#super lovers manga

[fumifooms]

You're always so on point with your posts. On that note, it made me realize that; Considering the themes of desires in DunMeshi. It's also to say that what you think you want isn't what you actually want.

Like, Marcille thinks she wants the handsome prince from the novels she reads... But what she actually wants is someone maybe more like her father who she admired so much. Kind, virtuous, caring to a fault, a family man. Things she later finds in Chilchuck.

Because as traumatizing as it was to see her mother's spiral after her father's death; Her memories of her father itself are some of the most important to her. And it fits with her pursuit to increase her loved ones' lives, because she does want what her mother and father had.

Sipping. I do go over ‘what you think you want vs what you actually want + what you need’ in my (upcoming) Marcille & Chil arc analysis ;) It’s a part of Dunmeshi that I really like and is super fascinating, I’d honestly like to make an analysis-post on the topic: all the different threads and characters in canon that reflect that, desires vs wants and themes of idealization in Dunmeshi, but it’s one of those things that’s just so huge to make. See this is the freaking problem with doing Dunmeshi meta you start talking about the themes or a narrative and everything is so interwoven you get distracted with tangents BUT IT’S ALL COMPELLING AND RELEVANT

I know that’s something laimar does a lot too, the dad thing, with Marcille in a post-canon comic knitting beside him paralleling her parents and whatnot. I don’t know if I fully agree on the angle but there’s definitely stuff to dig at there…

Like I know that I’d like to analyze Marcille’s succubus more, it comes up in my analysis draft but it’s not the point I’m trying to make there so I focus on other stuff but… I always saw the focus of Marcille’s succubus as that she sought out an emotional connection most of all, it’s romantic and courtly in nature but more importantly there’s personality and behavior there and it’s a character she already loves and knows deeply from having read the series, so it’s not like Chil where it’s just a pretty face whose identity doesn’t matter. A friend of mine though, @room-surprise, goes with the angle that it shows she isn’t ready for a relationship and that the appeal is very self-centered, and I def think compelling points are made…

Point I was trying to make, the succubus is definitely at the crux of figuring what it is Marcille wants and craves in someone I’d say, where she’s emotionally at wether consciously or subconsciously, or how she sees herself being involved in romance at least… It’s true Marcille is enthusiastic about romance, but always someone else’s, never hers, and she seems unwilling to examine her own relationships with people. She oversteps boundaries either obliviously or carelessly and doesn’t like change…

And then there’s how complex people’s relationship to fiction can be on top of that and graaaaah

Edit in bc I forgot I wanted to mention this like an idiot: OH and I do think the Daltian Clan serves a role in the general tapestry of Dunmeshi as well, sometimes in in depth ways that Room-Surprise will tackle in their research paper way better than me I’m sure. My understanding of the importance of general Hagreus in a more general narrative sense is that he reinforces the theme of idealization/fantasy vs reality that’s super present through the manga. Beyond just Marcille’s arc and his importance to her he’s designed uncannily close to Mithrun, it parallels real elves and their very flawed military system and the broken people it cultivates vs the romanticized elves put on an aesthetic pedestral in novels, especially considering it’s "general" Hareus

To give some previews of the analysis wip: Thus the succubus targets Marcille’s wish for a perfect knight who could cherish her forevermore, someone safe and known and fantastical, just hers in a way, free to see and construct however she wants because he’s a character to interpret Dungeon Meshi is in part about resisting desires, the irrational cravings, mostly through the character of the demon. I mentioned needs earlier, and to ideals vs wants we also add vs needs, both emotional and physical. And needs alongside wants are what Dungeon Meshi wishes to promote for a healthier person. Dungeon Meshi illustrates very well with the dungeon lords that you can be a slave to your desires. Dunmeshi prones the important of balance for both a healthy body and a healthy mind, and the arc of optimism vs pessimism with Marcille & Chilchuck is one such case <3

Ouuuugh how flawed relationships with flawed people can still be made into somehing good and healthy that make the world brighter…

We’ve gone far from the topic of how her family shaped what she seeks in relationships haha, I think you put it well already though I don’t have much to add on that front Edit in 2: SIKE! I’ll add that there’s an interesting thread in the manga of Marcille maturing and becoming more like her mother, which would be interesting and fun to pair with the fatherhood of Chil. Because Marcille is sometimes a mother figure as well: she’s the mom friend. I go over it here, and since when I made that post I’ve seen more interesting analysis on the topic too, like noticing she hides behind her mother’s portrait in the nightmare chapter, perhaps the inspiration behind her more mature reserved academic persona she sometimes has. Her parents are def important to her so it’s interesting to see how all the dynamics and her own psychology fit into that….

But yeah I think what she (thinks she) wants out of romance has a lot of layers, both conscious and subconscious… I haven’t gone into the bigger picture of how fiction affects her relationships here but it’s the central topic of my Marcille & Chil arc analysis so. She idealizes the trope of the prince charming and finds it attractive but is that what she would actually latch onto… Is it fully superficial, is it more about herself than it is about her potential partner... Is it mainly because she wants to get validation, from being special that she typically gets from high academic performance… We do see she can be rather insecure and worried about others’ perspective of her, that they think she’s not useful or capable enough, especially in the mandrake chapter… Unconditional love perhaps

What is your emotional landscape Marcille. How emotionally intelligent are you. I don’t think she knows what she wants romantically. I think she has a job so she don’t really care about that rn I’m just not sure if we can figure out what she ~actually~ wants on her behalf that might be too many levels of interpretation but idk idk, thinking on it still

[animenekos]

Boku no Tsuma wa Kanjou ga Nai; My Wife Has No Emotion - Episode 9

[cult-of-husbandos]

Hello, I wanted to request something. I'm still new to your blog, I saw that you had a deredere character! If you can could you write one where him and the reader have already been dating and him and they celebrate valentines day together. I hope my request makes sense. Either way keep up the good work and I love your writing!

asahi haruka [deredere] - Boba Tea & Cats

a/n: okay sooo i started writing this in march and now it's may (•O•) aaaaaand honestly i could blame it on work, or my adhd, or laziness and forgetfullness, or blame in the fact that the tumblr app doesn't fuckin' notify me when i get a request in my inbox like tf! or i can blame all 4 and you can just blame me lmao. anyway, i hope you like it! sorry if it's not what you wanted. instead of valentines day, i made it into a cute anniversary date with a clingy, femboy twink boyfriend.

genre: fluff, high-school sweetheart vibes

word count: 3.9k

warnings: none

You let out a yawn as the school bell chimed, signaling the end of after school clubs and tutoring sessions. You lazily stretched and watched as the other club members gathered their bags and talked about their plans for the weekend. You pulled out your phone, scrolling through missed messages.

“Bye, Y/N-chan~!” called one of the club members. “See you Monday.”

“Yeah, bye~.” you waved as the last club member left.

You went back to your phone. Trying to catch up on your texts before the teachers started circulating. Your phone buzzed, signaling that you got a new message. You opened the text and smiled softly.

‘Did you already go home? (ó﹏ò｡)’

Giggling, you text back.

‘Nope. I’m still packing up. I’ll meet you by the gate.’

Ever since you were children, Asahi Haruka had been by your side through thick and thin. You both grew up next door neighbors, attended the same schools, and shared so many memories that you can’t even imagine going a day without him. Asahi is the embodiment of a golden retriever with bright colored hair – adorable, affectionate, and endlessly optimistic. His infectious laughter is like music to your ears, and his boundless energy is like a puppy touching grass for the first time.

However, there was something undeniably magical about the transition from friends to something more. You two are dating. And both of you are complete idiots for each other. Asahi Haruka had stolen your heart completely.

You don’t know when you started having feelings for Haruka, but you can’t imagine a world without him. It sounds cliché, like it came out of a crappy Lifetime movie, but before either of you knew it you had become each other’s confidants. Sharing small touches, talking about your hopes, dreams, and fears, sneaking kisses in your room. By the time you reached high school, you both confessed. At the same time. You could always read his mind and he could read you like a book. It was as if you were two halves of the same whole, inseparable and bound by an unbreakable bond.

He’s your sun.

Just as you were finished packing and about to stand up, two soft hands covered your eyes and the scent of sweet cologne made you smile.

“Guess who~?” called a voice, a slight mischievous giggle practically giving him away.

You feigned a gasp. “Oh woah! Who could it be?”

You formed a mischievous plan of your own. Time for your favorite activity: teasing your boyfriend.

You hummed. “Judging by the six rings on each hand, it must be Kuro-kun!”

“Bzzt! Wrong!” said the voice. You could tell he was pouting slightly. “You better be joking! Try again!”

“Of course I’m joking!”

“Then, guess my name!” the voice said cheerfully.

“Hmm~, is it… Lina-chan?”

“Wrong again!”

“Oh! I got it now! This is definitely Kou-kun!”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Totally gotta be Haru.”

“Noooo~!!”

“Well, with whining like that, it must be Tsumiko-kun!”

“N/N-chaaaaaan~!”

You couldn’t hold back your laughter. Teasing Haruka was not only easy, but incredibly funny. Even with his fingers and rings pressed to your eyes, you could tell he was pouting up a storm. You tenderly stroked his fingers and laughed again in feigned revelation.

“Oooh! It’s you, Haruka~.” You removed his hands from your eyes and looked up at him with a smile. “I knew it was you.”

Staring up at your boyfriend, you could clearly see that you were right and he was pouting super hard. You kissed his hand and his pout melted into a silly grin. Yet, his eyes still held a grudge.

“N/N-chan! That was really mean…” he pouted. “You shouldn’t call your boyfriend another guy’s name.”

You giggled, leaning forward in your seat. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it. You’re just too cute when I tease you.”

Haruka blushed. You finished packing up your things and stood up from your chair. You grabbed Haruka’s hand. “Come on, let’s go home.”

Haruka smiled. We could. Or…” He bumped your shoulder playfully. “I can take you somewhere awesome!”

You raised an eyebrow quizzically. “Somewhere awesome, huh? And where would that be?”

Haruka smiled and gave your hand a slight tug. “It’s a surprise! It’s also close to the station so afterwards we can go home together.”

“Haruka, we’ve been going home together since primary school.”

“That’s not the point!” he huffed playfully. “Besides, today is super duper special!”

“Really?” you asked. “What’s today?”

“Today is…” he paused for dramatic effect, making you roll your eyes in the process. “Our 100 Day Anniversary!!”

Ah, of course. How could you forget?

Anniversaries were nothing new in this relationship. Especially when it came to Haruka. He celebrates everything. Friendiversaries, childhood traditions, milestones, etc.. Ever since you two started dating, he’s even added monthly anniversaries to the list. You didn’t mind it. Every milestone, tradition, and anniversary with Haruka made your heart skip a beat and cherish those memories even more.

“Wow. Today is special.” you smiled, opening the classroom door. “Well, let’s get going before we get scolded. I wanna see this super awesome place. If Haruka likes it, it must be good!”

Haruka smiled brightly and With his hand in yours, you left school and you couldn't help but feel a flutter of excitement in your chest.

*****

“And then, Sensei blabbed for an hour about how I should be paying attention…” Haruka complained. “It’s not my fault I always fall asleep in his class… if he wasn’t so boring…”

As you walked through the bustling streets, you both talked about things going on with friends and school. Of course, Haruka vented to you about how he fell asleep twice in class. You chuckled.

“Hmm… if only someone had listened to my advice and not stayed up playing otome games all night.” you hummed.

“Dreamhunter has an event that allows you to collect 12 SSR cards, each with unique date timelines and rare CG’s and I’m supposed to pass on that?!”

You laughed. “Oh, I’m sure your waifus and husbandos appreciate your determination. Maybe they can help you next time you need to study for an exam.”

“Noooo~. I want N/N-chan’s help!”

“Then, you better stay awake. We're in our 3rd year now. If we wanna get into the same university, we gotta work hard.”

Eventually, you arrived at a quaint little building that immediately caught your attention. Your eyes widened and Haruka smiled brightly. “We’re finally here!”

Nestled on a charming trendy street, the light pink café exuded an inviting aura from the moment you laid eyes on it. A sleek LED sign adorned with whimsical paw prints and the café's name, "NyaNyuBo," hung above the entrance, imitating a slow glow in the afternoon sun. Flower boxes overflowed with vibrant strawflowers and multi-colored milkweeds, adding a burst of color to the café's exterior. A few white wrought-iron tables and chairs sat beneath the pink and white canopy, inviting customers to indulge in a garden party aesthetic.

The windows were adorned with hand-painted murals of playful kittens, each with a unique personality showing. Posters are also put up showcasing deals and kitten mascots advertising discounts. A chalkboard easel stood by the door, displaying daily specials and cat puns in colorful chalk lettering.

“Is this… a cat café?” you ask, looking over at your beaming boyfriend.

“Yes! Isn’t it adorable? I saw a bunch of influencers post about it on Twitter and Instagram! And I immediately thought of you! I know how much you love cats and I wanted to make our 100 day anniversary extra special!” Haruka grinned, his eyes lit with joy.

Entering the café, you had to stop yourself from making a scene. The interior was just as cute as the outside.

You were greeted by the warm aroma of freshly brewed coffee, sweet bubbly fragrances of bubble tea, and the soft sound of purring and tiny meows. The interior of the café was a cozy haven, with soft pastel armchairs and plush sofas with low coffee tables, decorated with scented candles and tiny plants, arranged near the walls and windows, creating intimate seating areas perfect for relaxation. In the center of the café were wooden tables and chairs, each with decorations and cards about each of the cats. Some of the tables had cats declare the tables to be theirs as they stretched and laid across.

The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the bay windows, casting a golden glow over the room and illuminating the mellow decor and sleepy kittens. Shelves lined with books and manga and knick-knacks adorned the walls, while potted plants mounted to the walls and roof.

You and Haruka walked to a table and you basked in the cute little cards and small mason jars full of delectable treats shaped like cats and adorned with adorable edible decorations. On the card it read: ‘Please do not feed our kittens any human food. While we work hard to provide our customers with delicious food and use ingredients that both humans and animals can eat, some of our kitties' tummies might not agree. So please, feed them a couple homemade kitty treats that help them stay happy and healthy.’

You gazed lovingly at the jar of treats for the cats. They’re shaped like kitten faces with “frosting” faces of different cats.

‘Super cute!!’

You were snapped out of your thoughts as Haruka handed you a menu. You tenderly grabbed it and let out a gasp immediately after opening it.

“Everything is so cute! The sandwiches, burgers, curry – they’re all shaped like cats! Even the donuts, macarons, and ice cream parfait have 3D art! I’m in heaven~!”

Haruka giggled. “Me too! It’s like a cozy cat heaven. I wanna live here.”

“Me too!” you sigh. “I’ve been in this area so many times and I never knew there was a cat café here. Was it always a café?”

“I don’t think so. We passed by this building so many times, but I never noticed what it was originally.” Haruka reflected. “Anyway, have you decided what you want?”

You nod. “I’ll have the Smoked Salmon Baguette Sandwich and a strawberry boba tea.”

Haruka nodded and left to go place your order at the front counter. The counter was adorned with even more cat-themed decor and accessories for customers. Behind it, baristas bustled about, preparing steaming cups of coffee and boba tea and artfully crafted cat-themed desserts. Behind the baristas, you saw a small window leading to the kitchen where the chefs were working equally as hard.

You took the time to really look around the café, soaking in the mellow and chill vibe. In one corner of the café, you noticed a towering cat tree where 3 cats slept and played with the dangling toys affixed to it. You looked down at the floor and noticed colorful cat toys littered about and a few customers on the floor completely immersed in playing with the kittens.

You sat back in your chair and listened to the soft k-ballad instrumental music playing in the background and customers chattering quietly amongst themselves, their laughter mingling with the gentle purring of the resident cats.

‘I’m so grateful for Haruka.’ you thought to yourself. ‘He really knows me throughout. If I hadn’t met him…’ You felt a pang in your chest at the thought.

Soon, Haruka came back with the drinks and sat down with a sly grin. “They said our food will be out shortly.” he informed you, giving you your drink. It was even cuter in person. A smiling white cat sat atop of your boba and you felt conflicted about drinking it. “Soooo, in the meantime, I bought us these!” He pulled out two cat ear headbands, one cinnamon and one chocolate brown. He handed you the cinnamon colored cat ears and put on the chocolate brown cat ears with a huge smile. “So we can blend in!”

You stared at him for a few seconds before laughing. “You are such a weirdo!” You laughed even harder as Haruka put on the cat ears and striked various poses.

“Come on~! Put it on!” he urged.

“Alright, alright.” you sighed. Swallowing your pride and cringe, you put on the cat ears and posed awkwardly using your hands as paws. “How do I look?”

Haruka’s face exploded into a plume of red and dramatically clutched his chest. “Too cute! My heart… ah!” Just as quickly, he pulled out his phone. “Give me a little ‘nya~’!”

“Pfft-! What?” you giggled, covering your face.

“Y’know… Nya~!”

You laughed again. “No way! I’d die of cringe.”

“Boo~!” he pouted, putting his phone away. “You should take more advantage of your cuteness!”

You rolled your eyes playfully. “Right back at you, babe.”

After a bit more back and forth teasing, a waiter comes by with your food. With a smile, she sets your food down and bows, telling you to enjoy your food.

Your eyes widen and you immediately salivate at the delicious and gorgeous food in front of you.

“This looks amazing!” you exclaim. You took a whiff. “And it smells sooo heavenly~.”

Haruka nodded eagerly. “For real! Ah! Wait!” He scrambled to pull out his phone. “We gotta get a pic!”

After your boyfriend took a few pics, you two finally chow down.

*****

“…and it was really smelly too!”

“Oh my god! Did you say that to his face?”

“I had to! I’m telling you, it was disgusting-”

Your words are cut off as you feel a tiny ball of fur leap onto your lap. Pulling back a little, you look down and see the most adorable munchkin kitten with cream coating looking up at you. You let out a short, high-pitched squeal/gasp, drop your food on your plate, and scooped up the fluffy kitten.

“Ohmigosh! Haruka! Look at the baby~!” you cooed, showering the kitten in affection and holding it like a porcelain doll.

Haruka’s laughter filled the air as he cooed along with you. “Wow~! They’re so tiny. They must be a baby baby.”

You placed the kitten gently on your lap and bombarded the cutie with scritches along its back and behind the ears. Melting in your chair as you heard tiny purrs coming from the kitten.

Haruka stared at you. “You really love cats, huh?”

You nod fervently, unable to tear your gaze away from the adorable creature, making cute kissy noises and baby talking the kitten.

Haruka soon pouted from the lack of attention. “Baby~. Shouldn’t you be paying attention to your kitten right here?” he whined.

You looked up to see your boyfriend pointing at himself, pulling out his infamous puppy eyes. You giggled.

“Then maybe you should be the one on my lap, hm~?”

Haruka, not expecting such bold words, blushed bright red and struggled to find a flirt back. You laugh again.

Your attention is brought back to the kitten that is actively trying, and failing, to jump on the table. Its little pink beans were desperately pawing at your plate, gazing hungrily at your salmon baguette sandwich.

“Aww~. Is the baby hungry?” you ask. You pick out a piece of salmon and dab your napkin on it to get rid of any of the dressing on it. You bring it towards the kitten's mouth and it eagerly devours it, letting out small little mews and purrs all the while. “Wow. You were hungry, huh?”

Haruka giggles and gushes along with you at the kitten’s eating noises. “The staff probably keep the kittens on a strict kitten food routine. This is probably its first time eating human food.” he whispered, looking around the staff. “You shouldn’t give them anymore. I don’t wanna get kicked out because my love is a rule breaker.” he winked in a teasing tone.

You agreed, turning your attention back to your food and boyfriend as the happy kitten nestles in your lap.

After you both finished your food, Haruka led you to the open cat play area, where you spent the afternoon surrounded by playful and curious kitties. Haruka's boundless energy matched that of the kittens as he chased after them, played with various toys, and sprawled on the floor dramatically meowing. You never laughed this hard.

“I’m glad you brought me here.” you sigh fondly. “This is the best date ever.”

“Is it in the top 5?”

“It’s first place.” You leaned against him, foreheads touching. Under the soft glow of the café's lights, you and Haruka found yourselves drawn into a tender moment, your gazes locked in a silent exchange of affection.

“I love you.” he whispered.

“I love you too.” you whispered back, smiling.

His warm hand cupped your cheek and his breath mingled with yours. Time seemed to stop as your lips met in a sweet, lingering kiss – a slow and gentle kiss that made your heart pound in your ears. In that moment, you wanted this moment, right now, to last forever. And as you both pull away, your foreheads resting against each other, you sigh blissfully unaware of how much time has passed in the tender embrace of your boyfriend.

Peeking from your eyelashes, you notice the warm orange glow flowing from the windows.

“Oh woah… it’s that late already?” you whisper in awe.

“What~?” Haruka whined. “Noooo~! I wanna stay here longer! With you and the kitties!” He flopped on the floor dramatically with a pitiful cry. You laughed and rubbed his chest.

“Come on. If we don’t go home quickly, auntie will get worried and scold you for hours.”

Haruka pouted, but reluctantly stood up and went to the front to pay for the meal. You giggled quietly at his silliness when you felt a small fur ball brush up against you. It was the baby that jumped on your lap. You picked up the kitten, giving into the cuteness. You then felt a pang in your heart at the thought of leaving it here. The more the kitten purred against you, the more you felt the urge to stuff the kitten down your shirt and run out the door. But, you wouldn’t do that.

“Okay, baby. Let’s–”

“Excuse me!” You called out to the employee behind the counter. “Could I see an adoption application?”

The female employee behind the counter smiled brightly and clapped her hands. “Yes, of course! Would you be adopting that kitten you're holding?”

You nodded. “Yes. Does that application process take long?”

“Of course not. Please wait right here. I bring you the adoption paper and a kitten goodie bag full of essentials and a carrier.”

“Thank you!” The employee left towards the back and you softly squealed at your decision.

“Are you really going to adopt the kitten?” Haruka asked, just as excited as you are.

You nodded gleefully, covering your new kitten in kisses. “Of course! Look at this baby! It was love at first sight.”

“Hey~! No fair! I want kisses too!” Haruka whined, puckering his lips towards your face. You laughed, trying to maneuver out of his way.

“You’ve been getting kisses all day! Learn to share, Haruka.”

“Huuh??? No way! I don’t wanna share N/N-chan!”

“Too bad~.” you teased.

*****

The sun had dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of deep purple and soft pink as you both stepped out of the train station. As you and Haruka began your walk home, the streets were quiet with only the sounds of cicadas buzzing in the trees,the sidewalk illuminated by the gentle glow of street lamps. The cool evening breeze rustled the leaves, creating a soothing spring aesthetic that accompanied your footsteps.

You walked with a skip in your step, smiling in content, holding hands with your boyfriend and holding the cat carrier that held your new family member: Naoko or Nao for short.

You smiled down at the kitten curled up in the transparent carrier. “We’re almost home, Nao.”

Haruka glanced over, a soft smile playing on his lips. "Look at her. Already so comfortable with us."

You gazed down at the sleeping kitten, your heart swelling with affection. "I know right~? She's soooo adorable. I can't wait to get home and set up a little space for her with the stuff they gave us. She’s going to love it. I’m gonna make her the best meal she’s ever had in her tiny life!"

Haruka pumped his arm, flailing around Nao’s bag of essentials. "I've already got a bunch of ideas! We could set up a cozy, extra fluffy bed for her by the window so I can see her from my window, and maybe get some of those climbing trees. And a bunch of toys that she’ll be buried in! She'll have so much fun!"

You laugh softly, bouncing off his enthusiasm. “You’re gonna spoil her rotten, aren’t you?”

He winked playfully. “Absolutely! Anything for Nao! She’s our little princess!”

“Woah. Little princess, huh?” you hummed melodically. “I think I just caught a glimpse of Haruka being a lovesick dad.”

“D-Dad?!” he sputtered, his cheeks turning red.

“Yeah. I think you’d be an amazing dad, Haruka.” you stated, smiling nonchalantly.

“W-W-W-Whaaat?!” Haruka yelped, stuttering and getting even redder. “Y/N! It’s too early for us to be thinking about that! We haven’t even graduated yet! A-And I don’t have a job! You also have to be married before thinking about that stuff! We shouldn’t rush things!”

“Huh? What’re you talking about? I’m talking about the future.”

“H-Huh? O-Oh, yeah! That’s what I meant! Yeah! Totally!” he stammered, avoiding your eyes.

“Hmm~? Were you thinking of making a family right now?”

“N-No! Of course not!” He whipped his head away from you, hiding his face.

“Are you sure~? You’re blushing a lot, Ha-ru-ka-chan~.”

“Noooo~…”

“Tonight would be the most romantic day to propose, Haruka. Should I be expecting something soon?”

“N/N… please… I didn’t say anything… please stop…” he mumbled.

You laughed and decided to put a hold on the teasing to save the reputation of your boyfriend. After a few minutes of walking in comfort silence, you turned onto your street and approached your house first. You turned to your boyfriend with a smile.

“Thank you for the amazing date, Haruka. Today has been perfect. Every anniversary you always seem to one-up the dates every single time.”

“Of course, angel~. You deserve only the best.” He pressed a gentle kiss on your lips and you melt into his arms, humming in serenity. As he pulled away, he turned to walk towards his house, but you didn’t let go of his hand. You turned back, looking back at you in confusion.

“Y/N?”

“Oh, did you think you were sleeping somewhere else tonight? Absolutely not. Stay the night.”

“E-Eh? Stay the night? B-But…” He peeked at your house.

“My parents are out of town for the weekend. It’ll just be us.”

“W-What?! Really?”

“Yeah! Plus, the baby will be sad if you go home.” You raised the carrier to show the kitten, slowing waking up from its nap. “And it’s not like we haven’t slept over at each other’s houses before. It’ll be like a sleepover!”

“Oh yeah! It’s been awhile.” he noted. “Yeah, okay! I’ll have to get some stuff from my house and tell mom that I’ll be staying over tonight.” He peeked down at Nao. “And it’ll give me some quality time with NaoNao~.”

As you both walked up the pathway to the house, you smiled. “Yeah, and with Nao here, we can play house.”

“Play house?”

“Yeah. You, me, and the baby.”

Haruka’s face erupted in blush and stammered a nonsense string of words as you led him into the house, laughing at his whinings.

—

another a/n: hey. sorry. it's been awhile. i've seriously been lacking. i got really hype fixated on learning blender animation and minecraft. also, work shit sucks. i hope you enjoyed asahi haruka. it's nice that this fic is the first intro to him. i hope you guys like him! it's been a while since i've written cutesy stuff. i hope i didn't make it too cringe or cheesy or plain.

[hatsumishinogu]

SUPER LOVERS Vol.18

[konohamaru-sensei]

cant believe the bleach high school warfare is only an april fools joke and not a real otome game when the designs are this fire

[kakusu-shipping]

Soulmate AU, and Childhood Best Friends AU? :3c

Oh I'm about to show how little I actually understand about Shin's character... but also I love you two and MUST ramble

Ask from here (still open to Moots)

Soulmate AU

Shin feels like the type to assume the worst out of a Soulmate based world. He'd assume his soulmate must be someone awful, or maybe they're already dead, or he'll just never meet them. Maybe he's the only person in the entire world who doesn't have a soulmate. He feels the type to be real gloomy and depressing about it.

Until he meets Emmy when she's introduced as the new hire at his job and there's suddenly color to his world and everything just feels so much warmer.

It's love at first sight.

But he'd really struggle to do anything about it, he'd fall into a "if she's so great then I must be the bad one" kind of spiral and try to avoid you... But it'd probably fail because he wants to do more than just look at you across the way so badly.

This feels very Office Comedy skdjfjkd Your co-workers find out your soulmates and start melding to get you closer together, he thinks your an all perfect angel sent from the heaven to be out of his reach... I imagine he eventually finds out otherwise of course as he's forced to get closer to you, see you as more than just an unreachable ideal and more as a person... It heals him so he starts seeing those around him as more than just background characters and more people as well...

Love Heals style manga... Something like that...

Childhood Friends AU

Emmy has a lot of Girl Next Door energy. The pretty girl who has a ton of boys who like her in elementary school because she's nice and cute and that's all you care about in a girl in elementary.

Shin then would be the nerdy best friend type. You and him just happened to watch the same anime when you were little, and bonded over it in first grade, and stuck together from then on.

By 4th or 5th grade he'd start getting self deprecating and wondering why such a nice person like you would hang out with a gloomy guy like him, and you just remind him that you're his friend, you like him, of course you wanna hang out with him!

He'd probably get bullied by the other boys who like you a little bit, and then get a bit of a shitty ego about it after you worry about him over it. He'd like to taunt them. "Yeah go ahead and hit me, less competition for me. Emmy'd never go out with jerks who beat up other kids." He'd act so cocky in front of them just to piss them off.

This sounds like the kind of manga where you'd get split up for a few years in middle school, and meet back up in Highschool again but one of you's changed. Either something bad happened to you in middle school and you lost that sunshine smile Shin remembers, so he has to work to bring it back, or Shin completely shuts down without you and refuses to talk to anyone, so you have to coax him back out of his shell.

More Love Heals but in more.. Reach out kind of ways? Reach out to people you think need it style... It'd be cute, and kind of sad, and real and emotional... I'd read it.

[natsukiyuuko]

Хару — замечательный старший брат.

「Super Lovers」

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Just OTP things.

Edit: Also this instance of Sora sensing Kairi:

[rangerzath]

My new video is out! I hope you enjoy watching my Spring 2023 manga haul!

[fudgesoup]

The Stars are Cheering for You

Chapter 1: Sweet and Brash

Rena has finally left her hometown of Kitami for University in Tokyo. Will her life in a new place be as she planned? Or will a certain mystery guy turn her world upside down?

Rated: Teen - 4.3k words - Rena Natsukawa x Original Character

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Masterlist | AO3

Tags: Hokkaido Gals are Super Adorable, Rena Natsukawa x Original Character, Rena Natsukawa x OC, Rena x OC, Fuyuki Minami, Natsukawa Rena, Shiki Tsubasa, Original Character, Rena Natsukawa, Minami Fuyuki, Tsubasa Shiki, Akino Sayuri, Manga & Anime, Alternate Universe, College/University AU, Fluff, Friendship, College, Romance, Eventual Romance, Slow Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Fate, Drama, Light Angst, Tokyo, I didn't sleep to write this, Gossip, Love Confessions, Confessions, Crushes, Dating, Falling In Love, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Kendo, Plot, Slice of Life, Canon Spoilers, Tension, Family Drama, Plot Twists, Idiots in Love, post-epilogue

The night before she left for university Rena ran into Tsubasa’s grandfather, Gin. He was a man who inspired and encouraged her to do what she loved. She accredited him for her love of traditional Japanese history and culture. They had not seen each other since she was a child, encountering him so near her departure felt as if it were fate. Shiki bestowed upon her his personal hand fan as a token, a reminder to look up at the sky so that the stars might cheer her up when she was sad. This was the final push she needed to confront her future and begin her new journey.

Rena Natsukawa left Hokkaido with a mix of emotions, feeling bittersweet as she said goodbye to her friends, family, and hometown. Though leaving was hard, she was excited to pursue her career in her chosen field at her top pick university in Tokyo. As she packed for the move, her thoughts were filled with reflections on the friends she’d made, her cherished home, and Tsubasa…

Her arrival in Tokyo couldn’t have gone smoother. Rena’s living arrangements had all been settled and it was only a matter of finding the address and unpacking. Tokyo was far busier than Kitami, but she had grown accustomed to the city’s hustle and bustle after traveling here several times in the past. Still, there was something different this time— a sense of finality, of stepping into a new chapter of her life. The towering skyscrapers, the sea of people rushing past— all of it felt both exhilarating and overwhelming. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself as she navigated through the unfamiliar streets.

She was lost in thought as she made her way outside of the airport, her eyes taking in the cityscape that stretched before her. The towering buildings, bright signs, and crowded streets were a stark contrast to the quieter life she had known in Kitami. The voices of conversation and the distant sound of traffic filled the air, blending with the aroma of street food that wafted from nearby vendors. 

The buildings and stores started to blur together as she continued to walk, heavily contemplating what her new life would be like. Would she meet new people here? Was there a possibility for her to make more impactful friendships like she had back home?

Uneasiness began to creep into Rena's mind because of all the unknown factors. With her perception of the outside world diminishing, she found herself stumbling directly into a stranger. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the young man approaching from the opposite direction— neither of them paying attention, both engrossed in their respective worlds.

“HEY, WATCH IT!” the young delinquent yelled, his voice sharp and filled with irritation. Rena blinked, momentarily stunned that someone would shout at her over such a minor incident. As she collected herself, she couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of familiarity as she looked up at him. Tall, broad shoulders, and that messy brown hair… something about him struck a chord within her. The recognition was unsettling.

“Hey!” Rena snapped, her voice rising defensively. “Why don’t you watch where you're going first?! You obviously walked into me!” Her tone, though meant to be stern, came out more adorable than intimidating, undercutting her attempt to assert dominance.The young man glared at her, but as his eyes focused on her face, there was a momentary pause, as if he was shocked by her appearance before his anger flared up again.

“Clearly, you must be blind if you think this is my fault. I’m not the one wandering around with my head in the clouds,” he retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Rena puffed out her cheeks, glaring up at him in a futile attempt to seem threatening, her petite frame making it difficult to pull off. He appeared almost flustered by her display of defiance, an odd contrast to the irritation in his eyes.

“I have enough going on right now,” she shot back through gritted teeth. “I don't need to be lectured by some rude guy who can’t even admit he walked into me!”

“Little Miss Daydreamer,” he taunted, his tone condescending, “Can’t even admit fault either. You better be more careful. These streets can be dangerous for such a petite woman.” Despite the harsh words, there was a faint hint of concern hidden beneath his scolding. Rena crossed her arms, trying to stand her ground, despite the feel of her heart racing. 

“No one asked you to look out for me! Besides, I can handle myself just fine!” She noticed his eyes widen, a strange mix of frustration and something else she couldn’t quite place.

“Whatever!” He turned on his heel and stomped away before she could get the last word in. Rena watched him go, huffing in annoyance, but as she resumed her walk, her thoughts kept drifting back to him. There was something so strikingly familiar about him— his voice, his posture— it nagged at her memory.

As the realization slowly dawned on her, a blush crept onto her own cheeks. He reminded her so much of Shiki, her old crush. His features were more angular in comparison: sharp cheekbones and deep set eyes. The thought left her feeling flustered and unsettled, the encounter lingering in her mind far longer than she would have liked.

Eventually, she found her new home, a multi-floored, well-maintained, luxury apartment structure, housing numerous sizable apartments. Her plan was to live alone, to focus on her studies and other related exploits. The apartment was gorgeous, the living and dining room were spacious, the kitchen had a sleek modern design and the bathrooms were well decorated. It was an easy fifteen minute walk to and from the university with convenience stores and other neighborhoods in between. The moment Rena entered she set her things by the sofa and took a look out the living room window. She had a beautiful view of the neighborhood from her third-story apartment and watched the hustle and bustle of people traveling along the street below.

Despite all the people she saw, there was a feeling of loneliness gnawing at her, the unease that had been interrupted earlier began to creep in again. A moment of weakness subdued her as she choked out a soft sob, thinking about everyone she cared about and how they weren't with her. The despair was taking hold of her when her phone went off, it was a sweet message from Fuyuki that read: 

Hope you made it to Tokyo in one piece, we all miss you and believe in you! Do your best!

It could not have come at a better time, even in her darkest moments her friends were still watching over her, even from afar. She vowed to herself at that moment that she would do her absolute best while in Tokyo. 

After doing some light unpacking and other general chores, she was ready to turn in. As Rena settled in she found herself unable to stop thinking about her earlier interaction with that stranger. He was extremely brash and very rude, but there had been something about his stern look from those piercing eyes of his that she couldn't get out of her mind. She let out a small huff, burying her face in her pillow. There was something about it that kept her on her toes, she couldn't explain it. She needed to shake the feeling if she hoped to get any rest because the next day was the first of the semester.

Rena attended the welcoming ceremony and made it through the day without problems. It was as perfect as she could have hoped for, especially when many eyes were on her. The experience was different however, there was inconsistency and no structure as it was in high school. There was nothing to gauge how her relationships could blossom without seeing the same people everyday. 

The first couple of weeks were the hardest emotionally, the occasional check-ins from Fuyuki and Akino, along with her mother calling her everyday, had kept her mind at ease so far. Rena often thought of Tsubasa and his new relationship with Fuyuki and wondered if she would find a love like that here. 

As another week flew by, Rena found herself in a classroom room. She attended a classical history class every Monday and Wednesday. It was her favorite class of the semester thus far. She had the motivation to do her absolute best since she knew her loved ones were cheering her on back home. Lost in thought, she snapped out of it when a pleasing voice interrupted her inner thoughts. 

“Excuse me, your name is Natsukawa, right? Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Rena looked up and found herself face to face with a cute girl with shoulder-length hair, adorned with an array of hair clips keeping her bangs out of her face. The girl smiled warmly as she introduced herself.

"I'm Agawa Umi, a second-year university student. I’m majoring in Japanese history."

Rena’s eyes lit up at the mention of history. “Yes, that's me. It's a pleasure to meet you! I'm also studying Japanese history. It’s great to meet someone who shares the same interests.”

Umi brightened at Rena’s sweet tone, feeling an instant connection. It made her even more eager to be friends with her. 

“Well,” Umi began, her enthusiasm bubbling over, “a few friends and I are going out to lunch at 2:30, and we’d love for you to join us!”

Rena paused, considering the offer. She had another class that didn’t end until three and explained this to Umi.

“That’s okay!” Umi shrugged. “We can wait for you. It’s no big deal to hang around for an extra half hour! Let me get your contact info, and I’ll send you the address.”

Rena handed her phone to Umi, who quickly entered her contact details.

“Let me know when you send the address!” Rena said with a smile.

A moment later, her phone pinged with a new message, and she looked up to give Umi a nod of acknowledgment.

“Perfect, I’ll see you there!” Umi grinned before shuffling off to her seat as class began.

Rena felt a sense of relief wash over her. The anxiety she’d been carrying about making friends started to fade. Now it was up to her to take that next step and meet some new people.

Three in the afternoon rolled around and Rena arrived at the diner. After a moment of searching the faces in the restaurant she spotted Agawa. She was waving her over while laughing with another classmate. Rena took a breath to steady herself, pushed the introvert in her aside, and made her way over to the table, smiling nervously. 

"Natsukawa! You made it!" Agawa exclaimed, waving excitedly as Rena approached. She quickly jumped into introductions, starting with herself. "As you know, I'm Agawa Umi, and I'm majoring in history. This is my best friend, Hikari," she added, gesturing to the girl beside her.

Hikari, with her sweet smile and warm demeanor, introduced herself as a business major. She looked Rena up and down before gushing, "You're even prettier up close. Are you from Tokyo, or Europe? You're just too adorable!"

The two girls peppered Rena with questions about her life, and she was surprised by how genuinely interested they seemed. She answered them one by one, explaining that she was from Hokkaido but had moved to Tokyo for school. She shared that she was majoring in Japanese history, and that her hobbies included reading, jogging, and practicing kendō. The more she spoke, the more impressed the girls seemed, and soon their questions turned playful.

"Okay, spill it," Umi teased with a grin. "Do you have a crush on anyone?"

Rena was caught off guard. She stammered, a wave of embarrassment washing over as she glanced to the side. "It’s complicated... I've only ever been on one date before," she mumbled. 

The girls immediately noticed her blush and began to giggle, playfully teasing her about her non-existent love life. Rena’s embarrassment only worsened as she ducked her head, pouting at their teasing.

“So there is a guy?” Hikari eventually broke the streak of teasing. "Does he live back in Hokkaido?"

Rena nodded, still avoiding their gazes. "He's happy with my friend Fuyuki. They started dating right before I left."

The girls' laughter faded as they realized the situation, and they quickly offered to buy her whatever she wanted to apologize for their teasing. Rena insisted she was fine, but her puffed-up cheeks and rosy complexion betrayed her feelings. They hadn’t meant to cause any distress— she knew they were only just trying to break the ice.

After a brief silence, Umi tried to steer the conversation away from crushes. "So, Rena, what do you hope to achieve with your degree?"

The abrupt change in topic threw Rena off for a moment, but she quickly composed herself. "Well, I don't have a specific plan yet. I just love Japanese history and wouldn't mind a research opportunity involving it."

She smiled shyly, fiddling with a strand of her hair as she spoke. Although the previous teasing had ended she was still feeling shy.. Umi and Hikari exchanged glances, still captivated by Rena's natural beauty.

Hikari squealed suddenly. "You must have been the absolute most beautiful girl at your school! I can't even with you!"

Rena’s face dropped in disappointment as the topic went back to her looks.. Everyone had always praised her  beauty but never saw the hard work she put in to be appreciated. She was more than a pretty face, but to not be rude she indulged the two.

Letting out a small huff, putting on a small and sweet smile; Rena laughed nervously and nodded.

"I was voted Beauty of Kitami Hokuryo High School two years in a row."

"I knew it!" Umi exclaimed. 

Agawa, detecting a shift in her demeanor, started asking Rena about her hopes for this year and what she wanted to accomplish. Rena perked up to this new direction. Agawa genuinely wanted to know something else about her and make sure that they were not just there to gawk at her. A brief bragging session revealed that Rena had been the top student since attending high school. She opened up more, detailing her plan on maintaining this title during university. Umi and Hikari listened intently, making sure she knew that they would be her immediate support system for their time together.

They dove deeper into their conversation, topics ranging from their personal interests to their families. Rena smiled, feeling more at ease. She was glad that she decided to come out to lunch with them, and laughed softly along with them. When they expressed their gratitude to her for coming, Rena just shook her head.

"No no, thank you for inviting a lonely loner like me along!”

Umi and Hikari made an exaggerated noise of protest, calling her out in a mock-scolding manner for calling herself a 'lonely loner’. Rena laughed again, a genuine laugh, at their antics.

It wasn't long before the girls realized that they had spent nearly two hours chatting, laughing and eating. Rena checked her phone as she was reminded that she had homework for the week to finish. She gathered her things and stood, smiling sheepishly.

"I'm sorry I have to leave to finish up a project, thank you for the food and the good time.”

Rena was packing up, just about to leave when she heard him. A brash, loud, familiar voice sounded from the entrance. The tone of this voice gave her goosebumps... She bristled and turned to look toward the source of it, recognizing the voice almost immediately. She let out a disgruntled sigh as she thought to herself: 'of course it's him..'

She glanced back toward her new friends, then back to see the stranger as he entered the diner. Her annoyance began to rise and she pursed her lips. Her new friends were surprised by the sudden change in her attitude, noticing the way she had stiffened up and her expression hardened at the sight of the stranger. Rena sat back in the diner booth wearing a sweet, albeit strained, smile.

Rena watched the stranger turn to look her way and stiffened a bit more, holding eye contact with him, returning his glare with her own. Then as quickly as he came in, he ducked to the bathroom with even greater speed. Rena kept her glare on the bathroom door as the girls looked at her in confusion.

“Natsukawa? Please tell me you don't know that guy,” Hikari pleaded. 

Rena explained how they bumped into each other when she first arrived in Tokyo and the encounter that followed. Her description of his rudeness and lack of tact was on brand according to Hikari. His name was Akimitsu and the general consensus was that he was trouble. She kept describing the rumors that went around about why he lashes out and how he was a general delinquent that attracts the wrong kind of attention.

“Everyone says he’s banned from using his family name because he brought shame to his household. His family is said to be loaded but he messed up big time. Now he preys on the weak to satiate some twisted desire.” 

Hikari sounded more like she was spreading gossip than telling facts, but Rena didn’t know what to believe. She took the information with caution since it was the only thing she had to go on.

“Are you sure that's correct?” Rena inquired further, a hint of concern in her voice, “He can’t use his family name…”

Hikari nodded, “No one around here knows his name, the only reason why I know it is because he used to date my other friend's sister. She never got his last name out of him.”

This information hit Rena hard, she was all about trying to earn praise from her strict family and get people around her to acknowledge her achievements. Akimitsu on the other hand seemed to be the exact opposite, out there presenting himself like the world around him didn't matter with little to no consideration for others. Rena started to imagine all the reasons a family would abandon a member. 

“Hey Natsukawa, you need to stay awa-”

Rena didn't hear the warning. She thought: even though he had lashed out at her, he was still a person in her eyes for the moment. A person that might be hurting. 

"Do you know why? Why don't they want anything to do with him? Anything specific?"

There was a hint of concern in her voice, which caught her off guard and confused her friends just as much. She shouldn’t have been feeling any sort of concern for someone that she didn't even know, especially after being cross with her. But since Rena had a lack of sense when it came to boundaries, she found herself wanting to know if the reason for his “punishment” was because of actions he took, or maybe some sort of misfortune fell upon him. 

“Rena,” Hikari warned, “You don’t want to get involved with him.Why don’t you just leave now while he’s in the bathroom? Don’t let him pull you in.”She nudged Umi to support her words of caution.

That was not an option however. She had already decided that she was not going to avoid him but rather ambush him and ask her question point blank. Getting up from the booth, she strode to a table by the bathroom door. 

He exited to find Rena was waiting for him, leaning on the edge of the table. Akimitsu appeared flustered for a moment but quickly shifted to glare at her, his facial features painting a general picture of discontent. She couldn't tell if he was uncomfortable with her presence or angry, but it didn't matter. She took a deep breath and met his eyes, her expression a mixture of annoyance, curiosity and a hint of concern. He didn’t yield to her scowl, so she took the opportunity to approach him and asked him to have a private word with her.

He was not prepared for her to invade his personal space, obviously becoming uncomfortable under her stare.. His initial shock waned into annoyance as he crossed his arms.

“What's your issue, pinky? Why do you want to talk to me all of a sudden? I would imagine someone as innocent looking as you would want to avoid someone like me.”

His quip about her hair broke her focus. She scowled at the new nickname he gave her and crossed her arms, her mood worsening at his statement. 

"Pinky? Excuse you, didn't your mother ever teach you how to talk to girls in a respectful way?" 

Akimitsu grimaced and turned away from her, his tone shifted as he replied, “I'm not discussing that with you…” His voice was shrinking and shaky. “Okay then… What do you want?” 

Rena was thrown off by his diffident response. Could it be that the topic of his mother was a touchy one? There was something about it that must explain his disposition. She needed to compose herself and pry, in high hopes to understand him. He couldn't just be this rotten, could he? Rena continued to look up at him, still frustrated, but her glare had faded to a soft look as concern started to win over. 

"I… I just..." She hesitated, thinking for a moment to find the words but they failed her. "I just… I wanted to ask why your family doesn't want anything to do with you…"

The words didn’t feel right as she spoke them. Akimitsu found the insinuation an affront, so much so that he crowded Rena, moving to glare directly into her eyes.. She became more flustered as closed in on her, her heart hammering in her chest as he was inches from her face. 

“I don't see how my family is any of your business.” He whispered in a hushed and rugged voice. “Now, run back to your gossiping… since that’s all you’re here for. Either that or you are genuinely insane.””

His initial response sent shivers down her spine, but his follow up made her upset. Rena's expression hardened as she frowned at his answer. Hikari was right. She shouldn't have tried to understand him, he was just rude and careless... But...why was she still feeling that tiny sliver of concern in her chest…

"Of course… Why did I even bother… You're just crass and arrogant." She started, gaining intensity but keeping her voice steady. “I was mistaken to think that you might have needed… Nevermind…”

She took a few steps back and looked away as her irritation rose again. She scoffed at her own foolishness. Why had she thought he was someone worth understanding? She remained silent for a few more moments, trying to collect her features into a neutral expression. She didn't want him to see her eyes tearing up, the conflicting feelings of contempt and empathy toward him battling inside her. 

In her attempt to regain her composure, she had failed to notice how her retort affected him.. She turned back to him, only to find Akimitsu surrounded by a now quiet and frightening aura. He closed the gap between them again, his eyes piercing her defenses.

“I don't care what you think of me. I don't care if I will never be what others want me to be.”

He said this so softly and cold-heartedly that Rena could not find any words to follow. All she saw was the daunting look on his face and what seemed to be a tear in his eye before he stormed out of the diner.

Rena's heart clenched a bit. She got a glimpse into what may be his own insecurities and something inside her was telling her to go after him, but she stood rooted to the spot, unable to move. She lost herself in thought: Why would he tell her that, if he truly did not care what she thought? She knew well enough about putting up a front, but it did not negate the fact that Akimitsu was still irritating to her.

Her new friends came up behind her to check in, she had been standing alone for a long while contemplating and organizing her thoughts. She turned to look at them, their eyes searching her face for answers. They were completely unaware of the inner turmoil she was currently facing, but could see the troubled expression flicker across her face for a moment.

Rena took a deep breath, steadying herself and put a small smile on her face, masking her conflicted thoughts. 

"Apologies for that… He’s just… He's really vexing…"

The girls looked at her for a moment, as if trying to determine if she was hiding something about the conversation from them. 

‘Vexing?’ They both thought, unable to decipher what she had meant. They snapped to and asked her to elaborate on what just occurred, they didn't want to eavesdrop and risk Akimitsu blowing a fuse if he caught them. 

“You two were speaking too softly, we couldn't hear anything. Did he threaten you at all?” Hikari asked with great concern. 

Rena assured them that he didn't say anything excessively mean, just lashing out at her invasive question. Agawa warned her that she needed to stay away from him and avoid him should she see him out in public again. Hikari agreed but had one more thing to add about Akimitsu.

“I'm honestly surprised he didn't try to hit on you or convince you to be his girlfriend. He’s always trying to go for the prettiest girls around. He’s really good looking but I could never deal with his personality.”

Agawa chimed back in to take the reins over Hikari’s tactless comment and suggested Rena go home and clear her head. They reassured her that they will get together again, soon. Rena grabbed her bag and bid her new friends farewell exiting the diner, her mind distracted and disquiet.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Masterlist | AO3

[m-lovers]

_supercute

[akiymgc]

[prettyboykatsuki]

HELP ME FIND A WAY TO BREATHE | M. FUSHIGURO

♡ tags ; afab + fem!reader, aged-up characters (20s), mutual pining, friends to lovers, canon-typical violence, canon divergent, sex pollen, dubious consent (they are both very enthusiastic to fuck but it is still sex pollen), brief one bed trope lol, light femdom, praise kink, penetration, unprotected sex / creampies, making out, not beta'd we die like [REDACTED MANGA SPOILERS] 18+

♡ wc ; 14.1k (???)

♡ a/n ; hello! happy june, and welcome to my first of three installments part of my @ficsforgaza intiative. please go check them out and join us in fundraising for the people of palestine.

no other really notes on this one other than it's egregiously horny and even more sappy. a super lovey-dovey pining fic. title from sleep walking by bmth

♡ synopsis ; megumi has loved you for as long as he's known you and then some - which is why he avoids going on overnight missions with you at all cost. he's going to kill gojo-sensei when he gets back.

“You should be more firm with Gojo-sensei about stuff like this,” Megumi leans back, eye twitching as he voices his complaints. “You know he always puts it on you because you won’t say no.”  

You’re sitting next to Megumi reclined in your seat. He doesn’t even have to turn his head to know what face you’re making - a forgiving smile, your eyes crinkled at the corner as you shrug unbothered.  

“It’s fine with me,” You turn your head to look at him a little better, pulling your eyes way from the window. “Just how it goes sometimes, you know? Plus, Sensei was nice enough to upgrade us and sending us on these expensive seats. When else are you gonna ride in one of these?”  

Your smile reaches your eyes, light filtering through the windows in quick motion bursts as you speed along the rails. Megumi knew that’s what you were going to say. He shakes his head.  

“Don’t make excuses for him,”  

“Don’t be so prickly,” You reprimand, a long sigh leaving your lips. You reach across the armrest and pat Megumi’s shoulder “If we finish up early, we should go sight-seeing. There’s lots of temples in Sendai I’ve never seen before.”  

Megumi doesn’t say anything to that. You haven’t moved your hand from his shoulder either. The touch is subconscious and friendly - and makes Megumi want to light himself on fire. He’s almost sure this is one of Gojo’s famous schemes, since there’s little to no reason he couldn’t handle a request like this one by himself. Or at least, Megumi could’ve gone alone and prevented himself from being alone with you on a trip for several consecutive days.  

(He’s got a special talent for avoiding this exact thing - always planning ahead and switching things around so this kind of incident never occurs. He’s had a ninety-nine percent success rate. Without Gojo’s meddling, it’d probably be one-hundred) 

There’s not a lot of information about the mission at present. The case files were barely filled out when he got them - only three papers tucked away neatly in a manila folder. On those pages are a few reports of cursed energy in the area and a map - outlining the general perimeter. From what intel the two of you do have, the concentration of said cursed energy in an abandoned commune. Megumi thinks it spells trouble, but some part of him is holding onto hope that it’s an easy to deal with curse. Something quick - so the two of you can be back on the next train ride to Tokyo.  

Pitiful yearning fills him when your hands float away from his shoulder and settle back into your lap. You’re lost in your own thoughts, eyes lidded as you stare outside of the window. He doubts you got much sleep last night. You always stay up before long trips. He sighs a little.  

“We’ve still got,” He checks his watch. “At least another hour and fifty minutes. Now’d be the time to get some rest.”  

You startle at the sound of his voice, a yawn escaping you. “No,” You whine, lips formed into a soft pout that makes the corners of Megumi’s lips twitch. “Won’t you be lonely without my company, Megumi-kun?”  

He gives you a long suffering sigh. “No. I have a lot to read. Get some sleep.”  

Your frown deepens but Megumi doesn’t budge. The both of you make prolonged eye-contact until you final give in after another yawn interrupts your protesting. Your eyes are barely open as is. How stubborn of you.  

“Wake me up like fifteen minutes before we’re there, please?” You relent.  

Megumi just nods. You smile at him and his heart beats loudly at the sight as you close your eyes and succumb to exhaustion. He starts scrolling on his phone, opening his library app to read when your head falls onto his shoulder. He goes stone stiff - body locking up and blood pressure sky-rocketing before he regains control of his senses and loosens his muscles so you don’t end up waking. He leans his head back against the cushion of the seat and takes a deep breath.  

His phone buzzes in his hand, mood dropping as soon as he sees who it’s from.  

don’t respond: my dearest megumi-chan ! have the two of you arrived safely? 

Megumi thinks about not responding, quickly reminded of the fact Gojo-sensei would not only keep texting him but abuse the ‘Notify Anyway’ option given half the chance. Ignoring the oncoming migraine, he types back carefully in order to leave you undisturbed.  

(sent 6:58pm) we’re on the train now.  

The reply is instant.  

don’t respond: oh my… how late. was there a delay.  

(sent 6:58 pm) yeah.  

don’t respond: tsk…why pay all that money for the good seats if this was the outcome... 

don’t respond: well. nothing you can do now. get a hotel in Sendai and check out the location during the day. 

Megumi squints at his phone, scowl forming instantly.  

(sent 7:02) a hotel?? what for??  

don’t respond: megumi-chan… i raised you better than this. you are going to let a beautiful young maiden walk around the dark unknown at night?  

He makes a face of disgust at the phrase. Not that Megumi thinks you aren’t beautiful, but hearing the sentiment from Gojo-sensei’s mouth is truly nauseating.  

(sent 7:02) … we’ll get the hotel. 

don’t respond: wonderful ! and if i may offer you some advice my dear boy  

(sent 7:03) please don’t.  

don’t respond: do not miss your chance ! this beautiful gift your sensei has bestowed upon you to make progress in your youthful love 

Megumi scowls. He knew that was it.  

(sent 7:04): You disliked “do not miss your chance ! this…”  

dont respond: [IMG ATTACHMENT]  

Megumi stares at the attached meme (a dog gyaru posing) with a grimace - no doubt borrowed from Itadori or Kugisaki. He frowns, disliking that one too before putting the messages between them on mute and opening the app to read his book. He’s been reading a lot of his usual nonfiction. Lately it’s an autobiography of a famous Japanese author - Soseki, the father of all modern novels. He’s gotten farther into it than he thought he would since he’s only had it for a few days. The writing is engaging.  

He bought it per your recommendation too, so he wants to finish it. The sudden memory of that makes Megumi blush again, his skin prickling under the fabric of his uniform. 

 You’re still sound asleep beside him, your breathing even and steady. If he focuses, he can see you clearly from the corner of his eyes. The soft plumpness in your lips, and each of your lashes sitting against your cheek. 

He keeps focused on reading, though - and prays that the train ride goes a little faster.  

__ 

“Hey,” His arm feels stiff as he moves it away from you gentle, making sure to keep your head upright and steady on the seats headrest as he wakes you from your sleep. “We’re almost here.”  

He sees your eyes stir behind your lids, nose crinkling as you regain consciousness. He’s grateful you can’t see him smile at you as you wake up. Quickly getting his face back to it’s baseline neutral, he waits for you to wake up as you pull away from him and sit up. You let out a long yawn, rubbing underneath your eye as to not smudge your makeup. Blinking the sleep away from your vision, you finally open your eyes. Megumi watches on in silence, trying not to look too endeared.  

“Good morning,” You say as a half joke. Megumi doesn’t bother hiding his laugh. 

“Morning.”  

You smile at him, pleased by his response. You pat around your body looking for your phone, visibly relieved when you find it. Megumi continues watching you as you pull it up, resting your hands on the pull-out table in front of you. You chuckle at your screen. Megumi raises his eyebrow in interest.  

“Did you talk to Gojo-sensei?”  

He nods. “Couple of hours ago. Why?” 

Instead of replying, you pull your notification center down and show Megumi the barrage of texts sent two hours-ish prior. Your phone must’ve been on DND while you were asleep since Megumi hadn’t heard them either. There’s at least ten messages. Megumi scowls in displeasure, and you break out into a terribly lovely laugh seeing it.  

“See what I mean? If you give sensei an inch, he’ll take a mile. Why is he texting you this student this much?” 

You can’t suppress your giggles. “Don’t be so hard on him. He’s a little lonely now that you’re old enough to do things by yourself - that’s all.”  

“Then he should bother me instead of you,” Megumi grumbles. Your smile doesn’t fade.  

“He texted you afterwards, so I guess it’s a start.”  

“Stop being so nice to him.”  

You laugh again. Megumi tries not to smile and ultimately succeeds.  

You study him for a brief moment before reclining a bit.   

“Guess I’ll have to be extra nice to you, then.”  

A blush crawls up the back of his neck almost instantly. Your grin has a crooked edge, a touch of mirth and amusement that makes Megumi want to crawl into somewhere dark and disappear. Warmth and restless makes home in his ribcage, your perception endlessly tormenting. You don’t tease him more than that, allowing Megumi catch his breath.  

“I don’t even know how that’d be possible.”  

“Really?” You say without missing a beat, not even looking at him as you gather up your things. “I can think of plenty of ways to be even sweeter to Megumi-kun, though?”  

He can feel the blush deepen. His cheeks are undeniably crimson by now, he’s sure - and he can barely stand the soft quality in your voice long enough to breathe. You’re still calm, the words genuine but undeniably tilted along the axis of teasing. If Megumi were any less stubborn, he might even beg you for mercy. He is, of course, incredibly bull-headed and refuses to do so. He huffs a little instead. 

“You make it sound like there’s some quota for it.” He says, kind of lamely. Your eyes flutter, something passing in your gaze - gone before Megumi can get hold of it and know what it is. You make an impassive noise, but don’t say anything in reply. Your non-answer makes him think that you might really have one. He tries not to blush any more than he is now and shakes the thought off.  

“You all ready to go?” You ask finally. He lets out a sigh of relief.  

“Yeah. Should be.” Megumi replies, looking down at his phone for the time. It’ll be closer to 9:30 by the time you get out of the station. “Dunno if you read Sensei’s messages but he told us to stay the night at a hotel first since it’s already this late and it’s nothing urgent.”  

Your brows raise in surprise before you nod. “That’s probably smart. As much I’d love to be done sooner, probably not the best idea to go lurking around in the night. We’ll do that, then.” 

“I’ll start looking at hotels,” Megumi adds.  

“Thanks for being so helpful, Megumi-kun.”  

He rolls his eyes. “Uh-huh. You’re welcome.”  

__  

“This is…really the only place with available rooming for tonight?”  

Megumi looks at you with an absent grimace, affirming you with a curt nod. You glance at each other, sharing mutual disbelief and basking in the solidarity of your absurd situation for a bit. A long silence stretches over you both, a weighted quiet that makes Megumi wish a giant curse would literally swallow him into the ground.  

He wishes he had some explanation for this. His name meaning blessing feels like a spit in the face given how deeply unlucky everything about this mission has been so far. 

Of all the hotels in Sendai, the only one within reasonable distance of your mission site that is accepting last minute is a love hotel. A love hotel is something of a non-issue. It’s a tourist misconception to view them as kinky paradises. More modern love hotels are usually just short stays - last minute bookings with cheap prices and always adult. The full blown kinky stuff tends to stay in the several entertainment districts scattered across Japanese metropolitans.  

It’d be nice if that was the case here, but based on various reviews and the neon flashing blue sign at the top of the building - this is definitely the kind of love hotel for couples. The kind used for sex. It’s the only one in proximity accepting last minute bookings, and the only hotel for miles. Megumi lets out a long suffering sigh. He can see you smiling sympathetically from the corner of his eye.  He pinches the bridge of his nose as a new wave of regret settles in his bones.  

“I’m sorry,” Megumi says, unsure of what else to say. He is truly and deeply sorry for the level of misfortune he seems to have around you. You shake your head in reply, shrugging.  

“Let’s make the best of it,” You respond, pausing before going on. “Sensei is going to be really annoying about seeing this charge on his card, huh?”  

Megumi must look as distraught as he feels because you laugh immediately at his expression. You squeeze his shoulder sympathetically, though you clearly find it funny. “Sorry, sorry. It’ll be fine. Maybe he won’t notice.”  

 Gojo-sensei tends to keep tabs whenever people are away on missions. It’s a common precaution for sorcerers, and when more experienced sorcerers relegate their own work - they are solely responsible for that task. Megumi can only hope he’s too busy to keep watch on it for the night. Realistically though, it means Sensei will definitely see.  

Megumi decides to overlook this information as best he can. At least for now. 

You trek into the hotel with your away bag, Megumi in-step behind you with his head hung low. 

It sounds corny to him retroactively (he can’t help but cringe when he says it aloud), but Megumi had foolishly hoped he could be somewhat useful to you in this mission. Every fight the two of you have been in together, you’ve saved Megumi’s skin at least once. He’s incredibly aware of the increasing debt between you. Thank you’s and paid dinners stopped being enough a long time ago. He wasn’t…hoping to be a knight in shining armor or anything like that - but he really wanted to do more this time since you’re already going together.  

You probably understood that talking to the front desk in these conditions would give him a hernia and took the responsibility on without complain. You make these acts of consideration look easy and natural - smooth like the flow of water. Megumi has yet to learn how to swim against the tide instead of getting swept up in its motion.  

Despite Megumi’s countless attempts at repaying your kindness, he’s never been able break even. He reflects on this as you speak to the woman at the front desk.  

The lobby of Hotel:SAPPHIRE is exactly what someone might expect from an actual love hotel. The lights are dim even up front and there’s a lot of glittery, mildly gaudy decor. Aside from the front desk, the first floor hosts some kind of amenities store and a lounge or bar.  

 Megumi’s awareness of his surroundings is making his blush worse. He’s not concerned by being seen in a love hotel, as much as he’s hung up on the idea that people are assuming you’re both a couple. Rationally, he knows that means nothing. You’re two people of the opposing gender and similar age - of course people would think that.  

Still, it makes him so…ugh…shy, he could genuinely die of misery.  

He tries his best to zone out, but ultimately can’t. He tunes in to listens to you talk to the woman at the front desk instead.  

“There’s probably no double beds here, huh?” You ask. The woman at the front desk gives you a confused look of both sympathy and apology. You shake your head with a pleasant smile.  

“Yeah. I thought so. What’s the nicest room you have?”  

“We have a queen room, with a queen bed, couch and a jacuzzi. It has one of our more spacious bathrooms as well.”  

Megumi closes his eyes. Your reply is chipper. “Sure! We’ll take that one.”  

“And how long will you be staying?”  

“About five days?”  

His eyes snap open. Megumi gives you an incredulous look from where he’s standing. You turn back with a small smile as if having predicted it and then shrug again.  

“I still wanna go sightseeing.”  

He can’t say anything to refute you in the moment, despite how much he’d like to push back on the idea. You’re definitely enjoying yourself, at least. Maybe he should’ve expected that. You’re not exactly the type to get easily embarrassed. Even getting the words of complaint out feel too humiliating given the context. He sighs.  

“Whatever,”  

The woman at the front desk, increasingly baffled by the nature of your relationship, puts you down for five days before handing you two room cards.  

She briefly explains some of the perks, and gently points you to the small store which freely offers things like lube, condoms, scented lotions and oils, and bath products. It’d be great if some meteor hit Earth right now and killed him (and only him) instantly. You give her your kindest thanks and take the two room cards, turning around to pass one over to Megumi. He gives you a long look. You reply with two thumbs up and goofy grin.  

“Let’s go to the little store place!”  

“Why the hell would you want to do that” Megumi hisses, blushing profusely. You are predictably nonplussed by his reaction.  

“I want to see the scented lotions. A souvenir. If you will.” 

It’s truly imperative to to him in that moment he remembers how often you’ve saved him from mortal peril. He relents easily after that, trailing along behind you.  

It’s less of a store and more of a display case of possible lewd items on four sides of a centered wall, with just enough space to walk around. Megumi stonewalls as soon as the two of you are within five feet of it. You take your time looking through the different thing and snickering at the display case.  

At one point, you tug Megumi’s sleeve and snap him out of his trance. He begrudgingly follows your gaze, eyes widening at the display case of condoms. There are so many condoms. He didn’t even know they made that many kinds.  

“Maybe we should bring one? You know, just in case.” You do a stupid wiggle with your eyebrows. Megumi is painfully aware it’s just jokes, closing his eyes with a deep sigh, elbowing you lightly.  

“Fuck off.” 

Your voice is sing-songy as you continue your tirade.  

“You never know, Megumi! What if end up in a condom emergency trying to fight curses?”  

“Please shut up.”  

Your laughter sounds again behind your closed fist, but you’re merciful and turn the corner to look at everything else.  

You indeed pick up two scented lotions and a bath bomb before you finally agree to retire to the room.  

__  

Megumi is rendered speechless when you finally unlock the door to your room.  

He isn’t sure why. He should’ve expected much worse.  

The room is big as promised. Probably three times the size of his own dorm at Jujutsu Tech. There’s one bed in the middle (certainly king-sized, not queen) - with a couch and glass table adjacent to it along the back wall. The couch is upholstered with a creaky, gold fabric and the walls are painted mostly white with the exception of one wall being painted sapphire blue, decorated with a rose mural. The throw pillows and complimentary blanket share a familiar loud pattern, incorporating all three colors and stitched with gold threads.  

There’s rose petals everywhere. On the bed, floor, and the table. The glass table accompanying the couch even has two champagne flutes and complimentary bottle to go along with it. There’s a present box on the bed, wrapped in shiny white wrapping paper and a sickly sweet, red bow.  

Megumi doesn’t want to know what’s inside.  

You shut the door behind him after dragging in the rest of your luggage.  

The two of you take in the view together for a minute before Megumi hears you break out into a long fit of laughter, making him jolt. He looks over at where you’ve dropped down into a squat, giggling hysterically beside him. He feels suddenly winded from the days events as you break the tension.  

After you gather yourself you stand to your feet and look at him warmly, wiping tears from the corners of your eyes. Megumi wishes he could take it as easy as you.  

“Ahh…hehehe..” You put a hand over your mouth trying to suppress the sound as you turn away. “Okay, sorry. Uhm. Hah. Do you want to shower first or should I?”  

Megumi responds reflexively. “You can shower first.”  

You nod, yawning as you stretch your arms up. He forces himself not to look at the way your shirt rides up over your stomach. Patting his shoulder after collecting yourself, you shoot him a tired but reassuring smile. At least he knows you’re both exhausted.  

“Thanks, Megumi-kun. Do me a favor and order room service, please? I’m starving.”  

He nods. “Do you want to look at the menu?”  

You wave your hand dismissively, taking your bag and turning to the bathroom. “I trust you know me well enough to know what I want.”  

The instant preening internally makes Megumi want to crawl in a hole. He’s glad you can’t see him.  

“Yeah. Go shower, already.”  

“Mm,” You make a noise as you stretch. “Will do.”  

__  

The room is unnaturally dim.  

There’s a movie playing in the background as both you and Megumi sit on the bed. You’re doing some work on your laptop - typing in short bursts every few minutes. Megumi has no idea what you’re working on. You’re oddly meticulous with paper work but aside from the disaster of finding room and board - there isn’t anything to report on.  

Whatever it is though, you’ve been working on since you finished dinner an hour ago - nursing your beer while typing away.  

Megumi glances at you from the corner of his eyes, heart unfairly racing at the lack of distance between you. He really should be past this. Your skin is damp from the shower and you smell like the scented lotion from earlier which makes him feel weird and warm. He decided to drink with you, but his tolerance is much worse than yours so he feels a little tipsy. He isn’t sure if that’s better or worse. Dealing with everything sober hasn’t been very fun.  

He’s staring at you openly but you’re too preoccupied to take notice. He’s kind of grateful. His fingers tap the sides of his can as his eyes flits up to the cheap action movie playing on the TV.  

After a little longr, you stretch your arms over your head and shut your laptop. 

“All done with your work?”  

You blink rapidly, momentarily taken aback before smiling. “Yeah. Finally.”  

“What were you actually doing?” 

“Started on the report and then dug around some old archives for information on the commune.”  

“Did you find anything?”  

You laugh humorlessly. “More or less? But nothing we couldn’t have figured out on our own. The commune was more like a curse cult but it ran functionally for almost ten years. They did some type of curse breeding.”  

“Curse… breeding? As in like…?” Megumi asks, making a face.  

“It’s what it sounds like? I think. There’s not really any more information. The uploaded documents were barely legible. How it works, why they did it, and if it was effective - we have no information on that. Just that there was some powerful curses in the area in the late nineties.”  

“In the nineties? So it’s been what, decades since any activity? Why now?”  

You shrug. “Best guess is that the sudden uptick in tourism caused it. You know, Sensei had some business in Sendai a few years back. It was right before Itadori-kun got hold of Sukuna I think. It’s not impossible for all of it to be connected.”  

Megumi sighs. “Don’t know if that makes it better or worse.”  

“I want to look into Gojo-sensei’s case right now but,” A yawn interrupts your train of thought. “We’ll need to be up and at ‘em early tomorrow.”  

“Right,” He says, immediately preparing to sleep on couch and praying you won’t notice. “Goodnight, then -“  

His plans are foiled fast of course. Before he can get up, you tug at the sleeve of his robe. Your face is flush from beer and sleep. You’re so effortlessly alluring to his brain he’s irritated. The motion picture casts a soft glow on your features, picturesque in how pretty you seem to be with no effort.  

“Where are you going?”  

“To sleep on the couch.”  

“I can’t let you do that,” You shake your head. Megumi says nothing. “I’ll take the couch.”  

He purses his lips. “Did you think I was gonna say yes to that?”  

You press your lips into a flat line. “No…not really. But.. I can’t let you sleep on the couch. It’ll be a long day and you need rest,” You smile at him sleepily “I don’t mind sharing the bed.”  

“Absolutely not,” He replies instantly. You pout at him. Damn it. 

“Megumi-kun, please? We can just put one of the pillows between us.”  

Megumi stares at you with a hardened brow. He knows from experience that a pillow would barely resolve the issue. A lesson he learned at fifteen where a similar incident had you both sleeping in the same tent.  

You move in your sleep. A lot. As a result, fifteen year old Megumi spent an entire night with you, paralyzed by the lack of distance and missing an entire night of sleep. Every muscle in his body in his body had set rigid like early onset rigor mortis from stress that night.  

He barely slept. Worse, the next morning Sensei had practically harassed him about his disheveled state. Megumi couldn’t look you in the eye for the rest of the mission, though he got over it eventually. Only because you seemed very troubled when he didn’t talk to you.  

You’re making a similarly distressed expression now at the thought of making Megumi sleep on the couch. He winces, swayed with embarrassing ease. The feeling fades after he sees how brightly you smile.  

“Thank you,”  

He wants to ask why you’re thanking him, but doesn’t know if he can handle hearing the answer so he says nothing. You turn the TV off and finish your beer and toss the can before returning to bed and undoing the covers. Megumi sits on the edge, watching as you rearrange the various pillows. You place a body pillow in between the both of you and fluff up another pillow to give to Megumi. You smile as you hand it to him, and he takes it with a soft blush.  

He reminds you to go brush your teeth and watches you pad off to go do it, sighing and trying to meditate before it’s his turn to do the same. The alcohol is wearing off quicker than he hoped.  

The room is nearly pitch black except for a single dim light when Megumi comes back from the bathroom. You’re already in bed, and you smile when Megumi emerges with a stupidly cute giggle following. He’ll never get used to you, he’s sure.  

Megumi craws into bed beside you. The bed is wide and spacious - and there’s plenty of room seperating you. He isn’t any less self-conscious of the fact he’s still sleeping in a bed next to you though, for better for worse.  

“Night, Megumi.” You mumble, barely awake. You’ll fall asleep fast. Megumi reaches over and turns off the lights.  

“Night.”  

He lays in the dark, facing the other wall and waiting for your breathing to go even. Compelled to turn towards your back, Megumi does so as quietly and unobtrusively as possible. He can make out your silhouette in the dark, tracing the outline of your shoulder with his eyes as he continues to feel incredibly nervous and lovesick. He’s been pining like this for so long, he finds it pathetic.  

 You’re less than a few feet away but he can barely bring himself to look at you. Oddly overwhelmed, he lets his eyes close and tries his best not to think too much about the next few days.  

__  

Against all odds, Megumi sleeps well and wakes up feeling better.  

You, of course, moved around a bunch in your sleep - ending up on his side of the bed with a single arm thrown across his waist and your face in his chest. He woke up earlier than you, thankfully - and carefully pried himself from your touch to take a cold shower in the bathroom and not die of embarrassment at the resulting morning wood. 

You were awake by the time he got out. After you were both ready for the day, you ate breakfast together and had coffee before leaving the hotel. The whole situation was more embarrassing during the daylight.  

Your hotel is a twenty minute drive from the site location of the mission. A quick taxi cab ride to a small temple. Navigating isn’t exceptionally difficult. The temple itself is somewhat obscured, not marked on any online maps. It’s well known locally though, enough that a taxi driver could take them towards the bottom of the hill where it’s located. It’s listed as a temple, but on further inspection it’s a small and worn shrine. The details about the shrines origin or history are unclear even.  

After arriving, you were both relying on the provided map. The commune itself is away from civilization. A couple hundred meters Northeast from the temple sight is a path through the forest - leading out to the clearing where the commune is supposedly located.  

The communes ruins are a one straight distance after that. If someone was taking a short hike, it wouldn’t be hard to find.  

So it isn’t difficult to find for the two of you either.  

Megumi’s shikigami follow along side him, divine dog sniffing along the trail. You’re up front, checking the path and making sure the trail is correct, as well taking notes for your report later on.  

You turn your head and share a look with Megumi - no doubt feeling the same thing he does. There’s cursed energy around here, but it’s weird and hard to trace. Neither him nor the Shikigami can make sense of exactly where it’s coming from.  

Eventually, you come across stone - laid deliberately like a pathway, and glance at Megumi with hopeful eyes.  

A clearing comes in view. Ruins, with cursed energy brimming somewhere within them fall into his sightline. It’s a bigger location that Megumi thought it’d be - stretching out far despite hosting so few residents. There are dilapidated cabins and other buildings, the place filled with overgrowth and ivy. Shattered windows, graffiti, and trash affirm to Megumi that this place was found by other people at one point or another.  

Megumi stands besides you as you assess the situation, silently taking the lead. You step forward, further in. A sigh leaves your lips as you turn to Megumi.  

“We’re here but,” You scratch the back of your neck. “What to do now is…”  

“What are you thinking?”  

You sigh. “Part of me wonders if we should split up to check the buildings, but the information is so vague that I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”  

“It’s fine.” Megumi assures. He’s not thrilled but splitting up for now is the best course of action. He can handle himself. He’s sure you’re worrying about that. “As long as we can hear each other, it should be fine.”  

Your concern muddles your features, brows drawn together as you frown. You relent eventually though. Megumi feels the corners of his mouth twitch up at how long you think about it.  

“Okay then,” You use your fingers to point towards the left half, right at what looks like an abandoned dormitory. “I’ll go look in there. Megumi-kun can go that way. And if anything sticks out, call for me immediately.” 

“Don’t worry so much.”  

“If it’s Megumi, I can’t help but worry,” Your reply comes in the same beat. He feels himself blush, casting his gaze to his Divine Dog with a frown.  

“I’ll be fine so let’s hurry up and look around already.” 

You still hesitate to part ways with Megumi, but you budge eventually. He waits for you to summon protection for yourself, watching in awe as you unzip a deck of cards from the side pocket of your uniform. Beautiful, steel enforced hanafuda cards shine in the daylight. You shuffle them with your eyes closed, feeling along the backs for the right one before sliding the set back into your uniforms compartment.  

You make a gesture to follow along with the command two-handed tanzaku, ten points - and Megumi watches the curse manifest around your arms. A strand of bi-colored tanzaku paper appears in your hand, razor-sharp with cursed energy. You coil it around your wrist before turning to Megumi with a small smile.  

Despite how often he’s seen you do it, the appreciation in your face at the newly summoned curse make his emotions bubble and swell with impossible longing.  

“Let’s meet back here if we get lost,” You say precariously. Megumi huffs.  

“We won’t get lost. It’s barely that far.”  

You pout at him. “It’s better to be safe then sorry.”  

He wants to ask when you’re doing when you drop down to your knees - but the words die in his throat as your hand comes up to pet his shikigami affectionately. You give it a small smile. “Please take care of Megumi-kun in my absence.”  

The Divine Dog lets out a pleased chuff that makes you smile.  

“….We’ll be fine,” He says - because as much as he would like to make fun of you for it, he finds it all terribly cute. You stand back up to your feet, seemingly more reassured. That’s good at least. “I’ll go ahead, then.”  

Megumi turns to leave before you can get another embarrassing word in edgewise, blush crawling up against his skin. Once he hears your foot steps fall lighter and lighter in the opposite direction, he takes moment to steel himself and prepare for the mission.  

It’s easier to tear his mind away from you when the threat of mortal peril looms - so for once, Megumi is just a little grateful to be a sorcerer.  

He takes a better look at his surroundings, shikigami sniffing along the crumbling pathways of the ruined commune and searching for a scent. It’s a strange place with a strange aura, aside from the curse. There’s not much way to describe other than tiny village. The half you’ve gone to explore seems to be nothing but houses and communal living - with some kind of central house if Megumi had to guess based on it’s layout.  

Where Megumi is walking along though seems to be amenities. On the right is open space - rustic wood stakes stuck into the ground with clothes-wire with a rotted fence separating it from another big patch of dirt. There’s signs tacked onto some of the structural poles along the outside, but they’re too dirty for Megumi to read. It’s easy to tell from how crude everything is that all of it was hand-made.  

On the left of him are storage sheds and old-crates that have somehow stood the test of time - covered in dust and dirt and moss. One of the storage sheds has a completely collapsed roof 

It’s entirely uninteresting, and that feels unsettling. The cursed air still lingers, but the familiar acrid scent doesn’t seem to be there. It’s something else, something new - and it’s simmering under the surface. Neither he nor his Shikigami seem to pick up on anything clearly. 

After a few minutes of walking, Megumi thinks they start to close in on the end of the trail. His shikigami suddenly comes to life. He looks forward.  

At the end of the trail, obscured by more forest and trail is a greenhouse. It’s made with all glass, and there’s moss and condensation surrounding it. Something about it feels alive, but Megumi can’t tell if that’s just his well-developed paranoia.  

“Go find her,” Megumi says. The shikigami makes an affirmative noise and darts off in the opposite direction as Megumi closes into the building and surrounding structures.  

The front door of the structure is pried open and pushed against the wall. It’s an interesting shape - a half-dome and much bigger than how it looks from the outside when Megumi steps in. Too big. It’s weird.  

All of the hair stands on the back of Megumi’s neck as he stands inside of it. He fits with plenty of space to move his limbs. There are raised beds along both sides of the facility - the material boxing them in now covered in dirt and dust. Overgrowths and some kind of small plant crush underneath his feet and surround him. It smells… sweet. Very sweet but distantly. Megumi can’t figure out what it is. Towards the back are gardening tools and a table with things on it.  

It’s here. This is the center of whatever unusual cursed energy he’s been feeling since they’ve been within one-hundred feet of this place. It’s in here, surrounding him.  

His skin starts to feel hot. He figures the presence of the glass might be concentrating sunlight and brushes it aside.  

He doesn’t get much time alone in his assessment of the place. A few minutes pass before you find him again, smiling at him upon your return. Megumi’s heart does a soft pitter-patter as you enter, his shikigami proudly behind you. There’s a sudden leap in his affection laying eyes on that doesn’t make sense. It’s unusual and unprofessional for him to get so caught up on it during a mission. He’s had enough with you to know how to tamp the feeling down. He has a hard time with it this time thought but shakes it off.  

“Did you find anything?” Megumi asks. Your tanzaku is wrapped around your wrist like a bracelet, Megumi notices.  

“Yeah, actually. Notes. I didn’t get much time to check and a lot of them were too water-damaged to read, but I think curse breeding might’ve been an inaccurate,” You say, scratching the back of your neck. “It seemed like something else. With different kinds of cursed energy, or something to create more output.”  

Megumi doesn’t know what that means, and it must show on his face because you laugh in understanding. “Yeah. It wasn’t clear to me either but I haven’t seen everything yet. I thought I should come here first so we can expel whatevers here.”  

“That’s the problem, though.” Megumi says. “Can’t figure out what exactly is here. The cursed energy is…”  

“Obscured,” You say easily. Megumi nods.  

“Exactly,”  

“Never seen anything like this before, honestly.”  

Megumi is surprised by that. You’ve been a special grade for a long time, the extent of your abilities equal to Okkotsu-senpai He doesn’t know how worried he should be. You’re focusing hard as you look around. 

He tries to do the same, wants to contribute more to the conversation but his mind feels strangely cloudy. He slept well he thought. Maybe the heat is bothering him more than expected. The uniforms have always been stuffy during summer.  

You step around around him to look at your surroundings better, but find the same problem.  

After a minute or two of aimlessly searching, something seems to click in. You drop down to your knee. Your fingers caress whatever is sprouting in the ground underneath you. Plucking one from the soil, you bring it up to your face and frown. You’re gentle with the petals. It looks like a clover of some kind, but the color is too bright - more like a small flower maybe. He’s never seen anything like it.  

Megumi feels his skin go hot again watching you touch it. It’s odd. Too sudden and almost nonsensical, how much magentism he feels towards your innocuous gesture.  

There’s another shift in the air, deliberate - and something moves underneath Megumi’s feet. Your voice is panicked as some sudden realization dawns on you, his shikigami barks loudly.  

Everything moves around him in a daze. His ears are ringing suddenly, heart thumping hard against his chest as the flowers beneath him move and distort into tendrils, curling around his ankles.  

“Megumi-kun, we have to get out of here. We have to—“  

Your words are cut short before he can heed them. A scream rips from his chest as the ground opens up and swallows him whole. 

__ 

He falls for a long time. It seems endless.  

His voice is trapped in his throat, despite his attempts to scream. His body weightless, crashes through empty space for what feels like hours. Despite the situation, all Megumi can worry about is you. You aren’t falling beside him though he’s sure you came in together. The whole that ripped the ground was too big for that not to be true. The thought of you dying is so familiar, but it makes Megumi want to throw up mid-air.  

The crash comes eventually. Bracing himself for impact as he falls backwards , he lands onto something like grass. It’s not painful in the least. His skin prickles at the sensations surrounding him. Saccharine sweetness distorts the air, an artificial scent clogging his lungs as he gasps and opens his eyes.  

He senses a presence next to him and turns to find you beside him in the grass. His body aches, both wanting to find relief in the fact you’ve appeared beside him and feeling uncertainty at the same fact. Cursed energy seeps through every inch of this place, and part of him worries you’re some kind of illusion or mirage. Regardless, he calls out for you and hopes you’ll answer.  

“Hey,” He tries saying your name but you don’t budge. He nudges your arm but retracts just as quickly, hissing - the sensation making his skin burn at point of contact. A hole sears in your uniform where he touches you. “Wake up, shit. Please wake up.”  

After another minute, your eyes open. Megumi lets out a breath he wasn’t aware he’d been holding. You groan as you sit up. Megumi sits up with you.  

“Fuck,” Your voice is thick as you sit with one leg up, a pressing a knuckle to your temple. “My head is pounding.”  

Megumi makes a noncommittal noise. “Yeah. I can’t tell what kind of domain this is.”  

“These were just apart of the curse, then. I felt something off of them but..,” You pick a flower up from the grass and it..moves. He frowns. “They must just be apart of the domain. Which means there’s a special grade behind this.” 

Right. Megumi has been too hung up on everything else to make proper note of that. He rubs the back of his neck as he tries to absorb his surroundings. The air around him is hazy pink. He can’t acclimate to it, breathing shallow. From the flower-curse you picked, to the plants on the trees nearby. It’s lush and humid, but the makeup in the surroundings is dreamlike. A woodland forest of some kind, maybe. There’s a waterfall and round body of water, a short distance away and trees on every side. It’s alarming in how beautiful it is, disconcerting since the cursed energy inside is potent enough to make all the hair on Megumi’s neck stand straight.  

“My, my. What delicious sorcery I’ve stumbled upon,”  

Megumi looks around to try to find the source of the voice but comes up with nothing. You and Megumi share a look in silent understanding.  

“An unregistered Special Grade in the underground of Sendai.” Your voice is resolute. It sounds so different to how you usually speak, firm and cold. “How did you obscure your cursed energy like this.”  

“So many questions. Don’t be so hostile to your host,” The voice is soft and feminine but deeply distorted at the same time. Grating. “I’m a benevolent spirit, little sorcerer - so I won’t kill you right away. Keep in mind you are in my domain. To attack me would be unwise. And I promise, you’ll feel good until the very end.”  

You quiet, assessing the situation. There’s so little about the curse that either of you can make out. The curse is intelligent enough to bargain - to reason, which means the danger you’re both in is substantial enough to be incredibly cautious. You realize it quickly, Megumi is sure. He shoots you a look, your brows furrowed as you try to make everything make sense.  

“What are you after?”  

“You must know, little sorcerer. Human desire is filthy thing. Money, power, fame.” The air changes around you - flowers besides you blooming higher and higher until you’re all but surrounded. The sickly sweet scent becomes stronger and headier. Megumi’s lungs fill with the strange gas, burning the back of his throat. He coughs, trying to expel it. “What beautiful curses are born from pent-up and unspoken wants.”  

“Fuck this is so irritating,” You seem to be in a similar condition, holding up your first to your mouth as you cough along side him 

“Human beings are so foolish in the face of lust, so inducing such a fever is easy. But the results can be so lackluster.” The curse is taunting, giddy at the prospect of you. “How lucky and I to come across such talented jujutsu sorcerers with such ripe energy, hm?’ 

“An underhanded method like this,” You talk mostly to yourself. “Your physical form must be weak, then. To obscure yourself inside of your domain.”  

Megumi can feel the cursed energy amplify, a sneer in the Special Grade’s voice.  

 “How clever.” It remarks sarcastically. “But not clever enough. It’ll be staring any minute now. Fight it to your hearts content, little sorcerer. I’m looking forward to the show.”  

It’s only a split second before the heat starts to sink into Megumi’s body. He burns so intensely, so suddenly - it makes every other sensation feel trivial. It’s painful, searing, and all-consuming. Breathless, he feels his vision blur as a strong wave of physical arousal completely dominates him. It’s like an injection, nerves on high alert as he pulls at the neck of his uniform and gasps. The flowers surrounding you bloom into something grotesque, an open mouth in the center hissing out more of the pink hazy gas that’s surrounding you before turning again, until you can barely see a few feet away from each other. Megumi can feel the cursed energy course through his body, like pure fire in his blood stream. His cock is hard as steel, makes him feel like he’s going to pass out if he doesn’t touch himself.  

Forcing himself to remain steady for as long as he can, he searches for you. Your condition isn’t better as you lean back on your palms - your chest heaving in out as visible arousal paints your face. You share the same pain, the same lust, the same fever. The thought of it makes Megumi’s cock stir again shamefully.  

“I’m sorry,” Megumi can barely make out his voice. It’s so painful. His entire body feels like it’s screaming but  he can’t bear the idea of forcing you to touch him. These conditions, this situation - this terrible heat. Whatever loose threads of rationale are keeping him afloat in these few minutes are begging him to find a way out of this. 

He knows it’s the circumstances. No one understands things like this more clearly than him but he feels deep resentment anyway. Mostly towards himself. “I’m sorry.. aah, fuck - I don’t want to force this.”  

“Megumi-kun.” You manage to voice some of your lucidity like he has, the brunt of it closing in. He feels like he’s only deluding himself, biting the inside of his cheek hard enough to draw blood. “Come here.” 

“No,” He almost screams it. He wants too. But he can’t find his voice to speak to you like that. He hopes the urgency reaches you. “I’m sorry. Shit, shit—”   

He doesn’t want to shatter the thing he’s so desperately protected - to ruin the relationship he’s felt so precious about so many years of his life. He doesn’t want it to happen this way. He can feel the self-loathing as he bites his tongue. 

 He’s dreamed of it so often, to touch you and kiss you and hold you. But at the hands of a curse feel so unfair.  

“It’s okay,” Your voice is so soft - a salve to his nerves. A balm to ache of his whole life, calm and smooth and so kind. He burns so deeply he wants to scream.  Your expression is somber but still assured. “It’s okay. It hurts right? So it’s fine.”  

He closes his eyes. Such a pure despair. Fuck. Tears well up his vision. The pain is unbearable without you. Perhaps it’s always been that way.  

“Please,”  

A desperate attempt to no one to wake up from this.  

“Megumi-kun,”  

It’s the sound of your voice, calling his name so assuredly even in the face of death, that finally makes Megumi shatter. The heat overtakes him. Posesses his sense and forces  him onto you like a lifeline.  

He throws himself at you in the grass, almost knocking you back with the force of his body. Both hands clasp your face as he presses his lips with yours with nothing but desperation. It’s less of a kiss and more of crash landing. He can feel his own conflict stirring inside of him but the relief of your touch drowns out his surroundings. All else in the world becomes silent except the taste of your mouth and the feeling of your face. How much he’s longed to this very thing, dreamed of it. Years. Over a decade of his life hiding in your beautiful shadow.  

You pull away from Megumi with a gasp and your face makes his entire body jolt. A flush dusts along your cheekbones as your hands reach for his shoulders. His head feels light. He can feel his cock twitch at the contact, suddenly gaining awareness of just how hard he is.  

“Megumi-kun,” You sound so serious it jolts him awake. His eyes open wide as he watches you undress hastily. You’re stumbling in your movements as you take everything off as quickly as you can - grabbing Megumi by the collar as he sits stiffly. “Take it off. All of it. Now, please.”  

At his wits end, he does. His hands tremble. His rational mind is fighting him at every gesture but his clothes feeling so constraining, binding him. His skin prickles, an itch skipping over his whole body as he takes everything off as fast as his hands allow. His vision is distorted from the heat. His uniform is sticky as he peels it off, drenched in sweat. He doesn’t see where they go, only feeling the relief as they come off his body. He looks for you unconsciously, immediately wanting to pull away from you as he finds you naked. The feeling is so primal it strikes fear in him. Another wave of unimaginable want pours over his skin like magma spilling across rock.  

He can’t count how much time he’s spent shamefully wondering what you look like naked. You exceed his expectations just like always, unbearably gorgeous. Soft edges and curves, scars and stretch marks - so unfairly enticing to his senses. He groans at the sight of you, eyes lidded in unadulterated, carnal want as you crawl over to him.  

Your hand pushes his shoulders back lightly towards the bed of grass underneath you both, until he’s flat on his back. He’s overwhelmed  when you crawl on top of him. You’re fever-sick just like he is, and Megumi is sure that you’re in just as much pain. 

But the face you make when you look like you want him is so fucking unfair.  

You’re beautiful and tricky and cunning and Megumi wants and wants and wants. Wants so fucking bad he might die, wants you so bad the heat in his body threatens to kill him without you. He needs you to touch him. Needs to feel your pretty hands slide across his body and touch whatever you want. 

 You lean forward to kiss him again much harder then before. Desperation makes kissing feel so pleasurable, so good. You feel so damn good. His mind is a blank slate, your tongue carving his wants into, rewiring his conscious to pine after you until the end. Your lips are soft - pillowy and plush against his own despite how much the kiss feels like little more but tongue and teeth. He wants to forfeit it all for the sake of this lasting a little longer, just as he has his entire life.  

Your existence a proof of his namesake - tongue and taste a blessing.  

Your body is soft and hot against Megumi’s skin but together the temperature cools comfortable. It’s sensual how slippery the sweat makes your bodies as you rub against each other. A mutual oasis, your tits squish along his abs and chest as Megumi holds you tight. Each time your nippls brush, his cock floods with precum.  

You slip your tongue into his mouth, and kiss Megumi sloppily. His cock pulses awake at the wetness, a strong wave of arousal backing him into a corner. Your pussy is barely hovering against his cock but Megumi strains. It gets pulled from him, an involuntary reaction. Cum spurts out of him, splashing up against your skin - dripping as it sticks to your pussy in hot spurts. He groans into your lips.  

“Did you cum from us kissing?” You ask, your voice completely gone. It’s you but it’s not. It matters but it doesn’t.  

He makes an affirmative noise and you giggle into his mouth, teeth bumping together as you kiss more. “Megumi-kun is cute.”  

He’s still so painfully hard. Electricity flares through everyone of his nerves as he slides just barely against your cunt. Fuck. You’re so wet. It feels so good it makes Megumi want to buck his hips and be inside of you already. Impatience makes his grip on your hips tight. His brain feels like it’s weighted with lead. He’s losing himself, losing his fucking mind like this. You taste sweet against his tongue as you sink your pussy down and grind against his length. You’re throbbing so hard Megumi can feel every pulse, the desperate spasming of your sex approaching orgasm.  

The filthiness of your arousal mixing together makes Megumi’s cock twitch against your clit hard. You moan loudly into his mouth and the sound sends him over edge, a life-time of pining make it hard to breathe as you take initiative and pleasure yourself with his body. He’s incredibly eager to allow you. Over and over, you slide your soft pussy over the length of his cock and balls - aimlessly covering it with slick, hips rutting and shivering with motion. Drools drips along the corners of your lips as you kiss him.  

He already wants to cum again, wants to take you in such a primal way it makes him dizzy. He feels whole thinking about what it might feel to cum so deeply inside of you. He’s thought about before, but the thought holds so much more weight in the state of his fever.  

But now it’s the only thing he wants. His teeth ache at the mere prospect. Of filling your pussy with his cum until it overflows and drips. Wants to see it pulse and push and spill and fuck it into you at your request. He wants to hear you praise him for it just like he always does, the desire much stronger than ever. Easier to admit in this curse induced sex.  

You’re breathless as you orgasm above him, on top of him - sliding along his cock and soaking his lower half with stickiness of your pussy. You pull away from his mouth to laugh delightfully. He’s so hard. He wants you so much he doesn’t know how to express it other than kissing you desperately - still restraining himself.  

It’s so much easier to catch his breathe now that you’ve both cum. Even painfully highstrung from the high with such a horrible temperature, something settles before it builds back up again.  

The relief is burdensome almost.  

“So we,” You’re breathless, more yourself and Megumi has never been happy yet so sad to see this glimpse of you again. “We both have to…haah.. cum. For the fever to slow...That’s something to work with.”  

Your expression is more serious as you lean forward, sweaty forehead touching his. It’s you doing it, not the curse forcing you both and that makes his body react. “Megumi-kun. Everything will be okay.”  

“I’m sorry. I didn’t,” He screws his eyes shut hard. “I didn’t want this to happen. This is..”  

He wants to say the worst possible outcome, but he doesn’t. You smile at him. “It’s okay because it’s you.”  

Even in the middle of all of this, you manage to get his hopes up in the worst possible way. He can’t do anything but laugh at that, genuine exhaustion starting to make him lose sense. Another wave is coming quickly, steadily. Taking a serious look at his face, you hold him close to you.  

“We’ll survive this. We’ve fought worse.”  

“You’re comforting me at a time like this,”  

You just smile at him. The heat spikes again, even more intensely than before and both of you stare at each other as the lust glosses over your expression. A pit forms in his stomach, the arousal spiking so high he chokes on it. You’re kissing again - no build up as you slide your tongue sloppily against his mouth and rub against his cock. It’s not enough this time, not even close. His chest is tight as he gasps the words against your mouth.  

“Inside.” He breathes the word between kisses, spit and saliva dripping down the sides of his face. “Need to be inside. Please, shit. Please.”  

“I want it inside.” You say and Megumi groans as your hands reach between your bodies - sticky from the mess. His cock twitches as soon as your hand wraps around the base of his shaft. You pump it twice as you sit up completely to get better accesses to it. The absence of your body makes him needy again.  

Pre-cum dribbles pathetically from the tip as you guide his cock to your pussy. Without any prep at all, you lean back and slam your weight down onto him with full force. It slides with no resistance - as you take him all the way down to the base with complete ease. Your body collapses into a shiver when you take him inside. You both cum at exactly the same time, your pussy sucking him in with a vice-like grip as he shoots another load into you. Inside of you so deep he’s aroused all over again. His cock is still hard as he fills you - and you ride your mutual high out before another brief moment of sobriety takes you. He’s briefly sated as you pas back down against him, littering bites along his neck.  

You smile at him when you pull back, suddenly lucid - bending down to meet his mouth in a kiss sober. He can feel himself blush as he joins you in the brief lucidity.  

“Megumi, you’re so big.” You say with breathless laughter. He almost wants to scream he loves you but buries it immediately.  

He groans. “I can’t believe you’re being like this given the situation.”  

You hum pleasantly and Megumi feels his heart tug.  The moment lingers to briefly before it’s interrupted again. It’s abrupt and makes you lean into his chest.  

“You sorcerers are boring me to tears,” The curse starts again, making you both stand to alert almost immediately. “Don’t be so shy now.”  

The Special Grade repeats the incantation of a technique.  

Cursed Technique: Hidden Desires.  

The air around Megumi changes suddenly. Instead of the lush oasis, he’s surrounded by a vague, all encompassing darkness similar to when he had been falling. He’s standing in it though he can’t see anything, not even himself. The fever has subsided despite him being inside the domain. Hidden Desires…from the speech the Special Grade went on earlier, he’s sure it’s related. He stands still, unsure of what to do before something appears in front of him.  

A sphere of cursed energy, a memory of some kind - at the brush of his fingertips. Despite his attempt to retract his hand, an outside force makes him touch it.  

Several emotions course through his entire body at one, passing through his mind steadily. He connects to your body, your cursed energy seeping into him as he touches whatevers in front of him. His skull throbs from the exposure of someone elses memories, the fever returning to his body one-thousand times hotter than normal. A life time breaches his mind but he doesn’t get to sift through any of it. 

 It comes to a sudden halt, and Megumi hears a whisper in his subconscious. He can’t make the words out properly.  

Arousal spikes into his body as what seems to be your desire manifests in his head. 

He does not know what reaction to have when memories and images of himself appear. Himself from your perspective, in perpetual motion - memories over the course of years crossed over with manifestations of your desires. All of it is him. Tied up, blindfolded, all other things. But him, always. Some visions are more tender than the rest. He can barely process the information, increasing stimulation making his brain fog once more.  

Fever spikes through him again. Confusion, embarrassment, and uncertainty make his stomach flip. He remains cautionary and assumes it’s another trick of the light.He doesn’t get to recover when he’s thrust back into the domain in the same position he was before he left. You look just as confused when he comes back.  

There’s not a moment to speak to each other, as the curse gets amplified ten-fold the minute he steps back into the domain. His entire body breaks out in a cherry red blush as arousal twists through his gut, curling up his neck. Claims his whole body all in on forceful gesture. The sensitivity is cranked so high, he can barely feel your hand your hand on his chest without his cock spilling pre-cum.  

Furious lust overwhelms him as you lean forward and meet his mouth again. It feels different somehow, the kiss. You press your tongue against his lips as Megumi’s cock twitches inside you. 

“Megumi-kun,” Your voice is shot. “Want you to fuck me. Fill me up. Be good and do it, okay? Fuck me so good,”  

The words alone are enough to break him from his state of mind. He takes one more look at you after you’ve granted him permission before flipping you over onto your back. He shudders as you wrap your legs around his waist - hands on either side of your head staring down hard, as he positions himself as deep as he can go inside of your cunt. It’s indescribable, the sensation of needing to fuck you. He’s never been one to chase his base instincts like this unless it’s life or death - but it feels so fucking good to let go. It feels like life or death to sate you with hi cum. Megumi is used to sitting on his hands and playing at indifference, but right now you let him take and take and take. Your hands cup his cheeks, your expression hazy with pleasure. He drops his head down to your shoulders and fucks you with every ounce of strength in his waist - animalistic and desperate to scratch the skin deep itch. He bites into your shoulder as you hips slam, the sound of wet-skin slapping against each other ringing in his ears - cum frothing white at the base of his cock and dripping down your ass each time. He needs to cum again, until the heat subsides.  

He barely gets a few thrusts in before his body strains in the familiar wake of an orgasm. The words to warn you come out choked as his hips slam against the backs of your thighs harder than ever- cumming inside of you again in what feels like seconds. It goes forever, balls emptying as he pumps his seed inside. You cum alongside him, at the same time - pussy throbbing hard around his shaft as he fills you with spend. It’s not enough, doesn’t give him the same relief this time. He needs more.  

“Fuck that’s so good,” You praise making him groan. “You’re so good, baby - fuck, Megumi.”  

You moan his name against his neck. Possession settles itself into his chest at the sound as you tell him to give you more, your hands on his ass to push his cock further into you. He fucks into you again - harder, faster, deeper - cumming every time. Pure adrenaline sends him careening down a cliffs edge, unspeakable fervor making it all but impossible to part from you. Scorching like the desert sun along his spine, a solar flare inside of his stomach as you cum together in constant motions.  

He can’t stop fucking you. He can’t. His body wont allow him even a minute seperated from the euphoria of your swollen cunt sucking in him like it needs his cum more than anything in the world. His brain feels like liquid matter in his skull, thrashing uselessly when he tries to will himself away from you. Delirium drives his every movements as Megumi fucks his cock into you over and over and over.  

You goad him with every thrust of hips - wrapped tight around his waist, fingers tugging at his hair. Praise bubbles from your mouth - champagne light against his skin but so impactful each time. His dick throbs every time you call him good, call him perfect as he fills you with his cum again and again and again.  

“My perfect fucking boy. Fuck me, that’s it.”  

It goes on like that for what feels like forever.  

He loses track by the time the heat starts to subdue again. The curse still simmers under his skin but he finds grounding after unloading a few more times. By then, he can feel how much he’s cum in you and can’t help  but blush. The hint of another wave tingles in the back of his head, and he can’t pull away from you without feeling sharp pain.  

But he does sober again eventually. He waits for you to join him, and tries not to feel sick at the intimacy of it. He’s back to his senses enough to feel utter embarrassment.  

Your voice is soft and exhausted. “Megumi-kun,” You’re so gentle to him. “What did you see?”  

He knows what you mean immediately, sensing you must’ve seen the same thing. “I think it might be another illusion of the curse.”  

“Why do you think that?”  

He can feel his blush darken all over his body. “It was uh, me. In the technique. Tied up and uhm. Anyway. I thought it might be something to provoke the other party into sex.”  

Your eyes go wide at the confession. “….Yours was me, too.”  

Oh. He blinks. You look at him again, too suddenly - peering at him through your lashes.  

“It wasn’t wrong,” You say. You seem scared, just a little. He’s never seen you like that before. “…If you saw yourself and some… kinkier stuff. It wasn’t wrong about that.”  

His throat suddenly feels so dry. 

 “What was…what did you see?” He asks.  

“It was me,” You say bashfully. “Mostly romantics and stuff. And some other stuff, but I don’t know if I should tell you, hehe.”  

He finds the action mercifully. He wonders if this whole thing is made-up when it dawns on him. Some type of fantasy. Maybe he was the only one down here from the start - and that’s why everything has felt so alarmingly right. 

Otherwise. Otherwise it would mean that you…  

“Megumi-kun,”  

He can’t breathe, but it’s for an entirely different reason. He wonders if he’ll die from his heart beating too fast.”Hm?”  

A bated breath follows a sweet smile.  

“Love you,” You mumble it against his mouth. The air is so vulnerable - more fragile than the wings of a dragonfly, more fragile than blown glass. “In that way….have for a long time. So long.”  

His reply is reflexive.  

“No you don’t,”  

You pause before bursting out into giggles. So beautiful and clever. He loves you with painful devotion. “That’s your reply to my love confession?!”  

“Shut up,” He hisses, though he can’t bring himself to make the words sound any meaner. He feels high.   

“I love you, Megumi.” You say more clearly. Your eyes shine with familiarity he’s adored for years. Even with all the fog and haze surrounding you, they’re clear and gorgeous. “More than anyone else in the world, I think.”  

He buries his face against your neck, struggling to get it out. He’s afraid to say it. Afraid if he confirms it that everything is going to collapse here. Like a dream that’s gone on too long. Megumi doesn’t want to wake up.  

He wants more than anything, for all of it to be real - even if it means he ends here.  

He won’t curse you after death, that way.  

He can’t find his voice.  

“Me too,” The weight of one thousand deaths, a thousand days of longing and loving and pining. It’s too burdensome to say. He’s afraid of what will happen to him - mind and soul, should he let himself admit what he kept so well-hidden. “I love you. You…”  

When he manages to meet your gaze, your eyes are welled up with tears. He panics. “Don’t cry. Sorry,”  

“You too. Don’t cry,”  

“I’m not—“ His vision blurs. Damn it.  

“I love you,” You say again and Megumi feels something inside of him mend. “I’ll say it as many times as you want.”  

He doesn’t sense a fever this time. But he braves himself to kiss you one more time. It feels more intense than all else. He kisses you soft and slow, lets himself melt into your affectionate touch and gaze. There’s love behind it so obviously it makes him want to cry. He might really start sobbing, but he’s distracted by your mouth.  

He feels boneless, throat tight.  

“I don’t feel any fever.” You tell him when you pull away from him. He presses his forehead to yours. “I like kissing you.” 

So embarrassing. “Yeah…”  

“Let’s make love one more time.” You offer, and Megumi looks at you in disbelief. Just as always, you’re collected but ridiculous. It’s oddly comforting. Megumi wants to believe in you, so he does. “Just one more.”  

The fever is no longer there, but the sensitivity is still strong in his body. Your mouths meet in a chorus of affection. Megumi is still hard, somehow. But he can feel everything much more clearly. Can understand the taste of your lips and the feeling of your pussy pulsing - that it’s for him and he feels so elated he wonders if it will ever go away. He kisses you gingerly and lets himself slide out as your hand goes to his nape.  

“You’re so good to me, Megumi,” Your words make him ache. A whimper leaves his lips. “My beautiful boy. It must’ve been lonely, huh?”  

“Yes,” His words meet a thrust, slow but deep. A communication of needs so raw he can barely show them to you without feeling shy. “So long. Loved you for so long.” 

“Me too,” You mutter. The praise pierces his heart, suffocates him in such a euphoric feeling he can’t help but gasp at each reminder. “I love you so much, baby. And we’re gonna get out of here and be together, right?”  

He feels his head fill with nothingness. Relief like cold air brushes along his skin. Like being bathed in cool water. You’re his cure - but that’s always been true. “Yeah. Please.”  

“You can’t run away, okay?”  

“I won’t,”  

“Even though I want to monopolize you?”  

He blushes but grunts with affirmation following another slow roll of his hips. “I want to be with you. Nothing else matters. A-and I didn’t hate it… or anything.”  

You smile at him. He loves you. He loves you, he loves you, he loves you. It’s all he can come up with - watching your eyes crinkle in the corners with nothing but delight. “Mm.” You slide a hand between your bodies, rubbing your clit soft as you moan a little. “Sensitive. Gonna cum soon.” 

“Me too,”  

He’s barely holding it together as is. It takes a little more to push him over the edge one last time. This orgasm feels different. Feels rooted in reality. The mutual pleasure grounds him completely, relieving his ailment despite the remaining hints of fever. He kisses you as he cums inside of you one last time, shuddering as you cum right alongside him. He whispers the words against your lips as you let go. He loves you. 

The fever cools down. It takes a while for him to slip away from you after everything, but he manages.  

“Sorry,” He mumbles, watching the cum leak out of you in embarrassment. You just laugh, patting his cheek.  

“It’s okay, promise.” You stand to your feet as Megumi tries not to be self-conscious about the way it’s dripping down your thigh. “I can’t feel the presence of the Special Grade. It must be watching from somewhere inside the domain.”  

“Yeah,” Megumi says, trying to find his clothes.”No idea how the curse broke. Maybe since we’re already curse users?” 

You hum noncommittally. “Yeah. Let’s… clean up best we can and get outta here, yeah?”  

Megumi smiles, soft and relieved. “Yeah.”  

__  

“Are you interested in hearing the details of the curse, my dearest Megumi-chan?”  

Megumi grimaces.  

“No. Why are you even here?”  

Gojo-sensei feigns a look of offense that makes Megumi want to strangle him. He wants to go home and bathe properly already but there’s always a lot of hooplah with unregistered special grades. He’s relieved in one sense of the word, though it’s not like Gojo’s appearance made any difference since you two defeated the curse together and promptly passed out.  

He woke up clothed, and not as sticky as he was during the fight. Apparently Gojo had found you both first and once you were awake, you cleaned him. 

He sits on a tree stump in the forest nearby, his eyes flitting over to to you. You’re debriefing an archivist for Jujutsu when he catches your eye. His heart pounds, blushing at the happiness on your face. 

He feels six-eyes on him and glares at Gojo, who’s currently hiding his mouth behind his hand.  

“How long have we been out?”  

“Mm,” Sensei holds up three fingers. “About three days? I only got here on the third and found you. I was here before, several years ago - for a related case. It took some time, but we fond information of the curse in one of the houses. Are you curious?”  

He’s surprised for a minute, groaning right after. “Just tell me.”  

“Special Grade Kuroyuri uses a technique called Fever, to induce what’s essentially heat - forcing all  parties into extreme physical discomfort that can only be alleviated by sexual contact - no matter the party,” He spouts off, pretending to push his glasses up. Megumi frowns at him.  “Fever works by inducing conditions related to inner  desires and producing cursed energy that way. However, as a result, should two people experiencing Fever - be capable of sating the others desire deeply, they are able to break free from it. As the condition is vague and difficult to achieve, it’s very rarely met which is what has allowed the domain to get so strong.” 

Megumi makes wide eyes. “So you’re saying…”  

“Megumi-chan, the stairwell to adulthood and true love saved you! How wonderful!”  

Megumi blushes as Gojo giggles, glaring at him. He should kill him someday.  

Gojo-sensei pretends to wipe a tear from his eye. “The painful years of pining were worth something Megumi-chan. To think your desires were so pure…” 

“Shut up! I’m going to kill you!” Megumi groans, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing. “Do we have any idea why the curse was created?”  

“Seems the cult worshipped cursed energy as a measure of human experience. A curse intending to induce more cursed energy as evidence of their belief. Something like that. The details are vague, but we’re still looking.”  

Megumi sighs again. “Right. Thanks,”  

He puts a hand on his shoulder  as Megumi feels the exhaustion tamp down on him. He feels better and embarrassed as you pad over to him after you’re done.  

“Megumi-kun,” You smile at him before nodding to Gojo-sensei. He smiles back.  

“I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone,”  

Megumi shoots one last glare at Gojo before looking towards you. You sit down beside him on the ground, resting your head on his lap in a way that makes his whole body break out into a blush. He’s happy though.  

“I love you,”  

“What are you saying?”  

You look up at him. “Just want to make sure you know.”  

He looks down at you from where you lay and frowns. “How could I not?” And then, a little softer. “…It’s mutual.”  

You reach a hand towards his as you giggle to yourself. “That’s good.”  

Megumi squeezes your hand and closes his eyes. Better than good, maybe.  

__  

PROLOGUE:  

[ SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2018 | 4:45pm] 

Megumi waits a while before going into the courtyard, hoping that you’ll move and practice elsewhere if he waits long enough.  

He’s been sitting behind the wall for the last half-hour at least. No luck.  

He feels bad about avoiding you, but it’s the only course of action he thinks helps both parties.  

He doesn’t exactly like you. It’s easier to say he finds it difficult to get used to you is all. Your personality eludes him, and you remind a little too much of Sensei in how you act. Not to mention you’re already so strong. You get along well with everyone else, especially the other first years. You’re a nice girl so it’s obvious Kugisaki-san would favor you, and Itadori-kun can get along with basically everyone.  

But you and him have been at odds since your arrival to the Tokyo branch months prior. Megumi can’t figure out how to bridge the gap between you, and finds it hard to force himself to like you. He doesn’t dislike you, either though. It’s not something he can put words too.  

He feels guilty about it since you haven’t done anything to him to cause his discomfort. He just… doesn’t know what to do.  

Lost in thought, he nearly jumps out of his skin as someone stands over him where he sits, casting shadow on him from above. He opens his eyes to see you standing over him, an unreadable look on his face.  

“How long did you plan on waiting here, Fushiguro-san?”  

Megumi stares up at you before frowning, rubbing his neck awkwardly. “Sorry for disturbing you.” 

You’re hard for him to read, though you’re smiling. You seem amused as you step back, allowing Megumi to stand up at full-height and glance at you.  

“I don’t mind. I know you don’t want to train with me, but it’d be kind of pointless to try and find somewhere else so it’s better to just bear with it a bit.”  

He stares at you. You smile knowingly.  

“You’re surprised I know you were avoiding me?” 

He nods.  

“No offense Fushiguro-san, but it’s hard not to notice something like that when our grade is four people,” You’re a little smug but it’s not mal-intended, though it kinda pisses him off. “No hard feelings.”  

You say that then sit next to him behind the wall. He stares at you feeling more uncomfortable - but can’t will himself to get up.  

“What are you doing?”  

You smile again. 

“Messing with you,”  

He stares at you. You stare back until you break out into laugher.  

“Pfft, I’m sorry. I really am. You make it so obvious on your face when I make you mad..hah.”  

“It’s that part of you I really don’t like.”  

“Mm, yeah - thought so.” Your reply is nonplussed but not unkind. “You’re the moody, serious type. Sensitive.”  

Megumi watches you shuffle through your deck of cards - the ones you’d been practicing with for the last few hours. You peruse through the thick boards of your Hanafuda deck, silently stacking them into different matching suits and using them with your cursed energy. Megumi watches on as you manifest different thing. He wants to ask you about it but can’t find the wil. You’re so strong, despite how you act. The strongest of the first years even outclassing him.  

“It’s fine if you find me hard to be around, but don’t avoid me so blatantly.” You reason coolly. “It’s best we get along.”  

“…Do you want me to get along with you?”  

You laugh at that but he isn’t sure why. It’s nice.. the sound of your laugh when it’s sincere. This is the first time he’s ever properly talked to you, he realizes.  

“Of course! I like getting along with everyone, even someone as brooding as you.”  

“Why.”  

“It’s good for my public image.” You say seriously. He deadpans as you perk up and laugh again. “Kidding, I’m kidding!”  

“I’m going to leave.” He threatens flatly.  

“Fine, fine. Do you want to know the real reason?”  

“I don’t really care,” He responds. You smile at that.  

“I’m more than happy to tell you,” You say, completely ignoring him. “Despite your various character flaws, I think Fushiguro-san is kind of innocent.”  

“Huh?”  

You smile warmly. “Your philosophy to only save people you think are good I thought was cute. It’s a very simple way to think about jujutsu. I like that part of you, I guess? You were raised with a lot of love, I think. Since it’s a difficult way to live.”  

Megumi thinks of his life - thinks of Tsumiki and his sensei with some begrudging. He doesn’t know what else to ask you. He’s a little uncomfortable that you seem to know him so well with the little information you have.  

“Why are you a sorcerer then?”  

Megumi watches you stack your cards into a card house and collapse them, humming to yourself. You seem deep in thought for a while. The sunlight moves away from the clouds briefly, a beam of line brushing against your skin. Your lashes cast shadow on your cheeks. He’s never seen you so clearly.  

You answer with utmost clarity and confidence - all shiny grin. “Ah, well why not, you know? Since I’m super talented.”  

He stares at you, dumbfounded before the corners of his lips twitch. Somehow he understands you a little better than before, and he thinks that might’ve been what you wanted.  

“You’re an idiot.”  

Your grin goes even wider.  

“Let’s be good friends, Fushiguro-san. Okay?” 

“Sure,” He relaxes his back against the wall and shuts his eyes with a small laugh. “Why not.”  

[hatsumishinogu]

SUPER LOVERS Vol.18 (Special Edition)

[mehdimarjany-art]

A woman wants to get married at the age of 25 .age of 30 age of 35 age of 40

[hokkienmee]

kido taisei has a new job again!!! im so happy for him!!!