Hello. This is my very first submission to the fanfiction website. I am writing for the KnB fandom, as you can see. I got an account because I was inspired by a writer, 'Anglo-Chan's', writings. I named my account after a playoff on her name, I hope she doesn't mind. I hope to write KnB AU's almost as good as her someday. I love all of her stories. If you haven't read them, you should check them out. Personally, my favorite is 'Teiko High Host Club.'
Anyway, I got into this anime by suggestion of my friend. It's really good, even though I don't like basketball very much. This is my first ever fanfiction, and I'm not sure how to do some stuff here. Please support and help me, and if you have some constructive criticism, don't hesitate to tell me. Thank you for reading this, and I hope none of you feel as if I am copying Anglo-Chan. My stories will be original- and if not, I have asked permission. Thank you.
"Oh, Mama, look! It's the newest novel by Kise Ryouta.. 'Moonlight, Making Dawn!' And, there are only a few more copies left.. Can you buy it for me, Mama? I'll pay you back as soon as we get home! I want to read the next book before it sells out!"
"Hm, he really is a popular author, isn't he? Too bad the line into the bookstore is too long. I don't think that those copies on the shelf will last much longer."
"What? Then, please take me to the bookstore tomorrow! I'm sure they'll have some more copies then.. They restock books from Kise Ryouta a lot, right..? Hey, wait! There are some other books from Starbrand Tokyo over there, too!"
"Starbrand? Oh, that's Kise Ryouta's publishing company."
"It's the biggest publishing company in Tokyo! Only the best books get published from Starbrand, Mama. It's basically a seal of perfection! Ooh! Mama, Mama, there are books from Akashi Seijuuro's newest 'Adam the Ripper' series!"
"Akashi Seijuuro.. Isn't that the Kyoto Business Tycoon's son? Saito Akashi?"
"No, Mama! Didn't you read 'Starbrand Magazine?' Akashi Seijuuro spoke publicly about that not much of a while ago. He and his father broke off business ties because Seijuuro-sama wanted to be known as his own man, who worked with his own skills, not his father's! He's a writer now, not a businessman. Thank goodness for that, otherwise I never would have been hooked on mystery novels!"
".. I.. I see. Maybe I need to read a bit more of Starbrand books to get a feel of them, right? Haha, what other books are there? Oh.. What's this? 'Midorima Shintarou'.. What a bloody picture, and right on the cover too.. But it says Starbrand on the right corner. Is this acceptable for young children, Asoko-chan?"
"Heh? Of course it isn't! This is Midorima Shintarou's newest book. It's an apocalyptic era novel about a boy in a Nuclear Winter.. I haven't sen the preview writing for it, but I'm excited! And, no, it's not for children, it'd give them nightmares at the first page. Midorima Shintarou-sama is known for his futuristic writing!"
"And this odd one? What's with all the colors on top of the cover, it looks like someone just threw a bunch of paint on top of it and called it art!"
"That's definitely by Murasakibara Atsushi, Mama. He's the author who writes books for teens and pre-teens.. Most of it is themed around food. He's super creative and the way he writes is simple, yet amazing! While Midorima Shintarou-sama and Akashi-sama write very brooding, dark, and mysterious books, and Kise-kun's are specifically for girls, Murasakibara-sama's are more light and unisex! This one is themed around strawberry frosting.. 'A Pink Wonderland..' Amazing!"
"A Pink Wonderland? That hardly sounds unisex.. Do boys really read this? Are you sure these books are really the best choice? I might have to start censoring what you read before I hear you want to become an author yourself."
"Of course I don't want to become an author. I'd have to compete against all these amazing Starbrand authors! And besides- there are only seven authors in Starbrand. The rest of the staff are editors and publishers. There's an unspoken rule that your writing has to be absolute genius if you want to get in, so there are only seven authors that are in Starbrand.. Akashi, Midorima, Murasakibara, and Kise being four of them, of course. The other three are just as good, though!"
"That's.. Odd. They must make a lot of money off of those seven authors to still be in business, and so famous. Do the other three focus on different genres as well? The genres of the books of these writers hardly seem to overlap."
"Yup! You're catching on, Mama. For instance, this book over here.. It's by Aomine Daiki, one of the seven authors of Starbrand! 'Lake Red-Eyes.' It's one of his older pieces, but still extremely popular. It's mostly adventure, sci-fi, and violence. It's pretty dark, like Akashi and Midorima's, but it's focused on action most."
"I see. I hope none of this is making you more violent to your brother, Asoko-chan."
"It's not, don't worry! I read the lighter, sweeter ones as well. The only female author in Starbrand is Momoi Satsuki, and her writing is so wonderful! She writes very sad, but comforting novels. Most of them are about tragedy and loss, but they pick up into a happy end. If I get scared or angry by the other novel from Starbrand, I jut read her hit, 'Rainbow Love!' That always calms me down!"
"I thought that Kise man wrote romance."
"Well, Momoi writes emotional stuff. Kise writes the deepest desire romantic kind of stuff, like you see in the movies. But the reasons his writing is so popular is because of the dramatic plot twists, and how well it works in with his writing, haha!"
".. I see. Well, at least this Momoi character seems to be writing books that are easier on the eyes. Who's the last of the seven Starbrand writers, then?"
"Oh, I never want to rank the Starbrand writers, Mama- but if I had to, the last of them is the absolute best! He hasn't ever revealed his name to the public yet, or been seen in public eye like the others- but they call him Phantom, and he's pure genius! He writes philosophical books with tons of inner, deep meaning. He weaves in philosophy with adventure, romance, mystery, sci-fi.. All genres! He can pull off anything, and he makes the most money out of all of the Starbrand writers!"
"A-Ah.. My, what an accomplished-seeming man. What books has he written?"
"He's written 'Scarred,' 'Alleviation to Heaven,' 'Repentance,' and so many more! Mama, I don't think you'll find any of his books here. They're all sold out, most likely. If anything, we'd have to go straight to Starbrand's website and order a copy there. Phantom's works sell out like that! Everyone loves him!"
"If everyone loves him so much, then why hasn't he come out to the public? Though I won't doubt his writing, as I haven't read any of his works.. This seems rather suspicious. Perhaps it's all of the authors writing together, under a pseudo name. How do you even know there's really a Phantom writer in Starbrand?"
"W-Well.. Actually, there was an accident. All Starbrand told us fans of Phantom was that he was in an accident, two years ago. We get books he withheld from his first year as new books.. But in his old books, he always put in a note before the first chapter. I'm sure Starbrand got a lot of hate mail because Phantom wouldn't reveal himself to the public- so he wrote really deep, personal letters to his fans. They were so emotional and kind, I have to believe there's a real person there! I like to imagine all of the Starbrand writers are very good friends, and very close- including Phantom. Plus.. I'm a really big fan, so I have to have faith! I've tried very hard on writing essays in Literature because Phantom inspired me! I have to believe he's real, and hope that he wakes up from his sleep and continues to write..!"
"He.. He fell into a coma from his accident?"
"That's what we all have to assume! The only thing Starbrand told us was that Phantom had gotten into an accident, and was sleeping.. But I believe he will wake up soon. Whatever force out there can't silence such a brilliant man, Mama..."
".. Ah, Asoko-chan.. That made me very glad, just then. You're such a spirited, kind girl! For that.. I'll buy you a copy of Kise Ryouta's new book! Let's go stand in line!"
"Ah, yay! Thank you so much, Mama~!"
From outside of Hatsuyuki Bookstore, a young man with blonde hair listened to the short conversation between a young school girl and her mother. He wore a grey trench coat and fedora to cover most of his face, but he couldn't mask his amber eyes glittering as he watched the two females enter the store. A gentle smile crossed his face, the bells on the door jingling as the customers entered. Hatsuyuki bookstore was nearly filled with bustling people, looking for Starbrand books. The young man watched for a few more seconds before he began to walk off from the store. Before he could enter the main entrance of the shopping center, a person slid in his way.
".. Hmph. Checking the amount of sales you're getting for your newest romantic tragedy, I see. Your ego will only inflate," the person said, who had stepped in front of the blonde. He wore dark clothes to hide himself as well, but he couldn't disguise his distinguishable, accented voice. The blonde only smiled, though it was tired.
"Can you blame me for wanting to see how people perceive the book? It seems to be the same as ever, though," the blonde remarked. He gestured to a small coffee shop on the side of the shopping center. "Do you want to take this conversation out of the cold? I'm getting rather chilly, and I haven't had my usual morning buzz today."
".. Hmph, fine then," the green-haired male replied, removing his fedora. He put on a pair of silvery sunglasses instead, ducking his head. The two men moved into a small, warm coffee house, getting a rather secluded table in the back corner.
After ordering two coffees, the blonde took off his fedora. The green-haired male put away his sunglasses, revealing shocking emerald eyes to match his hair. He then put on regular reading glasses instead, and pushed them up the bridge of his nose. They locked eye contact for a moment, before the blonde grinned, grabbing his coffee and taking a slow sip. The green-haired male narrowed his eyes, and pursed his lips.
"How are the rest of Starbrand books doing?" He asked, looking away.
The blonde put down his coffee and gave a childish smile. "Ah, stop trying to act as if you don't care how your book is doing. You're really no less prideful than the rest of us- if you must know, a girl thought your writing was very exciting. I'm not sure her mother was pleased with the cover, though," the blonde chided.
"I didn't pick the cover picture," the other male said, sighing. He seemed rather irritated as he ran a hand through his hair, warming the other by placing it against his mug. "Those foolish publishers thought it would be intriguing to put up a bloody picture, but it just makes my writing seem tasteless from the start."
"Didn't know you were so insecure, Midorima-cchi," the blonde said teasingly, raising an eyebrow. "You're one of the most famous writers in Japan, and you're worried after three years of writing, they'll think you're suddenly tasteless?"
Midorima scowled at the nickname the other used for him. His voice was steely. "The public isn't friendly towards change. You of all people should know that, Kise."
"I know it very well," Kise replied cooly. He reached up, leaning his elbow against the back of the chair, and twisted one of the studs in his ear. "But, I'm sure they'll enjoy your new book. I think we could both just write down what we ate for dinner, publish it, and then have fans go crazy at our feet. You should've seen the internet blowing up at my last book, where Rider gives Leila roses.. I had writer's block, so I just wrote something cheesy- and yet they all ate it up. It was painfully amusing."
"I can't put in any of my own experiences in my book, thank you very much," Midorima replied moodily, sipping his coffee. He rubbed at the bandage on his left hand warily. "I write about doomsday and disaster, not about werewolves whisking underage girls away from their homes into the middle of the night."
"Don't knock it 'til you try it," Kise said simply, with a mischievous grin. "Besides, it always seems more cheerful than all of your survival stuff. I read one chapter of your book about a government shutdown, and it was so creepy it gave me nightmares for months. The worst my books do is make you feel a little grossed out, since I'm pretty graphic when I describe certain scenes. Then you get over it."
"Some of us never recover," Midorima snapped, wrinkling his nose. "I doubt I can ever un-read something as descriptive as that one scene in Moonlight. I still can't believe they're making it into a movie, and not scrapping that scene.. What kind of sick imagination do you possess?" Kise only chuckled, as Midorima scowled.
"You're just a prude. Don't tell me you're still hung up on him," Kise laughed, leaning back in his chair. "It was over two years ago, and even I've gotten over it. I'm the one who writes about eternal love.. Just go out and get laid or something."
"I'm not one who possesses the ability to sell myself in such a way, like you," Midorima replied, rolling his eyes. However, he did seem bothered by the first two comments. "And.. I am not hung up over him. If anything, you are- trying to bury your thoughts and memories by bedding every woman or man you see."
"You're acting like Akashi again, all coddling and motherly."
"And you're acting like Aomine, telling me to go get laid."
"Hmph, touche, I suppose," Kise laughed quietly, drinking the last of his coffee. He put the mug down and dug out his wallet. The blonde put down money for both of their drinks and stood up, putting his fedora back on. ".. I'm not in the mood much for spending more time arguing to you, who can't see the brilliance in my books. I guess I'll see you back at Starbrand when you're done moping, Midorima-cchi."
"I hope you fall into a ditch," the green-haired male replied calmly, though his emotionless facade was betrayed by the twitching of his right eye.
"I'll try," the blonde laughed humorlessly, as he exited the coffee shop. Kise didn't look back as he left, not bothering to go back to Hatsuyuki bookstore. Talking to Midorima for so long about his books left him in a rather bitter mood.
So what if he spent his time in the arms and beds of beautiful men and women? It was better than moping on and about some tragedy that would never change. 'Phantom' had passed from this world since the accident, and there was no way of bringing him back. It was either he be miserable and grieve like Midorima, or he live his life and continue on. It was what Kise deserved, and he wouldn't let anyone, no matter how important or how much they meant to him, hold him back. Not even the beloved writer who had once been his only light and best inspiration. Phantom was not coming back, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Kise slowly walked off- as Midorima, back at the coffee house, stared at the TV screen planted to the wall of the shop. His fingers wrapped around the cooled mug of coffee as he stared blankly into the television set, a tired smile over his lips.
The green-haired male ignored the text that buzzed through his phone, in the pocket of his coat. Kise didn't receive it- he had left his cell in his apartment.
If Midorima Shintarou and Kise Ryouta had bothered to check the text- the life changing text, comprised of only three simple words- they would have had their near-dead hope reversed. They would have hurried to Tokyo Hospital, where they would have found the entire staff of Starbrand sitting and crying around a hospital bed.
It was one text that changed the courses of the lives of six famous writers forever.
That night, when Midorima Shintarou and Kise Ryouta had finally checked their messages, scrolling through spam, publishing dates, messages from editors- they found a simple text that sent their hearts into their stomachs.
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3:37 PM; October 5th, 2013
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"Phantom has awakened."