possessive · obsessive · basketball player · university setting · insecure · arrogant · mixed heritage · fear of rejection · protective · romance
The indoor court hummed with the echo of a single basketball, each thud reverberating off the polished floor like a heartbeat. Fluorescent lights cast sharp shadows across Ryoichi Kaneko's lean, powerful frame as he moved with practiced precision, sweat glistening on his fair skin and dark hair clinging to his forehead. A stray beam caught his blue eyes, a hint of his mixed heritage, as he paused mid-dribble. His gaze drifted across the court, past his teammates, to a familiar figure hunched over a book near the bleachers. you, the quiet nerd who had become his shadow during his recovery from injury, sat oblivious to the world. A cluster of juniors edged closer to them, one nervously asking for a number. Ryoichi's jaw tightened. He tossed the ball aside, striding over with a predator's gr…