insouciant || ON HIATUS

ℂℍ𝔸ℙ𝕋𝔼ℝ 𝟛𝟜

"I heard about what happened in Teiko." Mamoru's eyes flickered towards a certain short blond. Yori took a seat next to him, leaning against the wall. "In the match against Meiko in the championships."

His chest tightened at the memory of Ogiwara and Kuroko's horrified face. He hadn't seen someone look like that other than Maiko before, but he never wanted to see it on anyone again.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he replied automatically.

Yori didn't look convinced, but let it go. "Your team's going to leave soon, by the way."

Mamoru stood up, slipping his phone into his pockets and ignoring the barrage of texts. He didn't want to answer them, but he didn't want to delete/block Aomine's number. At one point, Mamoru could consider him a brother, but...

"Have a nice day, Yori-kun," Mamoru murmured, walking past him. He passed by Kindaichi and his friend, Kunimi, on the way out.

There was a little bit of hostility, probably from the stance from earlier. Mamoru stopped and bowed politely. "It was a good game."

And he meant it.

They blinked in surprise, hostility vanishing. "Er, thanks...You too," Kunimi echoed, sleepy eyes wide.

Now looking at him again, Mamoru was certainly attractive. And those eyes.

Kunimi swallowed nervously, choosing to scurry away, ears burning. Kindaichi squawked before following him, a little stunned at the abrupt motion.

Mamoru blinked, wondering about their unusual behavior. He shrugged it off and stormed outside, feeling a heavy weight in his chest. When he got to the rest of the group in front of the school, Daichi glanced at him.

"Was everything okay?" A little confused, Daichi clarified. "I mean, you looked pretty worried earlier."

"Oh." Mamoru shook his head. "Everything's fine now."

He wished it was.

"That's good," Daichi nodded, smiling warmly. There was something interesting about Mamoru that made him stand out from others (no, it wasn't his hair), but drew Daichi closer out of curiosity. He addressed the group next as they walked back to the bus.

"Takeda-sensei complimented us, but frankly, if we were in an all-out match against Seijoh and Oikawa, we'd be lacking."

Mamoru had a feeling he'd say that. Oikawa hadn't come in until later during the last set and even then, they were struggling to widen the point gap.

"Oh? Spoken like a true captain." Mamoru's gaze lifted from the floor and pointed towards a certain brunette leaning against the gate. "You know your stuff."

Oikawa lifted his face towards them with a sultry look.

"The Great King makes his appearance," Hinata screeched as Tanaka reverted to "delinquent" mode.

"You got a problem, dude?" Tanaka growled, approaching the captain with his hands in his pocket. Hinata followed right behind him, a hand pinching the back of Tanaka's track jacket.

"What do you want?" Hinata parroted, hiding behind Tanaka.

"Wanna fight, huh?"

"Wanna fight, huh?" Hinata echoed. He'd come off genuinely aggressive if he wasn't shaking like a leaf.

"Don't be so hostile." Oikawa stopped leaning on the brick pillar—he was wearing a white jacket, why would he do that—and waved a hand flippantly. He glanced at Hinata. "You, little one."