#(Yes this is supposed to be Mahiru just longer hair)

[hajihiko]

The documenter

[oboetemasuka]

Order of Attack, part 13

"Of Blasphemy and Hypocrisy"

Amane's voice drama!

I really did just write 945 words in one sitting, not touch it for two weeks, and then write the other half. It's at 1791 words now, which is even longer than Mahiru's...

As per the little poll I ran a week ago, I have kept names in family name, given name order. I'll probably go back and fix names in the AO3 version after I'm done with the main fic.

We're nearing the end...

(cw: cults, child abuse, verbal abuse, descriptions of injuries)

-

Es was not prepared, as usual. They sprinted to the cell of the next prisoner they were supposed to interrogate. Amane.

But as they approached the door, they remembered what happened the last time they barged in. They did not want a repeat of Mahiru, especially since Amane had a much bigger reason to react similarly.

Unprepared indeed. As they gently opened the cell door, they found Amane's eyes drilling into them. Wait, eyes? They were informed that-

…

They gasped as the realization hit. Their gaze was drawn to Amane's right eye. It wasn't staring back at them. It didn't seem to be looking at anything at all.

Es fell backwards onto the floor.

"You have kept us waiting, Warden-san. It seems like you have not learned the importance of time since we last spoke." She paused to let Es get some sense back. "Are you staring? Warden-san, have you not been taught that staring is rude?"

Es quietly got back to their feet, still at a loss for words. They recalled what Shidou told them. If anything was amiss with Amane, they were to get him right away.

"Where are you going?" Amane asked as they turned away. They couldn't answer that. "Are you going to get Kirisaki Shidou, perhaps?" There was no answering that. "If you do, there will be no interrogation."

"What… what do you mean?"

"If you bring him here, I will refuse to speak."

That would cause a problem with the extraction machine. Es gave up and took a seat.

"Why are you so rattled, Warden-san? Could it be… this?" Amane swept her hair away from her right eye. "This is only a trial from God. I do not understand why it demands your attention."

Es grimaced. "Y-you… Kotoko…"

"Yes, Yuzuriha Kotoko did this. That is not the important part. What matters is that I face this pain head on."

"You're not going to… put an eyepatch on it?"

"I have no need for things that distract me from my path."

It didn't seem like Amane would continue this topic. And what could Es say? Sorry? That would probably yield similar results as when they said that to Fuuta.

"Warden-san, has the cat gotten your tongue?"

"I…"

"We gave you a chance to make your case, but it seems you have nothing to say for yourself."

"A chance- make- T-that's not-"

"If you make such an incomprehensible choice as to not forgive us, it follows that you would be able to justify it. Yuzuriha Kotoko has done as much."

"She…"

"She firmly believes in her right to punish those of us who were not forgiven by you. We pity her for acting on such flimsy reasons."

"I don't appreciate you driving the conversation like this."

"You are the one who is not talking. Tell us. Why did you make this choice?"

Of course she was going to ask this. Es knew this wasn't the time to share their actual reasons with her; it would only fill her with more contempt. But would she see through them?

"After examining your video, I've judged that your murder was the result of religion. Of faith."

They should have known this would turn into a back and forth of her insisting this wasn't murder and them trying to shut her down. She persisted.

"You might agree that the other unforgiven prisoners would do well with our faith. In fact, Kajiyama Fuuta's condition has already improved thanks to our guidance."

Had it really? When Es checked with Shidou before this interrogation, it seemed that Fuuta hadn't exactly been improving. He had just stopped taking as many painkillers as before.

Es wondered how much Amane had been interacting with the others. Fuuta and Mahiru had seemed protective of her, but they never brought up much about her faith.

This wasn't a productive line of conversation. Moving on…

They asked her why she kept referring to herself as "we". Whatever she said was a load of nonsense to them, so they just went back to the topic at hand. The murder.

Amane wouldn't budge. When Es tried to talk law and ethics, she only doubled down.

Until they hit a nerve.

"Milgram denies your doctrine. Your doctrine is wrong."

"You dare…"

"Your standard of judgment is wrong. Milgram cannot endorse a doctrine that allows murder."

"It was not murder. It was a punishment justified by-"

"It is wrong!" Es slammed their hands on the table. Amane flinched.

"Y-you say that like Milgram is a better standard of judgment," she retorted.

They felt bad for reacting like that even though they were ticked off.

"You don't get to argue-" they tried to fire back.

"We should say the same of you. How different is a judgment that allows such violence as punishment?"

"Are you dragging Kotoko into this again? She was not acting according to my judgment. She interpreted it as she pleased and acted on it accordingly. Frankly, I'm inclined to think you did the same."

"Excuse us?" Amane stood up, but Es paid her no mind.

"What proof have I got that you are acting according to your doctrine and obeying it to the letter? For all I know, you just made up a bunch of rules to selfishly serve your own desires."

"You… you…" Amane's voice sounded louder in Es's ear, though it didn't seem like she was shouting. Yet.

Es looked again where she was once seated. She wasn't there.

"You dare insult us!? You dare insult God!? This is unforgivable!"

Es turned to the sound of Amane's voice and felt the barrier activate around them. Amane was right next to them, trying to swing down a pair of scissors with one hand and holding her sleeve with the other.

"Don't you know it's impossible to attack the warden?"

Amane didn't seem to care. She just muttered "I won't forgive you" over and over as Es mocked her little pretend game of "we".

"You want to continue this child's play?" They pried the scissors out of Amane's hands. "Go back to your seat."

She tried to grab them back, but she was tired from her previous efforts to attack.

"Hypocritical warden… you're a child too."

"Wrong. I'm an adult in Puerto Rico and Haiti. You are a child in any country."

Admittedly, they made that up. They knew she couldn't prove them wrong.

Amane huffed, clearly out of arguments.

"That's right. Go back to your seat now," Es said, nudging Amane away by her shoulder. Her right shoulder.

She yelped and jerked away, losing her balance and falling to the ground.

Es got up and walked up to help her. "Amane, I- I didn't mean-"

"Don't touch me!" she cried out. 

She swept her uniform's straps out of the way before pushing herself up.

Es extended their hand. "I could-"

"You will not… steal our… trial… not after you insulted our God…"

Once she got to her feet, she leaned on the table, wincing as she pressed her left arm down, and coughed.

For the first time, Es got a good look at Amane's injuries. Her right eye was bruised. The left side of her chin was scraped. Her legs were dotted with bruises and cuts. They all looked recent, even though a year had supposedly passed.

"The least you can do is not stare." Amane sounded like she was trying not to cry. "You trample over our dignity. So cruel."

"I'm not staring. I'm just making sure you don't pull something like that again."

"Excuses."

"If you're not looking for help or sympathy, then go. back. to. your. seat."

Amane complied, dragging her feet along. "We do not appreciate you treating us like that."

"I'm only trying to move the interrogation along."

"You call this an 'interrogation'? You are just being mean. Asserting your power over us just because you are older."

"If you want an interrogation, stay in your seat." Es waited for the tension to dissipate before continuing. "The fact of the matter is that you are a child. And that has a lot to do about how we judge your crime."

They were a few sentences into their spiel when Amane interrupted. "'We'? Who is 'we'? Is it not just 'I'?"

What?

Amane seized the conversation while Es was stunned.

"We really are just the same, you and I. You call me a product of my environment, and yet are you not too? You have been handed the role of the warden, and you obey it without question. And you say I am wrong for clinging to what I know. 

"I'm aware I'm out of the ordinary. But aren't we all? A prison full of murderers, and everyone thinks everyone else is peculiar. Meanwhile, you judge us on arbitrary standards when you have no memory of normality yourself."

Es flinched.

"Mahiru-san told me about her interrogation," she continued.

Of course. Mahiru seemed particularly close to Amane lately. "What of it?"

"She told me how touched you were when she said she would hold fast to her beliefs."

Uh oh. Es was too slow to mask their immediate reaction.

"Hypocritical of you, is it not? You stomp on our beliefs. Say we are making decisions based on a faulty doctrine. Claim that we are picking and choosing for our own gain. How could you turn on us like this after talking to Mahiru-san? Is it just because she is an adult and we are not? After all this, will you continue to deny us?"

"It depends," Es responded. "It depends on what is shown in the footage. If something resonates with me this time, I will accept it."

"Very well. But if you do not forgive me—us—in turn, we will not forgive you… all."

Just then, the bell rang.

Reeling from Amane's remark, Es fell out of their chair.

"Funny how the tables turn." 

Amane stood over Es and threw their own lecture back at them.

"Well, do get up on your own. It would serve you well to understand our trials."

"This about trials again…" Es muttered as they stood up.

"Speaking of which- Kirisaki Shidou has been such a detriment to us. He tries to steal our trials, but we hold fast. Kajiyama Fuuta, too, is starting to see the light. We are glad that we can guide him away from-"

"Shut up!" Es shouted. 

This time, Amane remained headstrong. "Oh, Warden-san. You look angry. Are you going to hit me again like last time?"

"Enough!" The nerve of this girl. "Prisoner no. 8, Amane… sing your sins!"

-

Q. What do you think of Kajiyama Fuuta?

A. He's lost and in pain, but I'm glad to guide him back on the right path.

[tk-writer]

A Ticklish Situation. - a DR2 tickle fic

*WARNING: Contains Danganronpa 2 spoilers. Read at your own risk.*

~~~

Mahiru woke up that morning with a pit in her stomach.

After the previous days’ events, it wasn’t a surprise. The sight of Byakuya’s bloodied corpse was still fresh in everyone’s minds. Along with Teruteru’s nightmarish execution at the hands (paws?) of Monokuma.

Mahiru shuddered at the thought and quickly tried to put it out of her mind. She looked at the clock next to her bungalow bed. It was 5:30 am.

So much for getting a good night’s rest, she thought to herself.

Another image popped in her mind: Nagito in the old lodge. The previous day, he had been knocked out and tied up by Kazuichi and Nekomaru after attempting to sabotage the first-class trial. Some of the students had been assigned to check on him and provide him with meals. After all, they weren’t trying to kill him, just make sure that he didn’t mess with anyone else and cause other murders to happen.

Today was Mahiru’s turn. She was supposed to bring him breakfast, and presumably feed him, since his hands were tied.

She figured she might as well get it done early before everyone else woke up. This might help her avoid the shame and embarrassment that comes with a girl feeding a boy. She was nervous at the idea of being alone with Nagito, but knowing he was unable to move help to ease her nerves. In fact, the idea kind of aroused her in a way…

~~~

Mahiru approached the old lodge with a tray of rice and fruit. Seeing the decrepit building sent chills down her spine. She remembered the fresh blood on the floor, the darkness of the room after the power outage, the screams upon the realization of what happened…

Enough! She gave herself a mental slap in the face. If I keep thinking about it, it’s just going to make it worse…

She entered the lodge and found Nagito sleeping peacefully. How he could rest in such an uncomfortable predicament was beyond her.

Nagito was quite vulnerable in his current position. His hands were chained behind his back with no give whatsoever. His legs were tied with rope from ankles to knees, making standing up on his own impossible. He was pretty much immobile, with little ability to wiggle. Whoever had put him in this restrictive bondage had done so very well. Mahiru had another strange feeling of arousal rising within her.

He should really be more on edge… after all, he’s pretty defenseless right now.

She felt bad waking him up, but she figured he would be hungry anyway. She wasn’t sure if anyone had brought him dinner after last night. Trying to avoid awkwardness, she patted his head.

“Hey. Nagito. Breakfast.”

No response. He was out like a light. She gently shook his shoulders.

“Hellooooooo?? Wake up sleepyhead! It’s time to eat!”

Nagito’s eyes slowly opened, groggily at first but they brightened when they realized who had woken him.

“Ah, the Ultimate Photographer… what a pleasure it is to wake up to such an exquisite sight.”

Mahiru felt her face get hot. She wasn’t expecting that sort of response.

“Ah… don’t say weird stuff! I just brought you some breakfast, so you wouldn’t starve to death. We don’t want another murder after all…”

Nagito gave her a sleepy smile. Mahiru swore there was some mischief hidden within.

“Well of course, I wouldn’t want my talented classmates to fall into despair. That is, unless that would inspire hope within all of you. I just want to see you all succeed. I care more about you than I do myself, you know.”

“Ugh, enough of that already! I just came ‘cuz I felt bad that you’re… here all alone and can’t just eat whenever you want. So hurry up and eat!”

Mahiru turned her face away and picked up a bit of rice with some chopsticks, trying to hide her blushing pink cheeks to no avail. She shoved it in his face and waited for him to open his mouth.

But nothing happened. Mahiru opened her eyes and look at the strange boy. He still had the same mischievous grin on his face.

“Aw man… Sorry Mahiru, I hate to come across as picky, but I actually hate eating rice for breakfast…”

“Wh-what??”

Mahiru shot a look of astonishment at the white-haired boy. His face looked serene, as if he didn’t realize the position he was in. He gave her a cheeky smile.

“What do you mean you don’t like rice?? I was nice enough to bring you breakfast and now you’re telling me you don’t like it??”

“I’m sorry Mahiru, but I simple have no appetite for rice in the morning. Some toast sounds pretty good, though…”

Mahiru slammed down the chopsticks, to Nagito’s surprise. His eyes widened in response to her dramatic reaction.

“Listen, you! I made you breakfast out of the goodness of my heart and came all the way here just as a favor to you! So you better eat this, or else!!”

Nagito smirked. “Or else… what? You’ll leave me here to starve?”

Mahiru was taken aback. Was she even capable of that? She scoffed, trying to play it off.

“Or else I’ll make you.”

“O-o-h? And how will the Ultimate Photographer make me eat? Will you pretend that the chopsticks are an airplane, and fly it into my mouth like a baby?”

Mahiru clenched her teeth. She was becoming increasingly more uncomfortable the longer this conversation continued. Being alone with a weirdo boy was already painful enough, let alone feeding him like she was his mother or something. She just wanted to do it and be done with it, so at least her conscience would be clear. But how? Nagito was refusing to eat. There must have been something she could do… think, Mahiru, think…

Suddenly, a funny thought popped into her head.

A thought that triggered more arousal.

She looked at Nagito’s tied arms and legs.

A warm feeling grew somewhere deep inside her.

Mahiru’s smile widened.

“I have another idea, actually.”

Then she poked Nagito’s side. She wasn’t sure if she’d get a reaction because people are all different, and you never really know with these kind of things, but the result was instantaneous. Nagito let out a surprised yelp and jerked away at her touch.

“Oh-ho-ho… a little sensitive, are we?”

Nagito’s expression changed from peaceful to fearful almost immediately. It was as if he didn’t realize how vulnerable he was until this moment.

“Oh-h-h okay Mahiru, I get it, I’ll eat the rice, just-“

“Hold on, you’re not giving in that easily, are you? You were so stubborn before! I wonder… is it because you’re super ticklish, Nagito?”

Nagito’s body tensed at the word “ticklish”. Mahiru knew she had hit the jackpot. That arousal she felt earlier was only getting stronger… her usually friendly smiled morphed into a devious grin.

“For being the Ultimate Lucky Student, you sure are in an unlucky position... What happens if I do this?”

Mahiru poked her index fingers on either side of Nagito at random and was delighted to hear even more loud yelps from him. For the first time that she had seen, he was struggling intensely against his bonds. This must really have been torture for him.

“AH-HA-HA-HA! NOOO! AH-HA STOP!”

Mahiru gave him some respite to catch his breath. He heaved and continued to giggle slightly, which made Mahiru chuckle to herself. This could actually be a lot of fun…

“Alright big shot… you ready to eat?”

Nagito nodded vigorously, “Yeah I’ll eat! Just please, don’t do that again. I really can’t take it…”

He sounded quite desperate. Up to this point, he always spoke with such an aloof and calm tone of voice and came across as someone who was very put together (despite his delirious rantings). However, this Nagito was completely different.

“Oh, really? Why not? It’s just a little tickling! It can’t be that bad, can it?”

“Yes, it’s really bad! I’m extremely ticklish, I can’t stand the feeling for too long…”

“Is that so… mind if I test that?”

Mahiru didn’t wait for a response. She spidered her fingers all over Nagito’s chest and stomach, searching for the areas that gave her the best reactions. She started at his sides, then moved up towards the ribs and gently dug into the spaces between them. All the while, Nagito squirmed like a worm, his attempts to escape her claws futile.

“AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! STOP IT! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA I CAN’T TAKE IT PLEEEEEASE!”

She ignored his pleas and deftly moved to his sides, wiggling them from hips to underarms and everywhere in between. Nagito desperately tried to flip over and shake her hands off him, but with the way he was tied it was utterly impossible.

He didn’t think it could get worse until Mahiru sat on top and started straddling him. Now, he had a lot less room to move and had no choice but to face her directly. Mahiru stared down, with a slightly evil smile, plotting her next move. Her heart fluttered at the sight of Nagito beneath her: frightened, meek, and utterly submissive.

“Tell me… where else are you ticklish?”

“N-Nowhere! That’s it! Please stop! No more!”

“Hmm, I don’t believe you. What about here?”

Mahiru dug her hands into his underarms and Nagito howled. This was obviously a very sensitive spot. What made it worse was the way he was tied, with his forearms stuck at his sides, so Mahiru sneaking her hands between them and his chest meant that they were trapped there and unable to shake off. Nagito acted as if he was being jolted by electricity. His shoulders thrust forward as if doing ab crunches, and he bounced up and down much to Mahiru’s amusement. The combination of her sporadic finger movements and her long, delicate nails were just too much to handle. Plus, the fact that he could barely move now with her on top of him made it even worse.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! AH-HA! AH-HA-HA-HA-HA! I CA-AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-NT! NOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH-HA-HA!”

Nagito’s volume and intensity increased with each passing minute. Finally, Mahiru lessened her attack to gentle strokes on his belly. She lifted his shirt, exposing the warm, baby soft skin and the slight muscle definition in his abs. The cool air against the unprotected area gave him tiny goosebumps all over. Mahiru started drawing slow, little circles around his belly button and side to side from navel to ribs. Seeing his stomach tense and hearing his tittered giggles brought her even more joy. For Nagito, this still tickled like hell, but it reduced him to mere giggles rather than full out screaming.

“Now, now… just relax…”

Nagito couldn’t even try to form a response. He was still recovering from her underarm attack, and the gentle strokes on his stomach were still unbearable. However, after a few minutes he let his guard down and his hitched breathing began returning to normal. This was his fatal mistake.

Out of nowhere, he felt a visceral tickle deep within the muscles of his stomach. He screamed higher in pitch than he had the entire time. Mahiru was digging her thumbs into two agonizing spots on either side of his belly, right above his hip bones. The sensation was pure torment compared to everything else before. Nagito’s struggles began anew as he flinched back and forth in a futile attempt to escape.

“AH! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! MA-HA-HIRU! STOP PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU-AH NOT THERE! NOT THERE! NOOOOOOOO-AAAAAAAAAH!”

Mahiru knew she was pushing his limits, so she let up on her torture and gave the white-haired boy another break. She took a good look at him. His face was flushed bright red, probably both from embarrassment and lack of air. Sweat caused his silvery hair to stick to his forehead. His chest heaved up and down, covered in damp perspiration

Mahiru couldn’t help but stare. From her angle, Nagito looked quite docile. The skin on his chest was smooth as silk and pale as the moon. There was some evidence of muscles in his abs, although not enough to call it a six pack. She had never been this close to a boy, especially with so much of his skin exposed. She felt herself grow warmer, the earlier arousal reaching an all-time high…

In an instant, Mahiru snapped back to reality and threw herself off Nagito. She looked at him one last time, locking eyes with him as he gave her one last pleading look with his eyes. She gasped, realizing how adult the situation had become, and without another word grabbed the tray and ran out of the lodge.

Jeez, what the hell got into me?? She wondered as she rushed back to the restaurant. That was totally out of character…

It wasn’t until she arrived at the restaurant that she realized she never actually fed Nagito, the entire purpose of her trip. Damn it!

Luckily, Hajime was sitting alone at one of the tables. Perfect, I’ll just have him do it…

[britishraptor]

Mahiru’s Bad Day

So...uh...I basically wrote a crack fic. But like, took it seriously? Crack taken seriously. Yes.

Fandom: Servamp

Characters: Ryusei, Koyuki, Mahiru, Kuro. Two sublcass OC’s I guess.

Summary: Mahiru has a bad day at school.

Warnings: slight OOC for Mahiru (cause he’s tired as hell), Memes.

Ever laughed so hard writing a fic you had to take a break so you could calm down enough to write a fic? Me.

Ryusei yawned, stretching his arms above his head as far as they could go. “Man, that lesson was the pits.” Grumbling under breath, he grabbed his booked and haphazardly shoved them into his background, before giving the room a cursory glance. Koyuki was packing up next to him, a mild smile and light tune bubbling from his lips as the other boy stood.

 “I swear, I don’t think I listening to half of that lesson!” Ryusei complained to his best friend.”It was so boring!”

 “I thought it was a little interesting,” Koyuki insisted hesitantly.

 “Interesting?! This is history! Those two words are like, the complete opposite of each other!” Ryusei replied dramatically, using a healthy dose of mock rage and arm waving for emphasis. Koyuki laughed lightly at his friend’s antics, before turning, eyes sweeping the room as the shorter student continued his complaints.

 “Do you think Mahiru will let me borrow his notes? He would, right? Mahiru is too nice for his own good, I swear.” Ryusei said suddenly.

 “Maybe that means you shouldn’t rely on his so much, then,” Koyuki teased. Ryusei pouted in response.

 “Where is Mahiru, anyway? Usually he meets up with us right away.”

 “Um…there. I think.” Koyuki pointed to an ominous figure sitting at a desk. Miasma seemed to saturate the air and nearby students seemed to subtly edge away. Brown ruffled hair was the only indication that the student had, at one point, been one Mahiru Shirota, as his face was thoroughly pressed up against the top of the desk.

 “Is he dead??!!!” Ryusei yelped. “Mahiru, Mahiru, stay with us! You can’t die! If you do, who’ll organise this year’s cultural festival?! Mahiru-sama!”

 The figure shifted sightly and a muffled string of words escaped where his face continued to press into the desk. The two took a step closer, ears straining.

 “What was that?” aske Koyuki politely.

 “I said,” Mahiru snapped, peeling himself from his desk, eyebrows twitching in rage. “Don’t call me that! And I’m not just a convenient excuse to slack off, ya know! Pull some weight!”

 “He’s alive!” Ryusei cheered. Koyuki however, frowned.

 “Mahiru,” he asked. “Are you okay?” Mahiru turned to look at his timid friend. Heavy bags hung beneath both eyes, and the twinkle of enthusiasm that normally dwelled there seemed dull. His skin was pale, and everything about him screamed ‘tired’! “You look a little unwell.” he tried.

 Mahiru’s left eye twitched.

 “I’m fine,” he sighed. “I’ve just had a lot on my plate lately.” He added.

 “You shouldn’t overexert yourself-” Koyuki began, before being interrupted by Ryusei.

“What could possibly wear out the great Mahiru-sama? You’re like, inexhaustible, a forever moving steam train of practicality!”

Mahiru stared at them, almost through them, actually, like he was looking beyond into the void itself.  

“Cats,” Mahiru said finally. “Cats and foxes and hedgehogs and stupid angels and mad scientists, and then my budget was  blown out the water because Kuro let the heater run all night, and now the athletics club needs new equipment so I have to do up a proposal for that, and the student council put me in charge of the bake sale, and I’m still behind the massive amount of schoolwork because THE SCHOOL BLEW UP and oh god its spring next week and I need to start cleaning, with the added stress of the fact that the whole apartment is just. Black cat fur everywhere, no one warned me about that and god-”

 “Woah, woah, woah, slow down. Your cat knows how to run the heater?”

 “MORE importantly,” Koyuki interjected, giving Ryusei a glare. “You sound ike you’re running yourself ragged, Mahiru. You’ve got to take care of yourself too. You’re our friend, remember? Don’t run yourself into the ground, and don’t forget,” he smiled encouragingly. “If you can’t ask your friends for help, what’s the point?”

 Mahiru stared at him for a moment before relaxing, and letting out a small, genuine smile. “Thanks, Koyuki. I needed that. But still,” he grumbled, pushing himself from behind his desk roughly. “If just one more thing goes wrong today, I,” he said venomously. “Will have a meltdown.”

  For the second time in a year, an explosion rocked the school. Ryusei let out a startled scream as plaster rained down from above, and his pen rolled off his desk.

 “What the hell?” he gasped. Never one to ignore his curiosity, he sprinted for the classroom door, ignoring the panicked call of his teacher, and flung it open. At the end of the hall, there was a hole in the wall. A big hole at that. And in that hole stood two people Ryusei could confidently say he had never met in his life.

One man was tall and spindly, wrapped in a thick gray cloak, with long greasy purple hair and glaring red eyes. The other was dressed in the standard denim jeans and green hoodie, with blonde hair and, again, red eyes. The first sneered at the faces of shocked students, while the other looked bored. Fangs flashed as one hissed and the other yawned.

 “Greetings!” the greasy haired one called. “Puny mortal high school students! Tremble before our might as your new vampire overlords!”

 “Oi, oi,” the blonde one scolded softly. “We’re stopping for a snack and to spread a little chaos. None of this ‘overlord’ crap. We can’t stay long anyway. Don’t want that brat’s friends to show up, after all.”

 “Ah, yes, the brat!” the other purred, eyes scanning the room. “The slavemaster of sleepiness, sloth’s servant’s master, the eve himself of the most unholy of sins-”

 “Would you shut up?!” the other snarled, hitting the other over the head. The dramatic act interrupted, the cloaked man whimpered.

 “What the hell,” whispered Ryusei. “What the actual hell. Did they say vampires? Are those teeth real?”

 “Oh, you have got to be kidding me.” The familiar voice had Ryusei whipping around in seconds. There stood Mahiru Shirota, tired eyes and white plaster lightly dusting his hair.

 “I,” he growled. “was in the middle of a math test. That I spent ALL NIGHT studying for.”

 “Mahiru,” Ryusei squeaked. That…was a very scary look on Mahiru’s face. Mahiru could lose his temper sometimes, but this was a whole ‘nother level. Oh yeah, someone was definitely going to die.

 “Um,” lost for words, Ryusei searched or a way to lighten the tension (it’s what he did best, after all). “I don’t suppose vampire hunting is one of your endless skills at all? Cause otherwise,” he joked, glancing back at the leering vampires. “I think you might want to sit this one out. Unless of course you’re planning on scolding them to death,” he added, laughing nervously.

 Mahiru was trembling. “One day. Just one day!” he muttered hysterically, slowly shuffling forward. A small meow drew both sets of eyes as Mahiru’s small black cat, appeared from nowhere, winding itself around the other students legs. And maybe Ryusei was going mad, because there was no other reason as to why there were vampires in the school and how that cat looked so concerned despite being, well, a cat.

 Mahiru suddenly smiled. Watching him go from enraged to smiling was quite literally the scariest thing Ryusei had ever seen. Including the vampires behind him and that car accident he’d supposedly been in.

 “You just stay right here, Kuro,” Mahiru chirped. “I’ll take care of it, don’t worry. This wont be hard. And I’ll just ask Lily to clean up after me, okay?”

 The cat looked vaguely horrified, if that was a thing. This cat, Ryusei decided, was very relatable.

 Mahiru began to stalk toward the two vampires, and, like a wave, the student body parted before him. Everyone knew Mahiru Shirota was the most responsible person around; of course they’d let him through. He’d know what to do. No one wanted to acknowledge the maniacal gleam in his eye.

 Soon enough, he stood before the two vampires. “Eh?” the blonde one blinked. “You’re that brat.” He noted.

 “Sorry,” Mahiru said lightly. The two blinked in confusion. “Normally, I’d much rather talk than fight. But,” saying this he pulled off the armband he always wore. “I am having a very bad day and that,” he said coldly. “Was a very important test.”

 A bright flash of blue light blinded the student body for a second. Ryusei quickly opened his eyes to see Mahiru, his best friend Mahiru holding a spear. A spear made of what looked like black electricity, of all things. And more importantly, the vampires? Looked. Terrified.

 Mahiru raised the spear, face blank but eyes dancing crazily, before he swung the swear like a baseball bat. The spear collided with the right vampire, pushing him into his partner with a grunt. Dust and wind exploded, and the two vampires screamed in terror, before they were rocketed backwards through the hole in the wall, launched almost faster than he could blink.

Adding to the surreal experience, some kid next to him laughed manically, and some thoughtful student in the back managed to shout ‘YEET!’ before the crowd began to disperse.

 Mahiru stood there silently for a moment, before tuning back to face the student body. A flash of light and the spear was gone, and a tattoo ringed the student’s wrist instead. Mahiru still looked tired, and somewhat strained. But the stiffness in his shoulders was gone, and no longer did the flames of wrath burn in his eyes. He made his way to Ryusei silently, before picking up his cat.

“That was fun,” he commented to the cat. “I’ll try not to do it again, and Sakaya and Tsubaki are going to be pissed, but it was fun.” The cat meowed. “I know it’s a pain. I can’t imagine trying to explain to Lily what happened. Ah well,” he sighed. “I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”

  Omake:

 “What did you just say?” Lily asked, bewildered.

 “Mahiru yote two vampires out a window at his school.”

 “Kuro, it wasn’t a window, it was a hole in the wall, which they caused-”

 “You yote them?”

[necromancy-enthusiast]

Day and Night

Fandom: Danganronpa

Pairing: Sonia/Akane

Words: 1,688

Rating: Gen

Warnings: N/A

AO3: x

Summary: As Sonia prepares for her first firework festival with Akane, she reflects on their relationship.For the Danganronpa Rarepair Week Day 1 Prompt: Fireworks.

Notes: If your unfamiliar with kimono-related terminology, there’s a bit at the end with an index for your reference.

Thanks to @danganrarepairweek

“Are you almost done?”

“Just another moment, please.”

Akane sighed, looking over her shoulder to see Sonia struggling with the obi she insisted that Akane wear with her yukata. It had been at least ten minutes since Sonia had begun trying to tie the obi, and never had she wished for the assistance of her dressing maids back home more than now. Despite Akane’s extreme disdain for being fussed over, she had been a good sport for Sonia’s sake. But Akane had never had much patience, and what she had mustered up was starting to wear thin.

“Can’t you just tie it in a shoelace bow or something?” Akane asked.

“Absolutely not!” Sonia replied. “Now please, hold this,” she continued, handing one end of the obi to Akane. Akane sighed quietly, holding the end while Sonia struggled with the other, trying to remember exactly how to tie it into an elaborate fashion she had read about in a book some time ago.

It was Sonia’s first summer vacation in Japan. Last year, she’d returned home to Novoselic at her parents’ request, but this year she’d convinced them to let her stay. This finally gave her the chance to see one of the firework festivals she’d long to witness ever since she first read about them as a little girl. She was eager to go with her classmates, and especially with Akane.

“Ah, forget it, I don’t need an obi,” Akane said. “I’ve got the kumihimo tied on already, it’ll hold everything together fine.”

“Akane, I’m sorry, I really appreciate your patience...But just let me try for a little longer?” Sonia asked.

Akane sighed. “Alright, but just because I can’t stand it when you give me those puppy-dog eyes.”

Usually, when people found out that they’d been dating for a couple of months, they assumed it was a joke. They would laugh, but it would inevitability dissolve into uncomfortable, half-hearted chuckling once they saw the unchanged look on Sonia’s face and realized that yes, she was in fact dating Akane Owari.

Some had been polite enough to keep their doubts and questions to themselves. Others, however, were more than eager to express their confusion, even bewilderment.

Why would a princess ever date someone like her when she could have anyone she wanted?

Another moment of silent struggle passed before Akane spoke up again. “Hey, maybe you should check Youtube or something. They must have videos about tying obi on there.”

Sonia stopped mid-action, looking up to meet Akane’s gaze.

“Youtube...Of course!” Sonia said. “You’re a genius, Akane!”

If Sonia had been told two years ago that many people in Japan didn’t know how to properly wear kimono in the traditional fashion, she would’ve been shocked. But she had learned a lot in her time here, a lot she never would’ve learned from books or foreign diplomats. For instance, not everyone in Japan knew how to wear traditional dress. Not everyone was intimately familiar with Japanese dramas. Not everyone was well versed in Japanese history. And the most relevant lesson to her current situation, putting on a kimono and tying an obi was not as easy as it seemed.

“I mean, I don’t get that compliment often, but hey, I’ll take it,” Akane smiled. Retrieving her smartphone, Sonia opened the Youtube app and quickly found a video guide on how to tie an obi. It was a much simpler fashion than she had originally wanted, but given how much time she’d already spent struggling with it, Sonia decided that at least in this case, she could settle.

One of the things Sonia had most looked forward to about attending her first firework festival was getting to wear a kimono. True, she had some back home, but they were all elaborate affairs, some with multiple layers that required the assistance of her dressing maids to properly put on, and the more casual nature of the festival called for a yukata instead. For weeks, she’d been looking forward to taking Akane shopping and finding the perfect outfits to wear together.

Of course, Sonia had done all the appropriate research beforehand. She had asked Hiyoko where her family purchased her kimonos, and took Akane to the most affluent store Hiyoko had mentioned. Sonia had to frame it as a ‘surprise date’, but Akane, despite what many thought, wasn’t totally clueless. She became more suspicious as they’d neared the store, and once she knew where they were going, had nearly refused to go in, citing every possible excuse.

“You know I don’t like dresses. Those things are so expensive! I’ll just end up tearing it or staining it, then you’ll have spent all that money for nothing.”

It wasn’t just dresses that Akane tended to abstain from, she avoided just about any sort of elaborate or fancy clothing if she could get away with it, she didn’t even like wearing their school uniform. Despite Akane’s claims of more utilitarian reasons, Sonia could sense a deeper reservation.

“Aaaaaand...Done!” Sonia said. She lead Akane over to the full body mirror nearby and turned Akane around so she could admire Sonia’s handiwork.

“It’s nice babe,” Akane said. “You did way better than I would’ve.”

“Only because of your suggestion,” Sonia said.

“Hrmm…Can’t promise I won’t accidentally ruin it with all the street food I’m gonna eat, but you did insist.” She made a full turn as she checked her reflection in the mirror. “This is probably the most expensive thing I’ve ever owned.”

“Imagine how many people you could feed with all the money you’d spend on one of those kimonos. It feels like a waste.”

Akane had never been secretive about her less-than-ideal background, about how she often went hungry and cold as a child, but she still hid things deep in her heart. She always insisted that she didn’t need much, just the feeling of the wind through her hair as she climbed and jumped across the city and a full sensation in her stomach. From an early age, she’d learned that asking for or wanting anything more was a sign of weakness.

Sadness and vulnerability were also synonymous with weakness, and where Akane came from, the weak had a tendency of disappearing. Sonia couldn’t blame her, after all, she’d been taught that it was a princess’ duty to always smile and be strong for her people. There was no room for frailty, perceived or otherwise. If you were weak, you didn’t survive.

“I want to do this for you. You deserve something nice every now and then, don’t you think?”

“Well…”

“I’ll take you to your favorite ramen shop afterwards, my treat.”

A beat passed.

“I’m in.”

Sonia had wanted to get Akane one of the gorgeous, elaborate furisode on sale, and had even talked Akane into trying one on. It was a brilliant shade of crimson with a gorgeous floral and mountain scenery pattern, and with matching kanzashi, Sonia had absolutely fawned over how beautiful Akane was. But Akane had balked at how confining and pointlessly complex the furisode was, and how hot it would be to wear in the middle of summer.

Sonia decided that in this case, Akane’s complaints were fair, so they opted instead for a deep blue yukata for Akane with a maple leaf pattern and a red obi to go with it, while Sonia purchased a lavender yukata with a chrysanthemum motif and light green obi for herself. The furisode would have to wait for colder months, hopefully by the time Akane had forgotten all her woes about being fussed over by what she referred to as ‘an army’ of dressing assistants.

“I suppose I should start on my own obi,” Sonia said, picking it up from the dresser nearby.

“I can...Try and help?” Akane offered. Sonia laughed, wrapping her arms around Akane.

“Don’t worry, I just need you to hold my phone up for me as the video plays.”

“Alright!” Akane said, picking Sonia’s phone up from where she’d placed it on the dresser. “I’m gonna hold the hell out of your phone!”

Sonia giggled boisterously at Akane’s remark, waiting until she calmed down to tell Akane to replay the video.

There were many things that Akane didn’t know, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t taught Sonia more than almost anyone else during her time in Japan. Akane had shown Sonia the best ramen shops in the city, how to ride public transit, the best way to minimize personal injury when falling, how to use more modern slang and vernacular. The nature of Akane’s knowledge and skills were vastly different from Sonia’s, but that didn’t mean it was any less valuable. Sonia wanted to learn everything she could, and Akane had been one of the best teachers she’d ever had.

Before long, Sonia’s obi matched Akane’s.

“Looks great,” Akane said

“Thank you. I’m glad it took much less time than yours.”

“Ah, it’s fine, as long as we make it in time for me to get first pick of the street vendors.” Sonia laughed again, something she did far more around Akane than most people.

“I’m sure they’ll have more than enough food for you and everyone else.”

“They’d better. It’s not a festival without good food.”

It was Mahiru that had said that Sonia and Akane were like day and night, and Sonia would be lying if she denied it. It wasn’t at all that she wanted to, though. After all, what would one be without the other? They brought out the best in each other, complimenting each others’ strengths while helping to address their weaknesses. And really, wasn’t that what love was all about?

“You ready to go?” Akane asked after Sonia had gotten her purse.

“Ready!” Sonia said. After they.made their way to the door, Akane linked arms with Sonia before they headed out into the dusk.

Later that night, as they watched the fireworks light up the sky, Sonia held Akane’s hand. True, they may have been like day and night, but just as true was that fact that without one, the other wouldn’t be as remarkable.

NOTES ON TERMINOLOGY:

Yukata: An informal, unlined kimono consisting of only one layer meant for warm weather. Furisode: A very formal, colorful kimono mostly worn by young women and girls. Consists of two or more layers. The kind of kimono Hiyoko is always wearing. Obi: The ornamental sash worn with a kimono. Kanzashi: Traditional Japanese hair accessories. Kumihimo: AKA karihimo. It’s similar in function to an obi but more utilitarian, thinner, non-ornamental, and with a wider range of uses.

[ofichinose]

five times kissed [I've been dying lately]

meme. || no longer accepting.

@snipec

I’m learning quickly, that I should probably stick to musing Guren and Guren alone D;

I haven’t proofread it yet either, so forgive the inevitable spelling and typo errors. I’ll get to that asap.

Word Count: 4700+

1) The First Kiss

    They’re sixteen, young, and reckless. It’s no surprise when they grow tired of the video games. It’s a wonder they haven’t resorted to truth and dare before tonight. Guren’s apartment is almost to capacity with his guests. Each of them are lined in their typical seats around the room, making for a group circle. Almost each individual has already answered at least one turn.

     So far has been relatively tame. Sayuri has dared Guren to eat something other than curry. Guren asked Goshi what the worst illusion spell he ever cast was. Goshi dared Mito to try on a bathing suit. She refused, turning bright red in the process. Instead, he asked if it was true that she’s had her first kiss. Her eyes flicked to Guren before she stuttered out a reluctant yes. Immediately after answering, her attention turned to Shigure. Mito asked if Guren had always been a good master. Shigure responded with, “There is no better master than Guren-sama.” Shigure’s eyes slid to Goshi, and she proceeded to ask him if he had any shame. That’s where things look quite a turn —

    ❛ You’re right, Shigure. Lord Shinya, you haven’t had a turn yet. ❜ Goshi turned in his seat to look at Shinya across the room. Now is as good a time as any to show just how shameless some of his tendencies are. Shinya, with his arms crossed behind his head, peered up to his friend. ❛ I dare you to kiss Guren. ❜ Goshi declared before Shinya could get a word out. At that, Guren’s eyes grew wide with utter confusion. Shinya catches a glimpse of Guren’s fear before directing his attention back to his darer. ❛ Hahaha~ But I haven’t even picked dare yet! ❜ Shinya responds, straightening his posture. ❛ Are you chickening out? ❜ Goshi asked, crossing his arms with a smile along his expression. ❛ Well in that case — Guren~? Would you do me the honors? ❜ Guren, along with all the girls in the room, is entirely baffled. ❛ Eh? …You’re not serious. ❜ The Ichinose replies, rubbing the nape of his neck with a hint of plea behind his eyes. ❛ I’m serious about not giving Goshi an excuse to call me a coward at truth or dare. ❜ Shinya replies, a rather amused smile on his face. ❛ You’re not nervous, are you? ❜ The sniper adds with a lilt to his tone.

    It’s then when Shinya pushes himself up from his chair and begins to walk over to his friend. Meanwhile, Guren’s teeth are gritting against each other. The first issue is that they’re in front of everyone, and the second issue is Mahiru. However, it isn’t like him to back down from a challenge, and this is a very CLEAR challenge. Reluctantly, he scoots forward in his chair. The sooner they move on from the topic, the better. That means, Guren must comply with the dare. It’s a kiss for a game, and everyone knows that. Surely, no one will think much of it. Pushing himself up, Guren meets Shinya behind the sofa and between the kitchen counter of his apartment.

    Under his breath, Guren curses to himself. ❛ Oi, Shinya. Why’d you have to accept this stupid dare. ❜ With Shinya so close, it’s no surprise that he hears the words from Guren’s lips. ❛ What are you so worried about? Everyone knows you love my fiance. ❜ At that, Guren merely scowls. They’re only about a meter apart, and the distance closes with each passing second. After a few steps, they stand with their faces close. It isn’t longer before they each become aware of the warmth between them as they draw closer. It’s not the first time they’ve been so intimately close, but they’ve never had the pressure of kissing placed upon them until now. Guren can feel himself tense with anticipation, but Shinya only grows more amused as he sees Guren’s reaction. The silvery-haired teen is slow to inch forward, trying to milk Guren’s uneasy attitude for as long as he can. But his amusement only last for a moment before their lips press together, and their breaths exchange against one another’s skin. Their eyes shut, the kiss is over after a brief moment. With a swift turn, Guren breaks off the kiss. However, Shinya lingers for a short moment before his eyes snap to his best friend. A subtle bit of heat rushes to his face before he quickly shuts it off. ❛ Well that was better than I had expected. ❜ Shinya declares, coolly. After all, this is the first kiss he’s ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Violet eyes sharpen as Guren takes a step back and looks to Shinya. ❛ … ❜ He has no response other than lifting his sleeve to his face and wiping his mouth. ❛ Hahaha, oh come on. It couldn’t have been that bad. ❜ Shinya responds, returning to his chair. All Guren offers is a shake of his head and audible, ❛ So noisy. ❜

2) A Kiss Goodbye [blood tw, death tw]

    ❛ Shinya! ❜ There’s no answer. ❛ Shinya! ❜ His friend is silent in his arms. ❛ Shinya! ❜ Making his voice louder will solve nothing. ❛ Shinya! ❜ No amount of screaming a name will bring life back to the body in his arms. ❛ SHINYA! ❜ That’s when the tears begin to stream down his cheeks. His friend is dead, and he could not save him. That is the cost of weakness. Guren Ichinose has chosen the path of the weak — to love his friends and call them FAMILY. There is no saving Shinya. The curse will not bring his best friend back. The promise they have made is broken, as broken as Guren’s heart when he looks at the other’s still chest. He’s not breathing. Where lungs should lift with life is a hole. An empty hole from the stab wound.

    Guren’s grip against Shinya’s hair grows tighter, and the tears won’t cease. If his heart had been made of glass, he would have heard it shattering. Violet eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow and pain. ❛ What about our promise? We were supposed to live and win together. Then why am I alive? ❜ Alive and alone. The words are bitter as they breathe from his chest. To bring Shinya back means to commit the worst sin of all. To bring his family back, Guren must sacrifice the world. ❛ I could not save you. ❜

    It’s then when he turns to Mahiru. He cannot save her, and she tells him that. Her words are poisonous as she explains his choice. There are seven coffins and two choices. He may choose to abandon his weakness, or he shall commit the greatest of sins that deserve’s god’s punishment. The goddess’ hand wraps around the hilt of Noya, and she launches the katana into her chest. Knees buckling, the princess falls to the ground. However, her faithful prince is there to catch her and hold her during those final moments. Before long, she vanishes into the weapon… leaving Guren completely and utterly alone and broken. The choice is an obvious one, as much as it pains him to make. The cost is so great, but he will die if he does not comply. Guren is not able to abandon his weakness and give up the ones he loves.

    One by one, he places their bodies in their coffins. The final body he holds is his best friend’s — Shinya’s. Guren’s eyes are filled with plea. ❛ Please forgive me for breaking our promise. ❜ He’s supposed to die with them. To die together is a win in Shinya’s eyes as well, but Guren has made his choice. He will bear the greatest sin of all to bring his friends back for another measly ten years of seeing them smile.

    Arms wrapped around Shinya’s body, Guren carries him to the final coffin. The tears begin to stir at the base of his eyes, knowing that he will never be forgiven for his choice. ❛ I know you would not be this weak and make this choice. You’re not a fool. ❜ Again, Guren speaks with no response. Corpse’s have no voice. The voice he once complained of is the thing he misses most in the world at this moment. To have that voice back is all that matters.

      Beside the coffin, Guren’s hands begin to tremor. Setting Shinya in the coffin, the raven’s knees buckle and fall to the ground. Looking to his silent friend, he has no more words. There is nothing else he can say, other than hope that he will be forgiven someday. Although, something tells him that he will never see that day. Forcing the thoughts to the back of his mind, Guren’s focus presses to his friend. The hand around Shinya’s torso reaches for the silver bangs against Shinya’s forehead, and Guren moves them out of the way. Bending forward, Guren’s lips press to the spot his thumb has just brushed against. Such a gesture is the only way he can convey his hope for the future — the hope for them to be reunited once again.

      There, Guren sits alone and waiting for the resurrection and destruction to being. And that’s when the voice of a man, no… a strange vampire dances against his ears.

3) Kiss of Life [drowning tw]

      They haven’t been to a pool like this since last summer. A year has already passed. That is one fewer year that he has with his friends before they vanish into dust. The thought terrifies him whenever he wakes up. His dreams don’t make it any easier with Mahiru taunting him all hours of the night. You won’t be able to protect them, like the time you couldn’t protect me~ Do you remember, Guren? He remembers so clearly that it pains him in his stomach and leaves a sting in his heart. Most days, Guren’s able to push her aside and move past those fears. However, the ideas linger in his mind as if they’re a dark storm.

     Some days, he wakes up with his hand extended toward her. Those moments are rather horrifying to him. To lose his humanity means losing his friends and losing sight of his mission. Those are things are the precious reason for which Guren lives, and he can never lose them. That’s what makes days like this summer day so important. The group must strengthen their bonds and close their hearts off from the temptation of demons. It’s training more or less. At least, that’s what Goshi calls his excuse to see the girls in swim suits. To Mito, times like this are FUN. As Shinya calls it, it’s youth~. For Guren, it’s a reminder of why he lives. These are the people who give him strength, and they’re the ones for whom he spends his days fighting. Not to mention that a day spent swimming is its own refreshing reward. This opportunity is an actual reward for restoring the power in Shibuya, Guren and his squad have been awarded access to one of the last hidden gems of this devastated world.

     Staring out at the vibrant blue, Guren recalls the last they visited the pool as a group. A time before the Catastrophe — a time before his great SIN. He misses those days, when their time was spent care-free. Now, each second is a payment; every second is the price of his family's’ lives. ♫ Tick tock ♪, Guren. There’s her voice again, playing in his mind as a soft whisper. The tone’s always so soft, but God does he HATE it.

     Suddenly, his thoughts are interrupted with an intense blur of water. ❛ You shouldn’t stand still, Guren. A still target is easy prey for a sniper. ❜ It’s Shinya at the edge of the pool in front of Guren standing over the ledge. Off to the side, Goshi stands laughing with the girls. Making a face, Guren’s eyes glaze over. He’s not amused. ❛ Quit splashing me. ❜ Shinya simply flicks another scoop of water at him. ❛ Haha. At this rate, you won’t have a dry towel when you get out. ❜ Shinya is very amused.

     ❛ Haaaaa… ❜ The Ichinose boy sighs, shaking his head as he removes the towel from his neck. Placing it with the others, Guren finally slides his way into the pool to join his friends. Almost immediately, both Goshi and Shinya charge him with their hands spouting water. Mito simply lectures them all from afar, while Sayuri and Shigure accompany her. Before long, Goshi suggests that the six of them play a round of chicken, but his suggestion is vetoed rather hastily. As the group starts to squabble, Guren makes his way over to the ledge to take a break from the noise and look at the sky.

     It’s unfortunate that their days can’t all be days like this one. This is a REWARD for the efforts, but it’s his fault that the world no longer allows time for fun. Now, his time is preoccupied with the Seraph of the End. Mahiru’s obsession with power has become his own. He needs the power to save everyone. ‘You’re not having fun with the rest of them, Guren.’ There it is again — the angelic whisper of his demon’s voice. ❛ Shut up, Mahiru. ❜ At that moment, the world begins to fade. Walls of white surround him as they have before with Noya. These are the walls of his heart, and there she is. Unchained, his demon calls to him.

      ❛ Hey, Gu-chan! Do you think we shou— ❜ Shinya calls, looking for his friend in the distance. ❛ Guren! ❜ In Guren’s place is a sinking figure that the water distorts at the surface. Sayuri’s the first to scream at the sight before the group wades through the water to reach him. The body of the sleeping Ichinose slips into the deeper end of the pool. Shinya takes the lead of the group before diving deeper into the water. Arms paddling his way, the teen reaches a hand to pull his friend toward him. Wrapping Guren’s arm around his neck, they surface together. Gasping for air, Shinya looks to his best friend who has yet to open his eyes or move his lungs.

     With a splash of water, Shinya brings Guren to the edge of the pools and rests his limp body on the hard surface. Pushing himself out of the water, controlled panic starts to set in as Shinya bites his lip. Sitting down beside Guren, he observes his breathing. He’s perfectly still. The others make their way out of the pool, following Shinya’s lead. Panic-stricken, everyone hovers over Shinya. There’s only one thing to do, and he starts with compressions.

     Head tilt. Chin lift. Nose pinched. Lips pressed. Breathe, dammit!

     Pulling away slightly, Shinya looks to the other’s lungs. For a brief moment, he holds his own breath as a rock forms in his stomach. ❛ Koff. Koff. Haaaa — ❜ Water exits his lungs. Guren’s eyes widen, as Shinya blocks the sun from his eyes. His next few breaths are coarse sounding, but he’s alive. ❛ Shinya? ❜ Guren inquires, brows furrowing toward the other who hovers over him. At the sound of Guren’s words, the rest of the Squad cheers with relief. Shinya sighs, bowing his head. Rolling over to lay beside Guren, a rather playful smile slips along his lips. ❛ So nice of you to join us, Guren. I didn’t realize I was the prince who has to save you from eternal slumber. ❜ At that, Guren punches him lightly in the arm. ❛ Now that’s no way to  treat your rescuer, Sleeping Beauty~ ❜

4) Valentine’s Kiss

     Shoving his hands through his hair, Guren sighs tiredly. It’s been a hectic week, and the paperwork on his desk seems to be growing more than shrinking. So much for his plans for the holiday. It’s tradition that he, Sayuri, and Shigure spend Valentine’s Day as friends together. It makes for a wonderful bonding activity, when they picnic together or play games. However, that’s far from possible at this point.Sitting back at his desk, violet eyes look at the stack before him as he sighs inn defeat.

     Suddenly, a knock at the door interrupts the serenity of his office. Great, now he’s never going to get anything finished.Eyes flicking up from his desk, the Lieutenant Colonel looks to the door and calls.❛ What do you want? ❜ Guren groans, all amusement drained from his voice. The door creaked open, and a very familiar cheeky smile appeared to make a visit to his friend. Closing the door behind him, Shinya made his way over to Guren’s desk. Almost elegantly, he pushed himself up and turned the desk into his throne.

     Dark brows forming a line, the Ichinose scowled. ❛ I have important papers there. ❜ Shinya ignores him. Blue eyes glanced around the room, looking at the different decorations that he so often found interesting. ❛ Hmmm, Guren. Is that a new book? I don’t remember seeing something on your table over there. ❜

Pressing his fingers to his brow, Guren asks again.❛ Yes. Now what do you want? ❜

❛ Did you get anything for Valentine’s Day? ❜ Shinya asks, a rather amused smile along his lips.

❛ No. ❜

❛ It’s not like the girls to forget. ❜

❛ I haven’t seen them. I’ve been busy. ❜ Guren gestures to his paperwork.

     ❛ Hmmm~ Well I am seeing you now. Where’s my~ gift? ❜ Shinya asks, his voice quite playful. Directing his attention to Guren, the sniper sticks his hand out with his palm wide open.

     ❛ Oi, Shinya… I didn’t get you anything this year. I forgot to get anyone gifts. ❜ It’s the truth, as he’s been so buried in work that it’s almost consumed his soul — among other things. Unfortunately, Valentine’s Day has been the last thing on his mind.

     In response, Shinya sighs dramatically as if he’s lost a bet. But that vibrant smile is still bright along his lips. ❛ I guess that means you’ll have to make it up to me. ❜ Quirking a brow, Guren expresses his confusion. ❛ Eh? ❜ Scooting off the desk, Shinya slides his way around its sides to stand beside Guren.

     ❛ Oh nothing. I figured something like this would happen, so I already know how you can make it up to me. ❜ Shinya declares, bending down beside his friend. Tapping his finger under Guren’s chin, Shinya tilts his friend’s eyes to look at him. The smile along his lips is quite pleased. Guren’s eyes are wide, but he knows. He’s more surprised that he hasn’t caught the suggestion sooner.

       Shinya’s finger pressed to Guren’s chin leads Guren toward the him. Shinya’s lips connect to Guren’s for the first time under good circumstances. Both sets of eyes fall shut as the world dies down temporarily. After eight years together, it’s surprising to the both of them. For a long moment, they’re together without the weight of the world pressed upon their shoulders. Guren’s shoulders even begin to relax. Despite himself, Shinya takes note and starts to chuckle in response. ❛ Hm. Hm. ❜ He mumbles against Guren’s lips before pulling himself away, while Guren’s lips linger for a very brief second before he snaps to attention. ❛ Ha ha ha. My my, Guren. I didn’t think this would be a gift I gave to you. ❜ Shinya teases, dropping his hand back to his side.

     Violet eyes sharpening, annoyance contorts Guren’s face. ❛ Quit laughing. It wasn’t all that great anyway. Was this your goal the whole time? ❜ His voice is rather defensive. ❛ Maybe. I didn’t think you’d go through with it though. ❜ Shinya answers, straightening his posture and shifting his way toward the door. ❛ But you don’t have to worry about it. I don’t kiss and tell. ❜ The words dripping from his lips, Shinya winks at Guren and walks out the door.

5) New Year’s Kiss [death mention tw]

     Humanity has been resurrected. The world has been SAVED. This is a time for celebration, but things between Guren and his squad have been awkward to say the least. It’s been nine painfully long years, and the truth has finally come out. Humanity died to save them. Guren chose them over the rest of the world, which is a selfish choice. It’s a secret he’s been carrying for nine years, and it’s been drowning him in guilt. All of his choices have been for them, or so they’ve been intended to save them. Now they’re here as full bodies, but uncovering the truth has been an adjustment. No more lies after eight years of them…

     Everyone was unsure of how to feel at first, but it’s been over a week since the confession. Sayuri and Shigure were the first to forgive Guren, as they appreciate that he has gone to such great lengths to protect them. It wasn’t easy for Mito, but she came around to the idea. Goshi has had mixed feelings, but doesn’t hold it against Guren. Of the group, Shinya has been the most distant about the ordeal. The constant lying, valuing their lives over the good of the world, selling one’s soul to a demon… Is he truly worth it all? Certainly, Guren’s foolish to go to such lengths for friends who weren’t strong enough to live. Guren’s broken their promise, and Shinya’s had no idea all this time. It’s taken him time to process all of it.

     The group gathers together to look at the fireworks on television, now that power has been restored. They’re all in Guren’s old apartment, where it all began. Vampires are still a plague throughout the world, but now humans have the advantage — numbers. All should be exciting, but there’s tension in the atmosphere of the room. Eyes dart from person to person, but little is said. They haven’t been a group like this since before the ceremony for the resurrection. IT’s Goshi who breaks the silence. ❛ Sayuri, can I finally see you in a swim suit this year? ❜ He asks, wiggling a brow her way. Her face turns bright red before she furiously shakes her head as declination. ❛ Not unless Guren-sama commands such an action… ❜ Her voice grows smaller as she looks to Guren. Shigure simply shakes her head at the ordeal. Mito is quick to jump at Goshi for his perversions once again, and she raises an annoyed red brow his way. Before the situation escalates and drags him into it, Guren steps away from the group.

     Standing some distance away from the others squabbling in front of his television, Guren takes some time to look outside his old window. It’s impossible to distinguish the stars with the new light pollution, but that’s not such a bad thing. The world around him is alive; he’s no longer the soul survivor. Hopefully, the fireworks will be visible from here. Losing himself in thought, he searches for something. Although, there are no answers beyond the four walls of the apartment. Someone who’s spent eight years looking to reverse the clock now wants it to fast-forward, so things can go back to normal — whatever normal may be. It’s not so simple, and time acts as the tool that will heal the new wounds. So for now, he must deal with it. A subtle sigh breathes from his lips as he catches a glimpse off the glass’s reflection of his friends behind him bickering with one another. Then he sees Shinya approaching him, blocking his view of the others.

     ❛ Shouldn’t you be counting down the clock with them? ❜ Guren asks, his eyes still glued to where the stars should be. Shinya replies, searching the sky for anything that might be interesting. ❛ I thought we were all supposed to be counting down together. What are you looking at? ❜ To Shinya’s disappoint, there’s nothing but a bleak black distance. ❛ There aren’t any fireworks yet, and wouldn’t a good host be offering us all cokes right now~? ❜ Shinya adds with a very coy tone. ❛ You shouldn’t leave your guests empty-handed, Guren. ❜ At that, Guren sighs and turns to him. It’s been over a week since they have looked each other in the eyes and talked. If he’s entirely honest, there’s been a void in his heart where his friends belong. A void that he loathes. It’s almost as though part of him is missing; the better parts of him for that matter. His goal to protect them remains, but it’s bizarre to feel the weight of their lives no longer shoving his shoulders down.

     ❛ They look like they already have their hands full. ❜ Guren retorts, his shoulder gesturing to the group behind them. Everyone’s eyes are stuck on the screen, and excitement beams from them. This is the first year the world will be free. ❛ I wasn’t sure how to feel at first. ❜ Shinya declares, ignoring the others for a moment. His lips are even for once, and cerulean eyes steady. ❛ You sacrificed the rest of the world for us. I don’t know if Mahiru’s right that we’re weak for dying or that you’re weak for trying to save us. I broke my promise to you, since I didn’t live and win. But I don’t think it matters. ❜ A shrug pulls at his shoulders, and his expression makes no note of it. These are all pointless questions now. As the words speak from Shinya’s lips, Guren’s eyes waver. For years, this has been an internal struggle that plagues him. Nothing can ease the guilt of his choices. As always, Shinya catches the distress behind his best friend’s eyes. ❛ We’re all here now. I’m not turning into dust. ❜ Gesturing wide with his arms, Shinya continues. ❛ And you saved all of humanity. It’s all over now. ❜ Moving his hands over to Guren’s face, he uses both index fingers to press against Guren’s cheeks and force him to smile. ❛ What matters to me is that you told the truth. Besides, I’m sure everyone’s already forgiven you. ❜

     Quickly, Guren swats his hands away. But that doesn’t hide the subtle hint of tears the gleam along the edges of his eyes. It all feels too good to be true. ❛ Oi, Shinya. That’s not how you make someone smile. ❜ He protests, doing his best to express his irritation. The act is of no use, given how easy it is for Shinya to read the pages of his eyes. ❛ Don’t look so sad. I’m only telling you the truth, but there’s still something you haven’t told me yet~. ❜ Shinya pauses, dropping his hands to his sides. ❛ Wen were you going to tell us that you love us? ❜ Guren’s expression falls flat at the thought. Where the hell does love come into this? ❛ What makes you think I’m supposed to confess? ❜ Guren inquires, his face wrinkling with surprise. Stepping over to Guren’s ear, Shinya can’t help but toy with him. ❛ No one sacrifices the world for people they don’t love, Gu-chan~. ❜ Those are true words, and Guren knows it painfully well. Shoving his fingers through his hair, violet eyes peer over to the others who have started counting down the last few seconds of the year.❛ Quit talking already. ❜ Guren complains, turning his attention back to the sniper.

      Taking a step forward, his eyes set to Shinya. Cupping the back of Shinya’s neck, Guren leans in toward the sniper as subtly as possible. As soon as the count of ONE calls, he presses his lips against his long-term partner for a kiss. Their lips pressed together, they both ease into the moment. For once, things feel right. It’s a brief moment, but it’s a moment they’ve both waited for longer than either knew. The first crack of fireworks sounds in the distance and lights the window. Even the men with their eyes closed can catch the vibrant light from outside. Simultaneously, they pull away. Immediately, Guren grows stiff and turns to watch the display from the window. Rubbing the back of his neck, Shinya can’t help but tense up as well. ❛ Hahaha~ Happy New Year to you too, Guren. ❜

[indigoblue-readsalot]

Hello guys! I am late yet again!

Well, this time I have a reason. I didn’t expect this fic to go from a small idea to a little 4.6k monster. So as promised, this is long, but it took way longer than it should. Lol. And I’m not going to lie, this could’ve been a really interesting plot for a chaptered fic, but I’m not an amazing writer so I don’t think I’ll expand on that any time soon ;-;

Anyway, I don’t know where I pull my weird ideas from, but this is a vampire!Kuro/soulmates au, and I hope you enjoy!

Day 3: Struggle/Evolution

::

::

Mahiru Shirota has always been special, a standout. In a sea of soulmates and happy couples he was one of the very few left confused, with no one waiting for them on the other end.

What Mahiru was taught at the very young age of 4 is that every person is born with a clock on their wrist, counting down the days to when they meet their soulmate. Some had small numbers, like hundreds, and others had bigger numbers like a few thousands.

Mahiru didn’t have any of those things.

Because Mahiru’s clock wasn’t counting down.

Ever since he was born, people were interested in him. Scientists and professors and all sorts of people who wanted to know why his clock was going up, instead of down.

On his 15th birthday, Mahiru stared down at his wrist, 5,478 days that passed by without him noticing them. It’s been an alarming reminder that he was going to be alone, for the rest of his life.

He was in class, when it happened.

When his clock hit 5655, on the 31st of December, he woke up in the middle of the night to intense pain coming from his wrist. Mahiru looked at his wrist with a puzzled and pained expression, but nothing looked unusual. Just to be safe, he bandaged his wrist and went back to sleep.

The next day went without a hitch, except for the weird itches Mahiru felt from his wrist. To avoid suspicion, he covered his clock with the wristband Sakuya gifted him a while ago, and bandaged his wrist again when he went to sleep. When he woke up a day after, the pain was gone.

Mahiru momentarily forgot about the bandages, and didn’t take them off before going to school.

“Oi, Mahiru, what’s up with the bandages?” Ryusei asked him that morning. “Did you get yourself injured?”

Mahiru looked down to his wrist and scratched his neck. “No, I guess I forgot about these. I’ll take them off.”

Ryusei shrugged, and his attention was soon averted to Koyuki, who started a quiet conversation with him about their recent homework. That is, until Mahiru screamed.

His clock was back to zero.

::

::

Ever since his clock reset, Mahiru counted the days, out of habit. Or maybe it was out of panic.

He reached 6020 days when everything got flipped onto its side.

On the 31st of December, Mahiru walked back home from school very late, tired from helping out one of the clubs in preparations for the upcoming school festival, when he stumbled into someone in a narrow, dark alleyway.

“Sorry,” he apologized, holding out his hand for the stranger to take, but the stranger looked up to him with bright red eyes and Mahiru reeled back in surprise.

“What a pain,” the stranger murmured in a low rumble, holding onto a rusty pipe that was sticking out of the wall to stabilize himself as he got up. He stumbled, and Mahiru instinctively reached out, but the stranger leaned on the wall in support and covered half of his face with his hand, groaning in pain.

That’s when Mahiru noticed the blood.

There was so much blood, on the stranger’s hands, coat, face, sticking on his hair and dirtying his boots. Mahiru didn’t have time to try and figure out if it was the stranger's blood or someone else’s before the stranger lost consciousness and collapsed.

::

::

Mahiru reached the conclusion that he was too much of a good person.

Carrying a bleeding stranger to his house way after the sun has set wasn’t on his to-do list for the day. What would he do with him once they’re there? Mahiru certainly didn’t think this through.

The stranger didn’t wake up even when they reached Mahiru’s apartment. He was out like a light, breathing softly on Mahiru’s neck as he carried him, not even making a sound as Mahiru placed him on his couch loudly, stretching now that the weight was off his shoulders. He glanced back at the sleeping stranger, and noticed the heavy eye bags and dry tear tracks under his eyes. Whoever this guy is, he hasn’t slept for days, and he must’ve cried a lot for his eyes to be that red.

Mahiru sighed. How did he get himself into this mess?

He gently took off the stranger’s bloody coat, revealing a relatively clean white t-shirt under it. He took of the stranger’s boots and brought him a blanket. He could do all the talking tomorrow. For now, he was so tired he didn’t even make his bed before he crashed onto it.

::

::

“Who are you, and what were you doing all bloody in an alleyway late at night?” Mahiru asked as soon as the stranger woke up. He opened the blinds in order to let some light in, and frowned at the stranger, who was rubbing his eyes and making quiet sounds of protest at the sunlight coming through the window. Mahiru decided to skip school that day, ignoring the creeping guilt in his stomach in favor of questioning this curious stranger, and he was determined to get all the answers he was after. Even if the stranger looked exhausted and had a visible head wound.

“My name’s Kuro. can I go back to sleep?”

Mahiru scoffed. “Mind telling me your real name?”

“My name is Kuro,” the stranger insisted. “Either take it, or leave me alone.”

“Leave you alone?” Mahiru asked incredulously. “You would’ve passed out all alone in an alleyway in the middle of the city if I hadn’t found you and helped you!”

“It would’ve been better if you left me,” Kuro said and refused to elaborate further. Mahiru sighed.

“At least let me help you with your injuries?”

Kuro blinked. “Why would you want to do that?”

“Because you’re heavily injured?” Mahiru pointed out, stating the obvious. Kuro only sighed in response, not agreeing but not refusing, either.

A few minutes later, Mahiru and Kuro sat on the floor of Mahiru’s apartment with a first-aid kit. Mahiru spotted dried blood on Kuro’s skin, and rolled up his long sleeve, and then his eyes landed on his wrist. He had a zero.

“Oh,” he said, surprised. “Did you find your soulmate?”

Kuro froze, tired, bloodshot eyes widening as he snatched back his arm and held it close to his chest. He looked… afraid.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Mahiru was quick to reassure. “It’s okay.”

He revealed his wrist to Kuro. “I never had a soulmate, so I’m new to that whole thing.”

“It’s not like that,” Kuro said quietly, rolling his sleeve down. Mahiru was curious, but decided to be nice and not press.

“How did you get this injured, anyway?” Mahiru asked, changing the subject and motioning Kuro to come closer with his hand as he rummaged through the first-aid kit.

“Don’t wanna talk about it.”

“You’re so difficult,” Mahiru said in desperation.

::

::

Mahiru found Kuro to be very, very bothersome.

All he did was slouch on the couch, eat, and shadow Mahiru while he was doing house chores when he had nothing else to do. Kuro didn’t show any intentions of leaving, or any intentions of speaking either. And Mahiru was going out of his mind trying to understand why he was letting all of that happen.

::

::

It’s been a week, and Kuro was still living in his apartment.

His wounds were healing, and Mahiru long cleaned his clothes from all the blood, and Kuro stayed mysterious but trustworthy enough for Mahiru to be okay with him staying at his house.

Mahiru came back from school, putting his bag down and immediately setting out to clean and cook, already used to the routine he built for himself ever since he started living alone, when he found Kuro sitting on the kitchen floor, long, light blue hair covering his face.

“Kuro, I know you like food, but you should stop camping out in the kitchen--” Mahiru started to scold, but as he took a closer look, the words died in his throat. Kuro’s head was tilted sideways, and next to his skinny frame was a little puddle of blood.

“Kuro!” Mahiru yelped, rushing to his side. He moved Kuro’s head gently so he was facing Mahiru, and his mouth and cheeks were covered in fresh blood.

Since Mahiru isn’t an expert doctor, he didn’t really know what to do, and decided on cleaning Kuro’s face and letting him rest on the couch for the time being. He wiped the blood from the floor, trying his best not to freak out, and once everything was taken care of, he sat next to Kuro and waited.

::

::

“Kuro, this is the second time you threw up blood this week,” Mahiru said seriously, handing Kuro a glass of water. “I don’t know how to help you and you keep insisting not to call an ambulance. There’s got to be a way to help you.”

“I… don’t want to get you into that mess…” Kuro mumbled, looking away.

“I’d say I’m already deep in your mess,” Mahiru protested and crossed his arms. “I hate to see you like this, and I also hate to see your blood all over the place. If you know a way to help you feel better, now’s the time to speak up.”

Kuro stared into Mahiru’s determined eyes, and looked at his hands in defeat.

“I need to drink human blood,” Kuro said, almost whispered. “Or else I’ll die.”

“Wah… What?” Mahiru asked, flabbergasted. “Are you joking?”

“I wish,” Kuro murmured. “I’m.. a vampire.”

Mahiru stared at Kuro like his life depended on it. “Is that supposed to be funny?” he tried again, and Kuro shook his head. Mahiru started walking in circles, trying to digest what he just heard, an then stopped in his tracks.

“Would my blood help?” he asked seriously, and it was Kuro’s turn to be surprised. “Are you really willing to let me drink your blood?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yes,” Mahiru agreed simply, rolling his sleeve. “I’m okay with it. I’m also trying to see if you’re bluffing.”

“I’m not bluffing. You’re sure you want to do this?” Kuro asked hesitantly, and Mahiru nodded in determination. Kuro shot him a careful look.

“I said yes, do it already,” Mahiru urged. Kuro grabbed Mahiru’s arm gently, and opened his mouth. That was the first time Mahiru noticed he had /fangs/.

Kuro bit Mahiru’s arm, and Mahiru couldn’t contain a small yell of alarm. It wasn’t too painful, but it was so unpleasant Mahiru bit his lip to prevent himself from screaming again. When Kuro let go of Mahiru’s arms and licked his bloodied lips, Mahiru was almost afraid, but he’d never let him know that.

::

::

Adjusting to living with a vampire went a lot faster than Mahiru could’ve ever anticipated.

Kuro stopped throwing up blood and passing out, and actually helped around a bit as long as he got to drink a little of Mahiru’s blood once a week. Mahiru let him be, as long as he didn’t bother him while doing housework or when he was at school. They developed a new, comfortable routine for themselves; One that doesn’t involve too much blood in it. Mahiru was satisfied.

One night, Kuro asked Mahiru about the clock.

“Ah, no, I didn’t find my soulmate or anything like that,” he denied, tracing the clock with his fingers. “I never had one. It’s kind of a funny story, actually. My clock never counted down.”

Kuro’s head tilted in confusion. Mahiru’s heart felt a tiny bit of affection, and he ruffled Kuro’s hair.

“My clock used to count up, until it reached 5,655 days,” Mahiru explained. “On the 31st of December, a year ago, it stopped counting and reset to zero.”

Kuro’s eyes widened. “31st of December?” he uttered numbly, shocked. Mahiru started to get worried at Kuro’s shocked expression. “Kuro?”

“My birthday was on the 31st of December,” Kuro whispered. “And last year was my 18th birthday. It was also my last day as a human.”

Mahiru startled as Kuro’s eyes emptied, reliving things Mahiru couldn’t see. “The 31st was the day my clock reset, as well.”

::

::

After Kuro’s little outburst, they never talked about it again. Mahiru didn’t want to delve into deep waters, but he was /so/ curious, wondered so much it drove him crazy. And he wanted to help, but he didn’t know how to, and it drove him up the wall. But Mahiru stayed patient, pretended he didn’t hear Kuro’s mumbling in his sleep, pretended he didn’t notice when Kuro entered his room in the middle of the night after waking up from a nightmare and cuddled up to him, pretended everything was all right. But it wasn’t all right at all.

One night, Kuro sneaked into Mahiru’s bed again, after he woke up yelling, and placed a careful arm around Mahiru’s waist, nuzzling into his neck. Mahiru also woke up from his yelling, and he couldn’t find it in him to hold back anymore.

“Kuro,” he said. “Tell me what happened.”

Kuro stiffened beside him, hands wrapping around Mahiru a little tighter.

“My dad,” he mumbled, and for a while that’s all he said.

“He turned me. Into a vampire.”

Mahiru took a deep breath. “I’m listening,” he encouraged warmly, placing his hand on top of Kuro’s.

“My dad went through a lot,” Kuro said, sounding small and hesitant. “He had me with my mom, and a year later my younger brother Hugh was born from the same mother, but she died in the hospital.”

Mahiru’s eyes widened. His mother passed away when he was young too, and he knew the pain well.

“My dad loved mom, but he was a lustful man. He tried to drown out his pain a week or so later, and slept with one of his coworkers. He was a scientist. She got pregnant, but couldn’t raise a child. She left the child with my dad once he was born and then she moved to a different city. My dad was left alone with three young kids, and he couldn’t raise them alone, so he hired a caregiver. And for a while, he tried to stay away from her.”

“Is it insensitive to ask how many siblings you have?” Mahiru hesitated, softly playing with Kuro’s fingers.

“Six,” Kuro answered easily. Mahiru hummed in wonder, and Kuro continued. “After the caregiver was hired, my dad had loads more free time, and that’s when he started researching the supernatural. He started working alone and got lonely, and in the end, fell in love with the caregiver he hired. They got married, and brought 4 other kids to the world. One girl, twins, and my youngest brother. She died 7 years later from sickness.”

Mahiru gasped, and Kuro hurried to reassure him. “It’s okay, I was 11. I don’t really remember her.”

“Still,” Mahiru whispered. “That’s horrible.”

“My dad took it especially bad,” Kuro proceeded, silently agreeing. “He freaked out. Everyone kept leaving him, and we were only reminders of the horrible loss he was going through. He went full into his research, trying to reach immortality. When he found out about vampires, he went away for a trip that took months in an attempt to make progress, and when he was back he didn’t act like a father anymore.

“He found some sort of weird potion through a shady trade with an actual vampire. He wanted to turn me making me drink it, because I’m the oldest and have the most “experienced” body. I tried to fight him,” Kuro continued, voice laced with pain and sorrow. “My father, who I loved. I kicked him, bit him, punched him. But he was way stronger than me, and he overpowered me quickly. After he forced me to drink the potion, I kicked him so hard in the stomach he fell back and his head snapped against one of the wooden chairs. He didn’t make it out.”

Mahiru’s hand grasped Kuro’s and refused to let go.

“After that, I ran away. I couldn’t bring myself to drink human blood like I was supposed to, so I’ve been mostly hunting animals. Without human blood, vampires can’t exist. I was dying, Mahiru. You saved me.”

“Like I was going to let you die,” Mahiru whispered, and he could feel Kuro smiling into the nape of his neck.

“Mahiru,” Kuro murmured softly. “When I became a vampire, I became immortal. Before that, my clock was like yours. It counted up, instead of down. But that day, my clock reset. Went back to zero, because I couldn’t age anymore.”

They were quiet for a little bit, and Mahiru freed Kuro from his hold and turned around to face him.

“Kuro, are you my soulmate?”

::

::

The days after that, Mahiru and Kuro spent learning everything about each other. Mahiru told Kuro about his parent who died when he was a kid, his uncle that is barely around, and his best friend, Sakuya, who was always there for him. Kuro told Mahiru about his many siblings, his father, and life before the turn. Mahiru told Kuro about his clock. Every single detail. And while there was no proof of it, they believed that it was more than a mere coincidence their clocks matched each other like they do. They believed that maybe, just maybe, they were bound to each other by fate. They believed that maybe they found the person they’ve been looking for their entire lives, but even though they believed, they couldn’t bare to admit it. The thought of committing to a person for the rest of their lives seemed so big, so far away, that they were too nervous to even think about it. And for Mahiru, the thought of giving his all to a vampire seemed crazy. He couldn’t stay away from Kuro, that’s for sure, but Kuro was still so strange and new and scary. Well, Kuro didn’t scare Mahiru, but the connection they had did. Mahiru was positively freaked.

Kuro was too.

So Mahiru gave his all to school, brushing away questions from his friends about his distant nature and hanging out more with Sakuya, who’s been complaining he’s been neglected. He was more outside, and less home.

He was more outside, and less with Kuro.

And Kuro realized it. How Mahiru withdrew into his ordinary human life, away from him. But even if he was hurt, he couldn’t blame Mahiru at all, for wanting a normal life. It’s been something he was after for over a year.

::

::

Before Kuro, Mahiru was only vaguely aware of supernaturals. He knew that the soulmate clock was only one of the weird anomalies the world could offer. But he never saw one up close. When Kuro came crashing down into his life on the 31st of December, on what technically was his 19th birthday, Mahiru thought he was a delinquent. Not one that he wasn’t going to help, but he thought Kuro messed up with the wrong people and got in a fight. When Kuro stayed in Mahiru’s apartment without even asking, Mahiru thought he was weird, lazy and very endearing. Now he doesn’t know what to think. He doesn’t know how to act, aside from all the soulmate complications. Kuro is a good person, Mahiru’s sure of it, but how much is Mahiru ready to sacrifice for him?

He didn’t know, and that terrified him.

::

::

Mahiru unlocked the door to his apartment, back from shopping, and loaded all of his bags onto the kitchen table, when he saw the note.

I’m sorry, it said.

Mahiru’s eyes widened, and he rushed to the living room. The couch was clean, no ramen cups were on the ground, and the window was open.

Mahiru burst out of his apartment, running. Where would Kuro go now?

::

::

“Sorry for visiting unexpectedly,” Kuro said once the heavy wood door in front of him opened. “Can I come in?”

Freya looked surprised (which was very hard to deduct since her face is pretty expressionless), and scanned Kuro with her eyes. She wasn’t wearing her brown contacts, and had her green eye and white eye on full display. Kuro’s father liked to experiment with the unnatural things he found through his research, which resulted in Freya’s normal green eyes replaced with one horrifying white eye, and caused her arms to scar. Freya, unlike her brothers, was smart and mature for her age. She should’ve had her 17th birthday a little while ago.

“You’re alive.”

“Yeah,” Kuro agreed. Freya looked at him again in disbelief.

“Wait here,” she said.

After their father's death, Kuro hung around the house to see if his younger siblings were okay. Hugh, the second oldest (he was 17 when Kuro left, and was probably 18 by now) left the house and moved to a new apartment, and took the youngest siblings with him, so Lily (14? 15?) and the twins, Hyde and Endou (who were both 16. Kuro couldn’t forget, since he lit a match on the 24th of June to celebrate. He always had a soft spot for the both of them). Freya joined a shared dorm with another roommate, desperate to get away from the house their father died at.

Jeje slipped away without Kuro noticing, so he could only hope he was okay and move on.

When Freya was back at the door, she had her brown contacts in hand.

“She can’t see you with those eyes,” she told him, handing him the container. “I convinced her that my white eye is an unusual heterochromia condition and that my scars are from a car accident, but she can’t see you. Not like this.”

Kuro frowned, since he hates putting things near his eyes, but eventually the contacts were on and Freya let him in. Inside was a tall blonde girl, tinkering with some metal object on a big, old desk.

“Freya?” she asked, and her mouth formed a little “o” when she saw Kuro standing there.

“Brother,” she said, and her eyes softened. “Meet my soulmate.”

::

::

Mahiru searched, and searched, and searched, but Kuro was nowhere to be found. He came back to his apartment, exhausted, crashed on the couch and ignored the throbbing ache in his heart.

::

::

“It’s nice to meet you,” Freya’s soulmate, Iduna, said and shook Kuro’s hand. She had a bright smile and clear blue eyes, and even though Kuro hated new people, she seemed nice enough.

“We’re going to talk in the kitchen. I’ll call you if we need you, but you can keep doing whatever it is that you’re doing,” Freya said, and Iduna pecked her cheek before smiling at Kuro, sitting down and continuing he tinkering work.

Freya lead him to the kitchen and handed Kuro a glass of water.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, hunched over the counter. Kuro didn’t want to get her too involved.

“I think… I found my soulmate. But he’s a human,” Kuro mumbled. “And he’s freaked out because of me. And I don’t know what to do.”

Freya sneaked a glance at Kuro, and looked back at her hands. “Isn’t that something you’re supposed to talk to him about?”

“He’s a human,” Kuro said softly. “I’m sure he wants to live an ordinary life, like every other ordinary person. Like you’re trying to, right now.”

“I’m no ‘every other ordinary person’, brother.”

Freya looked at Kuro, her odd eye contrasting against the soft tones of her green one, like she was trying to bare into his soul.

“You can try to live like an ordinary person, too,” she said, tone sincere and unapologetic. “Since you were one, like me. And I believe that you can find happiness with your soulmate, even if you’re not an ordinary human anymore.”

Kuro considered her words, debating, when she took the now empty glass of water out of his hands and turned her back, walking over to the sink.

“Only you can make that decision,” she said to him. “But just know that if you have nowhere to go, or if you’re in some kind of trouble, I’m here for you. And so are all the rest of us. Hyde is dying to see you, too, so you should pay him a visit when you can.”

Kuro sighed. Those were words he needed to hear, but didn’t necessarily want to. He didn’t need the reminder that he’s the worst big brother in the world.

“I’ll think about it,” he promised. He took the box for the contacts out of his pocket, about to return them, but Freya was quick to push his hand to his chest.

“Keep them. I have spare.”

::

::

The next day, Mahiru didn’t go to school. Kuro’s absence in his little apartment was so noticeable he wanted to scream, trapped in the unnaturally quiet space with his thoughts.

“I’m sorry.”

What does that even mean?

What was Kuro going to do? Was he going to be back? Where did he go to? Why didn’t he let Mahiru know?

And Mahiru felt tortured, because he knew the answer to the last question. It’s because I pushed him away, his mind unhelpfully supplied, and Mahiru covered his face with his hands in shame.

And then, a knock on the door.

Mahiru groaned, taking his time sitting up from the couch and making his way to the entrance. He unlocked the door, and slowly opened it…

Only to find a familiar looking blue-haired vampire, that donned a pair of regular looking brown eye contacts.

Kuro could barely react before Mahiru threw his arms around him in a hug.

“Don’t ever, ever do that to me again,” he demanded, his arms tightening around Kuro’s neck. “I thought you were never coming back.”

“I thought you didn’t want me here,” Kuro said quietly, and Mahiru pulled away and look at him with disbelief in his eyes.

“Why would you ever think that, dumbass?” Mahiru asked, tone louder. “I admit it, I got scared, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you here. You’re so important to me, don’t you understand that?”

Kuro stepped inside, and closed the door behind them. Mahiru stared up at him with expectant eyes. “But I’m a vampire,” he stated simply, rubbing more salt on the wound. “I’ll never be normal enough, for you.”

“But that’s why you’re wearing brown contacts, isn’t it?” Mahiru murmured, voice wavering. “You’re trying to change, even though I didn’t ask you to. You’re trying to change, for me.”

Kuro didn’t know how to respond to that.

“Seeing you struggle like you did, when you had those nightmares, drove me out of my mind,” Mahiru told him, persistent. “I couldn’t let you continue like that. I had to ask, to help somehow, and I didn’t know how to respond since you’re something I’ve never encountered before.”

Mahiru looked down at his wrist, and brought it up to Kuro’s face.

“The reason I have this clock on my wrist, is because I have someone that belongs to me somewhere. I can’t tell you for certain, but I can tell you that it feels, to me, that it’s you.”

Kuro’s tired eyes couldn’t look away from Mahiru’s passionate ones, and at that moment, he never wanted to look aside. But he knew that it’s better, for Mahiru, if he let go now. So he averted his gaze.

He opened his mouth, but before he could say a word, Mahiru’s hands caught Kuro’s and the taller looked down at him in surprise.

“The day you turned 18, your last day as a human, my clock reset,” Mahiru said, determination written all over his face, “and if that’s not destiny, then we’ll make it destiny. I won’t let go of you. I won’t let you struggle or hurt anymore.”

…

“Take them off, Kuro.”

Mahiru’s hands let go of Kuro’s, and Kuro’s hands moved on their own, reaching for the little box in his pocket. He took out his contacts, putting them in their box, and looked back at Mahiru with a set of bright, red eyes.

Mahiru stood on his tip toes, and their lips met. Kuro was never going to struggle again, anymore.

::

::

I actually considered making this an actual chaptered fic for a good hour or so, but it’s a lot of work and time I don’t have. But imagine this plot with a long, actually well written, chaptered fic. I could do so much with the fact we know nothing of Jeje or pretty much all of the eves except for Iduna, or could write so much more Kuromahi development, and a lot of potential Kuro/servamp fam stuff. You ever get that feeling you have an amazing idea but you can’t write it well because you’re not a good writer? Yeah, that’s me right now.

*Btw, I just wanted to point out that I gave World End the name “Endou” in this fic. When his name is said in the anime, the “End” part is pronounced “Endo” and since “Endou is an actual Japanese name/last name I just decided to use that!

[sakichi56]

Servamp Character Appreciation Week Day 1 Part 4 (Fin):

HM-HM-HM-HM, WE ARE INSIDE YOU SLEEPY ASH. INSIDE YOUR MIND. I AM INCHARGE OF YOUR POWER. YOU WILL DISCOVE YOU ARE CAPABLE OF MANY THINGS. TRY TO ENVISION YOURSELF WITH CLAWS LIKE A CATS AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

"Huh? What are you talking about? None of this is making any sense."

OH, OR YOU COULD TRY TO TRANSFORM. YOU CAN BECOME MORE THAN JUST A CAT. YOU ARE THE FISRT, THE MOST POWERFUL OF ALL. YOU CAN BECOME A LION. WHY NOT TRY THAT? DON'T WORRY, YOU HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO LEARN MONSTER. YOU ARE IMMORTAL AFTER ALL. SO TAKE YOUR TIME KILLER.

"What do you mean? And who are you calling killer?" The cat wasn't wrong. He was a monster, a killer. He killed his mother as soon as he was brought into this world after all, but there was no way this cat could know about that.

EVERYTHING YOU DO OR HAVE DONE, I KNOW IT ALL. I CAN SEE INTO YOUR MEMORIES, I AM A PART OF YOU. OH, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE TO GO NOW, OUR FATHER WANTS TO TALK TO YOU. FAREWELL FOR NOW, S L E E P Y A S H.

"Ah, wouldn't that be nice Sleepy Ash?"

Blinking a few times to clear his vision, he realized he was no longer strapped to the table. Sliding his legs over the side, he got up and stretched, hearing a few pops and clicks. "I'll take your silence as a yes. Oh, I wonder which one I should creat next? I'm feeling quite proud of myself right now, so perhaps pride? Ah, I suppose we shall see, it all depends on the next ones personality." The man wandered off down the hall gesturing for Ash to follow him. When they got to a door at the end of the hall he told Ash that he was free to leave and find a human to pair up with, an 'Eve' as he called it, or to stay and let him study him.

Ash didn't completely understand what was going on, so he decided to stay. It took years, so many years that he lost track, before the man had found more people to turn into his little monsters. And all the while Ash stayed the same 18 year old he was the day the man brought him here. He always went for people who didn't have anyone that would report their disappearance, orphans or adults who were down on their luck. And he always acted kindly and offered to help them, then he would drug them and bring them here to change them.

The man said the were a family, brothers, a sister, and a father. He said they were the perfect beings, his crowning achievment. But Ash couldn't take it, so he left. He had long since learned everything he needed from the man anyway, he only hung around to help his 'siblings' adapt. Eventually, they all left. Some went to go find themselves an'Eve', others just wanted to go and see the world. They all met back up years later when they received a letter from some people calling themselves 'C3', and in the end, he ended up having to do something terrible to the man who made them all what they were. But after that they all went their seperate ways again.

Ash himself ended up traveling all over the globe. But no matter where he went it was always the same. Different languages and different people with different culturs and beliefs, but there was still sadness, loneliness, and suffering. Eventually he ended up in Japan and he gave up, settling himself in an alley and collapsing, watching the hustle and bustle of people pass him by before falling asleep. When he woke up again, he was in a small apartment with no humans in sight, so he decided to help himself to some food and other things around the place. Not even halfway through his little splurge, a boy with soft brown hair and caramel eyes came walking in.

Yes, back then he was just 'some boy' but now, now he was his Eve, his light, his partner. And he couldn't imagaine not having him by his side.

"Kuro. Hey Kuro!" Opening his eyes with a yawn, the vampire glanced around to see he had fallen asleep on the couch. *Strange, I wonder why I had a dream about my life up until now. Why couldn't I have dreamt about something nice, like finding the ultimate pillow?* Remembering that he had woken up because his Eve called him, he turned to address him.

"Yeah? What is it Mahiru?"

"We're going to be late! We are supposed to be going to Misono's today, remember? Come on, we need to go now Kuro!" Grabbing his hand, Mahiru pulled Kuro to his feet and yanked him over to the door to put their shoes on. Kuro stared at the boy for a moment before smiling a small bit and following his lead, bending down he pulled on his boots and once he was done, transformed into a cat and hopped onto the younger males shoulder.

Yes, he had an awful childhood, actually he had a horrible life period. But that all changed when he met Mahiru. This boy, this amazing kid, had managed to change his life for the better. He was like his own personal little sun that revolved around him. He helped him with his problems revolving around his 'creator' and he takes care of him. Because of Mahiru he now had a home, he had food, he even had video games, he also had friends and he was getting along well with his 'family'.

He is even getting to live as a spoiled housecat just like he said he wanted to all those years ago in that alley where he met his 'creator', how comical.

Mahiru was like a magical housewife that could get everyone to listen to him, and he takes care of everyone.

He really couldn't think of a better life than the one he was living now with his Eve. And if he hadn't gone through everything he did, he never would have gotten the chance to meet the kid, let alone live with him the way he does. If he had to go through it all again just to meet Mahiru, he would do it. Sure your childhood helps shape you, but it doesn't decide entirely who you become. You learn all through you life, you never stop changing and learning, and in the end all that matters is the kind of person you decide to be and Kuro decided he wanted to be the kind of person this boy could rely on and call a friend, a partner. So that was what he would be. He would do everything in his power to protect his Eve for as long as the boy would have him.

"Let's go Kuro!" Said the brunette as he rushed out the door, a large grin on his face and partner leaning agianst his cheek.

"Yeah." He answered, a tiny smile on his own furry face.

THE END

I'm so sorry it took so many posts to post this trash. I didn't know tumblr had a character limit. Happy Day 1 of S.C.A.W. though. 😁

[sunbrights]

fic: somewhere surely lived (1/14)

fandom: danganronpa characters/pairings: fuyuhiko & peko are the main POV characters, and kuzupeko is the main endgame ship, but this sumbitch is a smorgasborg of characters and ships. there are 6 additional secondary ships that'll be ~special surprises~. side pairings won't be tagged, but the "relationship of the day" character will. rating: e (not all chapters have smut, but a fair number of them do) summary: Hope's Peak is not just a dating program; it's a guarantee. With the right compatible partner, the benefits are endless: boosted life expectancy, improved self-esteem, increased productivity, new opportunities, better overall work and life satisfaction. For society's elite, Hope's Peak makes finding that partner straightforward, if not easy.

It provides an Ultimate Match-- provided the participants are willing to go through its paces.

(AU based on the Black Mirror episode, "Hang the DJ.")

notes: Happy Valentine's week, friends! This fic is (almost) done and will (hopefully) be updated 3x a week between now and White Day (3/14) as a special lovey-dovey season gift from me to you!

read on AO3

2 WEEKS

“What?” she says. “That can’t be right. That’s barely any time at all.”

He taps the round, black face of his device again, but the number doesn’t change. Two weeks.

The server brings by pre-selected menu choices: poached salmon for him and parmesan risotto for her. He knew going in that the system was designed to automate as much as possible. (“Optimizing everyday decisions allows participants to focus their energy on developing their relationships,” his device had told him, after he booted it up the first time.) That doesn’t stop it from being fucking weird, having a plate slid in front of him without preamble.

He can’t find room to be pissed about it, though. The fish is cooked perfectly, exactly to his tastes. He can’t say he wouldn’t have picked it himself, if he’d been given the option; it just might’ve taken him longer to get there.

The girl is still focused on her device. She has it cupped in one hand, and is swiping through the different menu options. She’s pretty, he guesses; she has a narrow face and dark eyes, but also a short bob haircut that keeps her from looking too severe. He’s never really thought much about red hair on women... but apparently the system didn’t think much of it, either, if this is all the time it gave them.

“Usami,” she says, and it lights up to acknowledge her, “is it really only two weeks?”

“That’s right!”

“What the fuck are we supposed to do with that?” he snaps around his mouthful. The girl gives him a sour look.

“I’m sorry,” his device chirps from his elbow, “that question is too broad. Being specific helps me understand!”

“I think what he means,” she says, every word dripping with so much pointed disapproval that it makes him roll his eyes, “is why is it only two weeks?”

“Everything happens for a reason.”

“... Right.” She gives up, apparently; she sighs, and lets her wrist hang. He takes another bite.

“It’s rude to start eating before everyone else at the table, you know,” she tells him.

“You’ve got your food,” he says.

“That’s not the point! It’s…” She sighs again, and shoves the device back into her purse. “Nevermind. Let’s just start over, okay? I want to make the most of this. Two weeks or not.”

The main theme of all the literature surrounding Hope’s Peak had been that the system works if you let it. Nothing is superfluous, even if it seems like it is. Everything happens for a reason.

He swallows his bite, and leans back in the booth.

“... Fine.”

*

Mahiru is an amateur photographer following in her mother’s footsteps. It’s her first time in the system, too, and she’s about as sold on it as he is— which is to say, not quite. She offers him some of her risotto, and laughs when he refuses. “Big no to cheese, then,” she says, mixing the breadcrumbs into the rice. “Heard that one loud and clear.”

There’s a little, driverless cart waiting for them outside the restaurant when they’re finished. It pings both their devices when they get in, sets a navigation on its own, and takes them out into the sprawling grounds around the central hub.

They ride in silence, cold winter air whipping in from under the plastic shields. He puts his feet on the dash, and she sighs, loud enough that it barely even counts as passive-aggressive. He doesn’t put them back down.

The route delivers them to an isolated cottage on the western side of the grounds. It’s on the small side, just a main living area separated from what he assumes is a bedroom by a half-divider. There’s a nook of a kitchen tucked into the southeastern corner, and an automated fireplace in the middle. It’s clean and nicely furnished, inviting while still managing to stay practical.

Mahiru turns the corner into the bedroom. She stops short. “... Oh.”

He understands when he gets there. There’s only a single bed, made up in plush pillows and fluffy blankets. The bathroom hangs off the northern wall, separated by wide panes of lightly frosted glass.

The implication isn’t exactly fucking subtle.

“... I guess it’s understandable,” she says. “I mean, we are meant to be in a relationship. It’s just a little...”

“For two weeks?” he says. “Fuck that.” He plucks the squat extra blanket off the end of the bed and steps back down into the main living area. “Take it. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“Don’t you know any other words?” she complains. “If you talk like that all the time, people are going to assume you have a bad attitude.”

“Let people think whatever they want,” he answers. “I don’t give a shit.”

“So you do have a bad attitude, is what you’re saying.”

He turns on his heel. “What difference does it make to you? Do you want to share the bed?”

She flushes, and glares at her feet. “Of- Of course not! Not… Not right away, at least. I appreciate you being a gentleman about it, but you could try actually acting like a gentleman.”

“It’s only two weeks,” he tells her. He pulls out the back cushions of the couch and lines them up neatly behind it. “Don’t get so worked up over it.”

That shuts her up. She watches him make up the rest of it, her arms folded over her stomach. “You know,” she says, once he’s sat down, “you could try being a little more positive.”

“Whatever.” He kicks the decorative throw pillows off the end of the couch so that he can pull his legs up on it. Even for him, it’s a tight fit. “Let’s just go to sleep.”

*

Two weeks, it turns out, is a long, long fucking time.

*

They argue, constantly. She hassles him about his manners, his posture, the way he holds his fork. They never agree on what to do or where to go or when, and she absolutely refuses to give any ground, ever. She’s fucking insufferable.

“You’re not my goddamn mother!” he shouts across the kitchen. “I don’t need you riding my ass all the time!”

“Yeah, well, maybe if you actually pulled yourself together for once, I wouldn’t have to!” He slams the mini-fridge shut, and she tosses her hands in the air. “See? This is exactly what I’m talking about. You’re such a child, you know that?”

“Usami,” he barks at the counter.

The device lights up. “Yes, Fuyuhiko?”

“What are our options for ending a relationship?”

“Oh, that’s your solution?” Mahiru demands. “You want to run away instead of acknowledging that maybe, maybe you have some issues you should be working through?”

“The relationship will end when time is up!” the device responds, cheerful.

He ignores her, and focuses on it. “Yeah, I’m not an idiot, I know that. I mean before that.”

“All expiration dates are carefully calibrated in order to generate an accurate partner profile, which helps in selecting your Ultimate Match,” it answers. “Participants are not allowed to terminate a relationship before the expiration date has passed. Doing so would compromise the quality of the data provided to the system.”

He freezes. Across the room, so does Mahiru. “What?” she says.

“Ever?”

“That’s right!”

“We’re stuck here for another fucking week?”

“That’s right!”

It waits for more input. After it goes a few long, excruciatingly silent minutes without getting any, it dims into standby.

“Look,” Mahiru starts, and that’s how it always starts, her same bullshit speech about having an open mind and trusting the system and, if you really listen, letting her drive their whole fucking relationship. He can’t listen to it again.

“Don’t,” he snaps. He shoulders past her, and grabs his coat from the hook. “I need some goddamn air.”

*

Natsumi agrees to give him an out, on the condition that he brings her a smoothie and walks around the park with her. He does it, because if he spends one more second in that tiny-ass cottage, he’s going to lose his fucking mind, and no amount of Natsumi squeaking her straw in her plastic lid is going to measure up ever again.

Her advice is, “Have you had sex yet? You should have sex,” and he gulps down way, way too much of his coffee. He manages not to spit it all down his front, and it scalds the back of his throat instead.

“God— fucking dammit, Natsumi! Did you not listen to a word I said?”

“Yeah,” she drawls, “I listened to all of it. She tells you to pick up your shoes sometimes and you’re a little bitch about it, I get it. If it’s such a lost cause, you might as well get something out of it before time’s up.”

“I’m not gonna sleep with someone I hate!”

“Who cares about that? You said two weeks, right? I doubt the system was gunning for you guys to settle into gross domestic bliss anyway.” She slurps her smoothie. “Hatesex is a thing.”

“You’re fucking full of shit.”

“Be miserable, then! What else do you want me to say?”

He doesn’t have the chance to answer. There’s a shout behind them, and some girl skids past, nearly clipping Natsumi’s elbow. She fumbles her smoothie, and it sloshes purple all down her front.

“Hey!” she shrieks. “Watch where you’re going, bitch!”

“I’m sorry!” the girl shouts over her shoulder. She keeps running. “I’ve got a really important mission! No time to explain!”

He feels better after that.

*

“Yo, Usami,” he asks, when it’s just him in the cottage, two nights before the expiration. He sprawls out on the couch, and lets his head hang off the edge.

“Yes, Fuyuhiko?”

“What’s the fucking point of this?”

“The system evaluates your reactions to each of your relationships in order to build a complex—”

“No, I mean this. Me and her. Why put us together in the first place?”

“Everything happens for a reason.”

Could’ve seen that one coming.

She gets back not long after him. She walks right past him without looking at him, straight back into the kitchen. They’ve gone three days without saying a damn word to each other, and maybe that should feel like an improvement over the constant screaming, but it doesn’t.

It feels pointless.

He sits up on the couch. “Hey.” She barely even reacts, just tilts her head enough that he knows she heard him. “Can I kiss you?”

She looks then. She glares, right over the curve of her shoulder. “Excuse me?”

“For fuck’s sake, don’t make me say it again.”

“Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?” she snaps. “Are you seriously this petty?”

“No! That’s not it. Just—” He gestures at his device, and hopes that gets the message across. “I’m fucking trying here, okay?”

She turns her glare down at the device, and then back up at him. Her jaw works. “... Fine,” she says, and then holds up a finger before he can get a word in. “One time. Understand?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

She drops onto the couch beside him, except that she’s still too far away for him to do anything. He has to scoot to close the distance, and that makes her even more tense, shoulders drawn up and spine rigid. She stares back at him with that same, resolute glare she always wears, only now her face is a little pink, high on her cheekbones. It’d be cute, maybe, on literally anyone else.

They sit in silence. He tries to psyche himself up.

“... Well?” she demands. “How- How long are you just going to sit there? If you lost your nerve, just admit it so I can at least—”

He mutters, “Fuck, shut up,” and crushes his mouth over hers.

And yeah, he was right all along: Natsumi is full of shit.

It’s a bad kiss, and no weeks-old flare of physical attraction is enough to save it. Technically speaking, it’s fine, and contrary to what he expected Mahiru doesn’t just sit there like a dead fish; she tries maybe more than him, cupping his face in her hands and tilting him into a more comfortable angle. There’s just nothing there. It’s a wet, uncomfortable mess of lips with someone he hates.

It only lasts a few seconds before she groans and pushes him off.

“That was terrible,” she says.

It’s the first and only time he’s ever agreed with her. She slides away from him, and he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “Yeah, well. Now we know, huh? This whole thing was a fucking waste of time.”

She wraps her arms around her middle. “Yeah,” she says. “I guess it was.”

She stands up from the couch and goes to bed.

*

Two of the automated carts are sent out to pick them up on the last day. When the timer breaks five minutes, they separate into their individual rides, and wait for it to run out.

END

[komahina-vs-komahina]

How To Impress A Normal Girl [Fic]

IT’S DONE! THE FIC IS FINALLY DONE!

Here you all go. It’s under the cut…

-Mod Sonia

“They’re late.” Hajime said, pacing up and down the landing pad. “I’m not surprised, they said there was some turbulence over the radio.” Sonia replied. “Yeah,” Mahiru said, adjusting her camera. “But hey, look!” Mahiru said, pointing to the advanced Future Foundation helicopter flying effortlessly through the sky. “They’re here. No need to panic.” “I wasn’t panicking.” Hajime said as he and the “welcoming committee” moved out of the way. The large helicopter touched down. The group went to the door to greet their visitors. Makoto and Kyoko were the first ones out of the chopper, followed by Byakuya. Next came Hagakure, Hina, and Toko. Hajime and his friends greeted them. Mahiru snapped photos, despite the propeller still going and kicking dirt and rocks up everywhere. Kyoko tried to say something, trying to still look cool and collected despite her hair flying in her face, but the helicopter blades were too loud.

 "WHY HASN’T THE PILOT SHUT IT OFF!?“ Makoto shouted as loud as he could. Everyone looked at the chopper. Toko looked around and frowned. “Where’s Komaru!? I swear she was right behind me…” A cute young woman, at least a little bit younger than Makoto, stepped out. The wind from the helicopter blades made her short hair wildly blow around as well. Hajime blinked, a little bit awed. She hopped down and ran to meet up with the group just as the helicopter blades stopped whirling around. “Sorry! The pilot said he was having trouble with some something or other,” the young woman said, fixing her hair so it was back to one ahoge.

Byakuya tutted, grumbling something about the helicopter costing him an obscene amount of yen.

“He says he’ll need to fix it before we can go home, so we’ll probably be stuck here a little longer.” “Well, I suppose we did hit turbulence,” Kyoko said.

“Plus, we have three luck cycles here, now,” Mahiru added. “Anything could happen, right, Hajime?” Hajime nodded, still looking at the young woman. “Three!?” Hagakure stated. Mahiru nodded. “Nagito’s hiding in the bushes. Something about being "not being ready to be in THE Makoto Naegi’s presence again” or something. Tch, we told him it was f-“ Hagakure had already fled the group’s presence for his life. Kazuichi, who had just arrived, shook his head. "My exact reaction. Don’t worry, I can fix your helicopter.” Makoto thanked him. "Wait,” the young woman said to Mahiru as she pointed at Hajime. “You said that guy’s Hajime Hinata?” Mahiru nodded. The young woman smiled and immediately hugged Hajime, making him blush. “You’re the guy who saved my brother’s life a year ago! Thank you!” “I-It was team effort, really… Wait,” Hajime said, wiggling free. “Brother?” “Yup, I’m Komaru Naegi,” she said with a smile. “Your eyes are pretty cool, by the way…” “Thanks…” Hajime said, rubbing the back of his neck. “My secret is horrific human experimentation.” Komaru laughed nervously. Kyoko spoke up. “So, should we head for the hotel?” “Yeah,” Hina said. “We’ve been sitting on that helicopter for hours. I’ve been itching to stretch my legs…” Sonia nodded. “Hajime?” Hajime shook his head. “I’m gonna see if Kazuichi needs help. You guys go ahead.” Sonia nodded and led the group away. Hajime ran like a bat out of hell to the helicopter. “Kazuichi! We have an emergency” Kazuichi looked up from his work. “You’re telling me! When’s the last time they checked these-” “Not the helicopter! Makoto’s sister!” “What about her?” “…I didn’t realize she was cute…” A grin slowly crept up Kazuichi’s face. “Oh. Oh ho ho ho ho ho… YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON MAKOTO’S SISTER!” “Sh-shut up! I just met her…” Hajime said.  "Aaaand you’re flustered! You! Hajime “Been Cool And Collected Ever Since He Woke Up” Hinata is flustered! Oh, me and Fuyuhiko are gonna get some mileage on this…” “Dude!” Kazuichi laughed. “Relax, I’ll help you…” Kazuichi abandoned the helicopter to make his way to Hajime. “The love expert is in…” “Expert? All you’ve done is get Sonia to positively acknowledge your existence…” Hajime said, raising an eyebrow. “Shut up, as your best friend it’s my scared duty to be your wingman. Besides,” Kazuichi said, motioning to the helicopter, “I need to let… Pretty much everything in this overheated, flying hot mess cool down before I can do anything else to it.” Hajime, sensing he had no other choice, agreed. “Ask Toko what Komaru likes!” A voice called from the bushes, “they’re best friends!” “NAGITO, HE CAN ONLY HAVE ONE WINGMAN!” Kazuichi shouted back at the bush, then sighed. “But it IS a good idea. Let’s do that.” And so the two hurried to catch up with the group.

“What Komaru likes?” Toko said. “Yeah, Hajime needs to know!” Kazuichi said, throwing his arm around him. “Well, she did tell me she thinks you’re kinda cute…” Hajime felt his heart explode. Kazuichi elbowed him encouragingly. “Fine, I’ll tell you. B-but only so that you don’t disappoint her! I guess she’s pretty normal, aside from the whole “ended a middle schooler and her army of teddy bear robots’ reign of tyranny and helped stop a civil war in a city with just me and a hacking gun” thing.”

“Hey, you’re pretty normal! At least, before the whole Izuru thing!” Kazuichi said to Hajime.

Toko frowned. “ANYWAY, two things she really likes are things that are trending…” Hajime swore. He knew living as far away from the rest of civilization as possible would come back to bite him one day. “And for some reason she likes…” Toko cringed,  “manga. Especially girl’s manga.” “Girl’s manga?” Hajime thought about it for a few minutes. Then he got an idea and ran towards the second island. 

“…And here’s the library!” Sonia said the next day, showing the library off to their guests. Hina raised her hand. “Yes, Hina?” “What’s behind that tarp?” Sonia turned to look at the new tarp. “Oh. …That is an excellent question…” Hajime burst out from behind the tarp, covered in sawdust, printer ink, and paint. He was panting and had a frenzied look in his tired eyes. “Hajime? Why is there a giant tarp over the wall?” “New… Addition… To the library… Built myself… Overnight… Using my talents…” “…Why?” Everyone asked. “Got an idea… I remembered from some old animated movie…” He said, gripping the tarp and yanking it aside. Everyone’s jaw dropped. Komaru squeed. Behind the tarp was an entire new wing of the library devoted solely to manga. The shelves were filled with binders full of scanned manga pages Hajime had been printing off the Internet. Komaru ran over to check out the selection, piling them in her arms. “You have all the good ones!” She said excitedly, then nearly dropped her pile when she saw the contents of one shelf. “YOU EVEN HAVE THE OBSCURE SPIN OFF OF THE BOMB INSIDE HER!” Komaru turned to Hajime. “Why did make this?” “Cuz he thinks you’re cute.” Toko (exasperatedly) and Kazuichi (eagerly) said in unison. “…Oh…” Komaru said, blushing. Hajime nodded. “Well… Do you want to read some of these with me?” Komaru said, holding up a binder. “Sure…” Komaru grabbed Hajime by the arm and led him over to some chairs. “Oooookay, moving on!” Kazuichi said as he scooped up a stunned Makoto. “Let’s leave them alone.”

“Wait, Hajime likes my-?”

“Who wants lunch?” And so the group left. But not before Toko shot Hajime an “I’m watching you” gesture. Hajime shrugged it off and focused on Komaru. “So, where do we start?” Komaru looked at her pile and grabbed a binder. "This one! It’s an underrated classic."

Komaru then went onto gush about the series for a couple minutes. Hajime thought she was even cuter as she did so. "Well, I can’t wait to read it with you…” He said after she finished her squee fest. “Right…” She said, settling next to him so they could read the manga. And so the two read manga together happily as a date for the rest of the day.

[wonderfulchaos69-blog]

Title: Distinction of a Name Fandom: Servamp (Age AU) Characters: Mahiru, Kuro, and all the kids. Summary: The five times Mahiru was called mom, and the one time he learned why. Notes: @crazyanime3 - taking a break from the longer project, so I thought I'd write some random age au fic for you =) This idea has been on my mind since Lily called Mahiru “mom” <3

It was cold outside and none of the children had on their scarfs or hats. Mahiru was growing frustrated trying to garner their attention and finally resorted to rolling up a magazine and shouting through it, "Oi, listen up! If you don't put these on now, none of you are getting any ice cream tonight!"

The desired effect was that they were lining up to be handed what they needed to be wearing, though Hyde was struggling to put on his. It didn't help it was the longest one out of all of them and he was getting tangled up in it rather than having any success at bundling up. With an exasperated sigh, Mahiru undid the mess that Hyde had gotten himself into and asked him to stay still as he looped it around the little boys neck, tightening it up so it stayed in placed, and then patted him on top of his spiky head with a smile. "Go have fun," Mahiru encouraged, beginning to turn away.

"Thanks, mom!" called back Hyde as he ran off, only realizing what he said a heartbeat later and pausing mid-stride. From where he was, Mahiru could see the tips of his ears color as the little boy insisted, "I didn't say that, you can't prove it!"

Chuckling, Mahiru shrugged and said, "Heard what?" He didn't bring it up again, but Hyde was noticeably flustered throughout the rest of his time playing outside. He only returned to his usual behavior when Mahiru started quoting Shakespeare at him, asking questions. Hyde could never resist a good debate when it came to interpretation.

--

It was a quiet evening for a change. Most of the children were out of the house, and the few that were around were busy with their own activities. There was one lone child that tugged on Mahiru's shirt, pointing to the kitchen as he asked, "Can we bake a cake for Nii-san?"

That wasn't an bad idea. It would be a nice surprise for the snack-loving Kuro at any rate, but he couldn't resisting poking fun, wondering, "Did you eat your brother's snacks again, Wor-kun?" The screwed up face as World appeared to think of a good excuse as enough of an answer and Mahiru laughed, leading him into the kitchen as he agreed, "Let's make a cake together, then. That sounds fun."

Lighting up, World went about the place with the ease of someone who was well acquainted with where everything was, being the good assistant that Mahiru had come to expect. When it came to food. The mixing bowls were placed on the counter alongside the spoons and other things they would need. Next came the ingredients as Mahiru listed them off for World to procure for them.

Once everything was ready to go, Mahiru added the flour, salt and baking powder into one bowl, instructing World to crack the eggs into the other bowl while he watched. His assistant had certainly gotten the hang of cracking them by now and needed little to no aid. Though those first few attempts, back when they had first started cooking together, had been a test of patience.

When it came time to mix everything together and the batter became to stiffen, World began to have a harder time turning the spoon, so Mahiru walked up behind him and added his hands into the fray to better help with the stirring. One on the bowl, and one alongside World's, pressing down on the spoon to ensure the batter didn't fly out.

Happily, World told him, "You're really good at this, mom!" And that was when some of the batter did go flying out, because Mahiru had forgotten to momentarily hold down on the spoon and World's enthusiastic mixing had renewed.

They did manage to make a single-layered cake out of what was left of the batter, but it was a close thing. Mahiru didn't point out the incident that led to it, and World didn't seem to realize what he had said. It wa probably for the best.

--

The dining table was a mess of books, and among them was a shock of purple hair. A young woman slowly beginning to raise her head and level Mahiru with a squint-eyed stare as she asked, "Hey, you're almost an adult. Do we really need this much math to graduate?" She gestured to the oodles of scrap paper that had scratched out answers and formulas on them. Mahiru shifted his weight forward to take a look at what was troubling Okami and what she had accomplished thus far, hands on his hips as he let at a faint, "Hmm."

It didn't seem that difficult, what she was working on, but he had to admit, "This really is a lot of homework." Also adding in, "Are you sure this is all due tomorrow?" She gave him a blank look in response, so he elaborated, "This looks more like assigned work for the week. Did you double-check the due dates you wrote down?"

In disbelief, she dug through the mess until she reached the notebook she had written the dates down in and leafed through them to the correct page. She glanced back, mouth slightly parted in shock. "You're right, mom."

Mahiru decided not to comment; she was already searching through the assignments until she found the correct one due tomorrow and beginning to puzzle it out. He didn't want to interrupt her for something that wasn't that big of a deal.

Still, he was starting to wonder.

--

Hugh was getting ready for his part-time job, adjusting his uniform just so. Mahiru snapped a picture for memento's sake and showed it to him. "You look great," complimented Mahiru, "stop fussing over the necktie."

"It's despicable," argued Hugh, frustrated and half-tempted to throw it aside from the way he was clutching it in his hand. "Who on Earth wears bow ties in this day in age?"

Mahiru set his phone on the nearest surface and took the necktie from him, stepping closer to redo the bow that should have been there. "You never know," Mahiru said, "you might have liked them if you grew up in the Victorian Era. You strike me as the type."

Offended, Hugh straightened his new bow and insisted, "I could never. These things are a dreadful abomination. What sort of person do you take me for?"

Considering that for a moment, Mahiru tapped his chin and then snapped his fingers, grinning as he said, "I think you look posh. That's the word, right?"

With reddened cheeks, Hugh dropped his gaze to the floor and scoffed. "Yes, it is, but ... what needless flattery. Well, I should be going, mother. I'm going to be late if I don't hurry."

Hugh was already out the door before Mahiru could correct him.

--

Cleaning the house was a relaxing way to pass the time while the kids were preoccupied with their own things. It was a nice, measured duty that required little thought, ingrained in him from years of maintaining his own living space for fear it would never get done otherwise. He could break in the new headphones that Sakuya had gifted him with as well, turning up his music while he hummed under his breath for the rest of the household's entertainment.

He had gotten lost in his own mind when he felt a tap to his shoulder, which caused him to let out a shriek and jump a food in the air at the unexpectedness. Clutching at his heart, he took his headphones off and turned to give the person in question his full attention. Mahiru nearly gave another shriek at coming face to face with a smiley-faced paper bag, Jeje leaning down to whisper, "Mom, I lost something."

Instead of fixing what was wrong in that sentence, Mahiru simply asked, "What did you lose?"

Jeje made an aborted motion to his chest, where a wind-up toy's key was usually hanging, and then mumbled, "Forget it."

"No, no, stop right there." Mahiru reached out and patted his arm in reassurance. "If it's important to you, it's important to me, too. Let's look for it together."

They did eventually find the missing key, hidden behind the couch, but Mahiru never did discover why everyone was calling mom lately.

--

Rocking Tsubaki to sleep in his arms, Mahiru was glad there was at least one sane child in the house that didn't take him for a mom of any sort. He was supposed to be their babysitter, not their mother, and he would have to ask Kuro what he thought about it. Not that he didn't like the idea of being a part of the family, but it would probably make it awkward for the younger kids if he let the charade continue. It was bad enough that Lily called him that all the time now, when he could get away with it at least, and his best friend just thought it was funny until Kuro was brought up.

With a bubbly laugh, Tsubaki clutched at the sleeve of Mahiru's shirt, swinging it back and forth and making sounds that gave of the impression of, "Ma, ma." That could have Mahiru hearing things, he was determined to believe, and he concentrated on the front door as he waited for Kuro to come home. His steadfast determination paid off as the door creaked open and Kuro came in loaded down with grocery bags, an enthused Hyde commenting on how great it was that he beat a certain angel to the last box of cereal. From the bruise on his cheek, it looked like he hadn't escaped unscathed and Kuro was scolding him before shooing him off to the kitchen with the grocery bags.

"How was everything?" Kuro asked, already holding out his arms to take Tsubaki. The child didn't seem willing, pouting and burying his face into Mahiru's shirt as he stopped laughing. "Huh, that's new."

"It was fine, but Kuro ... there's something I've been meaning to ask."

Worried, Kuro asked, "Are you sure everything was fine then?"

After shifting Tsubaki to a more comfortable position, using his hip to keep the child supported, he flat-out questioned, "Where is all this mother stuff coming from?"

Kuro gave an intelligent, "Huh?" His head tilted to the side, baffled. "What?"

"All of the kids!" Mahiru began. "They've all been calling me mom! Every single one of them."

"Er ..." For some strange reason, Kuro was beginning to guilty, as if caught red-handed with his hand in the cookie jar. "That ... could be my fault."

Gaping, Mahiru asked, "How?!"

"Do you want a list?" Sheepishly, Kuro rubbed at the back of his neck. "It just ... slips out sometimes. As a joke."

"A joke," deadpanned Mahiru. "You joke about me ... being a mom?" He had mixed feelings about that, but more importantly: "You're confusing the kids! Stop that!"

Placing his hands over his ears, Kuro whined, "Can't deal," and started to follow after Hyde into the kitchen.

"Not so fast, mister, we're going to have a talk," corrected Mahiru, Tsubaki delightedly clapping his hands with the return of the, "Ma, ma," sounds.