Lueee

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

My name is Lue!

This is my little nook of the internet where I write for a passion that I unfortunately, am unable to pursue because money is life.

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Masterlists:

Kuroko no Basket | Lookism | Haikyuu | Blue Lock | Viral Hirt | Stardew Valley | The boxer |

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Genres:

angst | fluff | xreader | hurt/no comfort| romance

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Requests: open

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Commissions: also open (dm me)

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆Rules:

-please be respectful to each other

-no plagiarism!

Various! KnB x Manager! Reader

Summary:

Where prioritizing college credits gets you into being the manager of Fukuda Sogo, leading you into a month-long hellscape disguised as a summer training camp in the mountains.

With your future, your relationships, and your reputation on the line...

It's up to you to reform this failing team and keep yourself from getting dropped.

Chapter Eight

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

Chapter Nine: Hanamiya

Back of the Dorms — 7 a.m.

After waking Fukuda Sogo up, you watched as they stood up and walked to the showers. Walking out of the room, you weren't oblivious to the glare Hanamiya had sent your way.

"I should get the equipment ready...", you whispered to yourself, walking to the manager's room.

"I'll help..." You looked to the source of the voice to find Hideki, freshly dressed. His hair was still wet.

"You're early?", you asked. He smiled. "I am... I figured I shouldn't let a junior take over out team"

You were surprised by his words but gladly accepted the extra hand.

"I also had something to tell you, L/n-san...", he lowered his gaze before directing them at you.

Your pace slowed. "What is it?"

"About the fight...", he trailed.

Training Camp Day 0 -Dorm room D

Hideki had watched his team settle into their rooms, hoping to have a peaceful time at this camp. Nobody ever wanted to room with them because of their ace so they at least hoped it would be with decent people.

His hopes were quickly crushed however when he saw that in the parellel bunks would be Kirisaki Daiichi, a school known for foul play and a ridiculously smart uncrowned asshole.

When they first arrived, everything was quiet as their members flocked through the door leaisurely.

Then, one of them plopped their bags onto one of Fukuda's beds.

Their benched first year turned to Hideki with a confused expression that he returned. Normally, he wouldn't dare make a movewithout Haizaki but it was bad enough he let a first year take over in the first place.

I can't let this go... he thought, walking over with a stern face.

"Hey, that's our school's side..." He inwardly cursed at himself for speaking too lowly. He quickly stoned his gaze, not wanting to back down again.

At his words, Daiichi's intruding member simply smiled widely.

Before Hideki could continue, an arm was splayed across his back making him jump. It was Hanamiya Makoto, their captain.

He grimaced, staying in place when he saw that he had his two very tall lackeys with him.

Kirisaki Daiichi not only had more players, but they also had a freakishly high expertise when it came to injuring people discreetly.

A fight with them in a cramped room like this is basically a death wish.

"You don't mind, do you?", Hanamiya smiled creepily.

"You think you can act like an asshole to us, huh?!", Mochizuki exclaimed, balling his fist.

Hideki looked at him and the other third years preparing their fists. His eyes turned over to their trembling first years and he let out a forced laugh.

"It's okay, we'll let them have it..." This earned him disbelieving looks from his team members. They slowly turned to understanding, and then resentment as Hanamiya and his underlings situated wherever they wanted.

Their mockery was more than evident. "Haha what a bunch of pushovers...!" "Delinquent group my ass.." "Wusses! Can you even call yourselves men?"

This was going to be a long night...

Suddenly, a large bang could be heard from outside. Hideki rushed out to find Haizaki had Hanamiya by his collar, pressed up against the wall.

"Say that shit again.", Haizaki growled.

Hanamiya scoffed, laughing maniacally. "You're just a team of losers!"

Hideki quickly stepped in, separating the two as Hanamiya's teammates were about to squabble in.

"Please don't cause trouble, Haizaki...", Hideki pleaded as the others left. He looked over to face the braid-haired man but was met with a death glare.

He couldn't understand why the mere sight of him made the captain want to submit, but knowing no teachers could reprimand their ace if he ever got violent made Hideki want to puke.

"Don't tell me what to do", Haizaki spat, grabbing his captain's hair. "You still haven't learned your lesson huh?"

"I suggest you listen to your captain, kid", an amused voice interjected them, followed by the sight of a boy with dark hair approaching them.

"Imayoshi?", Hideki gasped out, earning a grin from him.

"While he's not that much of a threat", Imayoshi began. "His dad could get you kicked out..."

"It's cowardly, but you don't want to get kicked out, do you?"

His smile lowers into a serious frown.

Haizaki huffed, letting go of his captain.

Despite his initial worry, Haizaki seemed to have done his best to rein in his temper. Though, the boy forced him to unpack his stuff.

Hideki looked down at his bed sheets in his hands, wondering where it all went wrong.

Where he went wrong as a captain to be doing something like this.

Even their manager seemed to deal with Haizaki better than him, and she was a girl.

Am i... a coward after all? He clenched his fists, wiping away the tears that threatened to fall through.

How pathetic...

He went to bed and everything seemed to go in order. The lights were tuned out and the morning came surprisingly easy.

As Haizaki insisted on showering last, he made the mistake of leaving him alone with Kirisaki Daiichi. Then, it happened.

Screams erupted, the shower door was being held by someone, nobody could get out.

As Fukuda Sogo rushed to push open the door, Hideki could makeout a few sentences.

"What'd you say?!"

"Yeah that's right!" Hanamiya's cackling echoed from outside. "Your little manager totally digs me!"

"Shitty manager betrayed us?"

Finally, pushing their captor aside they were all able to come out.

Hideki rushed out first with a panicked expression, wrapping a towel around his waist. The sight in front of him was horrific.

Haizaki wore a swollen eye, surrounded by Kirisaki's guys. He was hunched over, holding his stomach as he coughed out blood.

Hanamiya showed off a red kiss on his collar, slightly smudged but definitely fresh. Everyone was left shocked by this revelation.

Haizaki looked just on the verge of killing someone. Even Hideki was unsurprised, after all, there was nothing tying her to this team.

She's just a volunteer.

Haizaki threw the first punch, all sense of rationality fading. Hanamiya easily dodged it, stepping back as one of his teammates came forward with a straight.

Hideki tried to diffuse the situation but failed as the confrontation became a full-on brawl. Fists were thrown, insults raised, but in the end the numbers overpowered them.

He found himself on the floor with Kirisaki Daiichi hovering over them arrogantly.

Mochizuki who had left to fetch breakfast first came back then, "Y-you guys..! What happened?!"

He was about to run for help but was caught and beaten up. They were all held down by their arms as Hanamiya spoke.

"You should all just give up", he smirked. "You're all pathetic. So much so that even your manager would prefer us over you"

"That damn liar...", Haizaki mumbled, weakly. "That traitorous liar..."

"Wh..what happened captain?", Mochizuki cried out.

Hideki avoided his gaze, explaining the situation to him. In response, Hanamiya proudly showed off his collar, the red kiss mark a reminder of where he true loyalties lied.

"Like hell she would!", Mochizuki denied, his voice shaking with fear. Not because of Kirisaki, but because of their own ace.

Haizaki snapped to him. "The hell you talking about?"

"The manager...", he whimpered. "Doesn't even wear makeup!"

...

Hanamiya looked visibly taken aback.

Managers' Rooms - Present Day

"After that, they threatened to kick us out if we told anyone", Hideki looked ashamed as he finished his story.

To his surprise, their manager looked completely calm as she learned the truth. She simply looked forward, thinking deeply.

"L/n-san?"

"Thank you for telling me about this, Hideki-senpai"

Hideki was shocked by her words. She had only ever treated him like dirt beneath her feet, this was not an unwelcome development.

"Don't worry about them..." She smiled. "I won't let this happen again"

She grabbed a few knee pads and bottles and handed them to him. "I figured he was doing this to us..", she confessed. "That's why I had these transported here..."

She took their uniforms and began loading them onto Hideki's free arm. "I don't know why they're doing this, but don't let it get to you, okay?"

Grabbing the rest of the uniforms, she stood up, looking into his eyes.

"We're a team now."

Hideki tensed but after a second, his lips curled upward wholesomely.

"I... I guess we are..."

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

Aomine Daiki x Reader

Summary:

After the winter cup, Aomine finds himself in the past, reliving the worst day of his life. His mission: save his old dead girlfriend from his younger arrogant self.

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

It was a Tuesday. The most boring and monotonous day of the weak. But it also happened to be the anniversary of his 1st year with his significant other. His girlfriend, the girl of his dreams who, without a doubt, checked all the boxes in his head of the ideal girl.

Her appearance might have been a far cry from the girls his magazines showed him, yet as his light, she shined brighter whenever she was just herself. That was what drew him to her, her ability to brighten his days with the curve of her smile or the violence of her laughter.

It was raining that day when Aomine realized his passion was slowly boring him, when he found out nobody dared to even try when his team played. He was at a standstill, a pit stop that he couldn't move away from.

He had ditched on their date that day with the excuse that he was busy preparing for prelims. In reality though, he had skipped out, confident in his abilities. He was never the type to purposefully mess up his game for the sake of others, his pride would never let him back down.

So instead of fighting against fierce competition, the blue-haired boy found himself battling the agony of his own talent. He became lax, his late-night grinds blurring into missed practices and tardy arrivals.

His arrogance did not go unnoticed. Kuroko could sense something was terribly wrong, yet he was powerless to stop it. Instead, he hoped that someone else would be able to bring him back.

You.

But how was he supposed to predict the fallout of allowing this severely mentally distressed boy to quietly speak with his worried girlfriend?

Aomine could remember it like it was yesterday, his basketball partner had told him his girlfriend was waiting outside the gymnasium after the match... She was wanting to talk.

He came out, this time he couldn't feel anything stir from her attendance. "Dai-chin!", you greeted, running to him with open arms.

You held him tightly, but he made no move to reciprocate your gesture. He just looked down at you with a sullen look in his eyes.

You grinned, looking up at him. "Sorry I was late, but you won didn't you?"

Instinctively, he nodded.

Smiling, your grip on him tightened. "Thank goodness!"

He couldn't understand how he felt. The night was cold and dark, the glow of the gymnasium had lit your face up beautifully. He had won, his team was the best in Japan for the third time in a row. Yet...

"It's hot...", he complained, pushing you off of him. He turned away with a bored face.

You stumbled. "Y'know, we haven't got the chance to go on a date at all lately!", you reminded him. He hummed in response, ignoring you.

"Dai-chin? Bluey?", you tried to call for him, but he kept walking, not sparing you a glance.

"Leave me alone..."

So you did. But you'd be back... You always came back.

You wish you could have shoved the truth in your face right then, that his behavior wasn't a passing mood but reality.

At school, you sat by him and did your best to keep him company. Today however, he was nowhere to be found as always. Approaching Momoi, his childhood friend, you discovered he had developed a habit of biding his time at the school rooftop.

With renewed determination, you sped to reach him. The first thing you saw was that he was reading.

"It's a Gravure Magazine featuring Mai-chan...", he smirked, seeing your shocked expression. He flipped it open and showed you his favorite page.

"Dai-chin! I.. I didn't expect you to be that type of person!" You covered your eyes in embarrassment, flushing from the sight.

He didn't seem to care for the way you seemed dismayed by it, or how you rubbed your arm when you realized those girls looked nothing like you.

"Well? Is it a dealbreaker?", he asked. "Do you wanna break up with me?"

You shook your head. "Of course not! After all, those kinds of stuff are just entertainment", you reason, though you wonder who you're really trying to convince when saying that.

"Dai-chin doesn't mind that I don't look that pretty, right?" You gave him a hopeful smile that he didn't return.

"Don't call me that", he glared at you in disgust.

"And I do mind." You froze at his words. "It's not just your face, you are getting boring."

He doubled down, jumping from the ledge where he previously laid on. Now in front of you, he gave you a disapproving look.

"Let's break up."

It was like there was an endless ringing in your ear, you couldn't hear the words he said after that. All you could understand was the dread and hurt in your heart, manifesting into stammering replies and shaking hands.

"Why?"

Aomine responded. "Because you're annoying..."

Then he left. He didn't look back once, but you felt it. Your upbeat facade cracking from months of pretend. All the time you spent deluding yourself into thinking it would all be alright disintegrated with his love.

Your eyes burned as you softly sobbed into your palms. You hugged your legs and buried your eyes into your knees and cried out. In your despair, you failed to notice his dark gaze trained on you.

Cold yet not unfeeling.

Aomine remembered that day like any other. His choice to break it off and never return had been a decision that haunted his high school years. If he'd just come to his senses then, he could have turned around and begged for forgiveness. He could have saved you from what would happen the day before graduation.

But that was all a dream, was it not? He could not undo the past.

Aomine opened his eyes, rubbing them as he sat up lazily. "Ugh..." He looked around and noticed his room had been disarranged?

This messy dump of piles of clothes, tissues, and unorganized magazines was a sight he only ever saw back when he used to be depressed as hell. So why...

He looked outside and realized it was afternoon already.

Aomine groaned, heading to the bathroom who was a lot bigger than usual. Washing his face in front of the sink, he saw his reflection in the mirror on the wall.

He gasped. "What the fuck?!" Had he gotten younger or something? Did he get smaller? Did his little Aomine get smaller?

He rushed out of the room and found his calendar. What? Two...almost three years ago...

His face fell... "It's... that day." He whispered to himself.

He remembered what he had said earlier in the day. After rejecting her, he skipped out on classes. Then, she would die.

His heart stopped for a moment before years of regret and contemplation came rushing at him. His feet moved before his mind could.

In a flash, he ran outside his house back to school. His mind raced with thousands of thoughts and memories of everything he had, and everything he had lost.

Your smile flashed in his mind like an aching reminder of his sin.

His legs strained as he ran with full force, not stopping. This was the day he had always sought to forget, yet never failed to mourn.

He remembered.

Later tonight, a storm would hit the city and flood the roads of his old home. She was smart, smart enough to map out a deliberate path to his house without encountering any rushing waves.

However, back then, like a struck of bad luck. She had been caught in the midst of a collision between a sliding car and a tree. Aomine had been the first to run out of his home to check out the noise.

With the wind blowing his hair, the cold of the rain biting at his skin, he saw your lifeless body sprayed across the ground in a bloody bath.

He had gotten a taste of loss, quite possibly for the first time in a while. But it wasn't the kind he wished for, though he brought it upon himself.

After all, she was never the type to give up on people.

If she hadn't been out that day, in the rain with a dead phone and a clumsily crafted map... He still would have had the chance to grovel and beg once Kuroko pushed him out of his slump.

In the present it had been too late.

I'm in the past!! He inwardly screamed, tears pooling at the corners of his eyes. The schoolyard neared and he only ran faster, sweat dripping from his temples.

School had long ended so he made a beeline to her house. As he ran, the roads began to blur as he strained to remember where her house was located.

He bit his lip, remembering how he used to know her neighborhood like the back of his hand. The last time he walked her home was sometime in his second year of middle school.

To think he'd come back after everything started feeling normal again. He supposed this was a nightmare, or maybe his karma.

He didn't care what it was.

He would save her.

He would pull her into his arms the way she used to with him.

He only hoped she could still forgive him.

At your house, he readily knocked on the door to find your mother. She smiled at the sight of him.

"Why hello there, dear...", she smiled, leaning on the door. "What brings you here?"

"Ma'am... Is... she here?", he asked, desperate.

Seeing his pained expression, your mom looked confused.

"I thought she was with you...", she hummed, thinking.

Aomine gripped his head, worry overwhelming all rational thought.

"Ah! I remember now!", your mother spoke. "She said she would spend a few hours at the study cafe"

Thanking her, Aomine spared no second in speeding off once more. Hours would pass and he would find no sign of you.

His breath began to grow shallow as a looming cloud began to take form in the sky. The sun was setting no less, his urgency only increased.

"Y/n!", he called as the rain began to pour.

All those nights I spent mourning you...

Night was close to engulfing the day as the storm grew worse.

It was never what I wanted to do!

"Y/n!", he cried. He slipped, his knee scraping on the ground. The warmth traveled down his leg but he persisted.

I thought I'd end up regretting for the rest of my life..!

His vision began to darken from all the running he had done today.

But with this chance... please..

"Please! Are you there?! Y/n!"

Please be safe!

The streetlights were starting to turn on. He ran back to his house, that was his last chance at finding you before a slipping car would take you away again.

He gritted his teeth, fighting through exhaustion.

Then finally...

He caught sight of a tint of your hair in the distance.

His smile grew as his voice screamed. "Y/n!", his words cracked as he began to reach you.

Five meters away...

Two meters away...

One meter...

Then a flash of light caught his eye. He leapt, his hands firmly planting around your body. He shielded your body, sending you both flying to the side as the car barelled into the tree, destroying itself.

You gasped at the warmth that enclosed you. Looking up, you realized he had hit his head when you both fell down.

He was bleeding from his head.

You were about to sit up but he held you down. Tears fell from his face as his eyes roamed your own. He trembled in fear as he took in the sight.

Even now, drenched and disheveled...

He let out a deep breath.

"You're so beautiful...", he croaked out. "God... I'm so stupid..."

Pressing his forehead against yours, he uttered out weakly.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, I love you..!"

He sobbed as his mother ran outside and found the car. She screamed as she called for an ambulance, rushing over when she found her son beside the crash site.

"Please..dont go...", he begged. "Please forgive me..!"

Then he blacked out.

Aomine awoke with a racing heart. He was in his room again, it was cleaner and void of any trash. He remembered that Momoi had come over yesterday and somehow had him clean up.

He couldn't remember why...

Picking up his phone, he realized today was the day Akashi had called to meet with the members of the Generation of Miracles for a friendly match. He sighed, leaning his forehead against his knee.

That dream felt so vivid. But unfortunately, it a mere figment of the past. A past he could not change.

Maybe losing to Kagami...

And finally turning over a new leaf...

Made him relive the sadness of losing, as well as the anger of loss.

It was paradise without a doubt.

He was injured and bleeding from his head in the dream, yet he could remember the happiness etched into his heart.

Was that you forgiving me, Y/n?

He looked up at the ceiling, hoping, praying for a sign.

He was met with dust in his eyes.

Fuck! Maybe it was telling me to clean my ceiling!

Touching his face, he realized it was wet.

"Ah..." He slumped, a bittersweet smile forming on his face. A part of him wished he could have been stuck in the moment; forever bleeding out while staring into the eyes of his lover.

"What a shitty dream...", he sniffled.

"What was it about?"

His breath hitched as he whipped to the side. With bloodshot eyes, he looked to find a large lump beside him under his blanket.

He grabbed it.

"Ack! That tickles!", a playful giggle replied.

What?

She yawned, rubbing her eyes as she turned to lay on her back.

Seeing him, she flashed him a smile. He could feel his heart being tugged as she sat up, leaning her chin onto his bare shoulder. Her hand ran across his face, wiping his tears.

Her smiled became soft as she looked at him with sympathy.

He couldn't think. That dream...

She smelled faintly of lotion and his own cologne.

There was no way...

She gently rubbed his face. It was like being caressed by clouds.

"You okay, Dai-chin?"

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

Daniel Park x Reader

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

Summary:

When Daniel gets the opportunity to visit an old childhood friend in the city, he is ecstatic and decides to use his bigger, more handsome body when they meet.

After all, he isn't too keen on showing her he hadn't changed much at all.

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

Daniel never had many good memories on Valentines Day.

Every year he would watch his peers receive gifts and confessions, being the odd one out in a town bursting with love. Being someone who wasn't exactly considered handsome, he grew accustomed to being viewed and treated like a mere speck.

It wasn't like he had any special talents he could latch onto, he always preferred to keep them, if there were any, secret.

Lucky for him, he wasn't alone in feeling this way. In fact, his old school had a barrage of losers and geeks being constantly pushed around and turned into shuttles by the popular kids.

Even as he had long left that town, he could still feel the remnants of insecurity and not belonging etched into his mind.

Despite finding friends at Jaewon high, finding a handsome body to dwell in, and even receiving the affections of pretty girls at his school...

Daniel felt as though he didn't earn it.

Could he even do all the things he did if he had been stuck in his fat body? Thinking about it made him shiver.

A part of him always knew why people treated him like trash, yet he never wanted to believe this was the society he lived in.

If you weren't beautiful, you had to be smart.

If you weren't smart, be strong.

If you weren't strong, you'd be him.

How could someone admire a roach like him?

But that day, that particular day in middle school that he'd been on the verge of falling into a deep darkness... something changed.

Logan Lee had brought it upon himself to order his Pikachu again, sending him on near endless trips to and from the school. It was all for the sake of impressing his buddy who was trying to win over a pretty girl from class A.

After that entire menagerie, Daniel found himself slumped against the stairwell with a stained shirt and a discouraged heart.

Everything hurt.

His body.

His pride.

His heart.

He wondered if he could just end it all.

Even if he lived anyway, he would just be another squirming worm in the jaws of predators like Logan.

Who would care if he was gone anyway?

Daniel was about to stand up when he felt a weight slump beside him.

He looked up at the figure, gasping to find a scrawny girl with a bruise on her cheek. She had messy hair and her uniform was dirtied like she'd been crawling on the ground.

He didn't dare say a word her way for fear of being on the receiving end of yet another disgusted look.

What he didn't expect was for her to speak first.

"Hey, you're Daniel right?", she asked, her gaze pointed forward.

He straightened up, furrowing his brows in confusion. "Eh? Oh..Uh..!" He quickly nodded, curious to find someone who wanted to speak with him.

"Can you tell me what people are supposed to do on Valentines Day?"

Daniel paused. "What?"

She looked at him blankly. "I'm just confused by it... It doesn't seem like a big deal."

Who doesn't know about Valentines Day??

"I want to know..."

Daniel thought about it. "Well... They gift each other chocolate and confess...or...", he explained, finding his words unsatisfactory.

He looked to find the girl was frowning at his words.

What exactly is this day about?

"It's... It's a day to celebrate love, with the people you love", he spoke resolutely.

He thought about it, love... The people he loved, or rather, the person he loved.

"Love can take many forms...", he continued. The person who had been beside him all this time.

"It could be loving a friend... or a lover... or a stranger" He raised a hand to wipe the moisture forming at the corners of his eyes.

"For me, I love my mom." A faint smile curled on his face. "Even if I'm not the best son, she would care if I suddenly disappeared from this world."

Daniel looked up. "She's the reason why I go on..."

Realizing he'd rambled, a faint blush appeared across his face. "Ah, I'm sorry... I-"

"I see...", she nodded thoughtfully.

He noticed she was holding a crumpled plastic wrap with melted chocolates inside. It wasn't hard to put two and two together.

"Did you get rejected?"

She snapped her gaze to him, displeased. He flinched.

"I guess I did...", she confessed, "People are hard to understand..."

He relaxed at this. "Yeah, you bet..."

"I just wanted to give it to a friend..." She went on, Daniel listened losely.

"I guess I can't gift to someone who already has friends..."

"Maybe he has a girlfriend...", Daniel predicted, seeing an idea light up above her head.

"That's right!", she perked up. "He must have..."

She looked at him, smiling. "Do you have a girlfriend, Daniel?"

He flushed. "N-Of course not!"

She looked pleased by this. "What about friends?"

Daniel thought of Logan, but then again, he was more a slave than a friend. He shook his head.

He was surprised to see her run off. Tilting his head, he thought. What a weirdo...

A few hours later, Daniel walked home alone. Every Valentines Day was hell on earth for him, yet he couldn't help but think.

What if mom thinks the same? He never considered the idea of giving her anything on a day like this. Rummaging through his wallet, he thought about buying her a present.

Before he could, he spotted the same girl running toward him with a relieved face. He was surprised to be faced with her urgency.

She panted as she stopped in front of him, holding onto her knees. "Daniel!"

"Huh?"

She raised her arms, holding out freshly picked wildflowers. The melted chocolate had been refrozen, now weirdly shaped than just liquid.

He gaped.

"Let's be friends!"

Daniel thought back to that day with amusement. After that day, that girl would occasionally poke around him during school. She followed him around like she was his friend, she ended up getting bullied too.

After middle school though, she had to move away.

That was when Daniel realized he never really got her name. She ended up being just a pleasant memory in his past. He even began to theorize he had been hallucinating her existence all this time.

So, when he got the call from his old middle school group that a reunion was going to take place, he jumped at the chance.

Maybe she'd be there...

He immediately returned home and began to sort through his closet.

What was the best way to appear there?

Looking at himself in the mirror, he felt rigid. He usually didn't have to worry about dressing up since he always and only ever wore his school uniform in his old town.

Barely anyone could catch a glimpse of him in home clothes.

After hours of retrying and resorting outfits, he gave up. Laying on the ground, he felt his vision begin to darken as the exhaustion and exhilaration of the day finally overtook him.

When he awoke, he was in his bigger body. He sat up, groaning as he remembered his predicament. Eyeing his sleeping body, he fixated on all his flaws. The features he deemed unseemly.

If he showed up like that, wouldn't he just end up an outcast again?

He looked down at his current figure, an idea forming in his head.

Daniel sat in the grilling place with a nervous deposition; his hands were firmly planted on his thighs as he avoided looking at anyone. His mind was racing.

What would they think? What if they caught onto him?

He waited for hours in his seat, wondering if he'd made a mistake at coming here.

Soon, the restaurant gradually filled with people. They eyed him with curious admiration and confusion.

A girl approached him, Yuna Lee, one of his bullies' girlfriends who used to look at him like he was trash.

He half-expected her to lash out on him, maybe for sitting in a seat she wanted.

Instead, a cute smile splayed across her face as she sat beside him. "Hey there, what's your name?"

More eyes turned to him. Daniel froze, this unexpected development rendering him speechless.

His old schoolmates waited in anticipation for his answer.

"It's me... Daniel"

His words sent everyone into bursts of shock and disbelief. Soon, they were all crowding him with relentless questions. Others stayed at different tables yet looked at him with jealousy or bashfulness.

"Woah Daniel! My man! You've changed!" Who are you? "You still remember me, right? You lent me that pen!" You took it though... "Are you single?" Definitely not for you..

He laughed along with their words, vaguely answering questions.

The attention was all on him tonight.

The day wore on and his classmates ate and conversed. He had rejected about 9 people asking for his number.

And yet... There was still no sign of her.

Those familiar genuine eyes that appeared quite frequently in his dreams.

Is she not going to show up? He held a sullen expression, repeatedly scanning the crowd for even just a glimpse of her.

He looked down at the Yuna who had been stuck on him all night. "uhm.. excuse me.."

She perked up, looking at him with doe eyes. "Yesss?"

Somehow, she reminded him of Zoe.

"Do you perhaps know if another classmate of ours is coming?", he asked earning confused looks.

Yuna blinked. "Who?"

"Well.. I don't know her name but she was about this tall..." He held up his hand, imagining her face.

"Particularly meager, I think she wore her hair in space buns"

Suddenly, laughs began to erupt around him. Even Yuna who had previously only kept a calm and composed look, burst out along with them.

He sweatdropped. What's so funny?

"Oh, you mean, Y/n?", a boy in front of him smirked.

"Y/n..." Her name rolled of his tongue really well. He was quite pleased to finally learn her name.

"Yes..." He replied eagerly.

"She always wore dirty clothes", a whisper came from behind him. "And she smelled of cigarettes", another responded. "The whore."

"Whore?" Daniel furrowed his brows, offended by what he had heard.

"I remember on Valentines Day she tried gifting me something", a guy who had been sucking up to him all day spoke, rubbing his head in annoyance.

Daniel clenched his fist.

"Like, who just confesses to guys with girlfriends?" He scoffed, shaking his head.

She wasn't trying to confess.

"Totally gross man."

His fist hit the table before he could think twice, the loud sound reverberating throughout the room. Onlookers were left exasperated as an angered Daniel glared at the boy. Yuna looked at Daniel with fear for a moment, but it quickly twisted into respect.

"Don't say that about her", he threatened.

Silence gre around him, awkward.

"Hey man! I was just being honest..!", the boy tried to defend himself.

Before Daniel could reply, Yuna had spoken first.

"He's right! Maybe she was just being friendly!" She stuck her tongue out at him, crossing her arms with Daniel.

"Right Danny?"

He stood up, leaving the venue. He felt sick being stuck in that establishment all day just to get his crush become the target of mockery. Again.

He never admitted it but a part of him resented himself for letting someone who was so nice to him be ridiculed. Just like his mom.

He was a coward.

He'd come all this way trying to show off with what? A body that had appeared out of nowhere?

I haven't changed at all... How could I be so proud of this body when I haven't even done anything to deserve it.

At the end of the day, people loved Big Daniel, not the real him.

They would always prefer the more handsome and tall counterpart.

Not some ugly loser.

He managed to find a small bench in the middle of the park, slumping in it. He buried his face in his hands, self-deprication at an all time high.

Fuck...

"Hello? Do you perhaps know were PTJ BBQ House is?"

A familiar voice.

It can't be..

"Anyone home?"

It is.

He shot up in shock, looking up to find the once scrawny girl had grown.

Her cheeks were fuller, her eyes more defined, even her lips seemed less pale than in his dreams.

He flushed. She's still so... beautiful.

"Well?" She frowned, looking impatiently at him.

If only this was my real body...

Panicking, he stammered to answer her only to realize she was heading to the reunion spot.

Then... Maybe we could have showed up together.

He paused, knowing very well what she would end up being greeted with.

And nobody would whisper bad things about her.

His gaze lowered as he debated telling her.

Because she would be hanging out with someone more her level.

"N...n.."

His eyes stung at the thought, knowing he had no right to approach her. She had changed so much and grown a lot, yet he still looked the same as always.

Like a loser.

"Daniel?"

He gasped, looking up. He always fell to the ground when he saw her face was now inches from his, locked in a meticulous observation.

"S-sorry?"

"Hmm..." She leaned back, looking disappointed.

"I apologize. I thought you looked like my friend."

He was perplexed. How did she recognize him? He looked down at himself. I look like this body?

"How so?" Her lips spread into a thin line, embarassed.

"Well.. Your eyes are the same."

His stomach fluttered at this, causing him to straighten up.

Her hand made its way to his face, looking bittersweet.

"But I suppose Daniel wouldn't look like you." She cleared her throat before releasing him.

"His features aren't this sharp, he's a lot cuter that's for sure." She had a rosy tint to her cheeks that made his heart race.

Cute? Daniel thought back to his real body, sleeping in the little hut he called a home in Seoul.

Did she really not mind meeting with someone like that?

"I am Daniel..." He introduced, startling her. She looked suspicious.

"Daniel Park, but I guess not the one you're looking for?"

His smile made her loosen up, she shook his hand.

"Funny enough... I do know another Daniel Park though...", he mentioned. "He said he came from this town."

Her eyes lit up. "Does he wear glasses? He's also got this weird habit of looking nervous."

He nodded.

"That's him!" She looked delighted, clapping her hands together in celebration.

"Is he here too by any chance? We've got a class reunion today", she asked.

Daniel shook his head. He felt his heart being tugged when he saw the way her shoulders rounded as she looked down.

"It's because he's sick..!", He quickly reasoned.

She sighed. "Do... you have his number by any chance?"

He jumped at the opportunity; he couldn't help but grin widely. Whether it was from gratitude or elation, he wasn't sure.

Nevertheless, seeing her doing well after all these years made his day.

Although their reunion was short-lived, it eased his heart. He stood there, never wanting this moment to end. Even after she'd bid him goodbye with a cheerful wave, he didn't leave.

Not even as the sky dimmed and the air grew colder. He only snapped out of his daze by the ping of his phone.

Midorima Shintaro x Crush! Reader

Summary:

Midorima, without fail, always ensures he has his lucky item on-hand before leaving his home.

And each time he does so, without fail, he succeeds in every endeavor he is faced with.

Until you apparently...

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

Much like every other year on Valentines Day, Midorima would always be on the receiving end of some form of hand-made gift or scented letter.

On days like these, he usually bided his time ignoring or rejecting such advancements. Or when he did accept them, they were all going straight past his desk and into Takao's stomach.

That's just how he liked to spend this season of love...

Yet it was this day that he finally got ahold of his feelings.

Recently, a blunt and stand-offish kind of girl had wormed her way into his life. This all started when the teacher had rearranged their seating arrangement and she ended up beside him.

Back then, she had 'accidentally' eaten his lucky item (a meat bun) and he flipped out. He was certain he never wanted to have such a heinous person near him again.

But fate had other plans...

She ended up being fairly smart and was partnered up with him for General Biology 2.

While she remained dutiful to her role as a thorn in his side for the most part, he would never expect the way he was slowly becoming easier and easier to rile up with just a single remark from her.

Anger never came quick to him, or so he though, but now it was just ridiculous.

This would make for a very interesting revelation later on when he found himself without a lucky item one fateful Tuesday morning where everything was going badly.

When he had awoken then, he'd neglected to put his glasses on with his right hand and thus, was forced to repeat falling asleep until he got everything in his routine right.

It was so bad that he'd gotten to school a minute late and WITHOUT his lucky item.

He could feel his hand tremor from the fear that sunk in his heart at the realization. Takao couldn't leave school to fetch it for him either.

A brown octupus with a green ribbon... Where was he to find such a strange thing on campus?!

Perhaps you'd taken pity on him then and approached his pale and frozen stature.

"Are you preparing for death or something?", you teased, earning no response.

Midorima, who had been pushed far beyond his limit, glared at you.

"I might as well be..."

Then he left.

He figured that was the end of it all until you came running during third period, sweat dripping down your face. You took an audacious seat beside him, not even bothering to wear your safety goggles.

"What is it now?!", he grumbled.

Grinning, you reach your hand into your bag and pulled out... a bottle?

He seemed puzzled by this until you put it down, slapped a picture of an octopus on it and tied a very sloppily colored ribbon on it.

"Ta-da!"

"What the hell is this?"

"Your dumb zodiacs state that lucky items count for as long as their tangible", you bragged. "Meaning symbols count too"

He wore a disgusted look but was desperate. Later that day, he looked it up and saw that it was true.

But how had you of all people known that?

When he opened his shoe locker to go home, he found a pile of flowers, chocolates, and letters inside.

It's Valentines Day...

He thought back to earlier with the strange gift...and it clicked.

His mind had laid out a distorted image of her frantically trying to guess what might have upset him and discovered his issue.

Then, she must have deliberately gone the extra mile to soothe his worries...

She had liked him all along!

He could feel his heart racing at the thought.

What a tsundere... I thought she hated me. He scoffed in amusement. as he eyed the little contraption in his bag.

Although it's not like it's cute or anything...

Attempt #1

Midorima had checked the calendar beforehand to ensure it his moon signs were aligning, and by some miracle, it was just this specific year that they did.

Today was White Day, the occasion where all the boys who had received chocolates and confessions on Febuary 14, would reciprocate their feelings to the girl of their dreams.

Even something as mundane and simple as confessions had to be perfected however, otherwise who knows what could ensue?

"And for the Cancer, today's lucky item is...", Oha Asa's voice spoke from his walkman as he flattened his hair in the mirror. "A Green Ribbon."

He perked up. It was like the stars were telling him it was his time!

Leaving Oha Asa in the bathroom, he ran to his study desk where her quaint little gift sat tie with a green ribbon wrapped around it.

He smiled, feeling a familiar warmth fill his chest.

At school, he remembered Takao's advice. Cute gestures won the hearts of many girls.

He slid a small note on your beaker with the place being the sakura tree behind the school after class.

Everything was going well, it was even a Friday today! And according to an old wives' tale, it meant your true love would surely return your feelings!

He straightened up, his sleeve covering up the green ribbon tied to his wrist as he waited by the tree. The wind blew as sakura petals fell around him, nothing could go wrong.

He held his breath as you appeared, looking confused.

"What did you need, Mido-kun?"

"Well I need to be honest...", he started, a blush appearing on his cheeks. "I like..."

"Hey! Shin-chan! Come play with us!"

He looked over to find the other Generation of Miracles walking over.

He could almost commit homicide.

Fail!

Attempt #2

The next day, Midorima returns with renewed vigor after nearly choking Kise to death.

Kuroko had given him some advice to not worry about making grand gestures and just let her know how he felt. While he took precaution from listening to the little twerp, the fact that Momoi was so in love with him was all the credibility the green-haired boy needed.

As he sat in Biology class, he couldn't help but watch carefully as you fiddled with a strand of your hair, not listening to the teacher at all.

he decided to make his move.

"Hey, L/n-san", he called.

You whipped your head around lazily, your smile tugged at his heart strings. "Yeah?"

"You see... There is a new and profound way the light frames your face today", he began, his breath shallow but he persisted.

He proceeded to pour his heart out, not realizing you'd been distracted as every word left his heart. "Like the way scholars worship knowledge, I believe I was enraptured all the same by... by...!"

"by that...or rather who is in my heart... that's why I confess that..."

"Why's there a fish?"

He froze, looking down at the tank in his hand.

"Ah it's your lucky item", you concluded. "I didn't know you were this passionate about them"

He went silent after that and didn't talk even to Takao.

He went home discouraged.

You thought he was talking about the fish?

Fail!

Attempt #3

As the saying goes, third times a charm. This time, Midorima would tell you straight without hesitation.

His confession must be precise and concise to register into your overcrowded mind. Last night, he spent hours brainstorming the best way to word his confession. It would bring you to tears, you had to understand.

He would make it so.

He had to.

"L/n-san, I've got to tell you something..." He nears.

Giving him an apologetic glance, you step away.

"Sorry... I've got to go somewhere.."

He grabs your wrist. "Please wait!"

"Just a second, please...", he pleads.

Deciding to hear him out, you stop walking.

"Yes?"

"There is a 99.9% chance I have feelings for you", he says it straight out.

...

When you don't respond, his composure stalls. The hours he spent congesting his confession into a single sentence was thrown out the window as everything else he wanted to say flooded his head.

He debated whether to say anything else but he reminded himself to give her time to think.

No. Don't say anything. No. No. No.

No this is totally fine...

NO! Don't you dare, Shintaro!

"Are you asking me out?"

"No!" He curses himself for his outbburst.

"Okay..."

You leave.

Midorima falls to his knees, he was about to slam his fist into the ground but remembered it could damage his hands, and therefore, lower the probablity of his shots.

How could I make such a mistake?!

Fail!

Attempt #4

"Today is an unlucky romance day for Cancers", Aho Asa stated as he is on his way to school with flowers and chocolates.

Fail!

Attempt #5

"Today is an unlucky romance day for (Your zodiac sign)", Aho Asa stated as he has already brought you to the Sakura tree once more.

"What did you bring me here, Mido-kun?", you asked.

Midorima dropped his gaze, trying to hold back a groan as he covered his eyes.

"Do you remember what the Biology homework is?", he asked, looking to the side with a regretful expression.

"Wow! Mido-kun?? Forgetting something important?!" You teased, laughing.

"Did you get a confession or something? You're never distracted during class"

"None..."

Fail!

Attempt #6

Midorima came to school today with a tired disposition. He met with Takao who had brought him a white handkerchief for his lucky item.

Parking his little cart beside Midorima's house, he called for the boy who was quick to emerge from his home. Seeing him, Takao's eyebrows shot upward.

A strand of his hair was sticking up, his glasses were crooked, he's even forgotten to fasten the first button of his polo.

"Shin-chan.. what happened to you?"

He didn't say a word and boarded the cart. "Just drive..."

As they made their way to school, Midorima sighed as he did his best to fix his appearance. What a shameful state to arrive to school in...

As they entered campus, Midorima looked for you first. It was as though his body ran in autopilot as he tugged on you.

"Eh?", you looked up at him. He was holding your sleeve, in fact he was now pulling you away with it.

"Hey! What gives?!"

He stopped when you both arrived at the back of the school.

"L/n-san", he spoke, his voice entirely serious.

"You look tired", you pointed out. He looked like he was going to run away but he didn't.

Planting his feet firmly in place, he tucked his lucky item into his pocket and held your hands in his.

"Huh?"

"I initiallly thought you were insufferable"

You deadpanned. "WoW"

"However recently, I have found myself thinking about you more often...", he continued.

"So, when you gave me that gift on Valentines Day, well, your confession made me want to reciprocate it..."

You paused.

"My confession?"

He nodded eagerly.

"You thought I was confessing?"

His face fell.

Fail!

Your shoulders rounded as you squeezed his palms. His heart skipped a beat as he wondered whether to feel dejected or happy.

Your face twisted into laughter. The sound of your voice sent a horrible sensation crawling up his spine.

"I only made that thing because you looked so miserable!", you explained.

He felt like his soul was slowly departing from his body.

Somewhere in the area, a crow cawed as Midorima seemed to be frozen in place.

He was on the verge of crashing out.

"But... is that why you've been acting strange lately?", you brought up.

"You've been trying to confess?"

He wanted the ground to bury him. He wanted to deny it. He wanted to run away and ignore you for the rest of his life.

"The sakura tree was a confession?"

But he wasn't capable of something so cowardly.

"Yes..."

"I thought you were showing off your fish?"

"I am aware.."

"I thought you were sharing a 99.9% scientific fact!"

"I am aware..."

"You're serious about this?!"

Despite his fear, he nodded.

"I like you, L/n-san... I have, for a long while now...", he conceded.

"Will you go out with me?"

He closed his eyes, bracing for rejection after making a huge fool of himself.

"Heh.. I like you too"

Success?

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

Various! KnB x Manager! Reader

Summary:

Where prioritizing college credits gets you into being the manager of Fukuda Sogo, leading you into a month-long hellscape disguised as a summer training camp in the mountains.

With your future, your relationships, and your reputation on the line...

It's up to you to reform this failing team and keep yourself from getting dropped.

Chapter Seven Chapter Nine

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

Chapter Eight: Late Night Talks

Training Camp Day Four — 3 a.m.

A cold dewy morning greeted you as you peeled your eyes open to be met with the unadultered, cold stares of your fellow managers. About to scream, Yuki covered your mouth with a teasing grin as she gestured towards a snoring Araki-sensei in the corner.

Looking at their faces, they seemed to have something important to say. Slowly, you sat up and Yuki took back her palm.

"So? Any context for this jumpscare of a morning?, you asked, a vein popping in your neck.

Momoi nodded furiously. "It's important!"

Riko added. "Crucial!"

Yuki closed in, speaking lowly. "Vital"

"You're being dramatic! Did something happen?"

"You mean someone...", Momoi snickered, as all three girls flocked around you closer and closer.

"Multiple someones..."

You backed away. "Riko... Not you too..!"

"Do you perhaps like anyone here, L/n-chan?", She asked, looking earnestly at you. "You do right? And it's our Kagami?"

She was holding onto your hand with stars in her eyes.

Yuki pushed her away. "No! It's Himuro!"

Momoi chuffed from the side. "Fools! It's obviously Akashi-kun!"

"None of them!", you hissed, trying not to wake Araki-sensei. "Why are we having this conversation??!"

"But..! Summer camp is the best place for a romance arc!", The pink-haired girl whined.

"This is a basketball training camp."

Yuki shook her head. "Denial! A classic Symptom!"

Riko nodded, laughing along.

"You guys... Cut it out!!", you yelled, raising your arms in the air.

"You bastards...", Araki-sensei's growl made you all freeze in place.

You looked at the other three and they were waiting with baited breathes, Momoi was even closing her eyes in fear. You couldn't help the shake in your hand as she approached.

"You're all wrong, that green kid's best friend is the best", she suddenly spoke.

You fell back in relief but then realized what she said. "Wait what?!"

Araki-sensei looked up to reveal an equally sinister smile. "Don't think I didn't hear about your little study session", she cackled.

"You young bloods are alright...", she tipped her imaginary hood, making you deadpan.

"I think that's gang talk..."

"Look... I don't know what any of you are talking about...", you laughed sacrastically.

"I mean, I've only known all of you for like three days!"

"Four", Riko corrected.

"That's more than enough time", Momoi countered, pouting.

Yuki nodded.

"You guys suck!"

That was when a loud bang was heard from outside the door.

"Why're all the lights on?!", Kagetora's loud voice rumbled through the inn as Riko got up and opened it.

"My daughter! Why aren't any of you kids-" He stopped when he saw Araki had given him a malevolent glare.

"Ah nevermind...! SOrry for bothering you ladies!", he sung, leaving immediately which made you chuckle.

"Don't think this is over yet, L/n", Yuki rested her hand on your shoulder.

You slowly looked back with bloodshot eyes. "Please let me sleep"

"No."

Dining Hall — 6 a.m.

You ate alone in the mess hall as everyone seemed to be in a rush today. The only other girls here seemed to have deliberately kept themselves busy so that you could have your "organic encounters" or whatever that meant.

It didn't help that your head was killing you and that the soup today tasted vaguely of protein.

Must be Seirin's food again...

As you ate away, Kagami sat across from you with a friendly wave that you reciprocated.

"Do you happen to know where everyone is?", you quized earning a shrug.

"Kagetora let us stay in a little later because of last night's ruckus", he murmured, cracking his neck. "Couldn't sleep... wonder who the assholes staying up late were..."

You had to hold yourself back from flinching. "Haha yeah.. I wonder.."

As you ate, Kagami seemed to be deep in thought as he had left his food alone. He was just staring at you.

"Hello?" You knocked on his head. "Anyone home?"

He backed up, stammering. "S-sorry.."

You chuckled. "You're funny..."

"Can i ask a question though?"

He looked up from his food and at you. "Yeah?"

"How'd you manage to... you know...", you began. Your eyes trailed outside then back at him.

"Well, you're last years winners after all..."

He looked puzzled. "What are you getting at here?"

"Which...couldn't have been easy?", you bit your lip. "So...how?"

It took him a second, but he laughed at this.

His laugh was rough.

Loud.

It sent your stomach into a frenzy.

"That's what I'm thinking too honestly", he looked down at his hands.

"I guess it's because of Kuroko"

"The chibi?"

"Yeah...you wouldn't believe it!"

Kagami went on to tell you about the entire year. How Kuroko had changed his basketball beliefs and given him the push to get better.

A lot better.

How the Generation of Miracles seemed to have this weird monarchy dynamic since they were full of egotistical prodigies.

Somehow, Kuroko had won a mentality battle against the "best to ever do it" in their generation and it won them the tournament.

"It still feels surreal honestly...", he conceded. "I wonder how worse I could've been if I'd chosen another school... or not listened to him at all."

You whistled, "I don't think it would've gone any different."

His eyes widened at this. "What makes you think so?"

"It's hard to imagine Kagami being any less I guess...", you confessed.

His breath hitched at your words before he settled back down in his spot. The air around you suddenly felt hot as he tugged on the collar of his muscle shirt.

To distract himself, he looked down and ate whilst trying to calm the racing thoughts. You don't notice his inner turmoil though as you patted his head.

He bit his cheek again but strained himself not to make a sound.

"Why're you up so early though", you asked.

"I was a bit worried since I thought we had cooking duty today but looks like I was wrong", he mumbled, taking a bite of the food.

"Oh, but you are! Riko-chan cooked-"

He looked up in horror, his mouth full.

Later, you found yourself at the infirmary as Kagami was in the middle of being resuscitated by the coaches.

Watching them, you fearfully held your own stomach.

"Ah!" A lightbulb lit above your head. "That's right! I have plot armor today since it's a big game!"

You gleefully left the office to wake your team while the sounds of Kagetora's cries reverberated in agony.

"Don't die Kagami! We can't lose you now!!"

Summary:

Where prioritizing college credits gets you into being the manager of Fukuda Sogo, leading you into a month-long hellscape disguised as a summer training camp in the mountains.

With your future, your relationships, and your reputation on the line-it's up to you to reform this failing team and keep yourself from getting dropped.

Genres YA, Romance, Summer Camp Trope, xReader

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

Episodes

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Prologue

Being the manager for a team full of pushovers, delinquents, and extras is no laughing matter.

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Chapter One

Haizaki and Makoto are two bitches in the same family tree but at least there's cute girls to help.

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Chapter Two

It's only day one and you're already getting fucked over.

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Chapter Three

At least there are cute boys...

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Chapter Four

Thanks the heavens for Takao...

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Chapter Five

It's only day two?!

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Chapter Six

Akashi your mental illness is showing...

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Chapter Seven

Going to the mountains are a surefire way to get romanced, or mauled by a bear.

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Chapter Eight

Ooh~ They're on to youuuuu~

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Chapter Nine

The truth is unveiled!

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Chapter Ten

To be uploaded..

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Chapter Eleven

To be uploaded..

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Chapter Twelve

To be uploaded..

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Chapter Thirteen

To be uploaded..

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Chapter Fourteen

To be uploaded..

☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ Chapter Fifteen

To be uploaded..

More soon...

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

Ending Routes

Haizaki Shogo

Kazunari Takao

Kagami Taiga

Tatsuya Himuro

Akashi Seijuro

Other possible routes will be foreseen in the near future

Various! Knb x Manager! Reader

Summary:

Where prioritizing college credits gets you into being the manager of Fukuda Sogo, leading you into a month-long hellscape disguised as a summer training camp in the mountains.

With your future, your relationships, and your reputation on the line...

It's up to you to reform this failing team and keep yourself from getting dropped.

Chapter Six Chapter Eight

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

Chapter Seven: Cops and Robbers

After the initial debut match, you've started noticing the watchful stares that follow you as you go about your managerial duties. Each time was required to play just a single match a day to avoid burnout due to the unavoidable heat of the summer.

With your matchups wrapped up, Fukuda Sogo and Shutoku were now on their way to the mountainous race track the coaches had prepared. Apparently playing cops and robbers here was what allowed the rest of Seirin to really sharpen their senses.

Tightening the pant string across your waist, you readied yourself for hours under the sun.

Hiking up the mountain with everyone else, the walk was silent. Suddenly, an arm was slung around your shoulder.

You whipped around to find Takao with a grin, holding up a peace sign.

"Heya!", he greeted.

You relaxed, smiling. "Hey..."

"Y'know... I'm half-debating if it was a good idea to teach you about basketball after all...." He looked off to the side at Midorima who was doing his best to ignore the scene.

"Shin-chan was totally thrown off his game!"

"Shut up!"

His remark irked the green-haired boy who sent him a glare. Takao stuck out his tongue, turning to you.

"But really...", his voice softened. "You're really smart."

You blushed, "Thanks..."

"You might even put a certain someone to shame!", he cackled as Shin-chan threw a baseball his way.

Wait what?

Your eyes trained down to the cylinder in his hands. Midorima seemed to notice this and stated, "This is my lucky item for today."

Takao sighed. "He always has such strong faith in his superstitions, especially when it comes to basketball."

"Hmph" Midorima smirked. "We ended up winning because of it"

"See what I mean??", Takao groaned.

As you all walked higher, the air grew thinner and it became harder to breathe. As someone who's unaccustomed to sports, you were on your knees before you could even make it half way through.

"Are they trying to kill us or something?!", you heaved, hunched over as you walked.

Takao snickered as the group began to walk further and further. He hesitated for a bit but grabbed your hand.

"Come on... I'll even drag you all the way up."

He squeezed your hand. You were about to smile but then you were suddenly pulled back.

"Huh?"

Your eyes widened to see Haizaki, his hand gripping your shoulder as he glared at Takao.

"What do you think you're doing?", you interrogated, earning a shush from him. Right there, you noticed he had his braids taken out.

His hair had reverted back to its messy countenance in middle school with the added fact that it was now a dyed black. When did he even get those done?

As you were lost in your thoughts, you'd failed to witness the glaring contest that had taken place between the two boys.

Haizaki momentarily broke his gaze to look at Midorima who was standing silently at the side. Then he made up his mind.

"Listen here, I've got a strategy to talk about with my manager, asshole", he spat, forcing you behind him.

You blinked in confusion, looking at Takao who seemed annoyed. He seemed to be waiting for your opinion. You sighed, nodding.

He forced a fake smile and nodded. "Then... We'll go first then...", he stiffly spoke, walking off with Midorima.

"I'll see you later, manager-chan.."

Left alone with Haizaki, you socked him above the head. He yelped.

"What the hell?!"

You simply crossed your arms. He huffed.

"Coaches said no fraternizing, aren't you supposed to be a stickler to the rules?", he grumbled, avoiding your gaze.

"So you didn't have anything to talk about?"

He was quiet.

"So you're jealous or something?"

He shot up. "No!"

"Rigghhtttt...", you squinted at him. "Look, if you're mad about me hanging with one of your old teammates, try not to drag their new friends into it"

Realizing you were misunderstanding, Haizaki made a move to correct you but stopped. "S-Shut it..."

You straightened up, fidgeting your legs who were long past their limit.

He bit his lip. "Get on"

"What?"

He crouched down in front of you, his hands behind his back. "Get on! Or I'll leave you behind!", he gruffly shouted.

"Jeez, is this a cheesy drama or something?", you try to laugh it off but he doesn't budge.

instead, he impatiently clicks his tongue. You decide to accept, all to ease the throbbing in your legs. "Don't make me regret this..."

"Whatever..." he stiffened slightly as you placed your legs at his sides, but he was quick to adapt and lift you up on his back.

He seemed surprised.

"What?", you asked. He looked straight.

"You're heavy"

"Asshole" You smacked his back earning a grunt. When you wobbled because of it, you quickly flattened your palms on the flat of his back.

He paused, readjusting his grip as though to secure you in his hold.

The path forward had started to widen. A few meters ahead, Takao's voice cut through the serenity of the forest. Close enough to reach.

Yet Haizaki didn't quicken his pace. Instead, he remained in an unbothered rhythm.

You frowned but you didn't say a word, just enjoying the silence. That's when you noticed the red tint of his ears.

"Huh? How long have you been under the sun?" You finger tapped his ears.

"You're growing a burn, did you not wear any of the sunscreen??"

He coughed which made you sigh. "Lucky for you, I've brought some up with me"

He hummed aimlessly. "Put some on me then..." He looked back at you.

His gaze grew tender and his voice lacked any of its usual bite. His heart was pounding in his chest as she thought about it. Then...

"Nah" "I wasn't serious, who gives a shit about a little sun?" He snapped, finally reaching the top of the mountain.

You laughed, not noticing the hint of disappointment in his eyes. He lowered you down carefully and you stretched, fully revitalized from your little break.

The coaches led the teams away, leaving you with the equipment.

Hideki had huddled over with the team; you were surprised to see Haizaki among them. One of your benchwarmers was even leaning his arm against his shoulder.

He didn't shrug it off at all. The corners of your mouth inched up.

Mountains— 3 p.m.

Once the teams had finished their back-and-forth game of cops and robbers, it was finally time to descend the mountain. Everyone was slowly returning to clearing, you stood up and began handing out water bottles.

Takao walked over, noticeably sweatier than the others. You smiled sympathetically, offering the bottle to him.

He panted, winking at you. "Thanks, manager-chan..." He chuckled, taking another one for Midorima.

"We won, don't I deserve a reward?", he proudly gestures to his team.

You giggle. "I'll leave that to your coach" He simpered before running to Midorima.

You watched his body lean on the taller boy, on the verge of passing out. I wonder what happened out there...

"You gonna keep looking at rival boy, over there?", a snarky voice asked.

You looked over at Hideki, noticing he had a teasing smile on his face. If he wasn't your senior, you would've hit him.

"Rival?"

"Nothing nothing.... Ah, young love..", his wistfully beamed.

When he left with his bottle, you could hear him cursing Haizaki under his breath in a light manner.

Soon, everyone had gotten their share of water except for one. You looked at the bottle in your hand, wondering who had decided to withhold water from themselves so willingly.

It didn't take long for you to figure it out as Haizaki arrived a moment later, shirt and pants stained in mud. His face was scraped like he'd just been tussling for the last scrap of food.

"You look like hell", you commented.

"Don't" was all he said before walking off.

Dinner -- 6 p.m.

You ate with your team as they discussed game plans for tomorrow since you'd be pitted against Kaijou High, more specifically, Miracle Kise a.k.a the Bane of Haizaki's existence.

"Why were you even such an asshole...", you mumbled through chews, "He's probably really nice"

Haizaki shot you a glare as Hideki did his best to mediate the situation.

"I was thinking tomorrow we leave Kise to Haizaki tomorrow", Mochizuki suggested.

"And?"

"Honestly I think you guys did pretty well for a team with no coordination" You said, thinking back to the winter cup game results Momoi had shown you.

"It was just that Kise's perfect copy was a league ahead of your ability"

"Yeah, yeah I get it! He's so much better!", Haizaki blabbered, fiercely eating his food.

"It just means we need to find a way around it" You turn to Hideki who seemed worried.

"Any ideas, captain?"

"Well... Yeah actually..."

From a distance, as your team gathered around the small dining table speaking under with hushed breathes... You were noticeably a lot more relaxed than when you first arrived. It was an impressively short amount of time, yet the results were starting to form.

He couldn't help but feel a small smile form on his face, forgetting about the eating competition he was in.

You let out a loud laugh at something someone said. He faltered for a moment, nearly choking on his meatball.

Murasakibara took this chance to steal from the Seirin's ace and stuff it into his mouth.

"Hey whatchu getting distracted for?!", Aomine complained, nudging Kagami who now accidentally bit his own cheek.

"Nothing...!" His tame response was followed by aggressive eating while glaring at the blue-haired boy.

This strange display did not go unnoticed by little Kuroko who was sat between Akashi and Kise. The latter seemed to be looking at Fukuda Sogo's table too with a curious expression.

Akashi hummed, looking at Midorima who was at the head of the table. "I know what you're thinking", He started, looking down at Akashi. "I don't know either."

Momoi who had been eavesdropping slid between them, smiling coyly. "That's because you're both clueless boys", she clicked her tongue playfully.

"I'm sure Kise-kun knows very well..."

Kise blinked, looking at them with a blank face.

"That's none of my business what he does with his life", he scoffed.

"Who cares if he's changed? He still hates me."

"I have a feeling this is all going to come to ahead soon...", Midorima said, thinking back to earlier's incident. "Especially after..."

Momoi snapped to look at him. "After what?", she smiled darkly.

The former looked away, knowing very well Takao had asked him to keep Haizaki's little outburst a secret. But seeing as who the people present were, things hidden in the dark were more than likely to come out into the light...

which was more than a certain someone could say, especially with what he had planned.

Various! Knb x Manager! Reader

Summary:

Where prioritizing college credits gets you into being the manager of Fukuda Sogo, leading you into a month-long hellscape disguised as a summer training camp in the mountains.

With your future, your relationships, and your reputation on the line...

It's up to you to reform this failing team and keep yourself from getting dropped.

Chapter Five Chapter Seven

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

Chapter 6: Trial

Training Camp Day Three — 9 a.m.

Sitting by the bleachers, you held your stomach as you waited for everyone else to slowly fill up the gym. You had decided breakfast wasn't worth having when you were going to end up puking it all out of nervousness.

Today your team's actual first chance at getting any experience in this camp that wasn't just antagonizing everyone else or picking fights.

Hearing the sound of the gymnasium door open, you perked up to find none other than Rakuzan's captain enter and make a beeline for you.

Your eyes widened as you instinctively clutched your notebook. This guy was known for being ruthless and a total dictator throughout the entire season of last year.

So why was he approaching you?

"Hello, L/n-san", he greeted with a smile.

The first thing you noticed about him was that he seemed much more friendly than you expected. After all whenever anyone talked about him, they acted like he was inducing PTSD every time he showed up to a game. Yet why was that so-called psychopath looking so... normal?

"Ah.. good morning... What brings you here so early?", you awkwardly asked, looking at him. You fought off the urge to look away as he spoke.

"I came to observe"

His smile didn't change. "Fukuda Sogo seems interesting this year"

"Ah you mean Haizaki?", you guessed since apparently he'd been on the same team as him during middle school.

"I suppose it's not abnormal to be interested in an old teammate" You smiled, rubbing the back of your neck.

"Not Haizaki", he started, "I'm interested in you."

His remark made you do a double take, "W-what?!"

You flushed, dropping your notebook. Akashi didn't react to your panic, simply offering a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"No need to be alarmed" He knealt down before you. "It's not a personal interest"

"That doesn't make it better", you muttered, looking off to the side with a red face.

He grabbed the fallen paper and handed it to you. "I was just curious is all"

You looked at the notebook suspiciously.

He laughs quietly. "It's just that everyone came here with coaches... I recall your form stated you were a manager."

"I am" He didn't seem to believe you. "For Fukuda Sogo"

"Hey", you frowned, glaring at him. "You watch what you're implying, Akashi-san..."

It was like he was asking why a school who couldn't even send a proper team of staff was attending the same camp as them. It was true but that didn't mean he had any right looking down on you or your team.

"I don't mean to question your position, just the function of it"

Your eye twitched.

"That's what questioning is...."

He stood up, his smile never faltering despite your newfound hostility.

"Fair enough..."

Silence followed the two of you until people started entering the gymnasium. He looked over and seemed to realize practice matches would begin soon.

"Don't misunderstand, L/n-san" He gave you one last look. "I hope you fair well despite your unusual situation..."

You nodded hesitantly, before realizing you never snatched your notebook back from him.

"Hey wait!"

-Timeskip-

Gymnasium — 9: 32 a.m.

Shutoku settled into formation with a practiced calm as Midorima eyed Haizaki who was in the center of the court. Mister Kagetora's whistle tipped the game off as Haizaki leapt for the ball.

Shutoku's Otsubo fought for the ball against his impatient grasp, sending it flying out of reach. Your eyes followed the ball as it descended.

"Shit", you uttered as it fell towards none other than the green giant. He took a step, then another, then without dribbling he received the ball and shot it.

Afterwards, he adjusted his glasses and turned back as Shutoku changed formation instantly before it could even reach the rim.

Fukuda Sogo 0 - 3 Shutoku

"Full court?! Already?!", someone from your bench gasped.

Shutoku's captain grabbed hold of the ball, their forward speeding through Hideki as Mochizuki rushed to help.

He wove through them. Haizaki stole his dribbling, successfully stealing the ball.

He spun around for their ring, only for Takao to take hold of the ball.

Before anyone could react, it was too late. It was headed for Midorima.

Catch. Set. Shoot.

"And green..." You spoke, agape.

Fukuda Sogo 0 - 6 Shutoku

"Stop panicking..! Follow the plan..", you reminded Haizaki who had positioned near you.

"Tch!"

His stubborness was causing the team structure to crumble as point after point furthered the gap in scores.

"Substitution!", Kagetora called out, "Number 6 out! Number 9 in!"

"What?!", Haizaki raged, "You messing with me, manager?!"

He yelped as he was wrestled off court by your benched players.

The game went on as Haizaki stood in front of you with a dark glare. "I'm gonna kill yer pretty ass"

"Sit down", You grabbed his jersey, forcing him beside you.

He blinked, being sat against his will. "What the fuck?!"

"Shut up for a second, look." You pointed towards the game as number 9 screened Midorima, forcing him to pass.

This put the ball on the captain, who tried for a layup. "See what happens when you follow my lead", you told him.

Shutoku was blocked by Mochizuki who threw the ball at number 9, Hideki and Number 2 guarded Takao.

Midorima reached out to push the ball away, only for your Number 1 to grab it and perform a layup, successfully scoring at last.

Fukuda Sogo 2 - 12 Shutoku

"Get it, Haizaki?", you looked at him, taking in his nasty glower.

"Why can't you just lower your pride for once?", you ask, growing frustrated with him.

"Shut up. You wouldn't understand"

"Why because you can't gain anything from playing fair?", you shot.

He covered his ears, hunching over to ignore you. "Look, if you listen just this once I'll do you a favor!"

This seemed to get him interested.

"Spend the night with me", he immediately asked.

You grimaced. "No"

"Then I'm not doing it."

"Stay benched then", you huffed. "That'll show Kise you're still a little shit who can't beat him."

You had your arms crossed, not looking at him. You didn't notice the way he steeled and even raised his fist at you. Before he could land a blow though, he locked eyes with Aomine and he put it down.

"Fine...", he started. "I'll play your game once."

You turned to face him, beaming.

Fukuda Sogo 14 - 21 Shutoku

Gymnasium — 11: 47 a.m.

The crowd was silent as the match buzzed to an end with a triumphant score. Shutoku was quiet as the last ball fell into their net, along with your own gasp of disbelief.

Your members were panting in place as the Momoi flipped Fukuda Sogo's score up by three, the board displaying the match results.

Fukuda Sogo 74 - 77 Shutoku

It was close, really freaking close. Another three-pointer and you could've tied. Nevertheless, everyone was expecting a total domination. For a debut, and against a team with a miracle, it was a favorable outcome.

You smiled as Hideki rushed over while the others followed suite.

"Congrats, losers!", you exclaimed, slapping his back. "That was a lot better than I expected, y'know!"

Mochizuki looked proud of himself as he looked at his hands while Haizaki kept a grumpy expression. All game he'd stuck to Midorima, messing with him as much as he could. Every shot he made was right after playing support for one of his teammates.

The entire game was demeaning for him. Yet he didn't hate how Midorima looked at him in disbelief.

That bastard must've started looking down on him after he lost to that damn Kise. Next time, he wouldn't lose a one-on-one with Midorima.

"Though since you all lost, it's 50 laps around the gym!", you grinned earning a series of groans from the entire team.

As they left, you decided to retrieve the water bottles and refill them. Picking them up, you left the gym.

Now left to your own devices, you don't notice a person tailing after you.

"Hm... you did quite well", an amused voice reached your ears.

You didn't need to look to see who it was.

"Akashi-san... You're not following me, are you?", you looked over.

"Allow me to help" Was what he said but he'd already taken spot beside you and started filling bottles up.

Once the job was done, he helped you take the bottles back to the dorms. You kept silent the entire time and so did he.

Reaching the shared room, you set the bottles down beside Fukuda Sogo's futons while Akashi stood behind you with a pondering gaze.

"Well? Got anything to say?"

"Of course not..."

"I have a feeling you're lying..." You sighed, rubbing your temples. "Y'know, acting charming isn't going to get you anywhere so can you just tell me why you're here?

He seemed surprised. Whether it was because you'd seen through him or because you had the nerve to act like that... you weren't sure.

"To be honest..." The corners of his mouth inched upward.

This time it wasn't that polite facade you'd been getting all morning.

He let the anticipation nestle in the air for a bit before speaking up.

"it's not because of Fukuda Sogo..." He seemed a bit embarassed yet he kept speaking with a straight face.

"I'm glad..."

You tilted your head at this. Glad?

"That he's started using his talent properly", he explained.

"You mean Hazaki?"

"Haizaki Shogo...", he smoothly corrected, you could've sworn his tone became stricter when he did.

"He's always been inefficient. So much so that even I, never truly bothered to cultivate his value"

He must be talking about middle school. You concluded.

"You've reigned him in, albeit briefly"

You couldn't say a word as heat climbed up your neck. "It's..it's not a big deal.."

Akashi reached for your hand, you gasped.

"That's not something to take lightly", he mused, looking into your eyes.

"You've done something remarkable" He opened your palm and placed the notebook he'd mistakenly taken earlier.

By now your breath had become shallow, you frantically snatched your hand back from him and run away. You were sure you were as red as a tomato by now, you couldn't dare show yourself to another person.

Flattery did get him somewhere! FUck!

You groaned, leaning onto the gymnasium walls. There was a strange flutter in your chest as your thoughts ended up on a certain someone.

You wondered they would congratulate you the same. The idea churning in your stomach.

Meanwhile...

Akashi watched your retreating figure with a look of merriment. Ever since Kuroko had beaten him last year and restored his personality, he's been slowly discovering parts of himself he otherwise, would have never found.

Like how winning was not the "end all be all" of his favorite sport.

or

Like how he could feel empathy for an old teammate that he'd replaced in the past.

He knew his actions could have definitely contributed to the way Haizaki ended up, which was why it eased him to see someone who could deal with him.

Who could do what he had chosen not to.

Akashi may have been absolute, but loss had taught him that he could be wrong even if it was very rare.

A person's potential couldn't be measured unless one could see the future of not just one person, but the whole world.

This thought made him think of a nervous little manager.

Maybe he could allow himself a little reprieve from his 24/7 productivity tendencies by looking into a newfound interest.

A personal interest.

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

Question!!

Who should I make a Male Lead? We've got Kagami, Himuro, Akashi, Haizaki, and Takao so far... Should I include all the GOM? What about the other side characters?

Murasakibara Atsushi x Monster! Reader

Summary:

Murasakibara wanders into a 24/7 open convenience store in the middle of a dangerous neighbourhood where a (seemingly) otherworldly cashier warns him to walk home with his eyes straight ahead and to never look back .

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

The gleam of the moonlight washed across the dark street as Murasakibara shuffled in his bed, eyes peeling open to gaze upon the blue light of his smartphone.

January 12, Thursday 11:34pm

He groaned, rolling over to his side. Himuro would never let him hear the end of it if he was late to practice, especially not after they lost to Seirin.

It wasn't even a big deal. He thought, grumbling as he rubbed his eyes. He didn't care that they lost.

Or rather, the truama of losing had resulted in him blocking out the realization that he had cried over losing a game. This realization made him frown as he fought to sleep.

Suddenly, his stomach grumbled which made him perk up. He slowly rose from his bed, lugging his large body across his room to pick up a yellow padded jacket.

Himuro can't stop me if he isn't here... or if he doesn't know.

Right then, he left his home with renewed vigor as he listened to the growls of his appetite. He can't beat Kagami if he loses muscle from malnutrition right?

He walked towards his usual spot only to discover it was closed.

Strange... He wondered, scratching his head in annoyance. Where was he supposed to get food now?

Roaming about aimlessly, he looked up at the sky only for a bit of snow to fall on his nose. The winter cup had been almost over two weeks ago and it was still snowing so much in Akita.

He contemplated abandoning his snack venture when he remembered spotting a Daily Yamazaki store a few blocks away when he was heading to Tokyo. It was only for a moment, but he could recall it had a sign that held a 50% off deal for late night buyers.

"Mmm... steamed buns", he hummed, licking his lips hungrily.

As though in a trance, he hurried his pace and by the time he came to, he was face-to-face with a store he'd never seen before.

Unlike usual, this Daily Yamazaki was blue colored and the thick glass walls were fogged out. It was eerily quiet where he stood. In fact, he couldn't even make out the sounds of crickets or strays digging for food.

He was alone.

Looking over at his phone, his eyes widened as quite a bit of time had passed.

January 13, Friday 1:10am

Right then, his phone died in his hands. He cursed under his breath, deciding to make quick work of this trip.

Pushing open the store's doors, he found a girl at the register in a white dress. Her appearance was disheveled and he somehow, he couldn't discern an exact description of her features. Her eyes were firmly planted onto her phone, bloodshot with dark bags lining beneath them.

The store had a light and bubbly ambiance, a stark contrast to the solemn air of the neighborhood outside. Matter of fact, what neighborhood was he in right now? He scanned through the aisles, finding the misted steamer where a variety of strangely named buns sat.

His brows furrowed at the names.

Cheek Meat Bao... Forearm Roll Bun... Torso Slice Bun...

"What kind of names are these?", he gasped, the air around him growing noticeably haunting.

The girl at the counter seemed to stiffen at his words, a dark aura emanating from her figure.

"Halloween was months ago!", he complained which immediately made the dark energy retract.

Grabbing a piece of disposal kraft paper, he tonged an average meat bun into his hand before closing up the machine.

Walking over to the cashier, he now got a good look at her face. Her eyes met his, she didn't say a word and just stared.

He looked down at the smaller girl, putting his food on the counter. "Just this please...", he spoke, rummaging through his pockets.

She scanned his food, the machine beeped aloud once.

GROWL...!!

Silence...

Murasakibara looked at the girl. "Was that you?"

She all too quickly snapped her head up, smiling creepily.

"No...", she spoke at last, her voice sounding light and void of texture. Like it was sanded down to fit the owner.

Sweat dripped from his forehead, not out of fear but discomfort. What would Kuro-chin do in this scenario?

"Would you like me to buy you a bun?", he offered. He'd definitely do some unnecessary stuff like this....

She faltered, her eyes squinting slightly from their permanently bulging look. "What?"

In an instant, he walks away despite her protests and comes back with another bun.

"Don't mind me...", he muttered, feeling embarrassed.

For a second, something seemed to shift in her gaze as she looked down. Another beep scanned the other bun and Murasakibara dug through his pocket for money.

"Shit...", he whispered, realizing he forgot his wallet at home.

His eyes turned to the register and it was displaying 0.00 Yen?

"Huh? This isn't free is it?", he spoke aloud.

"Don't go home the way you came" Her voice seemed to ring in his head, surprising him.

The light above them was beginning to flicker as the air grew colder.

"Walk home without looking back.", she commanded.

"Eh? That isn't funny..."

She handed him his steamed bun and from her shadowed face, he could tell she was dead serious.

Is she superstitious or something? He reluctantly nodded, taking his food.

The register buzzed as his receipt came out.

The hair on his arms raised slightly as she ripped the receipt and folded it once, placing it in his palm.

"Have a good night..." Outside, something seemed to move from the glass. He took the receipt and left, unfolding it on his way home.

DON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACKDON'TLOOKBACK

When he got home, he fell asleep almost instantly. The next morning, he found his bun on his nightstand.

Reaching for it, he took a bite.

"Oh wow... I got get another one of these..."

-Timeskip-

After that first taste, Murasakibara found himself returning to that store after practice was over. Weeks would pass and the first thing he'd do after rocking Kenichi's shit was walk forty minutes to his new favorite konbini.

The warm bun made him fall in love at first bite. It was the perfect mix of soft dough and juicy meat, yielding onto his tongue. The flavors from the shimmering soy-marinated beef strands and the glossy broth made the bun not damp, not greasy, but moist.

Well, he supposed the company there wasn't so bad too...

Each visit was met with seeing that strange unkempt girl again, and each time he found himself absentmindedly buying her another bun to share. She was quiet and spoke ominously, but she never pried about or seemed to judge his huge cravings.

It was a bizarre yet comfortable arrangement.

"Hey hey...", Murasakibara called, leaning on a nearby freezer container.

The girl turned to him, tilting her head silently.

"What's your name?", he asked, looking at her empty name tag.

"Who knows...", she replied, "Why don't you try to guess?"

The taller boy slumped. What a drag...

Normally, he'd be out of the mood for little games like this but something in him wanted to play along... And it totally wasn't because she charged him for free with anything he bought from the store.

"Is it...Y/n or something?", he jokingly guessed.

You weren't entirely sure if he was right or not, but nevertheless, you nodded in response.

"Yeah..." "Wait really?!"

His shocked face made you break out into a laugh. "Pfft..!"

Murasakibara, who had only ever seen you in an aloof and passive state had his jaw drop. He gulped, composing himself despite the rising heat to his cheeks.

I've never noticed her face before...

He peeked over to you, who was now tending to another customer. Your hair was always in a strange tangle and your dress always looked like a white sheet draped over your frail countenance.

He blinked. He'd never really fully acknowledged her existence before. In his head, you were always: the cashier, that girl, the weirdo...

But now... It was just you.

"Hey so... um...", he hesitantly asked.

You turned to him and he took this chance to memorize the curve of your eyes, the bridge of your nose, the tint of your lips. He raised a hand to your hair, gently brushing it away from your face.

"You wanna get food after your shift is done? I know a place that gives meat away as long as you finish it in time..."

"Sure, come see me tomorrow after 5pm."

"Oh? You work the day shift now?"

"Maybe..." You smiled.

He froze in place, suddenly feeling weak to his knees. His chest was pounding as he left the store in a hurry. He ate his bun, the crumpled receipt in his jacket pocket.

This time he walked home without opening it up.

DON'T LOOK BACK

(but stay...)

He didn't seem to notice the way the store slowly molded into a brighter place, or how the shadows that engulfed the store seemed to grow smaller.

What he did notice was the sudden spike in energy in his system, and how he'd successfully scored and asked a girl out on a date!

Maybe he'd ask Himuro to practice with him a little more tomorrow... ⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

What a time it was to be thirteen.

Various! Knb x Manager! Reader

Summary:

Where prioritizing college credits gets you into being the manager of Fukuda Sogo, leading you into a month-long hellscape disguised as a summer training camp in the mountains.

With your future, your relationships, and your reputation on the line...

It's up to you to reform this failing team and keep yourself from getting dropped.

Chapter Four Chapter Six

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

Chapter 5: Reverence

Training Camp Day Two— 7 a.m.

Shk...Shk...

You sat wordlessly on the stool beside Hideki, who was elbow-deep in a bucket of suds, hand-scrubbing an explosion of red and green jerseys.

Brushing the ball in your hands, you leaned into the motion.

"Damn stain won't come off", you muttered under your breath, your hand gripping the brush tighter. 

GRNNCHH...! GRNCHHH..!

Hideki peeked at you. Your head snapped to him.

"Need something?"

He was quick to look away, hunching over even more over the tub of laundry. 

He's a useless pushover of a leader...

Your eyes trailed onto his slumped figure, pausing. 

But is it fair to keep blaming him for everything?

Slowly setting down the brush, you slapped his back making him shoot up.

"Ah-!"

"Sit straight, if you get benched, we'll only get weaker captain", you gruffly remarked, focusing on the ball in front of you.

Hideki looked at you, rubbing his back with a solemn face. 

Silence overtook the room, making him shift uncomfortably.

"L/N-san...", he whispered, "I'm sorry"

You felt the corners of your lips twitch as you faced him once more. He was leaning sideways, holding onto a red kit, avoiding your gaze.

"So?"

A beat of silence passes you two. Hideki bites his lip before looking at you.

"So.. I don't want to be a burden..." He paused, brows bunched together in hesitation. One of his legs was bouncing restlessly.  "I'll try to do better...as captain"

Nodding, you huffed. "That's not enough"

"I know..."

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Finishing up, you loaded the freshly cleaned balls into a cart. After Hideki left to lay out the team kits, you rolled the cart through the corridor, the soft hum of morning chores echoing around the training grounds.

Room B's Seirin and Shutoku were cleaning the mess hall. Some were carrying dirty plates away, others were moving tables. You paused, seeing Kagami mopping away at the floor in a white tank topped with an apron.

Sweat trickled down his forehead as if he's been doing this for hours now, his eyes zeroed in on the floor to clean. From the top, his muscles flexed as he positioned the mop forward and back.

Your eyes flickered away to a duo in the back.  It was Riko, wiping tables with their team captain, Hyuga. She saw you and waved for a moment.

You smiled, waving back, eyes wandering to Takao who noticed you in the doorway. He was clearing tables with a tall green-haired boy, sleeves rolled up. 

He winked at you.

You decided to keep moving, gawking at other teams wasn't a good idea.

Turning a corner, a sweet aroma wafted your way. Instinctively, you peered in at the kitchen where Room A's Rakuzan and Yosen were assigned.

Inside, you found Coach Araki as well as Rakuzan's redheaded emperor of a captain, stalking in front of heated pans. From the side, a pale dark-haired boy was mixing batter in a bowl while a burly tanned one was busy with the oven.

The heat of the room made it's way to you, tingling your senses as if beckoning you to come closer. 

You felt an audible growl erupt in your stomach.

"Hungry?" You turned your head to find Himuro in an apron identical to Kagami's, he was wearing a smirk on his face.

The heat rose in the hallway.

 "I suppose it's almost meal time...", he remarked mindlessly, you squinted at him.

"It's like early morning..." You shrugged, trying to play it cool. 

"A snack for the lady then?" He tilted his head, digging his hand into the apron pocket.

You flush awkwardly.

He took out a suspicious paper bag and reached it towards you.

"Here." You looked at him weirdly.

He smiled, "Don't worry... It's just some fries. You won't refuse the food I snuck out for you right?"

Blinking, you stiffened. "are you stalking me or something?!"

"Joking! They're extras from the batch I made for my friend..", he chuckled.

"I was saving them for later", he started, looking to the side before meeting your gaze.

"But now you're here so I must've been saving them from you..."

"Oh...Thanks...?" Receiving it, you turned back to your cart. "I'll go now...tons of things to do.."

"Okay.. Make sure to sleep in your bed tonight!" He called out.

You had to force yourself to keep moving, strictly faced forward in a thousand-yard stare. Your jaw slacked, paling.

Just how many people saw me?  You blushed, this time, it was horror and embarassment fueling your quick pace to the gym.

Arriving hastily, you let out a quick sigh as you leaned back onto the exterior walls. You sank onto the grassy ground, your skirt pooling to the side as emotional exhaustion weighed you down.

"Ugh..." You closed your eyes, slumping in peace.

"You're surprisingly popular for a manager", a deep throaty voice interrupts your moment. You shot up, looking towards the dark-haired four eyes from last night, peering down at you.

"Imayoshi-san?" 

He's not in uniform anymore—just track pants and a hoodie, Too's crest stitched subtly near the collar. He tilts his head, scanning you from a slight distance like you're something he's still deciding how to handle.

"I don't think we've met...but I suppose everyone here knows everyone already", he languidly spoke, leaning on his right leg. "Or maybe you've seen me before..."

You don't respond, seeing him now wasn't as off-putting as last night; As if he hadn't somehow caused someone like Hanamiya to sound so...disturbed. 

It's better to make an ally of him...but how..

Contemplating your decisions, you pulled out the bag of fries. "Want some?", you gestured it towards him.

Imayoshi looked taken aback, his calm composure slipping for a moment.

Eventually, he smiled. He stepped closer, crouching beside you without hesitation. Close, but not crowding—just comfortably within your personal space, like he'd been invited.

"Don't mind if I do~", he hummed. 

...He plucked a fry from the paper bag with two fingers, twirling it once like he was testing its weight.

"They're cold," he said, popping it into his mouth anyway.

"They're free," you deadpanned, clutching the bag closer.

Imayoshi let out a quiet chuckle, the kind that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Touché."

You let the silence settle again, surprisingly not tense. Just quiet. A kind of uneasy truce between two people who didn't entirely trust each other—but maybe didn't need to.

"...I saw you with Hanamiya yesterday," you said, tone casual but laced with meaning.

"I figured." He was watching the grass sway lazily in the morning breeze. "He's got a mouth on him, doesn't he?"

"He looked like he'd seen a ghost." You didn't bother softening your words.

Imayoshi's lips curved just slightly. "He doesn't like being reminded there are worse monsters than him."

That... didn't reassure you.

He leaned back, propping himself up on his elbows. "It's funny. You're not scared of him, but you're still sizing me up like I'm going to bite."

"I don't have the luxury of being careless." You glanced at him from the corner of your eye. "You strike me as someone who enjoys it when people underestimate you."

"Isn't it more fun that way?" he replied easily.

You didn't answer. The paper bag crinkled softly in your hands.

"Why are you here?" you asked, voice low. "You're not on laundry duty. Not on kitchen either."

He turned his head slightly, as if that amused him. "Didn't realize you were monitoring everyone's shift. Impressive, manager-san."

You didn't rise to the bait.

He finally sighed, as if giving in to his own boredom. "Let's just say I was curious. And I like watching pieces move before the game starts."

"Is that a threat?"

"A compliment," he corrected, flashing you a lazy grin. "You're interesting."

You frowned. "Interesting how?"

"That's the fun part." He leaned forward again, brushing his hands together. "I haven't figured that out yet."

You studied him, trying to get a read. But his face was the same mask it always was—slight amusement, vague detachment, and something far colder just beneath the surface.

Still, for someone who played with people like pawns, he hadn't tried to manipulate you yet.

At least not directly.

He stood up then, brushing grass from his hoodie. "See you around, L/N-san. Try not to lose sleep over the pecking order."

"...Pecking order?" you echoed, narrowing your eyes.

He left before you could ask more. 

---

Gymnasium — 1 p.m.

You sat in the bleachers as teams took turns playing games against each other. On either side of you was a glaring Haizaki and a hopeful Hideki, both out of their uniforms, just like the rest of your team. 

Yesterday getting excused out of practice felt like execution, but it was a good opportunity to see how good the other teams were. Last night you'd done your best to learn the basics of basketball with the help of Takao and you were less nervous about letting this opportunity go.

Rakuzan versus Kirisaki Daiichi.

You crossed your arms, the tension peaking in the gym.

Akashi Seijuro stood in the center stage gawking at the opposing team in his light blue jersey, all eyes were directed his way. 

The captain of the Generation of Miracles.

Hideki straightened beside you as the tip off began.

Time seemed to stall in the background as the two teams clashed fairly normally, scoring points from either side without much domination.

You tilted your head, they're kinda mediocre? 

Rakuzan wove through the match like clockwork, the ball landed on Kotaro Hayama who sped through and passed behind to Reo Mibuchi. Kirisaki's center, Kentaro stood in front of him right as he was about to shoot for the basket.

It seemed as though they were trying to get him to pass. 

Your brows furrowed as somehow, Reo shot and scored with basically zero contest. 

"What the...?!"

From then on, Rakuzan dominated the match. Your hand made quick work to write down notes about them. Hayama was just blatantly fast while Nebuya seemed indestructible.

I suppose it's no surprise... these guys are called "uncrowned kings" so they've gotta be good...

You sighed, wondering if this would be the end of it.

There were two guys who struck your curiosity though. With how good these three were, how was it that they could stand to play under a much smaller, second year captain? He didn't seem to be that special though his fundamentals were on par.

The other guy was a newbie that had apparently taken over a recently vacant spot, number 5.

You were about to close up your notes when your attention was suddenly brought back to the court. Your eyes widened as he was suddenly on the ground, nose bleeding. Above him was Kojiro, eyes glinting in delight.

The new guy that nobody had kept tabs on yet, the person who had become a regular after Chihiro Mayuzumi graduated. 

The referee blew his whistle, halting the match as Ichikawa Misahishi was lifted off the court by his teammates. An accident?

"Blah! He did that shit on purpose, I'm sure!", Haizaki blabbered from beside you.

"Why didn't the ref say anything", you replied absentmindedly.

"What? Have you never heard of this team before, manager?", he sarcastically remarked.

You stayed silent.

He became confused. "What? Do you even know anything about basketball?", he mocked.

"I hadn't had the interest to until now", you admitted. "I did hear about dirty tactics but I didn’t realize it’d be this bad”

As Haizaki went on his usual tangent, you wrote wordlessly on your notebook. Soon, everyone had played a match or two except for your own team which was to be expected.

Everyone was strong. Yet what made the difference was the strategies they used, as well as the mental fortitude that came with winning titles.

No wonder Seirin won… Even against such monsters.

Your eyes traveled to Riko, a sense of admiration bubbling in your chest.

Then, they moved towards all the other teams. Off game, they seemed just like normal people.

Looking back at you notes, most of them were now about the Generation of Miracles as they seemed to stand out every match they played. It also wasn’t hard to spot them because they all looked and acted weird.

Did they dye their hair so they’d stand out more?

Nevertheless, you’d been satisfied with what you were able to gather.

A new strategy.

Gym –7p.m.

After dinner, you’d managed to round your team all the way to the gymnasium for a pep talk before tomorrow’s match ups.

“Tomorrow, you’re fighting Shutoku High”, you announced, earning a paled look from Hideki. Mochizuki listened closely as the others looked worried.

“I’ve got a strategy to propose”

Haizaki immediately yawned loudly. Silence fell but you continued.

“From today’s matchups, I’ll be assigning general tasks for you all to complete.”, you instructed, holding up your notebook.

“First, Haizaki should stay glued to Shintarō Midorima. You need to guard him, make it so that even breathing feels like he’s being harassed.”

Haizaki clicked his tongue but didn’t interrupt this time.

“You don’t need to stop every shot,” you continued. “Just make him work for it.”

You turned the page.

“Mochizuki, you anchor the paint. Shut down rebounds and don’t let them get second chances. Ensuring Midorima doesn’t get ahold of any clean possessions is your job.”

Mochizuki nodded once, serious.

“Backcourt,” you said, pointing toward the guards, “your job is Kazunari Takao.”

You half-remembered his playstyle from the way he taught you about basketball last time. He seemed to be very smart and was a crucial support unit for a machine like Midorima.

“In short, Break his ankles.”, you squeezed the notebook in your hands. “Pressure him early, don’t let him find an opening”

A few of the players straightened up as the plan started forming into something clearer.

“And listen carefully,” you added, voice sharpening, “when the time calls, play as messily as you always would. Don’t let Shutoku fall into their structured flow.”

You tapped the notebook once.

“And no hitting each other, or else I’ll personally request the coaches to give us cleaning duty all month long.”

“Yes..!” You were pleasantly surprised to hear a little more hope in their tone this time as they left the gym, leaving you to your own devices.

Slumping into the bleachers, you let out an exasperated groan. That was nerve-wracking…

Akashi Seijuro x reader

TW. Angst

Summary:

The tragedy that is loving someone so stubbornly before they become a stranger.

Part two???

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

When you first got together with Akashi Seijuro, you figured that was it.

This was the start of your life.

That was what you thought then, until life came crashing down during the last year of middle school.

See, you had been all too aware of the sudden shift in your once perfect boyfriend's personality.

One second he'd been the sweetest, and the next, he'd changed.

Suddenly, he wasn't your boyfriend with the charming personality and ridiculously good looks that let you allow him to get away with so much so easily.

Heck, it didn't even matter that he was so popular with girls when he never ever gave you a reason to doubt him.

He was your lovely boyfriend who was good at everything, especially basketball.

So when word started spreading that his team started getting better and better, you'd been the first to congratulate him.

Maybe it was the stress of being captain at such an early point in his sports career, but the toll was undeniable.

While he never slipped up with his academics or extracurriculars, you noticed he'd gotten considerably more busy.

However you brushed it off and hoped, maybe even prayed a little, that things would get back to normal and you could continue to live out your days in bliss.

Oh how wrong you'd be...

"Guys!! I'm serious!", you squealed, leaning on the shoulder of one of your friends.

"Oh really...", your friend muttered, doubtful.

This had been the sixth time this week...

"It's real this time!", you insisted, pouting.

"What makes you so sure this time?", she stressed, raising a brow.

"Well!", you started, grinning from ear to ear.

"He stared at me for a whole hour after I cheered him on during a match!"

"That's not exactly..." "Wait but there's more!", you interrupted,

"He did the same thing when I sat with him during lunch and fed him one of my octodogs!"

She still didn't seem convinced.

"Heh... He even came over during his study time to hang out!"

You raised a triumphant peace sign to your friend who now seemed hopeful.

"That's... Actually something", she admitted.

You blushed, hugging yourself in glee.

"I can feel it! It's totally proposal eyes!"

"Wait did he stare at you the whole time you hung out?!"

-Timeskip-

Graduation had come sooner than you thought. Right now, you were finally at the end of your middle school years right as Spring began to envelope the season.

Looking through the crowd, you searched for the familiar red head that delivered the entire year's valedictory speech.

Hugging the flowers closer to your chest, your brows furrowed as he was nowhere to be found. You'd bought them on the way to the ceremony and kept them hidden in your locker until it was time to give them to him.

After all, he couldn't celebrate such a joyous occasion alone! Even if he was more unenthusiastic lately.

Where could he have gone? You thought, passing by families and friends who were spending their last moments together before everything would change.

After what seemed like forever, you spotted Akashi exiting from one of the school's practice facilities. He wore his uniform rigidly, a blank expression plastered on his face.

You hesitated at first, but nevertheless approached him.

"Seijuro~!", you called, running over. You grinned when he faced you, only to be met with his unyielding stare once again. You stopped in your tracks, hiding the bouquet behind your back.

"Hey...", you uttered nervously.

"Hello...", he replied, too formally for your liking.

"I went looking for you, y'know! You suddenly disappeared!"

As you said this, your eyes shifted to the gym where his old teammates were leaving separately.

"I apologize... I needed to goodbye to my teammates", he explained, turning to face you. His coldness stung a little.

"Well, it's okay... We can still take grad photos and...and... ", you insisted, gripping onto the bouquet tightly.

"I don't think that will be ideal"

Huh? Your eyes widened, your words stuck in your throat. "I don't think this relationship is working out, L/n-san", he looked straight into your eyes, void of any hesitance or care.

"Let's break up", he proclaimed.

You froze.

"Can...can i at least ask why?", you couldn't help the shakiness in your tone.

“Well,” he started, “our goals no longer align.”

The words hit harder than they should have.

You stared at him blankly, waiting for the punchline. Waiting for him to sigh and pull you close like he usually did whenever he accidentally upset you.

But he didn’t.

Akashi simply stood there, posture straight, expression unreadable.

“Our goals…?” you repeated weakly.

“Yes.”

The spring breeze swept past the both of you, carrying distant laughter from celebrating graduates nearby. It felt cruel somehow—how the world kept moving while yours abruptly stopped.

“I will be attending Rakuzan High School,” he continued calmly. “From this point onward, I need to devote myself entirely to winning.”

You blinked.

Winning?

“…Basketball?” you whispered.

“Everything.”

Your fingers tightened around the bouquet hidden behind your back.

“You’re joking,” you said with a strained laugh. “Right? Sei, this isn’t funny.”

“I am not joking.”

There it was again.

That sharpness.

That unfamiliar coldness that had slowly replaced the warmth you once knew.

You searched his heterochromatic eyes desperately, hoping—praying—to find your boyfriend somewhere in there.

Instead, all you found was distance.

“You said you loved me,” your voice cracked.

“I did.”

Did.

The single word nearly shattered you.

Your lips trembled. “Then why are you acting like this?”

Akashi looked at you for a long moment before answering.

“Affection is unnecessary if it becomes a distraction.”

You felt your stomach drop.

Somewhere behind you, people were taking graduation photos. Someone laughed loudly. A teacher called for students to gather.

Everything sounded so far away.

“…A distraction?” you repeated quietly.

“You are kind,” he said. “Supportive as well. However, emotional attachment clouds judgment. I cannot allow that.”

You stared at him in disbelief.

This wasn’t him.

This wasn’t your Seijuro.

The boy who used to hold your hand under the desk during study sessions.

The boy who stole bites from your lunch despite pretending he didn’t like sweets.

The boy who once stayed awake all night helping you study because you cried over a math test.

This person standing in front of you looked exactly like him.

But he wasn’t him.

“You don’t mean that,” you whispered.

Akashi’s expression didn’t change.

“I do.”

Silence.

Your hands shook.

Slowly, you brought the bouquet from behind your back.

The red roses suddenly felt stupid now.

Embarrassing.

Pathetic.

“I bought these for you,” you said softly.

For the first time, something flickered across his face.

Surprise perhaps.

Regret.

But it vanished almost instantly.

“…Thank you.”

You laughed bitterly.

“Wow,” you murmured, eyes burning. “You really are breaking up with me.”

“I believed it would be better to do so now rather than later.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“You will recover.”

That did it.

The tears you’d desperately held back finally spilled over.

“You don’t get to decide that for me!”

Your voice echoed louder than intended.

Several nearby graduates turned to look.

Akashi remained still.

“I waited for you,” you choked out. “Even when you started ignoring me. Even when everyone said you changed. I stayed because I thought you were hurting.”

You wiped your eyes furiously.

“But you’re just cruel now.”

For the first time, his gaze faltered slightly.

Just slightly.

“…Perhaps,” he admitted.

The answer hurt more than denial would have.

You swallowed hard before thrusting the bouquet into his chest.

“Congratulations on graduating, Akashi.”

His fingers slowly closed around the flowers.

“…Thank you.”

You stepped back before he could say anything else.

Because if you stayed any longer— you’d beg.

And you refused to do that to yourself.

So despite your blurred vision and aching chest, you turned around and walked away.

You didn’t look back.

But behind you, standing alone beneath the falling cherry blossoms, Akashi Seijuro watched your retreating figure until you disappeared from sight completely.

And for the first time in a very long while...

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

Various

Training Camp

Where prioritizing college credits gets you into being the manager of Fukuda Sogo, leading you into a month-long hellscape disguised as a summer training camp in the mountains.

With your future, your relationships, and your reputation on the line-its up to you to reform this failing team and keep yourself from getting dropped.

Male Leads: Haizaki, Takao, Akashi, Kagami, Himuro

⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

CHARACTERS

Kuroko Tetsuya

-Book Club =to be uploaded...

Kagami Taiga

-Aquarium =to be uploaded...

Kise Ryouta

Aomine Daiki

-A Glimpse of the Past

Midorima Shintaro

-My Lucky Item!!!

Murasakibara Atsushi

-The Shady Convenience Store

Akashi Seijuro

Various! Knb x Manager! Reader

Summary:

Where prioritizing college credits gets you into being the manager of Fukuda Sogo, leading you into a month-long hellscape disguised as a summer training camp in the mountains.

With your future, your relationships, and your reputation on the line...

It's up to you to reform this failing team and keep yourself from getting dropped.

Chapter Three Chapter Five ⋆☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

Chapter Four: Lock On

Gymnasium-5:57 p.m.

"Alright, listen up..." you spoke, eyes on your clipboard as the rest of Fukuda Sogo crowded around you.

"Thanks to your little fuck-up, you're all benched for tomorrow. Every single one of you."

You could hear several groans ring out, like they hadn't brought this up on themselves.

The rest were silent, but it wasn't out of guilt-it was resentment.

Haizaki was the first to pipe up. "That's bullshit! Not like we're that fragile to just sit here!"

Snapping your gaze to him, your voice remained frigid. "Well, if you'd heeded my warning, we wouldn't be in this mess..."

"We wouldn't be here if our damned coach didn't dump us on you."

"Hey, that's too far..." Hideki ushered, only to be silenced by the raise of Haizaki's fist.

You're not wrong. I'm pissed too.

You softened, scanning the group. Apart from the bodily contusions, they wore looks resembling the cry of despair.

"Even so, we're going to learn as much as we can here."

Haizaki rolled his eyes, snarkily interjecting. "You don't even know the first thing about basketball."

"I said 'we,' didn't I?"

"We'll be reviewing footage and running drills outside of scheduled hours," you revealed sternly. "So starting tonight, move your gear to my dorm lounge. I'll clear some space."

You placed a hand on your hip, making sure to catch their gazes. "Coach or not, we're here to get better-so rest up, and keep your eyes on what's important, okay?"

You frowned as they simply stood there, not saying a word.

Feeling a vein pop, your brows furrowed into a glare.

"I said, understood?!" you bellowed louder, earning a round of weak "yes"es.

It was a work in progress, but nothing you couldn't learn to handle.

"Alright, sleep tight."

With that, the circle dispersed into little groups, going over to pick up their things. Haizaki slung his arm over Hideki, flashing you a mocking grin.

You returned it with fervor, flipping him off. The subtle falter in his amusement sent a pang of pleasure through you.

---

Dining Hall-6:39 p.m.

You sat with the managers, feeling the chaotic bullshit of the day begin to simmer down as you all relished in the sweet relief of roasted chicken sided with miso soup, pickles, and a bowl of steaming rice.

"Oh gosh... it's heaven...!" you moaned, feeling the warmth settle in your stomach.

Nothing felt better than this.

Yuki flashed a grin of pride, pressing a hand to her chest. "Of course..! Our team's best cook helped out for dinner!" he proclaimed, beaming.

"Ah, Himuro-kun?" Riko asked, wallowing in a similar bout of deliciousness.

You couldn't help your subtle flinch at the name, eyes averting to the side-accidentally meeting with Satsuki's. She looked at you weirdly.

Riko smiled but countered mischievously, slamming her hand on the table. "It's good but... nothing beats Kagami-kun's!"

Again, you froze for a moment. This time, Satsuki looked at you with a sly smirk. You grimaced, turning your head to the side in shame.

Meanwhile, the scene beside you had diverged into playful competition.

"Is he better than our beloved cook then, huh?!"

"You bet he is!"

"Prove it!"

The two engaged in a stare-off while you tried to fend off Momoi's undeterrable questions.

"L/n-chan..."

"No."

"Really?"

"Really!"

"I wouldn't judge if it were the case... But oh, how controversial..."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

You flushed, the handkerchief in your pocket suddenly feeling like it weighed the whole world. You hated that it reminded you of something you were trying to forget.

"Oh my... You seem tense, L/n-chan... After all, a lot can happen at a summer camp..." she coyed, winking.

"With one...maybe two~?"

You shook your head in complete denial. "Absolutely not!"

"To one or two?" Seeing the look on your face, her grin widened.

"I'll stop then... For now. " she giggled, finally dropping the subject.

Quickly finishing your food, you walked outside to get some air. Stealthily sneaking towards the vending machines, your eyes watched the dark sky with hope.

You were gonna start taking this team seriously, and to do that, you had to work.

The only issue is...

Who am I supposed to learn about basketball from??

You debated asking the managers, players, heck, even Himuro... but that'd raise suspicion, wouldn't it? About your objectives?

What if I get reported for inappropriate advances??

Sighing softly, you suddenly heard a barrage of voices near the trash bins.

One of the figures was cackling, "...serves them right, Hanamiya...!"

You froze, unconsciously edging closer to the source, nose scrunching in disgust as foul odors wafted your way.

Cigarettes...??

Quietly heaving, you prayed to the heavens you wouldn't caught aloud.

You pressed your head against the wall, listening as the guys on the other side laughed and joked around.

"Benching is just the first step."

You blinked, mouth slipping into a line.

"How many more until the team breaks..., Or just gets dropped?"

You glowered, suppressing the urge to run in swinging.

"Only a matter of time... Simple-minded losers should just quit playing basketball."

You grit your teeth, realizing just who they were talking about.

"I knew it, I smelled something rotten over here." Your eyes flickered to the wall as a new voice came, followed by someone's heavy footsteps thumping on the concrete.

Your breath hitched with familiarity, but you couldn't pin who it was. You heard Hanamiya let out a... yelp?

Raising a brow, you wondered who it could be if it had such a bastard grasping at straws.

"I-Imayoshi! What the hell are you doing here?"

Familiar.

You peeked your head slightly, seeing the dark-haired figure of Shoichi Imayoshi standing over Kirisaki Daiichi with a curled grin. His squinted eyes peered at them through his glasses.

"I overheard ya. I guess this is what it takes for the uncrowned king of trash to keep his throne?" he chuckled, tilting his head mockingly. "Pray tell me, what is it you're doing here, hm?"

You had a feeling he didn't just mean being by the dumpster.

A bit rose in your stomach as even Hanamiya seemed on guard against this guy.

"Just-just blowing off steam... What's it to you?" Hanamiya played off, shoving his hands in his jersey coolly. You could tell he felt anything but, noticing the light tremble in his leg.

"You know... I'm gonna enjoy watching you dig your own grave," he smirked, one eye peeking open to look at you.

Your heart skipped a beat.

Not in a good way.

For a moment, you weren't sure who you were more afraid of-Hanamiya, or the man who'd just put him in his place.

You immediately hid back behind the wall, covering your mouth.

"Always trying to bury teams alive... You're not the only one who knows how to handle a shovel."

"What are you talking about?!"

"Haha! Just joking... I'll see you tomorrow, Hanamiya..."

Hearing the heavy footsteps disappear, you heard sighs of relief, followed by a loud "tch."

Everyone was silent for a beat and then:

"I fucking hate that guy."

You stood there, pulse running at a thousand miles.

Not from fear, or confusion.

Anger.

Walking off to the side of the building, your face scorned in injustice.

And to think, your biggest problem at this camp wouldn't be the rowdy bunch you came with-but some notorious scumbag.

Now this was a declaration of war.

---

Dorm Exterior-Afterhours

Thankfully, you'd managed to fit everyone's jerseys, balls, and shoes into the tiny nook you'd claimed in the managers' shared dorm.

It was better than leaving it vulnerable to their roommates.

Tomorrow morning, each room would do their part doing chores around the school. Afternoon would be saved for practice matches against opposing schools, except for Fukuda Sogo.

This didn't mean it'd be a break though...

You'd make sure of it.

But preparations aside, you had to find a way to make good on your word for the team. And for that, you'd need to learn about the uninteresting sport of basketball.

Picking up the rule book you'd borrowed from Coach Araki, you skimmed through basic rules, regulations, even moves.

Field Goal... Three-pointer... Fouls... Traveling...

Sitting on one of the outdoor benches, you flipped open the rule book again, hoping something-anything-would click.

How can I make these guys better?

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"Helloo~? Anyone there?"

Stirring awake, it felt like a thousand needles were portruding from your head.

"Ughh..." you grimaced, shooting up. Every sensation resembled the rusted nexus on old mechanical dolls. Hand to your trap, you rolled your shoulder that was uncomfortably taut.

You sworn you heard it creak.

With your other hand making it's way to your mouth, you paused-you'd been drooling.

What happened?

"You don't look so good, manager-chan..." an impertinently upbeat voice interrupted your train of thought.

You opened your crusted eyes in a panic, seeing a familiar olive-skinned, copper-headed boy-Shutoku's Takao Kazunari?!

"Huh?!" you screamed, causing him to press his hand against your mouth.

"Shh..! Shh..!" he pressed a finger to his lips, grimacing as he listened around.

A beat passed. He sighed in relief.

"Looks like nobody's coming..." He took his hand away. You shot him a suspicious glare.

"Hold on there, don't be so uptight now..." he grinned, "I just happened to be getting some fresh air when I saw this tiny sickly girl hunched over the picnic tables."

"Are... are you making fun of me?" You brows furrowed in confusion.

Takao blinked, then smirked wider, hands raised in mock innocence.

"Me? Never. I'd never make fun of a hardworking manager who's clearly dying of basketball-induced fatigue."

You narrowed your eyes.

"I was studying."

"Mhm. The insides of your eyelids maybe." He plopped down on the bench beside you, folding his arms behind his head like he had all the time in the world.

You scowled. "You're kind of annoying."

"I get that a lot." He glanced sideways, and for a moment, his smile softened. "But you don't see this kind of effort often. Especially not for a team that's basically on lockdown."

You stilled. His tone had shifted, just slightly. He wasn't teasing anymore.

"You know about that?"

"Word gets around. Especially when certain teams are not-so-mysteiously left out and managers are found passed out next to the gym vending machines."

He turned his head to look at you, expression unreadable behind his usual grin.

"So, what this bravado for?"

The question caught you off guard. Not the fake, polite kind-but the annoying, real kind that stuck in your throat.

You shrugged, focusing on the rule book in your lap.

"Just learning to grasp the ropes is all..."

"Hm." He leaned forward, elbows on knees, peering at the diagrams with faux seriousness. "You know, I could help. I am a point guard. Kinda know my way around the court."

"...Why would you do that?"

"Maybe I like strays," he shrugged. "Or maybe I just can't resist watching someone try to brute-force their way through a zone defense diagram at 1AM."

You sighed, rubbing your temples.

"Fine. But if you tell anyone I asked for help-"

"-I'll deny everything. Scandalous manager-point guard rendezvous by moonlight? Never happened."

You glared at him.

He winked.

"What time is it anyway?" You fumbled with your phone only to find it dead.

"Definitely a lot past lights out." He pointed toward the horizon, where the sky was starting to gray at the edges. "The sun's about to rise, so like... around five?"

Your jaw slackened. "You've got to be kidding me..."

Takao stretched, bones audibly cracking. "You're welcome, by the way. If I hadn't found you, you'd be waking up with ants in your socks and a sunburn on your forehead."

You groaned, rubbing your face.

"What're you doing up anyway? It's way too early."

Takao paused, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his face before the usual grin returned.

"Can't sleep. Not really the 'early bird' type, but insomnia likes to keep things interesting." He leaned back on his palms, tilting his head toward the faint purples bleeding into the sky. "Plus, this place gets real quiet before the chaos starts. Kinda nice."

You eyed him suspiciously. "That's weirdly introspective for a guy who talks like a game show host."

"Hey, even game show hosts have feelings," he said with mock offense, placing a dramatic hand over his chest. "But fine-what about you? Late-night rulebook study session or existential crisis?"

"A little bit of both, maybe." You huffed, slumping forward. "This stuff sucks, I don't even know the basics."

"Hey! Don't say that about basketball!", he jokingly scolded, making you sigh.

Takao was quiet for a beat. Then:

"You ever thought about watching from the sidelines instead of trying to memorize the whole sport overnight?"

You frowned. "I am on the sidelines."

"Exactly. Best seat in the house. You pick up more than you think just by paying attention." He nudged your shoulder. "Also, next time-bring snacks. Studying's always better with snacks."

You rolled your eyes, but a small smile tugged at the corner of your lips.

"Are we gonna start or what?"