Wow, this one was looong. I did not expect this chapter to be this long, and I'm afraid this chapter might not be as entertaining as the other chapters were-I wanted to squeeze in some characterization for Furi as well as some things about his relationship with his mother and his teammates.

*I had actually dropped a little reference in this chapter, but you don't have to notice it or anything-it was just fun to write*

I was actually a bit afraid that I didn't do a good job of description here, but I can't make it better so here you go! If you have any advice for me to improve, criticisms, suggestions, or just any comments, please don't be afraid to drop one!

When you first walk into Furihata Kouki's room, you would have no idea that it belonged to a 16 year old boy. The walls were the typical pale white of Drywall, and the floor was made of dark, slightly chapped wood that would definitely cut your foot if you stepped on them without any foot covering. A lightbulb hung from the ceiling, blinding light partially covered by a white origami box that Kouki made with some plastic sheets.

The room was simple, consisting of only a couple pieces of furniture, but everything was diligently kept clean by Kouki everyday.

His single bed stood against the wall, neatly folded with sunny yellow pillows, white bedsheets, and a warm quilt his grandmother made. Kouki remembered being a child and quietly sitting by his grandmother's side as the elderly woman sew square after square of delicate quiltwork. He never knew what these little squares of beauty were for until they were connected to each other and formed a beautiful, elaborate collection of fabrics, patterns, and colors.

Kouki's grandma died three days after she finished the quilt, and nobody in the family wanted to touch it, not to say use it for fear that it was cursed. It would be such a waste for a piece of beauty like this to be hidden away in a closet, so Kouki decided to use it on his bed.

So far the quilt hasn't brought him any bad luck-in fact the only luck the quilt seemed to bring were good luck: Kouki's team won the winter cup, and Kouki himself got a pretty good job that supported the family. Grandmother's daughter, Kouki's mother eventually tolerated it-she probably wasn't that against it in the first place. After all, she loved grandma's work just as much, if not more than he did.

Before she got sick, Kouki's mother was a dressmaker, and she made Kouki's sisters the cutest dresses and Kouki lots of handsome outfits that lie in his heavy oak closet opposite from his bed. In fact, just about all of Kouki's clothing were handmade by his mother, the only exception being his uniform. "Young people these days-Mass-produced clothing have no taste!" She grumbled when Kouki told her that most of his classmates wore clothing bought from a store, and insisted on making all of his clothing. For years he had dreaded the question: "Where did you get that [article of clothing] from?". Eventually he just told them the truth, and everyone had accepted it with a hint of jealousy in their eyes.

In his closet also lays a handsome suit, complete with a tie, that was also made by his mother. When Kouki complained that he'll never need to wear a suit, his mother just sent him a cryptic smile that said: "Oh you'll need it. "

He doesn't understand his mother at times.

Speaking of the closet, it was a wave-like structure made of dark wood with tiny golden decorations attached to it. It has a see-through glass door, and was originally supposed to be a large display case of some sort. When Kouki picked it off the streets, the wooden furniture was probably thrown away due to its loss of support for the inner shelves that used to hold up rows and rows of expensive china. Kouki had deemed it a pity, for the case was large and could still be useful. So he begged his father, a carpenter, to haul it home, and together the father and son securely attached some rods to put clothing on and it became a closet for Kouki's room.

Next to the closet was a squat, but long bookshelf. It was a long, rectangular frame with square holes in them to put books through or to put boxes filled with stuff into. It was painted a woody color, which contrasted nicely with the white wall and fit into the general scheme of the room he tried to create perfectly.

Very far away from both the closet and the bed is his wooden desk, which his mother actually bought for him with her now-greatly-reduced salary. He had protested but accepted the gift when he realized that his mother had lost the receipt.

The walls don't have any posters on them, but the room was littered with plants, decorations, and memorabilia. For example, on the top of his horizontal bookshelf was a little brick flower pot painted with black patterns that has a little cactus growing in it. By his desk is a large pot of bamboo in a white-and-blue pot, and on it hung a little railroad ornament that was given to him by Fukuda. Another basketball ornament given to him by Kuroko hung from bamboo, and various art projects from his youth sat in a line on the surface of his bookshelf, away from his work. Also on his bookshelf sits a red-maned lion given to him by Kagami, who apparently had some luck with an arcade game. Everything was clean, and all worn clothing was placed in a plastic bin to be washed.

A couple weeks ago a friend of father's came in and saw the arrangement. He immediately recognized some of the things as being from an expensive brand, and was shocked to hear that it was Kouki's room, not his sister's. "Why, your son has good taste!" He exclaimed.

...Man, "having good taste", sounds like a word you should use to describe a perfect wife candidate, not a hard-working high school boy.

It's just that Furihata doesn't believe in carelessly using things and throwing it away just because it was partly broken; he believed in repairing and getting the most out of everything. He insisted on getting the best things, but also insisted on giving them the best care.

Everytime Fukuda and Kawahara visited Furihata in his abode, they say: "Wow, you actually make me feel guilty about not cleaning my room.", to which Furihata blushes madly and only half-heartedly try not to smack them in their faces.

Bopping his head along to the cheery music from his headphones, Furihata doodled on his tablet, moving the sensor pen to idly select colors and draw a couple lines.

He relaxed himself while he subconsciously tried to decide whether to go to the Kyoto Yaoi Con or not. The monetary compensation as well at the chance to visit Kyoto and meet his fans face to face for free was a very deliciously tempting offer, but can he risk the chance of being recognized and discovered by the paparazzi? Perhaps he can wear the hat his sister Megumi made for him last week-she's currently eight years old, and his mother was teaching her how to knit; she's remarkably talented for her age, but the hat was a bit...amateur looking with various strands hanging out and several holes in the fabric. But still, it should be enough to hide his hair. He can wear that fluffy pink scarf his other sister Kokori made for him too-ahh no, that was his favorite, they'd recognize it in an instant when he wears it again. It's nice and soft, can you blame him?

He can probably just wear the hat and a pair of sunglasses. His parents had always told him that his large almond eyes and soft brunette hair were his two defining features, so if he cover them no one should be able to recognize him, right? Humming along to the music, Furihata continued to absent-mindedly doodle on the image, not really looking but somehow still making a coherent image as more worries plagued his mind: What if the hat and the sunglasses aren't enough? What if some creepy fan actually notices some obscure features on his face and follow him to Tokyo? What if some journalist do some facial feature recognition test and identify him? What if some arse with way too much time on their hands finds out about him and harasses him, send him razor blades?

Or worse, what if somebody he knows from school shows up there and tells everyone at school that he draws Yaoi?

Some of you might ask: why is he so adamant on hiding the fact that he draws Yaoi? His work is beloved by many fans, some of whom are men, and it's not as if he is ashamed of supporting homosexuality. His friends are nice and supportive too. (No, it's not as if Furihata's gay! Akashi Seijuurou is just so...perfect, he probably made many other men question their sexualities too. Don't think for a second that Furihata didn't notice the way the other members of the Rakuzan basketball team looked at Akashi like they wanted to kneel at his feet.)

If you seriously want to ask Furihata that question, then Furihata seriously wants to question your sanity. He draws gay porn. He. Draws. Gay. Porn. You don't simply tell people that you draw gay porn, especially if you are a 16 year old boy that spends a good chunk of your days hanging out with other 16 year old boys. Things can get awkward or horny REAL quick.

Furihata leaned back into his leather spinning chair that he purchased at a yard sale. Still mentally debating with himself on whether to go or not to go, he sighed. He had turned down all other convention appearances, some of which were in Kyoto, in a heartbeat before. So why is he sitting here and actually being indecisive this time? He decided that Koneko's words has really gotten to him more than he'd like to admit.

Perhaps deep down he knows that she has a point, that he should just go ahead and get Akashi's rejection over with and never think about it again, but Furihata supposes he's just too scared to hear these words from Akashi's own lips. He just wants to selfishly keep his crush on the redhead a dream to be forgotten when he grows up.

Yes, that's exactly what Akashi Seijuurou is. Akashi Seijuurou is the dream, the ideal while Furihata Kouki is the unfortunate reality.

Furihata looked at his artwork and groaned when he saw that he doodled Akashi, again. Nevertheless, he clicks the button and saves it to the folder for the large amount of Akashis that he's drawn since the time he met the redhead. He groaned again when he counted the number of files: 25.

The pictures feature the Rakuzan captain in various apparels: most commonly in his blue and white competition outfit with the jacket on his shoulders, but also in others, for example suits, kimonos, or just plain naked. A while ago, he actually drew a series with the main character based off of Akashi and-oh god the shame-self-inserted himself as the love interest. The title was "the Lone Emperor", and it was a historical manga about the life of the crown Prince, Seishi Aka, and the pressure he has to shoulder as the future king of his empire.

He grew up alone and knew of nothing but what he was supposed to be: the absolute, cold-hearted Emperor that cares only about victories and nothing else. With a father who barely talks to him, his mother gone, and the heavy burden of being the crown prince, Seishi's life was nothing but mechanic repetitions of eat, study, work, socialize for the sake of the empire, and sleep. When all of the people he previously thought were his only true friends betray him, trying to take him down and invade his empire, Seishi has a breakdown which resulted in a personality split that somehow activated his full ability. After taking down and beheading all of his previous friends, Seishi begins to talk with his other personality in his abject loneliness, and his mind begins to break as he starts to go down the road of insanity.

His life changed when one of his closest advisers, Kuroya Tetsuko, introduced the prince to the shivering mess of a human being, the royal dressmaker's son Kouhata Furiki. Despite their brief meeting, Kouhata becomes enamored, and Seishi begins to develop affection for Kouhata as well through the small interactions between the two in their individual development as characters. Eventually, Seishi and his father, his only family, reconcile their relationship while Kouhata becomes more brave and willing to take on more responsibility. Their feelings for each other grow stronger, and the series ends with Kouhata confessing and the two boys starting a romantic relationship.

At least that was how Furihata wanted the series to turn out.

The day after the publication of the volume containing the introduction of Kouhata as Seishi's love interest, Furihata received a couple of angry fan letters demanding that "the unworthy chihuahua" be removed from Seishi's side. As the series went on, these letters only grew in terms of both numbers and intensity. He actually received a couple bomb threats and death threats to his family. Soon, not only isn't the manga selling, his popularity as an author rapidly dropped due to the fans' disapproval of the relationship in "the Lone Emperor" and the hatred towards Kouhata.

"He only meets Seishi about once or twice, and he's so weak while Seishi's so strong, what right does he have to love Emperor-sama?" One fan wrote angrily in her fan letter to him.

"Honestly, Tetsuko deserved to be with Seishi more! These two knew each other for so much longer and trust each other so much more! What are you thinking sensei?!" Another ranted.

In the face of widespread disapproval, Furihata had to do some damage control for his series by changing his original ending-Almost every person that managed to follow the series through preferred Seishi with Tetsuko, so in the end he decided to kill off Kouhata and got these two together.

He had sobbed on his desk as he drew that ending at eleven in the evening after a long day at school. Sleepy and cold due to the lack of heating in his house, Furihata distinctly remembered feeling empty while drawing for the first time. He can usually finish an entire volume in about two hours, the emotions of the character being breathed in and out of him like air as he moved his hands about on the page, but he actually stayed up all that night and even then wasn't sure he managed to convey the supposed emotional context correctly.

That was the only time he had called coach to skip practice entirely. As he slept the entire day away, he laughed at himself pathetically in his dreams: a manga artist shouldn't be that emotionally connected to his works and characters, Furihata.

They are fake, ink and paper, only to be manipulated by others. You know that, Furihata. You control their feelings and their emotions, not the other way around.

When Fukuda came to visit him that day, Furihata realized that he had also caught a cold and needed to take the next day off as well. (Furihata chuckled-perhaps it was since that time that Fukuda began to think that any time Furi was a bit worn it was due to his workplace putting way too much pressure on him.) But for some reason he can't explain, he had climbed out of his bed after a particularly horrible fever dream with a red, dripping nose and began to draw the ending he wanted. He couldn't sleep until he did so-his hands were trembling with excitement (and cold) the entire time he was drawing, fingers shaking so much that he could barely hold his pencil up. After the ending was finished, Furihata felt every part of his body finally relax in satisfaction, smiling in relief as if staying up late to draw out your perverted fantasies is some sort of legitimate Catharsis.

He didn't even notice how cold the room was until he got back into his warm bed and fell asleep within minutes.

Furihata never showed anyone at his publishing office this ending-he sent it to a fan who, like him, was angry at the published ending. Furihata was so lightheaded with joy that there was finally a fan who had actually followed his plot and characters through he didn't really think a whole lot. Oh well, at least his hard work will make someone else happy. The guy sounded like the manga really helped with his life, as strange as that is given the genre.

Anyway, that was the last time Furihata put Akashi in any of his works. The manga is since then known as the "failure" of his career and never talked about again among his fans or his editors unless as a negative example of something that can go horribly wrong.

Furihata sighed and created another image and this time decided to draw the couple from "The life of a carrot".

The uke, Midori Shintou, is a superstitious nerd from the countryside that managed to get into a prestigious urban high school with his grades. On his first day at his new school, he was mercilessly bullied for bringing a lucky item to dispel evil spirits, and his classmates also sneered and called him a "carrot" due to the green color of his hair. After two months of endless torment Midori becomes more and more silent and distrustful of others. It was then that he meets his seme, Kazuna Taka, a cheerful city boy that has a special love for gardening. Kazuna begins to stick to Midori like glue, and Midori reluctantly becomes best friends with the boy that cheekily calls him "Shin-chan". These two began to do everything together, including carrying each other via bikes to school everyday. Midori begins to fall in love.

One way, after catching Midori smile at a local garden, Kazuna suggests that they start a gardening club. After some effort and blessings from Midori's lucky items, the club was successful, and they began to manage a little garden in front of the school. Even though the other members didn't like Midori at first and couldn't tolerate his aloofness and weird habits, Takao-I mean Kazuna continued to force Midori to interact with the others, and Midori begins to warm up to everyone after a while. Just when everything's going well, Kazuna collapses one day. He explains to Midori that when he approached him, he had actually been just diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Furihata teared up a little remembering the monologue that's his favorite to this day:

"After hearing about my illness, my friends-they all left me, Shin-chan. I felt like I lost everything, but then I saw you. Why is someone so beautiful and so full of life like you so sad while someone already on the brink of death like me manages to smile each day? I hated your depressed face. I wanted to be by your side, to make you happy and make you smile, so I did everything to be by your side, because what do I have to lose?

Ahh, I'm on death's bed, Shin-chan~ I'm feeling a little reckless: who cares if we are both guys-they say we shouldn't die with regrets on their minds, so here I go: I love you, Shin-chan. I've loved you since we first met."

Seriously, how did he write that? On that day they confess their feelings to each other, and have their first kiss in the hospital by Kazuna's bed. After Kazuna gets momentarily discharged from the hospital, these two began to explore each other physically and officially started to go on dates. Lots of sex ensue. This happiness does not last long, however-Kazuna is soon sent back to the hospital and passed away. Three days after Kazuna's death, Midori was consequently captured by a group of mysterious men, drugged, and sold on the black market as a sex slave to be abused and killed when he calls out Kazuna's name during a drug-induced orgasm.

...Yeah, Furihata was not in a good mood that day.

But this isn't the only manga he based off of the Shutoku duo! He also did two more involving these two: the main couple for "The hawk-eye" and a secondary couple in "My Sadistic Sempai" as friends of the pineapple throwing sempai. Due to the fact that the three couples looked similar and had similar names, it became a running joke among his fans that all three of these couples are the same people in different universes.

Furihata liked that idea-he was a little harsh with his first treatment of the Shutoku duo. Perhaps he will draw Kazuna and Midori from "the life of a carrot" in the clothing of Takanari and Shinrima from "My Sadistic Sempai"...yes, that was good. As he began to focus his energy on drawing and drummed along to the music from his headphones, he noticed his mother coming into his room holding a plate of fruit.

Furihata's mother is a beautiful woman with her long black hair that's tied neatly into a bun. Her fingers are long as well as pale like the rest of her body. She had glimmering rose-colored eyes and always wore a sunny smile that could melt even the coldest of hearts. His mother is a beautiful woman; she also, quite frankly looked nothing like him.

His mother always had a weak constitution and couldn't leave the house for prolonged periods of time, which is why she had been a dressmaker since she graduated middle school and rarely left her house. Last year she had been diagnosed with a rare skeletal disease that greatly compromised her ability to move and to therefore support her family. The doctor had recommended that she rest and never get out of the bed unless necessary, but she would often get up all the time to clean the house or to make everybody snacks. "I can't bring home as much money as I used to, so please let me take care of those who do!" She had said.

As his mother stepped into the room next to him, Kouki sighed as he put down his headphones: "Mother, you shouldn't get out so much." he scolded.

"Oh Kouki, don't be so hard on yourself. You're my son, of course I have to take care of you!"

"Mother, you need to take care of yourself first!"

"Aww Kouki, no need to worry about me!" His mom squealed and jumped onto him, "Don't make that pouty face Kouki! It doesn't suit your cute face."

Sighing with slight annoyance at being called cute, Furihata turned back to his work but didn't put back his headphones. He took a peeled orange slice from the plate, and his mother had taken it as a sign that she could sit behind him and watch as he worked. He didn't mind: this work isn't going to be particularly explicit, anyway-to any unknowing individual it would be two male friends just messing around. So he kept on with his work until he heard his mother smile-yes, his mother had a smile that could be heard in her voice-and say to him: "Hey, Kouki. You're really good at this."

Kouki chuckled: "Is that so?"

"No I'm serious." His mother pouted a little bit, "you somehow manage to bring out their characters so well with the little details-like I can tell that this boy" She pointed to the Takao-based character, "is a cheerful socialite while this boy" she pointed to Midorima's anime version, "is a bit distrustful, but not genuinely unkind. You didn't even finish outlining yet but I can already feel that vibe."

"Well, the "vibe" surrounding a person in a given situation is one of the first things you notice." Furihata laughed, "so I try to make it the first thing I want to portray...it's actually one of the hardest things to draw, so thanks for the compliment, mom."

His mother lifted her lips in a gentle smile. "You always notice so much, Kouki. You see so much in this world." She chuckled with a little sadness in her voice, "I'm so proud of you, but on the other hand I'm a little bit sad that you have to support your family at such an age..."

"Mom, not this again." Kouki sighed, his mother always felt guilty for being sick and having to be supported by her family instead of supporting them. The reason sounded ridiculous to him: it's not like she could stop the sickness, and what's family for in occasions like this? His eyes sharpening with alarm when the woman started having a coughing fit, Kouki chided softly, "Go to bed! Rest! Thanks for the fruit and I'm fine mom!"

"You sure? You've looking a little down lately." Kouki was almost left speechless by how...sharp his mother was. She usually seemed so airheaded and carefree, but she was actually sharp when she wanted to be, heh?

"Oh, nothing. Just a decision I have to make about work." Kouki wasn't sure why he wanted to talk to his mom about this-she wouldn't be much of a help. She had never set foot in the manga world, as caring and doting of a mother she was. "There is an opportunity for me to showcase my work in Kyoto, and I can get reimbursed as well as obtain a profit."

"Sounds amazing. Did you take the deal?"

"Not yet-a lot of consequences as well as opportunities might come with this appearance, you know...My private life might get invaded by bombarding fangirls, creeps, reporters after I show my work with my face exposed,"

"You can get something to hide your hair and your face, right"

"I think so, but do you think that will be enough?" Kouki shuddered a little as he quietly replied, "I mean what if some creep sees the rest of my face or does a fingerprint analysis...?"

His mother almost rolled her eyes as she replied: "You think too much. How many people do you think will be so desperate for your affections that they will go to such means?"

"Well you never know-"

"That's never a good reason for not doing something, Kouki." His mother remarked, cutting him off and straightening her back, eyes looking scolding yet soft, "by this logic, why should we do anything? Anything can go wrong. You can get kidnapped by men in black suits on your walk to school, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go to school. Don't focus so much on the "what-ifs", Kouki, and focus on what's important instead."

"...But what if that creep really does make it over here?"

His mother sighs and pointed a finger at him. She proclaimed: "Do what makes you happy-your life is short, and you have a lot less time than you think you do. Don't spend so much of your energy thinking about what could happen. If these problems come up, we'll just fix then, right?"

Kouki laughs. "Everything will work out somehow, right?"

"Right!" his mother's eyes lit up like a star as her son repeated her catchphrase. His mother is always so cheerful and happy to the point of almost carelessness, but Kouki is thankful for her: if everyone in the household is a worrywart like him or his father, life would be extremely depressing.

The next day at the lockers, he yawned at he put down his bags for practice. After finishing the picture of Kazuna and Midori, he got too inspired and drew a couple other picture for his other series. He also decided to start on another volume for "My manager can't be this cute!" and stayed up until dawn which turned out to be a giant mistake since he hadn't stopped yawning since he stepped into the school.

He's still thinking over whether to go or not to go. His conversation with his mom yesterday helped clear his head a little bit, but not much-after all, he knows his mother tended to be a little clueless with things, but she did have a point-he can't keep on worrying about everything, can he?

A whistle was heard from the gym, which is a sign that practice has started. Furihata quickly stopped all his wonderings and got moving.

The first thing he noticed inside the gym was coach angrily yelling at Koganei and Mitobe. Kogenei was pulling a puppy face that didn't look like a puppy face at all with his cat mouth, and Mitobe had his head laid low. They both seemed to be very sorry for something, and he noticed that neither of them have changed from their usual school uniforms, which for some reason looked a little bit strange today...

"You two are seniors! You have to set an example for your juniors! You can't come in late!" Riko exasperated, index finger pointing at both boys, "What the hell were you two doing anyway? Your clothes are so wrinkled and...are those pants Mitobe's, Koganei?"

"..." Mitobe stared blankly at the girl with apologetic eyebrows, seemingly saying something. Riko apparently didn't understand him as well, so she turned to Koganei,

"Ah! Well, something kinda came up on our way here, Coach! We couldn't help it!"

Ahh, is that something your penis, by any chance? Furihata snickered as he resisted the urge to ask that question out loud. This isn't the first time these two have so obviously not bothered to hide their relationship. Seriously, as if those indirect kisses you guys share with the popsicles aren't enough!

They are just so meant to be, though: a guy who thinks but can't speak and a guy who speaks but can't think-much, it's a pair made in heaven! And the quirkiness of the relationship between them is so convenient too! Imagine all the dirty things Mitobe could say to his lover without other people noticing! Perhaps...perhaps the only time Mitobe ever lets out his voice is when he is engaged in intimacy with his lover?

Koganei is probably the bottom, what with his inherent cuteness and mumbling. Hmm, but since he is the one that interacts more with people among the two he has more information than Mitobe and knows more about sex? But Mitobe-sempai looks like the type that could be really focused on something he wants to know about? Gah, Furihata can't decide on who's the seme and who's the uke!

But just imagine the usually stoic Mitobe moaning wantonly as Koganei pounds into him, the shorter teasing his voice out with his touches and his unexpectedly dirty words...

But also imagine Mitobe silently whispering: "Koganei, I want to have sex with you right here, right now." during a practice and Koganei blushing and...

"Furi, are you okay?" Kagami popped up at his side, looking concerned.

"Ahh I'm fine." Furihata dismissed any signs of his fantasy ever being present. Kagami's too pure-he shall not contaminate a cinnamon roll.

"Are you sure, you have this blank look on your face while you stared off into nothing."

"hahaha! Don't worry about it!"

"Are you sure, Furi?" Kagami rubbed his hair, and walked away to Kuroko as he received an affirmative from Furi. Furihata sighed dreamily as he looked at the light and shadow duo, the shorter one saying something that made the taller thrash around and blush. Honestly, there's so much sexual tension in there. Like, Furihata can't even.

"Iron heart, you come here and explain this mess!" Hyuuga yelled, and Furihata tried to not make his eyes appear like hearts as he turned to look at his other ship-I mean his captain and the injured center. The captain pointed at a pile of dog poop on the floor (ugh, Furihata silently pitied their captain. That stuff is nasty) as he stared accusingly at the center. He screeched: "Isn't it your turn today to manage Nigou today?! Don't think that I'll let you off easily because you're injured!"

Kiyoshi released his hands from his ears with an awkward grin after Hyuuga finished his rather loud rant, and smiled apologetically as he approached the flaming captain. "Hyuuga, I'm sorry-I just took my eyes off of him for a second, ya know..."

The center didn't even get to finish his sentence before Hyuuga raised up on his tippy toes, perhaps in an attempt to intimidate the tall center with his height, and yelled back at him: "You are not going to shy away from your grave mistake, right, Iron heart?"

"Ahh, Hyuuga, don't call me that, you know I don't like it..."

"Then don't shy away from your duties, Iron heart."

"Ahh, Hyuuga, stop it..."

"Iron Heart, Iron heart, Iron heart..."

"Stop it..."

"Iron heart, iron heart, iron heart..."

"I said STOP IT Hyuuga!" The usually kind man snapped, gentle face morphing into something that resembled an angry cartoon character, "I'll clean up the dog poop okay! Jesus why are you so melodramatic?!"

"Hah?! I'm melodramatic?" A vein popped from the Captain's forehead. He pressed a finger into Kiyoshi's torso: "More like you don't care about anything! Smiles won't do shit on the court, you know!"

"I. Already. Said. That. I'll. Clean. The. Dog. Poop!" Kiyoshi uncharacteristically hissed, pressing his forehead up against Hyuuga's as Furihata mentally squealed in delight. These two are so totally married! They're just trying to mask it with their lovers' quarrels! Look the way Hyuuga fumes with a flushed face but nevertheless subtly stops to check the center's knees even in the middle of his uncontrollable rage! Or how Kiyoshi does whatever his captain asks him to do-He's just angry with the nickname "Iron Heart" because one, it makes him sound cold and emotionless, and second, it was a name somebody who didn't know him at all gave him, and he just wants his beloved to call him as he is and not by the name somebody else gave him!

Honestly, how can someone not notice these tender glances Kiyoshi gives Hyuuga whenever he's stressed, or how they often appear in a pair when instructing the freshmen like a kind mother and a strict father?

"Goodness sakes." He heard Riko say under her breath, "I gotta-"

Oh hell no. He wasn't going to let nothing get between these two. No offense, Riko-sempai-I know you dated Kiyoshi but he has someone else now, Furihata thought.

"Coach!" Furihata rushed up to Riko, effectively stopping her from getting to the quarreling lovers, "Don't."

The coach looked surprised from a minute. She looked at him in mild confusion: "Furihata-kun? Come on, let me go, I gotta punish them for fighting."

"O-oh no, you don't n-need to do that!" Furihata blurted out, having not really thought of a reason besides to not see someone tear apart the lovers, "I-I-I-I mean, Izuki-sempai said that whenever they quarrel, their relationship gets better, right? This would mean that they can collaborate better in matches, right?"

Izuki turned over his head at the mention of his name, and flashed a smile but thankfully didn't open his mouth. Riko sighed and backed down, but said with a sad smile: "Teppei's injured, so they aren't playing anymore and this fight's just a distraction, but...these two need to just work it out by themselves sometimes."

Everyone turned to Kiyoshi and Hyuuga, who were feeling a little self-conscious under the scrutiny of the entire basketball team, including their coach and kouhais. They nervously coughed, and soon Kiyoshi went to clean the dog poop and Hyuuga yelled at the team to get to work. Riko shook her head and muttered: "Why can't these two idiots just get along?"

Well, it looks to Furihata that they get along plenty well. Coach just doesn't know as much about love-hate relationships as much as he does.

"Furi, shift your weight onto your right foot!" Riko screamed from across the court, and Furihata winced. The coach was extra strict today, for some reason. Going to sleep late last night was a very bad decision, Furihata realized, for it made him a bit lethargic and less energetic than he usually was. He decided that he would have to turn in early today, so he walked over to coach.

"Coach, I think I'm not up to it today." He quietly requested, "Can I leave practice a bit earlier today?"

"No." Riko said firmly. Furihata felt a bit of desperation claw at his stomache; he's really not feeling good. Riko looked at him and said: "You and the rest of the first years have to get up to par for the practice match with Rakuzan in a couple!"

"Wait what?!" Furihata doesn't remember anything about practice matches with Rakuzan!

Now he feels his knees shaking and his head going light. Oh my god, this means that he'll have to see Akashi again. He'll have to try not to make himself look like an utter fool...again in front of him. Izuki-sempai will probably go against Akashi, not him, but just looking at Akashi will probably turn him into a blushing mess with a heartbeat way beyond normal for a human...Bad new, very bad news.

"Yes, Furi. I had said that many times throughout the practice. Perhaps you would have noticed if you weren't so busy ogling Kagami and Kuroko." She sighed as Furihata turned his eyes away in shame, "why do you look at them so often anyway? I know you admire their skills, but..."

Oh, Coach. If only you knew.

Riko sighed again as she scanned his body: "Alright, Furi. You look genuinely tired and excessive exercise could do you in if you aren't careful, so I'll let you rest." As Furihata rushed off to the shows, Riko suddenly asked him: "Are there some troubles at work that I should be aware of?"

Surprised, Furi turned around to see coach looking at him with soft concern. The entire team stopped too at the sound of Riko's question, and Furihata suddenly felt like crying with everybody's eyes on him, because the Seirin basketball team isn't just a sports team, it's a family that supports each and everyone of its members on any issues that they may have, basketball or not.

He's so grateful.

"Thanks everyone..." Furihata felt a large smile crawl on to his face, "but I really am not in serious danger right now. I just stayed up a bit late last night and thought over some decisions that I have to make, but I am alright, and sorry for worrying you guys..."

Everybody nodded with their own smiles on their face, and resumed practicing. Riko herself smiled a relieved smile as Furihata went back into the lockers to take a shower.

How was it? I think I might have a general idea of how the romance aspect of this story might go, but it might progress really slowly, with lots of fluff and fanboying and interjections from other couples...? Please don't be afraid to drop a suggestion, advice, criticism, or comment!

Thank you so much for reading my humble fanfiction!