there is no better / form of relief / than the certain knowledge / you're getting...

[zoneout]

It was coincidence. A cloudless night, with brilliant winter stars visible even through the nightlife glare; Seirin and Yousen had both blundered into the same izakaya after a spectacular Winter Cup game. The initial awkwardness soon melted away as Kagami's manhood was challenged on the field of grilled squid consumption. He was more than ready to stack his talents against the Yousen giants, and from there...

Surprisingly it was Araki who ordered sake first, and she drank it with a triumphant glare at the underaged Riko. How had it gotten out of hand from there? Someone had stolen her bottle - twice - and a couple of Yousen players simply said they were of age, and at their cruising altitude, it was tough to argue with. Among the cozy seats a scent of wood and paper, sauce and charcoal burning, the lifting sweetness of alcohol. The laughter became louder, the trash talk got more heated.

Murasakibara was there, taking up a seat and a half, lolling back against the wall. He drank when it was offered to him, neither caring nor feeling it. He didn't talk much. His conviviality was limited to clearing the place out of prepackaged mochi ice cream. From time to time he would look around the room without hurry or focus, searching for Kuroko (success rate: 30%) or maybe Kagami wolfing down something with a red face. Sometimes he looked at Kiyoshi Teppei. No expression.

Most of the time he just flicked little wads of folded-up paper chopstick wrappers at Himuro and thought about the game.

He must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing he was aware of was a woman's hand on his shoulder and her thin, nervous voice (banked anger) penetrating his skull. "Hey.... Hey! Wake up."

He blinked stupidly at her.

The room had cleared out. There were only two of them left. The clock on the wall indicated 3 AM.

"Hey, you two need to get out of here. It's closing time."

At another table, on the other side of the room, he perceived the long limbs and thick, friendly eyebrows of Kiyoshi Teppei.

Comments

[tesshin]

There had been some protest early on, Teppei was sure, about the consumption of alcohol by the Seirin team. Hyuuga's firm voice, squared shoulders and stern face had said plenty: absolutely not! But then, like so many things, some calling out happened, someone insinuated Seirin was actually full of cowards and the very suggestion was enough to shatter the attempt at a sober gathering entirely.

Not too unlike Murasakibara, for the start of the evening when the drinks came his way Teppei drank steadily and at a leisurely pace, enjoying the banter and the harmless competitive spirit in the area. Seirin were gracious winners (for the most part) and Yousen took their defeat respectfully (again, for the most part.) That was rudely interrupted by someone pointing a furious, drunken finger at Teppei and declaring he needed to step up and defend Seirin's honour in a drinking contest, especially since Hyuuga and Kouga were out for the count and Mitobe, wisely, had opted out entirely.

It was times like this when Teppei was grateful for his size because otherwise he'd probably would have had a similar experience as his teammates, but as it happened at some point, after assuming the alcohol just had no effect on him, he graciously tapped out. The effects would come later.

By the time Murasakibara was looking groggily around the room, Teppei had been rubbing his eyes and stretching before commenting on the obvious.

"Ah--! It's really three in the morning! How did that happen..."

Standing up was a bit more difficult than he expected (Oops, who put that left foot of his there so his right could stumble over it, anyway?) but once he managed it he really did notice that it was just him and Murasakibara left. Mildly inebriated as he was, Teppei couldn't help but feel a little bit of dread: Murasakibara hated him after all.

"Hmm... Looks like we got--Oh!" Yes, that was his hip catching the edge of the table in an attempt to walk past it "--left behind."

He smiled at the taller boy warmly, nothing fake in it at all despite his reservations "Let's get you back to... Ah... Where are you staying again?"

[zoneout]

As Kiyoshi approached Murasakibara sat there, slack and still, impassive. His eyelids were heavy over unblinking violet eyes. A long silence hovered in the air after Kiyoshi spoke.

Abruptly one corner of Murasakibara's wide mouth bent up.

"Ehhhhh...."

The other one joined the first, full of sloppy, sarcastic humor.

He was sober as a stone but his arms hung at his sides, palms up, slack as the rest of him. Like a doll, he was still propped up against the wall. It would have been difficult for anyone who didn't know him well to realize that he was messing with a victim.

Kiyoshi was half in the bag, or more. Something about his earnest nice guy act was annoying. Atsushi thought maybe it would be fun to tease him, make him flop around a little. It would be fun to leave the earnest nice guy face down on the floor. Punishment for trying so hard.

"Help carry me home, Kiyoshiiiiii."

[tesshin]

As far as victims to fall for Murasakibara's antics went, Kiyoshi was pretty perfect. He was far from the type to tell someone to stop messing around or accuse them of being a ridiculous man-child,and instead would almost universally opt for patience. It's not that he's so entirely dense or gullible that he would just accept everything at face value, but when it came right down to it he didn't know Murasakibara and his mannerisms very well. The few times they'd encountered each other had, understandably, been in the context of the court, but people were different in some ways when they played than when were on their downtime. Apparently, off the court Kuroko got along with Murasakibara very well and it was only (as if it were a small factor) their gaming ethos were the point of contention.

But Teppei didn't have a history of attending Teiko to draw from, so as Atsushi's low whine made it through the vague haze encircling his head, Teppei blinked stupidly a few times.

"Carry you?"

A more rational Kiyoshi would have frowned, pushed a hand into his hair to scratch and offer a logical protest. Something about that not being a very good idea based on their size and weight difference. Not that it would have stopped him from smiling and trying to reach a compromise by offering a hand. That part at least was fairly in-keeping as he offered a hand to the massive fallen player on the floor.

"Come on, you have to help me to help you a bit."

The part of his rational brain that was slumbering somewhere at the back of his skull however made it difficult for him to measure basic things like height and weight and leverage. This was not going to end well.

[zoneout]

He'd grabbed this hand before. He remembered its bigness and the friendly, vulnerable face at the other end of this arm. He remembered a day on the court, a while back, when he was smaller.

An amiable, sleepy, stupid smile wedged up his face as he reached up to clasp Kiyoshi's hand. His shoulder tightened; slow but sure, he put his weight against it and dragged at Kiyoshi rather than trying to pull himself up. It happened without exertion. There was nothing but the lazy smile, the outstretched arm, and an unmovable weight sucking Kiyoshi downward like some extremely localized gravitational sinkhole.

He remembered losing.

[tesshin]

Was the world tilting on an angle suddenly, or was he...

Whatever the end of that thought was going to be didn't matter once ounce: the world's axis was not spontaneously shifting to drag him in a less-than-upright position at all.

"Ah."

The small noise of acknowledgement over the imbalance of weight and willingness spoke volumes as he tried to brace himself, first by planting his feet down more firmly, and then by hastily moving his free hand so his palm hit the wall above Murasakibara's head.

What a picture this must be with him poised over the massive immovable form beneath him, it was surely ridiculous as Teppei let out an embarrassed chuckle. Maybe if his mind weren't so foggy he'd identify Atsushi's actions as what they were: punishment.

"Ahaha... Now, now, that's not helping at all! I'll fall at this rate."

[zoneout]

Murasakibara's big, calm head tilted upwards. A hank of his hair slid to one side, out from in front of his eyes. His smile widened. That friendly face, with its regular, even, healthy features... annoying.

Behind them, the waitress flitted between a pair of tables, staring, looking away, fretful, suddenly steeling herself to help, just as suddenly backing away. Out of all the huge boys who'd shown up tonight, these were the biggest. There was something bizarre about their proportions in the cozy little room. Like kids in a playhouse. Why couldn't they leave already?

Murasakibara saw her, peripherally, but it was part of the fun that she was watching and ticked. He reached up with his other hand and curled it around Kiyoshi's braced wrist.

"I'm tryyyy~ing." He complained, dragging Kiyoshi down with terrible strength.

[tesshin]

And there was the truth and the lie all wrapped up in one in Murasakibara's low whine to Kiyoshi: he was indeed trying, but not to stand up. It only occurred to Kiyoshi belatedly, as he felt the ball of his foot slide back behind him across the floor with smooth slowness, that Murasakibara's intention here--what he was trying to do--was drag Teppei down.

Perhaps that was what falling trees felt like as the rest of forest felt like it was becoming horizontal.

By the time he realised how misguided his attempt to pull Murasakibara up had been, his leg truly had slipped out from under him, sending Kiyoshi down on his knee (the right, fortunately, and not too hard at that--the wonders of tatami.) and his body of course fumbling down in turn.

Kiyoshi's free arm was instinctively circled in the air, fingers grasping and finding nothing solid to steady himself with until gravity dragged him down and forward, and with a graceless flail he felt his palm slam up against the wall behind Atsushi's head.

What a mess. He hadn't expected to end up in a position where it felt like a stray gust of wind through the izakaya door would be the simplest, smallest push needed to have him lose all balance entirely and end up a pile of limbs upon the floor. He also had not expected to be eye-to-eye with Murasakibara quite so soon. It was sort of sobering.

"... I'm not sure you were really trying at all."

[zoneout]

The lazy smile hitched even wider at this. Murasakibara didn't answer right away. He sniffed, though. When Kiyoshi spoke.

Then he poked his long nose closer to Kiyoshi's face and sniffed again.

"Kiyoshi had a lot to drink."

One huge hand slipped free of Kiyoshi's wrist. But the other was still entwined with Kiyoshi's, where it felt reasonable. Maybe Kiyoshi would try to escape. Maybe not. He wasn't in any kind of hurry to let go either way.

[tesshin]

He wasn't expecting Murasakibara to draw in so close to sniff in his general area, though if Kiyoshi were honest with himself a lot has happened this evening that he wasn't expecting. He took a moment or two to gather his thoughts and let his eyes refocus on Murasakibara's face, on the lazy, unreadable expression that he wasn't entirely sure at this point whether it really was the other boy's default look or a carefully maintained mask. It was a strange experience, caught in that awkward position with his face so close to the other boy's, but the statement he made was not untrue and Teppei couldn't deny it. Instead, he just gave a sheepish chuckle.

"I suppose I did... It's not very like me. I guess it's a special occasion."

With a short glance over his shoulder (as best he could manage from his position that might even impress a champion Twister player), Kiyoshi noticed the staff hovering with continued looks of concern before looking directly at Murasakibara again.

"Ahhh, come on. We're causing trouble now! I'm sure everyone is wanting to go get home already."

Now, if Kiyoshi were Murasakibara he was fairly sure that would not be the most persuasive or convincing request in the world. To appeal to someone, you have to offer them something they want.

"I'll buy you something from a 7-11 on the way back to where you're staying. My treat."

He was fairly sure he had cash on him to back up that offer...

[zoneout]

Up until the end the response was mutinous, smirking silence, but as soon as Kiyoshi offered himself upon the sacrificial combini altar, Murasakibara blinked.

"Ehhhhhhhhh?"

If Kiyoshi wanted to make an idiot of himself with a bribe like that...

"Suit yourself," He whined. His long legs unfolded beneath him, brushing Kiyoshi's. Without bothering to reseat his host, he surged up beneath Kiyoshi and got to his feet. If he knocked Kiyoshi over in the process it didn't matter much to him, though he did, once standing, lean over and offer a hand up. Rivalry is a passing dream; snacks are snacks, and for this trump card he was inclined to be civil, even if only for the moment.

The bill had (mercifully) been paid already. The hostess was as brusque as she thought she could get away with being about hustling the two boys out the door, which she then slid shut and locked immediately. It was cold. The street nearly empty. Murasakibara slung a thick, knitted lilac scarf around his neck indifferently and the wind blew through his open coat.

He glanced over at Kiyoshi. "Which way?"

[tesshin]

Of all the people at Seirin, Kiyoshi was the one who knew that sometimes sacrifices had to be made and if his wallet had to take a heavy hit then Kiyoshi was willing to let that happen. Of course if he were more sober he might have thought to preemptively present a reasonable price limit for this projected snack trip, however that thought failed to make it to a place in his brain where it would be suitably acknowledged.

Murasakibara's sudden ascent to his feet left Kiyoshi reeling a bit in the way that being in Murasakibara's presence sometimes did: he just wasn't used to the experience of someone standing up and their body seeming to never stop growing. He was sure he presented that experience to some people, probably Riko and Kuroko in particular, but the sensation was so rare for Kiyoshi that he almost exclusively associated it with Murasakibara. The unexpectedness of the movement, while catching him off-guard, didn't entirely topple him. He stumbled back, feet catching one another though his reflexes were still instinctively good enough that he managed to catch the out-stretched hand to steady himself.

Even his hands--

Best not to keep distracting himself with the awareness of Murasakibara's size compared to his own and instead focus on being very grateful to the staff for putting up with them. Except when Kiyoshi turned to do that, the door was already closing with a sharp snap!

"Well. It can't be helped," Kiyoshi muttered to himself, his words catching the coldness of the night and turning them to white mist on the air.

Murasakibara's question was a good one. The matches had been held in the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Shibuya, and Teppei was far more familiar with his own home area of Yanaka near Ueno park. Seeing as there were 7-11 stores most everywhere though he had a fairly good feeling that if he picked a direction they would hit one. Eventually.

"Ahmm... Which way, I wonder... Well," he pointed to the street to their left, smiling broadly "Let's try that way."

Then, an after thought hazily entered his brain. "Ah... Actually, that's backwards. Which direction is the hotel you're staying in?"

[zoneout]

He watched Kiyoshi pinwheel about in the darkness and thought about it with a bland, quiet interest. When it came to questions:

"Dunno," replied Murasakibara.

Actually he didn't know where he was staying. Hadn't paid attention to where they'd gotten off the subway, hadn't bothered to draw a bead on the area. He'd just follow where the rest of the team went. The white keycard in his pocket said merely "RM 122."

The quality of his "Dunno," was without tension, despair, fear, or curiosity. At the moment his interest was in chocolate. After chocolate, he would think about calling Himuro or something.

He set his considerable bulk in motion: to the right. There were 7-11 stores most everywhere. If he picked a direction they would hit one eventually. Over his shoulder he called, "I'll stay in Kii-chin's room." Just to be a pain in the ass.

[tesshin]

"... 'Kii-chan'?"

Yes, he ought to have been more focused on the fact that Murasakibara didn't seem to know where he was staying in the whole of Tokyo, but instead Kiyoshi was distracted by the strange prospect that Murasakibara might have just invited himself over to Teppei's place. He was rattling his brains trying to think who else "Kii-chin" could be. He's gotten most of the way through recalling Yosen's team members before deciding he's entirely too drunk for that and opted instead to point at himself stupidly.

"Do you mean... me?"

And even saying that aloud made Teppei feel a bit silly. Best to focus on other things.

"Ahah... I guess we'll worry about where we're sleeping later."

In a clearer state of mind, he would have picked up on the usage of "we" and not "you" in that sentence, but that point flew (like many other things) over his head as he quickened his pace to catch up with the taller boy.

He wasn't used to that: having to keep up with someone else. The overlooked aspect of being the tallest person on your team is one took advantage of leg span, though admittedly Kiyoshi would rather go at a steady, leisurely pace whenever possible.

The air really was crisp and cool with the sound of other (most likely of age) inebriated voices having a good time echoed off the buildings several blocks away as he walked beside Murasakibara in relative silence. How did he end up escourting this guy, his rival for intents and purposes, for late night snacks? He didn't have a whole lot of time (or brain clarity) to muse on that point, however, because low, after going a block or so the orange, green and red from one of the many 7-11 stores was shining out of the darkness like some mystical beacon. Under normal circumstances, Kiyoshi would never, ever think of 7-11 in those terms.