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str8upspam · 1 month ago

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Tuck Your Innocence Goodnight (PART 1)

Can also be read on AO3 here.

Pairing: Ren Shiranami x gender-neutral reader Fandom: Tokyo Debunker Rating: Explicit (it's not too bad in this part but it will get worse) Tags: Romance (sorta), mystery, horror, some blood and gore. Word count: 5k A/N: this is my first longer form fanfic in a good long while. My skills are super rusty, and honestly, I'm not sure I write tkdb characters all that accurately but I gave it a go here. Hope you give it a chance and enjoy.

Chapter 1: Where Have You Buried All Your Children?

Most children display a common strategy when faced with something bad happening. They turn away, shut their eyes, cover their ears, and it is then that they believe the bad thing will cease to exist. If they cannot witness it, it is not happening. If you cannot see it, it cannot see you.

And if it cannot see you, it will not come to get you.

🧭

18:08 August 7, 2025

Shinjuku Station, Shinjuku/Shibuya

People cannot be out at dark anymore. Threat rules these streets in the nighttime. It can be heard in the whispers of people scuttling past. All the “hurry ups” and “it’s getting lates.” Some run without shame down the road, tripping over their own feet, yelling breathlessly at the speeding cars to “watch where you’re going!” and fetching up against the doorsteps of people they don’t know. Their fists pound on the doors and they beg to be let in.

“It’s getting dark, it’s getting dark!”

“Come inside,” the strangers say, hauling the doorknocker in and slamming the door shut. Then they lock the door.

One lock.

Two lock.

Three lock.

Four.

Some are walking as fast as their aching ankles will allow, breathing heavily, house keys in hand, and ready to throw themselves inside as soon as they spy their doorstep. They pretend they’re not afraid. They’ve got time. They won’t make fools of themselves even in the face of danger. Not when the streetlights are still bright.

It’s the same everywhere in Tokyo now. It’s the same every night. It’s the same for just about everyone. People cannot be out at dark.

But Ren Shiranami isn’t people.

And, these days, neither are you.

10:05 July 13, 2025

Darkwick Academy, Tokyo Bay

The sun burns blindingly hot over Jabberwock, but there’s a blessedly cool breeze that you race against as you sprint over the gentle hills. Your feet practically stomp into the earth on every rise and then fly with stomach-swooping speed on the declines. For a moment, you could just imagine what it was like to be Haru Sagara. Freedom from gravity.

And then you finally spot Ren Shiranami slumped against a fence post to an anomaly paddock and you trip.

You yelp and roll through the tall, dry grass before coming up on your feet again, miraculously using that accidental momentum to keep running, waving your hand eagerly in the air as you shout for Ren’s attention.

He’s tilted his phone down, squinting as you approach and come to a stop in front of him. Your hands plant themselves on your knees as you gasp for breath.

“Ren! Did you hear?”

“Hear what? Your clumsy fall?”

You grin. “You’re coming on the next inter-house mission. Apparently, Haru volunteered you for your, and I quote, ‘Aquatic know-how’, unquote. Haku’s leading this one and he saw no reason not to accept the recommendation, so, you’re in.”

Ren gapes at you. “What? No way I’m doing that. Who does that clown think he is? Volunteering me for missions… I have shifts at the diner this week and a paper due on Friday,” he grumbles, returning to whatever game he had been playing as he continues his tirade under his breath.

“I’m afraid it’s already been put down on the case file. You’re with us,” you say. You sit beside him on the grass, keeping a polite distance.

“Abuse of authority,” Ren mutters. His thumbs move rapidly across the screen before he tenses up, dropping his phone into his lap while trying to shake out his hand, cursing. “Of all times for my RSI to act up… I still have shit to do.”

“Here.” You reach for his hand, beginning to gently massage his rough palm with particular attention paid to the area around his thumb. He makes a funny noise before ripping his hand away.

“Wh— what the hell do you think you’re doing? That’s harassment, you know,” he says, avoiding your gaze.

You roll your eyes. “Trying to help. I’ll ask next time.”

“I’ll say no,” Ren grouches.

Brushing yourself off as you get to your feet, he remains sitting a little longer, absently brushing a thumb over the palm of his strained hand, frowning. “We’re meant to head out as soon as possible for this mission,” you say, “So we’re getting the full briefing at the train station at midday to leave today. Want to come with me?”

“Great. Two hours to kill.” He picks up his phone again. “Who else is on this mission anyway if it’s inter-house?”

“Well, it’s Haku’s mission, and I have to go along, and there’s you…” Coughing, you pause a moment before mumbling, “And Sho.”

“That burnout?!” Ren exclaims, suddenly launching to his feet. “No way, I’m not going. Get Sagara to join the mission if he wants someone from Jabberwock to go so bad. Don’t know why he’d even think about suggesting me for whatever aquatic stuff going on. Clown just likes making my life miserable.”

Maybe you shouldn’t have mentioned Sho until you managed to drag Ren to the station. You just made your job of retrieving him ten times harder. And you were probably the only one who was most likely to succeed at this compared to Haru or the Hotarubi vice-captain.

“What’s your problem with Sho anyway? He’s really nice when you get to know him,” you say, following Ren as he trudges along the fence line.

He scoffs. “Yeah. Really nice. You know that guy hardly ever turns up to class? Barely studies? He just coasts everything and it’s so damn annoying. I hate when people don’t have to try to—” Ren throws a glare over his shoulder. “I dunno why I’m even telling you. Just forget about it, none of your business what my problems are.”

He bends to collect a pail you didn’t even notice, never even breaking his stride as he pockets his phone.

You speed up your walk to round on him, getting in his way. Ren stops short with a wrinkle of his nose before he promptly steps to the side—but you’re prepared for that, stepping in time to block his path. So, he tries to step around you again, only to be met with resistance. His fingers twitch and a muscle in his jaw flexes.

“Move.”

“Are you scared of Sho?” you tease.

Ren recoils, looking utterly disgusted with the offensive accusation, mouth curving downward. “Ugh, like hell I’d be scared of some burnout. Why do you ask? Are you scared of him?”

It surprises you, the strange glint of suspicion in his eyes. There’s a hint of something else there, but you can’t quite figure out what it is.

“Of course not. Sho’s my friend.” You rest a hand on your hip. “Look, this mission is in Koto City. There’s been missing persons around the marina and shorefronts. Haru said you handle most of the anomalous animals in the aquatic zone. You’d know best how to deal with whatever’s going on. The rest of us are in the dark.” You tilt your head, peering up at Ren with your best puppy eyes. “You’ve done a mission like this before. You probably won’t even have to get into the water this time. And I’d feel a lot better if you were there.”

For a long moment, Ren and you are caught in a standoff. It wouldn’t surprise you if a tumbleweed suddenly rolled on by while a Western-themed whistle echoes over the summer dried fields. When his lips press together and he squints, you theatrically mimic the expression. And there—just for a second, there’s a ghost of a smirk.

“Fine. But you’re helping me with the rest of my chores for the next two hours,” he says, thrusting the pail out to you, which you catch against your chest with a sigh.

“Okay then. Can’t be too hard if we work together. Where to first?”

You go around the park together, following the winding dirt roads before finishing up in the aquatic zone. Ren’s shoulders are unbearably tense as he tosses fish and other bits of mystery meat into the pools of the luminous caves. Whenever you lean a little too close to stare down at the depths to catch glimpses of anomalies, you’re met with sharp warnings of, “Get any closer and you’ll fall in, dumbass. I can’t even swim to get you out if you do. And if you die…” This is when Ren waves metal tongs at you. “I’ll never hear the end of it from that clown or any of your other friends. And I’d rather not have to deal with that shit.”

You hold the bucket of meat out to him to pick up another piece with the tongs and toss it with a plop into a writhing pool of eel-looking anomalies.

Later, when you’re waiting at the train station with a cup of instant noodles in your grasp, you stare hard at it. “…I think these noodles are moving. Look, Ren, see?”

“Yeah, bet there’s some creepy parasite in there that’s gonna take you over from the inside until you turn into one too,” he says, not even looking as he plays some sort of game event beside you on the bench.

“That’s not funny,” you grumble, rubbing the back of your neck.

His gaze flicks up to you briefly. Ren doesn’t say anything, but there’s an almost regretful curve at the edge of his mouth. He sighs heavily. A moment later, you sigh too and then let your chopsticks dive into the cup to probe around for anything that shouldn’t be in there before you start eating.

Honestly, you’re surprised that you and Ren got here before the others. Haku eventually strolls onto the platform, hands in his pockets and a case file tucked under one arm. His smile is easy as he gives you a wave, coming over to stand before you.

“Your Highness,” he greets you, “Eating as lavishly as an emperor, I see.”

You raise your noodle cup to the vice-captain. “Don’t knock it until you try it. Ren introduced me to these ones,” you say, elbowing the ghoul next to you.

“Hey, what the hell? This is harassment. I should sic the lawyer on you at this point. It’s every damn day with you…”

“Guy’s got good taste,” you continue, ignoring him with a sly smile.

Haku’s responding smile is amused as he looks at you, sparing Ren only a single glance. “Wait until you’ve had a taste of m—”

The rest of his sentence is drowned out by the thunderous rumble of a motorbike, drawing closer before abruptly going silent. A moment later, Sho appears on the platform, fixing his bandana. He doesn’t look too pleased to be there but cracks a grin when he sees you.

“Hey, Senpai.”

“Hey, Sho! Looks like we’re all here now.”

Together, we all board the Galaxy Express. I sit directly next to Ren, who moves away one more seat, only for Sho to take his previous spot next to me, and Haku gets himself seated on my other side as he flips open the case file in his lap.

“Police in Koto have had a significant surge in missing persons cases reported over the past month. The academy seems to suspect an anomaly on the loose. Most bodies of missing persons that are eventually found all share the same signs of bloating and aquatic decay,” Haku explains, eyes skimming down the document as you lean over to peer at the grotesque photographs provided.

Your nose wrinkles at the sight, but you fight not to immediately look away. You’ve seen just as horrible things before since meeting your first anomaly, the Kyklos, and it wouldn’t do to look so weak that you’d hold back the mission after almost a year in Darkwick.

There is marbling of the swollen and discolored skin but also bumps of insect larvae starting to nest in the dead flesh of the bodies. Your lips pull deeper in disgust the longer you look at the pictures. You can also see some of the skin beginning to slough off the bulbous, water-logged corpses.

The noodles stir uncomfortably in your stomach, and you finally tear your gaze away to sit back, just as Haku noticed you had been observing over his arm. The folder falls shut.

“You all right there, Your Highness?” he asks, sounding somehow both serious and light at the same time.

“Oh, yes.” You smile tightly. “I’m fine. So, where do we start?”

There is a chime from the express as an announcement blares.

12:12 July 13, 2025

Wakasu Seaside Park, Kōtō

A departing cruise ship gives one prolonged blast as it slowly leaves the harbor. Ren traces its inching trail on the sparkling horizon as it goes from the channel out to Tokyo Bay. Far in the distance are veritable fields of shipping containers on the other islands and then Tokyo International Airport as a blur on the mainland where blinking planes periodically take off and land. The hum of voices draws Ren’s attention back to the Wakasu shoreline, where you and Haku are chatting to a group of fishermen.

Ugh… Ren’s skin seems to itch from the inside. As if hanging out by the water wasn’t bad enough, they had to go and question the fishing traders and hobbyists too.

His eyes flick to the opposite end of Tokyo Bay once more.

“You ever go fishing or is that not allowed in Jabberwock?” Sho suddenly asks beside him.

Ren tenses up, hands in the air as he makes a face at Sho. “When did you—?!” He relaxes and steps away, grumbling, “Learn boundaries, dude.”

The Vagastrom student only cracks a smug grin. “So, no fishing in Jabberwock?”

“No.”

“I fish sometimes, by the common river that runs through the academy. You’d be surprised how much you can catch there on a good day.”

…Was this idiot seriously trying to make conversation while they waited for the other two?

Ren resolutely remains silent, hoping to discourage Sho.

“Leo sent me some true crime video a while back,” Sho continues, not heeding the other ghoul’s social rejection as he surveys the rocky shoreline and surrounding park. “Y’know, apparently, there was some infamous murder here in the nineteen eighties or something where a bunch of teenagers hid the body of a high school girl they tortured and killed in a metal drum covered in concrete. Not sure how they managed that, but the story still gives me the freakin’ creeps.”

This is the part in the movie where the audience learns about some typical old murder case that conveniently comes back to haunt the current characters even if they were totally uninvolved just because they were lingering around a killer’s stomping grounds. Great. The burnout was delivering exposition.

Who did that make Ren if he was the one who heard it? He should have just stayed in his dorm.

“Yeah… okay,” he mumbles.

“Sho, Ren!” You call over with a concerningly enthusiastic wave considering the case. “We’ve got a lead on a guy who can tell us where he found one of the weirder bodies!”

Ren sighs heavily and glances sideways at Sho, only to internally recoil finding the other guy looking at him at the same time, like they were damn buddies sharing in the moment or something. He hastily redirects his attention back to you as you and Haku wander over and waits to fall into step behind you as you lead the way.

“We should have brought my bike,” Sho says, hands folded behind his head as they walk. “Just saying. The bay’s too much area to keep pacing around.”

“We can’t all fit on one bike,” Haku reminds him as they hail a taxi. “Port of Tokyo, please, to the ferry terminal.”

Once again, Ren winds up squished in next to Sho with you on his other side while Haku sits in the front with the driver. He makes no effort to disguise his glare in the rearview mirror as the taxi seems to stop at every red light and crawl behind traffic. Even Sho seems antsy beside him, leg closest to the door bouncing a restless rhythm that only worsens Ren’s mood.

At least there’s a little less talk with this group compared to Sagara’s constant yelling and chatter.

“Hey, Senpai, what are you listening to?”

…Spoke too soon.

You perk up at Ren’s side, practically leaning across him as you show Sho your phone, lowering your headphones. “Somebody’s Watching Me by Rockwell at the moment, I was just about to skip it. Western music can be a hit or miss sometimes, but I put some good ones I like on a playlist. This one’s kind of getting old though.”

“A playlist, huh?” Sho leans in too, and Ren feels his eye twitch.

“Yeah! Do you want me to send it to you?”

“Honestly, I’m more used to club music, but I could give it a listen. Do you think Highway to Home could use some music for ambience?”

“Maybe I could help you come up with one to try out? I promise no Western music.”

“Sure, that’d be a nice help.”

Ren was going to lose his mind if he had to endure this for the rest of the drive. “You know being in people’s personal space is harassment?” he snaps.

You roll your eyes as you sit back again and Sho just turns to the window. Finally, Ren could breathe again. Slightly. You were still pressed up against his side. You’d drawn your headphones back on again and Ren catches sight of you scrolling through documentary podcasts. He should remember to send you a few he liked listening to that you might be curious about.

Your phone tilts and for a moment the sunlight glares bright across the screen.

About twenty minutes later, Ren looks at the blinding shine of a metal door handle to a warehouse by the harbor as a ferryman reaches for it. He doesn’t even flinch when he grabs hold of it and hauls the massive doors open to lead the group inside.

The smell hits first. Ren covers his nose and mouth swiftly, barely holding back a gag at the heavy scent of rotting flesh and fish.

“This is where I found the body before the police came to take it in,” the ferryman says, indicating a cordoned off area. “You lot private eyes or something?”

“Yeah,” says Haku, crouching down to inspect the markings on the concrete floor. “Something like that. Could you please give us a minute to examine the scene?”

When the ferryman walks away, Haku’s polite smile drops and the suddenness in the action sends a prickle over Ren’s skin. You and the ghouls all gather around what looks to be a rough circle of chalk and ash markings, in addition to scorch marks. Littered between them are the long melted and dried pools of wax that might have once been candles as well as old wreaths of flowers wilted and emitting a sweetly rotten stench. So why can Ren still smell fish and decay stronger here by the circle when there’s nothing else in sight?

“This looks like someone attempted necromancy. Very unsuccessfully. They must be new to this if they were using chalk,” Haku says quietly, his gold eyes almost lamp-like in the dimness of the warehouse.

“Kinda looks like some kids watched a show about demons and tried to summon something using gimmicks they learned from it.” Sho crosses his arms and tilts his head, nose wrinkled. “And what is that smell?”

“Wait,” You pipe up, pointing, “What is that?”

They all look at what Ren had first thought was just rust markings from old metal and machinery on the concrete, but now upon closer inspection look like… footprints. Bloodied ones at that, and small, like a child’s, but brown with age. These aren’t fresh. Ren shakes his head and raises his hands.

“Uh, no. I’m not following that— hey!”

You and the other two ghouls walk on without him, following the trail to another door in the warehouse. Reluctantly, Ren follows, fists buried deep in his pockets as he scowls disapprovingly. No one seems to be deterred by his attitude though as they find the door unlocked and step into what appears to be an office. Ren waits outside. Only for your figure to suddenly whoosh past him as you run back toward the large doors they all entered.

“Where are you going?” He doesn’t see Haku or the burnout following, so Ren decides he should before you trip and faceplant again. Maybe if he caught it on video this time it could make for a funny edit.

He finds you outside the warehouse by a window, casting about on the ground for something. Just as Ren’s about to ask, you stride past him and toward the water. He realizes you’re following more footprints, fainter, but they stop at the drop-off before the water’s edge.

“Damn.” Ren peers over at the lapping waves, nausea curling around his stomach like an eel. “Were any of the bodies found a kid?”

Your lips are drawn in a serious pout. “No.”

“Maybe… they couldn’t swim,” he says cautiously, backing away from the edge.

“And the kid just dived into the water while injured?”

Ren shrugs, goosebumps rising over his skin as he turns to look back at the warehouse where Haku and Sho appear again. He resolutely does not let his attention wander to the water again. No matter how piercing the feeling at the back his neck gets, like some kid’s watching him from the bay with dead eyes.

Summer, 2012

Shōnan, Kanagawa

Ren’s eyes feel dead with how long he’s been staring out the car window on the drive from Ine to Shōnan, squished in the backseat between pillows, suitcases, his little brother, and loose pots that he keeps nearly hitting his head against whenever time they make a turn. Every farm they rolled through started to look the same by the time he finished watching his first movie of the trip on the family’s portable DVD player.

Ren’s eyes feel dead as soon as he’s woken at six in the morning with boxes still packed in the cramped kitchen of their new flat to go out on the little fishing boat they brought along on the trailer.

His eyes feel dead as he stares listlessly at the morning fog over the ocean while sitting on the pier beside his father. Even despite the mist, Ren can tell the beaches here are pristine, almost eerie in their perfection. The palm trees loom tall over them from behind. He thinks he sees the vague shape of a mountain on the horizon.

There’s a tug on his father’s line beside him. It comes again, much more insistent, and so his father reels it in, the rod bending to the weight.

Ren doesn’t catch a good glimpse of it when the thing rises from the water, but he watches his father frown when he grasps it. The thing is delicately unhooked and tossed back into the water with a splash that ripples and sends up drops of seawater that tickle Ren’s little legs where they hang over the edge.

18:09 July 13, 2025

Darkwick Academy, Tokyo Bay

Your spoon splashes through the surface of your miso soup as you kick your legs at the park table outside Highway to Home. The case file sits open by your elbow with the added information you and the ghouls found today. Haku lazily stirs a straw in his drink, soup already drained from the bowl, his phone in his other hand.

“Some of the symbols around the main circle seem to be the same as the logo of a cult that’s been cropping up in Tokyo. From what I can find in online forums, they seem to do most of their recruitment and information trades at a nightclub in Shibuya,” he explains, nonchalant face illuminated by the glow of his screen.

“So you want us to go to this nightclub next and… what? Snoop around this cult?” Ren asks, arms crossed. He had declined having any food.

As Sho steps down from his truck and wanders over, his own bowl in hand, he rubs the back of his neck. “Is now a good time to mention I got myself banned from pretty much all clubs in Tokyo?”

“I’m sure we can find a way in.” Haku waves the concern away. “No sign of any notable anomalies yet. This might really just be a case of humans misbehaving.”

Your legs fall to a standstill, spoon coming to rest on the rim of your bowl. “…There was no mention of kids involved in this case. What do you make of what we found today? I mean, the trail wasn’t so obvious that the police included it in their own reports. Is it possible it was just… an animal? Or an anomaly that killed the man found at that site?”

“It’s difficult to say just yet,” Haku admits, “But we can’t exactly go trawling through the bay for anomalies. We’d pick up way too much stuff. Plus, there’s heaps of water traffic in the harbor. If any anomaly was there, it wouldn’t stay long, and we wouldn’t be able to search anyway.”

“At least if we find the cult, we might find some more clues about what they’ve been doing. They could be behind the murders and be dumping bodies in the harbor,” says Sho, swallowing a spoonful of soup.

“A lot of restless spirits around the harbor.” Haku sighs. You wonder why you hadn’t thought about asking earlier what he might have seen in terms of ghosts, but by the far-off gaze he has now, you figure it might be best not to ask yet.

An aching pain blooms over your back, and you slip a hand under the collar of your shirt to gently try massaging away the pain. You knew without having to look that it was the spreading flowers on your skin. It’s usually fine during the day, but the pain seems to come with exhaustion by the time night hits.

Ren pulls out his phone, the motion catching your attention. He stares intently at his screen before he gets up from the table. “Bye,” is all he says before he’s walking off.

You hastily gulp down the rest of your soup and profusely thank Sho for dinner before collecting your things and running off after Ren down the campus pathways. The others don’t bother calling after you. Haku already made a group chat for the mission named The Ruler & Subjects.

You really wish he’d stop calling you things like that. It was slightly embarrassing.

“Ren! Hey, Ren! Wait up!” you call out.

He doesn’t slow at all even as you both take the hidden turn toward the dirt road heading toward Jabberwock. You fall into step beside him, practically bouncing on your feet.

“How are you, Ren?” you ask.

He throws you a blank look. “…fine? I guess?” There’s a pause before he adds, “Why’re you asking…?”

You hesitate only for a second before saying, “Well, you don’t like water much and we’ve had to go all over the bay today. I just thought I’d check in.”

Ren blinks at you in surprise. It’s not long before the expression is traded for a scowl. “None of your business. And I want my noodles so don’t think I’m walking you back to the cathedral just ‘cause you followed me here. I’m too hungry to deal with you right now.”

You arch an eyebrow. “You could have had something at Sho’s.”

“I’m not eating that burnout’s crap,” he grumbles.

Your footsteps crunching on the dirt come to a stop as Ren walks on ahead. He doesn’t even falter, too busy gazing at his phone even as he pushes open the gate and kicks it shut behind him.

“‘Night,” you say quietly to the air.

Ren definitely had seemed agitated during and after the mission today. Undoubtedly, he’d try to find some excuse to drop out tomorrow so he wouldn’t have to continue. So, you couldn’t blame him for being so irritable.

Except that this kept happening. The good moments with Ren always made your entire day, sometimes your whole week. But they were so rare, and he still seemed to treat you much the same as always overall. This wouldn’t be the first time you’d reconsidered trying to get close with Ren. And now he was disparaging Sho. It was so unnecessary. Usually, Ren didn’t even offer out insults, but he really didn’t seem to like Sho. As far as you know, the two have barely interacted before this mission, so it didn’t make much sense.

With a sigh, you walk back to the cathedral, alone.

Later that night, you sit at your desk by the window, a candle burning as you look over your own notes on the case. Your hand reaches for your back again with a pained grimace. Maybe it was time to get some rest before the mission resumed tomorrow.

Instead of going to bed though, you spend a little longer staring at the bright, steady flame of your candle, lost in thought.

At the same time, across the bay, a young man stares up at the glow of a lighthouse as he walks on by. The night air is balmy with a gently cool air periodically caressing his skin. The sound of waves lapping against boats in the marina is soothing.

There’s an uneven clip of pursuing footsteps. The man glances over his shoulder and slightly speeds up his step at the sight of another figure behind him in the otherwise deserted area.

The figure speeds up too.

Making a split-second decision, the man decides to run, breathing the humid air in gasps while his pounding footsteps echo across wooden paneling, and he looks back only once to check his pursuers progress, which winds up being his second mistake of the night.

Pain cracks across his head and he falls to the rough wood. The last thing he sees is the glint of city lights on the ink-dark waves of the water below, and the blink of the lighthouse as hands grab him.

He could swear, somewhere on the horizon, a foghorn sounds.

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