#hinata has been growing on me. guy shaped

[dira333]

Mom Friend - Kenma (Angst-ish)

“You don’t love me and I’m being really brave about it.”

-

The air is soft and cool, like a blanket made from silk. You take it as a good sign, smile up at the traffic sign above you like it’s a flower or an ornament. 

How silly that love can make ordinary things bloom.

Tonight you feel good in your clothes. No need to worry about tomorrow. 

Your phone buzzes in the pocket of your jacket but you don’t want to pull it out right now. You want to stay in the moment, right here, enjoy that buzzing feeling inside of you.

Maybe tonight, you think. Maybe tonight something will happen.

You’re not insecure, not questioning, not doubting anything. 

Just waiting, patiently, for something that sure will come.

-

You spot him first, head buried in his hoody, eyes on the phone in his hand. 

Knowing Kenma, he’s playing a game to pass the time.

You don’t wave, but keep your eyes on him as you come closer. It’s rare that you get to enjoy that sight for yourself, that you can watch without being watched.

He’s pretty. Always has been, you think, even though you’ve only really had a chance to befriend him lately. But you’ve seen the pictures, and besides, you can’t imagine him being anything but.

Just a few more steps to go but he raises his head and spots you without hesitation, the pupils of eyes growing smaller.

You’ve read about it, you can’t help but think. How the size of one’s pupil tells about their attraction. 

A first seed of doubt begins to sprout but you push it down with a well-practiced smile.

“Hi,” you greet him, your voice weirdly breathless. You’re not that out of shape, he just does that to you. Do you shake his hand? Hug him?

He makes no move to greet you other than a quiet nod so you think that’s it and push down the disappointment. Kenma hugs Hinata. 

Well, everyone hugs Hinata, you tell yourself, and look for something to say.

“Are we early?”

“No,” he dips his nose deeper into his hoody. “Kuroo’s not coming.”

“O-oh,” you pull out your phone to check. He’s right. The message is there, in the group chat. Right below it is another one, from Hinata.

“Can’t make it tonight, sorry guys. Rain check?”

“Should we-?”

“I’m going to watch the movie,” Kenma interrupts you, voice level. He doesn’t sound angry, or annoyed, or even bored, he just… sounds. Is flat the right word for it?

“Okay?”

His eyes, big and round and golden, move toward you and back to the sign above the door. “You can join me if you want.”

-

The movie isn’t bad. You like action movies, even the dumber ones. There’s a reason why Hinata still invites you to these hangouts, after all.

But you know you’re missing a crucial part of knowledge about the game this movie is based on.

There are jokes you don’t get that leave Kenma chuckling to himself and you can’t help but wonder what he thinks of you. Does he know you’re- Well, he has to, right? 

You know he’s a little more on the shy side. Or, not shy, but more… private? 

Maybe this is his way of getting a date with you?

The thought electrifies you.

But no. Kenma’s not acting like a guy on a date. He’s not sharing his food with you, has not even tried to pay for yours or initiate any conversation so far. 

If you’d have to describe it, it would be like… getting to come along with your big brother.

Your face twists into a scowl. That is not the kind of thing you want to associate with Kenma.

-

“Do you wanna eat something?” You ask once you leave the cinema, dust your clothes off and get rid of the last remnants of popcorn and stray skittles. 

Kenma hesitates for a second.

“Yeah, why not?”

You follow him out of the Cinema and down the street.

The wind is soothing on your warm cheeks. A couple walks down the street, facing you. Your heart squeezes tight when the guy swings their joined hands.

As they pass, Kenma steps out of their way, bumping into you. 

He does not apologize.

It feels like a sign. A different one this time.

-

The restaurant is small but private and Kenma finds a booth at the back, orders like someone who’s been here before. You need a little longer to figure out what you want but then there’s nothing else to do but wait.

Kenma pulls out his phone, looks at the unlit screen and puts it face down on the table.

“Do you have a crush on me?”

His voice is even, like he’s reading from the menu and it takes you a second to register the meaning of the words.

Your mouth opens, but you can’t bring yourself to say it. 

Nonetheless, your silence is answer enough. Your eyes fall back down to the table.

“I’m sorry,” Kenma mutters and there’s almost warmth to his words now.

He says nothing more for a while and you swallow a bout of tears that’s threatening to spill.

Silly you, you think.

Doubts and insecurities raise their ugly heads.

“Kuroo thought you might be into Shouyou,” Kenma starts anew. When you look up he’s staring out the window. “Cuz you’re always mothering him.”

“I’m not-”

“You’re like Kuroo, in that way,” Kenma adds on, as if he’s not hearing you. “Always bothering people. You bring extra water bottles and extra pain killers and a snack in case someone gets hungry and you remind them of their appointments.”

Your fingers clench around the utensils that are useless without any food but you need to hold onto something real if you want to survive this.

“Why are you telling me this?”

Golden eyes turn back to you and you wonder how it has taken you so long to realize that gold is not warm. Gold is a metal, heavy and cold, and not at all made for cuddling.

“Shouyou is my friend,” Kenma points out. “He doesn’t mind being mothered.”

“So?”

“You’d do better with a partner that likes that part of you. We all want-” He stops for a second, the first time you’ve seen him hesitate. “It’s not good if you have to change who you are for a relationship to work.”

“You could have just said you’re not interested,” you point out, petulance winning over the hurt. Or maybe the hurt is triggering it.

Kenma blinks slowly. “I am trying to be a good friend here.”

“Who’s friend?”

He opens his mouth to answer but the food arrives and he pulls back again, stares at you silently, like a cat stalking its prey.

“I’m not good at verbalizing my thoughts,” he begins again when the server has left. “You remind me of Kuroo in some way. I think-” He hesitates again. “If you want a partner that you can mother, you should try dating Shouyou.”

“I don’t want to date Hinata.”

Kenma sighs. “You could try Kuroo but I think-”

Your chopsticks dig into your hands as you interrupt him, pointing them at him like a weapon. “Stop it,” you hiss. “You’re not interested and that’s it. You don’t need to push me into someone else's arms like I’m something too valuable to throw away but not valuable enough to actually cherish.”

His face goes slack. He tries to speak again but you turn your face away and begin eating, stuffing your face with a pace that can’t be healthy but you just want to get out of here, out of this conversation.

Quiet settles. Your cheeks sting as if sensing the coming tears. But you don’t cry.

You finish first and get up, squeezing the handle of your purse so tight in your hand that it hurts. 

“The bill is on me,” you tell Kenma. “Have a good night.”

-

part 2 is coming tomorrow

Taglist: @notsochillnerd

@kaykaystrings @alienaiver @alexxavicry @tsxkishimx @stellar-haikyuu

@fuzztacular (for the angst)

[starswallowingsea]

okay thinking about them was the only thing that got me through work today so i'm gonna just. talk about rinne and hinata (discussion of setsubun and suicide attempts under the cut)

i was rereading night club recently and completely forgot that they mentioned setsubun festival, which i also recently read for a fic idea that i'm gonna be incorporating these ideas into hopefully, and it got me thinking about hinata.

the twins have always been outcasts and hinata makes a note of the fact that nobody ever played with them growing up so they had to make up their own games to play on their own. they are also frequently mistaken for one other which understandably gives hinata at least extreme identity issues, calling him and yuta "deformities" and "mutations" for being twins. it all culminates in the rooftop scene in setsubun where he mentions that even if he gets hurt, yuta will be fine and yuta can continue living on without him, how hinata tried to "disappear" over and over again which...can be interpreted as either suicide attempts or just simply fading into the background to allow yuta to shine.

and then his whole breakdown was filmed and disseminated to the entire student body of yumenosaki. regardless of if he knew or not, i cannot imagine that he wanted something so personal, so private aired to everyone he knows so they can see it. mika makes a comment in night club that afterwards everyone became really protective of 2wink as a whole which...to some extent, just stifled hinata and made it harder for him to talk about his feelings and when he was hurt. i'm mostly speculating here since i haven't read too many 2wink stories but like. would you want everyone you know to see your most vulnerable moments like that?

so then enters rinne, a new guy on the block who has no knowledge of setsubun, of your videotaped suicide attempt, and who your boss is telling you to work with. his unit is focused on not judging people for who they are despite having crafted a villainous mask during the mdm. they hadn't touched 2wink at all and rinne was more than willing to work with hinata on their joint live, giving hinata a nickname even that he loved because it felt like someone was actually trying to be his friend again.

and most importantly, rinne listens to hinata, lets him vent and talk about things that he hasnt been able to because of how everyone else views him. rinne's taken on that mantle of big brother to give hinata a space to just be himself.

and i think this extends to the other new characters too, especially his roommates niki and hiiro. i do think that was a deliberate choice, to put him in a room with two guys who didnt know about setsubun and would just treat him like their other kouhais/classmates. it also helps that niki and hiiro dont judge very easily so they just treat him like a normal kid which he's longed for his entire life.

[the-only-teruteru-fan]

Some of the participants of the next-gen killing game! These guys belong to me and @detective-dick-gumshoes-pot-room!

(Some of these older designs are inspired by the drawings done of these silly guys by @foryoupeko!! Please check out the art they did I kid you not I pull it up just to look at it at least twice a day IT’S THE GREATEST THING- Also! These are all traced from sprites from the official games in an attempt to recreate the style as closely as possible! Needless to say doing this was mostly for body and face shapes! And finally, this doesn’t contain all of the important characters!)

When the tragedy had begun to die down and the world was beginning to recover, Makoto rebuilt Hope’s Peak Academy to ensure that those who fell victim to the Killing Games were remembered…and to restore Hope’s Peak Academy to the shining beacon it was always meant to be. But something’s gone wrong- it’s impossible. How is he back? What’s going on?

Koji Hinata - Ultimate Gamer

Though it seemed for ages like Chiaki really was gone for good, with the help of Kazuichi and Alter Ego, she was able to be brought back- restored, though stuck fully digital. And she and Hajime were able to be happy.

Koji is an AI created by her years ago to serve as Hajime’s and her child. Though usually quiet and cynical, he loves his parents more than anything in the world and is a whiz at video games.

Now, with an artificial body, Koji was selected to attend Hope’s Peak as the Ultimate Gamer, just like his mom…

…and, having already been forced to participate in a killing game at a young age, Koji wants nothing more than to go back home to his mom and dad.

Hotaru “Angel Boy” Tanaka, the Black Dragon of Tartarus - Ultimate Poet

Sonia and Gundham struggled for ages to conceive, though they wanted a child more than anything in the world. But they stayed hopeful. When Makoto found an infant orphaned by the Tragedy, he suggested the pair take him in- and thus, Hotaru is their “angel boy”, their gifts from the heavens.

Hotaru is just as odd and proud as his father, though he’s much more smooth and charming. He has an interest in all things strange and unusual, and truly cares about those around him.

Natsuki Kuzuryu - Ultimate Sportsman

Natsuki is really bummed that he didn’t get chosen as an Ultimate Swordsman, but he supposes this will have to do.

Though he often comes across as cruel and detached, Natsuki is fiercely loyal to the other Jabberwock Island kids, and won’t let any harm come to his little sister Fumiko or his best friend Aika.

Kiko Naegi - Ultimate Lucky Student

Though she’s never gotten along with him, Kiko takes great pride in the accomplishments of her father and will fiercely defend him against anyone who tries to slander him or his attempts at restoring Hope’s Peak.

She ends up taking lead the most, though she at first clearly has a disdain for the other participants…especially the kids who grew up on Jabberwock Island. She’s extremely annoyed by Honda’s constant emphatic support, but she does grow to care a lot about him.

Fumiko Kuzuryu - Ultimate Negotiator

Fumiko was always a daddy’s girl- and as she grew older, she retained that same innocent physique that her father once had. Fumiko, though, takes great pride in this, as it thoroughly assists her endeavors to manipulate those around her.

Fumiko puts on a very sadistic, uncaring persona, but she’s deeply loyal to her friends and especially her brother, comforting him greatly when Aika dies. She’s the participant who most frequently performs the autopsies.

Aika Mioda-Soda - Ultimate Mechanic

Aika has the combined passion and enthusiasm of both of her parents- and is proud to be following in her dad’s footsteps as the Ultimate Mechanic. Though she causes a lot of trouble- frequently pulling pranks on other participants- she’s desperate to at least build camaraderie between everyone and stop the killing before it happens. How tragic it is, then, when she accidentally becomes blackened herself- executed by one of the machines that her dad built so long ago.

Honda Hagakure - Ultimate Salesman

Honda’s older brother told him that his time at Hope’s peak would be full of great riches, great fortune, and great romance- and he’s right a third of the time, so one of them is bound to happen, right?

Honda is very frightened of this killing game- knowing he’s unable to kill anybody and is an easy target, making his chances of escape slim to none- but when he’s not struggling to withhold panic, he’s usually following Kiko around, who he thinks is a brilliant leader and the smartest person here. (He may or may not have a very obvious crush on her).

Though he can be a bit of an idiot, Honda genuinely wants everything to be okay and is more than willing to make sacrifices for those he cares about.

He’s a bit of a kleptomaniac, with a briefcase full of completely useless trinkets he stole from his peers.

[aeoki]

High and Low: Epilogue 2

Location: High and Low Stage Characters: Tetora, Hajime, Tomoya, Hinata, Midori, Touri, Mitsuru & Sora

Season: Autumn Writer: Akira

Midori: Ahh~ I’m tired… I tried to be all energetic but now I’m exhausted.

Tetora: That’s so fast! You’ve gotta train more, Midori-kun~

If you trained, people will probably stop being disappointed with you and won’t say there’s less than meets the eye! Hard work and muscles will never betray you!

Midori: That’s such a pain… They’ll just make me do all sorts of stuff if they think I’m “someone capable”, so I’m fine just doing a moderate amount.

Tetora: It feels like you’ve been pretty gloomy this whole time, Midori-kun. You were pretty cheerful when you came to save us.

Midori: That’s the whole reason why I’m so tired… It’s all your fault so I won’t let you complain, Tetora-kun. Don’t make me do something that’ll take a lot of time and effort.

Tetora: Osu. Sorry. I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again in the future.

Midori: You say that but you're repeating the same mistakes over and over… I can’t trust you. It’s like you didn’t grow at all.

Tetora: I have a bit! You just can’t see it!

Here’s proof – Look, tadaa ♪

Midori: ………!?

Tetora: I might be someone experienced who’s not that smart but I’ve learnt a thing or two after repeating those mistakes. In order to make you motivated, gathering a whole bunch of cute things is the best method.

How about it? There’s this plushie? Stuck on the tree over there so I’ll take it off and give it you as a present ♪

Now, you’ll definitely feel motivated ♪

Midori: Ko-Ko-Ko…

Tetora: Ko-Ko-Ko?

Midori: It’s a koalaaaaaa ☆

Tetora: Woah, you scared me! What? Koala?

Is that a koala? This is really Australia, huh. They’re just hanging out over there.

Midori: No, this is just a decoration. It’s wearing clothes.

I’ve seen real koalas but they weren’t anything special… I was so excited to go and touch them but they got angry and scratched me.

Tetora: I see. I’m, uh, sorry that happened to you.

Midori: It’s okay. If it’s something given to me by a cute animal, then pain and scratches are more than welcome…♪

Tetora: Osu! You understand that too, huh, Midori-kun! Scratches are medals in the eyes of a man!

Tetora & Midori: “♪~♪~♪”

Hinata: Uh, I feel like what you guys are talking about doesn’t really make sense.

Touri: Well, they both look like they’re happy so it’s probably fine?

Sora: HaHa~♪ Exactly~! Everyone’s shape of happiness is different so it’s something no one has the right to deny!

If Tetora-chan and Mido-chan are smiling happily then that’s fine! It’s a happy ending~♪

Touri: …We still have a mountain of problems, though.

Like, what will happen to Kurone-san.

Hinata: Knowing Anzu-san, she’ll probably forgive him even after betraying her trust and causing all that trouble.

Anzu-san really loves everyone, after all.

Tomoya: Yeah. It seems “High and Low” will end in success too, although it was kinda forced that way.

We reached our destination, met up with Hajime and the others in one piece, and we’re now rounding it off with a performance.

There were some unexpected things that happened with the TV show but it’ll still be completed as planned.

You could say we’re in a favourable position since we managed to stand out with our weird trip, for better or worse.

They’ll edit the footage we filmed and there are some parts that weren’t filmed too. The people who watch it will have no idea what we were caught up in.

Their understanding of the show would probably be one where they see we’re forced to take part in a weird low-budget travel show and things turned out to be a mess.

It was the same for us during the “Old-Fashioned Sports Festival” but this time, we got to touch the thing that exists at the bottom of the idol industry.

The thing that Kurone is confronting.

He’s got some sort of goal and he’s definitely headed in a bad direction.

This time, he caused all that trouble for Anzu-senpai and us, and even went as far as doing something that would make us hate him…

Maybe he did it so we wouldn’t have to come in contact with that bad thing. Maybe he thought if we hated him, we would distance ourselves from him and we wouldn’t be involved.

Hinata: Ahh, the thing that our upperclassmen often do at Yumenosaki?

Tomoya: Yeah. But we’re used to that so we can’t hate him the way he wished.

He caused a lot of trouble for us but he helped us too. He’s also one of our colleagues, a “producer”.

I’d like to do something for him if that something exists.

Just what can we powerless children do?

Mitsuru: Baam ☆

Tomoya: Gyaaaaaah!?

Mitsuru: Tomo-chan! Don’t just stand there and talk. We’re idols so let’s get to work. Let’s sing and dance and have fun~☆

Let’s give our thanks to Australia for giving us such a fun time!

Hajime: He’s right, Tomoya-kun! After all that time thinking I wouldn’t be able to meet up with you!

A small miracle happened so let’s be happy! Together!

Let’s show the world how happy we are~♪

Tomoya: You’re so laid-back, you guys… I’m sure ignorance is bliss for Hajime but how are you so cheerful after going through all that awful stuff, Mitsuru?

Mitsuru: Heheh, that’s “Ra*bits” for you, y’know~!

Even if we experience something horrible, we’ll have the time of our lives with a smile on our faces! If other people see us like that then they’ll automatically be happy too!

Tomoya: Yeah… You’re right. That’s “Ra*bits”.

I’m the leader of “Ra*bits” on paper so that makes me the most distinguished.

But I’m still inexperienced and there’s so much I have to learn from you guys.

Tetora: Osu. I feel the same. I learnt a lot from Midori-kun this time.

A school trip is all about learning new things…! We had a blast so we’re probably the ones who got the most out of this school trip!

Midori: Yeah… It feels almost silly to think I was worried about all that stuff before we even came.

Oddly enough, you don’t really have to worry about every little thing that happens in life.

Preparing for a trip is the most fun but at the same, it’s also the most stressful.

Midori: But nothing will change unless you actually set out on a journey.

We still have no idea what the future has in store for us.

But if you make up your mind and dive right in, you’ll be surprised to see that things might just work itself out on its own.

“♪~♪~♪”

← Previous Chapter

[seokiloquy]

Opposition - Hoshiumi Kourai

Au: Regular (timeskip)

Requested

Tags/Warnings: GN!Reader (But male teams), Alcohol consumption, Frenemies to lovers

Word Count: 3.6k+

“I don’t see why you wear those white jerseys. They don’t hide a thing by the end of the game.” You stared at the shadowed lines on the man’s torso, staring through the nearly transparent fabric as it clung to his skin from all the sweat.

“It works as a suitable distraction don’t you think? Like the view? Good luck trying to throw me off my game. It’s not working.” 

When your eyes shot up, you were met with a sly grin and knowing eyes.

You glared at the man’s white hair as he walked back into position. It bounced slightly as if trying to get its ends to float off of his head and out of its pressed down style. Even with a thin layer of sweat making it flat, a few sections of hair managed to separate from the rest, and float naturally.

The day Hoshiumi cut his hair back down to a short close cut was only a day after the team's physical examinations back in third-year. After years of growing it out, at the news that he had finally gotten a bit taller, he chopped it back down to his childhood crop. It was a weird change to suddenly be presented with. Having known Hoshiumi since elementary school, before he first started to style his hair in an upward plumage, most of your more nostalgic memories about the boy had been with his short hair. But after living a number of your more notable years with his hair pointing upward, those old nostalgic memories had become warped to reflect the surrounding reality.

It felt like a hand had constricted around your lungs when you walked into the gym the next day to see Hoshiumi flying in the air with shorter hair that floated along the shape of his head rather than sticking high in the air. He had started standing with more natural confidence than the loud performance he had been putting on for years, looking people in the eyes with a straight posture and protruding chest, and staring opponents down with a confident unbothered smile. 

He smirked at you from the other side of the net.

You hated it. His worthier-than-thou attitude, his gaze that was somehow able to stare down at you without his height being a factor, his ability for constant improvement. You despised it all, envied it.

It was when Hinata joined the team, that you finally had someone to build your skills against to target Hoshiumi directly. Your interaction prior to him joining the team was limited to when you managed to interact and play against him at nationals, but now that he had made it onto the roster for the Black Jackals, you weren’t going to lose the opportunity to use him against your old pal.

“Hoshi!” The game had finished a while ago with the Black Jackals taking the win this time around. After team meetings and waiting for all the fans to pile out of the stadium, you had free rein of the grounds. Hinata has trapped under your arm, as you waltzed him in the direction of your white-clothed opponents. “Look at this guy! Ninja Shoyo! He'll steal your title as the Little Giant if you’re not careful!”

The man puffed up, shoulders rolling back. He smiled, wide eyes squinting into crescents as they flicked up and down your form, not glancing at Hinata. “Good luck with that.”

He set you aflame, making your blood boil muscle clench. He waltzed off, leaving you seething with claws gripping into the muscle of your teammate's shoulder. “That asshole.” 

“Um, are you okay?” Hinata turned his head to you, red hair swaying with the movement.

Loosening your grip, you returned to a casual hold and guided Hinata back toward the rest of your team. “I’m fine, just can’t seem to rile him up anymore. Let's get back to the rest.”

The hallways were silent, the distant chatters of your team paired with the opposing patterns of your footsteps made the quiet seem thicker. As you grew closer, Hinata filled the air with a stunning question.

“Are you going to be able to handle the end of season party?”

You stopped, arm falling from Hinata’s shoulders as he took a few steps forward without you until he noticed your absinthe at his side.

“Oh, I forgot about that. What day is it on?”

“Next Saturday.”

You hissed. Traditionally, due to good relations (despite the prominent rivalries), teams that were in close proximity would often celebrate the end of the game season together as a way to save on the venue cost. You never attended the parties for long, perhaps stopping by in the same black suit to say a thank you and congratulations to everyone you knew and grabbing a couple of free drinks before running home to spend time with your cats. Cats and suits were a great visual combo, even if you ended up covered in fur by the end of the night.

But this year your feline friend had plans.

“I have to bring my cats to the vet that day. Ugh.”

“You could not go. That way you can avoid Hoshiumi too and stay with your cat.”

You bristled. “It’s fine. I can go. It’s an obligation anyway, the more people that attend and consume stuff, the cheaper it is. I’ll just hop out early like I normally do.”

“Wouldn’t that not be committing to making it cheaper?”

You blinked at Hinata, biting the inside of your cheek. “I drink a lot to compensate.”

“Gamigami, I present to you my Pogostick and Tailgate.” 

Hirugami stared at you with something akin to disgust and disbelief. He scoffed, and ran a hand through his wavy brown hair. “Cats owners I swear.” Walking to a side cabinet, he called for one of his co-workers to come take your cats as he pulled out a lint roller.

A woman with short black hair rushed behind the counter to fill in papers, clicking a pen as she turned your way.

Hirugami, ever the helpful friend, began using the sticky roller on the back of your suit while you placed the cats back into their large grate. Immediately they began to cuddle into each other's fur, uncaring for the new location they were in. Pogostick blinked his blue eyes at you before closing them.

The woman called from the counter, “Which is which?”

“The white one in Pogostick, and the black and gold tortoiseshell is Tailgate. As always, I suggest they crate together or else they’ll get a bit hissy.”

Hirugami got up from rolling the back of your to lift your now empty arms and remove the massive amount of fur that stuck to the sleeves. “Where are you going all dressed up like this?”

“Work party.” He nodded knowingly. “Speaking of, could you bring them back to my place when work’s done? I’ll be out after your shift ends and be a bit tipsy so driving is a no. I’ll buy you dinner and you can play my video games or watch tv.”

“Sure, you’ll just have to sign a release form.”

The woman brought over the papers for both cats, plus the release form for you to sign as Hirugamu continued to meticulously pull the few hairs off your suit.

“Do you want me to pick you up too?” he stepped back, taking hold of the big crate that your cats rested in.

You hummed in thought having to your sleeping pets as he walked off with them. “Hmm maybe. I’ll call you if I need to, okay?”

“Alright. Have fun. Don’t let Hoshiumi rile you up.”

“He does not!”

“Sure he doesn’t!” Hirugami disappeared behind one of the doors.

Despite knowing the faces of your teammates, seeing them outside of their regular training gear or jerseys made it a bit difficult to recognise them immediately. That plus the added number of black suits being worn and dimmer lights made it a bit harder to differentiate them from strangers. You found yourself about to socialize with older members of the Adlers team on more than one occasion, before safely turning yourself around to search for a recognizable head of red hair.

Although, even with your ability to stop yourself before a catastrophe of embarrassment fell upon you in a tsunami of laughter, with a drunken gaze some of the teammates between the Black Jackals and Adlers began looking very similar.

Oliver Barnes, eight years your senior with a fun accent that you loved to point out and listen to, had short brown hair and was the tallest man you had ever met in person. He sat next to Meian Shugo, who had his hair slicked back in its iconic style. You smiled at the sight of their backs, waltzing over while dipping back the last bits of your glass and setting it aside on another table.

“Hey, you two!” You threw your arms over your teammates, resting your cheek on Meian’s shoulder with a cheeky grin and happily shut eyes.

There was a recognisable squawk at the other side of the table paired with a first slamming onto the cloth-covered wood surface, making the empty glasses shake in front of him.

You opened your eyes to glare at the white-haired man as he continued to choke out broken laughter. The bodies under your arms shifted, and you lifted your cheek to come face to face with a very much not Meian.

Hinata talked about this man often enough for you to remember his name. A Brazilian national team outside hitter with world-class prestige, and excellently slicked-back hair. His son was chuckling one seat over. Nicollas Romero. 

You blinked and looked over to the man under your other arm. Heiwajima Toshirou. Looking at his hair you could understand why you mistook them both for your teammates. But this man was Adlers’ libero, who was a whole foot shorter than your giant of a teammate.

It was like your arms had been set on fire with how fast you pulled away from the two men. Rapid apologies tumbled out of you like gunfire. But even that couldn’t take over the volume of Hoshiumi’s laughs on the other side of the table.

You growled. “YAH! Kou! You should’ve warned me!”

He continued to cackle, holding onto another one of his teammate’s shoulders while trying to stand to his feet. “I didn’t even see you coming! I wouldn’t have been able to stop you in time! Not that I would have!” He cried, walking around his chair.

Your chest rumbled, and you stomped your way around to the other side of the table and gripped Hoshiumi by the lapels of his suit. He choked as you pulled him toward an isolated corridor. The remaining Adlers at the table should hear his distant squawks until they dissipated around the corner of the event room’s exit.

Romero turned to Heiwajima. “They know each other?”

“From what Hoshiumi said; since they were kids.”

Hoshiumi’s back hit the wall with a thud, making him wheeze for air between bursts of laughter.

“Stop that,” you hissed, voice low. The champagne you had downed earlier was creeping up on you, piggybacking along with the other glasses you had taken advantage of earlier. Maybe you had lost count a bit too early. You blinked through your fuzzy vision, staring at the upward curve of the tip of his nose, then down to the gentle points of his cupid's bow. Your elbow hit the wall.

“I don’t even know what you’re referring to.” He sighed, eyes shut and sagging against your arms with a pushed bottom lip.

It was soft like a plush pillow inviting you to sink into it. It felt so warm.

There was a delicate hum.

You lurched back, hand slapping over your mouth to stifle the gasp that tore through you. 

Now a hallway apart, you watched as Hoshiumi’s expression shifted from a drunken pleasure to wide-eyed confusion, staring at you.

“I’m so sorry. I drank way too much.”

Laughter bubbled out of him, falling out and rolling onto the polished stone floor like smoke. Clenching his jacket he helped himself in an upright position, head falling back against the wall.

“Ya, I must be irresistible huh?”

Your stomach churned. “What?”

“The little black jackal doesn’t look so scary now. Tell me, is it by abs you like the most? I know you stare during games. Come on.” He pushed off the wall, wearing a memorable condescending smirk. The same that he’s flashed you during games. You pressed yourself back into the wall.

He leaned forward, watching you squirm under his crescent gaze. “Hmm, you really like me. That must be hard to hide, good luck with that.”

The words, a familiar taunt he threw in your face at nearly any confrontation, made your chest burn. Before he could push through the last bit of space that separated you, you shoved him by the shoulders, making the unprepared man stumble backwards in a haze.

Muttering through your hand, your feet carried you toward the exit as if floating on a layer of hair. “What the hell was that?” You slapped your hips, patting around for your phone that hid in the pockets. Looking at the screen, you could tell your vision was still a bit fuzzy. Still, you could use it, immediately dialling up a familiar number.

“Hirugami, come pick me up, I’m running!”

The volume on your phone was way too loud, making Hirugami’s voice sound shrill and painful. “Running? From what?”

You flew down the steps of the building, running to the sidewalk, not caring for any scuffs that would appear on your polished shoes.

“Hoshiuimi!”

As if summoned, you heard the white-haired man call your name into the streets. You ducked around the corner of the building.

Hirugami’s voice crackled through the phone, “It's hardly even eight, what happened?”

“For now,” you whispered, hand wrapping around the mic, “Let's say I drank a bit more than normal. I’ll order some Shumai so that you can stuff your face while I’ll tell you. Just hurry up!”

“Fine, fine! I’m just loading your furballs into my car now. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Looking back around the corner, you watched the last few fluffs of white hair past through the door. A sigh eased through your chest, making the muscles of your shoulders sag.

“I’ll be waiting.”

“So, what happened?”

“Do you want the long version or the short one?”

As Hirugami savoured the taste of the dumplings on his tongue, you watched Poggostick happily nuzzle into Tailgate’s chest, which prompted the black and gold cat to start a short wrestling match. They quickly ended up huddled together in the house pocket of their cat tree, purring. Beside them, the tv was playing at a low volume, filling the silence between your and Hirugami’s speaking while you ate on the couch

“Short first, then long.”

“I kissed Hoshiumi.” You groaned, taking a bite out of the noodles in your bowl.

Hiugami choked, pounding a fist into his chest while trying to swallow properly. “You what?”

“I know!” setting your bowl down on the table in front of you, you groaned into your hands and hunched over your knees. “I drank too much and ended up at an Adlers table because I mistook two of them for my own teammates, and Hoshiumi wouldn’t stop laughing at me to I pulled him into the hallway, and I guess the alcohol was really getting to me by that point but before I knew it I kissed him then he started getting into his whole cocky asshole thing and then ran away.” You gasped in some air.

“Okay, okay breath. It’s not too bad.”

“That idiot knows I like him now!”

“To be fair, he didn’t not know before. You are pretty obvious, and a terrible flirt. Even sports news channels know it.”

Lifting your head, giving him horrified eyes. 

“You even adopted cats based on the two of you, and look at them,”

From their spot in their elaborate fuzzy tree, the two cats let out two big yawns. You melted at the sight, enjoying it while waiting for Hirugami to finish off his last dumpling and continue speaking.

“Those furballs are always all over each other. You even named the white one Pogostick!”

“Don’t call me out on my naming incapabilities!”

“You named him after Hoshi. You can not convince me otherwise.”

You pouted, letting out a slow breath of air and sinking into your seat. “If only Hoshi acted half as good as Pogostick.”

“You’re not even gonna try and deny it.”

“Well, there’s no point now!”

Hirugami set down his plate, cracking his neck with a sideways tilt before joining you in lounging again.

“So, what do you plan on doing?”

Pogostick groomed Tailgate, tongue brushing through the white fur on the feline’s head.

“I’ll figure it out.”

It was hard to say if Hirugami agreed with your version of ‘figuring it out’ but based on his exasperated sigh on the other end of the phone, he wasn’t thrilled. 

With the volleyball season being over for the year, avoiding Hoshiumi was made incredibly easy. You stayed at home or went to training, flip-flopping between the two locations, while ignoring any notifications that appeared on your phone with ‘Hoshiumi Kourai’ in the contact.

It was fine, totally fine. Not like there was a ripping feeling in your chest every time you heard a notification. You cursed the ache, annoyed at it for betraying you.

The cocky asshole was likely just trying to brag some more, use his newfound knowledge as a way to manipulate you outside on the court. You huffed, straightening your back. No way, you wouldn’t let him take advantage of it. That bastard wouldn’t get the last laugh this time.

There was a knock at your door. Your back creaked like floorboards in an old house and you lowly twisted around.

You forgot that he knew where you lived.

A curse escapes you before you can stop it.

“I heard that. Come on, let me in already!”

Your nails were digging into the palms of your hands as you walked to the door. The steps to get there felt endless as if racing you through minutes. It felt like forever had passed in second when your fingers finally tightened around the metal handle of the front door and tucked it open.

Hoshiumi unceremoniously stepped into your home, fists resting proudly on his hips as he observed the main room, floor to ceiling, and kicked off his shoes. “Nice place you’ve got here.”

He’s visited before.

At the sound of his voice, Tailgate leapt from the cat tree, ran across the length of the couch, soared through the air to land expertly on the corner of your kitchen counter, before pouncing on the feathered man and purring into his shoulder. The traitor let out a happy meow once pet by the spiker’s calloused hands.

Pogostick walked by Hoshiumi’s ankles, brushing by him before leaping onto your shoulder. Carrying the feline, you walked toward the couch.

“So,” you dragged, facing the window, “what are you doing here?”

“Why wouldn’t I be here? I need to spend time with my lover, don’t I?”

You choked, startling the cats and making them run off in the direction of the bathroom. 

With his hand now free, Hoshiumi’s hand patted your back to guide you through the coughs. The warmth of his palm sent tingles up to the back of your neck. He walked around, sitting down onto the couch before you and pushing you down by the shoulder to join him.

He smirked. “Wow. I’d say not to fall for me too hard, but if you choke anymore I’m really gonna have to catch you.”

You glared, swallowing down the last few coughs before they could rip your throat any longer. “Asshole.”

“You love me,” he sang, nose scrunching. “Come on, are you gonna kiss me again?”

“If you keep annoying me, you’ll be kissing my fist.”

“Oh don’t be like that. Come on, give me a kiss!” He puckered his lips, leaning forward.

You shoved him back, palm in his face, before getting off the couch. Thrown against the armrest, Hoshiumi grunted, owlish eyes blinked as he tried to spot you in the room.

“Oh, don’t be like that. I’m only teasing!”

You poured water into a glass, quickly chugging it down. “I don’t appreciate it. You get on my nerves enough as it is. I don’t need my feelings to be treated like a joke by you.”

He rolled off the couch and onto his feet. When you glance over your shoulder, he was approaching with his hands thrown into the air. “Okay, okay. I’ll stop. No more teasing. Even if you make cute expressions.”

“Hoshi,” you warned, filling your cup again.

“Right, right. I’ll slow it down. But I can't help finding you cute, okay?”

You grumbled into the class.

“What was that?”

“Dumb bird.”

He grinned, taking the opposing banter as an opportunity. While your nose was still buried into your glass, he dug his chin into your shoulder, forcing his arms around you so you couldn’t shove him away.

“You love me.”

“Shut up.”

“You didn’t deny it.”

“I’m so going to block every single one of your spikes next season.”

“Good luck with that.”

Was this badly done? Yea, I could definitely work more on the whole gushy feelings department of writing.

By the time this gets posted, I will be having my birthday the next day as well as likely starting in person classes for Uni again, and then Kiwi’s birthday will be a few days later. AH, gonna be a messssyyyyyy week. I don’t want to turn 20. Makes me want to be back in middle school. Haikyuu fanfiction 7 years running….. AHHH -Bacon

It was great!!! The gushy-ness of the feelings takes a bit to get used too lskdjfsa I’ve been doing it since 7th grade Percy Jackson fanfic :P I don’t get to go back in person until mid February. I agree, it’s daunting….. 7 years? It’s been a while - Kiwi

Posted: 30/01/2022

[mochikeiji]

Kinktober Day 2: Blackout Bear

↠ Pairing: Asahi Azumane x Reader

↠ Warning: SMUT! Blowjobs, Asahi going a little rough, calls you good girl, sub-ish!Asahi, blackout in the neighborhood.

↬ Word Count: 2.8k

⇢ Day 2: Blowjobs

Timid, intimidating, soft, delinquent.

That was all the most mentioned personality to define the former ace from Karasuno. His features screamed dominance; that typical big guy who's all in for the roughness and up to no good. But to those who truly knew who he was, Asahi Azumane was a huge softy. He was too kind for his own good, easily affected for when someone was rough with him and would make anyone fight for him.

For you, he was bear.

Sometimes a loving, fuzzy ball of big, warm cuddles and kisses. Sometimes a feral beast ready to pounce on you for when he was hungry. The experience was phenomenal. You actually thought you were going to top him sometimes when it came to sex; giddy of all the possible things you could do to him, especially at this hour where the power was out in your entire neighborhood to pass the time.

But like with a certain orange haired boy, Hinata Shoyo, Asahi wasn't going to back down when it came to dominance. Let alone in bed. With the windows wide open in your bedroom and the curtains flowing from the cold, hustling wind outside, sweat wasn't a problem anymore as you clawed his broad back from the tingling love bites he was marking all over your neck and chest.

"Azumane— hng, please."

Shocks of pleasure zapped from your spine when he bit the tender flesh between your shoulder blade and neck. He groans as your hips thrusted up and grinded against his erection, gladly mirroring your actions with a little force to ground your hips down with his rutting.

"Mm, stop it baby."

Pulling away from your neck, he immediately captures your lips with his, delivering you with a heated, tongue battling kiss. Occasionally squeezing your sides to hear your little squeaks that made him harder than he was seconds ago.

"I'm only getting harder."

It sent your lower regions trembling by the sound of his voice growing deeper than ever.  You knew you couldn't dominate him even if you wanted. When Asahi's demeanor changes to this beast bestowed upon you, you were instantly done for.

The bulge restrained from the boxers he was wearing poked your clothed cunt. Both of you stripped down with the remains of your underwear. Moaning softly at the rock hard tip, you can feel yourself clench down wanting nothing more than to invite him inside and let him shape your insides with his cock.

He pulls away from the kiss to let you breathe, to this day now it still surprises him to see how disheveled you could easily get from his small gestures as his eyes raked down to your glowing body with the moon shining brightly by the window.

"Beautiful."

One word that sent you over the edge even at your state. Never a time where he would go rough on you even if you pleaded him to. Every moment of the day he never misses his chance to declare something about you. Whether it was a simple compliment or small gifts given, Asahi would turn into as soft as a marshmallow during those times.

Smiling goofily at him after sighing away the small bliss given to you, biting your lip at the way he was looking right now thanks to the dim light of the moon outside, your head began to ponder images on how godly he would look under the light of the night for when you give him the desire only you possess.

"Azumane, please, let me suck you off."

The wetness in your underwear didn't compare to your goal to be the one to control his orgasm and to have him fuck your mouth. Noticing the change of his expression, you could tell he had the slightest tint of blush bloom in his face from your request. Even if he was the one on top, it still makes him flustered to hear such dirty desires come out from your mouth. He wouldn't admit it, but hearing you plead to suck on his cock made his grip on your hips tighten and his breathing deeper.

"I don't know, baby."

He sounded unsure yet teasing. Loved seeing you get riled up and whine beneath him, pleading for him to grant your request and saying that you would do anything, promising him the best one to ever experience.

"Please, Azumane. Please, I'll be good."

You were aching down there, spasming to nothing but his tip still poking your clothed cunt. You wanted to suck him off to get this done with and for him to finally have his way with you. Knowing how much you needed this to drive you to your own pleasure.

Callused palm went in contact with your cheek as your breath hitched. He caressed it filled with love and adoration. Gentleness he swore to have every time he's around you and gives you one last kiss on the lips before pulling away with the tips of your noses touching.

"Tell me to stop when you can't handle it, okay?"

Eyes lighting up, you hear him chuckle under his breath. The bed sheets can be heard rustling from the change of position. Asahi settles himself to your previous position and you knelt on bed between his legs, licking your lips idly at the sight of his bulge.

"Go on, baby. It's all yours to touch."

Asahi himself didn't notice the way how he whispered. The meaning that sentence holds sent his member twitching in need, you gulped when you saw the slightest movements and couldn't stop your hand from placing firmly against the cloth and gave it a squeeze.

Moaning, he grips the sheets from his sides,  creating a small spot of wetness from his tip from your ministrations. You have him where you wanted him, sliding off his boxers almost too quickly, the restraints finally freeing his cock that stood proudly and leaking. The veins prominently raging, demanding for attention and relief in anyway from you.

"You're so big, Azumane."

Normally, he would blush at that saying, but seeing you drool over and eyeing his cock with lust and want, he actually gave you a killer smirk that made your thighs clench for him.

"Think your mouth can handle it? This is your first time sucking me off, right?"

Gulping, your body automatically lays itself down to your stomach. Now face to face with the long, gritty length that was about to be inside your small mouth. You blew soft air on the skin of his length, still amazed by the way it twitches at the simplest of contact with anything.

When Asahi's thighs parts themselves after your little trick, you took it as a message that he wanted much more than that and ran a finger down to the side of his cock. Your index finger softly tracing down to his balls, then up slowly to the way to his tip. His thighs jolted when your finger moved up, the direction of his member moving to the right for when you ran your finger up to the left side.

Having enough of the edging game, you used your thumb to circle the tip. From above, Asahi hissed at the stinging sensation due to the sensitivity that part of his cock holds. Alarming you, you immediately just wrapped your entire hand around his shaft. He sighs in relief, sucking in his stomach after your action and proceeding to spread the substance he has made around his cock.

The sounds it made as you flicked your wrist up and down was arousing; exciting you further to get a taste of his cum in your mouth. Tongue peeking out from your lips like a sneaky little pest, while his eyes were shut in concentration you took this as an opportunity to now tease his glistening cock head with the tip of your tongue poking. His fingers twitched underneath the sheets when your tongue joined in the fun. After giving him a few kitten licks and slow stroking, you flattened your tongue on his tip.

"Crap."

He curses under his breath. The wet muscle now sliding down at the sides of his length, with your playful hands occasionally squeezing his balls for additional pleasure.

"For a first timer, you sure do know how to- ah- work a man up."

Your cheeks flushed. It wasn't that you were a first timer. Credits to the things you've read and watched over the internet for when he was away and your friends for practically shoving sexual discussions over your phone. Curiosity was dangerous, but thank goodness you still remembered the movements made from most partners whenever they start a first blowjob.

Retracting your tongue and hand back, you placed both palms at each side of his thigh to give them a pinch. Asahi flinches at the action and was about to look down and ask why did you do such thing. Only for him to realize it was your sign saying that you were about to engulf him in your mouth. It made him moan instinctively when the mushroom head of his cock first enters your lips.

The muscle inside your mouth greeting it with licks as you adjusted your jaw and try to fit in slowly the rest of him. Yes, big guy definitely expect big junior as well. Even with a slow pace, your brows scrunched and furrowed in frustration and exhaustion. Maybe it was only about one to two minutes since you've had just the first part of his cock in your mouth, and your jaw was starting to grow tired.

Asahi took a notice on this as he observed you. Despite experiencing an excruciating amount of pleasure down there, he reminded himself that this was your first time giving him and he knew he had to stop when he knows you were getting uncomfortable.

"(Y/n), you can stop if you're getting hurt. I can handle the rest."

Treading his fingers through your hair, he gently tugs you up away from his soaking member, allowing you to pant and move your jaw up and down to soothe away the numbness.

"I'm really proud you tried, baby. Don't be too hard on yourself."

But you were a fierce being. Pouting, you pushed away his hand from your head and wiped away the saliva that hung on the side of your mouth with the back of your hand.

"I want to continue."

"But baby-"

"Please? You can help me, but please let me continue. You've been too good to me, baby. I want to give you something back."

Like you thought earlier, Asahi is the top in this relationship. It's always him prioritizing your needs first. Even in sex, it's you who gets most of the fun. But now finally having a chance to do something for him even though it was a pain in the ass, you couldn't help but like the feeling a little and gave it another chance to adjust to you.

Asahi knows how stubborn you are. Even the littlest of things, when you want to do something, you will do it. One of the reasons why he's smitten for you was your determination. Even in sex.

"I love you, okay? I'm more than fine just having you, but if you insists, I'll go slow with you, okay?"

Re adjusting your position, exhaling out in concentration, you grabbed onto his shaft once more. Asahi hisses at the cold contact of your palm once again to his hot member, pumping it for a good preparation until he was twitching once more and engulfing him in your mouth.

The bed shuffles as Asahi sat himself up, his bigger hands cupping your head with a breathy moan and pushes your head slowly to swallow up more of him.

"Relax your jaw, baby. Breathe."

You did as you were told, it took at least 30 seconds for your jaw to fully relax. After that, you exhaled a breath from your nose, feeling his dick slide in the wet cavern in ease. Gripping his thighs as he inches slowly inside your mouth, Asahi was already gritting his teeth at the hot, wet feeling that was your mouth. Fingers almost tugging your hair with much force than earlier, and you find yourself loving how slowly he was bound to break.

You wanted to see how animalistic your softy of a boyfriend could go, bracing yourself and breathing in harshly, you hallowed your cheeks and pushed yourself deeper to engulf his cock entirely. Nose now in contact with his pelvic bone as you hummed in the slightest bit of stinging and satisfaction.

"Fuck, don't—"

His head bows down to the crown of your head. Ragged breathing to the feeling of his cock pulsating inside your tight throat, he tries to pull away from the euphoric feeling. Afraid that his own lust would take over, but your eyes sparkled in a mischievous way and held onto his thighs tighter. Sounding out a moan of vibrations to his cock to deliver him another wave of heavenly approach, Asahi moans loudly, shutting his eyes instinctively with you bobbing your head out and pushing back in.

"F-fuck, don't, hah, m-moan there."

His cursing made you giggle despite chowing down on his cock. Your tongue swirled delightfully at the skin, tracing the angry veins, eager for relief. Continuing your treatment, you noticed that you couldn't move further away from his tip. The hand at the back of your head was blocking you, as if he was the one settling the pace from the start. Raising a brow in amusement, you forced your head to pull away from his shaft and sucked the life at the tip of his cock— where he was most sensitive.

"gAh— (Y/n)! F-fu—"

He could no longer continue his words, letting himself fall back to bed to let out a string of moans and prayers for mercy at the way you suckled on his tip. Toned body now forming sweat at the heat that was now getting into his system. Whimpering at his cock, you could feel yourself getting wet at his state. You wanted to be in the same euphoria he was in later on. Sliding a finger down to your panties, you rubbed your clit with small circles, mewling against his cock as you bobbed back in to take him whole.

Your fingers stimulation and Asahi beneath you was enough to make you approach your own orgasm. One more push and you knew at any moment the both of you were going to burst. Quickening the pace of your fingers, in sync, your head bobs up and down his cock, now fully adjusted to his length.

"God, so good. Good girl. Please."

Stroking your hair whilst looking down to your teary eyes with his own hazy ones, he gives you a tired smile and touches your cheek, feeling the movement of his cock sliding inside making him groan. The way your other arm was occupied with touching yourself, he can feel himself twitch more at the sight of you getting off with this.

"Good girl, ah— I'm going to cum..Please, I'll take good care of you after this."

Your whimpers were at the same volume as his moans. Eager to finally feel and taste his cum, your other hand came in and started teasing his balls. Asahi yells out when your finger tips grazed at the sensitive skin and gave it squeezes. His grip on your hair felt like he was going to pull it from the roots with his hips now thrusting on their own inside your mouth. He took control of your head, saliva drooling at the corners of your lips whenever he'd slam back, unable to stop yourself from moaning at your throat being fucked, your fingers pinched along your clit with your hand stroking his balls still.

"Shit, shit, I'm cumming, cumming. Take it baby."

Thus came his load spilling spurts inside your throat. Your eyes widened as you choked onto his cock, but immediately swallowing the salty substance like a good girl, holding your head in place to finish himself. Asahi pants, he can himself pulsate once, twice, until it came to a full stop. Finally raising his head, he pulls out quickly and lifts you up from your position with ease, laying you back down your bed with a slightly pounding head.

There was a bit of cum hung over your lips, he came a lot that you didn't manage to swallow him fully, but it was definitely addicting to see him in a disheveled state and losing himself. His thumb swiped away the string of substance on your mouth and massages your cheek with peppering kisses.

"Sorry, I got too into it."

His beard tickled, but nevertheless you let yourself snuggle onto his face with pure bliss written all over your features.

"I loved it."

He laughs at your claim, eyes gazing down to your panties that were almost off of your hips from when you were touching yourself earlier. Giving you one last kiss on the lips, your legs were lifted up to his shoulders, cock getting hard by the second and slapping against your cunt, you gulped at his darkened look as he licks his lips in anticipation.

"My turn."

[edens-breathless-melodies-moved]

words: 3.4k

pairing: kageyama t. x f!chubby!reader

prompt: sweat kink

warnings: cursing, oral (female receiving), fucking in a personal gym, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it), sweat licking (he’s a freak lmao)

summary: kageyama knew you looked good while working out. the way your soft arms would suddenly flex and he’d see the muscles you were so good at hiding.

he knew he liked to watch you work out, but he never would have known that the sight of you covered in sweat would stir something so primal in him.

a/n: kageyama likes his women chunky you can’t change my mind. just to clarify, reader is an american who came to japan because iwa convinced her she’d go to the olympics if she followed him. she met iwa in her first year of college and quickly became friends. reader is insinuated to be a rather plush woman, but she’s ✨ s t w o n g ✨

“group bonding exercise?”

you repeated dubiously, blinking owlishly at the blonde in front of you as he just sits there and smiles, nodding his head.

you look to the other men in the olympic gymnasium for help, but they either shrug their shoulders in equal confusion or nodded their heads with atsumu.

when you had walked through the gym doors this morning with iwaizumi, ready to start the days training, you didn’t expect to have atsumu come up to you and propose a “bonding experience”, in his words.

hinata came bounding up to you with that ridiculous speed of his, orange hair bouncing in his excitement. he was practically vibrating with energy, hazel eyes glowing under the fluorescent lighting.

“yeah! we overheard you saying how you wanted to get back in shape and slim down a little, so what better group to help you out than us?”

all the men in the gym froze at his oblivious words, shocked that he really just said that to your face. kageyama froze in the middle of his lunges and choked, eyes wide.

‘this idiot really has no class…’ they all thought simultaneously as they watched the scene unfold with bated breath, waiting for the inevitable moment you ripped his head off and stomped on his body.

if there was one thing they all knew, they knew it was to never mention a woman’s weight. especially to you. you weren’t exactly the thinnest around, but that didn’t make you any less attractive.

in all honesty, you were hot, in all your foreign, sexy glory.

to everyone’s obvious surprise however, instead of killing the ginger, you laughed instead and patted him on his floof, thanking him for reminding you.

the team sweat dropped as hinata bounced around, clearly enjoying the head pat as he started spouting off different types of exercises they wanted you to do, bokuto and atsumu quickly joining in.

they all surely expected you to spike his head off or something, but they were pleasantly surprised and grateful you didn’t. they couldn’t afford to replace him so close to the games.

you see, you were no stranger to physical violence or getting physical in general. you had been recruited to manage the japanese men’s olympic volleyball team by none other than iwaizumi hajime, himself.

it was funny how things worked out because you two had already known each other before the offer was even offered.

you had met previously during college where you both graduated with the same degree. having spent the last four years taking the same classes and becoming best friends, it wasn’t a surprise when iwa asked you to come back with him to japan.

though you were pretty adamant in staying in america, despite knowing japanese, you somehow were convinced by him. before you knew it, you were saying goodbye to your hometown of los angeles and saying hello to tokyo.

because of your past with iwaizumi coupled with the fact that you both had the same degree and title, you two were known as the demon trainers from hell.

where iwa was all obvious brute strength and harsh glares, you were much more reserved but still equally as terrifying with your sickly sweet smiles and icy words if the boys were getting out of line.

but just because you preferred to make them cry with your words instead of your fists, that didn’t mean it wasn’t common to see you either hitting one of them upside the head or spiking a ball at them with deadly accuracy.

when the team first met you, however, they could hardly believe that you were a certified athletic trainer, let alone their manager on top of that. it wasn’t anything against you, you just… didn’t look the part.

standing at a whopping 5’4”, all the men on the team easily dwarfed you in height, and your body wasn’t all hard planes and corded muscles. you were soft and squishy looking, running a little heavy for your height.

you just looked so adorable and soft. your cheeks had this permanent blush across them from your constant sunburn (blame the california sun), and they always puffed out when you pouted.

but that was their first mistake; underestimating you. even kageyama, your boyfriend, had underestimated you, though he denies it now.

it was actually how you two had met, though it was under less than ideal circumstances.

he was bold enough to question whether you were even meant to be on their team your first day meeting them, unintentionally offending you and all your hard work to get where you were.

“it’s nothing against you personally, but you just don’t look like you’re meant for the job.”

kageyama had said without looking at you, and everyone, including the coaches, were stunned by his blunt and brash words. even ushijima was rendered speechless.

kageyama looked around confusedly at everyone’s silence and wide eyes. what? did he say something wrong? he didn’t mean to offend you, he was just telling the truth how he saw it.

it was only when iwaizumi snickered and everyone broke out of their shocked reverie that all eyes shifted from kageyama to you.

chills ran down their spines at the eerily calm smile you gave kageyama, eyes closed tightly as you took a deep breath in. “you really fucked up now, kageyama.” iwaizumi chuckled.

everyone’s hearts stopped when you opened your eyes, and even kageyama shivered when your gaze met his. the way the fire in your eyes seemed to run so hot it could freeze over hell, looked eerily similar to the look hinata gives on the court.

“so i “don’t look the part”, hmm?” you muse, smile growing even wider as you watched the setter fumble over his words, trying to save face.

you let out an over dramatic sigh as you tossed your head back, clicking your tongue once as iwaizumi let out another laugh before walking over to stand by your side. apparently this happened often.

kageyama stopped fumbling over his words as he watched his old senpai cross his arms over his chest. you chuckled as you shucked off your trainer jacket, revealing your plain black t-shirt underneath.

the team never took their eyes off of you as you raised your arms above your head and stretched. gasps rang out across the gym as they saw your flex and the muscles that bulged from underneath your fluffy flesh.

“y’know, kageyama-san,” you drawled, lowering your arms as you began methodically stretching your thick legs, sharp eyes never leaving his. “you’re not the first person to say that to me.”

“she’s right,” iwaizumi mused with a smirk. “i’m pretty sure i was, and i still regret it to this day.”

kageyama gulped nervously and the team could only watch in awe as you finished your stretching before bending over slightly to your left.

you lined up your shoulders with iwaizumi’s hips as you placed a firm grip on his knee and around his shoulders.

with wide eyes and jaws dropped to the floor, the entire team and even the coaches watched you lift iwaizumi with ease and settle him into a comfortable fireman’s carry.

atsumu, bokuto, and hinata audibly screeched and even the usually stoic sakusa and ushijima choked on their spit in shock.

without breaking a sweat, in a sheer display of strength and power, you casually walked towards kageyama, and iwaizumi couldn’t repress his snickers because kageyama looked like he’d just seen a ghost.

how are you so strong?!

your smirk never left your lips as you stopped only a couple of feet away from the shocked olympian, and raised an eyebrow at him mockingly. “what’s wrong, kageyama-san? cat got your tongue?”

you grin grows maliciously as he struggles to answer you, obviously flustered. “do i still look too “soft” or “weak” to be able to handle you guys?”

when kageyama still didn’t answer you, still too flustered and shocked by your impressive display of strength, (cause iwaizumi is not light, that man is straight muscle), you sighed before giving the gym a quick scan before settling on one of the team's liberos.

“yaku-san.” yaku jumped at your polite tone when you called his name, but he quickly recovered with a sincere smile. “yes, (l/n)-san?”

you shot him a sweet smile of your own, and chose to ignore the blush across his cheeks to avoid embarrassing him. “can you give me a number between one and twenty?”

yaku stared at you confusedly along with the rest of the team and iwaizumi fully burst out laughing, shaking on your shoulders. you fought back your own grin as you threatened to drop him.

“um, ten?”

you grinned as you widened your stance, feet placed shoulder length apart as you took in a deep breath, preparing your muscles.

“good, i wanted a decent workout today, anyways.”

and when you began to squat your best friend with perfect posture and ease, kageyama didn’t even register the howling screeches of his teammates as they lost their minds over this mini she-hulk they just got as a manager.

instead, kageyama could only focus on the blood rushing through his ears and to his cheeks as he watched you squat his senpai with a smile on your beautiful face, a singular bead of sweat rolling down your temple.

oh, he was in deep now.

—————————

kageyama knew he should be ashamed of the way he was staring at you, but he couldn’t find it within himself to tear his eyes away.

with a harsh gulp and wide eyes, he watched you as you continued on with your leg presses, eyes closed as you took in even breaths.

you didn’t even seem bothered by the amount of weight you were pushing, but then again, 300 lbs was something normal to you.

finishing your reps, pushed your legs out fully before locking the press, taking a deep swig of your water as you lifted yourself up from your reclined sitting position.

blue eyes followed the trail of your sweat as it glided down the side of your neck before being absorbed into the fabric of your sports bra strap, and he gulped again, pants suddenly feeling tight.

that feeling only intensified when you lifted the edge of your shirt to wipe at your soaked brow, exposing your pudgy and soft tummy. you’ve never looked more delicious to kageyama than now.

when your boyfriend of six months and olympian in training had invited you to his home to work out in his personal gym after you finished atsumu’s little “team bonding experience” you didn’t expect him to just stare at you as you went about your reps and sets.

you chose to ignore the hungry way he gazed at your plush body as you moved over to where the squat stand was, bar already loaded with your preferred weight.

not minding the intense stare from across the room, you bit back a smile when you heard the light gasp come from your boyfriend as you ducked under the bar and settled it comfortably on your shoulders.

you stood up straight and relished in the familiar weight against your flesh. stepping back with a deep breath, making sure your posture was correct, you squatted your first rep.

as you came back up, you weren’t surprised when you noticed your boyfriend had disappeared from his seat by the shoulder press.

what did surprise you was the sudden warm presence behind you, and you bit back a startled gasp when you felt his large hands come to gently rest on your waist.

“as a professional trainer, you should know it’s dangerous to squat without a spotter.” kageyama’s deep voice muttered out. he resisted the urge to dig his fingers into your soft skin as you chuckled.

“you’re right, but i think i can handle myself.” you musea. you held back a gasp when he leaned forward to nudge his nose against your jaw, breath cool against your sweaty skin.

kageyama inhaled the musky yet sweet scent of your sweat against your skin and had to bite his lip to repress his groan. why was he getting so worked up over this?

“squatting 320 isn’t something you just cover on your own.” he growled into your ear, and you finally realized how worked up your boyfriend was from watching you work out.

not that you can blame him, however. watching him do his arm reps and the way his back muscles rippled under his plain white tee whenever he lifted himself for pull ups had your yoga pants feeling a little damp.

sensing things were about to get hot and heavy, you stepped towards the squat stand to put up your bar, kageyama’s hands never leaving your waist.

just as the weight left your shoulders and was properly put away, you let out a gasp when you felt his cool tongue slide sensually up your neck, and you blushed at the deep groan that left his lips.

your own moans soon filled the air as kageyama ground his hard cock against your ass through his joggers, groping your soft sides fully with his hands.

you rested your head against his chest as you let him massage your body roughly with his dexterous digits, mewling and panting at the way he teased and pinched your nipples through the fabric of your sports bra.

“you have no idea what you do to me,” he rasped in your ear, maneuvering your bodies to lay on the padded gym floor. you let him spread your thighs as you propped your body up on one elbow.

you panted lightly as kageyama looked down on you from above, kneeling between your legs while gazing over your glistening form.

your baby hairs stuck to your sweaty forehead as your skin seemed to glisten under the fluorescent lights above.

blue eyes zeroed in on a stray drop of sweat that glided from your neck and began its descent down the valley of your breasts.

something in him snapped and he lunged forward, causing you to yelp in surprise before moaning as he tongue followed the sweat drops path, groaning against your heated skin at the salty taste.

he needed more.

“the way you look when you’re working out, the way your sweat makes your skin glow,” a whine escaped your lips as he nipped gently at your collar bone.

he lifted his head to meet your eyes and you gasped at the feral look in his blue orbs, pupils blown wide with lust.

“you make me so hungry, (y/n).” before you had a chance to respond to him, the sudden sound of fabric tearing and your inner thighs exposed to cool air made you balk, and you stared at your boyfriend in shock.

“you did not just rip open my yoga pants!” kageyama gave you a blank look before shrugging, leaning his face down to your exposed core, pleased to find that you were already dripping onto the floor.

“i’ll buy you another pair.” a breathy moan replaced your curse for his causal destruction of your clothing as he licked a fat stripe up your cunt, fingers digging harshly into the plumpness of your thighs as he drank in your flavor.

moans spilled from your parted lips uncontrollably as kageyama ate you out, tongue flicking and suckling against your clit as one of his hands released your thigh in favor of sinking two fingers into your hot core.

“fuck!” you choke out in a whisper as you wind your fingers through his silky locks, gripping them tightly as you roll your hips into his face.

kageyama took your grinding on his face in stride, speeding up the movements of his fingers as he searched your walls for that one spot that made you see stars.

“a-ah!” you cried out, thighs clenching around his head as he smirked into your flesh. found it. tears began pricking your eyes as your body was assaulted with pleasure, kageyama’s fingers slamming right into your g-spot.

kageyama knew you were getting close when he felt your walls flutter around his fingers and your soft moans began growing louder as you neared your release.

with a snarl, kageyama pulled his fingers from you roughly and sat up from in between your legs. your whimper at the sudden emptiness was swallowed by him as he slammed his lips to yours hungrily.

you moaned into the kiss, tasting yourself as you felt him fumble with the tie on his joggers before pulling them down along with his boxers to free his cock.

kageyama pulled away from the kiss, greedily taking in your breathless and flushed expression before slowly pushing his length into you, groaning as he forced your walls to accommodate his girth and impressive length.

tears sprung in your eyes and fell down your soft cheeks as you cried at the stretch, mind going delirious from the pleasure as your boyfriend continued to sink into you.

kageyama leaned down to lick up your tears before roughly snapping his hips into you, sinking the rest of the way in as his pelvis settled flush against you.

you choked as he bottomed out, and your hands instinctively went to grip onto his muscular shoulders, nails digging into his flesh hard enough to leave marks.

kageyama groaned at the feeling of your walls clenching around him, and he pulled back before slamming into you, relishing the way your walls seemed to suck him back in.

“tobio!” you cried out, voice breathless and wobbly as he slammed directly into your g-spot. kageyama smirked at your already fucked out expression, and slammed his cock into you again.

nothing but the sound of skin against skin and your wanton moans filled the stuffy gym air as kageyama pounded into you.

“fuck, (y/n),” kageyama groaned, leaning back on his haunches as he pounded into your sopping cunt, holding your legs up by your knees while biting his lip, watching you lose yourself on his cock.

your soft stomach jiggled with each thrust, shirt having ridden up while you squeezed your breasts through your bra, eyes crossing from the pleasure.

“fuck! you feel too f-fucking good!” you moaned, voice stuttering from the intensity kageyama was fucking into you with. kageyama smiled down at you, cheeks flushed from the compliment. “you’re taking me so well, pretty thing.”

he hissed as you clenched around him. apparently you liked that. so he continued.

“you feel so nice and tight around me, pretty girl.” he moaned out, feeling his high begin to approach him as your soft walls fluttered around him. he let one of your legs drop as he brought a hand to your aching clit.

rubbing tight circles into your sensitive nub, he sped up his hips until you were practically sobbing from the pleasure, coming dangerously close to tipping over the edge.

kageyama groaned at the sight of your flushed cheeks shining with tears and sweat, swollen pink lips caught in your teeth as you stared up at him with furrowed brows.

“i-i’m close!” you stuttered out, body beginning to seize while you could practically taste your orgasm. kageyama wasn’t any better, his hips losing rhythm as he opted to just pounding into you with whatever he’s got left.

“go on, pretty girl.” he huffed out, lazy smile curling his lips as he continued rubbing your clit with precise circles. “make a mess on me.”

a scream ripped through your vocal cords as you spasmed on his cock, eyes clenching shut as you clamped around him so tightly kageyama became lightheaded.

with a choked moan of his own he came deep inside you, filling you up to the brim with his cum as he fell forward, stopping himself from falling onto you as he held himself up with his arms.

you both sat there for a while, desperately trying to catch your breaths as you eventually came down from your highs.

opening your eyes, you find that kageyama was already staring at you, eyes softened and face still flushed from his high. you watched as a singular bead of sweat rolled down his nose before dropping onto the corner of your mouth.

without even thinking, your tongue swiped out to lick it up, and you saw your boyfriend’s eyes harden again, and a gasp escaped you as he rutted his hips into yours, cock twitching back to life.

a devious smirk filled his face, and he raised a singular eyebrow at you in challenge.

“you don’t think we’re done, do you? we still have a lot more sets to finish.”

taglist: @lovelypasteldreams @living-for-drama @arixtsukki @month-seasoning @bakarinnie

[scaredsimp]

Not ready to let go

tsukishima x female! reader

Warnings: angst, fluff, it’s awful and I’m unmotivated to fix it

You stand next to coach nekomada staring at the court in awe as the sound of sneakers against hard wood and loud breathing and grunts Fill the room. You’ve been to plenty of kuroos games but now instead of being in the bleachers you were right next to the court.

It was like a totally different experience and now since you were nekomas manager you felt like you were apart of the team not just watching it.

You’ve been best friends with kuroo since you were children and only started being nekomas manger this month! You did it because you saw how much it meant to the team.

And if it meant more opportunities to make fun of kuroo than you were more than willing to do it. They were only having a practice match against kurasunos and it looks like a really close call, But nekoma ends up winning the final set.

After both teams bowed and said there rather aggressive “thank you for the game!” You jog over to where kenma and kuroo are standing. Kuroo is talking to kurasunos number 10 and 11 and Kenmas playing on his game console but he keeps stealing glances at the orange haired kid.

‘I’ll have to remember that’ you take a quick mental note of kenmas behavior. Kuroo notices you walking over “hey, y/n were you so entranced by my playing you came to give me a victory kiss?”

You scoff “in your dreams rooster. I came to say hi to your new friends.” He puts on a playful pout before continuing to speak. “Well kitten this is tsukishima kei and hinata shoyo.”

You turn to the two boys “it’s nice to finally meet you both, I’m y/n nekomas new manger. I hope kuroo hasn’t been to much of a bother.”

Tsukishima gives an annoyed look and says “I wish I could say he wasn’t.” It makes your eye brow twitch in annoyance. ‘Ugh great he’s one of THOSE type of guys the ones that acts like assholes than are surprised when people are mad at them for it.’

You know it’s bad to assume but it’s a gift of yours to have amazing prediction of personality. And it keeps you out of making bad friends.

But you don’t say any of that instead you just return his annoyed glare hoping it sends the message of ‘I don’t like you already’. Hinata has been looking confused since you walked over.

And he finally speaks up “wait kuroo why didn’t you tell me you have a girlfriend???” The way hinata has a slight pout on his face and his hand gestures remind you of a toddler.

you just turn and give a playful punch to kuroos shoulder “Sorry for the confusion it’s just how we are. Me and kuroos family have known each other for a long time.”

Since your now facing kuroo you can see that he and tsukishima are staring at each other. It’s definitely not friendly but it’s not completely hostile either . You can’t quite pin what it is.

“Kuroo? Are you okay?” You asking in a slightly concerned voice. Kuroo looks down and gives you a small smile “I’m fine. You look so cute when your worried.”

His hand moves it self to your shoulder but you don’t move away. You and kuroo have known each other for so long that this kind of intimate Gesture was completely normal. 

Little did you know that ever since the match started tsukishima could not take his eyes off you. Of course he payed attention enough to play but whatever moment he had to spare he spent it glancing at you.

I mean how could he help it? You looked adorable, watching the match in amazement like a small child looking through the window of a toy store.

kuroos been in a sour mood ever since he noticed tsukishima looking at you. After all you were his. he adored you, you were kind yet outspoken and wouldn't let people walk all over you. 

He hasn't said anything to you about his feelings because he was scared you would hate him. He’s not sure he’ll ever get over you, he supposes when a guy he approves of comes into your life he’ll let it go but that guy is NOT tsukishima.

when the match was over Kuroo decided to give tsukishima a warning before looking at you like that again. he stepped in close so hinata and kenma couldn't hear him.

 “Watch your self tsuki, if you hurt her I’ll rip you to shreds.” tsukishima just scoffed “Calm down Prince Charming I don’t plan on it.” 

That’s when he noticed you walking over so he put on his smile for you. “hey, y/n were you so entranced by my playing you came to give me a victory kiss?” you shot back one of your insults but he wasn't listening instead he was staring right at the clearly pissed tsukishima.

he broke his staring to look at you again while you interduce yourself  “it’s nice to finally meet you both, I’m y/n nekomas new manger. I hope kuroo hasn’t been to much of a bother.” 

He can see your eyebrow twitch at tsukis response. ‘always so protective’ kurro gave a silent chuckle, shooting a look at tsukishima that meant ‘see she doesn't even like you’ that tsuki ignored.  

.......

its been a month since that kurasuno match. you, Kuroo, tsukishima, and Bokuto are hanging out together. and turns out your ability to read personalities failed you because tsuki is just a big tsundere and he’s fun to be around when he’s not teasing you or calling you a brat.

The original plan was to go to an arcade but once you got there you all realized it was a total dump. the carpet smelled awful, there was mold growing in the corner of the walls, and all the games were either out of order of for children. 

so you turned around and tried to find something else to do. kuroo was on his phone to see if there were anymore arcades near when Bokuto said “we should go see a movie! there’s a new scary movie out and i want to see it. akashi said i would be scared so i want to prove he’s wrong!”

tsuki gives one of his stingy remarks “Ugh, i know witch one your talking about. it has awful reviews why would you-” you cut him off with a punch to the stomach “of course we can see it bo! don’t worry tsuki if you get scared you can hold my hand.”

..............

When walking into the theater your hit with the smell of melted butter. your thankful that the theater was in much better shape than the arcade. Kuroo and Bokuto take the liberty of getting the tickets while you and tsuki get the snacks. 

“I hope Kuroo is okay. he’s been awfully quiet this whole time. And bokuto has been acting weird to it’s like he’s really trying to make kurro laugh.” you and tsukishima are standing by a table tucked in a corner waiting for the others. tsuki gives a soft chuckle 

“I'm sure he’s fine brat.” rolling your eyes you look up at the boy ‘w o w. has he always been this pretty?’ when you feel your cheeks heating up you turn you head away from him ‘hopefully he didn't see that....’ 

tsuki cant believe how adorable you are. he places his hand on your chin and forces you to look at him you. You completely forget where you are and lean in but the sound of Bokutos cheering makes you both pull away. 

“Alright! lets get going! whos ready to watch trolls!!” you can tsuki deadpan wile kuroo burst out laughing. “TROLLS? Bokuto what happened to getting the horror movie tickets? This is why I can leave the both of you without supervision.” You say in a mildly annoyed tone. 

............

While sitting in the theater you feel your eyelids start to get heavy. You have been working yourself pretty hard that week trying to get all your assignments done.

Before you know it your out like a light and are resting your head on a very concerned tsukishima. ‘Why’s she so tierd? Has she not been getting enough sleep?’ he eventually makes the decision to take you home, make sure you had food in your stomach, and send you to bed.

He taps your shoulder lightly. “Huh?” You blink your eyes open “what is it tsukishima?” “Get up I’m taking your home.”

After some protest you eventually agree.Bokuto and kurros head turns in your direction. “Why are you leaving I thought the movie was good?” Bokuto says with a pout while kuroo just sits still. With a horrified look on his face.

When you both leave the theater kurro exscuses himself to the bathroom. When he gets there silent tears run down his face.

Bokuto placed a hand on kurros shoulder. Kurro jumped in surprise not knowing the boy followed him in. “C’mere” he says soft and gentle and pulls kurro into his chest.

Kuroo told bokuto about his feelings for you and could tell that kurro was upset about how close you’d gotten with tsukishima. All he could do was comfort his friend and help him move on.

‘I’m such an idiot.’ It felt as if his heart was drowning and would never recover. He loves you. He loves you so much and his biggest regret is not telling you.

[chattegeorgiana]

It's 2021 & tbh I'm happy to see you still serving the truth. So many ppl hate Sakura it's rlly sad. I see hate for her from NH & SNS mostly about her "forcing" her feelings on others like she herself didnt realize that & was stuck trying the alleviate that be growing stronger as her main plot point. Her loss of development is 99% SP NH agenda. & honestly I still wish Sasuke got w/ NO ONE, not even Naruto. He wasnt good to anyone, even if he respected them. [1]

& in general I hate the idea that Sasuke HAD to end up w/ someone romantically to try find happiness & that person should have been Naruto/Sakura/etc. bc he COULD had a happy, content, redemption arc w/o a romantic partner. Not everything great in this world is driven by romantic companionship & Sasuke is honestly not cut out for it. I wish he had platonic healing & mending arcs, not this focus on finding the "right one" to bed with.

I will go down in my grave wishing Sasuke could be aromantic/asexual representation in a positive redemption arc of him making amends & fixing bonds w/o needing the "oh so powerful & miraculous" powers of romantic fixation.

__________________________________________________________

Well my parents taught me that a lie has short legs and it won’t last for long. And all you do is deceive yourself with lying so I took that lesson to the very heart through my upbringing and tried to stay as real as I can be. 

I’m the type of person who prefers a hard truth over a sweet lie any day. I have ruined relationships with people because of this way of being. Because I met people in my life that preferred to be sweet talked than told the cold truth.

I am not like that, so yeah.

Now, as for the Sakura hate... well, idk but I’ve also noticed a change in fandom support. Yes, she is still hated but the support for her grew over the years. I’m telling you, it’s one of the things I noticed from the very beginning as I came back to the fandom. 

But as I said in a thread on Twitter of mine, while I loved seeing that support, there are two factors that sadden me. 

1. The love is directed at Sakura Uchiha, not Sakura Haruno and 

 2. The fandom as a whole has become a lot similar to the other side of the fandom that used to bully us Sakura fans back in the day.

Of course, I am talking general aspects, I am sure that there are some particularities here and there. But sadly that's the truth. Which made me think about the following things. Are people really liking Sakura Haruno or Sakura Uchiha?

Because it makes me wonder... where was this love back when Sakura was getting her heroine status ripped? Where was it? Are you loving Sakura now just because she's married into the Uchiha clan? Because if so, that's just sad. And shallow. Like ppl used to call her.

And I know it might ruffle some jimmies, but it's the truth. It's an honest and pure observation, after being gone from the fandom for so long. Don't get me wrong, I love that she's loved and supported now, but I can't help but feel that she is because of the wrong reasons.

As for Sasuke, the problem is that the show rewards him with something that Naruto worked for.

We’re never really shown how he is sorry about all the misery he put everyone through.

People say that  ohhh, he was a victim. But wait. So was Naruto. He didn’t turn into that?

Not saying that what he did didn’t have an impact on him, but at the end of the day it boils down to CHOICE. Which Sasuke’s plot even is about. He CHOSE to go to Orochimaru. He CHOSE to kill Itachi. He CHOSE to destroy Konoha. HE CHOSE TO WANT TO KILL THE GOKAGE at the end!

And problem is that the plot doesn’t hold him accountable for that. And I will never shut up about how in other media authors don’t excuse the antagonist for his actions.

See FMA’s Scar. It’s the EXACT same thing. He had his clan murdered. Same thing. Genocide.

But do you see FMA’s plot excusing him for his actions like Naruto does? No, it doesn’t.

And I think that’s the core problem.

Like I always said: I have a love-hate relationship with Sasuke. I love the fact that he challenges the status quo, but I hate how he goes about it and how the story gives him a free pass.

Because it all feels hollow. Not to mention is a dangerous morale to leave behind. Especially to the newer generation of young adults who are shaping their character.

It’s sends a message that if you suffered, you get a free pass to do whatever shit you want cuz at the end of the day you get a free pass without having to work hard to get your atonement. 

That’s why I love the fight in Jujutsu Kaisen between Panda and Mechamaru. Mechamaru tries to victimize himself and find excuses for his actions, but Panda tells it like it is.

Just because you have suffered, it doesn’t give you the right to be an ass, basically.

As for Sakura and her development, yeah. Everyone acts like an ostrich and hide their heads in the ground pretending that it wasn’t because of SP’s favoritism and mischaracterization that Sakura wasn’t hated.

Well it was that exact same thing that made people hate her. Like I know at some point back in the day, SP had to excuse themselves that noo, they don’t hate Sakura.

Yeah right... Cuz that’s why they made an omake where she was jealous of Hinata and how Hinata was stealing the heroine status from her.

They were slowly inoculating this idea into the fandom’s perception.

And I remember how I used to tell people about it back in the day. SSers as well. 

Guys Sakura is gonna be sidelined because of this. She isn’t gonna be the heroine anymore. But did someone listen? Noo, they didn’t.

Because all they saw was the fact that I was a NaruSaku fan and to hell with me. Out of the fear of NaruSaku might potentially win, they preferred to just shut up.

And then guess what? TL came and they called Hinata the heroine of Naruto’s story.

And I was like lol, I goddamn told you so. But for you it was more important for NaruSaku to lose than Sakura keeping her status, right?

As for who Sasuke should’ve ended-up with? Well that is hard to tell. Ofc, personally due to my preference for symbolism and seeing the power balance, it would’ve been nice to see him paired-up with Karin.

Cuz I feel Karin had what it took to shake him up, cuz she didn’t take his BS. But that’s just me and I would’ve totally been okay with an arc like you proposed.

However, yeah, I don’t see him with Sakura at all , I’m sorry. As much as I would’ve liked to.

Hell, I should’ve been happy as a former SS. Yet I wasn’t.

But I guess this boils down to each person’s principles. And I know where mine lie. :)

[krsnbgirl]

Fly High! || Kageyama x Fem!Reader || Part 2

Summary: Still reeling over what had happened the week before, you look back at how your daily life at Karasuno immediately changed for the better. Nishinoya also comes to ask you for a favor that helps you grow closer to the weird quick duo after school. The boys also learn more about your past from middle school.

Pairing: Kageyama Tobio x Fem!Reader

Genre: Rom-Com, Slice of Life, Sports

Word Count: ~3.1k

Warnings: Slight swearing, smoking (for Ukai), Signs of Anxiety from Reader, Timeline heavily based on the anime

Author’s Note: And here is part two of the series! I hope you guys enjoy it! Thank you to anyone that has interacted with the first part :) Taglist is still open if any of you would like to be a part of it! Also crossed posted on AO3! xoxo, Ren  ❤

Taglist: @misnmatchedsox​

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Masterlist

It’s been a week since the boys caught you doing a serve in the gym and a distraught look could be seen on your face as you made your way to the rooftop during one of your breaks. The boys began to try and convince you to become their manager even more ever since that practice. Tanaka would always call you their manager, a hopeful glint in his eyes, in the midst of his jokes. Hinata would try to bug you whenever he bumped into you in the hallways with Kageyama being dragged behind him. Then there was also Yamaguchi who would just give you a smile while Tsukishima would give you snide remarks whenever they passed your desk to sit at the back of the classroom. You sighed as your daily life at school was becoming more filled with the different presences of the boy’s volleyball team. It was nice finally getting to see the boys that Nishinoya always talked about, but you heavily underestimated the chaotic energy they brought with them. Escaping to the rooftop had become more of a daily thing for you so you could take a moment to breathe. You rested your arms on top of the railing as your mind flashed back to the moments right after you served the ball.

The boys gaped at you as Hinata began his typical rambling after seeing something amazing with Nishinoya and Tanaka closely behind him with proud smiles. Sugawara, Daichi, and Asahi shared a look before smiling to themselves and giving a thumbs up to Shimizu. The second and third years were aware of your situation with volleyball because you used to frequently appear at their games when Nishinoya, Tanaka, Ennoshita, and the others were first years. The team had found out that you used to play volleyball when Nishinoya mentioned that he was going to attend one of your matches as his weekend plan. You were similar to Nishinoya on the court and a lot of people at Chidoriyama used to call you two  ‘The Yin and Yang Twins.’ Nishinoya was always the hyper one but quiet on the court meanwhile you were the more composed one but very hyper on the court. They were all there when you got injured and watched your downfall. All of them tried their best to be there for you, but the players knew how devastating it was to have one’s ACL tear. It’s one of the worst injuries to have and the hardest to come back from depending on the degree it got injured. Unfortunately for you, it was the degree that had to be taken with caution and the healing process was a lot longer. 

So once the boys gave up on finding Kageyama and Hinata on their jog, they decided to return and Nishinoya was the first to come back. He noticed right away the look in your eyes and looked to his side to find the rest of the team approaching. Motioning them to stay quiet, he pointed towards you and they all crowded by the entrance. As they watched you serve the ball, those that were by your side and respected your space felt a warm feeling spread across their chests. This could be your time to finally realize your worth once more. Before they knew it, they all surrounded you and complimented you on the serve.

You ruffled your hair in frustration as you looked over the school grounds to find Hinata and Sugawara practicing at the gym’s entryway. You noticed Kageyama walking towards the vending machine near them and pressing the buttons to get his drink. A chuckle escaped your lips as you watched a couple of students get scared of his presence. You shook your head in amusement and raised an eyebrow once you noticed a soft expression on his face as he enjoyed his drink. ‘So he does have a soft side to him…’ you thought to yourself as your eyes followed him.

“(Y/N)-chan~” 

“Oh, Yu-nii, did you need anything?” you asked as Nishinoya joined you by the railings and he shrugged. 

“I just wanted to check up on you after everything that’s happened.” he asked and looked at you from the corner of his eye. 

You gave him a scrutinizing look because he typically checks in on you like this if he needs something. He’d usually just try to tease you or joke around with you when he knows that something is troubling you or waits until you come to him. Besides, he already scolded you on your way home about being more careful with your knee since you haven’t been conditioning lately and skipped more than one appointment with your physical therapist.

“Liar, you need something from me.” 

Nishinoya laughed out loud and smiled at you. “You know me too well, (Y/N)-chan.” 

Turning your attention fully onto Nishinoya, you waited for him to speak. He rubbed his neck sheepishly and said, “Daichi said that we needed to pass our exams in order for us to go to Tokyo for training. If we fail, the supplementary exams fall on the day that we leave.” 

“Yu-nii, I can’t help you with your studying. I’ve tried and can be a lost cause sometimes.” you sighed.

He winced at your bluntness but knew he had it coming. You were always the more studious one and had to always make sure he concentrated on homework whenever he came over. But in this case, he already had the third years and Ennoshita whipping him into shape during their after school sessions. But seeing the first years struggle and being the amazing upperclassman he was, Nishinoya wanted to give his beloved underclassmen some help. 

“It’s not for me, (Y/N)-chan. If you think Tanaka and I are stupid, Kageyama and Hinata are struggling more than us.” 

You couldn’t believe what came out of Nishinoya’s mouth and you burst out laughing. “W-Wait, are you saying that Kageyama-san isn’t smart? But he looks like he has good grades!” 

“That’s what we thought too but I guess he’s only smart when it comes to volleyball.” Nishinoya pouted. 

You couldn’t stop imagining Kageyama failing at regular school work because he just gave off that impression that he had some common knowledge in him. With Hinata, you had a good feeling that he wouldn’t be that smart since it looked like volleyball was the only thing on his mind. But it was a good surprise to you to find out that Kageyama was just as bad because it proved to you that you shouldn’t have assumed in the first place. It did give you some amusing thoughts though. Crossing your arms, you looked at your best friend as he rubbed his hands together and bowed slightly towards you.

“Please, I’m begging you (Y/N)-chan, please help Kageyama and Hinata! We need them to be there with us! I’ll even buy you lunch for a week straight because you helped them!” 

With such a good offering, you smirked to yourself and ruffled his hair. “Alright Yu-nii, I’ll go help them.” 

You could see his eyes immediately light up and was about to go hug you when you held your hand up to him. 

“But, they have to come and ask me for help first.” 

Nishinoya cheered before hugging you tightly, thanking you a million times before darting off to tell them the good news. You shook your head in amusement and gathered your things to head back to your classroom and get a jump start on your homework in order to help the team’s newfound duo. 

------

The lunch bell finally rang and you mindlessly sipped on your carton of juice that you got during the previous break. You weren’t sure if the boys were going to come to you that day since Nishinoya never texted you back after the conversation on the roof. Listening to your stomach, you considered dropping by the shop that Coach Ukai ran for some snacks and a meat bun. You frowned to yourself as you realized that Coach Ukai still wanted to talk to you about your volleyball history. The grip on your juice carton slightly tightened and your other hand began to tap your desk as you thought about the questions he was going to ask. With a sigh, you shook your head to try and clear the questions and assumptions racing through your mind. You were snapped out of your thoughts when you heard your name being called and looked over to see Hinata and Kageyama walking into your classroom. You smiled at them and waved them over. The look of determination was evident on their faces as they stood in front of your desk and you couldn’t help but find their dedication towards the sport endearing. 

“Hey (L/N)-san!” Hinata greeted you happily and Kageyama met your eyes as he nodded at you and said, “Hey.” 

You held his gaze and greeted them back. Kageyama’s eyes widened slightly, surprised that someone was able to hold his gaze like that outside of practice, and looked outside the window. You smiled to yourself and turned your attention towards Hinata who asked you a question. You laughed to yourself because seeing Kageyama be so awkward outside of the gym was a cute sight to see.

“(L/N)-san, do you like studying?” 

You looked up in thought before shrugging. “I don’t hate it…” 

With a hopeful look on his face, Hinata held out his notebook and asked, “Could you teach me this English?” He tugged on Kageyama’s shirt too and continued to say, “You should ask her, too, Kageyama!” 

You looked back to the quiet setter who stuffed his hands in his pocket and you met gazes once more. “Please teach us.” 

Hinata continued to try and convince you as he stepped forward and said, “If we fail any tests next month, we won’t be able to go to the Tokyo away games, so we’ve been having the tall guy with glasses named Tsukishima help us...But lately, he’s getting irritated because Kageyama and I are so stupid.”  

“I’m not scared of him.” Kageyama snorted, glaring at Hinata.

“But it’d be better for someone to teach us nicely!” Hinata huffed.

You couldn’t stop yourself from letting out a soft chuckle, holding your hand to your face to cover your reaction. “You guys are really too much. I didn’t think you guys would be struggling this much.” 

Kageyama felt an unfamiliar burning on his cheeks as he noticed your cute expression and shook his head to get rid of any unnecessary thoughts. He couldn’t get his focus messed up now, even if you did catch his interest. He didn’t need any distractions but a small part of him wanted to do something to keep seeing similar reactions from you.

Giving both of them a warm smile, you gestured towards your desk and said, “If I’m good enough-” 

“Really?!” Hinata excitedly asked. 

You pursed your lips as you let them know what you were thinking, “But I wonder if I’ll be able to teach in a nicer way than Tsukishima...I used to get really strict when I helped Yu-nii with his homework.”  

Both of them shook their heads simultaneously as Hinata reassured you, “You definitely don’t need to worry about that.” 

“Well, then shall we get started?” You smiled as you clapped your hands together and opened up your notebook. 

As the study session took place, you simplified what was being taught to them in a way the two would understand it. If what Nishinoya told you was true, then the way that you outlined things would be easy enough to teach to them. 

“I see! Wow!” Hinata exclaimed as you explained the construction of an English sentence to him. 

You rubbed her your sheepishly and shrugged. “Oh, it’s nothing..”

“Your notebook’s really easy to look at, (LN)-san. You’re great at drawing too.” Hinata commented when he noticed the small doodles that covered the sides and corners of your notes.

“Ah well, when I was on a break I suddenly got into drawing and I typically try to be the best in everything I get into so I guess it’s from my perfectionist side.” you sheepishly replied before pointing at Hinata’s notes. “Oh, if you leave a space here, it’ll be easier to fill in later. Also, if you limit the number of colors you use, it won’t get confusing.” 

Kageyama watched as you bit off the cap of your pen and began to write guides on Hinata’s notebook. He wasn’t much of a talker, but he was grateful for you being willing enough to help them. There was something about you that helped calm down his nerves as you taught them their class’s material. He didn’t feel as competitive or stressed when they studied with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. You were encouraging but knew when to be strict with them. As he quietly took down his notes, Kageyama listened in on your conversation as you and Hinata talked about his dislike for studying and how he’s just trying really hard to get to Tokyo. 

You were amazed at Hinata’s passion and was surprised to also find Kageyama chiming in on the conversation when Nekoma High was brought up. She vaguely remembered Nishinoya complaining about Nekoma one time so she assumed they were pretty strong opponents and now friends off the court. Especially if Kageyama mentioned that there was someone as good as Nishinoya on their team. It reminded you that you should check up on your friends from that school and filtered a mental note to do so once she got home. You lost contact with them for a bit during your rut and since volleyball was starting to make a comeback in your life, it was a good idea to check up on a childhood friend. 

Resting your chin on your palm as the two boys got lost in their own banter, you began to think about going to their games more. Nishinoya had been trying to get you to come back to their games but then he got suspended after his scuffle with Asahi. You mentally sighed and realized you had been so caught up with your own problems, you fell short on supporting your best friend. If anything, you should be thankful for Nishinoya introducing you to his new friends at Karasuno. With your budding relations with the current team, you were able to make new friendships with classmates you never noticed before. Your eyes unconsciously went towards Kageyama and you began to admire his features as he continued to talk to Hinata. You hated to admit it but now looking up close with him off the court, Kageyama was quite attractive. It was funny to you because people often got scared of him, but all you saw was a socially awkward guy. Also having grown close to the second and third years, you saw those boys as older brothers so none of them had gotten your attention when you got to know them. It didn’t help that Nishinoya would try to get in on your business to see if he could play cupid between you and a member of his. That idea didn’t sit right with you in the beginning but now, you might just be open to it. 

“So, (L/N)-san, did you used to play volleyball?” 

You sighed as you knew that this question was going to be brought up sooner or later after they saw you serve. 

“I’m pretty sure Yu-nii has already told you guys this, but we went to the same middle school together. He was the libero for the boy’s team and I was the wing spiker and pinch server for the girl’s team. Our school called us ‘The Yin and Yang Twins’ because of how our personalities switched in and out of the court.” 

The boys noticed your eyes softened as you remembered your days playing the sport that they loved and Kageyama couldn’t help but ask, “How come you stopped?” 

“I tore my ACL during my final match.” 

They winced trying to imagine how that went down and you shrugged. Kageyama couldn’t help but blame himself for making you remember something that terrible and murmured, “Sorry, I didn’t know.” 

You shook your head dismissively and looked down to play with your hands. “It’s okay. To be honest, taking time off to heal has opened my eyes a lot. I just don’t know if I’ll ever be fine to properly play again.” 

“Have you tried to give yourself that chance?” Hinata asked.     

You looked up to find Hinata smiling down at you as he stood up from his seat, palms resting on top of your desk. “I know that there are times where things seem to be impossible. I’ve had those thoughts for the longest time, but giving myself a chance to try things out and see where it goes has gotten me to where I am now. A lot of people underestimate me for being small and even if I’m not big, I can fly.” 

Your eyes widened as you saw the look in Hinata’s eyes. His words had an impact on you and you sat back in your chair, your mind going back to your serve. Kageyama noticed the thoughtful look on your face and understood that you needed your space for the time being. 

“Hinata, don’t you need to copy this down?” Kageyama asked to divert Hinata’s attention from you.

You looked out the window as Hinata sat down, continuing to write down his notes. While doing so, he began to ramble about volleyball again and while listening, you mindlessly said, “Then you’re like the Little Giant of the team, Hinata.” 

Kageyama sighed as Hinata got amped up again just by hearing the nickname he respected so much and then met your gaze. It was asking for him to help you calm him down so that you could all wrap up the study session. Turning his attention back to his notes, Kageyama continued to write down what he needed to know. 

“Hey, Little Giant that’s not gonna make it to Tokyo, hurry up and copy this.” 

Once the two finished copying down your notes and finally understanding some of the material, you agreed to continue to tutor them. You walked them to the hallway and the both of them thanked you once more before bumping into Nishinoya who held up your lunch in the air on the way back to their classroom. 

“I hope she’s been treating you well, boys!” Nishinoya greeted his underclassmen before walking up to you. 

Kageyama couldn’t help but turn around and watch as you gave Nishinoya a bright smile and hug. An unfamiliar feeling crept inside of him as he grew irritated for some unknown reason. He clicked his tongue and tried his best to forget about the part of him wishing that you would greet him like that in the near future.

[itsmattsunshinehere]

So here goes nothing....😅😅😅 I have thought of a scenario where a student is studying marketing and has offered herself to promote karasuno's volleyball team. And as she is working with them she makes friendships and developed crushes and love and all that good stuff. With a lot of fluff please.♥️😋♥️ If u can't that's just fine still will love everything you put out your so talented and I love you♥️♥️♥️♥️

Okay so first IM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG PLEASE DONT HATE ME 😫😫

I had some difficulties writing it because I didn’t know if you wanted reader to come from Uni or simply Karasuno. You also talked about developing crushes and Im a fool for Daichi so yeah it turned out as a Daichi x reader lol But feel free to ask for another one if you don’t like it!! Thanks for your request, you’re so kind and honestly I think there are people here on Tumblr more talented than me but omg thank you I love you please let me know what you think!! 💘💘💘

-L

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

Sweet lovin’.

Sawamura Daichi x reader.

synopsis: just Daichi helping you open a letter from your University.

word count: 1.6 K

tags: fluff

~~~

"C’mon Y/N, open it!" the boy on your right encourages you.

You're a little anxious, your hands are shaking slightly while you carefully unlock your phone. You can't calm down: you know how important is that email, you've been waiting for two weeks now. You open the inbox, but immediately lock the screen, not feeling brave enough.

You knew that getting into the university you were aiming to wouldn't be that easy, so you immediately took as many courses you could to prepare for the various entrance tests you’d have to do. Even so, when you found out you had to bring a completely new and original project, (the promotion of a product completed with data and graphs concerning sales), you were quite surprised not expecting it and soon you started panicking as you saw the million challenges you’d have to face, not to mention all the pressure you felt: after all it was the task you would have to submit if you wanted to be admitted to the marketing courses in what could be your future University (if you made it).

You are resolute and organised, you’ve been making plans for your future since you were really young, thinking about what your job would be when you grow up. You've always liked to read and recommend books to your friends or parents, so you decided to work for a publisher and evaluate which manuscripts to publish and which to discard. But it is clear that to do such a job you also need to know how to sell a product: it is therefore essential for you a degree in Marketing and Communication. You had calculated everything, down to the smallest detail, and yet in front of that email just over two months ago you had trembled, finding yourself deadly worried. On the other hand you had never done anything like this, starting from scratch, without anyone’s help and that’s what was most likely to have determined your admission.

For days you were scrambled to come up with an idea that could represent you 100%, and then you found yourself one day in the school gym in front of the entire men's volleyball team, on the orange flyer in your hands it was written in capital letters "LOOKING FOR HELP FOR OUR MANAGERS."

"Help us grow! If you are interested, come look for us: Sawamura Daichi (3rd year, section 4); Shimizu Kiyoko (3rd year, section 2)."

You immediately saw the opportunity behind that simple piece of paper. You had found your "product" to advertise, it was the opportunity you were looking for and you could not let it got; that's why you let instinct take over you and you headed straight to the gym; you hadn't given it too much thought, knowing too well that if only you'd stopped for one more moment to reflect, you'd only come out with more doubts.

You were presented to your "project" and they had welcomed you with open arms, especially Nishinoya and Tanaka, happy to have more people in their big family and that could lighten the load of work for Kiyoko and Hitoka. Although at first you had no intention of becoming a manager of Karasuno, day by day you had bonded more and more with those guys, finding yourself one day crying in front of everyone because of how boded you were when Hinata gave you with a beaming smile the team uniform. You had learned to appreciate each one of them, everyone with their own special personality, trying to help them as best you could during their training: several times you happened to assist Kageyama and Hinata till late and help them improving their spikes, or healing the wounds and bruises that Noya got, not to mention all the afternoons spent trying to comfort Asahi, in an attempt to raise his self-esteem a little. Then along with Hitoka and Kiyoko you draw posters and opened a fund for the team, you created a page on Facebook by posting constant updates, just as you had created a Twitter profile where only the three of you, Daichi, Suga and Professor Takeda had the access (coach Ukai refused to take part in something that complicated). You saw how slowly your crows got up again attracting more and more attention, just as you had seen your project take shape and come true.

After about a month of joining the team, you had taken the train to Tokyo along with the three third year and Kiyoko, who had decided to come with you to bring all the necessary documents for the application and the eventual registration. Careless as you are, you would surely have got lost, that's why Suga asked you if he could join you and after hearing him, the others had also offered to keep you company along the way.

Finally, another email had arrived on your phone: for three days you did not even look at your inbox, too scared to find out that you had been refused. Not to mention that of all the possible days Suga, being aware of your crush on the captain, had decided that today was the best day to give his contribution and leave you alone with Daichi to tidy the gym putting the last things in place, hoping that you will muster up courage to take the first step and confess. It’s obvious saying that his hopes are unfortunately misplaced.

Daichi, being the kind person he is, seeing you more nervous than usual asks you if you had heard from the University and suddenly you turn pale, telling him all your concerns.

"Good heavens Daichi, I can't do it, please look instead!" you beg the boy by your side. You have the feeling that, if it’s him the one who's telling you you've failed, it's going to hurt less than reading it with your own eyes. The captain picks up your phone with one hand and yours with other, making you blush instantly.

You don't know how or when you started having feelings for him, you only know that at some point you started paying a lot more attention to what he told you and noticing all the details of his face: how he purse his lips when he scores a point, how he snaps his tongue with frustration when during training he fails to serve or receiving Asahi’s services. Of course, you immediately tried to hide it all, choosing to focus on the first years and prevent Tsukishima and Kageyama from biting each other’s face off.

"You have to tell me the passcode, Y/N." he replies with a chuckle, trying to calm you down by caressing your hand in circular movements, causing the opposite effect.

You feel your heart beating wildly, you're not used to having so much skinship between you two, neither being so close with him. Of course, it had happened other times that accidentally in removing the net he touched your hand, but you always tried to pretend as if nothing happened, obviously failing: Tsukishima and Sugawara immediately understood that you had feelings for him, as well as Kiyoko, who immediately encouraged you along with the setter.

You give him the password and watch him carefully swipe his fingers across the screen, opening the inbox and reading the email carefully. After what seems like centuries, he rolls his eyes towards you and with a smile he turns your phone towards you. You rip it out of his hands and read until you find the magic word: ACCEPTED.

"You made it Y/N, you got accepted." He congratulates you and, in a moment of pure euphoria, you throw your arms around his neck, clutching him as tightly as you can as he bursts out laughing and hugs you back.

You feel so comfortable in his muscular arms, you feel warm, feeling almost as if you were home. You would never want to move away, but after a few seconds you two separate, you redder than ever, while he looks at you, smiling, holding once again your hand with his and you look down on the ground regretting being so careless.

"Sorry, I didn't want to jump on-" You interrupt as soon as Daichi raises your chin and brings your face close to his, looking into your eyes, his lips brushing yours, softly, delicately, kindly, almost as if he's afraid of breaking you.

When you separate you look at him surprised, with your mouth agape, unable to say anything, because DAICHI JUST KISSED YOU. You are speechless, trying to understand that what just happened is not a mere dream. The boy meanwhile waits for your reaction, but seeing that you are still silent he lets out a laugh, rather embarrassed by all that courage he showed you just now.

"I'm sorry Y/N, I don't know what’s gotten into me. I'm sorry I should have told you first, but you know I like you so much that seeing you-" he tries to explain you, but you interrupt him right away.

"You what?!" you ask him, your eyes wide open, as he looks at you even more nervous than before, he just wants to sink and disappear sucked into the ground.

“Yes, I've liked you for a while, I thought I'd tell you one of these days. I thought it was pretty obvious..." He tells you, scratching the back of his neck with one hand. You suddenly take the other hand.

“I like you too!" you say with a smile. You remind him so much of a little girl who just got the gift she wanted for her birthday. He can't help bursting out laughing again seeing your happy eyes, wrapping you again with those arms you love so much.

“That’s good, you know? I was dying of shame." He whispers sweetly in your ear, while you smile, letting yourself sink in the warmth of his embrace, chuckling back.

[aoiaoimm]

Iwaizumi Hajime & Oikawa Tooru: character- couple analysis: who wore the galaxies, who lightened up the stars?

• Written by me.

• Personal thoughts.

• Ao3 link here

"What I am saying then is just because you don’t know how you manage to be conscious, how you manage to grow and shape your body, doesn’t mean that you’re not doing it. Equally, if you don’t know how the universe shines the stars, constellates the constellations, or galactifies the galaxies – you don’t know but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t doing it just the same way as you are breathing without knowing how you breathe."

----Alan Watts from the book The Essence of Alan Watts Vol. 4: Death (1975)

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

On Facebook, there is a topic that came up like this: Can you guys try to list out how many rival pairs are there in Haikyuu?

Someone suggested Hinata and Kageyama. Others said it’s obviously like the relationship between Nekoma and Karasuno, or the equal of Nishinoya and Yaku's abilities. Speaking of the barrier, there's Aone, there's Tendou, there's Matsukawa. Although a bit skewed, there are people who think that this is Bokuto, Kuroo.

At that time, I thought like this: You know, Iwaizumi and Oikawa are also rivals.

The beginning of their story begins with a few small images: Oikawa with the passion for volleyball from an early age, and Iwaizumi who was drawn to his fanciful hobby even when his full attention had been put into the racquet he used to catch insects and forests. Starting from that prologue, Oikawa Tooru's world only had volleyball, and Iwaizumi Hajime's world only had Oikawa Tooru. Although I was very hesitant in writing all the above, but I don’t think that is wrong. If everyone has carefully watched the anime and even read the manga, people will see almost any frame, when Furudate-sensei describes Oikawa's growth, Iwaizumi is always there for him. Supporting him, looking at him, staying behind him. Never once did Iwaizumi exploit anything other than volleyball and Oikawa, perhaps the world for Iwaizumi is just Oikawa, to go to school in the morning, to study, play volleyball together. Perhaps not just a friend, Iwaizumi to Oikawa is a quiet walk after a late workout, a light from a window in a dark night, a clenched fist that adds more warmth. Surely, even when Iwaizumi was just a child, his thoughts were like this: He is simple-minded, he is very stubborn, a crybaby, and he doesn’t know how to take care of himself. I have to look after him, I have to be here. I should be the support he needs, I should take care of him.

Because Iwaizumi Hajime has always been like this: hot-tempered but easy-going, grumpy but firm with his own gentle tenderness. He doesn't ask for anything, because maybe for Iwaizumi, just as long as Oikawa is okay, he is fine either. Oikawa is his best friend, the person he cares about the most, rather than the fact that he didn't start with a love for volleyball like Oikawa, more than an insect cage and racket. Iwa-chan, Iwa-chan, look, this serve is great, let's play volleyball. It’s okay, Oikawa. I choose you.

And then what?

Oikawa collapses in front of him, doesn’t even have even a bit of joy for playing volleyball. This is not just a painful pain for Oikawa, but it is snatching what Iwaizumi wants most- which he has always tried hard to collect and preserve- and shatter to pieces. Iwaizumi was there when Oikawa started his passion for volleyball and watched the way it sprouted around him, unable to stop Oikawa from his own guilt. Iwaizumi was there when they entered the middle school together, became captain and ace, and lost at the hands of Shiratorizawa. Yet it's still not that he can save Oikawa from that painful black hole in the end, until Oikawa explodes in front of him, until Iwaizumi almost couldn’t stop from gung further, before he can do anything with the younger setter that year.

On many forums, websites, media types, in fact, there are many people who have different opinions: think about it, Iwaizumi can choose a softer and less violent way to wake Oikawa up isn't it? Why does he always have to be so violent like that? Are they really friends? They're teammates, aren't they?

The answer is: only because they’re teammates, that they can treat each other as so.

Because they’re friends, Iwaizumi can bring all the anger in him down on Oikawa with a hit on the head. Listen carefully, the sounds from the invisible story page, the sounds that literary minds bring you. The frown on Iwaizumi's face, the way his fists tighten around Oikawa's collar before he gives him a bump on the forehead, they're saying it too.

If they were a normal friends, would it be possible to one of them to immediately hit the other person? If they were only normal friends, would you not hesitate, not be afraid of anything, not feel upset and do something like that?

I'm not promoting violence, I'm trying to understand the emotions that are cornered into muscular movement, in a person who has always been familiar with the watching position, with the role of a supporter.

The blow that Iwaizumi gave to Oikawa, is exactly the same as the punch Oikawa was almost swung towards Kageyama without thinking. If Iwaizumi wasn’t there, what would happen after? But of course, we have no chance to discuss that subject, because Iwaizumi was there, sliding right where he needed to be as if the universe was always, always watching them. Certainly a part of him wanted to scream: look! Feel it! This is what you intend to do with Kageyama! Think it through, what are you thinking? You are a fool! You really have no cure!

But he didn’t. Instead, he said:

“Among us, no one has the ability to win against Ushiwaka in a one-on-one match. But damn, volleyball has six people on the court and that must have a reason! Even if the person on the other side of the net is a first-year genius or Ushiwaka, six who are stronger are stronger!”

Maybe that's what Oikawa wants to hear the most. Perhaps Oikawa doesn't want to hear people call him the best setter, doesn't want to hear people praise him anymore. Perhaps what Oikawa wants is someone to come over and tell him that no one can win against Ushijima alone, that he has already tried his best, that he doesn't need to worry anymore, just rest. Now it's everyone's turn. The people on the same side of the net are all his allies, Oikawa had Kitagawa Daiichi by then, just that he didn't realize they were what he needed until Iwaizumi told him that. He had been rolling around in those hellish years, hurting himself, pressing himself on the involuntary burden like Atlas with the eternal punishment of carrying the earth on his shoulders. Oikawa has never wondered then, what about the other thing?

The joy he craved when playing volleyball.

"Suddenly, I feel invincible."

Feeling that there's nothing that could win over him right then, it's because Oikawa Tooru suddenly realized he was with such a person.

Instead of advising Oikawa Tooru to remove the burden of this planet from his shoulders, Iwaizumi Hajime suggested them to do it together until they couldn't anymore, until the world crumbled on their shoulders.

Instead of smooth and sad goodbye words, Iwaizumi Hajime said that you are the partner I can boast, an excellent setter. No matter which team you join, that fact will never change.

You know, Iwaizumi Hajime is a guy with a lot of "didn't", with a lot of "instead", only for Oikawa Tooru.

Oikawa Tooru is a proud and arrogant jerk, enjoying jokes and compliments about himself. Think, when you are being called "excellent setter", what kind of face would you have? In each match, when you look at the opponent, what kind of face would you have? A smirk, probably. Brown eyes quickly become sharp but a little arrogant, it's also right to say that Oikawa Tooru is a complacent, but it is not wrong to think that he knows his ability, aware of what he is, what he should do to keep it up, how he is better than others, how people look up on him.

However, after watching the anime, I felt like the kind of looks Oikawa gave Iwaizumi when he finished their challenge, was something stranger. I mean, Oikawa has been praised a thousand times before, right? Surely he must not be too surprised anymore? Yet he is. The pupils opened their eyes wide with every single of Iwaizumi's words, he probably couldn't believe this was the person three years ago who slammed his forehead into Oikawa’s face. When Iwaizumi ends his impromptu speech and Oikawa turns around to face Iwaizumi, there is a kind of emotion in his eyes that is usually not there when Oikawa receives a compliment. It is called warmth. It is called pride. It is called a tender emotion, the noble respect between two friends that not everyone can have, when both find themselves stopping by the familiar park, under the moonlight.

"..... But when we confront each other, I will definitely defeat you"

“I have no intention of losing either."

For everyone, this is simply Iwaizumi's fight with Oikawa, or a hint about what will happen in the future, for example, that they will meet again even if they choose two different schools. For me, this is Iwaizumi's last respect for Oikawa when their high school volleyball career is over, as the two prepare to turn to a new chapter of their lives without the other person.

Do you know? Considering someone as a peer competitor is a kind of gentle respect.

Talking about personal issues again, for a while I was very determined to complete the literature test my school took in order to be able to be in the excellent students team. There was this girl in the same class as me who attended the test with me, and when it came to the exam day, she jokingly asked me that because we are in the same class, that can I go easy on her. I also just smiled back then, but actually in my head, I kept thinking. I didn't tell her, but I wanted to say no, I won't need to hold back on you. I will do my best if we compete with each other, because I respect you, because I know you are amazing and powerful enough to me to do that.

So, I think Iwaizumi means the same thing. The fact that he seriously considers Oikawa to be his opponent is kinda odd, because we've always been used to look at him as someone who silently looks after Oikawa, walking behind him, taking care of him. As Ushijima said, almost everyone tried to assert that without Oikawa, Aoba Johsai would be just a mediocre team. But no, after all, Iwaizumi was there, facing Oikawa, on equal position with Oikawa, forcing Oikawa to seriously accept himself as an opponent. Everyone knows this, but to me, I still want to say that Iwaizumi Hajime is really, really strong.

He doesn’t want to stay in the back anymore. He didn't want to be overshadowed by Oikawa, he didn't want to be silent, he wanted to stop watching. He wanted to take a step forward. He wants to be a rival to Oikawa.

Yesterday, while rewatching "Seijou after match", I was surprised to realize Oikawa's eyes were so soft, to realize Iwaizumi was always in his own way, steadfast and thorny until the last minute.

Perhaps Iwaizumi's wish at that time was more than just facing Oikawa on the court. It was his own way of expressing- apart from his deep respect- that he wants to see Oikawa again. He wants to be with Oikawa again, with anything related to volleyball. Perhaps all the little things that Iwaizumi Hajime wants is just to once again feel his connection with Oikawa, once again meet him when the two have became adults,

Once again,

Can be able to play volleyball together.

Oikawa Tooru is covered by the whole galaxy, but Iwaizumi Hajime is the one who lights up the stars.

[rintoya]

The king of your heart

Kageyama x fem reader x Kunimi

Bold=Flashbacks

The sun shining throughout Miyagi, driving down road is the mini bus with the Karasuno High boy’s volleyball team. They are heading Aoba Josai High school dor a practice match. Everyone on the bus had different emotions Tsukishima didn’t care, Tanaka was pumped up as always, and Hinata was sick in his stomach ready to vomit any second now. Kageyama just staring out the window worrying about his old teammates. He knows his old classmate and him didn’t end on the greatest note. 

“Why aren’t you taking this serious?!?!” a loud voice from an angry Kageyama was heard throughout the gym. The first years were shaking in fear of there senpai  while while the third years were starting to get aggravated by his constant criticism about the way they play. Kunimi looking at the time he knows that Kageyama has to be somewhere. “Um...Kageyama it’s getting a bit late-” “We just started practice and hour ago, what’s important?” Kunimi shaking saying never mind and went to his phone to send a quick message to someone.

Kageyama was then brought back to reality when he heard Tanaka shouting. Everyone on the bus turned around the see vomit on Tanaka’s pants. After everyone calmed down the bus pulled up to Aoba Johsai, everyone getting out of the bus Tanaka led Tsukishima, Yamaguchi and Kageyama around the school when they heard someone speak negatively about Karasuno. Tanako poked his head around the corner with a scary face, to be faced with Yahaba and Kindaichi. The rest of the group walked around the corner giving off a terrifying aura scaring Kindaichi and Yahaba, right when Tanaka was about to snap at them a female voice was heard. “Yuu-kun?” “Yahaba-Senpai??” The groups of boys all turned to see a girl with big e/c eyes with long beautiful h/c hair in the Aoba Josai’s girl school uniform. Kageyama’s eyes widen at the familiar silhouette approaching.

“Tobio-San” a girl with short h/c hair and with big e/c eyes, said with a dark blush covering her cheeks. With a gentle smile Kageyama gently hugged her. “Y/n-chan, how was your day/” Her snuggling into him with a warm feeling spreading throughout her body. “My day was great.” Her deciding it’s the perfect time to tell Kageyama something important, how she actually feels. Y/n had a crush on Kageyama since there first year of Junior high, they are now starting their 3 year at Kitagawa. “Tobio can I tell you something?” “Sure, what is it??” Taking a deep breathe Y/n spoke “Kageyama Tobio, I have feelings for you and I was wondering you would like to go on a date with me?” With a small smile Kageyama nodded his head and agrees. That was the start of the relation ship between the two teens.

“W-what’s going on here?” Y/n tried to sound serious but the height difference between her and the guys it quit intimidating. Stepping in front of her friends she stares at Tanaka with an angry expression. Daichi came to grab the boys before they cause any trouble. Kindaichi decided to speak “So, your Majesty finally whipped his new royal subjects into shape?” Kageyama looks at Y/n but she is scrolling through her phone. Kageyama then with a blank just responded with an uh uh. Y/n walked past the group to head to the gym and find a spot at the bleachers. The rest of the boys arrived and they started warming up, kageyama looks at the stands and he see’s y/n,Kageyama remembers how she always loved watching the boys volleyball team play. 

The boys in Kitagawa were cheering for there win against Yukigoaka, a young y/n went over to congratulate them and too also check on her best friend. She was worried for Kunimi because she thought he injured himself when he digged for the volleyball. She found Kunimi, so she went over and wrapped her arms around him in a gentle hug. “Nice job out there, you did amazing...” “Thank you n/n. I’m glad you could make it.” She released the hug and gave him a big smile. “I never miss one of your games Akira, which reminds me are you ok?? You aren’t hurt?” Chuckling softly he booped her nose, “I’m fine y/n, don’t worry about me.” The two walking back Y/n saw Kageyama, he turn to look at the the two. Y/n lifting her hand to wave and prepare to walk over to him. Kageyama just brushed past her saying he is going to do some extra practicing, “Y/n...if you want? We can have a sleepover.” Smiling at the idea she grabs Kunimi’s hand and they leave the arena.

Y/n was reading a book under the cherry tree near the boy’s volleyball gym, waiting for Kageyama to leave practice early so he can go on a date with her. Y/n hoping he won’t forget another date this time, Kageyama missed multiple dates and it seems to Y/n that he is growing distant. Expressing how she feels Kageyama promised to take her on a date. Checking the time again, tears started to fall from y/n’s eyes. ‘He’s late again...’ Filled with so much emotion Y/n fell asleep under the tree. Practice has just ended and Kunimi was the first to leave the gym when he saw y/n asleep under the tree. Shocked he sped walked over to her, gathering her school bag Kunimi picked up y/n bridal style to take her home safely. Kageyama walks out of the gym to see his girlfriend in his teammates arms, and he saw red. “Why are you holding my girlfriend?” “Tsk, I’m taking her home. It’s getting late and I didn’t want her to be here alone.” “Why was she-” “Out here? Maybe because you promised to go on a date with her? She was crying, do you realize you were the reason she was crying? How you’re not giving her the right love and affection she deserves?? NO!! You only care about yourself and not about her.” Kunimi walks away holding y/n more closer to him leaving a shocked Kageyama there staring at nothing.

The match between the two schools have begun and Aoba Josai was in the lead because of the mess ups Hinata caused because of his nerves. Kageyama getting angry grabbed him by the shirt and yelled. “Come on!! Stop being a nervous wreck or I’ll kill you.” Kindaichi and Kunimi on the other side weren’t surprised about his outburst. “Well won’t you look at that,huh” Kunimi scoffs “He hasn’t changed a bit.” Y/n just rolled her eyes and looked and Kunimi who was looking at her, smiling she gave him wink which caused the boy to trying to hide his blush. It was Hinata’s turn to serve, the whistle blow and it startled Hinata who accidentally spiked the volleyball at Kageyama’s head. Tanaka and Tsukishima suddenly burst into laughter but what caught his attention was a familiar laugh. Looking from the corner of his eye he see’s y/n laughing, he doesn’t really remember when was the last time she laughed when they were together.

Today is Y/n’s birthday and Kageyama promised to spend the day with her. Finishing the last touch ups to her appearance, y/n was ready for this special day with her boyfriend. Waiting in the living room 20 minutes have past, then another 30 minutes past until Kageyama was officially 2 hours late. Not answering any of her texts, Y/n grabbed her bag and her keys and left the house. She walked across the street and knocked on the door, with a hopeful look when Kunimi opened the door. “Let me guess, he didn’t show up.” Looking at her eyes seeing tears threatening to fall, Kunimi grabbed her by the waist and hugged her. “If you want? We can spend the day together doing whatever you want.” “I would love that Akira.” Kunimi gets ready to head out and once he was ready they left the house to spend the rest of the day together. Y/n didn’t even think of Kageyama once.

“Tobio we need to talk.” “I can’t right now. I’m late for practice.” Y/n had enough, this isn’t the Kageyama she fell in love with. “Tobio Kageyama. Your practice starts in an hour, we need to talk this is important.” “What is it” Shaking because of her mixed emotions of anger and upset, she couldn’t take it anymore. “Kageyama maybe we should-” “Break up” Y/n looks up at him, “Huh?” “Tsk ok then Bye” Kageyama turns around to leave the girl in the hallway. Kageyama just arrived in the gym when all of the sudden he was pushed to the ground. Looking up to see an Angry Kunimi grabbing him by the shirt. “DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU’VE DID” “LET ME GO!!” Kunimi punching Kageyama in the face twice, “You don’t fucking deserve her love” Kunimi pushing Kageyama to the ground left him alone to go look for Y/n.

During the 2nd set Oikawa arrived, wanting the team to win coach decided to switch Oikawa and Kunimi. Kunimi went up to where you were at, to watch the remainder of the game with you. When Oikawa spiked a ball straight to Tsukishima the ball flew in the direction the two were at. Before the ball hit the railing Kunimi quickly grabbed Y/n by the waist and moved her closer to him. The boys from Aoba Josai cheering Kunimi for his actions like “Nice save lover boy!!’ “Look at Romeo!!” “ Get yo girl Kunimi!!” Those comments didn’t go unnoticed by Kageyama, which got him wondering ‘Is Kunimi and Y/n dating?’

After the break up Y/n and Kunimi refused to leave each others side, Kunimi took y/n on ‘dates’ and y/n got to see a romantic side of Kunimi. Two months after the break up Kunimi tried to show y/n that he can show more love that she deserves then Kageyama can ever do. So he decided it was time to ask her out. Meeting her after school under the cherry tree. “Akira is there something you wanted to tell me?” “Y/n L/n, I've been keeping this a secret.” Looking into her eye Kunimi pulled her into a hug, “I’m in love with you and I know this might ruin our friendship but I-” Kunimi was interrupted when Y/n pulled him into a kiss, pulling away with a beet red face Y/n looked at him with so much love. “I return your feelings Akira” “So your my girlfriend...” Nodding her head yes responded with “Yes, and your my boyfriend.” The two just staying there holding on to each other happy they have one another.

The practice match came to an end with Karasuno winning. Kageyama was walking around the halls when he ran into y/n. Y/n saw him so she stopped to congratulate him. “Nice job out there King.” “Um...Thank you.” Kageyama wanted to confirm that one question, “L/n. Are you and Kunimi-’’ “Together? Yeah we are.” Kageyama tensed when she said it, “For how long??” “A few months now, i’m sorry but I got to look for Akira.” Y/n walking away from sight Kageyama walked to join the rest of the Karasuno team. The team kept walking towards the gates after Oikawa confronted them when they heard that familiar laugh. All of them turning to see Y/n and Kunimi walk past them without a care in the world. It was obvious how the love between the two is strong. Sugawara sighs fondly and says “Aw, young love.” Kageyama looks at the two of them feeling his world falling apart, seeing how Kunimi leans into to give you a gentle kiss. That made Kageyama realize one of the most painful things in his world. 

‘I lost her..’

‘I’m no longer in her heart. Those two love each other, she is his queen.’

‘While...he is her king. The king to her heart.’

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ @sasuhinabigflash2020​​ || Day Twenty: Soap Bubbles ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Uchiha Tenkai ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: A Light Amongst Shadows ] [ AO3 Link ]

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Having a new baby in the house isn’t...quite as scary as Sasuke thought it would be. All of his months - if not years - of agonizing over his worthiness of being a father, of bringing another Uchiha life into the world, left him dreading the moment as much as he looked forward to it.

And yet, in the end...he’s unendingly glad he decided to take that plunge.

Uchiha Tenkai comes into the world on August twenty-first, at a healthy weight and length. Hinata emerges palid and yet flushed, breathless and smiling at the first cries of her firstborn. A soft crown of jet-black hair, and squinted views of matching eyes.

An Uchiha, through and through.

Hinata, of course, holds him first, Sasuke hovering at her shoulder and staring, expression unreadable and perfectly blank. It’s like his emotions are holding their breath, awaiting...something.

And it comes when the newborn is placed into his arms.

Everything else disappears. His eyes go impossibly wide and just...take in the image. Finally, it all seems to sink in. Just what this is. What this means.

He is a father. And this tiny being, this...shining example of innocent, untouched life is his to protect, and shape, and mold. To make into a better tomorrow. A brighter future. A man he himself would aspire to be.

“...Tenkai,” he murmurs, as if greeting the child properly to the world.

That was several months ago. And though Sasuke’s reverence has not diminished, it has been...tempered.

Babies are messy. Babies are loud. And babies are a lot - a lot - of work.

And right now? Tenkai is all three.

Hinata has been called in for clan business with the Hyūga this morning, leaving Sasuke to feed their son. But Tenkai isn’t happy with his mother’s absence, and refused his food until - with a lucky swing - he managed to splatter the dish of food resting atop his highchair all over himself, leaving only the held-aloft spoon intact as Sasuke just...stared in disbelief.

So now, Tenkai is getting a bath. And a scolding.

“If you ever do that again, I’m shipping you off to Naruto’s house,” he begins, scrubbing the toddler’s goop-ridden hair and ignoring his protesting whines. “You can go live with Akane. Be her little brother and let her drive you nuts every minute of every day. Then we’ll see how much you regret your actions. We’ll see how much you’d give to be here, being a good little boy who eats his food without a fuss.”

About a month older than Tenkai, Sakura and Naruto’s little firecracker Akane is already proving to be a potent mix of both her parents’ most...notable qualities. Their volume, and their screaming for attention to name a few. The little redhead, just like her predecessors, is already driving her Uchiha counterpart up the wall whenever the toddlers are put in the same room together.

Hinata thinks it’s cute. Sasuke...isn’t sure that’s quite the right word.

But his threats are largely ignored, a bit beyond the babe’s scope of understanding yet. All Tenkai knows is that his father is displeased...and that he’s sopping wet with a frothing of bubbles in the kitchen sink as Sasuke clears off the remaining baby food from his person.

His onesie, however, is going to have to go in the wash. Once he’s clean, Sasuke’s just going to dress him in a new one and...try this whole breakfast thing over again.

“Um...did I miss something?”

Glancing up at his wife’s voice, Sasuke simply replies, “Tenkai decided he’d rather wear his food than eat it.”

After a beat, Hinata giggles into her sleeve. “I see…!”

Left to his own devices for a moment, Tenkai takes to splashing in the water, sending soap bubbles flying and amusing himself to the point of giggles.

“Well, thank you for cleaning him up. I’ll handle the laundry portion, if that will make you feel better.”

“It would. At least laundry doesn’t fight back.”

Hinata snickers again, taking up the soiled onesie and setting to wash it before bringing Sasuke a replacement alongside a fresh diaper.

“Thanks.” Sure he’s gotten every last speck of pureed prunes, Sasuke hefts his son from the sink and towels him dry, strapping the nappy into place before adding the clothes atop it.

“There! A nice, clean, handsome boy,” Hinata praises, accepting her son as he reaches poutily for her.

“Sometimes I swear he doesn’t like me.”

“Oh, nonsense,” Hinata assures her husband, giving him a look. “Babies just...take a special touch. I got some practice with Kurenai-sensei and Mirai-chan before he came along. You didn’t.”

“Hn…”

“Don’t be sour. You’ll get the hang of it one of these days!”

“By the time I’m done, he’ll be finished with baby food anyway.”

She gives him a cheeky smile. “Then you won’t have to worry about it anymore! Unless we have another one.”

At that, Sasuke actually blanches. “...you...want to have more?”

“I wouldn’t be against it, but...for now, I think one baby is enough to deal with, ne? Given that he’s left you bested at breakfast…?”

There’s a hesitant pause. “...yeah.”

“I’ll give feeding a try, okay? Why don’t you get around to your own food in the meantime? I can tell you haven’t eaten yet.”

Nearly pouting, Sasuke gives in and starts brewing his morning coffee, still feeling the drag of rising early. There’s been little to no sleeping in since Tenkai arrived, days off or not. But as he leans against the counter and watches his wife encourage the toddler to eat, he finds he doesn’t have a trace of true annoyance or disdain in him.

It’s a struggle...but the good kind. The kind he’s lucky - privileged, even - to have after all that came before it.

So while he might get his patience tested when an entire bowl of prunes ends up splattered everywhere but in his son’s mouth...he knows such moments will be a thing of the past sooner rather than later. They’ll soon be lost in a tide of new memories as Tenkai grows like a little weed.

So, he’d best cherish them while he has them.

     This is really short, I know, but...I’ll be honest, I’m getting pretty burnt out. So some if not all of the rest of these will likely be a bit shorter than my typical. I want to get them done and caught up!      Anywho, just some SH family fluff, featuring the ALAS firstborn Tenkai! He has a little sister down the road named Chikyū, but she’s not quite in the picture, yet. But we do get a wee peek at Tenkai’s foil, Uzumaki Akane. A little spitfire, indeed!      On that note tho, I need to head to bed. I hope you guys enjoyed, and I’ll see you in the next piece!

[britishassistant]

But I Like One Piece (8)

She should know by now that a running theme in her new life is that it doesn’t

The weather’s finally warmed up again. The cherry blossoms suffered because of the continued cold snap this year, and Ino’s family flower shop is struggling to keep a lot of their stock alive.

She knows this because Ino will not stop complaining about it.

They’re in the first class of the day and the teacher is lecturing about chakra, teaching them the difference between genjutsu and ninjutsu. She’s thinking that both sound horrifying in their own ways— subverting the laws of nature to attack an opponent, or invading their brain to do so.

A sound pierces the air.

It’s not a siren wailing—not quite. It’s high and fluted, too close to birdsong for that.

But it has a similar urgency. The teacher’s head snaps up the moment he hears it, and his face goes pale.

“Everybody follow me.” He snaps. “Single-file line, hold hands now. Anyone trying to mess around or run off will be automatically expelled from the Academy, do you understand?!”

There’s a bit of confused muttering, and a couple of lamentations from Kiba when it transpires he has to hold Shino’s hand again, but them teacher shoots them a wild-eyed, barely restrained look.

That shuts them all up.

They walk out into the hall, where several other lines of children, older and younger than them, are assembled into similar formations and following other teachers out of the building.

She catches a brief glimpse of Lee, holding hands with a girl with her hair in buns, before the crowd of children moves and swallows him up once more.

“What’s going on?” Naruto mutters behind her.

She shrugs helplessly, shaking her head at him.

In front of her, Chouji shifts nervously, clutching her hand tighter.

They’re lead out of the Academy and up to the not-Mount Rushmore.

They’ve been learning that these are the past and current leaders of the village. Their huge faces seem to frown down on them as they approach.

They take little trails up the side of the cliff face, so thin and crumbling that their single-file procession is the only way to avoid plummeting to a painful end.

“Look!!” Someone—she doesn’t recognize who—yelps from several children in front of them in line, a pale arm appearing seemingly out of the throng to point.

They stutter to a halt, as people’s heads crane round to follow the pointing finger and they stop moving to see what all the fuss is about.

They’re a lot higher than the village, at this point on the trail. So it’s easy to see numerous shapes—dressed in dark clothes and white masks, or in green jackets like Gai-sensei’s—moving with a single minded focus through streets and over roofs towards one building.

The Hokage Tower.

There’s a low, percussive BOOM.

Fierce wind pushes the children flat against the mountainside as dust and debris rolls through the streets below.

The side of the Tower closest to them now has a gaping hole.

“MOVE, all of you!!” The teacher from their first year screams.

Someone’s crying as they all begin shuffling forward again at a faster pace, an intense wail that almost drowns out the harried whispers of “What was that—” and “This can’t be happening—” and—

Naruto’s foot slips.

He shrieks as gravity pulls him down. She hears a scream as she tightens her grip on his hand and yanks as hard as she can, inadvertently using Chouji as an anchor.

To his credit, he plants his feet and holds onto her as tight as he can to stop her from going off the edge after him.

Shino, holding Naruto’s other hand, also strains to keep him from plummeting, a mass of insects swarming out of his sleeves and pushing at the boy’s chest until he’s leaning against the cliff face, sweaty and panting.

They shuffle along a lot more carefully after that, until they arrive at the entrance to a series of tunnels.

Naruto suddenly makes an urgent little noise behind her. She turns back to look.

There’s a person.

They’re perched on a roof not too far away, face turned up towards the little mountainside procession.

They could be a boy or a girl, long blond hair whipping in the wind. They seem...small. Maybe about Ino or Shikamaru’s size?

Their clothes seem strangely bulky for the mild weather and help to hide their sex. There’s a dark mask over the bottom of their face, concealing it from view.

Their eyes, however, are clearly fixed on Naruto.

She clenches his hand tighter, tries to pull him behind her so the stranger won’t have a clear shot at him. Shino’s insects buzz in warning. Kiba bares his teeth as he and Akamaru let out twin growls. Chouji begins yelling for a teacher.

The masked person tilts their head, considering.

Then they vanish in a swirl of white she thinks might be snow.

Several masks materialize around the place where the person was, before disappearing themselves in flurries of leaves.

The teacher from their first year grabs Naruto and Chouji’s shoulders and shoves them behind her.

She does the same thing to her and Shino, pushing them all deeper into the tunnels as she strides back to the entrance, a kunai clenched in her teeth.

She thinks she might’ve respected Taki-sensei more while she taught them if the teacher was nicer to Naruto, if she didn’t have such an obsession with Usagi-hime (the tyrant), and if she had known that the woman could do a stellar impression of Zoro-on-the-Warpath.

They’re swept along in the throng of crying, shouting, scared children.

Chouji’s muttering what happened to Shikamaru, who’s growing paler by the second. Kiba’s growling epithets and empty threats behind them, punctuated by Akamaru’s high-pitched barks, while Shino remains worryingly silent.

Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Uchiha are too far ahead for her to be able to see them, to know if they’re alright.

She can’t see Lee anywhere in the crowd around them either, and an irrational cold sweat breaks out on her brow.

Naruto’s hand trembles slightly in her grip. She squeezes it, gently.

They walk for what feels like miles, before the tunnels finally widen out into a cave.

From there they’re told by the teacher (their current one) and the nice man with the scar to sit quietly with their class as the teachers call role to see if anyone’s missing.

Much like the fire drills of her past life, it devolves into chaos pretty quickly.

Lee manages to sneak away to join their lunch time group in a corner.

He greets the others with his usual exuberance and takes her sudden, frantic hug with aplomb. Then he promptly sets about telling Sakura how lovely she looks today.

They all relax a little bit at that, even Sakura who’s desperately trying to hide how unused she is to the praise by changing the topic to anything else.

The knowing looks Ino keeps giving her and Lee only serve to exacerbate the pink-haired girl’s efforts.

She startles suddenly. “Oh shit.”

“Huh? Mayu-chan, what’s wrong?” Sakura asks, nervous.

“This is bad, this is bad, this is so, so bad—” She repeats, running her hands through her hair, nearly knocking her silver hairclips loose. Luffy save her, this is a nightmare on top of everything else. They couldn’t go on like this. How could she be so stupid?

“What is it?!” Shikamaru demands, eyes tight and focused.

“I forgot our lunches back in the classroom.” She rasps.

For some reason, instead of reacting with the appropriate horror, everyone else just groans.

“Mayu, it is ten in the morning.” Ino says. “Lunch isn’t for another two hours.”

“We might be here for longer! You don’t know!” She argues, cheeks flushing hot. “I don’t want you guys getting hungry!”

“Why are women so troublesome?” Shikamaru grumbles, flopping back to stare at the ceiling.

She pouts, Hinata’s hand on her knee the only thing stopping her from booting Shikamaru in the side, and leans into Naruto’s side to grouse about ungrateful friends, not appreciating all the worry she goes through on their behalf.

He pats her head consolingly.

She’s drawn out of her sulk by Sakura’s worried. “...Sasuke-kun?”

When she looks up at the boy in question, he’s white as a sheet, hands digging red lines where they grasp his knees, eyes bulging and staring at nothing, breath coming in shorter and shorter gasps.

Shit.

“I believe Uchiha is having a panic attack.” Shino says. “Why? Because he is unresponsive to the stimuli provided by my kikaichū and his pulse is elevated to fight-or-flight levels.”

“What’s a panic attack?” Naruto asks, eyes fixed on Uchiha’s shaking form.

“Something reminded him of something scary,” She says, hoping she’s not mangling it as horribly as Ino’s face is suggesting she is. “Now he’s having trouble staying in the here and now.”

Uchiha begins muttering something, too low to hear.

Kiba tilts his head. “Why’s he saying ‘it’s him, he’s back’ over and over?”

Shikamaru’s eyes widen. “The massacre. Shit.”

Lee’s about to whip around, like he expects the murderer of the Uchiha to be behind him, when Ino grabs his arm.

“Don’t.” She orders. “No sudden movements or raised voices. Daddy says that freaks them out more. Just be calm and quiet. Can you do that?”

Lee nods silently, and Ino gradually releases her grip on his arm.

“Uchiha-san.” Hinata asks. “Can you hear me?”

No response.

Then—a quick jerk of the head.

“I was wondering if you could tell me how you made that cake. For U-Uzumaki-kun’s birthday last year? The one all the adults liked?”

There’s a silence.

“...Whisked sugar and butter.” He croaks. “Didn’t use as much sugar as Akimichi wanted. Still was fluffy. Added eggs and a bit of flour slowly. Can’t use all the flour until after. Fold it in with baking powder. And coffee bits. Lots of coffee bits. Half the tin.”

“That’s dumb.” She says in her most soothing voice. “You’re only supposed to do one tablespoon.”

He actually lifts his head and glares at her. “No it’s not.” He argues. “It’s too sweet otherwise.”

She’s about to argue that it’s cake, that’s the entire point when Sakura cuts in. “Yeah.” She says. “Your cake just had a more...mature taste than what Mayu-chan’s used to.”

She narrows her eyes at Sakura, contemplating elbowing her. Her tastebuds are fine, she just doesn’t destroy them with bitterness and acidity.

But Uchiha’s snorting in amusement and his trembling’s slowed down a lot, his breathing gradually returning to normal.

They keep talking quietly like that about cakes and the various ways Uchiha was planning on butchering perfectly good recipes, and the potential of making safe doggy-cakes for Akamaru, until the teachers tell them the coast is clear.

The sun is long past the noon mark by the time they make it back to the classroom.

She was right about them going hungry, because everyone falls upon their lunchboxes with the ferocity of wild beasts or a hungry Luffy before the teacher sends them all home for the day.

Sasuke somehow leaves before anyone can notice and offer to walk back with him.

Okaa-sama is waiting outside the gate to greet her, Naruto and Lee.

Her teahouse uniform is covered in brownish dust, which her mother appears heedless of as she hugs each of them individually, and then gives them all one big hug.

Nobody knows what happened, or why a bit of Hokage Tower exploded yet. Apparently there was a huge genjutsu cast that made everyone in the surrounding area, even the masks, fall asleep after that, so the culprits got away for now.

Okaa-sama reassures them that the Hokage will surely have his best hunter-nin on the case, and they’ll be caught and brought to justice soon.

She goes a bit green when Naruto describes almost falling, and then seeing the mysterious person who was likely one of the perpetrators staring at him, squeezing his hand tightly as they walk.

There are lots of people walking home now. Even shopkeepers are closing up early and returning home to their families.

She wonders when Otou-sama’s coming home while she washes up the lunchboxes with Lee and Naruto. Surely his job would’ve let him go home by now?

Nobody says anything, but his absence becomes palpable as dinner draws closer. Okaa-sama makes them wait half an hour past when the food should be served, watching out the window anxiously.

Eventually they have to eat or Naruto won’t get home by curfew. They leave aside a plate warming in the oven.

Okaa-sama has begun gnawing at her bottom lip when a knock at the door finally comes.

Everyone exchanges glances, before her mother rises and goes to answer it.

It’s not Otou-sama.

It’s a mask.

“I am here to collect Uzumaki.” The mask says. At least it’s not the one that hurt her.

“I understand,” Her mother replies. “Naruto-kun!”

Naruto stands from where they’ve been peeking around the doorframe. Lee follows him.

“If it is alright, ANBU-san, I would like to walk home with Naruto-kun!” He says. “I wish to ensure he returns home safely before going back to the Orphanage.”

The mask tilts his head. “This is permissible. Come.”

“Wait.” Naruto says, stopping before the threshold. “Where’s Mayu-chan’s Otou-san? He’s never this late. He even missed dinner.”

“That is not relevant.” The mask says, trying to grab Naruto’s arm. “Come.”

“No!” Naruto ducks back into the house, hiding behind Okaa-sama’s legs. “I wanna know where Mayu’s Otou-san is! I’m not going until I know!”

Okaa-sama shrugs helplessly but makes no move to pull Naruto out from behind her. “Please sir, we’re all just worried about my husband. If we could have some word of his whereabouts—even if he’s in hospital—?”

The mask goes very still.

“Ketsugi Jirou is currently being held in custody of Konoha’s Interrogation department. He will be released once he cooperates with questioning regarding today’s incident.”

Then he rips Naruto away from Okaa-sama, grabs Lee, and vanishes in a whirl of leaves.

And all she can do is watch as her mother slowly sinks to the floor.

She begins crying in the still-open doorway.

[ravenandwritingdesks]

In The Cards - Chapter 4: Knight of Wands

Click here to read chapter 1 

Knight of Wands

Opposition of this card indicates frustrations, delays, and the need to compensate for something that you lack control over.

Up: action, adventure, fearlessness

Reversed: Anger, Impulsivity, recklessness

____________________

“First day of class!” An enthusiastic voice calls as hands forcefully shake the snoozing body that’s happily cocooned in a pile of blankets.

Rather than dignifying the rude awakening with a response, Sakura flips over and pulls the duvet over her head. Magic school or no, early mornings are not her thing, especially after the late-night private session with her partner.

“Come on, Sakura,” an exasperated Ino whines as she settles for ripping the entire set of bedding off her very annoyed roommate. “What type of friend would I be if I let you sleep through your first class.”

Realizing that it’s time to admit defeat, Sakura begrudgingly rises from the mattress and begins shuffling around the room to get ready. “Fine…” she lets a sigh escape her, “do you have a spell that can magically cause caffeine to enter my body?”

“Tough out of luck, sweetie,” Ino responds as she begins brushing out her golden strands of hair. “That sounds like the job for your Match.”

Sakura’s stomach begins to turn in knots at the mention of her partner. Last night was an obvious disaster and just further provoked her unease of their whole situation. The thought of how quickly July approaches gnaws at her, causing her fingers to tremble and making it extremely difficult to apply any make up.

Once both girls are ready, they set out to their first class. “How was last night by the way?” Ino asks, a sense of wariness in her voice. The more experienced witch is obviously still hesitant when it comes to the Uchiha boy, though she tries to hide it.

“I don’t think he likes me very much,” Sakura states, thinking of all their interactions to date. Though their attitudes towards each other dance the line of hot and cold, it’s obvious there is a wall between them. She would be lying if she claimed to not have contributed to that, especially after her conversation with the Hokage, which did little to quell her fears of the situation. Dark magic or no, her Match’s last partner is still dead.

“Sasuke doesn’t like anybody,” Ino responds with a snort, “he never really has.”

Sakura lets out a humorless chuckle at her roommate’s words. Though, she’s not sure if they are meant to comfort her or if the other girl is simply stating a fact.

“Isn’t the whole Match thing supposed to mean he has to like me?” she questions, everything about their situation is still so confusing.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way,” Ino responds as she ushers Sakura into the classroom. It’s less than magnificent with ordinary black tables for the students to sit at and a dirty, freestanding chalkboard at the front of the room.

“Like any type of relationship you still have to build up trust and grow with each other,” she continues, taking a seat next to Sai who is already prepared for class with a notebook and pen sitting in front of him. “It can just be easier with the bond since you guys have a deeper understanding of each other. Being able pick up on the other’s thoughts and feelings does have that advantage.”

“Well a whole lot of good this bond is doing,” Sakura mutters to herself as she thinks back to the lack of connection last night. Apparently, Sasuke is trying to keep her out of his head. Maybe he’s just not ready for a new Match yet.

“Good morning.”

Sakura turns to see Hinata settling into the seat on her opposite side, pushing a travel mug in her direction.

“Witches brew?” Sakura questions jokingly as she accepts the offering.

Hinata gives a small smile in response. “Coffee,” she corrects, “You wouldn’t want to fall asleep on your first day, you could miss something important.” A lavender-eyed wink causes Sakura to smile, she’s discovering that she really likes the clairvoyant witch regardless of her cryptic words and apparent ability to read her mind.

She takes a big gulp from the warm tumbler, whose contents has been perfectly sweetened to her liking, as the classroom begins to fill with students. Though it’s a small area, more people than she’s seen in her entire time here occupy it. Magicians of all shapes and sizes joke and laugh, more than one of the pairs holding hands or snuggling close to one another. She almost wants to laugh at the mundanity of it all, despite the few floating objects and periodic puffs of smoke it feels like any other classroom.

The commotion begins to settle down when the professor saunters in lazily, throwing his lesson plan down on the desk with a unceremonious flop. Sakura recognizes the silver hair and masked face of Kakashi Hatake, the man that greeted her when she had been teleported from the train station.

“DILF” Ino whispers to her as the last of the whispers around them quiet.

Sakura ignores her and prepares to listen to the lecture but a shadow in the corner of her eye causes her attention to turn back to the doorway.

Silently, Sasuke slips into the room and settles into a chair in the very back. He catches Sakura’s gaze so she gives him an awkward wave. Of course, he turns away without any acknowledgement of her presence.

This is hopeless, Sakura thinks, resting her chin in her hand. She takes comfort in the fact that Ino’s not wrong about the attractiveness of Professor Hatake, well what little you can actually see of him. As he begins to write on the board, Sakura notices the slender yet well-toned muscles flexing beneath his tight sleeves.

While Ino barely pays attention to the lesson, settling for absentmindedly poofing small flowers of various size and color in and out of existence, Sakura finds herself very intrigued. Today’s lesson is about the fourth Hokage and how he and his Match had to sacrifice themselves in order to slay a great beast created from magic. Hinata lets out a slight shudder at the mention of its name, Kyuubi.  It’s hard for Sakura to grasp that this is truly is the history of her kind as it sounds much more like the plot to a movie.

“But how did the Kyuubi even come to be in the first place?” Asks a female student sitting directly behind Sakura, “You said that it’s a manifestation of extremely powerful dark magic.”

The instructor pauses at the question, before answering in a very deliberate tone. “A man who was blinded by the lust for more power forced his partner to embody the darkness and in the end it consumed her completely.”

A shiver wracks itself up Sakura’s spine. She turns to ask Hinata what it means to be consumed by magic only to see wide, opalescent eyes staring at her, unfocused. “Hinata?” she questions the dazed girl, her gaze causing unease to gnaw at Sakura’s stomach. After just a moment longer, her eyelids flutter with a couple blinks and she turns back to the front of the room as if nothing had happened.

“Sorry, Sakura,” Hinata whispers without looking at her pink-haired friend. “Just a vision.”

With that, Sakura returns her attention to the lecture, trying to pay attention to the logistics of how the third Hokage made laws to reform the use of dark magic after the death of his successor, but her mind keeps wandering to the story of the Kyuubi. How could a Match turn his partner into something so animalistic? But then again, how could one cause the death of their Match, accidentally or not?

Sakura shakes her head, she shouldn’t dwell on these thoughts. Everybody said what happened was an accident, it’s not like Sasuke directly murdered Karin, right? Nobody has actually revealed the full details of the event, it could have been anything that caused the girl to die. Getting lost in her thoughts of worst-case scenarios, she doesn’t notice the pair of dark eyes fixated on the back of her head.

______________________

Sasuke stares at his pink-haired partner in the front of the room, he can tell she’s not paying attention to the lesson, probably lost in her head about the complicated history she’s never heard before. As for himself, he could practically recite the story in his sleep, having grown up learning the more detailed version of it. The Kyuubi has always been the “boogieman” of the magical world, a warning to misbehaving children and the Fourth Hokage is their version of Superman, the hero among them willing to sacrifice himself to save them all.

Soon enough, class is dismissed, and he smoothly slips out the door heading towards a meeting with Orochimaru. However, as he is about to turn the corner a gentle hand clasps over his arm. He takes great care to keep his skin covered, but the simple brush of the stranger’s bare pinky against the exposed sliver of flesh between his glove and sleeve is all it takes.

He feels a chilling sensation wash through his veins as if he’s being viewed from the inside out. Gooseflesh breaks out over his body and he quickly jerks away from the offending limb. Turning to confront whoever dare touch him, assuming it’s his nuisance of a Match, he’s shocked to find the Hyuga girl staring at him instead.

“If you don’t change your course of action, history will repeat itself,” she tells him, her usually gentle voice sharp and severe.

Anger washes his face in red, but instead of dignifying this with a response he turns to leave. He intends to ignore the clairvoyant’s prophecy, but the last of the girl’s words leave him feeling rattled.

“In more ways than one.”

Not wanting to be near the young psychic anymore he quickens his walk to Orochimaru’s office, silently cursing the whole way. How dare she read him, how dare she try and tell him what to do. It doesn’t matter if she’s gifted with the Sight, she doesn’t know anything about him.

Thankfully, the distance between his destination and the classroom is minimal, giving him less time to dwell on the haunting prophecy and his anger that’s threatening to boil over. Without bothering to knock, he opens the door to the professor’s office.

It’s dark, the natural light from the windows blocked out by thick, black curtains. Furnishings in the office are sparse, consisting only of the necessities: a black desk with various chalked runes scribbled over the surface, a small wooden cabinet containing ancient scrolls and dusty jars. A single orb emitting an eerie white light slightly bobs from its position above the desk, the slow bouncing causing the dark shadows of the room to dance with slow, purposeful movements.

“Ah, young Sasuke,” a voice purrs from behind, despite the space being empty beforehand. “Thank you for stopping by.”

“You wanted a meeting,” the boy states, wanting to quickly finish this so he can be alone after what had just occurred with the young psychic.

“Yes,” he pauses, pacing around the room until he eventually settles at the desk. “It’s concerning our last private session with Miss Haruno.”  When Sasuke only continues to stare at the professor with a bored expression, he continues. “You’ve completely blocked the connection between you,” Orochimaru fiddles with a blunted piece of chalk, adding small corrections to the sketched-out designs on the surface of the furniture. “This is not acceptable.”

“She doesn’t need to know anything about me,” Sasuke snaps, impatient with everybody trying to tell him what to do with his Match.

“Now, Sasuke,” Orochimaru tuts, an exacerbating belittlement lacing his tone. “You know it doesn’t work that way. How can you expect either of your powers to flourish under those circumstances?”

“I can call upon her magic when I need it,” he responds, wishing this conversation would come to an end.

“While you may want to simply tap into her reservoir, it will just diminish if there’s no compatibility prompting it to thrive,” he flourishes his hands in the air, emphasizing each of his words. “You can’t just continuously harvest a crop and expect it to always be ripe. You must nurture it.”

Sasuke’s thoughts go to the outcasts of the magic community, people who never find Matches. Their magic wastes away, the source of balance to sustain it never discovered. In some severe cases, the loss of that piece of their life drives them to insanity, leaving them as less than the normal humans.

“How do you expect to complete the Soul Baring?” The professor continues, his yellow eyes raising to lock with Sasuke’s.

The student remains silent, not fully sure how to phrase his turbulent thoughts. He can’t imagine going through a Soul Baring with Sakura. Her naivety of the magical world and cloudy understanding of how Matches work make her so complicated. How would she react if she really saw what was in his soul, his past? There are things in it she would never witness, even in her worst nightmares. She wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“Just keep the end goal in mind,” Orochimaru rouses him from the dark path his thoughts are swirling. “Determination alone is not enough to achieve what you need to.”

________________

Sakura runs down the hallway, an impromptu nap causing her to be late for an evening session with the Hokage. Stray hairs fly behind her, the quick messy bun she pulled back jostling free with the commotion. After making a couple wrong turns and having to backtrack, she finally bursts into the practice room.

“I made it!” she puffs out, trying to catch her breath. Surprisingly, she notices that she’s not the only one running late as there’s no sign of the instructor meant to guide their session. The lone occupant of the room seems to stop mid-step when she enters.

Expecting her partner to simply ignore her presence until necessity warrants it, Sakura quietly moves to the center of the room. She can’t stop the automatic jump of surprise her body does when a firm hand spins her around.

Green eyes widen at both the rough action and the proximity of his face.

“Sasuke what are-“

“You should stay away from the Hyuga girl,” he states, close enough that Sakura can feel the warmth of his breath as it hits her cheek.

A dark expression cloaks his face, the severity taking her off guard. It takes her a moment to process his words, but quickly, her surprise is overtaken by anger.

“Who do you think you are?” she practically yells as she shakes his grip off her. Never being one to control her temper, she knows her eyes must be burning with a viridian fire. “You don’t get to just ignore me all day then try to bark orders at me.”

He doesn’t attempt to respond, settling for staring at her blankly, either not taking her outburst seriously or too stunned to know what to do next. Reasoning that the former is far more likely than the latter, the wave of Sakura’s fury comes to a crest. Her hands shake and she briefly notices a tingling sensation around her fingertips.

Ever since they met Sasuke dismisses her attempts to be friendly, avoids her questions, refrains from any unnecessary interactions, and now he’s trying to tell her to leave one of the few people that have been sympathetic to her situation. How dare he think he has any say over who she gets to associate with. She opens her mouth to yell at him again but is cut off by the entry of the Hokage.

Timing as impeccable as ever, Tsunade takes in the aura of the room with the raise of an incredulous eyebrow. “Good to see you too getting along better,” she mutters sarcastically, half-debating summoning a bottle of sake to get her through what’s bound to be an interesting lesson.

Neither of the students try to answer nor attempt to move from their stare-down, as if the first to break eye contact is admitting defeat.

“Well,” the Hokage begins, “strong emotions can lead to some intense chakra merging, however, I do need the both of you to starting listening, now.” At the last word, a gripping force washes over the two, pushing their bodies downward so that they are made to sit across from each other. This compulsion causes the tension to break and each looks away from the other. “Now, take a deep breath and grasp each other’s hands.”

Sakura begrudgingly takes off her gloves. The voice of the Hokage seems to have a calming effect on her, however, she still feels the electric sensation dancing in her fingertips. She makes no move to actually reach for her asshole of a partner’s hands.

Sasuke seems to have a similar mindset taking his sweet time pulling the dark gloves leisurely off each finger.

”I said, now.”

At Tsunade’s voice, the stubborn will of both students evaporates, as magic prompts each to grasp the others’ palm firmly.

Upon making contact, Sasuke quickly jolts his hands away, for a brief moment a look of distraught flickering on his face.

“Come now, Sasuke,” Tsunade tuts impatiently, “do not make me compel you for the entire lesson.”

The boy doesn’t respond, but scowls at his hand for a moment before extending it once again. Hesitantly, he wraps his fingers around Sakura’s wrist.

“Very good,” Tsunade mutters, annoyance and sarcasm interwoven in her tone. “Now we can actually begin.” With a wave of her fingers, a hazy figure forms in the air before plopping into her open palm.

“A lightbulb?” Sakura questions as she stares at the object.

“Make it glow,” Tsunade instructs as she suspends the bulb in the air. “This exercise focuses on both drawing upon each other’s power and controlling it at the same time. If you try to simply overpower one another, the glass will shatter. If you are unable to summon enough power, it won’t light.”

Finding this a lot more interesting than just attempting to push thoughts into Sasuke’s head, Sakura excitedly looks to her partner. Unsurprisingly, she’s met only with bored exasperation.

Glad we’re on the same page, you arrogant asshole.

“Focus guys,” Tsunade prompts, indicating back to the bulb.

Trying to stamp down her annoyance, Sakura stares at the frosted glass above them. She imagines the coils within burning with her power, her energy, her anger…

Pop!

The glass shatters, raining down around them.

“Okay, that’s a start at least,” Tsunade says before producing another lightbulb. “Instead of each of you trying to do it on your own, try cooperate. You won’t need to summon nearly as much individual energy.”

Sakura turns to face the new lightbulb but Tsunade gently press her hand to her face, forcing her to look at Sasuke instead.

“Look at each other, not the light. Focus on each other and your common goal, the rest will follow. ”

Looking at his face, she sees only the superiority of somebody that doesn’t believe she fits in this world. His deep eyes stare down at her, his sharp nose lifted in arrogance. The crackling energy in her fingers returns but instead of Sasuke pulling away she notices the metallic tinge in the air as his own power errupts.

“Careful,” Tsunade orders calmly as she observes the opposing electric sparks of energy exploding around the teenagers. Green and black flashes of light begin to war with each other, the shiny new bulb left forgotten above as the power struggle takes place on the ground. While it would take no effort on her part to stop the teenagers, she simply stands back to observed, interested in where this will go. Perhaps some conflict is exactly what their relationship needs to grow.

Sakura feels her hair standing on end with the friction in the air, senses her power climbing as she challenges Sasuke. He can look down on her all he wants, but he needs to learn that she will not roll over so easily. Tightening her grip on his wrist, she pushes harder against the resistance between them. He needs to know that she will fight him tooth and nail before she yields to his every whim.

“When everybody thought all was lost, the hero stepped in and saved the villagers from the Kyuubi, sealing the foul beast away forever.”

Sakura shakes her head as the strange voice drifts through the room. A woman?

“Someday I’m going to be the hero that saves everybody!” an enthusiastic voice of a young boy responds.

Sakura sees onyx eyes widen slightly as Sasuke’s stubborn façade begins to crack. He hears it too and he doesn’t like it.

“I’m sure you will.” The woman’s voice returns, a happy chuckle lacing her words. “Goodnight. I love you very much, Sasuke.”

Sasuke begins to try and pull his hands from Sakura’s trying to make his memory go away, but she clings tighter as she realizes that she’s finally broken through his defenses; she’s in his thoughts, listening to a memory from long ago.

“I love you too, mommy.”

The energy in the room mounts, reaching its peak as each of the young magician’s emotions rise Sakura’s anger and determination mixing with Sasuke’s pain and stubbornness. With a jolt, the pink-haired girl finds herself being tossed across the room, her back hitting the marble wall with a painful crack before she crumbles to the ground. It takes her a minute to muster up the energy to push herself up, her head rushing in protest after it’s forceful impact.

“Your mother,” she chokes out, feeling as if she just got beat up. Her partner lays sprawled on the floor on the opposite side of the room, slowly rising to his own shaky legs. “I heard her reading to you.”

With enough malice to curdle blood, dark eyes pin her in place, daring her to move another inch. “You heard nothing.”

He stumbles past the Hokage, who has been quietly observing this interaction, before practically falling out of the room.

“What just happened?” Sakura asks the blonde woman who appears to be in deep contemplation.

“You two were fighting against each other, but since your magic knows it’s meant to be compatible it forced you to merge. You were in his head, but that’s not what caused you to break out of it so violently.”

“I forced him to let me see more,” Sakura mutters slightly, realizing that it was the catalyst to their pushback. She was so determined to learn the rest of the memory, to complete her glimpse into his childhood.

“Sasuke is… difficult,” the Hokage continues, her tone firm. “But you can’t pry into his mind. Your Match has to be willing to let you in.”

“So is what just happened bad?” She questions wondering what this means for the progress in their relationship.

“No, but I don’t necessarily think it’s positive either.” Tsunade’s gaze lifts to above where the teenagers had been sitting. “Your merged power is something very curious. Go get some rest, we still have a lot of work to do.”

Sakura exits the training room, not even noticing the bright emerald illumination now being cast from the forgotten lightbulb still suspended in the air.