Hidden Beauty
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Basket Twenty-Nine: Confessions (of a Teenage Crossdresser)
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Kuroi's mind pulled a blank as Kasamatsu slowly pulled away. Her eyes flickered to his, and she could almost feel the heat pooling off his cheeks, as well as her own.
"Tch." Takeshi scoffed, and turned away. "I'll let it slide for now." He glared from the corner of his eye, and Kuroi was oddly reminded of Kira at the moment. She quickly shook her head and watched the model walk away, leaving her a Kasamatsu alone.
"That was... unexpected." She finally spoke, her voice coming out in a small squeak. Kasamatsu stared at her, before nodding quickly.
"Sorry," He apologized quickly, ducking his head. "But that creep was..."
"A creep." Kuroi smiled, fiddling with her hair. She felt her wig move when she tugged on a strand, and fought the urge to roll her eyes. "I guess we should, uh, get back to Kise."
"Yeah, his two make-up artists told me to come find you."
"Right..." Kuroi had the strongest urge to smack herself, but refrained from looking like a fool, and only settled for belittling herself in her mind. Now, the only person who thought she was insane was her. Weird.
Kasamatsu interrupted her musing with a poke to the arm. She blinked, and stared at him. "That was amusing." She admitted quietly, snickering at Kasamatsu's aloof expression. He blinked at her, before flushing.
'Just after it died down...' Kasamatsu thought, twitching at himself. He shook his head, and turned back to Kuroi. "I was wondering..."
"Yeah?" Kuroi asked, tilting her head by half an inch. Suddenly, she felt as if the tense, awkward atmosphere drifted away.
"U- uhm, were you, or, did-"
"Yasuhirocchi, Kasamatsu-sempai, there you are!" Kuroi jumped; Kise again popping out of nowhere, and panting slightly. "I thought I lost you two in th-..." She raised her eyebrow, wondering why Kise suddenly trailed off; before she noticed that his hair was slicked back, reminding her of Akio's hair.
"Why are both of your faces red?" He chirped, looking in between the two, giving them a suspicious look.
Magically, Kuroi could feel her face become even redder, and she was sure that Kasamatsu felt the same. "N- No reason..." She stuttered out. Kise only narrowed his eyes.
"Something happened." He stated, sounding serious.
"Nothing happened." Kasamatsu glared at Kise, punching the blond's arm gently. Kise made a face, a huge pout on his face. "Okay, okay!" He whined, rubbing his arm, even though it had barely affected him.
"Anyways! I was going to bring you guys back to the studio, because I was going to start shooting in like, five minutes."
"Oka-... Kise, is that eyeliner? And blush?" Kuroi smiled, fighting the urge to burst out into giggles in front of the blond.
"Eh?" Kise blinked, and touched his cheek lightly, the blush darkening just by a bit. "Yeah... It makes me look more feminine, they said." Of course, he was referring to his make-up artists.
"You looked feminine to begin with." Kuroi teased, earning a glare and huff from the model. He turned, pout still on his face, and lead the two back in the direction of the studio. "That guy messed up my sense of direction with his weirdness." She said, offhandedly.
"AHA! I knew something hap-"
"Kise!"
"Y- Yes?" Kise turned, before paling slightly. "Guys, this is the owner of the company, Araki Souta. Uh- Boss, these are my two friends: Kasamatsu Yukio and Yasuhiro Kuroi."
Araki stared at the three, before his eyes landed on Kuroi. She blinked, and felt an unsettling sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Uhm, hi." She said quietly, unsure of what else to say to the man. Araki seemed more of a scary business man, completely different from Kise's manager and make-up artists.
"... Kise, Yasuhiro-san is a girl."
"..."
"..." Kuroi couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed, and she crossed her arms. "Yeah, I am." She muttered, but almost immediately regretted it once Araki sent her an oddly calming glare, if such a thing.
"Kise, I thought I told you you aren't allowed to da-"
"We're not dating!" Kise butted in, making a face. "Yasuhirocchi is my friend!"
"Prove it." Araki stated.
"How do you prove that?" Kuroi groaned, smacking her forehead. "Seriously, do I have bad luck today, or what?" She grumbled to herself. 'Besides, it's not like they make friend certifications... do they?'
"Uh... Yeah, how do I prove it?" Kise blinked, frowning. "Yasuhirocchi, I'm scared!" He cried, shaking the girl.
"Idiot!" She smacked his arm, pushing him away at the same time. Kise stumbled back, rubbing his other arm. "You're not helping your cause!" She explained in a rushed fury.
"Ite..." Kise sighed, turning to look at Kasamatsu. He gave the older male a look that said sempai-you're-my-last-hope.
Kasamatsu twitched, before trying to redirect his gaze elsewhere. He was not getting involved this time, no matter the look Kise was giving him.
"Kasamatsu-sempai can prove it!" Kise blurted, earning a death glare from mentioned boy. Araki raised his eyebrow, and turned to Kasamatsu.
"Oh? And how can you prove it, Sasamitsu-kun?"
"It's Kasamatsu. Uh, Araki-san." Kasamatsu coughed, trying to hide the sudden burst of annoyance. "I can prove it... by, uhm..."
"I- It's because Sas- er, Kasamatsu-sempai is my boyfriend!" Kuroi shouted, face turning red from the lie. 'Am I really lying?' She thought to herself, before shaking her head fiercely. 'Of course I am!' Kuroi bit the inside of her cheek, feeling her hands become clammy suddenly.
Araki stared in between the three, eyes narrowing from suspicion. "Fine. I accept that answer." He stated, rather coldly, as if he didn't believe them. A second later, he was walking silently down the hall.
"S- Sorry." Kuroi whispered to Kasamatsu. "But it looked like I saved you this time." She smirked, but was suddenly hugged from the side.
"Ehh!" Kise exclaimed, eyes widening. "Yasuhirocchi, Kasamatsu-sempai, congratulations!" He grinned widely, making the two look away from each other.
"I- Idiot! I was just lying!" Kuroi stuttered out, feeling her cheeks heat up from the sudden unwanted attention.
"... Its okay, Yasuhirocchi! You're secret's safe with me!" The blond grinned, before dragging the two towards the photo shooting area at the studio.
'What secret!?'
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"I never knew modeling took so long." Kuroi groaned, feeling exhausted, even though all she did was sit and watch Kise.
"I thought it'd be quick..." Kasamatsu murmured, eyes glued to the ceiling. Kuroi nodded, and followed Kasamatsu's stare, wondering what was so awesome about the ceiling.
She found nothing, and instead directed her gaze back to the older boy. "So, uhm, what were you going to say earlier? Before Kise came... ?"
"O- Oh," Kasamatsu stopped, making Kuroi come to a halt in front of him. "I was going to ask... you if, if you wanted to..."
"To, well, uh, go... onthebuswithmetomeettheteamonMondayatthestadium!" Kasamatsu's words seemed to blur together, but Kuroi still understood every single one of them. Maybe it was because her eyes were staring at his chapped lips...
"A- Ah... Yeah, sure." Kuroi smiled, giving her upperclassmen a slow nod. She couldn't help but grin, as she continued walking. "You're cute, Kasamatsu-sempai." She hummed.
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Monday rolled around sooner than expected, and the bus ride to the Interhigh Prelims was taking longer than expected, but Kasamatsu had claimed that they would still make it on time. Kuroi nodded, and kept her eyes on the cold hard wall of the tunnel the bus was currently driving under.
Day light came from the other side of the tunnel, and Kuroi adjusted in her seat. An uncomfortable silence set in, and she looked at Kasamatsu from the corner of her eye, before looking at the scenery.
A few more minutes passed, and she twitched, beginning to feel like she was losing it. "Okay, seriously, is it going to be like this the entire time?" She asked oh-so-suddenly, turning in her seat to face Kasamatsu, the grip on her duffel bag tightening.
"L- Like what?" Kasamatsu asked, eyes darting to anywhere but hers.
"You know what; this weird awkward silence. It's making me angry." She admitted in a huff, crossing her leg over her other. A few people looked over to them, but otherwise didn't give them any time of day, too entranced with their cellphone or surroundings or companies to care about to lone boys sitting at the back of the bus.
Well, a boy and a girl, but they didn't know that. Kuroi was obviously dressed as a boy, as usual. Short hair, male uniform, chest bandaged.
"I'm just saying, it could probably affect our team play. Not just the two of us, but the others as well. I just want to win the game, and the next, and you catch my drift." Kuroi placed her bag on the ground and crossed her arms as she pushed her duffel back more to the corner with her foot. "Besides, I don't want things to be awkward between us." She added carefully, thinking over her words before actually speaking them.
Kasamatsu stared at her, shoulders dropping as he thought it over as well. "You're right. I'm in no position to cause others trouble, just because of my personal life." He replied. A ghost of a smile appeared on Kuroi's face.
"How should we fix it?" She asked, curiosity etched onto her face.
"First, let's not lie about... anything, anymore." Kasamatsu suggested with a shrug. Kuroi nodded, already knowing what he was talking about.
"About not lying anymore... Could I tell you something?" She asked, almost feeling shy now. Kasamatsu nodded, his attention fully on her.
Kuroi wished he didn't look so focused on her, but pushed the thought away before closing her eyes briefly. She opened them a moment later, and nibbled the inside of her cheek as she mulled over her words. "I... think - Er, I'm pretty sure that I like you..." She confessed in a whisper, trailing off as she was being mindful of the other people occupying the bus.
Hues of red and pink bloomed from Kasamatsu's neck, dusting his cheeks. "I'm pretty sure I like you too." He replied, making Kuroi's heart thud loudly in its cavern.
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Kuroi fixed her jersey, smiling at the large number '12' on it. She liked the blue, but preferred purple. Of course, it'd probably look odd if their whole jersey was colored purple.
She looked up at Kasamatsu, and gave the older boy a smile. "You ready?" She asked, tilting her head at him.
"Of course." Kasamatsu replied, smirking in return. Kuroi nodded, brushing her short bangs from her face as she fiddled with her shorts as they all walked out from the change room, through the hall, and finally into the large court. She eyed the many people who came to see the Interhigh Preliminaries warily, and decided it was best to keep her head down, just in case, as she made her way towards the bench. The benched second and third years, including Moriyama, all stood, making room for them.
Kuroi walked up to Moriyama, staring at him. "I won't fail you, Moriyama-sempai!" She smiled. Moriyama nodded, staring strictly at her.
"If you do, the Shooting Guard position will be looked down upon!" He huffed out, making Kuroi frown.
"Lies. But don't worry; I'll do my best for every shooting guard person out there-"
"And for the ladies." Moriyama quickly added, random flowers seemingly appeared out of nowhere and sparkling around him as his cheeks flushed for reasons Kuroi did not want to know of.
"And for the lad- hey." Kuroi chuckled, punching Moriyama's arm lightly. He smiled, and lightly sat her down on the bench. "Just focus on Coach for the moment, I'm sure he has a little speech to give." He said, looking up at their Coach.
"Alright, listen up, everyone," Coach Takeuchi began, gathering everyone's attention. "Kaisei isn't exactly known for their weak, so I want you all to be on alert, even if you think you shouldn't, understood!?"
"Yes, Coach!" They all replied, and Kuroi could feel her heart beat faster as the older man walked up to her. "Be careful out there, Yasuhiro." He whispered, patting her shoulder.
Of course, she knew what he meant by that, and gave him a nod, before standing. The referee called their school along with Kaisei to line up, so they could soon begin the game.
Kuroi quickly, almost too quickly, stood and stepped into line. She nearly bumped into one of the members of Kaisei, and she flushed from the embarrassment. 'Isn't this my first game? A real game. An important game.' She thought, eyes focusing on the boy in front of her. He had pale red hair, almost pink in the light and golden-yellow eyes, reminding her of a cat, for some reason. She felt a shiver run up her spine, noticing his golden orbs locked onto hers, and she forced herself to look away, keeping her gaze to the ground.
She had to be careful. Not just for her, but for the team. For Kaijou.
Kuroi curled her fingers into a fist, and bowed, but didn't say anything as the others' voices rang in her ears in a soft buzz. She straightened, and soon got in position.
The ref called Tip Off, throwing the ball up into the air. Kobori scratched the ball with the tip of his finger, but Kaisei's point guard; a boy with short wavy silver hair and electrifying blue eyes managed to snag the ball, knocking it in the direction of his Center.
Kuroi, having already read the movements of his muscles, darted forward. She intercepted the pass, knocking the ball away from the center and towards Kise, who was open.
Unfortunately, Kaisei's power forward was already in front of Kise, stealing the ball. Kuroi frowned momentarily, coming to a still. 'They really are stronger, like Coach said. But, it's a good thing I already knew this from the start.' She thought, smirking as she jogged forward, keeping on her mark's heels. Her purple orbs followed the orange ball, reading the enemy team's movements carefully, waiting.
So far, no one had scored. It wasn't all that surprising to her, but she noticed that Kaisei was beginning to get impatient.
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Weeee~ I'm super hyped up on coffee and energy drinks! Hooray! *slapped by Kuroi*... Okay, I'm good... maybe. *twitch, twitch* Heh. OMG OMG THE CONFESSIONS~! So, so cute. Or is it just me?
Anyways, I want to try something weird. I wanna make a little pop quiz type thing, but on the story.
BUT! The winner will have an OC, as minor character, enter this story! You'll be used (lol) in some awesome moments, and be one of Kuroi's epic friends, if wanted. :DDDD?
If you're interested, please take a look on my profile for the-... er, the form? Yeah, the form. Then send me a filled out form via PM, obviously.
Only I have the correct answers, as Kuroi is my creation, so I'll be choosing the most correct/creative... application... given! (You'll see why you need to be creative *coughs*)
Anyways, if not interested: Continue on, my beloveds. C:
~Love me or Hate me~