Kunimi Akira x Reader Oneshots

Blue Neon

Hiraeth.

"The feeling of longing for a home that no longer exists or never was. A deep and irrational bond felt with a time, era, place or person."

Kunimi sighed as he woke up, realizing that he had that dream again. It played in his head again and again every night...he never had a single dream that wasn't about the unnamed girl. Not anymore. Not even the nightmares that often plagued him before a major match. But strangely...he found himself looking forward to those repetitive dreams. He'd woken up one day realizing that he feared forgetting the dreams of sapphire skies, distinctly beautiful eyes, musical laughter, and mundane yet somehow nostalgic picnics on enchanting countryside hills. He feared forgetting them or being apart from them more than he feared coach Mizoguchi's wrath, even. The fear was quite baseless, though, since he could narrate the entire dream if someone were to ask at any given moment.

He was pondering whether or not he should just go back to sleep when he heard a thud on his window.

"Oi! Kunimi!" he heard a familiar shout as he reluctantly got up and padded towards the window.

"Mhhh?" He asked as he opened it.

"Yahaba-san's blackmailing me to make sure you attend morning practice!' came Kindaichi's yelled reply.

Kunimi slammed the window shut and burrowed himself back under the covers with an indignant huff.

Having somewhat expected the response, Kindaichi knocked on the front door only to be let in by Kunimi's worried older sister.

"Kindaichi-kun...there's something wrong with Akira lately..." the young woman started as they climbed up the stairs towards Kunimi's bedroom.

"Hm? Hasn't he always been this lazy?" Kindaichi tilted his head a bit in response.

"Well yes, but...he started keeping a dream journal a few months ago. But there's only this one strange dream written there over and over..." her brows furrowed and she bit her lip lightly.

"...Come to think of it...he has been telling me he has memories of someone he's never met..." Kindaichi rubs the back of his neck as the nervous aura of the elder Kunimi began to get to him.

"I'm just worried he'll...never mind...I hope you and the team can bring him back to normal," she whispered with a shake of her head.

"What are you talking about, Aneki? I've had these dreams and memories since first year middle school. This is my normal," Kunimi emerged from his room with distant eyes and a placid smile on his face.

The two shivered, but decided never to bring it up again. Somehow, anyone would get the feeling something unpredictable would happen if they dug into such a topic further...

"You're...you're right Kunimi...I'm sure it's just something like deja vu anyway," Kindaichi attempted to laugh the tension away as he bade goodbye to the older sister and dragged Kunimi to school.

...

"Kindaichi," Kunimi called out after finishing his water.

"Yeah?" Kindaichi was slumped down on the bench beside him, taking advantage of the break time their captain had given them.

"...that blonde girl from Karasuno. The younger manager. She's good at art isn't she?" his best friend asked, startling him.

"Ehhh? Does Kunimi finally have a crush on someone?" Kindaichi yelled.

Kunimi sighed as he noticed Yahaba and Watari turn their heads in interest.

"I just need her to draw portraits for a scrapbook," the apathetic wing spiker shook his head weakly.

Kindaichi froze. They were already second years. The incident when Kunimi's older sister first found out about his dreams was more than a year ago. But the entire interaction had somehow been etched in his brain.

"A scrapbook about...what?" Kindaichi asked, but upon seeing the look in Kunimi's normally dull eyes, realized that was the worst thing he could have done.

"About...someone important," Kunimi replied, with a voice that sounded pained with the fact that he couldn't put a name to the girl that felt more like home to him than his own family or team.

Kindaichi couldn't do anything but nod.

...

"Seriously though, Kunimi, I can't believe we're graduating college soon and you still haven't had a girlfriend. You know I bet in high school that you'd be the first of us 'cause you've got that pretty boy vibe Oikawa-san and Yahaba-san have," Kindaichi shook his head as they walked down the halls while carrying some papers.

"...I already love someone, though..." Kunimi muttered as they turned a corner.

"Oho? An unrequited love? Can't wait to tell Hanamaki-san and Matsukawa-san so they can set you two up!" he grinned in an outgoing manner.

Kindaichi was busy with plenty of things, and had a lot of things to remember nowadays. He was a senior in college, a pro volleyball player, and had a lot of stuff to do in preparation for his job as an electrician once he graduated. It would make sense, then, that he didn't remember much about the little incidents that happened in his high school days, no matter how odd.

But in that moment, when the two long time friends locked eyes, Kindaichi saw something in Kunimi's eyes that chilled him. It was a melancholy, nostalgic look that he'd only seen once before. And he was reminded of everything about that one disturbing fact. That fact that Kunimi loved a girl who would only ever be able to appear in his dreams...a girl he found he had childhood memories of despite confirming that it was impossible for him to have ever met her. A girl he'd once heard Kunimi remark was distinctly "blue neon"...

"...you. You still have dreams of her, don't you?" Kindaichi whispered as he averted his eyes.

Kunimi didn't reply, but his steps sped up just a slight bit.

...

I was doing an assignment for my biology class when I remembered that I had a salted caramel sundae in the freezer. Humming a melody I wasn't sure where I heard, I retrieved the treat and sat down to eat it for a break from my studies

However, when I tasted the familiar balance of burnt sugar and the sea, a long forgotten memory assaulted my senses. As the warm taste of the gentle golden color of the sunset and a cold yet refreshing neon blue sky melted, I found myself desperately grasping at the image of a distantly familiar pretty boy peacefully sleeping on my lap in a field of blue wildflowers.

Before I realized it, tears were streaming down my face and I could only think of one thing as I repeated it over and over in my head, "Kunimi Akira..."

A/N

So yeah I was eating a caramel sundae while procrastinating and remembered Kunimi so have this drabble