#hate having to dodge spoilers left and right before anything releases officially

[blubble-lake]

the wait is insane 😭

[pocket-luv101]

Summary: After Tsubaki taunts the sloth pair with killing Kuro, Mahiru can’t control his emotions. (KuroMahi, spoilers for chapter 85-86)

Mahiru couldn’t move. He couldn’t remember the last time shock had overwhelmed him so severely. Metal clashed behind him but they sounded far away from him. The only thing he could hear was his uncle’s slow, laboured breath. Tsubaki had stabbed his uncle and first aid didn’t slow the bleeding. He wanted to stay by his uncle’s side but Kuro needed him as well.

If they didn’t stop Tsubaki, many more people in the hospital would be hurt. No one was in any condition to fight. Even as Mahiru reminded himself that, he couldn’t bring himself to move. Toru was like a father to him. Kuro was his partner. Mahiru loved them both of them yet he was too paralyzed to help either. He didn’t know what to do. What could he do in this situation?

Kuro’s scream of pain made Mahiru turn around. His hand flew over his mouth and he stifled his small gasp. Tsubaki had stabbed Kuro through the chest. Mahiru jumped to his feet but he was still too shocked to move. His mind was racing and everything seemed to move slowly. “Stop, Tsubaki! You’re mad at Kuro but don’t hurt him! He had his reasons for what he did and he felt guilty.”

Tsubaki ignored Mahiru. He walked to where Kuro was pinned to the ground. Kuro clawed at the sword to free himself but there was so much blood that he couldn’t grip it properly. A scream was torn from his chest as he pulled out the sword. Tsubaki didn’t allow him to stand before he placed his feet on his chest. It became difficult to breathe and he could feel his consciousness wavering.

The tip of his sword caught the chain of his bell. Kuro face became pale as Tsubaki took his item. If anyone else had the bell, Kuro wouldn’t be so worried. The bond between a Servamp and their Eve strengthened the contract item so his bell couldn’t be destroyed easily. Tsubaki was the exception to that rule. He had the ability to cut through a contract and release the Servamp’s Jinn.

“Is this your item? It’s not interesting at all. I would destroy it now but there’s a proper order to these things. Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Envy, Pride and finally Sloth.” His voice was flat but the eyes reflected his hatred. He dropped the bell and glanced towards the hospital. “Wrath and Envy are nearby. I should bring them here and turn the sky white.”

“Don’t hurt them.” Kuro knew he would never be able to live with himself if he failed his family a second time. His injuries hurt but he lifted his hand and gripped his bell. “Don’t do anything to Mahiru either. You hate me and they didn’t do anything to you.”

“You took someone important to me so it’s only fair that I hurt the ones you love.” Guilt hurt Kuro more than his wound. His past mistakes led to Mahiru’s uncle to being hurt. Tsubaki raised his sword to stab Kuro again. He struggled to stand and dodge the attack but his body felt too heavy to move. “There’s a lot of things I can do short of killing you too.”

“Kuro!” Mahiru screamed his name. Stress and adrenaline made his blood flow faster. He instinctively reached his hand towards Kuro even though his legs couldn’t move. His only thought was that he needed to save Kuro. A large feather flew from his fingers and stabbed Tsubaki’s right arm. The feather burst into flames and caused him stumble away from Kuro.

Both Kuro and Tsubaki turned to Mahiru and they were almost blinded. Fiery wings hovered over his back and created a shield in front of his uncle. He almost looked like a phoenix. Kuro knew that the white flames weren’t a power created by their contract. He became more confused when he realized that the flames were actually concentrated Jinn. “Mahiru?”

His voice didn’t seem to reach him. His wings flapped and created a powerful storm of feathers. The intense heat didn’t hurt Kuro and it felt comforting instead. Kuro lifted his hand and a feather landed in his hand. The feather became a small flame over his wound and healed them. On the other hand, the feathers that touched Tsubaki burned and he hissed in pain.

“You found yourself an interesting Eve, Sleepy Ash.” Tsubaki sheathed his sword and vanished in the storm. He couldn’t sense him anymore so Kuro knew that he had fled. He let out a breath of relief and relaxed. That was only for a brief moment though. Kuro realized that the storm hadn’t stopped but steady grew stronger.

He looked back to Mahiru who appeared to be in a daze. Even as Kuro screamed his name, he didn’t respond. He couldn’t know if Mahiru didn’t hear him or if he couldn’t control his power. He recalled the first time he used Jinn to summon his claws. It was scary and overwhelming.

“Mahiru!” Kuro stood and fought against the powerful wind to reach him. His foot slipped several times but he knew he couldn’t stop. Mahiru needed him. After he had saved him so many times, Kuro would do anything to help him as well. When he reached Mahiru, Kuro knelt in front of him and cupped his face. There were hot tears trailing down his cheeks.

“I don’t know what’s happening, Kuro! How do I stop this?” Mahiru was scared of his own power. He didn’t know what it was or how to control it.

“It’s okay, Mahiru. Slowly breath in and out and just focus on that.” He thought that it was best if he helped him become calm so he could control the power better. Mahiru nodded and closed his eyes. He took a shaky breath and focused on Kuro’s smooth voice. “Tsubaki’s gone. We’re not in danger anymore so you don’t need to be afraid.”

“Is my uncle okay? We need to take him to the hospital before he loses more blood. You’re injured too.” When he started to feel overwhelmed again, Kuro tenderly stroked his hair. He opened his eyes and met Kuro’s warm gaze. He made him feel safe and the tension left his body. The storm faded and the sky was once again calm.

The wings made of Jinn returned to his body and disappeared. His body felt lighter but he was also exhausted. Mahiru fell forward into Kuro’s chest. He worriedly ran his hand over his neck to find his pulse. Kuro held him closer until Shuhei approached them. He knew that Mahiru would be worried for his uncle the most so he said, “Toru needs medical attention right away. He had been stabbed. I’ll take Mahiru somewhere he can rest and heal.”

Kuro sat next to Mahiru’s hospital bed and watched over him while he slept. He heard the door open and instinctively stood to protect him. Toru stepped into the room and he relaxed slightly. He slumped into his chair again and ran his hand through his hair. “Should you be walking after Tsubaki stabbed you? I guess I should apologize for my brother.”

“I guess you would call him a bother.” Toru joked but he could only muster a small smile. “How is Mahiru? Iori told me what happened after I passed out.”

“He’s tired. Mahiru hasn’t woken up yet.” Kuro lightly ran his hand through his brown hair and Toru saw how his eyes became soft.

Kuro sat straighter and faced Toru. “I was hoping that we could have a break after the mess in C3’s headquarters. Hyde texted me and told me about World End and Hugh. This has been a week of unravelling secrets. Can’t deal. Is Tsurugi okay? I heard he went to protect Wrath despite his wounds. Mahiru would give him a lecture about proper rest once he hears that.”

“Jun said he last saw him fighting Mikuni. We don’t know what happened afterwards and we’re still investigating what could’ve happened. I’m sure you want to ask about Mahiru as well.” Toru took out a key that he stole from Iori. He pressed it against the wall and created a sealed cube so no one could overhear them. “I was planning to tell Mahiru alone but you’re going to be fighting as a team.”

Kuro nodded silently. Toru doubted he would tell C3 their family secret and endanger Mahiru. “My sister and I wanted to protect Mahiru. We did our best to keep C3 from discovering his abilities. He carries Jinn in his body like a vampire but he’s human.”

He looked down at his nephew and thought of his sister. “Hanamaru left C3 when she discovered that she was pregnant. Both of his parents were powerful magicians and he should’ve inherited that power. But Mahiru was exposed to Jinn before he was born since his mother worked at C3. The Jinn attached themselves to him as if he was a vessel.”

“If C3 knew a human could hold Jinn and control it…” Kuro trailed off and bit his lip. Even if C3 did discover the truth about Mahiru, Kuro would protect him.

A/N: We haven’t been given a lot of clues for what Mahiru could be or his secret power. My money had always been on him being a phoenix or something related to the sun. Mahiru had always been associated with the sun in official art from Tanaka (even before the fandom made it an inside joke). Added the Jinn concept so it would fit the Servamp world better.