swan_forest | Unrequited Love?

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kise ryouta

Unrequited Love?

Kaijou and Seirin had just had their first practice match, which was shaping up to be a tradition of sorts. This time, Kaijou had gone to Seirin. The gym was nice, newer then Kaijou's but maybe not as big.

He was breathing heavily, but smiling broadly. It always felt good to play, even if it was just a practice match and they weren't going all out. After all, he wanted to keep some of his new tricks up his sleeves, just like he was sure Kagami and Kuroko were hiding some of their new tricks too. This year's match had ended in a draw. Better than last year's practice match, which had ended in Kaijou's loss by two points.

Just thinking about Kuroko made Kise look over to the Seirin team, focusing in on the smaller boy.

For awhile now Kise had realized that he had feelings for Kuroko. Kise had looked up to Kuroko for awhile, but it wasn't really until after the Winter Cup that Kise realized he was probably in love with Kuroko.

He took a towel that one of the first years offered him. "Thanks," he said absently. He scrubbed at his face, his thoughts racing. He had been thinking about Kuroko a lot lately, and seeing him only brought those thoughts back to the surface, only pushed aside when the game had begun. Now with the game over he couldn't focus. The warm glow in his chest that came whenever he thought about Kuroko was back with a vengeance.

The Kaijou team was gathering their things and getting ready to board the bus. He told the first year that he'd be along in a bit and began to head over to the Seirin team.

"Kurokocchi~" he called out. No time like the present, he thought. He didn't know if Kuroko would return his feelings, but he was hopeful. The time Kuroko had cheered him on while he went up against Haizaki stood out in his mind.

"Kurokocchi! You got a minute?"

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Can you really blame him, though? (At least he isn't creepy like Aomine.)

"We'll probably all be cheering for you. Kagami-kun in particular still holds a grudge against Akashi-kun."

(Eh, Aomine is low on the creep factor for Kise.)

"Because of the scissors?" Kise asked with a grimace. "That was... not a good thing. Akashicchi shouldn't have done that. He wouldn't do it now though. I'm, ninety percent sure."

"I'm certain he wouldn't as well. I think Kagami-kun has trouble reconciling the idea that there were two Akashis, but we were more familiar with what he was like before."

"It's such a rare thing, too." he said softly. "I can't really blame others for not believing it, since it's a highly contested diagnosis. And I don't think Akashicchi's father would ever let his son be tested for it."

He has yet to meet Akashi's father. But he doesn't like what little he's heard.

"Well, what's done, and it was pretty crazy."

"Mmm..." There was a lot they shared in Teikou together that was difficult to explain to others.

"I think Akashi-kun has been happier, as of late. It shows in the way he leads his team. They seem more in-tune with each other."

"Yeah, I do too."

The waitress came, and Kise gave his order and a cup of tea. Once she had taken their orders and left, he turned back to Kuroko.

"Kasamatsu-senpai will be there tomorrow; do you mind if he sits with you guys? He sat with my sisters and dad today, he's not great with women, and Mihoshi-nee likes to tease shy guys. I'm not sure he can take another day." He'd have to check. He had gotten some texts from his former captain, probably complaining about his oldest sister. He seemed to get along with Saoko just fine, though.

"We'd be more than happy to have Kasamatsu-san with us. I'll make sure to seat him on the far side of Coach."

He wraps his hands around his own cup of tea, eager to soak up the warmth.

"That reminds me - do you know who is in line to be Kaijou's captain next year?"

"Your coach is someone he doesn't mind too much, but I'm sure he'll appreciate it!"

Really, Kasamatsu-senpai was a pain sometimes.

"Huh? Oh, Probably Kikuchi Yukito, this year's center. He's a nice guy. Looks like prince charming from the older Disney movies," Kise said easily. "I'll probably be vice-captain. I'm not really captain material, plus, even though I'll be cutting back on my job, I still have obligations to it."

He liked Kikuchi. The other boy was quiet and thoughtful. He had asked Kise for advice to help his younger brother, who was gay and coming to terms with it.

"Who's going to be captain for Seirin? Furihata or Kagamicchi?" Since those were the only people, he could see being eligible if Kuroko was retiring.

He hums around a sip of tea, tilting his head at Kise's comments.

"I think you would make a fine captain - but it makes sense, if you want to concentrate on your studies as well. Congratulations to Kikuchi-san."

Kuroko does look rather proud when he says, "it'll be Furihata-kun, he's been working very hard. Kagami-kun is still a little hot-headed and better suited as our ace."

"No, I don't think I would. I know I wouldn't enjoy it. I'd be a better... hm, ambassador than a leader."

He had a lot of time to think about it. He saw how much Kasamatsu did for his team, and if Kise is honest with himself, he knows he's too selfish to do a good job of it. Maybe selfish isn't the right word. Maybe 'self-involved' is a better way to describe himself.

"And ace. Being the captain and ace would have been too much." He nods at Kuroko's words. "Kagamicchi might start a war with Aominecchi if he was captain."

He wonders who else will be captains for their teams next year. Touou might be in trouble if they have to pick between Sakurai and Aomine. Murasakibara is even less suited for the position than Kise is. Midorima has matured a lot, and he was vice-captain back at Teikou. He tells Kuroko his thoughts as the waitress comes back with their meals.

He thinks Kise may be underestimating his skills to lead a little, but if the person themselves thinks they wouldn't enjoy it...

"Aomine-kun and Kagami-kun as captains would be an absolute nightmare, yes."

And he does not want to deal with that headache, even only as Seirin's manager. He claps his hands together with a quick 'itadakimasu' and moves to split a pair of chopsticks. "I think Takao-kun would might be more suited to captain with Midorima-kun supporting as vice-captain, perhaps..."

"Yeah, it'd be a gang war waiting to happen."

Following Kuroko's example, Kise splits his chopsticks with ease. "Hmm... Yeah, I agree he's better suited; he's pretty cool, a good player, and easy to get along with. If Midorimacchi weren't in the picture, there would be no question.

"But I have to think Midorimacchi got the 'hey, you're a miracle, you wanna be captain' offer I almost got before it would be offered to Takao. I don't think he'd be a bad captain. Kikuchi and the other second years came up to me, and I just knew what they were going to ask, so I said, 'Hey, Kikuchi, you're going to be captain next year, right?' And I don't think Midorimacchi would turn it down."

"I just believe Midorima-kun has too brash of a personality at times. He may be talented and his selfishness has decreased recently, but his expectations can be too high. Takao-kun would be able to temper that."

He slurps up a few noodles. "It was nice of you to immediately set up Kikuchi-san."

"I agree," Kise said. "But captaincy is decided by the other teammates, not the coaches, or that's how it works at Kaijou. Other schools might be different."

He shrugs and takes a bite of his tofu. "I really didn't want it," he admitted. "It's great you think I'd be good at it, but Kikuchi is a much better choice than me."

"I suppose you would know your team chemistry better. But you shouldn't discredit yourself too much, Kise-kun."

Just his opinion.

"Granted, you will be much busier, so perhaps it's better."

Edited 2023-02-21 02:52 (UTC)

"Yeah, that was my reasoning. Kikuchi's plate is less busy than mine, though if you hear him talk about it, it's like he raised his little brother instead just watching him every once in a while." He grinned. "I know he's lying because my sisters complained about me in the exact same tone. And Kikuchi's little brother isn't that much younger; he'll be joining the team next year."

He slurped up some noodles. "Which reminds me. What are your plans after high school? You know mine."

"A big brother will have the right attitude, at the very least." A big brother shepherding a pack of boys, that's really what it is. "Being a vice-captain will still look good on your college applications, too."

Kuroko takes a couple bites, humming. "I haven't decided for sure. My father still wants me to follow in his footsteps. I think I might like to study literature."

"Yeah, it would."

Kise considered Kuroko for a moment as he chewed on some more tofu. "You know, I still think you'd be a great teacher for little kids. Or a coach for them. Teach them early to love and respect the sport, so there's not another Generation of Miracles that's so heartless."

"You weren't all heartless. Cruel, maybe."

He picks at his noodles. "I'm sure my mother would like it if I decided to go into that field. But I think I'd like to be selfish and just study something I'm interested in while in university."

"Hrm." Is all Kise will say to that.

He watched Kuroko some more. "Well, do what you want," he said. "Will you be doing analysis or creative writing? I could introduce you to my dad; he'd tell you some good places to go for either. He actually started as a lit student before switching to writing."

He grimaced. "Just don't do what he did to pay your way through uni."

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble..." He is getting a little overwhelmed by his preliminary research. "Analysis is what I'm most interested in."

Kuroko tilts his head. "Do I want to know?"

"It'd be no trouble!" Kise chirped. "Let me check..." He pulled out his phone. "How's the first weekend of next month sound? You can come to my place and talk to my dad while mom and I make lunch. Or, well, we order something. Dad's the main cook."

He put his phone on the table and looked at Kuroko, blushing. "Well, it's nothing too bad. He was a go-go boy. It's how he met mom, actually." He coughed. "Ryouta was his stage name."

"First weekend..." He looks through his own phone calendar and nods, making sure to input a reminder for himself. "That's perfectly fine, thank you."

He does look a little taken aback by the reveal, though. "Oh- your parents must've really liked the name, then."

((ooc: One my first TFLN threads used this and I've just used it as a headcanon ever since because it amused me.))

"It's weird. I tried reading my dad's novel, which turned out to be a dramatized autobiography. And I asked him about it, and yeah. My dad's an airhead and doesn't believe in the concept of lying, except when telling stories, and basically said exactly that."

( i am screaming just a lil LOL)

"Your father seems to be a very unique individual, I look forward to meeting him." He hides his amused smile by taking a few bites. "At least you have a interesting name origin. I think my parents just like the sound of mine, since it's written in katakana. No deeper meaning to it."

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