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misscorn · 7 months ago

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Day 1 Blossom/Reunion

Oh my god im freaking out @takaritsuweek day 0 is almost freaking here and I can't handle it. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. Enjoy some sadness LAKSJLKAJ

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Masamune’s eyes had become much more sensitive (and required an even stronger prescription) in his old age, causing him to slowly wake at the first hint of sunlight. Usually he would grumble and throw his blanket over his head - much too tired to be dragging himself out of bed to adjust the curtains - but today he would utilize every waking moment.

Today was special, after all.

He slowly sat up, more bones protesting than he would have liked as his feet touched the cool floor. His movement disturbed the big fluff ball that had been laying beside him, making her stand and stretch at her own sluggish pace. She padded across the mattress to bump her head against Masamune’s arm.

“Being nice today, Sakura?” He asked, scratching her between her white ears. “Or are you just hungry?”

She meowed, making her way into Masamune’s lap and plopping down. She was an old cat now - sixteen years old give or take - and the name had been Masamune’s idea after he and Ritsu found her frightened and hungry on the street. Ritsu treated the name suggestion like a bad joke, but it just ended up sticking.

Sakura head butted Masamune’s hand as he pet her, quietly purring.

“Ah, are you maybe worried about me? Do you remember what today is?” He asked. “Come on, get up.” He gently nudged her, Sakura not typically enjoying being picked up and manhandled. With enough encouragement, Sakura hopped down from the bed, much more agile than Masamune despite her own elderly status. She took a few steps forward toward the bedroom door before looking behind her shoulder to make sure Masamune was following.

“I’m slow, but I’m coming, don’t rush an old man.” He said with a chuckle, making his way to the small kitchen. He made himself a cup of coffee and got Sakura her food. He didn’t have much of an appetite himself, sipping his hot drink slowly as he watched Sakura eat greedily.

“Now, don’t start expecting me to always wake up this early to give you your food.” Masamune warned and Sakura made some noise that couldn’t quite be classified as a meow with all her chewing mixed in with it. Masamune smiled a bit to himself in amusement, finishing his coffee.

“I’ve got something for you.” He said, opening a specific cabinet that made Sakura’s pupils go wide and her ears stand up straight as her brain alerted her that this was the one that held the treats. She jumped up onto the counter, meowing loudly, making Masamune shush and shoo her. “Have some manners, Sakura.” He scolded playfully, getting out a treat for her as well as a little toy he’d stowed away. He set the treat down first, chuckling as she devoured it. “You’re going to choke.” He warned, but she didn’t pay him any mind.

She licked her lips once she was finished then looked up at Masamune expectantly, waiting to see if she was lucky enough for more.

“Here, since you destroyed your last one.” He said as he gently tossed a small fish shaped toy to her. Sakura latched on to it immediately, biting and kicking with her back legs. She preferred toys she could grab rather than little balls to chase - that took too much energy. Masamune watched her ‘attack’ with affection.

“Happy birthday, Sakura.” He said. Now, he and Ritsu didn’t know if today was actually her birthday - it was unlikely - but today was the day that the two had found her, so it seemed appropriate enough.

With Sakura taken care of, Masamune began to walk out of the kitchen. First he went to a rather expansive bookshelf, very carefully scanning the titles that he and Ritsu had collected over the years for one book in particular and pulling it out once he located it. He then shuffled to stand in front of a simple and private shrine, tending to some of the cherry blossom branches on display he’d gotten the previous day. Sakura followed after a few moments, the fish toy in her mouth as if it were prey she had caught.

“Today isn’t just your birthday, Sakura.” Masamune said, looking down at her when he heard the tinkling of the bell on her collar. She let out a muffled meow around the toy as she looked up toward the flowers and the picture front and center. She knew from past experience that if she tried to jump up there she’d get grabbed, so she stayed put.

Masamune lit a candle, refraining from burning incense as he knew it wasn’t good for his feline friend.

“Happy birthday, Ritsu.” He said, soon kneeling on a cushion, planning on being here for quite a while. Sakura watched him for a few moments before ultimately deciding to curl up next to him, gently dropping her toy between her own front paws.

“I bought a small cake for later. And I have your favorite book here. I thought I’d read it to you. Sakura’s here too, to say happy birthday. She’s more clingy today. I think she’s worried I’m sad.” Masamune scratched her under her chin, Sakura leaning into the touch. “Well, she’s not wrong. I miss you.” Masamune took in a shaking breath, his already terrible vision becoming even more blurry with tears. “I can’t cry and read, though. You’d be mad if I got your favorite book all wet.” He said with a bittersweet laugh, pulling his hand away from Sakura to push his glasses out of the way and rub his eyes. “You’re lucky I love you so much, you know that? Otherwise I’d be royally pissed off that you left me again even though you promised you wouldn’t.” He continued. “I mean, I am pissed off, don’t get me wrong, but I’ll forgive you if you give me the thousands of kisses I’m owed triple fold when we meet again.” He said, sounding entirely too serious about his terms.

The photo of Ritsu just smiled wordlessly, an eternal flush to his cheeks, forever immortalized as a bashful, nervous, but excited groom on his wedding day.

Masamune took another deep breath, realizing he’d just been staring for a few minutes. “Sorry. Don’t mean to be giving you a hard time on your birthday of all days.” He smiled a bit. “I guess I should be giving you thousands of kisses, huh?” He chuckled. “Shouldn’t I, Sakura?” He asked.

Sakura meowed in response, but stayed curled up.

“See, she agrees.” He said, trying to ignore the way his heart grew heavier at the lack of indignant protests and embarrassed denials. “You probably want me to get on with the reading already, huh? It’s not as fun to tease you without you here to yell at me, anyway. One would think you would have mellowed out, but I swear you got worse.” He joked, chuckling softly to himself, his laughter petering out into a sigh. “I’d give anything to hear you call me an idiot again, though.” A brief silence fell over Masamune before he smiled slowly. “Or a pervert.” His laughter returned. “How’d I get so lucky, marrying the cutest man in the world?”

Still no answer, not that Masamune was expecting one. Masamune sighed once more, admiring his husband’s features. “When did we get so old?” He complained. Although many things began to deteriorate the older he got - his eyesight, his strength, his energy - the memories of their youth were still bold in his mind. His heart so clearly recalled the feeling of falling love for the first time - how frightening, unexpected, exciting, and overwhelmingly warm it was. Although their separation had left a deep wound, it healed with time and the scar faded with the many wonderful years he and Ritsu were able to spend together after their reunion.

Now, all that was left was the love that was so haphazardly but sincerely and passionately tended to and grew into something beyond what Masamune ever could have hoped for. Only, the person that love was for was no longer here to share it.

“Mreow?”

Masamune blinked, realizing his tears had overwhelmed him this time and began to fall down his face.

“Sorry, girl. I don’t mean to worry you.” Masamune stroked her back reassuringly. “You miss him too, don’t you?” He added with a sad smile.

It took at least a year for Sakura to stop looking for Ritsu after his passing. Sakura had always preferred Ritsu over Masamune, not that Masamune minded - nor could he blame her. Ritsu was great, after all. She’d get on Ritsu’s side of the bed, sniffing his pillow and laying down, meowing loudly to demand nightly cuddles - a ritual that she and Ritsu became quite settled in after years of companionship (And Ritsu finally learning how to handle and read the body language of a cat). However, her meows were left unanswered. She would look behind Masamune after he’d come home from running errands to see if Ritsu would be following, but he never was. She’d even sit and wait at the front door, meowing over and over again as if her voice could lead Ritsu back home.

Masamune’s grief had been volatile for a long time, even more so during the first year. Sometimes when he saw Sakura sitting and waiting he had to sit himself down on the couch as he became overwhelmed with body jerking sobs, unable to compose himself for hours. Other times he’d snap and tell her to shut up and that Ritsu wasn’t ever coming back. Much more rarely he would sit beside her and pet her head, watching the door with her.

“I think that’s why we get along pretty well.” Masamune said to the cat. “Cause we both love Ritsu.”

“Mreow.”

“Only idiots wouldn’t love him.”

Sakura started to purr and Masamune took that as agreement. He calmed down his tears and straightened out his glasses before he finally opened up the book to start reading out loud. Sakura’s purring quieted down before ceasing all together, her breathing calm and steady as she fell asleep to the sound of his voice.

Masamune continued to read, letting himself get lost enough in the book that he could pretend there was another person leaning against his shoulder and following along with the words.

#sekaiichi hatsukoi #onodera ritsu #takano masamune #takaritsu week #day 0 celebration #writing #misscorn

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misscorn · 7 months ago

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Day 2 Resolve/Time

Enjoy another flavor of 'but what if they DIDN'T break up' for day two of @takaritsuweek day 0 celebration :)

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Saga Masamune had a feeling that he was being severely underestimated: his love, his anger, his confusion, his resolve, and his capabilities. Ritsu thought he could up and disappear? Thought he could kick Masamune in the head and then run away without any kind of repercussions? Thought he could make Masamune fall in love with him and then not take responsibility for something so world stopping?

No.

Absolutely not.

If they were going to play some kind of game then Masamune was going to win.

The first school day after the incident - informally known as the kick - Masamune entered the library and made his way through all the bookshelves just to make sure Ritsu wasn’t hiding in the aisles before he took his usual seat. He crossed his arms, eyes darting between the door and wall clock that ticked by silently.

Once ten minutes had passed Masamune came to the conclusion that Ritsu wouldn’t be showing today. Unsurprising, he didn’t take Ritsu for the confrontational type (then again he did kick Masamune in the head for seemingly no reason, so maybe his judgment was off), but Masamune figured it was worth it to at least try and see if Ritsu would come to the library to talk.

Masamune stood, grabbing his bag and approaching the student librarian he’d seen around here just as frequently as he had seen Ritsu.

“Excuse me,” He started to get her attention, “I just wanted to know if you knew anything about the student who’s usually with me.”

She blinked, processing the request before she smiled. “Oh, you mean Onodera-kun?”

Now it was Masamune’s turn to stare at her for a moment as his brain tried to make sense of her response. “...No? His name is Oda Ritsu, not Onodera.”

“Brown hair, green eyes, about this tall?” She held out a hand to gesture.

It was an abysmal description of the adorableness that was Ritsu, but not inaccurate. “Yes.”

“Yeah, that’s Onodera Ritsu. He’s in my class: 1-C. He was absent today, so I’m sure that’s why he’s not here.”

Masamune felt his heart jump; name mystery aside, this girl could potentially have some very vital information. If Masamune tracked Ritsu down first, found out why he was so upset, apologized and made up then he could get an explanation on the name mix-up. Finding Ritsu was the most important thing.

“Do you know his phone number or an email or something? It’s really important that I talk to him as soon as possible.” Masamune said.

“Ah, I don’t, but I know he’s close with another student in that class. Her name’s Kohinata An - she’s actually on cleaning duty today so she should still be around for a few more minutes!”

Masamune nodded and murmured a quick thank you before he left to go track down this Kohinata girl. He popped his head into classroom 1-C, spotting the small selection of students who were finishing up.

“Are one of you Kohinata An? I have to ask you something.” He said to the three girls present. They all exchanged a confused glance with each other before one stepped forward.

“I’m Kohinata An, how can I help you, Senpai?” She said.

“Can we talk in the hallway or something? It’s about Ritsu.”

Her eyes lit up at that, a smile gracing her delicate features. “Oh! You know Ricchan?”

Masamune was tempted to narrow his eyes at her when he heard the nickname, but he maintained his mask of indifference. “Yeah.”

“Okay, just give me one second!” She said. She made sure everything was squared away with her classmates when it came to their cleaning duties before going out into the hallway with Masamune. “So, how do you know Ricchan?” She asked curiously.

“We hang out in the school’s library together.”

“Oh! So you’re the person Ricchan is always seeing after school! It’s nice to finally meet you.” She said with a cheerful smile.

“...Yeah.” Masamune said. How much had Ritsu told this girl about him? Did she know they were dating? Masamune wouldn’t care if she knew, but he was worried about putting his foot in his mouth and revealing something that maybe Ritsu didn’t want her to know. “I was wondering if you knew Ritsu’s home phone number or something? He and I…got in a fight the other day, I think? I don’t know, I’m not really sure what happened, I think I offended him somehow and he stormed out before I could learn what it was or apologize and then he didn’t come to the library, so I couldn’t talk to him about it today either.”

“Ah, that sounds like Ricchan: running away from his problems.” An said with a slightly sheepish smile, as if she wanted to apologize on Ritsu’s behalf. “I was actually going to visit him after school to deliver some notes and homework! I thought he was sick, so I wanted to check up on him too, but if he’s just…” She didn’t want to say avoiding you as that sounded a bit rude, but they both knew that was what she intended, “Well! It gives the two of you a perfect excuse to talk.” She started to fish some papers out of her bag, holding them out to Masamune. “I can write down the address for you too, Senpai.”

Masamune said a soft thanks and reached out to take them, but An suddenly held them close to her chest.

“Ricchan really cares about you, from what he’s told me.” She said, her cheery disposition becoming more solemn. “So if I find out he’s got a good reason for being upset with you then I’ll be upset with you. Okay?”

Masamune blinked, not sure how much he should or should not be feeling threatened. Considering this girl was his best lead when it came to Ritsu, he decided that the answer was very threatened, so he nodded firmly to show his understanding.

An’s smile returned and she held the notes back out to him. “Here you go. Let me rip out a page of my notebook to write down the address.” She said, doing just that after Masamune accepted the papers. She wrote it down quickly before placing the page on the very top. “Good luck making up!”

Masamune gave a half assed response, more focused on getting out of here to go to Ritsu’s place. He wished he was able to experience some excitement at the idea of going to Ritsu’s house for the very first time, but he just felt sick to his stomach with nerves. Would Ritsu’s parents be home? What would they think of him? Would Ritsu even agree to see Masamune? What if he sent him away? What if Ritsu did agree to see him and Masamune somehow made things worse? He’d have to make a conscious effort to tread lightly. He didn’t want to upset Ritsu further and completely ruin the one intimate and sincere connection he had with another person.

Eventually - after consistently checking and rechecking and re-rechecking the address written down - he did arrive at Ritsu’s house. Well, house was an understatement, it was more like an estate. Masamune’s throat got tighter and he swore the notes in his hands must be absorbing some of the sweat from his palms. He was actually dating a little prince and that made the task of trying to earn his forgiveness - for whatever the hell it is he did - that much more daunting.

“Good afternoon, how can I help you?” A young man asked after Masamune rang the bell to alert the residences inside to his presence.

This definitely isn’t Ritsu’s dad, does he seriously have a butler? Masamune thought, clearing his throat a bit before he spoke. “I’m a classmate and friend of Ritsu’s. Kohinata An was going to deliver these notes from school to him, but she had to take care of something else, so I came instead.” He hoped that using An’s name would give him a little more credibility.

It seemed that was enough for Masamune to be granted entry. He was directed to where Ritsu’s (or as the butler referred to him - the young master’s) room was after he removed his shoes. Masamune put on his blinders, refusing to take in his fancy surroundings as he made a b-line for the stairs. He knew that paying too much attention to it would just make him more nervous and he needed to focus on his task rather than his boyfriend’s rich lifestyle.

His parents are probably going to be even harder to impress than I thought… Masamune knew they weren’t at that point in their relationship, but it was something he’d have to worry about eventually. He’d have to make a good name for himself to gain their approval…

Masamune stopped in front of Ritsu’s door and took a deep breath, standing there for an almost concerning amount of time to get his nerves in check.

He wasn’t here to meet Ritsu’s parents - as far as he could tell they weren’t even here. He wasn’t here to prove himself in any capacity. It didn’t matter if he stuck out like a sore thumb in this place - Ritsu wouldn’t have ever confessed to him if he had cared about something like that. He was just here to talk to Ritsu. Ritsu. He knew Ritsu. He could handle Ritsu. He loved Ritsu.

Masamune knocked gently on the bedroom door.

“Come in.” Ritsu’s familiar voice reached him, though he sounded a little scratchy. Maybe he really was sick?

Masamune entered the room, closing the door behind him quietly. Ritsu was sitting on his bed, his legs under the covers and pulled up to his chest as he sat in the sunlight streaming through his window. It hadn’t been that long since the two last saw each other, but the sight of him still made Masamune’s heart squeeze. Ritsu was so beautiful.

Ritsu did a double take and sat up straighter, his eyes going wide. “S-Senpai?!” He exclaimed, having expected one of his parents or a staff member. “W-What are you doing here?!” The rise in volume made his voice sound even more hoarse. Those startled eyes were a little red and puffy.

Has he been crying? Masamune wondered as he took a few tentative steps into the room. “I brought you some notes from class.” He said, setting them down on Ritsu’s desk. “And I came to talk.”

“I-I don’t have anything to say to you!” Ritsu said, looking away from him. “P-Please just leave!”

Masamune frowned. “No.” He said.

“I don’t want to see you.” Ritsu insisted.

Masamune ignored the stinging in his heart and closed the distance between them, sitting on the bed with him. “I don’t care. I’m not leaving until you tell me what I’ve done to make you so upset.”

“That’s the problem; you don’t care!” Ritsu grabbed and hugged a pillow tightly, almost trying to hide himself behind it.

Masamune furrowed his eyebrows and frowned once more, leaning toward him. “What is that supposed to mean?” He asked.

Ritsu didn’t respond, simply looking away from Masamune with his pillow still in his lap.

“I’m not leaving until we talk.” Masamune insisted. “I know I can wait you out.”

“Don’t underestimate how stubborn I can be.” Ritsu snipped.

Masamune was a little taken aback by his tone, but he was not nearly shaken enough to give up.

“Ritsu, whatever it is I’ve done, I’m sorry. I’ve thought over the past couple days trying to figure out what I did or said to offend you this badly, but I just don’t know. Maybe I’m being insensitive or stupid, but I really have no idea…”

Ritsu went back to sitting there silently, still refusing to look at the upperclassman.

“Is…this your way of telling me you want to break up?” Masamune asked. He wouldn’t accept that, of course, but was that where Ritsu was trying to steer things?

“We’d have to be dating first to break up.” Ritsu choked out and Masamune realized that Ritsu was crying - presumably not for the first time since their last interaction.

Masamune wanted to wrap his arms around him and be a source of comfort, but he feared that would push Ritsu away more. “Of course we’re dating, why wouldn’t we be dating?” He asked, trying not to sound panicked.

“...I-I asked you if we were dating…i-if you had any feelings for me a-and you just laughed!” Ritsu gripped the pillow tighter and Masamune could feel himself losing his patience. He grabbed the pillow, pulling it out of Ritsu’s grasp so he couldn’t try to hide behind it anymore and then turned his head to make him look at him.

“That’s what this is about? You didn’t even give me the chance to properly respond to you before you got up and ran!” He said, wanting to gently wipe away the tears trailing down Ritsu’s face, but also wanting to call him an idiot. “So, you thought I was making fun of you?”

“Of course I did!” Ritsu cried, pushing Masamune’s arm away. “I-I always worry so much about annoying you or being too much and it’s not like you’re running around saying that you love me-”

“I love you.” Masamune cupped Ritsu’s face with both hands, not discouraged. “I love you.”

“W-Wha-”

“I love you.” Masamune repeated.

“Wait a second-”

“No, this is what you needed to hear, right? I love you, Ritsu.”

Masamune would have sworn Ritsu’s face had suddenly caught on fire with how warm he was to the touch and how red he became.

“Stop it, stop it, I can’t take this, p-please, that’s enough!” Ritsu squeezed his eyes shut tight to try to avoid Masamune’s intense gaze. His heart was about to explode out of his chest. Had Saga Senpai just said he loved him not once, not twice, but four times in a row?! He was going to go into cardiac arrest!

Masamune leaned forward, ghosting his lips over Ritsu’s forehead to press a light kiss. “I mean it, Ritsu. I really do love you. I’m sorry that I made you think otherwise.”

Ritsu didn’t respond, trembling a bit from how overwhelmed he was due to Masamune’s confession(s).

“So…we’re dating, right?” Masamune asked, hoping his nerves weren’t obvious as he spun the question back on Ritsu. “You’re not breaking up with me, are you?”

Ritsu still didn’t open his eyes, hesitating for a few seconds before he finally managed to speak. “You…really aren't messing with me?” He asked.

Masamune gently pressed their foreheads together, still cupping Ritsu's cheeks. “No. I'm not.”

“I-If I find out you are-”

“I'm not.”

“But if I find out you are then I-I'll do worse than kick you.” Ritsu huffed and although the kick had hurt the threat still fell a bit flat.

“Okay.” Masamune agreed, knowing that it would never come to that.

“Then…yes, we are…dating.” Ritsu’s voice got much smaller on the last word, but Masamune was flooded with relief.

“Good. Don’t ever run out on me like that again, you scared me.” Masamune huffed, making himself more comfortable on the bed and pulling Ritsu to his chest to hug him tight. “If we have a problem, we talk it out, understand?”

Ritsu nodded nervously, listening to Masamune’s heart - a heart that belonged to him. He couldn’t believe it. He almost felt like this was a dream his brain was making up to deal with his own heartbreak.

“Now, since that’s sorted, I have another question for you.” Masamune said.

“Yes?” Ritsu responded meekly, still a bit dazed from the whole conversation.

“What is the deal with the Oda-Onodera thing?”

Despite having just agreed to talk things out, Ritsu tried to hide all over again.

#sekaiichi hatsukoi #onodera ritsu #takano masamune #misscorn #writing #day 0 celebration prompt 2

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