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epic-potato-crisp · 7 years

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“Camaraderie.” - Ajin Secret Santa 2017

This is my second contribution for AjinSS2017. Dear @lairn, I’m your pinch writer for this occasion.

Platonic KeiKou, bird imagery, Kou trying his best, Kei and Kou learning to communicate and being (antagonistic) friends, horror and gore stuff with the IBMs, very intense/ruthless Kei were the points I wanted to incorporate.

I hope you’ll enjoy the story! :D

Merry Christmas!

Title: Camaraderie

Pairing: Nagai Kei & Nakano Kou (Platonic)

Fun Fact: Manabe goes shopping for the group

The scream comes from a mile away. It sounds very much like Kei. Kou, having searched around the area for the last fifteen minutes, jolts up at the distressed noise. What the hell, he thinks, panic already clouding his mind, what happened? He takes off towards it without any second thought, forcing his legs to run even faster, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. The trees rush past him, white noise in his ear as he charges on.

“Nagai!” he yells yet again, but once again, there is no answer, only the later-afternoon chirp of birds in the branches, the grass and branches crunching underneath his feet.

It’s still so hot, so very hot. Kou stops for a moment, sides aching from the mad speed that not even the training with Hirasawa could hold up against. Not yet, he thinks, making a mental note to train even harder from now on, not yet.

“Nagai!”

“I’m here, you dumbass.” The sullen voice mixes into the surrounding noise, and even though Nakano Kou is surrounded by nature in all its glory, it’s this very moment that brings him the most joy. Nagai Kei steps out from the clearing. He’s limping, Kou notices, brow furrowing, and he can’t stop his mouth falling agape in shock when he realizes Kei is missing a limb. “What the hell, man!” he cries out, hysteria ripping into his casual tone, and he breaches the last meter between them to kneel down on the ground in front of Kei. His hands reach out in confusion and shock, unable to yet understand the truth his visual senses are presenting him with. He reaches for Kei’s legs or rather, what remains of it. A stump. Dried clots of blood mark the area where the rest off it had been – Kou whimpers at the thought -violently torn off, or so it looks like. Crimson blood keeps leaking out, splattering the ground.

“I-“ Kei says, and to Ko’s utter disbelief, there is a confident smirk lining his mouth, “I was training with my IBM. Since I wanted to practice attacks, and there was no-one else around, I-“ Kei’s voice cuts off, body jerking as he sinks to the ground.

“Shit!” Kou curses, drawing away his bloodied hands, wincing as Kei’s head hits the ground right beside him. Kei’s shirt, once white and spotless, has been torn to bloody shreds. There are gashes everywhere they shouldn’t be, work that only the most enraged of Black Ghosts- and Kei’s counts among them, for sure- would manage. Kou turns his head away from the horrible sight.

“I’m going to die anyway.” The slurred words leave Kei’s mouth, ”Dumbass, there’s nothing you can do about that.” There’s a tone of satisfaction in his statement that has Kou’s blood boiling.

“What on earth is wrong with you, Nagai?” he barks, “I thought you knew all the painless methods to die!” At that moment, Kou almost swears that Nagai is rolling his eyes at him. “W-wouldn’t make for effective…attacking methods.” Kei says, the last words no more than a mumble, and it’s almost peaceful, the way in which his eyes flutter shut, in which he draws a last breath before sinking to the ground.

“Nagai! Nagai!” Kou yells out, his initial mortal instinct gearing up at the sight of a death right in front of his eyes, before he remembers that Kei will come back. Probably. Kou exhales in relief once the particles- thick and in mass quantity for Kei – rise in the air, and amid the process of regeneration, finally, Kei stirs. “Welcome back.” Kou says, feels his hands tremble.

“You still didn’t tell me why the heck you did something like that.” Kou grumbles.

After his regeneration, Kei had, under quite a bit of groaning, risen to his feet, and yanked off the soiled remains of his shirt, buried it under a ground with a few kicks. Then, in a tone as casual as no one who had shortly before survived a death by blood loss should be using, he suggested they made their way back to the hide-out.

“I don’t have to tell you, do I.” Kei swiftly replies, “It was for training. It’s not like your IBM is of much use, yet, or ever-“ the thinly veiled insult has Kou’s fingers clenching – “and so mine should be optimally prepared to wreck as much havoc as possible.”

It sounds logical, so far. But what Kei had done back there could not simply be classified as training. Kou shudders at the memory- the boy standing before the clearing, a stump instead of a leg, and so much blood. He has no doubt it will surface in the form of a nightmare in one of these restless nights.

“That was intentional suicide.” Kou insists, throwing an inquisitive glare in Kei’s direction, and almost tripping over a particularly thick branch in their way, one which the other skillfully evades. “Intentional.” he repeats, once he’s gathered himself, “And the violent kind, you know? When you don’t even need to do it, you can already make perfect IBMS. I’m pretty certain this is not the kind of training that Tosaki meant.”

“And I’m pretty certain he won’t learn about this.” Kei interjects. Kou halts in his tracks as the other levels a glare back at him. “Neither him, nor Izumi, nor Hirasawa. None of their business. It’s the only way to insure a violent fighting force, and I’m not about to explain myself to anyone considering my own training. Got it?”

He sounds intimidating enough as it is. Kou knows the other is to be reckoned with- he poisoned him already, the grim reminders comes forward immediately- and he is not about to argue with Kei about something that he obviously feels intensely about.

“Fine.” he says, taking a deep breath, “They won’t hear it from me.” That is obviously good enough for Kei. He nods, and then turns away from him. They don’t speak for the rest of the way to the hideout, and Kou doesn’t make another attempt.

It’s lonely back in his room. Also, it is a little boring. Kou sighs, pondering his options as he stares at the bare ceiling that is in dire need of a renovation. He could join Hirasawa’s crew back in his room, He knows they’re currently engaged in a drinking session, from the sounds coming from further down the hallway. And as jovial as the lot is, and as much as Kou enjoys spending time with them, he knows that his thoughts would keep drifting back to the one thing at hand that he had wanted to do, since this very afternoon. Current circumstances have forced him to reschedule, that is his excuse for the soft bundle remaining in his trouser pocket his entire time, but there is no point on procrastinating on it further. If only it wasn’t so difficult.

With Kei apparently, every single thing is another hurdle to yet overcome. Kou remembers how downright hostile he was to him at first, and even after joining Tosaki’s group, the other has kept speaking with him to a bare minimum.

That was when first turned to Izumi.

“You want him to become your friend?” she asked

If she was amused, at least she was courteous enough to not show it.

“Well, yeah.” Kou said, scratching the back of neck, “I mean, he’s the only one around my age here, right? And he’s an Ajin and I feel like we’re going to spend a long time together from now on.

It just sucks that he’s such a jerk most of the time.” The corners of her lips curved upwards.

“I see.” she said, “Then, Nakano-kun. I have a suggestion. Presents open hearts, they say, so perhaps, why not try gifting him with something he likes?”

Kou, for his part, was a little thunderstruck.

“You’re telling me to give him a present?”

“It couldn’t hurt to try.” she said, and then, before Kou could properly protest, a few bills were placed into his hand

“Give it to Manabe, once he goes for another errand, tell him to bring you whatever it is you think he’d like.”

“I can’t accept that.” Kou stammered, but she waved him off.

“Don’t worry about it. Just don’t tell Tosaki-san about this.” She put a finger to her lips. Kou laughed, and thanked her from the bottom of his heart.

Kou reaches into his pockets and pulls out the by now severely crinkled shirt. It is Kei’s size, burgundy red, and has several black birds flying across it.

“For Nagai?” Manabe asked, with a surprised laugh, “Sure. So what do you want?”

“Something that he…well, something he can use, I guess.” Kou said, indecisively, “Perhaps…with birds.”

The thought had come to him in the middle of the night. Pondering what things Kei liked had taken up longer than he had estimated it to. The problem was, Kei, apart from not being human, was not normal like other people, either. Kou didn’t think he had any hobbies to begin with, if you left out sarcasm, arrogance and an alarming amount of sadistic tendencies. He liked to read, but then, apart from schoolwork, Kou didn’t exactly know what kind of book Kei would be happy with. Something scientific, surely.

But what topics was Nagai interested in? It was then that he began to consider perhaps gifting Kei something that was symbolic, meaningful. Perhaps it would impress Kei a little. Perhaps it wouldn’t, but either way, the thought behind it counted, Kou decided. And that’s when he arrived at birds. Kou had never been a fan of long, tedious reads and analyzing literature. So, to be perfectly honest, he didn’t have a clue about flower language or why the sky was a certain shade of a blue in poetry.

But birds…Birds were different. They were something that existed, beside them and yet independent of them. They symbolized freedom and independence. To make extra-sure, Kou had run a google search and discovered they happened to stand for eternal life, as well. And since freedom and a long, eternal life where they wouldn’t be hiding from the government or fighting Satou was hopefully in the cards for them a long the way, Kou decided they were the perfect gift.

“I hope you don’t mind it’s a boring shirt.” Only a few days later, Manabe handed him an inconspicuous looking plastic bag.

Kou peered inside, and felt elated at the sight. The colors were perfect – just the kind Kei would like. The birds were splattered all over it, no more than strokes of a brush, soaring upwards in a flock.

“Thank you!” he replied, “It’s great! I bet he’ll really like it.”

Now, standing in Kei’s doorframe, he isn’t so sure anymore. “What do you want?” The other asks, with a sigh, as though Kou is being a bother by intruding in on his precious space. Kei had been sat at his desk, reading a book with a cover that promised fatal boredom the second the other had walked in. Kou tries his best to not let the words get to him as much as they could have.

“I got something for you.” Kou says, closing the door behind himself- he certainly doesn’t want any of the other members walking in on him making a fool of himself – and brings forward the gift hat he has been hiding behind his back all this time. Kei raises an eyebrow, and comments:

“That could use some ironing.”

“Hey.” Kou snaps, defensively, “Aren’t you happy at all, you ass?”

“Wait, this is for me?” Kei rises to his feet, and reaches out in bewilderment for the gift. Kou hands it to him, nodding. For someone who’s a self-proclaimed genius, Kou decides Nagai Kei can be slow on the uptake.

“Yeah, it’s…” Kou feels the back of his neck heat up, “A present.”

Why is he feeling so embarrassed at the situation?

“For me?” Kei repeats, putting emphasis on the me part. He stares at Kou as though he’s grown a second head.

“Yeah, for you.” Kou says with emphasis, “So, what, do you like it or not?”

He waits, more anxiously than he thought he would be as Kei examines the shirt with his scrutinizing eyes.

“It’s actually nice.” he finally admits, the gift having obviously passed his examination. Kou breathes a sigh of relief.

“Great.” he replies joyfully, “Then please accept it.”

He presses the shirt firmly into his hands and takes back a step.

Kei visibly hesitates. His eyes flick back between the shirt, Kou and his desk.

“What do you want in exchange for it?” he asks, and Kou can’t fault him for the reasonable amount of suspicion in his tone. After all, he might be expecting an act of revenge for the mushroom onigiri, even though Kou would never go that far.

“Ceasefire.” Kou proclaims with a broad grin. He rubs the back of his neck, gesturing slightly as he explains. “Look, I know we started off on a bad foot. Really bad. But this mission here, against Satou…this is serious, and this is going to go on for long. And I don’t want to see you as my…enemy” Kou laughs, embarrassed at the overexaggerated term, “Or something like that. How about…how about we call it a ceasefire, and try to be…friends?

He winces as Kei’s right brow travels to unseen heights the second the word leaves his lips.

“Friends.” Kei deadpans.

“Friends would be nice, yep.” Kou laughs again, and feels like slapping himself for it. This isn’t a joke, and he doesn’t want Kei to take it as one. “I mean…yeah, I want us to be friends.” He says in a more serious tone, looking the other right in the eyes. “Will you accept my gift as promise of…camaraderie?” He’d learnt the expression from Hirasawa, and immediately taken a liking to it. Camaraderie, that’s what Hirasawa’s squad practices among themselves, that’s how they have come to be so close. One day, Kou thinks, even though it will be highly unlikely, one day I want to be able to have the same kind of relationship with Kei.

“I didn’t know you were knowledgeable in such difficult words.” Kei says mockingly, but before Kou can jab something back at him in response to that new verbal injury, he shrugs his shoulders.

“Well, perhaps.” he agrees, sighing as he does. “If I accept your offer, I can have this gift and I’d need a new shirt anyway, after today. It’s a deal.”

“That’s your kind of logic?” Kou can’t help but exclaim loudly, and only the smirk on Kei’s lips tells him the other might be joking. Partially.

“Honestly though…thank you for the gift.” Kei voices, right when Kou isn’t expecting it anymore. But Kei isn’t looking at him- his eyes are focused on the shirt, and he is tracing the birds with his finger. “They look like tiny IBMS.” he mumbles, and Kou vows that it’s a genuine smile he sees, for once.

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ajin-reactions-blog · 7 years

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REACTION: Their S/O Wants To Play Fight

Kei:

Kei would just scoff at their s/o’s playfulness and say something like “Don’t be silly.” as he wouldn't want to hurt them but if their partner keeps whining, he would press a pressure point that may or may not paralyze them for a few seconds. He would apologize after tho lmao

Kou:

Nakano would JUMP at the chance, he would be so excited and would keep teasing them like “I got the muscle. I am the muscle man, you cannot defeat me!” Also would let their partner win immediately (would go as far as dying)

Kaito:

Kai would laugh and say “Are you sure?” He’s a very cautious person so he wouldn't really be up for it, but would go along with it just to make them happy. Wouldn't actually try to attack them (might flying kick they ass tho)

Tosaki:

At first, Tosaki would say no but after a while, their s/o would be pinned under him, laughing. He would say something like “Do you give up?”

Tanaka:

Would immediately get into it and try to tickle their S/O and push them down to the floor. He would let them win and act surprised when it happened saying stuff like “You are too strong. How could anyone ever possibly beat you?”

Satou:

He would be cocky the minute it was mentioned like “Oh? Try me.”Definitely would not let them win; probably pin them down and taunt them.

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eyedelater · 7 years

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post about the rest of the ajin anime (seasons 1 and 2)

(nothing special, just a liveblog post)

ajin episode 6

i see that the animation budget saved by doing CGI was instead spent on the fluttery shifty effects of the black ghosts

so satou's ghost is also anvil-headed

right, nagai doesn't have much empathy... hmm... hmm... that doesn't excuse his being an asshole at times

tosaki sure is eager to jump to conclusions as to why satou didn't bring out his ghost

ohh, ghost-to-ghost head collisions can bump some memories back and forth, interesting, i forgot about that...

huh, what is eriko calling kei "onii-chan" for at a time like this? she called him "nii-san" to his face and i think in front of everyone who talked to her about him, right? was that her way of expressing worry about him...?

episode 7

tosaki's gotta get that dekai kane

right, of course he's motivated by comatose fiance. doesn't excuse any of the shit he's done

episode 8

nakano kou. do we seriously have a kei, a kai, and a kou? sounds like a bit of a natural OT3 tbh

episode 9

there we go, nagai kei finally being an indisputable asshole

oh, right, big pharma makes an appearance as an antagonist

sokabe has a very silly face.

i already forgot what IBM stands for and can only come up with IBM he company or ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) without the C

right, ogura's distinguishing feature was not only smoking cigarettes, but being unreasonably dedicated to his brand of smokes in particular. so dumb

episode 10

ogura says a black ghost can only be used once or twice a day, but didn't nagai kei whip em out one after another like it was no thing? is that his special protagonist power that makes him differentiated enough to be the protagonist?

kei's ghost learned how to fell a tree from minecraft

do they really have huge screens up in cities complete with booming audio? the screens are nothing new, but the audio seems unusual to me

episode 11

oh, tosaki finally learned satou's name. from satou's video.

yamanaka-san bought him an oPhone8

"life and money are synonymous" sounds like your typical CEO

omfg satou rode the sinking tower and had a great time

sokabe is still calling satou "hat guy." get with the picture

episode 12

this just in: does satou sometimes substitute a "sh" sound in for an "s" sound?

episode 13

kei demonstrates his shittiness by holding a knife to yamanaka-san's neck after getting sniped. what a dick. oh wait he made it work. well whatever

tosaki says nagai kei is not a fool and as such he probably already scouted out the area, but tosaki immediately also says nagai kei has probably exhausted his black ghost uses for the day, something a fool would do because only a fool doesn't know their own limits and try to use them tactically in such a situation

time for season 2 i guess, episode 2-1

this OP isn't bad i guess

these subs having sokabe say "it's normal for a subordinate to greet his senpai." listen, if you use "senpai," you gotta also use "kohai," and if you use "subordinate," you also gotta use "superior" you can't just pick and choose which words you want to translate

this ending song is horrible

ep 2-2

sakurai emerging from the airplane toilet clearly zipping up his fly out of frame and seeing satou and his eyebrows just turn on a fulcrum and then turn backward like they're pinball flippers

ep 2-3

ah. i was musing over what must be the most popular ship for ajin, thinking maybe kei/kai or kei/kou or tosaki/ogura, but i've had a bit of a realization, and if i know the hearts of the BL community at all, their favorite ship is probably some sinful shit like tosaki/kei. i’ll find out soon enough whether i’m right (haven’t looked at any ajin pixiv tags yet)

ep 2-4

kotobuki, eh. seems like a charming character. oh, this bandanna delinquent is pulling the ol' pee-and-chat

kaito, everyone's favorite punching bag

for the record, i know i've read beyond this point in the manga, but i don't remember shit except that i left off around a chapter where we see shimomura's history.

kotobuki has a small head, maybe he just squeezed through some bars to escape

ah, i just realized the other anime this kinda reminds me of: zankyou no terror. it's got the police/government and the american government trying to intervene aspect to it.

carly meyers doesn't have any kind of american accent... i was kinda hoping she would

neither does doug here. i guess they didn't have voice actors who would have some fun doing a bad accent... or maybe they didn't see it as appropriate

holy FUCK, kaito executed a flying dropkick even though he wasn't on higher ground or anything, what the fuck

kotobuki asks kai what nagai kei is like and i earnestly half-expected him to reply "he's scum" like everyone else does

oh, so kotobuki's got a winged kuro-chan. lucky...

i forgot to write about this in the episode where it was said, but that iowan ajin whose ghost was driving a tractor is such a perfect image i can't stop thinking about it

ep 2-5

so i guess satou's catchphrase is "sssshate" (bc he kinda does a "sha" instead of a "sa") (meaning "now, then.")

the first OP wasn't skippable but i find myself needing to skip this one

there's lots of "pulling up live television broadcasts via a non-television device" in this anime

kou calling shimomura "izumi-san" pls

i like how whoever is nearest the whiteboard is the one to cross the latest victim off the target list

ok, if tosaki is about to be fired (which, hasn't he been for a while now?), that made me think, why is he concerned about his job when he's doing this conspiring with ogura and nagai etc hidden from his superiors? is he concerned about stopping satou, or is he still only concerned about money for his fiancee...? is he getting hella paid for this even though he's less involved in the torture (the real moneymaking activity) than before?

i don't like this dynamic btwn american guy and carly meyers where he keeps correcting her gruffly and she keeps backing off and looking afraid/ashamed.

they had nakano put on a satou hat to be satou ;w;

did shimomura just plug a flash drive into her phone? what kind of compatibility we got in this time period?

how long do neck-stab sedatives take to kick in in real life?

carly meyers's kuro-chan has a gem-shaped head

why don't all ajins just keep a knife or something on them to cut their own throat whenever they get hurt

ep 2-6

tainaka yoko. yup, this is about where i left off in the manga, i believe

whoa there, tosaki just got tased right in the nib nob. that's dirty, american doug

i can't say i feel bad for tosaki getting tortured.

ep 2-7

shut your ungrateful mouth, tosaki, shimomura was LITERALLY just doing her job, which you TOLD HER WAS HER JOB: PROTECTING YOU

how in the fuck did satou get away with playing dead when the other side KNOWS it's ajins they're fighting

why isn't ogura, a native english speaker, the one writing an email to the defense department

ep 2-8

this new OP is ok

ep 2-10

(i spent all of 2-9 doing origami instead of typing)

tosaki don't relapse on your smoking habit :( that's not gonna do anyone any good.

ep 2-11

kai busts in with his signature move and saves the day and he's started calling kotobuki "senpai"

so kei's signature line to kai is "i really have to pee"

kai's like "you're wrong. he (kei) isn't an idiot." that's right, he's actually trash, ask anyone

i can't emphasize enough how bad this ending theme is

ep 2-12

well okuyama-kun has been kind of lovable so far, so if he and others decide to join tosaki's side, that would probably be good

isn't burying someone alive the worst way to try to contain them? because you can't see them directly. they could escape without you noticing

ep 2-13

no kabedonning shimomura >:(

wait wait is tanaka also wearing a satou hat? oh, it's just a baseball cap.

fuck off tanaka don't impale shimomura in the same way twice

oh, one of nagai's new ghost army said the thing that nagai said at the scene where he first saw a ghost :0 about the sick puppy. i like all these ghosts spouting quotes

oh, he cut off satou's head. well, that's the first head we've seen cut off. is he facing the right direction to meet his new self? he closed his eyes too soon for us to find out :\

helicopters are raining in bullets from above like in ghost in the shell (1995) (unless i’m completely misremembering. there were other things that were raining bullets in various directions in that scene so i’m not sure)

so now satou's in custody for the first time.

so satou had an exposition dream

honestly i’m no longer sure where i even left off when i read the manga x years ago, i feel like i may have dropped it because i didn’t care for the boring military shit going on for quite a while, but i feel like i even distantly remember satou being beheaded in the manga...? but anyway i’m gonna (re?)read the whole manga now i guess. overall manga verdict: it had a distant, clammy feel to it, but not bad; the voice for nagai’s ghost was real good; they did a good job with the cgi animation, but it definitely lacks something compared to the art in the manga; the only good OP was the first one; and yeah idk my feeling toward this anime is pretty neutral.

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hyrulehb · 8 years

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Don’t Cut Me Short

“Geeze, would you just relax? This would take a lot less time if you would just chill out,” Kou Nakano grumbled, hot breath ghosting over the right ear of the dark-haired boy in his lap. However, Kei Nagai proceeded to do the exact opposite, one hand scratching against the wooden floor of the bedroom and the other hand, which the brunet was holding by the wrist gently, clenched itself into a fist.

When Kei has a problem, who else is he going to turn to besides the ajin he has come to trust, and dare he say, love. That’s not to say Kei was asking for help, no Kou just decided to fall gracelessly into finding out what is wrong with his asshole of a lover.

Cannon typical violence, language, all that good stuff, Origami10 edited this for me. Hope you enjoy!

“Dude, you’re acting like a bab-,” the words were cut off by a harsh elbow to Kou’s side, shit Kei was so fucking boney it might as well have been a stick or the hilt of a knife smacking him. Kou had experienced both, one of which was courtesy of the other ajin. While they might come back to life after each death, it still fucking hurt. Honestly, Kou doubted he would ever get used to it, unlike how Kei accepted each stuttering end of his heart’s beats to be a necessary sacrifice… A minor annoyance for the outwardly cold high schooler.

Or former high schooler, as it were. After all, it wasn’t like Kei was able to return to his daily life considering the circumstances. Kou had a better chance at that, his face hadn’t been broadcasted constantly on news stations and in papers. But he had admitted to dropping out of school before all this started.

Regardless, the lighter haired boy never seemed to even entertain the idea of abandoning Kei to save himself. No, there was that stupid righteous hero/good guy complex the idiot had which infuriated and confounded the other ajin.

While they had grown closer during their partnership, to someone on the outside, the pair seemed like they could barely stand each other’s guts. A mismatched force of brains and brawn. However, this wasn’t the truth. Their situation was unique, after all, they were working with government agents that could just as quickly turn on them while also trying to take down an immortal terroristic psychopath.

It seemed that they only had each other.

Or at least in Kei’s view he only had Kou, he still didn’t fully trust the other members of the group and in his eyes, they were far more expendable allies than an immortal one. Izumi and he seemed to have a mutual understanding, but they weren’t what one would consider friends. Kou’s heart was far too open in his opinion, leaving him equally so for attack.

The two young male ajins weren’t friends either. They had reluctantly and rather sporadically become more than that. Heated arguments becoming make-out sessions and quiet moments. Not to say they still didn’t have their spats. Half the time they wondered why they were even attracted to each other. Kei explained it as something like ‘opposites attract, that it was natural in nature to find someone that had the attributes that you lack for mutual survival’. Honestly, Kou thought that was just the most convenient excuse that the shorter boy could think up to justify it to himself.

But wasn’t love always described as insensible, mysterious, and overpowering? That was how the movies always described it in Kou’s experience. Sometimes, there were things that weren’t logical. Humans weren’t logical, then again, they couldn’t consider themselves part of that ilk anymore could they?

Before Kou’s thoughts proceeded towards a darker path, Kei squirmed in his grip, dragging the naïve teen back to the task at hand. A difficult one indeed, he honestly hoped to get out of this without dying more than five times. It was a high hope, but it was there.

It was cutting Kei’s fingernails.

A mundane sounding task, but it was something that the dark-haired boy seemed to no longer have the capacity to do.

Here’s how it all began, just two hours before.

The problem was discovered by accident during one of their daily arguments. Kei had gotten fed up with Kou’s insistence, once again, that he try to connect with the other members of their team, and had started to walk away. Tired of the other always turning his back on him, the other ajin had grabbed the leaner immortal’s wrist to make him face him, ready to scream in his face.

Instead Kou was hissing in surprise and pain as his held his own arm, blood seeping between his fingers despite his tight grip. It wasn’t from Kei’s IBM, which was a shock. But instead, red was smeared on the tips of the ajin’s own fingers. His murky red eyes were wide as he looked from Kou to his hand before taking a step back.

“Bastard… Don’t you dare,” Kou warned, eyes narrowing as he recognized the expression of internal panic under that stoic mask. Then Kei was sprinting away from him.

“Goddammit, you know that you can’t just run from me!” After all, where could Kei go in their little compound? Also, Kei’s stamina was absolute shit compared to the more athletic ajin. That didn’t mean that the other wasn’t going to try though, prompting a chase through the surrounding woods and eventually into the building that was their temporary home. If the humans heard their stomping about, they seemed to have decided that they didn’t want to deal with teenage hormonal drama, and took hallways to avoid the approaching shouts. Well, mostly the calls came from the lighter haired boy while Kei cursed quietly under his breath. Hell, Kei was certain he heard the click of a lock from Tosaki’s office door when he passed.

He wasn’t surprised that the bastard wasn’t going to help him.

Kei’s feet flew up the stairs, his chest heaving as he pushed his stupid body towards its rapidly approaching limit. He had to get to his room. If he got there and locked his door. He could at least put off the inevitable for a while longer. Perhaps find a way to distract Kou from the issue, the other was scatterbrained enough that he might not remember why he was sitting outside of Kei’s room after a while.

But there was that annoying little fact that Kou seemed to never forget something if it involved Kei. It was probably supposed to be a heartwarming thought, but right now it was just a royal pain in his ass.

His sneakers skidded on the slick flooring as he tried to abruptly stop when he reached his room, hand twisting the knob and forcing it inward. He was so close; the timing was perfect and he started to twist his heel so he could shut the door behind him.

There was one thing he hadn’t calculated for though, and that was Kou throwing himself full force at the door when he saw his window of opportunity literally closing. The force sent Kei to land flat on his back, breath knocked out of him as his attacker also slid to the floor, upper half landing on top of the dark-haired teen’s legs, trapping him. But Kou managed to land on his back, kicking the door shut behind him when it ricocheted off the wall.

Panting, Kou couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he turned himself over, arms bracing him so he could lean over the still downed Kei in triumph. “There, …ah, finally got you.” There was that dopey, ‘enduring’ Kei’s mind supplied much to his disgust, grin that Kou always wore when he thought he had succeeded in one way or another. But it was wiped off the larger boy’s face as he took in the dark crackling mass leaning over both ajin.

The mummy-like IBM slowly reachrf clawed tipped fingers towards Kou, no doubt intending to impale him like it seemed to oh so love doing.

“He-Hey, wait, wait, ya know killing me isn’t going to solve anything, right?” His words were rushed as he forced himself to look away from the monstrosity bearing down on him and into the eyes glaring into his own. Tough crowd.

“I’m just going to keep harassing you until you tell me what the fuck is up, no amount of times you kill me is gonna to change that.” Sensing the claws stopping their approach urged Kou on as he added, playing a dirty card, but he had quickly learned that the phrase ‘everything is fair in love and war’ was very true when dealing with Kei, “Come on, don’t you trust me?”

“I trust you about as far as I can throw you,” came the grumble back as he turned his head to the side, a small sigh of defeat coming from his lips. This only made Kou chuckle as the IBM slowly started to dissipate, “Which is pretty far if you use your ghost thingy.”

Kei’s eyes immediately snapped back to Kou, mouth opening slightly, but no words coming out. Finally, a small ‘tch’ left this lips as he pushed a hand against the other’s chest so he would let him sit up. “That was actually pretty clever, congratulations.”

Kou frowned as he let himself be pushed back, sitting cross-legged on the floor as Kei did the same in front of him. “I can tell when you’re making fun of me you know.” A chuckle was the heights-hating boy’s only answer, but as the seconds ticked by, Kei’s eyes continued to dart to the different corners of the room, his hands hidden in his lap. Honestly, it was so fucking weird for Kou to see the mature teenager acting childishly.

Still he was determined to get his answers and he reached one hand out patiently, “Mind showing me what the hell sliced me?”

Another short pause stretched between them before finally one pale hand was put in his. At first, Kou didn’t notice anything immediately wrong with it. That is, until he turned it over and his eyes bugged out. The nails had become completely overgrown, the edges splaying out and sharp to the touch. So, that was how it had happened…

“You need to trim them,” Kou murmured. He doubted that Kei was trying to grow claws or something like that. Though it would be kind of awesome if they could. The thought made him start to grin before he heard the grumpy grumble from his companion, “Thanks for pointing out the obvious, dumbass.”

Kou’s cheeks puffed out, looking like an offended bird by the name calling, “Well if you’re so smart, why haven’t you done it yet?!” God, Kei could be such an asshole, why did he love him again? Honestly, he should try and slip some poison into his food sometime, see how he likes it. Nah, the other would probably find a way to humiliate and torture him tenfold if he tried that.

“…I can’t.”

The admission both startled and confused Kou, making his head jerk up as he looked at the other’s face. The expression on it he had only seen a few times before: fear. Kei wasn’t looking at the other ajin, instead continuing to stare at his fingers like they were some kind of alien part to himself he had never seen before and was afraid that they would grow teeth and turn against him.

Kou had been told that he was a natural people person, maybe that was why he could read Kei just a little bit better than anyone else. Kou’s voice softened as he interlaced his fingers with the hand he was still holding, “You won’t, or you can’t?”

“I said I can’t, didn’t I?! I know you’re not deaf,” Kei snapped back, but he didn’t pull his hand away. Seriously, if the other wasn’t going to pay attention then this conversation was useless, a waste of his time. Kei’s lips pursed in anger, debating if he should jerk his hand back and try to leave. His thoughts were cut off as he felt a warm touch against his cheek.

Kei let his head be turned towards Kou, taking in the concerned expression the other had as he asked softly, “Will you tell me why?” The lighter haired immortal had noticed the pair of clippers in one corner of the room and the small dent in the wall’s paint above where it laid. It looked like they had been thrown with some force to cause that.

“I…” Kei bit his lower lip before trying to continue, “It’s…” The word wouldn’t come out and he dropped his gaze, shame seemed to be twisting his guts into painful knots. It shouldn’t fucking matter now, it was weeks ago. But each time he started bringing the clippers towards the tip of one of his fingers, the images would rush back, making his hands shake, vision swim, and heart palpate out of control. He could practically hear the sound of metal chopping through bone and the steady drips of his blood falling to the floor. The beeps of the heart monitor sounded like blasts of thunder hammering the inside of his head.

“Nagai… Oi, Kei!”

The shout dragged him back to the present, a gasp escaping him like he had been brought up from underwater. But he still heard it, that horrible dripping sound. Trembling, he looked down, taking in the fact that, yes, bright red blood was falling to the hardwood floor. But it wasn’t Kei’s.

It was Kou’s. In his panicked state, his overgrown nails had dug deep into the top of the other ajin’s hand and wrist which, had been holding his own.

“Shit,” Kei muttered trying to jerk his hand free, but the grip only tightened, difficult as it was to maintain with slick blood painting skin.

“Kei, does this have something…” Kou’s voice became softer as Kei stopped fighting him, the shorter boy staring at the garish yellow hoodie that the other ajin loved instead of his face, “to do with the experiments that the government did?”

While behind closed doors the two could talk about almost anything, there was one subject that Kei refused to answer upon. He would either pretend he hadn’t heard the question or change the subject. Kou had always let him, infuriating at it was, he could see the pain the other tried to hide whenever it was brought up. He could ask Tosaki or Izumi, but that felt like an invasion of Kei’s privacy to him.

As soon as the words left the other’s lips, Kei had started to tremble and Kou found himself surging forward. Wrapping his arms tight around his lover, one hand moving to roll through short dark locks as Kei pressed his face into the crook of his neck. There was the feeling of warm wetness soaking through the fabric, but this time both knew that it wasn’t from blood. The thought had more tears cascading down the raven’s face.

How could Kou hold him so gently when he was such an asshole to him all the time? He was Kei’s anchor, and unfortunately, he knew he was becoming horribly dependent on the other for his mental health. It was something that he had been determined to avoid, less connections meant less chances of betrayal and being hurt. But with Kou, it was just different. While they didn’t see eye to eye on many things, they could understand each other.

There was another thing he was grateful for, and it was the fact that Kou never pushed him when he got like this. Kei hated it when someone saw him cry. Kou never made Kei face him on the rare cases he did so. Rather he waited for Kei to face him when he was ready. He would hold him for as long as he needed.

“If you ever feel like you’re ready to tell me what happened back then, you know I’ll listen,” Kou offered softly, continuing to rub one hand through the other’s hair while the other moved up and down Kei’s spine in a soothing rhythm.

A small nod was all he got at first before the other boy drew himself back. His eyes were slightly red and puffy, but there were no more tears falling from them.

“You don’t need to know, because it’s never going to happen to you,” the words were spoken like a promise and Kou couldn’t help but feel heat rush to his cheeks. Chuckling sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head, “Ye-Yeah, I guess so.”

NO, Kei knew so, he wasn’t going to let kind hearted Kou go through the torture that he had endured.

Never. He was one sacrifice that he couldn’t make. He would disembowel Tosaki himself if he tried anything, no matter the agreement they had made.

Usually it was Kou that initiated any kind of contact between them, either the physical or the sexual kind. But this time it was Kei that leaned forward to press their lips together, internally rolling his eyes at the startled squawk that the taller boy gave. Yeah, they were both ridiculously good at killing the mood. Thankfully, Kou managed to recover himself and eagerly responded to the kiss.

Kei had never been interested in dating, sex or anything of the like only a few months ago, too focused on his studies and then running for his life. Kou obviously had more experience, the fact of which still made his thoughts twist. On one hand, he was glad that the other knew what the fuck he was doing so neither of them got hurt. Online research could only do so much, Kei had discovered. On the other hand, it made the previously unknown feeling known as jealousy run rampant inside him.

He had been so relieved when Kou gave up on his little crush on Izumi after getting killed by her a few times.

Still their meshing was far from perfect, teeth clacked against each other sometimes when their tongues fought for control. Noses pressed awkwardly together until the right fit could be found. Kei often didn’t know what the fuck to do with his hands, constantly shifting his grip from Kou’s bicep, shoulder, to around his neck, and through the ginger brown hair.

“You’re trying to distract me, aren’t you?” Kou hissed as he felt a burning scratch, for the edge of a long fingernail caught the back of his head. The smaller boy drew himself back, rolling his eyes in annoyance as he asked in a dull tone, “Why did you have to choose today to actually use your brain, instead of your dick.”

“Hey!” Was the immediate cry of protest from Kou, the bushy browed youth growling softly as he pushed Kei further away from him. He needed to focus, and that was a hard thing to do when the normally cold ajin was draping himself over him. After all, sex with Kei, who enjoyed scratching the living hell out of Kou normally, might just be life threatening with those nails.

“So, is it the clippers that bother you?” Kou knew he had to press the attack fast before Kei could try and squirm his way out of this. When the other started to look away, Kou cupped his hands around his cheeks, waiting until Kei met his eyes to give a reassuring smile. What happened wasn’t going to leave this room, it never did. Finally, a small nod was his answer.

“Why don’t you just chew them, that’s what some people do.” It was a suggestion that was met with a sneer of disgust. Right, Kei had wanted to be a doctor, so he probably knew if it was bad for his health to do something.

“Our hair returns to the state it was before we died, that was something I noticed, and apparently because nails are made from a similar material, the same applies to them.” Kei muttered softly. He had tried everything, biting was too gross, clippers freaked him out, and small scissors he couldn’t even touch when he thought about trying to use them on himself.

“Well, what if I cut them for you? Could we try that?” Kou groaned at the incredulous look that he was sent, forcing himself to his feet so he could get the clippers from the floor. “We can’t just leave them the way they are now. I don’t think you want to try dying either, just so I can clip them while you’re turning into a corpse.”

…The silence stretched between them.

“Kei!” The dark-haired boy sighed as it was obvious he was considering doing just that. But he had to agree, if he didn’t face this… It would prove just how strong a hold those bastard scientists still had on him. The past might have changed him, but he couldn’t let it rule him. Then he really couldn’t have the most basic semblance of a normal body or life.

“We can try, but if you cut them too short, you’re dead.” That was yet another promise. For this one, however, Kou was the one to roll his eyes, answering as he sat his back against the wall and opening his legs. He patted the spot between them for Kei to sit.

With exaggerated slowness Kei crawled forward, sitting with his back against Kou’s chest and letting his legs rest against the other’s on the floor. Kou knocked their feet together playfully, trying to defuse the tension in Kei’s form. It worked as the smaller ajin kicked back lightly with a sigh.

….And this is how they got to the present.

After the jab to his side, Kou realized that he did need to be a little more delicate with his words. It was a test to see if he needed to take a more gentle, doting approach or try to act like everything wasn’t a big deal. Okay, so it seemed he chose the wrong route. Especially when he noticed the slight tremble in the hand he held.

“Sorry, I’ll go as slow as you need me to, just tell me if you want to stop,” Kou apologized, pressing a kiss in the junction of Kei’s shoulder and neck. He waited until he felt Kei’s muscles relaxing. Then he gently held Kei’s thumb between his own thumb and index finger, bringing the clippers slowly towards the overgrown nail.

Kei was certain that Kou could feel the jump in his pulse, maybe even hear the pounding of his heart as it sounded like a pipe being bashed on metal in his own head as he watched the opening of the clippers draw ever closer.

“If it helps you can close your eyes, try opening them after we’ve done a few?” the suggestion was soft, a little hesitant as Kou really didn’t know how Kei would react to him trying to baby him. But from the corner of his eyes he saw the other ajin’s lids slide shut. His breath instantly became calmer, but his pulse still twitched wildly under Kou’s chin, which was resting on Kei’s shoulder.

The first click of the metal and the pressure on his thumb made Kei jerk and gasp, but Kou had been prepared, his legs snapping inward to help hold Kei tight against him since his hands were occupied. Assurances left his lips all the while as he pressed hurried kisses against the intellect’s neck to try and calm him.

“It’s okay, just two more and the thumb is done,” hearing these words Kei’s brain started to rapidly calculate how many more times the clippers would have to click before he was free. If the thumb took three and the other fingers took two, that would mean there would be twenty-one more clips. He groaned softly as he realized he would have to get his toes done too.

“Can I keep going?”

“Just get it fucking over with,” Kei groused back, keeping his eyes closed as he felt and heard the next clip, another full-body twitch coming from him without his permission. Another clip and the nail was done, both boys letting out a sigh of relief before Kou moved to the next finger. It was difficult to cut nails that were not your own, and Kou was silently counting in his head the seconds that passed after each clip. Waiting to see if he was going to be murdered by Kei’s ghost.

The first hand was finally done, the process taking over ten minutes, but if that’s what Kei needed Kou wasn’t going to complain. There was no reason to hurry, they both had finished their training earlier that day and dinner wasn’t for another three hours. Which meant no one would come looking for them for a while yet.

Now it was time for the second thumb, Kei resting his finished hand on Kou’s knee as the taller boy adjusted his grip to make the first clip. This time, Kei was determined to open his eyes and watch.

However, it was a fool’s dream to think that Kei would just magically be able to stand the sight. As he watched the edges of the metal growing closer and closer to his flesh, he found himself clenching his eyes shut a moment before the click could be heard.

Kou waited, giving the other what he thought was a reasonable amount of time to decide if he wanted to open his eyes again. When he did he waited another two seconds before making the next cut in the nail. Again, those usually guarded eyes snapped closed and a hard twitch came from the other ajin.

The process continued once more, only this time with Kei’s attempt at watching being an extra step. It was an improvement, Kou muttered such into the dark-haired ajin’s ear in encouragement, but only a huff answered him. Still, that made him smile. It showed that Kei’s ‘stunning’ personality was shining through despite his stress.

It was when Kou was cutting Kei’s ring finger that he made his first mistake, he knew he did so in an instant because that was how long it took for the other immortal’s black ghost to form and dig its claws into the left side of Kou’s chest. The appendage having effortless slid between their two bodies to just strike the larger ajin.

Warm blood rushed out of the wound and Kou grimaced. As he coughed, there was no doubt that the claws had skewered his lung as blood dribbled down his lips. He was pretty sure he could feel the ghost wiggling its fingers inside of him and the tips of those deadly claws were threatening to come out the other side.

Kei’s eyes were wide as he craned his head back to look at the scene, his IBM crouching on the wall perpendicularly, using one hand and the claws on its feet to keep its positon, and staring down at them both, a feat since its face was a simple void.

Over the crackling of its body a distorted, echoing rendition of Kei’s voice rung throughout the room, “Cut… them too… short.”

“Fuck, okay I deserved that, I get it.” The brunet mumbled out as the IBM started to dissipate. Warm blood continued to pool on the floor and soaked through both of their pants and shirts. Kou internally despaired over the loss of yet another of his hoodies to Kei’s murder-happy IBM.

“I… love you… dumbass.” Were the parting words from the ghost and Kou found himself weakly chuckling, while Kei only looked mortified.

Why the hell did that stupid thing always say the most embarrassing shit, it hadn’t said that particular phrase in a couple of weeks and he had been hoping that it had a short-term memory in regards to words he had said. Sadly, it seems he was mistaken as Kou continued to snicker before going limp behind him. While he had threatened to kill the other, he really hadn’t intended to follow through. However, his emotions and instincts seemed to have overridden his intentions.

It only took a few more seconds before Kou twitched and reared back, coughing slightly as his new left lung inflated and the invisible black matter particles started to fade away. He brought a hand up to rub over where the wound had been made, the phantom pain making him wince, even if there no longer was any physical reason to do so.

“Sorry,” the word made Kou look back at Kei, a small sigh coming from him as he muttered, “Don’t worry about it, I guess we should be happy that was the first hole put into me today… But I’m not cleaning up this mess. It’s your room anyway.”

“Which you sleep in half the time,” came the quick counter, though as soon as he uttered the words Kei felt himself flush. Dammit, dumbass Kou, he was able to make him say the stupidest shit so easily. The grin on Kou’s face only made Kei swiftly turn away from him, leaving the brunet saddened about the fact that he wouldn’t be able to see the pout that was no doubt on the other’s face.

Picking up the clippers from the small pool of blood, Kou wiped them off as best he could. Kei’s hand was soon set in his own again and two clips later both hands were finally done. As the dark-haired ajin pulled off his shoes and socks, Kou rubbed at his forehead with a whine. “Seriously, the toes too? Can’t we finish this tomorrow.”

“I keep slicing the backs of my legs while I sleep, so, no,” Kei retorted. Even wearing socks didn’t assure his safety since he had a habit of kicking them off in the middle of the night because of the hot, humid weather that plagued Japan this time of year.

“Wait, is this the reason we haven’t slept together recently?” Kou’s question made Kei grunt, pulling his knees up to his chest so it would be easier for the taller boy to reach the appendages. “Seriously, I think I like brain-dead Kou better. It makes my life easier.”

“You do care!~” was the sing-song reply as Kou rubbed his cheek against Kei’s own, hunching over him as he reached to hold one pale foot closer. Those clippers near the intelligent young man’s toes were probably the only thing that saved Kou from getting punched or elbowed in the face.

Still, cutting toenails was much more difficult than cutting fingernails, particularly in the position they were currently in. However, Kei refused to budge from Kou’s lap, and the other boy rather get more gouges than do this in a way that would make him more uncomfortable.

Kei was finally able to watch, but he still flinched harshly each time. Doing this once wasn’t going to magically cure him, both of them had accepted that fact. As much as it infuriated and frustrated Kei, he knew.

He also knew that Kou would be there to help him.

Kei hadn’t asked for the other immortal’s help. Instead it was Kou that, rather annoyingly, sought him out, refusing to ignore something that was bothering him. Kei couldn’t help but wonder sometimes where he would be if he had decided to sacrifice Kou to the government and made his own escape when he was fleeing granny’s village.

There was no point in pondering over the past and honestly, Kei suspected that somehow, Kou was guiding him in the right direction, even if Kei was acting as stubborn dead weight.

What seemed like so long ago now, Kei had thought about how he wanted to be a better person and obtain a peaceful life. That idea had been quickly left behind in a trail of destruction when he made his ran away from his hometown, abandoned Kai, escaped captivity, and then agreed to be the pawn of a man that had been determined to see him on the dissection table once more.

It was horrifically funny how life turned out sometimes. Still, Kou was probably a good enough person for the both of them.

The next clip made a small hiss of pain come from Kei and the other ajin was soon echoing the sound behind him. Suffice to say that Kou did get several more holes put in him. But the deed was finally done.

A loud, exaggerated sigh of relief escaped Kou, like it was he who had been put through a psychological gauntlet. Still, the action made Kei let out an amused hum as he inspected his lover’s work. The other ajin was glad to let him do so, leaning back against the now blood-stained wall to get a breather.

“We’re going to have to do this once every two weeks or so,” Kei muttered softly, getting a small grunt of grim acceptance from the larger immortal. Still unknown to the colder boy, Kou’s mind was whirling on how he might be able to make the process easier for the next time. He wasn’t sure how whatever was wrong with Kei worked. After all, he knew he wasn’t that smart. But if the bushy browed ajin had anything, it was bullheaded determination.

Feeling a slight breeze against his face prompted Kou to finally open his eyes again, catching a pale, now well-kempt hand waving itself in front of his face, prompting him to look up and see a rare small smile on Kei’s face. “Come on, let’s hit the shower, we need to get this blood off… And.” That expression turned a little devious as he continued, “I think you deserve a little reward for putting up with my shit.”

“I mean I already put up with a lot of it every day, but if that’s the way you want to say ‘thank you’, you’re not going to hear me complain!”

“…Dumbass.”

Okay, I hoped you all enjoyed that, sorry if you got tricked into coming just for smut, but I'm thinking of writing a second chapter to add that lovely bit in.

I will also be working on another fic that will be the prequel to this one, explaining how Kei confessed, against his will, and how Kou reacted. Also how the rest of the team dealt with them awkwardly avoiding each other.

A supply closet is involved.

If you liked it please tell me so, it keeps me motivated to write and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!!

This is also posted at AO3 under the same username and title.

#Ajin #Ajin: Demi-Human #ajin: demi human #koukei #kei nagai #nagai kei #kou nakano #nakano kou #keikou #hyrulehalfbreed #hyrulehalfbreed writes

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