meligumii

[meligumii]

LETHAL CRAVING

Shikaba x OC

ACT I CHAPTER 3 | PROPERTY, NOT PEOPLE

Abt. A watch, a mirror, in the elevator. Who knew that simple day would change her life for good. For Tsugumi, she would've never expected her life to take a turn. But is it for better or worse?

Chapter Synop. Shikaba’s confusion actions, Ankoku’s predictable ones, and Genjiro’s wrath turned fear. It was clear now that Tsugumi’s prayers of a peaceful life would be anything but answered

cw. DARK CONTENT. dark romance. physical assault. physical abuse. verbal abuse. stabbing. blood. drinking. dubcon. kissing. fingering (f. receiving). exhibitionism. slight mentions of bullying. slight mentions of death. manipulation. asphyxiation.

wc. 12.2k

r.18

[chapter 2] [chapter 4]

Tsugumi was escorted into the front door by the security guards, the soreness in her feet finally getting to her after all these ours. The whole way home she couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss.

It was a few hours ago, but she could still feel the ghost of his lips that were pressed against hers. The way his tongue slipped into her mouth, wrapping around her own and tasting every part of her mouth. It was like he consumed her. It was…

Exhilarating.

But… why? Why would he kiss her? ‘Is he flirting with me?’ It was more forward than flirting, but the question of ‘why’ remains. ‘My hair is normal… it’s just brown… maybe it’s my body…’ She glanced down at herself.

She was aware of her figure being attractive to men since middle school. A few boys and plenty of older men always catcalled and flirted with her— with their eyes never meeting her gaze. They always seemed to be trailing down.

At this point, she’d already slept with two people, both of whom perused her first, always praising her body and face. She had no doubt that she was a pretty girl.

The vision of his eerie smirk returned to her mind, and Tsugumi gasped softly.

“Maybe he’s playing me…” She mumbled. She does still owe him. Perhaps she was trying to manipulate her into falling for him, and then he’d begin to break her down little by little.

She’d seen something like that in a movie before.

It might be a punishment for stealing his watch. It was his grandfathers. The way he commands others, even those whose physical stature’s were more impressive than his own. He must be powerful.

He could likely do something very bad to her, without anyone knowing exactly what happened. She shuddered at the thought. “Miss Tsugumi?” Her head snapped up, realizing she’d been standing in the yard.

Her guards stared at her in confusion, and she only stared at the ground, rushing inside the house. She first removed her heels, exhaling loudly at the relief of tension from the soles of her feet.

She peeked her head further in her home, wondering what the commotion was about. There were guards zooming through the home, barely even acknowledging her return. As she took the first few steps, she still stood on her toes.

“Oh, Miss Tsugumi” A guard finally spoke to her. “Mr Kawasaki has asked that you go to his office once you return” He told her. She nodded, a chill taking over her body as she stepped toward the door.

‘Does he already know about what happened?’ There was no other reason to call for her as soon as she returned. At least, not one that she knew of. She hesitated to knock on the door, entering once she heard his voice softly from beyond it.

She nervously peeked her head into the office. At least he didn’t look upset. She sighed again, walking inside, softly closing the door behind herself. “You called me?” Genjiro nodded. “How was it?” He signed something and placed his pen down, giving her his full, undivided attention.

Tsugumi wriggled her toes on the carpet. “…It was alright” She shrugged, her index and middle fingers linked behind her back. There was a clear tension, exaggerated by the silence that followed her answer.

“…Do you like him?” He asked, and another silence followed. “I don’t know him well enough… so… I don’t know…” She said. “Right… right, right…” He nodded, picking up his pen. “Go get some rest… you must be tired…” He told her.

“Oh… Okay…” She quickly turned, excusing herself— though making sure not to slam the door. ‘Maybe he doesn’t know…’ Tsugumi felt a bit more relief, making her way up the steps, finally able to rest.

Or so she thought. Once she got to the top step, Ankoku exited his room, slamming the door behind him. Her body instinctively froze up, as he ran toward her. She winced as he neared her, but to her surprise, he barely brushed past her on the way down the steps.

She flinched again after the door slammed behind him on his way out, and her gaze lingered in that direction. He didn’t even look her way, it was like she was invisible. It felt nice, yes, but strangely unfamiliar, and uncomfortable.

She quickly shook off that nagging sense of unease, finding relief in there being one thing off her plate, even if only for a short time. She has plenty to stress about, namely the kiss that keeps popping in and out of her mind.

It was soft— his lips were soft. But as the short amount of time went on, it became more intense. So intoxicating, so wonderful that she almost found herself chasing after his lips once it ended, only to be embarrassed by his grinning face.

She didn’t want it to end, and the look on his face told her that he knew that too. “It was a great kiss” She mumbled. At that admission, a mix of guilt and anxiety swirled in her gut. All of a sudden, she felt sick. She felt like… she shouldn’t have done that.

It was wrong. How could she kiss him? How could she kiss someone else? How could she, when she has Ankoku. Tsugumi scoffed at the disgusting thought that popped in her mind. What about Ankoku? ‘I can kiss other guys.. Ankoku doesn’t matter… he’s the one in the wrong…’ She told herself.

She nodded, as if to continue to reassure herself that Ankoku was wrong. Though, no matter if she repeated it over and over for the rest of her life, she still knew she couldn’t entirely blame him. Because every time, she went along with it. She never said no to him.

She’s just as bad, if not worse. Here she was, judging his obscenity, while attempting to wash her hands of the same sin. Yes, she couldn’t deny it for long— she was also disgusting. With a deflated posture, Tsugumi dragged her feet the rest of the way to her room.

She closed the door softly behind herself, going straight for her closer. She sifted through hangers, the fabrics that grazed her sides, although fleeting, were enough to once again bring the kiss back to the front of her mind.

His hands, when grasping at her side, were this gentle, maybe even more so. She shivered slightly, tightly grasping a fluffy gray robe, pulling it from its hanger. As tired as she was, she decided to take a shower in the morning.

The robe required the least amount of work to put on, so it was the best choice for her. In stripping herself of the clothes from her body, shivers spread across the expanse of her skin once her long hair softly swept across it.

Once she changed, Tsugumi tossed her clothes haphazardly into the hamper in the corner of her room, kneeling beside her bed and sliding the box out. All these thoughts of Shikaba inevitably reminded her of the watch she’d taken.

She opened the box, placing it softly atop her comforter. “It’s expensive… and not only that, it’s from his grandfather…” She mumbled, leaning her head to the side. She softly tapped her finger against the glass of the watch.

The more she looked at it, the worse she felt about it. “I’ll return it next time I see him” She nodded to herself, and pushed the box back underneath her bed. She lazily pushed herself up onto her bed, picking up her phone to call him.

It didn’t even ring, going straight to his obnoxiously peppy voicemail before she could even place the phone against her ear. She wondered if he was very busy. After meeting her in public, and the scene he made in the restaurant, he seemed to have plenty of free time.

If he was busy, he shouldn’t have even stopped at Majesty. Not that she was upset about it, as it did save her possible hours of Hyouga’s unwarranted complaints. At that moment, she couldn’t help but wonder, what did he stop there for?

He didn’t actually say anything important, maybe… he stopped just to see her. And the kiss… Feeling her fingers graze her lips made her flinch. She hadn’t even realize she lifted her arms, furrowing her brows at the thought. It’s embarsssing, really.

How could a single kiss affect her so much?

Shikaba sat before his adoptive father— Kongo Yotsurugi. He was a bulky man, his stature commanding great respect and fear from all. He, as usual, wore a karate uniform, and a dark colored happi, with no shoes.

His hair was cut short, and his beard was wild and scruffy, connected to his mustache— the color faded white due to old age. There was a defining scar down his his right eye, and his expression was serious.

Around the room, men in suits stood straight against the walls, with hands behind their backs. Their eyes were covered by sunglasses, pointed to the ceiling. Although they couldn’t be seen, they were all afraid to look at either one.

“How is it going?” Kongo spoke, after the first few moments since Shikaba had entered. “Did the room service addition bring the results you expected?” His gaze seemed to bore holes through his skin.

Despite this, Shikaba retained his carefree attitude, obvious in his grin, and slouched posture. “Yeah, pretty much” He shrugged. “Because of it, customers stay all day long, play longer, and give me more money” He joked.

“I’m aware” Kongo nodded, dissatisfied with the answer. Shikaba also knew he was looking to hear about something else. “I’m also aware of the rumors of certain incidents happening in the upper floors. Fix it” He orders.

“I got it~” His grin didn’t fade, much to Kongo’s dismay. He abhorred the young man’s carefree demeanor, especially when it came to important business ventures like this one. “Tsk…” He shook his head, leaning his cheek against his thick closed fist.

“And what about Kawasaki Genjiro? I hear his son and wife also have been wrapped up in this” He said. “Oh, yeah. That’s true. I gave em some more time” Kongo’s expression darkened with anger, or more of frustration.

He clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth and glaring at Shikaba, whose smile didn’t drop, not even for an instant. “Scary~” He even decided to chuckle. If they hadn’t been working for the family as long as they have, the men would be shocked.

“It’s not like I’m letting ‘em off the hook. We’ll end up with way more than they borrowed. I just wanted to play around a little~” He assured him. Kongo sighed, nose flaring wide, and he breathed deeply a few times to calm himself.

“That kind of attitude will be your detriment” He warned. “You worry too much. If you ask me, you should loosen up a little” He laughed again. “You’re dismissed” Kongo couldn’t take any more of this. Shikaba bowed, gladly exiting, even whistling as he walked.

He closed the door softly behind him, his perpetually stuck smile immediately dropped, as he let out a quiet sigh. He then felt his hand twitch, habitually reached into his empty pocket. His cigarettes weren’t there.

He’d only quit— tried to quit a few months ago, but meeting with Kongo, or l handling dirty work for the family always seemed to bring back the poisonous craving. The only thing that’d sate the annoying desire was the nicotine itself.

“Someone get me a cig” He ordered, a group of men crowding around him now. Along with his cane, he was immediately given one, not having to waste a second to light it, as soon as he put it between his lips someone sparked it up.

He took a long drag, blowing the smoke slowly, while pulling his phone from the inner pocket of the suit jacket that loosely hung from his shoulders. In turning it back on, his eyes widened, his smirk returning once he saw a missed call.

Missed Call Tsugumi

Now, he too, would be plagued with the of the kiss they shared a few hours earlier. Though the experience to him was fleeting— meaningless, he did like the desperation in her face, knowing she wanted it to go on.

In that moment, dozens of ideas on how to mess with her popped in his head. “Yeah…” He mumbled to himself, walking towards the exit. “She’s definitely my favorite” He stopped after only a few paces, turning behind himself.

“Yo” He pointed his cane at one of the men. “What’s she doin’ now?” He asked. “Uh… by ‘she’ do you mean…?” Shikaba only stared up at him. The man nodded, correctly assuming he was referring to Tsugumi.

Luckily, they thought ahead and have the answer. “From the report, she simply stayed home since earlier, and hasn’t left. She’s likely asleep now” He explained. Shikaba frowned now, tilting his head slightly. “Really…” He mumbled.

‘Should I give another surprise visit?’ He shook his head as soon as he thought of it. Despite his boredom, he knew he had plenty of time from now on. At that thought, he smiled again.

“She’s a lucky girl~ I’ve got so many surprises for her~”

A trip to the mall was as therapeutic as things could get for Tsugumi. Getting an actual professional to talk to? For what? There’s nothing wrong with her anyways. It’d just be a waste of Genjiro’s money.

So, here she sat, on a circular bench in the malls floor courtyard, dressed cutely yet simply— a black fitted t-shirt, a black pleated mini skirt, and dark stocking. Over the stockings, she wore white puffy leg warmers, tucked into her black and white Geobaskets.

Her black Dionysus mini bag was slung across her body, the gold chain dazzling in the artificial mall light. Beside her was a plethora of shopping bags from various places, some sat on the floor as well. In her hand was a strawberry bubble tea, with extra tapioca pearls.

She’d already been to her favorite stores, simply taking a short break. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to leave already, or look around some more— maybe in a store she’d never been to. She took another sip, happily munching on the chewy pearls.

‘Maybe I should get some more sneakers…’ She thought, sighing and bringing the cup down to her lap. The feeling of something soft tickling the side of her face made her cringe. “That’s a lot of bags. You love shopping, huh?” She almost jumped out her skin once he spoke, warm breath tickling her ear.

She slid her body across the bench, touching her ear, and breathing heavily. Her eyes were blown wide as she stared at Shikaba’s grinning face. He lifted his hand to wiggle his fingers at her. “Hey there~” Her heart beat rapidly in her chest. “Get away from Miss Tsugumi…!!” Her guards closed in on them.

“Wow~ Scary~” Shikaba chuckled, aggravating the group. “Stop” She lifted a hand, shaking off her nerves. They all shared confused glances— even Shikaba was surprised. “You heard the boss lady” He began taunting them, shooing at them with his hand.

He walked closer to her, leaning against the bench. This time, she didn’t move away, though that might’ve been due to the fact that there wasn’t any more space. The guards felt like their hands were tied, and decided to stay as close as they were, in case anything serious happened.

They judged that Tsugumi didn’t seem scared, so maybe they were friends. They all heard about the time at the cafe, so that also helped to calm the it nerves. “I’m glad you’re here, actually” She told him. Shikaba tapped his fingers against the bench softly.

“Really? D’ya miss me?” He hummed, leaning closer, his smile seeming more eerie as he did. “Did I leave you wanting more?” He teased, softly blowing down the side of her throat. Tsugumi shivered, and then again at the memory of his hands on her body.

“…No… That’s not it…” She ignored her body’s tremors, reaching into her purse. She pulled out a box, and Shikaba blinked in surprise. “Oh, you got me a present? I’m flattered” He chuckled. Tsugumi chuckled as she opened it.

Shikaba’s smile dropped as he saw the watch— his so-called precious grandfathers watch. “Oh, this thing…” He hummed, looking down boredly. “Now I don’t owe you” She said confidently. Shikaba hummed, taking the box from her.

“Y’know…” He stared at it closely, as if to inspect every detail, his brows furrowing with discernment. What? Did he think she messed with it or something? “Sometimes, I think you’re smart… and other times—” He closed the box, haphazardly tossing it behind himself.

“—not so much”

“Huh?”

She flinched as he reached for her, grabbing her arm and pulling her closer. Close enough to repeat last night. The men all taking half a step forward, wondering whether they should step in now. “The watch was…” He took a moment to think.

“It was just the pretense for this little game that I decided to play…” He shrugged. “A game…” Tsugumi breathily repeated, her gaze trembling as she looked into his one open eye. “Oh~ Are you sad? You look confused, poor thing~” He leaned against her, his lips grazing her ears, tempted to nip at them.

“Did you think I’d leave you alone now that you’ve given me back my watch? Let me tell you something…” Tsugumi cringed at his next words. “When you steal from people like me, we always take interest” He leaned back now.

It seemed like she was more confused than scared, as he thought she would be. “Plus, some things came up… so now—” He lifted a chunk of her hair, toying with the soft coils. It felt nice, she must use a good conditioner. He could smell the coconut scent wafting to his nose.

“—I couldn’t leave you alone if I wanted to” He dropped her hair, hands moving to caress her cheek. She flinched at first, but soon eased into his touch. “But that’s great, right?” He asked, moving his hand to stroke her jaw.

“We can play together for as loooong—” Tsugumi froze, feeling his hand slide down her body without restraint, from her neck, lingering on her chest, and stopping where her skirt did on her lap, tapping against the softness of her thighs.

“As. I. Want” He tapped his index, middle, and ring finger with each word. She shivered again at his touch that just barely grazed her skin, leading back up and stopping at her hips. She felt a dip in her lower stomach, muffling a soft moan.

In feeling Shikaba’s thumb slip under the band of her skirt, her hand shot down to grab his. He didn’t resist at her attempt to stop him, but merely kept his fingers where they were. He watched, noticing her eyes looking around the mall floor.

“Tsk… crowded places are annoying, I guess…” He mumbled, pulling his hand back. He then took her other hand with his, pulling her softly to her feet. He walked her from the benches, so they now stood beside each other.

“Listen…” He began, pulling an arm around her shoulder, nudging her close to his body. “It wasn’t a good idea to send away your security. I’m a dangerous man” He teased. “They… wouldn’t help anyways” She shrugged.

“What?” Shikaba blinked. “As an employer, you should have more faith in your men” He scolded. Tsugumi rolled her eyes. “They’re not my men—” She said. “—and they’re bad at their job. Because you got this close to me without them stepping in” She explained.

She could be dead right now if he had any ill intent toward her. “Yeah… good point” He nodded. “I should tell your dad to hire new ones… tsk tsk~ disappointing~” He hummed. ‘Can he even tell Genjiro what to do?’ She scoffed.

If he wanted her to avoid him, there’s no way they’d be close enough for him to advise Genjiro about his employers. ‘I’d probably get in trouble if he ended up saying something about that…’ She could almost hear his voice.

“This way~ This way~” He sang happily, walking her toward the crowded entrance of the mall— their ‘companions’ following behind them. As they got closer, Tsugumi could see a few black cars parked on the side of the street, and a few men dressed darkly standing outside of it.

“Tsk…” Shikaba turned his head, glancing at his men while signaling something. Once they noticed it, they all closed in on them, blocking out even Tsugumi’s guard team. “Listen…” He whispered, making her flinch.

His tone was soft, yet demanding. “Just do whatever I tell you to and don’t ask any questions. Or else you’ll get hurt real bad…” He warned. She swallowed, nodding her head quickly. “We’re gonna walk toward that car over there…” He pointed.

“Once we get through, my guys’ll have a straight path forward. So when I tell you, run” He said. Tsugumi opened her mouth to say ‘what’ but decided against it. Whether his threat was to be carried out by himself or not, she didn’t want to get hurt.

He could see the confusion plaguing her face, so he hugged his arm around her throat. “Just trust me. I’m a reliable guy” He smirked. She doubted that. She felt she couldn’t trust him at all. But, at this point she didn’t want to argue with him.

They pushed through the noisy crowd, her security’s voices fading from her attention. Her quickening heartbeat was the loudest thing in her ears at the moment, and she ignored almost everything else, until he finally said it.

“Go”

With a soft nudge from Shikaba, Tsugumi rushed through the rest of the crowd, into the path laid out by suited men along each side of her. She made a B-line toward the open car door, just as he said. She glanced back once before being shoved in the back seat.

She couldn’t see very clearly due to the people running around, as a few of them screamed. She could barely see anything— but she did take notice of Shikaba’s unusually painstaking expression, gritting his teeth.

Although he kept up his smile, there was a clear struggle— between him and a hooded man of whose face she could not see. “H-hey, wait…!” She gasped, her body pushed back by the sudden speed at which the car took off at.

She quickly leaned back up, pressing her body against the door, trying to get any last glimpses at the situation at the mall entrance. She could see people running around in panic, the sight blurring as the car continued to speed away.

Her head snapped to her right, noticing there was one man in front of her, in the drivers seat, and another in the passenger. “What… What about him…?” She asked softly. Obviously they worked under him, so she couldn’t understand why they’d take her and leave him behind.

If she wasn’t so confused, and worried about Shikaba, she’d be concerned about them getting pulled over for illegal speeding. Then, the sound of a new exhaust pipe filled her ears. Tsugumi turned, another black car followed them, just as fast.

Because of the tints, she couldn’t see inside of the car. “Is that…?” The man in the passenger seat sat. Tsugumi whipped her head back to face them, paying attention to their conversation. “Yeah… They’re right behind us…” The driver nodded.

“Huh…?” Tsugumi glanced back and forth between the two men. She only grew more confused and scared as the car continued to follow at a similar pace, hitting every corner, every street, and every stop.

Her heart rate and breaths quickened. Her whole body felt like pins and needles. She bit her thumb nail, and a painful lump formed in her throat, while her eyes burned red, tears filling them up, though she blinked them away.

What’s happening? What were they being chased for? Is it for money? What happened to Shikaba? Was this a trap? What will happen to them— to her? As questions piled up on her mind she couldn’t help but wished she would’ve stayed home.

She wished she never picked up that watch, she wish she never went to luxe that day. But because of her idiotic actions, here she sat, in the back of a strangers car, being chased by someone who might kill her if they caught up. The car soon slowed, snapping her out of her panicked trance.

She looked up, the car now pulling into some creepy back alley. “What…?” She mumbled, gasping as headlights from behind reflected in the rear view mirror, blinding her for a short moment as she squinted.

She turned, noticing the car that’d been following them, pulling up behind them. “Wh… Why’d you stop…?” Again, they ignored her. Behind her, the car door slammed. Her heart beat violently against her chest, hearing the slow footsteps nearing the car.

The door opened, and she squealed, looking hopefully toward the men who didn’t even glance back at her. She slowly scooched back away, keeping her eyes forward, wondering what they’d do, but still, they sat still.

Oh…

She’s not their boss… they don’t work with or for her, so why would they help her in a situation like this. It was a dead end, and they had no reason to continue to struggle… They should give her up. Maybe… she was just a decoy for Shikaba to get away.

She barely resisted as the man gently pulled her from the car. To her surprise, he wasn’t rough with her. But that seemed to be the only silver lining of the situation. She followed, noticing the other men that stood outside the second car.

There was no way she could get away from all of them. And she doubted she could even get passed the man in front of her. She held in a huge breath as one of them opened the back door of the second car. She was softly nudged inside, looking back with pleading eyes.

She caught herself on the seats, after one big push. “Phew…” She flinched at the sound of someone breathing out, the stench of cigarettes and a strong metallic aroma burned in her nostrils. The person then chuckled.

Hearing the familiarity of the voice, Tsugumi snapped her head up, and there he was. Shikaba, forcing himself to grin at her. She felt a prickle roll over her skin. “Hey~” He smiled, ashing the cigarette on the car door.

“Sorry ‘bout that” He looked over at her crawling form— both hands and one knee pressed into the vinyl car seats. “Were ya scared?” He joked. Tsugumi’s eyes stung as tears fell. She quickly wiped them away, looking up and down his body.

She felt no relief in what she saw, only a different type of fear soothing over the last. She now noticed the blood seeping through the cloth he held at his bare side. She slowly reached for it, her finger grazing his torso, just above the slightly visible cut, but it was enough to make him flinch.

Tsugumi flinched herself, quickly yanking her hand back, looking at the tiny bits of blood staining her fingers. “It must hurt badly…” She frowned. She didn’t mean to say that out loud. ‘So was he… stabbed…?’ She didn’t hear any gun shots.

So, then was he prepared, since he told her to get to the car? Then she felt a wave of guilt wash over her. That must’ve meant she was in the getaway car, and here she was assuming he was using her as a decoy when he was actually helping her.

Her stomach churned, she felt sick. Maybe it was the thickness of mixing smells— the blood and smoke that permeated her nostrils, making her nose twitch. Or maybe it was the realization that he was hurt, and it was her fault.

Shikaba stared at her quietly, inspecting the tremble of her lower lip. ‘I thought she’d be more shaken up, but she isn’t even scared of the wound, or the blood…’ He thought, smirking. He sighed loudly, catching her attention.

She clenched her fist, laying it flat on the seats. “Yeah~ It hurts sooo bad~” He whined dramatically, pressing the cloth closer to his side. He reached his other hand to grab hers arm, pulling her toward him to where their foreheads touched.

He locked eyes with her. Tsugumi blinked at him, not knowing whether to feel embarrassed by their closeness, or shocked by his strength despite the wound on his torso. In feeling his warm breath against her skin, she was reminded of that kiss she’d like to forget.

“W…” She paused, breathing softly in attempt to calm her loud beating heart which she could swear he could hear by how close they were, close enough to repeat the incident.

“Were they trying to rob you…?” She pushed away those thoughts, eying his wound again. The towel had slightly fallen, revealing the cut. It looked ghastly, covered in blood that continued to leak from his body.

Although he seemed unbothered by it, she hear his choppy breaths that he tried to hide. He laughed at her, thought it came out as more of a breathy groan. “Rob? Who do you think I am” He scoffed playfully.

“…I-I… don’t know who you are…” She looked away from the cut, looking down at the black seats beneath them. “I figured you come from a rich family.. so they… tried to get money off you…” She spoke quieter with every word.

Shikaba laughed again, his head falling down to her shoulders. Whether from pain or how truly funny he found her words to be, she didn’t know. ‘She’s kinda innocent…’ He shook his head softly, slightly nuzzling into the curve of her neck.

“You’re adorable” He chuckled. “What…?” Tsugumi tilted her head in confusion. He turned his head to the side, eyes meeting the drivers through the rear view mirror. He nodded, starting the car up.

Tsugumi hadn’t even noticed the door behind her was closed until now. “It really hurts, Tsugumi~” He whined into her skin. That may have been the first time he used her name. “…It…” She took a deep breath.

“It’s okay…” She pet his head gently, ruffling her hands through his soft fringe. “We’re going to the hospital now, right…? So… it’s okay…” She awkwardly pat his head, as she shifted to sit down.

Tsugumi was had become a victim of physical abuse plenty of times, and there wasn’t anyone there to comfort her, so she was at a loss for what to do or say. In her case, she’d always let herself pass out, and hope that when she woke up she wouldn’t be in pain anymore.

Of course, most of the time she felt worse when she woke up— but she figured a nap would do him good. “Just relax…” She whispered, continuing to run her hands through his hair, it soothing herself more than him.

He hummed, breathing in the scent of her conditioner, along with her perfume.

It was sweet and gentle.

‘She’s not scared anymore…? I thought she’d be a mess, especially since I’m bleeding all over the place. She seems more used to it than anything…’ He sighed, pulling his phone from his pocket, making sure to block it from her view.

Shikaba Dig up all medical reports on her from birth to now

He pressed the power button, sighing deeply. His breath tickled her skin, making her shiver. “What’s the matter? Cold?” He asked. “No… I’m not…” She shook her head. “Really?” He rasped, grasping her side, making her squeal.

“That’s too bad, cause I got a reeeeaaal good way to warm ya up” He pressed his thumb into her stomach, placing soft kisses against her collar and shoulder. Tsugumi grabbed his shoulders, barely able to say stop through her gasps and squeals.

“You’re injured… S-so… we can’t…” At her words he paused. Tsugumi was surprised, and a little disappointed that he did stopped. He leaned back, looking at her with a wide grin on his face, that she noticed was slightly paler than normal.

“So we can fuck when I’m not injured” He chuckled. Tsugumi’s eyes widened as heat plagued her face. That’s not what she meant… but she couldn’t bring herself to correct him.

“From now on, everything’s gonna turn out good for us!”

Ankoku raised his shot— his fifth shot— higher. Momiji awkwardly laughed along with him, unable to shake the dread gnawing at the back of his mind. “But… an extension…? Why would he do that…?” He finally spoke his mind.

“Especially if we know now that your parents owe him too… it seems like a losing deal for him” He mumbled. “That is weird…” Ankoku nodded. “But at least we’ve got more time to fix things” He shrugged.

“Yeah… Yeah, I guess you’re right” Momiji agreed, tapping the outside of his red solo cup. He’d only taken one shot so far, his nerves stopping him from letting loose. “Then, I’ll take on even more shifts at the store” He told him.

Ankoku scoffed, pouring more into his cup “Yeah… that could work” He shrugged, downing another shot— gulping it down quickly. He didn’t even feel the burn anymore. “But who says that’ll be the end of it?” He asked.

Momiji stared at him with wide, confusion filled eyes. “Like you said, it’s weird he’d give us extra time out of no where— with no catch” He shook his head. “And I’m not dumb enough to believe we’ve gotten some lucky break all of a sudden” He pointed a finger at him.

“That guy’s up to something…”

It was quiet for a bit. “So…?” Momiji asked, wondering if Ankoku had a bigger point to make. “SOOOO..!!” He shouted, rolling his eyes sarcastically. “We’ve gotta get rid of him” He grinned wildly, startling Momiji.

“Get… rid of him…?” He asked in disbelief. He was sure he wasn’t a lightweight, but maybe he was drunk enough to be hearing things right now. “Yeah” Ankoku shrugged, as if what he said wasn’t one of the craziest ideas he’d ever come up with.

“What..?!” Momiji blinked, dropping the slightly full cup from his hands. “H-how are we even supposed to do that?!” He shouted. “The only person crazy enough to do that was the man himself!” He reminded him of Ankoku’s last idea failing.

All because The Yokohama Immortal and Shikaba Yotsurugi happened to be the same person. “Listen…” Ankoku glanced around Momiji’s empty room, leaning in closely.

“I’ve got a guy…” He thought the news would be bigger, hence the reason he leaned in so close despite no one even being in the room. “Since when?” He asked. “Since a while back…” He shrugged.

“I didn’t ask him before since he’s kinda tied down with some other business…” He looked away, now leaning back away from him. “I’ll have to pull some strings to get him here, though…” Momiji just assumed Ankoku was talking to himself now.

“I’ll give him plenty as insurance… plus, I’ve got the thing he wants most…” He assured him with a smile— a smile he forced. ‘I don’t feel too comfortable with giving it up… I don’t actually have to keep the promise though… Plus he’ll owe me for getting him out…’ He nodded to himself.

“Heh~ Yeah~ This’ll solve everything~” He chuckled. “Anko…” Momiji’s brows furrowed, as he frowned at his best friend. Ever since he came back from the states during their second year of junior high, Ankoku had become a completely different person.

Obviously one would change after such a long time, but the change in Ankoku was drastic. Ankoku looked up at him, noticing his sour expression. It didn’t match his image of Momiji. The peppy, smiley Momiji he knew.

And he didn’t like it.

“Don’t make that face, Momiji” He told him. “You trust me, don’t you?” He asked, frowning now himself. Momiji flinched, forcing himself to nod and smile. “…Yeah…” He swallowed, knowing Ankoku liked Verbal responses.

“Good. Don’t worry so much, and let’s just get drunk”

“Hm… Okay…”

The emergency room trip wasn’t long. They were out almost as soon as they went in, now on their way back to the car. Again, they were walking through some strange back alley, they’d went through it to get to the emergency room, she assumed, to avoid another attack.

The walk was silent, and Tsugumi was lost in her thoughts. She calmed down since earlier, enough to think about the consequences of being with him now. She may not get into trouble, but since Genjiro clearly doesn’t want her involved with Shikaba, she may be restricted from going out for a bit.

She sighed, frowning, paying no mind to Shikaba who, on the contrary, gave her his undivided attention. He walked a little faster, leaning down to meet her gaze. She stopped in her tracks now coming face to face with him.

She took a few quick steps back, breathing from the sudden shock. “Aww~ Y’scared~ Cute~” He teased. “…No…” She shook her head. “I was just… thinking that you’re lucky… since you don’t need stitches…” She gulped.

The doctor had told them the cut was shallow, and the amount of blood must’ve scared them. Shikaba would be fine with some bandaging and rest. He’d have to change the bandages once, if not twice a day, and to not get any soap in the wound.

She gave him some pain medication, and ointment to help with inflammation. She was very clear that he wasn’t to exert himself for the next two to three weeks, or it can worsen and may actually need the stitches.

Neither of them missed the way she glanced sternly between them. Shikaba went as far as to joke, complaining about how long he had to wait for sex, making the whole situation embarrassing for Tsugumi.

Just thinking about it made her want to cave into her own skin and never come out again.

“Um… I’ll call my security team… so… you don’t have to take me home again…” She said, pulling her phone from out of her bag. “…Goodbye… and I hope you get better…” She began to walk off, gasping as he grabbed her wrist, and yanked her back toward him.

“That’s weird…” He mumbled, pushing her against one of the walls. Her ankles leaned against the metal pipe sliding across the bottom of the building. Her breath caught in her throat, looking at his unusually serious expression.

His other hand quickly found its place at her waist, softly rubbing it up to her ribs, then back down. Although his hand was firm around her wrist, it wasn’t harsh, as if he were trying to crush it. He was simply trying to hold her in place.

She wouldn’t, but if she tried, Tsugumi felt he would let her push him away. His touch was different, nothing like Ankoku’s. It was gentle, as if to slowly coax her into it. “You say… ‘goodbye’…” He began, his eyes now open, but narrowed. His gaze was sharp, but not exactly a glare.

“…like you’ll never see me again…” He lips formed a frown. “I told you that we’re playing a game, and I’m the one who made it, so I’m the one who says when it ends” He told her.

She nodded, but his lack of response gave her chills. As if a pair of cold, gnarled fingers slid across the expanse of her entire body, wrapping tighter around her throat, tapping at it with the promise of what’s to come had she not spoken up.

“Use your words, Tsugumi”

Ankoku’s voice creeped up from the back of her memories, the feeling akin to bugs crawling all over her skin. She nodded again. “Yes… Okay” She told him, his gaze unwavering— though hers quickly shifted to the ground.

“I really hope that’s the last time I tell you, I’m not a fan of repeating myself…” He chuckled, returning to his usual demeanor. He dropped her wrist, his hand grasping the other side of her waist, as he pressed her a bit harder against the wall.

She squealed softly as her head dropped. “Heh~” He licked his lips, glancing at the men around them. In meeting his gaze, they quickly gave the pair 15 feet, turning away from them. Shikaba’s attention then returned to Tsugumi who trembled in his hold.

Without a second thought, he leaned in, nudging her head up with his, and pressing his lips against hers. This one was quick, and somewhat chaste. Again, he left her chasing after him, deciding to indulge her a bit.

Their lips mesh together, his leading hers to open as he entangled his tongue with hers. She groaned softly, and Shikaba smirked against her, sliding his hands down her body, his thumbs caressing her covered stomach.

As they hit her hips, she felt a dip in her skin, and flinched. She hummed, and for a fleeting moment she wanted to push him away from her. Shikaba pressed himself further against her, sliding one hand under the waistband of her skirt.

She gasped, feeling his bony fingers just shy of her clit. Her body shivered with need— the need to have her closer despite her minds wishes to push him away from her. He kept himself pressed closely against her body, sliding his fingers across her slit, feeling the short, bristly stubble.

Shikaba smirked, pulling his lips from hers, leaning down next to her ear. He pressed his middle finger down against her clit. As soon as she felt the cold pads of his fingers against her warm nub, shivers flew up Tsugumi’s spine.

She gasped loudly, feeling him rub slow circles on her clit. She let one moan slip, instantly regretting it as she remembered the fact that they were outside, and surrounded by others. She dropped her head to rest it against his shoulders, as his fingers moved a little faster, and pressing harder against her nub.

She nuzzled her face against his shoulder in attempt to muffle her moans, her hips beginning to slowly grind against his hand. She tightly gripped his shirt. “Tsss… it’s okay… you can let it out…” He coaxed, nibbling her ear lobe. “…er…” She squeaked.

“Hm?” Shikaba hummed, leaning back a bit to look at her, only able to see the back of her head. “Faster…” She said. “P-please… go faster…” Her voice was a raspy plea. He smirked, gladly obliging her request, and moving his finger faster.

Tsugumi yelped into his shoulder, pressing her mouth harder against him. Shikaba bit his lips, feeling she needed a bit more to push her over the edge.

He stopped his ministrations, sliding two fingers down to her leaking hole, prodding at the soft flesh around it, and slipped in two fingers, with little resistance. Tsugumi gasped at the intrusion.

Her walls pulsed, clenching down as if to pull them further inside of her. She bit down on his shoulder, muffling her loud moans. The sudden stretch burned for a moment before a tingling sense of pleasure overtook it.

Maybe it’s been too long.

He thrusted his fingers at a slow rhythm that she matched with her rocking hips. “C’mon… I said it’s no need to be so quiet…” He coaxed her, dragging his lips against her ear.

All her efforts of keeping quiet were thrown out the window with those words. Tsugumi shifted her head down, resting her forehead against his shoulder. Forgoing the embarrassment, she moaned aloud— the sounds becoming music to Shikaba’s ears.

He chuckled softly, pressing his thumb against her now soft and throbbing clit, starting up small circles again, now beginning to thrust his fingers faster. Tsugumi shivered, feeling a warmth filling in her lower stomach, rolling her hips forward.

She was no longer concerned at all with her volume, resting her cheek against his shoulder— her mouth wide as she moaned and whined loudly. “Yeah… that’s it…” He lulled, pressing his thumb harder against her.

Feeling her walls clench down on his fingers, making it difficult to keep moving, he pushed against the resistance, knowing her release was coming. He pressed his fingers just right against that spot.

Tsugumi’s mouth fell wide, a squeak coming from her lips as her body froze for a second. Her eyes watered, and a tremble spread through her body, the sensitivity reaching every nerves ending of her body as she now started twitching.

Tsugumi panted heavily, her body hunched against him, and feeling a warm and thick liquid flowing from her cunt that fluttered and clenched around his fingers that he’d yet to remove from her body. He hummed softly into her ears before starting to move them again.

“W-wait…” she gasped, tightly gripping his biceps. She squeezed her eyes shut, shifting her head, shaking ‘no’ against his shoulders. He alternated fingers moving inside of her, huffing softly into her ears.

Tsugumi turned her head to look at him, her eyes blurred and stung by tears that she blinked away. She saw his expression. He was concentrating hard. He was searching for something, dragging his tongue across his lower lip.

He moved his fingers faster, and as she had already orgasmed, Tsugumi felt sensitive, whimpering and scratching her nails into his shirt— she now felt something else coming. “W-wait… seriously… wait, I-I feel…” She pleaded, shaking her head at him.

She was trying her hardest to keep it in, clenching down on his fingers. Shikaba clicked his tongue, pressing a kiss underneath her ear. “S’okay… I got you… let it out…” He whispered. At his words, she did just that.

Now a different warm liquid spurted from her cunt. Tsugumi’s mouth was wide, though not a sound came out as she finished again on his fingers. She gasped, feeling her body twitch sporadically.

Tears slid down her cheeks as she groaned softly, and he pulled his fingers from inside of her. Shikaba lifted his hand to inspect it, a string of her arousal webbing between them, some of it dripping down his palm.

“You really made a mess, huh?” He chuckled, gently pushing her back against the wall. “Why don’t you clean up after yourself?” He took his hand to her chin, pressing it down with his thumb to open her mouth, as he quickly slid his drenched fingers inside.

“Go ahead~ Clean it up~” He taunted, pressing his fingers down against her tongue, causing her to gag. She decided to go along with his words again, hollowing her cheeks, and swirling her tongue around his fingers.

He slowly pulled them out as she released them with a pop— noticing his ever-wide grin as he looked into her glazed over eyes. “Alright, time to go” He told her.

Tsugumi only gazed at him in confusion, but once she realized where they were once again, she looked around to see the men who still stood a ways away from them. Yet, she knew they were close enough to hear them.

All of her sense returned to her at that moment, and she felt embarrassed by those sounds, even more so at what came out of her a few moments ago. She wished she could fold into herself and disappear.

“Let’s go, I’ll take ya home” He offered, shoving his hands into his pockets. She stumbled after him, flinching from the sensitivity between her legs as her thighs grazed against each other with each step. Her eyes stayed low to the ground, not daring to look at any of the men that caught up with them.

She felt too much shame.

“I guess no one knows about what happened…” Tsugumi hummed, tapping against the open door of the open refrigerator. Usually she’d hear a few whispers about Genjiro’s anger, or strange looks directed at her.

But her disappearance seemed well hidden. She grabbed a cold water bottle, as her usual favorite watermelon aloe vera juice was out at the moment. She cracked the bottle open, taking a few large gulps.

She downed about a third of the bottle before walking back toward the steps. Passing Genjiro’s home office, she didn’t hear any typing or rustling papers. That meant he was in the field office for once. ‘Hopefully I don’t get in trouble…’ She shivered.

“Tsk… and I left all my bags…” She mumbled, thankful that the security guards had the mind to still bring them home. Her attention quickly shifted to the sound of the front door opening, and familiar footsteps headed her way.

She almost sighed out loud seeing Ankoku enter the living room. She was disgusted by his wide smile— disgusted by everything about him. “Tsugumi…” He spoke softly, goosebumps already fast across her skin.

Taking a second look, Tsugumi noticed his sunken baggy eyes, and ruffled hair. He looked drained— terrible. She’d seen this look a few times since she moved in, he was hungover. Maybe he went out drinking yesterday.

Wherever he was, at least he didn’t give her any grief about where she was for so long yesterday. She’d arrived just before sunset, being driven home by Shikaba and his men.

This time she was in the same car as him, and couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her, no matter how many times she slapped them away. “Sorry I was gone all night~” Ankoku frowned stalking over to her.

Tsugumi turned to fully face him. His arms that slithered around her waist put her on edge. It was revolting. “You must’ve missed me~” He mumbled, pressing soft kisses up and down her neck. She stifled a groan and squeezed her eyes shut.

She grabbed at his elbows, leaning into his tender touch. The feeling of his thin locks brushing against her skin, set her nerves aflame. Although they had completely different builds, his hands gently caressing from her ribs down to her hips reminded her of Shikaba.

The feeling of disgust slowly faded, replaced with the hazy fantasy of Shikaba’s hands fondling her. Shikaba’s lips pressed against her skin. Shikaba’s face nuzzling into her shoulder. “Tsugumi…” Ankoku’s sultry tone shattered her fantasy in an instant. She gasped, shoving him by his arms.

“N-no..!! Stop…!!” Her palm slapped over her neck, eyes blown wide as she stared at him in shock. She couldn’t believe what she’d done. “What…?” Ankoku’s expression mirrored hers. The two silently stared at each other for the next few moments.

Ankoku, plagued by confusion— and Tsugumi by anxiety, disgust, and a bubbling sense of regret swirling together in her core. She shouldn’t have done that. She tells herself it was wrong, but what exactly was wrong, she couldn’t say it.

Was it her pushing Ankoku away? Was it her allowing him to do such a thing in the first place? Or maybe it was that she was envisioning another man while Ankoku was the one who groped her. All she could say for sure was that she shouldn’t have done that.

“S-sorry…” She stammered. “What’s wrong?” He asked worriedly. “You’ve never done that before…” He soon a step forward, and Tsugumi slid her food back just slightly. “Are you tired of me” He grabbed her arms, squeezing tightly, letting his blunt nails sink into her skin.

Tsugumi hissed, squinting and flinching. Her body knew what was coming before her brain did. “Is there another guy now? Huh?” He grit his teeth. Her blood ran cold at his words. It was wrong, what she did with Shikaba. She should’ve pushed him off.

She should’ve never let him do that to her. Not when she knew how Ankoku’d react if he ever found out. “N… No…” She swallowed thickly. “You don’t sound so sure…” He glared. “R-really…” Tsugumi took a deep, calming breath.

“How… would I even get another man? Hm?” She coughed. With how well she was being watched, there should be no chance for her to have a boyfriend. At least, not to Ankoku’s knowledge. “Yeah… Yeah, you’re right…” He nodded, voice now a soft whisper.

He let go of her, taking a step back away, nodding and humming. “There would be no chance…” He spoke more to himself now. “Tsk… just the thought… ugh…!” He gagged dramatically. “Now I don’t even want it…” He shook his head, stomping off.

Tsugumi kept her eyes on him, watching a blank spot on the wall when she could no longer see him. She flinched hearing the patio door slam close. She sighed deeply, walking toward her bedroom, each step slow and steady.

She sat slouched on her bed, her mind running back to Shikaba. How he tossed the watch immediately after getting his hands on it. ‘So he was lying…’ She thought, frowning. “And I even felt bad cause he said it was his grandfathers…” She pouted.

“You have a call sir”

Marisa Honjo, Genjiro’s secretary, presented the phone to him. Her voice soft and honeyed, softening as always when she spoke to him. She was a short woman, with dark gray colored eyes.

Her long curled hair pulled back into a lower ponytail, and her nails were beautifully done, opal and rounded, too long to be considered professional.

“It’s from Mr Kyōgoku” Genjiro squinted his eyes at his desk, groaning loudly. “What now…?” He murmured, putting the phone up to his ear.

“Listen, Tsugumi already went on the date. Don’t try to rush anything when it’s only a few days—”

“Do you think I’m a joke, Genjiro?”

Genjiro scoffed, glaring at his phone. His tone was a stark contrast from the usual happy and smiling Shigeo.

“What?”

“You know, you should have your kids tie up their loose ends before attempting to make deals like this”

“What are you talking about?”

Shigeo now scoffed.

“Your daughter’s boyfriend? He came to the restaurant and had his men rough up my son. Now his face’s all busted! That’s his only good quality you know!!”

Normally, Genjiro would’ve been hounding him about his son’s personality and any scandals that Shigeo might be hiding from him once he heard that ‘only good quality’ line. However, he was now only concerned about a boyfriend he’d never even heard of until now.

“A… boyfriend…?” He questioned softly, ignoring Shigeo’s tirade, even pulling the phone back from his ears absentmindedly, in his shock. When had Tsugumi gotten a boyfriend? He would’ve been informed of that— he should’ve been.

He thought for a moment, and the memory of a young boy returned to him. That boy had visited his home a few times when Tsugumi and Ankoku were in middle school.

He shook off his suspicion about the closeness of the three, but that bleached blond hair should’ve been the first sign. His eerie looking ‘kind smile’ always got under Genjiro’s skin, because there was an emptiness behind his golden eyes.

He clenched his fists and teeth at the thought that he might’ve returned to Tsugumi’s life under his nose— but he knew it couldn’t be him. That boy was still incarcerated, and would be for some time.

Then, hearing the description of the young man in question, Genjiro’s attention shifted back to Shigeo’s nagging voice.

“—get this!! Apparently, he’s some shady guy. A scar down his face, and wild blonde hair. A textbook delinquent”

His heart sank to his feet at those words. He knew exactly who Shigeo was talking about now. A light throb built up in his temples and his head slowly started to spin as he felt rage building up inside himself.

He cleared his throat a few times, groaning lowly in attempt to calm himself. He barely stopping himself from punching the desk in front of him.

“…I’ll call you back…”

“WHA—”

Genjiro gave Shigeo no time to get even more upset with him, handing the phone back to Marisa— shoving it into her hands. He quickly rose to his feet, and gave a nod to the security as he stormed off.

Tsugumi laid back on her bed, over her duvet. She hadn’t moved positions in a while, too lethargic, and comfortable, to even attempt to roll over. She was just happy that Ankoku hadn’t bothered her all day. Her prayers were answered.

But in a few moments she realized she should’ve prayed for a peaceful day instead. Because even that solace was stripped from her the moment the front door slammed open. Genjiro’s rushed steps loud voice echoed in the halls.

“TSUGUMI!!”

Her body shot up, stiffening at the sound of it. She couldn’t even stand before her door was slammed open— as always no one bothered to knock. It swung harshly, smacking against the wall so hard that it flew right back at him.

“Tsugumi!!” He shouted again. His nostrils flared and his breathing was jagged, either from how fast he ran up the steps or how angry he was. Tsugumi’s heart began to thump loudly, and she felt pins and needles on her skin, making her whole body, from her ears to her toes, itch.

“How was the dinner?!” Genjiro got even angrier watching her turn away from him. “I-I… already told you… it was f-fi—” Tsugumi flinched and squealed as he slammed his fist against the doorframe.

“Don’t lie to me!!” He screamed, ignoring the subtle throb of the side of his palm and pink finger. “I know you were with that boy!!” He pointed his shaky finger at her— he trembled with the urge to walk over and do something.

“I-I’m not…!!” She gasped, still not looking at him. “I SAID DONT LIE!!” He shrieked, walking toward her. “Tsugumi!! Tell me what happened now!!” He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her violently.

She recoiled in his hands at his saliva that sprayed over her face. “And don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about!!” He warned. He was shouting so loud it was as if she could hear a ringing in his ears.

“O-okay…!!” Tsugumi swallowed a painful lump in her throat. She tried to ignore the burn of her watering and reddening eyes, quickly blinking the tears away. “Okay… I-i did see him…! I did…!!” She admitted, flinching with the anticipation of his fist or open hand coming down to her face.

Yet, to her surprise, it remained untouched. He simply kept his hands at her arms, gripping them tighter. Still, she cringed in his hold, afraid of anything he’d do to her.

“I-I saw him… b-but nothing ha-happened, I s-ssswear…! h-he just… l-left me alone…!!” She stammered. She leaned back a bit, squinting away from his doubtful glare. He knew she was lying. But he also knew, that she knew she’d get punished for lying to him.

Yet lately she’d been keeping a lot from him, which was unusual because it was easy to get information from her. ‘It can’t be a coincidence… she asked about him… now she’s met him twice now… and covering up for their connection… he must be threatening her…’ He grumbled softly.

Tsugumi peeked at him, only able to see the confusion and anger plaguing him. “S…sorry…” Her voice was quiet and shaky. “I-I’m sss… sorry… I r-really didn’t do an-nything” She choked out, eyes burning.

She sniffled softly, clutching the duvet blanket underneath her. Genjiro looked back at her, his eyes blown wide. Now he was the one who couldn’t look direscfky at her, turning his head down.

He just couldn’t bring himself to stare at her face— her familiar face contorted with fear and anxiety. Not with that face. Not with those eyes.

“I-I-I swear I didn’t, I—”

“SHUT UP!!”

“Sorry”

She squeaked out one last time. He groaned softly, pressing his nails deep into her skin. She winced at the pain that soon turned into a tingling sensation. ‘What’s really going on with these two…’ He thought, biting his lip harshly, turning it white from the pressure.

“Tsk!” Genjiro shoved her back, his nails slightly stuck to her skin from her hard he was pressing them against her arms. Tsugumi hissed at the feeling, and catching herself on her elbows. He muttered something she couldn’t hear on his way out.

Her head fell, as she now faced her lap and let her tears drip down. She coughed back her sobs as her nose clogged up. “I-I hate it hear…” She could barely speak without a tremble in her voice. Beside her, her phone buzzed.

She glanced at the lit up screen, the unknown phone number popping up. “I just want to be left alone…” She picked up her phone, with all intentions to block the number but once she saw part of the message she stopped.

Hey this is Mogaw…

It couldn’t be him. She tapped on it, and it really was.

Hey this is Mogawa Momiji I’m your brothers friend Do you remember me?

She stared at her phone halfway in disbelief, and halfway in confusion. She wondered for a second if it was a prank. But who’d have any reason to prank her, using Momiji of all people.

But the action of him texting her in itself is weird, considering each of their complicated relationships with Ankoku. It seemed like he saw that she’d read the message, as the three dots popped up on her screen.

Could you meet me right now? I’ll be waiting at Java The Hut

She didn’t respond yet, still confused as to why he had messaged her. But it seemed he wasn’t a patient person since he started typing again.

Please🙏🏻 It’s important

I can’t because Ankoku

I won’t tell him You don’t have to either And you can delete these messages Just please meet me

She sighed softly, quickly typing with one hand holding her phone.

Okay

She tossed her phone to the side, rubbing her temples slowly. It would give her a reason to leave the house. And she wouldn’t have to spend a lot of money since it was a coffee shop. So she could stay out of Genjiro’s sight.

She sniffed softly, wiping away the last of her tears her finger tips softly slapping her cold cheeks. Hopefully her eyes weren’t too puffy. And if they were, hopefully Momiji wouldn’t mention them.

“Thank you… For agreeing…” Momiji looked up at Tsugumi who slid forward in the chair. They were at a table outside of the cafe, under one of the parasols provided at each table. “Mhm” She nodded, watching as he rocked back and forth nervously.

“Why did you wanna talk?” She got straight to the point. Of course, this meeting gave her an out of the house, but if they were together for too long, they’d likely be in trouble— and wouldn’t get away unscathed.

“I’m… worried about Ankoku…” He began, his clasped in his laps. He stared down at his lap, pressing his thumbs together. “Last night… we were drinking… and he was saying some crazy things…” He explained nervously.

“All drunk people say crazy things” She shrugged. “N-no… not… not the usual crazy things…” He stammered. “So what did he say, then?” She asked. “He said… um…” Momiji hesitated, glancing around at the security guards.

He felt he shouldn’t say too much around them, knowing it could get Ankoku in trouble. “I’m… just worried he’s gonna get himself killed” Tsugumi almost scoffed. Ankoku? Getting himself killed? Good riddance.

She couldn’t bring herself to pretend to care. At the very least, because she felt bad for him, she offered Momiji some words of comfort. “Ankoku will be fine. There was no reason to ask me for help” She shrugged, and finally he looked up at her.

Even if only slightly, he seemed relieved. “Besides, I can’t control him. You know how Ankoku really is” Momiji flinched, tensing in his seat. He reached his hand up, softly scratching at the back of his neck, where his most recent bruises had begun to fade.

“I don’t know why you’re so worried. If I’m gonna be honest, I don’t see a problem with whatever decision he’ll make that will ‘get him killed’ like you say” She watched his eyes go wide. “How can you say that…? You’re… his sister…” He gasped.

This time, Tsugumi actually did scoff. A sister? Really? Who treats their sister the way Ankoku treats her? “I wish he saw it that way” She meant to think it, but mumbled it instead. At least loud enough for Momiji to hear— and he put his head down again.

He shook his head, as if to shake off the implication of her words. He decided to ignore it. “Uh…” His voice vibrated lowly. “I-I mean… Ankoku, he… he has some… extreme tendencies…” That was putting it lightly.

Tsugumi rolled her eyes. “B-but he’s my best friend…!” He smiled softly, looking back down. “…my only friend, actually” he admitted bashfully. “I’m sure” She spoke dispassionately.

“Ankoku… was the only person who’d actually talk to a loner like me…” A smile crept on his face at the memory of his first meeting with Ankoku. As an infant, Momiji’s family moved to the United States, so his first language was actually English.

Because of this, he had an accent when speaking Japanese, so once he moved back in his third year of elementary school, his classmates called him weird and often made fun of and avoiddd him. The only person who didn’t— was Ankoku.

“And he was just… always so welcoming to me… A-and even though—”

“No one else approached you, Ankoku still did. Every day”

Momiji looked up in confusion. She took the words right out of his mouth. It was as if she could read his mind, as if she knew exactly what he was going to say.

“Y-yeah…” He chuckled nervously. “I even thought that Ankoku would—” Again, she cut him off. “Become a loner like you. And isolated like you. So you were afraid to even say anything to him” She said boredly.

“Because you thought people would think he was weird, just like what they thought about you. You probably even broke down and confided in him, very apologetically. And all he did was smile and tell you ‘Okay’…” She didn’t wait for Momiji to speak up again, and decided to finish the story in his stead.

“And he looked really excited the first time you were the one to look for him at school” She snorted, but then smiled bitterly. “…I felt that way too…” She admitted, glancing away. She felt a bit embarrassed by her past self.

“Ankoku was the only one who kept coming to see me. Even though, I think that at first, it was mainly because of our family circumstances” She sighed, leaning against the wobbling table. One of the legs was missing its stoppers.

“I didn’t have anyone to talk to at school. Until Ankoku started coming around. He’d call me his sister, way before our parents got married” She pursed her lips in annoyance, the frown weighing down her face.

She looked up at Momiji, confidently meeting his confused gaze. “We’re a little similar. We were always alone in school, and both approached by the same person who kept us from being lonely. Ankoku’s like super hero, right?” She laughed dryly.

“Momiji, I have a question…” He gulped, nodding at her.

“Yes…?”

“Have you made any friends at uni?”

He was quiet, turning away, softly admitting that he hasn’t. “Why? Why can’t you make any friends?” She asked. “I… just haven’t been able to… put myself out there… it’s hard to approach people first…” He shrugged. “No. That’s not true” She said.

“If that were true, we wouldn’t be sitting here, because you wouldn’t have been able to text me first. We’ve only spoken one time before, so we’re not close enough for someone who ‘can’t put himself out there’ to go ahead and make the first move” She said.

“Especially not if you were scared of what Ankoku would do to you if you found out. You know how that ended for us” Momiji flinched at the memory, holding his hand up to his cheek. “You wanna make friends, right? But people still avoid you like in grade school” She hummed.

Momiji hunched his body, he felt smaller with her every word. “Adults aren’t petty… most of them. So I don’t think they’d avoid you just because of an accent that you don’t even have anymore, and that they probably didn’t even know you had. So why don’t you have any friends?” She pressed.

He trembled in his seat. He couldn’t give her an answer. At least, not the one he knew she wanted. Because then he’d have to face something that he wasn’t ready to. “It’s because of Ankoku” She told him. He flinched again.

Although it seemed implausible, he knew deep down that she was right. He had a feeling, a feeling he’d been trying to ignore since the school year began, that Ankoku was pulling some type of strings to make the other students avoid him.

“It… doesn’t matter… I’m fine with it just being him”

“No, you’re not”

He clenched his teeth, looking down at his lap sadly. She was right. He wasn’t okay with it. He wanted to be friends with everyone. He wanted to join a fraternity, and go to college parties, and have big friend groups, and people to talk to on the weekends— besides Ankoku.

He wanted all of that. But, just as it was in high school, the only person he could ever talk to was Ankoku. “You just accept that he’s your only friend because you think he’s so amazing for talking to a ‘loner like you’ right?” She asked.

“If Ankoku were a normal person— no… if he were the type of person he pretends to be, he’d introduce us to his friend group. Or at least you before me, because you’re the same age” She shrugged.

“You wouldn’t have to rely on Ankoku. And you wouldn’t have to sneak around and use a burner phone to text your best friends ‘sister’ because you were so scared he’d beat you to death for it” she told him.

“But here we are, with the only person in our lives, around our age, who isn’t our parent is Ankoku. Right?” She furrowed her brows, getting more upset by the minute. She couldn’t exactly be mad at Momiji. He could cope however he wanted.

But somewhere along the line of reminiscing about the painful things of her past, a small rage that she always held down began to bubble up. “But, Momiji, you know why he keeps you isolated, right?” She grimaced. “Um…” He wanted to quickly change the topic.

“It’s because you’re not his friend”

Momiji’s head shot up, his eyes wide with shock and deviation. Like she’d torn his whole world apart with those words. Maybe she did. “What…?” He shook his head.

“N-no… No, I’m his best friend—” She cut him off. “You think you’re his best friend” She began. “Just like you think I’m his little sister, but I’m not. And I don’t just mean that we aren’t biologically related” Her expression was blank, with empty eyes.

She seemed defeated. And what she said next is what he always knew, deep down, but tried to deny himself the facts.

“It’s because we’re his”

She didn’t need to specify. Momiji knew what she meant. Rather than people, rather than a friend— a sister, they were his things. His property. “Ankoku’s an only child, and rich. So obviously he’s spoiled and has a hard time sharing his toys…” She shook her head.

Momiji didn’t respond, looking down dejectedly. Tsugumi sighed loudly. “Sorry… I got off track… Back to what you were saying…” She sat up straight, pushing her butt to the edge of the chair.

“I’d be fine if Ankoku went and got himself killed” She admitted. At this point he couldn’t even think to say anything. “That’s one less person to control me” She shrugged.

One less person to hurt her.

She stood up, grabbing her purse and walking away— the security following after her quickly. She continued to walk, slowing her pace some. She began to regret what she said— specifically about Ankoku, and how she wouldn’t care if he died.

Maybe she should stop him. She can say it all she wants, but seeing Ankoku die from a preventable situation wouldn’t make her happy. She couldn’t say what she’d feel, but it definitely wouldn’t be joy. And if it happens, she’d likely be getting in trouble for ‘not stopping him’.

“I really hate this family”

A/N: Actually, this is my first attempt at writing smut so I got nervous and didn’t wanna post but anyways here it is~ enjoy~

[meligumii]

Catching up on baddies while trying to finish my fic is crazy…

[meligumii]

Negai No Astro Ch. 43 Spoilers

Got to the chapter late, but anyways I didn’t really have any strong feelings about Taira— enough to say whether I liked or disliked him but after this chapter I feel bad for him. I mean, I felt bad last chapter when talking about how he shared scraps of food in poverty but this chapter made me understand why he cares for and follows Shikaba so much, bc it seems like when they were kids, Shikaba always put him first.

Dk if Wakui’s gonna go the route of ‘turning every antagonist into an ally’ but I at least hope Shikaba and Taira will be good again bc it really broke my heart how he just said ‘I don’t need you anymore’ and tried to kill him.

He didn’t look remorseful and even smiled so idk I think Taira should just not be cool with him on second thought anyways…

Shikaba still my favorite character tho I love him. Feel like he’s misunderstood and if he really sincerely apologizes I think I could forgive him for that.

[Lmao not me talking like I’m Taira]

[meligumii]

Literally already read it three times.😭 Can’t wait for the next chapter

Monsters :Mikey Sano x Reader x Izana Kurokawa

Chapter 4: The Calm

[series summary]: your grievous sin was Emma standing up for you to her brothers. and now you’re going to pay the heavy price for destroying their perfect family dynamic.

[chapter summary]: Everything comes crashing down right before your very eyes when something horrible from your past resurfaces

[cw]: DARK CONTENT, NSFW, angst PTSD, bullying, victim blaming, attempted rape mention(s), implied sexual intercourse (character x character), choking, mommy issues, implied masturbation (m.), public sex, violence, misogyny, betrayal, parental abuse amd neglect, religious trauma, implied past homophobia, dark impulse Mikey, homelessness

[r-18+] not suitable for 17 and under

[wc]: 12.2k

[A/N]: There is a new taglist linked here, so please reapply or if you haven't applied before, it is there. I accidentally ruined my old one.

[masterlist] [chapter 3] [chapter 5] [taglist] [a03 + bonus side story] [wattpad]

  NO ONE ever tells you about the guilt of keeping secrets from your one and only true friend.

It eats you alive daily, soaking into your very core as you look at Emma from the corner of your eyes, jotting down anything the lecturer says eagerly. Her blond hair is in a neat ponytail, exposing the beautiful slope of her neck from behind you, her back curved from leaning down to take notes.

How do you tell your friend that her brother had attempted to force himself on you?

‘I should have never let things get this far with Mikey.’ you lament internally. ‘Why didn’t I just reject the offer in the first place? The worst that could have happened was Emma being mad at me. Then that night would never have happened. What am I supposed to do? What if she finds out from someone else?’

Even if you tell her anything, she might never believe you; women are never believed for these kinds of things, if life taught you anything, but they sure were blamed all the time. And if she does, who knows what Manjiro Sano would do to you as revenge.

It’s not like you have anyone else to turn to, your parents consider you dead to them and everyone in this school hates you for existing.

For the first time in your life, you don’t know a way out of this situation.

“... and that is the end of today’s lesson. You can all leave now.”

You’re snapped out of your self-inflicted guilt trip at the sound of professor Hanabi concluding his lesson. Panic overtook you as you looked down into your notes only to see that it was half written when you were paying attention from the beginning to mid-way in the lesson, and the rest of your paper was empty.

Just your luck.

“You spaced out, again? Are you still thinking about your parents?”

Your hand flies to slam your book shut at the sound of Emma’s voice from beside you, Hinata following not too behind, embarrassed at the two of them seeing your half-baked notes. She only chuckled in response at your hasty action, shaking her head in disapproval before putting her hand on your shoulder. “There’s no need to do that, come on. I’ll lend you my note after class.” 

You slid your hands over your face at being caught red-handed; As usual, Emma is being so kind to you even as you continue to lie and keep secrets from her. She’s tried everything to get you to open up as to why you keep spacing out, but you deflect and change the subject.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” you sighed out, deflating visibly with your hands still covering your face. “Some days are good, and some days are just…”

Another comforting hand rests on your shoulder, this time belonging to Hina. “You’ve got to stop getting all up in your head, (Name).” Her voice is gentle, trying to ease you off whatever tension looming over your head. “Come on, let’s get you boba in the school’s cafeteria.”

You nodded weakly and packed your books into your worn out school bag, before hurriedly following them behind along with the last of your classmates.

The walk to the cafeteria is a short distance, as your departmental building was very close to it and soon, the three of you had gotten your boba drinks, now in search of a place to sit. “Senju and Yuzuha are around here,” Emma said, scanning around to try and find them in a throng of people. A lump in your throat forms on hearing Yuzuha’s name; you haven’t spoken to her in a long time, since that incident. You wonder if she still hates you for what your family did to her.

“Oh there they are.”

The pink haired girl, Senju, eagerly waved at you three from her table, with Yuzuha glued to her phone, not looking up from it and Emma waved back, before grabbing your arm and gently pulling you with her towards the table, Hinata following not too far behind.

Senju Akashi was the president of the sorority group Brahman and also, Emma’s childhood friend. From Emma’s point of view, Senju was closer to Mikey than her, always opting to play with the boys, Keisuke and Sanzu, rather than her. The pinkette never left the tomboyish phase in her teenage years and hasn’t left it since then, only now she’s more willing to let Emma fix acrylic nails for her and she puts on makeup, probably to cement her status.

Yuzuha was someone you knew as a child. She was just a few years older than you in school, not to mention very popular with the student body as she was a mixture of beauty, brains and brawn and the only person that used to care about you.

Until your family ruined it all.

As you sat down on the chair, facing Yuzuha and Senju, with Emma and Hinata by your side, you realized how small and insignificant you were compared to them. Emma was the wealthy IT girl and her brothers practically have a tight leash on the school, Hinata ran the school’s newspaper and was on the dean's list regularly, Senju was the leader of the most popular sorority and Yuzuha was the financial advisor and also always on the dean's list, as well as the leader of the university’s cheer team.

And you? The only notable thing about you was Izana and Mikey’s obsession with ruining your life.

Feeling even worse, you shrank in your seat, swirling your straw as they have a full on conversation about another upcoming party, their chatter excitedly echoing through the table. You try to tune them out, occasionally looking at Emma as she talks animatedly about whatever the topic was.

Your heart twinged with jealousy at how her eyes lit up as she spoke, breaking into fits of giggles every now and then. When was the last time you made her laugh? Or happy? All you do these days is mope and get her worried-

“Were you invited, (name)?”

'Huh?'

You’re roused out of your thoughts by Senju’s cheery tone, all eyes on you now. Suddenly conscious at your slouched sitting position, you quickly sit up, the question tumbling out of your mouth before you could stop yourself.

“Um, invited to what?”

The entire table raised a quizzical brow at your question and you felt stupid for even asking in the first place instead of just pretending to know what they were talking about. Emma shoots you an annoyed ‘seriously?’ look, in lieu of your absent mindedness and you bit the inner parts of your cheek, looking at your lap.

You have a feeling Emma is getting exhausted of playing babysitter. You can’t blame her.

Deciding to take pity on you, Senju reiterated what she was talking about, leaning closer to you as she whispered. “Tenjiku’s Bacchanalia. It’s where all the popular kids, the crémé la crémé, come to party every year to network. It’s really exclusive and the four of us went last time.” she giggled, as if it was an inside joke you were supposed to be in on. “Izana usually handles the invitations personally, so you had to have been invited, right?”

The question itself was like a slap to your face and an ego boost to your insecurities. If you didn’t feel embarrassed and out of place before, you sure did now.

An important party where the rich kids hang out and the person who hosts it hates your guts.

“I wasn’t…invited. I didn’t even know about it”

Your reply makes Senju’s face crumple slightly, her green eyes darting from you to Emma, who also looked uncomfortable. “Oh” she uttered.

Just as Emma opened her mouth to speak, her phone started buzzing, interrupting her. She picked up the device and cursed underneath her breath as soon as she saw who was on the line, hurriedly standing up. “I’ve got to take this, I’ll be right back.” She mumbled, reaching for your hand squeezing it. Your gaze lingered on her as she walked away, before looking back at the group again.

You catch a glimpse of Yuzuha’s eyes sharpening before looking back at your boba the moment Emma was out of range, causing a chill to run down your spine, as if the atmosphere just shifted.

‘It’s probably all in my head.’

The table is silent, briefly and you’re almost relieved that nobody's prying further information from you until Senju switches her attention to you, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she prods you further. 

“So you really weren’t invited? For real?” She hummed, her perfectly glossed lips shimmering underneath the fluorescent light above her, pink lashes fluttering. You shook your head in response, afraid you would stutter at how pretty she was. She placed a hand on her chin curiously as she added. “I thought since you were Em’s friend, you would be invited.”

“Well, I wasn’t…”

“The Bacchanalia is only for people who have something important to offer, either in talents like Mitsuya with his designs, Tetta with his businesses or Hajime with his connections. (Name) is a talentless pleb with nothing to offer.”

You nearly had a whiplash with how fast you turned your head to look at Yuzuha who didn’t look bothered at your reaction to her statement. You swallowed hard.

“Maybe I wasn’t invited because Izana hates me.” You replied in an attempt to stay coolheaded.

Your heart palpitates as Yuzuha shares a knowing look with the rest of the girls for a minute before bursting out in laughter, their yelps echoing throughout the entire canteen for the next three minutes, making you grow hot from embarrassment, as if you had said something stupid.

As the laughter died down, Yuzuha rolled her eyes at you and let out a disgusted scoff as she folded her arms across her chest, peach lip gloss coated lips quirked up into a sinister sneer. “You know what, maybe you are good at something, acting…” Her voice is full of venom, like she has been holding back whatever sentiment she was saying right now for a long time. “ ...like a victim.”

You quickly realized that this was serious and your heart dropped in your stomach.

You felt blood rushing to your head as her words settled in your mind. You could feel all their eyes on you, as if they were gauging your reaction.

You looked at Hinata, hoping to God she would shut it down but instead she only sits back even further, legs crossed over each other. “Don’t look at me (name)” She chimed in. “You know all you ever do is cry and hide behind Emma, making us look bad.”

Your heart sank at the bottom of your chest. Even Hina hates you too.

“I’ve known her for a while so I’m not shocked by her manipulative tendencies” Yuzuha snarked back, leaning in further until she was close enough for only you three to hear. “Ever since Emma became friends with her and brought her into our dynamic, she has been the cause of every fight. I don’t even know why Mikey apologized to you when you were the one who blew things out of proportion first!”

Your mouth grows dry at the comment. They were blaming you for the fight that happened at the night of the party, despite it not being your fault at all.

Yuzuha doesn’t stop there, turning her gaze back to you, the fire burning in her eyes so bright, it hurts. “Maybe Emma has you fooled, putting on rose tinted glasses for you; because you could never do shit for yourself- but none of us…” Yuzuha gestures with her hand at Senju and Hina, to drive her point, “like you.”

You look at the other two girls and nearly reel in shock at how their demeanor shifted from one of worry, to one of nonchalance and placidity. Senju picks at her nails, looking at you with a devious smirk. “What the hell do you expect? You embarrassed the entirety of Toman and Tenjiku when you made Mikey and Izana fight with Emma. Am I meant to be on your side?”

Hinata, picks up her pumpkin spice latte, mumbling at Yuzuha. “You better hurry up Yuzu, Emma’s coming back soon.” before sipping the drink and leaning back on her chair, rolling her eyes at your shocked expression. “I don’t want to deal with her being mad at me for making her precious (name) cry.”

A lump forms in your throat at the two comments made. How bad of a person were you that the nicest girl in the entire school hates you?

“See?” Yuzuha continued, whispering furiously as she inched closer and closer to your face. “We’re all sick of you driving a wedge between Emma and the rest of us. If you had just stayed in your own lane, then we wouldn’t be doing fucking damage control on our interpersonal relationships each week.”

You sit there, speechless as Yuzuha tears into you, blaming you. For things you know, for things you didn’t even know. “I fucking warned Emma that you were nothing but trouble, but she insists on picking strays off the streets.”

Your eyes widened in shock, mouth agape as you stuttered, trying to defend yourself. “I … don’t call me…”

She laughed at your pained expression, her lips curled up into a mocking smile. “Aw, are you going to cry?” Her smile drops as she lowers her voice, just so that only you could hear her next words. “It’s obvious what you’re doing, isn't it? Sinking your dirty little poverty ridden claws into the highest bidder. That’s why you’re around Emma right? To get to Mikey?”

You could feel the entire canteen drilling holes into your head, all eyes fixated on you. You can hear the little murmurs and snickers following it. Your face burns with embarrassment, wishing that the ground would swallow you whole.

Yuzuha leans further, smirking at how your body shook with a mixture of fear and anger until she lowered herself closer to your ear, lips merely brushing the shell. “I’m going to make sure Mikey will never like you. He’ll know what you truly are and then he’ll never ever want you again.”

Your blood turns to ice at her words, heart dropping down to your stomach. ‘That was years ago… she’s going to tell them… everyone will really hate me-’

You try to get up from the chair and hurl your guts out in the bathroom but a manicured hand forces you to stay put, her orange eyes glaring at you. “Don’t even think about it.” Hina hisses lowly. “You want to make us look like were're bullying you? Sit down.”

You don’t say anything, opting to comply instead in order to placate them. What good would storming off do anyways- other than get Emma very angry at them, proving their point?

Instead, you pick up your boba with shaking hands and sip it fast, washing down the bile gathering up in your throat as familiar footsteps approach your table, the switch flipping in the atmosphere, as if nothing had happened in the first place.

The chair scrapes the floor and Emma sits down again, tossing her phone on the table. “Guess who didn’t write a letter informing the school about the annual party this year?” her voice dripping with sarcasm, rubbing her temple with one hand to soothe her headache “And guess who has to do it for him?”

Senju chuckled at her plight, hand resting on her chin playfully, a stark contrast to her mocking stare just a few moments ago. “I told you that he’d forget about it. Izana is too busy fucking my girls to remember that he’s the one hosting the party.”

Emma grimaced at Senju’s comment, before checking the time and sighing. “Might as well write the damn letter after the next lecture. Come on (name), Hina let’s go.” She said, packing her stuff. You follow suit, trying to ignore Yuzuha’s gaze fixated on you as you arrange your bag and get up from the chair, eager to be free from the uncomfortable situation you found yourself in.

“Bye guys. We’ll meet up at the boutique after school? We still need cute bikini sets for the pool at the party.”

You swallow your jealousy as Emma smiles at her back, eyes gleaming with interest. “Of course! At 6pm sharp I’ll be at the Sorority house with Hina.” She waved at them. “Bye!”

You don’t say anything about feeling excluded from the conversation as the three of you walk away. Emma and Hinata’s excited chatter about the Bacchanalia became nothing but background noise to you as you three walked back to class, Yuzuha’s words ringing in your ears with each step you took.

“Hey, (name), are you alright?”

You don’t look at Emma as she questions you, just shrugging your shoulders while you keep walking down the path to class. She walked closer to you, gently putting her arm around your shoulder as she tried to make you feel better. “Hey, don’t be sad. That kind of party isn’t your scene anyways.” She comforted “We do a lot of stuff that you’re not ready for.”

“Mhm”

Your response dampens her mood a bit, but at this point you’re too far in your head to care. It sounds patronizing at this point how she’s talking to you, like a petulant child who doesn’t understand when they are not wanted.

You understand loud and clear. She doesn’t need to pretend or pity you.

“Come on! You know what, how about this? You can come shopping with us -”

“Excuse me.”

You push her arm off you gently and walk faster towards the departmental building, much to her shock. You don’t answer her constantly yelling your name as hot tears streamed down your face, storming into the building with gritted teeth, bile rising up in your throat once again as you rush to the bathroom on the ground floor.

You make it just in time as you hunch over into the toilet.

“WHAT do you even see in her, anyways?”

Mikey doesn’t pay Senju any mind. He usually doesn’t pay her any mind whenever she’s in one of her rather curious moods about his life. He doesn’t pay her any mind because he knows her like the back of his palm; ever since childhood, she’s always followed him, Keisuke or Haruchiyo around like a headless chicken with no direction.

Those were fond times of simpler days; back when he was a kid and all he had to worry about was what game he, Keisuke and Sanzu were going to play. Or fighting with Shinichiro because a pretty girl hugged him and he didn’t want to wash her off by showering. Since childhood, she always had that mischievous hint in her tone, irritating him to no end at how she would always butt into their business whenever the boys were playing.

She inserted herself in their spaces much to Haruchiyo’s dismay until she made it fit into her own expectations. It wasn’t like Mikey couldn’t kick her out, but he knew that probably doing that would cause a bigger rift between Haruchiyo and Takeomi and she would drift into other predatory, male groups that could get her into big trouble.

But right now, he’s not feeling so generous. It’s the third time she’s asked this question and if Mikey didn’t have any control over his dark impulses, he would have crashed the car to shut her up, permanently.

“Who are you talking about?”

“You know, that lapdog that has attached herself to Em like a parasite.”

Senju’s voice is like nails scratching on a board to his ears, as sweet as sugar, yet as salty as the sea. She knows you are a sore topic for him and yet, she chooses to frustrate him.

The car rolls to a halt, stopping beside the library. He’s never seen Senju in the library before, but she whined about having to walk all the way there when she called him and he decided to just help her out. He expects the conversation to be over now as she’s at her destination, for her to get out and complain about how he doesn’t tell her anything.

Instead, she shifts closer to him from across the passenger’s seat to the drivers, her colder body pressed against his warm body, a constant for her. A soft sigh escapes his lips as her hand worms its way to his hair, fingers gently massaging his scalp in a satisfying way. He finds himself visibly relaxing, the tension slowly leaving his body as she rubs circles into his head, her acrylics giving a nice feel to her gentle actions.

Oh. Mikey understands what she wants. She’s jealous of you.

“Come on, Mikey.” her voice is soothing now, no longer having the masculine edge she uses, as if she’s pouting. He likes it. He thinks this is why she’s so successful in her own gang, her ability to switch personas, you can never tell who is the real Senju. “Does she fuck better than me? Is that why you spend more time with her now?”

Mikey scoffs. If only that were true. You wouldn’t even let him touch you if it was the end of the world. He supposes it was partly his fault for being too rough, but was he that repulsive that you would rather die than sleep with him?

At first, he felt guilty for making you cry. It plagued him for nights on end. Then, he got tired of feeling guilty and it was swiftly replaced with annoyance instead. Why do you get to blame him for anything terrible that happened to you, it's not like he forced you to sleep with him? Or sit on his lap to feed him? It’s not like he made you buy those expensive clothes or he threatened you to enter your room.

You were a willing participant to everything that happened between the two of you. You just didn’t want to acknowledge it because it went against your religious ideals. Afterall, you liked him romantically, what girl wouldn’t want her crush to want to sleep with her?

Sometimes he wonders if you truly like him or its his money that makes you tolerate him.

“That’s much better now isn’t it?” She whispered in his ears and he only nodded in response, not wanting to sound like a fool if he opened his mouth to speak. Ever the weakling for being pampered by anyone, he leans into her touch and lets his guard down. “Or you’d prefer her to do this for you?”

He flushes red at her constant teasing, wanting nothing more to bury his head inside sand with how hot he was feeling right now, being caught red handed. “You keep mentioning her, almost as if you want to get on my nerves” He finally gets out after a few minutes of staving off thoughts about you being so touchy with him, voice strangled with need. “What do you want from me?”

She chuckled into his ears again, making his neck hairs stand at attention. “Just curious, a few months ago, you wanted nothing to do with her.” She hummed in his ears. “Now every waking chance, you’re practically thinking about her, to the point you spent so much money on her. Don’t you think it’s strange?”

“I didn’t sleep with her. You know I don’t touch virgins, so what are you getting at?”

Senju paused her movements, putting her chin on his head as if she’s deep in thought. “Well personally…” Senju started in a sing-song voice. “... I think she’s really pretty and that’s obvious, but she’s not that stunning to begin with. You’ve been with much prettier girls and she doesn’t necessarily have the looks to turn heads.”

“Not everyone can be you, Senju.”

“I know I’m the prettiest girl you’ll ever be with, Mikey.” She snickered, completely ignoring Mikey’s sarcastic comment as she continued her analysis. “But, come to think of it, she kinda reminds me of a certain someone.”

Mikey frowned at her words, not liking the inflection of her tone, as if she was about to imply he was doing something wrong. She took his silence as a hint to continue taunting him.

“Soft, caring, gentle, miserable.”

She lowers her lips to the side of his head, lips gently brushing the shell of his ear as she utters one word that tipped him over the edge.

“Maternal.”

The next moment was a blur, Mikey spinning Senju around until she was face up and he was on top of her in the passenger seat, large hands wrapped around her neck tight. His eyes were darkened completely, nothing behind them but pure, unbridled rage, practically pinning her down with all his weight.

His breathing is heavy, hot against her skin as he lowers his head to hers, their foreheads practically touching each other as he pierces through her soul with his hate filled glare. With each moment that passes, the pink haired girl loses air, her circulation slowly cutting off. 

A normal person would be rightfully afraid and fight the hell for their lives, biting and scratching him to let go. Senju used to fight him off like that too, when he would lose his temper because she refused to listen to him about fighting with people. It used to be an effective scare tactic to show her just how easily she could be overpowered.

But now, Senju knows him. Knows the darkness that consistently plagues him and drives him to the wall. Mikey is no enigma or mystery to her anymore as he is to his foolish admirers.

Instead, she smiles at him, her own eyes shining badly with mischief and something entirely different, naughty. “H-heh. Y-ou’re ju-st as sick as Iza-na” she croaked out snarkily, her minty breath invading his nostrils. “M-mother fuck-”

“Say that word and I’ll snap your fucking neck.”

She clamped her mouth shut at his promise, opting to smile sultry at him instead, despite her dwindling air supply. Maybe it was the masochist in her, but the constant choking had made her a little less scared and a little more interested in the twisted desire of Mikey lashing out on her, doing this repeatedly. Haruchiyo barely paid attention to her presence and always blamed himself for anything Senju did and Takeomi always blamed Haruchiyo, completely skipping her entirely, even when Haruchiyo had nothing to do with it and she did something bad just for anyone to tell her she was wrong.

Mikey though. He fulfills her fantasy of being scolded, hurt, not treated as some fragile princess, but a tool to take out his hurt and hatred on. And she loves it. Perhaps it’s why he’s always the victim of her constant and persistent attitude, watching him tick was always so fun. At least she knew the one place to win him since he was physically stronger than her.

Dark impulses. 

Emma’s lucky to have brother’s that care enough to interfere. Maybe that’s why the blonde girl isn’t as twisted as she is.

The air between the two shifts into something hotter, more charged than before. She coughs violently as Mikey removes his hands off her neck entirely and sits up, his hands flying to his belt. As usual, she watches him from her lashes with interest as he fumbles around with it, ever so impatient to understand or think about what he was about to do with her.

“You’re so desperate” she chuckles as he tosses his belt somewhere in the car. “Bet she can’t fuck you right, huh?”

He didn't say anything as he shrugged his pants off to his knees, breathing harsh as he lowered his face towards hers, capturing her lips in a bruising kiss. She returned it with equal feverency, her fingers digging into his hair.

She smiled into the kiss, closing her eyes to relish in the taste of the sweet pastry he had eaten prior. He pulled away from her lips and began to kiss her neck with fervor, each kiss articulated with quiet “(name)” spilling from his lips as he pushed into her.

The pair don’t notice you staring at them from across the quad, tears streaming down your face.

  “YOU’RE not performing as well as you ought to. What is going on (last name?)”

You could think of a myriad of answers to professor Hanabi’s question, but all of them would sound unbelievable to anyone with a good head on their shoulders.

You didn’t know where to even start as you stood in front of the older man. Maybe it was the crushing feeling of guilt that followed you around, or the invasive dreams when you do manage to sleep off, the Sano brothers taking advantage of you in different, shameful ways as Yuzuha’s voice repeats "karma" until you’re screaming awake, tears rolling down your eyes.

It’s apparent your condition was far worse than before. Concealers could hide your eye bags, but they couldn’t hide the slump in your shoulders or the flash of fear whenever you lock eyes with any of the Sano brothers, especially Mikey.

It was a no brainer as to why school was the last thing on your mind right now.

Your gaze casted down to the big F written on your script. You had thought at least your make up test would be good enough for a C with how stressed you were, but apparently, you were wrong about that one too.

It didn’t make any sense, you had Hinata, the smartest girl in class, teach you before the test. So how did this happen?

‘Oh.’ You remember the events of yesterday at the cafeteria. It makes sense to you now that Hinata would lie to make you fail.

Of all courses it had to be the most difficult of them all with an equally difficult lecturer, who happened to be the Dean of the English studies and Language department; professor Daniel Hanabi.

“I-i don’t understand professor-” you started, about to say the words ‘I did everything right’ but quickly stopped yourself. Professor Hanabi was a strict man who prided himself in being correct every time. Assuming that you did everything right would mean that he was wrong and would only get him angry with you, reducing your chances at any form of negotiation. Instead, you changed the tune of the conversation. “- I thought I was prepared-”

“You cannot keep assuming you are prepared for anything, Ms. (Last name).” He hissed, silencing you immediately. You bowed your head in embarrassment as the blonde haired man started tearing at you. “How do you assume you are well prepared for a course, my course specifically? It is either you are or you’re not and looking at this excuse of a test score, you’re NOT. And you know why you failed? It’s because you’re a moron! A bimbo with nothing in that head of yours-”

You stayed silent as the man continued barking at you, tuning out his hurtful words with every curse and insult thrown in your face. You bit back any form of tears so that he wouldn’t find another reason to shout at you.

“- everyday I spend my time trying to impart knowledge onto you people and in turn you all disappoint me. What do you have to say for yourself?”

You took a deep breath, holding back tears of humiliation as you clasped your hands together. You knew the best thing to do was to tolerate his insults so that he could give you another chance. “I apologize, Professor Hanabi.” You began with a humble voice. “It was my fault. You gave me a lot of time to study and I failed to deliver. But please sir, you have to let me try again! I can do better. Please!”

The room fell silent again after your plea, the only noticeable noise being the whirling of the AC in the dean's office. A lump began to form in your throat at the tense atmosphere, wondering what next he was going to say.

“Fine.” He said, making you sigh in relief, one good thing finally happening in your life for the first time in months now. “I’ll let you retake the test next January.”

“Thank you sir!” You said appreciatively. “I’ll do my very best-”

He waved at you dismissively, not in the mood for any sort of thearatics, now facing the rest of his papers. “Just leave my office before I change my mind.”

   MIKEY should know better than to bother you.

There’s a sensible part of him that knows he should keep his distance from you. With how you cower away from his presence whenever he comes to see Emma after her classes, or how your body goes rigid when he turns to your direction, attempting to greet you, it’s evident that you don’t want to be in the same space or vicinity as he was. Even Emma complained to both him and Izana that she feels like you’re slipping away from her, that you look for every excuse to not hang out with her anymore and she feels so sad. 

It’s not like he didn’t deserve it, even before the events of that night, all his actions prior - from bullying you, to isolating you from any potential friends, the insults, the berating, the way he tormented you for months, turning everyone he sunk his claws into to your enemy, making you the most hated girl in the school- it was only a matter of time until you couldn’t bear to look at him without throwing up in your mouth a little.

He should be happy. After all, it was all he wanted, wasn’t it? For you to be out of their lives? He has finally chased you away.

So why does it annoy him so much that you're avoiding him now?

He stares at you from across the table, taking in your features; you look terrible as compared to the vibrancy of the friend group; your eyes have prominent dark circles, as if you haven’t slept in days, your lips are chapped, dehydrated and your hands twitch nervously underneath his scrutinising gaze, fiddling the spoon in your hands. You’re not looking anyone in the eye, and despite you being usually silent, today it’s different, you look defeated.

Like you don’t want to be here.

“Come on (name), Mikey’s being generous today! He never pays for lunch.” Emma chirps in, nudging you playfully, but you don’t budge. One may think she’s oblivious to your suffering right now, but everyone notices the nervous edge to her voice and the worried look in her eyes.

It’s like there’s this wall that’s impenetrable between you and her.

“I’ll eat”

You fall silent once again, and the meal goes on uneventfully, a little small talk here and there between some of their other friends. Mikey has been quiet too, trying his best not to be obvious in sneaking glances at you, often flickering his gaze to everyone else in their friend group to throw off suspicion. You don’t pay much attention to him or anyone, unlike how in the early days you used to stare at him with so much adoration. There used to be so much life in your eyes, in your body language, in the way you eat, in everything.

He’s succeeded in killing you finally, leaving only your corpse to roam the earth, but he didn’t mean to. If he could bring back that part of you that would worship him, he would. He hates not being the center of your life, not being the reason you’re happy. Sure, it seems like he is being selfish, but he has his own needs as well that you didn’t honor, even when he tried to be nice to you.

You hurt him too, dressing up only to reject his touch. It was humiliating having to deal with the fact that a girl doesn’t want him sexually. He was even willing to break his rule of not sleeping with a virgin for you. He bought you things, he spoiled you and tried to take charge when you were acting like a dead fish and in return, you threatened to kill yourself because he wanted sex like every normal man does and he had to leave with blue balls that night.

Senju was right. He wonders what he saw in you in the first place.

“... can you imagine? They’re not letting anyone stay back in school for winter break.” Emma whined, bringing Mikey back to reality. Everyone else on the table perked up from their food. “What for? What about people who want to stay behind and study? Or people who don’t have anywhere to go?”

Oh yeah. It was in the newsletter that Draken read to him earlier this month -and forced him to listen to. Mikey decides to chime in for the first time since the meal began. “Em, it’s not like they want to chase people out. The school’s undergoing some renovations and they don’t need any one interrupting them.”

“But that doesn’t answer my question.” Emma huffs out. Izana only chuckles at his little sister’s mini tantrum, while Mikey shakes his head. “What about people that don’t have a home to go back to? People that their families abandoned? Where are they supposed to go?”

“They’ll figure it out.” Draken scoffed dryly and some people on the table laughed in response.

“Ken, don't be so callous! (Name)’s in that category since her parents don’t even talk to her anymore-”

Mikey sees it. The subtle way your jaw clenches. But you’re not one to lash out, so he’s not worried. You know how to hold yourself. But Emma doesn’t, continuing on her tirade on just how she hates your parents so much while everyone else on the table looks from her to you.

“- ever since they disowned her, they’ve never bothered to even ask how she was doing! This school’s policy isn’t fa-”

“Emma…”

“-ir at all. Can you imagine? (Name), tell me you’re not going back to them? I can talk to the school if you want me to, they’ll have to listen to me-”

“Emma, please-”

“Don’t worry about it. You don’t have to go back to your shitty parents. Not like they deserve a good daughter like you anyways-”

“Stop it, please-”

Mikey knows that Emma’s in her own world, assuming she’s doing good as she rants about your shitty parents expecting you to agree with her like you always do with everything. But right now, she doesn’t hear the desperation in your tone or see the look of humiliation etched onto your features as everyone turns their attention towards you, staring at you either with pity, amusement or indifference.

“You’re too kind, always protecting them.” Emma sighs, turning to Senju, who like Izana only watches in amusement as you crumble further, tears slowly rolling down your cheeks. The pink haired girl has never liked you from day one, probably because Yuzuha hates you and she - Senju- adores the older woman. “Senju, can you imagine? They kicked her out for wanting to go to school. Ridiculous. Aren’t they terrible people? How would you not want your kid to go to school cause she’s a girl? And (name)’s incredibly smart too-”

“Please stop talking about my parents like that-”

“Oh come on! This again, (name).” She turns back to you, annoyed that she isn’t getting the reaction that she wants. “Why are you protecting them? You know they treated you badly! Your father used to beat you all the time and your mother would just watch-”

“Stop it, you’re making her sad!” Draken tries to cut her off, but it only makes Emma angrier, now facing Draken too. “I’m not! I’m just telling the truth! She keeps taking their side. When have they ever been good parents? Do you know she called her mother some months ago to talk? You all want to know what her mother had to say?”

“Please… don-”

“What did her mother say, Emma?” Yuzuha cuts in, now interested in the conversation, casting her phone aside. Her expression is curious, but there’s a sick glee in her honey coloured eyes, like she’s been waiting for this moment for a long time. “Can you tell us?”

“Gosh! Her mother called her a whore, Yuzuha. Her own mother! What kind of mother calls her virgin daughter a whore for wanting an education?”

The girls on the table dramatically gasped, not because they’re shocked, but because they knew it was upsetting you.

Yuzuha is the first to react, gleeful eyes finding yours, tearfully looking at her as her lips curled into a pitiful smile. “Oh (name), how the tables turned.” She says in a sickening sweet voice. “I know you didn’t think you would end up being your mother’s scapegoat, right? What a shame it happened to you too.”

Your body goes rigid for a brief moment, before snapping back to reality, please spilling from your lips. “Yuzuha please-”

“Huh…” Hinata chimed in, shutting your pleas down as she curiously asked, “Come to think of it. You did grow up together… did you ever encounter (name)’s mother?”

“Of course I did. I babysat her.” Yuzuha says the next part bitterly, as if she’s been holding this in for a very long time now, waiting for the right chance to speak her truth. “Unpaid labor to watch over (name) and teach her good manners. It was hell.” the girls, even Emma laughed, before Yuzuha continued. “You know, (name) acts like a saint now, but back then, she was a self-righteous, obnoxious brat who reported everyone’s wrong doings to her mother and father -letting her parents spread rumors about others, isolating people for silly things. But you know, I forgave her cause it wasn’t her fault she was like that. Her mother was a bible thumping idiot, so it made sense for her to turn out that way, just to get a crumb of attention-”

“Yuzuha, please-”

“But you know what IS unforgivable, though?” Yuzuha’s voice is curt, her eyes narrowed into slits, dealing a devastating blow to your already crumbling reputation. “Your mother called me a lying whore after I told her that your big brother tried to force himself on me.”

The whole table goes silent. Mikey trails his eyes to you, not believing his ears that you were involved in such a terrible act, until he sees the shame and guilt written all over your face, your shoulders trembling with sobs, whispering “I’m sorry” over and over again.

‘So that’s why she didn’t tell anyone anything about what I did.’

Mikey realizes that in a way, he was your karma after all. You would have deserved every single thing he did to you that night.

Yuzuha isn’t done yet. No, she’s been waiting for this opportunity for years, and nothing will stop her from dragging your name through the mud. She starts blinking out tears, trying to hold it in as everyone turns their attention towards you, blood lust permeating the air.

Emma can’t even stare at you. There’s this look of shock on her features, before morphing into one of utter disappointment.

“I understand if you still want to be friends with her, Emma. I kept this secret because you care about her, but everytime I look at this girl, all I can see is the church women berating me for a traumatic experience that wasn’t my fau- fault- oh god I can’t-”

Yuzuha suddenly breaks down, her head buried in her hands as she starts to cry. Hinata and Senju rush to hug the girl, while everyone else stares down at you, furious.

“I feel disgusted just looking at you.” Mitsuya is the first to speak up, his voice full of venom. It’s natural of him to be so protective of Yuzuha, especially because he’s so close to her and Hakkai. “So it was your mother that tried to ruin Yuzuha’s life and then you pretended like nothing happened and tried to join our group?”

“Wait, please I can explain. I wasn’t part of it-”

“Oh, you want to make excuses now?” Keisuke cuts you off angrily. “You’re lucky you’re a woman or I would have beaten you up where you sat.”

One by one, everyone started to gang up on you, cursing you out, not letting you say a single word. Eventually, you felt so powerless surrounded by people screaming at you that you started to cry even more, begging them to hear you out. You turn to the one person that could still have your back, your hands pressed together in a prayer. “Emma, please, you have to tell them to listen to me, please-”

“Why the fuck are you crying now?” Rindou suddenly snapped at you, pushing Emma behind him, not before you saw her turn her head away from you, as if she couldn’t stare at you any longer. “Why do you always have to act like the victim, huh? Is something wrong with you? You should be apologizing to Yuzuha, not dragging Emma into your stupid mess”

You’re quick to fall onto your knees in front of the orange haired girl, your head touching the ground, apologies spewing from your lips. But neither of the brothers, nor their friends care anymore. Mikey feels foolish for worrying about a pathetic human being like you, for having mercy on you instead of taking advantage of you like he should have. All this while, you acted like you were a harmless little ant that can’t do anything, writhing around when someone says something mean to you.

How could he have been so blind?

“Get out before I kill you.”

You look up at Mikey, about to open your mouth to beg him when Izana throws his drink at your head, splashing it on your entire body, sending the message loud and clear; get lost.

Mikey doesn’t feel an ounce of guilt when he sees you carrying your bags and leaving, sobs echoing throughout the entire school.

  SOMETIMES, you wonder if you were cursed.

In the year of your birth, your father had lost his job and became a terrible drunk. Your mother had taken even more frequent violent beatings - already a victim for the majority of their marriage- that year, more than any other year and hadn’t found out she was pregnant until she nearly miscarried you.

Bloodied with a swollen eye and a busted lip, she had more things to worry about than a budding child in her womb. Your immediate elder brother was four and the baby of the house, your three older brothers, aged ten, twelve and fifteen had an amazing relationship with your dad, him never hitting or hurting them. She already had four sons to raise, four sons that would carry the (last name) on for generations and for a split second she considered getting rid of you, despite being against it from a religious standpoint.

But then, your father assumed he would have another son. A fifth son. Your father loved sons, they were easier to raise and they were his pride and joy. The others were turning out good, and despite your father’s violence, life was good. A son brings luck and your father assumed he would get a job soon.

You were born unlucky. You were a girl.

Except for the prompting and care of your maternal grandmother, your mother practically abandoned you, hoping you would starve to death. You barely saw your father’s face, except through pictures and he hated touching you.

You knew your crime was being born a girl; you apologized every day and paid dearly for it. You did everything you were told, down to the most humiliating experiences of your life. You were smart enough to realize that if you could gain the love of your father, then everyone would love you too.

Misfortune after misfortune.

You thought the horrors would end there when you ran away from home. That you would change your destiny and live a normal life. All those books you read talked about finding yourself and love in high school, and you couldn’t really, because of the scrutiny of your family, perhaps university would be where you found it.

But now, it’s all gone. You’ve lost everything the moment you gained it, all for things you couldn’t control.

You don’t know how long you've been crying in the payphone booth, pressing the phone on your ear, waiting for someone to pick you up. It’s late in the night, and you’re clad in only your pjs and a jacket to ward off the cold, standing in a cramped space, miles away from your dorm. Your eyes feel swollen from sobbing for long hours, the only thing you do after school, while applying for jobs, while doing your assignments - an everlong sadness etched into the very crevice in your soul.

“Hello, who is this?”

There are no ties left between you and your mother or any member of your family after you ran away two years ago, to show how foolish the idea was to go back to your vomit. But with everything that has happened, there was no other person you could turn to but your parents.

At least there, you knew where you stood and how to avoid trouble. You knew not to look your brother or father in the eye and you knew they rather have too little salt in their food than too much. Your life back then was horrible, but your brothers respected you enough to not allow any man touch you or humiliate you in public like the Sano family and their group of horrible friends have done, even if it’s all to preserve your family’s image. 

“I’m sorry but if you’re not going to say anything, I’m going to have to cut the call.”

“W-wait don’t go-” You blurt out quickly, racking through your brain to say anything before she starts getting suspicious. “I-i- is the (lastname)’s home?”

“Yes. What do you want?”

Your heart nearly breaks into two at the fact that not even your mother recognizes your voice. Sure it’s been two years but surely your voice hasn’t changed that much since then, has it? Were you that irrelevant that you - her child, her only daughter- were not something of importance or someone to remember?

You comb through your brain to think of something to say. What do you even say to someone who called you a disgrace to all women? That told you she will never ever forgive you for breaking her heart? You’re sure if you lead with a ‘hey, mom, it’s me’ she’d cut the call, still angry at you for running away from home and bringing shame to your family’s name by doing so.

Your parents never forgot your past transgressions when you were in the house, always holding it up over your head and weaponizing it against you to get you to be a good girl. Back then, you were sure they hated you and all your classmates muttered about how abusive it was to be in that kind of situation, but now, even the beatings given to you pales in comparison to the trauma the Sano brothers have put you through.

You want to go back to your parents and tell them you were sorry for thinking they were bad people. That you love them and you’re ready to be a good child and do as they say. “Do you by chance have a daughter?” you decide to test the waters, hopeful she’d be at least receptive to hearing about you. “I’m her friend and I know that I’m doing this behind her back but she really misses you-”

“I had a daughter” she cuts you off abruptly, her tone cold, talking about you in past tense as if you’re dead. Maybe you are dead to your mother at least, with how hateful she sounds, as if your name is poison. “If by any chance that whore is trying to reconcile then tell her to not bother us. Goodbye.”

“Wait, mama it’s me! It’s (name)! I’m sorry, i’m sor-”

The line goes dead before you could say anything else.

Sobs escape from your lips, the phone slipping from your hand to the ground with a dull thud, your body sliding down the phone booth, head buried in your hands as your shoulders tremble. Of course, what did you expect? That your mother would want you back? You’re not her beloved sons who would carry the family name further, you’re a liability of a daughter who couldn’t do one thing right.

Even if you do come home, you’re already partially soiled with Manjiro touching you, with nothing to your name but the shame of failure in every aspect of your life.

“Please mama, I want to come home.”

‘sixteen missed calls from: (nick name) <3’

‘Thirty unread messages from: (nickname) <3’

‘5 voicemails from: (nickname)<3’

  HOW do you forgive someone who has been lying to you your entire friendship?

You're the least person she’d expect to betray her like this. She assumed you were an open book, that you told her everything about your past, your family and your life, because she did so. You’re the first person she dared to bare her heart to that wasn’t either a childhood friend or her brother’s goons. You’re the person she risked all her relationships for, always fighting for you, defending you against her brother’s accusations, that you wanted something from her, probably because you were poor. She even dared to fall in love with you, in love with the person you showed her you were.

But that was a lie. Everything about you is a lie. You weren’t an innocent, helpless girl who was kicked out by her cruel family, you were just as cruel as they were. Outing Hakkai for being gay, keeping quiet about what happened to Yuzuha, ruining a girl’s chance to escape her arranged marriage by telling her family where she hid? It just kept getting worse with each tearful story Yuzuha had told her.

You were not the person she thought you were.

Her brothers had tried to warn her. Izana is usually a good judge of character, and he was always paranoid when it came to you. Mikey’s friendly to everyone, but for some reason, you and him clashed so often. Emma used to put the blame on her brothers’ difficulty to accept change. Now she realizes that maybe they saw something dangerous in you that she didn’t.

Her phone rings loudly again from across the room, but Emma has not made any effort to pick it up, opting to just lie face down on the hotel bed, waiting for Draken to come out of the bathroom. She knows it’s you calling her, begging her to please listen and hear you out, but she can’t bring herself to do so. Even if she picks it up, you’re just going to lie, hide the truth from her to save your skin. How many secrets have you been keeping from her? How many more? How could you betray her like this?

She won’t fall for it. Never again.

Eventually, the calls stop coming in, probably because you’re tired or you’ve figured it out that you’re not needed anymore. She asks Draken to help her delete all the messages and voicemails when he comes out, not wanting to look at them anymore, or she might cave and call you back.

And when he was done, she asks him to fuck her until she can’t remember the name of her traitous friend.

It doesn’t work.

  IZANA loves being right.

Watching Mikey furiously pace around, his fists balled at his side as he curses you over and over again was vindicating. All along, Izana knew you were suspicious, that good girl act of yours, how quickly you became friends with Emma, how not even Hinata liked you when they first met you; it had to mean you were hiding something.

He didn’t expect it to be so big, of course, but it felt good to be correct.

So now, while everyone is reeling from Yuzuha’s confession, Izana is gleeful. You’re finally, finally the villain in this story for the first time and he’s not seen as the crazy bully who tormented you for nothing. Sure, Emma is crying her eyes out in her room as Draken tries to comfort her, and Mikey’s having a mental crisis about how he should have gone ahead that night instead of sparing you, he’s personally, is having the time of his life, pouring shots after shots for himself and Kisaki. 

If he had it his way, he would have thrown a ‘fuck you, (name)’ party to celebrate you being gone from their lives.

“Come on now Mikey!” he calls out, holding out a drink for him, a wide smile on his face. “You’ve got to sit down, have a drink. I’ll even get you a cocktail that’s sweet, just the way you like it. Stop pacing around like you’re the guilty one.”

Mikey stops for a moment, his dark empty eyes darting from Izana’s drink to Izana’s smirking face. His facial expression is almost unreadable, if not for the brewing irritation hidden beneath his carefully crafted blank stare.

‘Oh’ Izana reminds himself of that unfortunate night that he wasted all his energy on helping his brother to get you, his smile dropping outwardly. ‘I forgot that he was also beginning to have feelings for her. How troublesome.’

The white haired man sets down the drink carefully, refusing to break eye contact with his younger brother. It seemed Mikey’s opposing mood must have sobered up Izana, at least to the point where he could stand up carefully and walk up to his little brother until they were standing face to face with each other. Kisaki watches the event unfold, one leg strewn over the other as he sips on his drink.

“Manjiro, rejoice, you can rest easy now” Izana starts, after a momentary long pause. “She can never use what you did to her against you. No one's gonna believe her. I know she was beginning to mean something to you and you were navigating very difficult feelings, things you don’t understand-”

Manjiro’s eyes hardened at Izana’s words even further, the frown on his face deepening. “I think I understand my feelings very well.” He snaps defensively, as if saying he had feelings for you was some kind of insult. “I was not in love with her. I’m just annoyed that I fell for her innocent act.”

Izana blinked once. Then twice. Then three times.

‘This idiot cannot be serious’

Composing himself, Izana takes in a deep breath, rubbing his temples with a groan. He’s back to Mikey denying his true feelings to cope, square one again. “Mikey, it’s okay to feel betrayed by (name). Everyone knows you wanted her and that’s fine-”

“I did not want her.”

“Mikey don’t lie to yourself. I know what I saw that night-”

“I don’t care what you saw, I did not want her then and I don’t want her now-”

There’s a growing frustration gnawing at Izana’s mind, but also amusement. Mikey is so prone to denying his own feelings, and denying the truth, even when evidence was face to face with him, that it was nearly hilarious to watch him do it, especially when it’s someone he feels is beneath him.

“Mikey, do you like her?”

“No.”

“You’re lying. You do have feelings for her. Just admit it. That’s why you’re upset about it right? About what she did? Because now, you’re torn between loyalty to us and going after her-”

“I said I don’t like her. I even feel disgusted for ever touching her in the first place.” Mikey looks terribly pissed at this point, his face red with anger. This was getting ridiculous now, it’s written all over Mikey’s body- the twitching of his left fist, the rapid blinking, even how he’s trying to even his breath to calm down; each denial is a confession. “I’ve got many girls that want to fuck me, she’s not the only one.”

“-and yet, you wanted to chase after her.” Izana spat back. “Isn’t that right?”

“Keep believing in your own delusions, Izana.”

“Delusions? Says the man who keeps jerking off to her nude photos every night.”

Mikey hadn’t even realized when he jumped on top of his brother, pushing him down hard on the  wooden table and knocking the drinks over, shattering the expensive bourbon whiskey Kisaki had just acquired to the ground and started exchanging blows with him. Izana doesn’t hold back either, wrestling Mikey off him to the ground, swinging twice as hard.

“Oh come on,” Izana yelled, articulating his words with brutal blows to Mikey’s jaw and face, sending it flying upward. “Everyone knows what is up Mikey. You’re head over heels for her-”

All Mikey saw was red as he swung his head downwards, landing on his elder brother’s nose hard and destabilizing him, before throwing Izana on the wall. Mikey corners him in place, before punching his abdomen repeatedly, making the older man cough violently. “I told you I don’t love that bitch,” His voice didn’t change inflection as he switched his direction to Izana’s cheek. “Why the fuck don’t you ever listen to me? Are you trying to piss me off?”

The older male blocked the last fist aimed at his face and kneed his brother in his stomach, before kicking him to the floor. A psychotic grin made its way to Izana’s face, like the painful blows were nothing to him. “Just a few weeks ago-” he kicked Mikey in the face, making the blond tumble across the floor. “ -you were all over her, wanting her to sit on your lap and feed you? Bet you called your other sluts her name, didn’t you?”

“So what if I did? Doesn’t matter! I’m not in love with her.”

“Really? That’s not normal Mikey-”

Izana’s mockery only fuelled Mikey’s anger, making him push himself off the ground and kick his brother violently in his face. The white haired man fell straight to the ground, howling with laughter at Mikey’s outburst as the blonde jumped on top of him, ready to punch his face again.

“You’re so in love with her-”

“THAT IS ENOUGH!”

Mikey’s hand froze mid punch at the sound of Kisaki Tetta screaming at the top of his voice from the sofa. Kisaki looked at the two of them, nose turned up in disgust as he folded his arms around his chest. The two brothers looked around them, realizing the wreckage they caused within just minutes of fighting- broken vases, the shattered whiskey soaking into Hajime’s imported rug, and glass shards.

His glass encased eyes scanned around the room, tsking at the destruction. “Kokonoi’s going to fucking kill me.” He murmured before looking at the two males, a frown on his lips. “All this over one bitch?” he asked, a brow raised in disappointment and shock. “I’d be impressed if I wasn’t pissed.”

Izana was the first to react, scoffing at the younger male’s unwanted interruption. “This isn’t your problem-”

“It’s mine now.” Kisaki shot back hotly, irritated by everything that was going on. “Since we can’t even have peace of mind now that she is gone, it’s definitely my problem. The both of you, get up. Now.”

The two of them begrudgingly untangled themselves from each other and got up, dusting their clothes, ignoring the bruises scattered all over their body. Or the blood dripping down Mikey’s face from the cut on his head, and his eye that was now black and swelling up, even the way Izana held his abdomen painfully. Kisaki eyed both of them, moving from Mikey to Izana and then Mikey again.

“Mikey, you know normally I don’t care about what woman you see, as long as it’s not affecting our business.” He starts, taking in a deep, long breath before letting it out. “But everyone’s noticed the change in your demeanour since that party where you and (name) fought.”

“Are you agreeing with Izana?”

“Come on, even Kisaki can see it, you’re the one who’s playing dum-”

“ENOUGH!” Kisaki interjected once again, extremely frustrated by their constant squabbles. The brothers kept quiet, as Kisaki continued. “Mikey, it’s clear there’s a tension between the two of you. I don’t mind whether you label it or not, but it’s clear this is affecting you.”

It was Mikey’s turn to roll his good eye, voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’m fine.-”

“Manjiro Sano, you are twenty-four for god’s sake. Stop being so childish for once.” Izana spat back, getting fed up. Kisaki nodded, agreeing with Izana. “He has a point. You can’t keep pretending it doesn’t exist forever. For some reason, you want her.”

Mikey took a long and deep breath, trying to make headway and listen to what Kisaki was saying, despite the whole ordeal being so difficult for him. His good dark eye flickered to Kisaki’s face as he asked. “What the fuck are you implying”

“It’s very easy,” Kisaki shrugged his shoulders. “you just need to get her out of your system.”

Izana started smiling deviously, wanting to piss off Mikey even further. “Like a rebound? Well, Senju tried, but then she got really pissed with him moaning a different girls name while being balls deep in her-”

“Shut up and let me finish.” Kisaki barked. When he was sure no one was going to interrupt him, he continued. “Mikey, you have to sleep with (name)”

As much as Izana wanted to pass off Kisaki’s idea as a stupid plan, it actually sounded like a good idea. Sometimes, you just need to get something to see how worthless and unimportant it was so that you can let it go. He had to admit, as much as Kisaki was a bastard who was only doing this for his drug business, he couldn’t deny he was more insightful than anyone when it came to interpersonal relationships.

Too bad he couldn’t use that skill to get the woman he loved.

“You’re fucking crazy.” Mikey interjects, his face scrunched up in disgust, repulsed by the idea. “She has rejected me so many times and look at the way we kicked her out of the group. She’s not going to believe me if I suddenly switch up and pretend to be nice just to get in her pants. And I don’t sleep with virgins-”

“But it seem like you really want to fuck this one.” Izana retorts dryly. Kisaki shoots him a dirty look, making the older man raise his hand not clutching his abdomen in mock surrender.

“I don’t want her.” Mikey spits out. It’s clear he’s getting tired of everyone being on his case about you. “Yeah, I wanted to sleep with her at some point, but she sucks at everything I ask her to do. She can’t even satisfy me sexually, even when she’s on board. There’s nothing redeeming about her personality, she’s a boring prude with nothing to offer. Why the hell would I chase after her?”

“Mikey, are you sure? You know, we can help you-”

“If she ever approaches me again, I’ll snap her neck.”

Without saying anything else, Mikey picks up his phone and storms out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Kisaki collapses on the couch, snatching the bottle instead of the shot glass, mumbling something along the lines of Mikey being a ‘spoiled brat’ and how he’s tired of all this dramatic nonsense before downing the drink in one go.

Izana stands there, looking at the door, blinking slowly as if processing everything that just happened, the wheels turning his head. He knows Mikey is lying about not wanting you, Izana can see it in his younger brother’s eyes and it should anger him, after all, he went through the stress of dealing with the aftermath of the situation, then setting up the mall outing that would make you indebted to Mikey and do whatever he wants with you. After all, those are times where Izana could have been doing something else entirely.

He should be angry. He had every right to. Any normal person would be angry for that much effort over something that didn’t work.

But when you’re Izana Kurokawa, you take every opportunity that has been staring at you for so long, even the one that doesn’t seem desirable enough at first glance, because in the end, you know the rewards are far greater and more interesting for the future.

A twisted grin makes its way to his face, his eyes gleaming with overwhelming excitement as the pieces fall into place for his next move. He was known as the gasoline to Mikey’s flames, always fanning the flames of dark impulses in Mikey’s heart and pushing him to be the worst version of himself.

And it seemed like Mikey just needed a little push in the right direction to lead him down the path Izana wants him to go.  

‘It’s my turn to play with your toy, little brother’

Bonus:

  SCHOOL closes eventually for the holidays.

Your roommate was already gone days before the official day came, leaving you all alone and you would have asked to come with her, but you know her answer would be a strong no. You tried calling Emma again, but her line doesn’t go through anymore, reminding you of the bitter reality that you’re truly alone in this world.

The school’s order was swift, kicking anyone left out or handing out suspensions to anyone that refused to leave. The last thing you needed was a suspension, so you packed a little of your things and wandered around in the bitter cold of the winter.

Things were hard at first. You tried your best not to look suspicious so that no one would suspect you’re homeless and call the police to report you or harrass you. At night, there was so much violence- fights would break out, there was so much stealing. Some of the men in the surrounding area had tried to take advantage of you, but you didn’t hesitate to defend yourself, fighting back and escaping.

It’s not like it’s your first time being homeless. So you know. It’s not easier for you, but at least you’re not as naïve as you were at seventeen.

Eventually, you wound up at a homeless shelter somewhere around town. It was crowded, cramped and smelt like damp mold most of the time, but at least you had a bed and two warm meals everyday. You could study now with little fear of getting robbed here, and go out and look for some odd jobs to do to earn money.

“Hey, missus cambridge, it’s food time.”

Your head snaps up from your book as the woman calls out to you. You didn’t really know her name or anything about her other than how she lost her kid and then everything in her life spiralled, wounding her up here. She was as nice as one could be trying to survive, giving you the name missus cambridge because you always held your bookbag so tight whenever you slept and then you did nothing but read all day or work all day.

“Yes mam.” You said, dropping your book, stuffing it into your bag and strapping your bag to yourself, before heading out towards the church. You were told that every Christmas, they donate food to the shelter from December to January, before disappearing into thin air. You found it ironic, the way that the soup drive gave them something to say they’re good people and call it a day. You don’t blame them. You don’t blame anyone for doing what they want to do.

After waiting your turn and getting your food, you sat down quietly somewhere far away from others. For once in your life, despite not having a roof over your head or a stable place to eat, you had peace of mind. No one was dragging you around and forcing you to do what you don’t want. Or breathing down your neck and telling you want to do. Or trying to rape you constantly.

Just peace and quiet.

‘Maybe this is better.’ you thought to yourself. ‘It’s better if I am alone. Everyone I loved always betrayed me or turned their backs on me. And it’s exhausting to keep enduring it. I don’t have to pretend to like people that hurt me or want me dead. I can live my life, now.’

With that understanding, you eat your food like it’s the best thing in the world. Being alone wasn’t so bad after all.

[meligumii]

Everyday I learn something new on tumblr🤭

[meligumii]

Negai No Astro Spoiler Ch. 39

What does he mean by this???!!!!

Did he really kill him?? I have so many questions.

Is it bc he demoted him??

Cs he used to be third in command but was demoted obvi cause that’s Torazo’s job now.

Is it a revenge things?

But we also know Kongo was in the hospital and old and it looked more like he was sick.

So how could Shikaba have been at fault?

I feel like next chapter he’s gonna be like ‘jk lmao Hibaru you’re so gullible🤪’ and then make this suspicious face after he walks away from him

but onna side and slightly related note—

I love him so much like omg he’s my favorite character.

Also, I didn’t wanna say anything cause he didn’t open his eye all the way the last time but I did notice he has the number 8[it’s sideways so kinda more like infinity] in his eye.

Is that the daybreak ore or is that something else?

Cs his eye been cut since he was younger way before the asteroid

Is that something special to him specifically? Like, we alr know he’s the 8th kid and also has a ring of the number 8 and number 8 on his clothes

Like 8 is his thing.

Or did he get a daybreak ore and put it in his eye??

Like, is Hibaru gonna win and then he’s gonna take his eye out and give it to him??

[I kinda doubt that last one tho cs I think they already knew his eye was like that cs nobody reacted strangely or talked abt it]

Plus, the way the matchups are I think Hibaru’s gonna beat Taira

and then Terasu will lose his next match

then Hibaru will beat whoever beat Terasu

And then fight Shikaba.[we finally get to see more of how his Astro work plus maybe some backstory]

[Also, do y’all think Shio gonna pop up soon cs we already seen he told Satsuki they going to Yokohama and Taira warned them that they invited Shio too. He’ll probably pop up during the last round and try to fight[KILL CS HE THREATENED TO TO THAT] both Hibaru and Shikaba??]

Random thought, I think his eye color may be green🤔

[meligumii]

LETHAL CRAVING

Shikaba x OC

ACT I CHAPTER 2 | THIS IS NOT WHAT LOVE IS

Abt. A watch, a mirror, in the elevator. Who knew that simple day would change her life for good. For Tsugumi, she would've never expected her life to take a turn. But is it for better or worse?

Chapter Synop. A painful memory kicks off Tsugumi’s eventful week— from her mother’s return to her sudden and frequent encounters with the Yokohama immortal, her world will begin to spin out of control, and she doesn’t even know it yet.

cw. DARK CONTENT. dark romance. physical assault. physical abuse. asphyxiation. blood(?). nose bleeding(?). implied underage sex(not written in detail just stated that it happened). implied stepcest. gaslighting(kinda). talks of arranged marriage. misogyny. redpill talk. objectification of women. (1) kiss.

wc. 13.1k

r.18

[chapter 1] [chapter 3]

Tsugumi’s heart beat loudly against the walls of her chest. She turned quickly at the sound of his voice, hoping— praying that he didn’t see her face. Sadly, she reacted too late. Ankoku clenched his fist and quickly strode toward her.

He harshly grabbed her jaw, gasping softly at the sight of her reddening cheek and cut lip that now wobbled. Her body tensed in his tight hold. “What happened to your face?” He repeated, eyes filling with a growing panic. Tsugumi stayed silent. Maybe he’d go away if she didn’t answer.

She could only hope to see such a fantasy come true, as her lack of response only served to replace his worry with anger. His hand moved to grasp her neck tightly, slamming her body into the bathroom door.

The impact knocked the wind out of her. She couldn’t even gasp for air due to the pressure against her throat, his fingers pinching her airways. She could only dryly cough and struggle to pry his hands from her neck.

“What. Happened” He demanded a response. “G… Genji… ro…” She began, words breathless and almost silent. “Sss… h… hit m-me… ugh…” She explained, scratching at his hand. Ankoku ignored the sudden burning sensations and pressed her further against the door.

“Take care of yourself!” His expression turned into one of worry again, the shift in his demeanor as terrifying as always. “I don’t want to see any bruises or scars on your face! It kills me” He whined. Tsugumi nodded quickly, knowing Ankoku hates to see his things getting damaged.

“Mm… mm…” Small hums were the only sound she could manage well. Ankoku grumbled softly, squeezing her neck tighter, in a sudden outburst groaning loudly and punching the door next to her head, cracking it slightly. Tsugumi squeaked and flinched, moving her head as far to the side as she could.

Even if she hadn’t moved, she knows the hit wouldn’t have connected with her face. That’s the one place Ankoku would never injure. He glared at her, pushing her with more force before finally letting go. Tsugumi took in a huge breath of air, coughing it all back up as she slid down to the floor.

She brought her shaky hand up to gently caress her sore neck while Ankoku stormed off to his room. She felt a wave of relief wash over her being, feeling lucky that he decided to leave it at just that.

She slowly picked herself up— her body trembling due to lack of strength— and stumbled to her bedroom with her head hanging low. She could barely manage to push her door close, having to lean her weight on it, pushing herself back up after hearing the latch click.

Her cheeks burned as tears welled up again. She still refused to let a single one fall, rapidly blinking them away. Slowly, Tsugumi made her way to her bed, flopping down and lazily rolling onto her side. Exhaustion hit like a sudden tidal wave, and she easily drifted off to sleep.

“So, can you help?” Genjiro asked, now seated at his office desk, his guest seated comfortably across from him. He was a rather muscular older gentlemen, likely in his late 40’s.

His hair was black and slicked back. It fell just below his ears, the left of which was pierced by a gold hook-shaped earring, with an undercut. His eyes were dark brown, shielded by round framed shades.

His had a thin mustache, and barely the stubble of a beard. He was dressed head to toe in designer, and a ring on almost every finger, excluding his thumb and ring fingers. Okamura Mahiru, a well known gangsters who commands a small yet famously powerful group— Yokoakuma.

He took a drawn out sip of his bourbon, courtesy of Kakihara, semi-melted ice sloshing around as he placed the cup down, breathing out obnoxiously. As if to show he was savoring the taste. “It may be difficult” He admitted, placing the cup down in the table, harder than necessary.

Genjiro frowned. “I need certainty” Mahiru clicked his tongue softly, shaking his head. “That’s the problem with spoiled rich kids, thinking everyone has to bend to their will” He complained.

“So you’re saying you can’t?” Genjiro raised, Mahiru snorting. “I never said that—” a smirk grew on his face. “—it’d be difficult yes, but in this world anything is possible as long as the price is right” He rubbed his thumb and index fingers together.

“I already know that. I’m willing to pay, so I just need you to get the job done properly” Genjiro nodded.

10:03am, bright and clear skies. At Toyogihashi High School was abuzz with life, its students currently in their morning classes. One class in particular— the second year class 2– were in gym class, engaged in an intense game of boys vs girls dodgeball.

In the back, on the girls’ side, Tsugumi stood boredly. As none of them had flew her way yet, she figured she was safe for the remaining minutes left, just under 30. She fiddled with the ends of her gym shorts, knuckles softly grazing her knees.

Gym was her least favorite class, right next to math. Every day she entered the gym, she wished it’d be her last class for life. But, it never panned out the way she wanted.

A flurry of red abruptly clouded her vision, flying straight toward her face brought her back to the moment she was in but she was too late. The red flurry— the dodgeball— hit her clean in the nose. It fell from her face just as quick as it flew.

It bounced away from her, the height lowering with each one, though continuing to echo through the suddenly quiet gymnasium. Tsugumi groaned softly, looking around to meet the wide eyes of her classmates.

Pins and needles— she felt a sudden sting build up in the back of her nostrils; irritating her enough to twitch her nose, while a cold liquid rolled down her lips. The gym teacher soon made it toward her, pulling napkins from his khaki cargo shorts on the way.

“Inazuma! Are you okay?!” He asked worriedly. Tsugumi hummed softly, neither nodding nor shaking her head. He pat her back, gently pressing the stack of napkins against her nose.

He put the slightest bit of pressure in his hold, until she took the napkins from him, doing the work herself. “Hold it like that and go to the infirmary. And don’t lean your head too far back” He reminded her, patting her back a few times.

Tsugumi walked slowly, somewhat thankful for the incident allowing her to skip gym class. The nurse also allowed her to stay there for the remainder of the period, to which she was also grateful for.

Now seated on of the infirmary’s gurney’s, near the window, she stared out at the blue sky. Her view was slightly blocked by the trees outside the school building, though she didn’t mind it much.

Not as much as the itch in the back of her mind— the feeling that she was missing something.

More accurately, that she did not belong. “What am I doing at school anyway?” She mumbled, clenching the bloodied tissue in her lap. She shook her head softly, dismissing the thought, where else would be this morning, if not at school?

Seated in the back of the car, after the school day had finally come to an end, Tsugumi only lamented that she couldn’t rest in the infirmary for the entire day. Unfortunately, her nose bleed wasn’t a serious enough injury for that.

At the moment, she and the chauffeur were waiting for Ankoku, who at the moment was saying his finally goodbyes to his friend, finally walking toward the car after waving for about the 20th time.

‘His name is Mogawa, right?’ Tsugumi glanced at Ankoku’s friend once more before turning to look out her own window. Momiji was the only one of Ankoku’s friends she’d remembered the name of.

Not only because he’d frequented their home as if it were his own, but because he was just as— if not more— peppy and annoying as Ankoku. He finally arrived, the car ringing once he opened the door, only stopping once he slammed it closed behind him.

“Hey!” He greeted happily. Tsugumi hummed softly, not tearing her eyes away from the greenery decorated in the schoolyard. “I heard you went to the infirmary. Is your stomach hurting?” He feigned a worry-laced tone, which actually made Tsugumi sick.

Though, not as much as his next words

“Was I too much last night?”

If she didn’t want to have to look at his face, Tsugumi would’ve turned to face him with wide, disgusted eyes. She clenched her teeth, deciding it best to not respond at all, and staring body out the window as the car pulled off.

Ankoku hummed loudly, leaning forward to get a better look at her face. He noticed her nose, that twitched every few moments, was red with a small bruise forming on the bridge of it. He now stared at her with wide eyes and mouth agape.

He was unable to think of anything to say, opting to lean back in his seat, his fists clenched atop his lap, teeth grinding in his mouth. Tsugumi was confused by the silence.

By now, Ankoku should be chatting her ear off, throwing in the occasional crude joke. But now there were crickets. She decided not to question it for a minute more and simply relish in the rare peace and silence she was granted while in his company.

For a moment, a creeping sense of deja vu tickled in the back of her mind. The car ride was short, once arriving home Ankoku was the first to exit, just barely waiting for the car to stop.

Tsugumi wondered what was wrong with him as she reached for her car door. Before she could even pull the latch, it was yanked open. She yelped as she fell forward, and before she could properly collect herself, her arm was yanked up as she was dragged out the car.

Looking up, she was faced with Ankoku’s back, confused as to why he was acting this way. She stumbled behind him, a bit lightheaded as he dragged her further into the house, through the foyer.

Disregarding the need to take off their shoes, Ankoku dragged her to the living room, tossing her onto the floor. “Ankoku… wait… not here…” Tsugumi pleaded, glancing behind him toward the door where the Chauffeur stood, averting his eyes once their gazes met.

Her eyes shakily moved back to Ankoku, who towered over her. He kneeled over her, knees on either side of her body. Tsugumi closed her eyes, pursuing her lips, accepting whatever he meant to do to her.

To her surprise, his hand shot straight for her neck and squeezed tightly. She instinctively latched her hands onto his wrist, squirming underneath him as she struggled to pull his hand from her neck.

“Ankoku… What…? W-why..?” She croaked. “Don’t act dumb!! Do I look blind to you?!” He shouted, his saliva spraying her face. “I-I don’t know… what y-you… mean…” She stuttered, continuing to struggle beneath him. “I can see your face just fine, Tsugumi!” He rolled his eyes..

Ah, that.

Of course it was obvious she was injured. But why was upset with her for that. “I just… g-got hit… b-by a… dodge… ugh… d-dodgeball…” She explained. “Why weren’t you more careful?!” Ankoku’s face now showed confused.

“H-how was I s’posed… t-to… know that w-w-w… would… was—” Tsugumi bit her tongue, letting out a strangled cry as he slammed her head against the floor.

The carpet did little to soften the blow, a pounding starting from the back of her head. “Your face..” He began, his tone much softer than his actions.

“It’s beautiful… so so beautiful, especially when you smile— fuck I love your smile” He grit his teeth. His lips curved into a smile, only for an instant, before his face dropped into a blank expression.

“So why the hell would you get a bruise on your face?! Are you crazy?!” He asked, screaming into her face again. No. She wasn’t crazy. But Ankoku… he was a different story.

“It’s perfect… and it needs to stay that way… Don’t get hurt again, okay?” He asked, and Tsugumi cringed at the order. She realized there was no reasoning with him, and if he decided it was her fault— it was her fault.

If he told her to be careful, she needed to be careful.

She nodded her head, and satisfied with her compliance, Ankoku released her. Tsugumi rolled to her right, coughing loudly while tears burned her eyes, her throat quickly becoming sore.

Ankoku grit his teeth, kicking her stomach, hard enough to push her back over on her back, pressing his foot down on her gut. Tsugumi groaned, sputtering saliva due to the sudden impact.

“I’m seriously, Tsugumi” He glared at her, while she nodded quickly, hoping anything would get him away from her. “Use your words” He told her, increasing the pressure on her belly. “O-okay… I w-won’t get hurt..” She stammered, sighing as he lifted his foot.

Again, she rolled over, not having the mental strength to even attempt to push herself upright. She glanced up at Ankoku, who seemed to be suspended in time, just staring down at her. What else would he want to do to her?

He knelt down, Tsugumi flinching as he reached his hand to her shoulder. He grasped it firmly, shaking her body softly. “Tsugumi, get up” He told her. Her eyes that burned with tears met his blank ones.

She couldn’t ignore his order, weakly pushing herself almost upright, just until her arms were straightened. That took a lot of energy; as she panted— though trying her best to hide it.

His hand lingered against her shoulder as he repeated his order for her to ‘get up’ over and over, shaking her body back and forth.

“Huh?”

Tsugumi blinked, finding herself laying in down in her pitch black bedroom, as it was now night time, no light found its way in through the windows. Again, she blinked, startled by the sight of Ankoku leaned down next to her.

Ah, it was just a dream. A dream of the past.

She sat up, Ankoku leaned back only slightly, staring at her in silence for a few moments, taking in a deep breath when he finally decided to speak. “I… I’m sorry…” He began, pressing his thumbs together where they were between his legs.

Tsugumi stared blankly at him, her eyes now fully adjusted to the darkness. They were so close, that she could see the pain and turmoil on his face. She almost felt bad for him.

“I went too far…” He admitted. “I-I shouldn’t have done that” He reached for her face. She flinched and recoiled, this only serving to agitate him, quickly despite his calmness just a moment ago. “Come here” He ordered, and she obeyed with little hesitation.

She leaned toward him, as he placed his hand gently in her neck, wrapping them around the back of it. Using his thumbs, he tilted her head to the side in order to get a better look. There were three red marks— three lines— forming on the left side of her throat, and one shorter on the right.

As he continued to inspect them, he mentally kicked himself for doing such a thing to the person he swore he’d love and cherish. “I’m sorry… I’m really sorry…” He repeated, slowly dragging his hand down, letting it plop down on her left leg.

He looked up, wide eyed meeting hers that seemed glassy. His gaze flicked down to her lips, as he licked his own. Ankoku huffed softly leaning in to close the short distance between their bodies, pressing a soft lingering kiss against her lips.

Tsugumi neither leaned forward, nor backward, again flinching once his lips touched hers. Once he leaned away, he smiled sweetly at her— he’d always enjoyed these intimate moments they shared. “Get some sleep, okay? I love you” He huffed softly, pushing himself up.

He slowly walked toward the door, sparing one longing glance before finally leaving, closing the door gently behind himself. Once the latch clicked, Tsugumi felt a cold tear run down her burning cheek.

It was like the damn opened, and she wiped harshly at her eyes trying as best she could to stop crying— sobbing as quietly as she could listening to the sound of Ankoku’s furthering footsteps.

On yet another outing, Tsugumi was dressed in a baggy white shirt, the right side tucked up to reveal her midriff, and a light wash denim mini skirt. On her feet she wore white calf high socks and photon dusk high dunks.

She breathed out softly, the heat of the spring sun soothing in her skin. Almost soothing enough to distract from the whirlwind of yesterday’s events. Luckily the bruises were minimal enough to cover by caking makeup over the marks, and pulling her hair in front of her shoulders.

She decided to treat herself to some cafe brownies— the type that were fresh out of the oven and melted in your mouth, not the stale ones left on display for god knows how long. The ones currently placed in front of her on a white ceramic platter,

There was still a clear line of steam flowing from the pastries. Just in taking one bite, she savored the sweet taste, the gooey texture, along with a slight crunch from the chips scattered throughout. Once she finished one, she licked the residue from her fingers, reaching into her bag for her phone.

Just as she did so, the chair on the side of the table slid back, the sound of metal scraping across the concrete made her cringe. A huff fell from the mouth of the person, as they relaxed in the chair. Tsugumi looked up, eyes wide as she took in the sight of a familiar scar faced man.

“Hey there~” He waved kindly, a grin as wide as that day. She dragged her tongue across her teeth and inner cheeks, assuring there was no chocolate left, and swallowed thickly before speaking.

“Uh… hey…”

“Tsk…”

Ankoku scratched his head, looking down at his checking account. 30,000, given by Genjiro. It wasn’t nearly enough to pay off the debt accumulated by him and Momiji. “Oh, hey Anko” A sweet voice filled his ears.

He perked up, looking toward the entrance to the living room, where Koume— his step mother stood, dragging a suitcase behind herself. She was pale faced, and on the short side, but full formed. Despite being close on 40 years, she didn’t look a day over 25.

Her hair was curly, falling at her shoulders, the color a darker brown than Tsugumi’s hair, with her bangs covered her thinly trimmed brows and swept to the left. Her eyes were a deep brown, the tiniest bit of red shining within them, with long lashes defined by dark brown mascara.

The more he looked at her, the bigger his smile became. “Mom!” Ankoku shouted, rushing to hug her, his frame engulfing her body whole. She giggled softly, patting his back. Today was her first day back after her sudden and impromptu ‘vacation’ as Ankoku knew it.

Still, she could say every day she was gone she missed home more and more. “Have you guys been doing well?” She smiled as he released her. “Yes ma’am…” He showed a shaky smile, scratching the back of his neck.

“…What is it?” She asked, leaning forward to try to meet his gaze. Ankoku frowned softly, unsure of how to explain the situation to her. “…Tsugumi and I… we got into an argument yesterday… I feel really bad… I think I went too far…” He mumbled, getting quieter as he went on.

“Awww~ It’s alright~” Koume giggled, patting his arm softly. “You know, since she was little, Tsugumi has always been mature and forgiving. It couldn’t have been that bad, right?” He nodded along with her.

“Right. So I’m sure if you just apologize and talk it out, you’ll make up like that” She snapped her fingers. Ankoku smiled softly, sighing as if all of his worries washed away that instant. Koume just had a way with words.

“Yeah… you’re right…” He nodded again. ‘I’ll apologize when she comes home’ He told himself, smile growing as he laughed quietly. ‘She likes going on walks, right? Maybe I’ll take her on one too as an apology…’ He nodded to himself.

“Alright, I’ve gotta unpack~” Koume motioned to her suitcase, before dragging it upstairs.

“Sir, you have a phone call” One guard entered his site office. He walked toward Genjiro handing him his cell from across his desk. Genjiro sighed, running a hand through his hair, ruining the style.

“Hello?”

“G… Give… up…”

A chill shot through his body, hearing the hoarse voice of the supposedly powerful Okamura. His voice was raspy and breathless as he coughed, before there was a thud on the other end and a moment of silence.

“Tsk… y’know, for an old man, you sure ain’t wise”

The voice changed on the other end— it being none other than Taira Yotsurugi, speaking in a clear tone of scolding.

“Listen, don’t play these dirty games with us. ‘Cause we’re way better at ‘em”

“Tsk…”

“Just pay what you owe, and we wouldn’t have to resort to our own tricks, which are far dirtier than you could even imagine”

Genjiro could then hear the sound of inhalation, likely the drag of a cigarette.

“And you have to be careful. You know, with that pretty daughter of yours just free and out in the open~”

Genjiro’s heart dropped to the floor at those words. Flashes of a young, wide-eyed Tsugumi returned to his memory. Those silver eyes that immediately drew him to her, wanting to protect their shine.

Just the thought of her hurt, scared— or even worse… he shook his head at the idea.

“What… What did you do…?”

His voice cracked desperately, just before a low beeping filled his ears. His body was overcome with a surge of rage as he chucked his phone to the wall across his office. “DAMMIT!!!” He slammed his hand on his desk, turning to the man.

“Get in touch with Kakihara and team security team B! Find Tsugumi! NOW!!” He ordered, the man wasting not a second before he rushed out the office to complete his new task.

Tsugumi sat, nervously and slowly rocking back and forth in her chair. Right across from her sat the man from the elevator, smiling gleefully. ‘Now I wish I brought it out with me…’ She thought, remembering that she’d checked on it earlier.

Just to make sure no one had found or tampered with it. Afterwards, she simply pushed back underneath her bed before leaving. That decision, along with many others in the past couple weeks, caused her to face hardship after hardship.

Despite his laid-back demeanor, Tsugumi could tell this man had the ability to hurt her. Badly. That much made abundantly clear by how on edge her security team was. Had this been a threat they could handle, he would’ve been apprehended by now, and she would’ve been moved to a separate location.

“Yo” He turned to one of the men behind him, who stepped up. “Get me a strawberry milkshake with extra whip cream, and a French Vanilla latte” The man bowed before entered the cafe. A milkshake sounded good right about now.

He then flicked his hand forward, the rest of his entourage stepping up to Tsugumi’s security team. She glanced around nervously as they seemed so easily taken care of, being backed away from her.

Her blood ran cold, as she straightened in her seat, teetering on the edge of it. “That’s better” He smiled. “Getting to know each other’s easier without an audience, hm?” Tsugumi nodded along with him.

“By the way, my name’s Shikaba”

“I… Inazuma Tsugumi”

“You didn’t look too surprised when I sat here. You wouldn’t happen to already know why, would you?” He grinned widely, leaning his chin on the back of his hands. Tsugumi clenched her fists atop her lap, and bit her lip in attempt to calm herself.

“…I’m sorry” She decided it best to apologize before anything else. “I-I know my excuse w-won’t make s-sense… ss… so I won’t even say it…” She spoke slowly, trying to ignore her heart that beat wildly.

It would be difficult to explain that her step-brother gets violently jealous if he finds out about her having the slightest bit of contact with another man. “B-but I really… r-really didn’t mean t-to… st-t-teal it…” She finished, now gazing up at him earnestly.

Shikaba smirked, watching her tremble— despite it being quite warm outside. “Really…?” He hummed. “Am I s’posed to believe someone can steal something accidentally?” He frowned playfully.

“I p-promise to g-give it… b-b-back…” She nodded, avoiding eye contact again. “And I should believe you? A thief?” He combatted. Of course, Tsugumi knew he couldn’t fully trust her. In fact he had no reason to trust her at all.

Not only was she a stranger, but she was a stranger who stole from him, without even trying to give an excuse, but she seriously doubted he’d believe her if she tried to explain it.

At the sound of sniffling, her head snapped up to face Shikaba. “And… that was my favorite watch… a gift from my dead grandpa, y’know!” He sobbed dramatically, wiping at dry eyes.

Just then, the man returned with their order. Completely disregarding his act, he picked up his coffee cup, sliding the milkshake toward Tsugumi. She was still a little startled to find he was faking his cries, but gladly took the drink.

“Um… thank you… a-and ss… sorry… I w-will… seriously… um… g-give it back…” She told him, swirling the white and red striped straw around the shake before taking a long sip. It was good, refreshing.

It wasn’t often that she mixed flavors— chocolate brownies and strawberry shakes… she’d never think to do it. Shikaba hummed softly, tilting his head at her. He seemed to be inspecting her face, as if he was in the middle of solving a difficult puzzle, or question on a quiz.

He then lifted the cup to his lisp, taking a sip from the sweet beverage, eyes never moving from her. “Excuse me, sir…” The man coughed, alerting both their attention. “Tsk…” Shikaba’s brows furrowed, glaring at the man.

The man flinched back as he met with his boss’ scrutinizing gaze, holding up a cellphone as if it were a shield. “S-sorry… but you have a call…” He presented it.

Shikaba clicked his tongue, taking the device to his ear, it his knocking against his earring, he answered with an exasperated ‘hello’.

“I’m sorry”

He smirked, the defeated tone of Genjiro’s voice’s was music to his ears.

“Listen, I’m kinda busy. Hanging out with a friend”

He glanced over at Tsugumi. The two locked eyes for a moment, before he swiped off the call screen, opening the camera app, turning the camera to face him. He lifted it, holding up with peace sign, being sure to get Tsugumi in frame.

She only stared confusedly at the camera, before he snapped the photo. He sent it, putting the phone back up against his ear.

“See that? Ya jealous? Hm?”

“What…??”

Genjiro’s, on the end, trembled as he looked at the picture. No matter how many times he blinked, no matter if he wiped any smudges from his screen, or his glasses, there was no mistaking it. That was Tsugumi.

He knew he wasn’t seeing things, but there was no reason for the two of them to be together. ‘I’d know if they were acquainted… so he must be holding her hostage…’ He thought, gritting her teeth. He thought of a million ways to send someone after him.

‘No… calm down… she doesn’t look hurt in the picture… and she can be used as leverage… let’s just calm down and try to negotiate…’ He told himself, putting the phone back up to his ear.

“…what do you want?”

Shikaba cackled loudly, startling both Tsugumi and Genjiro, attracting a few stares from people walking by. Granted— they were already staring due to the amount of men in suits all in such close proximity.

“I didn’t ask you for anything, y’know. Besides, you’re the one who called me”

“STOP MESSING AROUND”

“Phew! You’re loud”

Shikaba held the phone away from his ear for a moment.

“You’re old, so maybe you don’t know— but if you just talk normally into the phone, I can hear you just fine”

“I’m serious! Leave Tsugumi out of this… she’s got nothing to do with any of this… just…”

“Hm? But it’s no fun that way~ and that’s not exactly true”

“What?”

“Heh~ Y’know, I just realized. She’s your favorite, right? I’m right, huh?”

“Tsk…”

“Anyways, let’s talk later, yeah? Since I’m out with a friend”

Shikaba didn’t even give him the time to respond before hanging up, tossing the phone to side. His subordinate struggled to catch it, while his attention returned to Tsugumi. “You know some weird people~” He joked.

‘Who was he on the phone with?’ She thought, as she was unable to hear anything— mostly due to being lost in her own thoughts and fears about what this man might do to her.

‘I’d know if he was friends with Ankoku… and Genjiro wanted me to avoid him so there’s no way that’d be him..’ She told herself— her mother was definitely out of the question. “Oh, hey!” Shikaba turned to the man next to them.

“That call must mean Taira’s all done cleaning up, right?” He asked, the man nodded silently. He sighed loudly and dramatically, his lips forming a wobbly pout. “I hate paperwork” He grumbled, standing up— chair scraping backwards as he it was pushed back.

“Oh…” Tsugumi whispered, carefully eying him. “I got some business to take care of, so I gotta go” He nudged his head forward, the man offering her a small white card.

“Now, make sure you hold onto carefully. Don’t lose it, or else you’ll be in big trouble~” He spoke politely, placing a hand on her shoulder, leaning down next to her ear. His warm breath on the side of her throat made her shiver.

“And next time, don’t take drinks from shady guys like us if you didn’t see who made it yourself” He warned, Tsugumi now trembling for a different reason— eying the half drunken milk shake in front of her.

“Nothin’ bad’ll happen this time, just be careful, kay?” He pat her shoulder twice, leaning up and turning around, waving one hand at her. “Ciao~” He walked off, the man— along with the rest that arrived with him— quickly caught up.

“Miss!!” Tsugumi’s security team rushed back to her, while she was stuck in a daze, staring at Shikaba’s furthering back, until he and his men turned the corner. She looked down at the card in her hand.

‘Yokohama Immortal — Hands For Hire’

Quite the ambiguous title, and underneath was a phone number. She sighed deeply, today’s encounter making one thing abundantly clear.

Taking that watch got her in over her head.

Tsugumi leaned back on her bed, hands flat on the mattress and slightly behind herself. The first chance she got, as soon as she spotted a bin on the streets, she’d tossed the card in there.

Just being near him, despite his relaxed and almost happy demeanor, Tsugumi could sense a dangerous vibe coming from him. And that ‘hands for hire’ bit didn’t serve to dispute this. ‘I’ll send one of the guards to give him the watch’ She nodded to herself.

Maybe one of the newer ones. The ones who most likely didn’t feel much of a sense of loyalty to Genjiro, and wouldn’t tell every single thing. That way she could keep the whole ordeal under wraps. They didn’t hear the conversation anyways, so no one would be able to report about the watch.

Tsugumi, at the moment, depended on the team keeping their mouth shut to Genjiro in order to save their own hides. After all, each and every one of them abandoned their posts beside her, leaving her completely open to danger. She sighed deeply, stretching her neck.

‘The Yokohama Immortal…’ The name was ridiculous. Like a child trying to sound cool, or the name of some delinquent filled biker gang. “Tsugumi” she flinched, snapping her head up to see Genjiro standing at her open door, his hands clasp in front of his waist.

“…yes?” She spoke softly, and hesitantly. Did they really tell him? He was quiet, the silence awkward for the both of them. “…Are you alright?” He finally asked after a deep breath. “Hm?” Tsugumi’s eyes widened for a moment. She really didn’t know how to respond.

She could tell he was nervous. Was he apologizing for yesterday? That was strange. He’d usually act as if it never happened. “I mean…” He spoke up again. “…have you met any strange people… lately…?” He asked. “…No” She knew she was taking a risk by lying.

He might’ve already know, it may the reason he’s asking now. But she’d get further into trouble if she admitted it after all this time. But, there was a tiny chance that there was a separate issue.

‘I shouldn’t say anything about it’ She convinced herself, depute knowing she could get in trouble if he ever found out about how much she’d been lying lately.

She assured herself that even if the guards told him what happened, none of them could say for sure she knew him personally. For all they know, that could’ve been the first time.

She could lie and say he stopped to hit on her, and ordered her a milkshake. No one was too certain of any relationship, or lack there of, besides Tsugumi and Shikaba themselves. Genjiro huffed loudly, letting his hands fall to the side.

Tsugumi scanned his face, which seemed full of confusion. Was he upset? She couldn’t tell. Genjiro bet his lip harshly, wondering what was going through her head. ‘Why is she lying?! Or maybe… did he threaten her?! Or even hit her??’ He frowned at the thought.

‘How could someone hit such a delicate girl…?’ He huffed again, meeting her shining eyes. “Tsugumi, if you tell the truth, I promise you won’t get in trouble” He sighed. His tone seemed earnest, but Tsugumi couldn’t trust it. “I am telling the truth” She tried to assure him, but sounded unsure of herself.

Genjiro pressed his fingers to his temple, rubbing circles on them. “…Okay…” He let it go, quickly turning away. ‘I’m 100 percent sure he threatened her, and that’s why she’s not saying anything…’ He thought, brows furrowing.

‘Even those sorry excuses for a security team… they were separated so I can’t get a proper report on what exactly was said between the two…’ He shook his head, stomping down to his office.

As the sound footsteps faded, Tsugumi released a prolonged sigh. It was clear that Genjiro didn’t believe her, based on how he continued to pry, but for the first time she was left unpunished for lying. It filled her with a sense of unease.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

That she didn’t know. But what she did know was the Shikaba— The Yokohama Immortal— was dangerous. It was the right call to throw the card away. Tsugumi gasped, her body tensing at the familiar sound of rushed footsteps up the stairs.

She easily recognized them as Ankoku’s, for second contemplating how fast she could get to the door to close it before he got up the stairs. But, that wouldn’t deter him, because if he wanted her he wouldn’t respect the privacy of a closed door.

She groaned mentally, watching nervously as he ran right past her room. She flinched at the sound of a door slamming from down the hall. “…that’s weird…” She mumbled, blinking twice from her daze of consfusion.

Usually he’d come to her room. Especially with how fast he was running, she swore he was headed straight for her room. She leaned a bit further back. If only he could be like this for the rest of the day.

Or better yet— for the rest of her life.

+45********** Hey~

Tsugumi Why are you texting me?

+45********** You keep asking the same question🙄

+45********** I said I wanna be friends with you.

+45********** You looked like you needed one too

Tsugumi I don’t

In Tsugumi’s eyes, being around others was one of the most exhausting things in the world. She’d love nothing more than to run away, and live quietly without any more human interaction for the rest of her life.

But that would only be a dream come true; and none of her dreams ever came true. Well, none of the good ones anyways.

+45********** As your only friend, that hurts my feelings

Her self proclaimed friend.

+45********** But I only wanted to check up on you. I’m busy so later~❤️

If they were so busy, there was no point in texting her at all. In fact, Tsugumi wouldn’t mind if they never texted her again. She clicked her tongue softly, blocking the number again, although she had a feeling it’d be useless.

Still, if only temporary, it brought her some relief.

As soon as she pressed the block button, she got a phone call from a different numbers. She furrowed her brows, yet at the screen— it was getting out of hand at this point.

“Leave me alone”

“Oh~ You sound upset”

Tsugumi gasped softly, Rather than ‘Ikki’ it was Shikaba.

“It’s you…”

She could only regretfully say.

“Oh, did you confuse me for someone?”

Tsugumi could hear a soft whistle in the background of the call.

“Listen. I told you not to lose it, but you went and threw it away. Why? That’s kinda rude, y’know”

“How did you get my number?”

“Answer my question first”

“…I just didn’t want to get involved with you”

“Smart, smart~ But you still owe me”

“I’m having someone return it”

“Oh, really?”

He groaned dramatically. Tsugumi could visualize the likely exaggerated frown on his face.

“I thought you’d wanna come see me again. I thought we really hit it off”

She scoffed at the notion. They didn’t talk about anything really, so what was he talking about ‘hit it off’? It’s ridiculous.

“Don’t you wanna be friends? You’re surrounded by weirdos, so I’ll be your one normal friend”

Tsugumi didn’t respond, long enough to repeat ‘hello’s’ into the phone, though she let that become background noise to her thoughts. It was now clear to her she couldn’t avoid him all together.

‘He probably found out who I was through the hotel security cameras’ She thought, that much was obvious. But finding her exact location, and meeting her there in person is another story. Especially as someone always followed by a special security team.

Not only that, but he scared said security team, to the point where the entire group abandoned their post, given by their strict employer. ‘He even knew that I threw the card away… that means he was testing me, because he already had my number…’ Tsugumi frowned.

The most important thing in the situation seemed to be that Genjiro was afraid of the man. Or, at the very least, didn’t want her involved with him. This meant he was likely someone who commanded a lot of people— someone she should not offend.

She groaned at the thought of having to walk on eggshells around yet another person she didn’t even want to engage with. Still, at the end of the day, she blame still lies with herself— after all she did take the watch.

“Okay, I’ll save your number”

“Oh, you disappeared for a moment. But why the sudden change of heart? I didn’t even get to threaten you yet”

Yeah. He’s crazy. So crazy that there’s even a chance he’s looking at her right now. Tsugumi warily glanced around, looking out her window.

“I just think I shouldn’t get on your bad side”

“I can’t believe the youngest is the smartest”

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing for you to worry about~ S’long as I get my entertainment out of it”

“…and your watch…”

“That’s a given”

“…right…”

“I look forward to seeing you again~”

Shikaba tossed his phone to the side, slouching down in his bed. “That family’s turning out to be some of the most entertaining people I’ve met~” He chuckled. Taira whistled, nodding from the lounge chair across the room.

“I wonder how she’d feel to know she’s just talked to the Yotsurugi’s third in command” He hummed softly. Shikaba’s ever present grin widened. “I kinda wanna mess with her some more. Get her all riled up— maybe even hit me. Then I’ll tell her” He sighed.

‘I wonder if she’s as easy to provoke as her father…’ He made a mental note to himself to try it soon. He turned his gaze to Taira, who lazily leaned his head back, arms loosely hanging over the side of the chair. “Think she’ll even beg on her knees to save her family?” He hummed.

“If she’s real loyal, she may even sell an organ” Taira perked up at these words. “If she’s healthy, her kidneys should go for a good price” He added, Taira laughing softly. “You’re one crazy bastard” He shook his head.

“What’s crazy is that an entire family has accumulated their own separate debts to me” He rolled his eyes. “Ever heard of one so in sync?” Taira shook his head. “Ours definitely isn’t” He snorted.

Tsugumi bit her thumb nail, nervously staring at the new contact— ‘Shikaba’. She’d prayed that Ankoku wouldn’t go through her cellphone. A new number would set off some alarms in his head— and one call would reveal that it was a man.

If that happened, she’d then be on the receiving end of physical abuse. The sound of knocking at her door made her jump, yelping softly as she looked up, relieved by the face. She breathed softly and deeply in attempt to calm herself.

“…Mom…” She looked up at the smiling woman. “Hey~” Koume’s tone was sugary sweet as she walked toward the bed. Tsugumi hadn’t seen her mother in a month— since they brought in the new year.

“You feeling alright, baby?” She hummed, caressing Tsugumi’s cheek. As soon as Koume’s warm palm reached her face, Tsugumi nuzzled her face into it. It soothed her. “I heard you and Ankoku got into a fight” She tensed up at the words.

Is that what he told her? It was less of a fight and more of a one-sided act of violence. Tsugumi forced herself to smile as she sat up straight. “It’s fine” She lied. “You know, I had really hoped you two can get along…” Koume grabbed Tsugumi’s hands, smoothing her thumbs over her knuckles.

“…I know it’s been hard to accept them as your new father and brother… but we should all try to get along” She pleaded. Tsugumi could barely stop herself from screaming out. To say she was confused was an understatement.

It’s been 6 years now, since this twisted family was formed.

This is the kind of talk you’d have, and that Koume did have, either right before or right after they meet. By this time they should already be performing as the ‘perfect’ family that Koume envisions. But time means little to a woman always too busy drowning in her own addiction to realize what goes on under her own roof.

Tsugumi sighed, struggling to keep up her shaky smile. “We got over it already” She lied again, slightly comforted by Koume’s beaming smile before being brought into a sweet embrace.

Tsugumi loved her mom. Even though she was completely oblivious to the things going on around her, whether it was purposeful or not, Koume was her one pillar in life. The one whose smile made all of her fears fade.

She wants desperately for Koume to be the best mother in the world, and pick her— but she knows it’s unlikely. So for all these years she’s decided to hide her pain and keep her mouth shut in hopes of never having to hear the feared line;

‘You’re lying’

She almost cringed at the thought. “How are things otherwise?” Tsugumi blinked, tilting her head slightly. “…Good. I’m okay” She nodded. She’s anything but okay. But Koume doesn’t need to know that. Koume, who now stared at Tsugumi with a worry filled gaze.

‘…Gumi…’ She almost said it out loud. She knew her daughter, better than anyone else could. She could tell Tsugumi was hiding something, and had been for the past few years. As Koume knew it, her daughter was always a closed off and silent child.

Since she could remember, Tsugumi would never ask for anything, and stayed to herself— she had little need for adult supervision so she knew she’d be fine even if she had to leave her alone for a few hours to go out and work.

She often relied on the idea that Tsugumi would come and talk to her ‘when she was ready’, whenever she needed it. She never tried to pry, and would always wait, with open arms and a lack of judgement.

So for now, all she would do is smile and hold her gently. “Well, I’m overdue for a nap” She gave her a soft kiss on the forehead, Tsugumi breathing out an ‘Okay’ as she left the room.

“Gen, you sure drive a hard bargain!” The man across from Genjiro laughed heartily. He was tall and plenty muscular, which he liked to boast about. His eyes were sharp, and orange, with thick brows above. His hair was short, and parted on the right.

His grin was wide, dimples more evident the further his smile spread. He was Kyōgoku Shigeo, the current CEO of Goku Technical Engineering— GTE— owning 93 percent of shares.

Currently, Genjiro was looking to purchase a few, as well as draw up a collaboration agreement between the two companies. If the deal went through, I.J Security would be able to shift into the home security field with ease, and bring in more revenue.

More revenue that would help pay off their debts. “Alright, fine, I’ll agree. But, I do have some terms of my own— oh, but don’t worry it’s definitely something to help solidify the deal, so you’ll get what you want out of it as well” He smirked.

“What are the terms?” Genjiro asked. “I’m talking about marriage between our two families” He chuckled softly. “Hm? I wasn’t aware you had daughters” Genjiro raised his glass of water to his lips.

“I don’t” Shigeo shook his head. “I’m talking about between my eldest, Hyouga, and your daughter. Tsugumi is her name, isn’t it?” He asked, Genjiro clenching the glass in his hand. “With… Tsugumi…” He spoke softly.

He decided to place the glass down, so as not to shatter it and cause a scene. “Well, with all these rumors going around about my kid, especially last year when he’d supposedly gotten this woman pregnant, I’m sure you remember that fiasco” He ranted.

“Oh, but I’m sure you’ve had to deal with your fair share of… rumors involving your children…” He smirked, Genjiro’s jaw tightening at the implication. “Well, whenever it’s a rumor; it’s easy to disprove” He remarked.

“Of course~ Of course~ So, anyways, I’m thinking if we marry our two kids we won’t have to hear things like those ever again, would we?” Genjiro hesitated. He’d made plenty of business deals over the years, but none of them involved marriage involving Tsugumi.

He himself never considered the possibility. He cleared his throat, pulling at his tie. “…isn’t your son already in his mid twenties? Tsugumi is only 19” He retained a calm tone. “She is an adult” Shigeo almost cringed, masking the slip up with a smile.

“And I don’t understand the talk of age gaps, especially considering you’re almost a decade older than your own wife” He smirked slyly. “Still… marriage for Tsugumi… I’m a little hesitant to put her in that situation…” He continued.

“What? But you weren’t apprehensive at all about your son being married” Shigeo combatted. Genjiro’s brows twitched as he smiled. “Boys and girls are different… and Tsugumi isn’t even my real daughter” He added.

“Marriage solves all, doesn’t it? That’s how you got your beautiful daughter…” He sneakily licked his lips. “It’ll be fine. Let’s at least set up a meeting for the two” He pushed. “…I suppose that would be alright…” Genjiro finally conceded.

Shigeo grinned widely, a clear sign of triumph in his eyes. “Perfect! How’s Saturday sound?” He asked. That’s two days from now. “Seems we have a date” Genjiro nodded. “You mean they have a date” Shigeo joked.

Genjiro forced himself to laugh along with the joke. ‘I can’t sell Tsugumi like this. She’s too sweet for this world… I have to keep her by my side, and protect her…’ He had no intentions on letting Tsugumi have a boyfriend, let a husband.

He was sure there were plenty of other tech companies to help with this issue. He’d just have to hold out, and find another willing participant for the deal.

“Yeah, Momiji”

Ankoku held the phone between his shoulder and ear, as he flipped through one of the magazines he’d found on the living room coffee table. It was likely from one of Koume’s subscriptions— but he notices there were plenty of fashion catalogues.

This particular one was full of hand bags and purses. He decided that rather than a walk, a bag may be better. She, as much as her mother, liked to shop.

“I’ve got 70,000 to add to our funds”

Ankoku snorted, hearing the amount. He had yet to inform Momiji of his plans.

“Don’t worry about that anymore”

“What?! Wait, you got enough?! How?!”

“Even better, I got someone to handle him”

“What?! You did?!”

Ankoku laughed aloud, he couldn’t help it. He was just too proud of himself for finding the solution to their little debt problem.

“Anko!”

“Look, I just paid off someone to take out a hit on him”

“Who’s crazy enough to take on a job like that?!”

“You’ve heard of the Yotsurugi?”

He picked up the red marker that sat beside him on the bed, taking the cap between his teeth to pull it off. He circled a white purse, the first that caught his eye in the middle of the 16th page, ripping it out before continuing his search.

“I was able to talk to their third in command. Yotsurugi Shikaba? Says he’ll handle it”

“Really..?!”

“Yep. It seemed like he knew him. Like he already had his own problem with him. So don’t worry about it anymore”

“Alright! Let’s go out for drinks”

“It’s on me~”

Shikaba laughed loudly in his office, swirling back and forth in his chair. They certainly weren’t lying when they told him to rush back home for a visitor. What he saw, he wouldn’t have expected in a million years.

“Y’know, just laughing out of nowhere after being quiet for so long makes you look creepy” Taira remarked, from where he stood at the door to the office. “My bad~ It’s just hilarious” He wiped a real tear, chuckling softly.

“I mean, have you ever been hired to kill yourself before?” He asked, barely able to stop himself from laughing— confusing Taira. “Sometimes I forget people don’t know the Yokohama Immortal and Yotsurugi Shikaba are one and the same” He shook his head.

“Earlier, they told me to rush home cause of a shocking visitor. Imagine my surprise to talk to Genjiro’s boy, asking if anyone can help get rid of little ol’ me~” He chuckled. “Tempting offer~ It’s a lot~ so I told him yes” He smirked, tapping against a metal briefcase on his desk.

Taira snorted, leaning back against the wall. “What’re you gonna do now? What’s the plan?” He asked, now too, smiling at the situation. “Hmm… maybe I could waterboard myself. Or maybe toss myself in the ocean with cinderblocks for shoes” He joked.

The both of them startled by the door slamming over, a burly man panting as he rushed up to Shikaba’s desk. “I’m sorry for barging in like that, sir! But you have to see this!” He panted, placing down a manila folder.

“Hm? Looks pretty boring to me” Shikaba mumbled, ripping the top open. Pulling out the contents, which were a stack of photos— his smile grew wider as he surveyed each one. “Heh~ Taira, I’m gonna have to postpone offing myself” He looked up at the taller man.

Taira hummed, walking up to see what was in the envelope. He too smirked upon seeing the images. “There’s just too much entertainment in this world to leave it behind so soon” He smirked.

“We should pay our little friends a visit. Saturday is good”

“Will that be all today sir?” Ankoku’s eyes scanned the glass display in the jewlery store, inspecting the uniquely and intricately cut rings. He’d already purchased a gold plated heart shaped pendant, as a gift for Tsugumi in addition to the bags he’d ordered.

Maybe a ring would be good as well. What caught his eye was a gold infinity loop ring, diamond studded on the upper left side. “What’s this one?” He hummed, pointing at it. The woman’s eyes wrinkled as she smiled widely.

“You have a good eye, sir. The infinity love ring. It’s very popular among couples. Many believe the infinity symbol signifies good luck and longevity in relationships. There is even a custom option, in which our customers can add initials” She explained.

“That’s good. I want that” He nodded. “Of course. I’d just need to get a phone number, email, and home address, and other information such as the initials themselves, ring sizes, and color preferences” She told him, pulling up a pen and note pad.

He told the phone number and address, as she flipped to the next page to write down the rest of the information. “One should say an ‘A’ with the size 6. And the other a ‘T’— size 8” He spoke, the woman nodding along.

“Of course, sir. Someone will be in contact with you soon to give you updates on your order” She smiled, before he picked up his bag and left.

Tsugumi stood in the living room, untangling a few strands of hair from her right earring. She was dressed in a black ruched mini skirt, and an amore twist back sweater. For jewelry, she wore a black choker with a silver pendant and a few longer thin silver silver chains.

On her wrists were a few stacked silver bangles, and she wore silver tear drop earrings. The last thing she expected was to be woken up early this morning and told to start getting ready for a date— and she expected even less to be told it was at 1pm.

Currently it was 11:45 am, and Tsugumi could tell it would be an exhausting afternoon, but accepted it. Anything was better than being at home.

The door clicked softly, footsteps quickly approaching the living room. It seems Ankoku has returned, now stopping dead in his tracks at the sight of Tsugumi all dressed up. He was mesmerized.

She was gorgeous, the outfit now being one of the most beautiful ensembles he’d seen her in, a stark contrast to the usual casual fashion he was used to seeing her in. But in that moment it settled in why she may be dressed like this.

“What are you doing?” He dreaded hearing the answer he thought she’d give. “…I’m going on a date” Tsugumi sighed. She hoped the guy wasn’t as crazy as Genjiro or Ankoku, but seriously doubted her step father was acquainted with anyone sane.

“No…” He shook his head. “No you’re not” He told her. Tsugumi furrowed her brows, confusion written all over her face as Ankoku grabbed her wrist tightly. She flinched at the sudden pressure turned pain. “Ankoku, listen…” She huffed, fearful of what’s to come had he dragged her to any private area.

She tried to resist, but decided against it feeling her feet scrape against the carpet, hoping not to get rug burns. “Pardon me” A guard stepped in his path toward the steps. “Move” He ignored Ankoku’s order, standing firm under his scrutinizing gaze.

“I’m sorry, I cannot do that, sir” He shook his head. “Mr Kawasaki has ordered me to make sure Miss Tsugumi arrives on time, and it’s about time for us to leave” He explained. “Tsk…” Ankoku threw down Tsugumi’s hand, storming off to Genjiro’s office.

“Dad!” He shouted, bursting through the doors of Genjiro’s home office. “Setting Tsugumi up on a date?! Really?!” He shouted angrily. Genjiro sighed, not looking up from the paperwork on his desk. “Calm down, Ankoku. It’s none of your business. You should feel happy for your sister” He spoke calmly.

Ankoku’s outburst hadn’t moved him one bit. “How am I supposed to be happy about some bastard taking Tsugumi on a date?! What if… what if he gets handsy with her?” He argued. “Watch your mouth” Genjiro glared, finally looking up at him.

“This isn’t happening” Ankoku shook his head. “It is. And what business is it of yours? She’s your sister. And an adult” He scolded, the words leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

‘She’s an adult’

He mimicked Shigeo’s words and it felt horrible. “Tsk…” Ankoku stormed out, harshly slamming the double doors behind himself. Genjiro sighed, throwing his glasses down on the desk and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I should’ve raised him right—” He leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands in front of himself. “—instead of spoiling him, and letting him get away with whatever he wanted..” He mumbled to himself.

‘Still, it doesn’t matter. I have no intention of going through with the marriage’

Kyōgoku Hyouga, the eldest Kyōgoku Shigeo’s three sons. He was very tall, likely over 190 centimeters, and muscular. His eyes were narrow as his father’s, matching in color as well. His hair was dyed a shiny gold color, short and parted on the right.

He also styled an undercut which revealed his natural black roots. He was certainly a looker— and it may have been a nice date if he didn’t talk so much, and if his entire speech wasn’t an abhorrent objectification of her.

From the moment he opened his mouth, it was clear he was a self-centered spoiled brat. He introduced himself to her, and without even asking her name, went straight into telling her how it was ‘good that she matched his type’.

The only problem, he told her, was her height, but that was almost an easy fix by her never wearing heels. He told her he can ignore it though, because she’s very pretty. He went on to tell her about his requirements for a wife.

To cook, to clean, and have 3 children, at least one was a boy, adding in that he was very apprehensive about having a daughter. On the topic of children, he then brought up how his woman needed to stay in shape, and drop the baby weight quickly.

That, of course, meant frequenting the gym— saying that she’d simply need to focus on weight loss, and stay away from weight lifting as too much muscles would turn him off. She has to be obedient, and not argue, he hates mouthy women.

After his tirade of what she had to do and not do in order to become his wife, he gave her no chance to respond and went straight into a rant about his ‘hobby’ of partying on his yacht. As if partying can be a hobby, Tsugumi rolled her eyes at the thought.

He talked about his cars, his houses, and all the expensive things he owns but didn’t actually work for, clearly in attempt to impress her. Tsugumi tuned him out 15 minutes into the date, now an hour in, and absorbed in the pasta on her plate.

She twirled it on her fork and swirled it around, yet never picked it up to eat it. ‘I wanna go home’ She thought.

“—yourself”

‘Tell me about yourself’

That must’ve been what he said. Tsugumi boredly met his expectant gaze. “…You don’t have to pretend to be interested in me” Hyouga’s smile faded after hearing her speak. “I’m fine being in an arranged marriage as long as we don’t have to see each other a lot” She shrugged, looking down at her plate.

Although he was annoying, he was probably the type to always be out and cheat on his spouse. Maybe she’d get the peaceful life she’d hoped for by marrying him.

Hyouga’s once giddy face contorted into an expression of confusion and frustration. “Tch… You’ve got a bad attitude, you know. Sounds like you need a reality check” He told her, running a hand through his frayed locks.

“No matter how cute you are, or how good your body looks, no man will want you if you talk like that” He scolded, pointing his fork at her. ‘I wish that were true’ She rolled her eyes, the thought of Ankoku causing her to lose the rest of her appetite.

“If you keep acting like this, you’ll be 30 years old with no man or kids, and be miserable. Then when you want a man, you can’t find one because you’re old and your eggs are all shriveled up” He continued. Tsugumi could scoff if she didn’t already expect this from him.

“That’s the problem with daughter” He grumbled. “Their fathers spoil them so much that they think the entire world needs to bend to their will. No man wants a whiney woman” At this point, Tsugumi began to tune him out again.

‘I wish I could be home. I bet no one there will bother me this much…’

“Genji, dear? Do we have guests?” Koume walked down the steps after hearing a slight commotion in the living room. As she closed in on it, she couldn’t see him— or anyone in there. She shrugged her shawl higher up on her shoulders as she stepped onto the last step.

Further near the entrance there were a few unfamiliar men in suits standing there. Perhaps they were new hires. “Ah, Koume” She froze hearing his voice, the shorter young man revealing himself from behind the group.

Shikaba, whom she first met as ‘The Yokohama Immortal’, grinning ear to ear. “I had a feeling he was talking about you. Glad to know I was right” He smirked. Koume could barely form any thoughts in her confusion.

Why was he here? It was close, yes, but the deadline had not come yet. First, it may be best to apology. “S-sorry… I…” She stuttered. “Relax~ Relax~” He told her. “Just call everyone down. We can have a joint consultation” He joked.

His laugh chilled her to the bone. “Consultation?” She spoke slowly. “About your debt. You remember, right?” He tilted his head, frowning with what seemed to be confusion. “Y-yeah…” She nodded. Of course she remembered her debt.

An astonishing 200 million is what she owed. Genjiro didn’t know, of course. But what he was suggesting was that the others in this house also owed him? That couldn’t be possible. She gasped at the thought of Tsugumi being apart of that group. There was absolutely no way.

She couldn’t miss something like that… but… she did have a strange look in her eyes the other day… was this what she was thinking about? Koume hesitated to turn around, freezing once he spoke again.

“And don’t try to get any genius ideas. There’s no you can go to get away from me” He warned. Koume swallowed thickly, nodding as she slowly walked away.

“Well, imma go stretch my legs” Shikaba grinned, nudging his head forward. Two of the men walked up behind him, joined by Taira as well. He led the group to the second floor, eyes locking onto the first door that was slightly cracked.

Without hesitation, he pushed it open. The rooms decor was minimalistic— a queen sized mattress pushed up against the corner, next to the window; a vanity to its left. A few brushes and perfumes sat atop the shelf of it.

He stepped further in, seeing a mirror leaned on the wall next to the wall on his right with two doors to the far corner, and on the last wall a taller dresser. “Is this Tsugumi’s room” He wondered aloud, walking straight to the double doors.

“It’s boring” Taira hummed, running his palm against the vanity surface. Shikaba pushed the doors open, inside a walk-in closet, packed with with designer clothes, shoes, bags, and hats. There was even a wall designated for jewlery.

“She’s got a lot of clothes though… and bags…” He mumbled, leaning his head further inside. “Don’t see the watch. Should we search the room?” Taira suggested, glancing all around. Shikaba stepped back, closing the doors and shaking his head.

“Nah. I don’t wanna mess up the room” The statement uncharacteristically polite, coming from him. “I’ll let her give it back to me in person” He shrugged, leading the group back downstairs.

His smile grew, seeing that Genjiro and Ankoku had joined Koume in the living room. “Whew~ Looks like the family reunion has already started. Only the daughter’s missing” He laughed. Koume flinched, worried for Tsugumi, at the same time nervous because she’d yet to explain her little ‘hobby’ to Genjiro.

Shikaba glanced back at one of his men who’d walked up to whisper in his ear. “Okay~ We’ll hit up that place after” He snickered. “Yotsurugi Shikaba…? Why are you here…?” Ankoku stepped forward confusedly. “Oh! Did you handle what I asked?!” He smiled excitedly.

Genjiro and Koume turned to him with wide eyes. The pair couldn’t believe, or understand what they were hearing. Everyone’s attention then turned to Shikaba who cackled loudly. “Didn’t think the heir to a company would be so stupid” He wiped a tear.

“How’re you gonna run things without a brain?” He taunted, tapping his temple softly with one finger. “…What…?” Ankoku tilted his head, not following. “Let me reintroduce myself” Shikaba cleared his throat, pressing the top of his cane to his chest.

“My name’s Yotsurugi Shikaba. Otherwise known as— The Yokohama Immortal” He smiled gently, Ankoku’s heart and expression dropping. “What…?” He whispered in disbelief.

“Surprise~” He shouted, doing jazz hands. The trio was silent and frozen with fear. “Tsk tsk. Relaax~” He waved his hand at them. “Who has a meeting standing up, hm? Let’s all have a seat” He tapped his cane against the floor, the sound muffled by the carpet.

The group slowly made their way to the couch, Shikaba plopping down on the recliner, slouching into it and resting his feet on top the coffee table. “Promise I’ll keep things civil” He assure them, clasping his hands over one knee.

“Now listen up. As each of you know, maybe not about the others but definitely about yourselves, you owe me what you borrowed and then some. You all know how interest works” He rushed through, waving his hands.

“And you~ Miss Koume~” He peeked his left eye open. “You owe me a looot~ More than you two can imagine.” He grinned, Koume cringing under their confusion filled stares. “Collecting outstanding debts must run in the family, huh?” He joked.

“I-I paid you, though…!” Ankoku spoke up, Shikaba humming softly at him. “That counts for something, doesn’t it?!” He added, confidence building in his tone. “Unfortunately not” Shikaba chuckled, Ankoku’s expression dropping again.

“See, you didn’t pay me with the intention to chip away at your debt— but instead to kill the person you owe” He began. “So, I’m sorry, that amount means nothing to your debt” He frowned, as if to taunt them with his faux-sympathy.

The group trembled, each unable to speak, knowing any excuse wouldn’t help them. “Aww~ The moods so dim. I hate it~” Shikaba whined playfully. “Don't worry so much. I come with good news. I'm extending your deadlines to this fall. Isn't that great?!” He smiled, the three tensing at his words.

“An extension…?! Really…?!” Koume’s expression brightened. “What’s the catch? You can’t be doing this for no reason, right?” Genjiro asked warily. “What?!” Shikaba gasped, clenching his chest.

“How dare you accuse me of having ulterior motives! I’m doing this out of the kindness of my heart!” He shouted, almost too earnestly. He was a bad actor, really.

“Now, everyone lighten up, smile~ You'll live longer if you stress less, y'know~” He told them. Of course, his demeanor as relaxed as ever, yet they could sense the seriousness in his tone. It was an order— and so they engaged in an awkward burst of laughter.

“Anyways—” He sighed, bringing his feet to the ground. “You aren't the only ones I have business with, so I'll see you later” He waved as he walked, stopping only a few paces away. “Oh, and Ankoku…” The boy perked up.

“Sorry, but I can't exactly take on that request of yours. You'll understand if I don't wanna kill myself, right?” He smiled, Ankoku slouching over again.

“Later~”

Tsugumi sat at the dinner table, alone now as Hyouga excused himself to the bathroom. Apparently what she suggested really upset him, though it wasn’t like she cared. She was more concerned about when the date would end.

Her purse vibrated, and she rummaged through the small bag, pulling out her phone and reading the name rolling across the screen.

‘Shikaba’

She decided to let it ring out. ‘I’ll call later’ She shrugged, pressing the power button. As soon as it finished ringing, it buzzed once more alerting her of a text message.

Shikaba Pick up now

Her phone rang again as soon as she read it, and as he told her to, Tsugumi answered.

“Hello?”

“You’re the best listener out of all of you”

“What?”

“Anyways…”

He ignored her question.

“Where are you?”

“I don’t have to tell you that. And you can’t find out for yourself”

If he found out where she was that day— at a random cafe in Yokohama— he can certainly find her location now.

“That was a test. And you failed”

“It wouldn’t be the first time”

He sighed softly, Tsugumi hearing the sound of rustling papers on the other end of the call.

“You’re at Majesty. On a date with Kyōgoku Hyouga”

Tsugumi nodded, despite him likely being unable to see her. But, she couldn’t exactly rule out that he could see her.

“By the way, that guys the type who thinks of a woman as his servant. So he probably won’t be that nice to you”

“I know. I don’t care”

“Really? I thought women hated that kind of stuff. Reri does”

“I don’t care because I’m not his woman. And I’m pretty sure no one will be from the way he talks”

“What about when you do become his woman? You’re on a date so that means you liked him at least a little, right?”

“I didn’t want to be on this date, and it’s none of your business”

“But it is. You still owe me, so I have to worry about you”

“I said I’d give it back”

“What if your husband forbids you to talk to men? How will I ever get my watch back? I’d suffer until I die”

Tsugumi rolled her eyes at his antic.

“Hmm… 5 minutes”

“5 minutes? For what?”

She scoffed at the dial tone, placing her phone down in her lap. “Tsk…” She mumbled, looking up at Hyouga who approached, glaring down at her barely finished dinner plate.

“I hope you don’t eat too much. I already said I don’t want a fat wife” He warned, sitting down with a loud sigh. “Good thing I’m not your wife” She mumbled.

At this point, she began to feel sorry for any woman who'd be tricked into marrying this man.

“Good afternoon sir. Do you have a reservation with us?” The woman asked, showing a perfected business smile. “I’m just here to visit someone” Shikaba chuckled, confusing the woman. “I’m sorry, sir, I cannot allow you in without a reservation” She furrowed her brows.

“Tsk… why do they have to be so slow?” He pouted, further confusing her. The phone then rang. “Please wait a moment sir” She spoke, lifting it after the second ring.

“Hello, Majesty, how may I be of service... ah... Okay... Okay... yes... Goodbye...” She nodded, placing the phone back down. “Would you happen to be Yotsurugi Shikaba?” She asked, and he nodded in response.

She hurriedly picked up a large stack of menus from the podium shelf. “Welcome, sir. Shall I lead you—” He cut her off. “No thanks. I got it” He shrugged, leading his group up the stairs to the third floor.

Inside were barely a few couples, despite the busy first floor. With one quick scan of the floor, he immediately spotted Tsugumi’s bouncing curls, sitting at a far table— in front of her sitting Hyouga. He almost skipped toward the table, placing a hand down as he faced her.

“Hey~” He smiled, savoring the startled look on her face, paying no attention to how many times Hyouga scoffed at him. “Don’t look so shocked. I told you I’d be here in 5 minutes” But that’s not what he said. He’d simply said the words ‘5 minutes’.

It could’ve meant anything. “Listen—” Hyouga began. “—I don’t know if you’re blind, but we’re on a date if you don’t mind” He stated, clenching his fork and knife in his hands. “You look happy to see me” Shikaba grinned, leaning forward.

“You’re seeing things” Tsugumi spared a glance at Hyouga’s frustrated expression. “Yeah, I’m seeing joy and delight on your face” He nodded, and Tsugumi grumbled softly. Hyouga dropped his utensils, startling Tsugumi.

“Hey! Don’t ignore me!! What, are you deaf?! Listen, shor—”

Before he could finish his statement, Shikaba slammed Hyouga’s face into his soup platter, the liquid splattering around the table. Tsugumi flinched at the suddenly attack, and again as some of it splashed on her face.

Now the few groups around them stared at them. “Hey, it’s rude to interrupt someone else’s conversation” Shikaba scolded seriously, as if that wasn’t what he was doing at the moment. He snapped his fingers, pointing down at him.

His subordinates rush to the table, replacing his hand with their own, holding Hyouga down against the table despite his struggle. He lifted the neatly folded towel from the middle of the table, wiping off his face, as Tsugumi did the same with the one on her lap.

“Hey, this place’s boring, right?” He asked, dropping the towel on the table, bringing Tsugumi’s attention to him. “Time to go” He told her. She nodded slowly. “I have to go to the bathroom, though” She told him.

“Sure” He shrugged, leading the way. “Handle him properly” He told the group before walking away. She’d only spent about 5 minutes in the bathroom, shaking off her semi-dry hands as she left.

It all happened so fast, but now that she’d gotten a moment to calm down and think, she was sure she’d get in trouble for it later. If the guards weren’t there, Hyouga would definitely complain to his father about the ordeal.

As she walked past him, lost in thought, Shikaba grabbed her forearm, yanking her toward where he stood on the wall next to the bathroom. Tsugumi gasped softly, as he slid his hands to her waist, now holding her close to him.

Close enough to feel each others breaths on their faces. Because of her heels, she was now a bit taller than him. “You know…” He began, peeking his left eye open, meeting her nervously gaze.

“Dealing with you guys makes my boring job so much more fun. Especially you. So unpredictable, it’s the best~” He chuckled, rubbing his thumbs against her soft, knitted top.

“Really?” She spoke, shakily breathing out. Shikaba hummed, eying down her body. She went on to say something about the watch, but he wasn’t listening, preoccupying himself with inspecting her looks.

From the sweater that left just enough to the imagination, while at the same time enticing his unknown desires with an open back, down to the tight skirt that accentuated her plush thigh.

He slid his hands up, caressing her back. The coldness of his palm met her warm skin, sending shivers throughout her whole body. Tsugumi squeezed her eyes shut, muffling a short groan feeling her knees go weak.

She could barely catch herself, grabbing onto his shoulders for stability. Her eyes opened wide feeling her forehead hit his, and her lips just barely grazed his. Before she could say anything, Shikaba let out a breathy laugh.

“That’s not how you kiss”

He leaned up, at the same time, pulling at her waist, pressing his lips against hers. Tsugumi was shocked, pressing down further on his shoulders for stability.

His lips were soft moving against hers. She followed along with his rhythm, opening her mouth to take his tongue into hers. The kiss was gentle, his tongue scraping against hers slowly.

Tsugumi moaned, tilting her head to the right. Shikaba hummed softly, his lips pulled up into a smile, reaching his hand up to grab the upper back of her neck, pushing her further down.

Their tongues clicked as they pulled apart, Tsugumi only leaning back a few inches while the both of them heaved, out of breath. “Heh~ That’s better~” He smirked up at Tsugumi, who now looked away, face burning with embarrassment.

[meligumii]

LETHAL CRAVING

Shikaba x OC

ACT I CHAPTER 1 | DEEPER THAN THE DEPTHS OF DESPAIR

Abt. A watch, a mirror, in the elevator. Who knew that simple day would change her life for good. For Tsugumi, she would've never expected her life to take a turn. But is it for better or worse?

Chapter Synop. After meeting with her step-brother at a hotel, a powerful man’s watch ends up in Tsugumi’s hands— yet there are several obstacles in her way of returning the trinket…

cw. DARK CONTENT. dark romance. sexual assault. sexual exploitation. mentions of sexual exploitation. physical assault/ABUSE. implied stepcest. mentions of blood. mentions of physical assault/abuse. Lmk if I missed anything

wc. 10.1k

r.18

note. I apologize for any grammatical errors. My first try at writing dark romance/dark content so it might not be good first. Bear with me pls❤️

[chapter 2]

‘When we have reached the depths of despair, only then can we look up and see the light of hope’

Or so they say. But, it is not so easy to look up. It is not so easy to find the strength to hope. Because the truth about despair is that it is a never ending pool. One you just keep sinking lower and lower, deeper and deeper.

Once you get deep enough, that light disappears, and only the cold loneliness is left— what cannot embrace you leaves you to fend for yourself. Deeper and deeper, the more pressure in which you’re underneath, and no matter how hard you fight you will not beat that unnerving force.

And so deeper you go, with not even a hope that you will reach the bottom soon, to crush you beneath the painful waves, for you know, your despair is endless.

Luxe Haven, a luxury hotel chain stationed all over the world. Known for housing celebrities, important business moguls and the like. The ground floor was just as grandeur as any of the rooms. It was an open space, windows as tall as the floor itself. Each arched at the top, and perfectly square panes all down.

Plants lined each wall, just below the lights giving off a dim and golden glow. Right beside each of the glass double doors, the entrance to the hotel, were rows of three miniature potted pine trees— this exuding a gentle scent that filled the entire lobby.

In the middle atop the neatly polished floors, between the door and receptionist desk was a golden round Persian rug, and two half circle couches facing each other, a rounded table with a neatly trimmed shrub in the middle.

Tsugumi was sure at this point she would be able to find her way around this room blind. Inspecting the room further wouldn’t do her any good. She’s only slowing the inevitable. Sighing, she walked up to the receptionist.

“Excuse me”

The woman seemed mesmerized, pushing up her oval shaped glasses; giving her a clear view of Tsugumi’s appearance. She was not short but not tall, with unblemished vanilla skin. Dressed in long sleeve white mini dress, an army green mini vest— with two zippers and draw strings on each side, and a black bag slung over her shoulders.

Her hair, hip length and dark mauve, styled in lose curls. Her wispy bangs fell over her face; though there was nothing that could hide the abnormal color of her eyes— Silver.

The woman blinked, realizing she may have been staring for too long. “Ahem… how can I help you…” She thought, finding herself staring into Tsugumi’s eyes once again, now this time seeming vaguely familiar.

“I was invited here, the guests’ name is Kawasaki Ankoku”

The woman glanced down at her desk, now seeing the picture. It must be the girl who stood in front of her now. Next to it, a sticky note she wrote to remind herself of the words from her clientele— just let her up and don’t ask any questions.

She looked up, smiling as Tsugumi took the golden card from between her two fingers. “Thank you…” She quickly turned to the elevator, not caring about the boring stare of the receptionist behind her.

When she pressed the button to the elevator, a glowing ring around it caught her eye, and upon glancing up, the rapidly decreasing numbers caught her eye. Oh, how she wished they’d slow down. Oh how she wished the elevator broke down. Oh how she wished the floor would just suddenly combust.

Then she wouldn’t have to face such a dreadful encounter.

Inside the elevator, for Tsugumi, it seemed time couldn’t move any faster; despite the slow paced Jazz music; sending shivers down her spine. As it smoothly glided up the shaft, the number on the screen above the door quickly increased, and her heart beat loudly against the walls of her chest.

‘27’

It was only 30 seconds ago that she’d stepped onto the lift, but now she was over halfway there. Her eyes moved to the the buttons— 4 columns of 13— this including the 3 basements and ground floor. But, more eye catching, below that was the bright yellow button.

The symbol of a bell atop— the elevator stop button. It would certainly serve to slow down the inevitable, but that would only draw out the pain.

‘38’

She sighed deeply, only a few seconds passed before it came to a stop. The 40th floor. Though only upper echelon were able to even secure a reservation— the ones allowed on the top ten floors were the Crème de la Crème.

Something she— and even her step-father— was not.

Looking up both ways down the wide corridor, and turning left.

‘4011’

4012

4013

4014

And there it was. Room 4015. She stood before the door, breathing as silently as she could. Tsugumi could feel as if her heart had jumped up her throat. The slow, sensual, jazz music seeping from beyond the walls, the pungent scent of marijuana plaguing her nostrils.

This bringing forth thoughts to run away, yet she decided to ignore the voice creeping out from the back of her mind and its warnings. To leave was to disobey, and that was against everything that had been instilled in her since she was a child.

Yet the voice persists, letting out one more scream of caution before she completely suffocated it. Tsugumi lifted the card to the door, a low alarm sounding off before the red light turned green.

With her other arm crossed over, she grabbed the handle, pulling it down and pushing the door open, the smell becoming more ever present, now accompanied by smoke that burned her eyes.

Her eyes that took in a sight that was far from unfamiliar but equally as disgusting as the first time she’d laid her eyes in such a thing. From where she stood, Tsugumi could see the bed, somewhat blocked by the wall, separating the closet from the room.

Atop the bed, there he sat. Ankoku Kawasaki, her older step-brother, wearing nothing, surrounding him and the bed was a group of 13 scarcely dressed women; their clothes scattered around the room, a few pieces near the door. Three sat on the foot of the bed, and two higher up, next to Ankoku.

On either side there were 4 seated on the floor, leaning against the bed in some way. The group spared barely a second to acknowledge her by looking toward the door, sooner turning their attention back to Ankoku.

She wasn’t surprised to notice their features bearing a striking resemblance to herself, especially the one to his right, her hair maple brown hair was styled in tighter curls, and a bit longer than Tsugumi’s.

Her eyes, though, were a beautiful golden brown, an unreadable expressing donning the girls face as her gaze met Tsugumi’s, blinking twice before turning her attention back to Ankoku. And Tsugumi followed suit, her eyes landing lower.

Lower, where his hand began to slowly fist his hard cock that was already sprung from his jeans and underwear that were pushed halfway down his legs. She brought her head back up, meeting his dark brown eyes.

Though they were somewhat shielded by his ruffled brown bangs, she could still peer deeply into his piercing gaze, her skin crawling as she did, lifting her hands to itch where she felt it on her arms. His lips contorted into a devious smirk, his hands moving faster at the sight.

As she’d lifted her arms, she’d pressed her tits together, looking away in shame despite him being the one who should be ashamed this sight was strangely sensual, eliciting as slew of stifled groans through his pursed lips.

He was unable to control his mouth from forming into a satisfied smirk, gripping himself tighter. To Ankoku, Tsugumi was absolutely breathtaking no matter what she wore, but especially liked to her wearing nothing.

He wished he could already have her beneath him, caged beneath his arms and drenched in sweat and cum, harshly bullying his cock into the deepest regions of her core. Her body would shiver and convulse beneath him, breaking her to tears over and over again.

This sight stuck in his mind whenever he just heard her voice, whenever he saw her. Whenever he just thought of her. Tsugumi, his precious younger sister. “What’d you call me for?” Her voice sent shivers crawling down his spine, and his eyes rolled back in his head.

Tsugumi turned her gaze to the ground, noticing how the clothes weren’t just scattered, but somehow seemed to form a diagonal line toward the bed. It was interesting. More interesting than watching her step brother get off.

“Hmm… dunno…” he answered through urgent pants. The fact that the sound was so familiar to Tsugumi had her wanting to rip her ears from her head. ‘Maybe if I bite my tongue off I’ll die…’ she thought.

She’d seen plenty of movies and plenty of mangas where the main character would threaten to do something like that. That would certainly fix her problem. But, she would never be able to do something so braze. ‘Shut up. Just stick to your routine and deal with it’ she scolded.

“C’mere…”

As if she’d been possessed, upon hearing his desperate and whining voice, Tsugumi quickly walked to the right side of the bed, each of the girls scurrying to get out of her way. She once again met eyes with the woman who sat there, now noticing the pitying look she gave.

Ankoku reached his hand out, grabbing hers, placing a gentle kiss against her knuckles. When he met her eyes, they seemed glazed over. As if she wasn’t fully there. It didn’t matter though, and pulled her down, her body now leaning over the bed.

She caught herself on top of the bed, glad she avoided touching any stains she may not have noticed. Ankoku moaned loudly into her ear, burying his head into her shoulder. He didn’t bother to move her hair out of the way, he liked to breathe in the scent of it.

Lately, he noticed she’d been using a coconut scented conditioner. “Oh shit…” He huffed, nuzzling his nose into her shoulder. Tsugumi pursed her lips into a straight line, her eyes closed and brows furrowing. It’d all be over soon.

Feeling it already rise, Tsugumi swallowed harshly lest she spurt bile all over the bed. It sounded nice, but it wouldn’t only be so for a moment, before having to face consequences for it. The horrible feeling as it went down brought burning tears to her eyes.

In only a few moments, her wish came true, as she felt Ankoku’s body jerking and his head pressing deeper into her shoulder. His moans were muffled, but she definitely heard him. Once he seemed to relax, only breathing heavily, she stepped back, shame filled gaze directed toward the ground.

“Is… is that all you wanted?”

Ankoku eyed the palm of his hand, covered in his own cum chuckling softly as he reached for her, smearing it along her cheek. Seeing her eyes blown out satisfied him enough.

“Yeah” he grinned, barely able to respond before she rushed out the door— not without slamming it behind her. Ankoku sighed blissfully, while the girls only felt a sense of pity, uncomfortability, and few with jealousy.

As soon as the door closed, Tsugumi reached into her bag, pulling out the mini wipes, and her compact mirror. It was her favorite, rose gold and carved into the shape of a rose itself. Opening it, her own reflection disgusted her.

She harshly scrubbed her cheek until it burned red, and even after it was all gone, she seemed to feel the disgusting substance lingering. She sighed and slammed the mirror closed, tossing the soiled wipes in one of the trash bins.

She pressed the button to the elevator, it almost immediately opened however before Tsugumi could feel any type of relief she took in a sight that made her want to be swallowed whole by the ground.

Inside the elevator, there must’ve been over 15 men, all dressed in clean unwrinkled suits, a few with noticeable scars on their faces. But, her attention was immediately stripped from them, the lot would soon become little more than distant memories.

But there was one man, just upon first glance she could tell that she would never forget his face, stood in the middle. He stood in the middle of the group, he was shorter and skinnier than the rest, though clearly from his stance he had the most authority among the lot.

His hair was bleach blond and thickly layered, parted on the right, falling over the left side of his face, with one thick tress swept to the right, slightly covering his thick lashes— this where she noticed a prominent scar running from the top of his head, down his eye.

And peering through his open black shirt, she noticed another, running down his chest, and one running across. He had earrings in both ears, the shape of rectangles, gold in color with a black stripe down the middle.

‘He looks young but I bet all these guys are underneath him… is he the son of someone important…?’ Tsugumi awkwardly took a step back, and pulled a large chunk of her hair across her face. ‘I hope there isn’t anything left on my face’ the panic suddenly building again.

She jumped at a sudden banging sound. She looked up, seeing him tap a cane against the floor of the elevator. “Don’t be rude…” His words sent shivers down her spine, as he turned his head to the men next to him.

Tsugumi’s body shook, wondering what she’d done to offend him. She couldn’t take her eyes off the cane, wondering if he’d use that to strike. What had she done? “Get out the way” He ordered, all the men turning their gazes to Tsugumi, rather confused.

“Sorry…” She mumbled, stepping out the way. “Tsk…” He tapped his cane once again. “Are you deaf? Get out so she can get on” Tsugumi looked up, just as startled as the men in the elevator, and one more click of the tongue half of them quickly filed out through the doors.

It was now more spacious, and he faced Tsugumi. Were his eyes even open? She couldn’t tell, but she could feel that he was looking at her. “Sorry ‘bout that” He offered a kind smile, vaguely gesturing to the space next to him. She only nodded, sheepishly stepping onto the elevator.

“Lobby?”

“Yes”

The door closed, carefully glancing at the young man, so as not to be caught. Though, more pressingly, she began to squint as a glare was caught in her eyes. She hummed softly, glancing down at his finger, there a ring with the number 8 on it, while on his wrist, where he wore a watch.

It definitely caught her eye. It seemed to be a dull gold color, and she noticed the face of the watch was a very pale blue. The elevator ride was silent, and had a slightly uncomfortable atmosphere. Perhaps Tsugumi was the only one that felt that way, as she noticed his smile was constant.

The buzzing of her bag snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked through it, flipping the screen over while her hand was still inside her bag, mentally sighing at the caller ID.

‘Kawasaki Genjiro’

Begrudgingly, she answered the call, putting it up to her ear, knowing had she missed it there would be severe consequences.

“Hello?”

“Where are you? And where is Ankoku?”

“Ankoku is at Luxe”

It wasn’t exactly a lie. Leaving out the fact that she was also there wouldn’t do any harm. Since she was leaving now.

“Tsk. What is he doing?”

“…he …is with friends…”

Again, not exactly a lie. She could hear him heavily sigh on the other end. No doubt Ankoku would be in plenty of trouble later.

“I suppose he’s disregarded the reputation I’ve built…”

“I’ll have a talk with that bastard once he gets home. And I need you to come back as well”

“Yes”

Just as the call ended, the Elevator doors opened. She was the first to step off, eager to get out of that suffocating environment. Though, as soon as she took a look around she clocked the men standing at the door in suits.

She was sure they weren’t sent by Genjiro. So, it must be— glancing behind her, she noticed the men walking toward the door. Once he got there, the group bowed a dull 90 degrees. “Good work today” the shouted in unison.

Placing his finger against his lips he hushed the group. “This is a respectable establishment, y’know” Turning his head back, and once again Tsugumi felt as though he was staring at her. “Boss…” One leaned down next to him.

His smile faded into a scowl for only a quick second, scratching his head. The atmosphere once again dropping, none of the men spoke, neither noticing the watch unclasped from his wrist, falling onto the ground.

“Alright, let’s go”

They formed a makeshift path, men lining up on either side as he walked through the middle and through the doors, them glancing around before following suit. Tsugumi exhaled, walking to the receptionist’s desk, placing the card down.

“I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay here at Luxe” she flashed a grin full of professionalism. Tsugumi felt bile rising in her throat at the mere notion. She’d only felt disgust and shame since she’d been here, it was far from enjoyable.

“…mhm…” was all she managed to get out, turning toward the doors and walking with a purpose. Feeling something underneath her sneaker, she stopped, looking down.

A watch.

She recognized it as the watch she saw the man wearing in the elevator. “Hmm…” She hummed, bending down to pick it up. It seemed like she hadn’t damaged it by stepping on it. But the way she held it, as if it’d shattered from one harsh graze.

She inspected the details closely, there was that interesting dull gold color she spotted, with a diamond encrusted bezel, the pattern on the face seemed to be tiny squares the color of a very light blue, the glass seeming very thin.

Underneath, a circle of ticks, doubled where ‘12’ would be, while the third tick was replaced by a dial reading the number 5. With a quick check of her phone, Tsugumi confirmed the watch was correct,

4:27 pm.

February 5th

‘This belonged to that guy…’ She looked up, he couldn’t still be here, and sure enough there was no sign of him. “Um—” she paused, her phone buzzing in her bag again. She picked it up, it was a text message.

Ankoku

Did you go yet? You didn’t, right? Wait for me I’ll be down in a little.

Read 4:28

“Tsk…”

Tsugumi turned, hearing the elevator ding. “Hey~ Thought I’d be down later, hm?” Ankoku raced towards her. “Hmm…” She quickly stood, slipping the watch in her bag. ‘If I turn the watch in now, he’ll get upset…’ she thought, glancing between Ankoku & the desk.

“Hm…? You’re so lost in thought…” Ankoku’s grin faded. “Tsugumi… don’t tell me” He grabbed her shoulders, squeezing harshly. “Are you thinking about another man? Right in front of me?” He asked, his expression uncharacteristically blank.

“No. I was just thinking… don’t forget to turn in your key card…” She looked down, squeezing her arm. He breathed out, releasing her. “Right. Thanks” He kissed her hairline, and dropping an around her shoulder.

He pulled the card from his pockets, tossing it behind him, and seemingly rushing her out the door. ‘I… guess I can just ask Kakihara later…’ she thought, tapping the side of her bag.

Tsugumi, sat on the couch, staring patiently at her phone screen, the picture she took of the watch. Hearing the clicking of locks and keys, she shot up, waking toward the foyer where he entered.

Kakihara Jo.

He was her father’s closest aide, and friend. The two of them had known each other since grade school. “Oh, you’re here already” He nodded toward her. “Yes um, Kakihara you like watches don’t you?” Once again, he nodded.

He was a watch connoisseur, even having his own collection which he was quite fond of. “What kind of watch is this… this is a foreign language but I don’t know how to pronounce it” Tsugumi held out her phone, showing the picture she’d taken earlier.

“I got it off Pinterest” She explained her excuse of where the picture came from. She knew had she shown him the watch in person, word would get back to her father. He’d be furious with her. “Ooh, an Audemars” He hummed softly.

“This is a date watch, the brand Audemars Piguet” He explained. “So that’s how you say it. I’ve heard the word Audemars before” She nodded along. “Why the sudden interest?” He asked, looking down at her.

“I just thought it looked pretty… but, do you know how much this is?” She continued. “Hm… usually it would go for millions…” his words made her heart sink. “Oh… alright…” She nodded, turning off the screen.

Hearing the price made her realize something. She’d stolen someone else’s watch. And an extremely expensive one at that. “I’m going to my room…” She nodded to him, quickly rushing up to her bedroom, closing and locking her door behind her.

“Shit…”

She flopped down on her bed. “Millions…” how could she be in possession of a watch that costed millions. ‘Getting Kakihara to return it would be easy… but he’d report it to Genjiro, and I’m sure somehow Ankoku would find out about it…’ she sighed.

“And if he finds out about it was something to do with a guy… even just grazing shoulders he’d…” She shook her head, not even wanting to think of what he would possibly do to her in a jealous rage. Her body had enough scars to show for it. Then she thought of it.

‘I’ll just go to Luxe myself and give it to the receptionist…’

Shikaba entered Reri’s office, noticing the chair ro her desk spinning as he closed the door behind him. Rather than his elder sister, it was Taira seated there, his braise rested behind the back of the chair.

“Yo~” He waved with a wide grin. “Back already? Did you fix it?” He hummed, tapping his index finger impatiently against the wooden desk. “Yep” He nodded, tapping his cane against the tile floor.

He then sighed dramatically, his grin forming into a deep frown. “Lately, Dad's been making me clean up all of these messes. It's getting tiring. Poor me” He wiped where a tear should have fell.

“There, there…” Taira rolled his eyes. The two, hearing the click of the door, turned their attention, the flack of heels rushing as she walked in.

She was rather tall, thanks to her stiletto pumps, dressed formally in a long pencil skirt, and thigh high panty hose. Her blouse was white, and long sleeve, buttoned up and ruffled up at her chest. Her pin straight black hair, styled in a ponytail, curtain bangs framing her face, accentuated by the mole underneath her left eye.

Her lashes were long, defined by mascara, and her eyes were opaque. The Yotsurugi family’s lawyer Reri Yotsurugi[Zenmyoji]. “Sorry for the wait...” She paused, her rouge stained lips pressed into a frown; and cleanly cut brows furrowing at the sight of the two.

“Tsk. It’s just you” She groaned softly. “Hey~” Shikaba smiled happily. “I rushed up here because they said I had a client suddenly show up here, but it’s just you two punks” She shook her head. “You’re a lot nicer to your clients than us” Shikaba commented on the tone change.

“Because my clients don’t treat my office like their own personal lounge” She retorted, glancing at Taira. “And get out of my chair” She glared at him, the boy getting up, lanky legs carrying himself toward the door.

“Don’t be like that, Reri. Your office is so much fun” Shikaba whined playfully. Reri sighed, gently pinching the bridge of her nose. “Get out” She ordered. Without a minute more, the pair filed out of the office, Taira whistling softly.

Shikaba stretched his arm high in the air, the other hand holding his elbow, as he slightly leaned to the side. Taira looked, noticing a certain accessory missing from his wrist. “Hey, Shikaba… what happened to your watch? Left it at home?” He asked.

“Huh? No, I…” Shikaba paused, looking at his now bare wrist in confusion. “I had it on earlier... guess I lost it...” He huffed quietly. “What? How'd you lose it?” Taira clicked his tongue. “Who cares? S'just a watch” Shikaba shrugged.

Taira paused for a moment, confused by what he was hearing. “You were the one who made a big deal out of it. But now you don't care” He argued, recalling how much Shikaba talked about the watch before actually making the purchase.

He’d bought it a few weeks ago, and had barely taken it off since. Shikaba stayed silent for a moment, humming to himself before finally speaking up. “I guess it is a big deal. Since I spent a lot of money…” He agreed.

“Let’s go find it” He suggested with a wide grin. Taira scoffed at the idea. “I'm not going on a wild goose chase to find your damn watch” He shook his head, Shikaba merely shrugging as a response.

“I’m sorry. No one has turned in a missing watch recently”

Shikaba frowned at the receptionists words, the woman bowing politely from behind the desk. Sensing a sudden shift in the atmosphere, she snuck a glance at the man. Based on his expression, she didn’t think anything was too bad.

However… there was definitely something off about that smile. “I-I can check the security cameras… m-maybe someone stole it” She suggested, the pair now simply staring at her. She took that as a silent confirmation.

She typed in a few things, before turning the screen around to face them. “This is all the footage from this morning” She spoke, gesturing to the different camera angles being showed in in the lobby, in the elevator, and the 100th floor.

The pair scanned the entire screen, every last video. “Stop” Taira ordered. “Zoom in on that one” The woman peeked over to see him pointing at the upper corner of the screen. ‘Camera LB…’ She thought, typing in the code to do so.

It soon fit the entire screen. “Play it back about 20 seconds” He told her, the woman pressing the left arrow button twice. Although it was a bit grainy, the pair could make out the appearance of Tsugumi on the screen, despite not being able to see her face clearly.

She walked over toward the door, kneeling down to pick up something from the ground. “Look. That girl picked up something just now” Taira told him. “But is it my watch?” Shikaba hummed softly, neither of them actually saw what it was she’d picked up, as the ground was too far away.

“…Play it forward…”

The footage resumed, and a few moments later a familiar young man walked into frame, facing the camera. The two could definitely see his face clearly. “Stop it now” Taira told her, and so she did. “Hmm… isn’t that Kawasaki Genjiro’s kid..?” Shikaba mumbled, nudging Taira with his elbow.

“It is…” He nodded. “Who’s the girl though?” The pair was silent. Shikaba stood up straight, turning to face his men. “Get the footage. Find out who that girl is. Now” He ordered. “Yes!” They all spoke respectfully and in unison.

Shikaba clicked his tongue softly, leading the group out, while two stayed behind to collect the footage, and any other possible footage of the girl, and Ankoku. “I can’t stand thieves…” He grit his teeth.

“If she’s friends with him, it makes sense” Taira shrugged. Suddenly, the image of the girl from earlier flashed through his mind, eyes widening at the memory.

‘So it was her…’

Tsugumi sighed softly, leaning her head against her mattress as she knelt in front of it. In her bed was the watch, placed in a small navy blue box she’d found laying around her room.

She couldn’t remember what piece of jewelry it was from, but it was for enough to have a place to store and hide the watch. “Why did I hold onto it?” She mumbled, lips forming a pout as she leaned against her knuckles.

‘Why did I even pick it up? I should’ve minded my business… now I have to hide it…’ She mentally groaned, slamming the lid back onto the box. It was about time she go get some fresh air to clear her thoughts.

That and she’d be much happier outside of the house.

At the moment she was dressed in a white fitted T-shirt, maroon sweats and silver hoop earrings. She leaned down to her left, her hair falling over her shoulder, as she pushed the box underneath her bed. “What are you doing, Tsugumi?” She shivered at the sound of his voice.

She stayed still for a moment, reaching her hand over to take out one of her earrings before standing up. He was right behind her, startling her once she stood up. “…One of my earrings fell out…” She explained, the hoop dangling off her thumb.

“Let me help you put it on” He suggested. A completely unnecessary gesture. Yet still, she held the earring out to him, moving her hair out of the way. He took it, pushing the needle through the piercing, carelessly clasping the back to her lobe, making her flinch and his at the slight sting.

He moved his hand to caress her cheek, slowly sliding down her body to her waist, not without groping where he could. Tsugumi almost cringed, but was able to control her expression, and force her lips into a smile. “…Thank you” She managed to say after a long while.

“Where ya goin?” He asked curiously, now scanning her figure, noticing she was not exactly dressed how she usually would on one of her days in. “Just for a walk” She shrugged, unable to avoid eye contact, mainly due to their close proximity.

“Did you ask dad?” he inquired, the mere notion that she should making her hold back a scoff. “Not yet—” She gently pushed him to the side as she walked past. “—I’m going to now” But that was a lie. She was going to. She rarely ever did; she was just going to leave.

But if she didn’t this time, Ankoku would surely tell, and she’d likely be grounded. She quickly raced down the steps to the first floor office, knocking twice on the dark stained oak doors. “Come in…” Genjiro cleared his throat.

Tsugumi could hear the rustling of papers and scratching of pens as she pushed the doors open. There he sat, his glasses almost falling of the bridge of his nose. His blue eyes were sunken in, with dark and heavy bags underneath.

His dark hair was messily slicked out of his face, a few strands falling and ruining the style. He was buried in stacks of papers that piled up over his head. He glanced up at her, eyes slightly widening once he saw her, now pushing his frames higher up.

“Oh, Tsugumi. I was just about to call you” He hummed, looking back down, writing something before placing the paper to his right. “You were?” She asked, confusedly. She didn’t remember doing anything to get in trouble lately. Not after the Luxe situation especially.

“Yes. It’s about the situation at Luxe” Tsugumi mentally sighed. What could she have done wrong? That was all Ankoku’s fault. “There was a major news report earlier…” He sighed, turning his computer to face her, showing the headline of the article on ‘The Gazette’.

Her eyes widened at the emboldened headline.

‘Ankoku Kawasaki spotted leaving a Luxe Haven’s Hotel location with his step sister, despite the two arriving at different times’

Of course, with how much of a prominent media figure Genjiro and the I.J. Security Company was, there were bound to be a report about the littlest things following the family. But this was definitely a bad look.

Though, it didn’t seem things were too bad as the Gazette was a smaller news outlet. Still, plenty of people follow them. And of course, due to Ankoku’s actions, Tsugumi would likely be the one to take the fall.

Genjiro was getting more furious by the second, as he slammed the laptop closed. One would think he may have shattered it, yet he had no plans on worrying about the laptop, glaring darkly at Tsugumi who stood straighter.

“The article further went on to mention the plethora of your look-alikes who arrived at the hotel the night before you did. Any clue what was going on? Take a guess” He suggested. Tsugumi chose not to answer, correctly assuming his statement was rhetorical.

“Let me make myself clear—” He began, speaking through barred teeth. “I don’t want a repeat of last year. Have you any idea the work I put in to keep the tabloids away?” He asked. Of course, Tsugumi could think of a million things.

The first thing coming to her mind being that these situations were Ankoku’s fault. However she only decided to apologize softly. Genjiro sighed, furrowing his brows. “Just… don’t leave for the next few days” He grumbled, turning back to his work.

“Okay” She conceded. Her response immediately bringing his attention back to her. “What?” He raised his voice, making her flinch, her skin crawling with fear. “Yes… Yes sir” She corrected. Again he sighed, shoo-ing her with his hand.

“Yes” She left, softly closing the doors behind herself. She rushing upstairs to her room, eyes welling up with tears as she fell face first onto her bed. ‘I hate it here…’ She thought, choking back a sob. She’d almost pray not to cry at that moment.

Of course, Tsugumi would be the only one to be punished, despite Ankoku being the insightor of the incident. Just as it was a few years ago when he’d gotten blackout drunk and exposed himself on the internet.

That was her fault as well, and as such Tsugumi was the one to be punished, unable to leave the home for an entire month. Although, it wasn’t as though she had anyplace important to be.

And still, that didn’t compare to the train wreck of last year…

“Hmm~”

Hum’s filled the narrow halls of the prison’s solitary confinement facility. One young man was placed there, had been for the past week. He was seated in the 2x3 cell, leaning against the right wall, near the door.

He sat with his left leg bent, and left arm rested on his knee, head pressed back against the wall, with a wide smile on his pale face. He ran his hand through his dusty blond dyed mullet, the roots that had grown out near his brows.

They were thicker and healthy compared to the frayed strands lowering down to his neck. His eyes were narrow and light brown, that would glow a beautiful gold had there been even a crack for light to get into the dark cell.

Still, his eyes were well adjusted to the darkness, clearly able to see the twin mattress laid on the floor across from where he sat, and the toilet to his far right. The sudden sound of footsteps and jingling keys clashed with his deep hums, alerting that it was some type of meal time.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner— he didn’t know. But he did know that he’d been hungry for the past 20 minutes, so this came at almost the perfect. “Hey!!” The authoritative tone of guard reverberated against the narrow hall walls. “Stop with all that noise!!” He ordered.

“My bad, I’m just bored. Tryna pass the time” He chuckled softly. His eyes glanced at the little door grate on the floor that opened, in slid his meal on a tray— a small bowl of rice, paired with a bowl of miso soup, and platter of two large grilled sardines.

He cringed at the sight, and string smell that permeated his nostrils. “Tsk… the food here really sucks…” He lamented with a frown. He closed his eyes and breathed in softly, trying to ignore the stench of the food next to him, soon comforted by the sight of familiar curly brown hair from his memories.

Again. For the umpteenth time in the past five minutes, he thought of the long, soft curly brown hair he’d like to wrap himself in as if it were his own personal blanket. He’d made a mental note to do so once he got out.

“Hey, you know…” He spoke, knowing the guard was still there. “I miss her a lot. More and more everyday…” He grinned. “And she’s probably sooo lonely without me there to comfort her” He dramatically clenched his heart, giving a show to no eyes that would peer upon his figure.

‘Tsk. He’s always so talkative…’ The guard clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes. “Even if I send letters, I bet her father would get in the way. He won’t even let her see it, so she probably doesn’t know about when I was sending it” He grumbled. “Sometimes I wanna kill. I really do” He confessed.

“It’s not wise to confess crimes to an officer”

“I said I want to, not that I would”

The guard clicked his tongue, still crouched in front of the door. “Anyways, if ya love her so much, why do ya keep gettin’ booked?” The man quarried. “What? …half a year ain’t so bad.. S’nothing compare to 5 years if I off her old man” He shrugged.

“8 months is really nothing. Matter fact, don’t they say that time apart makes couples stronger?” His grin widened. “But I bet you wouldn’t know. Cause you’re single, right?” He teased, the guard grumbling some incoherent words.

“Anyways. Mimi’s my favorite. And y’know what else? She looks really good in red” He laughed as the image of her covered in red flashed through his mind. “Tsk. Just get outta this place and go see her” The guard suggested.

“Get a job, make a decent living, and buy her all the red clothes you want. I’m sure she’ll love that. Anyways, eat your food, and don’t cause anymore trouble after you get out” He ordered, the sound of his steps and keys jingling furthering from the young man’s ears.

“Tsk… dumbass…” The boy grit his teeth. “My sexy Mimi… it’s not the red clothes that look good…” He thought, biting his lower lip. “It’s the red blood that drips out even from the most shallow cuts, when it spreads across her skin… and that look in her eyes… she’s so fragile…” He smirked deviously,

‘That’s what makes her so gorgeous’

Shikaba sat back in the rolling chair in his own office this time, his arms lazily falling over the sides of the chair, while head hung over the backrest of the chair. His subordinate stood in front of him, giving a report on his recent findings.

“Kawasaki Ankoku checked into Luxe, room 4015, at 8:05pm on February 4th. Just 30 minutes layered; a group of girl; all described as over average height, and long brown curly hair, 13 in total” He began, flipping through the papers he held.

“They all spent the night in the same hotel, and the next day, at 4:05pm the young woman arrived. She rode up the elevator to the exact floor and room the group was in, spending 3 minutes inside before leaving” He explained.

“Maybe she went in for a quickie”

“So he’s a 3 minute man”

The pair laughed at their small jokes. “As we witnessed on the tapes, she spoke to the receptionist for a few moments, and the receptionist says she only returned the key card, not a watch” He explained.

“And afterwards, this is when we can assume what she picked up was the watch you dropped, sir, before entering an unmarked car along with Kawasaki Ankoku” He explained, pausing to sigh deeply, eyes averted to the ground.

“Regrettably, we weren’t able to track the cars route” He explained. “So, who is she?” Taira clicked his tongue. “We are unable to find any further information on her at the moment” He admitted, bowing politely.

Shikaba kissed his teeth, eyes glancing back and forth across the ceiling above him. ‘I noticed her staring in the elevator… it can’t be a coincidence that she now has my watch…’ He thought, rolling the chair side to side.

He sat up abruptly, startling the man. “Keep looking. I need more info before making any rash decisions” He told him. “Yes sir!” The man bowed before the two, before walking out the door. Shikaba clicked his tongue, swerving the chair side to side slowly.

His mind returned to Tsugumi’s face, that began to fade from clarity in his memory. “Tsk… what am I gonna do with her…?” He mumbled softly.

Three days.

Three days had passed since Tsugumi was essentially placed under house arrest. Three days of not being able to leave the hellhole she is forced to call home. To be honest, it doesn’t matter the exact amount of time since she can barely keep up with it.

For Tsugumi, in this house, every minute felt like an hour, every hour felt like a day. Of course as even the internet got boring after a while, one could go crazy in such an environment. For most of the days she’d spent in her room.

She now laid flat, legs bent and her head hanging off the side of her bed, while her hands rested on her stomach. She stared mindlessly at the ceiling, the smoothness somewhat upsetting, as there was no design— no squares, diamonds, or triangles to needlessly count in hopes of passing the time quicker.

‘How long have I been in my room? If I leave now I might run into Ankoku. I don’t wanna catch any of his attention…’ She thought, eyes moving back to her closed bedroom door. She couldn’t risk the chance to encounter Ankoku, which lately she’d been lucky enough to avoid him.

Tsugumi didn’t question it though. Not daring to jinx herself, only grateful for this perpetual peace she was finally granted. Something good coming out of her predicament. Her mind seemed to snap back into reality, registering the sounds of hurried footsteps rushing back and forth past her room.

There had been plenty of noise since earlier that day, but she’d tuned it out several times before, not questioning it at all. In fact she also hoped Genjiro would find himself preoccupied enough to not notice any of Ankoku’s wrongdoings, thereby keeping her out of trouble.

At the same time, she felt as if there would be something bad to come, as earlier she snuck a peak through the crack doors of Genjiro’s first floor office. There he was surrounded by even larger stacks of papers than normal, hands pulling at his gel caged locs.

His expression wasn’t good either, his entire face plagued with worry. “What’s wrong with him anyways?” Tsugumi frowned. The bed suddenly buzzed, as she noticed her phone light up in her peripheral. She sat up, seeing a hidden message from an unknown on her phone screen.

As soon as she held it up to her face, the message was revealed.

+45********** Hey!

Tsugumi Wrong Number

+45********** No

+45********** It’s the right number

Tsugumi No it’s not

+45********** I’m 100 percent sure this is the right number

+45********** We don’t really know eachother yet so that’s why you’re confused

+45********** I wanna be your friend

Tsugumi I don’t wanna be friends with a stranger

+45********** 😂😂

Tsugumi frowned at the message, contemplating on whether to block the person or not. For some reason, though, she didn’t leave the messages, simply watching the three dots loading on her screen.

+45********** Okay fine my name is Ikki

Tsugumi I didn’t ask for your name

+45********** You don’t need to tell me your name I already know it. Inazuma Tsugumi.

+45********** You’re the stepdaughter of Kawasaki Genjiro who owns 84.7 percent of shares in the I.J Security company.

+45********** You went to Gen Elementary, Yuuma Jr High, and Toyogihashi high

Tsugumi My records are public information. Anyone can get it.

+45********** Fine

+45********** Want me to tell you something that’s not public info?

Tsugumi only looked at the message, unsure of how to respond. There wasn’t anything very secretive about her life. Most people have already been speculating about the relationship between her and Ankoku. The rumors about her have been flying around since middle school.

+45********** No response? I’ll take that as a yes

+45********** I mean what happened in second year of jr high

+45********** You know

+45********** In the math classroom

In the math classroom

Reading the message made Tsugumi’s blood run cold. Though her fingers trembled witch each movement, she quickly clicked the pictures icon at the top of her screen, then pressed the info button, eyes dropping to the bottom of the screen as she pressed ‘Block Caller’.

She felt her skin crawl at the memory of that incident, the most intense being the blurry sight of the ceiling, even the feeling of the cold polished marble on her almost bare back as she lie motionless on the ground.

“Don’t either of you breathe a word of this”

Those were Genjrio’s words to Tsugumi and Ankoku, as she sat in the back of the car, covered in bruises and dried blood, not even stopping to patch her up or even worry for her before giving an unwarranted lecture. Ankoku too was bruised, with a few cuts on his face.

She tightened her jacket around herself as her eyes fell to his blood covered knuckles— knowing most of that blood was from her own body. She couldn’t bring herself to look anywhere but down, knowing the clenching of his fists were a promise of what’s to come.

Tsugumi shivered at the memory, her heart beating out of her chest. ‘No one knows besides the four of us… I know Ankoku and Genjiro wouldn’t threaten me like this. And I also know that he is still in jail…’ She thought, pressing her lips into a thin line.

Her phone vibrated again. She almost decided to ignore it, but shook the idea out of her head once it did so twice more. Now there was a new number, though presumably the same person.

+45********** Did you block me? That’s mean +45********** I’m not trying to blackmail you. Don’t worry +45********** Good friends keep secrets

+45********** What do you want?

+45********** To be friends?? +45********** I already told you that

Tsugumi Why?

+45********** I just like you.

Tsugumi typed a new message, hesitated for almost 2 minutes before sending it.

Tsugumi How do you know about that?

+45********** What? In the math class? +45********** I’ve just been watching you for a long time +45********** That’s not important though. Let��s be friends.

Tsugumi just tossed her phone to the side, it vibrating again, but she decided to ignore it. Although her stomach felt ticklish at the idea of someone else knowing that information, she pushed her anxiety to the side, telling herself that Genjiro would solve it even if it got out.

No matter how unfair he treated her, he’d always come in handy when things like this happened— just because it affected his own reputation. She rolled over on her side, hoping this wasn’t wishful thinking, and that nothing bad will come of this person knowing what happened.

Leaning forward against his desk boredly, Shikaba stared forward at his subordinate. He had little faith that any efforts to identify the girl would succeed, as he’d been waiting for days at this point. But the next words had him peeking up in his chair.

“We found out who she is”

“Really?” He hummed excitedly, the man nodded. He placed a picture down on his desk, Shikaba’s now hazy memory of the day becoming clearer.

Although he barely got a good look at her, due to her obvious purposeful hiding of her face, the picture of the straight faced girl rang several bells.

“She’s 19 years old, at the height of 171 centimeters and a weight of 61 kilograms. She attended Gen Elementary School, Yuuma Middle School, and Toyogihashi High School. She was an average student who stood out neither academically nor physically” He began.

“Also, it seems to date she has no close associates, and in fact seems to not know anyone outside of her mother, step father, step brother, and the employees who work for her step father; Kawasaki Genjiro” The two were more alert than ever in hearing that name.

“So that’s how she’s connected?” Shikaba spoke, eyes wide with surprise. “If that’s the case, it’s not a coincidence…” Taira nodded. “What else have ya found?” The man cleared his throat, straightening his posture.

“Apparently, her mother Kawasaki Koume, maiden name Shikiji, met and married Genjiro while Tsugumi was 13 years old” He went on. ‘Koume, huh? Is it the same person?’ He wondered, tapping the desk almost softly.

“Are the step siblings real close? I mean, meeting in a hotel is definitely weird” He hummed loudly. “But are they crazy enough to do that in broad daylight?” Taira questioned.

“A few years back, there were rumors of the two being in an inappropriate relationship—” The two were now completely silent at that remark. “—but those rumors were debunked after talk of their ‘strained relationship’ started flying around” He explained.

“Since the two were rarely seen together, even though they attended the same schools. As there was no evidence to support any kind of sexual relationship between the two” He concluded. Shikaba chides and slouched back in his chair.

“That would’ve been more fun…” He grumbled, his mouth twisting into a pout. “Just keep looking. Find something more… definitive that there’s something strange going on. Either with one or the whole family… and investigate this ‘Koume’ person too…” He ordered.

“Yes, sir” He bowed, leaving the office quickly. Taira stared down at the picture of Tsugumi, noting that rather than a person, she resembled a porcelain doll. ‘If there really isn’t anything going on, that part is still strange…’ He thought, eyes glazed over as he examined her picture.

Tsugumi breathed softly, eyes scanning the street, filled with cafe’s, small restaurants, bars, and clothing shops. Her outfit was a black fitted shirt, somewhat above her bellybutton— a simple diamond stud in her piercing— baggy black sweatpants seated at her hips, and white forces.

Her hair was let down her back, as usual. She took in another large breath, relishing in the fresh air she was granted after an entire week of being hold up in the house.

Being outside was less suffocating, as she was being not-so-inconspicuously followed by an entire security team. Still, the warm sun on her skin, and the summer breeze she felt, despite it still being spring time.

“Don’t start any trouble if you don’t want to be punished”

Those were the words Genjiro left with her before her outing, of course making it seem as though the situation was her fault. And that punishment, though this time it was a simple grounding, would likely result in Tsugumi suffering some sort of bodily harm.

So, today’s outing, where Genjiro permitted her to go shopping could be seen as… hush money. It was always like this. Whenever she and Ankoku had made headlines, after the end of her punishment, she was granted a monetary insurance to keep her mouth shut about what Ankoku has been doing.

Of course, she didn’t need it. The mere thought of someone else knowing the types of things that go on between her and Ankoku made bile rise in her throat, tears to her eyes. She couldn’t let anyone know of the dirt that stained her character.

“I guess I can use a new bag…”

Somewhere, not nearby any heavily populated area, in a rundown motel in room 203. Both windows shot out, each sloppily boarded up by wooden slaps hammered into the walls, and filthy white curtains blocking any kind of sight. Into the room.

Inside it was even more dingy, closer to the door was one empty dresser, on top a mirror hanging on top of it, and in front of that was a full sized mattress without a sheet, stains of unknown origins splattered over it, resting against a short bed frame.

Next to that was a long green couch, sewn in cushions with stuffing falling out, just as stained as the bed. The walls were caked with mold, and the paint was cracked on every one. In front of it was a wobbly coffee table, one leg shorter than the other and held up by a stack of about 4 magazines.

Next to the table, Ankoku sat on the rotted wooden floor, leaning his elbow against the table. He slammed a stack of crumpled bills down, next to the rest, running a hand through his hair, his face plagued with anxiety. He’d counted it over and over, reaching the same sum of 384,533.

He counted 15 times, 16 times, deciding to finally stop at 19. He was constantly disappointed, agitation growing by the second, as each time he counted he’d hoped he missed at least an extra 9 million

“What are we gonna do…?”

Ankoku looked up at the other young man who walked in from the bathroom. He was tall and of a somewhat muscular, yet cut, frame. His hair was died a dusty brown, and parted in the middle—styled in a short mullet that reached just below his ears.

His eyes were wide and green, topped by dark eyebrows, and both of his ears were pierced by black studs. Mogawa Momiji, aka, Momo. He was Ankoku’s best friend since grade school.

The two were very similar in many ways, though at the moment the most similar being the worried expressions on their faces.

“The deadline’s in a few we—”

“I KNOW!!”

Ankoku’s outburst startled the young man into silence. He himself had faced Ankoku’s wrath quite a few times, it was definitely something to cause you to be wary of him and his temperament.

‘Tsk… why’d I even borrow that money in the first place…?’ He grumbled. “We should just run away” Momiji suggested, Ankoku looking up at him, not knowing whether to be shocked and angry, the look in his eyes being somewhere between.

“Are you crazy?!” He shouted. “They’d hunt us down and then we won’t even be given a chance to try and pay it back!” He sighed. “Well what the hell are we supposed to do?! We don’t even have half of it! How are we s’posed to get that amount in the time we have left?!” Momiji snapped.

“I know… just—” Ankoku softly massaged his temples, trying to calm himself before he did something he knows he’d regret. “—just relax okay?! I-I’ll call my dad, try to pull some strings just… you keep saving whatever you can, even change” He told him.

Momiji sighed, nodding along with the plan. “Yeah… yeah okay…”

Tsugumi was seated on her bed, shopping bags she’d yet to unpack into her room seated there as well— deciding to buy more than just one new bag. Now, she stared at her lap, which held a small fancy blue box that previously held some kind of jewelry, she forgets. Inside was the watch she’d picked up.

Genjiro lifted her grounding, yes. But neither she nor Ankoku would be allowed anywhere near Luxe until the rumors died down. Still, by now it’s been a week, so this could be considered theft.

No matter how much she tried to justify it as an accident, there was no good reason for her to be in possession of the watch. “I should’ve minded my own business and left the damn watch alone” She mumbled, her fingers grazing the edge of the opening.

‘Should I ask someone about him?’ She contemplated. ‘I’m not grounded anymore so if by chance Ankoku hears about it, I can just stay out for as long as I want’ She thought, knowing Ankoku would be unable to touch her outside.

She could wait for time to quell his anger, and then move on from the incident entirely. Tsugumi knelt down, sliding the box underneath her bed before going out into the hallway, immediately clocking the security guard that walked toward the stairs.

“Hey” she called to him, stepping completely outside. “Yes, miss” He bowed his head politely, before walking over to her. “Can you find out about someone for me?” She asked, softly tapping her toes against the floor.

The man nodded, both of them unaware of Genjiro nearing from the corner, fully alert upon hearing Tsugumi’s voice. “He’s not tall, around my height, and has kinda fringy blonde hair” She explained.

She still had yet to notice Genjiro, even as he rounded the corner, though he stopped once he heard the last bit of information she gave. “And he’s got a scar going down his right eye, even to his chest”

Tsugumi dragged her hand from her forehead down to her chest. “Hm… and… um…” She trailed off, trying to remember anything else she could about him.

“TSUGUMI!!”

Genjiro’s voice boomed in the hallway, the pair flinching at the sound. They now were completely attentive to him, who stalked down the hall in a fit of rage. “What did you just say?!” He shouted and grabbed her shoulder, squeezing them tightly.

“HOW DO YOU KNOW HIM?!” He screamed, saliva sputtering all over her face, making her wince. “I… I…” She stammered, her eyes wide as her trembling body was engulfed in a feeling of terror. Her throat ran dry, and her blood cold.

Her lips trembled, unable to form any thought, let alone speak it. “SPEAK UP!! TELL ME NOW!!” He ordered, shaking her harshly. “I d-don’t know him… I.. s-sssaw him at Luxe that d-day…” She began, unable to stop herself from stuttering, teeth almost barring down on her tongue.

“I-I thought m-maybe he was s-s-ssomeone rich… b-b-because he…” She swallowed harshly. “Because hheee had a b-bunch of g-guard t-t… to…” She continued. “Tsk… you’re lying” Genjiro accused, Tsugumi’s skin crawling at the words.

“Nnn… no… I reeally d-don’t… I-I-I… sss… S-sorry…” Before she could think to apologize, she figured an apology would calm him down, and allow him to him her out.

But she was wrong.

As soon as she finished her apology his hand flew across her face, the sound of the slap echoing in the hallway and the guards eyes were now glued to the floor. Tsugumi’s eyes were wide with awe, her face and lips tingling with the pain.

The sting left by the impact made her flinch. “Sir” Kakihara cleared his throat from the steps behind Genjiro. He turned around, the fury not leaving his expression as he spat out a hurried “What?!” Though the latter was not taken aback.

“There is a guest in the foyer waiting for you” He bowed his head. Genjiro took in a few deep breaths before walking toward the steps, following behind Kakihara. Tsugumi’s vision blurred as the steps furthered.

At that moment she blinked away the tears, hurrying to the bathroom. She stared into the reflection in the mirror, unable to determine her own feelings at the moment. She looked… hollow. Her cheek was already turning red, and would surely start to swell soon.

She could assume the time it’d take to heal, maybe a few days— half a week at most. But the most pressing injury seemed to be on her bottom lip, cut and bleeding just a little. It would likely take a little over a week for that one.

She swiped her tongue across her bottom lip, licking away the blood, though it was just replaced by a new stream leaking out. She took the back of her hand, wiping away the tears that weld up again, sniffling softly as she left the bathroom.

Now, as he walked up the stairs Ankoku clocked her immediately. Tsugumi, though, was late in noticing him, so when she turned her face away from him all she heard was

“What happened to your face?”

[meligumii]

Bllk Season 2 Episode 14 Review

I’m back~

Rin stealing the ball was funny asf for some reason idk. I’m thinking one of these guys bout to get in the way— Sae, Aiku, Shidou, Sendou, or Isagi. I was wrong cause it was Neru who first got to him[technically not cause he got past him like it was nothing]

Sae finally started realizing his brother is a problem. So Rin’s now entering his ‘flow’ state. If the main character doesn’t become the best striker in the world, I think Rin will. Now, maybe it’s just bc I’m not into sports like that but I really don’t think ‘I’ll kill kill kill you’ is an okay mindset to be having, like this mf my be a psychopath…

Yukimiya said Rin’s flow was the exact opposite of Sae’s ‘Beautiful Destruction’ but I also see it as the exact opposite of Isagi’s type of play— because we always see him making plays while using others to make them score goals— while Rin is all on his own in the field[even though he did pass, he ofc knew it had to come right back to him] and he continued on his rampage.

Why is his tongue out? Cause he’s super focused or something but… he just looks kinda like a dog. Literally this 🐶 emoji.

He got past the 4 walls like it was nothing. Got Aiku’s whole system malfunctioning. But, here comes Shidou. ‘Licky Rin’ lmao. And they just barely stopped him. You don’t know how mad I was when it hit the side of the goal!!

And with only 1 minute of additional time the ball goes to Itoshi mf Sae. So now I guess it’s a final stand off between brothers, still dk how they’re gonna make this work. But, miracles do happen.

“If you’d stayed at home and been a good boy, you could’ve died an easy death”

Again, maybe it’s just bc I don’t care about sports. But is it that serious? Like, he’s not gonna die. Life goes on. He’ll be okay even if he does lose[which I think he won’t cause I’m delusional. Plus it’s like 15 minutes left in the episode at this point]

But, back to the review. He’s awakening even more, and now his tongue is bigger. Whatever that means.

“You still make that face”

That is NOT the same face you remembered. And they but their entire budget into that last face off scene. I can tell bc it wasn’t shaded or highlights in their colors. And their hair was moving. But literally everyone else when they popped up on the screen had that.

That last goal, made by Isagi got everyone hype. Even the ones who was hating from the beginning. And I was right all along. 1 minute left and Isagi made the final score. But shout out to Rin cause he’s the only reason why. Even Sae who never cared about anything made a face of surprise.

Stg the Itoshi brothers don’t know how to have a proper heart felt moment cause why he just made Rin hope like that and then crushed his heart in the same sentence. They really need to talk it out cs it’s getting out of hand.

I like how everyone ran at Isagi but Reo was worried about Nagi when he fell.

And Aiku came to congratulate

Final Thoughts

I like that Isagi is starting to think about himself— correcting it to ‘I will lead U-20 to the world cup’. Rin still upset about what?? Like omfg always gotta be a downer. But on the bright side he did acknowledge Isagi fully as a rival. Kunigami coming back. YAAAAYY!!!

I’m ready for season 3 and to see Neo Egoist League. Maybe Karasu will get more screen time. Also finally get to see Kaiser, got spoiled on him before I even watched the anime so I know some things.

Also, Congrats to Shidou for finally getting Sae’s number🥳

[meligumii]

Bllk Season 2 Episode 13 Review

I’ll do two of these in a row. Just now getting to the episodes.

The ‘trance train’ speech was a little confusing. And it’s crazy to see, Rin is paying so much attention to Isagi— they’re gonna devour each other[lmao that sounds so dirty].

But this goes back to the Bluelock matches when Rin picked Isagi. He knew Isagi was gonna be a problem for him, so instead of letting him get to that point, he brought him to his own team.

So seeing Sae actually go at the whole team is crazy. Like damn none of these niggas could guard him?? And yk what Rin being upset about Sae being so far ahead of him was pretty sad, and I want their relationship to be better again, but at the same time I’m thinking there’s no time for this. Get up, win the game, and then start the flashbacks like omfg.

But, it did pay off, with him thinking about how to play like Sae, he followed Shidou’s path to get the ball. Then ofc Shidou gon kick him in the face. Red card. Ejected. Rn get him off the field. Then I’m wondering if his face is okay, cause Shidou was bout to kick the ball with all his strength.

“He grazed me” lmao mf stop lying yk that shit hurt.

Hayate: How many scoring options do you have, Bluelock?

Me: 11

Okay, now we’re finally seeing Bachira in action. I missed seeing it, and I could also tell that it feels way different. Maybe because the game is so important to blue lock, but everything that happens gets me excited.

And HE CROSSED AIKU..!!! Omfg I’m so happy for him he made a shot..!! But then he didn’t😔. Sendou got in the way. I’m ready for him to get a goddamn goal ngl. Gotta respect U20. They’re giving their all. For Sae, this means nothing so he doesn’t count.

But for the rest, this means they don’t have a job. Their careers are over. Even though I think if they win, which I have all faith in it, they’ll turn it down and not be U-20. And for blue lock, obviously this is their chance to show the world and that fatass how good they are at soccer and how they could bring home a World Cup.

Omg tell me why I thought he was about to have an inspiring goal centered around soccer when he said ‘I don’t care about pin-up models anymore’ then he gon turn around and say he wants a ‘the world standard’ which is a Hollywood actress😭.

Everything after that happened so fast I don’t even have an opinion. It was just like a domino effect, everything fell into place for the U20’s after Sendou saved the ball. After this, tbh I don’t even know who to say is the mvp bc they all come in clutch. And at the last second.

aoWoO JuMpsCAre~

Anyways

Five minutes left in the clock, ngl im sitting here knowing they bout to pull something out their ass cause how are they gonna win in that amount of time?? But I had faith. And ofc this mf shidou came outta nowhere. And like I called it, here come Isagi. [and Reo]. Hiori is so cool I love him. I love all of blue lock.

Then, here comes Rin😒

“You won’t even let me lose?”

“I wanna fight on my own”

I mean I get that the point is you need an extreme egoist to be Japan’s number 1 striker and get the World Cup but like… at some point you’re gonna need someone else so just calm down with that shit Rin

When he started to think about everyone having his back I thought ‘awww that’s nice’ but then three seconds later he had to ruin it. Like are you that antisocial that just the thought of people being able to stand next to you makes you physically sick?? I’m not understanding lmao.

Definitely giving horror movie vibes bc what’s going on…???

Karasuuu… where’s your screen time..?😔

Blue Lock Additional Time

They’re so embarrassing. But smart, making money off the star player.

Final Thoughts

Thinking about Sae’s awakening, I feel like he’s really taking blue lock serious now. Maybe I’m reaching but why else would he go so hard. I mean, like I said, this game means nothing to him and I doubt it would affect his career in any way. Even if it’s only a little bit, maybe he’s finally realizing the talent of the Blue lock 11– especially Isagi. For Rin he probably still sees him as the annoying younger brother.[canonically doesn’t know why Rin is mad at him. He thinks he’s going through a phase]

Most of their relationship we see it from Rin’s POV anyways so who knows what he’s really thinking of his little brother.

STILL got my money on Isagi and that game winning go. Maybe it’s gonna be like a parallel with his first game shown— bc like how he passed and they missed— causing his team to lose the game. But now, he’s not gonna pass and he’s gonna make the shot and win the game. Yk. Some growth.

Dirty Joke Count: 1

Shidou: Let me climax, genius

[this episode was pretty tame]

See you after I finish episode 13. Review should be up in abt another hour from now.

[meligumii]

Bllk Season 2 Ep 12 Review

Aiku’s past was interesting. I felt bad for him because he wanted to be a striker too but forced to have to work to make the ‘team’ win. But I’m not gonna dwell on it too much cause I didn’t really care tbh. However it did show how detrimental it could be to try and stop someone’s dream.

He gained the mentality of ‘if I can’t be the best striker in the world, I’ll stop every striker’ [i.e ‘if I can’t be the hero I’ll be the villain’?] He had his awakening. Cool for him but I was hating the whole time.

I had all faith in Gagamaru. Great goal keeper. [also listening to Shidou’s voice I knew he sounded familiar. Yuichi Nakamura; GOJO SATORU- JJK, Gray fullbuster- FT, Hawks- MHA & Buddha- ROR].

Reo copying Nagi was cool too. My brother thinks it’s lame, but in my opinion I think it’s cool bc imagine being able to do something after seeing it one time??[Ik Reo saw Nagi do it many times like he already said but he still can do it after seeing it once like with Aiku].

I was hype everytime Barou popped up on the screen. Even if he was just being used as a diversion kinda, I was happy to see Karasu on screen. Isagi’s plans always be coming together but it’s not the end of the game yet so I knew he wasn’t gonna be able to score.

Surprise surprise here come Sae Itoshi at the end. Even if I’m upset that U20 is such a good team, I still like that this is not an easy match for them, it’ll make the victory that much more satisfying. Isagi’s visuals when he was going to the goal looked good too.

Sae is a good ass player though, for being able to barely tap him and ruin his sight to the goal. And ngl I was saying ‘Rin come handle your brother’ and then he popped up lmao. In that moment Rin looked different too. I think it’s cause in the first season he, and Sae’s, eyes were a lot more narrow now they’re bigger so it’s kinda throwing me off. He looked like Isagi a little.

And ofc Barou coming in clutch. But I was definitely like ‘why he took his shirt off??’ Him throwing Nagi was funny. It reminds me of their team in Bllk facility. And him getting a yellow card was funny bc, again, why did he take his shirt off??! Literally NOBODY ELSE, did that.

Also, Sae just be talking crazy to everybody I’m surprised nobody swung on him yet. But wk he been like that since he was a kid from the way he was talking to that reporter lady[that was well deserved tho cause why she got a mic & camera in a child’s face??]

Aiku’s little talk with Sendo made me realize he also has yet to score so I think he’s gonna have his moment next. Bc he’s the Ace so it makes no sense if he doesn’t score[unless I’m forgetting something but I seriously doubt it]. and Aiku will probably help because the flower bud visuals aren’t just there for no reason.

BLUE LOCK ADDITIONAL TIME

Why they do Barou like that lmao. And the pep talk to Tokimitsu was cute. I love Tokimitsu😭.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Honestly I’m enjoying this game sm. Crazy cause I don’t even like any kind of sport bc I think it’s boring to watch. I still think that Isagi is gonna have the game winner.

[meligumii]

Bllk season 2 ep 11 spoilers ig?? My Opinions

Just watched episode 11. As a hater, I really had to turn my TV off a few times cause why tf is U20 blocking shit?! Why are they stealing balls and why is shidou doing so good into the game like tf?? Putting Barou in the game was exciting asf tho. Nagi & him arguing was funny asf too. And I liked seeing Yukimiya get some attention it was cool. But ofc annoying as Aiku [jk I love him I’m just biased cause I want the bllk 11 to win] had to come at the last second.[lmao ‘come’].

Bllk additional time

U20 really showed their age with this one. I love to see it. Just fucking around and having fun. Nemu asking ‘what’s an overnight bag’ made me giggle. 🤭

Final thoughts

Isagi has yet to score which makes me think he’ll either score a game changing goal[like something that will boost morale] or the game winning goal. Haven’t seen much of Karasu this game. But idk if we are gonna see a lot of him cause it’s already second half and there’s been 3 subs already.

Dirty Joke Count; 7

Shidou: It’s like my brain’s getting a stiffy from the electricity

Shidou: I feel a big bang coming *blushing*[I could be reaching with this one but idk cause everything that comes out his mouth sounds dirty]

Shidou: *Fertilization speech*

Ego: He has now entered… Flow *Fertilization visuals*

Shidou: With my goal… With my genes… I’ll knock you up

Shidou: When I’m with you, I start throbbing like never before

Darai: Don’t finger it too much

Shidou the MVP

[meligumii]

Watching Bluelock 11 vs U20 team seeing Oliver and Kazuma, especially Oliver, play like ‘damn these niggas really going hard against kids’ but then realizing they are UNDER 20 (as the name suggests but still…!!)

[meligumii]

Lmaoooo I’m having a crisis rn cause I wanna start writing again. The problem is Karasu has on my mind 24/7 but the only things I know is from the anime and I’m resisting the urge to read the manga cause me and my brother is watching it togetherrrr uggghhh…!!!😭😭😭