Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basket.
A/N: Repost of my fic :D
Moriyama shuts his locker quietly. When Kobori notices, it might already have been too late.
"Kobori..."
Kobori tries to feign.
"...let's get Kise and Kasamatsu together."
"What do you mean," Kobori smiles as he grabs his bag. "Moriyama?"
"In the name of a bigger, better purpose."
Kobori walks ahead of Moriyama. "I hope... you don't mean one of the girls put you up to this."
Moriyama makes an ironically conspicuous noise, then tries to cough. He'd be the guy least cut out for the task.
"That's beside the point."
"I think you know I won't be helping you out with this."
"Kobori my friend."
Kobori decidedly walks a little faster.
"There'll be fun."
"I'm not," and Kobori chuckles, grin a little tight, "after fun." I might be wanting peace.
"It'll get Kasamatsu to loosen up!"
"Don't you think there might be other ways of tackling that?" he adds, tone a little dirty but lighthearted.
"Kise's a fine ball of sunshine," and Moriyama flashes a very, very painful beam. "I couldn't express better faith in somebody as reliable as our ace."
"It's very convincing coming from the first person who was grouching about the most superficial and flippant blonde model you've ever seen back in April." But Moriyama has a hand on Kobori's shoulder now.
"Comrade."
Kobori shrugs it off, gradually, a laborious task that required infinitely slow, inching motions. He seems to smile even wider.
"You might be using the wrong term, Moriyama. We're teammates."
"–who swore to survive the bloodiest infernos–"
"Hey, we've reached the station!" Kobori spins around. "Don't stay up and turn up late for practice – Kasamatsu will have your head. See you tomorrow huh, Mori–"
But Kobori can't walk away and he wonders why.
There's a persistent death grip tugging on his bag, and Kobori knows, there is no other moment.
"..."
He pulls so hard he almost loses his grip on his own bag, but Kobori stamps forward with unending force. "Let go, Moriyama."
"Brother from another mother," Moriyama lets out abruptly. "Soulmate from a parallel universe," but he says with force, because Kobori is exerting a lot of strength to break away from him.
"I don't wish to be either. I'm happy to stay teammates, and let's stay that way until we graduate!" Kobori lets out a small battle cry as he pushes again.
But they're starting to attract attention and even sniggers and Kobori, in that single moment, stops struggling. It makes Moriyama stumble and slacken his hold – and Kobori wisely uses it to bolt.
"Wha–! Kobori!"
"Don't get up to dangerous stuff like that! I'm serious about Kasamatsu having your head! Find something else to amuse yourself on, all right?" and "See you!"
But Kobori knows better. He's been with the idiot – for 2 years and counting. Moriyama never backs down once he has an idea in his head. It's gotten him murdered by Kasamatsu more times than they could count, but it only went to show how persistence played an integral part in Moriyama's person.
It's probably why he's been able to continue chasing girls in that deplorable manner of his.
Kobori only makes a small prayer later that night.
May Kaijou be blessed – sun god protect us.
With a little desperation in his heart he prays.
Kise Ryouta is step one to Moriyan's lofty plan. Even he doesn't think he could tackle Kasamatsu without help from the inside.
"Eh? Moriyama-senpai?" Kise turns, tone bright. "What is it-ssu?"
Just...
"...hah. I'm not sure about that..." and the blonde model had given a nervous laugh.
Surprisingly Kise isn't as enthusiastic as one would have thought. Moriyama hadn't counted on things turning out contrary to expectations.
But Kise Ryouta – he can be easy to goad.
"Why's it senpai and me?" Kise had asked, soft bewilderment underlining his words. "Kasamatsu-senpai's gonna have a field day with us..." and he cringes a little at the thought of it.
Moriyama only puts a hand on his waist. "I'd thought higher of you Kise."
"Eh?"
"When had you been one to care about trivial stuff? When you'd go as far as to ask inconsequential stuff like if you could eat something sent by your fan...!"
Kise had blinked because Moriyama was shaking a fist up in the air and it had drawn a few sniggers around the clubroom, and in his head he goes eh again. He jolts when Moriyama snaps his head with precision, looking at Kise with a dirty glare.
"What... what is it-ssu, Moriyama-senpai?" he asks again.
"Aren't you a model? Ranked first for Kanagawa heartthrob and model you want to kiss? Is your title for show?"
Kise had been amused but he lets Moriyama continue.
"What good are you if you're gonna stop at gender restrictions?!"
Kise genuinely wanted to point out, more than gender restrictions Kasamatsu would have at them for being cheeky and daring to pair a first year brat like him with his captain in the first place – but Moriyama's weird tension was starting to have an effect on him.
Kise is very much a curious child at heart – sometimes he'll chase things even while knowing better.
He has his misgivings – there's the fact Kasamatsu would murder them no doubt, but had Kise minded before he wouldn't have dragged his captain to the departmental store in excitement or rattle heatedly about Kurokocchi without regard to the eventual abuse his body would suffer. It's just that – he's not sure what to think about encroaching in his captain's personal life.
But is he curious?
Goddamn he is, he's always caught himself looking when Kasamatsu has a rare opportunity to talk to a girl.
"It's not like we're trying to get you guys to date. Kasamatsu my good son, Mom would be proud if you got your first lover in the next five years – but take your time," and Kise silently wonders to himself if Moriyama had always been a character like this. But Moriyama grabs his shoulders then and he straightens right up, unconsciously.
"We just need you guys to have some moments...!"
"...moments-ssu, Moriyama-senpai?" Kise echoes with an unnatural smile.
"Little moments!" Moriyama repeats. "You know – leaning on each other's shoulders, ruffles on the head, tipping your chin or a back hug–!" it ends off in a fierce and quiet whisper.
"Don't you think it's escalating...?" Kise asks, but he's having trouble maintaining the unnatural smile on his face. "The last two got pretty incredible... and I would rather do the tipping, senpai."
"You tip his chin then!"
Kise very briefly wonders if they're just insanely close, or if his upperclassmen are actually sworn enemies from another lifetime.
"You didn't... meet a fujoshi did you, Moriyama-senpai?"
Your acting is, Kise has to think when Moriyama turns into stone, bad, Moriyama-senpai. Your acting is hilariously bad! How are you thinking of tricking Kasamatsu-senpai?
"Let's talk of more demanding matters at hand, Kise."
"...ssu."
Nakamura walks by then, tells Moriyama good work senpai and turns to Kise to say, "It's not just Kasamatsu-senpai you'll have to keep an eye on. Don't go overboard now," leaving a firm pat on Kise's shoulder.
The meaning is lost on Moriyama and Kise utters another ...ssu under his breath, putting his head down. Are they gonna be doing this with the whole club in the know? With Moriyama's subtlety as it is...
But Moriyama is sparkling next to him and Kise is, despite everything, finding it hard to refuse an upperclassman with his own show of politeness and talks of seniority that have been beaten in his skin. Besides...
"Don't you want to see another side to Kasamatsu?"
God he feels dirty for wanting to hop on this train. But Kise promises himself, leaning on shoulders and ruffles on head are things they're doing already. He's not going to try anything new because he's not about to treat his favourite upperclassman like an object. Kise is – quite plainly and purely – curious, has always been about Kasamatsu Yukio.
When Kise gives the much dreaded – and subsequently delightful to some others – nod of agreement, Moriyan only tightens the arm slung around Kise.
"Let's get down to business, my cute underclassman."
Kise can't help the shiver that travels through his body.
"Please don't call me cute, Moriyama-senpai..."