knb week 2025

"It's a shame about the cherry blossoms," Takao lamented as he pulled a clean shirt from his locker.

Midorima pushed up his glasses. "What about them?"

"They're pretty much gone now. I barely got to see them with how busy we've been."

"For once, we agree on something."

"Huh?" Takao's eyes widened. "Shin-chan, you actually like cherry blossoms? I never would've expected that!"

"They are aesthetically pleasing. Nothing more than that." He pulled his sweaty t-shirt off and folded it.

"Still, for somebody like you, that's a shocker." Takao closed his locker and leaned against it, his eyes acquiring that devious glint that Midorima had come to both loathe and appreciate. "You know, I actually know a trick."

Midorima glanced at him. He'd long learned by this point that indulging Takao was far less painful than trying to ignore him. "What sort of trick?"

"Glad you asked! There's actually a way to make cherry blossoms bloom, even if they're out of season."

"Of course. By emulating the conditions of spring in a controlled environment, it's quite easy to trick a cherry tree into blooming much earlier or later than they normally would. The real difficulty lies in creating said controlled environment—"

"No, a different way. One you can even do yourself!"

"That's preposterous." He pulled his shirt on.

"I could demonstrate! You can do it pretty much anywhere, any time!" He was grinning.

Midorima held his uniform jacket in his hands as he squinted at Takao. "...Sure. Go on."

He approached Midorima and put a hand on his shoulder. "You ready?"

"Do I have to be a part of it?"

"Absolutely."

He sighed. "Fine."

Takao hooked his finger under the collar of Midorima's shirt and tugged it down, then swiftly chomped on his collarbone and sucked the skin hard. A prickly and sharp but not particularly terrible pain followed.

"Ah!" The noise was involuntary. "Takao, what—?!"

His lips produced a pop as he broke off, then he licked them and smirked. "There ya go." Those piercing eyes stabbed right through Midorima, mere inches away. "Your very own cherry blossom."

Midorima's heart was racing.

"And you can look at it whenever you like." Takao drifted forward, slowly closing the gap between them—

And then he twirled around, nonchalantly grabbing his bag and sauntering to the door.

"You—!" He glared. "Why do you always do this?!

"Because it's fun!" He turned the doorknob and grinned over his shoulder. "Come on, Shin-chan! You're so slow today!" He giggled.

"Hey!"

Takao left.

He glanced down. The spot was flushed and pink, with many red dots scattered throughout. Surrounding it above and below were Takao's teeth marks, indents that framed the hickey almost like the edges of flower petals.

Midorima fixed his collar (Takao wasn't stupid; the shirt covered it) and bit his lip. "Tease," he grumbled.