yANAGI IS OOC OK IM SORRY I JUST

thought i should update, have had this one done for a while lmao

Affection: 100%

You were feared among the male population at Rikkaidai. Well, the majority, at least. This included the basketball, baseball, volleyball, table tennis, kendo, karate, calligraphy and swimming club. You were the feared woman that took down men twice her size and full-grown adults. You were strong, stronger than all of the girls at Rikkaidai and twice as intelligent. Some people wondered if you were human.

The only club you had somehow failed to make fear you were the tennis team. Well, the regulars, at least. Kirihara thought you were as strong as Sanada (or maybe even stronger) and thus respected you. Yukimura admired your strength and seemed to like to tease you, and Sanada wondered if he should get his blood pressure checked whenever he was with you. You liked to push his buttons, whether by contradicting him or simply to tease him. Marui and Jackal stayed away from you, and Niou loved playing pranks on you, even though most of them failed (you always knew when he was up to something). Yagyuu and Yanagi... well you weren't quite sure what to think of them, but you were almost certain you could take them down.

That was only the first time you met them, however. So little time passed, but you found yourself fond of the tennis regulars. Kirihara might have been a little irritating, but you learned to tolerate his childishness and ignore him when he got fired up. Marui, Jackal, Yagyuu and Sanada you engaged in pleasant conversation (not that you'd stop pushing Sanada's buttons). Yukimura you were oddly protective of, glaring at the fan girls that came to watch them practice. And Yanagi... well...

You had never thought of yourself as calculating. You simply took what you observed and made conclusions, but Yanagi seemed to like it (or he looked impressed) whenever you noticed something that no one else might have. (You once yelled at Kirihara from the entrance of the tennis courts that his left foot was dragging during practice, causing the poor male to nearly fall over. Yukimura had looked amused and Sanada looked furious, yelling at Kirihara.)

Knowing that Yanagi liked girls who were calculating made yourself feel secure, but self-conscious. Knowing that Yanagi liked girls who were calculating made you wonder if you could like a boy who was calculating, and a week later after meeting him, you weren't sure if you should have been horrified or flustered when you figured out you had fallen for the tall brunette. You tried to hide your affection, but sometimes you'd fuss over him more than you should, and it would either end up in Niou teasing you, or your face turning bright red.

Sometimes Yanagi would watch you train, watch you fight, and you knew he was there as you took down adults and boys twice your size, knew he was taking notes as you fluidly and effortlessly took down a horde of opponents.

There were times, however, when you would get in trouble. You would be walking the streets when people—usually drunks or gangs—tired to scare you or pick a fight. You'd ignore them, but they always got on your nerves, and you'd have to take them down before they could touch you. Once, you were assaulted, and you had almost been too shocked to do anything, but you ended up beating the man to a pulp.

That was nearly a month ago, and you had been careful not to get assaulted again, and trained harder than ever. Today, you were had just finished training, so you used the gym showers to rinse yourself off before putting away the equipment you used. You had just finished when a voice alerted you to someone's presence. "Ah, Yanagi."

"Hello, [Last]."

You had shut and locked the door to the storage, and turned to find Yanagi standing right behind you. A small yelp parted your lips, and your hand flew up to clutch the cloth above your heart. "Yanagi! Don't do that!" The brunette tilted his head slightly.

"I apologize. I didn't think you would be so startled."

"I've been around you for approximately two months and three days. I won't get used to you popping up behind me so easily." You say, unable to stop the slightly smile tugging at your lips.

"I have something I must ask you. Let me be frank," Yanagi said, and you waited for him to ask. "Well, it's more of an observation than a question. I noticed you seem to grow more agitated around us. You're breathing is faster and you seem more conscious of your actions. And your pupils enlarge slightly. But I noticed they only enlarge when you're looking at me."

You froze. How had he noticed? You tried to hide it, but it was always the small things that gave you away. Turning your head, you avoided his gaze. "...I don't know what you're talking about."

"Really, now...?" Yanagi's voice trailed off. He seemed almost thoughtful. "Chances that you know what I mean, 95 percent."

"Is this all you had to ask?" You quickly interjected. "I need to get home."

"Not quite." A shadow fell over you, and you pressed yourself against the wall as Yanagi loomed over you, closer than he had been a moment ago. "I noticed that though the other students seem scared of you, you're rather gentle with the tennis team. You hold yourself back from fighting, whereas outside of school you don't have a problem with engaging in combat. I wonder why that is?"

Your hands came up to push him away, but he grasped your wrists gently but firmly. "Perhaps..." he said quietly, "you're beginning to realize your feelings? The only possible outcome I could come up with is that," he leaned down, and you bit the inside of your cheek as his breath ghosted over your ear, "you've fallen for a certain someone?" Your heart skipped a beat, and a cold wave of dread washed over you. Chances of him finding out were at 68 percent, but for him to figure it out so soon... Your eyebrows furrowed as he released your wrists, and you jumped as his hands rested on your shoulders, not quite holding you against the wall.

Yanagi wondered why you didn't fight back. He had seen you take down full-grown adults, but the way you were acting now puzzled him. You shivered and tried to steady your trembling as his hands brushed your skin and he barely pressed his lips against your neck. "You puzzle me." He whispered, causing you to jump slightly. "I've seen you fight, but right now, you're refusing to retaliate. I wonder why..." you bit your bottom lip. "Why are you holding back?" He asked, his hand resting on your hip.

You opened and closed your mouth, cheeks burning. There's a 48 percent chance he'll know even if I don't tell him, and an 89 percent chance he'll ask me why. But I don't know if there's a 50 percent chance he'll return my feelings or not. What should I do...?

"I..." you started, clenching your fists. Yanagi lightly presses his fingers under your chin, lifting your head. He saw your flushed cheeks and unsure gaze, the way you bit your lip. Looking away abruptly, you lightly pushed on his chest. "S-stop..." He grabbed your wrists, pulling them away.

"I know you're at least as strong as some on the tennis team, or stronger," he said, "So why. Why won't you fight back?"

Is he irritated? You thought, unable to look him in the eye.

"Perhaps you want this—" Yanagi didn't finish his sentence as you wrenched your wrists out of his grip, ducking down and kicking the back of his knee. You were so used to taking people down, you were running away seconds later, leaving Yanagi to steady himself on the wall.

You sprinted down the hall, cheeks and eyes burning. You were so embarrassed, running away. He would surely know now. Though there was always that chance he maybe wouldn't, he was Yanagi-Freaking-Renji, the data man of Rikkaidai. Vaguely you remembered you left your bag in the gym, and pausing to catch your breath, your hands trembled. He surely gets it, you thought. He knows why I didn't fight back. He knows why I ran away. He doesn't... you slumped against the wall, your heart beating painfully. He doesn't return my feelings at all.

The breath you left out was more of a suppressed sob.

When you were sure he had left, the sun was already beginning to set, and you had three unanswered texts, all from your mother. "Moshi moshi?" you heard her voice on the other end of the phone.

"I'm sorry, I was practicing and didn't notice." You said. It was the half-truth.

"You finally answered! I was getting worried, you know?" She scolded.

"I'm sorry, mom. I'm on my way now."

"Be safe!"

"Yeah."

Hanging up, you slipped your phone into your pants pocket and began to make your way to the gym. The air outside was cool, and you began to calm down as you walked. Much to your relief, no one was there, and you grabbed your belongings, slinging your bag over your shoulder. Taking a deep breath, you turned to leave.

...only to stop dead when you saw Yanagi standing a few feet behind you. He was so silent; you hadn't even heard his footsteps. "Chances you forgot your bag, 79 percent." He said.

"You always were observant." You said, avoiding looking at his face as you adjusted your bags.

"As are you." He comments. Walking silently, you passed him, breathing a quiet sigh of relief when he made no attempt to stop you. At the moment, all you wanted was to get away as soon as possible. "Why didn't you stop me?" Your hand that had been on the door froze, as did you. "Why didn't you stop me earlier, [Name]?" He asked, and the way your name rolled off his tongue caused you to shiver lightly.

You barely turned your head, not enough to look, but enough to know you were listening. "I..." Pausing, your hand slipped from the door, falling to your side. "I... I'm strong enough to take down adults," you said, swallowing, "but I'm not strong enough to push you away." Yanagi remained silent. "You know why, right? You know why I'm incapable of fighting back against you." This time, you turned to face him, eyes glittering with rising tears. "You always knew."

Turning, you opened the door slightly. "Yes. I did always know." You weren't sure if his words hurt or gave you hope. "Even if you tried to hide it, I knew."

"The 48 percent you would already know should have been at 83, huh?" You asked, voice joking but at the same time sad.

"More like 99 percent." Yanagi corrected.

"I like you." You said, surprising yourself. The words had flown from your mouth before you could stop them. "I like you, but you already knew that. You knew that."

"Why didn't you tell me?!" You yelled, turning to fully face him, teeth gritted. "Why didn't you tell me?! After the hours I spent calculating if you knew, after all the time I tried to hide, you always knew! Why didn't you tell me?!" You wanted to throw something, you wanted to break something, you wanted answers. "If you had rejected me from the beginning, it would have saved me so much trouble! I would have—" you stopped, placing your hand over your mouth and taking a minute to catch your breath. You were so angry. So hurt.

"What if I didn't want to reject you?"

Your eyes widened almost automatically. Your eyes darted to look at his face, but he was looking at the ground (or at least you think he was). "... what?" You breathed.

"What if I didn't want to reject you?" He repeated. "I thought about you more than I did any other person. I even asked Sadaharu, but he was only able to come up with one answer. At first I thought he had miscalculated. But the more time you were with us, I began to realize it little by little." When he began to walk towards you, you made no move to stop him, but your eyes were wide with shock and your mouth was open slightly. He stopped in front of you, and this time, you knew he was watching you carefully. "The answer Sadaharu came up with... the solution to my heart palpitations and nervous state..."

He cupped your cheek with one hand, lifting your face slightly. Silently, slowly, he bent down, stopping centimeters from your lips. Your eyes closed as he finally pressed his mouth to yours in a light kiss. It was barely a kiss, but it still made your heart flutter and your cheeks explode in color.

"...was affection." Yanagi whispered once he lent back. "More than affection, it was love, but I didn't believe him for a bit."

"Three months..." you breathed, hands clenching and unclenching nervously. "It took you three months for you to fall in love, but it took me a week."

"Yes." He said. Sighing, your head fell lightly against his chest, and you felt him wrap his arms gently around you. He seemed to be careful, like you would break at any moment. Smirking slightly, you looked up at him.

"I'm not fragile, Yanagi."

Leaning down, you could have sworn you saw him smirk.

"I know."

When he kissed you again, he wasn't gentle, but he wasn't aggressive. He merely demanded, roughly dominating your taste and breath, and you let him, curling your hands around his shirt and pressing as close to him as you could. His fingers ran through your hair and an arm curled around your waist.

The two of you only pulled away for air, and your cheeks were flushed as you breathed heavily. Yanagi seemed to be much more composed, but his skin was hot to the touch, and you lightly danced your fingers up to his neck, where you felt the tiniest shiver run through him.

"Affection level: 100 percent." You whispered.

"Affirmative." Yanagi smiled slightly.

"Hey, Yanagi..." you said. He looked down at you, waiting. "Can I... call your name?"

"I don't see why not." He replied.

Swallowing, your heart thudded in your chest. "R-Re... Renji..." His name was nothing more than a breathy whisper, but it seemed to please him as he leaned down to lightly touch the tip of his nose to yours.

"[Name]." The way he said it sent shivers up your spine. Smiling, you nuzzled into his chest. "[Name]."

Extended Ending

"So, how are we gonna tell the others?"

"There's a 99 percent chance they know already."

"As will everyone else. News spreads fast around here. Quite infuriating."

"We can keep it a secret if you'd like."

"Hmm... no. I like to see everyone's expressions. It always adds up to the most interesting data."

"I couldn't agree more."