"We don't need you to come in for the photoshoot next week."

"This guy tested better with the target demographic."

"We're moving in a different direction."

And just like that, I had those two dreaded words forever attached to my résumé: former model. It wasn't until later that I had realized just who had taken my place.

Shogo Haizaki's face was on the ad space at the bus station, a place which, until recently, had shown my own face. Four or five cartoon penises had been drawn around his face, one of them shooting jizz into his mouth. Nijimura must have drawn them. Even if I had never enjoyed being a model in the first place, it still sucked to see my cheap replacement trying to pass himself off as a third rate version of me.

I called all my friends to see if they wanted to go anywhere with me.

I don't know what I was expecting. All of them were too busy with other stuff, even Aomine.

I wasn't really bothered by anyone else being busy, but I wanted to know why he was too busy for me, at least. As he stammered some crap about being busy with homework, I heard Haizaki's voice in the background, laughing at the obvious lies he told. He said the name "Daiki," so I knew I wasn't just being paranoid. I don't remember what I shouted at him, but I'm sure it was very stilted and not at all witty or clever.

I call my Kaijo teammates, too. None of them pick up. Even Kasamatsu picks up normally, only to yell at me and tell me never to call again, but I'm willing to count that.

Eventually, I find myself in the seedier part of town, wearing a fur-trimmed coat and blond cornrows. For some reason, I haven't shaved my head out of pure shame yet. I'm taking sips from a bottle that someone had just drunk from, and I'm chatting up a girl. Naturally, I'm doing better at it than Haizaki ever could. Not bad for a fag, as he would revoltingly say.

Luckily, just as I'm about to take another sip, my alarm on my phone starts going off.

Imagining Haizaki trying to take my place is terrifying. Is that dream trying to make me sympathize with him? Is that my brain trying to tell me that I subconsciously feel bad about taking Haizaki's place on the team?

On my way to school, I go by the bus station where Haizaki's ad was in my dream. My face was still there, and it only had one dick drawn on it. Just for a laugh, I wanted to write "Kise Ryota eats dicks" on it, but there were people around, so I didn't.

I texted Aomine, too.

You still love me, right?

The response he sent me later was good enough for me.

Yeah. One on one later?


I've had this idea for a while, actually- Kise having a nightmare about Haizaki replacing him in various things. Modeling mostly, but there's the implication that Aomine's cheating on him with Haizaki, also.

Next time, Kise has an interesting goal, and Kasamatsu can't do anything to stop it.

Thanks for reading!

~Aurora