#yeah and immediately after this he proceeds to interrupt atsushi before he can even explain 'lol yeah i know you know the future too'

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

I've been too nice to Dazai recently with my metas. I feel the urgent need to roast him to restore balance to the universe.

Anyways what do you mean your mentee scared you so you stopped your literal heart to momentarily terrify him into thinking you'd died from shock. What the hell do you mean "the only way I knew how to reward you was showing you my secret technique which is cardiac arrest" - shut up dude. You are a petty little control freak with a just barely hidden competitive streak a mile wide who had to win the scaring contest

Dazai, after Atsushi scares him once: "Oh no! My aura of unflappable mystery! To regain my honour, I must immediately and momentarily die about it!"

jerk.

[kunikiiida-kuuun]

Against our will, wisdom comes. (KuniKatai)

Nothing was out of ordinary when Kunikida stormed into Katai Tayama’s house. He grumbled about his old friend’s usual untidiness, (and yet, rolled up his sleeves and started washing the unwashed dishes.) The room was still cluttered with take-out boxes, plates, bottles, books, and numerous wires ran across the room, connected to a hoard of electronic devices. Everything was the same except, the figure under the futon remained unmoved.

Kunikida should have known something was off when he saw that hung up expression on his face. (Yes, even more hung up than usual.) The Katai who would at least retort or hum in response was unusually quiet. He wondered whether he was ill.

Kunikida’s suspicions were confirmed when he placed a plate of Takoyaki, and Katai eyed it from under his futon, and after several moments, picked one up with the toothpick and nibbled on it like a mole. (Dated two days ago in Kunikida’s notebook: Katai craved for some street Takoyaki from Motomachi. He purchased some on the way to his house today.)

Kunikida sighed, placing his hands on his waist, he bent to take a closer look at his face, “What is it?”

“Huh?” Katai grunted uninterestedly, still looking at the plate of Takoyaki.

“Come on, what is bothering you? Are you ill?” Kunikida can see the lift of his eyebrows as a surprised expression takes over his face. He remains quiet and motionless, which elicits another sigh from Kunikida. He wonders if it’s something else, something he difficult to talk about.

“If it’s about that Yamato Nadeshiko again-“

“It’s not that!” Katai denies instantly and winces a bit. Kunikida’s frown deepens, “Then what is-“

"I'm having a toothache." Katai answers in a slightly begrudging tone, as a child would admit having eaten a sweet too many.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" before he can reply, Kunikida pushes another question, "Have you been following the proper dental care plan I explained to you? First you need to gargle properly-"

Katai waves his hand dismissively, "Yeah, yeah I've done all that,"

Kunikida pretends to be unbothered by his careless answer, "Since when has it been paining?"

"It's been a few days," Katai frowns at the glaring screen in front of him. It takes him quite a while to recall as he confirms the day of the week with Kunikida. When one remained in the house for as long as Katai did, all the days seemed to blend into one, making it hard to discern whether he did something that morning or whole week ago. Meanwhile, Kunikida remains unconvinced about his friend's adherence to a strict dental care routine, when he couldn't tell even remember the day of the week or tell from night and day, shelled up in his futon all day.

"And how bad is the pain?" Kunikida inquired as if he were a doctor inquiring a patient.

"I've seen better days." Katai's hand absentmindedly brushes the left side of his cheek where a light stubble was growing. "It's particularly painful at the very back on this side...quite hard to chew. My jaw hurts too, and it just feels uncomfortable."

He gingerly picks up a Takoyaki and puts it in his mouth; his face morphs into that of a painful look, as he struggles to gulp the octopus ball down. While Katai struggles, Kunikida wordlessly whips out his phone, presses a few buttons and makes a brief call.

It catches Katai's attention only after Kunikida ends the call with curt pleasantries. "Who was that?" Katai raises an eyebrow at him inquisitively.

"The dentist. I've booked an appointment for you tomorrow." Kunikida pulls his notebook and pen from his pocket and writes down the details without wasting a heartbeat.  

Katai gawks loudly at him, "You- you WHAT?" he pushes his futon aside and stands upright.

Unfazed by his reaction, he continues scribbling into the notebook, "The appointment is at nine thirty, and the clinic is about twenty minutes away from here, so-"

"I'm not going!" Katai declares defiantly.

Kunikida doesnt even bother to look up; he had expected such a reaction, "That's ridiculous. If you have a persistent tooth ache, the natural course of action is to consult the dentist. That's all there is to it."  

Katai flops himself back onto the futon and whines, "I didn't ask you to book an appointment for me!"

The blond shoots an incredulous look at him, "It's for you own good, you idiot."

"I'll just take some painkillers and I'll be fine." Katai insists, he picks a Takoyaki indignantly and forces it down his throat, to calm himself down. Instead of calming him down, it reminds him of the terrible toothache. He wasn't the one to shy away from doctors when he had a serious ailment, but in his head, he was convinced that dentists were evil, and getting any kind of treatment from them was worse than the pain he was experiencing right now. He wasn't going accept any arguments, not even from his old friend.

"No, I doubt that. Besides from the kind of pain you're describing, it's probably a chance that it's a wisdom tooth." Kunikida explains with a serious look.

“Wh-What?” Katai splutters in confusion.

Kunikida explains to him about wisdom teeth and how some time ago, Atsushi had been complaining of the same. He also explained how the pain became worse and he developed a swelling in his mouth and had to have it extracted. Katai’s expression morphed from shock to fear and mortification in the span of the whole story.

“Well, by the looks of it, it seems that almost always, the wisdom tooth is extracted. So that’ll probably be the result.” Kunikida says nonchalantly, putting his notebook and pen away and proceeds to clear away the clutter in his room systematically. He couldn’t stand the sight of it any longer, even though he tried to ignore it.

He continues as Katai wails loudly in despair at his friend’s completely insensitive remark. After a solid minute, Kunikida lets out an exasperated sigh, “Katai, it’s not that bad, trust me. I drove Atsushi there myself. And he came to work the next day.”

"You're just saying that because you have a perfect set of teeth!" Katai spews grudgingly.

"I only make sure to follow a proper, well curated dental care routine from time to time. After all, it is essential to look after your teeth for a trouble-free and healthy life-" Kunikida continues to rant till Katai interrupts him as he declares once again,

"No! I won't go! Doctors, dentists, with all their equipment; people terrify me! I am not stepping out of his house, ever! I'd rather bear with this pain for the rest of my life!"

He couldn't do it. He didn’t have the courage to face all that alone. The sight of the cold reception, the beeping sound of the machine that displays the number, the smell of the clinic, the sounds of those torturous devices, he doesn't want to experience it. His heart sinks at the thought of his own childish behavior and stubbornness and wonders why Kunikida puts up with him at all. He couldn’t stand his pitiful self, unable to face the outside world like a normal person.

"Stop being so dramatic, Katai. Firstly, it’s just an examination. The doctor won't immediately whip out his tools and extract your teeth out. There's some protocol to that too."

Kunikida goes on talking, as Katai focuses with bleary eyes and furrowed eyebrows on the screen in front of him, mostly tuning out everything the blond says, lost in his own little shell, the futon wrapping around him like a protective shell.

"-The clinic. I'll borrow the agency's car, so you have to be ready at 8:45 am. Eat a proper breakfast and-"

Katai blinks, "What did you say?"

Kunikida gives Katai a cross look, "I said eat a proper breakfast because-"

"No, I mean before that-"

"I'll borrow the agency's car?" Kunikida repeats raising a brow at him as Katai continues to stare at him blankly.

Kunikida resumes decluttering the room, half done already. "Anyway, I'll get you some painkillers for now. Yosano-sensei is well acquainted with this dentist so everything should be alright."

"You're coming along with me?" Katai asks in a small, hesitant voice.

"Huh?" Kunikida stops for a second to throw him a confused look, "Of course I’m coming along. Why wouldn’t I?” he huffs in satisfaction as he puts away all the trash neatly into trash bags. “Besides, I thought while we’re at it, I might as well have my own teeth examined.”

Katai couldn’t describe the relief that washed over him upon hearing these words. It only came out as a strangled gasp and gibberish, which earned him another confused look from Kunikida.

"Oi Katai." Kunikida's voice calls him out in an irritated voice. “Have you been listening at all?”

“Yes.”

He looks pressingly at the black-haired man, before shrugging and lifting the trash bags. “I’ll throw these out.”

Just before he steps out, Katai calls him, “Kunikida?”

Kunikida halts by the door of the room and waits. “Thank you.” Katai murmurs, softly. If the man was confused as to why he thanked him he gives no such inclination; Kunikida simply nods in response, and walks out wordlessly. Katai figured that he understands after all. The two of them had a way to understand each other after all, after that many years of companionship.

Maybe he doesn’t have the courage to face the outside world yet on his own. Maybe he can’t throw away that shell yet. But maybe someday, he will. (And it doesn’t have to be by himself.)

Kunikida went along with Katai for his appointment at the dentist. Needless to say, he brought his futon, Yoshiko along, and attracted quite a lot of attention at the reception. He insisted to have it wrapped around him during the examination as well, but Kunikida managed to coax him out of it for a while. While he was being examined, some of electrical equipment in the room started malfunctioning as well.

(Kunikida suspects it was because of Katai’s ability, but it may not be intentional, and possibly due to his nervousness.)

It turns out that Katai was indeed in pain due to the emergence of a wisdom tooth. Upon further inspection, it was concluded that they did not need to be removed and was prescribed a few effective painkillers to get rid of his pain.

When Kunikida sat down to get his teeth checked, it turns out that he too, had wisdom teeth coming along, not one, but four, two of which were severely decayed and needed to be removed surgically. Kunikida didn’t hesitate to have it extracted the very next day, (as such a hinderance was not written anywhere in his notebook.) and immediately booked an appointment.

Katai couldn’t come along with him.

The only one who was free to take Kunikida to the dentist was Dazai.

Dazai to drove Kunikida to the dentist (upon his insistence that Kunikida must vocalize repeatedly, or his gums may weaken and the surgery would have to be cancelled.)

(It was a lie.)

He almost threw up on the way because of his terrible driving. The wisdom teeth were extracted successfully, although it was slightly complicated procedure. He had to be partly sedated and he had a huge swelling by the end of it.

In a state of sedation, Kunikida confessed guiltily, on the verge of tears the one time when he arranged a file in the wrong shelf, and another time he forsake cleaning duty because there was a limited sale on eggs and fish. He also threw a fit over the ice-cream which Dazai bought him to relieve the pain as instructed by the doctor, which he claimed wasn’t icy enough.  

Dazai recorded everything, of course.

 -x

  Wisdom teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, behind your molars, crooked, sideways, or otherwise misaligned. As they grow in, they can push on other teeth, causing problems of overcrowding and misalignment for them as well. According to my non-existent medical opinion, pls don’t get it extracted.

[zevakritpel]

Hell-bent:  Chapter 3- It Ain't Over 'Till It's Over Buzzer Beater Mind-State

<Chapter 2        Chapter 4>

Fandom: Kuroko no Basuke

Pairing: Aokise, MomoRiko, Kagakuro, MuroMura, more???

u can find this on AO3 lol

Summary: Adult AU, Criminal Underworld AU. Where Kagami Taiga is a young heir suddenly targeted by 6 rather dangerous members of the criminal underworld (each with their own set of personal troubles), and Kuroko is a bodyguard with a dark past.

Warning: Violence, Strong language, a lil dark and angsty sometimes. Getting spicier ;^)

[Saturday. 03:23.  Unbelievable Part I]

The way those hot sleepy fingertips just barely touch the skin of his exposed back, where his shirt had ridden up; the sensation of those long arms wrapped around him, clinging like a child.

The soft murmur of Murasakibara's voice tickling the side of Himuro's neck.

"You're so warm, Muro-chin."

That's not fair play at all. He dozes off for like an hour, and this is what he wakes up to?

Himuro tries to swallow, but his throat is too dry.

At times like this, when Tatsuya's too overwhelmed to defend against these brutal attacks on his already shoddy self-control, the smartest course of action is to get up and cool off with a nice cold shower.

"Yeah," he whispers back, neither getting up nor cooling off, instead opting to run his fingers through the tangled mess of Murasakibara's violet hair. Atsushi responds with a satisfied hum, which further incites a now unrestrained, over-tired Himuro to guide his hand along to the other man's shoulder, then push him back until they're facing each other.

"It's hot."

Ahh, this is hell.

He tries so hard to keep himself in check, to avoid taking advantage of this volatile human weapon, or slipping up and causing irreparable damage to himself, to Masako or Atsushi. But even Himuro has a breaking point, and this isn't the first time he's reached it, either.

Maybe one day he'll be able to say out loud everything he feels without restraint, but for now he'll just steal a taste....

He brushes his thumb against the slightly frowning lower lip, then presses gently until Atsushi obediently opens his mouth so that Himuro may slide the rest in even further. Murasakibara is watching him all the while with half-lidded eyes, somehow appearing both demure and sinister at the same time.

Himuro tilts his jaw forward and moves in to...

Well, it doesn't matter what he moves in to do, as he's interrupted by the sound of rapid gunfire at the front door.

[Saturday. 03:47.  Unbelievable Part II]

A mistake has been made.

Man F realizes he has fucked up around the time Murasakibara Atsushi's massive hand makes contact with his face: nothing like some broken bones to get him to seriously reflect on the error of his ways.  

The force of impact sends F flying into the nearest wall. His body crumples to the floor, where he lies gasping for breath as warm blood gushes from his nose.  Either from the excruciating pain or the blunt head trauma, but to Man F's fading vision it looks as though the killer looming before him is surrounded by a menacing deep violet miasma.

...Okay, several mistakes have been made. For one, Man F wouldn't have had to come across this fucking purple abomination if he hadn't foolishly trusted that fucking dickhead, who just conveniently forgot to mention that the apartment of the so-called "easy target" belongs to none other than the Araki Group's infamous Reaper...

"He ....fucked us over.... that basta..rd...put us up to it.....we didn't...know..."  Man F manages to cough out, blood dripping down his chin as he struggles to pick himself up. Before he can explain himself further, Man F's words yield to an agonized cry as Murasakibara digs his heel into the fallen man's groin.

"Huuhhh?? I don't care," Murasakibara hisses, increasing pressure with little stomps.

"You killed my fridge. How are you going to make up for that?"

That's what he takes issue with?!

Not the armed break-in, or the attempt on his life-

"I'M SORRY" Man F screams, rather sincerely. But Murasakibara isn't in the mood to hear apologies, not when the corpse of his massacred kitchen appliance lies useless and riddled with bullet holes.

"Ahh, settle down, Atsushi," says the Reaper's companion from the side, where he is handling F's comrade, G. He's not as immediately recognizable as Murasakibara, but there's something uncomfortably familiar about the elegant dark-haired, undereye mole beauty queen man currently striking G across the face with the back of a Glock 19. Someone's feeling a bit aggressive today...

F would try and get a closer look, but he is getting his ass handed to him by a nightmare human, which is distracting to say the least.

"We can't find out what our guests want if you play too roughly... ahhh, oops. I got blood on my shirt..."

To Man F's surprise, Murasakibara relents immediately, pulling back with a slight pout. F crawls backwards quickly until his back hits a cabinet under the kitchen sink.

Who is this mystery man, that not only addresses this monster so familiarly, but actually gets him to obey...

"Mmmm, I already know what they want. They're a message from Haiz-...."

Murasakibara pauses mid-sentence, then pulls out his phone and just stays quiet while he focuses on that.

"Atsushi...?"

"Mmm, one sec, Muro-chin. I just gotta let Sa-chin know about this, 'cause she told me she'd get me a box of okonomiyaki Maiubo next time she goes to Osaka if I.."

The killer continues to ramble on about things Man F doesn't understand. The only thing that's sticking so far is Muro-chin.....Muro......

An ominous shudder passes through Man F before he fully realizes why, though his answer comes soon enough, in the form of mystery man lifting his blood spattered shirt up enough to reveal what is unmistakably the tattoo of a black dragon etched against his white skin.

The realization hits Man F like a brick: Muro... Himuro Tatsuya, Madame Araki Masako's notorious 'pet dragon'.

Which is just great, really. The Dragon and The Reaper live together in this humble happy home F and G were told to attack, like sacrificial lambs sent as some shitty human warning message.

That's it, if Man F makes it out of this alive ... and honestly, if either of these two wanted him dead, he'd be fucking dead...he's fucking quitting this shitty criminal life and going back to school. Become a welder or something, he doesn't have the nerves to suffer through this again.

Well, before anything, he needs to buy Murasakibara a new refrigerator.

[Saturday. 07:09. The Best Way To  A Man's Heart Is Through His Stomach]

"Ah."

Kuroko awakens to the smell of food wafting in from an open door. What an unfamiliar phenomenon...

The bodyguard finds himself sitting up on the floor of Kagami Taiga's bedroom, his back pressed up against a part of the wall directly under a window. He blinks a few times, adjusting his eyes to the few strays of morning light peeking from beneath drawn blinds; he's a bit disoriented by the fact that he managed to fall asleep after all.

Three whole hours, at that. How rare.

Conditioned from a young age to sleep lightly and in unnatural positions, Kuroko picks himself up off the ground rather gracefully. He stretches his joints out, pulling his hand back only to be greeted by the sharp, throbbing pain in his right wrist: proof of the punch he had finally managed to coax out of the young master last night.

Though the hit was blocked in the end, and clearly nowhere near Taiga's full strength, Kuroko still can't help but smile fondly at his bruised arm: there is hope of teamwork here yet...

The bodyguard tucks his knife back into his pants' pocket (he never falls asleep without at least a weapon at the ready for worst case scenarios), then proceeds to step out the room and make his way to the kitchen, following the trail of that delicious smell.

In the kitchen area, he finds Kagami Taiga, young master and heir to the Kagami Empire, hard at work wielding a frying pan full of sizzling sliced pork and vegetables. Soup and white rice have already been prepared and set aside on the kitchen table.

The real treat here is how...domestic Kagami looks, with the black apron draped over his tall, muscular frame, hands busy preparing an unnecessarily heavy breakfast.

"Good morning."

"Oh, mornin'-- geh, what's with the ridiculous bedhead? You didn't even sleep in a bed..."

Kuroko doesn't feel the need to respond to this. Having confirmed Kagami's safety, he does a quick check around the rest of spacious apartment, including the balcony and the outer hall. He also checks in with the guards stationed in the surrounding area of the apartment complex to see if anything abnormal has gone by unreported in the past few hours.

All clear.

So no one's making any hasty moves yet. Biding their time, perhaps they've matured...

After trying and failing to contact Aida Riko, Kuroko moseys on back into the kitchen, perching onto a nearby stool and silently continues to watch Kagami. The young heir is looking down, his brows furrowed and mouth turned down in a slight frown as he tends to his stir fry, just about finished. It's difficult to tell whether he's feeling or troubled or if he's simply focused on the task in front of him.

Somehow, to see him make such an expression...

Of course, it's only natural for the young heir to be stressed out in his current situation. In fact, after Kagami's initial bout of rebellious beahviour subsided, he's been surprisingly adaptive and well-behaved. He may grumble constantly that he doesn't need a 24-hour guard, but not once has raised a question about the arrangement.

Perhaps he really does know...

There was something Miss Aida had offhandedly told Kuroko shortly after his employment into the Kagami family, and her words are coming back up again for some reason:

"People have been dragging Taiga into their affairs ever since he was a small child, only to abandon or lie to him afterwards. I haven't known him for that long, and he comes off as a fucking idiot...but I can tell it really wears on him."

At the time, Kuroko hadn't thought much of it, but now he finds himself reflecting on his own ulterior motives for involving himself with the young heir. He hadn't expected Kagami Taiga to end up being so honest and so...

"...what."

"I'm sorry?"

"You're staring at me...do you have a problem?"

"Ah, I'm just impressed to see that Mast-..Kagami-kun can even cook for himself."

Kagami squints at Kuroko, visibly suspicious, and raises his spatula threateningly.

"...Are you making fun of me?"

"Not at all."

"Ah! You looked away!!"

"Please, Kagami-kun. There's no need to be so noisy in the morning; you're hurting my ears."

"Damn you, Kuroko...."

Kagami scowls as he slides a bowl of rice and a plateful of his cooking over to Kuroko, leaving his bodyguard to marvel at how his charge expects him to eat so much food this early in the day.

A hot home cooked meal...

Kuroko utters his gratitude in a soft voice before digging in.

[Saturday. 11:45 . It's Not Like I Care Or Anything Part I]

"Aawww, what's this? You're reading all the files I gave you! I knew this game would finally get Dai-chan interested in something other than himself."

"Do you really have to- Geh. What are you all dressed up for? Don't tell me someone's actually made the mistake of asking you out on a da-MMMMF"

"^_^ Actually, I've made plans to meet up with Ki-chan!"

"Wh-............ Wow. Isn't that great."

"Yep, and you're coming with me."

"Huuuuuuuuuuuuh?! Don't wanna."

"Hmmm.... but weren't you saying last night how much you miss him?"

"The fuc-....Oi. Satsuki."

"What, am I wrong? But if Dai-chan needs to keep hiding from reality, you can just wait outside until we're done talking. :) "

".....uhh, why the fuck should I? I have nothing to say to him, and his face just fucking pisses me off."

"....Isn't that what they call sexual frustration?"

"What was that?"

"I said, 'I wasn't going to mention this, but since you're being problematic I have no choice. Muk-kun texted me this morning with some very interesting news about a certain old...teammate of ours.'"

"What..."

[Saturday. 11:48. Enter Trashman]

Haizaki Shougo sneezes violently into the crook of his arm, the fifth one today.

Someone must be talking shit.

[Saturday. 12:12. Reconnaissance]

"Hey, Shin-chan," Takao begins cautiously, adjusting his focus as he peers through the lenses of his binoculars.

"I'm glad you decided to rely on me so soon, but uhh...is there a special reason we're doing recon of one of the major Kagami Corp. buildings?"

"Fool. Don't ask questions you already know the answer to" is the curt reply. As expected...

Takao isn't sure whether he should be worried or not (he really should), but he feels it's better to just shake off the dark instinctual sense of foreboding and enjoy the pleasant afternoon breeze.

Whatever happens, he can tell it's going to be very entertaining.

"Well?"

"Ahhh, it's hard to say. The windows are bullet-resistant and at this distance, even if you could--..."

As Takao dips his view down to the ground level, two very colourful somethings catch his eye.

"Oh... Hey!"

"What is it?"

"Those people ...aren't they your friends or whatever? The two we met last year at the...that thing?"

Midorima frowns deeply, very clearly unsettled by the mention of 'friends'.

"What are you blabbering about ..."

"You know, the flashy crying guy and the pink girl with the" [hand motion over chest].

"WHAT."

Midorima snatches the binoculars from Takao's hands in a panic, his bandaged fingers shaking. After a few silent moments, he lets out an irritable hiss: looks like he's found them.

"Tch. Causing a scene together, as always."

Shin-chan seems rather frazzled... Takao accepts this as a gift, and observes happily as Midorima peers down at whoever those people are, muttering petulantly under his breath. Those two must be something special to get him to lose his composure like this.

Sadlly the amusement is short-lived:

"Uhhmm, you guys can't be here?"

So says the security guard of the public library rooftop Midorima and Takao are currently sitting on, and so the two assassins are forced to apologize and humbly take their leave.

[Saturday. 12:14. Absolutely Flawless]

A brief hush falls upon the patrons of this expensive café, and everyone turns their heads in unison to get a better look at the couple of rare beauties passing by.

The woman is clad in a simple pastel blue sundress that falls just above her knees, leaving the rest of her lovely legs exposed. She carries herself lightly and with grace; her long, rose-coloured hair flows behind her as she walks. Her soft mouth, curved into a sweet smile that betrays only the slightest hint of mischief, does not go unnoticed by the watchful restaurant patrons.

Her companion is equally radiant: tall, with a slender (though still muscular) build, silky blonde hair, and well-dressed to boot . He's sporting red-rimmed glasses that poorly mask a pretty face with delicate features. Actually, he does look a bit familiar...

Especially dazzling under the bright rays of the afternoon sun, the unreasonably good-looking pair take their seats outside on the patio, chatting together quietly in some foreign tongue, which only strengthens their appeal.

"What could those two possibly be discussing? Where are they from?? What is the nature of their relationship???" This is the nature of questions circulating amongst the customers and staff of the coffee shop.

The two just take relaxed sips of their respective beverages (black coffee for the lady, vanilla latte for the man), seemingly indifferent to the sudden influx of excited whispers their every move incurs from the people around them.

"....Maybe we should have met up somewhere a little less...busy" Kise remarks dryly, eyeing the blatant stares from the surrounding tables.

"Haha it's fine, it's fine. As far as I can tell, no one here understands Russian, and the crowd will give us cover in case anything happens" Momoi chirps happily, though Kise detects a slight edge of weariness in her voice. They're both used to this kind of treatment, and usually it's not a problem, but somehow the ogling is always ten times worse when they're together.

So beautiful, it's a curse...

"Besides," Momoi begins with a tilt of her pink head, peering up at Kise cheekily.

"Isn't Ki-chan always operating under the public eye? Even doing business with the likes of C in broad daylight, from what I hear. How bold!"

"Wahaaaa~, and you're as scary as ever, Momocchi. Really, nothing gets past you."

Momoi takes this as a compliment.

"Hehe. But I'm surprised you were willing to give him the time of day. To go to such lengths...you must be in a hurry to start things."

"Of course I am... I've been waiting so long for this moment, to be called out with everyone again. And now that Kurokocchi's gone and broken the rules...I just..."

"You're hoping to talk him out of it." Momoi concludes, sitting back against her chair. She twists a strand of her hair around her index finger, regarding Kise expectantly.

"Mmm...something like that. But Kurokocchi can be crazy stubborn once he's made his mind up. So if he's taking this seriously, then I can't help but get fired up, even if it means putting up with...shit."

Kise sighs, resting his chin on his hands, and flicks his dark golden eyes up at Momoi.

"What about Momocchi? Seems like your challenges have got you ready for blood, too. That Aida Riko is right up your alley, right? In more ways than one..."

Momoi's lips purse into a guilty smile as she is reminded that she's not the only dangerously shrewd one here. Perhaps from their equally undying love for Kuroko Tetsuya, and from sharing such skills as super-analysis, effortless seduction, and obfuscating naïveté, Momoi and Kise have also developed an intuitive understanding of each other's 'tastes' and 'preferences'.

The difference is that Momoi's directly interfering with Kise's sex life, though it's unlikely that he's caught on.

"She's certainly more troublesome than I ever could have hoped. She's getting uncomfortably close to finding out about us, but I set up a nice tr- ooh, that looks so good!"

Kise looks over as well, and the two watch as a cherry cheesecake is served two tables away. Being stared at by not one, but two angels is a bit too much for the blushing recipient of said cheesecake to handle.

"Ahh, but I shouldn't be eating so much sugar..."

"Did you want to split one?"

"Oooh, okay!"

They continue to chatter in Russian, despite not having anything more clandestine to say, until their dessert arrives. Momoi immediately plucks off the cherry from the top and pops it into her mouth. Delicious.

"By the way," Kise sinks his tiny fork into the cheesecake and eats the bite slowly before continuing, dropping his voice to a disparaging tone.

"How long is Aominecchi going to lurk in the shop across from us? I think he's scaring off some of their customers..."

Momoi can't hold back a snort of laughter, though she recovers with an airy giggle and dismissive wave of her hand.

"Don't worry about Dai-chan, he's just feeling shy. He'll come around, I'm sure."

Kise makes a tiny skeptical noise, but doesn't press any further.

He'll have to deal with this on his own, nothing new.

[Saturday. 12:44. It's Not Like I Care Or Anything Part II]

Ugh, that's right. Those two get along annoyingly well...

Aomine shoves an absurd quantity of noodles into his mouth without looking, too busy glaring at the scene that's developing at the coffee shop across the street.

God, are they trying to draw attention to themselves? Honestly. When it comes to attracting crowds (along with all sorts of unsavoury people), Momoi and Kise individually are bad enough. The result of their combined forces is that much more frustrating.

...it's no wonder their missions were so successful when they were paired together, back in the day. Damn pretty- boys and... whatever the appeal of Momoi is...(???)

Aomine's noodle-devouring becomes more aggressive with each passing moment, alarming all nearby customers. As if he let Momoi fool him into coming this far, with those 'Haizaki Shougo on the move again' scare tactics. That asshole isn't even really a threat, so enough of this bullshit. Once Aomine finishes this meal, he's fucking going home to stare at his beloved Mai-chan and maybe take a nap.

The man himself is unsure as to where all this annoyance is coming from.

.........................he for sure.........has no idea.......

Not a single clue.

His phone vibrates, so he picks it out with his left hand (while still feeding himself with the right), to read:

[Satsuki: Lol he's already noticed you. Stop being pathetic and just come out to say hi.]

A vein in Aomine's temple throbs.

Definitely going straight home after this.

[Saturday. 12:47. Scar #33]

Ahh, that smarts.

Riko grits her teeth and tightens her grip around the steering wheel, willing herself to ignore the jarring pain in her shoulder. She's leaning forward so as not to dirty the car, but it's meaningless, really, what with half-conscious Koganei bleeding out in the passenger's seat.

She had known that following the sketchy information trail attached to the name Momoi Satsuki would lead to danger, but she hadn't anticipated being attacked in broad daylight, only moments after hearing mere slivers of information about 'Miracles.'

Still. These wounds are mere scratches compared to all the hits Riko's taken for the Kagami Family. And a little dry-cleaning and a couple band-aids (okay, so Koga might need some more...advanced medical attention, but he's fine) is a small price to pay for the crucial leads Riko gained today.

Her intuition had been right: there really is a connection between all the killers and criminals hired to come after young master Taiga. But there are still too many unknowns for Riko to begin to understand why this is happening.

Sure, there are plenty of people and groups who would love to get their hands on the young heir, motives ranging from ransom money or blackmail, to a grudge against the father, to culling this random heir that they feel does not deserve the inheritance. Typical stuff, really.

But with Kagami Taiga, there is an added element of what happened during his...messy childhood, the reason why he's been hidden until now, and the groundbreaking power his fiery red head holds. It's only natural for those privy to this knowledge to try and take action. To use the young master, or to silence him.

And these people are all those who have hired one of the five...no, six including Momoi...big names. So what does that mean, if anything?

Riko intends to answer all these questions soon, though it means she'll be shedding more blood yet.

"Nooo....too many...pigeons......nya..." Koganei mumbles feverishly, convincing Riko to stop mulling over conspiracies and just apply more pressure to the gas pedal.

Hang in there, Koga, buddy.

Notes (from AO3):

forgive me, akashi, my sweet pink heterochromic yan mafia princess...you weren't in this chapter, but i will do right by you yet

also not that anyone asked, but i'm dying to write saucy scenes for dark blue tsundere doof x blonde fake ass ho, but alas, pacing or whatever that thing is called that i'm bad at

also also today's shitty chapter title brought to you by: select, but not necessarily relevant line from PI's 'In the Zone'

LMAO I WANT TO APOLOGIZE FOR EVERYTHING I'M SO SLEEP DEPRIVED AND BLESS YOU ALL FOR PUTTING UP WITH MY BS

[starlightshadowsworld]

Don’t forget he was inside a bin for the entire duration of this moment. There was literally no reason for that, Dazai just did it to be different.

I've been too nice to Dazai recently with my metas. I feel the urgent need to roast him to restore balance to the universe.

Anyways what do you mean your mentee scared you so you stopped your literal heart to momentarily terrify him into thinking you'd died from shock. What the hell do you mean "the only way I knew how to reward you was showing you my secret technique which is cardiac arrest" - shut up dude. You are a petty little control freak with a just barely hidden competitive streak a mile wide who had to win the scaring contest

Dazai, after Atsushi scares him once: "Oh no! My aura of unflappable mystery! To regain my honour, I must immediately and momentarily die about it!"

jerk.