Warning: Contains Male x Male Relationships
OOC warning (The characters are being portrayed in an alternate reality and therefore will exhibit striking differences in personalities from the existing manga/anime. As such, if you are bothered by that, don't say I didn't warn you.)
Rating: M (for later chapters. In the beginning, chapters are rated T)
Founded nearly a century ago and having now risen to become one of the most prestigious elevator schools in Tokyo, Teiko Academy sports an expansive school yard, nationally-renowned staff and the highest grade facilities nation-wide. Featured in countless magazines and household name commercials, the silver-gated school is forever painted in the minds of the numerous Japanese citizens as a gateway to greatness under its cherry blossom scattered pathway. Since the day that each child comes into being, they aspire to somehow gain admittance into the sacred grounds, applying every year from kindergarten until university, hopeful to one day be accepted. Entrance to this fantastical institute is regarded as a ticket to the world of the glamorous in which the portraits of successful and world-changing alumni adorn the elegant walls – walls of which one would hope to be acknowledged upon after graduation. Acceptance – rare, tuition – ridiculous, yet that has never stumped the ever growing desires of the masses to apply to Teiko. As such, current students have always been sorts of scouted geniuses. Exceptions being, however, were spoiled scions of wealthy and well-known conglomerate owners or celebrities that chose to attend Teiko over private schools, only admitted due to a generous amount of donations towards the school.
Otherwise, without such an exception, the blonde hair English teacher scowled as he felt the familiar tremble of irritation pulse through his right hand, We would not have such troublesome brats like him.
Suppressing the gnawing frustration, the blonde man bit his rose-coloured lip and tried to maintain his usual cheery disposition, pretending that the fragile piece of white chalk did not have several cracks all over it. As he stood at the front of the vast classroom, he tried to inhale, slow and steady to void all anger. Returning his now cooler gaze towards the source of his annoyance, the man rested his eyes on the boy slumped over his desk, deep in slumber.
"Aomine-kun?" the teacher, Kise Ryouta, announced in his best reprimanding, yet calm voice possible.
When the tanned student did not even stir, Kise tried again, raising his voice slightly, but not as far as to have called it a shout.
Again, not a single movement came from the dreaming boy named Aomine.
Feeling a twitch of irritation, the blonde felt the thin stick in his hand snap smoothly into two, dust glittering down his hands as the crumbs fell with light noise on the tiled floor. Fake smile plastered over a seething face, the blonde walked towards the desk of the lone dreamer as the other students watched with a mix of fascination, amusement and curiosity. It wasn't a usual occurrence for a student to causing the teacher so much grief, for this was Teiko Academy after all, a school built by the elite, for the elite.
Halting just in front of the blue-haired boy, Kise leaned forward slightly and growled into the tanned ear, first quietly, "Ao~mi~ne~kun~" before slamming his hands down on the hand-crafted ebony desk, "Wake up!"
To the blonde's pleasure, he finally received a sort of reaction as the student beforehand began to awake, mumbling inaudibly. Slowly, a heavy lid opened, showcasing an azure orb, a shade of deep blue not unlike the depths of an ocean.
"…Kise…? Th' hell did you wake me up for…." The boy grunted, voice still hoarse from sleep.
Brows twitching, the English teacher tried to keep his nerves calm as he replied patiently, "I've told you to call me Kise-sensei, many times before, Aomine-kun, and for the matter, we are in the middle of class."
Still half-asleep, Aomine only shrugged before sluggishly getting up. Before Kise could stop him, he started to lug his large body towards the door in his rumpled clothes.
With an exasperated shout, the blonde sucked on his inner cheek in frustration. Crossing his arms over his chest, he asked in a low voice, "Where do you think you're going, young man?"
"Obviously, to piss," Aomine waved a hand towards the flushed teacher while keeping the other tucked lazily in his front pant's pocket, not bothering to turn around, not seeming to care. As he turned though, the blonde could have sworn that the impudent brat had been smirking. Feeling his face flush, he gritted his teeth as silence filled the room while the students decided how to feel about this situation.
Among the class of twenty six, some were still surprised that the boy named Aomine Daiki had such guts to act so undisciplined towards their instructor while others shook their head as they had already gotten used to it as they had the boy in their other classes as well. There were even a select few who entertained thoughts of mimicking him. All of the students, however, were fervently curious at what their teacher would do as he stood frozen in his spot, expression ambiguous. Holding their breaths, twenty-five (as the troublemaker had gone 'to piss' already) pairs of eyes burned holes into Kise as he let out a breathy sigh.
Turning slowly to face his class, the students recoiled, expecting a lash of anger to displace the normally cheery man. What they had seen however, was slightly more frightening as he suddenly beamed towards them with his million-dollar smile. With a chirpy voice, as if nothing was wrong – as if the scene just a minute prior had not occurred, the English teacher addressed the bewildered children kindly.
"All right class! Where were we? Ah, page 38 in your textbook. Will someone volunteer to begin reading the passage on the top of the page?"
Stunned, no one reacted to the call for a reader. Seemingly oblivious to the student's thoughts, the English teacher spun around and half skipped, half walked towards his desk and randomly picked a number.
"Okay, Tachibana-kun, will you read?"
Sitting at the far left, the brunet named Tachibana was startled back into reality. He lifted his book tentatively and began to read with a hesitant voice.
In the back of the other students minds were not the translations to the text however, even if they knew that the questions would be coming. Instead, they were unnerved at the odd calmness emitting from the blonde as he scribbled notes onto his papers.
Unbeknownst to them, Kise hadn't been writing anything in relation to the boy's reading.
In all actuality, it was more along the lines of stupidbratdumbganguroidioticbluehairednitwit….
"…And then he never came back! After disrupting my class and humiliating me, he didn't even bother to show his face. How rude of him! Can you believe that, Midorimacchi? Can you?"
"Well, this is Aomine you are talking about," the bespectacled man sighed, "He's been trouble since the opening ceremony this year."
"It's still not fair," Kise pouted, upset that he hadn't any control over the teen, "He's not cute at all."
Chattering whilst grading in the pristine staff room of the high school division were the two questionably-haired colleagues. Stacks of paper were scattered alongside the cosmic marble tables, scratches of red marring the various tests and assignments. Pale cheek against the black top and hand diligently flying over an essay, the blonde pouted unhappily.
"How did he even get in," the blonde whined, red pen continuously dancing over test papers undisrupted by his other thoughts, "He barely shows for class, and when he does, he just sleeps! I've never gotten any assignments from him and he barely passes the tests… somehow…."
Midorima shook his head as his own hand hovered over a biology unit test, slightly annoyed that a student had gotten such an easy question wrong – it was a dead giveaway! – before responding, "Money perhaps – his parents must have donated a fair amount to be allowed in. To answer your speculation, it appears that he is friends with Momoi who allows him to study her notes. As such, he is able to pass."
Momoi? Kise pushed himself upright slightly, cocking his head to the side as he conjured a picture in his head. An attractive, at least for a kid, pink-haired girl came to mind. Rummaging through his vivid memory, the blonde recalled that once or twice, he'd accidentally walked into a confession. Other than that, his other impressions of her were that, as a student, Momoi was a bright and hard-working girl, and Kise enjoyed having her in his class. Out of all the students, he was the closest to her, almost budding a friendship towards the rose-eyed girl, although he was sure to keep the distinction of their student/teacher relationship clear at all times.
"I didn't know they were close," he mused, finding it hard to imagine a good girl like Momoi Satsuki with the blue-eyed delinquent. Mindlessly, he realized that the last two tests were the two supposed friends' respectively. Comparing the messy scrawls that were Aomine's penmanship to the neater printing of Momoi's, he noticed that the only answers the former had gotten right were written stylistically similarly to the pink-haired girl's own. Unsurprisingly though, the tanned student had gotten a sixty five percentage whilst his friend was in the high ninety percentile.
"I heard some students hypothesizing that they are dating. Momoi herself denied it vehemently though, stating that they are, quote unquote," – the emerald-eyed science teacher made quotation marks with his fingers, in an attempt to mimic the actions of the girl – "just friends."
"Is that so," Kise drawled, stretching his arms. He wasn't particularly interested in his students' love lives, so long as they didn't involve him. Unfortunately, a good proportion of the female population had fallen for his magnetic charm and model-like looks. However, he wasn't being conceited when he thought that it really was not his fault, nor the female students' own fault, that they had become infatuated with him.
At the age of 26, Kise Ryouta was the epitome of a bachelor at the prime of his life. Blessed with a solid yet lean stature, his tall height, honey eyes and golden locks, his physical attractiveness caused people to stare wherever he went. It was a simple fact – he was devastatingly beautiful, even a fellow man would have to admit it. Thus, it was not surprising that as soon as he had begun his teacher career here that the hormone-raging teenagers had all wanted to jump him as soon as he set foot on campus.
Despite the countless advances and confessions though, the English teacher was sure to never lead any of them on, rejecting them gently yet with an unmoving firmness. Being in a position of trust, Kise was careful to set the boundaries. Never was he going to fall for a student, or allow one close enough to.
"…se…"
"Kise?"
"Mm?" The mention of his name brought him back to reality.
Midorima raised an eyebrow and looked at him questioningly, "Are you all right?"
"Huh? Oh, maybe just spacing out," Kise laughed, sheepishly.
"Have you been sleeping enough?"
"Ah, I guess maybe not. I've been feeling a bit more tired lately."
His green-haired colleague gave him a contemplative stare, "Perhaps you should see Kuroko. In case you are coming down with a cold."
"Aw, Midorimacchi~ Are you worried about me?"
"Not in particular," Midorima shook his head, "It was only out of consideration for the other teachers, the students and myself. If you pass whatever virus you have onto others, it will only bring misfortune."
"Ah, it burn! Cold as always, Midorimacchi," Kise sang playfully, hopping out of his chair. Checking the clock on the wall, he noted that there was still around half an hour of lunch left. Palm on his stomach, the blonde realized that he hadn't even eaten yet as he was too busy complaining to Midorima and grading papers. Whistling, he decided to buy a sandwich and visit his old middle school friend.
"Kurokocchi!"
Juggling two daily specials in his hands along with two coffees, the blonde sauntered into the school infirmary, dismayed to find it empty. Settling their meal on the orderly desk, Kise frowned.
"He's never here," he muttered, eyes flitting towards the cots. Each one was empty, devoid of any students, much to his joy. While the blonde did enjoy his job, he also treasured the time with people his own age.
Startling the silence around him, a dry voice spoke up behind the man, "Who's never here?"
Spinning around suddenly, Kise jumped at the sight of a familiar baby blue-haired man in a white lab coat staring up at him with slight humour in those cerulean eyes. Frowning at the ghost of a smirk painted on the other's face, the blonde scowled as he realized that the smaller man (still) enjoyed making him squirm.
"H-how long have you been there?" Kise asked, coughing into his sleeve in an attempt to compose himself.
Kuroko smiled, shrugging off any implication the other's tone had of him planning to alarm him on purpose, "I've been here since the beginning."
Folding his arms, the taller man slumped down onto one of the lavish cots and watched as the smaller of the two made his way over to his desk – where Kise had settled their meals. Taking a seat on the grandiose black leather executive chair, the school doctor unwrapped his sandwich. Regarding the smaller man with his amber irises, Kise couldn't help but remark as to how little the other has changed. Kuroko Tetsuya, his former classmate and team mate, who, despite his small build and lack of athletic skill, had been a force to reckon with throughout their middle school and high school days. For whatever reason, the once dubbed Phantom Sixth Man was now the school doctor of his alma mater.
"Take a picture, Kise-kun, it will last longer," the man deadpanned, bringing the blonde out of his reminiscing and taking a small bite from his exploding lunch. As always, he spoke in his monotonous voice that betrayed very little emotion, but having known him for a long time, Kise picked up the slight teasing tone.
"Haha," the amber-eyed man rolled his eyes, unimpressed with the over-used and unoriginal line, "Kurokocchi, you're very funny."
"Don't sulk like that. It's creepy."
Used to the playful yet harsh-sounding words, the blonde mock pouted, "So mean, Kurokocchi~."
At that familiar saying, the blue-haired doctor could not stifle the chuckle that melodiously came out, filling the silent infirmary with his laughter. Glancing at the taller man with warm eyes, he mused with a faint smile, "You haven't changed."
"Neither have you," Kise shrugged, feeling a tug on his own lips from the sound of Kuroko's content voice, "Nor has this school."
"Members of the staff have changed, as have the students."
"Tell me about it, ne. I don't remember there ever being such troublesome kids in this place before they introduced the donation-policy a few years back."
"Are the students bullying you?"
Wrapping slender fingers around his own sandwich, the teacher laid lazily onto his stomach, kicking his shoes off, "Not students, but student."
"Oh?" This caught the doctor's attention, bringing a curious smile to his thin lips, "A single student is causing you, Kise-kun, a lot of stress?"
Groaning, Kise couldn't control himself as his complaints flowed through his mouth. He had countless stories in which the tanned student had brought him woes and a bottomless well of irritation. Obviously, in front of his class, the English teacher would never dare to express his frustration, but here, in the safe confines of the infirmary's privacy, the tap was opened.
With a patient demeanour, his former team mate watched him bemused as the blonde expressed his fervent displeasure of Aomine's antics. Unlike Midorima, however, Kuroko did not comment on any details in particular in the blonde's stories. As such, as the blonde utilized lively hand gestures and varying tones of voice, he looked rather silly in his heated, one-sided discussion. Kuroko only continued to watch while finishing his lunch with a serene expression, complemented by a bemused grin plastered on his face. Eventually, Kise ran out of past actions and behaviours to fume on.
"I don't know how much of a donation his parents made, but I am definitely sure that it was not nearly enough in exchange for letting him in," the English teacher huffed, blowing his bangs out of the way. Silently, he reminded himself that he needed to get a haircut soon.
"Donation?"
Chewing delicately, Kise waited until he swallowed his bite before answering his friend, "The donation policy? The only way a slacker like him could have been let in is if his parents are some rich folks. I mean, he doesn't have good grades, and he's not even in any clubs."
Puzzled, the blue-haired man opened his mouth as if to say something, before changing his mind. Gazing intently, Kise watched, curious about what his friend was going to say. Instead, Kuroko chastised him.
"I thought you learned not to judge people based on first impressions, Kise-kun."
As if offended, he puffed his cheeks out, "When have I done that?"
"Remember when you first joined the basketball team?" Kuroko chuckled fondly, "You were very against me being your instructor."
"Well… that…" a warm flush came over his pale cheeks, embarrassed to have his past mistakes brought up, "I changed my mind right away when I saw how awesome you were though…"
"But you still judged me based on your first impression… an impression that proved wrong," the smaller boy said, staring right through Kise.
At this, the other man did not retort back, clearly outplayed. Satisfied with the silent response, Kuroko turned his back to the blonde and spoke airily.
"If you give Aomine-kun a chance, he may surprise you."
Kise frowned as he got up to leave.
"Surprise? What are you – "
Just as Kuroko had turned away, a pair of students had wandered in, seeking some first aid. Clutching onto the remnants of his lunch, the blonde man slipped out quietly – albeit grudgingly – into the spacious corridor, scowling as his conversation was cut short. With nothing left to do, he decided to make his way towards his next class while admiring the stunning weather outside.
Sunlight shone through the immense glass windows, warming the blonde's creamy skin. Every other window was open, and the teacher inhaled slowly, closing his eyes as a gentle breeze wafted through. Basking in the warmth of the golden rays, he allowed the tension in his shoulders to relax as the aroma of spring floated through the air. It was a sweet, refreshing mix of the various scents of flora, tinged with just the right amount of each for a pleasant but not overpowering smell. Smiling he leaned on the sill of one particular unlocked colossal casement and rested his hands on his arms.
From here, the blonde had a full view of the orchard garden that decorated the back right corner of the school. During his school years, he had found comfort in the sight, whether or not he was actually in close proximity or watching from afar. He took pleasure in noting that with each spring season, the flowers were always in joyous bloom, and the fruits would bear soon after – this year included. Still collapsed against the wooden bench of a sill, he sat down on it, resting his head and leg on top while he closed his golden eyes.
For everything that's changed, the blonde thought with a slight bitter tone, much has remained the same.
Such as the view from this window – his favourite spot since the seventh grade, or the set cliques of this school's students no matter the era, many constants that were in Kise's school life had not altered throughout the passage of time. While comforting to the blonde, it also brought out memories that he wanted to erase, such as the reverberations of the basketball. Ignoring the dull ache he felt in his leg, the teacher mindlessly forced himself to change his thoughts, focussing instead on Kuroko's words from earlier on.
Just how could that tanned child surprise me, he wondered, considering all the shortcomings of the boy. From what he has seen so far, the sapphire-eyed student was nothing but trouble, a failure in every aspect. Yet when he contemplated as to what he really knew of the teenager, Kise felt a knot of guilt as he realized that he had not once tried to speak heart-to-heart with the tanned student. As a teacher, he should have tried harder to understand Aomine, and find his strengths, rather than pick on his faults. Perhaps the boy had circumstances that didn't allow for his talents to shine through. For all he knew, Aomine could secretly be a famed pianist, or painter, or maybe he was genius author under a penname.
Unfortunately, as Kise imagined the boy doing different things, he could not help but let out a light chuckle. None of the images he conjured seemed right. If anything, the only area of which the tanned student would look in place in was with sports. Standing at over six feet tall and showcasing a muscular body, Kise could easily see the boy in swimming, hockey, tennis or maybe even ba –
As if someone had just cut the thin thread that was his train of thought, the blonde froze as the dull thud grew louder, seemingly coming into sync with his heart. The steady beat of rubber hitting the asphalt lulled him into a sort of trance, causing his eyes to flicker open. Dazed, he checked the silver watch on his left wrist, noting that there were only minutes before class was to commence. At this time a day, certainly no one, rather, no Teiko student should be playing basketball. Typically, they would all be seated in class like the exceptional students they are.
Yet, apparently, someone was.
Wandering like a possessed doll, the blonde's legs moved automatically towards the source, shivering as the sound grew louder. Soon, the man stopped, and leaned out an open window further down the same corridor as the one of his preferred spot. Amber eyes glanced around the courtyard, darting from one end to the other, until finally landing on the lone figure on the basketball court. With taut muscles, the player skirted around, performing a wide array of basketball techniques.
He couldn't take his eyes off of him.
It was the first time Kise had ever thought that something was this beautiful – that someone could be this beautiful.
It was the first time that Kise had thought this way about anyone, really.
It is only fair to also state that it was the first time Kise had thought this way about Aomine Daiki no less.
With wide, awed eyes, the blonde could only watched gaped mouth as the teenager scored the ball in, in virtually every position and form possible. An absolutely unique style of play – formless, breathtaking, and beautiful; that summed up Kise's impression of Aomine's game. Daring himself to look down, his sun-like eyes pulsed in excitement as he realized that his hands were trembling with anticipation. Never, has he seen a talent like this in a long time.
Taking in a deep breath, the blonde leaned out the windows and shouted with cupped hands unhesitatingly, "Aominecchi!"
His cheerful voice cut through the courtyard, bringing the shadow on the court to a startled halt. Wary, the figure, palming the basketball with his large, tanned hands glanced around, until finally realizing that the call had come from Kise.
Confused, Aomine gave him a strange look, clearly not sure whether or not he should be reacting to the blonde's strange new nickname for him.
Unrelenting, Kise positioned himself so that he could yell even louder, "Aominecchi, join the basketball team!"
Regaining his senses, the tanned boy gave the blonde a glare. Cupping his own hands, he shouted back at the English teacher with a snarl, "No fucking way."
With that, he smoothly grabbed the basketball and stalked towards the school entrance that was as far away from Kise as possible. Watching as the boy's back shrank in the distance, the man tried to keep the butterflies in his stomach under control. Golden eyes gleaming, he bit his lips to try and contain his smile.
"Ahh, so mean," Kise said, but without a single trace of hurt. Grinning mischievously, not unlike a child who had just received a new toy, the blonde thought back to Kuroko's hinting.
So this is what you meant by 'surprise me', he thought.
Laughing silently to himself, he gave one last glance at the near ant-like boy in the distance before turning around to walk tranquilly down the hall. Humming happily, the blonde mentally vowed that no matter what, he'd get the boy on his basketball team.
A/N: Ahh hi. I was reading through prompts and well, suddenly felt like writing a teacher/student fic ;P I put on an OOC warning because well, it's rather hard to write this fic without some. Especially because Kise will have to be a responsible adult and that the circumstances around the characters are highly different than in the manga. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy this for what it is. Thanks for reading and please review as always *hugs*
