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I. THE FIRST MEETING
"please, be my lover!"
you choked on your drink which made yachi reflexively pat your back lightly. this is the 10th person this week who has confessed their feelings to you. hinata, who was sitting at the same table as you, could only gape at what he was witnessing.
you don't like crowds, especially you don't like being the centre of attention, usually those who express their love for you will always express it in a quiet public space. unlike now, in the middle of the cafeteria with the man's voice so loud, you immediately freeze because all the attention of the people there turns to you.
with a broken voice, you tried to refuse the man, "sorry ... but i ... can't," you answered weakly because anxiety was slowly eating away at your body.
but the man was still adamant, he shouted and forced you to be his lover, and he even tried to hold your hand, luckily another hand pushed and grabbed the man's hand away from you, while yachi and hinata pushed your body to stand behind the two of them.
"no means no, you can't force them to accept you," said the man with metallic blue eyes and short black hair, his sharp gaze stared down at the man, making the man tremble uncontrollably. with that, the man who has harassed you forcibly removed his hand from the grasp of the man with metallic blue eyes and flew away from the cafeteria.
after the man was gone, you breathed a sigh of relief and thanked the person who helped you. "it's not a problem, but are you okay? you looked very uncomfortable earlier," asked the man.
"yes, i feel better," you answered as you lifted your head to get a better look at the man who was helping you. when your eyes met, your heart pounded and suddenly you felt nervousness creeping into your whole body.
"thank goodness, then i'll go, i still have classes to attend," he answered as he walked out of the cafeteria, but before he had time to set his feet more than a meter you realized you hadn't gotten his name. "wait, may i know your name?" you asked with your hands behind your back, embarrassed. while your two friends gape at the question you just asked the man.
"akaashi. akaashi keiji," he said and continued his steps.
not long after the man named Akaashi left, you and your friends also decided to leave the cafeteria and look for another place in the campus area to chat and eat your snacks.
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II. A SECOND CHANCE TO CHASE HIS LOVE
you stared blankly at whatever was in front of you, it had been a week since the incident occurred, but you kept thinking about the man with short black hair and sharp metallic blue eyes. your heart always pounded when you thought about him, this was the first time in your life you felt helpless like this. your mind always goes to the man surnamed akaashi, you can't seem to erase him from your mind. you even wonder if this is what falling in love feels like.
yachi cleared her throat, making you look up at her. "So, what's your plan? want to make him fall in love with you like the others?" she asked curiously, which was immediately nodded by hinata who was also curious about what you would do next.
"i don't think i would do that to him. i want him to fall in love with me without me using my power," you answered firmly. "do you think i can do that?" you asked again for the umpteenth time which your two friends only answered with 'maybe'.
"it's almost time for mine and hinata's class, are you okay being alone?" yachi asked worriedly.
"i'm fine, you two better go now before you're late for class!" you answered with your right hand waving in front of your face as a signal to chase them away.
hinata, who's clueless about that gesture, just nodded and said, "let us know if something happens!"
after the two of them left, you decided to go to the library to look for the books you needed for your assignment for next week.
you walked through the shady trees around campus while humming a little tune to the song you were listening to through your earphones, until suddenly someone grabbed your hand roughly, making you flinch in surprise and automatically whip your head towards the person which causes one of your earphones to fall.
your heart beating so fast when you see the same person who harassed you last week, your body freezes, but luckily you can regain consciousness quickly. you tried to pry your hand away from the grip, but to no avail, the grip didn't move an inch, and you were sure it would leave red marks or even bruises if he held it any longer.
"ow! let me go!" you shouted at the stranger, hoping someone would hear you.
"please give me a chance to be your boyfriend!" the man said in a forceful tone and desperation was visible on his face.
"please let go of my hand, it hurts so much," you whimpered.
still holding your wrist so firmly, he begged, "i promise i'll be a good boyfriend for you!"
"you're making me uncomfortable, please stop!" you said scared to death. you still try to release his grip even though you know it will only end in vain, until a hand taps the man's shoulder, making him reflexively release his grip on your wrist and making you take a step back.
"i thought what i said last week was very clear?" his metallic blue eyes scanned the stranger from head to toe, then glanced at you to check your condition for a moment before finally looking back down at the man in front of him. you rubbed your wrist which had been gripped by the stranger, a small curse escaped your lips when you saw your wrist turning blue.
you were born with the power to make everyone fall in love with you. you've always used your powers for things that benefit you the most, but you've never thought your powers would backfire on yourself like they are now. you never thought that your power could make someone obsessed with you to this extent, nor did you know that your power could influence people who were close to your target, you never noticed any of that until this incident happened.
in all the years you have had this power, you have never experienced harassment like this, those who like you always know and respect your boundaries. and of course, this kind of incident makes you so afraid, especially in the previous meeting you had tried to neutralize your power from that man, but it didn't work.
"you better go and never bother this girl again, or i'll do my worst." the metallic blue eyes couldn't leave the stranger in front of him, the grip on his shoulder tightened even more, making the stranger hiss in pain. without hesitation, the stranger removed akaashi's hand from his shoulder and walked away leaving you alone with akaashi.
silence greeted the two of you, only the sound of a sigh of relief and the wind blowing could be heard for a few seconds, until finally your eyes met each other. "are you okay?" asked the man with short black hair worriedly.
"i'm okay, just a little shaky and bruised on my wrist. thank you for helping me again!"
"we have to treat your wrist, let me take you to the infirmary."
the walk to the infirmary was filled with silence, no one made a sound between you, you were even sure you could feel the sound of your rapid heartbeat because of akaashi's presence beside you. you tried to open your voice, but no sound came out of your mouth, and it didn't go unnoticed by akaashi. "if i may ask, why is he chasing you like that? have things like this often happened to you?" he asked, "sorry, you don't need to answer if you're uncomfortable," he continued in a gentle tone.
before you could open your mouth to answer, akaashi's voice interrupted you again, "we're here, sit down and i'll get the medical kit."
you sat on one of the mattresses there while waiting for akaashi to find the medical kit, your legs were hanging over the edge of the bed, and you moved your legs back and forth like a child who was waiting for their mother to buy them a lollipop.
after finding what he was looking for, he walked towards you to immediately treat you. "for now i will wrap a bandage around your wrist. when you are home, you have to compress it with cold water." the big hand wrapped your wrist in a bandage carefully, as if he didn't want to leave a single scratch on your hand, it made your heart beat fast again and the tips of your ears turned red.
finishing putting the bandage on your wrist, you thanked the man with metallic blue eyes, who responded with a small nod and went to return the medical kit he borrowed earlier. you were still sitting on the edge of the bed, debating with your thoughts until akaashi's voice interrupted again for the umpteenth time, "are you sure you're okay? you seem off."
it's now or never, you thought. "I'm fine, it's just... i...," you said uncertainly.
akaashi raised an eyebrow, waiting for what you wanted to say to him. "can i have your number, i'd love to treat you to a cup of coffee if you have time! you said quickly, which was almost not caught clearly by the man's hearing.
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III. THE TRUTH BEHIND 'THEIR' LOVE
after several days of you and akaashi communicating with each other to align the schedule for the two of you to meet, finally, the day came. the day you'll treat him to a cup of coffee and maybe answer his questions that weren't answered at the previous meeting.
earlier, akaashi took the initiative to pick you up and go together to the place where you were going to meet because he was afraid something would happen to you again, but you refused, saying that it was okay. akaashi, being the gentleman he is, finally gave in because he didn't want to make you feel forced and uncomfortable around him.
the jingling sound of the bell above the door rang when you entered the cafe your eyes scanned the surroundings, looking for the figure of Akaashi who had sent a message saying that he had arrived. until finally your eyes caught a familiar figure who had helped you twice, it wasn't difficult to find him because the cafe was quiet that day. On the end table near the window, akaashi sat, in casual clothes combined with glasses that framed his metallic blue beads making him look more handsome. shit, your heart was beating fast again.
you waved from where you stood and walked towards the table nervously. "sorry if i kept you waiting!" you said in a tone that sounded a little panicked.
"no problem, i just arrived too," replied akaashi with his signature smile.
after you were settled and ordered what you wanted, the two of you exchanged stories with each other to get to know each other more deeply and chatted about random things that happened to either your friends or yourself, until you remembered the questions that akaashi had asked you a few days ago.
"about your question a few days ago...," you said suddenly, making the atmosphere a little awkward.
"you don't have to answer it if you don't want to."
you took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. your eyes stared at your hands clenched into fists in your lap. "no, i want to answer that question. but can you keep this a secret?" on the one hand, you are worried that he will reveal your secret, but on the other hand, you are sure that akaashi is not someone who likes to reveal other people's secrets.
akaashi, who was initially sipping his drink, stopped. his eyes looked straight into your eyes with a very serious look. "you can take my word for it," he said confidently.
"okay, listen. would you believe me if i said i had powers?" you asked hesitantly. akaashi raised an eyebrow and motioned for you to continue what you wanted to say.
"i ... i have the power to make anyone fall in love with me, but the two previous events were beyond my expectations," you explained in a low voice but could still be heard by the man in front of you. "i had just discovered the fact that my powers could backfire on me if i used them too often, and that incident in the cafeteria was an example. i've tried to neutralize my power from that stranger, but apparently ... it doesn't work," you stopped, couldn't continue your sentence any longer, disappointment was written on your face.
"did you use your powers on me?"
"NO, OF COURSE NOT! EVEN THOUGH I LIKE YOU, I WANT YOU TO FALL IN LOVE WITH ME WITHOUT THAT STUPID POWERS!" you responded with panic written on your face.
one second, two seconds, three or even four seconds passed in silence between you and akaashi before you finally realized what you had said earlier, making you reflexively cover your mouth with both hands. your face flushed red from the embarrassment that was slowly consuming you. oh no, i didn't just say that.
without you realizing it, akaashi's two metallic blue beads were looking at you gently and a smile was plastered on the man's face. "is that so? you should try harder then, i'll be watching."
"eh?"
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IV. CHASE, CHASE, CHASE HIS LOVE
"there's volleyball practice today, right?" you asked your two friends, yachi and hinata,
"how do you know?" hinata asked.
"huh ... today kiyoko-san excused herself from attending practice, so i'm taking care of the karasuno team alone," yachi said weakly, making you and hinata pat yachi's shoulder lightly.
"uhm ... keiji told me that there is volleyball practice today. do you think i should bring him something?" you asked a little nervous about their response.
"KEIJI?! SINCE WHEN DID YOU BECOME THAT CLOSED? AND YOU NEVER TOLD US!" yachi replied vehemently. you just smiled awkwardly at yachi's response, which you ignore.
"maybe you can bring him mineral water or something, because usually after i exercise it will be very tiring," hinata responded.
you pondered for a moment, before thinking about what hinata said. you suddenly rose from your chair to go buy something without saying anything to yachi and hinata, leaving both of them confused.
"where are they going?" asked hinata, who was answered by yachi shrugging her shoulders, as a gesture that she didn't know. "we better get to the gymnasium before it's too late," yachi responded while pulling Hinata's hand so he wouldn't leave her by running.
you went to the nearest mini market to buy mineral water and some snacks for keiji's team, and returned to the gymnasium to watch today's training. when you got there, the gymnasium was already crowded with fangirls from various players, making you have to jostle to find a comfortable seat, you were a little regretful that you didn't come with yachi earlier.
on the way to the bench, you saw one of the managers of the fukurodani team, whose name you believed was yukie, making you reflexively call her in a rather loud voice.
yukie looked at you and asked, "uhm, do you need something?"
"sorry to bother you, but could you give this to keiji, and this snack is for you," you said with your hand showing a bottle of mineral water and a plastic bag containing snacks.
"oh my god, thank you, i'll give this to akaashi!" she answered with a virtual glow after seeing the many snacks in the plastic bag.
after giving it all to yukie, you went to find a comfortable place to sit. your eyes scanned all the players present until your eyes met keiji's metallic blue eyes, making you reflexively wave your hand at him, which he responded with a wave too.
you watched as yukie gave your entrustment to keiji, making the other members curiously gather around him. soon their eyes were scanning the audience, as if they were looking for someone in the crowd.
you sat quietly during the game, until someone tapped your shoulder, you turned around and found yachi behind you. she casually grabbed your hand to come with her to sit with the manager and the coach. during the match, your eyes occasionally looked towards keiji, making yachi have to jabbing your waist with her elbow several times.
after practice ended, yachi left you to hand out bottles to the karasuno players, leaving you alone. Not long after, Keiji approached you, a smile framed on his handsome face. "you are the one gave me water and snacks? you shouldn't have to bother giving me that." his big hand stroked your head gently, makes your face blush.
...
class would end in a few minutes, you looked towards the window watching the trees blowing in the wind out of boredom.
after the lecturer ended class, students began to leave the classroom one by one. you chose to be the last one to leave the classroom because you didn't want to be crowded with the others.
this morning you cooked 2 portions of bento for you and keiji, you two had promised to eat together today, he even offered you to wait in front of the locker so you guys could walk together to the cafeteria.
you picked up your sling bag and went to your locker to get your bento box. you were silent for a moment, checking your phone to see a message of disappointment from yachi because you couldn't eat together. after you replied to yachi's message with a mocking emoji, a smile spread across your face, making the person standing in front of you ask, "what makes you smile like that?"
you were a little shocked by the sudden presence of the black-haired man in front of you, but you were able to get over it quickly. "ah, just replying to yachi's message, she's disappointed she can't have lunch with me."
"oh, i see. want to go to the cafeteria now?" Keiji asked you to which you answered with an enthusiastic nod.
during the trip to the cafeteria, you exchanged stories about your classes and the lecturer who was teaching, like how you were reprimanded for being caught daydreaming in class or about bokuto asking the lecturer the same thing over and over again. keiji also offered to carry your paper bag containing two bento boxes because it looked heavy, but you refused, saying that it wasn't that hard.
after you two sat down at one of the empty tables there, you told Keiji that you brought him lunch, and handed him one of the bento boxes. keiji thanked you for taking the trouble to make him lunch.
"try that, i'm trying to make it myself!" you said enthusiastically.
keiji opened the bento box slowly, as if it were a valuable object. he took chopsticks to pick up a side dish and fed it to his mouth. keiji suddenly fell silent, making you nervous about the results of your own cooking.
"is it that bad?" you asked with a mixed heart.
keiji just smiled, his eyes looked softly at you, "no, it's very delicious. just like my mother's cooking," he answered with a smile still on his face.
you clapped your hands as a small celebration for your successful cooking, making the man's eyes fall on your hands which were covered in bandages and band-aid, making him reflexively take your hand and stroke it gently, "you've worked hard enough." he said, making you freeze in place.
keiji let go of your hand and cleared his throat. "sorry," he apologized for holding your hand without your permission.
"it's ... it's fine!"
after lunch, silence fell between the two of you for a while, until finally keiji spoke up, "i heard there will be a fireworks festival at the beginning of september, do you want to watch it with me?" he asked with one hand scratching the back of his neck which didn't itch.
without thinking, you answered excitedly, "sure!"
_____
V. Unknown Second Date
hour after hour, day after day, and month after month you count just for this special day. You already look charming in a pastel blue yukata with neatly styled hair.
now you just need to wait for keiji to pick you up at home, your heart is beating fast, imagining the difference in how handsome keiji will be today, whether he will wear glasses or not. You were too excited that you couldn't stay in your room, all you did was turn around in the hallway. if it weren't for the empty condition of the house, surely your older brother would have cursed you.
not long after, the sound of a knock on the door stopped you, you immediately stepped towards the door to open it. behind the door, keiji in a navy yukata with white details looked very handsome, he even wore glasses, making him look twice as handsome. "you look beautiful," he complimented with a slightly blushing face.
"do you think you're ready to go now?" he asked again, you nod. keiji held out his hand to you, and you took it.
when you arrive at your destination, there are lots of food and game stands lined up, the visitors are full, making keiji's calloused hands grip yours tightly so that you don't separate.
you pulled keiji to all the stands that caught your attention, making keiji put a smile on his face. in return, keiji tugs your hand a little to get your attention, and he takes you to a cotton candy stand with various shapes. "you want one?" he asked to which you answered with an enthusiastic nod.
"now we better find a place to watch the fireworks, i'm sure you don't want to miss that," keiji's statement made you look away from the cotton candy in your hand. "you're right! come on!" you said, again grabbing keiji's hand.
the two of you sat under the cherry tree with a clear view of the vast sky. one by one people took their places to watch tonight's fireworks, the wide field which was initially only filled with a few people was now full. they were enthusiastic about keeping this beautiful night in their memories, especially the children who had asked many times 'when the fireworks would be lit'.
you chuckle at the children who can't wait to watch the fireworks, and so do you. suddenly the sound of a countdown was heard, making him reflexively look towards the sky.
akaashi placed his calloused hand on your soft one, making your cheeks flush with the small action. "the countdown has begun."
the final countdown has been shouted, now the sky is decorated with colorful fireworks that look beautiful. but akaashi's eyes were fixed on you beside him, you who felt noticed it turned around and said, "this is so beautiful!"
"yes."
you two stared at each other for a long time, your faces getting closer and closer. your body feels like it can't be moved, as if it knows that this is what you want. until finally keiji asked, "may i?" to which you answered with a small nod and flushed cheeks.
keiji's calloused hand held your head, one hand caressing your flushed cheek gently, and slowly your lips met. at first awkwardness gnawed at you, but whatever was on your mind, makes you reciprocate the kiss.
keiji pressed his forehead against yours after you guys parted from your kiss. your eyes still staring deeply into each other. with heavy breaths, keiji confessed his feelings to you, "i love you."
"i love you too." that night, many beautiful new memories were etched there.