#Street Food with Senpai Kai

[dr-archeville]

Making Mumbai's Biggest Sandwich | Street Food with Senpai Kai [source]

[landofzero-archive]

Battle on the Sugoroku Board - The Die Has Been Cast 1

(Location: Time Street)

Rinne: Fuah, fu……Aa~ So sleepy……

So glad that “Beehive”’s a success. Wasn’t expecting it to be so lively till morning, but it turned out to be a good distraction for me.

Now then. My head’s spinning after that all-nighter, so I guess it’s about time for me to go home and sleep.

Madara: Good Morniiiiiiiing!

Rinne: Shut up……!?

What. Are you just coming home from staying out all night? You’re a bad kid, don’t come to me if the police detain you.

Madara: Hahaha. My bad, my bad. I saw a familiar face, so, ya know.

I’m just being consistent with SS and wanted to return the favouur!

Rinne: Oi oi, are you for real, Mikeneko-chan. (1)

About that, that’s just how that was directed. I can’t compete with someone who goes around raising his voice everywhere.

Madara: Mikeneko-chan?

Rinne: Isn’t it a good nickname for someone with a free spirit? It’s a cuter name than the dangerous bees that sting people ♪

More importantly. Why are you here? Meeting an idol who roams about in a playground isn’t impressive ya know?

Madara: Unfortunately however, I wasn’t out enjoying the nightlife.

Even though MaM’s been feeling like it’s being neglected, lately the jobs have been increasing little by little.

I’ve been loitering around here since morning, trying to take advantage of this momentum and see if it would turn into a job for me.

The shopping district is around here, I’m sure there are lots of people from the industry world who would be returning home in the morning after staying out all night, just like Rinne-san.

Rinne: I see. I really thought you stayed up all night and it got you all excited.

But still, feeling neglected by the entertainment business huh…… That sounds pretty familiar.

The world is relentless in so many ways, right? Rinne-kun’s starting to hate it……!

Madara: CrazyB’s been feeling neglected too huh. I heard about it a lot from Kohaku-san.

Because I get into trouble every time I take up a job, it feels like I only get handed strange jobs that everyone else would shy away from, or something.

Rinne: Yep yep. It’s really horrible. It’s not fun to just be surrounding yourself with people who are goody-two-shoes right?

That’s why I’m rooting for you too, Mikeneko-chan.

’Kay. As an older brother, I’m gonna treat you to a beef bowl!

There’s nothing more delicious to eat than a beef bowl after staying up all night. It’s a farewell gift from me, so eat it! (2)

Madara: A beef bowl? No, I’m not particularly hungry.

Rinne: What, you’re saying you’re not gonna eat my beef bowl?

You’re so cold~ You’re going to reject this Senpai-in-life who’s really raring to go?

Even though I really wanna go eat some food with Mikeneko-chan~?

Madara: I get it, I get it. If you’re insisting that much, I’ll join you.

Mutual fate!(3) Meeting you here must have been some sort of fate. right?

(Location: Season Avenue (In Front of Convenience Store))

(30 minutes later)

Rinne: I ate, I ate ♪

 Wow, after that nourishment resupply, my headache is settling down considerably! Thank you!

Madara: Me too. It was a treat.

Well then, it’s about time I get going. I was actually in the middle of a walk, seee.

I’m going to try to find some interesting job or other while on the walk.

Madara: ……Ohh?

Rinne: What’s this? Mikeneko-chan, your smartphone and mine are ringing at the same time?

Madara: Rinne-san, this is a KiraKira Mail. It seems that a new job request’s come up.

Rinne: “Battle on the Sugoroku Board”——A multiple agency inter-agency competition in which idols from CosPro and NewDi will participate in, huh?

It’s “Open World Sugoroku” where you fight using dice…... I don’t get what that means,but basically, you fight in units based on your agency.

I thought we’re finally going to hit it off, but things never go so smoothly, huh.

”Yesterday’s enemy is today’s enemy too” and all that ♪

Madara: Hahaha. It’s a fitting curtain call for us.

Looking from the perspective of the SS Final competition, it’s like yesterday’s enemy has come to become an opponent once again.

In any case, this is the new job that we’ve been eagerly waiting for.

It’s disappointing that the objective of my walk was realized in an unexpected way, but I can’t say thaat. Let’s reply to this in a positive way.

Rinne: Yeah. Of course I’ll be participating too. It’s sorta rare to get to do jobs from over that side ♪

Welp, I guess it’s time I go home now. Hope you’ll go easy on me the next time we meet ♪

Madara: Ah. I’m looking forward to it toooo. Let’s compete fair and square.

Rinne: Gyaahaha ♪ Coming from you?

Weeell, I’m looking forward to it. In more ways than one ♪

TL Notes 1. Calico kitty. Referencing Mikejima’s name, as the 'Mike' in his name can be read as ‘tri-coloured’ which uses the same kanji as in the word for Calico cat (Mikeneko).

2. Yes he said farewell gift ( 餞別 )…I have no idea why either.

3. 合縁奇縁 - a four character idiom that describes the relationship that happens between two people due to fate.

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[chil2de]

Hi!! if possible can i please request yuuta having a girlfriend that’s his childhood friend? (So like instead of rika it’s y/n and she doesn’t die) that loves to dote on him cause that boy needs some love. Thank you!! <3

PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE THIS MADE ME SO SOFT!!!!! ohmygod!!!! growing up with yuuta would be THE best onshdhfsh thank you sososos much anon this was such a pleasure to write! i don’t know why but the “and she doesn’t die” had me screaming LMFAOOOO

enjoy! no warnings, just old fashioned cute fluff and heart wrenching moments! thank you for giving me the opportunity to write for the best boy mwaaah you deserve eternal happiness! hope no insects bite you during these warm months <3

“okkotsu!” you cried out, feminine and shrill voice ringing in the air. the cicadas chirped melodiously, calling out their delightful songs in the spring air.

the young boy staggered around, losing his balance from spinning too fast. his fragile hands reached out, pulling in small grabby motions towards your innocent and joyous face.

you were always so optimistic, even when you were younger. yuuta could only huff and wail as his caretaker hauled him away from the playground, gesturing it was time for him to come home. thick and messy tears spilled out the corners of his eyes which hadn’t yet endured countless sleep devoid nights.

he was so far away, but that was okay because you knew you’d see him the very next day.

“okkotsu! promise to play with me again tomorrow!” you cupped your hands, exclaiming as much as your little lungs could endure. yuuta could see the tears heavy in your gaze, but even then, you prevailed. you grinned, all for him.

ever since the very start. till ‘death do us apart.

-

“okkotsu! come oooon, don’t cry, okay? (y/n)’s got your back! see, see?! look! they don’t bite!” you braved a smirk on your features, beckoning the shy and introverted young man over. his face looked uncertain and his lips wobbled as though he could crack at any moment. he took a few cautious steps, maintaining his distance between you and the furry animal on the floor.

“r-really? it won’t bite?” he coughed, reaching his unstable fingertips out.

“eh?! that’s the first time you’ve spoken to me! your voice is so nice! it’s so cool! hey! can i hear it again? pleaaaase? i know you’re shy but i’d really like to hear it! hey, okkotsu, say my name? pretty please?”

“um- i, uh.. it’s okay.. you can call me yuuta.”

-

“yuuta! you’re going to be late for your first day of junior high! i totally told you to wake up on time too!” you stood with your hands rested firmly on your hips, face stern and tone impatient.

“sorry! sorry- it’s um, my hair. i don’t know how to style it.” he admitted, albeit sheepishly by trailing the last few words off into a murmur. you only gave him a sigh before kneeling down behind him, propping yourself up to take a look at his hair in the reflection of the mirror.

“how on earth are you so tall already? we eat the same food, you know. slouch over a little.” you pinched his cheeks before glossing over his hair.

when you ran your fingertips through his hair, you felt butterflies and anxiety rock your stomach.

that’s never been there before.

you’ve touched yuuta countless times, whether that was accidentally hitting him, holding his hand to cross the street…

so why was it different?

you could feel yuuta’s body tense up and run rigid underneath your touch.

that definitely wasn’t there before.

“relax. it’s me.” you cooed quietly, roughing up his hair into different styles.

“like this? looks like you just woke up, sorta, but i think it’s cute.”

yuuta’s heart rate skyrocketed through the roof and his breath hitched.

“cute?” he reiterated, chewing out the phrase like he’d never heard it before in his life.

“hm? yeah-“

you caught his gaze in the mirror, eyes half lidded and attention averted. the tips of his ears were tainted a deep red with small flicks of blush painting his cheeks.

“eh?! nononono- not like that i’m- i just think it suits you, you know? oh, crap, would you look at the time? okay we gotta go and leave!” you clambered out of his bedroom, thudding the door shut behind you.

yuuta only gawked at you with bewilderment, lips slightly parted and fingertips outstretched in his failed attempt to stop you.

he turned to himself in the mirror, studying his features before running one hand through his jet black locks.

“cute, huh?” he muttered, avoiding his own judgemental gaze.

-

the bittersweet part about growing up with a childhood friend is change.

for all the time that you’d spent with yuuta, you didn’t realise that your relationship with him was something to not take for granted.

especially with those around you who would kill for what you two have.

you’d always get mundane questions from high school girls who thought they could have a shot with him, “what’s his type?” “do you think he likes me?”

meanwhile you only played along with their charades, laughing inwardly when he was actually extremely introverted.

“so? what’s the deal with you and okkotsu-san? you guys dating?”

“no. we’re just friends.”

“seriously? you guys are always glued at the hip. you know he has a picture of you in his locker, right?”

“yeah? so do i. it doesn’t mean anything.”

“it’s kind of a shame, he’s such a nice young man.. gone to waste like that..”

“what’s gone to waste?” yuuta inquired with an indifferent tone, plopping down beside you with his bento box. the classmate sat opposite you only gave him a phony cheerful temperament, twirling her index finger around her hair.

“oh! okkotsu-senpai! we were just talking about you! how was your da-“

“please leave.”

you could only gape at him in your peripherals, sputtering on your sandwich as you watched the life drain from your classmate at his monotony. yuuta didn’t spare you or the girl a glance as he worked to unpack his lunch, hell the guy even murmured a small itadakimasu as if nothing happened.

“wh- okkotsu senpai?”

“listen.” he let out a deep sigh before proceeding.

“whatever shot you thought you had with me? it’s gone out the window. don’t disrespect (y/n) in front of me like that again.”

“you’re making us uncomfortable, so get up and go.” he motioned with his chopsticks, giving her a dead gaze towards another table.

the girl scoffed, mouth hung wide open as she picked up her bag and stormed out of sight.

whilst your face was as blank as a stone, internally, you were only screaming in the depths of piping hot hell visible from the sun itself.

baby girl? that was when you noticed how fucking fine of a man yuuta grew up to be.

“that was seriously nerve wracking.. my stomach hurts so bad right now” yuuta coughed through a bite of his sandwich, refusing to meet your gaze.

you slapped his back, because, holy shit??? awe painted your face like you just witnessed your own child talking or walking for the first time.

“what the shit? yuuta? are you kidding?”

“oh, huh? did i overdo it or something?“

“no?! are you kidding? that was fucking awesome! i swear! this is why i love you-“

oh.

uh oh.

oh no.

yuuta let out a shrill squeak unbeknownst to any human being able to produce such a volume. it was a cross between a floorboard creaking, a mouse sniffing and him choking on his food. the poor boy had to excuse himself to the bathroom, hacking and sniffling in an ugly fit of coughs from the food that got caught in his windpipe.

your blood rushed to your head, veins lit ablaze, bones rattling as you could hear the chatter pound and drill into your skull, scoring you deep and down into your bones.

“did she just say she loves him?”

“i totally knew they were going out!”

“i can’t believe it…”

“do you think he’ll reject her?”

it replayed over, and over, and over. what a fucking fool you felt. did he even feel the same?

that’s why i love you.

i love you.

i love you.

a blob of black clouded your vision and you could hear the glass breaking.

yuuta sat himself back down, excusing himself.

you could hear nothing but the tune of his heartbeat. or was it yours? it sounded too heavy to belong in either of your bodies.

his voice came as a wobble because of his anxiety, but this was the one thing in his life he’d be absolutely certain of.

“that’s okay. i love you too.”

-

“yuuta? you okay? you’ve been spacing out for at least five minutes. something on your mind?” you lightly shake your boyfriend, grip reassuring but firm. it takes a couple of seconds for his gaze to gloss over as he returns back to reality.

“sorry. was just thinking about our childhood, that’s all.” his voice comes out deep and masculine. it doesn’t have that tremor as it used to before, like he’d break down at any minute.

you can say with absolute certainty as you stare up your entire 5’10 boyfriend that he’s matured well.

his hand snakes around to your waist, pulling you into him for comfort.

some ways better than others, you suppose.

“can we stay home today?” he hums, resting his chin on top of your head,

“same as ever, yuuta, aren’t you? it’s fine, i’ll tell nobara my period’s making me act up. she’ll understand-“

“hm? you’re not due for another week though, right?”

you crease your eyebrows as you type out an apology to nobara for cancelling plans, glancing up at yuuta curiously.

“how the heck do you know that?”

“i’m not supposed to? i’d always count your cycle so i wouldn’t irritate you on the wrong day. besides, don’t you think it was too convenient for you to always find snacks in your locker when it rolled around?”

“those snacks were you?! oh my god! i was trying to figure that out for forever!”

“i know. i remember you ranting to me about it.”

“you just sat there?! yuuta! you’re so cheeky sometimes, i swear!”

“only for you.” he chimes, peppering a soft kiss onto your head. you smile against him, though unfortunately pry out of his familiar and welcoming touch.

“i’m gonna step out for a second tho, ‘kay? i think that’s itadori at the door with my chocolate and painkillers” you snort, giving yuuta a bold wink as you put on your best act, keeling over and clutching at your abdomen as though you’re on death’s door.

“you’re awful.” yuuta chuckles, slumping down onto the sofa to hear the events unfold right in front of him.

you clear your throat and slouch your shoulders as you pry the apartment door open.

“(y/n)-senpai! i came as fast as i could and i brought you some of your favourite sna- oh, okkotsu-senpai! hello!”

“hi there.” he leans his head back, giving itadori a small wave.

“i won’t interrupt you guys so get well soon! and fast! cause i wanna hang out with you! bye!”

you cradle the necessities itadori brought whilst gleaming at yuuta with a wicked grin plastered on your face from ear to ear.

“you want anything?” you cock an eyebrow, showing him the arrangement of snacks.

it’s not the answer you were expecting, but it definitely wasn’t unwelcome. it made you feel warm inside, like eating warm and soothing soup on a cold winter’s day. this, for you, was okkotsu yuuta at his best, stripped clean and vulnerable.

you’re the only one who he can relax around, act like the world is carefree. like he’s young again, prancing around in that dingy colourful playground he met you at.

“i want you to kiss me.”

[heyitsyn]

Keeping Up With Seijoh Ep. 4

a/n: uwuwuwuwu @animesportboys​ and i were just talking about this and my heart was just bursting at this thought 😭

for more seijoh content, check this masterlist out!

also requests are currently closed right now since i have like nearly 30 to finish so please be patient with me and wait for me to finish it all and until then i can open them up again. however, dont stop sending me cute stuff okay?  🥺

summary: its the time of the month for seijoh’s manager 🥺

@ yn when shes extra moody and mean during that time and does this every time she hears anything even come out of the boys’ mouth

oh dear

so basically

it’s,,,,,, a natural thing that most girls go through every month for more than half of their lives and its absolutely D R E A D F U L

the boys ofc knew what the hell a period was bc hello health class so they knew you would become this,,, other version of yourself

youd be moodier, childish, and easy to annoy and snap to everyone

but you would quickly realize how you’re acting then be all regretful and teary and cry easily and then youd forget about it then start the cycle again

you’d stick your tongue out at them and tease them mercilessly, making them run even more laps and pushing them harder

‘I SEE THOSE ARMS SHAKING, IWAIZUMI HAJIME. ADD 15 MORE TO THAT ROUTINE’

‘WHAT?!’

‘IF I SEE YOU EVEN A STEP BEHIND KINDAICHI, YOU WILL BE RUNNING 8 MORE LAPS KUNIMI’

‘NOO!!!!’

‘CHECK YOURSELF OUT ONE MORE TIME, YAHABA, I WILL GOUGE OUT YOUR EYES’

‘HAVE MERCY!!!!’

dear god they hated it

when it was time, they would protect themselves and work even harder and be more perfect to make sure you couldnt see their faults and point them out and try and kill them

it was like war for everyone

but they didnt know the exact date it started so they didnt really know when to start preparing for war until it came

this time, you didnt either

you didnt even know you were starting as you were extra busy booking the buses for away comps and collecting and emailing teachers for any missed homeworks for the team

so when it did start,,,

oh dear part 2

it wasnt really something you found out when you woke up that morning but you noticed you must be getting close since you were feeling extra cranky and you havent even been awake for more than an hour

nothing really happened throughout the day so you were just thinking that you didnt get enough sleep last night so you were just tired and wanted to sleep

but then it happened

you were standing next to iwa, reviewing his spike percentages when you shifted your weight to the other leg and then your eyes widened

your water broke

i saw this tiktok of this one girl and she was about to start filming with her friend when her eyes widened and her friend knew immediately and her caption was ‘my water broke’

iwa was worried as heck on to what was going on with you and even followed your gaze to see it on the wall and nothing out of the ordinary

‘y/n?’

‘oh god’

you mumbled and you wanted to run but you were too scared that you leaked and probably have an obvious redness on your white track pants

yep it def was your time bc you felt tears welling up in your eyes and you sniffled, embarrassed and upset for this to happen now, of all times

then oikawa tooru bursted through the doors

iwa, taking his eyes off of you and to the captain, started to yell at him until he noticed the brunette’s flushed face and panting form, hunched over as he gripped on the door handle with the plastic bag

you, too busy trying to think of a way to get out of there like deciding to waddle or to just crawl, didnt see oikawa as he approached you

the team paused and watched as he took a black hoodie from the plastic bag and wrapped it around your waist

‘hmm, y/n-chan, better get dressed so we can go now’

he hummed and you snapped out of your panic and looked up at him with watery eyes

‘oikawa-san’

you whispered and he nodded, eyes knowing what was going on

‘coach, theres a planetarium special tonight’

oikawa shouted without tearing his gaze away from you and coach irihata instantly knew, knowing the code that oikawa came up with when you became a part of the family team

the elder coach made a noise of agreement and oikawa didnt wait to up and carry you in his arms and waved to the team while pushing your head in his chest so you can hide

‘work hard everyone!’

‘oi, shittykawa! what the hell-!’

but an intense side-eye from his best friend shut him up and he knew something happened so he didnt say anything since he trusts oikawa to fix it

‘i trust you will take care of them, iwa-chan’

iwaizumi nodded firmly before shouting to resume back to practice and he himself went back to the line for spikes

you were carried to the bathroom so you could change into your emergency undies and pad and after you did your business, oikawa noticed you uncomfortably waddling towards him so he took you back into his arms

oikawa continued to carry you like his bride down the street towards an unknown destination, humming a children’s show tune that takeru loved to watch, while you maintained curled around yourself, partly due to the shame but also from the pain in your abdomen

you wiped the few stray tears that spilled past your eyes and oikawa chuckled when he noticed you aggressively wipe them off

‘hmm, y/n-chan, you shouldnt do that to yourself. it irritates your eyes and the skin around it so gently dab it next time, kay?’

you nodded, burrowing back to his chest and breathing in his scent

french toast

he smelled like french toast as the smell of caramel and vanilla wafted into your nose

‘howd you know’

you mumbled against the fabric of his jacket

oikawa stopped his humming and replaced it with a chuckle

‘oh, y/n-chan. oikawa-san is a reliable senpai, dont you know? i got a tracker! just for you!’

he answered and your eyes moved from his arm to his smile and you gripped his jacket tighter, fingers curled around it as if it was your lifeline

‘thank you, oikawa-san’

your words of appreciation made oikawa’s heart thump and he faltered a little, blush creeping up his neck, but he fought it down, covering it up with a smirk

‘you should be, y/n-chan! girls would kill to be you right now!’

you rolled your eyes at the return of his cocky attitude but you knew better

the real oikawa tooru was under that mask

turns out, he carried you to his home as his house was the closest while yours had to be taken by a bus

thankfully his parents were out and his sister and nephew were in a trip in tokyo that you had the house to yourselves without anyone asking questions that might make you uncomfortable and them misunderstand

he shut the door with his foot and made his way up the stairs with ease, his strength truly impressing you at that moment, before settling you down on his bed

it wasnt even on purpose but you curled yourself on his blanket, head buried in his pillow

his heart combusted and tooru had to look away or else he wouldve jumped on you and coddled you forever

instead, he quickly ran over and knelt down under his desk to reach for the box that he has prepared for you

‘y/n-chan, i never knew your pattern until last month so i was able to prepare for you now’

you looked up from your position on the bed and sat up enough to see him standing there, grinning with a mint green box

‘wh-what is that?’

you asked and he shuffled over, sitting next to you

‘this, is the y/n care love box! this special box was created by yours truly with everything you want and need during this dreadful week. theres your favorite food, warm socks, coupons you can spend like watching movies and eating ten tubs of ice cream while we talk shit about the boys’

he listed, gripping the box nervously 

‘so? do you like it?’

he looked away from the box and to you but his smile slipped into a panicked one when he saw you silently crying and biting your lip to keep the sobs in

‘y-y/n-chan! i-its okay if y-you dont like it! o-oikawa-san can-’

‘no!’

you cut him off and lunged to hug him with all your might

hehe all might

E A T   T H I S

‘i love you so much, oikawa-san! so much! thank you!’

you sobbed into his neck and he tightly hugged you back, lifting you so you could comfortably sit on his lap straddle him if you want me to be straight forward

oikawa gently moved so he was leaning against the wall that his bed was pressed against while you were pressed against his warmth

his fingers were drawing small circles on your back and whispering corny jokes or puns that made you giggle and laugh and occassionally, he would kiss your nose and you would whine at the ticklish feeling

eyes fleeting around the room, your eyes settled back on the box and you reached out, wanting to grab it until oikawa beat you to it and snatched it for you then placed it on your hold

‘whats inside, oikawa-san?’

you cutely mumbled, sitting comfortably back on his thighs so you could open the box in front of you

oikawa laughed

‘just open it and figure it out yourself, y/n-chan’

you pouted at his tease but smiled widely when you revealed the contents inside

‘oikawa-san!’

his eyes followed your surprised expression and his hands gripped your waist

‘you like it?’

he whispered and you nodded, looking back up at him and kissing his cheek, his 

‘youre so sweet, oikawa-san! like-like this candy bar! howd you know i like this?’

you held up the treat and he shrugged

‘i keep seeing you get it whenever we go to the store’

you continued to sift through the things, seeing a dvd of your favorite movie, a f/c heating pad, a note that said your favorite ice cream was in the fridge, a bag of your favorite chips, fluffy socks, the goodies

you didnt even notice yourself crying again, only realizing it when there were wet spots beneath you

oikawa saw this and he quickly but gently put the box to the side and cradled your face with both of his hands, softly wiping the tears away with his thumbs

‘aw, dont cry, my little baby. princesses should never cry’

you sniffled and choked a laugh

‘hah, n-not a baby. j-just hor-monal’

you complained and oikawa snickered but shook his head then kissed your nose again

‘youre my baby’

you didnt have it in you to complain so you went back to snuggling into him

oikawa squeezed you and went back to drawing the circles on your back and he felt you relax into his touch and slump against his form, slowly starting to snore

your head rested on his shoulder and he turned slightly to watch your eyes flutter and nose scrunch when a strand of your hair fell on it

his heart continued to beat faster and faster and it showed by the way his fingers shook as he carefully lifted the hair away from you

he slowly bent down to give you a kiss on the forehead before laying you down to sleep more comfortably

‘good night, princess’

he sweetly placed a last kiss on your cheek before getting up to go prepare your heating pad for when you wake up

the next few days were possibly the best period days youve ever had

maybe because it was oikawa telling the team that you were in,,,,, satan’s domain currently and they should be careful with you so they tried their best to lift the weight and burden off of your shoulders

however,,

the next day after the incident,,,

they still didnt know what was wrong with you and oikawa forgot to text the gc about your condition so they were still unknowing

like today

during your classes, you were feeling off, almost nauseous but eating little bits of your chocolate treats were helping you get through until lunch

ofc kunimi noticed bc hellow he sits next to you and he doesnt pay attention during class so hes been watching you sneak little bites so the teacher doesnt see and ducking under your book

he was just amused with the way your eyes would widen if you thought the teacher caught you

kindaichi and kunimi and you usually ate lunch together at your classroom since you three only got to hang out as first years during lunch

so they know you usually have a bento with you and have a general idea of how much you eat

and kunimi thought since you ate all those chocolates earlier, you wouldnt eat as much food but then he saw you scarf down your bento, eat 2 more bags of chips and was finishing last chocolate bar

kindaichi,,,, wasnt even finished with his own bento and was watching you, amazed, at how easily you ate all of it

they didnt say anything since they thought you just didnt eat dinner last night but even during the walk towards the gym for after school practice, you were complaining that you were hungry and was eating another chocolate bar

they thought something was truly wrong bc you were eating so much more than usual

kunimi watched you chew on it as you opened the gym door and still ate even when you were talking to mattsun about his jump height

‘man, you sure are hungry, aren’t you, y/n? thats like your fifth chocolate bar today’

kunimi teased, grabbing a ball to spike but he froze, seeing you with the coldest and angriest look hes ever seen

you blinked at him, grip tightening on the treat, and mattsun slowly backing away from you

you advanced towards the blep boy, treat already forgotten and shoved to be held by mattsun 

despite your shorter height than kunimi, he trembled slightly as you looked up at him

‘are you calling me fat, kunimi? are you? am i fat? do you think im ugly? im a piggie?’

you ranted and slowly started crying, making kunimi frantically scramble to stop you before the other upperclassmen see or worse, oikawa-san

‘y/n-wait-no!-um’

‘y/n-chan?’

kunimi shut his eyes tightly in fear at the deadly sweet voice of his captain and kindaichi and mattsun sent a quick prayer to their fellow teammate before he was going to get killed

‘uh oh, i think we’d have to start looking for a replacement for kunimi’

makki, who just arrived, teased making kindaichi fearfully look at him

‘eh?!’

‘oh, you first years have never seen oikawa mad, have ya? well, you’ll get front seat of it!’

mattsun clapped him in the back making him gulp

you werent sobbing but you were definitely crying, tear tracks quickly being wetted by the numerous amount of tears that fell

kunimi scrambled to his knees and folded himself, forehead resting on the floor by his hands

‘I APOLOGIZE! PLEASE DONT KILL ME! I APOLOGIZE! PLEASE FIND MERCY IN YOURSELF AND FORGIVE ME, Y/N-SAMA!’

it was certainly a sight to see

normally calm and collected and chill and relaxed hippie kunimi begging to be forgiven

oikawa stepped forward but you quickly felt the change of your mood, feeling bad for your boy and scrambling to pull him back up

‘oh kunimi-kun! dont kneel like that! the floor is too hard and might give you knee pain!’

it was like whiplash

iwa stepped in the gym and saw the team’s confused and bewildered expressions and saw you, kunimi, and oikawa and he shook his head

this aint even half of bad as he has seen

oikawa gently took you away from kunimi and held you to him instead, giving you a smile, to which you returned, and looked at kunimi, a deadly glint in his eye

‘what happened, y/n-chan?’

the tone of his voice sent a chill to run down everyone’s spines and even iwa, the boy who’s seen this a handful of times, shivered and nervously watched oikawa, ready to jump in

but you just blinked, completely unaware of the change of atmosphere

‘oh, um, i overreacted. i was eating too much food today and mustve annoyed him or something’

you sheepishly mumbled but oikawa was having none of it

‘no, its fine. youre literally bleeding out as we speak! dont feel the need to validate yourself!’

he lightly scolded while you hung your head low and continued to apologize but he gently bonked your head before scolding you again

the team definitely knew now that you were in that,,,, time and they definitely knew now, especially kunimi, that even if youve seen oikawa mad, youd think that the devil was more merciful than him when it relates to the topic of you

a/n: i swear to GGGOOOOODDDDDD im an oikawa whore who cant seem to stop writing for him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ssamie]

six. “friends die together”

kozume kenma x fem dazai!reader

(bsd x hq)

tw: mentions of suicide 

masterlist.           suicide freak!

kenma slowly opened his eyes. the dim rays of the sun were slowly peeking through his bedroom window as he stretched and rolled around his bed, wrapping himself up in a blanket burrito as he felt his eyes slowly fluttering close once again. 

it had been atleast a week since he's actually gotten sleep, and now he's just trying to relish in the feeling of rest before he completely disregards it again. 

all of a sudden, his phone rang. 

"what the.." he mumbled with a groan 

it was currently five in the morning, and he knew kuroo was smart enough not to call him. especially since kenma would usually just be gaming or would just straight up ignore him. 

"hello?" he muttered to the phone, not bothering to check the ID 

"good morning!" y/n's chirpy la-di-da voice resonated from the phone 

immediately, kenma groaned and rolled his eyes. he had to fight the urge of hanging up the phone then and there. 

"what do you want? and why are you calling me so early in the morning?" kenma asked 

"now, now! don't be so stingy kenma-kun!" she laughed "i just wanted to check up on ya, that's all" she said, followed by soft humming of a melody 

kenma blinked as he groggily listened to her words. "oh. okay.." 

"thanks for that, i guess.." he said 

"aww! your voice is all deep and gravelly in the morning! very hot." she chirped 

kenma sighed. he could practically sense the stupid flirty smile appearing on her face. "and you sound oh so happy. as always." kenma chirped back sarcastically

a small smile grazed his lips as she started laughing on the other line. 

"oh, kenma! you're so funny!" she chuckled "when have i ever been happy?" 

"wait what-" 

"anyways, kenma-kun.." she trailed off, her cheerful tone now dropped as an eerily serious and guarded one replaced it. 

"y-yes?" kenma gulped 

"im afraid im in a tight spot as we speak. its quite critical. please come to the location i will send you." she spoke in a monotonous tone 

"huh? wait!" kenma exclaimed. he sat up on his bed, subconsciously reaching for his nekoma jacket which was messily laid out on the foot of his bed. "what are you talking about?" he asked, his hands were shaking, as well as his voice. 

"its a crisis! only you can help!" she said 

"okay. i-i'll be there.." 

humming under her breath, y/n patiently waited for kenma to arrive. she didn't have so much faith at first, but once she heard the soft thumping of feet on the ground, she grinned. 

"w-what happened?" kenma asked through ragged breaths as he skidded to a halt infront of her "a-and what are you wearing?" kenma asked 

he took notice of her rather formal attire, laying underneath the sand colored coat she had. his brows then shot up as he calmed his ragged breathing. 

"is this because of your weird detective work thing? did you get trapped?" kenma asked worriedly. when she didn't answer, he simply panicked even more. "why did you call me?! you should've called those other detective people!" kenma exclaimed 

"i got in myself" she admitted with a small innocent smile 

"what?" kenma deadpanned, now starting to regret running atleast eight blocks just to help her 

"well, you see.. i heard there's a way to commit suicide by getting stuck in an oil drum. so i decided to give it a shot" she said with the same innocent smile. she then chuckled sheepishly as she started sinking deeper into the oil drum. 

"but now that i've wedged myself in this deep, i can't get out on my own" she said 

kenma simply stared her down, looking unamused, tired and annoyed. "i see." he says 

"i think i might die" she pouted as she sank deeper into the drum. 

kenma grunted and sat on the ground, sitting a few feet from the drum she was stuck in. he was kind of impressed on how her whole body hadn't snapped in two yet. 

"well, isn't that what you wanted?" kenma said with a huff of annoyance 

"i like suicide" she said with a scoff, sounding somewhat offended "but i don't like suffering and pain! why would i?" 

"i see" kenma said with a sigh. he sat up from the ground and narrowed his eyes, trying to look for a way to free her from the oil drum

"also, i learned this only after i stuffed myself in here, but it wasn't even a suicide method!" she laughed 

"but, it was actually a torture method from the-" 

before she could even finish her sentence, she was cut off as kenma pushed the oil drum over, sending her and the drum rolling off. he let out a huge breath of air as he cradled his aching hands. 

"ni-nice job, kenma-kun" she squeaked out as she wiggled free of the drum. "but now.. we have only an hour left before school starts" she said as she patted down her clothes and combed her fingers through her hair 

"and i heard from nekomata-san that he has some news that you boys would surely love" she said as she stretched her aching muscles 

"are we really gonna move past the fact that you wedged yourself in an oil drum!?" kenma exclaimed in aggravation 

". . ." she looked at him with a dumb smile before sending him a wink and a thumbs up. 

"yep! we sure are!" 

"i hate you so much" kenma muttered 

she smirked teasingly and loomed over his shoulder "hehehe~ well if you hate me so much, then why go through all the trouble to help me?" she cooed 

kenma scoffed and flicked her away. "because we're.." he trailed off "nevermind.." a small blush covered his cheeks faintly, but it was enough to get her attention. 

she chuckled lowly and poked his cheeks. she narrowed her eyes and tauntingly stared him down. "oya? what's this, kenma-kun? do you like me or something?~" she teased 

kenma flinched and covered his cheeks with his hands "no! no i don't!" he quickly denied "i just thought that.." he muttered quietly

"since we're friends and all.. i thought it'd be right to help you.." kenma admitted bashfully 

stunned from his words, she couldn't really do anything but stare at him blankly with widened eyes. "we're friends?" she asked 

kenma spluttered at her response, suddenly feeling anxious and embarrassed, thinking that he overstepped their 'relationship' 

"um- i mean.. i just thought that since we've been hanging out but.." kenma said nervously. he fiddled with his hands as he looked down at his feet, too embarrassed to look her in the eyes. 

"sorry, i guess i overstepped. sorry for misreading things" he apologised 

finally realising what she's done, she gasped in horror as she looked at his heartbroken expression  "oh my gosh." she muttered "im so sorry!" 

she frantically patted his back, and stroked his hair "i-i meant like- i didnt know you considered me as a friend!" she exclaimed  "i kind of thought you just see me as a suicidal leech or something!" she shrieked 

"im sorry kenma! kill me now!" she exclaimed dramatically 

kenma finally looked up to see her tearing some of her bandages off, only for her to tie it tightly around her neck. 

"im sorry!" she cried as she squeezed tightly, trying to strangle herself to death 

"wait! don't do that!" kenma said in panic. his hands pried the bandages off and hastily threw them away. 

"you don't have to kill yourself over me" kenma sighed 

she sniffled and crushed him in her arms "kenma! you are most certainly my most treasured friend!" she cried 

"i would die for you and with you!" 

"let's not go too far" kenma said with a small smile 

"shall we start with the double suicide now?" she asks, fully ignoring his interjection 

"no <3" 

"fukurodani?" she muttered, looking quite confused and clueless 

"yes. it seems a three-day practice match has been scheduled" nekomata said with a smile  "their coach suggested the idea and who was i to decline, am i right?" nekomata chuckled 

"this will be a good opportunity for the team to train and explore new ways of playing for future tournaments." nekomata then looked at y/n and sent her a close eyed smile. "and a chance for you to test your managing skills, y/n-san" he said 

she nodded in agreement. 

"well then, now that that's settled.. you’re free to go! rest up and eat well! you'll be playing nonstop starting tomorrow" nekomata said as he ushered them out of the gym 

"thanks, coach!" the team yelled 

as the team arrives by the gate, they started to disperse. fukunaga, inouka, teshiro, and shibayama ended up declining the offer of an afterschool hangout. they claimed they needed the rest for upcoming games, so they left them be. 

"bye guys! bye y/n-senpai! see you tomorrow!!" inouka yelled from across the street. the energetic first year was waving both his arms around while shibayama drags him along. fukunaga sends them a quick nod and a small wave before they completely disappear from sight. 

"hm, so what do you guys wanna do?" kai asks with a smile 

"let's eat!" lev suggested with a grin 

"sure. where should we go? i don't really have a particular craving right now" kai said as he looked at his friends expectantly 

"we should eat at the diner near that convenience store" yaku says "it's cheap and they serve great food" 

simply humming to herself, y/n takes a quick look at the boys who seemed to be lost in their own conversations. her (e/c) colored eyes then landed on kenma, who seemed to busy with his game. 

kuroo was holding on his bag, making sure the pudding-head wouldn't walk into oncoming traffic. she smiled at the boy, taking in his overwhelmingly beautiful features. 

yamamoto was beside her, ranting about his friends from karasuno and their 'goddess of a manager' 

"we’re here!" lev unnecessarily announced as he skipped into the said diner.  "what should we eat?" he asks 

"fish-" ; "meat-" 

yaku and kuroo freeze and look at each other. their eyes silently roam one another as they look at the other with judgment. 

"hah? are we really doing this again, yakkun?" kuroo scowled. the taller bedheaded male leaned down to get all up in yaku's face, while the latter simply did the same 

"dont call me that stupid nickname, bedhead!" yaku scowled as well "and fish? pssh, what are you a grandpa?" yaku said with a snicker 

"could you stop making comments proving you lack docosahexaenoic acid?" kuroo sneered in aggravation 

"you're ought to eat more fish to fix that.. maybe even your height problem!" kuroo taunted 

yaku scowled and gripped the taller boy's collar "your stupid face is begging to be hit!" 

"no! kuroo-san, don't let him hit you!" lev yelled "he's feral!" 

"oi! shut up!" taketora hissed as he covered lev's mouth with his hand 

yaku turned to face lev, evidently irked and angered by his comment. "hah?! come here, you tall lampost! -" 

"wah! yaku-san i didnt even do anything!" lev exclaimed with teary eyes as the shorter boy continued to kick him 

kai and taketora then took initiative to calm their friends down. partially because they didn't want anyone injured. but mostly because they were fighting infront of the diner, and it was starting to get embarrassing. 

"ke-n-ma~" she cooed in a sing song tone 

kenma sighed and quickly glanced at her, before averting his attention back to his game "what?" he said 

she smiled and laced their arms together. she then pointed to a bridge not so far away from where they were standing. "you see that bridge?" she asked "and the pretty river under it?" 

"oh god. i see where this is going." kenma groaned. he turned off his game and followed her finger, eyeing the bridge she was talking about. 

"wouldn't it be so nice if we just jump off-" 

"how about we don't do that?" kenma cut her off with a sigh 

"but you're my friend right?" she whined childishly "don't friends die together?!" 

"how about we don't die at all. doesn't that sound better?" kenma tried to convince her with a sheepish smile 

her smile fell as she narrowed his eyes, seemingly disgusted and offended by his statement. 

"what? no, not at all." 

[imo-chan-imagines]

『 Random acts of kindness | Haikyuu!! Headcanons 』

The everyday acts of kindness our boys do and think nothing of, but are actually incredibly sweet.

Characters: Sawamura Daichi, Kuroo Tetsurou, Ushijima Wakatoshi, Iwaizumi Hajime, Sugawara Koushi, Bokuto Koutarou, Azumane Asahi, Oikawa Tooru, Akaashi Keiji, Nishinoya Yuu, Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Kozume Kenma, Miya Astumu, Miya Osamu, Sakusa Kiyoomi, Hinata Shouyou, Kageyama Tobio, Tsukishima Kei, Yamaguchi Tadashi, Haiba Lev

Tags/warnings: Haikyuu!! (anime), no warnings, fluff, lots of characters I didn't realise how many I'd done until I came to type up the list 😳, a lot of cats and dogs, cuteness, headcanons

A/N: I've had an exhausting and busy week, and just felt like writing some comforting fluff. Thanks for reading! Please enjoy! ♡

And please consider voting in this poll (ends this Sunday 18/10/20) to help me celebrate reaching 100 followers! Thank you to everyone who's already voted! ♡

☆ Sawamura Daichi ☆

Helps lost people find their way and regularly gives directions

We're talking off-duty, here Daichi puts the 'hot' in 'Hot Fuzz' 🥵

Hahaha, fuck 🙃

He's very approachable and warm, and gives excellent directions

He'll also walk them there if they don't understand or don't feel confident, even if it disrupts his day 🥺

And he's really good at helping lost kids and calming them down he feels so proud when he gets them back to their parents, safe and sound 🤗

×

☆ Kuroo Testurou ☆

Helps elderly people with their shopping bags and getting across roads

It goes against his nature to stand by and let an old person struggle, and even if they're not struggling, he always offers his services anyway

He has a soft spot for old people, 'kay? 🥺

He makes a point of getting the traffic to stop so it's safe, and letting them hold his arm as they slowly make their way across the street

They often tell him that he's 'a very sweet and handsome young man,' and 'nothing like the other young people you meet these days' and he blushes

×

☆ Ushijima Wakatoshi ☆

Gets things from the top shelves for people that they can't reach at the supermarket

It's a pretty normal thing to do, right? So he's chill about it

Except he will 100% walk down the entire length of the isle just to help if he sees you stuggling it's super cute 😩😍

But he won't smile or make idle conversation, or anything. He'll just nod courteously

It can be a little ominous, with his looming height and serious face, but most people take the gesture well 😊

×

☆ Iwaizumi Hajime ☆

Pays for the shopping of the person in front of him when their card gets declined or they don't have the right cash

He manages to offer in a way that isn't offensive or patronising he's honestly a life saver 🥺

He's very humble and casual about it

It's what he hopes someone would do for him, if he were in that awkward situation

And you never know what struggles people are facing, so his philosophy is to always be kind what goes around, comes around, my dudes 😌✌

×

☆ Sugawara Koushi ☆

Leaves snacks and a cute thank you note on the porch for the mailman

Or mailwoman! Or mailperson!

He hopes that the little gesture will brighten their tough day of work so precious, I can't 🥺🥰

There's usually a good selection, too no skimping here, no sirree 😌

If he's home, he'll give them a cheery wave through the window as well

Especially in this COVID-19 environment. Suga would really appreciate the services they're providing

×

☆ Bokuto Koutarou ☆

Spends time every week playing with the cats and dogs at the local shelters

This man is hoenstly a blessing, I physically can't 🤧

He loves seeing their little faces light up when he walks in, scruffling their ears and playing fetch, etc. and just generally showing them that they're still loved 🥺😭

And he helps take the dogs for walks too, so they get their exercise, and brushes them down, and rubs their tummies–

He wants to adopt, but he's not settled enough, so he knows he can't 😭 but it's his goal

One day 😖

×

☆ Azumane Asahi ☆

Always holds doors open for other people

We're not just talking the occasional, feebly held door

Asahi will ALWAYS hold a door open for anyone else

Men, women, children, old people, people with prams, whole families– literally everyone

He is TALL and STRONG, and he will be USEFUL

He will hold it open even if you're really far away, like the giant dork that he is 😂😂 you cannot escape

×

☆ Oikawa Tooru ☆

Often pays for the next customer's coffee in advance

Sure, it makes him feel good about himself. But, I mean, why not? What's so wrong with that?

Oikawa calls it SAOK-ing people (pronounced 'soaking') meaning: Secret Acts of Kindness Iwa-chan has told him to change the name, but he won't 🙄

Oikawa would love the touching joy of a stranger paying for his coffee in advance, so he gets a warm, tingly feeling when he thinks about it happening to someone else because if him he's literally beaming for the rest of the day 🥰

☆ Akaashi Keiji ☆

Buys food and drinks for homeless people when he passes them

He sometimes stops to have a chat with them, too 😔🤧

He's the least condescending person you could meet if you're in trouble he's so genuine, I can't

Except for maybe Iwa-chan and Daichi. They're also very down-to-earth

He'll also give them all his food vouchers that he's been collecting in his wallet to help spread their costs

Akaashi finds it hard to watch other people struggling and suffering, and so always makes the time for it when he can afford to

×

☆ Nishinoya Yuu ☆

Helps make up the numbers for the kids playing games in the park

Be it soccer, dodgeball, basketball, volleyball, tag, or something else entirely, Noya loves to see the kids running around in the park, playing games and enjoying themselves

So he's only too happy to join in when they need more players he'll sometimes recruit Tanaka to help as well

Yuu fits right in with them, both in height and mentality 😂😭😂😭

He may or may not get them to call him 'senpai' 🙄😂

×

☆ Tanaka Ryuunosuke ☆

Helps fix people's cars on the road

Tanaka's one of those people that knows how to change a flat, and so can't drive past someone having car trouble without stopping and helping

He's also a pretty good handy-man in general, and is always willing to help out his friends and neighbours with their jobs that need doing

Like plumbing problems, putting up shelves, building furniture, etc. He's good with his hands!

Kiyoko: 👁👄👁

And he'll never charge a penny! He's all too happy to do it out of friendship and the kindness of his heart 😇

×

☆ Kozume Kenma ☆

Hosts gaming charity livestreams for various causes on a regualr basis

All the donations go directly to the charity of choice for the stream, not through him, so everyone knows it's legit 😇

He also donates gaming consoles etc. to charities and organisations that help kids who are in hospital

He's a huge advocate for charities and organisations that focus on helping people through gaming, like AbleGamers and St Jude PLAY LIVE, and regularly donates to them

Honestly, Kenma is an angel 🥺 👉👈

×

☆ Miya Atsumu ☆

Gives up his seat on public transport for old/pregnant/disabled etc. people

Look, Tsumu can be a little selfish and grouchy at times, but he's not a complete asshole 👉👈

There's a line, and hogging seats on public transport when someone else clearly needs it more than him is, indeed, the line 😌

He'll do it without a second thought or a fuss, and with a smile on his face but will be low-key proud of himself, ngl

He will also get offended if someone else doesn't give up their seat when they should, and may confront them about it 😳 like, what makes you so special that you can't do that simple courtesy that even he does??

×

☆ Miya Osamu ☆

Donates food to charities and shelters

Both store-bought food and from his own shop

Literally gets so depressed at the thought of people not getting to eat 🥺

This man LOVES FOOD. And people are out there not able to?!

He also has a scheme set up where homeless and stuggling people can come into his shop for some free onigiri

This man 🥺🤧 can I please marry him already?!

×

☆ Sakusa Kiyoomi ☆

Donates sanitary supplies like soap, toothpaste, antibacterial gel, pads, tampons, etc. to shelters on a regualr basis

Literally cannot abide the idea that people are forced to live without these basic necessities, simply because they can't afford them

It's almost for his own peace of mind rather than theirs? 😅😂 almost. He does actually care on their behalf, too

But he doesn't like to make a big deal out of it, and so donates anonymously

His donations are literally a godsend to those people, though 🥺😭

☆ Hinata Shouyou ☆

Reads books to kids at the library when he's there with Natsu

And he's really good at it! He reads very animatedly, and really gets the kids engaged with the stories you can just imagine it

The kids all love him and bring him their favourite books to read!

And the parents all watch and compliment him on how good he is with kids

And this goofball just blushes and grins like a doof 😚 so freaking sweet

×

☆ Kageyama Tobio ☆

Always carries a spare umbrella with him to give to someone

He hates getting caught in the rain himself, so he keeps a spare just in case this precious baby 🥺

He's had to use it quite a few times, sometimes giving it to people he doesn't even know, so he ends up not getting it back and has to buy a new spare

But it makes him smile, if a bit awkwardly, to know that he's helped someone out, even just a little Tobio!! 😭🤧🥺

×

☆ Tsukishima Kei ☆

Steps into the road to allow room for people with pushchairs and prams

I know it might not seem like much, but this is Tsukki, guys 🙄

*Narrator voice* this is one small step for man, one giant leap for Tsukishima!

And this just goes to show that he's not as tough of a cookie as he looks

He doesn't like the idea of parents etc. and young children having to walk in the road he gets worried for them...🤭

And he does it consciously, which is important

×

☆ Yamaguchi Tadashi ☆

Spends time each week looking for the animals on the 'lost' and 'missing' posters around town

He hates to think of them out there, cold, alone, frightened–

It makes him feel nauseous just thinking about it 😣

My poor, precious baby!! He's too pure for this world!! 😭

It's not often, but sometimes he actually manages to find one and bring it back to its owner safely, which is a huge boost for his mood and confidence

He feels so valued and appreciated, and just happy that the little guy is SAFE 😇🤧

×

☆ Haiba Lev ☆

Helps strangers get their cats out of trees and other high places

What else is a tall, handsome, goofball-of-a stranger to do? 😌

Legit, he doesn't think twice. Tall people should use their height to help people, shouldn't they?

Sure, it doesn't always go to plan, and his arms sometimes end up looking like well-used scratching poles, but he's just glad to help 😇

It's good to see the cats safe and with their owners

♡°☆•♡°☆•♡

If you enjoyed, please consider voting in this poll (ends this Sunday 18/10/20) to help me celebrate reaching 100 followers! Thank you to everyone who's already voted!

© imo-chan-imagines 2020

[beautifulblhell]

Code: Home Ch1

Finder Fanfic: Asami x Akihito

Summary: Akihito, a young genius hacker living in with Asami. Working in an internet cafe in the day and coming home to Asami in the night. Peaceful life, isn’t it?Well, that’s not going to last anymore. The past that he had left behind start to resurface when a certain someone reappears, threatening Akihito and Asami’s life. With no choice, Akihito is forced to confront the shadow of his past. Except the shadow knows too much about Akihito...

Click click click

The rhythmic sound of tapping of keyboard echoed in the small booth.

A young man with blond hair sat scrunched up in front of a computer, staring intently at the screen with a slight frown, all the time his fingers flew across the keyboard.

Suddenly, a shrill alarm sounded, and the young man jerked up before cursing under his breath. Using one hand to rub the spot between his eyebrows, he used the other to press stop on his phone. Then, with a yawn, he leaned back against the chair and stretched.

“Finished just on time,” he mumbled, and leaned back down to shut the computer and pack his things.

Opening the dark booth, he squinted against the harsh light of the corridor, wincing slightly.

He was just going to turn left to head towards the exit, when he saw that the door to the booth next to his was slightly open. He glanced inside.

The boy’s shoulders were slumped, and an aura of dejection emitting from his being. On top of that, his dark hair was messy, and wore clothes that looked as if they hadn’t been changed for a few days.

Perhaps he heard the blond man’s footsteps, the messy haired boy suddenly turned his face towards the door and locked eyes with the blond man.

Crap , though Akihito, recognising the helpless look on the boy’s face.

“Akihito-senpai, please wait here for a second!” With a sudden burst of energy, the boy shot out of his seat and ran towards the end of the corridor. Before Akihito could proceed what had happened, he was back, holding a can of iced coffee. Sliding the last few metres on his knees, he prostrated against the floor to Akihito.

“Akihito-senpaaaai, I beg of you! This is the last time! I promise! Please help me!” The boy cried agonisingly.

Akihito sighed. “Didn’t you say that last time was the ‘last time’? And the time before that? On second thought, didn’t you say every time was the ‘last time’?”

“Please! I swear this is the last time! If you don’t help me I will never see tomorrow’s sun!”

Akihito shook his head in defeat. “Fine, I’ll help you.”

The boy cried in relief. “Thank you so much, Akihito-samaaaaa! I love you!”

“H-hey, don’t rub you snot-covered face on my clothes!”

“Ah, please accept this!”

Kai held up the can of iced coffee.

Akihito stared at it, pretending to be offended. “Is that all my service is worth, a can of coffee?”

“I’m really sorry, I really can’t afford anything else at the moment! I promise once I finish this I’ll make up to you!” Tears welled up in Kai’s eyes again, and he stared at Akihito like a tortured puppy.

“It’s fine, I finished my work anyway, send me the details and I’ll get it back to you before the day ends.” Akihito patted Kai’s head.

“But you have to go home and get some sleep.   Right now you look like a withered cabbage.”

After exchanging goodbyes, Akihito left Kai, who was still crying on the ground with relief. Several heads were popped out from the other booths, staring at them in wonder.

**********

Outside, Akihito strolled further down the street to the convenience store.

There weren’t any convenience stores near where he currently lived, only those upscale luxury stores with expensive imported stuff from God-knows-where, probably Mars.

The doors of the store opened with a familiar chime as Akihito stepped in, followed by a cool blast of air from the air con.

“Welcome,” a soft voice greeted him from the cashier, to which Akihito smiled and nodded in response.

Taking a detour through the sweets aisle before heading towards the ready meals section, Akihito dithered at the wide range of foods available, still not used to the freedom of choosing whatever he wants to eat, but in the end, he still bought the cheap yakisoba set with a bottle of ramune.

The young man at the counter was in his late twenties, and looked more suitable in front of a fashion magazine than in front of a cashier in a cheap convenience store. The name tag displayed his name as ‘Natsume’.

Natsume had just started working here a few weeks ago, and since Akihito comes here everyday, they were both familiar with each other, and since Natsume seemed like a pleasant person, sometimes they even exchanged a word or two.

With his dinner in hand, he went back to the parking area of the internet café to where his beloved Vespa stood.

Riding along the streets, he passed the familiar run-down apartments until the scenery blended into the high-class imposing condos.

Penthouse apartment. In the middle of Tokyo. Akihito could practically smell the money coming off from the people living there. Except for him. Even the housekeepers here have a more stable income than him. No wonder the concierge’s mouth was agape the first time he came here.

Once he opened the door to the apartment, he held his breath, automatically listening for footsteps, then shook his head when he realised that it was no longer necessary for him to be so cautious.

Taking off his shoes and carrying his dinner to the living room, Akihito dropped his dinner on the table in front of the sofa. After changing and grabbing his laptop in his room, he sat crossed legged on the sofa. Opening his email, he smiled wryly at the message Kai sent, with so many crying emojis at the title.

Cracking his knuckles slightly, he began to work.

An hour later, Akihito closed the lid of the laptop. It wasn’t as much of a challenge as he hoped it would be, but then again, some peace and quiet weren’t so bad either.

He yawned and closed his eyes. It’s been a long day. Maybe he would take a quick nap before eating dinner... just 30 minutes of break...

**********

It was dark

So dark

And silent

Then

Red.

Everything turned blood red, and he choked.

The pressure on his neck intensified.

Blood rushes towards his head, and his ears rang.

Fingers dug deeper into his neck.

He clawed desperately at the object suffocating him, but all his hands met were empty air.

Dark spots appeared against his crimson vision, and he could feel his conscious slowly slipping away.

Help

His lips parted to form the words, yet no sound came out.

I don’t want to die

I don’t want to be alone

Please, anyone

Save me

Akihito was steadily slipping into oblivion.

The dark seemed so welcoming, so safe.

“Akihito.”

The voice was muffled, as if he was hearing it underwater.

“Akihito.”

The voice was more distinct now, and suddenly, he was pulled up, towards the light that had appeared overhead him.

“Akihito, wake up.”

And Akihito woke up.

In one fluid motion, he jerked up and quickly curled into a ball, trembling, his head in his arms. His heart pounded inside his chest and his mouth felt paper dry as he waited for the inevitable, except...

“Akihito, it’s me.”

The voice was soft, yet an underlying tone of command forced Akihito to look up from inside his shell. He slowly lifted his head upwards to peek through his arms that acted like bars in front of his face.

A pair of narrow golden eyes were staring at him, with a hint of concern in the depth of his gaze.

Asami.

In an instant, relief flooded through Akihito, draining away all his energy, and he slumped against the sofa.

“What the heck, don’t scare me like that,” he grumbled, yet was secretly glad that it was Asami whom he saw when he woke up.

“A nightmare?”

Akihito tensed, before saying sharply: “Did I say anything?”

Asami started at him for a second, before merely shaking his head and stood up.

Asami Ryuichi.

The man that was more like a god than a mortal. Akihito has yet to meet another human that rivals Asami’s beauty. Even Natsume paled in comparison.

And he was the one whom Akihito currently lived with.

“By the way, where did you get that? It tasted like salted cardboard.”

“Wha-? You ate my food? That was my dinner!”

Akihito scampered up and looked at dismay at the box in front of him. Only half of the yakisoba was left.

“That doesn’t seem to qualify as food.”

“Well, excuse me if commoner’s food doesn’t suit your-highness’ rich palate, but us peasants care more about stuffing our stomaches than the taste.”

“You could have ordered food using my card. You have already memorised all of my card details, no?”

“As if I would use your card.” He snorted. “I can earn my own food at least. Hah, I’ll just finish this.”

Akihito ate a few bites half heartedly before giving up. It’s true. It indeed tasted like salted cardboard. Or salted leather shoe soles to be more precise. Plus that nightmare had left an unpleasant sinking feeling in his stomach so he wasn’t feeling too hungry.

“I’m going to bed. Good night.” Akihito stood up with the box half full of food and dumped it in the trash in the kitchen before heading towards his bedroom.

Asami looked up from his documents in his hand.

“Want to sleep in my bed tonight, Akihito?”

“Hah?! Why would I, you perverted old man?! Stay at least three metres away from me when I’m sleeping,” Akihito yelled and slammed his door shut.

In the now silent living room, Asami sat there, looking at the sofa where Akihito had slept with a displeased look on his face.

**********

Morning came all the too quickly, and Akihito sat up blearily, rubbing his eyes. He didn’t sleep well. The nightmare continued during the night. He could only hope that he didn’t  screamed anymore.

After finished washing up and getting dressed, he was greeted by a low humming noise of conversation when he opened his bedroom door.

Who is here so early in the morning?  Akihito wondered. Asami was usually still asleep at this time of the day. Akihito walked quietly towards the living room, wanting to take a peek at the visitors without disturbing them, hoping all the way that it was not Asami’s bespectacled secretary.

Before Akihito could get closer to hear clearly what the two men were saying, they seemed to have noticed Akihito’s arrival and the low hum of conversation abruptly stopped.

Akihito, knew that he can’t turn tail now, opened the door.

Asami sat in one of the armchairs, somehow still looking imposing in a white bathrobe, and the other person sat opposite Asami. His trench coat hung behind the chair, and wore a waistcoat with a dark tie. His short hair was neatly trimmed and on his face sat a pair of glasses, yet Akihito could not help the smile blooming on his face.

“Shinji!”

Akihito bounded over to Kuroda.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were back? Wait, when did you get back? How was Osaka? Did you visit any hot springs? I’ve heard that some hot springs got medicinal properties, is that true?”

Kuroda laughed as Akihito fired off hundreds of questions.

“Wait, let me get a word in please,” he smiled. “I only got back yesterday evening. As it was too late, I didn’t notify you of my arrival as I didn’t want to wake you up. The original plan was to come back tomorrow, but we cleared things up quicker than expected so I’m back early. And yes, I did visit the hot spring. It was very relaxing. I highly recommend you going there sometime. Also, here,” Kuroda turned around and rummaged though his pockets before taking out a small bag with a ribbon on top, and handed it to Akihito.

“Lavender scented bath salts with calming effects. It should give the user a good night sleep.”

“Oh wow, thanks! I’ll try them tonight!” Akihito beamed at the present, then suddenly seemed to remember something as he dashed to his room and back, with a sheaf of documents in his hand.

Asami raised his eyebrows questioning but Akihito shook his head and said seriously, “It’s confidential,” before handing it to Kuroda.

“Then I’m glad that I finished this yesterday. Here, proof that Kawaguchi had been laundering money. He asked me to look into Kamado’s email to see if there’s anything juicy, but since I saw in your emails that you were interested in Kawaguchi, I helped you to dig out some dirt on him.” Akihito grinned cheekily.

The corners of Asami’s lip curved upwards and he took a sip of his whiskey before asking, ”Client confidentiality?”

Akihito stuck out his tongue at him.

Kuroda smiled wryly. “This is a great help, so thank you, Akihito, but to hear that my emails were read...”

“Don’t worry, there’s nothing interesting about your emails. Only thing though, those shots of the cat were really ugly.”

“So you also looked into my photo album...”

Akihito laughed.

Just then, Akihito’s phone rang. He took the phone out of his pocket before pulling a face.

“I gotta go. Work calls.”

Kuroda started to get up but Akihito waved at him to sit down.

“Don’t worry, you and that boss guy over there continue your chat before I interrupted you. I’ll see you guys later.”

**********

The front door closed with a soft click, and a heavy mood settled over the living room.

“Ryuichi, how is he doing?”

Asami was silent for a few seconds, before shaking his head and replying grimly: “He’s still having nightmares.”

Kuroda sighed softly. “It’s been 2 years.”

“Some scars take a long time to heal. Others never do.”

“We can only hope that it’s the former one.”

The two men sat motionlessly, each lost in their own thoughts. After a while, Asami spoke up.

“Any news?”

Kuroda shook his head.

“Nothing substantial.”

“But he’s still alive.”

Kuroda looked at Asami carefully.

“And what would you do if he was?”

Asami flickered his eyes towards Kuroda, a quiet storm brewing behind his eyes. “He still screams himself awake at nights, and sometimes he doesn’t want to go back to sleep because of the nightmares.”

“And I suppose that he’s dead set against any sleeping pills.”

Asami nodded darkly.

“I won’t keep you here any longer. I’ll keep in touch if anything new comes up, but keep in mind he’s got quite a network of allies.”

“The more people that are involved the more likely there will be a traitor to come out.”

Kuroda nodded, before heading off.

Asami’s mood didn’t lift the entire day, and it worsened during his meeting with a small clan’s head, who came to Asami hoping for business deals.

It was already nearing the end of the discussion when the elder man made the blunder.

“So I’ve heard that you’ve been keeping a pet by your side for quite a while now? My, my, isn’t this quite unusually for the great Asami? However, it would be my greatest honour to meet this lady of yours someday.”

His words meant no harm, but simply said at the wrong time.

The last word hadn’t left his mouth when the whole room became frigid.

“I-is something wrong, Asami-sama?” The man asked nervously, playing with his hands.

“And where did you get this information, Yamaguchi-san?”

“A-ah? It’s just there’s rumours floating around...” Yamaguchi’s voice died when the temperature in the room dropped another 10 degrees, and the look in Asami’s eyes froze him before he babbled. “I-it was the head of the Sh-shimada-gumi who told me that. I swear I don’t know anything else, please believe me...”

He was still babbling by the time Asami left.

**********

Inside the car, the only sound that could be heard was the purr of the engine. Kirishima took a quick glance in the rear view mirror, and   found Asami’s brows tightly furrowed.

Akihito’s security is going to tighten , Kirishima thought, half dreading the process of finding another victim as Akihito’s bodyguard.

Indeed, his prediction came true.

“Change the security for Akihito to 24/7 except when he’s inside the apartment with me. Keep watching him even if he’s inside the apartment but I’m not there.”

“Yes sir.”

**********

Akihito spotted Kai waving at him near the back of the café.

He looked much more refreshed. A bath, a good night sleep and a change of clothes really do wonders.

“Over here, Akihito-senpai!”

Kai was literally radiating sunshine and flowers with his enthusiasm, and Akihito could help but smile when looking at his bright face.

The café that Kai told him to come to was a really popular café, and its patrons were mostly girls or couples, as the cute cakes were highly popular with females. Akihito secretly wanted to come but didn’t have the guts to come as a single guy.

“Thank you again for last time! You really saved me! Please order whatever you feel like, it’s all on me.” Kai’s eyes were sparkling. It seemed like the guy yesterday wailing about work was entirely different person. I should have bought sunglasses , staring at this new sunshine Kai hurts his eyes.

“How did you get a reservation here? I heard that you usually have to book in weeks in advance.”

“Ah, I asked the owner for help, and he helped me to reserve a place for us today. Seems like he knows the owner here.” Kai beamed innocently.

The owner is weak to cute boys like you. Watch out or he will end up devouring you. Akihito thought.

Suddenly the couple sitting next to him stared at the TV in surprise.

“No way, isn’t that guy, like, the super famous politician or something?” The guy said.

“Oh yeah, it is! It’s Kawaguchi-sensei. Apparently there’s rumours he’s going to be the next prime minster. ”

The name caught Akihito by surprise and his eyes automatically gravitated towards the TV at the back of the room. The scene currently showing on the screen was a man with his head bowed being lead away by police officers. They were surrounded by reporters whom were all trying to shove their mics in the man’s face while asking questions. A voice said: “Police officers are seen escorting Kawaguchi Koda away from his house after reports came in of him laundering money. This will no doubt be a stain on his career and the possibility of him becoming the next prime minister is rapidly decreasing. And now we have reports in that all of his assets are frozen by the police until further notice.”

“Ah, I was going to vote him as the prime minster. Politician are all the same, dirty scumbags.”

“Yeah, as they say, ‘you really can’t judge a book by its cover’.”

The café was instantly abuzz with the latest news, yet Akihito’s mouth was wide open. The words ‘all his assets are frozen’ kept replaying in his head, yet is was as if his brain was frozen, unable to comprehend those simple words.

“Akihito-senpai? Is something the matter?” Kai peered at him worriedly.

“Argh!” Akihito let out a frustrated groan. “Damn it! I won’t be paid at this rate.” He banged his head on the table in frustration.

“Kawaguchi-sensei is your client?” Kai’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Shhh. Not so loud. But yeah, he is. Or was. With his accounts frozen I won’t be paid.” Akihito’s voice was bitter. And the help he gave Kuroda came back to bite his ass.

“Oh.” Kai frowned before saying, “Look, you helped me yesterday, and because you finished so quickly, I also got a bonus. How about I give you half the amount I got?”

“No it’s fine.”

“But I feel bad. How about just the bonus? My patron was quite generous this time.”

“It’s fine, I’ll just be broke for a few days before my next pay. I’ve already got another job lined up,” Akihito gestured at his phone.

“Will your rent and everything be okay?”

Don’t worry, I leech of my ‘landlord’ at the moment,Akihito thought.

“Then at least let me order you another creme brûlée,” while speaking, he waved down the waitress to place the order.

“If you ever need anything, doesn’t hesitate to ask me okay? Though I might not be able to help much with work, but if you ever need somewhere to stay or someone to talk to, I’ll be here, okay?” Kai smiled and held Akihito’s hand with both hands.

“Thanks.” Akihito smiled. Truthfully, he actually liked Kai, though usually he hated people who were so talkative and always leaked so much energy that Akihito simply felt tired just by looking at them. Maybe it was because Kai never probed about his private life or past, or knew when to stop pushing for answers.

Then, their orders came.

The creme brûlée looked delicious. With its bubbling scorched sugar and the hint of yellow creaminess below that. Akihito had just taken one mouthful of bliss when Kai stared wide eye at something behind his back. Then he leaned forward and whispered excitedly to Akihito.

“Hey! There’s an ikemen behind you! He’s so good looking! But what’s he doing here in a suit and alone?”

And for the second time in the day, Akihito froze.

Akihito turned around slowly, praying to whatever diety that was listening to him right now that his suspicion would be false.

Of course, fortune never seemed to favour him, and with a sinking feeling, he saw a man in a suit sitting a couple of tables away from him. Staring straight at him.

[dornishsphinx]

twenty-two meetings that never happened (2/22)

2. THE MAGICIAN

Yosuke swiped his finger across the screen to bring up the email again, just like he had done at least five times already. Meet your assigned partner at the clock outside the main building at 12pm sharp! Once more, he found himself checking the time. With a little notebook-style flipping animation, it ticked over from 12.29 to 12.30. God damn it.

He shifted from foot to foot; his right, his left, then right again. Had his assigned partner forgotten about the meet-ups? It would be just his luck if he had - though maybe at least it would be a good anecdote for his first call back home.

Home. Huh. Yosuke folded his arms across his chest and leant back against the wall, letting his gaze drift upwards to level with the roofs of tall buildings which loomed over the plaza. So, Inaba was home to him now? Weird. The city had been what his default image of home was for the longest time, even months into the provincial life.

Things here were different to how he remembered them, though. He’d assumed he’d get back into the swing of things soon enough when he first arrived, but now it was undeniable, even for him: the city of his earlier years seemed to have melted away in his absence. Before, he’d had stable roots: parents to go back to at night; old friends he could chill with; the quickest routes through the wide streets firmly memorised.

Now, though? That easy closeness with his friends had been shaken by years’ worth of texts gone unanswered, and he wasn’t quite sure how to fix it, or if he even should. Several of his old haunts had been shut down - while he hated to empathise with the those among the residents of Inaba who’d shunned him and his family, he had to admit to finally gaining a glimmer of understanding the moment he discovered his favourite takoyaki stand had gone under. As for his parents, they were still in Inaba and had no plans on returning, their city house having been sold when they left town. He’d rode past it, once, when going to see one of his oldest friends from the neighbourhood, like muscle memory had forced him to go past his house. A strange kid had been playing outside. He’d avoided going that route since.

“Yo! Sorry I’m late!”

He snapped to. A friendly looking guy was waving over at him. Presumably it was his assigned partner - thank god, he wasn’t going to have to decide whether or not to leave. Yosuke flipped close his phone and plastered on a grin.

“Hey, no worries, I was kinda late too!” he lied.

“Yosuke Hanamura, right? I’m Kenji Tomochika. They sent your name and photo so we could find all you lost newbies.”

“Oh, cool! Good to meet you, senpai!”

God, what the hell was his voice doing? Why was it so high and panicky? Had Tomochika noticed? He hadn’t seemed to, but was he was just being polite?

“So, hey, you wanna come see the canteen first?” he said. “Food’s not great, but it’s hella cheap. I’ll pay. I’m the reason your lunchtime’s been cut in half, after all.”

“Sounds good. Senpai.”

Tomochika grinned. “Awesome, I’m starving! We can do the tour after, ‘kay?”

The canteen was a blocky, grey building, with some weird murals painted across it that only made the rest of it look all the more industrial. Inside, it was swarming with students; all the ambient chatter made the air hum. Yosuke hesitated, but Tomochika pushed on ahead into the queue to the hot food section.

“Hey, you should get the curry rice,” Tomochika shouted, “It’s actually okay. The rest of the stuff here pretty much sucks.”

His voice carried; the server shot dirty looks at him. Yosuke winced and brushed it off with an embarrassed grin - he’d been on the other side of the counter so many times, after all. Still, it wasn’t as though the guy was wrong: casting an eye over the other options, it became super obvious that none of these options were gonna be appetising. At all. Pretty much immediately, he decided to go with the suggestion - though not before his attention was caught by what looked like they were supposed to be steak skewers. Weirdly, he found a small, nostalgic smile had started tugging at the side of his mouth at the sight of them.

Then, his attention got snatched away from them by a polite cough. He snapped his head around to see the girl ahead of him already walking away and the cashier looking at him pointedly. He could take a hint.

Tomochika was after him in line - as he waited for him to pay, Yosuke scanned the room for any potential seats. Yeah, no, this place really was packed - like, the impossible to move, let alone find a seat kind of busy. But then again, Tomochika was swanning off like he knew what he was doing, and Yosuke didn’t have half the experience he did, and so he followed him. Magically, he found two seats. Yosuke leapt for his, just in case someone else spotted it before he managed to park his ass.

His stomach grumbled. Tentatively, he lifted out some of the rice - twisted his wrist around one way, then the other - and took a bite. (You didn’t encounter Yukiko Amagi’s cooking and not check for suspicious patches of colour or lumpy bits that shouldn’t be lumpy in every other meal you ever had.) Flavour - sweet, spicy flavour - burst over his tongue.

“Huh, not bad,” he said in surprise.

“I know, right?” Tomochika exclaimed, brandishing his own chopsticks in a way that would make anyone with the slightest care for dining etiquette wince. “Trust me, if you’re coming here to eat, you wanna stick with that. Someone should profit from all those terrible lunches I went through my first year, when I was testing all the options.”

“Hey, it can’t be as bad as some of the stuff I’ve had back-” He paused. It was one thing to call Inaba home to himself, quietly in his head. Hell, he might tell his friends, if it came up. It was another thing to say it out loud to a stranger he was trying to impress. “-In the town I was living in the past couple years. Seriously, it was like they thought steak croquettes were high cuisine.”

“What town’s that?” Tomochika asked, seeming genuinely interested.

“Uh, Inaba? It’s pretty tiny, it’s kinda near-”

“Whoa, wait, I think I know that place! I mean, unless there’s a whole bunch of little towns with the exact same name. Which could be the case, I guess. Lemme see, uh… is the school called Yasogami?”

Yosuke’s jaw dropped. How? How the ever-loving hell did this guy know Inaba? It was Inaba. Nobody knew Inaba. Mom had pitched a fit when she’d figured out how remote the town the company had been moving Dad to was, and that had only been after a boss-difficulty-level google search to actually find the place.

“Yeah,” he said, dumbfounded. “Uh, wow. How do you know Inaba? It’s like, in the middle of nowhere. It probably doesn’t even show up on maps.”

It was only after he said it that it occurred to him: it wasn’t as though Inaba was as unknown as it had been when he moved there. It couldn’t be. Not after everything that had happened last year.

“Oh, our school did an trip there in second year, to exchange ideas on learning styles, or some bull like that. It sure was, uh. Quaint?”

Oh, so it wasn’t because of the murder spree - well, that was certainly unexpected. Ugh, wait, why was he even thinking about that? It had been more than a year ago; this was a completely different place; and he was over everything that had gone on then. Forcibly shoving the sudden pit in his stomach away, he twisted his face back into the jokey way he’d had it before.

“You’re telling me. I had to move there because of my dad’s job - from this city, actually. Wasn’t exactly an easy adjustment.”

Tomochika winced at that. “I am so sorry.”

The response rubbed Yosuke the wrong way a little. It wasn’t Tomochika’s fault, obviously: he was just going along with the atmosphere of camaraderie to keep things from getting awkward in that oh-yeah-we-are-actually-complete-strangers-aren’t-we sorta way. Still, he’d found himself missing the little place over the weeks he’d been back, quaint and tiny and murder-y as it had been. Even the steak croquettes, at points. (Hey, he’d never said his feelings were rational.)

“Nah, but it wasn’t really so bad. Like, there was a city not too far away - I mean sure, it wasn’t convenient like here or anything, but I wasn’t completely cut off from the world or anything.”

“I mean, I guess that’s not as bad as it could have been, but still. I can’t even think about going back to Tatsumi Port Island now that I’ve lived here and the city there’s actually pretty big. Oh hey, so if you’re from here, maybe you should be the one showing me around-”

Yosuke interrupted him: “Tatsumi Port Island? I’ve been there! Well, I went to the school, at least. Maybe it was the same programme you went on to Inaba?”

“You visited Gekkoukan? Man, that must have been after I left. I wonder if anything’s changed since then.”

Wait. If Tomochika had been at Gekkoukan High a few years before Yosuke went on the exchange there, did that mean he’d gone to school with those Shadow Operative weirdos who’d shown up to take Labrys away? Naoto’s investigations, at least the ones she’d shared with the Investigation Team, had pointed to Gekkoukan as their old base of operations, and it would be around the right time, considering the guy only had a few years on him. Hell, was he one of them? Those guys had been pretty suspicious, after all, so it wouldn’t be completely out of the left field if they sent one of their own to spy on him.

Oblivious to Yosuke’s minor freakout, Tomochika laughed, brushing aside the matter that he’d got tongue-tied over.

“But man, that is so weird, like, we visited each others’ high schools and didn’t even know it. You think maybe the organisers looked into our backgrounds while matching us up, to see if people have anything in common like that?”

“Seems a bit much for them to bother with, doesn’t it?”

He peered at Tomochika, waiting for a reaction, but he just shrugged. “Huh, I guess you’re right.”

Maybe he wasn’t some Shadow Operative secret spy after all. Weirdly, he found himself a little disappointed.

“So,” said Tomochika, dragging out the sound, “Inaba. I heard that’s where that crazy murder case happened last year? You’d have been living there at that point, right?”

Oh. Yeah. Of course he knew. It was stupid to think he hadn’t: it had made national news.

“Yeah. I was.”

“Oh, wow, no way! Musta been pretty scary, huh?”

“Yeah. I mean, I guess.”

Something in Yosuke’s face - or voice, or maybe even just his aura - must have tipped Tomochika off, because he winced and in a hushed voice, he asked: “Ah, you didn’t. Uh. Know anybody who was, y'know…”

“I did, yeah.” Tomochika winced. “Oh. Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up,” he said, and to his credit, he actually sounded sincere about it. “I mean. I lost a friend in high school so, I know it’s not easy. I mean, he was closer to other people and it’s not like he was murdered but- I’m making this worse aren’t it? Sorry. I’ll shut up now.”

“It’s okay, man,” said Yosuke. “We weren’t really that close.” Well, it was true, even if only on her end.

“Still,” he said, “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Honestly, it’s no sweat. You didn’t know.”

Tomochika smiled back, a faint edge of nervousness creeping in at the edges. Oh, just awesome, he’d managed to freak out the guy he was supposed to be impressing. What the hell happened to him always being the most normal guy in the room? Though, looking back, maybe it had always just been in comparison to those goofballs he called friends back in Inaba.

Though. Maybe he could lean into it a little? New place, new people, new him? Oh, what the hell, why not?

“Hey, Tomochika-senpai, did you by any chance tune into the LMB Fest this summer?”

[cindyfxxx-blog]

A month in a nutshell: January

So January!

New year but I don’t know why it is becoming less and less exciting as the years go by. Maybe because I am older and now realise that time really does go too quickly, and with time comes age... I am approaching the end of my teen years, and that is truly tragic for me. It is another sign that I am aging. I can’t believe it sometimes, maybe because I am really tiny in terms of height (and weight to be honest) and I have quite a young looking face (I think), and maybe my fashion sense... I do like youthful looks, but I have been kind of upgrading my wardrobe and slowly transforming my dress sense I feel, I do feel like I wear more neutral colours now and as well as that I tend to stick to a similar fashion sense, just different colours/patterns. But essentially it is the same pieces of clothing that I have now mastered how to wear, haha. Alright that’s enough for my ‘deep-new-year’ speech, heh. Now onto some of the events that happened in the first month of 2017...

Not a good start because my sister was kind of sick for like a week or something and because I sleep in the same room as her guess who also got a little sick. Not even just me, like my whole family were iffy for like two weeks. Stupid sister sleeping in the living room and spreading her germs in the common areas... Goodness gracious. But also good because if she slept in the room she kept coughing and I couldn’t sleep so...

An important thing that happened was definitely the exams I had. Goodness, who even thought for three seconds that January exams were a good idea because I certainly don’t think so. I mean, I though a Christmas holiday is supposed to be in place for you to have a break and, I don’t know, maybe celebrate Christmas? Or is that too scandalous? I did spend my Christmas very well and out of the house for many many days but that also meant intense cram sessions afterwards and a sudden realisation that I really didn’t learn much from that term and that even though I had written a substantial amount of notes, I really didn’t know what it all meant 100%... Brilliant... So I did my MPS exam. Not as bad as anticipated. I expected to be running out of time because there were three exam questions to do in three hours (?) but actually I ended up furiously writing and almost rushing through the first section then doing the second section pretty slowly in order to not seem like I finished the exam so quickly. Second exam, microeconomics. Also not as bad as anticipated in hindsight, also finished early (very early). The last essay question on an example of a firm that operates in perfect competition stumped me a little because I was frantically trying to think of a company that do not earn profit in the long run. It may not even be right, but I ended up writing about charities. I get my exam results on 20th Feb, so lets all pray for little Cindy that she’s done okay.

While we’re still on the topic of university, a great achievement for me was getting a little scholarship for this year! £2k for my exceptional grades for IB, very chuffed about that, woohoo. And with the costs of university going up and up, we’re going to need all the money we can get to be honest. Every penny counts haha.

I also went out to see my friend, the hoe, this month. I went over to visit her at her university since I hadn’t started term yet. We went out for a cute pizza express brunch. My first time eating at pizza express actually. Funny thing is the only reason why we went was because she had a 40% discount code that was ending that week, so we were like “gotta go eat cheap food”. And we did. I had a very nice pizza and the amazing dough balls like oh my they were the best. A very nice price of like £7 something altogether for my meal. So cheap, so yummy. Delish.

Okay so this month my sister and I also did a binge watch and major throwback to Sailor Moon (eng dub). Ah, it is still as amazing as I remembered it. Unfortunately, there is eng dub only until episode 80 something so we haven’t finished watching it because we’re reluctant to switch to the Japanese (original) version. I’ll see if I ever go back to watch the rest of the first and only anime I’ve watched. We also watched some Sailor Moon movies, brilliant. I also re-watched Disney’s Hercules movie, I’ve watched it so many times like legit but it is still so amazing despite knowing the story inside out. Another movie I watched during my five-hour break with my friend in uni was A Street Cat Named Bob. Such a great storyline, we were so into it haha, just casually streaming a movie off her laptop while waiting for our tutorial.

I also tried to read a book, I started reading The Catcher in the Rye. However, I got to like chapter three and the storyline was really not moving along and I was losing both interest and patience, so I stopped reading it, unfortunately. I’ve heard good things about this novel and that it’s a classic and everything, but I am very impatient when reading books and lose interest so easily like it’s not even funny.

Big highlights were definitely CNY eve dinner and 初二 dinner at my granddad’s. Ate too much food, too much meat, but very nice. It was nice to see my granddad so happy and energised because we all came over to celebrate the holidays with him.

Something that MUST be mentioned is the fact that Kai Tsang (Bubzbeauty’s cousin) THANKED ME on his Instagram live! I commented something like “your voice is amazing” I can’t really remember, and because he was reading comments just then, he said “thanks Cindy” and I almost screamed like I’M CINDY, THAT’S ME, HE THANKED ME! (Senpai noticed me BIG WHOOP).

I also started some new modules for the new term: macroeconomics, accounting and FOCUS (basically MPS 2.0 which is horrific). Accounting is not that bad and macroeconomics is slowly getting more and more interesting which is good. And FINALLY I’ve been avidly doing driving lessons because my test is early February. I am getting pretty nervous for it now but I hope I can pass first time around (so very unlikely).

Alrighty that’s it for one month. I feel like I’m writing more and more for these monthly issues. This is over 1.1k words which is staggering. I mean, I’m actually doing something with my life, like isn’t that an achievement in itself? Haha, okay anyways, until next month.