama, and indeed been avoiding thinking about why he’s been thinking so much about Kageyama.

Yet still, this fondness, a pooling dripping sentimentality he’s never quite fully erased from his heart. It’s similar to the way he can’t quite throw out his oldest childhood toy, a stegosaurus with some of it’s plates falling off and patched up a hundred times. He’s used to Kageyama now, and in some ways looks forward to seeing him, looks forward to his blunt stupidity, the banter they have between them. The way they’ve started syncing up on court, and working together.

Fuck, he thinks to himself, glaring at his reflection in the mirror, clear now he’s put his glasses back on. How could he have let this happen? He doesn’t know what to do with this, he’s never had this before. Maybe that’s why he never saw it coming, creeping up on his blindside and taking him unawares. How is he going to get out of this now?

The door swings open, and Kei prepares to defend himself – but it’s Kageyama, and now he doesn’t know how to react. Stunned by his newest revelation, he just kind of nods. Kageyama has gone red, and stops.

And there’s a thick silence. Kei doesn’t want to admit that he didn’t mind it, but doesn’t quite want to say that he hated it either. He needs time to work it through, get on top of his feelings.

Kei decides to leave. He grabs his glasses and makes for the door, even though Kageyama is between him and it. He expects Kageyama to move. He doesn’t.

“Are you disgusted?” Kageyama demands, looking anything but peaceful like he did in sleep.

Kei thinks about it. Yes, would be one answer. He’s disgusted with himself for not noticing, for letting it go on so long. But equally, feelings aren’t quite so easily hauled into line. He’s not disgusted with Kageyama, particularly. He doesn’t care if anyone is that way inclined, he just had never thought he was himself. With little to no precedent, how was he meant to know?

“No,” Kei murmurs, “Are you going to move?” “Are you running away from me?” Kageyama tries again, glaring defiantly up at Kei. Kei can’t quite meet his gaze. “No.” Kei says, more certain this time. He means yes, of course. He needs time to think on it, analyse the problem, and find a solution. Needs to weigh the evidence, pros and cons, and external opinions. If he can get them without alerting the parties to the fact that he’s collecting them. Can’t be seen to be too interested.

“You are.” Kageyama states, blunt as ever. Kei huffs an incredulous laugh, but Kageyama continues. “You’re not even looking at me.”

Characteristically blunt, as always. Kei glares at him. “Happy now?”

Kageyama looks surprised that he complied. Daunted, even. He swallows, a manoeuvre Kei cannot help but watch.

“Someone is going to come in, soon.” Kei mutters, eyes glued to Kageyama’s. Kageyama nods. “Are you going to move?”

Kageyama gets that face like he’s trying to solve a particularly difficult problem.

Then he reaches around the back of Kei’s head and pulls.

Caught in a moment of surprise, Kei doesn’t fight it; consequently, he smacks into Kageyama’s face with some force. There is an instant of nothing, then a flash of pain. He coils away, holding his lips and nose, trying to ascertain whether there’s bleeding or breakages.

“Holy shit, Kageyama!?” he screeches. “What was that? You trying to kill me?!” Kageyama, in the midst of howling quietly, chokes, and ends up in a coughing fit. Kei brings his fingers away from his nose, and finding no blood – and no signature trickle at the back of his throat or down his nose – whips his head around. He’ll check his teeth in a minute. “What the hell was that.” He demands, and then- observes. Kageyama is red as anything, and although he does look like he’s choking, he’s not been doing that long enough to cause that reaction. He’s got one hand over his mouth and his eyes are flitting around frenetically. His brain starts clicking over, the previous conversation and everything prior, and fits it imperfectly together into- “Was that supposed to be a sorry attempt at a kiss?”

“No!” Kageyama shouts, too fast, too high pitched. Kei narrows his eyes. “So it really was? Because that is not the way to do it.” Regardless of whether Kei actually knows the proper way to do it, he can be fairly certain that any way that involves possible permanent damage to his nasal cartilage is not it. “Like you know better!” Kageyama spits, sounding faintly panicked. “Clearly better than you, if that’s what you think is a good idea!” “Why don’t you try then!” Kageyama dares him, and Kei swears that proto-kiss knocked a few brain cells loose, because he actually considers it.

“No.” Kei remarks, and stands up, intending to check his teeth for blood, and also to hide his face from Kageyama. “Because I’m not into messing with people like that.” It’s ridiculous to get his hopes up. Kageyama has the social skills of a slug, and the finesse to match. People cling to things in their sleep, it’s a natural habit left over from being an infant, and a human need to be close to things. It’s for warmth, more importantly, and therefore likely means nothing. Kageyama probably has some weird idea in mind that for some reason involves Kei.

There’s no blood in his teeth, and none apparently forthcoming. That’s good. He’ll go and get changed and start his day and analyse this all later, or better, after the camp. He’ll package away the hurt and the confusion, and dwell on it later. He’ll only get annoyed if he does that now.

But before he can turn and leave, there are footsteps across the floor, and a hand on his arm. He barely gets a chance to raise an eyebrow and take a breath to speak when Kageyama steals it from him.

It’s much softer, thankfully, although his bruised lips still complain. It’s clear still that Kageyama doesn’t really know what he’s doing, screwing his eyes shut, but he makes a good approximation; he weaves his hand into the fine hairs at the nape of Kei’s neck and makes him shiver. Kei’s wide eyes stray to the mirrors, reflecting this scene, black and blond, fuzzy out the side of his glasses.

They’re so different. So very different. How can they be here? How can they occupy the same space, and not explode like antimatter meeting matter? Maybe that’s why they’ve always fought before, but then why is this good, and not bad? Why does it feel like a summation of their parts, rather than a negative and positive clashing and negating the other’s effect?

He could push Kageyama away, right now. He could push him and all this away, and run. It occurs to him in the same breath that he gives in, closes his eyes and puts his hand on Kageyama’s shoulder, pushes back into the kiss, because now he thinks about it, the thought that Kageyama was organised enough to mess with him seems wrong. Unlikely, somehow. Kageyama is not known for his grand schemes off the volleyball court, nor his ability to manipulate people.

And Kei can make the most of the opportunity in front of him. If this is the only time he gets to do this, he’s not going to pass it up too easily.

By the time they separate, they’re both breathing harder than usual, and Kageyama frowns at him. “I don’t mess with people.” “I’m getting that vibe, yes.” Kei murmurs. “Someone’s going to come in here soon.”

Kageyama nods, and steps back. He keeps his eyes on Kei, expectant. “But I want to do that again.” Kageyama says. “Of course, but not now.” Kei returns, thinking it’s been a surprising amount of time without interruption. It’s only when he notices Kageyama’s eyes widen that he realises. “I mean…” Ah, what the hell. “I need to think about this. Later. We have camp to survive, first.”

“Later.” Kageyama repeats, sounding pleased with himself. “Alright. I can wait.”

Kei grimaces as he hears loud footsteps and voices storming up to the door. “You were always going to have to.” He remarks, but, quietly, to himself, he can reflect that he’s kind of looking forward to it.

But he can enjoy teasing Kageyama by making him wait.

Where’s the fun in making it easy? Plus, he has no interest in giving any of the others any smug pleasure. In addition, he’s going to be a rich man if they all cough up their debts to him. He might even see to sharing a few ramen pots with Kageyama.

If he’s lucky. If he hasn’t actually knocked any teeth loose.

Well, there’s room for improvement, and time for it, too. Things are looking up.

#hqssii #haikyuusecretsanta2018 #kagetsukki #tsukishima kei #kageyama tobio #hq #haikyuu #tsukishima kei does not care about kageyama #except he kinda does #i really hope you liked this #sorry it's so late #bweh #*slinks back into the void*#i would like to sincerely apologise to miya atsumu #i treated you wrong for plot devices #you became a miya ex machina #and i apologise

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haiforkyuuties · 7 years ago

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THE BNHA X HAIKYUU CROSSOVER????

hEY BECAUSE WHY NOT?

this is not inspired by the fact that hinata has the same crazy hairstyle as midoriya or bakugou has kageyama’s temper early on what no what’re you talking about

THIS IS BASICALLY JUST THE QUIRK MASTERLIST

Notes about the AU:

All of them go to UA, but are in different classes.

To mix things up a lil’ though, the classes are organized by grade. Yep, that’s right: whether they’re from Nekoma, Aoba Johsai, Fukurodani or Karasuno, whatever grade they’re in is where they’ll be!

I’ll do asks about this too, so hit me up with a scenario or whatever!

Class 1-A:

Hinata Quirk: Blink – Can teleport any short distance, regardless of what’s blocking it. However, this is limited to approximately a 10 meter radius, and it feels like a 50 meter sprint each time. (Hinata, though, still has enough energy to do this). HOWEVER, since Hinata sucks at using his power efficiently, the only thing he can actually do with consistency is go the full 10m directly ahead of himself.

Kageyama Quirk: Sharpshot – Anything he throws/shoots is guaranteed to be accurate, regardless of location or distance, but it can still be blocked easily. He and Hinata work together a lot, but there’s a huge trust bond between the two.

Tsukishima Quirk: Influence – Has the ability to say the right thing at the right time to make someone feel anything he emotionally wants. Usually uses it to piss people off, obviously. Flaw of the power comes in when he and Yamaguchi first met, as Yamaguchi was getting bullied. He only calculated the effects it’d have on the bullies, and didn’t expect it to have an effect on Yamaguchi, who felt that Tsukishima was very cool. Same thing can happen during battle, where if he provokes an enemy to dissuade them, it might help another become enraged and an even bigger threat.

Yamaguchi Quirk: Upgrade – Can enhance the potential of anyone else’s quirk. Except, of course, his own. Since his power can’t be used for himself, he’s basically useless on his own which caused him to get bullied a lot early on (see Tsukishima for more ^^). Has considered switching to a support class, but wants to be a hero, too.

Yachi Quirk: Infographic - Can create projections with her eyes. Although they’re just holograms and VERY distinguishable from reality, they relay information well and can replicate exact scenarios.

Class 2-C:

Nishinoya Quirk: Inflate – Can enlarge any specific part of his body up to 5x the normal size (ie. Hands, entire body, etc.) The weight of it doesn’t change much, but any damage dealt to the body will also shrink when it returns to normal size, making him good at protecting things.

Tanaka Quirk: Endurance – Any attack he takes can be returned back with double the power. Of course, this requires him to take quite a few hits.

Kenma Quirk: Wikipedia – He can think of three questions every day and get the absolute answer—according to the top three results from the internet. (ie. he thinks, ‘How to get people to stop talking to you’, and a wikiHow page will come up in his mind as though he’s read it, even if he hasn’t.)

Akaashi Quirk: Future Vision - Allows him to see the future, but only the future that occurs if he doesn’t do anything.

Class 3-B

Sugawara Quirk: Knowing the truth – Allows him to hear the truth, even if someone is speaking a lie. Because of this, he can’t hear the lies that people say, which is a problem.

Daichi Quirk: Restrain – By touching someone anywhere, he can completely restrict their movements. It only lasts for as long as he touches them too, though. Used to control Nishinoya/Tanaka... more rambunctious juniors he knows

Asahi Quirk: Shrink – Imagine something like Ant-Man. Can make himself super small, but still have his regular strength. He usually doesn’t use his power for fighting purposes, and instead tries infiltrating/escaping this way (until he has to rise to the cause and bring out the real hero in him)

Kiyoko Quirk: Afterimage – Leaves an afterimage of herself after quick movements. Also gives her a second of boosted speed. You can bet she uses this when certain guys try to tackle her with ‘affection’.

Oikawa Quirk: fabulousness Charm - Can attract the attention of anyone within eyesight of him. However, his quirk doesn’t work on blind enemies, and it also works on his own teammates. This also makes him the target of enemy attacks usually too, of course, so most of his training is dedicated to actual physical combat.

Iwaizumi Quirk:Sound Waves – Has the ability to manipulate sound waves, being able to replicate someone’s voice or even erase the sound waves of a living/non-living object. Great for getting Oikawa to shut up. When he fights with Oikawa, they’ve had a long enough history for Iwaizumi to know when Oikawa will use his power, so he can close his eyes and influence his enemy to believe that they’re elsewhere. Together, they can shut down the enemy’s sight and sound.

Bokuto Quirk: Flight – Constantly has wings that look like a great horned owl. Obviously, enables him to fly. Also obviously, it’s kind of hard to hide human-sized owl wings. Also sucks ass in small spaces.

Kuroo Quirk: Cat – Can turn himself into a cat and back, gaining all cat-like traits. Drawback is that if he stays in cat form too long, his actions as a human begin to mimic that of a cat’s instincts for quite a bit of time until he returns completely to normal. He can use his quirk for many things, but a simpler one is gaining information by pretending to be a simple alley cat.

Bonus!Ushijima Quirk: Invulnerability – For four (almost five now) minutes, Ushijima can become completely invulnerable to anything. Even fatigue or muscle strain. However, it takes half an hour to recharge the ability.

#boku no hero academia #bnha AU #boku no hero academia AU #haikyuu AU #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x bnha crossover #hqxbnha #i know the names of quirks got hella lazy after a while but #boku no hero academia and haikyuu #haikyuu #haikyuu headcanon #haikyuu imagine #quirk masterlist #quirks #iwaoi #kagehina

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its-love-u-asshole · 7 years ago

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Let My Love [Ch. 1]

Pairings: Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei

Summary: For Kuroo, finding love was all about patience. He had no problem with waiting for the right person to come along, no matter how many awkward dinners or weddings he had to endure as a single man until they did. Regardless, meeting Tsukishima was something he’d never been prepared for. The feelings were overwhelming and intoxicating, ones he was sure he’d do anything for. However, it seemed his endless waiting wasn’t over.

Rating: T

Warnings: none

Note: haha...I started another multichapter -sweats- I’m excited for this though, it’s a bit different from the stuff I usually write and will have some other storylines so it’s definitely a challenge for me! I like the idea a lot though, so I’ll try to update as much as possible before school starts <3 Enjoy! Thanks to @emeraldwaves and @amajikies for reading this over!

AO3

Kuroo’s hands typed steadily, the words and phrases beginning to read more like gibberish in his mind instead of proper sentences. Not to mention he missed a letter every now and again due to his sleep deprived brain, resulting in atrocious typos he was in no mood to fix. His fingers stopped suddenly, eyes uselessly scanning over the blurry letters and science formulas. Obviously, writing this article was a little beyond his comprehension level right now.

That, and the fact he could barely focus on any of his older cousin’s words through the phone were probably good signs he needed caffeine. However, upon rolling out of bed, the energy to actually go to his kitchen and rectify the situation had been quickly drained out of him when he noticed his phone light up.

He couldn’t explain it exactly, but Kuroo felt he had a sixth sense at times when it came to reading the mood of a certain situation or day. This particular day, it was dread he sensed, like the universe was willing him to not pick up the phone. Kuroo thought he could just let it ring, as he did with most calls, but when Semi’s name and photo appeared clear as day on screen, he knew he had no choice but to answer.

It was far too early for this.

Kuroo rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, grimacing at the grainy bits of sand he caught on his fingers as he leaned back in his chair, defeated. “A lake house? You want to rent a lake house?”

Semi’s all too innocent voice drifted smoothly through the phone, the voice of someone who had probably been up for hours already. Jerk. “Yeah, Kenjiro thought—”

“Don’t implicate me in this,” a flat, much grumpier voice called from somewhere in the background, and Kuroo couldn’t help but laugh at Semi’s grunt of disapproval.

At least he could always count on Shirabu to keep things real with him, no matter how blunt he could be. How someone as considerate and polite as Semi managed to fall in love with the crown prince of callousness, Kuroo would never know.

Of course, he knew that was an exaggeration, but like hell was he going to point out how perfect the two were together when they were literally trying to drag him on some ridiculous adventure.

“Fine,” Semi continued, his sigh long and surrendering. “I thought it would be nice for all of us to get together for a week. It’s been a long time, and god knows a lot of us work too hard. A vacation seemed like a good idea.”

“All of us? Like…all of us?” At that, Kuroo found himself a bit more awake.

Semi had a point, Kuroo worked himself like a dog writing for the science magazine, though he wasn’t afraid to say he loved his job. It was the best, writing about the things and discoveries which fascinated him, and it even meant he could work from home. However, it could get to him, being all cooped up. The thought of going to a lake house with all his closest friends sounded like a dream. But while he could admit a vacation wasn’t a terrible idea, the well-mannered part of him couldn’t stand for Semi’s grandiose gesture of friendship.

“Yes Kuroo, all of us,” Semi said, his tone practically the vocal equivalent of an eye roll. “Stop trying to act like I’ll be feeding an army, it’s nine people.”

“That’s a lot of rooms too…”

“Only six rooms, married couples tend to sleep together you know,” Semi said, voice smug as if he’d already won the argument. Ah yes, the other problem…

“It’s still expensive Semi, and wait…nine people?” Kuroo grabbed a stray pen on his desk, wincing when some of the ink leaked through the pen cap and onto his hand. He needed new office supplies…

Without waiting for a response, he grabbed a random notepad and began to work it out in his head. There was him, and then there was Semi and Shirabu (duh Tetsurou), Oikawa, Yachi, Kyoutani, Yahaba, and finally Terushima. At the thought of his eccentric, fun loving cousin, Kuroo couldn’t help but smile. He, Semi, and Kuroo had grown up together, forced to attend family events and reunions where they would of course wander off and get into trouble. He looked down at the names, feeling a surge of nostalgia at how much he missed them. Seeing everyone again would be nice…

Still, he was seeing eight.

“I’m a professional athlete Kuroo, I…make more than enough money,” Semi informed softly, clearing his throat right after. Kuroo snorted to himself, of course Semi would feel bad about seemingly bragging about his income. Riches hadn’t changed him in the slightest, and it made Kuroo miss him all the more. “And oh yeah, Teru apparently has a new boyfriend, so he’ll be coming. Apparently our dear cousin really likes this one.”

Of course he does.

The news was enough to bring out a wry smile onto Kuroo’s face. Terushima had introduced them all to a handful of potential beaus and babes in the past, but none had ever made the final cut. He hoped this one was different. As picky and ridiculous as his younger cousin could be, he deserved to be happy.

But that didn’t mean Kuroo couldn’t make fun of him. In fact, he could make fun of a lot of the people he considered family too.

“Oikawa isn’t bringing his one true love? He sure talks about him enough,” Kuroo said, making a mental note to call the brunet at some point; it had been a while. In the background, he could hear Shirabu scoff and hum in agreement.

“Iwaizumi is still away at grad school abroad, otherwise I’m sure Oikawa would insist,” Semi said with barely concealed amusement. “But anyways, stop avoiding the question. Will you come? The house has Wi-Fi so don’t even think of using work as an excuse.”

Kuroo couldn’t hold back his wince, Semi sure did know him well. It wasn’t like Kuroo was actively trying to get out of going though, really, the whole idea sounded like a lot of fun. It was just—

Semi made an undignified squawk on the other end of the call, and before Kuroo knew it, Shirabu’s cutting voice was ringing through his ears. “Stop bullshitting him Kuroo, we all know you just don’t wanna go because you hate being the only single person there.”

The words were like ice, quickly traveling through his body and veins until he was frozen over completely, the pen dropping from his hand and clattering onto the desk. Kuroo clutched the phone tighter, knowing he’d been caught.

Well damn.

“K-Kenjiro! You don’t need to be so rude…” Semi sounded distant, voice fading in and out of clarity as if he was physically having to wrestle the phone away from his husband.

“Well it’s true!”

“Why would that matter to Kuroo? He’s not like that,” Semi said with a final strain to the end of his statement, his breath heavy from finally having won the phone back. “Um…right? Kuroo?”

Kuroo winced again, and that was all Shirabu needed to hum triumphantly. Bastard. How Kuroo had been friends with both of them since the baby daycare days perplexed him. Either way, it meant they knew him well enough, and someone with no tact like Shirabu was more than happy to point it out. Bless Semi, that poor soul.

It wasn’t like Kuroo was upset he was the only single person in their friend group (well, aside from Yachi, but no one gave her the same crap they gave Kuroo). He wasn’t envious, not in the slightest. It was simply annoying. Every time he’d meet up with his friends or family, it always came back to who he was dating. Or well, who and why he wasn’t dating. Kuroo was pretty good looking, had a well-paying and steady job, and was all around a charismatic guy. As a college student, he’d go on dates all the time, hook-ups, blind dates, kissing booths, whatever. Girls and guys liked him, loved him even. He just hadn’t found someone he loved back.

After a while, he’d gotten tired of just sleeping around or breaking hearts when he knew he had no intention of making a life with any of the people he dated. What was the point in dating just for the sake of it? So, he’d stopped. Kuroo had promised himself he’d only get involved in relationships if he could see himself falling in love, if there was a real connection. So far, there hadn’t been, and he was more than content with that. Falling in love and getting married was definitely something he wanted sure, but he wanted it with the right person, and he had no problem waiting.

His friends disagreed.

“Well, see…you guys don’t exactly leave me alone about that stuff,” Kuroo admitted sheepishly, slumping when he heard Semi’s indignant gasp.

“That’s not true! When have we ever done that?”

At that, Kuroo couldn’t help but give a dry laugh.

Well, never. Directly.

But Kuroo could count how many odd looks he’d gotten at Semi and Shirabu’s wedding, and it had started a trend. An awful trend. It was always ‘Semi seems really happy as a married man’ from his mother, or ‘when are you gonna find that lucky someone, Tetsu?’ from his dad. Then there was Oikawa’s constant nagging, or Yachi’s well-meaning but awkward questioning.

And then it had gone further downhill, because all his friends started to settle down, which made his singleness seem amplified by fifty percent--it was like he was a walking pity party. Oikawa had a date every weekend it seemed, never short of suitors. Then Iwaizumi came into his life, and Oikawa had never been happier. Terushima was the same, albeit with a bit more drama and still no permanent relationship, but it seemed that was changing too. Hell, Kyoutani and Yahaba had basically been in love since middle school, and their wedding had been the previous year.

(Kuroo was specifically sat at the table nearest the bar at that wedding, right next to the singles table. Nothing was more depressing. So yeah, lots of fun.)

“You guys realize that everyone outside of our group sees me as the lonely troll under the relationship bridge right?” Kuroo deadpanned, trying to restrain his laughter when dead silence was heard on the other line. “Say, why doesn’t anyone get on Yachi’s case for this?”

Shirabu was quick to answer. “Because she’s a peppy independent woman, and you’re a loser.”

“Kenjiro.”

“Just consider coming Kuroo, it’s not a big deal,” Shirabu said finally, and the sudden softness actually made Kuroo perk up. “If you really think the attention will be a problem, bring someone. Or don’t. Whatever. You know we’ll all drag you there anyways…”

The last statement was said in a whisper, and Kuroo could practically tell Shirabu was glaring at the phone. Shirabu was actually trying to comfort him, and it was pissing him off. What a nerd.

Kuroo smiled, the implied ‘we miss you’ in Shirabu’s words having not gone undetected. His chest felt warmer than it had in weeks, and his only regret was that it was the feisty ex-setter who had delivered the final blow. Damn, what did he do to deserve these wonderful idiots?

“You know I’m waiting for the right person, but I’ll keep an eye out,” Kuroo said with a grin.

“You do that Kuroo,” Shirabu deadpanned, and shortly after, Semi cleared his throat.

“So…you’ll come? You have about a month to decide but…” Semi trailed off, and he was probably doing that thing where he bit his lip or stuck out his tongue from nervousness. Just like back when they were kids…

Kuroo laughed, the sleepiness from earlier having fully melted away. “Yeah, sure.”

After all, he couldn’t let his biggest fans down. What would they do for a whole week without his puns and knowledge of newly founded scientific theories?

Kuroo couldn’t help but smirk. This time, he’d have all the fun.

“Great,” Semi breathed out finally, texting Kuroo the details as if he’d been waiting to the whole time. He probably had been.

There was a comfortable silence that followed as Kuroo looked over dates of the vacation, and as he was about to hang up, Shirabu spoke up for the last time, voice smug and mocking.

“So…when are you gonna get married Kuroo, you’re getting kind of old don’t you think?”

Kuroo answered with the dial tone.

Hoping to be productive, Kuroo made plans to go to the library the next day. If he was going to go on this trip, he wanted to get a head start on next month’s article. It was better to have most of it done now than to spend most of the vacation worrying about it.

However, as he walked up the stone steps to the library’s revolving doors, he couldn’t help but feel out of place and jittery. It was stupid, considering all the other times he worked at the library, and how usually it provided him with a motivational and quiet environment. Today just wasn’t his day it seemed.

Kuroo would be up for a promotion soon—so these next two articles, one of which was finished, had to be perfect. That was stressful enough, but more than anything, he couldn’t help but find himself flustered over the phone call with Semi from the previous day. Maybe it was general excitement at the thought of seeing all his friends again, but the dread from before was still there.

Kuroo hated to admit it, but maybe the whole being single thing was getting to him more than he thought. He was twenty-seven, almost twenty-eight, and by no means old. Hell, with his looks and health, he was in the prime of his life. There was no need to worry about him finding a potential partner anytime soon, and it wasn’t something he wanted to rush.

Of course, that hadn’t stopped his brain from giving him nightmares about dying alone. What a good night he’d had.

Sighing, Kuroo happily stepped into the library, inhaling the comforting scent of books and printer ink which always brought him solace. After college, the library became his new most visited place after the volleyball court, a place he could sit in all day and get lost in his imagination and thirst for knowledge. It was perfect, and he couldn’t wait to get started on his research for the magazine’s article.

Luck was, apparently, not on his side.

The collection of computers usually provided by the library as databases were all turned off, with sheets of paper taped to each one. Already cursing the day, but never one to be negative, Kuroo walked over to them. The papers said what he’d expected, that the computers were out of order, and to go to a library attendant if people needed help finding the books. Glancing over to the main help desk, Kuroo saw two computers for the librarians to use as databases, and could already tell that a line would no doubt form once more people came in.

Thank god he’d come early.

Kuroo strides were brisk as he approached the counter, eyes trained on the desk. He’d have to find all his books now if he didn’t want to wait in line later…

Plopping his book bag on the desk, Kuroo began rifling through it in frustration, searching for the resource list he’d haphazardly stuffed into it that morning. He didn’t look up when he heard footsteps stop in front of him, too focused on making sure the rest of his day went off without a hitch.

As he rifled through his things, he came across Yahaba and Kyoutani’s old wedding invitation, which he’d never thrown out, souring his mood even further. Why the universe was bent on reminding him of his own romance predicament, he wasn’t sure.

Kuroo didn’t even bother holding back a groan as he resumed looking for his book list.

“Can I help you with something?” The person in front of him finally spoke, voice soft and velvety despite the irritation laced through it. It reminded Kuroo of a freezing gust of wind, refreshing and biting all at once. Kuroo was too involved in his own task to really linger on the sudden sensation though, or the source.

As a result, his tact had also seemed to fly right out of him. “Yeah, got any books on how to get my annoying friends off my back about being single?”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Kuroo felt like sucking them back in, his breath hitching with the power of a vacuum as he processed what he'd said. Ah damn.

Oversharing had never been an issue for him, yet here he was, accidentally unleashing his frustrations out to an unsuspecting library worker. Kuroo pursed his lips, his hand freezing just as it gripped the sheet of paper he'd been looking for all along.

He waited for an awkward cough or scoff, maybe even a scolding for his rudeness. It definitely wasn't his day. Kuroo tapped his fingers against the tarnished wooden surface of the desk, stiffly pulling out his resource list and laying it flat in front of the employee. Kuroo didn’t dare look at the other’s face.

Instead of sounding irritated though, the person simply snorted, their body relaxing as they leaned against the counter. From their close proximity, Kuroo could smell the faint scent of sand and saltwater—his favorite.

“If such a book did exist, I’m sure people would be fighting over it as we speak," the voice answered, and yeah, Kuroo thought, velvety was the perfect way to describe it. He may have written scientific articles, but he knew his way around some adjectives.

Oh god, he was an idiot.

But actually yeah, the other had a point.

Kuroo laughed at the joke, tension leaving his muscles as he ran a hand through his hair. Finally, he looked up as he spoke, unaware of just how deadly of a blow it would be. "Yeah, you got a point ther—"

Kuroo choked on the end of his sentence, and the sensation returned tenfold. Like a cold, refreshing gust of wind, or an ocean breeze at night, golden lanterns lighting the way...

That was what looking at the other man in front of him felt like. Kuroo didn’t know it was possible, to have just one person practically embody such an image.

The young man's eyebrow arched in question, his plush lips pulled into a frown as his gaze slowly drifted to the paper on the desk. As his hand reached out, Kuroo noted how the sleeves of his black jumper were too long, easily sliding past his palms. The v-neckline of the jumper was skewed, as if the other had put it on in a bit of a rush. His blond hair was damp, and it pressed against his neck and forehead, and Kuroo could take a guess now about why the other smelled like he was born from the sea. So many questions…

Beautifully pale skin.

Piercing honey brown eyes which glowed behind black frames.

Long, delicate fingers.

Kuroo's eyes jumped from one feature to the other, his mind trying to drink in as much as he could before he was forced to step back into reality. He didn't know what had gotten into him, or why he'd never seen this man at the library before, but Kuroo couldn't take his eyes off him.

"Um, do you need me to look up all of these?" The blond's tone was hesitant, slow, alerting Kuroo to the fact he probably looked like a complete moron staring into oblivion. The blond's fingers crept over the crumpled paper, pulling it closer to him.

Kuroo cleared his throat, knocking on the desk with his knuckles as he begged himself to form coherent words. "Uh yeah, please! I need them for an--articles, magazine articles I mean. I write magazine articles."

Oh my god, what's wrong with you?

Kuroo was known to be quite the smooth talker, and this was just embarrassing.

The blond squinted warily before he moved to the computer, beginning to type in the authors Kuroo had listed. Every now and again, his gaze would flick back to Kuroo, his fingers slowing in their typing.

Kuroo wondered if he felt it too...whatever this weird moment was.

Kuroo couldn't have explained it if he'd tried, it was something he'd seldom experienced. It wasn't that Kuroo didn't believe love at first sight could happen, though it was rare. He didn't even know if this was it, but he knew his own emotions, and he trusted his instincts.

This person in front of him was special, and Kuroo wanted to find out why.

He leaned more of his weight on the desk, inching closer into the other's personal bubble as he watched the blond dutifully write down the call numbers from the computer.

Hell, his handwriting was even pretty.

"Hey," Kuroo began, his voice still feeling way too loud despite his whispering. "I haven't seen you around before. I mean, I come to the library often for work, I know most of the employees pretty well."

"Do you want a medal?" The other scoffed before his face twisted in regret, as if he'd forgotten he was at work. Kuroo lost it. He snickered into his hand as the blond pouted, his stunning eyes sending an impressive glare at his computer screen as he aggressively scribbled down another number.

"Actually yeah, I do. My one from last year isn't as shiny anymore, " Kuroo retorted, happy when the other relaxed upon realizing Kuroo wasn't actually angry at the comment.

The blond rolled his eyes, but Kuroo didn't miss the amusement hidden in them.

"Seriously though, how do I know you're not some impostor, trying to steal forbidden library secrets?"

At that, the other actually stopped typing, bringing a hand to his hip as his eyes stared up at the ceiling, as if trying to figure out how to answer Kuroo without calling him an outright nuisance.

"I already know where the hidden make out row is, thank you very much," he finally said with the ghost of a smirk, and fuck, Kuroo felt a shiver run down his back. "I'm a new volunteer, that's all."

"Volunteer?" Kuroo perked up, his head tilting to the side. "You a college student or something blondie?"

"It's Tsukishima. And I'm not, I'm a web designer." Tsukishima tensed after that, his eyes going wide like he'd said too much, and he regarded Kuroo curiously afterwards. It was pretty cute actually, as if Kuroo had performed some sort of witch craft.

Ah, so he's not normally a sharer?

For some reason, the realization ignited a fire in Kuroo. "Work from home?"

"....yeah."

"Me too!" Kuroo said, clapping his hands together. "What a small world. I also come here for fun of course."

At that, the blond crossed his arms, unbelievably unimpressed.

"So you write science articles, stay at home, and the idea of going to the library is what constitutes as fun?" Tsukishima clicked his tongue, his smile smug and practically begging Kuroo to snap a photo of him. "You sound like a nerd to me."

Oho, a decent jab. But Kuroo could return anything dished out.

"I'm pretty sure web design is nerdier than magazine writing."

"Science magazines. That makes a big difference. Have you seen the titles of these books?" Tsukishima waved the paper around, the wobbly sound echoing into the silence of the library.

Ugh, so cute. What the hell.

"Okay now, no need to get vicious."

"There's always a need to get vicious,” Tsukishima said with a huff, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Spare my poor chemistry books kind sir, I beg you." Kuroo couldn't help but smirk, his skin warm as their eyes locked, building a fire deep inside him. What is going on?

He was just having a normal conversation for fuck’s sake. Right?

The quick beating of his heart disagreed. The amusement faded from Tsukishima's eyes as their staring contest continued, those long, beautiful fingers clenching around the pen the blond was holding. It was then Kuroo realized Tsukishima had scrawled the last call number down long ago.

The chill was back, the connection was there.

Kuroo wondered how close he'd be standing if the desk wasn’t separating them, the pull between them too strong. It would've certainly been enough to lure him into the blond's waters, and he didn't have a clue why.

He didn't really have to know why either. Sometimes, he just knew when he'd met someone worth his time, and why miss out on it?

Kuroo licked his lips, not missing the way Tsukishima's gaze flicked to them quickly before returning to Kuroo's eyes. "Um...do you--"

There was a loud cough behind him, and everything seemed to unfreeze, the smell of the ocean and sounds of the sea disappearing into nothingness as the spell broke. The fog in his brain lifted, and he wasn’t sure he was thankful for it.

"Excuse me?" An aggravated voice spoke up behind him, way too loud for the preferred library volume. Kuroo glanced over his shoulder expecting to see one disgruntled patron, but was met with a line of seven or eight people.

Whoops.

Kuroo flushed, smiling sheepishly as he pulled his book bag back over his shoulder in a haste. As he did so, he caught sight of his watch, revealing he'd ended up staying at the counter for a good twenty minutes longer than intended.

Shit.

Tsukishima snapped out of his daze right after Kuroo, practically shoving the list of books into Kuroo's chest. The blond’s face returned to a more neutral expression, calm and almost uncaring despite the obvious complaints and mutters behind them.

"Here you are,” he said, defaulting back to a more professional tone. Then the blond leaned to the side, looking past Kuroo with evident annoyance in his eyes, luckily not directed at Kuroo. "I'll be with you in just a moment."

Kuroo heard the blond mutter a curse under his breath, and the man behind him in line huffed in displeasure. Kuroo felt guilty for holding up the line, but he was more in shock at the fact he hadn't noticed at all.

He was usually so much more observant than that, a people person, constantly aware of his surroundings. But in the moment, it had felt like nothing and no one else existed, and it made his palms sweat and his throat dry up.

"Uh thanks, sorry about that...well, bye," Kuroo stuttered out as he started to walk away, meeting Tsukishima's stare until the other was forced to tend to the next patron.

All the while, it was like something in Kuroo begged him to stay.

He shook his head profusely, willing himself to focus on finding the correct floor for the first book. He had work to do, whatever this was...he could sort it out later. His article was what mattered most.

Yet as he made his way to the second level of the library, not tearing his gaze away from the head of blond hair at the front desk until he absolutely had no choice, he knew this was far from over.

#kurotsuki #kurotsukki #adri writing #haikyuuwriters #ficsforvera

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firstagent · 8 years ago

Text

Fact-Checking Maki

Now that we know Maki’s primary motive in tri., it’s easy to lean one way or another as far as her trustworthiness. But why go off a gut reaction or what other characters are saying about either her or the statements she’s made to the Chosen? Let’s go back to movie 3 and do some fact-checking!

We’re going to focus on Confession because this is the first time she fully conveys information to the Chosen and their partners. Prior to that, the only ones she can potentially deceive are Daigo and the bureau (we don’t hear her conversations with Meiko). Those may become important, but she says so little in movie 1 and isn’t specific enough in movie 2 to warrant a deeper analysis. Yet.

Here are the possible ratings for each of the 32 statements she makes in Confession:

True: Statement is factually correct with no attempt to deceive. Probably True: Statement cannot be fully verified but we have no reason to doubt it at this time. Uncertain: We do not have enough information to properly rate it for accuracy or deception. Possibly Misleading: Statement’s accuracy is hard to question, but there’s a catch in there that makes us doubt her honesty or sincerity. Misleading: Statement isn’t an outright lie, but hides vital information that would affect the recipient. False: Statement is an outright lie.

Daigo: Is Meicoomon causing all of this? Maki: That’s likely.

Analysis: Electrical interference is on the rise following Meicoomon’s outburst at the school and continues until the reboot. Minor, localized electrical inference is also seen connected to Meicoomon in the first and second movie, and the first movie opens with news reports of widespread blackouts in the Kawasaki area.

Rating: Probably True

Daigo: Why didn’t you tell me sooner that the one they were aiming for was Meicoomon? Daigo: If we had heard about Meicoomon, we might have been able to give different support at school! Maki: Our priority now is to discuss countermeasures.

Analysis: Based on actions and reactions in the first two movies, Maki knew Meicoomon was connected to the infections. While it is possible Maki did not expect Meicoomon to be targeted, she fails to justify why she did not share Meicoomon’s relation to the infections when Daigo correctly recognizes that they could have targeted their school patrol better.

Rating: Misleading

Maki: Now 13 places within the city and 52 places country-wide are having trouble with electrical devices. This is causing considerable communication issues. However, he biggest problem is that is also occurs around the airport which affects the planes that take off and land. There were four emergency landings at Haneda airport alone. In one case an airplane nearly collided with another. It’s under investigation with certain air lanes closed.

Analysis: There is no reason to doubt the accuracy of Maki’s statements. Furthermore, the increased attention and severity of the situation would only serve to disrupt her intentions by adding more government and civilian scrutiny to the situation.

Rating: Probably True

Mochizuki: Just before all this occurred, there was a report of an unconfirmed Digimon at Tsukishima High School. Boss: Do you think that is related to the crisis? Mochizuki: I can’t say conclusively for now. But in light of these escalations, it’s possible they may be related.

Analysis: Maki is silent here, despite confirming with Daigo earlier that “it is likely” they are connected. This may be either a deliberate effort to keep Mochizuki/the bureau in the dark or meeting protocol and hierarchy that would prevent her from speaking. It’s ambiguous whether the “unconfirmed Digimon” refers to Meicoomon, Imperialdramon or even the Mysterious Man. Given the amount of resources the bureau has at its disposal, it’s unlikely they would rely on Maki’s testimony alone. At the very least, it’s unknown if both Maki and Daigo gave reports on this incident (Daigo would presumably be thorough in his testimony). We also have to consider the possibility Mochizuki is withholding information from the bureau.

Rating: Uncertain

Daigo: This is more dire than expected. Maki: At this rate, it’ll happen again. There’ll be victims again. Daigo: I don’t want them to have that harsh experience. Maki: Yeah.

Analysis: If we assume they are referring to their experiences as original Chosen, this remains a curious statement. Their “harsh experience” had nothing to do with electrical interference or infected Digimon in the real world, and they’re aware the current Chosen have overcome more dire situations than this in the past. Maki clearly considers herself a victim in losing Bakumon, but the current situation would not be a repeat of her loss. In addition, Daigo does not know about the reboot, yet seemingly knows what Maki means by “it” and the “harsh experience” awaiting the current Chosen. There is more going on here. At the same time, Maki appears sympathetic towards the current Chosen- an important observation.

Rating: Uncertain

Yamato: I need to know more. We’re in a tough situation so I need as much information as possible. Please. Maki: All right. You’re also involved. You have a right to know, to some extent.

Analysis: Whether an effort to solidify their trust or a sincere effort to provide information, Maki makes it clear she will lend the Chosen information to a limited degree.

Rating: True

Maki: You saw what occurred in the shadow of the school festival, right? This is the result. We haven’t reported it to the media. And we don’t intend to. Sooner or later, it’ll become an uproar though.

Analysis: Maki is showing Yamato a prepared internal report. Since they have not reported it to the media, it is for bureau eyes only and is peeling back the curtain for Yamato. The report likely omits details about Meicoomon’s history with the infection (which would be helpful for the Chosen), but nothing Maki says here is a lie.

Rating: Possibly Misleading

Yamato: What about Ken Ichijouji? Maki: We’re always checking the welfare of the digidestined. Don’t worry. Yamato: I was worried because I couldn’t contact him. Maki: Go tell everyone the Meicoomon investigation will begin ASAP and we will cooperate as much as possible.

Analysis: While factually correct, Maki is clearly hiding the fact that the bureau knows that Ken’s whereabouts are unknown. Again, she is withholding key suspicions about Meicoomon.

Rating: Misleading

Maki: I’ll tell you as soon as anything new comes up. We’re okay, right?

Analysis: Maki fails to inform the children about Meicoomon’s link to the infection, Meiko’s awareness of Meicoomon’s infection, the reboot, or a way to stop it.

Rating: False

Daigo: Himekawa-san! You went overboard! Maki: How so? Daigo: By deceiving the kids! Maki: Should I have been honest about everything? Daigo: Well...

Maki: I can’t, right? To say that those people are all missing? I don’t want to burden those kids anymore. It’s part of our duty to deceive them well.

Analysis: She is openly admitting to Daigo that she didn’t tell Yamato the whole story. Knowing how sensitive Maki is about her partner, it is entirely possible she is sincere in not wanting to give the Chosen any more grief in their current situation. However, we cannot confirm this is her true motive for doing so.

Rating: Uncertain

Daigo: What about the fact that Meicoomon caused all this? Maki: If we tell them, what will it do to Meiko and their relationship? They’ll know sooner or later. No need to tell them. Koshiro Izumi will figure it out.

Analysis: Same situation, although knowing Meicoomon’s role in initiating the reboot makes this more likely to be a deliberate cover. However, her (correct) assumption that Koshiro will put it together makes it unclear if she thinks the Chosen have any way to prevent the reboot. While she doesn’t help them, she does nothing to stop them from discovering the truth or countering it.

Rating: Possibly Misleading

Daigo: But still! Why keep things from me too? Am I that untrustworthy? Maki: Some things are better off not knowing.

Analysis: Maki is more or less confirming that she’s hiding information from him too. Given the consequences of the reboot plan, she should have run this by him to make sure she wasn’t crazy. She’s lying to herself here more than Daigo, but it’s still a lie.

Rating: False

Maki: It’s okay. She just blacked out. Tailmon: It’s not okay! What on Earth happened to Hikari?! Maki: I’m not exactly sure, but it seems like someone else borrowed her body to speak with her.

Analysis: Maki was also once possessed by Homeostasis and is using that experience to hypothesize that Hikari just went through the same thing. She can’t be completely sure since she doesn’t have a first-hand recollection of the event.

Rating: True

Gabumon: What did they mean by “a great sacrifice?!” Maki: Probably... a reboot.

Analysis: This gets murky. The simplest explanation here is that Homeostasis is the only one who can initiate a reboot. If Yggdrasil or Maki could have done it themselves, they would not have needed to raise the threat of mass infection (and the additional scrutiny from the bureau, Homeostasis, and the Chosen). While it could still prove differently, Maki is probably right in saying Homeostasis is suggesting a reboot is the only answer.

Rating: Probably True

Maki: The Digital World is one of the possible worlds that exist side-by-side with ours. As long as our world remains, it’s possible to start over. That’s “rebooting.”

Analysis: The clues about other possible worlds existing have been vague, so there’s no way of knowing for sure. However, Maki is explaining clearly what a reboot entails and it’s hard to see how fudging an explanation helps her cause.

Rating: Probably True

Maki: Infected Digimon didn’t originally exist in the Digital World. So they would disappear by rebooting.

Analysis: This clearly turned out not to be the case, but there’s no way we can tell if Maki knew this would happen going in. She may have hypothesized this or Yggdrasil may have told her this. As the existence of a post-reboot Meicoomon doesn’t affect Maki’s goal, we can’t shoot the messenger.

Rating: Uncertain

Patamon: Then... then why haven’t you done that?! Maki: Rebooting is the last resort. Digimon: The last resort? Maki: The quantum sea has created other worlds besides the Digital World. The quantum sea is different from our world and any possible world. It is the primordial world. Carelessly rebooting could produce gaps in phases causing the Digital World to be engulfed in the quantum sea.

Analysis: For someone so bent on engineering a reboot to get Bakumon back, this is foreboding stuff to be telling the Digimon. It’s hard to fathom her warning against the dangers of careless rebooting while being so cavalier in making it happen unless it were true. She knows the risks, and later is seen waiting to make sure this fate does not befall the Digital World.

Rating: True

Tailmon: Are we out of time? Maki: Yes. All the worlds will be destroyed if we just stand by and watch. So we’ll reboot before we lose the chance.

Analysis: She’s telling them the reboot is going to happen, and the risks involved with not doing it. Homeostasis confirmed the danger of the current situation and the reboot does occur.

Rating: True

Gabumon: If we reboot, will this world... will Yamato’s and everyone’s world be okay? Maki: If all traces of the infection are totally gone from this world, it shouldn’t affect anything here.

Analysis: The reboot did eliminate the infection from the real world and the electrical disruptions immediately ceased. Life in the real world continued normally.

Rating: True

Tailmon: How do you know this? Maki: Because I’m a high-level person at the bureau.

Analysis: Maki is shown researching the reboot well before she joined the bureau. It appeared to be something of a pet project of hers. We’re given no information as to whether other high-level officials at the bureau are aware of the implications of reboot.

Rating: Misleading

Gabumon: In short, “a great sacrifice” means that time turns back in the Digital World? Maki: Well... that sums it up.

Analysis: While it appears that Maki isn’t aware of all of the implications of a reboot (primarily memory loss), she does know that Digimon who die without becoming a digiegg are restored. It may not be pertinent to the Digimon’s present concerns, but it is a major detail she is aware of and withholds. It would be interesting to know how some of them (Tailmon in particular) would react to hearing this.

Rating: Possibly Misleading

Piyomon: How does a reboot occur? Maki: I don’t know. Whether to invoke a reboot depends on the will of Homeostasis, who desires universal stability.

Analysis: It’s hard to question this. While Maki knows a reboot is about to be triggered, understanding the mechanics of how Homeostasis does it may be out of her reach. She just knows it’s imminent.

Rating: Probably True

Tailmon: Homeostasis? Maki: Probably the one who spoke using Hikari-chan’s mouth. Would you get it if I said it was the God of the Digital World? Gabumon: The one who decides whether to reboot? Maki: Considering the situation now, the next time Meicoomon appears it may bring a reboot on.

Analysis: Once again, Yggdrasil and Maki have no reason to time their own reboot in order to pin the blame on Meicoomon. Homeostasis’ possession of Hikari is consistent with its possessions in the past and Meicoomon’s next appearance does trigger the reboot.

Rating: Probably True

Maki: That’s a relief. You’re just a little anemic. Hikari: Um... what was I doing? I remember being in the school hallway, then I ended up on a hospital bed. Maki: Not sure. I’d found you after you’d already collapsed. Maybe you’re tired from all that’s been happening recently? And, it’s hot.

Analysis: Maki is inventing reasons for Hikari to have passed out without acknowledging her possession by Homeostasis.

Rating: False

Maki: A sign of the distortion. The data pool density is exponentially increasing. It’s coming.

Analysis: Maki is just doing her job in reporting the distortion to Daigo, but in doing so allows Daigo to witness the reboot first-hand and possibly assist the Chosen trying to prevent it.

Rating: True

Maki: It’s been a week. The quantum sea still hasn’t materialized in the Digital World as of now.

Analysis: Maki may be eager to jump in after her partner, but she is still aware of the risks of reboot and is waiting to make sure the coast is clear. There is no evidence of the Digital World sinking into the quantum sea in the next movie.

Rating: True

Daigo: There was a massive trade-off... Maki: I know. Those kids just have to move on. Move forward.

Analysis: Given how bad Maki was at moving on from the loss of Bakumon, it’s incredibly unfair for her to just expect the Chosen to cope. There’s probably no deception going on here, but it’s such a hypocritical statement that it should raise eyebrows.

Rating: Possibly Misleading

Maki: In the blink of an eye, new buildings will be up within six months, and Odaiba will be just like before. In a year, everyone will forget what happened there.

Analysis: Somehow, this has been the case historically. The Chosen forgot about Hikarigaoka even after being reintroduced to Digimon. Despite the incidents in 1999 and 2002, many civilians were confused and upset by the emergence of Digimon in 2005. These people have short memories.

Rating: Probably True

Maki: No one in the world will even mention Digimon anymore. Daigo: Those kids, too? Maki: That’s a part of becoming an adult.

Analysis: Once again, Maki is ignoring her own feelings. Again, it’s hard to see the deception here, but she should know better. At the same time, this would be the ideal opportunity to sell Daigo on the idea of helping the kids enter the Digital World. She doesn’t, she waits for Koshiro to propose it to her, and Daigo objects to it throughout.

Rating: Possibly Misleading

Maki: You’re serious, right? Taichi: Yeah. Maki: We have just one chance. Even if we open the gate, it’ll be unstable. There’s no guarantee you can come back. Daigo: The risk is too great! Guys, you should discuss this more first. Yamato: I’m going.

Analysis: It’s uncertain what she means by having only one chance, but she is clear about the warnings and risks. If her plan requires them to enter the Digital World, she not only waits for them to contact her, but she does try to talk them out of it.

Rating: Probably True

Maki: I’ll go prepare. Go wait where the reboot occurred. Daigo: Himekawa-san! Maki: Nishijima-kun, please take them there. I’ll contact security and pull them away.

Analysis: Maki successfully engineers a way to take them to the Digital World despite Daigo’s objections.

Rating: True

Hikari: D3? Maki: We independently proceeded with the analysis. Though the analysis still isn’t complete, if D3 can synchronize with your power, the gate can probably open. Sora: Our power? Maki: Using the power of your Crests.

Analysis: While there are tons of questions about how Maki came into the possession of the D3, what is true is that the Chosen using their Crest power was able to finally get the thing to work. It enables the Chosen to get to the Digital World (and only the Chosen; the Mysterious Man probably pulled Maki in), even if it’s certainly suspicious that she has it in the first place.

Rating: True

Final Total/Analysis:

True: 9 Probably True: 8 Uncertain: 4 Possibly Misleading: 5 Misleading: 3 False: 3

She’s certainly not the most trustworthy character, with a number of lies and deceptions, but it’s not as bad as people may think. She is very forthcoming about the reboot to the Digimon (it’s important to note she does not suggest that it can be stopped nor that it erases memories), and if there is an ulterior motive in helping the kids enter the Digital World, she’s not pressuring anybody into making it happen. At the same time, she does hide information from Daigo, Yamato, and probably the entire bureau in order to ensure the crisis escalates to a point where a reboot is necessary. While that may be enough of a crime on its own, so far that appears to be her only one.

#digimon #digimon adventure tri #digimon tri #maki himekawa #Tri spoilers #digiarticle

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thatishogwash · 8 years ago

Text

The Tales We Tell

Bokuroo Week Prompt 2

April 2nd: Inside Jokes

Warnings: Mild gore, slight violence, minor character death.

When Kuroo was 15 years old he went to his first Fukurodani Group training camp. Kuroo wasn’t all that nervous, it was only a couple months into his first year and he was nothing but a bench warmer. Kuroo knew he wouldn’t be doing much during the actual practice matches against the other teams, but he was nearly vibrating with excitement at the thought of extra practice where groups broke off and it didn’t matter if he was a first year nobody.

The hard part was finding other people to practice with. There was a libero in Kuroo’s year but the upperclassmen claimed him rather quickly, everyone could always use a libero. Kai was a first year bench warmer like Kuroo, he always seemed to be calm and collected no matter the chaos around him. Kai was an easy one to get to do some extra practice with.

Kuroo’s managed to gather a couple other first and second years that hadn’t seen much actual gameplay during the day and were itching to actually get their hands on a ball. Kuroo felt like something was off though, they needed one more person and he waved at his small group in gym 3 before venturing outside to find their much needed last person.

A setter or libero would be best, Kuroo pondered, he had worked with Kenma long enough to be decent at setting in a practice situation but Kuroo really wanted to work on his blocking. High schoolers were in a completely different league than middle schoolers, where Kuroo had been one of the tallest and easily blocked most other kids. Now he found himself in the middle height-wise and he would need some actual skill to back up his height. For that reason Kuroo wanted a spiker, despite the fact that a setter or libero would be more practical with their four on four game.

Kuroo turned around a corner of one of the gyms and spotted a lanky-looking kid that Kuroo remembered as cheering the loudest during any Fukurodani game. It was clear the boy had hit a growth spurt recently since he looked too long, not at all a fully formed person yet. Kuroo had always been tall, had gotten use to the height and could tell the difference between someone like him and someone who had recently only shot up to tall heights.

The kids hair stuck out the most, literally and figuratively. It stuck straight up, like two pointed horns and was dyed white but the roots were black. He was intensely focused on bouncing the ball off the wall and receiving it, his lanky limbs tripping him up more often than not. But Kuroo could see the potential, see the power and the drive hidden behind the awkward 15 year old boy.

“Hey! You’re from Fukurodani, right?” Kuroo interrupted, the boy jumped and the ball bounced off the wall to hit him directly in the side of the head. Kuroo sputtered, covering his mouth with his hand as he felt his cackling laugh bubble up in his throat.

“Hey hey hey! I’m Bokuto Koutarou!” The boy jogged over as if he hadn’t even realized he’d been hit in the head with a volleyball, and maybe he hadn’t, it must take a lot of gel to get someones hair to stick up like that.

“Kuroo Tetsurou,” Kuroo said once he had his laughter under control. Kenma had told him that he had a very mocking laugh, and Kuroo didn’t want to already get on someone's bad side the first day of training camp. “We are doing some extra practice in gym 3, do you want to join in on a four on four?” Bokuto was nearly shaking with excitement as he leaped forward, nodding his head furiously.

“Yeah!” Bokuto shouted then took a step back, his cheeks a little red as he played with his fingers. “I mean yes, please, thank you- we are going now?” Kuroo picked up Bokuto’s stray ball and nodded, feeling a smile spread across his face at the exuberant boys attitude. Kuroo had been watching all the other teams and knew that Bokuto was a bit of an outsider even on his own team. His loud personality was probably a bit of a turnoff for some people, especially at a school as serious as Fukurodani was, but Kuroo liked it. He liked being around people who were as passionate about volleyball as Kuroo was, despite the fact that it may seem uncool to put your everything into a high school club.

“So Bokuto,” Bokuto shot up to stand up straight, looking at Kuroo with wide eyes that seemed too large for his face. “What’s up with the hair?” Kuroo grinned as Bokuto started in on a story about a wise old owl and little baby Bokuto.

“Oh- um-” Bokuto stuttered as Kuroo cackled loudly at the end of the story. “S-sorry.” Bokuto seemed to deflate completely, shoulders slumping, head hung low, feet dragging.

“Hey hey, do you want to know how I get my hair like this?” Kuroo elbowed the boy next to him, getting only a small nod and a glance at Kuroo’s hair, which was the result of bedhead left untamed for years. “It started with a deal with a demon, no wait, I should say it started with accidentally summoning a demon by-” Bokuto perked up as Kuroo continued his story.

It became a joke shared between the two of them over the years. Every Time someone asked them about their hair the stories got a little more wild, a bit more magical, and as they got older, sometimes the stories got a bit more crude.

It came to the point during their third year in high school that people learned to stop asking about their hair, the first years were warned explicitly and no matter how Bokuto pouted or Kuroo manipulated, no one asked them about their hair. Until a new team showed up at the Fukurodani training camp, Karasuno with their unsuspecting club members were ripe for the picking because no one had thought to warn them.

It was sunshine Hinata Shouyou who had wonderly asked about Bokuto’s hair, getting a groan from the rest of the lunch table and a cackling laugh from Kuroo as Bokuto leaned forward and wove a tale so fantastic it could have been a Studio Ghibli movie. Hinata was a great audience, gasping and shouting at all the right points in the story. After lunch Bokuto played better than he had before, which meant he was a real unstoppable monster on the court.

Everyone had begged Karasuno to stay quiet when Kuroo started nudging them to ask about his own gravity defying hair. Sugawara, the blessed little imp he was, leant over his captain to ask Kuroo about his hair and that’s when Kuroo started in on a story that would give the first years, plus poor Azumane, nightmares that night.

“Do they do that often?” Sawamura was asking Kai, who looked peaceful as ever.

“It’s a joke between the two of them,” Kai answered with a shrug meaning he didn’t care to understand it but that was fine. It was a joke shared between Kuroo and Bokuto, something that made them think back to the first time they met.

Of course what goes up must come down and when Bokuto came down, he usually crashed hard. Slipping into a dejected mode even Akaashi was having a hard time pulling him out of. Kuroo never liked seeing Bokuto like that, he knew it had to do with deeper issues than just missing a view tosses or having a couple of his spikes blocked. Bokuto had a mind that never calmed down, that never let him have a moment of peace and he tended to swing from ups and downs like a carnival ride.

Kuroo wanted to go over to Bokuto, to rub his back and press close to him but he knew they were already toeing the line of friendship in everyone else's eyes. They had started dating at the beginning of the summer, but they had kept it between themselves. For the most part it was pretty easy, neither had much relationship experience and Kuroo was just starting to accept the fact that he didn’t, and never would, like girls the same way he liked boys. It was new and for the most part, rather innocent.

“Bokuto,” Sawamura sat down heavily beside Bokuto on the floor by the far wall as everyone broke off to either go shower or start up extra practices. “I came in the middle of your story the other day, so tell me, what’s the story behind your hair.” Sawamura’s smile was warm and gentle and if Kuroo wasn’t completely smitten with Bokuto, he would have kissed Sawamura.

“Bo, tell him about the fairies.” Kuroo encouraged, sitting in front of the two other captains. Sawamura stretched out his legs, giving Bokuto an encouraging smile when he looked up. The story lacked Bokuto’s usual enthusiasm but by the end he wasn’t so slumped over.

“Can I ask you a favor?” Sawamura asked, leaning towards Bokuto a little, who nodded at the crow captain. “You know the kid with glasses on my team? Tsukishima, he’s- well, not very motivated but he has a lot of potential. I can’t get through to him, but I think you might.”

“How?” Bokuto asked, though he was sitting up a little straighter and Kuroo wanted to hug Sawamura.

“My spiking skill is average at best and Tsukishima has no real problem blocking them, but if he was to come up against a top rated spiker.” Sawamura grinned a little and the look was surprisingly lacking his usual warmth.

“You want Bokuto to blast through his blocks?” Kuroo asked, impressed and a little shock at Sawamura’s cunningness.

“Tsukishima doesn’t like to look uncool.” Sawamura shrugged and Kuroo couldn’t help but let out a cackle at that. Kuroo knew it when he first met Sawamura, that he was a lot more cunning than his country boy appearance let on.

“Bokuto will power through his blocks and I’ll come in and teach him the proper way.” Kuroo offered, looking over at Bokuto who was grinning and nodding with his usual enthusiasm.

“Let's do it!” Bokuto jumped up, speeding out of the gym to go track down Tsukishima. Kuroo put his hand on Sawamura’s shoulder, squeezing gently in thanks before jogging after Bokuto.

The joke continued through high school and into college. They went to different universities, Bokuto accepting a sports scholarship to Chuo while Kuroo travelled to Kyoto University of Art and Design. Kuroo found himself lucky because Sawamura was going to Kyoto Institute of Technology and was gracious enough to room with Kuroo, who found himself completely out of his depth.

Kuroo missed Tokyo, he missed Kenma and he definitely missed Bokuto. Even during breaks when Kuroo went home to Tokyo Bokuto was busy with all things volleyball. In the middle of Kuroo’s third year he was seriously considering dropping out and going home. He knew it was just a momentary feeling, most people felt this way at least once but Kuroo wasn’t getting his classes and he felt disconnected from the world, lonely. Sawamura program of Biomolecular Engineering meant he was constantly hunched over his desk, glasses perched on the end of his nose as he wrote or typed furiously.

“Hey hey hey!” Kuroo sat out on the balcony, closing the sliding glass door behind him so he wouldn’t get yelled at by the touchy Sawamura Daichi for disturbing him. Kuroo understood why Sawamura was on edge, one of his professors had changed Sawamura’s design plans at the last minute, plans Sawamura had spent the past 3 months perfecting to turn in a month from then for his final project.

“Hey Bo,” Kuroo leant against the glass door, stretching out his legs and letting his feet hang over the metal railing.

“You sound like shit.” Bokuto said in his usual blunt and honest manner. “Would a visit from your hot and loving boyfriend help?”

“What?” Kuroo sat up and gripped his cellphone harder. “Don’t mess with me Bokuto.”

“I’m not! I swear, I uh- I sprained my wrist and I’m out of commision for two weeks.” Bokuto sounded sheepish but really, it was only a surprise that Bokuto didn’t hurt himself more often with his all or nothing way of living his life. “It’s just a sprain, really they are overreacting with the two weeks bullshit but my classes let out early on Thursday so we could have a long weekend!”

“Really? You’re okay with that?” Kuroo asked because Bokuto sounded honestly fine with not playing volleyball for two weeks, which just wasn’t like Bokuto at all. He was the ace of Chuo, it had taken him over two long years to gain the respect of his team, to have them put their faith and belief into a guy who sometimes slipped into dejected modes.

“Yes! We don’t have any scheduled matches, there’s a practice match against Waseda but- uh- you know, it’s Waseda.” Bokuto sounded a little ashamed of saying that but Waseda hadn’t won a championship in over 50 years, hadn’t made it to finals in over 30. “And- I- um- hold on, there- just, okay, I miss you, you know? I hardly got to see you the last time you came back to Tokyo and-” Bokuto sighed, soft and quiet.

“I miss you too.” Kuroo glanced behind him. “We could use you here, Daichi’s about to- I’m not even sure, I’ve never seen him so stressed but you have a way of calming him down.” Sawamura worked best when other people were panicked around him, when surrounded by chaos he thrived. It was a weird thing, but then again he had been captain of Karasuno, a team of chaotic, panicked people.

“Is it just Sawamura who needs me?” Bokuto hummed and Kuroo couldn’t help but laugh at that.

Kuroo almost floated through the next three days until he was waiting at the train station for Bokuto. Kuroo had been getting steadily more nervous as he watched the schedule bleed red with cancelled trains. Kuroo had no idea what that was about, he had only seen a train cancelled maybe a handful of times in his 20 odd years of living in Tokyo so seeing the message board with over a dozen cancelled lines was odd.

“Is that weird?” Sawamura asked next to him, brows pressed together as he stared up at the board. There had been a lot of odd things in the news lately but they had their own problems to worry about. The world was always kind of a mess so what did it matter to them?

“Kuroo!” Cancelled trains and odd news were tossed out of Kuroo’s head as he was almost tackled to the ground by Bokuto. Luckily Kuroo had a lot of experience with flying hugs in the form of 80 kilogram Bokuto Koutarou so he caught him mid leap and only stumbled back a little before steadying them both.

“Are you feeling sick Bokuto?” Sawamura asked, always the parental figure.

“No no, something's going around the city though, better safe than sorry.” Bokuto tugged the white mask down beneath his chin so he could talk without being muffled.

“It’s a good thing you’re here then.” Kuroo pressed his forehead against Bokuto’s temple, a small moment that made Bokuto lean towards him, smile goofily.

“Gross.” Sawamura grumbled but he was smiling. “How’s your wrist?”

“It’s fine- ah, ow.” Bokuto had flung his wrapped wrist out then cringed, pulling it back close to his chest. “Just a little sore.”

“I’m surprised you don’t get injured more often.” Sawamura walked beside them as they all started the walk out of the train station and towards Kuroo and Sawamura’s apartment.

“What’s that suppose to mean?” Bokuto squawked, already offended.

“You know exactly what I meant.” Sawamura slung Bokuto’s duffel bag over his shoulder, waving away Bokuto’s half hearted attempts to get it back.

“Defend my honor.” Bokuto demanded Kuroo.

“He’s kind of right Bo.” Kuroo shrugged, already feeling lighter than he had in awhile. Kuroo could also see the tension draining out of Sawamura’s shoulders.

“Betrayed by my beloved!” Bokuto crowed.

“Sounds like the hookline of a romance novel.” They all began to chip in their own cheesy hook lines, edging towards the absurd as they reached their rundown apartment building. It wasn’t much, but it was home.

“Hungry?” Sawamura asked as he dropped the duffel bag by the couch and shuffled towards their small kitchen.

“Yes!” Bokuto answered enthusiastically while pulling Kuroo down onto the couch.

“Always.” Kuroo agreed.

“I wasn’t asking you.” Sawamura grumbled but he was all talk. Sawamura was a bit of a slob but he could cook, which worked well because Kuroo actually really enjoyed cleaning and he couldn’t cook anything more complicated than microwave noodles.

Bokuto cuddled close to Kuroo, ignoring the fact that he well outweighed Kuroo and they were far too tall and muscular to make cuddling look anything but kind of awkward and weird. Kuroo ignored the fact that his leg was already falling asleep under the pressure of an 80 kilogram Bokuto Koutarou, and just wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, taking a deep breath and letting himself relax.

Kuroo had worried at first that he would have to hide his relationship even in his own apartment, but while Sawamura came from a small town he proved to have an open mind. Sometimes Sawamura would even go and crash at one of his friends apartments to give Bokuto and Kuroo a night alone.

Bokuto and Kuroo untangled long enough to eat the yakiniku that Sawamura had grilled up, claiming he had just wanted grilled meat and vegetables and had not cooked it because he knew it was Bokuto’s favorite. Kuroo and Bokuto knew better though, they were onto the giant soft teddy bear Sawamura really was.

Their movie later that night was interrupted by a service announcement implementing a curfew. None of them had really planned to go out that night anyways so it mattered very little to them.

“That’s weird.” Sawamura huffed as the movie came back on and all thoughts of curfews were wiped away.

The next day all travel was stopped. The trains, buses, airports- everything. Only those with emergencies were allowed to move from one city to the next by car. They all sat around the tv, watching the reports describe what was happening in a really round about way.

“They aren’t actually giving us a reason why this is happening.” Kuroo said as he held Bokuto a little closer. “You said there was something going around Tokyo?”

“You’re thinking an outbreak of some kind?” Sawamura questioned as he continued to type away on his phone. Kuroo nodded and pulled out his own phone, letting Bokuto go so he could grab his off the coffee table.

“Hey, you’re not in Tokyo, are you?” Kuroo asked as soon as Kenma picked up, almost relieved by the put upon sigh of his childhood friend.

“No, my grandfather insisted we come visit him yesterday and now we’re stuck here.” Kenma’s grandfather lived in Akita and every time he felt like he was close to death he made the whole family visit him to say goodbye. Kenma’s grandfather had been “close to death” ever since Kuroo has known him, and from what Kuroo had heard from Kenma’s parents he’s in rather healthy shape.

“Maybe that’s a good thing.” Kuroo couldn’t relax fully knowing the rest of his family and friends were in Tokyo.

“You’re worried.” Kenma said softly, slowly as if it was a surprise to realize that.

“Suga sent me a video of the news.” Sawamura moved to sit between Kuroo and Bokuto. Sugawara was in a study abroad program in England.

“News from England?” Bokuto asked, pressing closer.

“Hold on Kenma,” Kuroo leaned down to watch the video too.

“No, it’s footage from Japan.” They watched the news segment. Kuroo’s English was a little better than Sawamura and Bokuto’s but it was still difficult to catch everything. Sugawara’s face came on the camera next.

“They said there’s an outbreak in Tokyo, something that’s causing extreme aggressive behavior. They’ve quarantined the entire city, there’s mass panic because apparently the disease or whatever it is effects quickly.” Sugawara looked slightly panicked, face pale and eyes too wide. “Daichi-”

“It’s okay, we’re in Kyoto and there’s a curfew in effect, we won’t leave the apartment until everything's sorted.” Sawamura quickly assured him.

“Okay, okay- just stay safe.” They hung up so Sawamura could call his parents, standing up and moving to the kitchen as he did so.

“Did you hear any of that Kenma?” Kuroo asked into his own phone, feeling like his heart was being slowly squeezed.

“Yeah.” Kenma went quiet, they both did as Bokuto quickly assured his parents that he was safe and in Kyoto and no, he wouldn’t go outside and yes, he was with Sawamura and Kuroo. Kuroo knew Bokuto’s parents trusted Sawamura the same way Kuroo’s own mother did, always talking about how responsible and what a lovely boy he was.

“Keep safe.” Kuroo said softly.

“Yeah. You too.” They hung up and Kuroo called his mom. He worried for her, she worked as a nurse at a doctors office, if there was an outbreak of some kind she might be in the thick of it.

“Tetsurou! I’ve been trying to get ahold of you.” His mother's voice was rushed and quiet but there was clear relief in it.

“Sorry I was talking to Kenma.” Kuroo felt bad almost instantly.

“Of course you’d call Kenma before your own mother,” There was a teasing note in her voice but it didn’t cover the worry at all.

“Mom, what’s going on?” Kuroo asked and he could almost see his mother debating whether to tell him or not, but of course she went with the truth. His mother had had him at an early age, and had raised him alone. It meant they were close and didn’t believe in lying to him to spare his feelings.

“Something is happening, I’m not really sure what it is but they are downplaying it in the news.” His mother's voice was even quieter now. “We have no idea how the disease is spreading but it's affecting more and more people by the hour. Kuroo, please stay inside, and if you see someone that is acting strangely or is hurt- I know sweetheart, you were raised to help them but don’t do it this time. There’s something wrong with people, please promise me.”

“I-I promise.” Kuroo felt suddenly very small, but he wasn’t. He was far away from his mother and expected to act like the adult he was. “What about you?”

“I’m okay, I’m safe. You keep safe too, okay?” They spoke a little longer before they said their goodbyes, his mother making him promise once more before she would let him go.

A knock on the door made them all sit up straight. Sawamura approached it carefully.

“Hey guys? It’s Terushima.” Terushima Yuuji lived two floors down by himself. Sawamura opened the door and there was a lot more than just Terushima there. “Um- we thought it’d be a great idea if we had a sleepover.” Terushima held up a duffel bag and gave Sawamura his best imploring look.

“Okay, but first go grab what food you all have and bring it back here.” Sawamura instructed, letting everyone drop their various bags before they went back to their rooms to grab the food.

There were ten of them total shoved into Kuroo and Sawamura’s apartment. They exchanged the various information they had gathered, Kuroo quickly telling them what his mother had told him. It seemed to really dawn on them right then that something serious was happening, but they needed to know.

“My dad said it was most likely a chemical weapon, an airborne attack.” Shiori, their next door neighbor, spoke up. Her dad was in the military and had been moved to Tokyo to enforce the quarantine.

Classes were cancelled until further notice.

Sugawara sent them more news reports, the same sort of things were happening in the United States.

No one's calls could get through to Tokyo.

Then cell phones stopped working all together.

The tv stations shut down next.

Kuroo had been lost and confused, it had only been two days since Bokuto arrived.

They had moved the couch and coffee table, everyone choosing to crash together on the living room floor. It was really too small of a space but no one complained about elbows in their sides or feet touching their own as they slept.

Sunday night the screams started.

“We have to help them.” Misaki whispered as they all scrambled towards the balcony that first night. A man was running down the empty street, too far away to make out his features but two- no three, then four people were running after him.

“My mom said…” Kuroo couldn’t finish it, his body wanted to run out there and help him but he was so scared, more scared than he could ever remember feeling.

“We can’t just-” Misaki stopped as the man was tackled to the ground by a fifth person before being literally torn apart.

Someone gagged from behind Kuroo, running towards the bathroom.

“What the fuck is happening, what the fuck, what the fuck-” Kaito was pulling at his hair, his glasses tilted on his pale face.

“Get off the balcony, get away from the windows.” Sawamura hissed, yanking people back inside before closing the door carefully.

“Fuck- what was that- what- they were-” Shiori tried to comfort Kaito, tried to get him to loosen his death grip on his own hair but he just kept repeating himself, confused fractured sentences.

“Were they eating him?” Bokuto’s question echoed almost too loudly in the room. Everyone turned their eyes to him, he looked calm at first glance but he was far too pale and Kuroo could see the whites all around his eyes.

“They were- they were!” Kaito yelled but Sawamura stepped closer and pressed his hand against Kaito’s mouth, forcing the shorter man to look at him.

“We need to be quiet.” Sawamura spoke softly and carefully. Kaito nodded back as if it was instinctual. “We can’t risk panicking or we’ll never survive whatever is happening. Are you okay?” Kaito nodded again and Sawamura released him, glancing around at all the terrified faces of the various 20 year olds packed into the tiny room.

“Let’s go to the living room.” Shiori offered and Sawamura nodded in agreement as they all shuffled almost soundlessly out of the room, as if even their footsteps had to be quiet.

“Okay, so I think we just got a first hand account of what has been happening in Tokyo, which means that whatever it was has spread.” Sawamura stood ramrod straight and if Kuroo hadn’t spent the past three years living with him, he would have thought Sawamura was unaffected. But Kuroo knew he wasn’t unmoved by what had just happened, but he knew if he started panicking then everyone would too. That’s what happened when you were the defacto leader of a group.

“It means the quarantine failed and Kyoto is no longer a safe place to be, especially not where we are in the center of the city.” Shiori agreed, another voice of reason that the group desperately needed.

“Before the phones went dead I talked to my friend Asahi who was in Miyagi, they were setting up a safe zone close to the coast.” Sawamura rubbed at his day old stubble.

“Miyagi is a long walk from here.” Terushima pointed out but there was a certain set to his shoulders that said he’d walk it if need be.

“I have a van, it’d be a tight fit but all of us could fit in there.” Misaki offered, her voice faint as she braided a strand of her long hair, pulled it apart, and then braided it again like a nervous tick she couldn’t help but perform.

“The roads are shut down, if the military is patrolling them we could be sent right back here.” Shiori shook her head before looking over at Sawamura.

“If they are setting up a safe zone by the coast in Miyagi then they might be setting up more areas like that near the coast.” Kuroo spoke up, his voice sounding hoarse even to his own ears. He realized his throat was intensely dry but cleared his throat anyways. “Wasn’t one of you warned to stay off the roads anyways?”

“So we head towards the coast? Make our way up to Miyagi?” Terushima asked and Kuroo suddenly remembered the blonde haired man was also from Miyagi, that Sawamura and him had briefly known each other through volleyball. Terushima was probably eager to get back to his friends and family, to make sure they were alright. Kuroo wanted to do the same but his mother was in Tokyo, which they could not go to under any circumstance.

“We’d have to avoid any major cities.” Sawamura said, his soft eyes landing on Kuroo and then Bokuto.

There was more screaming from outside.

“We should leave in the morning.” Sawamura said quickly, as if to distract them all from the horror their lives had suddenly become.

“First light?” Someone asked but Sawamura was shaking his head.

“Dusk and dawn have poor visibility, we’ll wait until the sun is higher in the sky. Pack light, grab as much food that won’t expire as you can. Pack with the thought that we won’t be coming back here.” Sawamura offered and they all nodded.

“I don’t think it’s safe for the few people who live in the next building to go back to their rooms to get stuff.” Shiori spoke up hesitantly.

“My closet is open,” Kuroo offered and the people who lived in their building nodded in agreement.

“We will go in pairs. Pack quickly and do it quietly.” Sawamura rubbed a hand down his face.

“Hey Daichi,” Terushima sidled up to Sawamura with half his usual slimeball charm. Sawamura gave him a weak smile.

“I’ll come with you.” Sawamura shook his head in fake exasperation.

“I will name my first born after you.” Terushima promised as walked to the front door, putting on their shoes and pressing their ears against the door to make sure it was clear.

Only two other people besides Sawamura and Terushima left, the rest making do with what they had already packed or going through Sawamura and Kuroo’s things. Kuroo packed for Sawamura, grabbing things he knew the other man liked the most.

Everyone gathered back in the living room, exhausted but too terrified to sleep. Sawamura rolled over onto his stomach, propping his chin up on his crossed arms and he looked around the room before giving Kuroo an exasperated look.

“Hey Kuroo?” Kuroo raised his eyebrows in answer, wondering what Sawamura was up to now. “Tell me, how do you get your hair to look like that?” Kuroo almost laughed. Sawamura didn’t understand Kuroo and Bokuto’s inside joke anymore than anyone else who wasn’t Kuroo or Bokuto did, but he recognized that the people around them needed a little hope.

Bokuto told his story after Kuroo and people looked a little confused but slightly more relaxed, a couple even drifting off to sleep. Kuroo looked over to Sawamura only to see Terushima move closer to the old crow captain, pressing his face into Sawamura’s broad back. Sawamura, for his part, handled it with a soft roll of his eyes but didn’t complain.

Kuroo rolled himself over into Bokuto’s space, no longer caring about how they looked to others, no longer caring about anyone else's comfort or approval. He needed the comfort of Bokuto’s large, solid frame right then and Bokuto was only all too willing to help.

It was the last comfortable night they had for months to come.

Kaito was attacked before they even made it a block away from the apartments. His screams of pain brought more of the- things. Kuroo couldn’t think of a better name for them because they no longer acted anything like a human. Another of their group was taken down while trying to help Kaito, dead before anyone of them could even step to help.

They lost a third member before making it out of Kyoto.

Kuroo didn’t remember much of the attacks, was happy that his brain had somehow blocked it out. He knew it was traumatizing, horrible and disgusting in a way that meant he’d never be able to watch another horror movie or crime show again.

It’s days of tiptoeing around a city and then weeks of trudging through woods, skirting around towns. Terror filled nights and exhausting days.

Whenever they stop they press close together, personal space long forgotten. Bokuto always puts himself behind Kuroo, curling around him as if he wanted to bury Kuroo in himself. None of them speak very often, except for Sawamura and Shiori who have taken to rallying their small group to get up each day and continue moving.

Another attack brings their group down to six. Kuroo, Bokuto, Sawamura, Terushima, Shiori, and Misaki. Three nights later Misaki starts vomiting and can’t seem to stop. It’s Shiori who see’s the bite on Misaki’s side. They wait and wait, hoping she will get better, knowing she won’t. None of them have it in them to finish what the bites started.

Sawamura uses his bat when Misaki succumbs fully to the infection, foaming at the mouth and lashing out at all of them.

They walk for hours in no particular direction until Sawamura stumbles and falls to his knees. It’s Terushima who presses close to him, tosses Sawamura’s arm around his shoulder and forces the large man to walk with him.

“How do you get your hair to stay that way?” Bokuto whispers in Kuroo’s ear one night, pressed close behind him. Kuroo can’t smile but he tightens his hold on Bokuto’s arms just a little bit.

“It’s a funny story that starts with a lamp, this is not ordinary lamp of course-”

“Of course.” Bokuto buries his face in Kuroo’s neck as Kuroo continues his tale.

The next day Shiori is missing. Sawamura stands with his hand pressed over his mouth, looking like he wants to shout out her name but knowing he can’t. They wait and wait and wait, but they know she isn’t coming back. Several days prior they had passed close to a sharp cliff that plunged down to the ground far below. Shiori had stared at that cliff until Terushima had pulled her away.

“I’m sorry.” Sawamura turned to Terushima, looking as if he was taking full blame for everything horrible that has happened up to that point. “Maybe we should have stayed back at the apartment?” Shiori had been a close friend to Terushima, to all of them but she had been a sort of surrogate mom to Terushima, teaching him who to use the washer and dryer, how to properly make rice, how to fix their buildings horrible heating system.

Terushima just stepped close to Sawamura, wrapping his arms around the other man and letting him cry into his shoulder. No one blamed Sawamura, but he would never let it go.

Days blended into weeks. The air became crisp, the nights turned colder. Sawamura began to cough.

“Daichi,” They had all dropped any sense of formalities.

“I’m fine, really.”

He wasn’t. The cough turned into long fits, his naturally tan skin turned pallid, his eyes sunken and surrounded by dark looking bruises. They had to stop more frequently because it became hard for Sawamura to breath.

“They could have medicine.” Kuroo argued as they all crouched down in the thick line of trees. There was a road close to them and on the other side of that road a petrol station that sometimes existed between two towns, stuck out in what seemed like the middle of nowhere.

“Too dangerous.” Sawamura said but it was weak, he could barely hold himself up. He was covered in sweat and shivered constantly, though he never complained about being hot or cold.

“They could have food or water.” Terushima tried from a different angle. Sawamura wouldn’t let them risk themselves for him, but they needed more supplies, they were almost out but the last time they had tried to go into a store they had lost people in their group.

“Dangerous.” Sawamura gasped out, his usually smooth tone ragged and painful sounding. He bent over, shaking with coughs he tried not to let out. Terushima rubbed his back.

“You’re really too weak to tell us differently.” Terushima said once the coughing fit had waned off. Sawamura could give a real mean eye even when he was at death’s door.

“Kou and I will go together, Yuuji will stay with you.” Kuroo said, looking over at Bokuto who nodded in agreement. Bokuto had begun to talk less and less and it was making Kuroo worry more and more.

“Together.” Sawamura argued.

“You’re too weak to fight if there’s something in there.” Kuroo protested.

“You three.” Sawamura’s breath rattled in his chest, wet sounding which Kuroo knew wasn’t a good thing. Kuroo also knew that Sawamura was most likely beyond any medicine that a gas station would have.

“I’m not leaving you alone, just go, he can’t stop you anyways.” Terushima grumbled out, continuing to rub Sawamura’s back despite his harsh tone.

“Careful.” Sawamura rasped out quietly. Kuroo and Bokuto nodded before making their way over to the petrol station.

Kuroo nearly cried when they found that it was not only empty of anything that wanted to kill them but completely stocked. Bokuto and Kuroo made quick work of dragging Sawamura into the building, setting him up in the backroom where they could make a quick getaway by the back door if anything came in through the front.

They grabbed armfuls of supplies, bringing it all to the backroom and helping themselves to the bottled waters and packaged junk food. They gave Sawamura cold medicine, despite the fact that they knew it would have very little to no effect on him except maybe to help him sleep a little better. None of them had been doing much sleeping since they left Kyoto.

They stayed there for days as Sawamura’s health steadily declined. He was delirious, begging them to leave him until Terushima carefully carded his fingers through his short hair, and he fell into a fitful sleep.

“How long have you been in love with him?” Kuroo asked, holding Bokuto close as the other man curled up against his chest, fingers curling into Kuroo’s old sweater.

“You’ve seen him in his volleyball kit.” Terushima tried to smile through the tears but it fell short. “I guess I realized when he brought by ramen during finals.”

“Took you a while.” Kuroo gave a small grin, just a twitch of his lips really.

“He snuck in there.” Kuroo had met Terushima during his second year of university work, the younger man had stumbled drunk onto their door and pounded, claiming that it was his room. Neither Sawamura or Kuroo were aware that Terushima lived two floors down at the time, but Sawamura had recognized the blonde haired man and ushered him into their apartment, settling him on the couch and making sure he drank plenty of water before he passed out. After that Terushima showed up sporadically to their apartment, never with any warning, sometimes drunk or holding take out.

Kuroo wasn’t sure if Sawamura felt the same towards Terushima, or even if Sawamura was into men at all. He had let Terushima curl up close every night since they left Kyoto, but they all kind of piled together when they bunkered down for the night.

Kuroo was woken by Sawamura’s heavy coughing, listening as it continued on until Sawamura sounded like he was dry heaving. Bokuto curled closer, hand reaching out to grab the sleeve of Sawamura’s jumper, as if that little physical touch would keep him with them.

Honestly Kuroo wasn’t sure what they would do if Sawamura died, he hadn’t let himself think of it. He was the solid ground beneath their feet, the only reason they had made it this far.

Kuroo didn’t have much time to think about it as the door flew open and people surged into the small backroom. Kuroo thought they were all dead for sure before his brain caught up with the situation.

“Don’t shoot!” Bokuto shouted, voice raspy as he pushed himself in front of not only Kuroo but Sawamura and Terushima too.

“You’ve got one of them with you?” A surprisingly soft voice asked, guns and lights pointed at their faces so they couldn’t make out much more than vague shapes.

“No no, he’s just sick, it was a cold but we didn’t have any medicine so- you can check him! He’s just sick!” Terushima sounded close to tears, his usual resilience gone.

“Move aside.” A strong voice ordered and Bokuto hesitated before moving. Terushima moved reluctantly. A tall man stepped closer, pointing the flashlight down at Sawamura who flinched and turned his head to start coughing once more. “Holy- what’s his name?”

“S-Sawamura Daichi.” Bokuto answered after a long moment of silence.

“Can’t fucking believe it, Shimada it’s Karasuno’s old captain.” The man lowered his gun before crouching down to Sawamura, pressing a hand against his face. “The kids burning up, we need to move now.”

“All of them?” A feminine voice asked from the back.

“Yeah, they are just a bunch of kids, get them safe.” The guy was big and broad, he turned towards Kuroo and the others. “Come on, unless you’d rather stay here?”

They were loaded into a jeep, Sawamura carried carefully into the back. Bokuto sat next to Kuroo, pressed close against his side as they both stared down at Sawamura. Kuroo couldn’t help but wonder what they would have done to them if they hadn’t recognized Sawamura, and how their old friend had saved their lives once again and wasn’t even lucid to do so.

“Kou, how did your hair get like that?” Kuroo asked, his voice barely heard above the roar of the engine, his mouth close to Bokuto’s ear. Bokuto’s hair was covered by a beanie but he turned to look at Kuroo, eyes almost too big for his face as a small hopeful little smile illuminated his features.

“When I was really little I lived in a village surrounded by a deep forest, and in that forest lived an ancient spirit who liked to take the shape of an owl.” Bokuto rested his head on Kuroo’s shoulder, leg stretching out until his foot touched Sawamura’s leg, reaching his right hand the short distance to grab onto the hem of Terushima’s sweater.

The joke had lasted through high school and years of college, it had helped them through long periods of being separated by miles and miles. It had seen them through good times and bad, and now it was there during the end of the world.

Archive of our Own

#Bokuroo week #bokuroo week 2017 #my writing #bokuroo #Bokuto Koutarou #Kuroo Tetsurou

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takunomistudio-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Takunomi Coffee Reveries, Vol. I

Contents

1 - Introduction

2 - Revitalizing the Ancients {Breath of the Wild, Final Fantasy XV}

3 - Coding for Your Own Sake {Coding, Python}

4 - LoFi Hip Hop Radio {Musical Interlude}

5 - Enticing for Computer Science {YouTube, Shōgi}

1 - Introduction

So a break for the better part of March apparently extends to most of April. That's fine. It gives time to reflect, struggle with exams, play some video games, all that good Jazz. In regards to reflection, it became apparent that daily updates was a noble goal, but a bit demanding, and my favorite posts were the Saturday recap posts, so why not try to make irregular but meatier Saturday posts only? As the content above shows, I thought it better if a bunch of good content was gathered for some relaxing perusal, coffee in hand.

Return to contents?

2 - Revitalizing the Ancients

I would be remise not to talk Breath of the Wild. The only problem is, the game pretty much speaks for itself, quality and qualities wise, doesn't it? Yet, since last I posted, I completed Final Fantasy XV, so it's not a bad idea to talk abot how these two ancient giants deal with awakening in today's gaming world.

I wasn't immediately floored by FFXV, but the sort of chill, super-realistic setting of magical pretty-boys and roadtripping in hostile territory quickly won me over. Talking abot it's story is both a laughably sort excercise and a maddingly long one, so I'm going to simply say: It's quite good, and quite incomplete. If you haven't played FFXV, just wait till all the updates and DLC are out, you'll get the full experience.

What FFXV truly was to me, was a fantasy of travelling around a lush green environment and mowing down wildlife and roaming weaponized armor troupes. The open world element, I realized, was simply a part of the mood. I could hardly go wherever I liked, and trying to explore, rarely revealed anything surprising. FFXV was, like so many earlier entried in the series, about it's combat. I'll get to why that's more than ok.

I haven't finished Breath of the Wild yet, but it's not trying to hide where it'll end up, so it doesn't require a lot of confidence to say that I see the bigger picture by now. BotW gets open world design. It gets it like no game before it. Everything is traversable and though there isn't a purpose to going all places, neither does it ever feel like a time waste. The level of detail in both the big picture and the smallest iota, is astounding. To be fair, BotW doesn't play much different from so many other games. Instead, it seems to say "This is how you should do open world", drops a mic and let's you play.

Both FFXV and BotW initially appear to be entering the modern world by seemingly accepting how Western developers design games: Real-time combat, ultra realistic graphics (FFXV) and go-where-ever-you-like, play-how-you-feel-like (BotW). Instead they both end up adhering to their roots in decidedly new ways. The Zelda puzzles, space-comprehension-requiring dungeons, grunting NPCs, tangible environments. It's all there, but in a far greater and smoother scale.

In many ways, it would be easy to call BotW the greater success, but I don't want to seem like I don't appreciate the technology behind FFXV. Consider the first time I entered the wood and monster infested Duscae area. I saw a creature I had a mark for. Me and my bodyguards flung into the fray and started hacking away. As the melee rolled around, we entered the vicinity of nearby monsters who happily obliged and suddenly the brawl was blooming into a war-like scenario. At that moment, a flying tank filled with soldiers came by to have a chat. I realize now, that this is crazy. The number of characters that FFXV supports at one point is mind blowing. No slow-downs, just more and more beasts. BotW on the other hand, nearly cracky my Wii U when I engaged five hulking moblins and a small batch of ice-bats in freezing tree-house. Perhaps BotW could achieve something like FFXV, but it's not the point. To these games, open world means different things. To BotW it's external: Go everywhere, always, whenever. To FFXV it's local: The immediate space is open to the battle system, now, to everyone.

Return to contents?

3 - Coding for Your Own Sake

Why would you want to learn programming? Maybe the idea just appeals to you, or you have some greater goal in mind for the future. Right now, you just don't have a clue what to code.

Here's a way to find a small project: Just recreate another program, in the simplest way possible, and maybe add a tiny spin on it to give yourself a challenge. Cut out visuals, complicated functionality or even user friendliness. Just make it run.

So recently I thought, how about a music player? I'd like to try my hand at Python, that seemed like a pleasant langauge to code in.

Reading around a bit, I discovered that Python is all about importing so-called modules that do a lot of the complicated stuff for you. I simply googled various key words and started copy-pasting something together. I learned stuff about how mp3 files being a bit more complicated than I expected, and so I scaled the project back to simply playing .wav files. Currently doing a course about distributed systems, I thought, maybe I should make it a small radio program? This was bit more complicated, but no more than it all resulted in the following tiny program. Simply start the program with

python3 server.py [name of song].wav

in one terminal window, and start a client in another terminal window with

python3 client.py

and hear the music play. It even works across computers on the same network.

server.py

client.py

Return to contents?

4 - LoFi Hip Hop Radio

Hiphop-like music coupled with looping images from amazingly relaxing anime is apparently a thing, and I see no reason not to endorse it one hundred percent. Below you see Shizuku Tsukishima from Whisper of the Heart feeling as relaxed as I hope you do. The image links to one of those previously mentioned hiphop radios.

Return to contents?

5 - Enticing for Computer Science

The video above is one of toco toco tv's fantastic interviews with interesting and creative Japanese people. Manao Kagawa is a professional Shogi player, and, as far as I can understand, apparently somewhat uncommon, being female.

Besides being a wonderfully relaxing interview, it features a great part in the beginning where Kagawa-san goes to browse the Shirataki Gofukuten kimono shop. It seems that being a Shogi player requires you to wear somewhat formal wear, and the result is that the players looks insanely dashing.

What's even better though, is the mentioning of the Shirataku Ayumi Hai, a yearly Shogi tournament for female players to win beautiful and (I assume) quite expensive kimono.

A quite well-discussed subject, is how the rate of women joining Computer Science and the IT work force in general, is too low. I won't get into politics here, but what is a fact, is that Computer Scientists are in short supply everywhere in the world. At the same time, it seems the education world is mainly drawing from one of two pools of potential students (men). In other words, there is a whole other, quite untapped, pool of with potential students to draw from.

I've seen some really good initiatives to reverse the current trend, but I think the one seen in the video is a wonderfully aesthetic idea. I don't know if it manages to draw in new Shogi players Japan, but having some sort of algorithm competition aimed at high school age (or younger) girl, with very sought-after, classically feminine prizes1, seems like it could draw in a segment that normally has no interest in this branch of science, despite engaging in similar ones (mathematics, medicine, biology).

Return to contents?

Big IT companies sponsor lots of things with huge amounts of money. Winning a Chanel handbag for solving algorithmic problems in high school, seems like quite a carrot. ↩︎

#Breath of the Wild #Final Fantasy XV #Whisper of the Heart #toco toco tv #shogi #python

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scorpiosanssexy · 4 years ago

Note

Hi there! HQ!! Matchup, please? I'm a straight, 5'3 Gemini ENFP girl who's slightly chubby with tan skin, black wavy hair, and glasses. I may come off as slightly haughty, but I'm generally a talkative and curious person who loves discussion. It's also very easy for me to cry, either because of a movie or when I'm mad or overwhelmed. I'm not good with tangible gifts to show how much I love someone, so I show it through words or actions. I'm also a worrywart and it messes with my stomach (1/2)

often. Some of the things I'm passionate about include visual novels, singing, psychology, and just talking to others in general. I love rabbits, pastel colors, and pop/folk/acoustic music. In my friend group I tend to be the more chatty and dreamy one. In relationships two things I prize highly would be honesty and communication. I usually end up falling for people who I deem worthy enough to be my "rock". Thank you so much!

-----

Dear User

congraulations, we have found you a potential roommate. We have throughly looked through your application and we hope you are happy with you result. Below this posts are the details all about them.

Yours Sincerely

The Accomodation Team

Name: Yamaguchi Tadashi

Birthday: 10th November (Scorpio)

MBTI: INFP

you now have this precious bean as your roommate awwwww

I feel like Yamaguchi is a very understanding person and wouldn’t mind the fact you come across a little bit haunty at first, have you met tsukishima this boy really doesn’t care

also you wear glasses too (tsukki 2.0, just kidding)

It is great that you are talkative because sometimes yamaguchi has troubles in regards to starting a conversation, through your late night chats you help him to become more confident in himself

also, having deep discussions with you , over a glass of wine/elderflower (if you are underaged) is a great evening actvity you guys do

Do not worry about getting judged for your crying tendandies yamaguchi too can be a crier

like when you watch a sad movie sometimes the both of you are in tears, tissue boxes surrounding you, tsukki has to console both of you

Now yamaguchi can completely understand when you start to worry , however he helps you find some better coping mechanism because he knows how the anxiety can drown you

If you ever start to worry you can always count on him to give you are really good hug (you know those bear hugs that just make your worries melt away, those kind, carla is soft )

obvs he would be a bit blushy afterwards tho

If your stomach started to hurt this boy will not leave your sight, like congrats you have your own personal butler

Tsukkishima goes forced to get you some medication and other things to make you feel better by yamaguchi

Now unlike yourself, yamaguchi goes to bed quite early this boy needs 9 hour + sleep

he doesn’t mind too much if you are up in the night as long as you keep quiet he do be sleeping

also thank goodness yamaguchi can cook and he makes really nice stuff as well

he likes to try out different cuisines and makes you be his little guniea pig , not that you mind too much

you too also have some spring cleaning afternoons once a month (seeing as you both don’t mind doing the chores) and you will have some accoustic music in the background

Now yamaguchi loves the fact that you love to sing

he sometimes has listened to you sing in the shower

Now i feel like he is someone who also enjoys to sing and he is also really good at it (have you heard the haikyuu xmas drama cd because boiiiii yama got a set of vocals on him).

So at the weekend you guys go do some karaoke together, sometimes tsukki would get dragged along too

You and Yamaguchi combined have the highest score for the duet songs and no one has beaten it yet

now yamaguchi wasn’t really into visual novels but since having you as your roommate he has become obsessed

I feel like he is a bit of a hopeless romantic so he loves reading the shoujo type ones

please never show this boy killing stalking because he is too precious

I feel like yama yama has the same aesthetic as you when it comes to cottagecore and pastel colours

Your apartment would look something like ghibli film ( i am coming over)

You also have some of those hanging baskets with cute flowers on

Tsukki feels like he is in heaven when ever he visits lol

Now you like to have someone you depend on kinda like your “rock” as you elloquently put it

so this choice may have come as a susprise to you

but i can see yamaguchi as a “rock” kind of person

he may not be the most level headed person out there but you have to admit he is incrediably loyal

and that’s on being a scorpio

Like he will never leave you side now matter what, come rain or shine he will always be there ( I mean he has put up with Tsukki dramatics for a long time)

You can always rely on him to just sit and listen to your problems and help you find solutions

Overall you have a loyal, compassionate but somewhat of a timid roommate

Other Potential Matches: Sawamura Daichi and Akaashi Keiji

miffy I hope you likes this, and thank you for your patience

#haikyuu matchup #haikyuu roommate #haikyuu roommate matchup #yamaguchi tadashi #yamaguchi x reader #yamaguchi fluff #home is where the heart is

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chibivesicle · 5 years ago

Text

Golden Kamuy chapter 212 - Sugimoto is a wolverine! (and he isn’t from Michigan). . .

Chapter 212 continues the action of Asirpa’s decision to run from Tsurumi. The chapter title is “raised hackles” in reference to how animals have hair on the back of their neck and how this signals their behavior in threatening situations.

We are treated with a color title page of Sugimoto indicating that he will take Asirpa back home. It appears to be a reference to their time on the ice floe.

This is a very interesting color palette it is very soft and sobering. It seems to have that reddish/green contrast and it is so muted compared to a lot of the color artwork. This title page is quite contrary to the events of the chapter and I do find the juxtaposition to be a bit jarring.

So the chapter starts off with Asirpa and Sugimoto fleeing from Tsurumi and the 27th. Based on their conversation, Sugimoto is simply following Asirpa and she has a plan of some sort as she leads them. Asirpa is leading the way and she seems to have a destination in mind.

Sugimoto looks at her with a nervous sweat drops, while she looks focused on their destination.

The action then shows Tsurumi calming ordering his men to follow them as they spread out in the shipping port area with small boats in dry dock and various shipping containers.

Tanigaki and Shiraishi start chasing after them as well. Shiraishi looks hurt in the background as he holds his hand on his head where the arrow had hit him while Tanigaki is in a total panic sweating. He then thinks about the darker side of Tsurumi. As as she ran he now is thinking about how Tsurumi will take full advantage about her background.

His panic reveals his true feelings about Tsurumi - that he knows that Tsurumi will use her home against her. Does this explain why Tanigaki was trying to make Asirpa be accepting of him in the previous chapter? Was that Tanigaki’s way of saying - Tsurumi is too strong to mess with. What didn’t he just state it outright?

I’m skipping ahead a bit since a lot of the chapter focuses on Sugimoto trying to escape from the 27th. Usami finds Sugimoto and the two of them fight brutally. Their entire fight feels like a reply of the fight when Sugimoto was first captured by the 27th with the Nikaido brothers. He judo rolls Usami into the floor and slams his face into the floor. Just like with the one Nikaido, he stomps his boot onto Usami’s face but Usami is stronger able to deflect his next stomp and pull out his bayonet.

I take this is to show that Usami is much tougher than the Nikaido brothers, but unlike before, he requires the assistance of Asirpa to escape as she tosses some of the transport barrels onto him. Asirpa then takes the lead again telling Sugimoto that they need to flee as the gunshot from Usami gave away their location. Another random member of the 27th found them and yells to the others and gets hit by a barrel that Sugimoto throws at him to knock him out.

This allows them to flee out of the building and back outside of the building. As the two of the are fleeing Tsukishima catches up to them and yells at Sugimoto that he can’t escape. Sugimoto stops and looks back and then it shows Tsukishima hesitating and then Sugimoto decides to run after they both pause.

This shows that Tsukishima is in a standoff with Sugimoto. Neither of them moves immediately, instead there is this pause that really means something, likely due to their Karafuto journey. It really makes the reader think that both men are hesitating and Tsukishima thinks that he can stop him and it is Sugimoto who then breaks the tension and moves.

The next page shows Tsukishima looking very stressed out shooting at Sugimoto. Sugimoto’s decision has forced Tsukishima to follow through on his threat.

After Tsukishima hits him, two other men in the 27th fire their rifles at Sugimoto and he’s shot and down after all three shots and he collapses. Asirpa runs back to Sugimoto and kneels down to him screaming his name and in a complete panic sweating nervous.

Tsukishima orders the rest of the men to not fire so that Asirpa is not shot. He still looks quite stressed as he gives the orders. He’s got the stress lines under his eyes.

Then Koito and a few other men catch up to Asirpa over Sugimoto. He pulls out his pistol and tells her to not move. In a deadpan yet stressed expression he tells her that she should have know what would happen if she ran off from the 27th.

Koito seems so detached in this scene. He seems cold and passionless compared to his past interactions with Sugimoto and Asirpa. Think back to when Koito was first introduced as he leap onto the airship. Or when he chased down the Kei in Otaru. He’s done his job and he’s in a bit of an almost older brother “told you so.” this seems so un-Koito.

Tsukishima then notices that Koito has gotten too close to Asirpa and Sugimoto and his battle experience seems to kick in and detect that something is off. He dramatically yells at Koito asking him what he’s doing and that he should stay away from Sugimoto. Asirpa notices Sugimoto’s hair on the back of his neck is raised and erect. In a total panic Tsukishima yells for Koito to get back and he’s. . . .before he gets cut off.

Koito turns in a still deadpan fashion to glance down at Sugimoto. The next page shows Sugimoto charging forward with white eyes stabs Koito through the upper left torso while Asirpa clings to his back.

The page zooms in on Koito glancing down at where he had been stabbed by Sugimoto. The next several pages focus on how Sugimoto savagely attacks the other men with Koito, stabbing, beating etc as he fights back. He even manages to detach the bayonet from a random soldier’s rifle and stab him in the face. All of this is happening with Asirpa on his back watching on in shock, Koito tries to aim his pistol at him but Sugimoto is fighting so furiously, it appears that he’s more watching Sugimoto’s feral rage. Sugimoto hits Koito in the face with the rifle as he falls back with the bayonet stuck in his left upper torso.

Sugimoto’s fights in this chapter are so brutal and visceral that it takes me back to his time fighting the 27th before, how he killed the yakuza in the silent kotan arc, his flashback during whiteout in the snow squall etc etc.

The next page shows a white eyed, breath coming out of him almost like a frothy/foaming mouth with blood and his scarf all in a vortex around him. We get what Asirpa sees from behind her head and then it changes to her looking back at his face as blood falls on her face as she looks at him. She looks emotionless as she looks up at him.

Sugimoto then runs off and Tsukishima catches up to Koito and asks him to look at his wounds. Koito is looking rough with breath and the bayonet stuck in him. Kikuta has caught up to them as Tsukishima is with a rough looking Koito and he orders him to follow. Instead, Tsukishima stays with Koito, as he tells him to keep the bayonet in him. He does glance at Kikuta while he frowns in reply.

Koito tries to get Tsukishima to follow the orders and that he’ll be okay. Tsukishima seems to be holding all of his emotions in. His face is either hidden or shaded and he sounds like an older brother telling Koito that he shouldn’t always rush in and then he refers to their conversation about Tsurumi and he’s been well behaved.

The last page of the chapter shows Tsurumi strolling on by Tsukishima holding Koito with his eyes shaded. Tsurumi glances down at both Tsukishima and Koito and then returns his gaze to walking forward in pursuit of Asirpa leading a very injured Sugimoto forward to her unknown destination.

I am unsure of how to read Tsurumi’s glance down to Tsukishima and Koito. I have too many possible explanations that I can’t settle on it. It is clear that Tsurumi is not stopping for them. He’s going to keep going on even though Koito is gravely injured and Tsukishima has stayed behind with him.

It is clear that Koito really doesn’t matter to him, Koito was a bonus as his true goal was to get his father’s influence and power. Has he also realized that Tsukishima cares more about Koito and being Tsurumi’s right hand man? Has he realized that despite all of his “sweet lies” that Tsukishima has decided to care for Koito. All of Tsukishima’s words in 210 seem to be protective bluster and that Tsukishima actually can’t kill Koito for Tsurumi - since he can’t leave him behind to die potentially. Tsukishima is watching Tsurumi back from under the brim of his cap. . . .

All of this chapter ties back to previous events.

Chapter 204 introduces the concept of the wolverine having the raised hairs when it was still dangerous and Koito wasn’t there watching them - only Tsukishima with Vasily. This is something that Sugimoto learned from Asirpa with other animals.

Therefore, Tsukishima has picked up on this concept and animal behavior.

This also refers back to when Koito was attacked by the wolverine due to his naivete. He thinks the wolverine is cute, the bear ran away, Ryu is freaked out and Tsukishima has a rifle aimed on it.

Koito lacks a sense of caution and it results in him being attacked by the wolverine. It jumps on his back and happens to bite him in the upper left side of his back and the bite mark is close to where the bayonet that Sugimoto stabbed into him is visible poking out of his torso.

I think this is to show that Sugimoto is just like the wolverine, he’s a feral tenacious predator! Koito is completely shocked as this small animal attacks him. Afterwards as they flee, Tsukishima has to carry Koito to the dogsled.

Yes, Tsukishima helped Koito, and when they fought Kiro, Tsukishima saved Koito from the explosives and now in 212, Tsukishima is protecting Koito again. It is interesting that this chapter is very focused on Tsukishima in the background. Yes, the focus is on how Sugimoto loses himself in his rage and bloodlust but Tsukishima is the next most important character driving dialogue.

Recall back in 149 that Tsukishima reminds Sugimoto that if he loses it again, he’ll kill him. If he does not control himself in their present he will lose himself to the rage and the emotions and the violence.

This is likely why he hesitates in this chapter.

Tsukishima tries to give him a warning and Sugimoto hesitates as Tsukishima hesitates in return. Then Sugimoto decides to go against it and Tsukishima decides to shoot.

Overall, I don’t have any deep thoughts on this chapter.

The chapter really shows that Sugimoto isn’t like a human in battle - he’s a wolverine. He’s tied to all of these vicious animals - not to humans when he fights back. And this time, Asirpa is literally on his back getting a front row seat on the violence of Sugimoto.

Fine Sugimoto, got to scream “I’m immortal!” but I’m over this - he really needs to see himself in a different light. He’s immortal in deadly situations but how will he live in “normal” life situations.

This sees to be a set up for something bigger. Koito is in critical condition but he’s not the same man in past chases. Asirpa is along for the ride in this wave of violence. Tsukishima has made his feelings towards Koito clear to Tsurumi. Kikuta is doing his job and Usami is stuck under some sort of barrels.

How do they move on from here? Where is Vasily? Where is Asirpa going? A boat to escape? What is her plan? She clearly was much more aware of their situation and had a plan and Sugimoto was only following along with her not thinking about what they were doing.

Asirpa is in a tough spot and Sugimoto is holding her back. Will they be separated again? Caught? Argh! I’m waiting for what happens next.

#golden kamuy #golden kamuy meta #sugimoto saichi #tanigaki genjirou #tsurumi tokushirou #tsukishima hajime #koito otonoshin #asirpa #warrant officer kikuta #superior private usami #Shiraishi Yoshitake

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