Courting You

Repent - Akashi Seijuro x Reader

Note: Sequel to Who Am I?. Ah, this is finally the end to this mini-series. I'm sorry for my impromptu disappearance - I was lost in schoolwork and college preparation, but now that college applications are over, I hope to write a bit more now. I definitely can't write very often anymore, but I suppose that publishing a few fanfics every once in a while is better than having none at all.

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Akashi pursed his lips in discomfort as bits and pieces of a forgotten memory flashed before his eyes. His head ached with a dull pain, seeming to cut him off from the world around him with a psychedelic daze, yet he was sobered by a feeling of frantic hysteria. Images of a warmer, gentler you played across his mind like the haunting film of a movie. Memories from what appeared to be a different worldline, or a parallel dimension, pervaded his whole consciousness. He didn't fully understand just what he was experiencing, but he did know one thing:

This was unnatural; this was something that never should have happened.

A welcoming icy sensation was compressed to his aching forehead and he blinked, looking up before his breath caught. His vision was completely overtaken by the sight of crinkling (e/c) eyes and a tender smile that was so benevolent that it evoked in him the vulnerability of a child as he wanted nothing more than to envelop himself in that comforting warmth.

The cool object was more harshly pressed against Akashi's head and his delusion was shattered, the illusion of kind affection replaced by a crueler reality. Your grating words finally registered in his ears. "What are you wasting my time for? Hurry up and take it. You need to stay hydrated or else you won't be of any use to the team."

Akashi Seijuro closed his soft red eyes in exhaustion and sighed, reaching for the chilled water. "Thank you, (Name)."

"What are you thanking me for? This was not an act of kindness - it was merely my tending to your essential needs." You spoke in a monotoned voice, indifferently brushing off his gratefulness. "Think of it as nourishing the test subject of an experiment. I'm conducting a sort of study myself on the rudimentary elements required for success in life, and have decided to do a small-scale trial in basketball. Even if you're the captain of the Rakuzan Basketball Team, I will not tolerate any lackadaisical behavior and will dispose of you immediately if I find that you do not serve as a viable test subject."

Akashi's eyebrows furrowed at your unfeeling reply, but he said nothing in response and couldn't meet your mismatched eyes, feeling an acute sense of shame at your current state and the role he played in your ruination. However, Hayama Kotaro refused to remain quiet and stood up, stomping over to you. He grabbed you by your collar, lifting you up to your feet. He hissed in your face, "Is that what you think of us? You treat us like lowly insects and you treat the sport like an experiment. You don't love basketball like we do, so why are you here? Why did we even let you be manager in the first place and why haven't we fired you yet?!"

Your lips rose in a cruel smile and your (e/c) and gold eyes locked with his. Hayama gasped silently as the dangerous intensity in your eyes somehow battered him into submission. His knees buckled and he found himself lowering to the ground by an imperceptible force. Pleased at his subservient position, you leaned down and took his chin in your hand, tilting his head up to maintain eye contact with you. "Don't worry about a thing, Kotaro. I was brought here by the humiliating loss in the Winter Cup and was disgusted at the pathetic state that the Rakuzan Basketball Team had fallen to. As long as I'm here, I promise that to ensure that Rakuzan never ever loses again. After all, someone important to me once taught me that perfection and victory are the only things of worth in this world."