#makoto yuki when I catch you

[vibingheartist]

Been a hot minute, but more Makoto Yuki

[sea-of-dust]

MAKOTO YUKI x GN! Reader

Summary: Dating headcannons

N: I had this just rotting bro posting this with the event. Ik u don't read these angst jumpscare. Also DO NOT listen to Malice Mizer OR SWEET (p5) while reading fanfic or headcannons for this guy you'll cry 7 times

Hm? Is something your gonna hear alot. He notices everything. Sometimes he purposely doesn't push you to tell him, other times he's told by Yukari.

He knows when your troubled, you can tell when he knows what's going on as he tends to get a bit closer before going "hm?" You notice when he's trying to comfort you. Trying to be sneaky just makes it more obvious, it's even more odvious when he sneaks snacks to you near your door, like he isn't the first suspect.

"?" He lays his head on your shoulder slowly inching closer. "You look like you're fuming. Did something happen?" "Nothing much just a headache" "I see" you never feel his arms wrapped around while you as you stood next to him, soft hums comming from him.

Makoto tries to hide his affections in public. Limiting it to hand holding or subtle matching things you both had on your person. The fewer people the higher the chance of him taking a small snooze on your shoulder, you end up giving him piggybacks when he does this.

He let's you listen to music with him. At the cost of a small tease. "I wanna listen aswell..." You look away clearly flustered to ask this "and why would my dove want that?" "HUH" you look at him wide eyed seeing him smirk "BRO" "? I thought I was your boyfriend" and back to the straight faced s.e.e.s boy. This was his way of flustering you, calling you a random nickname and then acting like nothing happened, you always reset back to bro when he does this making it even better for him.

He wanders...alot. This guy would get lost in a supermarket and be like "oh I lost them..." and then find you calmly while you'd just panic about where he was. He always appears from nowhere when this happens. "I've looked everywhere jimpei I'm considering going into the fountain..." "you walk so fast" he burries himself into the nape of your neck, "I almost lost you again" you were so lucky jimpei was on the phone and not in person or you two would have never stopped getting teased when you got to school

If you ever wondered about s.e.e.s or ever wondered why he was always so tired, he'd act like he didn't hear you. "So what's s.e.e.s, heard it had something to do with some sorta time thing?" He'd be right next to you. You saw him peak up and just go back to staring into the void seconds later. "I know you heard me" you furrow your brows slightly but he just lays there for a bit moves his hair and then goes "huh?" "UGHHH" you're not getting him to budge

That would be the case if you didn't have a persona he'd still try to pretend he didn't know until you saved him from a few shadows. "How did you get knocked down by wind of all things imagine I blow and you and you get stunned" your persona deals with them easily while you help him up. "So what is this place my princess, my shawty bae, my-" "please...shut up" "nah baby girl you brought this on yourself" he sighs but he did enjoy the free piggy back ride so he pretended the wind hit him THAT hard.

"You're still carrying him around" Yukari cringes "he can barely keep his eyes open tho" "oh he'll live watch this" Yukari turns around "we're gonna go get a sna-" "don't say it infront of jimpei unspelled" he groans nuzzling back into your neck "told ya, get him off your back" easier said than done the guys like those theme park bracelets you'll never get him off. "Yukari let go of me" his voice a bit annoyed "no chance! Come on you gotta walk like the rest of us think of y/ns back!" You got him to walk...but he had to hold your hand and would almost drift off again if you haven't move away everytime you noticed. "Please try to stay awake were almost done" "...." You catch his head "don't lean on me, how about this you can rest once we get back to my room" he suddenly has enough energy to walk without leaning on you.

He loves whenever he goes to your dorm. It always feels so calm in there like some sorta checkpoint. Sometimes he gets there before you already laying there like it was his own room. "Welcome home" "oh minato- wait...howed you get in" "you left the door unlocked" "oh" he tries to use the 'just wanted to study with you excuse' nah the dudes there for every kind of sfw romantic thing you can think of. He's there to be called lover boy unironcally! "Funny how you aren't as sleepy during the night" you move closer to him "you're nocturnal" you joke playfully giving him a small kiss on the cheek. In actuality he had eaten a bunch of candy so he could stay awake with you.

Take him with you everywhere!! If you'd e-mail him about anything related to heading out you don't even have to invite him he'd just magically appear. You don't even have to say WHERE you're going. "How do you always know where I am?" "This place is small"

He'd know what your into without you telling him almost sniffing it out. "I thought you'd like this" he hands you a small gift watching you blush immensely. "Howed you know I liked this kinda stuff" "I figure stuff out quickly" he did have hints though. The way you acted the way you looked at things simular to it. it made it odvious you'd like one of those.

He hides when he's sick always trying to hold back coughs or sneezes he suffers in silence and would prefer it that way. Why? Because the first time he was sick infront of you or anyone else no one wanted to be around him incase it spread. You were willing to of course until Mitsuru put a ban on seeing him for the sake of everyone's health, you still got tests to deal with ya know! So now he just hides it trying to recover quickly. Can't say the same for you though "cough cough! Ah sorry I've had a really bad cold lately" all he needed to hear to have you carried back to your dorm after school. "When we're you able to manhandle me" "please take this" he hands you a small medicine cap expecting you to drink it from there. "It's just a cold" "colds don't have you coughing yourself into orbit for it to just be a casual one" sighing you gulp it down

He'll pretend to not know how to put on his ribbon and ask if you're able to help him. Then turn around pull it off and look at you with a "can you do it again" face. He just likes the way you tie it while you're on the train with him.

Fastest Emailer EVER. You'd think it would take him litteral years since he sometimes leaves people out to dry, according to jinpei, and then he'd respond at the speed of sound to you nearly as fast as the email sends.

You try to pitch his cheeks only to get him to revert to an angry cat. So you've resorted to softer smaller pinches, he dosent mind as much now just don't too it too often or he'll start pinching you too

He may like using yarn with you. Depends on how easy it is though. "What are you making?" "A heart bracelet a girl asked me to make for her and her boyfriend" he reaches for your hand "do you mind if I try this?" "Sure it's in the left drawer" he could barely make the heart at first but as soon as you got a clipboard involved it was a whole diffent story, he was a machine, you didn't know this at the time but you definitely accidently made a yarn bracelet monster. Must have found out they can be made into sp items. That's why there's a lock on the left drawer now, he never opened it without asking its just to keep him from getting ideas, it does the opposite

He has his flirtatious momments, mostly just because he wants to tease you. It starts with a perfectly silent momment, in the classroom when they finally let you sit with him, nearly asleep in a library, on very rare occasions tartarus, he'd smirk and then lock in for the absolute chaos he's about to cause. A simple lean into your ear whispering softly yet clearly "I want a kiss" your eyes would always widen but you'd also respond with a whisper back "now?" Clearly slightly baffled you kiss him on the cheek quickly. Oh but sometimes that isn't enough, sometimes he just wants to see you melt, rubbing his hand on your already flushed cheek he leans in drowsy eyes meeting yours "I want a bit more please" he does enjoy you cupping his face and kissing him. When he does stuff like that you thank the lord the sees memmbers split up or you two are pretty much alone together.

There are times he's tempted to kiss you and then act like he didn't do anything. Cheeks are his favorite you can barely see him comming,*chu*, and now he gets to tease you make you think he never did such a thing "stop kissing me while i study" "wadya mean" "you gotta study focus on that" "i wanna focus on you more" "huh?" Another quick kiss "you did it again" "i dunno what youre talking about" exhaling you kiss him under the eye "lets get back to studying before it gets too late" and then hed lean onto your shoulder. He wants you to catch him more often

"I bought a camera! Let's take a few snaps, just the two of us!, "I don't see why not" holding the camrea steady, you take a picture of the shell he found. *SNAP* a picture of him looking out on the beach. *SNAP* "Why are you taking so many of me?" "I want you to last forever" putting the camrea down and walking toward him, he reaches his hand out. "Oh sure" you give it to him and he holds it up, making sure you're both in frame. *SNAP* a picture with both of you smiling as the sun sets on the beach. Softly looking at your features, his eyes land on ur lips, then cheek, eyes, then back to your cheek again. Smiling to himself, he holds it up again "you mind if we take another?" "Alright" *SNAP* soft lips press your cheek the momment the camera flashes. "You mind if I get another, the picture might be a bit blurry" with a rare smile on his face he pockets the picture. You covering the cheek he had just kissed. "Sure..." still surprised you lean into him smiling as the shyness gets to you. *SNAP* another kiss, happy with the photo he turns to you. "Do you have any plans after this?" "No it's straight to the dorm for me" "perfect" "?"

As you two walk home after changing clothes, he seemed to be more bright than usual as you wondered why, you were happy you got to see him smile like that. "I have something for you" "really? Me too!" "I'll meet you in your room then" hugging you before he leaves to his room to pick up your gift you collect what you had gotten for him, a DVD, a small bag with candies, and a rare jack frost you had won that you've customized to look like him. As soon as he opens the door you try to hide your gifts behind your back. "I can see them" "No you cant" softly giggling to himself he closed the door and gave you a case with a small bag with it. "Well since you've already seen then" you slide over the minato frost with the other things on its lap. "I saw someone do it on the internet and wanted to make one of you..." averting his eyes afraid he may not like it. He grabs its hands, then it's crocheted hair "it looks just like me" he pulls its cheeks. "And this is what I got for you" giving you the case and small bag. You decide to open the case first. Inside was a pair of headphones and a music player the same model as his. "How'd you know I wanted one?" "You eye mine alot, so I just figured" without much thought, you kissed his cheek "I don't know if I could put into words how thankful I am" You kiss him again. Excitedly, you open the small bag, revealing a bunch of stickers. "I wanted to decorate this with you if you don't mind" "I don't see why not" you excitedly put the sticker on his face then the case almost 5 stickers later his face again. "You look so cute with them all over you" "right back at you" giggling at his joke, you cover the player carefully in stickers with him. He even showed you how he put his music onto them.

Eventually what nearly always happens when he's in your room happens, his soft eyes flutter shut while laying on your bed the frost that looks just like him in hand. *SNAP* *SNAP* the opportunity was just too good to pass up, one for you and one for him to wake up to. You lay next to him moving his hair as to see both eyes. "Sweet dreams" your eyes grow heavy as they close. Days were sweet after that though you did notice him being a bit more busy, you didn't even notice when January ended, and he was nowhere to be seen. You asked most of the people you knew that spoke to him but they just ended up near teary eyed or near unable to say a word about it. "He's in a coma" Jinpei finally is able to croak out, "we don't know what happened to him" you feel your heart drop at his words, near running to the hospital after school and laying by his side. He looked so peaceful, you'd wonder what he was experiencing. Holding his hand for what seemed like it could be the final time you left, it felt a bit scary walking home without him with you.

You put on the music player he gave you, all covered in stickers he helped you put on. "Burn my dread...full moon full life...memmories of-" you hault finding yourself at the dorm, you go in, putting your hands in your pocket, reminding you of him, accidently touching his spare key he gave you, your mind suddenly asked you to go into his room. It felt like snooping, but the thought just wouldn't let you go. Opening the door, you find something on his desk, a letter along with a few pictures. "I may have forgotten to ask someone to give this to you, but I hope it someday reaches you, I'm writing this just in case something bad happens to me, I'm gonna miss seeing you when I wake up and waking up before you. All those candies I ate from you because I wanted to stay up late, all the times I've gotten free piggyback rides around town. I'm gonna miss you above all. I'm sorry I took your camera" getting to that part you look at the pictures on the desk one of him sleeping with the frost you made him, one of you trying on his sees uniform. "To be fair you already seen most of them, I just thought that if anything happened you'd want some of me" scattering them multiple pictures of him trying on your accessories, pictures of him smiling widely at your favorite places, pictures of him trying diffrent hairstyles. "I've bought a replacement film in advance, if you need to you can take my jacket and the mako-frost. They'll keep you warm" You look at more pictures, pictures of you and him, the kiss at the beach, you napping on him, a picture of you crocheting. "If push comes to shove, don't forget about me, keep living on, Makoto ps: thanks for letting me get this close to you"

[asaarii]

To Love. ft: makoto yuki (persona 3) reader: gn wc: 1193

MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE END OF P3 BUT I HAD TO OKAY?? KNOW THAT U HAVE BEEN WARNED AND I WILL NOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANYTHING.

AND ANGST

I LOVE MAKOTO YUKI WITH ALL MY HEART SUE ME

Imagine… 

Being the one to hold Makoto Yuki in his final moments.

You know you should be in the auditorium with everyone else commemorating the graduation of your seniors, yet you can’t help but feel as though something is amiss, drawing you to the school’s roof. On the surface, everything seemed fine, perfect, even.

The cherry blossoms in the school entryway always bloomed beautifully this time of year, pink petals delicately swaying in the wind’s gentle caress before inevitably falling to the ground, lost among the sea of other petals who shared the same fate. 

“It’s not fair, they’re too pretty to fall that fast.” You recall complaining to your boyfriend during one of your many nights spent sneaking into his dorm. He looked at you for a moment with those seemingly all-knowing eyes of his, like, really looked at you. It felt as though he were picking you apart and carefully examining every inch of your mind, but you couldn’t bring yourself to look away.

He’d always had that effect to him, even on the first day when he stumbled into the dormitory during the midst of the Dark Hour.

“Everything has its time,” he’d responded evenly. There was an underlying sense of melancholy in his cerulean gaze, though, you suppose that’s always been there. 

(That sense of longing to belong somewhere, even for just a hair’s breadth of time. You’d never know, but he was so happy that it was with you.)

You didn’t get much time to ponder it much at the time, having been pulled to his chest not a second later, where his heartbeat remains its steady, calming rhythm.

(“Shh, you’ll wake the others.” He lets out a faux yawn, trapping you against him to silence any complaints he was sure you’d voice. It’s only when you finally huffed out your surrender did he relents his surprisingly strong grip. He meets your glare with a cheeky, lackadaisical smile that has you unsure of whether or not you want to kiss him or strangle him.

You go for the former.

Makoto chuckles against your lips, melding against you like a puzzle piece meant specifically for you. A moment goes by filled with the soft sounds of your kisses and the occasional ruffle of fabric, and in that moment, no one but you or Makoto exists in the world.

He’s the first to pull away, pressing one final kiss against your temple. “It’s really getting late, you should rest. Don’t worry, I’ll be here when you wake up if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’d beat your ass if you weren’t, Yuki.” You tucked yourself against his chest, almost instantly falling asleep to the beat of his heart.

You didn’t see the furrow of his brow or the slight downturn of his lips, but you did feel his arms wrap themselves around your form a little tighter, even in your sleep.

“I’ll hold you to it.)

Aigis stands beside you, looking towards the entrance of the school, just as you had. The two of you share a look, but you can’t exactly discern the emotion present in her eyes. You stare at her, trying to understand the message she’s so clearly conveying to you, and she remains unwavering beneath your stare.

The one-sided contest is only broken by a third person’s appearance. Both of you turn with varying degrees of surprise to find none other than Makoto Yuki stumbling through the door with an uncharacteristic amount of clumsiness. Aigis meets him halfway while you remain stunned at the guardrail, clenching the protective fence so tightly that you can feel the bruises bloom beneath the skin of your palm.

You aren’t sure when you started walking, but you soon find yourself in front of the duo, only managing to catch an ounce of what the android had mumbled in the SEES leader’s ear.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you like I promised…”

Though just barely a whisper, her words send a cold shock down your spine alongside a pain far worse than any injury you’ve suffered thus far.

What the hell was she talking about?

Makoto’s fine.

Right…?

Right?

I mean, he’s in front of you, physically at the very least. He’s breathing, and—oh gods, he’s looking at you. Aigis turns to you after following Makoto’s stare, and it’s then you realize that off-putting look in her eyes.

Sympathy.

Self-hatred.

Regret.

Emotions far too complex for a simple AI to comprehend, yet here she was, looking at you with those very same emotions thought not possible. But you still don’t understand why she’s looking at you like that, even if the answer is currently staring at you, fondness still present in his tired eyes as he looks at you like you’re the only thing that matters in this godforsaken world.

Aigis shifts his weight onto you, offering a curt bow with the promise of privacy for the two of you before making her way to the opposite end of the roof. 

At first, you can’t look at him, knowing that if you do, your worst nightmares will come to fruition, but his gentle hand guides your eyes to his, just as he had so many times before. And even if his visage begins to blur from your tears, his voice still rings, clear and steady, bringing the slightest hint of comfort to your despair.

“Hi.” He starts quietly, wiping away a tear that streaks your cheek, though many follow suit, despite his best efforts.

“Hey.”

“Missed you.”

“I’m right here, silly.” You take a moment to gather yourself, leaning into his hand as you furiously wipe your eyes. The tears don’t stop though, and you don’t think they will for a good while.

A silence falls between the two of you, neither comforting nor tense. The two of you look up as the wind picks up, carrying bounds of cherry blossom petals in its wake. You could hear the distant howl of a dog and the clamor of steps, but all you could focus on was him.

“I still think they’re too pretty to be gone so soon.” This time, however, you don’t only speak of the fall of the cherry blossoms.

“Me too.”

You clutch his blazer, awkwardly leaning down to press your lips to his in a farfetched hope of breathing back some life into him.

The kiss itself is a far cry from romantic with your tears and Makoto’s waning energy giving way to an awkward meld of lips and the occasional hiccup on your end.

It’s still full of love, nonetheless.

He’d become such an integral part of your life in such a small amount of time, all for it to be taken away from you just as quickly. You rest your forehead to his as you lay him on your lap, “I love you. I love you so much, Makoto… I-I don’t know what I’ll do without you.”

“I love you too…” His breath is starting to become shallow, and his eyes are starting to droop. “‘M tired…”

“Rest for now, Makoto. Don’t worry, I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“I’ll hold you to it.”

©asarii 2024 — do not copy, steal, repost, or translate any of my works on tumblr or any other site

[dulcibella-dreams]

Tempest.

ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ⛆ ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ⛈ Makoto Yuki/Minato Arisato X GN reader

Synopsis: The weather is absolutely dismal, and you missed the train.

You could barely see.

The rain peltered the floor, creating a suffocating veil of gloomy mist. All you could do was speed walk through the monochromatic canvas. Soaked to the bone, your hair clung like wet silk to your skin, and you were pretty sure you accidentally ate some of your own rain-soaked strands. The day had started relatively sunnily, so you had no good reason to bring an umbrella. Oh, how you wished you had.

Holding the straps of your schoolbag like a lifeline, you rushed to the monorail's stop. Under the awning, you took a moment of respite to breathe. Your bag hit the ground, and you wrung out your dripping curtain of hair. Realising the weather had made you late, you checked the arrival and departure times. You almost fell to the floor and threw a tantrum when you saw the next train wouldn’t arrive for another hour. You hugged your own body, vehemently plunking down onto the bench. As your teeth chattered and water filtered out of the sides of your shoes, you envied the people who had arrived on time—probably at home with heaters and dry clothes right about now.

Your dreary thoughts were interrupted by footsteps. Someone quickly stepped into the stop, sheltering something in their jacket. Makoto! You definitely hadn’t expected him. He hadn’t realised you were the shivering person just yet, finger combing his drenched hair. You watched as he pulled out his MP3 player from underneath his jacket, while the book that couldn't fit in his bag lay drenched under his arm. Priorities, you supposed. As he turned, his eyes met yours, and they lit up in recognition. “Oh. Sorry, I didn’t see you,” he said. You waved it off as he sat down next to you. Moving in closer, you took the ink-stained workbook out of his hands, cringing at the ink blots on the pages. You closed it and put it in your own bag, having enough space. He gave you a silent look of gratitude.

“I didn’t see you when I left school, so I assumed you’d already gone,” you said sheepishly. You glanced at Makoto, who was adjusting his drenched hair. “If I’d known, I would’ve wanted to walk with you.” He turned toward you, a small smile playing on his lips. “We ended up together anyway, though. I suppose it worked out?”

Makoto carefully placed his MP3 player in his schoolbag. “When does the train come, anyways?” he asked. You almost groaned again. “in an hour...” you replied. He fiddled with his bangs, a soft sigh escaping him. He looked tired, but then again, he always did.

“If the rain settles down, we may as well walk…” he mused, though there seemed to be no sign of the weather calming. The sound of rain hitting the stop was almost deafening. “Unless we want to catch the meanest cold ever, I’d advise against it.” You’d rather sit here for hours than feel the rain seep into your scalp again. Makoto’s hair was even longer when wet. He was currently picking at the corner of his mouth, removing the hair that had found its way through his lips without invitation.

“Not like Mitsuru would let us skip school if we had a cold, anyways.” He mumbled.

“Are you sure? Wouldn’t she deem it ‘a danger to the student body’?” This made him laugh softly. It was a very gratifying sound, coming from a boy who usually remained expressionless. Though it warmed you up, it didn’t quite fix your waterlogged clothes. As the wind picked up, you heard the rumble of thunder. You were increasingly uneasy, watching the thin trees sway. You didn’t like storms. Suddenly, you felt the intense need to be indoors. You succeeded in suppressing your rising panic, though it didn’t go unnoticed.

“You alright?” Makoto tilted his head slightly, gauging you. You were going to shake your head and say ‘it’s fine,’ but something about his nature made it easy to open up. “I just…I really don’t like weather like this. It puts me on edge.”

Makoto looked at you for a quiet moment before reaching into his bag. Pulling out his music player, he offered his headphones to you. “…Do you want to listen with me?”

You sensed Makoto’s intention—to provide you with a distraction. It was…sweet. Absurdly so. It had been a while since someone had done something so considerate for you. Your cheeks felt warm. “Yeah, sure!” As the music played, you tried to lose yourself in its melody, separating each instrument from the beat. You started to feel less troubled.

But when your anxious mind coerced you to fix your gaze at the weather, his fingers found your face. Gently, he turned your gaze downward, and you watched as he took your hand in his. His touch radiated warmth, a stark contrast to your frozen skin. You reveled in his velvety hands, well-kept with strong, healthy nails. Makoto wasn’t accustomed to intimacy; his parents' passing had denied him such simple comforts. This had inevitably rendered him touch-starved. He understood that you sought solace in this connection— he enjoyed it just as much as you did, if not more.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the train finally arrived. As you both stood—muttering words like 'finally' and 'about time—he never released your hand. Looking into his eyes, that warm, fond feeling overtook you again.

"What would I do without you, Makoto?"

[frickingnerd]

enemies to lovers with makoto yuki

pairing: makoto yuki / minato arisato x gn!reader

tags: strega!reader, strega vs. s.e.e.s., secretly crushing on each other, angst (with an open ending), confession (makoto to reader)

you were a member of strega and makoto knew that when he fell in love with you…

he knew that he had to hate you, because you were the enemy. S.E.E.S.’ goal was it to take down strega, which included taking down you

and yet, he found himself catching feelings for you. your playful and flirty attitude made him fall right for you, even when he knew you only flirted with him to distract him from his missions

while the other members of S.E.E.S. dreaded running into strega, makoto secretly hoped you'd be there, every time he went out during a full moon

makoto doesn't tell anyone of his team members about his feelings for you. nor do you tell any of your team members you fell for the enemy's leader!

the two of you simply fought and bantered with each other every time you crossed paths and that was enough. at first.

but with each time you met, you knew the end of this little thing you had grew closer. once strega or S.E.E.S. reached their goal, there was no reason to see each other anymore

eventually, it was makoto who confessed to you, during one of the last times you met

after a fight won against you, he had you pinned down underneath him, his weapon ready to kill you. but instead of killing you, he told you he loved you

you thought you must've misheard. but his pained expression, caused by conflicting emotions of love and hate, made you realize that he must mean what he said

“you can't be in love with me, fool!” you huffed at the boy, rolling your eyes and trying not to show how happy you were about his confession

because you weren't allowed to be happy. not about this. not when you knew you and him could never be together

“maybe i'm a fool for loving you, but at least i'm not a coward! nor am i a quitter. there's nothing in this world that can stop me from loving you. the only thing standing in the way of our love is your fear of opening your heart to me…”

[nero-vanderwolf]

It seemed like ages passed in the hospital, eons spent waiting for results.

Akihiko’s knee bounced incessantly, even after Makoto put a hand on it reassuringly. Akihiko looked over at him, noted how pale he looked, noted the blood that had dried under his fingernails from the desperate attempt to staunch the bloodflow from Shinji’s wound.

“He was still breathing when we brought him in,” Makoto pointed out, his voice barely above a whisper. His hands shook, the one on Akihiko’s jumpy knee and the one clenched into a fist around his mp3 player.

“I’m scared,” Akihiko confessed, his voice shaking. “I’m scared that I’ll end up losing my best friend. I can’t- I can’t lose him too...”

He was aware of Mitsuru looking at him, of the worry that furrowed her brow, but he ignored it. He was busy throwing up his heart.

“I know. ‘There’s nothing we can do right now,’ that’s what they always say in movies. But it doesn’t take away the fear. I’m scared too, Akihiko. I’m terrified that I’ll lose a guy I never had the chance to know better beyond a few gruff words in the lobby. I don’t want to lose him either.” Makoto really did look scared. His lower lip trembled, his eyes shone with unshed tears. He was pale and shaky and looked like he was about to throw up.

The telltale click of a door shut everyone up. All eyes were on the doctor as he walked out, bearing a clipboard and a grim face.

That expression made Akihiko’s blood run cold. His skin turned to ice, and he froze. Please, he silently begged. Please, let Shinji be alive.

“He’s in a coma. Thankfully, it isn’t a deep one- he’ll most definitely wake up. However, we are looking at about two to three weeks before then.”

He was alive. Despite being shot, despite losing so much blood, despite those wretched suppressants that Akihiko now knows he was taking, Shinji was alive.

Akihiko should have known better than to doubt him.

“Can he have visitors?” Yukari asked tentatively, and the doctor nodded.

“Yes. Whenever you all are ready. Though, I suggest only one at a time for the first week or so. After that, it is up to you how many you deem fit to visit.”

After the doctor turned on his heel and strode down the corridor, all eyes turned to Akihiko.

“You should visit him, Akihiko. He’d want to see you first,” Makoto murmured. Akihiko knew he was right, and had to admit that the kid knew Shinji better than he gave himself credit for.

“Yuki. You can visit him next. After all, you helped save his life,” Mitsuru said.

Akihiko didn’t linger to hear Makoto’s arguments. He made a beeline straight for Shinji’s door, the dried blood on his hands itching the entire way.

There he was, Shinjiro Aragaki, laying on the bed. He was hooked up to a number of machines and wires, like some kind of speciman from his shitty sci-fi movies.

And yet, he looked almost peaceful. There was no scowl on his lips, no furrow to his brow. But he was still pale, his cheeks were still gaunt, his eyes were still darkly circled and sunken. Some things couldn’t be changed in a few hours.

Akihiko sank down into the chair beside him, sighing. “You’re a dumbass, Shinji. You know that? I mean, what were you thinking!? Did you think you deserved to die? Did you think at all?”

He knew it wasn’t fair to Shinji to unwrap all of his rage and grief and sorrow right there beside him, but he continued to anyways. He figured Shinji wouldn’t mind.

“We care about you, Shinji! Did you think we wouldn’t miss you? Did you consider the grief you’d cause us? Mitsuru can’t handle another heartbreak! I can’t handle losing another person!”

He was crying now, sobbing at Shinji’s bedside, clutching his hand and clinging to it.

“You’re selfish, Shinji. You’re a selfish asshole and I’m so fucking glad you’re alive because I don’t know what I might have done if you weren’t,” Akihiko whispered, breath catching with a new wave of sobs.

“...God, when did I get so soft, huh? Probably sometime around when Makoto arrived. Guy’s got a knack for that sort of thing, doesn’t he? Even Mitsu likes him... Do you think Miki would have liked him? He’s pretty quiet, so she might have tried to get him to talk more. Probably would have driven him crazy asking about his mp3 player. But I think... I think they would have been friends.”

Akihiko glanced at the clock, cursing quietly when he saw how long he’d been in there for.

“I’ll visit you tomorrow, okay? I’ll bring Ken along. Bye, Shinji.”

The ride home seemed to last forever, but it was forever spent in relieved silence. Makoto and Fuuka were sharing earbuds, Mitsuru, Junpei and Yukari were talking quietly, and Akihiko was hugging Ken as tightly as the kid would let him.

Ken was trembling with sobs, his tiny hands shaking as they clung to Akihiko’s vest. Sometimes Akihiko forgot how young he was, how young he had been when the incident happened.

“It’s okay, Ken... He’s okay. I’ll bring you there tomorrow after school and you can talk to him all you want. We can get ice cream after, even, if you want. Does that sound okay?”

Ken didn’t move his head from its place against Akihiko’s chest, but he nodded slightly. Akihiko rubbed his back, holding him close.

Shinji was alive. And somehow, just the fact alone was a comfort.

Because that meant that one day, he would wake up. And everything would be okay again.

RAYAGGGYHG JUMPING OFF WALLS RN of course aki would be mad at shinji. them insulting each other is how they always talk. its like a love language. also AKI COMFORTING KEN!!!! THE FATHER FIGURE AKI!!!! shinji lives... the tension in waiting to hear if shinji would live or not is so..... ghhhrghrhhh eatjng this fic like a tasty snack

[nejishadow]

Kenjikoto / Makokenji half-drabbles and ideas I have no energy to do anything with, because I haven't written fanfic in years, that I don't want to sit in the queue for weeks so it's getting posted now

Feel free (please do!) to expand / finish / take inspo from these for this ship, and please tag me / message me / something if you do because I crave content and exploration between these two. Unhinged tags and comments about how I inspired something/anything give me the biggest amount of fuel to keep creating art!!

Do you wanna see me ramble in real time about these weirdos / pos?? Join @bakafurai 's Kenji Enjoyer Club Discord (in their pinned)!

Some get real long so it's all going below a cut!

((These are all ideas and things written as stream of consciousness to just get my ideas out in a discord channel, so don't expect the best dialogue, formatting, or anything else, I haven't finished a full piece of writing and/or fanfic in years, ha))

Seeing these screenshots my first thought - and a tag I immediately added - was 'you heard the man, Yuki, give him a piggyback ride!'

But I kept thinking like. Makoto's strong. He could? He should??

Makoto kneeling down, telling Kenji to get on then, he'll take him home

Kenji chuckle or laugh, assumes he's joking or being silly like usual, sure Yuki, you can totally do that

Makoto getting serious, if you don't pick in the next couple seconds I'm leaving you behind. Kenji panicks at that and gets on without thinking and is surprised when Makoto stands up and carries him no problem (insert "I hope this doesn't awaken anything in me")

too shocked that Makoto can even do this to be embarrassed, maybe asks Makoto why he's doing this, Kenji could've just sucked it up. Answer something like "because I wanted to", Yuki doesn't elaborate much on those things.

Gives Kenji some time to do stuff he usually wouldn't, like study Makoto's hair, hear the music spilling out the headphones etc. I like the idea he just gets so relaxed on the way home he falls asleep but Makoto keeps carrying him

It's totally just a Best Bros privilege thing, could mean nothing more!! Simply don't think about how it made you feel ever again

Bonus of

Kenji talking to Makoto in the classroom, Junpei coming up making some joke about how people saw them, asking if Makoto can do that for him too (laugh, joke, being friend.)

And Makoto boils it down to: no

That makes Kenji real happy, that he's special like that. But he does stuff only for Yuki too so it's normal!!

--------------------

"So we've all thought about how pretty Yuki is, right, like the guy catches everyone's eye when he walks in, how couldn't we? Even with his bad fashion sense he just grabs your attention"

Kaz makes the most sense to respond, they are friends just "… I have never thought that. Are you sure you're not goin' through something?"

slaps a pic of Yosuke and Kenji These bad boys can fit so much comphet and denial in 'em!

--------------------

Another idea I remembered, less fleshed but a strong visual I wanted to draw

Kenji waiting at track practice for Makoto to be done. Kenji had never seen him run so decided to wait outside for once

Of course he's impressed. Makoto seems to take his time walking everywhere, at least when they go places, but man, he can run!

Makoto flopping next to him when he's done, after everyone else disperses, small talk about how hes surprised Kenji waited out here, doesn't seem interested in sports. Kenji some speech about how he wanted to see how badly Yuki beat everyone else

it's pretty hot, and Makoto's tired, flops over into Kenji's lap. 'Let me nap here a few minutes and we can go, you're cooler than the bench'

Kenji tenses a bit, but breathes, Yuki just wants to rest, chill!… but he can't help but eventually card his hand through Makoto's bangs, pushing them up and outta the way.

Makoto opens his eyes and just looks at him, not judgemental or questioning, just observing. But oh no - Kenji had never stared at both his eyes so close oh this is a problem

quickly he removes his hand, apologizes, some comment about how Yuki just looked sweaty and he was trying to move the hair off

Makoto closes his eyes again… 'I don't mind. I am in your space, I guess…'

after a bit, Kenji relaxes and starts running his hands through the hair again, silky and feathery. He can think about how this makes him feel LATER (never), for now he just wants to enjoy this thing he likely won't get again

Tho Makoto better hope Yuko doesn't see this or she's gonna tease him about his boyfriend / biggest fan until the end of time

--------------------

Pics I drew made me think of kenjikoto train ride(s):

Makoto tired, either tucks into Kenji's shoulder or leans on his head for a quick nap

Kenji doesn't mind, knows Makoto doesn't sleep the best, even if he doesn't know why

Anytime the train jostles or moves he instinctually holds Makoto's head so it doesn't shake or fall, wants him to be comfortable

it's not until they reach the destination and Makoto separates from him that Kenji thinks… oh, that was actually nice. I wish the ride could've been just a little bit longer

a bonus if Makoto senses his change in mood and gives him a shoulder bump, trying to cheer him up. Maybe offering to hang out awhile longer at the dorm or something

Aka there is no way Kenji isn't touch starved, as are all the protags and a third of the cast pft

About Makoto being a frequent napper: Asks Kenji to eat on the roof with him almost exclusively so he can take a nap, because he's just a lil bit silly like that. Gives Kenji time to just talk to him, ramble, hard to do that when you're out eating food.

--------------------

Girl Advice made me think of a rough conversation

"Everyone assumes you're cold, man. No wonder you dont have a girlfriend! Even if they talked to you, a few words outta your mouth and they'd turn tail and leave."

"Why's it so important to have a girlfriend, anyway?" Eats some of his lunch bread

"You're such a good guy, you deserve one, man!" A shoulder tap. "If they knew the real you, they'd be falling over themselves to get your attention, I know it."

Makoto a head tilt or a look, confused by the use of 'deserve'. Kenji deciphers it

"… well a girlfriend makes guys happy, right? I want to see you happy all the time!" Putting both his hands on Makoto's shoulders and shaking him a smidge. "Doesnt it sound fun? Double dates, man, we can hang out all the time!"

Makoto blinks in a thoughtful way, meeting Kenji's eyes. "But I'm already happy, hanging out with you like this. Isn't that enough? We do things together all the time… why do we need anyone else?"

Kenji blinks a bit in surprise. Yeah, he'd never thought of that. He's also really happy around Yuki… is that… ok? For two guys to always hang out alone? Yuki never seems to think it's odd…

Makoto slowly grabs Kenji's hands off of his shoulder, Kenji swears he feels Yuki squeeze them for just a second before a wrapped sandwich is pushed into them.

"Eat, almost time for class. You can't live off ramen forever."

Kenji just nods, unwrapping it and adjusting himself before taking a bite. If Makoto feels just a bit more of their sides touching, he doesn't comment on it

[extinct-fish]

Reaper's Bride Drabble

Previously in my drabble

“I’ve got nothing to hide, so just feel free to barge in. Make sure to close the door on the way out, of course.” “Jeez. That open, huh?” “Yes.” “Aren’t you worried about-” “‘Someone taking advantage of you?’ Not a bit. I am the god of death, and if someone dares try to abuse me in some ways, their souls are mine to eat.” “I thought only Ammut ate the souls?” “Oh, every god of death eats souls,” Ryoji laughed, “It just so happens that the soul is in the heart, and each of us are able to rip out hearts.” “Damn. Okay, yeah, I gotcha,” Makoto sighed, “Sheesh, how can someone so sweet be so deadly..?” “Well, many things in nature are poisonous, but look beautiful,” Ryoji shrugged, “Pipevine Swallowtails are poisonous due to the pipevine plants they fed on as caterpillars, but are still beautiful.” “Is that a compliment for yourself?” “Oh, no, that wouldn’t apply to me. I’d say the butterflies share a similarity with mortals far more than they would share similarities with me.” “Then what would you compare yourself to?” “Hmmm��� Probably a bumble bee.” “A bumble bee?” “I’m not benefiting humanity, nor am I detrimental. I’m mostly sweet and patient, but provoke me and you get stung.” “Sounds about right. Though plenty of people would say you’re a wasp.” “A wasp?!” Ryoji seemed offended. “Well, people often say death is cruel, detrimental, yet a crucial part of life,” Makoto answered with no change of attitude. “Is that how humanity views me?” Ryoji sighed with disapproval. “Well, some people do. I think you’re more like a honey bee.” “Why?” “Well, you’re sweet, you’re protective, and frankly, people benefit from you a lot more than they think.”

“Oh, Yuki-chan,” Ryoji smiled.

Ryoji then continued showing Makoto around, with Makoto meeting various personas. A couple of shadows did inflict dizziness spells on Makoto, which ended up causing Ryoji to catch him a good portion of the time. At the end of the tour, the two headed to the library, where a good view of the snow could be seen.

“I knew the snow would come soon.” Ryoji mentioned as he lit the fireplace with magic.

“How did you do that?” Makoto asked, bewildered.

“Oh? It’s just fire magic. I just cast a small agi on it.”

“Hm.”

Makoto then walked over to the fireplace, noting the carpet’s texture. In his entire stay, he never wore shoes, which he thought was strange, but didn’t mind. He sat down, finding that the carpet was much comfier than he initially imagined.

“Watching the flames is better when you’ve got someone with you,” Ryoji mentioned as he walked over to Makoto.

He plopped himself down next to Makoto, turning his attention to him. Makoto looked at Ryoji quizzically, noticing that Ryoji patted his lap.

“What?” Makoto asked.

“Come lay your head on my lap,” Ryoji invited.

“What if I don’t want to.”

“Then that’s fine. You just let me know what you want,” Ryoji smiled sweetly.

Makoto sighed as he just laid his head on Ryoji’s lap. There was an interesting scent he noticed: Ryoji smelled of Almonds. It was a peculiar scent, not one he expected. From the looks of the man, he’d most likely smell of mints, perhaps funeral lilies, roses, or like the rain upon a graveyard. Almond was not on his list of scents that he expected from Ryoji.

“You smell like almonds…” Makoto commented.

“Ah, that could be the cyanide,” Ryoji chuckled.

“CYANIDE?!” Makoto shot up.

“Yes. The body produces cyanide as a byproduct of metabolism. Even after death, it produces cyanide.”

“But- why do you smell like almonds if your perfume is cyanide?!”

“I naturally smell like that, Yuki-chan. Plus, Cyanide is also found in almonds, hence the almond-like smell.”

“Wait- seriously? And we’ve been eating poison nuts this entire time?”

“Well, mortals also treat the almonds by boiling it, so naturally, trace amounts of cyanide are still present but not enough to kill.”

“I see…”

“You smell of life… and mint.”

“Why mint?”

“You tell me, it’s your natural scent.”

“Wait- I smell like mint?”

“Yes. Spearmint to be exact. My sense of smell is usually for telling how dead a person is, but as a side effect, I can smell people’s natural scents from here.”

“Huh. And here I thought you couldn’t get any weirder.”

The response made Ryoji laugh.

[p5x-theories]

FAQ

(last updated 11/10/24)

Q1: "Have you seen that the wiki/this streamer/etc. says this character's name is [X]?" / "Why don't you call [X] by their name?"

A1: To help avoid confusion (and save me from potentially needing to repeatedly rewrite and retag posts), this blog only considers a character's name confirmed when it has been spoken aloud.

Japanese names can often be read in multiple ways, and while usually fan guesses have been more or less correct, they aren't always, and it can cause problems when the wrong name catches on. For this reason, characters will be referred to by codename only, or a nickname if they're not a teammate, until their name is confirmed, though info posts specifically may mention a likely reading of their name as well.

Q2: "Which region version are you playing?"

A2: The Hong Kong/Taiwan/Macau one! This does mean my updates are about a week behind the mainland one, though, so I may not always be able to post info on updates immediately.

Q3: "Who are your favorite characters?"

A3: Overall, my favorites are Tomoko and Kiyoshi! Right now Motoha is specifically my favorite story teammate, and Riko is my favorite navigator. My favorite thief designs are Moko, Key, Rin, Yuki, and Bui, and my favorite Persona designs are Awilda, Leucothea, Prosymna, Nemertes, Gorgyra, and Calliope.

On that note, my favorite P5 characters are Akechi and Sumire, heh! I also really like Ann and Yusuke.

Q4: "Do you play other gacha games?" / "Are you familiar with [X] gacha mechanic?"

A4: Haha, nope! I actually hate gacha systems, refuse to play any other gacha games, and am only putting up with this one because I'm otherwise very curious about the game and enjoy the characters. The gacha's still driving me crazy, though. I hate having to worry about getting a character before their banner ends, especially since I refuse to spend any money on the game.

That said, I do have friends who play gacha games, so I sometimes ask them about game mechanics if I'm not familiar with them. I also do at least pay attention to how people describe this game in relation to other gacha games, with the hopes of more thoroughly understanding the things I'm explaining here.

Q5: "Do you think the P5 Collab will be updated at the same time as the story?"/ "Do you think this P5 character will be added with the next update?"

A5: The game developers have said that the game updates will follow a loose pattern of: story update -> event update -> gameplay update. Story updates include things like new Palaces and story teammates (for instance, when Miyazawa's Palace and Soy were added in Version 1.1), whereas so far event updates have mostly added new parts of the P5 Collab (for instance, the Museum Chapter and Yusuke were added in Version 1.3.1, and the Bank Chapter and Makoto were added in Version 1.3.3), with the exception of the summer event (Versions 2.1.1 and 2.1.2). Gameplay updates add onto side quests, Confidants, plus other existing content, and generally include gameplay fixes.

For this reason, it seems very unlikely that a new part of the P5 Collab will be added at the same time as a new part of story, and this also goes for adding P5 characters and story teammates. I may be proven wrong in the future, but I'm just going off of what the devs have said so far; I'd expect a new story teammate with a story update, while event updates and gameplay updates have only ever added new Phantom Idols.

Q6: "Is there somewhere I can download this character 3D model you posted about/another model I've been looking for?"

A6: Yes, send me a message off anon (so I can reply privately) and I'll send you a link to a zip folder with whatever you need! The only reason I don't post the folder publicly is because I only update the folder when someone's asking for it, and not everyone wants all the same models, so this way I don't have to send them a massive folder for just one thing.

Q6.5: "What about this particular outfit for Wonder? Can you post screenshots of the model/send it to me?"

A6.5: Unfortunately, those are just named with numbers in the files (either wonder_normal_01, 02, etc. or wonder_autumn_01, 02, etc. for pajamas), which makes them a lot more trouble to dig up! If you ask during the update that added them to the files- I'll always post the icon for the outfit set- that makes it a lot easier, so I may be able to get it for you, but otherwise the answer's usually going to be no. I'm sorry for the inconvenience!

I can usually get screenshots of the outfit in-game, so that's an alternative option, but there are some cases where the outfit hasn't been added to the game yet. Feel free to ask, though! Just check out the tag for wonder outfits first to make sure I haven't already posted it.

Q7: "How do you datamine P5X? I want to try it myself!"

A7: I explained my process here, though feel free to ask any follow-up questions about it if you have them, and I'll do my best to help! I actually learned everything I know about datamining just for this game, so I try to make the tools and steps as accessible as possible for anyone else who's interested, heh.

And if you ever happen to spot anything I missed in the files, please, send it my way! I'm just one person, I sometimes miss a thing or two. The more people looking, the better!

Q8: "Do you have a list of all the combat roles? I see they're individually explained on the character info posts, but I was hoping to read all of them in one list!"

A8: Say no more, here you go:

Resist: good at targeting single enemies (Wonder (Janosik), Fleuret, Mont, Bui, Sepia, Messa, Skull, Queen). This tends to manifest as followup attacks that hit one target, or status effects/damage buffs that apply against specific targets.

Control: good at dealing with groups of enemies (Closer, Summer Motoha, Joker, Panther, Fox, Noir). This tends to manifest as lots of multi-target attacks, and bonuses for using those attacks in certain ways.

Surrender: focused around applying debuffs to gain an advantage (Key, Rin, Vino). This tends to manifest as a focus on a particular status effect, and the ability to do extra damage/effects to enemies once they're inflicted with it.

Rescue: focuses on healing companions (Cattle, Summer Tomoko, Marian, Mona). This has so far always included at least one healing skill, but often other healing abilities can be triggered as well.

Superior: good at buffing teammates and improving their effectiveness (Moko, Leon, Riddle, Chord). This has so far always manifested as unique buffs/status effects, sometimes becoming fully triggered by additional conditions.

Defense: good at protecting teammates and keeping them alive (Soy, Yuki, Cherish). This tends to manifest as shield-focused abilities, but Soy instead draws fire to himself, and buffs the team's max health temporarily.

Elucidation: the designation used for navigators (Wind, Okyann, Puppet, Phoebe, Oracle). This obviously has a wide array of specific applications, but tends to revolve around unique buffs or debuffs that the navigator can grant/inflict, and obviously each navigator has their own fights/team compositions they're most suited for.

[More questions may be added as they get, uh, frequently asked, haha!]

[ragecndybars]

🍈

🍈 Who’s your blorbo and what are some of your favorite headcanons/ideas about them that repeatedly show up in your fics? Free pass to rant about blorbo opinions.

👀👀👀 Anon... I hope you knew what you were getting into when you asked this.

I already went on a rant about Akihiko, so here is my Minato Arisato, aka Makoto Yuki, aka Sakuya Shiomi if ya nasty, rant <3

He only says as many words/syllables as are ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to get his basic point across. In general, he isn't a talker, but he isn't the type to say, for instance, "I'm getting a little tired, so I'm gonna head to bed," he's more of a "Tired. Night." type of guy.

We all know that he has that Resting 😐 Face. He has a really nice smile when it's genuine, but if he tries to force it just for the sake of appearances, it looks insanely strained and just... wrong 😅

He can be a real space case sometimes. Take your eyes off of him for too long and he'll drift into traffic or walk into a pole because he's not watching where he's going, he's either doing complex mental math to allocate time and determine his schedule for the next few weeks or he's rotating a 3D model of a snake in his head, and both activities take up the same amount of brain power (all of it).

Though he's hard to read and can come off as aloof, he's a genuinely great friend who's understanding, a great listener, and very attuned to other peoples' moods. But. And I cannot stress this enough. He is kind of a huge asshole sometimes.

Autistic king.

Big fan of music and also weapons. He owns a lot of CDs, including Lotus Juice's entire discography, and can play a fair number of musical instruments to some degree of proficiency, as well as knowing Fun Facts about many other instruments. He also knows Fun Facts about many types of weapons, not limited to just the types he's able to use.

Speaking of which, I've said this before, but I think his ability to use almost any weapon type isn't just because he has an interest in weapons, or because he just has Overpowered Protag Syndrome, but also because he very closely watches his party members' movements during battle and picks up on their technique. That's also why he can't use guns or knives -- the way Aigis and Koromaru use those weapons is unique to them, as a robot and dog, so he can't observe them to see how to use them himself. I think he does know how to do basic maintenance on Aigis's guns, though, since he's seen her dong that as well.

I've said this before as well, but I don't think he's the type to address people directly very often. He's more likely to tap their shoulder, say "Hey," or just start talking without preamble. This isn't necessarily noticeable -- most people don't think to themselves, "Hm, y'know, he's never actually addressed me by name before," because that's just not something people really pick up on -- but, when he does address someone, either by name or just by "Senpai" or another relevant title, it catches their attention because they subconsciously aren't used to him addressing them, and that's why he is 100% capable of saying "Senpai" romantically.

There are very, very few foods he likes to eat, which is why he gets the same thing at every restaurant in town every time he goes, but that also means that he's very used to eating food he thinks is gross, which is why he can stomach Fuuka's creations better than any other character. To him, her burnt food slathered in all the wrong sauces and spices isn't that much worse than just having a regular entree that isn't one of his very few Approved Meals.

He's pretty laid-back and sometimes even lazy, but he HATES having free time. If he doesn't have anything to do, he isn't going to just casually indulge in a hobby or anything -- he has to have something concrete, like a Social Link to level up, or a particular skill he wants to hone, even if that skill is honed by watching a movie or something. His motto is "If I'm not doing something, then I might as well be asleep," and he sticks to that whenever he possibly can.

The only exception to this rule is video games. There are a few games he can play without needed to justify it to himself as honing his Guts or whatever. He likes farming sims :) A couple other members of SEES play them as well, but he's the only one who's remotely relaxed about it. He's just there to have fun, whereas Mitsuru and Aigis are frantically minmaxing to become billionaires in their first season. (Fuuka at least will play with him normally, though she's more of a rhythm game girl imo)

THIS IS GETTING LONG OH GOD LETS WRAP IT UP

He doesn't grasp social cues very well, but if he feels like he does understand a particular social cue, he'll use it as a crutch of some sort. For instance, to use a specific example from a published fic, when Akihiko gives him a thumbs up in Always Wanna Play, Minato thinks to himself, "Ah, yes, a thumbs up. I know what that means, and now I know that thumbs ups are an effective way to communicate with Akihiko," which is why he then gives Akihiko three more thumbs ups throughout the fic (even in very dire circumstances where it doesn't realy fit, lmao)

[light-end-dragon]

Chapter 6

(Infirmary)

Mika: Mnn~.....I’ve not been good at rememberin’ people’s face. Have I met ya anywhere before? If I did, I might’ve just straight up forgot.

Mika: Could ya tell me your name then? 

Makoto: Oh, right-sorry. I’m a bit late in introducing myself, huh? I’m Makoto Yuki. I’m in Class A, same as Anzu-chan!♪

Mika: Yuki-kun from Class A? Yuki….Yuki………Nnnn, where’ve I heard that name before? 

Mika: Can I ask what unit you’re in? 

Makoto: I’m a part of Trickstar, actually. Though I feel like I still have a long way to go as an idol compared to everyone else.

Makoto: Still, little by little, I’m sticking through with it to catch up with them….♪

Mika: That’s real cool of ya, keepin’ at it through the hardship….

Mika: Mmm~.....? Nnnrrg, Trickstar……..

Mika: NnnaaaaaaAAHH?!

Makoto: What-the-that scared me! Why-why are you yelling so loudly all of a sudden?

Mika: You said Trickstar….They was the ones who brought down fine!!

Mika: No wonder you’re familiar with ‘the producer’, you ought’a be!!

Mika: Are you really a good person? You was just tryin’ to trick me with your words! And you’re friends with Nazuna-nii….that means Yuki-kun is my enemy!

Mika: Don’t you dare talk t’ me…!

Makoto: I, uh-what?! I…think I might have said something that hurt his feelings…Anzu-chan, do you know what? 

Makoto: Somehow he considers Trickstar as Valkyrie’s enemy.

Makoto: Since Anzu-chan is helping us as a producer, I guess you would be one as well, huh?

Makoto: Kagehira-kun, you mentioned Nazuna-nii, though. Were you talking about Nito-senpai?

Nazuna: Jeez, that was minutes of my life I’ll never get back….

Makoto: Oh, Nito-senpai-welcome back! How did it go; did you get all the candy off?

Nazuna: Yup, all of it.~♪  It was like a hair’s breadth away from hitting my uniform, though. That would’ve sucked to get dry cleaned……

Mika: ………

Nazuna: Oh….Kagehira. How-how do you feel? I bought a bunch of things here, you should find something you think you can eat.

Nazuna: Are you hurting anywhere? Here, let me help…

Mika: Get away from me-don’ touch me!!!

Mika: Nazuna-nii, you’re a traitor!! Don’t ya dare come an’ trick me into thinkin’ ya care ‘bout me! I ain’t gonna forgive you, ever! 

Mika: Nazuna-nii….nnn, stop it!! 

Mika: Stop-stop bein’ so cute when I’m tryin’ to hate ya! 

Mika: It’s useless believin’ anythin’ you say t’me. I won’t listen to none of it..!

Makoto: I-is it okay for us to be here? I don’t want to just stand around doing nothing, but I’m not sure if a mediator would be okay here…?

Nazuna: Anzu, Mako-chin, let’s go outside. The longer we stay, the more agitated he’ll get, and his body can’t handle that. 

Nazuna: He looks like he’s about to faint from how angrily he’s shouting; he has no stamina left to speak of..

Nazuna: I want to take off from school and stay here, but it seems like Kagehira will just keep rejecting him. I don’t expect Anzu to be any different either.

Nazuna: Oh, but maybe Mako-chin….If it’s you, he might not be so on guard?

Makoto: I-I’m sorry. I told him I was a member of Trickstar and he suddenly declared I was the enemy….

Makoto: So it’s probably a bad idea if I stay with him.

Makoto: Wouldn’t Anzu-chan be a better choice than me anyway?

Makoto: While she is a “producer”, she isn’t just our producer. 

Nazuna: Maybe. Then whenever Kagehira calms down, I can leave watching over him to her. Right now is not a good idea, though. Man, if only Itsuki were actually here right now…

Nazuna: At any rate, we’ll just keep making Kagehira’s symptoms worse if we stay.

Nazuna: Though I don’t like the idea of leaving him here without the teacher being around. Maybe I should go and check on him in secret after��? 

Mika: Y-you’re ignorin’ me-are ya tryin’ to trick me into sayin’ I’m lonely without you??

Mika: I got Oshi-san-I ain’t lonely, even if Nazuna-nii’s not here no more! 

Mika: Why…..Why’re you the one who helped me? Why didn’t ya leave me behind?? Just stop-don’t be so kind t’ me when I’m your enemy! 

Nazuna: Kagehira, that’s not how it works. It doesn’t have anything to do with being enemies or friends or whatever. It’s normal to see a person in distress and help them out. 

Nazuna: Besides, Mako-chin and and Yuuta-chin carried you here. All I did was go buy some things for you to eat. You should at least thank the rest of them. 

Nazuna: I know you think Mako-chin’s an enemy because he’s part of Trickstar…

Nazuna: But he helped you out a lot. It’d be really rude to not properly say thank you.

Nazuna: And the Kagehira I know is a kid who hates being that rude. Isn’t that right, Kagehira?

Mika: Nazuna-nii….

Mika: E-even if you’re the enemy, I’d feel bad for not sayin’ thanks. So…thank ya kindly, Yuki-kun.

Mika: But even then, please…don’t try an’ get all friendly with me.

Mika: You too, Anzu-chan. You’re so unbothered even when I’m yellin’ at ya….it’s crazy. It’s stupid how guilty I’m feelin’. 

Mika: ….If I sleep some more I think I’ll get some energy back. Y’all…y’all have your lessons. You should go back t’ class. No…I shouldn’t say that…I….

Mika: Nazuna-nii….I don’t wanna see your face no more.

Nazuna: ….tch. I get it. Sorry. I’ve overstayed my welcome.

Nazuna: Today, it was Mako-chin and Yuuta-chin who carried you here. But had I found you like that myself, I would never just leave you there.

Nazuna: Even without any history, we’re still fellow students at the same school. But if it’s even just that, and you still hate me….there’s nothing I can do.

Nazuna: …Okay, that’s all I wanted to say to you. Well then, Kagehira…take care. And please feel better soon.

[yuamusuzuran]

Some Amazing Anime Music of 2022

Now, if I’m being honest, last year felt a little lackluster when it came to music in anime, but that’s just me. But some amazing songs managed to deliver and catch my attention! I’m here to share them with you! Note though: I haven’t seen many of these anime series, but I’ll put a little *** next to the songs when that’s the case!

Please enjoy!

***Seeking the Truth by Taisei Iwasaki ft. YAHZARAH (Spriggan Opening)

Even though I haven’t seen this anime, this song randomly appeared on my shuffle and I had to include it. Really makes you pumped up!

Seeking the Truth

                                            ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

***Presence by Superfly (Aoashi Opening)

I’ve known of Superfly since before so I wanted to check out their new song even though I didn’t plan on watching Aoashi, and of course I wasn’t disappointed. The intro is what got me instantly invested!

Presence

                                           ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

***Mushoku Toumei by Yutaro Yamashita (Code Geass: Lelouch of Rebellion R2 Ending)

I need to properly sit down and watch everything that came out from Code Geass after the end of original series. I need to be mentally prepared for this one. But that still doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the music and this is a beautiful ballad.

Mushoku Toumei

                                         ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

***Masquerade by ClariS (Shadows House S2 Ending)

Similar to Superfly before, I’ve known of ClariS before and the concept of this one seemed interesting so I had to listen to it even though I didn’t watch this anime. It’s so cute yet sinister at the same time, just the way I like it!

Masquerade

                                         ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

***Beyond Selves by Void_Chords ft. L (RWBY: Ice Queendom Opening)

I’ve heard of RWBY, but I have yet to watch it. I’ve known of Void_Chords though and I had to check this out and yes, I love it. The vocals are incredible on this one and the vibe is so hype!

Beyond Selves

                                        ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

***Face2 by Lozareena ( Code Geass: Lelouch of Rebellion R2 Opening)

As you all know, I didn’t watch this installment of Code Geass, but music is banging, both for opening and ending. What I love about this song in particular are the vocals and the buildup in the chorus. Amazing, chef’s kiss.

Face2

                                         ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Deep Down by Aimer (Chainsaw Man Ending 9)

I love Aimer with all my being, I really do. She always delivers. And this is probably my favorite Chainsaw Man ending not just because of this song but because of Akira-esque visuals. Combining that imagery with Aimer’s vocals is an experience and I never regretted. Plus, this song has that classic Aimer per-chorus buildup only for her to hit it in the chorus. Love her to death.

Deep Down

                                          ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Ibara Rinbukyoku by Makoto Furukawa (Requiem of the Rose King Opening 2)

This song is so beautiful and sinister, really sets you up for the plot of the second part of this tragic anime. You can feel every emotion Richard is playing with and every single anguish he will experience. And yet, the melody is so beautifully melancholic that you can’t get enough of this song. Sinister and addictive.

Ibara Rinbukyoku

                                               ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Rasen by Nowlu (Requiem of the Rose King Ending 2)

If the opening was sinister, this ending song is just plain sad and tragic. Really showcases the way Richard is slowly succumbing to his despair. The vocals are so raw and emotional, it really pulls on your heartstrings and makes you ache and cry for Richard’s destiny. And yet, despite all that, you feel the intensity of these emotions and you can’t help but hope the poor king finally found closure.

(Let me say this song hits different at the last three episodes, many tears were shed)

Rasen

                                               ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Natsu no Yuki by krage (Raven of the Inner Palace Ending)đ

Probably my favorite song of last year. It’s just crafted differently and so beautifully that I legit had it on loop for two entire days and I’m still not tired of it. You can feel all emotions the Raven consort is experiencing: wish to isolate herself yet to be close to other people, fear, longing for the times when things were simpler but also for the happiness of those she cares about. I said this year of 2022 was slightly lackluster when it comes to music, but this song came at the end of the year and smacked me across the face with it’s beauty. I couldn’t recommend it more than I already am.

Natsu no Yuki

Hope you found some good music here today!

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

(ii)

Aside from Kibin herself and Uchui here, just Kaede Akamatsu. At least, those are the only people I've told.

Speaking of Miaya though...Uchui and I just got finished up with her.

Really? You guys sought therapy?

More like she came to talk to the two of us while we were healing...She'll probably do the same for you if you check in at the medical bay.

She wasn't trying to force us but...Kuripa was surprisingly willing to go through with it. Even though he's hated the idea for so long.

Yeah, well...things are different now...Gyalusetsu's dead, and Kotoko's been avenged. And now...Now all I've got left with me...are the screams and souls of those I've damned...

I figured if Gekkogahara could help alleviate me of those in any way, it'd be...well, cool...I guess.

Kuripa...

Eh...Forget about my trauma. I deserve it. But if you want to help, then there's one thing that I need to hear from you.

What happened the night after we last saw you? On top of Koime's mansion. You said Gyalusetsu saved you, and I want to know what you meant by that.

Actually, yeah. I'd like to know that too.

Oh...Well, ok, but...there's not much of a story.

...

——————————————————————

Mukuro: I passed out from blood loss after taking that knife for Kuripa. I really did think it was gonna be the end but...knowing what was going on back in Tokyo, I wanted you guys to leave me behind...I was fully expecting to die there, but...

Uchui: But fate had other plans for you?

Mukuro: Not fate in particular, but...a certain someone did at least. A few hours later, when I woke up, I found myself inside the mansion or...what was left of it.

——————————————————————

The first thing I noticed was...This...

*Mukuro pulls down her shirt to reveal the area just under her collarbone. Around the left hand side of her is a steel plating that seems physically implanted into her body.

What's that?

In short...it's my new heart...Well, where it is at least.

——————————————————————

Mukuro: I noticed the plating almost immediately when I woke up. The dagger Koime threw pierced my heart, and when I came to, it had been replaced with an artificial one. I had a chance to look at it later, and the technology is...nothing like I've seen before. But shortly before I could process that...

Mukuro: I opened my eyes...and saw him.

Kuripa: Gyalusetsu, right?

Mukuro: Yeah...I saw a load of equipment that he was putting away too. Some of it that had traces of blood on them. That was enough of a giveaway for me.

Makoto: So he really did save you? What did he say to you at the time?

Mukuro: I wanted to ask him a few questions, but my voice was basically gone by the time I woke up. And he'd clearly given me some meds so that my blood pressure didn't rise when I awoke. I only started talking to him after he gave me some soup.

Kuripa: Waitwaitwaitwaitwait! He made you SOUP!? What is he, your nurse!?

Mukuro: Apparently.

Uchui: But...why did he save you?

Mukuro: To be honest...I still don't know...I asked him several times but he always gave me the same answer...

——————————————————————

"You cannot die. You are too important."

"Too important?" In what regard?

Again...I don't know...

Hm...

——————————————————————

Mukuro: After I recovered enough to walk, Gyalusetsu escorted me out of the mansion and flew me in a chopper all the way back to Tokyo. I intended to catch up with you there, but Gylusetsu said that I needed to lay low for a while and support you from a distance. For a while at least, Zetsubou weren't allowed to know that I was still alive.

Uchui: In retrospect, maybe he was trying to get the Organization to let its guard down.

Makoto: But didn't Gyalusetsu work for Zetsubou?

Kuripa: Mm...

Mukuro: Either way, I didn't trust him, even if he did save me, But I played along right until he arranged a meeting with...

Makoto: Yuki and the Whitecloaks?

Mukuro: Exactly. At first, I thought Gyalusetsu might have been a spy for the Children of Utsuro, but apparently, that's not it either. He cooperated with Yuki on that one occasion and no other. He made a request to take me in as a Whitecloak so that I could support you guys from the shadows until I was ready to come back.

Uchui: And what happened during your time as a Whitecloak?

Mukuro: Well, you pretty much know all that. Occasionally I popped in to help you, like the time I helped you and Akeru escape from that Fang Inc. building.

Makoto: Thinking back, Kyoko did always have a theory that you were the one under the hood. And that you'd survived somehow. Looks like she was right.

Mukuro: I had a distinct feeling that she might catch on to me, which is why I brought Akane with me to the USA. So we could do a bait and switch and throw you off the trail.

Kuripa: Well, that was clever, I'll give you that.

——————————————————————

But...I'm afraid that's all I can tell you. A lot of our actions were taking down Zetsubou's smaller operations to give you all time to focus on the big ones.

I never saw Gyalusetsu again after joining up with Yuki and his cohorts, until last night when you two fought. I'm sorry I don't have the answers you want, Kuripa.

No. You gave me way more than enough. Thanks to you, I've filled in the blanks.

The reason Gyalusetsu saved you...I think it might have something to do with the future he was trying to create...

Mysteries Running Deeper...

[Future Foundation Branch 14 Head Office - Several Hours Later]

This feels...strange...This was basically my home for so long, but...having not been here in a year, it feels...weird coming back.

Yeah. Same is true for me. I haven't been here in a long time either.

And recently, I was worried that I might never be able to come back.

Why not?

Kyoko loves me dearly, but she knows to make tough calls. If I hadn't gotten out of that twisted headspace when I did, I...Well, you get the picture.

Makoto...I know this didn't work out so well the last time but...maybe it would be best if you sought consultation with Miaya.

I know...Maybe that would be best...still...

*He reaches out and takes her hand.

I don't think I would have been comfy spending time in this office if you weren't here in it. Shortly after you...left...every time someone came in through the door I'd raise my head hoping it'd be you but...it was never going to be.

I...I know I can't stop you from doing your duty, but...Please...Never do any of that again. For me, or for anyone else.

That's not a promise I can keep...

Well, you had fuckin' bettah...

Ah!? K-Kuripa!?

You're...WHAT!? You're ok!?

Eh...Mostly...

Hey...

*Kuripa is wheeled into the room on a chair by Uchui. His face is patched up, but his broken legs and arms are thoroughly bandaged. Uchui also has smaller bandages around his face.

Jeez...You got that face issue fixed FAST!

I told you guys, Uchui's tech is like magic.

I've done operations like this on Kuripa at least a dozen times already, but I actually had surgical help from Tsumiki and Inori this time. They insisted he take pain medicine and lie down for a few hours...not sure why since he doesn't feel pain anyway...but he insisted on coming to talk to you guys.

This is the first time he's thoroughly damaged his face, but it should be equally as persuadable. Still, it's gonna leave a nasty scar.

I don't see a scar.

Yeah, well, it'll take a while to form, but it'll pop up eventually. I might have to get stitches to prevent half my face falling off in the future.

Is...that...really how that...works?

Nah, I don't think so, but Mod Creeper was too lazy to go and add a scar to all my sprites. So hopefully it'll be on my redesign in Phase 3.

I don't know what any of those words mean, but I'm glad you're doing better.

...

So...is it really true? You really can't feel pain?

Pfft...Check the medical records if you don't believe me. They only now just got updated to include my condition.

Is that why you avoided getting medical help for so long? You didn't want anyone else knowing about your CIPA's?

Pretty much...It's...pretty personal to me. I didn't tell you guys, not because I don't trust you, but because I just don't like talking about how fucked up I am in basically every way...

How many people knew before you and Kibin told us?

[trashexplorer]

BLCD 2021: December Releases

Legends:

✓ - have

💡 - interested

✘ - not interested (but will probably still listen to)

🙏 - dying for

1. Ikigami to Donor 💡

Release Date: 2021/12/03 (moved from October)

Cast: Nakajima Yoshiki x Saitou Souma

Synopsis:

“Your blood and flesh, all of it is mine.” An ikigami and a healer, together their souls support each other, blooming into love…

In the distant future, ordinary teacher Yoshino learns that he is a “donor” for the strongest species, the “ikigami.” These warriors are tasked with protecting the country. “The unique ability of a donor is to use their bodily fluids to heal ikigami.” Yoshino learns this fact and is shocked. Thus, Yoshino is forced to live with Kidou… At first, he is like a beast, demanding Yoshino’s bodily fluids, but slowly, the underlying loneliness begins to show…

“Someday, if I met a donor, could they come to love me? That thought is the only reason I survived…”

2. Shangri-la no Tori II 🙏

Release Date: 2021/12/10

Cast: Matsuda Kenichiro x Nakajima Yoshiki

Synopsis: Adaptation of the sequel of the same name.

3. Torokeru Kuchibiru more melty ✘

Release Date: 2021/12/20

Cast: Furukawa Makoto x Okitsu Kazuyuki

Synopsis: Torekeru Kuchibiru 2: Electric Boogaloo

Comment: Who the fuck keeps on asking for more Takasaki Bosco? I just wanna talk.

4. Old-fashioned Cupcake with Capuccino ?

Release Date: 2021/12/22

Cast: Azakami Youhei x Okitsu Kazuyuki

Synopsis: I’m Trying To Act 60 When I’m Only 40 2: Electric Boogaloo

Comment: The way my face lit up and fell when I saw Youhei x Okitsu again before realizing it was OFC.

5. Bokura no Koi to Seishun no Subete case: 05 Senkyo-sen no Bokura ✘

Release Date: 2021/12/24

Cast: Komada Wataru x Tamaru Atsushi

Synopsis: Hotaka Nishino lived a typical highschool life devoid of too much interaction with his peers due to his shyness. One day, his friend from junior high, Kazuomi Moroi, decided to nominate him in the school elections with himself. His relationship with Kazuomi, which usually only called for greetings when they met, begun changing as the elections commence.

6. Kisu de Tokashita Sono Ato ni ✘

Release Date: 2021/12/24

Cast: Nakazawa Masatomo x Shigamatsu Chiharu *debut for Chiharu

Synopsis: Aise Hiro, a freshman in college, lives with his friend’s older brother, Onozawa Mizuki, at his parents’ request. Onozawa-san looks to be ideal husband material, considering his good looks and his job as an accountant. Everything seems to be going pretty smoothly as Hiro has a good relationship with Onozawa-san. However, there is one problem — Hiro is gay and Onozawa-san is his first love! 

Just when he thought that nothing else could go wrong, Onozawa-san catches him masturbating while sexting. Fearing the worst, Hiro mentally prepares himself but is met with a proposition instead: “If you’re that frustrated, won’t you be pretend lovers with me?”

7. Neko to Spica 🙏

Release Date: 2021/12/24

Cast: Takeuchi Eiji x Sakakihara Yuki *THE GODS HAVE LISTENED IN 2021!!!

Synopsis: Salaryman Kawamura Kouta hates troublesome things. The only exception is the black stray cat that likes to sit in front of his apartment. One day he stumbles upon a black-haired boy who seems to have replaced his favourite cat. When the boy collapses in front of Kouta, he decides to take him in on a whim. What will happen to Kouta‘s trouble-free everyday life?

Comment: I mean, it is borderline furry-shota, but I’m gonna have to take any Takeuchi Eiji and Sakakihara Yuki I can get ‘cause I don’t have a choice. sobsobsob

I’m actually sad that there’s not much to December this year unlike last year.

[wattpadscapcons]

About that comment you did that Utsuro "Defaults to kindness when he's bored", it makes sense when you compare his actions pre-despair with those of the other two "My talent(s) makes everything boring for me" characters. Junko pretty much caused the apocalypse because she was bored with everything except Despair, and Izuru just stays in the sidelines until something/one catches his attention. Meanwhile, Utsuro tried to use the Divine Luck to help people when he was bored.

The following broadcast was recorded in front of a studio audience.

Characters Analyzed/ Talked About: Utsuro, Izuru, Junko, Muruko, Hajime, Makoto, Yuki, Akane

Information Sources: Dra, Sdra2, Sdr2, Despair Girls, Slight lean on the anime for help, mutual's au that I adore (I only prove it to be possible don't @ me for adoring the consistent details and amount of work put into such a cute au)

=

I mean he did it in attempts to feel something, and that was what made me value him more as a person and ultimately feel more sympathetic to his death. He was also the only one out of the three that wanted to and went through several methods to try to end it all quietly and peacefully. Compared to Junko who wanted to bring everyone down with her, he is the most sympathetic mastermind we have ever had in a series like this.

There is even proof that he did this, as the second games plot almost revolves around that fact, adding along with the ending of dra. I don't like how Kinjo took the opportunity that Utsuro gave him and turned himself into a bitter criminal. The various people he had saved often turned rather bitter individuals in general, leading to the events that unfolded in the second game. I do not think that Utsuro had any idea that this would have happened nor wanted that kind of effect in the first place. He wanted to help others that were just as damaged as him. They let the sins of greed and envy course through their veins until there was nothing left to consume them.

One could make the comment that he is the lawless hero turned anti-hero via manipulation. Utsuro seemed utterly intimidated by that devil you'd call a diva. She in a way, was much more powerful than he was from the very beginning, and that is very, very scary to think about given the context.

Which makes it about a thousand times funnier how Makoto just ripped through her entire plan with a metaphorical "got you bitch".

=

I'd love to see how Utsuro and Hajime would have interacted. Izuru would have maybe kept his attention just as Junko seemed to due to that common trait of being bored of every damn thing in existence.

There was something really weird about Izuru though. Wasn't he to answer to the heads of the academy that initially created him in the first place? I can understand with his moral compass being wiped would have made it easy to say that he let everything around him fall him purely due his lack of caring. There is a very big flaw with that though, as Hajime was also aware was he not? That would explain why Izuru had such a teary reaction to Chiaki's death.

It's fair to say that Hajime most likely knows exactly what happened, but was too burred back to react to it until that even, causing Izuru to break away from Junko as response. That also explains the destruction of the Skirokuma and Kurokuma-Junko assimilated Monokuma bots at the end of Despair Girls.

He was the only one out of the three that also didn't have a desire to die, but I wonder if that was because of Hajime's will or Izuru's own choice not to do or express anything about the topic itself. I do not believe in the title that was given to him, he was not the Ultimate Hope, as he had no moral compass. He was a manufactured hope, a failed experiment that costed the lives of the entire Hope's Peak student body and staff, save for the remnants and Makoto's surviving class members.

Utsuro may have been able to get along with both sides of that coin, but I have a feeling he'd alter a the timeline had they met before the Kamakura project took place. It would have been either a good, or rather, really really bad outcome for him. Be blessed by Utsuro, only to most likely be killed by Junko's manipulating anime with the rest of the reserve course. What a sad fate that would be. I'm glad Hajime is ok though, sarcastic boys are great.

=

I'm not sure what would have happened if he had met Makoto before being pulled by Junko's strings. He was already dead before the events of Makoto's killing game.... That's what I really liked about your au, because you got it right. Utsuro was dead before it all, I see all of these like "adoption" aus that have the flaw of incorrect timing it just rubs me the wrong way.

I wonder if Mukuro was sympathetic too, she had a great love her sister that much I can tell you. She stayed with that bitch regardless of all the abuse she was dished out to receive for doing so. Even ignoring the times where Junko tried attacking her with a knife (in the anime). It was only at the moment of her death that Mukuro most likely understood that she was never going to get anything back from her "younger" sister, which only threw her into more despair during her death.

=

Your whole au with Makoto being able to deal with both Utsuro and Mukuro are totally possible in a way with two possibilities.

1. Utsuro showed up before the events of Mukuro's death

2. Mukuro had possessed Makoto before Utsuro showed up, but he appeared before the events of the first trial with Sayaka and Leon

=

I'm not too sure as to how Akane plays in that mix in any other way other than to follow Utsuro to his grave. Which with her body being alive but braindead, is almost impossible due to the power of Divine Luck. Sure even Yuki takes her body after Sdra2 but does the warrant the death to her altogether? I'm not entirely sure...

The only theory I can come up with is that with the process of Yuki overriding her, her soul was then released and replaced. That's the only way I can see that she would be able to do that, but I'm not sure when Akane would be able to be released as Yuki was overrode after the events of Sdr2 in the Neo World Program. She would have had to waited years to be released to attach onto Makoto, who already was possessed by Mukuro and Utsuro. I don't know if that you were really thinking about that when creating most of your fanart or not, but this theory would be consistent with a large majority of your drawings.

=

Thanks for sitting through another one of my TedTalks everybody.

[yuusa]

𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝟏𝟑

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟔𝟐𝟒𝟒

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞

𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝟏𝟑:

You pressed your lips together, staring at the board with a look of boredom and displeasure. There was an itchy feeling in your chest, it made you feel deeply uncomfortable. It’s almost as if today was going to be one of misery, you couldn’t tell if it’s just some sort of psychic reading or it’s because you have a test soon, it may even be both. You sighed and resisted the urge to lean your chair back to stretch, but the teacher was going over something important about the test.

You turned to the side, seeing Tohru fidget with one of her pencils to calm herself about the upcoming tests. She was wearing a new ribbon today. It was a soft shade of blue that had bits of lace on its edges, did she recently buy that? You wondered if she would get tutored by Yuki like he said they do, the upcoming test would be for math. It must be nice to have someone constantly tutor you and helping, but you quickly tried to dismiss this idea as a selfish need. Yuki was kind enough to help you with math the other day and you didn’t want to take advantage of his skills or generosity.

You didn’t need anyone or anything in this life if it meant making others happy.

You were better off alone and that is the truth, you thought. If you were God’s Messenger, perhaps your first message should be to announce the disbandment of the Zodiacs, maybe that would give equal freedom to everyone but yourself. You didn’t know exactly what the Zodiacs were going to do when they were free, but they could live their lives as regular animals with a stronger sense of friendship. You really didn’t know exactly what would happen, but it was simply a thought.

You yawned into your hand, feeling small droplets of tears forming at the corner of your eyes. You eyed Yuki silently, noticing the way he continued to tap the tip of his pencil against his paper as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand. He was extremely hardworking despite not wanting to clean his room. He is really cool, you thought. He smiles so often to the other girls in the class and can interact with them at a certain distance, whenever he was in a good mood he would shine even brighter than he already is, it was almost blinding, to say the least.

His eyes were a nice shade of grayish blue as well. They rarely ever looked strange underneath the light and they expressed so much of himself that you felt a bit envious. You nibbled on the bottom of your lip, you were starting to feel bad about yourself in class just because your eyes weren’t as good or pretty like Yuki’s.

You sighed and tried to write in your journal to keep your mind away from it. You noticed the small crease in one of the older pages, knowing that you rarely ever fold the paper or damage it, it was slightly suspicious. It seemed to be on the page when you came over to the Sohma household, did someone go through your journal? If so, when did this happen? Before you could explore this thought the sound of the bell rang echoed in the room, dismissing all of the students at once.

You almost forgot that you had to do your rounds today around the school for the committee, luckily you went through your previous pages to see that you had written yourself a reminder. As you were packing up your belongings, Yuki came to your side, already finished with his own things. You suppose that he wanted to do the rounds around the school with you this time instead of usually splitting up.

“You look better today, (L/n)-san, just a bit tired though.” He commented, your face turning away from him as you quickly packed your things into your bag.

“I suppose so. Where would you like to go first?” You asked, already knowing that the two of you needed to make your rounds at school.

“We could try the first couple of floors together and make our way up.” He responded, giving you a smile with his familiar grey eyes shining underneath the classroom lights.

You pressed your lips together in slight jealousy but nodded, “sure. We can go now.”

Yuki noticed the small pout on your lips during class but decided not to comment on it, finding the situation strange to explain if he were to talk about it. You were looking much calmer on the outside today, but he thought that you might have a whirlwind of thoughts by the way you continuously wrote in your journal. He wondered if what he said yesterday was affecting your mood.

“(L/n)-san, something is still bothering you despite our conversation yesterday.” He commented, “do you. . . Feel like I’m not really your friend?” 

You halted your steps, the two of you standing in the hallway only a few steps away from the classroom you exited. You didn’t know exactly how to respond to his comment, there was not much to say and you didn’t want to bother him with something dull like your problems. 

“It’s not that. . . I don’t want to raise concerns, I’m fine.” Before you could continue walking he tugged on your wrist, keeping you there.

Before he could say another word, you silently ‘booped’ his nose with your index finger. His cheeks turned a bright shade of red as you turned away from him.

“Relax Sohma-san. I’m fine.” You gave him a teasing smile before continuing to walk down the hallway.

Yuki sighed in response as he held his hand up towards his face, the unexpected gesture from you being unfamiliar as his cheeks slowly calmed down. He quickly walked to catch up to you, choosing to trust in your word that everything was alright.

While you still felt the ominous telling of the future, you thought to be on edge. You hoped that Yuki hadn’t noticed it but it seems as if he really wanted to be your actual friend. You tightened your grip around your journal as you both walked around the school in relative silence. 

You didn’t know exactly why being real friends mattered to him, he could easily make other friends that were much better than you, much easier to manage and easier to talk to. You dolefully stared at each of the classrooms and halls, doing your duty while minding your own thoughts. 

You were so gloomy. 

You frowned in response to your own comments before turning to look at Yuki. His beautiful eyes and soft hair, those fluttering long eyelashes, it was hard to deny that you were envious to the bone. You constantly compared yourself to him, the thought making you feel worse by the second. You grit your teeth, the action going unnoticed by Yuki as you both walked up the flight of stairs. 

Was it truly worth worrying about something you couldn’t change? 

You spent so much time worrying about yourself instead of actually wanting to protect others. . . You were. . . Too selfish. No matter how beautiful the outside of Yuki’s eyes were, there was always this hint of sorrow hidden beneath the color. You connected with him in a way, a subtle feeling but it still existed like a small string looped around your fingers.

Perhaps he could be the Rat to the Eagle’s destiny. 

Maybe he already is. 

You should try to open up to him, you thought. Instead of constantly worrying and thinking about the problems you may never fix or find resolve in, you could help someone else and see them smile as brightly as you wanted to shine. To erase the sadness that burdens the rat. . . That’s the job of God’s Messenger. 

There was this feeling of hope blooming within your chest.

You are the Eagle in the story.

The two of you finally approached the other floor, noticing Tohru being surrounded by a familiar group of boys from the Sohma family. While Kyo stood by her side while scolding at Momiji for his poor taste in clothing, Haru was standing there casually, his choice of wardrobe being nearly as bad as Momiji’s. You wondered if it was an inherited trait in the Sohma family to have poor taste in clothing or they were rebellious children who wanted to wear their own clothing. Everyone other than Yuki had a strange sense of fashion, but it wasn’t far fetched to say his choices are not weird as well.

Haru quickly notices Yuki coming up the steps, ignoring your presence as he went up to grip at Yuki’s sides. You wondered why he and the rest of the family constantly ignore you but you chose to believe that it was because you were an outsider. 

“Sheesh, I can’t believe you’re wearing that Momiji. Haru, you too.” Yuki said, the white-haired male staring at him, clearly tuning him out for a moment.

“Yuki-kun, (Y/n)-kun, are you both done with committee work?” You raised your eyebrow, noticing the sudden change in the way Tohru addressed Yuki. She was actually calling him bt his given name for once. Perhaps they really did get much closer in the past couple of days. 

The tinge of sadness poked at your heart, but you couldn’t understand why.

“No, not yet. We were doing our rounds at school and just happened to come across the two of you.” He responded, referring to the two rule-breaking students that couldn’t follow the dress code properly.

“Hey, Tohru! Guess what? I got told not to run around or horseplay at school because I might crash into a girl! So while I’m at school, I’m gonna play it cool!" Momiji added, gathering the rest of the groups' attention onto you, the outsider who heard this suspicious line. 

“Cool?! Is that outfit cool?!” Kyo shouted back. 

You stood there blank, not really knowing what to say. It seems as if they weren’t allowed to physically hug any girls at school, which does correlate to Yuki’s strange habit of pushing other girls away. 

Are the Sohma family. . . Allergic to girls? 

You deadpanned. 

“Your dubiousness is justified, Sohma Kyo of Class 2-D! Your orange hair bothers me, but a boy wearing a girl’s uniform is unprecedented! Brazen! Shameless!” The brown-haired upperclassman with his other council members stood beside him, all three of them wore classes, which you thought was an interesting thing to point out. “The teachers may allow it, but I will not! For I am student council president Takei Makoto!“ 

Crap. . . You thought, it’s Takei Makoto. 

You and Yuki facepalmed, trying not to get involved in this strange situation you were both tangled up in. More specifically, Yuki, as this was his entire family being criticized underneath the student council president. 

“Another idiot appears,” Haru comments. 

Takei raised his voice, stepping just a few feet away from Haru’s face, “just what do you think you’re doing, Sohma Hatsuharu? Your hair is white! And you’re practically jangling with jewelry. The audacity!”

“President Takei, that’s his natural hair.” Yuki clarified, holding up his hand to create distance between him and his cousin.

“Oh, Yuki-kun! (L/n)-san! How nice to see you both! But more important, natural?! Part of it is black!” Takei’s eyes seemed to have grown into hearts as he looked at both of you, finally acknowledging your presence. 

“Even so. . .” Yuki continued. 

You almost forgot that this student council was also highly infatuated with Yuki, similar to the way everyone else is also into him. You wanted to massage your head as you felt a migraine growing at the sound of his loud voice. 

“I don’t believe it! It goes against common sense!” He retorted, getting even closer to Haru’s face to examine his features. “Now what’s the meaning of your appearance? Is that your natural self, eh, Sohma Momiji?! Have you no male pride? If you’re like this at your age, your life is on the fast track to failure!”

“But. . . But this uniform looks better on me!” Momiji’s eyes began to tear up as you pressed your lips together into a frown. 

You quickly stepped between both of them, stopping Tohru in her path and pushing Takei back a few centimeters from Momiji. 

“That should be enough from you, President Takei.” 

Momiji’s eyes widened, seeing your intimidating presence being officially recognized to the entire group, your cold, harsh glare staring straight into Takei’s lens covered eyes. Takei seemed flustered at the sudden intrusion but he quickly adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Your eyes sharpened slightly as you focused your attention on the upperclassman in front of you, you certainly didn’t want to hear him degrade another student’s future.

He began to grit his teeth as he adjusted his glasses frames once more, trying too hard to look cool, “with all respect (L/n)-san, how could you stand by this rule-breaker?! Don’t you think he has no sense of pride?!” 

“I don’t think it’s much of an issue. If he feels the most comfortable, then that is what matters,” You addressed, crossing your arms across your chest, “our job here at school is to make the students feel safe and welcome, I doubt giving them an earful would help them.” 

“That is true! But we have specific rules that we all need to follow! I respect your opinion here (L/n)-san, but-”

“Shut up. Quit playing king of the hill, you human trash.” Haru interrupted. 

“Wh-wh-wh-what” Takei stuttered as Haru grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. 

“Oi, Haru!” Kyo shouted, trying to pull him away from Takei. 

“Fine, let me ask you: are guys wearing neckties never muggers? Are guys without piercings never bullies? Do guys with black hair never murder people?!” Haru violently shook the poor man around, his brain easily turning to mush as if it was being stirred around like a smoothie, “who do you think you are, eh? God? Well, ain’t that something! Give us a few words! God! Go on!”

You could see Takei’s soul slipping away from his body as Haru continued to shake him. 

Kyo gripped onto Haru’s shoulder, stopping him from turning Takei into some sort of drink by the excessive amount of shaking, “oi, cut it out! He’s got no training!”

“Butt out you stupid cat!”

“Don’t call me stupid you damn brat!”

“Oh? Don’t act like you’re so great! You ran from our last fight with your tail between your legs!” The two of them crashed against each other, their forehead grinding against one another as they stared at each other with a heated gaze. 

“You’re the one who called that fight off!”

“What are you on his side?! You think he’s right!?”

You clicked your tongue before shoving the two of them apart, “what are you two? Children? Knock it off.” You glared at them, causing both of them to cower down and turn their heads away from you, the argument settling down as quickly as it started. 

It was odd to see Haru not comment against you, but it seemed like even your gaze affected him. He quickly made his way to the other council members who were trying to bring Takei back to life, his body dangling lifelessly in their arms. 

“Hey, ladies,” Haru greeted.

“Don’t drag them into it. . .” Kyo said, his hand on his forehead as his brain started to ache at Haru’s nonsense.

“What do you think? Take Momiji there—don’t you think he’s fine in that uniform? He’ll grow eventually. What’s the harm in waiting to dress like a man until then? He’ll be a real looker, trust me.” The other girls turned their heads to see Momiji happily enjoying the candy lollipop he had in his hands. 

They quickly imagined a much older boy, his curly blond hair, and eyes becoming more mature as he gave the girls an imaginary wink. “He’s fine.” The girls responded, holding out their hands to worship the shorter boy.

“Don’t let him brainwash you!” Takei quickly stood up, still trying to defend his own point of view against someone as stubborn as Haru. “Wh-Wh-What’s the matter with you?! This is unheard of!”

“It’s always best to wear what looks good on you, huh? It’s like (L/n)-san said, whatever makes you comfortable!” Haru patted the top of Momiji’s head, the smaller boy feeling content as he continued to suck on the lollipop that he pulled out from his pocket.

You raised your eyebrows once again, you didn’t quite understand Haru’s behavior. There were moments where he would become calmer and then go back to being heated the next second. You were more surprised to hear that he actually addressed you by name this time.

“Unacceptable! That’s pure selfishness, and unfair to the other students—“

“You just won’t quit. Okay, then, what if Yuki wore a girl’s uniform?” Haru suggested. 

Takei went through a moment of shocking realization, his mind immediately picturing Yuki in the girl’s uniform, calling out his name in his girlish voice.

“It’s fine.” He responded, tears streaming down his eyes as he pictured such a glorious image.

You visibly cringed, “what? That’s disgusting.”

The rest of the group stared at you in shock, not knowing that you felt such strong revulsion against the idea of Yuki wearing feminine clothing. Yuki felt the most surprised, hearing you voice your own objection regarding his outer appearance. 

Could you really blame yourself for disliking the idea of forcing Yuki into girly clothing? It looked greatly uncomfortable and it made you sick seeing him constantly put up with the school for his image.

“Wh-Wh-What?! (L/n)-san, are you saying that Yuki-kun would look disgusting?!” Takei shouted, holding up his hand in a tightened fist, trying to preserve the image of Yuki in a girls' uniform in his head. 

“It’s gross. Could you stop making him uncomfortable by putting him in girl’s clothing?” You stared at him, disinterested in hearing the rest of his opinions, “don’t you ever think about what he has to say? Sorry President Takei, but it’s disgusting to even see.” 

Yuki clutched onto the sleeve of his uniform, feeling a sense of warmth eluding in his body as he heard you continue to bicker with Takei about him in a girls' uniform. At first, he thought you had called him disgusting but it seems much clearer that you acknowledge Yuki’s discomfort in being misgendered. Despite your harsh tone, it sounds as if you genuinely cared about his wellbeing more than he actually knew. His cheeks felt slightly hot as he watched you continue to tell Takei to quit harassing the students. 

He had his doubts earlier when the two of you were walking together around the school. He often wondered if he was the one being the horrible friend by constantly putting you off, or even hiding things that put pressure on your relationship.

You tilted your head over your shoulder, giving Yuki a look of understanding and a small, subtle smile. You watched as his cheeks heated up before you turned away. 

You made him felt as if there was someone who understood him.

Your cheeks felt hot to the touch. You didn’t know the exact reason why you blurted out such things, but it felt. . . Relieving? It felt nice being able to express your true thoughts and finally relieving Yuki of his image of “princess”. While Takei and Haru argued about the decision of clothes, it made you wonder about the way Yuki felt being forced into girlish clothing. You had already known from the start, based on the doleful look in his eyes that he never enjoyed any part of the school festival when dressed as a girl. 

You could understand that feeling. You didn’t like the idea of being forced into clothing that didn’t represent who you were. You felt much better voicing your objections. It’s a nice feeling, it was as if heavyweights were lifted off of you when you were finally able to say something for the sake of someone else.

Perhaps there is more to this than you realized. 

“O-Oh, dear. I seem to have gotten carried away!” Takei turned around and adjusted his glasses with his finger.

“You’re a formidable opponent, Sohma Hatsuharu and (L/n) (Y/n),” You restrained a yawn as Takei spun around and pointed towards Haru, “can you prove that’s your natural color, then?!”

Haru held up his arms as he relaxed his head against them, his laid-back personality starting to frustrate Takei, “sure can.”

“Oho, you have proof? Hard evidence that—“ Before he could even continue his sentence, Takei was forcefully dragged into the nearest boy’s restroom, “um. . . excuse me. . .?” He stumbled on his feet, his sense of balance warped as Haru tugged on his clothing.

The two of them disappeared into the bathroom. There was a short period of silence before the echoed screams of Takei bounced off of the walls and into your ears. Tohru squeaked in surprise while everyone seemed unaffected by the turn of events. In a few minutes, Takei stepped out, taking off his glasses as his face was pale with shock.

“Incontrovertible proof. I see I still have much to learn about the world,” He commented.

Haru shortly followed after, his face showing a smug and cocky smile.

Did he show him? Kyo thought.

He showed him, Yuki responded, almost as if they both had telepathic minds to read each other’s thoughts.

Pervert. You stared at the two of them with a confused look.

“You win this time! But I’ll get you all next time!” The student council members quickly fled from the scene while Haru stayed smirking, the feeling of pride and victory flowing through his veins.

“Did you actually show yo—“ Kyo wrapped his hand around your mouth, quickly silencing you. Your voice became muffled underneath his hand. 

“D-Don’t say it! Moron!” You resisted the urge to punch him but he removed his hand before you could even raise yours.

“Um. . . How did you prove that was your natural hair color?” Tohru asked, staring at Haru with a puzzled look in her eyes.

Yuki and Kyo went pale as Tohru asked such a strange question in her aloof personality. You wondered how dense Tohru was to not know how to prove one’s natural hair color, it was already suspicious enough considering that Haru dragged Takei into the bathroom.

“Wanna do it and find out? I’m in if you are.” Haru pulled Tohru close to him, his hand gently caressing her cheek, “it’s fine, we don’t have to be hugging each other to—“

Before he could even get another word into the explanation, Yuki and Kyo punched him to the ground, the two of them huffing either in anger or tiredness. 

“Dark is the one guy I can’t handle. . .” Kyo scoffed.

“Never mind. Don’t worry about it, Honda-san.” Yuki responded.

You wondered why they referred to Haru as “dark”, maybe it was simply because of how easily his personality changed to someone casual to serious. He was quite odd, to say the least. 

“I’m kinda tired now,” Haru responded, his hand gripping onto the sore spot of his head. He seemed to have calmed down and his voice sounded emotionless. 

“Oh, yeah? You’re tired, huh?” Kyo groaned.

The sound of the school bell ringing caught all of your attention, you now realized that you and Yuki actually didn’t finish your rounds around the school as you spent most of your time here.

“Ah! That's the bell!” Momiji called out.

“Would you be willing to meet my friends before you go home today?” Tohru asked, wanting to invite Momiji and Haru into a game of badminton after school with Uotani and Hanajima.

“Your friends? Sure, of course!” He responded happily, lifting his arms as he expressed his joy in full. “That reminds me—Hey, Yuki, and Kyo!”

“Could you stay behind? I need to tell you something.” He added. The two boys turned their attention towards Momiji.

“Then, (Y/n)-kun and I will go on ahead then,” Tohru responded.

“Sorry, Tohru.” Momiji apologized, only to be met with her shaking her head as she told him that it would be fine.

You nodded before leaving with Tohru, the two of you silently walking down the stairs, leaving the Sohma family to deal with whatever conflict that may have arisen.

“Ah, sorry for disturbing your duties (Y/n)-kun!” Tohru apologized, bringing her hands to her chest as she clasped them.

You shook your head, “it’s okay. I could always do them later today.”

You both finally approached the bottom floor as you continued walking down the path to your classroom. You noticed that the cherry blossom trees were in full bloom today, you silently admired them while Tohru continued to think about the Sohma family.

“You both look like you’re having fun.” A familiar voice called out, you and Tohru slowly turned to face the unknown person.

His dark hair flowed with the wind, the cherry blossom tree’s petals falling from the sky like snow.

“A. . . Akito-san. . .?” You muttered, your eyes widening at the sight of him at the school, his wardrobe still as plain as you last saw him on Valentine's Day.

Tohru flinched at your reaction, unsure about what to say or feel.

“It’s nice to see you again, (L/n)-san. . .” Akito said, slowly approaching you and Tohru. “It feels like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

You’ve only seen him last time on Valentine's Day, which wasn’t even that long ago. Despite the dullness and emotionless look in his eyes, he stared down at Tohru with a focused gaze. The shorter girl panicked on the inside but tried to remain calm.

“Are you. . . Akito-san?” Tohru asked.

“That’s right. . . Honda Tohru.” He responded, his voice much dryer compared to when he was talking to you.

Tohru felt a jolt in her body as she quickly bowed down in front of him, “I’m very pleased to meet you!”  

Tohru looked intimidated by him. Your eyes turned towards Akito who was still looming above her figure, watching and studying each of the muscles that she moved. You didn’t understand whether or not Tohru had connections with Akito, her reaction to him seems as if she knows something.

“Well, you strike me as feminine and gentle.” Akito commented, referring to Tohru, “thank goodness you seem to be a good person. And most importantly, you’re quite cute.” He smiled.  

Tohru straightened her back, flailing her arms around in embarrassment, “what? Oh, no, you flatter—“

Akito laughed, the familiar tune of his voice giving you slight shivers down your spine, there was something unsettling about his tone towards Tohru, “don’t get flustered. You really are cute. Sorry, it took me so long to introduce myself. I’m just rather shy of strangers.”

Thats odd. . . He was the one to talk to you first, even though you were a complete stranger to him. You pressed your lips into a thin line, was he lying?

“Akito-san. . . What are you doing here?” You asked, trying to piece together the situation in front of you. Akito looked back at you and smiled, reaching out to your cheek to stroke it slowly.

“I only wanted to see the two of you of course. I heard many great things about Honda-san.” Something about his tone didn’t seem right to you. It made you feel a bit strange on the inside. “I know I haven’t kept in touch with you in a while. . . I’ve been quite busy.”

Your eyes trembled underneath his gaze, the touch of his cold hand contrasting the warmth of your skin as you both stared at each other. You still didn’t understand why Akito would be here, none of what he is saying made any sense to you whatsoever.

Unbeknownst to the three of you, Yuki’s eyes widened at the sight of Akito holding onto you, his hand pressed against the window before he sprinted down the stairs.

“How are you doing (L/n)-san? We should communicate more often you know.” Akito asked.

“I’m. . . I’m doing fine.” You responded, pulling away from his grasps, “there isn’t much going on.”

Akito hummed in response, feeling unsatisfied by your words. He quickly stepped back a few feet, “well, let me formally introduce myself to both of you.” 

“I’m Akito, the current Sohma family head. Pleased to meet you.” He introduced himself with a small bow.

Your heart dropped as you felt yourself almost losing your grip on your journal.

He‘s. . . Part of the Sohma family? Your blood felt as if it had been frozen over, the shock coursing through your veins as you looked at him in disbelief. He was related to Yuki all this time? When you first saw his appearance, it wasn’t just a coincidence then. . .

“I’d like for us to get along well. . . And please take care of Yuki and the others.” From the corner of Akito’s eyes, he could see the way you looked back at him in confusion, your brain trying to rack up any sort of information between your encounter to find a reasonable explanation for everything.

Such beautiful eyes. . . He thought, feeling the sense of joy and pleasure as he ravished the look in your eyes. There was something so satisfying seeing you make a similar face to Yuki, it might even be a better reaction than him.

“Akito!” The sound of Yuki’s voice interrupted the tense atmosphere.

“Ah, Yuki!” Akito called out, you spun around to see Yuki’s distraught expression, his eyes beginning to tremble at the sight of him.  Akito opened his arms out, “I’ve missed you, Yuki! You know, it feels like it’s been forever since I last saw you. You’re looking grown-up and taller—“

“What did you do?” Yuki cut him off, “what did you say to them?!

“Nothing. I was just saying hello to an old friend and Tohru-san.” Akito turned around to face Tohru, “right, Tohru-san? Wasn’t I just saying hello?”

The tension in the air continued to grow as your nails dug into the material of the journal cover.

An old friend? Yuki thought, turning his attention onto your figure that Akito was associated with. When did the two of you meet. . . ?

“Um, yes!” Tohru responded, feeling unsure about what to say in the situation. She could feel the tension in the air, as Akito confronted Yuki while in your presence.

“More importantly, Yuki. . .” Akito went back to Yuki, stepping in front of him as Yuki tightened his fist, “. . . there’s something I really want to ask you.”

Akito reached out to caress his cheek, similar to the way he treated you as Yuki’s hair strands flowed over his knuckles like a stream of water. The look of fear and terror reflected in Yuki’s grayish orbs, the irises trembling as much as his body was.

“Why did you skip New Year’s? Why would you do that? And when I’ve become so generous lately, too. When you do things like that, it seriously hurts my feelings.” Akito stared at Yuki with a menacing glare.

New Year’s. . .? The time of the Zodiac banquet. . .? You didn’t understand why your brain made that connection, but there was something so frightening seeing Yuki stand there petrified.

You didn’t understand.

You clenched the area around your heart, the feeling becoming painful like thousands of spikes piercing through your organ.

“Do I have to reeducate you, I wonder?” The shine in Yuki’s eyes completely disappeared, leaving only a dark and dull look in them, “in your special room? Will I be forced to spend long days teaching you proper disposition again?”

Akito traced his finger against Yuki’s lips as Yuki tilted his eyes away from him, trying to avoid his deathly gaze. His body was violently trembling as Akito continued to press him further.

Special. . . Room?

“I hate you. . . I hate you!” She smacked you across the face before throwing the porcelain bowl against the floor, the material shattering in front of the altar of God. The bowl nearly missed your eyes, causing your mother to violently scream and tug at your hair.

“This is all your fault! I hope you rot in hell! Here, in this very room!” She pulled on your (h/c) strands with enough force to pull out the longer, looser strands. “You’ll disappear in this room! Just like God said you would!”

You tightened your fist and your body reacted unconsciously, ripping Akito’s hand away from Yuki as you stepped in between them. Your body snapped in reaction to the two words Akito mentioned. His eyes widened at your sudden objection, feeling betrayal and annoyance running through his body.

“That’s enough, Akito-san,” You grit your teeth, “stop it already.”

“Is something wrong (L/n)-san? I am merely talking to Yuki.” He asked, his smile still plastered on his face.

“He doesn’t want to talk right now, so. . . Drop it already.” Akito narrowed his eyes at you, this was not going as he expected, however, he was thoroughly enjoying the look in your eyes at this moment. The look of despair in your eyes giving him the same feeling of euphoria. 

“Sorry, I’m going to take Sohma-san to the nurse. He said he was feeling sick earlier,” you lied before looking at Tohru, “go back to the classroom Tohru-kun.” 

Your eyes were no longer the shade of (e/c) Tohru recognized. It was much colder, emotionless, and filled to the brim with hidden pain. They no longer held any semblance of humanity left in them, it was almost as dull as Yuki’s. She wondered how much suffering you endured to match the same intensity as Yuki.

You gave Akito one last glance before grabbing onto Yuki’s wrist and pulling him away from the scene.

“Yuki, I hope you have a fun school life here.” Akito called out, “it’d make me happy if you came to visit sometime soon.”

You only ignored his words and forcefully pull Yuki away. He let you freely drag his body towards the nearby secluded cherry blossom tree, his mind still not being able to rid itself of the painful memories that resurfaced as he remained unfocused of his surroundings. His eyes began to water as he tried to blink them away, trying desperately not to cry out in public. You gently pushed his body to lean against the tree, your form kneeling beside him as you slowly brushed back the strands of hair blocking his face.

You wondered what brought this feeling in your heart. There was something about the look in his eyes, your mind and heart screaming to reach out to him. They were pounding desperately against your door to rescue him from something you both wanted escape from. They wanted something you were destined to do.

Your hands were warm, Yuki thought. This was the first time you’ve shown an intimate gesture in front of him. Your body felt nicer against his skin than it was with Akito’s cold fingers, it was bringing him slowly back into reality as his eyes continued to fight against the growing tears. You were truly a warm person inside.

It was showing at this very moment almost as if the key had unlocked your doors.

You noticed the small droplets of tears on the corner of his eyes, his fists still tightly clenched together. He looked like a fragile animal, one which tugged at your own emotional strings. You reached out to wipe at them before standing up and pulling your sweater off of your body.

You placed the top of your sweater on his head, shielding him away from the rest of the world from his pitiful crying. You gripped the edge of your skirt, the fabric wrinkling underneath your fingers.

“I don’t know what your relationship is with them. . . I’m not the best at comforting other people either. . . But it’s okay,” You didn’t know if these were the right words to say, but you watched as he tightened his hold on your sweater, “It’ll be okay in the end.”

You gently patted the top of his head, the fabric of your sweater creating a barrier between your skin and the softness of his hair. He stayed silent, unresponsive to your words. Your heart yearned for freedom in the eyes of others. 

“That room. . . You won’t go back there anymore.” You spoke gently, almost like a whisper, his body beginning to release the pent up tears that flowed down his cheek but were masked by your clothing. “I promise you that. . .”

“I won’t let you go back there anymore.”

Those were simple words that expressed the feeling in your heart.

You figured out what you wanted and needed to do in your life. It was to play the role of the Eagle you desperately wanted to be, one to fulfill and shoulder the burden of those you swore to protect, even if it meant promising your loyalty to God.

There was no more fretting about what you needed.