#past akamido

[long-manic-nights]

In love, once.

He’s standing right in front of him right now, after so long he cannot remember the last time they saw each other eye to eye. The boy he once loved so much is looking at him and he feels the air around him vanishing, the memories haunting him like he’s fifteen again, like he’s there, in the middle of the court hearing him say he did not love him, say he lied, say it was never real to begin with. 

“Thank you for agreeing to meet me here today, Shintarou”, Akashi finally speaks, breaking the horrendous silence between them. “I was not sure you would”, it’s a confession, he knows, that should not be taken lightly, but at this point he can’t really believe anything he says.  

“Did I have a choice?”, he asks, and the other laughs softly. “What do you want to talk about, Akashi? I don’t have too much time, Kazu is waiting for me”. 

Kazu, of course. Kazu said with a softness that never belonged to him. Kazu said lovingly, carefully. Kazu, not Sei, not anymore. 

“Of course, I understand”, the boy nods. “I wanted…I mean, I know we did not end things on the best terms”. 

“We? I don’t think we did anything”, he says in an accusatory tone. 

“Yes, you are right”, Seijurou admits, trying to keep things as civil as he can. “I did not end things on the best terms. I wanted to talk about that because, as you know, you are very important to me”, he sighs, asphyxiated. “And I know what I did, the things I said, were…cruel, but I must assure you they were not true”. 

“What is the point of this?”, Shintarou asks, not confused, but certainly a little bit lost. After all, this is a part of Akashi he didn’t know; from the regret in his voice to the way he’s standing, he barely recognizes the person in front of him. “It’s been long enough, and you know I’m not a person that holds to old grudges”.

“Yes, I see you…walked it off quite quickly”, he regrets it as soon as he says it. 

“Seriously?”, the tone is no longer accusatory, because he knows he doesn’t mean he healed the wounds or easily understood he was sick and didn’t really mean what he said. Akashi is talking about Takao. He’s talking about how fast he got replaced, how quickly Takao put his mischievous hands on Midorima’s heart. “You broke up with me, Akashi. You did that, not me. I had all the right to put my life back together and build something good, something better for myself”. 

“I know”. 

“No, I don’t think you do”, he shakes his head. “I think you truly believe I’m the bad one”. 

“I do not think that, Shintarou”. 

“Then why are you looking at me like that?”Akashi doesn’t know what look he has on his face, or how deformed his expression is. “Why are you looking at me like I’m the one to blame for what happened?”

“I’m not trying to”. 

“You have no right to judge me for moving on”, Midorima doesn’t mean to sound as furious as he does, but there is a part of him that simply can’t stand the idea of Akashi turning things around to his advantage. 

“I don’t”, he says quickly. “I don’t, I swear. Shintarou, I regret what I did. It haunts me terribly to know that I hurt you in the way I did, but I was sick, out of myself. You must know I was lying”. 

“How could I possibly believe you now?”, the shooter almost yells. “You were my best friend and suddenly everything was a…everything was an act to control me, to keep me in line”. 

“It wasn’t”. 

“You said it was”. 

“Shintarou, you are my best friend”, Akashi is almost begging, but Midorima is too angry to hear that in his voice. “We were real. We meant something. It was never an act. You must know that. You must understand me…”

“Listen”, he tries to calm himself down. “I know you didn’t mean to say the things you said, I understand why you did the things you did, and you know that if I’m here…it's because I care about you. You are, sadly, one of my best friends and I have no intention to lose that, but you can’t expect me to not…”, he can’t breathe. “You told me you never loved me, Akashi. You stood there, in front of all the people that matter to me, and told me you didn’t love me, that it was never…real, that I meant nothing to you. And sometimes…sometimes I look at you and that’s all I see”.  

“I did love you”. I do love you. “I am not asking you to forgive me, or to understand. I am not resentful of your relationship with Takao. I am glad you are not alone”. 

“You left me”.

“I know”. 

“You left me, and I didn’t know what to do”

“I’m sorry”. 

“YOU HUMILIATED ME. IN FRONT OF ALL OF OUR FUCKING FRIENDS”, he yells. “YOU LET THEM SEE AS YOU RIPPED APART EVERYTHING WE WERE. YOU EXPOSED ME AS A STUPID, RIDICULOUS IDIOT WHO WAS DUMB ENOUGH TO BELIEVE I MEANT SOMETHING TO YOU”. 

There is no way to defend himself from what Midorima is saying. He has no excuses to give him, no answers he can offer for him to be forced to forgive him for the things he did and said back then. It’s not fair, he knows, for him to ask what he’s asking right now, he threw knives back then that Shintarou didn’t know were coming, he set on fire their entire relationship, Every kiss, every touch, every night talking on the phone for hours; nothing matter by the time Akashi finished talking that day. 

And Midorima is standing here now simply because he’s a good person, a good friend; he’s talking to him, giving him a chance to explain, because he’s not the type of boy to not give second chances to the people he loves. Seijurou knows he loves him still, maybe not like he did before, maybe not in love but must certainly as a friend. 

“I’m sorry”. 

“I know”, he finally sighs. “I know you are, Akashi”. 

“I can’t thank you enough for giving me another chance, an opportunity to…not fix, but rebuild what we were”. 

“We are never going to be what we were back then”, Shintarou clarifies rapidly. “That’s over”. 

“I didn’t mean it like that”, Akashi shakes his head. “I meant all of you. The whole team has been more than understanding with me. All of you have allowed me back into your lives with little to no questions asked, and I am forever thankful for it”. 

“We are your friends, Akashi. Why wouldn’t we?”. 

Friends. 

Yes. Friends. Nothing more. He made sure of that.

#knb #knb headcanon #kuroko no basket #knb headcanons #generation of miracles #gom #midorima shintarou #akashi seijurou #fanfic #akamido fanfic #past akamido #akamido

[oniiro]

Time

First off all I was bored and a little mad while I wrote that little Oneshot.. I’m not a native English speaker, so sorry for mistakes. Also that’s the first One shot I’m publishing on Tumblr hope you’ll like it! Contains: One-sided AkaMido/MidoAka and Midotaka/TakaMido which way you want it. Have fun

Time was the biggest problem of Midorima Shintarou. Well at least when it came to love..

The first time he fell in love was with Akashi, also known as his former Teiko teammate and captain. He didn’t notice it at first, but when he did realise that those little touches he did unintentionally, the stronger heart beat he got whenever the shorter looked at him, the happy feeling whenever Akashi and he played shogi in the breaks or played their instruments together and also those little glances - Midorima would never admit - at the other’s body in the changing room weren’t exactly ‘just-friends’ feelings, he panicked.

He was panicking and didn’t now what to do or say and tried to hide them, but Kuroko, Mr. I-can-read-you-like-a-book, noticed that of course and when he came to Midorima to talk to him about that and help him, the greenette wanted to die of embarrassment. ‘Why did he had to notice that?’, he asked himself, thinking if it would be save to tell one of his teammates about these complex and confusing feelings he had for his best friend. After nearly a month he couldn’t stand how things went (and especially not how all those girls where hanging around the point guard), so he went to Kuroko. To his (non existing) luck the new starter, Kise, was just with the phantom and caught on instantly once Midorima started talking, it really was a bad day for Cancers. “Wow sounds like you’re having a crush on Akashicchi, Midorimacchi!”, he said out loud and Midorima immediately put his hands over the blond’s mouth. “Sh-shut up, Kise!”, he said, red with embarrassment of what the bubbly boy said. “As if-”, the shooting guard continued, but Kuroko cut him off. “Actually, I think Kise-kun is right in what he says, Midorima-kun”, the bluenette calmly and polite as always told the taller. No it couldn’t be! He didn’t fell in love with Akashi! But the more he thought about it, he slowly started realising that all of the things he felt, where the one’s when someone fell in love. He let go of Kise, who took a deep breath before starting to talk again, loud, “You should tell Akashicchi that- hmpf!”, hands were over the model’s never shut mouth again. Right on time. “Tell me what?” Speaking of the devil..

The other two were friendly enough (and beliveable enough) to make up something when Akashi came to them. He wanted to inform them about practice and walked then away again. Now Midorima was lying on his bed looking up at his ceiling, thinking about what his two teammates told him after Akashi left.

“You have to tell him, Midorimacchi!” “I agree with Kise-kun. It’ll make you feel better” “And when something bad happens?” “You have to believe! Have a little faith!”, the small forward said. “But-” “Do it Midorima-kun”, the sixth man said before walking away, back to his class. “Good luck!”, Kise waved and followed his mentor.

He sighed and closed his emerald green eyes. ‘I’ll tell him.. Someday..’, he thought before falling asleep.

Well and this ‘someday’ turned into some month and the some month into some year.. Even on their last day he still believed he had enough time, but once he came back from the graduation party..

“..The moment to tell him.. is gone”

Realisation hit him hard and for once he was unmotivated and didn’t do anything except regretting being a coward..

When his first school day at Shutoku came, he was still depressed. He made himself ready, got his lucky item and went to school. Once he signed up for the basketball club, of course, something weird happened..

He felt.. watched..

Looking around he didn’t saw anyone so he pushed it away and instead thought about his old crush. Over the break in summer the feelings got a bit less and he was aiming that they’ll disappear until they meet, as Akashi said, on the court again.

“Name, class and position”, the vice captain told everyone who wanted to join the Shutoku High basketball-club and it got silent immediately. The gym was filled then with pupils giving their information and once the miracle was done he felt it again.. Someone was starring at him. Actually, everyone was looking at him, but somehow the other’s eyes glances didn’t get to him as much as a pair of silvery-blueish eyes, but Miidorima ignored it. It wasn’t something new, as a member of the Miracle Generation he was used to.

Later when the first years were told that they could go, Midorima grabbed his stuff and walked down his way to his classroom when suddenly.. “Midorima Shintarou-kun!”, he stopped, glanced back and saw those exact eyes which starred at him in the gym before again. “I’m Takao Kazunari. Nice to meet you!”, the boy told him with a confident smile. “How do you know my name?”, was the greenette’s question and the teen, who introduced himself as Takao, started to laugh. 'He reminds me of Kise.. Annoying..'

When he walked back he thought about, not only his teammate, but apparently his classmate as well, Takao. Even if the tsundere didn’t want to admit it, the shorter boy caught his curiosity. And slowly without realising it, Akashi got pushed out of his thoughts and a certain hawk-eyed person took over.

Month passed, games were won, games were lost, 'Damn that Kagami’ tears were shed and Takao and Midorima developed a friedship and their shared playstyle.

And the new Light from Shutoku well.. He fell in love again, but this time he wouldn’t be a coward..

“This time.. I’ll tell him”

the end~

#please be nice #past akamido #past midoaka #akamido #midoaka #midotaka #takamido #oneshot #kuroko no basket #kuroko's basketball #knb #midorima shintarou #akashi seijuro #kuroko tetsuya #kise ryouta #takao kazunari

[shenglingyuan]

title: the sword for which the world would kneel (1/2) (ao3) pairing: akashi seijuro/midorima shintaro summary: The sword was no ordinary sword after all. It was forged with a sword spirit, who would appear in its human form whenever it went to battle, causing havoc and annihilation on the field, never missing a single soul. Its name was Shintaro.

a.k.a. sword boyfriend akamido au...happy akamido day!!!! i will post the second half on midoaka day ohoho (also i really just ran out of time to finish....;_;)

Legend has it that beneath the Akashi estate rests the legendary sword of the Hundred Years War. The sword, said to be wielded by the best swordsman in history, put an end to the long unrest between the human and non-human races. Its blade shines even without a source of light, so sharp that even the wind fears to sweep past by its side. The handful that survived a decisive swing from it have said that the sword seemed to have a mind of its own, passing judgment to its targets despite what its wielder thinks. But of course, this was true. The sword was no ordinary sword after all. It was forged with a sword spirit, who would appear in its human form whenever it went to battle, causing havoc and annihilation on the field, never missing a single soul.

  Its name was Shintaro.

  “Ever since its original owner died, Shintaro has never once woken up,” Seijuro’s father has told him once when he was only eight. He was only a curious boy then, finding himself in the presence of the sword, drawn to the basement where it was kept, pulled by some mysterious force. His father found him just before he was able to land his pudgy hands on the revered blade. “No one has ever been worthy. Not even the best of us.”

  It hasn’t seen the best of us , Akashi’s young but clear mind thought, It hasn’t seen me.

Seijuro was a boy who was raised to be the best and grew up believing so. A lifeless sword not recognizing him? What a dishonor.

His mother told him, owning a legendary sword should be like owning any vicious creature. If one wanted for the vicious creature to recognize them, then one should show that he was more than an ‘owner’. One should show this creature – this sword – care and concern. Treat it like you would treat a friend, and it’ll tame under your hand.

  Seijuro kept this advice to heart. Whenever he had time, he would visit the sword on the basement and talk to it as if he was talking to a person. Even though Seijuro was the son of the clan head, because of his skills and temperament, there really was no one he could call a friend . Talking to the sword was no big deal: it could listen to whatever he had to day, and there was no chance it would say something he would disagree on. In some sense, the sword did become his friend. Seijuro only wondered if the sword considered him as such, too.

  On one occasion, his mother weaved for him an ornament to hang on the hilt of the sword. During those days, her body has grown too weak that she could only accomplish little things.

  “Maybe the sword will appreciate a small token?” she smiled as she put it on Seijuro’s small, rough palms.

  Seijuro eagerly went to the basement and tied it around the hilt. The ornament was made from dark green rayon, and at the end was a white jade shaped like a crescent moon. It was the last thing his mother was able to create before she finally gave in to her illness.

His father told him, after his mother has passed, that the only way to tame a vicious creature was to show it who has the power. Vicious creatures have no sense of tenderness nor warmth, so would a legendary blade made for war. For years, Seijuro trained both his mind and his spirit. There were no trials he did not face, there were no enemies he did not pound in defeat. When he finally came of age, all of the land and all of the races knew to tremble at the sound of his name – Akashi Seijuro.

  As per family tradition, and to acknowledge his skills, his father granted him ownership of Shintaro.

  Yet, the cold blade that laid underneath his own home never seemed to recognize him.

“I place no hope in its awakening,” his father had told him, disappointment leaking from his tongue, “but it’s better to be exposed on the field than grow brittle in its sheath.”

  From then on, Seijuro carried it on his back, never once parting with it even a meter away. He never used it either, for pulling it out of its sheath without it awakening to recognize him first seemed like cheating. It was against Seijuro’s principle. He won more battles, having a mundane sword on his hand as a weapon and a legendary sword on his back as decoration. The sword almost became a part of his body, no one would see Seijuro without it. A part of him believed that if the sword became familiar with him, if it saw how undefeated he was on the battlefield, then maybe it’ll finally give in and awaken. Seijuro’s spirit couldn’t be shaken – I will make this sword mine.

But as heaven would have it, not one who always wins could guarantee he could never get defeated.

  Seijuro was confident he had turn over the plan in his head a hundred times. All the possibilities and impossibilities were accounted for. But they were still overpowered, their numbers diminished into nothingness. Only a quarter remained alive, and by the looks of things, it wouldn’t be for much long.

  As Seijuro looked at the unexpected trump card their enemies brought out, as time seemed to freeze to mock him in his arrogance, as his blood freely flowed from his wounds, his father’s words echoed back in his head: No one has ever been worthy, not even the best of us.

  Seijuro closed his eyes in silent surrender.

  It’s not yet over!

  A strange, deep voice suddenly sounded in his head. Just then, the wind seemed to whistle, as if it was sliced by a very sharp blade. The weight on his back lightened, and the surrounding suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

  Seijuro opened his eyes and got a vague vision of a tall man in flowing robes standing before him, his long dark hair tied up high on his head, swaying with the wind. The dark sky opened up, the crescent moon above shining a light on the sudden stranger that saved his life. He wielded a strangely familiar but unfamiliar sword before him, its blade even shining brighter than the moon. The name slipped off his tongue before his mind had the chance to work: “Shintaro.”

  He never knew if the sword – no, the man – heard him or not, for as soon as he said his name, he strode from the spot he was standing, moving as swiftly and as surely as a storm cloud, and suddenly, the enemies that have been overpowering them were all defeated in a flash. There wasn’t even any clashing of metal swords that rang in the night air, Shintaro moved too fast for them to counteract.

  When the wind had settled, the battlefield had been soaked in their enemies’ blood.

  Seijuro was already standing, quickly recovering from his initial shock. This was the moment he had been waiting for all his life. Finally, the legendary sword has awakened. Yet, he still felt unsatisfied. Seijuro knew exactly why – the sword awakened when he was on the brink of death, as if the sword never believed he could survive and took it in its own hands to finish the job he was supposed to do.

  It was a mockery.

  But his remaining men were still kneeling on the ground, praises pouring out of their mouths.

  Finally! The young master has awakened the sword! He saved us! They saved us!

  Shintaro turned to face him then, and only Seijuro could see the knowing glance he threw his way.

  Your men believe that you are their savior, that voice spoke again in his mind, do you really wish to be stubborn right now?

  His eyes widened. The sword could see through his thoughts!

  But he made sense, to his own surprise. If Seijuro questioned the grounds on which the sword was awakened, his own men would see him weak and unworthy. It would bring shame to himself, and if his father knew, even more disgrace would fall upon his head.

  I’m still not worthy of you , he thought.

  The man only made a gesture in response, placing the sword before him to indicate that the battle was over. Another gust of swift cold wind grazed past the field, and in the next moment, the sword flew back to its sheath behind Seijuro, the man nowhere to be seen.

  Seijuro gritted his teeth, a small smile lining his lips. His quest to win the legendary sword has still yet to end.

News of the legendary sword’s awakening spread through all of the races like a plague. In no time at all, the Akashi estate was brimming with guests inside, wanting to land a glance at the sword spirit; the outside hid several spies from the enemies who couldn’t even dream of stepping an inch inside the heavily guarded estate.

  The sword spirit was not a social creature. He secluded himself inside the sword, never appearing in his human form again. But since he had been awakened, naturally, his thoughts were alive once more. And for some reason, the sword’s thoughts and Akashi’s could be connected in some imaginary space.

  “Little boy, how are your wounds?” Shintaro’s voice sounded inside his head. Seijuro jolted in surprise. Having someone in his head would need time to get used to.

  “I am not a little boy,” he answered calmly in his mind.

  The sword didn't reply anymore. Feeling left hanging in the air, Seijuro continued on, “How come you only awaken now?”

  “You needed me, and so I appeared.”

  His words strike Seijuro by surprise. Why did it sound like a sword spirit harbored mortal emotions? A sword spirit was its master's weapon alone. Nothing but an animated object.

  “For someone who hasn't met a sword spirit before, you think you know everything.”

  Seijuro forces himself to calm, keeping negative emotions inside him was detrimental to his recovery. Besides, he remembered that he still had to make himself worthy. Going against this blade whom he wanted to be recognized by was probably not the best idea.

  “Little boy,” the sword spoke again uninvited, “You are my owner now. You can’t just shut me out of your mind.”

  “Then start by calling me by my name.”

  The sword fell into silence, keeping quiet for so long that Seijuro thought it finally went back to sleep once more.

  “It’s not my fault they named me after him ,” Seijuro added, knowing since then the significance of his name and the hope that the family had placed on him to awaken the legendary sword, “But rest assured, this name that I now carry, it wouldn’t be wasted on me.”

The first Akashi Seijuro was a man more known than the Emperor of the land in his time. He was so powerful, so brave, so renowned, that when the Imperial Court collapsed from the inside and he took the opportunity to overthrow the ruling monarch and rule instead, what remained of the country welcomed him with open arms. The victory he brought during the Hundred Years War was forever etched in the hearts of the people. For those that survived that era of great depression, he was a symbol of absolute victory. And alongside him was the legendary sword he had wielded.

  His rule was short, however. They said the power consumed him, made him lose himself. The legends have also said that it was because of this very reason that during a crucial time, the sword spirit that had been with him through thick and thin refused to heed his calls anymore. When the demon enemy raised its weapon against Akashi Seijuro, and when he called for his trusted sword, only silence was the reply that came back. Then came the blow that ended his years of lunacy.

  The present Akashi Seijuro was now leading the clan in his father’s stead, four years after the reawakening of Shintaro. Ever since the day that he appeared in the middle of the battlefield, not once did he show himself again. It didn’t mean, however, that Seijuro was free from him. His quiet mind became a home for two.

  Thankfully, this sword spirit would only speak up about important matters. Once, when one of Seijuro’s men suggested to feign an ambush on the insurgent fire wielder clan that threaten their allies near Aso, Shintaro couldn’t help but scoff, “The fire wielder clan will devour you even before you step an inch within their territory. Little boy, how come you have followers as air-headed as this? Is he truly a warrior of this clan?”

  But of course, Seijuro was the only one to hear this. He agreed though, the hapless plan sounded really foolish. Aso was a vast place lined by chains of active volcanoes. No human lived within a mile of its borders. Only the very few friendly members of the fire wielder clan dare even breathe the air in that place, for the their loyalty to their blood was stronger than any connection in the world. Even if one side were friendly with the humans, as long as they did no harm, the ‘insurgent’ groups would never touch them.

  The case for humans were different, however. One wrong move and their head would either roll on Aso’s slopes or their body would be thrown to the boiling magmas. It didn’t matter how great a fighter one was.

  Seijuro appeased the sword in his mind, then lectured the person before him. Shintaro seemed satisfied, keeping quiet again throughout the whole duration of the meeting, only occasionally making subtle sounds of approval or disapproval.

  The sword’s inputs weren’t useless anyway, and in fact, Seijuro would seriously consider them from time to time. Eventually, the sword ended up as some sort of adviser for him. The rest of the clan acknowledged this, feeling blessed to have a legendary sword guide their ways.

  As for Seijuro, he was still on the edge over the fact that the sword was still not calling him by his name.

  “Why do you insist on calling me ‘little boy’?” he asked the sword while he was meditating in the middle of the Spirit Hall. “I’m already twenty-five.”

  “To me, you would always be that little boy who came to the basement to tell me about your life, not even missing a single day,” the voice suddenly sounded soft and fond, immersed in reminiscing old memories, “You stopped coming after you gave me the jade ornament.”

  The calm that Seijuro had been able to muster from his meditation trembled at the distant memory of his youth. He had never been able to return after he tied the jade ornament around its hilt because on that evening, his mother collapsed. He chose to stay by her side all day and all night since then. She passed on not long after, then his father honed him to the path of greatness. The sleeping sword had once been abandoned until Seijuro came of age.

  “You were just a little boy then,” it continued to speak in his mind, “When I saw you again, I couldn’t recognize you anymore.”

  He knew the sword wasn’t talking about his physical growth. “Loss changes a person.”

  “I would know.”

  Seijuro opened his eyes, suddenly finding an opening to a topic he had never once brought up in these years. “Your original owner, the man whom I share names with, what really happened to him?”

  “Are the things you’ve heard not enough to create a general idea about it?”

  “Those that talk about him now, no one of them was around during his time. And even if they were, no one knew him...no one knew him as much as you did. You were his constant companion. You know about the stories, then. Is it true?”

  “You people put Seijuro on too high of a pedestal he himself wouldn’t dare step on.” Even though it was his own name that slipped out of Shintaro, it sounded very foreign, like a stranger whom he never had the chance to meet, “He’s just like everyone else. A little more intelligent, a little more skilled, yes, but he is still human. He has weaknesses. He could fail. But the world...they looked at him as if his every step was a path created by the gods, and that even a slight mistake was worthy to crush his reputation to pieces. Any human subjected to such tremendous pressure, no matter how great they are, was bound to fall.”

  “They said when he needed you most, you didn’t aide him. If you’re so devoted, how could you do that?”

  Shintaro let out a bitter laugh. “He didn’t bring me to battle on that day.”

  “On such an important battle?”

  Shintaro paused for a while, seemingly gathering his thoughts, then he spoke again, “Around that period, he had already shown signs of...not being himself. Though I had a physical form, I can only do so much. He has already pushed everyone else away, I tried not to oppose him further for fear that he’d be all alone.

  “But the battle with the demons shouldn’t have pushed through, it was an intricately laid trap all along. Seijuro knew of it, but he did not care. I tried to stop him but he did not listen. In his fury, he chained my blade and locked it in the palace. He went on to battle with a mundane sword. The next thing I knew, my spirit seemed to have been plucked with by something...as if my guts were pulled out by an invisible hand. There I knew...Seijuro had perished in the battle.”

  Seijuro recalled the tall figure of Shintaro standing before him that time. He couldn’t help but think, if right now, Shintaro was also in that form, sitting in front of him, those dignified shoulders would be drooping, his straight back would be bent from an invisible weight, and his cold sharp face would be painted with the most melancholic of gray. Absentmindedly, he reached for the sword hung on his back, giving it a tender, assuring pat.

  “There are many stories, they change from tongue to tongue. But it was written in the chronicles that the last words they heard from that man's mouth was the name of his sword. This is an established piece of history.” He had his own speculations too about how deeply their relationship went, but this Seijuro didn't bring it up anymore, “Even in his last breath, it was you he was thinking of. If you want to meet him again, then there’s reincarnation to hope for.”

  Seijuro felt the sword become colder, as if its sorrow manifested itself as ice.

  “With a soul as corrupted as his, there won’t be any chance for reincarnation.”

  And Shintaro was a sword spirit. Spirits such as him that did not undergo the cycle of life and death had no chance either to cross the river to the afterlife. Losing his original owner was one thing; being awakened with the knowledge that it could never return to his wielder was a different torture to an immortal soul like him.

  “Would you have rathered to not be awakened?”

  “I tried really hard,” a bitter laugh reverberated in Seijuro’s mind, “But on a winter’s day over two decades ago, I was stirred up from my slumber.”

  “Over two decades ago…”

  “Don’t overthink too much. You are not Seijuro’s reincarnation. I would recognize his soul no matter what form he takes.”

  “That’s good then,” Seijuro smiled to himself. It meant that when the time came that he’d be finally able to be worthy of the legendary sword, it would be because of who he was and what he had accomplished.

  The Akashi Seijuro of the past was no more than a bitter memory. He would make sure that he - the Akashi Seijuro of the present - would surpass whatever that person was able to accomplish.

During the past half century,  under the rule of a new imperial line, the warriors of the human clan that was led by the Akashis only had one goal: to achieve yet again the peace that the first Akashi Seijuro was able to obtain for the land when he ended the Hundred Years War. Humans dominate the land, but there were also minorities that they had to coexist peacefully with. Though many of the other clans were their allies, insurgents ran in abundance in the territories that weren’t under their jurisdiction yet: the mermaids in Karatsu who wished to have the sole jurisdiction of the Western Sea, the ice people of Sapporo who wished to bar humans from their island because of an incident from a thousand years ago, the mountain creatures of Hida who wanted to be left alone from the entire world, and the fire wielders of Aso who were the most assertive of their desire to dominate instead.

  These insurgent groups, though small, were able to scatter themselves. They were like weeds, sprouting wherever, needing to be controlled. As the Akashis were settled in Kumamoto, this was their area of jurisdiction. The mermaid and fire wielder clans thrive in this territory as well, and there were regular clashes.

  Most of the times, the humans would win. But then, there were times that they wouldn’t.

  Seijuro had to lead another mission: insurgent mermaids were reported to be present in some port towns that weren’t Karatsu.

  “If they have expanded this much, I’m afraid some alliances between the insurgent groups are forming,” Shintaro had said while Seijuro was planning. Not knowing anything else, they needed to get more information first.

  “I was thinking that, too. And it could only be the fire wielders who could be helping them.”

  “If it’s them you’re dealing with...be more cautious.”

  Seijuro waited for Shintaro to add more to his words, but nothing came to his mind. Thinking nothing more of it, he continued devising a main plan and a handful of back-up plans. When night fell, with a few of his elite fighters, they went to observe themselves.

  It was only supposed to be a reconnaissance. But somehow, the enemies got wind of their arrival. The moment they stepped on the borders of the port town, they were ambushed from all sides. It was like that moment in the field again. Despite all his planning, the heavens seemed to be failing Seijuro in purpose.

  For the second time around, Shintaro appeared to save his life and the few others that were able to survive. Seijuro ordered to retreat before anyone else got killed.

  Upon their return, Seijuro suffered humiliation from his own father.

  “You bring nothing but dishonor!” he said, completely disregarding all the victories Seijuro had won for him. He only sat in front of the hall, their people sat on the sides. Seijuro was bent on the center, his forehead touching the floor. “The Akashis have long been trusted with the survival of the human race. The original bearer of your name brought peace to this land. How come you yourself bring death instead?” He pointed at the sword on his back. “If it weren’t for this legendary sword, who knew if you would have come back alive? Are you really even worthy?”

  If this was the olden days, Seijuro would have been lashed in front of everyone, shamed until he had no spirit left. But his father was aging, the times had changed, and despite his words, there wasn’t really anyone else fit to lead them into this wars. The other human clans have already conceded to this fact. If Akashi Seijuro failed, then even more so would the others.

  “Go back to the Memorial Hall and reflect. Ask forgiveness from the souls you have failed. Make sure that when you step out of that place, you’ve carved into your soul what it means to get defeated and that you would know how not to experience it again.”

  Seijuro didn’t know how he was able to bring himself back to his room. The moment from the floor of the main hall to the floor of the Memorial Hall seemed like a quiet blur. When he came to the realization that he was already alone and that Shintaro was calling his attention in his mind, he started to laugh.

  Blood still stained his clothes, a mix of their enemies’ and his comrades’. He didn’t even have a wound, all because Shintaro saved him in time. Without him, would he have been able to escape at all? Without Shintaro, he actually would have been long dead.

  “I’m worthless,” he said quietly, his laughter fading in the empty hall, “I’m nothing without a legendary weapon. I’m nothing without a victory. I’m nothing without my name. I’m nothing. I’m nobody.”

  The weight on his back lightened, soft cold wind swirled around him. Suddenly, he was enveloped between two firm arms on his front, a warm body giving him assurance. Shintaro’s long hair fell over Seijuro’s back. Their faces were only inches apart.

  “You are wrong,” he said again. This time, his voice was low but clear, not anymore echoing inside his mind, stirring his heart anew, “Not everyone define you by your losses and your triumphs, as you should not be. You are Seijuro - the kid who kept a lonely sword company for days without fail, treating it like a human being, like a friend; the teenager determined to be the best version of himself, training both mind and body; the adult that leads his people with all his best, knowing when to pursue or to retreat, having the makings of the greatest fighter and leader in history. This is the Seijuro I know, and you must know him, too.”

  Seijuro started to calm his breath, Shintaro’s words acting like a healing salve to his wounded ego. He became more aware of the arms comforting him, of the fact that for the first time in many years, Shintaro had called him by his name.

  He pushed Shintaro a bit away from him then, yet he still held on to this arms, meeting his emerald eyes. By some inexplicable force, Seijuro reached up, cupping the sides of Shintaro’s face with his own surprisingly steady hands. For so long, he had been drowning in his life as the succeeding chief of the clan and for being a prestigious Akashi. The name Seijuro attached to him since birth became the heavy anchor from which he could not remove himself from. He didn’t know since when, but it felt like he had been holding his breath for far too long. He needed air.

  Seijuro moved forward, landing a hesitant lip over Shintaro’s. To his surprise, Shintaro responded right away, opening his own mouth further, giving his upper lip a light lick. At that point, Seijuro lost all his reservations. He pressed further, weaving his left hand along Shintaro’s hair, his right hand grabbing the back of Shintaro’s neck as he hungrily savored the moment.

  Yet Shintaro didn’t feel like overwhelming at all. His hands that held Seijuro by his waist were firm but gentle, touching him as if he was the most precious treasure in the whole world. His lips were as gentle as the lap of the waves against the shore, ferrying him from the bottom of the boundless ocean.

  Seijuro had never felt so content.

  So this was how it felt like to be saved.

Ever since that moment, Shintaro lived his days in his human form, much to everyone else’s surprise. He would always appear behind Seijuro, walking alongside him, seeming like an Emperor’s advisor. Even Seijuro’s father was speechless at this development and he never dared say a demeaning word again towards Seijuro.

  Shintaro had long harbored a soft affection towards Seijuro. After all, who in the past hundred of years actually took the time to visit a desolate sword in the basement and tell them of the most trivial things? Even when Seijuro grew up and started carrying him on his back, his motivation to train just to be worthy to wield him impressed Shintaro. Though he might be a sword spirit, he still had a heart that could be moved.

  When Shintaro saved him from certain death on that day he finally turned to his human form again, he has no other intention in mind. If Seijuro had died that day, he didn’t know if anyone else could wield him. Half of him wanted to remain dormant, but this other half was effectively convinced by Seijuro that he’s worth waking up for.

  Over the years, Seijuro had proven that he really was worth it.

  The duo that was Akashi Seijuro and the legendary sword Shintaro became a fearsome force in the battlefield in no time. Their names were soon equated with victory. No matter the force, no matter the ability, no matter the strategy, no matter how difficult things would appear to be, the two of them led the clan to win against them every single time. It was no question when they got the nickname “The Miracle Combination”.

“Can you please stop staring?” Seijuro broke through his reverie, a small smile lining his lips, “It is quite distracting.”

  They were holed up in Seijuro’s room, finalizing the troop redistribution they had conjured up together. After almost a decade of battles, Seijuro was almost near his goal of unifying the land under one rule. The mermaids have made a mutually beneficial deal about the jurisdiction on the Western Sea. The mountain creatures finally realized that they would have a higher chance to survive and thrive if they let others interact with them, and the ice people finally let go of their thousand year-old grudge. This was the same goal the previous Seijuro had, except that this present Seijuro addressed it with a much solid plan and a much clearer mind.

  After the complete defeat in the port town, Seijuro and Shintaro came to reorganize their whole strategy. It turned out to be highly effective. They were finally able to subdue the most violent mermaids, and they made peace with those that were willing to create it. Right now, only one clan was left, and then they could celebrate probably another hundred years of peace.

  “If my stare alone can already distract you, then you might have to reconsider fighting in the field,” Shintaro jested, knowing all too well that when it comes to the things that matter, Seijuro would be the last one to get himself shaken by the most trivial things.

  “Being brave now, are we?”

  Shintaro scooted closer to Seijuro and the map they were working on. The territory of the fire wielder clan remained the only one unmarked.

  “What’s wrong?” Seijuro asked, noticing something was off within the short period of silence. “Is there any matter about the fire wielders?”

  “Do you know how us sword spirits come to be?”

  Seijuro thought for a while, juggling in his mind the previous legends he had learned. Though he and Shintaro had been together for years, it was actually a wonder why the topic of the fire wielders never came in between them, nor was his creation.

  “From what I know, the metal is melted at a really high temperature, and once it's heated up enough, an animal sacrifice would be waiting to be slain by the slightly molten sword. There is a certain incantation that must be orated, and however strong the sword spirit is would depend on the intensity of sacrifice and the skill of the smith.”

  “Animal sacrifice, is that how they teach it these days?”

  “Is it more than that?”

  “So much more. The previous Seijuro was my wielder, but my sword smith was from the fire wielder clan. Seijuro was able to have me because of his connection with the fire wielders back then. Only the heat from their magma could create such a high quality sword.”

  “And the matter about the sacrifice?” Somehow, Seijuro already knew the answer even before Shintaro said it, a heavy weight dragging on his heart.

  “The fire wielders...they have a collection of humans especially living to be sacrifices in their life. They are well-cared for, knowing nothing of their eventual fate. When it's their time, they are separated from the other potential sacrifices, being made to believe that they are being sent out on an important mission. Little did they know, they will be melted with the steel in the boiling magma.”

  At this point, Seijuro's arms were already around Shintaro's waist, hugging him tightly in some semblance of comfort. It was a worthless action, he knew. He couldn't even begin to imagine the suffering Shintaro had gone through to be made into a sword spirit.

  “Did he know?”

  “He did. It was a long-standing thorn between us,” Shintaro let out a sigh, patting his head gently, “Anyway, it's not what I was trying to say. The fire wielders are masters of creating swords with spirits. When the old Seijuro fell from power, his alliance with them dissipated, too. They've cut off their connection from outside. Who knows how much they've developed this ancient technique? How much sword spirits would be there? You have to consider this in distributing your troops and where to lead the battle.”

  Seijuro kept his arm around Shintaro, nodding slightly. “You are the only sword spirit in our hand. Could you handle a situation like it when the time comes?”

  A gentle finger lands on Seijuro’s chin, tilting his head up. Eyes that were as green as the fields they fight on met eyes that were as red as the blood that soon soaked them. In this small distance connected by their breaths, a promise of a lifetime was made.

  “As long as I'm around, I will always give you victory.”

  But a god's plan was greater than that of either a human's or a sword spirit's.

#akamido #midoaka #i write sometimes #this is highly inspired by priest wbk #knb is forever #also please read priest's novels

[dondake]

[akamido] of you and me

rating: t summary: Everything I’ve had I’ve worked for, and I’ve gotten myself. I’ve built myself from the ground up.

The Midorima family business had a quiet fall from grace until Kise Ryouta decided to mention it in his naturally carrying voice in a little gastropub in Tokyo. “Midorima, that reminds me,” he said, drawing all eyes on him as he was addressing a member of the group he rarely personally interacted with. “How are you doing? I saw what happened on the web; hope your family’s doing okay?”

Midorima turned back to the menu in his hands. Aomine, between him and Kise, turned to his right. “What are you talking about, Kise?”

“It’s nothing,” Midorima said.

“Oh, you haven’t heard? It sounded like Midorima’s parents’ company went bankrupt or something! I mean, I don’t keep up with that kind of stuff, but I read that they’d been losing money and had to keep cutting staff and last week, they just went and closed and everything! I don’t really understand it myself, so I wanted to check in today. Midorima-cchi, are you doing okay? You don’t need to drop out of university, do you? My manager could probably get you something, you’re tall and you’ve got a good figure. What of your sister? Isn’t she finishing high school? Does she need to go straight to being an office lady or--”

“Kise,” said Midorima. “Drop it.” Kise opened his mouth to protest and Aomine nudged him, hard, in the side. While this might have elicited a squeal of protest from anyone else, Kise was soft for Aomine and closed his mouth immediately. Still, with everyone’s eyes on him, Midorima had no choice but to sigh and explain himself. “Yes, it’s true that my family’s company has declared bankruptcy. The Board had made several bad investments in the past few years and it was too much to recover. It isn’t like the company has evaporated overnight; they’re still working on sorting out all the debts and manage our remaining employees. But my family is doing fine, thanks for asking.” He waved down a waiter to take their order, effectively ending the conversation.

As they were collecting their jackets at the door, Murasakibara and Momoi helping Aomine carefully handle a tipsy Kise flirting with everyone at the bar while Kuroko watched passively, Akashi cocked his head. “You didn’t tell me your family had been in trouble,” he said.

Midorima did not meet his eyes as he hitched Momoi, Kise, and Aomine’s jackets in his arm. “Would I have talked about my family’s shame even to my closest friend? Especially someone who is heir to an equally weighted familial responsibility?” When he finally looked up, the emotion in his eyes had been controlled to an impasse. “My personal problems are not any of your concerns, no offense.”

“Of course not,” Akashi said, taken aback. “But...well, as you’ve said, I’ve also got the weight of my father’s company on my shoulders so I know what that’s like. I suppose it isn’t proper asking how your family is faring financially but - you’re finishing a business degree, aren’t you? I know that isn’t what you’ve wanted to do, so are you able to start a medical--”

“Akashi,” Midorima interrupted, his voice steely. “I don’t start something I won’t finish.” He turned and handed Kise his jacket in one smooth motion, as if he had rehearsed the gesture. He helped Momoi into her peacoat, as she chatted to keep Kise upright and distracted as Aomine quickly slipped into his coat and slipped his arm back around Kise’s waist to stabilize him. Murasakibara and Kuroko returned from paying the tab.

“Yeah,” Aomine said, once they reached the sidewalk. “How much do we owe you? Just send me the request on Paymo.”

“Sure,” Kuroko said.

“I got you,” Kise slurred, looking over at Midorima. “Send me Midorima-cchi’s share too, don’t worry about it!”

Midorima’s lips drew into a thin, tight line. “I don’t need handouts. I can pay my own way, thanks.” Aomine hurried Kise along, although his glance back at Kuroko was clear enough that Midorima’s portion was to be split between the rest of them. Midorima fell back in the group, tense and unwilling to engage in any more unnecessary discussion.

Akashi fell in step with him. “I’m sorry. For what I said earlier. It was out of line, too early…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Midorima said, although his tone was clipped, almost mechanical. “How long do you think we’ve known each other? I know what you mean.”

At the train station, Kise had thrown both arms fully around Aomine’s neck, comfortably settled into his needy mode for the night. “Aww,” he whined, resting his temple on Aomine’s neck. “I wish I lived on your guys’ side of the city. I hate being so far away. I’m so jealous that Aomine and Kuroko and Midorima go to university together and Akashi’s like...a bus ride away and Murasakibara and Momoi live together and it’s just not fair that I’m on the other side of Tokyo! Won’t one of you come and live near me already!”

“You’re disrupting the other riders,” Aomine chastised. “I told you I’ll see you home so you won’t pass out in a ditch somewhere, so be quiet already.”

“How completely transparent,” Murasakibara grumbled as Aomine and Kise boarded the train going west. “He could have just said he was going over to hook up.”

Momoi tugged on her boyfriend’s ponytail. “Shh. We’re not supposed to know, remember?”

“I suppose it’s just you and me on the walk back to campus,” Kuroko said.

“I suppose so,” Midorima agreed.

“Akashi, you don’t want us to walk to you to your apartment?” Momoi offered. “It’s just a few stops from ours, so it’s not a problem. It’s a warm night, so Atsushi and I won’t mind.”

“It’s fine,” Akashi said, smiling. “Don’t worry about it.” He watched her lean her head against Murasakibara’s shoulder through the train window. Kuroko had already pulled out a book and was discussing it with Midorima, across from them. Akashi found himself on the train platform, feeling suddenly very alone.

[=]

After his only son left for high school in Kyoto and returned to Tokyo for university, Akashi Masaomi decided to sell his big house for a smaller, still elegant abode in a quiet Tokyo suburb. Akashi commuted to school from an apartment closer to campus and spent his weekends at home, where his father was already helping indoctrinate him into the family company on a part-time basis. As he left his own study late one night, Akashi found Midorima putting on his shoes in the foyer. “Midorima,” he said, the surprise apparent in his voice. Since graduating high school, he had learned the proper time to suppress his emotions, which was not all the time. “I didn’t know you were here.”

Midorima’s head was half turned, ready to leave. “I was only here to...discuss something with your father. I figured you were busy, so I did not think it was right to interrupt you.”

“Nonsense; you’re never a bother to me. Are you leaving already? I can put tea on; I’d love to hear about how your thesis is going so far…”

“No, I must be going. Going to campus from my house is an extra half hour, so I don’t want to go to sleep too late. I’m feeling exhausted as it is.” Of course, Akashi thought. With his father’s company disbanded, Midorima was probably staying at his family home more often to help sort out their affairs.

“Right. Well...if you ever need anything, you have my number.”

“Yes. Good night, Akashi.”

Akashi found his father sitting in the living room with the big window open. He was smoking a cigarette, a rare sight in the house. Masaomi only smoked when something very satisfying happened to him. It made Akashi very curious about what he and Midorima had talked about, but one of Masaomi’s number one rules of effective business involved never stating one’s purpose outright. Akashi brought his reports to the couch and peered over them at his father. Masaomi’s hair was ruffled, relaxed, and the top button of his shirt undone; in this state, his father must be ready to sleep for the night and content for the day.

“I saw Midorima at the door. I didn’t know he had come for a visit.”

Masaomi tapped some ash into his marble ashtray. “That boy is talented, he is,” he said, not quite answering Akashi’s implicit question. “That’s the true value of good schools; it’s not so much about what you learn, it’s the people you meet.”

“Quite. It’s a little late for a business call, though, isn’t it, father?”

Masaomi shrugged, unbothered. “Most of his business school classes are in the evening, so it was the only time in his schedule.”

The mystery would only gnaw at his mind and distract him from a good night’s sleep. “What did you and Midorima talk about?”

Masaomi put out his cigarette and folded up the newspaper he had been reading into neat rectangles to place onto the coffee table. “For now, that’s a private matter. You should go to sleep soon, Seijuro. You might not have an early morning class, but having enough rest is important for sound judgements.” Without hired help to help select his outfits for the office, Masaomi had taken great joy in picking out his crisp shirts and ties before he went to bed. Somehow, it had never dawned on him just how many cufflinks and patterns he owned and it chuffed him to no end the combinations he could make. He left his son to ponder things alone.

[=]

“I’m so happy we can hang out like this,” Kise gushed. He drank loudly from his pitch black Americano, the metal bangles around his wrist clattering. “I love it when I have shoots on the East Side. I really ought to move to a place over here, but you know...my parents want me around. They’re super paranoid. You know about the celebrities that get stabbed or whatever because they’ve got obsessive fans. They say that now that I’m moving away from tween and teenage fashion magazines to more high-end brands, there’ll be some crazy girls who get it in their heads that they’ve got to get at me now before I’m unaccessible. Really! Don’t they know how easy it is to follow someone on Instagram? Anyway, it just makes these meet-ups even better! I love seeing you outside of our monthly gatherings.”

Akashi smiled wanly. “The feeling is mutual, Kise. I’m only sorry that Aomine had an emergency shift and couldn’t come with us.”

“I texted you today, not him!” Kise slurped another loud gulp from his coffee. He might think him clairvoyant, but the reality was Akashi had seen the text on Kise’s phone when the boy went to fetch their coffees at the counter and Kise was so unguarded that he had not limited message previews. It was any miracle that the two of them thought their trysts were a secret. “Anyway, I got chewed out by him, speaking of which...I apologized to Midorima for airing out his family drama in public, but I think he’s still mad at me...it’s not my fault my brain makes me talk before I think! I know it’s been like...a week...but I just want to make sure he’s not holding a grudge against me. Do you know if he’s still mad?”

“How would I know? I don’t see him every day.”

“Aww, I thought you guys were super close! I mean, you guys were attached at the hip in middle school that we thought you two were definitely--uh, well, I guess if Kuroko said he’s not mad, then he’s not mad.” Kise began texting, distracted.

“I didn’t know he and Kuroko were close.”

“Oh, yeah, right? Like, you’d think that Midorima was the type that if he was in the same group as you, he’d pretend he didn’t know you or something. Kuroko and Aomine, that’s a friendship that makes sense. If anything, they shit-talk Kagami since he’s not in Japan to defend himself! But yeah, apparently he and Kuroko are in some kind of reading club...book club...something like that together. I thought Kuroko didn’t really like him, but they talk about literature or whatever.”

“So what did you all say about me and Midorima in middle school?”

Kise’s fingers stopped moving across his phone’s screen. He looked up, shamed at being caught after lowering his guard and thinking that his slip had gone unnoticed. “Uh...okay, it was years ago. You can’t blame us! And....uh, I don’t remember who started it but...we thought you two were an item or something! You guys were so close and always talking and going off together...I think even a rock or something dumb would have thought something about it.”

Akashi drank from his coffee too fast, the sound too loud against his ears and he cleared his throat to rid the burning sensation. That would smart for a few hours. Kise was staring at him now. “An item...the team thought we were dating?”

“At least! I said at least one of you would think just fooling around was improper or...something like that. I think Aomine said that? I just agreed with him-yeah, I think that’s what he said.”

“We were not dating.”

“I mean, duh! Of course not. That’s hilarious. That would be as wild as saying me and Aomine were dating just because we get along and hang out on the weekends. I mean, could you believe?” Kise laughed. “Anyway, more importantly...he’s doing okay, right? He brushed it off but...I mean, you guys go to private schools. That can’t be cheap.”

“I believe he’s got some kind of funding from the school; a scholarship, I think it was.”

“Oh yeah. Like Murasakibara, huh? Culinary school’s got to be super expensive too since it’s so specialized, but I bet Momoi is eating like a goddess! But I guess Midorima could get a job too, if he doesn’t already have one already. But...he was supposed to work at his parents’ company after he graduated, right? Now what? It’s a little late in the job hunting season, isn’t it? Aomine was saying he was looking since last year. So that’s why I was worried for Midorima! I mean, I couldn’t see him working in retail or at a fast food joint or...well...you know. The oldest profession…”

“Farming?” Akashi asked.

“No!” Kise looked around before lowering his voice. “Prostitution!”

Akashi was completely still before bursting out in laughter. “Please don’t say things like that, Kise. You know I’m terrible with jokes. Prostitution is illegal in Japan. I don’t think Midorima would do anything like breaking the law, even to make a living. He’s too ethical for that.”

“Okay, sure, maybe he isn’t selling his body on the corner. But there are other forms of sex work too. He could probably get a sugar daddy. His weird quirks might be endearing to some old dude. He might not be religiously devoted to astrology anymore, but I feel like people of a certain age in Japan like youths who are orderly and remind them of the Heian period or something. Right?”

“A sugar daddy...Kise, how many older men with money to spend on twenty-somethings exist in Japan? Do you think it’s so easy to just find someone who wants to sponsor someone without even a college degree?”

“You’re not taking me seriously.” Kise puffed out his cheeks, but he deflated and shrugged. “You’re right, though. I can’t imagine Midorima charming up a rich old guy anyway. He’d much sooner get a job checking each grain of rice for quality assurance at a grocery store before he’d say any flirty words to anyone.”

On the way home, Akashi thought back to Kise’s sugar daddy conspiracy. He was tired if he was entertaining such frivolous things like that...but paid dating was not something totally unusual in this day and age. There was a girl in his seminar who was known to be an escort to fancy events. He’d known about these sort of businesses; after his mother had died, his father had dreaded the sympathetic gazes of his peers and had hired a few women to hang off his arm to give an air of normalcy. His father had never touched these women beyond what was necessary, and one of them had even given Akashi chocolate. Midorima as a host was also an amazing thought; tugging on an itchy collar of a gaudy suit, speaking flowery language - the thought made Akashi laugh.

As he was taking his shoes off, Akashi noticed another pair of shoes at the step. On his way to his room, he ran into his father and Midorima coming from the direction of his father’s personal office.

“Seijuro,” Masaomi said, beaming. “I was just about to offer some peaches to Midorima; you know, the ones your grandmother sent. Go and cut some up now; I want to take a step out and take a call quickly.” He had a lighter in one hand and his cell phone in the other. Midorima nodded as Akashi.

“Of course, father.” Midorima followed him to the kitchen and sat at the table as Akashi washed two peaches and brought a knife over from the drawer. “Again, you’re here completely unannounced. You’ve got tell me when you’re paying us a visit.”

“Not completely unannounced. I had an appointment with your father.” Akashi started to peel a peach and Midorima stopped him. “There’s no need to do that. I don’t mind peach skin.” He took the fruit from Akashi’s hand, rubbed a spot, and bit in, his teeth breaking the delicate papery peel. The juice made his mouth wet, his lips the same shade as the hue of pink against his chin.

How many men in Japan existed rich enough to be a young, twenty-something’s patron? Akashi Masaomi was one of the country’s top businessmen, and he was a single, eligible bachelor.

“Midorima,” Akashi blurted. “Are you...free? On Fridays? It’s been forever and a day that we’ve played a game of shogi. We used to do that so often during...during middle school.”

Midorima licked his lips and reached for a napkin from the holder at the end of the table. “I have seminar until seven. But I am free most Fridays, if that’s what you’re asking. Are you suggesting we meet up to play shogi?”

Somehow he felt like he had lost control of the conversation. A whole childhood of learning composure and steering negotiations, and his father would be so disappointed. “Things are changing so much nowadays; we’ll be graduating soon and all. Isn’t it-isn’t it comforting to do things that are familiar, that remind you of a simpler time?” He was turning red, he could feel the heat in his face. He hoped his father’s phone call was taking its sweet time.

Midorima finished sucking the juice from the peach pit and put it on his damp napkin. “It has been a while since I’ve played,” he said finally. “And I’m sure university has taken up much of your time as well...perhaps I’ll find a victory in my lap. Okay, let’s do it.”

[=]

Two sessions of shogi later, and Akashi thought he had perfected his poker face. It had made his stomach turn, knots and somersaults at first at the idea that Midorima was in a sugar baby situation with his father. They were discreet; he no longer stumbled upon Midorima at his house, but after a second time of being caught, he was certain his father decided to change locations. All for the better - out of sight, out of mind. Akashi nodded to himself, flipping through a human resources reference book to pass the time and occupy his hands. This was a convenient bookstore near the little coffee nook Midorima had proposed for their shogi get-togethers. Anyway, whatever Midorima did in his own time was his own business; hadn’t he said before that his personal problems were not of his concern? They might have been friends once, close friends in middle school, but that was only the reality of adulthood. At a certain point, one became autonomous, living independently of one’s peers. After all, it wasn’t like Midorima was on a fast track to becoming his other dad or something ludicrous like that. Surely, if Midorima was interested in romance or something like that, he could easily pursue it.

Confident in his conclusions, Akashi placed the book back on the shelf. It was almost time for Midorima to arrive, and he wanted to take some moments to plan out his strategy. Midorima played a little differently than he did in middle school, still cautious, but more daring and willing to make sacrifices. Akashi did not play as often, that was true, but he still perused how the professionals played in public games. As he made his way to the door, passing the cashier counter, he spotted Midorima with Kuroko, standing shoulder to shoulder in front of a pile of books.

“There is no way I’m going to be able to carry all these,” Kuroko was saying, frowning slightly. “Of all days for one of the straps of my bag to break...I hate carrying books on the train...but I’m afraid that if I don’t buy them now, I’ll have to wait a few weeks for new copies to come in…”

“Don’t be so obtuse. You know you’ll see me later tonight; let me take some of your books. You just need to ask.”

“So...shall I wrap all these up?” the cashier asked slowly.

“You are a godsend, Midorima,” Kuroko said.

“As usual, I’m picking up after you.” Midorima began taking the books out of Kuroko’s hand, his hands closing over the shorter boy’s knuckles.

“Midorima,” Akashi called, walking over. “So you were here already. What a coincidence.”

Kuroko turned and looked at him. “Oh. You were meeting Akashi today?”

“Yes, but don’t worry. I won’t be late.”

“That’s a lot of books,” Akashi commented. He was speaking unfiltered, everything that came into his mind. What a mundane observation to make! Kuroko watched as Midorima placed the majority of books in his bag. “Are you sure you’ll be alright? Carrying all of those around, with me and after we’re done.”

“It’s honestly not a problem,” Midorima said. “I’ll see you tonight then, Kuroko.”

“Sure. Good to see you, Akashi.” Without another word or glance behind, Kuroko left the bookstore.

Midorima grunted, sliding his bag into the booth in the back of the coffee shop. They had more or less established the back area as their Friday haunt, quiet enough to hear themselves think. There were less of the cutesy little planters and light fixtures, so the younger crowd preferred to remain in the front. “I’m sorry, Akashi. I might need to leave early to drop off my things and take these books to Kuroko. I really can’t be late; I’ve been late for our meetings the past two times and it’s not looking good on my image.”

“Not a problem,” Akashi echoed. He laid out the shogi pieces on the board, the snap of the wood on wood making his hair stand on end. “Twenty-thousand.”

Midorima blinked at him. “Twenty-thousand...what?”

“Yen. I’ll give you twenty-thousand yen for this meeting. And...oh, it’s been two times since we’ve met before too, right? I’ll pay retroactively too.”

Midorima began shaking his head slowly. “Akashi...what’s this about? What are you talking about? Why are you bringing this up?” When Akashi didn’t respond, he blew out a breath. “Look...I know all of you are walking on eggshells about my family’s company...but honestly, I think it was the right time. My father’s told me much of the company’s strategy and our outlook for the next few years, and in my opinion, it was time for us to move on. We were outgrowing the market and it was time for an upgrade. I hardly think my father will retire now and live out the rest of his days in our living room. He’s already looking at our next venture...and I thank you all for your concerns, but I’m doing fine myself. I should have told you before, but I’ve secured a position and I’ll be set by graduation…”

“How can you call it that? This is what I mean. I can give you what my father’s been giving you, so you don’t need to do that. You don’t need to have that keep you from spending time with Kuroko, if he’s who you want. If it’s money, I’ve got more than enough of it.”

“Akashi, I don’t need or want your money.”

“Then how can I keep you spending time with me? What do I have to do to have you look at me?” This was embarrassing, and it was his saving grace that the coffee shop played a variety of music, loudly, that had irritated him the first time they had come. He couldn’t bear to look Midorima in the eyes. He was burning the lines of the shogi board into his eyes.

Midorima was silent across the table. “You don’t need to give me money for me to want to spend time with you, Akashi.” He reached over, coming short of touching Akashi on the arm, setting his hand across the table. “You’re seriously confusing me. What on earth are you talking about? What’s this about your father? I told him not to tell you about me taking a job with your company. I wanted to show him that I’m capable and I’ve earned this degree without you putting in a good word for me, like I know you’d feel compelled to do. I thought he was pleased by my performance on his practice cases. Did you say something to him?”

Akashi heard all this, understood it, and processed it, but he opened his mouth and said, “But you’re my father’s sugar baby.”

There was another long silence. “Sugar baby?” Midorima withdrew his hand and brought it to his face. “Who gave you that idea? You really thought all this time I’ve been...sleeping with your father?”

“Then...you’re not sleeping with Kuroko either?”

In spite of himself, Midorima laughed. “Kuroko? No, I’m not. We’re in a Reading Group together. We usually meet Saturdays and the girl in charge wants to do an early morning session to match an early morning meditation scene in the book we’ve read. We’re meeting in a park closest to Kuroko’s place, so I was planning on sleeping over so we could head over tomorrow morning. And I was planning on just sleeping on his couch, nothing else.” Another short laugh left his lips. “I’m sorry, but the reality isn’t as exciting as in your simulations. I suppose you’re right that things really are changing as we’re getting older that you didn’t immediately come to me with your thoughts and speak your mind the moment you suspected something.”

Akashi began sweeping the shogi pieces back in the travel container. “I just remembered - something’s come up, I’m afraid I must be going.”

But Midorima reached out again and grasped his wrist, gently without pressure. “Wait.” His hand was hot, heat that his father did not know and that Kuroko did not know either. “As fantastical as half of that was...was that a confession? Do you want me to spend more time with you, even without the excuse of shogi? We’ve both been busy for graduation - but things will be different once we’re working.”

Agreeing would be too much of a direct concession. “The others have been thinking there was something going on between us since middle school.”

Midorima’s hand squeezed. “Then we can put some truth to those speculations.”

#akamido #akashi seijuro #midorima shintarou #kuroko no basket #kuroko no basuke #canadino fic #did i really quote sh*ngela in a fic that isn't even half humorous? #yes because that is who i am as a person

[kurobasfanzine]

Contributor Spotlight #13

As we launch into our creation period, we’d like the chance for you to get to know the creators and contributors involved in making this zine happen. For that reason, we will be posting bi-weekly Contributor Spotlights, which will showcase the past works of Limitless Zine contributors.

They’re all amazing creators with amazing talent, so please show them your support!

✽✽Ari

Twitter

“Actually for three or four years I avoided KnB but then in just one night I get hooked because I love this boy so much. I’m so happy and honored that I can be a part of Limitless Zine! For me KnB is perfect the way it is and I don’t hope for more official continuation BUT I do want to see more possibilities in KnB universe by the fans!!! So I hope more people can support the Zine along the way!”

✽✽ Bent

Twitter | AO3

“Among their many hobbies and interests, Bent is particularly fond of lying despondently in bed, a single tear trickling down while thinking of AkaMido, as rain falls outside and sad music plays in the background. They’d like to personally fight Tadatoshi Fujimaki for being the puppetmaster that cursed their dick.”

Spring is not a melancholic season by nature – in reference to both public perception and the science involved, life blooming anew in the wake of a harsh winter – but with the senior’s graduation waiting in the days ahead, he sought to honor them with Chopin’s subtle grace. Like an inhale drawn out, sliding slow as dew drops from a leaf.

They might regard the choice as another of his eccentricities (“it’s a graduation, not a mass funeral, Midorima”) and his mentorship with them might have been turbulent at best; it does little to erase how they had fought for victory alongside him in the stadium and, just as importantly, in the practice gymnasium. Midorima’s respect is difficult to earn, and when it does it is rightfully given. So, Chopin. Chopin until the relative quiet of the music room is disturbed by the click of the doorknob, followed by light but brisk footsteps, as if their owner is small in stature and commanding all the same. Only one person fits the description perfectly, not that said person is ever very far from Midorima’s mind. “Midorima,” says Akashi. Not Shintarou, Midorima notes with conflicting sentiments, and while his fingers halt in the midst of Chopin his heart screams Vivaldi. 

(Trite, saccharine, and ill-fitting, and still achingly joyous.) He turns to that voice because it is polite to address a visitor, and because he cannot do otherwise, a sunflower unable to resist the pull of daylight. In the dim glow of the afternoon filtering through the room’s solitary window Akashi is unchanged from their last meeting, aside for the length of his hair. His bangs have grown back since December.

“You aren’t in Kyoto,” says Midorima, more of an observation than a greeting. 

“Why?”

“I was told I’d find you here,” says Akashi, a deflection, as he steps towards the piano and towards Midorima. “I have the day off, so to speak, and Tokyo is inviting this time of year.”

“So you thought to ambush me at my school.”

“I thought to visit an old friend.”

                      —   Excerpt from Equinox [AO3]

#kuroko no basket #knb #kurobas #limitless zine #ari #bent #contributors #contributor spotligh

[xxxjubesy]

What are your thoughts/hcs on the ship AkaMido/MidoAka?

Well, if there was a way to see my “most used tags” (is there?) you would find AkaFuri and MidoTaka close to the top of the list, Anon. Haha.

BUT! I do like the idea of past AkaMido/MidoAka. Not in all the universes I write, but for some. I like thinking of them “going steady” in middle school. Or even going as far as experimenting with each other when they’re older.

Akashi and Midorima have a very close relationship in most of my fics. So close, in fact, that Takao considers himself to be Furihata’s brother-in-law. Also, they were each other’s best men at their weddings.

I like them, but more as friends.

Thanks, Anon! ♥

#answered #anon #sfw #akashi seijuurou #midorima shintarou #akamido #midoaka #akafuri #midotaka #knb #kuroko no basuke #headcanons

[codename-bewareofthefangirl]

Hi hi!! AkaMido anon here! I'm in need of some...you know...Akashi in love with Midorin. *blushes crazily and hides my face to your chest* So I wanted to ask, is it possible to ask for more than 1 prompt? I mean, if you accept ofcourse, can I have a (longish?) fic with #16sentence, #12dialogue and #14dialogue all in one together? Maybe break my heart for a long while then a small promising-happy-ending? I love the way you write internal monologues btw ^-^

Hi my sweetdear! *pat happily his head* I’ve finally written it! Sorry for the wait! Iswear, I’ve tried to make it angsty but the fluff and the fun conqueredeverything and I don’t know why, I hope you’re gonna like it either way. Thanks also for yourcontinue support!

Have a goodday!

 In the most inappropriate moments

 Midorima groaned again, shifting uncomfortably in hisposition, seated on the hard ground.

“Shouldn’t we try to move again?” Akashi whisperedhesitantly, seated a bit far from him.

“Akashi, please.” The other growled and his formercaptain stretched the lips in a thin line, “This is all your fault.”

“I disagree.”

“That’s because your pride is too big to admit it. AllI know is that one of us is right, the other is you.”

Just to describe their situation briefly, they werefucked.

It was half past ten in the night and they were lostinto a woods, without signal, a decent backpack, food or water. Not mentioningwithout a proper map. And, Akashi had sprained his ankle falling in hole whilethey were wandering around with only torchlights to light up the path.

Ah, they were obviously arguing too.

They had started arguing five minutes after havingentered the wood, fact that brought them to focus more on their unresolvedproblems than on the path and consequently lead them to lose the way back. Or theway in general.

Why did this happened?

Simple answer: because Akashi couldn’t act like anormal person, no. He, having decided that he wanted to fix up things withMidorima, had first organized a training camp with all the former players ofthe Miracle of Generation, without leaving them choice to participate or not.He had threatened them to come. Then the previous night he had, or that waswhat Midorima thought, food poisoned all the others so that the next day theonly ones capable to raise from the bed were them two. Finally, in theafternoon he had dragged Midorima away with the excuse of the good weather andthe necessity of a daytrip in the woods to a famous, mysterious shrine.Midorima couldn’t even understand why Akashi had thought that talking thingsout while going on an excursion was the best idea, but now he didn’t even wannaknow.

He was cold, without ideas and hungry.

And mad, so mad with Akashi that if the boy hadn’t hadalready hurt his body by himself Midorima would have surely done it in his stead.

Even because, during the time they spent together,instead of clearing the past misunderstandings, they had just accused eachother of every, petty things that happened since the first year in Teikou. Notreally useful.

 In the end, tired of the silence, the hostility andthe guilt, Akashi tried to stand up, wobbling. Midorima glared at him.

“What are you trying to do?” asked while looking athim resting unsteady against the trunk of the tree they took cover under.

“I’m going to find the way out,” he calmly repliedwith all the dignity he could muster, “Staying here doesn’t help us.” Commentedsharply.

“I doubt that moving around with that ankle andinjuring yourself more is gonna be of any help.” Midorima replied bluntly,fixing his glass. As always, a small part of him admired Akashi for hisdetermination.

“Then come with me and let’s search it together.” Heoffered, giving Midorima his back. But the other boy didn’t need to see hisface to recognize the implicit request into his words. What an Emperor.

“If you need help, just say it normally.” Hissed,standing up and grabbing his arm to stop him, and the boy grimaced, “As youshould have done instead of bringing us here. Really, can’t you do anythinglike the other, normal people?” Added salty, passing an arm around his waist.

Akashi adjusted his own arm around Midorima’s shoulderand leaned on him, as his ankle was throbbing with pain; not that he was gonnaadmit it.

“Everything would have gone smoothly, if you only hadlet me speak till the end.” He murmured in his defense, offended.

“You started a monologue were you defended yourself.That’s not how discussions go, nor how you fix up things.” Midorima bluntlyshut him, starting to walk without a proper aim. All the trees looked the same,he didn’t remember where they came from nor how read those damn stars like ananimal.

“While you walk, keep the phone in your hand, maybe wecould find signal.” Midorima ordered with a sigh and Akashi, scowling did as hewas told.

“I was just trying to find the right words.” He upheld,“You interrupted me immediately and brought up again my madness and “abuse ofpower”.”

“That’s was he problem. Together with cutting everybonds, using us only to win and destroying our minds.” Midorima listed plainly,taking a casual turn; he felt Akashi’s body stiffening against him, butcontinued, “Without mentioning your behavior during the first high schooltournament, you Emperor. Not even a handshake.” he remembered in a mutter andnow Akashi caught the hurt tone in his voice.

“Well, I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean it all. Andwhen I finally understood my mistakes, returning to my original self, it hurt alot. I knew that I couldn’t restore everything easily, I understood the amountof pain I’ve inflicted to you…but I was lonely too. I suffered too.” Explainedanimatedly, gripping hard around the fabric of his sweater.

“Want do you want then? That we just hug you again andpity you?” Midorima roared, still feeling the humiliation he caused him intheir last match.

“I JUST WANT TO APOLOGIZE!” Akashi burst into apained, angry yell that startled Midorima, who immediately turned to look atthe boy who kept his head low.

“You what?” Mumbled, blinking at him. He probably hadheard wrongly.

Akashi lifted his head and looked him in the eyes,firm and desperate at the same time.

“I wanted to apologize.” Repeated in a murmur, “I’msorry for having left you alone back in Teikou. Sorry for having betrayed yourtrust. I’m sorry for having been the Emperor. I’m sorry for having underestimatedand belittled your team, refusing your handshake. I’m really sorry.” Heearnestly apologized, trying to convey with his stuttering words the guilt thatwas eating him from the inside.

Midorima didn’t have words to reply. He wasn’t readyto confront an apologizing Akashi. He couldn’t even remember the last time hehad apologized.

“I thought that maybe we could start restoring newbonds again. That’s why I brought all of you here, that’s why I dragged you intothis damn wood, that’s why this afternoon I started talking from the past. Ihad a lots of things to say and explain, and lots that I wanted to ask…” Hisvoice dimmed in a whisper.

Midorima’s glasses slide down his nose and he feltblushing. Now, he was the one feeling guilty.

“Akas-”

HONK!

A big truck sounded its horn and made them jump ontheir feet; they got so startled that Akashi lost the grip around Midorima andfell on his back before the other boy could catch him in time. Midorima widenedhis eyes, looking astonished in front of him, while Akashi looked around as ifhe was waking up from a dream.

“We are…out?” he observed incredulous, frowning at thesight of the empty, silent street on which side they were standing dumbfounded.

“I think so.” Midorima agreed, instinctively cleaninghis glasses with the hem of the shirt.

“How?” Akashi inquired shaking his head.

“I wasn’t paying attention, actually.”

“Me neither.”

They exchanged an amazed glance and twin smirksblossomed on their lips.

“I can’t believe it.” Midorima whispered trying toconceal his amusement.

“But we didn’t arrive from here this afternoon, sowe’re still lost.” Akashi noticed, narrowing his eyes.

“Better than being in that wood.” Midorima exhaled adeep breath of relief, shrugging, and stretched his hand to Akashi.

“So? Now what?” the boy accepted it gratefully andstood up, unsteady.

“I don’t know. I didn’t think we’d get this far.”Midorima honestly admitted, “The phone?” asked hopefully, but Akashi grimacedlooking at the screen.

“It seems the battery has run out.” Told him blanklyand Midorima felt the need to slam his head against something.

“Well, since you can’t walk, we can only tryhitch-hiking.” Dared to say, fixing his glasses and Akashi sighed, exhaustedly,but nodded.

 After fifteen minutes, they were luckily sat in theopen trailer of a small truck; the driver, a local farmer, after laughing attheir misadventures, had kindly accept to bring them to the hotel, which theydiscovered was two hour by foot far away from there. Midorima had picked upAkashi and helped him sitting comfortably, and now they were in silence next toeach other.

Midorima looked at the pearly moon that shinedbrightly in the sky. He was still thinking about what Akashi had told him,knowing the boys was waiting for an answer. Now, all the negative and confusedemotions he felt before were melting in the quietness of the dark blue sky.

“Akashi.” called and felt him shifting nervouslybeside himself, “All the things you wanted to say and explain. All the thingsyou wanted to ask, tell me. We’ve time, I’ll try my best to not interrupt you.”Midorima offered, searching for his red, amazed eyes.

“I-” He stuttered confusedly, happiness for havingreceived a second occasion and fear of messing up again mixed in him, but thenhe took a deep breath, “Okay.” He manage to reply quietly.

And Akashi told him everything from the start. Thecoach, his fears, the situations of his family and the issues he had with hisfather. He told him how he felt losing himself, being incapable to reason andto care about them properly. How victory became the only important thing. Hearrived talking even about the recent matches: the jealousy he felt seeing himand Takao pairing up, the high due to the crushing victory and finally the voidhe fell into when he returned to his original self. Scared that it was toolate. Scared that he couldn’t be saved or forgiven anymore. He listed patientlyall his attempts to find a way to restore things as they were before, to fixall of them again.

Midorima listened to him silently, just making smallcomments here and there.

“So, this was the last attempt to bring us together?”Asked Midorima thoughtfully. It was a lot to take in, of course, but he wasfeeling more and more relieved as Akashi told him everything. He wasdiscovering that the boy he had loved was still there.

“Yes.” Akashi nodded with an embarrassed smile, “Ithought it was a good idea.”

“That’s questionable.” Midorima harshly shot him down andhe glared, “However, I have to think then that yesterday you didn’t food-poisonedthe others on purpose?”

“I’m not a killer.” Akashi coldly replied, offended,and Midorima smirked.

“You tried to stab Kagami with a pair of scissors.”Reminded him, arching an eyebrow.

“First, I thought we had agreed I wasn’t completelymyself at the time;” argued lifting his chin, “Second, I knew he could dodge.”He wanted to add, “Because I’m never wrong.” But bit his bottom lip andrestrained himself. He was trying to be humble.

However, Midorima seemed to have read him, as hechuckled a bit.

“Leaving this aside, why the trip outside then?”inquired again and he saw Akashi blushing slightly.

“You were the one I desired to connect with the most.I needed to have you back. I hoped the excursion could bring us together andmake the tension vanish. I hoped being outside and far from everything elsecould help me find the courage to tell you everything and apologize properly.”Whispered bitter sweetly, bringing his knees to the chest “Not the best plan inthe end.”

“Yeah it was a horrible plan, you should haveapproached me like this from the start.” Midorima agreed, making him curl onhimself more, but then continued, “But if that is what you needed to reach thispoint, than I’m glad to have gone through and survived that hell.”

Akashi’s head perked up and his scarlet eyes shone.

“I’m relieved” thanked him with a small, grateful andgiddy smile, “Losing Midorima’s friendship had been my greatest defeat andregret.” Admitted softly, looking with fondness at the sky.

His words froze Midorima on the spot.

He had forgotten Akashi was born to be charming andadorable when he lowered his defenses.

“You…!” he cursed rubbing his forehead and Akashiglanced at him perplexed, “You are the worst. You should stop saying those kindof things.” Growled, glaring at him.

Akashi blinked: what had he done now? He thought tohave been sweet or at least friendly saying those things, why Midorima was mad?

“What kind of things?” asked confused, his heart onthe verge of shattering.

“The kind that makes me want to kiss you in the mostinappropriate moments.” Midorima revealed with red cheeks but a firm,unwavering gaze.

Akashi heart didn’t shatter. It stopped. Then startedbeating again so fast it could fly out of his chest.

He blushed furiously, taken completely by surprise.

“Like, for example, in the trailer of a truck in themiddle of the night, after a day spent arguing?” wanted to verify, in a hopefulvoice. This was too good to be true.

“Exactly.” Midorima assured him, embarrassed, annoyedand nervous altogether.

“Then,” Akashi whispered with a smile escaping hislips, “I wouldn’t mind it.”

Midorima risked to choke with his own saliva, butmanaged to compose himself rapidly.

“You asked for it. I’m not joking.” Mumbled as awarning, but, seeing Akashi looking expectantly at him under the moonlight, hecouldn’t restrain himself. He leaned towards him and, with a kiss, cleared thepast misunderstandings and opened the doors to a future of happiness for bothof them.

#kuroko no basket #kuroko no basu #kuroko no basket drabble #KNB #shintarou midorima #midorima shintarou #midorima #akashi seijūrō #akashi seijuro #midorima x akashi #lost #fluff #funny #a tiny bit of angst #arguing #unresolved problems #kiss #dorks #adorable akashi #midorima is in love #they're crazy #they argue too much but theylove each other

[long-manic-nights]

hi! if youre still taking requests with the prompts you rebloged, id love to see you write "cute kisses on the tip of their nose" (not verbatim but it wont let me copy paste it) for akamido (pre reformation akashi, basically "evil" bokushi) and/or murahimu. Thank you! Hope this made sense and was cohesive. Take care

You're talking about this post

kisses. on. the. tip. of. the. nose.

Akamido (before Akashi went insane)

“I swear to God I have no idea how you do it”, Aomine screamed at him, pissed off, as Midorima entered the gym. 

This wasn’t something new at all. Ever since Akashi and he started dating two months ago, his friends have been throwing that type of comments at him left and right, sometimes with little to no context. Most days were exactly like this, just entering into a room only to be received with growls and complaints, like they truly believed he could do anything to save them. 

“What’s going on?”, he asks, as he avoids Kise’s attempt to say ‘hi’ to him with a hug, but he knows what’s going on. 

“Nothing, Midorima-kun. It’s just Aomine-kun being a baby”, Kuroko answered. 

“I’M NOT A BABY”

“Mine-chin might be a baby, but he’s right”. 

“I’M NOT A BABY, MURA. FUCK OFF”.

“What torture device are you testing on them now?”. 

“I have no idea what you are talking about”, Akashi smiled, playing innocent. 

“Seriously, I have no idea how you’re not terrified of his psychotic, sadistic head”, the teen insisted. 

“Who said he isn’t?”, the captain smiled again, raising an eyebrow, and Midorima had to swallow his laughter. 

He walked closer to him, the shorter teen still standing with his arms crossed on his chest, smirking at them like they were so much less than him. Midorima was simply a sucker for that kind of expression. He lowered himself, face to face, with a little smile, and Seijurou didn’t move, just stayed there, head looking forward, and Shintarou couldn’t help but to give him a little peck on the nose. 

“Hi”. 

“Hi”, Akashi murmured back. “Okay! Let’s start!”. 

Inspired on this glorious fanart

#akamido #akamido drabble #knb #knb headcanon #kuroko no basket #knb headcanons #gom #generation of miracles #midorima shintarou #kuroko tetsuya #aomine daiki #akashi seijurou

[shenglingyuan]

Hi I just read your akamido/midokise fic and I’m crying, omg. I don’t know whether or not I want kise or Akashi to be happy in the end, you had some amazing writing being able to pull feelings in both ways like that. I’ve looked at your akamido fic recs in the past and liked them but little did I know I was missing out on so much greatness the creator of that list! I wanted to ask you if you had other recs for Emperor Akashi AUs? Any pairing is ok, I like the setting.

Hello! omg I’ve got to say this is a bit embarrassing >w< ahahahaha that’s one of my oldest fics, thanks for still appreciating it so many years later >w< unfortunately I can’t rec other emperor akashi AUs, I really didn’t read other fics outside akamido T~T Thanks so much for dropping by with this message T u T

[shenglingyuan]

title: was, is, will be (ao3) pairing: akashi/midorima Happy AkaMido Day!!! <3

There are times when you’re on your own — standing in the middle of a busy street, watching people of different kinds pass by— that the thought of how alone you are gives you an overwhelming feeling of sadness. It doesn’t really come to mind always, but when it does, it’s an empty feeling.

 Midorima Shintarou isn’t the type to seek company, not even a relationship. All his friends are formed by association. No one really stuck. (Except for one. Or two.) His attempts in having a romantic relationship have all failed. He doesn’t find them necessary at all. But when he’s twenty-eight, single, his high school best friend just got married, and that very friend is urging him to please, please find himself someone before he shrivels all alone. . . He starts thinking that maybe, it is time.

 He calls Takao and tells him he's ready for another one.

 .

 What does Midorima Shintarou look for in a partner?

 1) Older than him. Not really too much of a gap, a year or two is fine. It’s not like he has a thing for older people. He just thinks that maturity comes with age. He doesn’t have the patience to deal with young spirits who are blinded with the notion of true love.

2) Recognizes a higher power that rules above the processes and events that occur in the world. He is a man who believes in fate ever since that one time he followed Oha-Asa and his luckiest day was recorded in the history of his life. One who thinks that things happen without the aid of fate, or luck, or fortune, can go and not be associated with him at all.

3) A good sense of humor. It’s something he lacks and realizes he actually needs from someone. It isn’t too much, but a good laugh can take a relationship to further heights, at least that’s what Takao had said.

 .

 The Aristocrat is a fancy restaurant located at the city center, famous for its high class meals and ambience. Only people who can afford tens of thousands of yen for a meal actually eat there. Midorima thought it would be the best place to bring the date Takao had set him up with.

 However, this did not help his case.

 Midorima is currently standing outside the restaurant, watching the retreating figure of a girl who is not fated to be with him.

 “You really are a nice guy,” she told him moments before they parted ways, “but I’m afraid I’m not the one you’re looking for.”

 “Takao said you have all that I’m looking for in a partner,” he laughed.

 “I do have it all,” she joined his laughter and shook her head afterwards, “but it is a certain person I believe you want. And it’s not me.”

 “A...certain person?”

 “Say, do you had someone special in the past whom you’ve not been with for a long time now?”

  There is , he answered mentally, with his mouth clamped shut. The girl studied his expression for a while, and with a weak smile, told him one thing that confirmed his thoughts:

 “I think you might still be attached.”

.

 Evidences that Midorima Shintarou might still be attached to a certain person:

 1) The second button of his middle school uniform which he planned to give to this certain person but never did; instead it’s stored in a box that kept other memories of his younger years.

2) The second button missing from his gakuran which he gave this certain person years ago, together with a promise not kept true. The words sometimes still haunt him, “No matter what happens, I’ll always be by your side.”

3) A photo taken ten years ago, his arms around this certain person, both of them smiling, kept in the inner pockets of the wallet he uses everyday. There are times he would fall into temptation and take a look at it, and he can’t help but wish things are as it were before.

4) A musical score, a piano-violin duet to be exact, placed in the music rack of the grand piano in their house. Sometimes he plays it, imagining the violin part being performed by this certain person when they were still together years ago.

5) A letter, handwritten with a calligraphy pen on a special paper, containing sweet, poetic words of young love, written for him by this certain person; also kept in that box with memories from his younger years.

6) A letter, handwritten with a ballpoint pen on a white paper, its corner ruined by something liquid, containing painful words of regret and farewell, written for him by that certain person; kept under the aforementioned letter.

7) A recurring dream of an old memory. Two boys in an empty room, a shogi board between them. He’s staring hard at the pieces when he hears a small laugh. He looks up and meets his bright red eyes. “You don’t ever give up, do you?” Midorima would answer in a whisper, “When it comes to you, I just can’t.”

 .

 “How you’ve managed to screw up every date I set you up still awes me, Shin-chan. Man, you need to settle down soon!”

 “I know, I know, you’ve been telling me that for years.”

 “Then what happened? I even fulfilled all your requirements this time, and Yoneda-san was really nice.”

 “It’s...not her.”

 “And what did she say?”

 “That she’s not the one I’m looking for.”

 “Where are you now?”

 “Outside The Aristocrat.”

 “Do you need me to pick you up?”

 “No, no, I’ll be fine. I’ve bothered you enough. Now go and be a good husband.”

 He expected his usual answer of “I always am” but instead, he hears him sigh.

 “Shin-chan?”

 “Yeah?”

 “You told me this once and I think you can use your own advice: follow your heart.”

 “Isn’t that a sappy thing to say, Takao?” Midorima smiles despite himself.

 “That’s what I do, Shin-chan,” he snickers, “Bye!”

 “Bye.”

 He keeps the phone in his pocket and looks around. It’s around ten in the evening and The Aristocrat is almost closing. It’s about time to go home, too. Soul searching can continue tomorrow, but now he needs to rest.

 “Midorima?”

 He feels like a current of electricity went through him and froze him on the spot. When he turns around, a familiar face is looking up at him, eyes as bright as they were the last time he saw them.

 “Akashi.”

 .

 Who Akashi Seijuurou was

1) That certain person he never won against.

2) That certain person he used to duet with.

3) That certain person to whom he dedicated his second buttons to.

4) That certain person he wrote letters for.

5) His first love.

6) His first heartbreak.

 .

 The Aristocrat closed at exactly ten and so Akashi invites him to a nearby coffee place that closes at midnight. None of them were particular fans of coffee in their younger days, but med school had managed to make coffee be Midorima’s water in hell weeks. Akashi orders a simple tea.

 “It’s been quite some time,” Akashi tells him. “I didn’t think we’d meet at The Aristocrat, of all places.”

 “Yeah...I was meeting someone. How about you?”

 “I just closed a deal with a big-time client. Been courting them for months now.”

 “Congratulations, then.”

 “Thanks,” he smiles. “How have you been? I haven’t heard from you in a long time.”

 “I really haven’t been in touch with anyone. Med school was challenging.”

 “You survived, of course. Congratulations on the licensure examinations.”

 “I didn’t know you knew.”

 “I keep tabs on everyone. But I have to admit, I didn’t know everything this time,” he lays his hands on the table, palms facing up. A submissive, non-threatening gesture meant to be used for people he wants to talk with. “Mind filling me in?”

 .

 What happened within the six years they’ve been apart:

 1) Midorima entered med school. Akashi went to the US for his MBA.

2) They slowly lost time for each other.

3) Akashi called Midorima to break up. It was a mutual agreement.

4) Midorima received a mail from Akashi, a letter containing more words than what they had exchanged through the phone. The letter made the break-up final for him. He cried in his room while reading it.

5) Midorima had been set up on a blind date by Takao for approximately a dozen times. Akashi had a relationship once.

6) Out of the dozen blind dates, only one progressed into a real relationship. It only lasted for six months. Akashi’s lasted for about a year before he broke up with the girl. It was headed into a break-up anyway, and he didn’t want to be the one left behind.

7) Since they hit twenty-five years of age, the topic of marriage has frequented family conversations. They have both declined profusely.

8) Midorima picked up painting. Akashi picked up golf and bowling.

9) Midorima topped the licensure examinations. Akashi runs half of the companies his family owns.

10) They haven’t forgotten about each other. (This they did not say out loud)

 .

 “The girl you were with earlier, she looks good for you,” Akashi tells him as they walk back to the parking lot for their own cars.

 “We’re not..together. It was another blind date set up by Takao.”

 “You looked like you enjoyed yourself, though. Are you sure you don’t want to pursue a relationship with her?”

 “Yoneda-san is a great woman, but even she knows that we’re not going to work as a couple. She told me that she’s not the one I’m looking for.”

 “And does this Yoneda-san know what you’re looking for exactly?”

 Both of them have reached Midorima’s car and Midorima knows he has to say goodbye in a moment. He considers lying and telling Akashi that Yoneda-san told him nothing more. In fact, it is what he has been planning to say but then, he opens his mouth and the words leave him before he could even hold them back.

 “She told me I’m still attached to a person special to me for a long time.”

 Akashi is silent for a moment, his eyes staring straight ahead. When he exhales, a small puff of cloud forms.

 “Are you?”

 “I am.”

 Akashi turns then. He smiles; it is warm and beautiful. When he reaches for the taller male’s face, fingers trembling, Midorima feels his heart skip a beat. Akashi’s thumb caresses his cheek, and a shiver runs down his spine.

 “I bet that if I talked to her,” his voice is in a low whisper, “she’d say the same thing about me.”

 Takao has told him to go and follow his heart.

 In that moment, it’s telling him to take Akashi in his arms and kiss him for all those years they’ve missed together. To close the space between them and fill it with their bodies, fitting together like they did before.

 And so, he does.

 .

 What Akashi Seijuurou is not:

 1) Older than Midorima. They are born in the same year, but Midorima is born in July, Akashi in December. Akashi is about five months younger than Midorima, but this does not make him any less mature than him.

2) A believer of a higher power. Akashi Seijuurou has always been a man who believed in no one’s power but his alone. Back at Teikou, he raised an eyebrow when he found out Midorima’s belief in horoscopes, but did not say anything against it. He can tolerate that, at least.

3) A man with a good sense of humor. No one talks about Akashi’s jokes. First, they’re not funny. Second, even Akashi himself becomes embarrassed after delivering his jokes, thus not talking about them has been somewhat a common courtesy. There was this joke about sodium and tuna. Midorima thinks it is Akashi’s best yet.

 .

 Takao is at loss for words when Midorima visits him one day with Akashi in tow. It has been months since his last blind date and he has never really heard any update from Midorima. He welcomes them in his home, accepting the gifts they brought for the baby shower.

 “How long?” Takao asks him when they have a moment alone. He watches as Akashi talks to his wife as if they’re old friends. He has not seen him for a long time, but Midorima definitely looks much happier.

 “Since the last blind date.”

 “And have you talked about what happened to the two of you before?”

 “We’ve talked about everything. It’s all fine now, I guess. I’m happy, he’s happy. There’s no pressure. He’s not leaving anytime soon, and any issues we’ve had in the past, we’re fixing it little by little.”

 “Is this going to last long?”

 “I want it to.”

 “You know, Shin-chan, I didn’t think you were looking for someone all these years. I think it’s him you needed all along.”

 Midorima looks around and finds Akashi’s eyes. They smile at each other momentarily before Akashi resumes his conversation with Takao’s wife.

 Somehow, it never stops feeling like all the stars and planets align when he and Akashi are together.

 “I just realized that, too.”

 .

 Who Akashi Seijuurou is:

  That certain person Midorima sees himself together with for a long time to come.

#akamido #midoaka #happy akamido day!!! #knb #i write sometimes

[codename-bewareofthefangirl]

Hey again! I hope I'm not imposing on you on this one, but can I please have another AkaMido? It's right after the Rakuzan-Shutoku match, lots of angst, with the dialogue number 4. Thanks so much as always :)

Hi dear! You’re never imposing, don’tworry! I’ve also received the other ask and I’ve already an idea, but since Iwrite the drabbles in order of arrival it is going to arrive for the middle ofthe week! Talking about this, even this time I don’t know how it turned ou. Ibelieve I’ve exaggerated with the angst. It’s so angst that the dialogue you’vechosen isn’t even spoke by Akashi. Soeey, I hope you like it the same!

Enjoy dear! ~

 Nothingelse

 Midorima was staring at the wall, petrified in theempty locker room, jabbing hisnails in the skin of his tights.

Flashes of the match appeared in front of his eyes.

Red and gold eyes.

Superiority.

Intercepted passes.

The glowing numbers of the score.

The emptiness on his teammates’ faces.

Takao’s tears.

Midorima took a shaky breath, but he was stillsuffocating and his sight was clouded by salty humiliation. Why he couldn’t doit? Akashi’s final look at him was burned in his eyelids. Where did he have made amistake?

It had been his only chance and he had missed to useit.

Back in Teikou, he had abandoned Akashi. He hadwatched The Emperor taking the control and devouring his original personalityfrom afar, he had witnessed in silence and passivity Akashi cutting all theirbonds. He had been helpless. Now, he had the chance to change things. Kurokohad shown it to him: savouring defeat could change people. He had desperatelyhoped to be able to do the same.

Midorima obviously wanted to win with his team; he hadlearnt to care about them and still thought that they were worth the victory.However, part of him had just wanted to save Akashi. That match should havechanged everything, should have brought Akashi back. The one with whom heplayed shoji, the one who helped him to manage the Generation of Miraclesbetween exasperation and laughter, his captain and the rival he looked at.

But he had lost.

The Emperor had won, destroying him.

The Emperor had killed his Oushou.

 Desperation was eating Midorima from the inside. Norhis lucky items, nor his firm attitude and multiple efforts had been able doanything. He knew, he had read it in Akashi’s eyes: it was too late. His oldfriend wasn’t going to come back anymore, he had lost his only chance. He hadlost Akashi.

Other tears streamed down his cheeks.

He really wasn’t enough.

  A knock on the door called him back from his internalvoid. He stumbled up, trying to erase the traces of his cry, when the dooropened and Takao entered silently. He had puffy eyes too, but he was trying toshow him his usual grin.

“Shin-chan, let’s go.” He only said tilting his head,without ulterior mocking or playful remarks as his usual.

“How long have you been standing outside?” Midorimagrunted, but his voice was still shaky.

“More than you would like.” Takao smirked with ashrug, waiting for him to leave the room together.

“You’re a moron.” Midorima replied, fixing his glass.

“And you’re too kind…” Takao murmured in a fakecarefree way, narrowing his eyes.

Midorima opened his eyes wide and turned to look athim, embarrassed.

“Ehi Shin-chan,” Takao called his friend, locking eyeswith him, “You can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved.” Reminded him slowly,seriously.

Midorima averted his gaze, gritting his teeth. Ah,obviously Takao would have noticed.

“I know.” He muttered looking at the floor, air caughtin his lungs, “But I can’t stop thinking he wants to be saved.” Addedtrembling, broken inside.

Takao grimaced and sighed.

“I’ve told you: too kind.” Commented giving him areassuring pat on the shoulder, “Come on, I’m gonna pedal today.”

  Akashi was talking with his teammates about theprogram of the next days, outside the gym, when his eyes caught an orange andwhite movement, a little far away. He immediately individuated Midorima andTakao, leaving alone.

For a moment, he lost the thread of the conversation.

Midorima’s broken, defeated face flashed in his head.

Akashi had definitely defeated him. His former vicecaptain had challenged him and he had won, whatever Midorima wanted to achieveby doing that, was now lost forever. And he knew Midorima had understood thattoo.

“That’s notwhat I wanted.” A voice from the past echoed in his head, making him shiver andfeel hopeless for a second.

But then, Akashi shook his head and shut the voice up,starting to talk again.

He waswrong.

That’s exactly what Akashi wanted.

Victory and Perfection.

Nothing else mattered.

Nothing else.

#kuroko no basket #kuroko no basu #kuroko no basket drabble #akashi seijūrō #akashi seijuro #midorima shintarou #midorima x akashi #akamido #midoaka #angst #very angst #takao is a good friend #the emperor #takao kazunari

[codename-bewareofthefangirl]

Hi hi!! Can I ask for 14th sentence for AkaMido? Please with extra angst, happy ending and with vulnerable Akashi?

Yo, fellow fangirl! May your ships be canon. Can I request #14 sentence from the prompts for AkaMido? With extra bit of angst, happy-ish ending and vulnerable Akashi? #kthxbye

I don’t know if it’s the same fangirl or my writing triggered the same emotions in both of you, but I’m happy to comply! However, here it is. It took me a bit because I’ve always read that sentence as ironic, so I had to imagine a different angsty scenario! I hope you enjoy it! 

BROKEN

 Midorima couldn’t say that he was unhappy or thattheir relationship wasn’t going well. It was just…lacking. They had never had areal fight. It’s not that he wanted to argue with Akashi, but disagreementswere useful to grow, to understand how to synch with the other one. However, theystill couldn’t do it.

When Kise and Aomine fought, everyone in the cityprobably knew: one usually cried and screamed escaping away from the apartment,the other growled angrily and coldly, punching everything on his way to venthis anger. When he and Akashi fought, they had calm and collected discussions:they talked about the problem and resolved it in few days, sometimes after alittle cold war. That would have been perfect for Midorima, if Akashi had everstarted one. But he never said anything, never made a complain. Sometimes,Midorima could sense that he was unhappy or mad about something, but hewouldn’t voice his anger. He would plaster on his face that disgusting, fake,polite smile and say it was nothing. How they could grow together if he alwaysbottled everything inside of himself? It was like he was bearing theirrelationship and not enjoying it. He never relied on him for help, he neveraccepted to let himself fall or crumble. He still tried to be the perfect Emperor,someone who could do everything alone. But a relationship involved two person.

 Midorima had reached his limit.

Akashi was frozen on the spot in front of him, fakesmile at his usual place. Caught by surprise by Midorima’s explosion. He wascooking dinner while talking with Midorima, when an unpleasant thought hadcrossed his mind and he knew he had showed an irritated, forced smile, but hehad thought he had been enough fast to conceal it. However, Midorimahad slammedhis hand on the table and stood up glaring angrily at him.

“For how much time we have to go on like this?” hehissed, trembling for the anger.

Akashi took an unsteady breath and tried to smileagain.

“I don’t und-” tried to ask calmly, but Midorima shuthim up with a growl.

“You don’t understand? Are we even in the samerelationship?” asked bitterly, fixing his glasses.

The redhead boy stopped, turning completely to facehim. A grip tightened around his throat and he felt like chocking, but attemptedto hide it again.

“Shintarou, if I have done something that hurt you,please allow me to apologize.” Said in a low, soft voice, clenching his fiststo hide the trembling. The disappointed look in Midorima’s eyes was digging ahole in his heart. Where did he make a mistake again?

“You haven’t done anything Seijuurou! That’s the damnproblem!” replied Midorima in a cold, menacing voice, “You never do. You alwaysseem to put up with me, like a damn charity service. I should be your boyfriendbut you never rely on me, you never complain, you never open. Are we reallytogether or I missed something along the way?” asked ironically, lifting hishands to the air.

Akashi tried to reply, but his throat was dry andpanic was filling him. Had he messed up again? Why he couldn’t do it right likeeveryone else? He had tried his best. Why it wasn’t enough?

“I don’t need a babysitter. You know, sometimes it’slike we’ve never changed from Teikou.” That words paralyzed Akashi, red eyeswide open, but Midorima continued, “You’re going on alone, distancing all thepeople you’ve around from yourself. Me, included. You’re still the selfish Emperorand I start to doubt you’re ever going to change. You seem perfectly happy withhiding everything from me and with dealing with it by yourself. Well, I’m not.I can’t bear this treatment anymore. I can’t. I’m tired.”

A heavy silence dropped in the room.

Midorima stared at Akashi, waiting for a reaction.Anything was okay. Screaming, punching, insults, blaming, threatening, swingingscissors…anything. He just had to voice his anger. Midorima wanted to know whathe had closed up in himself, he wanted to see the mask fall. He had corneredhim now, he couldn’t escape.

But Akashi has stopped working, those words sinking inhim like heavy rocks and sharp blades. Fear and self-hatred had takenpossession of him. He had messed up again, for real this time. He truly felt ashe was still at Teikou. Still not able to understand people around him, failingon and on. He could never save himself, he just dragged the people he cared aboutthe most down with him. He was the egoistic Emperor.

Tears spilled from his read eyes and he couldn’t stopthem this time, streaming down his pale cheeks. He heard the laughter of hisother-self, ringing in his ears.

Midorima opened his eyes wide, startled, and froze inhis place. He had never seen Akashi crying.

“I’m sorry…” the boy murmured, voice cracked by pain,and, before Midorima could do anything, he escaped from the kitchen. He openedthe door of the apartment and tumbled in the corridors, running down towardsthe exit. His mind had gone blank, the beating of his heart deafened him andevery inch of his body was hurting and shaking. He rushed out the building insearch of fresh air but it didn’t made him lucid like he hoped, the raindrenched him immediately. A hard, mocking slap against his lost face. The skywas crying with him, the wind was as cold as he felt inside. He ran away,desperate and without knowing where to go. He just didn’t want to hearMidorima’s voice pronouncing the words of his nightmares: “We’re done.”

 Midorima remained paralyzed for a few seconds more. Infront of his eyes, he was still seeing the pained expression of Akashi, hispleading, scared eyes. The trembling lips, the clenched fists. The regrets onhis face. It was like he’d stabbed him, right in the heart.

This is not what he wanted.

He wanted to force him to open, to vent his anger.

“I broke him…” whispered, realization kicking in. Arush of nausea hit him. He didn’t want to make Akashi cry, he didn’t want tobreak him…he just wanted to know how to help him, how to support him, how tomake him happy. He wanted to be scolded and to be taught how to be by his sideproperly. He wanted Akashi to open up with him.

“Fuck!” he muttered, finally moving. A rush ofadrenaline flowing in his body. He ran out of the apartment, chasing hisboyfriend. The rain hit him hard in the face, clouding his visions but hedidn’t even bothered cleaning the glasses. He looked around, but Akashi wasn’tin sight anymore.

“He can’t be too far…” he mumbled breathlessly, hopingwith all his might to be right. A confused and shattered Akashi couldn’t bereasoning or functioning properly, so he had to be near. Trusting his instinct,he started running left.

Every step he took without seeing his red hair was aneedle stabbing his heart, every turn taken without any idea of where he wasgoing was another regret. Why he had to explode like that? Why he couldn’t dealwith it like always? Why they had to arrive at this point? What if it was thepoint of no return?

They had been two idiots, but Midorima wasn’t ready tolet got. He had already done it in the past, he didn’t want to lose Akashi’shand to his demons again.

Finally, he saw Akashi, staggering on the walkpath asif he was going to collapse soon. The gods had to have taken a likening tothem, since Midorima didn’t even know where they were. But it didn’t matter, hejust rushed towards the boy.

“Seijuurou!” he called, wet clothes glued to his bodyslowing him down.

Akashi, at the sound of his voice, jostled and triedto steady himself, running faster; luckily for Midorima, his body didn’trespond the way he wanted and the boy could catch up. He wrapped one arm aroundhis shoulders and the other around the slender waist, caging Akashi against hischest to stop him from running.

“LET ME GO!” Akashi shouted crouched, struggling andstartling Midorima, who had never heard him screaming like that; but the greenhaired boy didn’t let him go, tightening his hold.

“I’m sorry Seijuurou, I’m sorry.” He repeated in hisear to calm him down, resting his forehead on his shoulder. Akashi didn’t stopwiggling out of his grip, but Midorima was too strong in that moment and he tooweak-willed. He started sobbing though his teeth, cursing himself. What was heeven doing?

“I didn’t want to break you,” Midorima continued,hoping to reach him in time, “I didn’t want to make you desperate. I wished foryou to be angry with me, to vent your anger. You never complain aloud aboutanything, even when it’s clear you have something to say, but I can’t read yourmind. And I can’t be a better boyfriend if you don’t talk to me properly, Ican’t understand what to do to make you feel better. Please Seijuurou, stopfighting. I don’t want to lose you.” He whispered desperately, finallyloosening his hold. If he still wanted to run away, he was free.

Akashi held back his breath, the words of his guyfinally sinking in. Blinking, he did as he was asked, relaxing his limbsagainst his chest. Relief washed him over, finally understanding they were notgoing to break up, and a new stream of tears flowed out of his eyes. Or, maybeit was the heavy rain, he didn’t know anymore.

“I thought,” explained in a faint voice, “That youwanted to break up with me.”

Midorima growled.

“No, thank you.” Answered without doubts. Akashi couldfeel his heartbeat pounding against his back. Slowly, he turned to face him andgripped his drenched shirt, resting his head against him. The words escaped hislips in an angry, desperate, confused flow.

“I hate when I woke up and you’re not with me becauseyou’ve gone outside to buy the lucky item of the day. I hate that I’m always toone to take the initiative. I hate that you never say if you like my cooking ornot. I hate that you never take me to a basketball date. I hate that I’m stillbounded by the fear of losing you, of being abandoned because I’m not humanenough. I hate that I’ve not changed.” Confessed trembling, letting every,single thing had ever annoyed him roll down his tongue.

Midorima showed a faint smile, resting the chin on hishead and let him talk freely.

“Forget what I’ve said about you not changing, I wentoverboard because I was mad.” Explained softly, “And every time you feelinsecure, say it aloud. I’m never going to abandon you again. I love you toomuch.” Added with flushed cheeks, in an embarrassed whisper.

This brought, finally, a warm smile on Akashi’s lips.Those words were the balsam to his shattered soul.

“For the rest, I’m going to work on them. I promise.”Midorima continued, loosening his grip around him and pulling away to hold hishand, delicately interlacing their fingers.

“I’ve more.” Akashi warned him with a tentative,amused smirk and Midorima rolled his eyes, fixing his glasses; then he startedwalking and pulled him by his side.

“I guessed. We’ve all the time we want when we’rehome. And dried and warmed, if possible.” Reassured him, finally feeling thelong awaited calm and relief filling him, “W-we can take a bath together i-ifyou want…” offered blushing heavily, but trying to “take the initiative” tomake him happy.

Akashi let out a soft chuckling, beginning to findabsurd all the motives due to which he had always restrained himself withMidorima.

“I’d love too.” Answered genuinely giddy.

“T-that’s good.”

“Shintarou?” from his voice, Midorima could alreadytell that he was smiling wide.

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

#kuroko no basket #kuroko no basu #kuroko no basket hc #midoaka #akamido #midorima shintarou #shintarou midorima #akashi seijūrō #akashi seijuro #vulnerable akashi #a bit of angst #from angst to fluff #fluff #little arguments #relationships' goals #implied aokise #aokise #romantic #my basketball dorks #Ask Me #open askbox #drabble #KNB #happy ending #self-esteem issues #broken #prompts