"Son, are you up?"
Hara lifted his head up to glance at the large time on his phone. He was probably going to be late to school again, not that it really mattered.
"Yeah I'm up."
"I wanted to remind you that you'll need to skip practice today to make your doctor appointment."
The door swung open with Hara facing his father, a clearly unhappy look on his face.
"What appointment? I told you I didn't want to go to any other doctors." Hara whisper hissed at the older male.
"Your mother and I had you on a list for an experimental treatment, we think it may actually help to stop-"
"It won't stop!" Hara exclaimed before glancing back into his bedroom and lowering his voice again. "How many doctors have to tell you two that? I accepted it so why don't you!?"
"Maybe not stop but slow down the degeneration an-"
Hara stopped listening as he turned back into his bedroom and shook the girl in his bed quickly. His father watched on with pursed lips, clearly wanting to say something but biting his tongue instead.
"Hey, you need to get going." Hara nudged her out of the bed and ushered her to gather her stuff and take her leave.
"Kazuya, you know we don't mind you having...friends but we've asked you not to let so many people into the house."
"Then you shouldn't have agreed to give me the room with the door leading outside."
There was a brief stare off between the two before his father finally gave in and made no further effort to correct his son's behavior. Hara sighed heavily as he pulled on his school uniform.
Of course, neither of his parents had the actual backbone to upset him in any way. Anyone who didn't know their situation would call him a spoiled brat and he knew they were right.
"I gotta go." Hara said pushing his bangs firmly over his eyes and walking past his father. "I'm staying late for practice...I'll be home later."
"Please, Kazuya why won't you at least give it a try?"
The teen stopped walking but didn't turn back to the desperate sounding man.
"Because we've been doing this for more than a decade...I'm sick of getting my hopes up."
The older man flinched as the front door slammed harshly.
~~~~~
"Oh shit, what's with the face?" Yamazaki asked as Hara practically slammed his lunch tray down on the table beside him.
"He's just all up in his feelings because we had to give Mako back today." (Y/N) said with her own eyes looking red and glassy.
"I can't believe she said we did the best on the project." Hara commented cracking open a can.
Seto chuckled just a bit. "Probably because you two were the most realistic parents I'd ever seen with all that fighting. It's no wonder everyone kept thinking Mako was real. I don't know that the assignment had the desired effect, I thought you were a great mother."
"Oh..." (Y/N) didn't exactly know how to take her friends compliment. Her heart was suddenly beating faster and the room was a second from spinning.
Squinting her eyes shut tightly she focused on keeping her breathing leveled. She could NOT have a panic attack right now in front of her friends. Bringing herself back down she smiled at him.
"Thank you! I'm actually still pretty upset about giving him back but I know that's pretty silly."
"I don't believe so." Furuhashi commented. "You developed a motherly instinct and bond with Mako. It would be hard for a mother to give up her child."
"Yeah." (Y/N) pushed her food her plate before placing the spoon down. "Hanamiya, you want my lunch? It's not going down right and I hate wasting food."
"Sure whatever." The black-haired male took her plate slowly and tried his best to seem uninterested in her or the food.
Though not a lie that she didn't feel hungry anymore, she wondered if the rest of her team noticed that Hanamiya wasn't eating today. And come to think of it there were other days when he didn't eat much more than a can of coffee.
She didn't want to assume but the thought had been in her mind ever since she ran into his mother. If she was working at a department store in the mall, she couldn't possibly be making that much money. The tuition here was ridiculous and the lunch prices not much better. How the hell could he afford to go here?
Rich dad?
Benefactor?
(Y/N)'s thoughts were cut off by some random guy coming up behind her and slinging an arm around her shoulder. The guys watched as the girl stiffened upon immediate reaction before regaining her cool composure and turning to the male with an almost deadly look.
"How can I help you?"
"So polite, I can tell you've been in this business for a long time."
The guys looked at each other in confusion while they watched (Y/N)'s face instantly grow darker.
"What do you want?"
"Come on you should know that one! I want a date!" The guys said pressing up against (Y/N)'s back harder, his hand rubbing her shoulder creepily the other slipping under the table. "So, what's your price? Hourly or do you charge by our activities? How much to let me do it all hmm?"
The entire table went frozen at the male's implications. Clear snickering could be heard from the table of girls not too far away. Sitting there was none other than Yamazaki's ex-girlfriend herself.
Both groups waited patiently to hear what (Y/N) would say. Having been ambushed out of nowhere there wasn't much time to think, she would either snap at him or give some cliché remark about her rates being too high for him. Her team looked on in surprise as the girl smiled at him with an almost genuine look.
"I haven't thought about my pricing in a while! It's a little tricky because too high and I won't get nearly enough customers. But too low and I may put your mother out of business!"
The boys at her table almost started laughing before the mystery guy yanked the girl out of her seat by the collar in rage. (Y/N) held no expression as the male pulled her up closer to him and drew a fist back ready to land square on her face.
Just as the team was about to get up to help their manager, they saw her head slowly tilt back before jerking forward to make hard contact with an unsuspecting nose.
The loud crunch was sickening and by now most of the cafeteria had gone totally quiet. Any grip that was still clinging to the girl's collar was soon released as she drew her knee back and brought it right up into the place no guy wants to be hit.
The team along with every male in the cafeteria cringed hard at the sight of the male literally throwing up from the force of that knee. With her would-be attacker on the floor curled up in a helpless ball the boys figured it was over but looking into (Y/N)'s face there was a dark look they hadn't seen before.
Sure, enough her foot reeled back before making impact with the boy's side. He yelped out in pain but (Y/N) kept the blows coming, sometimes lifting her foot to stomp on various parts of his body.
Hara stood up slowly and placed his hand on the girl's shoulder making her jump hard and take a swing at him. The punch landed directly in his stomach, making him double over in pain.
As if suddenly becoming unblinded by her rage the girl's face melted back into the look they had all become used to.
"Kazuya! I'm sorry!" (Y/N) said taking the male's face into her hands and trying to look into his eyes unsuccessfully of course.
Wheezing just a bit Hara managed to straighten up and give her a reassuring smile.
"Remind me to never play punchies or bloody knuckles with you. Are you okay?"
"What on earth is going on here?" One of the school administrators bellowed, slamming the doors to the cafeteria.
Before anyone could speak up it was none other than Mei running up to him, looking as if she'd been traumatized by the events.
"My friend went up to (Y/N) to ask her out and she totally freaked out! Look at him!"
The administrator looked to the boy struggling to get up off the floor and narrowed his eyes at the accused girl. Before he could open his mouth, it was Yamazaki who was out of his seat.
"That's not the truth! He accused (Y/N) of paid dating! He said he wanted to know her rates and he did it with the intention of embarrassing her! He said it so loudly everyone in the cafeteria heard him!"
"It's true!" A small voice piped up from the other side of the lunchroom. The guys recognized her as one of (Y/N)'s reverse trap lovers. "He went up to her and asked her how much she would charge to let him 'do it all' totally unprovoked!"
"Be that as it may, it was no need for physical confrontation."
(Y/N) sighed before whipping off her jacket and unbuttoning her white shirt to pull over her shoulder. There on her clear skin was a shiny dark bruise. Hiking up her skirt slightly, the boys gawked at a handprint shaped bruise colouring her thigh. The markings were so dark and done with so much force, it was a wonder she hadn't cried out.
"He was purposely squeezing me to intimidate and hurt me. I was defending myself."
"(L/N) (Y/N)? You're the Tōō transfer...Surely you've heard of excessive force, right?"
(Y/N) bit her lip so hard the boys knew it was seconds away from bleeding. She looked pissed and expectant.
"Young man, get to the nurse and get patched up. (Y/N) please come follow me to the Headmaster's office."
"What that's complete bullshit!" Hara found himself yelling loudly. "She has the proof that he was hurting her and she's still in trouble? Excessive force my fucking ass! He was going to punch her in the face and if she let him get up who knows what he could have done to her!?"
"Settle down!"
"No, that's the stupidest fucking shit I ever heard!"
"That is enough! I am giving you one last warning. I know your parents may allow you to do whatever you like. I however will not, condition or no condition."
Hara was boiling with rage at this point.
"Fuck you!"
The administrator looked just as red and angry however his eyes flickered with thought. Sighing heavily, he deflated and waved a dismissive hand at the boy.
"Sit down and finish your lunch. Come on (L/N)."
The cafeteria sat dumbstruck at the lavender-haired boy. Anyone who talked to any of the school's staff like that was sure to be suspended, yet here he was with nothing but a reprimand.
And you would figure anyone would be happy with that but not Hara. No, he was absolutely trembling with rage. His teeth grit harshly, and his eyes blurred even more with tears that he wasn't going to let fall. Maybe he was crying because he was angry or maybe he actually just sick of this constant reminder.
Pounding his fist into the table he stalked off after (Y/N). Without hesitation Yamazaki followed quickly behind his friend.
"I should really go and make sure they don't make things worse for (Y/N)." Furuhashi said throwing away his food.
"You aren't afraid you'll get into trouble and they'll call your parents?"
"I've recently gotten engaged, they are content enough with me at the moment to let a few things slide."
"I'm going too. (Y/N) didn't look right and I never thought she could lash out like that. Best if we gave her some team support. Hanamiya you coming?"
The pale boy simply sat and continued eating his lunch like nothing ever happened. He shrugged his shoulders.
"What good would that do? I'm gonna stay here."
~~~~~
"So, you see why we have to keep such a close eye on you?"
(Y/N) nodded her head solemnly. She knew she only put herself in this situation based on her current and past actions. Disagreeing did no good.
"You better not be expelling her!" Hara's voice rasped from the other side of the door. "I will shit all over your office!"
The young girl couldn't help but snort at the principal's taken aback expression. Shaking his head he turned back to (Y/N) and gave her a small fatherly smile.
"That's an interesting boyfriend you have there."
"Kazuya isn't my boyfriend. He's just my teammate who cares whether or not I will still be a part of the team tomorrow."
"You will be. Regardless of everything, I know you're a good kid. You have a 4.0 GPA and have even managed to reign in that unruly basketball team with their rough play. Though I do hope they continue to win without it."
"W-what? How long have you known about that?"
"Oh I've had my suspicions ever since Hanamiya hurt that Seirin player a few years back. Between you and I, so long as the ref never called them out on their play, I would have allowed it to continue in an effort to keep bringing in those wins."
(Y/N) sat awestruck. Things just weren't adding up. Hanamiya had said outright that the Headmaster was unhappy with the team's actions and was keeping an eye on them. In fact, it seemed to be the exact opposite.
"Dear don't look so concerned. Rough play is simply a part of sports. Take the Detroit Pistons for exa-"
"You never asked Hanamiya to stop the rough play?"
"No, I can't say I've spoken to the young man since he asked permission to be coach. Which brings me to the deal I want to make."
"A deal?"
"While I can understand self-defense, even you admitted to using excessive force. Now I can't let that go without punishment. However, you know as well as I do that those boys on your team are a stubborn lot. They never will agree to this if I asked it of them myself. A local newspaper has asked two Tokyo high school basketball teams to sit for an interview and Kirisaki Daiichi would be one of them."
"Why would the newspaper want to interview us?"
"They are doing a feature on student leadership and wanted to feature two excelling teams led by student coaches."
(Y/N)'s minded whirled for just a bit before the lightbulb went off. Her lips parted into a soft o shape as her Headmaster nodded with a smirk.
"So, then the school we will be interviewing with is..."
~~~~~
Seirin sat awkwardly on the other side of a huge round table.
(Y/N) could feel her captain's stare burning holes in the side of her head. The energy in the room was incredibly tense and the only sounds were breathing and the occasional pop from Hara's gum.
"You're going to run so many suicides for me when we get out of here." Hanamiya whispered into (Y/N)'s ear, sending a chill down her spine.
It had truly been a struggle to get all the boys to agree to sit for interview questions and that had been without mentioning the other team that would be.
Yamazaki had agreed the moment he found out it was to help her while the other guys requested favors in exchange for their presence.
Furuhashi requested to be lifted from the homework duty he'd gotten thanks to the Valentine's bet.
Hanamiya requested that she make him lunch for the rest of the month, no store-bought or chef-prepared bentos allowed.
Hara's dumbass jokingly requested a kiss, which he got. Not expecting it, however, he had no time to react and bitched about being "caught off guard" and not getting the opportunity to kiss back.
Seto merely waved the girl off and said he would save his favor for another time when he could really use it.
Now the guys were thinking that they had been lowballed. Not only was this the team that killed their chances at the winter cup last year, but they were also the team they had the most tension with.
To top it off, the interviewer was running late and now they were all stuck there as neither wanted to be the "weak team" that ran away.
(Y/N) looked at the players on the opposing team. She had seen them during the Rakuzan v. Seirin game but just as she found with Yosen's ace, it was much different being face to face. Kagami was nothing short of intimidating, with his piercing almost unnatural eyes.
Their captain was scowling hard in direct contrast to Hanamiya who had this aura of faux innocence surrounding his face. The glasses guy looked about ready to jump across the table and throw hands.
Kuroko was another story, looking as if he was the one analyzing her team intensely. Several times (Y/N) locked eyes with him and gave him a small smile which he surprisingly returned. Seeing him too, made her wonder how exactly he was this "phantom" or "invisible" man. He had baby blue hair for fucks sakes!
"Kuroko Tetsuya, I don't believe we've met." The blue haired boy said extending his hand to the girl, who hadn't said a single thing the entire time they've been sitting here.
"(Y/N) (L/N), it's very nice to meet you. I saw your game against Rakuzan and thought it was amazing!"
This seemed to snap the attention of all the team to her. Before she could reply the dark-haired male, in front of her slipped a paper to her secretively.
'Blink twice if you're being held against your will.'
The young girl was caught between a laugh and a scoff, confusing the sharp-eyed male who'd passed her the note. He tilted his head as he tried to examine her face.
"Okay you blinked like four times, so I'm a little confused." Izuki said with genuine concern.
"I'm perfectly content where I am. I have classes with Kazuya, before I knew it one thing lead to another and I was managing the team."
Before anyone could even comment on that, she was already noticing the looks on their faces and continuing with her explanation.
"I am not a naïve person and am very aware of the things they have done. We were able to have a nice clean game against Yosen not too long ago. It would go against everything I believe in to judge someone on only their worst qualities."
"I agree." Kuroko's calm voice resonated in the room with a strong conviction. "It's hard to defend someone when only you've seen the good in them and everyone else has only seen the bad. I know that too well."
"Exactly, spoken like a true protagonist." (Y/N) said with a wide smile.
"This guy is way too bland to ever be the protagonist of anything." Hara chuckled snapping his gum rapid fire.
"You think so? He talks like one and even has the 'spot the protagonist' hair." (Y/N) leaned across Hanamiya, ready to defend her opinion to the death.
"We just played a purple giant and there's split brow red head right in front of us!" Yamazaki replied, clearly siding with Hara.
"All the generation has weird ass hair." Seto added acknowledging the obvious.
"Because if the story was told with their team as the main cast then that Miracle would be the protag. Kuroko is the protag of Seirin because blue hair is way more unnatural than red. Come on guys, it's really simple." Furuhashi interjected after picking his side in the debate.
"Then am I the protag of KiriDaii?" Hara asked, twisting a portion of his bangs between his fingers.
"Hell no, that's me!" (Y/N) said with indignation.
"What why?"
"Because your hair isn't natural and I'm the middle of the year transfer student!"
Seirin didn't know how to respond to the conversation that had unfolded in front of them. Talk about anime protagonists and hair colour wasn't something they expected, especially from a team like Kirisaki Daiichi. Clearly (Y/N) had been some sort of catalyst for the group.
Of course, the boys have always made their public image out to be very presentable. If they ever did attend some sort of event, they usually came across as cold but polite. The stereotypical image of a rich kid who thinks they are better than you but know better than to show it.
To see them acting like normal teenage guys was almost unsettling. But it made sense...after all, regardless of what they were like on the court, off the court they were just that. Teenage boys.
Kuroko's eyes left (Y/N) when he felt a different pair glaring in his direction. Turning, he met with a harsh pair of olive eyes. Hanamiya had gotten up in his face before and the two had definitely had a stare down to the death but this expression was unreadable. Finally, after what looked like an internal debate the older male opened his mouth.
"Wait, there's no way that's actually your natural hair colour."
"Well I was born with it, so yeah. All the generation have natural hair."
"Shut the fuck up, are you serious? I thought the rainbow scheme was just a gimmick." Hanamiya asked looking more or less stunned and in disbelief. "What the hell was in the water your moms were drinking?"
"I don't know how to answer that."
(Y/N) snorted into her hand. She didn't expect this whole situation to turn out the way it was. If she was being honest she was almost prepared for a fight to break out instantly.
Still it didn't go unnoticed to her that one of the Seirin members was neither speaking to his teammates nor ever bothered to look up at her team. And she wasn't naïve to who this person was. In fact, he was the first face she looked for when she walked into interview room today.
Extremely tall and one of the most handsome men she'd ever seen in her life, she wished he had an actual smile on his face. Her captain pulled those a lot.
Hanamiya did it to seem indifferent and strong to others. And the guy at the end of the table was fundamentally not so different, he was trying to put on a strong front and pretend like being there didn't bother him. But from what she's heard of him, he did that for others...not himself.
"Terribly sorry for running so late!" A flustered looking man said nearly out of breath. "Were you waiting long?"
"Not very, though Kirisaki Daiichi arrived before we did." Riko said standing to shake hands with the journalist.
"I will admit it was a bit of a wait, seeing as my team strives to be professional with our time." Hanamiya said with a bright smile through the subtle snark of implying the older man was in fact unprofessional.
"Right! My deepest apologies. Now, we can get through the joint questions first and then move onto individual teams. Now Seirin, there have been lots of eyes on your aces and while we are interested as well we figured this would be a great opportunity to get some info of your other members."
"Of course!" The short-haired girl nodded.
"As for Kirisaki Daiichi, for such a high-ranking team in such a prestigious school there haven't been many interviews conducted with you. And to my knowledge absolutely none since Hanamiya Makoto has taken the team. So, we would very much like to change that today!"
~~~~~
"I uhh"
While the tension had completely once been eradicated in the boardroom, the stuttering and aching silence let everyone know it was back with a vengeance.
"I apologize if that was an inappropriate question to ask given our current audience but I did my research. It would seem the only remaining player from that team is Hanamiya, however he seemed not to be directly involve-"
"Not directly involved?" Hyuga exclaimed before he had the chance to stop himself.
The other Seirin team members were trying their hardest to get him to calm down. (Y/N) nervously bit on her nail as she glanced to her captain. He was sitting almost unfazed, staring at Kiyoshi waiting for him to give his answer to the question.
'After your terrible injury in the game against Kirisaki Daiichi, how have you managed to deal with these limitations?'
"Why don't you finally admit it!? You had every intention of hurting him and everyone in here knows it!" Hyuga shouted to Hanamiya who finally looked away from the brown-haired male.
"He's not wrong." Hanamiya's voice came out smoothly, shocking his entire team. "I was just an ordinary player on the team back then, but still...it was me who gave the order to use rough play on him."
Even the reporter looked shocked by this admission and simply nodded before scribbling words down on his notes. Turning his attention back to Kiyoshi the reporter urged the male out of his overall shocked state.
"So, how exactly are you coping? Is there a lot of resentment...anger?"
"Acceptance. You can't change what's happened you can only come to terms with it. I've accepted that my peak has come and gone. It was halted early and without me ever even knowing, it passed me by. I'll never be as good as I could have been, but I'll keep trying to be the best that I can be now. That's how I've coped with it."
"I see. That's very unfortunate but inspiring that you have continued to push out of a bad situation. And for you Hanamiya, is there any guilt? Was it your intention for it to escalate this way? Any comments?"
All of KiriDai was watching their captain closely. Way before now all of them had formed their own opinions on the incident with Kiyoshi but it wasn't their game, none of them played in it so none of them ever bothered voicing their opinion.
Hanamiya always acted like he couldn't be bothered to give a shit about anything or anyone but still they wondered if there was something else there. Then again, they figured he would give some bullshit answer to keep a public façade.
"As you can see Kiyoshi refuses to be broken by me and continues to put himself out there when playing me. Some people call that bravery...I call it reckless. He's put his own flesh and bones on the line for others, I believe he will come to have resentment but not towards me."
(Y/N) tried to read the male's eyes but found them to be blank.
"I've lost every game I've ever played against him. I'll never get the chance to beat him at his best....and I am unbelievably sorry for that. I take full responsibility for everything that's happened to him."
Kiyoshi was gaping at the male who refused to make eye contact. He heard it in his voice, that was almost an apology. Of course, he knew Hanamiya well enough to know that he would state that in the most selfish and underhanded way possible. He wasn't smirking or mocking them for believing a lie...he was, for the first time, being genuine.
"I see...So, Hanamiya Makoto, what inspired you to play basketball?"
"My father." Hanamiya replied without missing a beat, once again surprising everyone on both teams.
"Care to elaborate?"
"No."
"Uhhh okay." The journalist seemed to be fumbling with his notes, clearly trying to steer the topic away and remove the heavy veil hanging in the air. "Ahh yes Mitobe! There isn't much information that's been gathered for you. Would you be open to a few questions?"
"I don't think I've heard you speak since we got in here. Talk about a man of few words." (Y/N) smiled at the male who had appeared to be slightly nervous.
"More like a man of no words. Mitobe is mute!" The cat-mouthed boy stated awkwardly to (Y/N).
The girl covered her mouth in shock and appeared wide eyed. She wanted to smack herself for even trying to talk. Honestly, she had just been trying to break the tensions between both teams.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to offend!" The black-haired male lifted his hand as if to tell her not to worry about it but of course (Y/N) dug herself even deeper. "Do you want me to run and get you a paper and pen to write your answers down?"
"That's okay, I can translate for him." Koga replied with a smile as he tried to calm the girl down.
"Okay umm if you need to sit closer or something I can trad-"
"Oh my god just leave him alone! He's mute, not invalid!" Hara shouted in a fairly loud and angry voice, startling everyone in the room. "He survived just fine without you, he doesn't need your help now. So, sit down and quit embarrassing us!"
"Hey, you shouldn't talk to your manager like that. She was just trying to help, even if coming off a little strong." Hyuga spoke up in the girl's defense.
"Yeah you were really too harsh with her, Mitobe knows she meant well." Koga urged, seeing the face of a clearly distressed girl.
"She's fine!" Hara asserted only to hear mumbling under the breath of the boy on the far end of the table. "What did you say?"
Fukuda almost didn't respond, not really having expected the male to hear him from that distance. Still Hara was coming off as rude and it wasn't gonna take much urging to him to repeat the comment he gave.
"I said 'You must be blind or stupid not to see she's obviously upset.'"
It happened so quickly that (Y/N) almost didn't process what had happened. One second Hara was drawing his fist back at the boy and the next Yamazaki was pulling him out of the room.
"Okay, I'm calling it guys. We should probably end it here." Seto said getting ready to stand before (Y/N) slid out of her chair first.
"No, stay and finish the interview. He probably doesn't want all of us around him right now."
"And you think he'll be okay with you?" Furuhashi asked with slight concern in his eyes.
"Doesn't matter." (Y/N) said, heading out to find her friends.
With that the girl bowed respectfully to the other team and journalist before excusing herself. Almost immediately after turning the corner, her perpetually pissed-off looking friend nearly slammed into her.
"Zaki! Where's Kazu-chan, what the hell happened?"
"He's just sitting on the roof, sulking. Really, he just has some personal stuff he's going through, and I thought it'd be best to leave him alone."
"Nah, I need to talk to him."
"(Y/N) wai-"
The girl was no longer listening as she bolted down the hall and right up the flight of stairs. Her legs were aching as she climbed the steps incredibly fast. Finally seeing the light shining in from the small window, she pushed the door open and squinted her eyes in an effort to adjust to the brightness.
"What the hell do you want? If I didn't want Zaki here what makes you think I'd want you either?"
"God you're in a bitchy mood today." (Y/N) commented, finally spotting the male sitting on the opposite end of the roof.
Walking over to him she sat directly in front of him with crisscrossed legs.
"Just leave me alone. Why are you always in everyone's business?"
"Because you're my friends."
"Friends usually know when to leave someone the hell alone."
"Do they? I haven't had many friends since I came to Japan so I wouldn't really know. But in everything I've ever seen, the friend usually keeps pushing."
"Yeah well this isn't one of your fucking anime okay? All I need is for you to leave me alone and go away."
"Kazuya just tell me what's wrong? Why did you go off on that Seirin guy? Why'd you start yelling at me? I refuse to believe those were just bad attitude actions, so what gives?"
"I've had a bad week okay?"
"Well why?"
"Oh my god it's just one question after another with you!"
"Yes! Because I want to know what's happening with you. Maybe I can help!"
"You can't! "
"How do you know that!?"
"Because I know me better than you! Not everything has an answer and not everything can be fixed! Stop trying to fix me!"
"I'm just trying really hard to understand you."
"Fine! You want to try and understand?!"
(Y/N) flinched as he got up in her face and turned her head away from him screwing up her eyes. She didn't think he'd hit her but it was her natural reaction to cower away. Hara suddenly had his thumb and forefinger on her cheeks, gripping her face slightly to turn her.
"Look at me."
The young girl allowed him to face her towards him and was instantly surprised to see him looking at her eye to eye. He'd pushed his bangs off to the side and was staring at her intensely.
Maybe she didn't know the words...but she knew right away something was different.
"Your eyes..."
"Are creepy?" Hara scoffed still holding onto the girl's face.
"Suit you."
The girl honestly meant that. His eyes were a pretty hazel colour with the black part of his pupils extending way too far down to look natural. Both seemed to split the coloured portion of his eye from the middle to the bottom. It made him look almost feline in appearance.
"What's up with it?"
"It's called coloboma."
"Huh it makes you look like a demon or like a pissed off cat. That kind of fits your personality don't you think?" (Y/N) smiled only for Hara to finally release her and sigh as he sat back. She thought about what Fukuda had said and as if all the pieces were clicking together, she cocked her head at him. "But that's just cosmetic, if you went off on that guy back there.... Hara can you see?"
"Shittily but yes...for now. Something called a comorbidity or whatever the hell. One of my brothers has the keyhole eyes like me but I was just even more unlucky. I was four when I realized my eyesight was shit at night."
(Y/N) could see Hara staring off to the side and knew he was about to let out everything and anything he had ever kept secret.
"So, they tested it and turns out that was just the beginning. Choroideremia, which basically just means my eyesight is going to gradually get worse and worse until I just can't see at all. Completely, totally blind and there isn't a damn thing anyone can do to stop it."
There was a hard silence cloaking the two. It was even heavier than the one they had just experienced in the room with both teams. Hara was ready to just get up and leave, he didn't regret telling her...with that outburst she would piece it together eventually.
His whole team probably would, when the only person who had known was Zaki. He knew it was foolish to think he could keep it from them for so long. His team would think he was a worthless player and he would gladly take that. But he knew (Y/N) would pity him and that was going to set him right back off.
"Yeah well I'm sorry to hear that but don't think telling me that is gonna excuse you for being a dick."
Hara's eyes widened and his head snapped towards her like he couldn't believe his ears. The girl was pouting and with arms crossed looked pissed off.
"What?"
"Like I said, I get that you've been going through a lot, but you were seriously about to fight a guy. He doesn't know your life, cut him a break. And don't ever fucking yell at me like that in public again! I'm your friend and manager, not a damn kid!"
"Is that seriously what you're worried about right now?"
"Uhh yeah! You embarrassed the hell out of me! I think you owe me and everyone in there an apology!"
Hara blinked very slowly at the girl. Everyone who had ever found out about it pitied him. They treated him like some sort of feeble infant. Even Yamazaki had to outgrow that habit.
It would seem that, it didn't matter the situation, (Y/N) was never going to react the way he thought she was. Whether it was her reactions to an arranged marriage or to a disability, she was never overly soft with people. Some people would even call that apathetic or kinda bitchy.
"That's it? That's all you have to say to me right now?"
(Y/N) sighed heavily and let her angry face fall into one of concern.
"It's not that I don't care about you, Kazuya or what's happening. But it honestly changes nothing between us. You don't get a free pass to do whatever the hell you like just because you have shitty eyesight. I've known you not even a full year. You managed to survive without me and I'm sure you'll continue to do the same. I'm not saying I won't make a mistake ever or that I won't worry about you from time to time but you're still the same person with or without your problems."
"And when the day comes that I can't see at all?"
"Then you'll deal with it as it comes. We'll get you a basketball that beeps or some shit. Look I don't know much about blindness but millions all over the world deal with it and when it happens, I'm sure you will too."
"Huh...you know you're the only person whose ever reacted that way. I guess now I must just seem like a fucking moron that threw a tantrum huh?"
"Hell yeah, a big ass temper tantrum! Honestly one more outburst like that from you and I'm gonna have to put you in a time out corner or something."
Hara laughed before looking up at her again. Under his bangs he could always see that she had a very cute shape to her body but with his eyes out for the world to see...he was really looking at her for the first time. From the face, she was plainer than he'd been able to see previously. But still he found himself drawn to her.
Crawling over to her again, his face was only inches away from hers. She was staring directly into his eyes in a way none of the other girls he's ever been with has. She wasn't staring AT his eyes she was looking into them. She was seeing him, looking at HIM.
His hand was gently caressing her face and he noticed her own eyes gently flicker to his lips. His smirk grew before he drew even closer and whispered,
"And how many tantrums do I have to throw before I get a spanking?"
The girl clicked her tongue before pushing him away.
"I'll have Furu give you one now! He's the sadist of the group, I'm sure all you have to do is ask!"
"Fuck that shit! I want a spanking from a cute girl not a flogging from my sicko teammate."
"So, I'm a cute girl huh?"
"Yeah you are." Hara admitted without missing a beat, surprising (Y/N) who had expected him to give his typical sarcastic ass comment.
"Ha funny, come on we should head back to the guys!"
"Awe don't leave yet! I figured we could have some fun up here for a bit, after all I did just reveal to you my tragic backstory!"
"Yeah whatever!"
"Don't even pretend! You were really into me for a second there!"
"Maybe in your dreams."
"Come on, I'll make you feel really good."
"Don't say things like that so nonchalantly!"
"So, is that a yes?"
~~~~~
"Why the fuck did you two take so long!?" Hanamiya shouted out at the two as they made their way down the final stair.
"Yeah we were kinda worried." Yamazaki said looking between his two friends.
"Worried my ass! I just wanna get home but I can't because (Y/N) has my damn train pass." Hanamiya mumbled sounding just as grumpy as he'd been earlier with Seirin.
"Honestly though, is everything okay with you guys?" Seto asked (Y/N) more so than Hara.
"Yeah Kazu-chan had a bitch fit but he's cooled off now. Maybe he is the protagonist considering how much he openly cries and causes drama."
"Shut up." Hara laughed, pushing the girl playfully.
The guys all narrowed their eyes at the two. They could see the clear shift, half as those who have experienced it first hand with (Y/N) and the other half as having witnessed it from their other teammates.
He was falling for her.
"Well now that that matter is solved, I think you owe us more than was offered." Furuhashi broke the silence, placing his hand on (Y/N)'s shoulder.
"Yeah I know." The girl deflated, not wanting to be reminded of the deception she used to get her team there today. "How about I treat us all to ramen? I just got paid and I think I can spare to feed my team."
"Hmm you have a job?" Seto asked raising a brow at the girl.
"Yeah, of course! I told you I like to earn my things and not just leech off someone. So, are we getting food or not!"
"Fine, let's go." Hanamiya said, all but dragging the girl along out the door.
Standing at the back of the group, a certain two males stayed behind Hara was staring out after his team and Yamazaki was staring at him. When the rest were finally out of earshot he spoke up.
"She knows, doesn't she?"
"Yeah."
"And you willing told her?"
"Yup."
"Why?"
"I guess after seeing how she handled Furuhashi's situation, I was hoping she would surprise me too. Tell me something I wasn't expecting to hear, and she didn't disappoint."
"...You know Furu's got it bad for her too, right? That he's just too stoic to show it more than he already does?"
"Yeah, I'm not stupid."
"And I've told you how I feel." Yamazaki sighed as Hara looked at him almost sullenly. "You're still not gonna give her up easily, are you?"
"You know I can't."
~~~~~
"Who the fuck wrote that!" Hara yelled accusingly at the now frightened students in class.
(Y/N) stared at the words on her desk, owlishly. The classroom had grown so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The teacher hadn't arrived yet and Hara was sure to cause hell when he found out who was responsible for this bullshit.
"Well!? I'll look through everyone's shit to find a pink marker! And when I find it, the person I found it with bet-"
"Haha how pathetic!" (Y/N)'s voice chirped out, laughing genuinely. Hara turned to her in surprise and watched as she licked her middle finger and swiped it over the desk smudging the ink.
While her voice and demeanor oozed confidence, Hara could clearly see a hurt look in her eyes as the words 'Yariman' and 'Slut' smeared across her desk.
"What kind of weak shit is this? If you're gonna vandalize a desk, don't be a fucking pussy and use a marker! Carve it in there to get your point across! Oh man, Kazuya, I'm gonna go grab a wet napkin to wipe this crap off."
Hara watched as the girl took off down the hall, avoiding the gaze of everyone in class. He knew exactly who it was that went and wrote that on the girl's desk.
It was growing more and more out of hand. Something told him there was more going on than just a jealousy for Yamazaki. (Y/N) said they'd had issues from before.
Whatever happened in middle school was finally exploding all around her.
And now that he thought about it, how much did any of them really know about (Y/N)?