#c'mon Rainbow the post button is right there!

[rainbowangel110]

@bloodied-dagger hey so remeber when I said we were working on Audacity in my Digital Arts class...... Well I finished the movie trailer thing we were doing.........

[foxyninjabear]

A Hacker’s Tale -  Chapter 1

Hello all! I’ve got something to show ya! I’m making a HermitCraft fanfic... if you couldn’t tell by the tags. If not, I have no clue how the heck you found this post xD But either way, welcome! This story idea has been floating around in my head for awhile, but I finally have it up and ready to roll! So without further delay, here’s my introductory chapter to my pride and joy of a nerdy story, A Hacker’s Tale!

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!: This fic is rated as PG-14+, so read at your own risk! There's swearsies, suggestive references, and LOTS of blood and gore! Be aware! 

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Seventeen minutes. That was how long she had been waiting at their planned meeting spot. Same time, same place, every single week.

Of course he was late.

The creeper lifted herself away from the wall she was leaning against. “C’mon, where are ya…” She muttered, before glancing around at the dozens upon dozens of people walking by in the hall. Her coal black eyes shifted from person to person, and she searched for a head of fiery red hair, to no avail. She groaned in annoyance, gritting her teeth. “Ugh…”

“Did you miss me that much?”

The green scaled woman heard the familiar voice behind her, and her shoulders stiffened. “Synth… you’re late. Again.” She stated, not turning around.

The male voice chuckled. “Hey, you know me, Coda. I like pushing your buttons.”

Coda rolled her eyes, turned around, and saw that apparently nobody was there in the first place. Her lips pressed into a firm line, and her brows furrowed. “...okay, dude, c’mon.” She said, clearly feeling bothered. “Just show yourself so we can get this over with.” She then pulled out a small stack of plastic, multicolored cards from a back pocket on her jumpsuit. “I lost the bet and I owe ya.”

Before her eyes, a taller man with fair skin and long red hair tied back into a ponytail appeared out of thin air in a flash of pixels. Like her, he wore a black and gray uniform with red accents, a pair of black boots to match. His piercing grey eyes locked with hers, a sly grin on his lips. 

"About time I get my deck back." He chuckled, taking the cards out of her hands. "Good thing you suck at poker."

Coda laughed and shoved Synth at the comment. "That's cuz ya cheat, you fucker," She laughed.

The ginger winked. "Hey, I don't cheat… I just find loopholes."

"Yeah… sure," The creeper replied sarcastically, chuckling. “You elegantly… expertly… carefully dupe everyone into giving you their shit.”

Synth let out a laugh. “Now that’s ridiculous.” He insisted. He was about to continue his sentence, only to be interrupted by a small ping. “Hmm?” He lifted his arm to look at his wrist, where what resembled a watch resided. On its small screen, an icon of a bell was ringing back and forth, signalling that a brand new message was there for him to read.

Coda raised a brow at the beep. “What’s that about? Is it that crazy ex of yours again? I told ya that if ya needed me to shut’er up, I would.”

A confused frown formed on the redhead’s face as he read the message. “Apparently we’ve got a mission… World hijack. Block A, Floor Seven, at eight thirty.”

Coda eyes went wider in disbelief. “A mission? Today? But it's our day off…”

Synth frowned even more. “There’s no one else available…” He stated, before turning off his communicator and sighed.

The creeper’s brows furrowed. “You gotta be kidding me...” Her shoulders then sagged, and she let out an irritated groan. “Dammit... I gotta cancel my date now…”

Synth’s eyes widened slightly in interest. “A date? With who?”

“A hot tub.”

The redhead smirked. "That sounds more like a party."

Coda rolled her eyes. "You're so not invited."

“Awww!” Synth chuckled, before clearing his throat. “But hey, think about it. This could be your opportunity to finally get promoted. Show that you have what it takes to be a Sergeant.”

Coda thought for a moment, pursing her lips. “...you have a fair point...” She replied. After a few seconds of silence, she then pushed herself off the wall and stood up with confidence. “Y’know what, fuck it, I’ll show ‘em!” Determined, she began to march off down the hallway. 

The redhead chuckled and looked on at the creeper as she strolled away. "What're ya waiting for, a red carpet?" Coda asked, turning around to face her friend. "C'mon, we're gonna be late!"

“Don’t worry, I’m coming,” Synth answered, shifting away from his spot on the wall and beginning to follow the creeper. “And we still have half an hour. It’s only eight o’ clock, after all.”

“The Hive has over a hundred floors, dude!” Coda stated, gesturing around her with her arms to emphasize her point. “And the floors are enormous!”

Fort Oblivion, or the Hive, as it was commonly called, was the Shadowbyte Army’s base of operations. It had been ever since the military faction was founded hundreds of years prior by Ecryptos, a hacker said to have unspeakable power. With over one hundred floors, countless amounts of soldiers flowed in and out of the fortress like bees, loyally serving their queen, or in this case, king.

“That’s what hacks are for.” Synth replied, before pointing over to a mechanical sliding door. “And elevators.”

The green creeper glanced over at the elevator. “...you’re lucky I like you.” She said as the mechanical doors slid open. “You’re such a smartass sometimes…”

The human just smirked as he and his friend got into the empty lift. “You’re one to talk,” He teased, pressing a button on the elevator's control panel. 

“Oh, shut the fuck up,” Coda shoved Synth and laughed, crossing her arms as the elevator closed and began to descend.

A few moments of silence passed after the descent started. It was then that another soft ding came from Synth’s communicator. He lifted his wrist to check it, and he let out a small groan of annoyance as he did.

Coda tilted her head to look up at her taller friend. “Now is it Vinnie?”

“Yeah…” He replied, a frown on his face.

“She’s still pissed at ya, huh?”

The redhead nodded. “Mhmm…” His lips were pressed into a firm line, obviously fed up with the situation.

Coda gritted her teeth at the thought of Synth’s ex girlfriend. “Bitch…” She muttered. “Why can’t she just leave ya be? You came outta the closet almost a damn month ago.”

“Correction: you dragged me out of the closet.” Synth pointed out as the elevator stopped and opened its doors.

The two friends stepped out of the elevator and into another bustling hallway of Shadowbyte soldiers and personnel. “That’s cuz ya needed a polite shove in the right direction.” She stated back as they walked side by side. “You couldn’t hide your secret forever, y’know. Eventually ya would’ve broke.”

“She would have been angry either way,” Synth said.

“Who fucking cares if she’s mad?!” Coda snapped, eyes angry and full of protective rage. “She’s just some self-centered lil’ bitch who can’t handle the fact that the hottest guy she ever dated turned out to be ace!”

Synth blinked at the outburst, but then he chuckled. “You think I’m hot?” He asked.

“No shit! Look at yourself dude!” Coda gestured to him dramatically. “You’re hot as hell!”

“I thought you said that to everyone…” The redhead tightened his ponytail as he let out another laugh.

“That’s cuz I don’t give a fuck who I hook up with,” The green creeper stated. “Y’know I’m fine with every gender of the fucking rainbow.”

A grin tugged at the corners of Synth’s lips. “So… if you could, would you hook up with me?”

Coda immediately stopped in her tracks. “What? Ew, fuck no!” She answered. “Dude, I’ve known you for years! Even before you came out, the thought of hooking up with ya was just…” She shivered in disgust. “Uggghh…”

Her reaction make Synth smile wider and burst out laughing. “Pffft!” He had to lean himself against the wall and clutch his stomach, he was cackleing so hard. 

“Dude, I’m serious!” Coda stated.

It took a moment for him to catch his breath, and once he did, he cleared his throat. “Hey, like I said before; I love pushing your buttons...!” A sly smile formed on the redhead’s pale face.

"Yeah, yeah,” Coda said, before she noticed a set of large metal doors. Above it read a single sign in bold lettering. Block Seven A. “Wait, we’re here?”

Synth stepped up to the door. “See? I told you we wouldn’t be late.” He said, and pushed open the door to walk in. 

The room was rather large, giving plenty of space for soldiers to work. A raised platform was at the end of the expansive space, giving access to a large monitor, currently blank and dark. On one side of the room, long racks of all sorts of weapons and armor ran along the walls, displaying everything from assault rifles to gas masks to swords. Massive sparring mats were conveniently spaced out evenly along the perimeter of the racks, allowing easy access to the large amount of hardware. On the other side of the room, a row of pixelated targets and training dummies lined the wall, waiting to be used.

Synth brushed off a bit of dust from his shoulder. “You think the Hive is so large now?”

Coda rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, shut up.” She said, surveying her surroundings. For a moment, she thought that she and Synth were the only people present. But then her gaze landed on a figure near the sparring mats. A short, pudgy girl with long brown hair sat cross legged on the floor, surrounded by countless papers with what appeared to be blueprints. She had a pencil grasped between her milky fingers, and was writing down on one of the sheets.

A that moment, the curvy girl glanced away from her papers and caught sight of Coda and Synth. Her thin brown eyes lit up, and she grinned, standing up to happily greet the new arrivals. "Ooo, you must be the Infantry soldiers!" She said as she pranced over to them, gesturing to their red-accented Shadowbyte uniforms. "My name's Sakura."

Coda looked the girl up and down. She appeared… almost too cheerful and peppy at that moment. Especially since missions were never exactly a happy time. "You… don't look like you're a soldier, not gonna lie." She said.

Instead of being offended, the brunette shrugged and laughed. "I know. I'm not exactly a soldier anyway." She then tapped a small cloth badge in the shape of a cog sewn onto her uniform. "I'm more of a hired nerd than anything."

Synth raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Ah, you're in the Engineering department. You operate mechs?"

Sakura nodded. "Mhmm!" She answered. "I operate mechs, make cybernetics, design machines, the whole nine yards." She counted off each thing she said by holding out a finger for each one. It was at that moment that one thing was very apparent to Coda and Synth; the short woman had a prosthetic left arm, intricate lines of redstone wiring spread throughout the whole limb.

Synth kept his gaze on her arm for a moment, before lifting his head up to look her straight on. "So do you know any of the other two people here?"

The brunette gave him another nod. "Oh yeah!" She pointed to a corner of the room, where two guys sat. One had bright blue hair and eyes, and the other had blonde hair and a pair of welding goggles. "The blonde one is Lucky, he's part of the Cyber division. He's going to be our go-to for information. The one next to him is Jazz, part of Special Ops."

Coda nodded. "So we're still waiting on three more people…" She said to herself.

"Yes, three," Sakura replied. "As far as I know, I'm the only mechanic, and we should be getting at least one medic. Not sure about the rest though-" She then fell silent, and leaned to the side to look past the two Infantry soldiers. Her signature wide smile reappeared on her face. "Oh, nevermind!"

The two friends glanced over their shoulders, and sure enough, there were two new arrivals in the block. A man with greyish-white hair and faded blue eyes had entered, closely tailed by a taller but younger male with dark brown eyes and black hair. Both had the typical Shadowbyte jumpsuit on, as everyone else did, but instead of them being mostly made of black fabric, they were a clean white tone accented with shades of red and grey. It was very apparent that those two were part of the Medical division of the Army. And Coda immediately recognized one of them.

The creeper flashed a smile towards the two medics. "Hey, old man!" She called, waving to the white-haired medic and getting his attention. "Still kickin' huh?"

The older man chuckled and waved back as he approached, the younger medic in tow. "It's gonna take a lot more than a zombie hoard to kill me, Coda." He called and held up his arm, which was wrapped in some bandages.

Synth glanced at his friend, then the man, and then back to his friend. “Wait… this is Grey, right?” He asked her. “You said that he was your mentor when you first enlisted.”

Coda nodded. “Yeah, he was. I was still in the Medical Division back then. Eventually I got transferred to Infantry.”

“That’s because she has zero patience,” Grey said. At this point, him and the other medic had reached Coda, Synth, and Sakura. “Staff Sergeant Grey, at your service,” He held out a hand for the trio of soldiers to shake.

Sakura was the first one to shake his hand. “Sakura. Sergeant for the Engineering Division.” She said, giving him a warm smile.

Synth was next as soon as the brunette let go. “Master Sergeant Synth. Infantry.” He introduced himself. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Coda.”

“Good things, I hope?”

The redhead shrugged and chuckled. “Eh, healthy mix of both good and bad.”

Coda elbowed her friend at the answer. “Hey, I don’t say that much bad stuff ‘bout him!” She stated, crossing her arms and pouting. “He was just-”

“Not letting you have any fun?” Grey finished, a half smile on his wrinkled face.

The creeper fell silent, and let out a frustrated huff. “Fuck you, Grey.”

“Missed you too, Coda.”

Sakura then spoke up. “Excuse me, sir…?” She asked. “Who is that with you…” She gestured to the other medic next to Grey.

“Oh, yeah, him,” Grey gestured to the quiet boy next to him. “This is Nix,” He said. “He… doesn’t say much, but he’s one of the finest kids I’ve ever mentored.”

The two Infantry soldiers glanced over at the medic. A small smile formed on his lips, and he gave a small wave, but no words came from him as a greeting. 

Coda nodded, tilting her head slightly. "Aight then…Word of advice though." She took a step closer to Nix, grinning slyly. "Don't forget to pay attention. If ya don't, you'll be coming back here in a body bag." She then walked away chuckling, leaving the teen's eyes wide and skin draining of its warm umber tone. His scrawny figure shrunk back in fear. He opened his mouth to say something, but only a single squeak sounded out.

Grey shook his head, pressing his palm against his forehead. "Some things never change..." He muttered to himself. “Ignore her, Nix. She’s always been like that.” He assured his pupil, making the color slightly return to the student's bronzed skin.

After leaving Nix absolutely terrified and walking some distance away from the group, Coda leaned up against the wall, arms crossed. Next to her, also up against the wall, was the guy with bright blue hair and eyes that Sakura had pointed out before, heavily focused on a small device in his hands.

“So you’re Jazz right? Special Ops?” She asked, glancing over at the soldier.

The blue-eyed man nodded, his gaze fixed on the gadget in his hands. “Mhmm.” He said. “You?”

“Coda. Infantry.” She answered. A small ding then sounded from her communicator, and she glanced at her wrist. The time was eight thirty; exactly when the meeting was supposed to start. And there were still only seven people of the byte present.

Coda frowned, feeling annoyance bubble in her chest. “There’s only seven here… we’re missing the damn leader.” She growled. “If anything, they should at least be on time.”

“Don’t worry,” Jazz spoke up, not removing his focus from his game. “She’ll be here soon.”

The creeper raised a brow at the Special Ops soldier. “She? Who’s comin-”

The blue eyed gamer cut her off, holding up a finger. “Ah, hold on! I’m almost at the next level!”

“Jazz-”

“Shhh!” More beeps and boops and blasts from the gaming device.

Coda’s patience was wearing thin. “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” But before she could rip the gadget out of Jazz’s hands, she felt two hands wrap around her arms and pull her away.

“Okay, come on.” Synth said, calmly dragging his angered friend across the tiled floor, away from the current object of her rage.

The creeper glared up at the redhead. “Synth, c’mon man!” She squirmed violently to try and get out of his grasp. “Get off me!”

The soldier shook his head. “Not until you calm down, man,” He stated back. “Your temper gets you into trouble. You know that, right?”

Coda huffed, and gave up trying to escape her friend’s grip. “Yeah… I know.” She answered reluctantly. “...you can let me go now.”

Synth chuckled, and removed his hands from her arm. “There you are, m’lady.” He joked, brushing his hand off on his red and black uniform.

The green-scaled woman rolled her black eyes, turning away from him and crossing her arms. “Yeah, yeah.” She said, obviously salty. She glanced over at Jazz, who was too wrapped up in his game to have a single care. “Is Jazz ever gonna put that brick down?” She asked after a moment of quiet.

The redhead snickered and shrugged, shifting his focus to the blue eyed soldier leaning against the wall. “I don’t think he will, no,” He laughed. “That thing might just be the death of him one day.”

Coda burst out laughing, but tried to hold it back. “Pffft!” Her attempt to try and stop her chuckle only worked for a moment, and she then let it sound from her mouth. “Probably, yeah.” She said while laughing. The funniest part to the two of them was that Jazz was so absorbed into his game that he didn’t even hear the two talking about him.

A few moments later, their giggles died down into silence between them. “...have you heard of the name Nightingale?” Synth suddenly asked his friend.

Immediately, Coda recognized the name. According to word spread around the Hive, Nightingale was one of, if not the best Special Ops soldier in the whole Shadowbyte Army. She was especially known for her reputation as an incredibly skilled sniper, which explained her high ranking of Sergeant Major. But outside of missions she was put on, she was rarely ever seen. In fact, most of her existence was shrouded in mystery.

The creeper shrugged, but nodded. "Yeah, sorta." She answered. "All I know is that she's like a ghost around here. Why you ask?"

"I'm quite certain that she's the one we're missing."

Coda blinked. "...wait, what? You sure?"

Synth nodded. "Mhmm."

"...you wanna bet on it?"

The redhead raised a brow, but he grinned. "What did you have in mind?"

The green creeper smirked back. "Whoever's right has to buy the other person lunch when we get back." She then held out her hand and spat on it, before holding it out for him to shake. "Deal?"

Synth laughed. "Deal." He then spat in his own palm, before firmly grasping his friend's hand and shaking it. "And you know you're gross, right?" He let go and pulled a silk handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe his hand off.

Coda raised an eyebrow, her smirk turning mischievous. “What, y’mean like this?” Before Synth could respond, she then disappeared in an array of static, only to instantly reappear latched onto him as if he were giving her a piggyback ride. She snickered and dragged her tongue across his freckled cheek, immediately letting out a cackle as her friend shrieked in disgust.

“Coda! Get off!” He scrambled to get her off his back, but the creeper only laughed more and latched on tighter. After drawing the attention of almost everybody else in the room, Synth eventually teleported a few feet away, causing Coda to fall to the floor with a loud thunk.

Coda groaned and leapt to her feet. “Oh c’mon!" She lunged to where Synth was, only to grasp at open air as he activated an invisibility hack and disappeared. She heard him let out a relieved chuckle behind her. "You mother-"

“I presume everyone’s here?”

Everyone in the room turned to face where the new voice came from. A tall woman with ebony skin and black curls stood in the doorway, donning a standard black and grey Shadowbyte jumpsuit with purple accents, signifying her position as a Special Ops soldier. A long, jagged scar stretched across one of her dark eyes, most of it hidden from sight with the leather eyepatch she wore. But with or without her nasty battle wound, her respectable title, or her surprising height, her gaze alone was cold and intimidating enough to make anyone stop in their tracks.

Synth, who had now reappeared, let out a chuckle and nudged his friend with his elbow. "I guess I won the bet." He said.

Coda tore her widened gaze from the woman as she strode into the room. “Wait… that’s Nightingale?!” The creeper whispered harshly to Synth.

“Mhmm. That’s her.” He replied. “What, are you surprised? Jazz and I told you she was a woman...”

“Ya didn’t tell me she was smokin’ hot, though!”

Synth covered his lips with a single finger. "Hush now, Coda. You wouldn't want her hearing that, would you?" He teased. "Besides, she's coming this way." He nodded his head in the sniper's direction, and indeed, she had her dark eyes set on Synth and Coda.

The redhead gave the woman a nod in respect as she approached. “Ma’am,” He greeted, holding out his hand for her to shake. “Good to see you again.”

Nightingale returned the gesture and shook his hand. “You too, Synth," She said. "And please, Angel will do just fine.”

The taller male chuckled, still holding the woman's palm. "But how would I be a gentleman then, ma'am?" He asked playfully, before lifting her hand up to press a kiss against her knuckles.

Angel rolled her eyes, letting out a small laugh in return. "Charmer as always, Synth," She pulled her hand away and rested it on her hip. "And I'm guessing the one next to you is Coda?"

As the creeper felt her heart skip a beat, her taller friend nodded, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Yes ma'am. This is her, in the flesh."

The ebony woman turned herself to face Coda, and she gave her a nod. "Synth says that you're pretty skilled at hand to hand combat. One of the best in your rank. Specialist, if my memory serves me correct?"

Coda, as flustered as she felt, put on a sharp-toothed smile and nodded. "Yes ma'am. That's me." She answered.

The corners of Angel's lips pulled up into a slight grin. "Well, let's hope you live up to your reputation." She turned to Synth and smiled wider, although not much. "That goes for you too, Synth."

The redhead chuckled. "Yes, ma'am." He responded, and watched the woman walk away, presumably to inform the rest of the byte about the mission.

Coda then slowly craned her neck upwards to face Synth as soon as the woman was out of earshot. “Since when did you and her know each other?” She whispered, demanding an explanation.

“I’ve worked with her before on many occasions,” The redhead stated simply. “Mostly on World hijacks. As stern as she is, she’s damn good at what she does.”

The creeper glanced back at Angel, who was striding up to the front of the room. “She sure is good… I can agree with that.” She still couldn’t get over how attractive she thought the woman was, even if she appeared to be in her late thirties, maybe even her early forties. A well-toned body, pretty face, full lips. It was as if she were the embodiment of a beautiful night itself-

“You thirsty again?” Synth’s chuckle snapped Coda out of her thoughts and made her cheeks heat up. However, as he opened his mouth to speak again, Coda bent her elbow and jammed it into his gut. "Ow! …alright, I deserved that."

"Ya think?"

"Okay everyone, listen up!" Angel stated loud enough to capture everyone's attention as she stepped onto the raised platform at the front of the room. "Our job today is to capture the target World, right here!" She gestured her hand to the massive screen, which had now turned on and had an expansive view of a single World, encased in several large translucent blue spheres. Firewalls. "Now, who's the Cyber soldier here?"

Almost everyone's gazes shifted to Lucky, who's figure went from already timid to extremely nervous. He gulped, and shyly raised his hand. "M-m-me, ma'am…" He squeaked.

His meek reply was only just enough to get the sniper's attention. "Alright. Can you pull up the information on this World? Anything you can find."

"Y-yes ma'am." Lucky nodded, and slowly left his corner to step up and onto the platform with Angel. He tapped the screen a few times, and a translucent keyboard appeared before him. The blonde them typed away at his console, glancing between that and the monitor. "Okay… s-so this World has received the latest known Update. And it's been around for a little over a month now."

Angel nodded slowly. “And its name?”

“Uh...” Lucky tapped away some more, eyes darting back and forth. “It doesn’t have a registered name, but it has an admin authority listed. Which is…” He then blinked a couple times, before biting his lip. "Uh oh…”

Coda raised an eyebrow. "What? What is it?" She demanded.

The shorter male timidly looked back at the creeper now eyeing him expectantly. "Th-the admin authority is listed as W.E.S." He gulped. “W-World Exploration Society.”

Almost every other member of the group grimaced at the name. The World Exploration Society was the bane of the Army’s World hijack operations. If a World had W.E.S. as its admin authority, it meant that it had at least twenty inhabitants working fulltime to make that World eventually livable and safe for the general public. Which also meant that there was at least twenty more ways that the mission could possibly go wrong.

“...well shit.” Coda said, pressing her lips into a firm line. “This is great. Just fuckin’ great.”

Sakura’s dark brown eyes shifted to the creeper. “Well… it could be worse.” She replied, trying to be optimistic.

“How the fuck could this be any worse?”

The brunette flinched slightly at Coda’s response, but she continued. “We… we could be going on a suicide mission...?”

“As far as we know, this is a suicide mission.” She retorted, leaning her face closer to Sakura’s, an irritated sneer on her lips.

“Hey, ladies,” Angel asserted, getting the pair’s attention with her stern and annoyed tone. “Work together here instead of going at each other’s throats.”

A new voice then spoke up. “M-ma’am…?”

Everyone turned to see who it was, and Lucky had his hand raised. “M-maybe if we try to figure out who’s in that World… w-we could make a plan of attack easier.”

Coda locked her jet black eyes with the blonde’s. “And how would that make anythin’ easier?”

"Well… we would want to know who we're going to encounter, right?" Sakura explained. "We could get an advantage if we knew who we're up against."

Angel pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed in irritation. “Alright… Just get the list of names for the group members assigned to the World. Understood?”

The blonde nodded rapidly and saluted. “Y-yes ma’am! I-I will!” He squeaked, before heading over to his corner to type away once again, pulling up holographic screens and monitors.

The Special Ops soldier turned to face the rest of the party under her command. “Until he gets the information we need, you all can go to your own devices.” She gave them all a strong salute, standing tall. “You’re dismissed.”

Everyone else gave her a salute back, before dispersing around the room. Coda looked over at the large sparring rings, and she shrugged. She figured that while they waited for Lucky to finish his research, practicing combat wouldn’t be so bad. Plus, she had heard rumors that there were some new weapons to test out.

“Hey, dude,” She said to get Synth’s attention onto her. “Wanna spar?”

The redhead looked over his shoulder to face his friend, and his grey eyes lit up in interest. “Yeah, sure,” He answered. “Real or fake weapons?”

Coda let out a chuckle. “Do I look like a wimp to you?”

“Don’t you remember the last time we used real ones?” Synth asked. “You nearly took my head off with that mace you had.”

“Oh, c’mon man!” She whined. “I won’t send you to the infirmary this time!”

“That’s what you said last time… and the time before that. And the time before-”

Coda huffed and raised her hands. “Aight, aight, keep ya pants on!” She stated. “But I’m still gonna get weapons for the mission, cuz right now I got nothing. And I suggest you do the same unless ya wanna be beaten to a pulp.”

Synth grinned a bit and gave a single nod. “Then shall we?” He gestured to the massive array of weapons and armor on the wall next to the sparring mats, and jokingly held out his arm for his friend to grasp.

The green creeper rolled her eyes and smiled, before wrapping her arm around his. “You’re so proper, it’s borderline annoying.” She chuckled as they walked arm in arm across the room.

“What can I say? A fine lady such as yourself needs to be treated with the greatest amount of respect.” The redhead winked at his fellow soldier.

She let out a snort of laughter. “You got the fine part right.” As soon as the two got to the massive wall of weapons and artillery, they let go of each other and went off on their own to find their desired gear.

Coda gazed at the variety of melee weapons as she slowly walked past them. Spears, daggers, staves, maces, swords. But a wide grin formed on her lips once she saw a beautiful and shining battle axe made of dark steel perched on the rack. Bold red accents ran along the edges of its two large blades and long handle, making the heavy weapon much more menacing. Just how she liked it.

“Oh hell yeah!” She eagerly made her way to the battle axe and ran her fingers along the cold metal, before grasping it with both hands and lifting it off the rack. “Come to Mama!” She turned to glance over at Synth. "What'cha picking out?"

The redhead carefully slid a long, elegant black steel sword off its perch on the wall. "This," He answered, holding it up for her to see. "You getting a gun?"

The green creeper pursed her lips in thought. "I probably should…" She said back, before lifting her heavy weapon over her shoulder with one hand and beginning to browse the next section of artillery, mostly consisting of firearms and miscellaneous weaponry, like smoke bombs or garrote wires. After a few moments, she shrugged and decided on a couple of pistols. They weren’t the most powerful guns, but they would do in a pinch.

She knelt down and tucked one of the handguns in the side of her boot. “Hey, while you're over with the training weapons, grab me one of the axes, will ya?” She called out to her friend as she concealed her weapon with the hem of her jumpsuit pant leg.

“I’m way ahead of you,” Coda heard Synth answer. When she looked up, she saw that he was already holding two synthetic weapons in his hands; a battle axe for his friend, and a longsword for himself. “Now, think fast.”

Before she could respond, the redhead sheathed his fake blade and then threw the fake axe, sending it spiraling in Coda’s direction. “GAH!” The creeper jumped to her feet in surprise, and instinctively held her hand up. Right as the large weapon was about to smack her in the face, the axe came to a sudden halt in midair and remained there floating.

“Synth, what the hell?!” The creeper cursed out her friend, demanding an explanation.

Synth only grinned and laughed. “I’m just testing your reflexes, that’s all,” He cooed, striding over to one of the sparring mats. “Making sure that you’ve actually been practicing telekinetic hacks.”

Coda huffed and gritted her teeth as she grasped the hovering axe. “Fuck you, man,” She lifted her weapon up over her shoulder, and she walked over to the opposite side of the large mat. “Anyway… Ya ready?”

Synth twirled his sword in his hand, standing tall. “Ready,”

Coda’s grip on her training axe tightened, and she grinned. “On my count.” She stated. “One…”

Both friends adjusted their stances, preparing for the brawl about to ensue.

“Two...”

The creeper felt her heart pumping, loving the adrenaline rush through her body. Her sharp-toothed smile grew wider at the feeling. It was a feeling that thought she was timeless. And she couldn’t wait to actually go out and fight in the field head on against the enemy.

“Three!”

The two soldiers then rushed at each other, weapons poised and ready to strike. Coda was the first to make a move, swinging her large axe in a large arc at Synth’s torso. Though Synth quickly leaned to the side and dodged the attempted blow, before making a quick swing of his own with his sword.

They kept swinging back and forth, dodging and blocking each other’s strikes, using teleportation and speed hacks to their advantage. As violent and hasty as it appeared, it was almost graceful. The two had gotten sparring down to almost an art form, after all. Maybe training side by side for years was starting to take its toll; actually landing a hit on one another was proving to be more and more difficult with each fight.

It wasn’t until after several long, neverending moments that one managed to land a blow on the other. Coda and Synth’s weapons clashed against each other, and the creeper managed to send the human’s sword flying out of his hand and across the mat. Seeing her chance, she swung her axe at his feet and knocked him onto the floor.

Coda pressed her boot against his chest, resting the edge of her synthetic weapon on his neck. A mischievous but tired smile danced on her lips. "I...I think I won." She said in between labored breaths.

Synth coughed, but grinned back as his friend moved the axe away from him and lifted her foot off of his torso. "About time." He said, before sitting up and holding out a hand, which Coda properly grasped to help him up. “You’ve gotten pretty decent with that handling that axe. I remember when you could barely hold one of those.”

The creeper rolled her eyes, managing to finally catch her breath. “That was when I first met ya, dude,” She chuckled. “Almost ten years ago! I was still a twig back then! Now I literally bench press you like it’s nothin’!” She lifted the training axe over her shoulder. “Plus these things are a lot lighter than the actual weapons.”

“His point still stands.” Angel’s voice caught the two friends off guard. They turned, and saw that she stood a few yards away, with a familiar blank expression on her face. “You did good.”

Coda felt her cheeks heat up a bit, and she gave the woman a nod, clearing her throat. “Thank you, ma’am.”

A small moment of silence passed, and then the creeper felt a hand on her shoulder. “I… think I’ll leave you two alone for a bit.” Synth said, making his friend look up at him in confusion. “Get to know each other a bit more.” He winked, a playful glint in his eye. At that moment, she immediately knew what he was trying to pull.

Coda gritted her teeth in irritation as he walked off, presumably to interact with the rest of the team. She glanced back at Angel, who’s expression remained pretty much the same. “Uh… so you’ve heard ‘bout me? From Synth?” She asked, in an attempt to try and make conversation. Internally, she was growing frustrated; normally this wouldn’t have affected her so much. Why did Angel have to be so pretty?

The ebony woman nodded as a response to her question. “I have. He talks about you quite a bit, actually.” She said. “I’m presuming that you’ve known each other for some time?”

The creeper internally sighed in relief at how the feeling of butterflies in her stomach began to fade. “Yes, we have,” She answered. “We met a little after I finished my training and officially became enlisted. About ten years ago.”

Angel raised an eyebrow slightly. “So you’re about twenty eight?” She questioned. “That’s quite young to be a Specialist. Most reach that title in their thirties.”

Coda chuckled. “I’m not most people,” She replied. “And neither are you. There’s so many rumors about ya I can barely keep track of which ones are legit and which aren’t.”

"Oh?" The sniper tilted her head a bit. "And what would these rumors contain?"

The creeper let out another laugh. "Well… people say that you can empty a clip in the blink of an eye. Don't know how that started."

To Coda's surprise, something new glinted in Angel's dark gaze, though she couldn't tell what it was. "You don't trust the rumors?" She asked.

"Not really," She stated. "I know you're a good shot, but I doubt you can shoot that quick-"

Angel suddenly drew a gun off of her belt and aimed at three targets all the way across the room. Three loud shots sounded out, and the trio of targets exploded in a bright array of red pixels, before flashing white and returning to their original, untouched state. The sniper stood strong for a moment with her arm raised and smoking pistol poised, before calmly holstering it on her hip. “You believe the rumors now?” She asked.

Coda’s eyes were wide at what just occurred, feeling absolutely flabbergasted. “H...h-heh…” Her face began to feel hot as she blushed. She couldn’t even see the woman fire each individual shot, she was that quick. How could she have fired three bullets in the blink of an eye and have each one meet its mark perfectly? Aimbot? Speed? Haste? The creeper thought and thought, and drew nothing but a blank.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Angel snapped Coda out of her thoughts, before striding away and leaving the creeper flustered and shocked.

This woman would be the death of her.

"I take it the chat went a bit south?" Synth's voice sounded next to the green creeper, though this time it didn't make her jump. Her focus was still fixed on her superior's figure as she walked off.

"...how is she such a badass…?" Coda mumbled.

"I ask myself every day, Coda," The human replied, before patting her shoulder a couple of times. "Come on. I think maybe getting your focus on something else will snap you back to your old asshat self." He then led his friend across the room after wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Sakura! Is that thing of yours almost done?"

Sakura was near Jazz, Nix, and Grey, who had gathered around her to see what she was up to. "Almost!" She called, her back facing Coda and Synth.

The closer the pair got to the mechanic, the more curious she became. "What are ya doing…?" Coda asked as she and Synth were close enough to see what she was apparently working on.

The short brunette's thin eyes lit up, and she gave a warm smile. "I've been working on…" She then turned around to proudly hold up what appeared to be a small metal box with a single button on top. "This!" She stated proudly, before setting the box on the ground.

The green creeper eyed the gadget curiously. “Uh...What’s that…?” She looked back up at the brunette who set it on the floor.

"Just watch," Sakura said, before she pressed the button on the device. As she took several steps away, the metallic contraption began to unfold and expand with whirrs and clicks and hums. In a matter of moments, the final parts shifted into place, making a massive and powerful mech that towered over everybody else in the room.

Jazz's eyes widened in awe. "Woah…" A wide grin formed on his face, and he turned to Sakura. "Can I try it?! Please!!" He asked, repeatedly bouncing up and down where he stood.

Before the mechanic could respond, Angel calmly spoke up. "If you let’em in that thing, he’ll blow us up in five minutes." She called from across the room, soon approaching. "Don't let him near it."

The blue-haired soldier frowned. "Aww, please?" He begged his superior. "I promise I'll be caref-"

Only one quick glare at him was enough to silence Jazz. All of the color drained from his cheeks in a matter of seconds. "Y...yes ma'am…" He uttered.

Coda snorted as she held back a laugh. Even though she had known Angel for less than an hour, she was already growing a liking to her, and not just for her good looks or the fact that her heart skipped beats when she spoke to her. To her, the older woman was very admirable.

The ebony woman then shifted her gaze back to Sakura. "You can get back to testing your mech, Sergeant." She stated.

The mechanic blinked, but then smiled, before stepping up to the back of her creation and pulling two levers simultaneously to open what appeared to be the cockpit. Pulling herself up and into the mech, she laid down in the snug chamber and pressed a few buttons, and the machine whirred to life, a control panel with dozens of buttons and dials and levers lighting up as a result.

Grey's faded blue eyes widened slightly, impressed at the complex and beautiful piece of machinery. "I'll be damned…" He said, before looking through the windshield of the mech and at Sakura. "You made this by yourself?"

The girl nodded. "Yup!" She answered, her voice slightly muffled. "This is the latest model of what I call the Redstone Operated Shadowbyte Automaton. Or R.O.S.A. for short." The brunette patted the side of the cockpit. "Takes a lot to maintain her, but she's a beauty."

Synth eyed the mech with interest, specifically the guns. “Do you mind showing us it works?”

“Sure, I don’t see why not,” Sakura replied. “I’ve got to make sure the firing mechanisms work anyway, so I can show you those. Just don’t get in front of me when I do.”

The brunette grasped two lever-like controllers on her console, outfitted with several buttons and triggers. She pushed them both forward, and the mech swiftly moved across the floor to the small firing range, making soft stomps with every step. "Now, stand back!" Sakura called out as the automaton's two machine gun arms lifted. The submachine guns soon spun and whirred to life, and before anybody could say anything, a bright display of red hot plasma charges flew across the room towards the targets and obliterated them in an instant.

Jazz’s eyes lit up at the sight, and his jaw dropped. “Holy shit! That’s awesome!!” He exclaimed as the gunfire slowly ceased, and the mech’s operator exited.

A light blush spread across Sakura’s face at the praise. “Aw, it was nothing...” She answered, smiling shyly.

Angel then spoke up. “Don’t sell yourself short,” She stated. “You have a great piece of machinery here-”

Her sentence was cut off as she felt a tap on her shoulder and heard Lucky’s voice. "M-ma'am, I've got it…"

The sniper raised an eyebrow, and shifted her focus to the timid blonde now next to her. "What was that?"

"I-I've got it… I've got the names of the group members." He repeated.

Coda's eyes widened in interest. "Well, what're ya waiting for? Show us!"

With the seven other soldier’s eyes focused on him, Lucky began to sweat. “Y-yes, of course!” He answered, and rushed to the front of the room where the massive screen hung. After tapping on it a few times, the empty monitor then lit up brightly once he made a final tap on his wrist communicator. On the screen, over two dozen photos of different people popped up, each with their own sets of information and data pouring in.

Sakura’s jaw dropped at the sight. “Oh my goodness…” She said. “All of those people are in that one World?”

“P-possibly,” Lucky replied, and swiped his hand across the screen. The portraits then enlarged to show only one at a time, with their personal details next to the images. Both slowly scrolled by, displaying each member for a moment before moving onto the next. “But most likely… yes. They’ll likely all be on at the same time…”

Coda let out a huff. “Aw, shit… great.” She grumbled. “Now we’ve got more witnesses to take care of…”

Synth turned to the creeper next to him. “Unless we have the element of surprise.” He countered. “Even if there is that many people, they’re bound to be spread quite thin.”

“He’s right,” Angel agreed, stepping up next to the two friends. “We’ll need to be stealthy about this. As long as we stay below the radar, these guys won’t suspect a thing.” She kept her gaze on the profiles continuously scrolling by. “Besides, think about it... if we don’t kill them, we’ll have more possible soldiers to take in.”

The blonde Cyber soldier lifted his head up to face the sniper. “U-uhh… n-not to be rude, ma’am, but… a-are you sure they’d want to join…?”

“Like I said. Possible soldiers.” The woman repeated. “If some join, great. If not… that’s more for us to clean up.”

Grey's face contorted into a frown. "Being a cleaner isn't part of my job description. Or Nix's." He gestured to his student, who stood next to him awkwardly.

"Ya deal with blood and guts all the time, old man," Coda countered. "You have been for years."

"Exactly my point. I don't want to deal with any more than I already do."

The creeper huffed, crossing her arms. "It isn't that bad-"

"Hey," Angel stated forcefully, interrupting the two's debate. "Another day."

While the older male fell silent and nodded, Coda only got more defiant, even if she did respect the woman as her superior. "Why the hell not? Ya already-"

The team's leader flicked a finger in the soldier's direction, and a small burst of pixels erupted from the tip. No more sound then came out of Coda's mouth, although her lips kept moving as if she were still talking. Angel muted her.

"That's better," The sniper said, before turning her attention back to the other six members of the byte, completely ignoring Coda's silent bout of anger and frustration. "Now, where were we?"

Lucky hesitantly raised his hand. "W-we were talking about how we could get possible recruits from this World...?" He answered.

Angel nodded in the blonde's direction. "Good. You were paying attention." She said, and then turned to face Coda. “Unlike some people.”

The creeper could only respond by scowling and crossing her arms, appearing to have let out a frustrated grumble.

The ebony woman continued. "Anyway… with the amount of people residing in the World, there's bound to be someone who has some sort of hacking experience." She gestured to the massive screen of scrolling profiles. "If we can get more than one, then that's most definitely an added bonus."

Sakura raised her hand. "Ma'am, if I may ask… isn't there a way for us to tell if any of those members are a possible threat…? If they have any record of hacking in their files?" She asked.

Angel tapped her chin. "I suppose there could be a way to find out." She shifted her dark gaze to Lucky. "Hey, you able to check each of their backgrounds for anything iffy? Filter out which ones we need to look out for?"

The short blonde nodded. "Yes ma'am," He tapped the large screen, and a large translucent keyboard pixelated before him. His fingers flew across the console, tapping keys left and right. After a moment, the photos on the screen stopped scrolling, and zoomed out to show all two dozen profiles again. "Anything in particular you want me to search?"

"Check to see if any of them have military records, combat experience, maybe even records of hacking." She answered, shifting her gaze back to the group of profiles on the wall. "We shouldn't leave anything to chance."

Lucky gave another nod and set to work. Text spread across the screen as he typed, before disappearing as quickly as it appeared. Over half a dozen of the profile pictures then flashed a bright green, and expanded to only present themselves on the giant monitor.

"The first one is listed as Biffa2001…" Lucky started, expanding the photo furthest to the left; a man that appeared to be more machine than alive. The only flesh visible was his face, which was covered in countless scars. "He used to be a bomb tech in his home World's army, but was honorably discharged after…" Lucky then visibly cringed at what he read next, eyes wide. "L-losing over fifty percent of his body when trying to disable an IED… He had to get a specialized suit and prosthetics so he could walk again..."

Sakura blinked and bit her nails. "Oh gosh…" She muttered. “Please tell me it only gets better from here…”

Lucky shrugged, appearing uncertain. “I-I… I have no clue.” He replied, before typing once again and moving onto the profile next to Biffa’s. "Okay… This guy here is DocM77." Lucky enlarged the photograph on the monitor, giving a more detailed look at a creeper with visible metal cybernetics on his face. "Used to be a military scientist and mechanic before becoming an employee for W.E.S." The blonde blinked. "Nothing much else in his file other than that one of his experiments went wrong and he had to have a bunch of his body replaced with cybernetics."

Jazz, although not looking up at the monitor, spoke up as he continued to play his game. “You think that these guys would be more careful with their bodies,” He said.

Grey chuckled and nodded. “Good point, kid. Looks like the rest’ve had better luck though.”

"Next up… FalseSymmetry." The focus on Doc's photo shifted to the profile of the blonde woman next to him. "Former military commander, dozens of awards for valor and bravery. Left a few years ago to become apart of W.E.S." He tapped a few more times on his keyboard. "It doesn't say why she left though… as far as it looks, she was better off where she was."

"Everyone has their reasons," Angel stated. "But I doubt she's forgotten how to defend herself. Who's next?"

The Cyber soldier immediately followed her order and scrolled to the next member in question, a man with spiky brown hair and a missing eye, replaced with a mechanical one. "His name is Iskall85, according to his file." He answered. "Another military guy… Ooo, ouch…" He cringed at the line of text he was reading. "Discharged honorably after getting his eye shot out by a sniper. He literally never saw it coming, pun int-"

Angel interrupted him. "Lucky… next one." She said.

Lucky gulped and nodded nervously. "Y-yes, of course!" He then tapped his keyboard, making the view on Iskall's photograph shift to the next person. "This one is listed as… Mumbo Jumbo." He stated, gesturing to the photo of a thin man with black hair and a moustache to match. "Famous redstone engineer turned W.E.S. employee. He's pretty young, too… only twenty-three years old."

"He looks like a pipe cleaner with eyes," Coda's snicker caught the rest of the group off guard. Most turned to face her, and she had a smirk on her lips. "And yeah, the mute wore off finally. Ya can't shut me up forever." She then pulled out a small pack of gum from her back pocket and tossed a piece in her mouth, proceeding to chew and blow a pink bubble with it.

Synth raised an eyebrow at his friend, but decided against saying anything and looked back at the younger blonde. "But how is he a threat? Like she said… he doesn't appear to be that tough."

"He has a military record… s-sort of." Lucky answered. "Apparently a few years ago, he designed redstone machines and weaponry for a war going on in his home World. And they must've been pretty good, because he got a significant amount of compensation for making them."

"How much did he get?" Sakura questioned.

"Umm…" The blonde scrolled through the information next to Mumbo's photograph, before a single line of text highlighted and kept blinking on and off. "Woah… He got hundreds of millions of bits for the inventions he made!"

Coda's gum bubble burst loudly the moment Lucky finished his sentence. "Wait, what?" She asked, showing genuine surprise. "He's a multimillionaire? Why would he even be employed?"

Lucky blinked. "Wh...what do you mean?"

The creeper held her hand up and rubbed her fingers and thumb together. "Well, he has over a million reasons to not risk having his ass kicked in some untamed World. He has enough bits to retire and kick back."

Lucky shrugged. "I… I guess you have a point." He then cleared his throat, before moving along to the next member, a creeper with coal black eyes and ruby red scales. "A-anyhow, this is PythonGB, a former military soldier. A decorated one, too; a lot of awards for bravery and skill, even some of the highest honors you can get. Left a few years ago to join W.E.S." Lucky then blinked in surprise. "Huh… and it says he's only in his early twenties, too. How did me manage to become so talented so young…?"

"Doesn't matter." Angel stated. "All that matters is that he has skills. And a lot of 'em."

The Cyber soldier nodded, slightly nervous. "T-true, ma'am…" He scrolled over to the next profile, of a blonde man decked out in an almost medieval style of iron armor. "N-next up is Welsknight. Also former military… he's a bit older though. Nothing much other than that in his file…"

"What about the last one? On the right here?" Synth asked, gesturing to the photo of a man in green armor, his face hidden by a massive helmet covering his whole head.

"Uhh…" Lucky tapped the monitor a few times, expanding the profile picture so it was the only photo on the screen. "Okay, this guy is…" He blinked at the name next to the image. "Eye-sumavoid? Egg-sumavoid? Ex-sumavoid?" After a moment, he just shook his head. "Nevermind… A-anyway, there isn't much on him, either, but it does say that he has a lot of experience with putting up firewalls around Worlds. And by the reviews he has, they're pretty good at keeping malware out."

Coda then took a step closer to the screen, arms crossed. "So… In total, we've got a scrawny redstone genius, two badass blondies, a wannabe turtle, a military child prodigy, and three cyborgs…" Her gaze was fixed on the monitor for a moment, before she turned away. "All of 'em with some sort of background that could make the whole mission fall apart… Great."

Grey's eyes focused on the eight photos. "Geez, with that many people with that kind of combat experience, that group sounds more like a rogue militia than anything else."

"Umm… I don't think they're exactly called that." Lucky corrected shyly. "A-as far as I know, each group hired by W.E.S. has the option to choose their own name. To make it easier to identify them."

The older medic raised an eyebrow. "Well… what do they call themselves?"

Lucky turned to the screen and zoomed it outwards, so all of the images could be shown at once like they had moments before. A single name in bold lettering was at the top of the cluster of photographs.

HermitCraft.

[cheerscafe]

Limerence (Oumasai Fic) Chapter 3 posted!

Eeeeeeeyyy y’all! Idk why I did so many words again, but I did... pray for my soul midterms are killing me. Quarter system is an unforgiving mistress -_-

Chapter 3: Love Blooms

Word Count: 7,215

Warnings: None this time! Pure fluff! ^u^

Fanart that inspired the chapter: Literally the entire second half of the chapter is based on this fanart by @mintysugas because it literally killed me when I saw it and I’ve dedicated my soul to it. Please reblog from them!! http://mintysugas.tumblr.com/post/156138962448/this-ship-wont-let-me-fucking-rest-i-have-a-class

AO3 Link

Chapter 1 2 4

Fic under the cut! ୨( ﾟヮ ﾟ)୧ 

"Amami-chan, I have a problem." "Hmm?" It was currently the weekend–school had ended and it was a day to relax. Except Ouma wasn't relaxing. Not really. He had much more pressing matters on his mind. "I said, Amami-chan, I have a problem." "I heard you the first time. So what's this problem of yours? You hardly ask me for help with anything." The two were currently sitting in beanbags on the floor, playing videogames together. Ouma knew Amami was going to pick rainbow road like an asshole, but he was certain he and Princess Peach could handle it. Neither would stand to suffer defeat today. Amami was just going to have to take his Shy Guy and deal with it. Ouma pressed on, "So you know Saihara-chan?" "Saihara-kun? I'm guessing you mean the kid who transferred in our class a week ago," Amami hummed as he, predictably, selected rainbow road and started the race. Jerk, Ouma thought as Amami continued. "Why do you ask?" Ouma scowled as he revved up the kart's engine. "It has to do with him," he answered vaguely. Amami, though still focused on the race that had started, shot his eyebrows up in surprise. "Has Saihara-kun been giving you trouble? He didn't seem like the type to pick on somebody, but-" "No, no, no, Amami-chan," Ouma corrected, leaning whichaway and that along with the turning of his kart. It was a juvenile habit, but a hard one to break. "Not that kind of problem. And you know how capable I am in dealing with morons who want to fight me." Princess Peach tossed a green tortoise shell in Shy Guy's general direction. It missed. Amami laughed lightly, "Of course I do. I just need to make sure no one is hurting you." "Oh, my dear Ammi-chan!" Ouma gasped, launching into dramatics. "Willing to fight someone for the sake of my honor! What chivalry!" "It's not like that and you know it," Amami cut him off nonchalantly. Of course Ouma knew it. They both did. Ouma and Amami had been childhood friends since grade school. The years of spending time together, working through school assignments as partners, and hanging out on weekends had forged a bond between them. It was strong and comforting, a rock that both of them could rely on in times of need. They were practically family at that point. Still, Ouma always loved a good joke. "So?" Amami prompted, unperturbed by his lowered ranking as Princess Peach whizzed by him. "What's the problem with Saihara-kun?" Ouma hummed as he debated. Amami may be family, and Amami's the first person Ouma would trust to talk about this. That said, he wasn't sure about this 'problem' himself. Is it a problem? he thought. He knew he could tell Amami anything but... "C'mon, you can tell me," Amami gently reminded him. "I won't judge." Ouma smiled in relief. If there was one thing he could pinpoint about Amami that he always appreciated, it was his ability to listen. It's probably why they had grown so close in the first place. Ouma ventured, "Well, it's not Saihara-chan that's the problem." He smashed the buttons harder as the final lap began. He knew Amami's tactics. He would relax for the first two rounds, but as soon as it was crunch time Amami would soar ahead. How was still a mystery. Doesn't matter, Ouma thought, Whatever strategy he had cooked this time, it won't beat my progress! He tentatively continued, "It's more like I have a problem this time." "Wow, you're admitting you have a problem?" Amami laughed. "It must be serious." "Don't joke around Amami-chan, or I won't tell you." "Right, right, continue," Amami conceded. Ouma felt tiny dregs of horror as Amami secured a blue tortoise shell. I didn't know he would get one so soon! Ouma frantically tried to lessen his speed, but it was in vain. Shy Guy soon whizzed by a burnt-up Princess Peach and cheered on in victory as he passed the finish line. Ouma scowled. He had been so close that time too. Damn blue shells. "Victory~," Amami sung. Ouma hated how proudly he wore that smug look of his. His friend had absolutely no qualms about rubbing his win in at all. "You only won because it was rainbow road. You're practically a god on that thing." "Yep, yep, didn't have anything to do with the fact that you rushed ahead and underestimated how slow NPCs were." Amami bore a shit-eating grin on his face. He was enjoying this far too much for Ouma's liking. Ouma's lip twitched downward. "If only Daisy were faster I could've used her to take the hit for me!" He muttered to himself. He tossed the remote aside and crossed his arms in frustration. It's a tried and true method, how could it have failed me now?! Anami chuckled in mirth. "Well, wasn't my fault somebody was distracted." His eyes turned serious as his smile faded. "So? You want to tell me what this problem is?" Ouma sunk lower in the bean bag, avoiding eye contact. He had been meaning to tell Amami. It wasn't like he wanted to keep it from him. That said, it was much harder to say out loud. He tried anyway. "I think I have an... interest. In Saihara-chan." "You mean a crush?" Ouma laughed, denying to himself that the statement gave him more nerves than he wanted it to. "Don't be silly! You know I don't get crushes that easily." Amami stared, unblinking. "Ouma, yes you do. You have infatuations with other people all the time." "Wh-I do not!" Amami shrugged confidently. "Yeah, right. Don't tell me you didn't have that brief interest in Kiibo when he transferred in middle school." Ouma turned his head and pouted further. "I did not! And I don't have those kind of feelings for Kiibo. He's just fun to tease!" Amami sighed, "Sure, sure." Ouma groaned in frustration. Whatever. "I'm telling you, this is different!" "Well then," Amami leaned closer. "Tell me about it." Ouma looked away from Amami to think about it. Then he giggled. "He's just so intriguing!"

—

"Intriguing?" "Yeah! Did you know the other day he could tell I was annoying Chabashira-chan on purpose?" Ouma's eyes began to gleam. "He even called me out on it!" Amami considered this. Many of their classmates had noted Ouma's behaviour and thought it annoying.  But Saihara... called him out on it? Amami pondered. That was different. Most of them just wrote Ouma off as a 'troublesome guy' and stayed away from him. Ouma leaned toward Amami as he began to rant, "He wasn't even phased when I was about to use the waterworks! That works on everyone!" No, it's more like they concede because you're such a loud crier and it's a pain, Amami thought, but kept his mouth shut. "You found that out when you went to watch over him?" "Yuup!" Ouma grinned, all teeth. "By the way Amami-chan, have you noticed how handsome Saihara-chan is?" "And I guess you have?" Amami hummed. Ouma nodded, his eyes sparkling. "His hair looks so smooth and he has such long eyelashes! I don't think I've seen anyone with such pretty eyelashes!" Amami chuckled. "Really? Pretty sure I'm the guy with the longest eyelashes in the class." Ouma shook his head. "You're not cute like he is, Amami-chan." "You wound me, Ouma-kun." "It's just the truth!" Ouma grinned cheekily. They shared a laugh. Teases were commonplace between them and their friendship wouldn't be the same without them. After their laughter Amami's grin turned sly. "So? What are you going to do about it? Gonna try to romance your crush?" "Not a crush!" he reminded. "Right, and I'm het." "Get to the point Amami-chan." "Right, right," he conceded. Amami reveled in this new information. My best friend has a crush? Even if he won't admit it, this gives me so many ideas. His mind was overflowing with possibilities. This will be so much fun. Amami elaborated, "So, what are you going to do about Saihara-kun? Try to get closer to him?" "You bet I am!" Ouma smiled brilliantly. "I'm going to find out all of his secrets! It'll be a fun game to play!" "His secrets, huh? And how are you gonna do that?" Amami's smile turned devilish. "Bring him flowers? Make him chocolates? Some love letters might be a good idea." "A-ma-mi-chan," Ouma's smile was tight despite his sing-song voice. "I wouldn't joke around if I were you right now." "Or what? You'll beat me in Mario Kart?" "Oh yeah!" Ouma exclaimed, face washed completely of the menacing smile he wore before. He grabbed the controlled and faced the screen with determination. "I still have to take revenge for that last round!" Amami chuckled, picking up his controller. "In your dreams, Panta boy." "Seaweed-head." The two continued to play until the sun set and sky dimmed. Normally playing would be relaxing, but Amami couldn't help but think about the conversation they'd had earlier. The more Amami thought about Ouma's new interest, the more something worried him. He'd known Ouma since grade school. He'd seen people fall quickly in and out of Ouma's favor and visa-versa. Ouma was never interested in someone for long. People were never tolerant enough of his prying attitude to stay that long either. It's been a while since Ouma had a friend other than myself, Amami realized. The worry wouldn't go away. I have to talk to him about this. Even if this interest goes nowhere I... have to do something to preserve their relationship, at least, he thought to himself. He couldn't let it be any longer. Amami paused the game. "Ouma-kun, a word?" "Hmm?" Ouma turned to him with curious eyes. "Why so serious Amami-chan?" Amami chose his words carefully. He had to get this message across. He feared the consequences otherwise. He really didn't want this to fall through for his friend. "Ouma-kun, I'm... worried about you." "Worried?" Amami nodded. "It's... about your interest regarding Saihara-kun." Ouma's expression darkened, joy lost, with sadness and dejection taking its place. Amami pressed on, "Whenever you have an interest in something, you dive headfirst into it. You don't pay attention to what's happening around you because of it." Ouma stared without comment, so Amami continued. "You tend to push people more than they're comfortable with. I know you love jokes and games but a lot of people don't, especially when it comes to their personal lives. You've pushed a lot of people away like that." Amami thought of the brief encounter he'd had with Saihara in the school gym. "From what I've seen of Saihara-kun, he seems like the kind of person to value boundaries. I don't think he'd ever push someone to do something they don't want to do. He's very polite you know," he let out a humorless chuckle in the silence. "Ouma-kun... Saihara-kun may not be ready to give you all the answers to his 'secrets.' He may not even be willing to divulge them at all." Ouma said nothing, but his stillness told Amami he was thinking over his words carefully. "I know you want to jump right in and push Saihara-kun until he gives but... that won't be good for either of you." Amami looked into Ouma's eyes. "You understand that, don't you? I don't want you to make another enemy out of someone who could be your friend." Ouma looked down. He wasn't smiling. Seeing him like this hurt, so he tried to remedy the pain. "Look, I... I know you at least want to be friends with Saihara-kun. And he may want that too. But please... go slow? I'm not saying to not try at all but just... be respectful, you know? Let him divulge when he wants to and try to respect his space. I think you'll grow much closer that way." Ouma's eyes lifted back up to his, curious and hopeful. Amami smiled reassuringly. "Besides, wouldn't it be much more rewarding to have Saihara open up on his own?" Ouma's eyes brightened as he smiled back. "You're right, Amami-chan! It'd be much more interesting to have Saihara-chan come to me!" Amami finally grinned fully, thankful that he had gotten his point across. Hopefully that way he'd help things along for both of them. "All right, you've convinced me. I'll go slow with Saihara-chan, just for you." Ouma winked. "Now c'mon," he said while turning back to the screen. "I think we can get a few more rounds in before we pass out!" "This game again?" Amami sighed. He was still too happy to care much though. "Alright, but just a few more rounds." Ouma grinned as the race began to start. A few minutes passed before he spoke up again. "...It's not a crush, you know." "Don't worry, I won't tell~" "Amami-chan!"

—

Saihara's return to school the following week had flooded him with concerned classmates. Saihara was extremely touched that all of his friends (friends? Could he call them that now?) had gone up to him to make sure he was okay after hitting his head in gym class. Chabashira had apologized over and over, face red and looking like she was about to cry. He assured her no damage was done and he didn't even feel the bruise anymore. She finally conceded when he agreed to let her do him a favor in the near future. Once he swore his word on it, she had smiled and let the matter go. Classes passed by and it was currently his first Home Economics class. Last week he had had to go over some enrollment papers with the headmaster's assistant, so he had been excused from it. He wasn't that worried, though. This week they were learning how to make sugar frosted cookies. The skills to be learned involved using a cake mixer as well as making their own frosting. Seems simple enough, Saihara thought. He was glad it was an easier recipe this time around, that way he could focus more on helping his partner. "So, where do we start?" Harukawa asked as she looked at the baking tray. They both stood at their station for two, instructions and supplies placed neatly on the surface in front of them. In anyone else's eyes it would seem like Harukawa was unaffected by the task at hand, but Saihara could sense she was a little daunted by the materials. Saihara offered her a reassuring smile. "I think we need to start on the cookies first. That way when they're in the oven we can work on the frosting." Harukawa nodded, determinedly picking up the instructions and reading with a close eye.   Since they were sugar cookies, the teacher had already made the dough and chilled it for two hours prior in the room's refrigerator. They each had a bowl of the appropriate amount of dough on the counter, and it was their assignment to make cookies out of it. Saihara started. "The oven usually takes a while to heat up, so I usually do that as a first step. What temperature does the recipe call for?" Harukawa glanced at the sheet. "...375°F." Saihara nodded, letting her input the baking temperature. "Next, you want to prepare the baking sheet. That way when your dough is ready you already have a place to put the cookies you make." As Saihara demonstrated how to grease the baking pan, Harukawa looked at him intently, hanging onto every word he said. Saihara would've flushed by the intensity of her gaze had he not known better. He looked away anyway. "Let's start on the dough, yeah?" He said nervously. Harukawa continued to pay close attention when Saihara showed her how to use the rolling pin to flatten the dough. There was flour everywhere due to how forceful her motions were, but Saihara didn't mind. She was doing it correctly, albeit roughly, and she was still learning. When the dough was flat enough, Saihara let Harukawa choose her cookie-cutter first. She chose a star-shaped design, while Saihara had stuck with a basic circle. He enjoyed smooth edges. They carefully lifted the cookie cutouts onto the baking tray, Harukawa struggling when a few fell apart on her. Saihara reassured her by showing her that the dough could be pressed back together if separated. She seemed to relax at that. When they put their trays in the oven and set the timer, Saihara gave a small smile. "Shall we start on the frosting now?"

—

"Ouma-kun, you're getting distracted." "I'm simply observing, Amami-chan." "You need to be observing your own work." Ouma pouted as he focused back on their station. He and Amami were partners because, predictably, most people in the class didn't want him joking around when their grade was on the line. Amami was the only one close enough to Ouma to knock some sense into him and get the project done. Except for today, apparently, since Ouma seemed far more content to be staring at another station instead of doing his own work. Amami didn't have to guess which one it was. "So?" He prompted, "What were you looking at?" Ouma let out a breathy giggle. "It seems like our dear Saihara-chan is teaching Harukawa-chan how to cook." "Maybe while he's at it he can teach you how to cook too." "Wh-hey!" Amami smirked when Ouma picked up his bowl and started to mix his frosting. Ouma never let an insult go by for too long. At least now, maybe he would focus... "Hey, do you think Saihara-chan knows how to make other foods?" ...Or so he thought. "How would I know? Probably." Amami shrugged. He turned the cake beater on low as he stirred and fluffed the frosting mix. Ouma started to work on his frosting too, but Amami could tell with a glance his mind was elsewhere. His eyes had a faraway look in them, but his smile betrayed his excitement for something. Amami and Ouma continued to work on their frosting until the oven beeped and the cookies were ready. When they set them out of a cooling rack, the duo began to dye their individual frosting. Amami died his a bright green with yellow, while Ouma preoccupied himself with making the best shade of purple out of the assorted reds and blues. Amami swore Ouma would probably die a world without purple. Ouma had done a rushed job on his  decorations (not caring for presentation too much as he found it "unexciting" and "tedious"), and while Amami was distracted working on his, cheerfully announced, "I'm going to go try Saihara-chan's cookies!" Amami took two seconds, two seconds too long, to process the statement. "Ouma-kun!" he called back, only to see his friend cheerfully prancing over all the way across the room. Amami sighed. Well, whatever. I guess he wants to hang out with him whenever possible. ... This gives me an idea.

—

Saihara stifled a laugh, "Really?" "Yes," Harukawa huffed. "When we were told to pickle our own cucumbers, I thought I could handle it since it's pickles, they can't get any more bitter." She pouted slightly as she spread more frosting on the stars. Saihara enjoyed hearing about her experiences, even if they were about pickles that had enough salt content to rival salt water. "Unfortunately, I was mistaken." He and Harukawa had finished waiting for the cookies to cool and were beginning to decorate. Harukawa tried to use a knife to spread the yellow frosting–with sloppy results–when Saihara had told her about using a bag. He and she were now quietly conversing while they squeezed frosting carefully out of a ziplock with a punctured hole. "I swear you're a genius with this stuff," she had told him. Saihara quietly hummed as he finished decorating his last cookie. He had covered the tops of the cookies with pink frosting, circling the edges with red loops and finishing it off with a dollop of deep red frosting. Saihara leaned back to inspect his work, laughing slightly as he did so. "They kind of look like they're themed for Valentine's Day." "Are you gonna confess to someone with them?" Saihara gasped softly as he turned his head to see the source of the voice. Ouma was walking (skipping?) right toward them. "O-Ouma-kun, I didn't see you." Saihara told him as he approached. "Bet'cha didn't!" Ouma grinned. "I pride myself on being a ninja." "...Do you?" "No." Ouma smiled wider. Saihara let it go. "By the way, what are you doing over here Ouma-kun? Isn't your station over there?" "Well, I'm done with mine so I don't need to be by it anymore," Ouma said absentmindedly, eyes roaming over the cookies. He then looked up into Saihara's eyes excitedly. "Hey, do you know there's a tradition to eat the newbie's home ec. food every time someone transfers?" Saihara doubted that, already smelling a lie. "What would be the point of that?" "To rank you among the class to see who's the best cook of course!" "I feel like you're lying to me, Ouma-kun..." "I've never heard of such a ritual," Harukawa added, eyes still intent on her decorating. "Thank goodness! You'd be ranked on the bottom for sure," Ouma taunted. Harukawa didn't rise to the bait, but the twitch in her eyebrow gave away her displeasure. She ignored him, however, and the subject was dropped. Ouma turned back to Saihara and tilted his head. "So, can I?" "Eh?" "Try your cookies, silly!" Ouma laughed. "Oh, is that what you wanted?" Saihara glanced at his batch. Truthfully, they only needed to have five cookies to present to the teacher and he'd made more. It wasn't like he had much use for the rest anyway. "Well... I guess I don't seem the harm in it." "Yaaaay! You're the best, Saihara-chan!" Ouma quickly took one of Saihara's pink-and-red cookies and took a bite. To be honest, Saihara hadn't expected him to ask politely to eat some of his cookies. He thought Ouma was the type of person to not wait for answers and do what he wanted. Have I misjudged him? Saihara thought briefly. His thoughts were quickly sidetracked as Ouma sunk his teeth into the cookie, eyes suddenly turning wide and bright. Saihara had a brief flash of horror. Oh no, what if they didn't turn out?! "These are amazing, Saihara-chan!" Ouma exclaimed, mouth still full of cookie crumbs. Once he had swallowed Ouma continued to give out praise. "These are the best cookies I've ever tasted! Did you add magic to them?" Ouma's eyes were practically sparkling and Saihara couldn't help but feel his cheeks flush. "N-no, I just... followed the recipe..." Ouma's smile broadened and almost seemed to dazzle everything around him. Saihara caught himself staring and looked away with a blush. "Hey, do you want some of my cookies?" Ouma asked enthusiastically. Saihara shook his head, "Oh, you don't have to return the favor, Ouma-kun, I don't mind-" "But I want to!" Ouma exclaimed. "Wait right here I'll be back!" Saihara watched as Ouma dashed back to his counter. His impression of Ouma had drastically changed just in this brief interaction. When he first met Ouma he thought he would only make Saihara's life more difficult, with how he stole Kiibo's wrench and his hat just for a game. Yet here he was, exchanging cookies with him. I guess he really doesn't mean any harm after all, Saihara conceded. It felt relieving to believe it. He refocused from his musings when he saw Ouma prancing over once again. Ouma held out his creation in a paper towel in front of Saihara, bright smile still present on his face. "Here you are!" Saihara blinked. There were not one, but three cookies in front of him. They were small squares, each almost smothered in bright purple frosting. The execution was haphazard at best, with stray lines of frosting leaking over the edges, but to Saihara it only made them more endearing. Sloppy cookies weren't bad cookies, after all. "Are you sure, Ouma-kun? You did only eat one cookie, not three..." "I insist, Saihara-chan!" He stated confidently while pushing his arms out more. "Your cookies are worth at least three of mine." Saihara smiled at him, taking them into his hands. "Thank you, Ouma-kun. I'll be sure to eat them." Ouma nodded and walked off in a rush. Saihara picked up one of the cookies and took a bite. The frosting was a bit milky, and the cookie was burnt, but they tasted lovely all the same. Saihara tried not to feel too happy that he was already giving and receiving gifts from his friends (the word felt right and warm in his heart). Later, when Saihara was making dinner, he ate another one of the cookies before leaving the last and some of his own for his father. He would deny how happy the gesture made him, smiling even when no one was around.

—

"Hey, Ouma-kun, go grab my gym bag for me." It was early before school the following day, and Amami was currently standing in front of Ouma's desk. Ouma looked a bit startled to be asked something so suddenly. Then he smiled with tight lips. "Hmm? Could you repeat that Amami-chan?" "I said," Amami continued, "Go get my gym bag for me please." Ouma started laughing, incredulous eyes crinkling at the edges, "Amami-chan, didn't you just come back from a swim? Why didn't you think to pick it up then?" "Oh, I don't know, I was distracted I guess. Anyway I think you should go get it for me." Ouma stared at Amami. Amami continued to smile amicably, as if he wasn't asking for a huge favor without so much as a 'good morning.' Amami could see the confusion on his face but stood by his request, hands folded across his chest and eyes unwavering. Ouma sighed aggravatedly. "So? What are you gonna give me in exchange?" "Oh, I think we can discuss payment later," Amami chuckled. "In any case, I really would hurry. Class will start soon." Ouma continued to stare at Amami, unflinching. Then recognition flew across his eyes, and he got down from sitting on top of his chest and started walking. "Is it that important, Amami-chan?" "Yep! Thanks, you're a life-saver. It's locker 137!" Amami called back to him. Ouma simply huffed and closed the classroom door behind him. With Ouma gone, Amami could finally snicker to himself in peace. Amami Rantarou, you're a damn genius.

—

This is stupid. Ouma thought to himself as he walked down the hall. This is so stupid! He continued to walk briskly to the school gym, his pace indicating his frustration. Honestly! Why can't stupid Amami-chan remember to get his bag when he's at the gym?! And why involve me in it?! I was thinking about something important too! Before Amami had walked up to him and so rudely interrupted his train of thought, Ouma had been thinking about the day before during home ec. when Saihara had smiled at him. He had hurriedly walked away with the intent not to let Saihara see his face (which was absolutely not bright red. Blushing with just a smile? What was this, middle school?). And he was absolutely not thinking about how Saihara had had a bit of flour on his cheek and was cursing his lack of nerve for pointing it out. (Should I have said something? Wiped it off for him? No, too forward, that would've been terrible, way to go Kokichi-). As Ouma neared the entrance he pulled out his phone. If Amami was gonna be a jerk about it then so would he. Ouma: Amami-chan if this is a waste of my time I will hang you up by your ears. Amami: lol can u even reach my ears Ouma sent him a flipped off emoji and put his phone away with a huff. He quickly drew it out again when he felt it vibrate. Amami: I promise it's worth it Amami: and if you don't believe me even after you get it I promise to buy you panta That perked Ouma's interest. Ouma: it better be a pack of panta, Amami-chan Amami: yeah sure Amami: but go to the locker room and you'll see Amami: i think after this you'll even be asking to pay me~ Yeah right, Ouma thought. He swiftly pocketed his phone as he opened the gym locker room door. He was greeted with the smell of chlorine and the sight of black lockers throughout. It wasn't like he never went in here. He had to, for gym class, but mostly he just stayed away. He had much better places to be than staying here. Ouma paced around the locker room, searching amongst the many, many, locker numbers. Why on earth does this school need 300 lockers?! He screamed in his thoughts. He made his way from the 300s down. He was barely past the 200s when he stopped. Somewhere in the locker room someone was... Singing? Ouma walked quietly around the lockers, trying his best to stay silent. The voice was familiar somehow... did he know it? When he heard it getting louder he hid behind the row of lockers and peeked around the corner. His eyes widened as his legs froze. Oh my god! There was Saihara, changed in nothing but a towel around his waist, humming. Singing! Ouma felt transfixed on the spot as he watched Saihara walk down the aisle, fresh from the showers. His hair was wet and slick, sticking to his forehead, his stomach not rigid with muscle but still smooth and fit. Has he been working out? Ouma's thoughts registered late. It took Ouma a second to register that Saihara was still singing and humming softly as he walked unknowingly toward Ouma. Ouma watched and listened, rapt with attention. All other thoughts were blank. Saihara sung softly, "... I continue to chase the stillness. / I still can't find the words." The song was peppy, but elegant from the what Ouma could tell. Not a slow song by any means, but one with passion and intent. A song with feeling. He really is a good singer, Ouma thought. Saihara hummed some verses, a relaxed expression on his face. Ouma felt in awe of it. He had never seen such a look from Saihara before. All the stress and anxiety Saihara hid under forced smiles and wide eyes bore no trace on his face at all. His posture was languid and calm as he walked. He didn't look nervous at all. He looked-happy. "I wonder, is this the end?" Saihara hummed again, looking around for his locker, coming closer to Ouma's location. "Somehow, I want to do something." Ouma continued to watch as Saihara moved to his locker-145- and slid open the latch. Ouma quickly gained his senses and turned away, back against the row of lockers. Saihara couldn't see him here, and he knew he'd just be intruding if he continued to look. I... I can't just look at him while he's.... he's... Ouma felt the burn on his cheeks before the realization dawned on him. God! I'm such a creeper! He bemoaned. I didn't mean to...! What am I even...? Ouma paled in realization. Amami-chan's bag. He had to get it. And it was oh-so-conveniently in a locker close to Saihara's. Ouma felt dread sink in his veins. Oh god. Can I do this? Why am I freaking out? This so isn't like me! Ouma took in a deep breath. He could do this. This was no big deal. It was time to act casually. "Hellooooo? Anyone there?" Ouma announced as he made himself look like he'd been walking around the corner. No going back now. He locked eyes with Saihara (who was blessedly still decent in a towel) and grinned widely. "Saihara-chan! What a surprise!" Saihara simply stared at Ouma for a moment. Then he squeaked, a blush darkening on his face as he stepped backwards, back colliding with the lockers. Ouma allowed himself a snicker at the sight (after all it was very endearing) and slowly stepped toward him. "Hey, you don't need to be scared, Saihara-chan, I won't do anything to you." "I wasn't worried about that..." Saihara regained enough of his senses to say. "Aww, Saihara-chan trusts me? I'm so touched!" Ouma exclaimed in an awestruck tone. "No, I mean..." Saihara glanced to the side and sighed, apparently figuring that his point wouldn't get across. "What are you doing here Ouma-kun?" "Eeeh? Am I not allowed to enter the school gym anymore?" Ouma glanced to the side, pretending to be hurt. "N-no, I just...," Saihara raked his hands through his hair. Ouma took pity on him. "Oh, don't worry, I was just here to pick up Amami-chan's bag!" "Amami-kun's?" "Yep! He's so forgetful sometimes, the klutz," Ouma teased. "He didn't pick it up with him after working out this morning! Really, how thick can you get?" Even if Amami wasn't in the room to hear it, Ouma was most definitely going to take a jab at him. It was the least Amami deserved after putting him in this uncomfortable situation. Saihara looked like he had more to say, but after a brief silence seemed to reconsider, moving onto other topics. "Do you know which locker is his?" "Sure do!" Ouma beamed. "It's 137... I think it's around here, right Saihara-chan?" Ouma watched as Saihara glanced around and indeed saw locker 137 a few lockers down from his own. Saihara let out a sigh. Ouma, keeping the carefree act up, lightly walked over to Amami's locker and lifted the hatch. Ouma scowled subtly when he saw the bag sitting untouched on the top shelf of the locker. He didn't even lock it. He had this planned from the beginning, that jerk... "Um, Ouma-kun..." Ouma turned to see Saihara mumbling to him. Saihara had a slight flush on his cheeks as he continued to stare into his own locker. "D-did you... hear anything? B-before coming here?" Ouma stared at Saihara. Oh, he means his singing. Saihara's blush continued to deepen as he waited in silence. To Ouma, Saihara's singing wasn't anything to be embarrassed by. It was beautiful and melodious. If anything, Ouma wanted to praise Saihara for it. Judging by the look on Saihara's face, however, that was probably too much. Ouma pondered for a minute on how best to approach the question. Then he asked quietly, "Is it bad if I heard something?" Saihara visibly winced and stammered, "Um, I mean it's not bad, I-I just-" Saihara lost his words and looked down, lips pressed together and eyebrows furrowed. Ouma hummed and started to grab Amami's bag. "I thought I heard some beautiful singing." Ouma continued to stare in the direction of Amami's bag, preoccupying himself with zipping up the opened pockets, but he could see Saihara's head whip in his direction. Still focused on the bag, Ouma quickly added, "I don't really know who it was though." It was a lie. But hopefully it was one that would make Saihara more comfortable. Saihara continued to stare at Ouma, Ouma doing his best not to look back. He had to seem nonchalant, or else the act wouldn't work. Well, Saihara-chan's smart enough, maybe he's already able to tell it's a lie, he figured. Ouma decided to emphasize more. "It's a real shame too!" He complained. "Their voice was so pretty, but it turns out I didn't even get to meet them." His voice took on a hint of melancholy as he said quietly, "It's sad... I would've wanted to praise them on how wonderful it was." Ouma then turned to Saihara, smiling softly yet slyly, looking deep into Saihara's eyes. "Do you have any idea who it could've been, Saihara-chan?" Saihara gazed back. His eyes bore no confusion at Ouma's words, nor relief that no one had heard him singing. He saw what Ouma was doing. The message was clear. I won't tell anyone. Ouma saw recognition slowly fill in Saihara's eyes. Then he saw it replaced with something warm. Saihara smiled as he said, "Thank you, Ouma-kun." Ouma glanced away. "I don't really understand what you're thanking me for, Saihara-chan, I was just telling you what I heard." Saihara chuckled softly. "Mmhm, I guess you're right." Saihara then reached inside his locker, pulling out clothes and combing through his chlorine-soaked hair with a brush. Ouma watched Saihara subtly out of the corner of his eye. Saihara was still topless, drops of water dripping down from hus hair down his chest. Ouma felt his cheeks go warm. Saihara-chan really does look good... and it's not like I can... let an opportunity like this go to waste... Ouma took Amami's bag out of the locker and hoisted the bag's strap on his shoulder. As he closed the locker, an idea struck him. Just as he turned to leave, Ouma subtly opened an app on his phone. "By the way," Ouma added suddenly. "Before I go-," He whipped out the phone before the other could react and announced, "Gym selfie!" Ouma clicked the button before Saihara had the chance to protest. Ouma lowered his arm, examining the picture. In the photo Ouma held up a peace sign, face slightly pink and grin present on his face. Saihara was in the background, chest still bare and face flushed a raspberry red. The picture wasn't fine art to be sure, with a blurry focus and poor lighting, but it was instantly one of Ouma's favorites. Even when caught off-guard Saihara-chan still looks beautiful, Ouma mused. He quickly saved it to his phone. Ouma didn't have to look behind him twice to know Saihara was flushed beyond imagination. Ouma heard Saihara squeak as he stuttered, "O-O-Ouma-kun!!" "Hahaha, I'll see you later Saihara-chan!" Ouma smiled at him and skipped away. "Next time I'll think of something more fun to do! Until then, adieu!," Ouma quickly exited the locker room, breathy giggles accompanying him all the way. He could still see Saihara's blushing face, clear and fresh his mind as a spring morning.

—

Ouma stepped into the hall and sighed, relieved he could finally breathe again.  His eyes widened when the realization sunk of what had happened. What he had walked in on. Who he had walked in on. Who had sent him there in the first place. The conniving weasel that had this planned from the beginning.   As Ouma walked away from the locker room, gym bag slung over his shoulder, he took out his phone and began to type furiously. Ouma: Amami-chan, what on earth was that? Amami: lmao Ouma: Amami-chan I'm being serious Amami: what was what? (° ³ °) ? Ouma: you didn't tell me Saihara-chan would be there!! I almost walked  in on him while he was changing!! Amami: hahah hooolly shit that's even better Ouma: So? Why was Saihara-chan there and how did you know about it? Amami: well ever since last week he comes in every morning and goes for a swim. Lol I thought it'd be nice for u to know Ouma: I Ouma: I am Ouma: Why Amami: soooo, what happened?? ୨( ﾟヮ ﾟ)୧ Ouma: what do you think?! Amami: oya? Oyaoyaoya???? Amami: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Ouma: NO Amami: (    ͡°    ͜ ʖ    ͡°) Ouma: seriously, nothing happened you pervert Amami: _/(─ ͟ʖ─)\_ Ouma: Amami-chan, I love you, but it you keep using those unorthodox emoticons I'm going to disown you Amami: (☞´ ͜ʖ`) ☞ Ouma: stop Amami: ¯\_ (º ᗝ º) _/¯ Ouma: Anyway, don't think this is over, Amami-chan. I'll get back at you for this. Amami: after I did you such a favor? I'm hurt (⸌ ε ⸍) Ouma: You put me in such an uncomfortable situation!! Amami: So you didn't enjoy it?? Ouma: ... Amami: H a h Ouma: nevermind that's not important!! Amami: sure, I believe you. Prick. Ouma thought as he shoved the phone in his pocket. He didn't have to deal with this over text. He'd just go to Amami right now and give him what-for. Ouma's pace quickened as he thought furiously, When I get back there Amami-chan is going to regret everything he's ever done in his miserable life- Ouma was jostled out of his monologue when his phone vibrated loudly. He pulled it out and saw a message from his so-called best friend. Amami: Just being a good guy and helping my bff out with his cruuuuusshhhhh Ouma felt his indignation blaze as he started to type, I am NOT in LOVE with- Saihara's smile flashed across his mind. Ouma halted in his steps, fingers raised but still above his phone's keyboard. Suddenly Ouma's mind flooded with images of Saihara. He thought about Saihara's laugh, his voice, the look he had given Ouma when he took the cookies from his hands. He thought about how cute he had looked with flour on his cheek. He thought about his face that became flushed with the slightest praise. He thought about how Saihara saw through all the lies he had told so far. He thought about Saihara's singing, the gentle tune rising high above the steam of the locker room. He thought about how Saihara looked resting on the cot of the nurse's room. He thought about Saihara's smile, the warmth that spread through his heart when he saw it, how the room seemed to brighten around him. He thought about how happy it all made him.

Oh.

Oh...

Ouma was speechless. The truth was there, and it was real. I... I really do have a crush on Saihara-chan.... The gravity of the realization knocked the air out of him. All at once, everything made sense, in a terrifying way. Ouma's fingers trembled slightly as he deleted his previous message and typed clumsily across the keyboard. Ouma: Oh my god. Amami-chan, I... think I really do have a crush on Saihara-chan. Ouma's face flushed with the confession. He had said it. It was real. Ouma started to laugh to himself, his chest feeling lighter and a smile stretching across his cheeks. He felt free. He felt alive. I have a crush on Saihara-chan! He screamed in his head. He felt giddy. He started to skip down the hall as he approached the classroom. When he felt his phone vibrate he took it out, not even caring that it was the same scoundrel that got him in this mess. Amami: Hallelujiah! The blind man finally saw! Ouma stuffed the phone in his pocket, not letting Amami's teasing affect him any longer. He had more important things to think about now. Like a certain new classmate, who was, and he finally admitted, quite adorable. Ouma continued to chuckle to himself as he made his way through the school. He had a crush on Saihara and nothing was going to ruin his mood. Not class, not homework, not anything. Not even Amami, who was currently blowing up his phone by sending him every verse of "I Won't Say I'm in Love" from the movie Hercules. Well. Maybe Amami was an exception.

Notes!

- Amami's eyelashes: haha on Kodaka's blog (@official-kodaka) he said Amami had better lashes than Saihara, so I used that (＾▽＾) Just search "eyelashes" on his blog and you should find it.

- Home Ec: I have not had a home economics class before, so I tried to research on what was taught in it, only to spend a lot of time finding nothing. So... I just... did sugar cookies. Because it's cute.

- Sugar cookies: Apparently for sugar cookies you have to chill the dough for two hours before you pop them into the over. I used this recipe for reference: http://www.bettycrocker.com/how-to/tipslibrary/baking-tips/how-to-make-classic-sugar-cookies

- 375ºF: 190.5ºC

- Saihara's singing: Saihara's VA, Megumi Hayabashira, is indeed a singer! The song he was singing was 4:00 AM by Taeko Ohnuki, because I love it so much :D. It's on youtube! The part Saihara sings is 0:37-1:05. I'm learning Japanese, so I changed some of the phrasing to fit better in English. I used this for reference for the lyrics: http://lyricstranslate.com/en/400-am-400am.html

- "You don't have to be scared...I won't do anything to you": based on a line in Ouma's Love Hotel scene

- Amami's emoticons: Fun idea I had to have him use completely random emoticons. >ヮ< Used random generator to come up with them. http://textsmili.es/?cr=bW91dGh%2BX2V5ZXN%2BX2VhcnN%2B

That’s all for now! See you next time! ^w^/