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p5youllneverseeitcoming · 4 years ago

Note

Mwahahaha >:D Thanks to the S/O’s traumatic fear of hospitals post I now have an idea! As a sequel to it, can I get Headcanons where Akira and Akechi get critically injured (from Metaverse or an accident I dunno) & they have their own death experiences while in the hospital/ER (they survive thanks to the promises they made with their S/O but still) and their worried S/O visits?

*Casually posts this at 3am* I return from the Super Mega Hell I call transcribing interviews to bring you this

Also… Uh very minor Royal spoilers I guess? In Royal there’s a chance that Mementos is completely dark when you go to one floor but that’s it

As for Akechi’s part… Spoilers for the seventh palace (for vanilla P5) so just incase anyone here is not up to this part I put his part under the cut!

Akira Kurusu & Goro Akechi getting injured and having a near death experience with a S/O who is scared of hospitals for that exact reason

Akira Kurusu:

> Everything was going rather smoothly

> You were in Mementos, taking care of a few requests

> But eventually, you got to a floor that was particularly confusing… And completely pitch black

> “Um Joker? I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this broken wall like three times already.” Skull said as he pressed his face against the window

> “Did I make a wrong turn? No but… I went right and…” Joker muttered to himself as he mentally tried to recall the path he took

> “Should we go back to where we were?” You asked as you squinted trying to see anything in the darkness

> “I’m not exactly opposed to that idea but um, where exactly would that be?” Asked Fox

> “Navi, can you see anything?” Noir asked as she turned to the hacker

> The girl opened her mouth to answer only to be cut off by something no one wanted to hear

> Rattling chains

> “That doesn’t sound good…” Crow said as he leaned forward to grip the driver seat

> “Joker we have to-” Mona began to say

> He didn’t get a chance to finish however as moments later, the Mona car was knocked over causing the Thieves to scream in fear and tumble out

> “Do we even stand a chance?” You asked as you gripped your weapon and looked at the Shadow before you

> The Reaper was… Well, terrifying

> “We don’t really have much of a choice.” Crow replied as he raised his saber

> “Get ready everyone!” Joker called as he rushed towards the Shadow

> You were hitting it with everything you had

> Magic, melee attacks, guns… Even Almighty attacks

> But it seemed like that was barely effecting him

> And what’s worse, you were running out of items

> “Joker…” You say as you turn to him

> Everyone is exhausted, all of you are breathing heavily, trying your best just to stay conscious

> You watch Joker, the leader, your boyfriend, lets out a shaky breath as he turns to Mona

> “Mona… Turn into the car and… Please… Get them out of here.”

> “’Them’? Wait, Joker you don’t-”

> “Please.”

> “No, Joker, you can’t be ser-”

> “I leave you in charge of driving, [Code name].” He says before turning back to the Shadow and aiming his gun at it

> “Wait!-”

> “See you at the entrance.” He says with a smile as he fires a couple of times before turning and sprinting in the opposite direction of the Thieves

> “We- I- We have to-” You stutter out as you turn to try and run after him but then you feel someone’s hand on your shoulder

> “Joker gave you a task to do didn’t he?” Crow says as he gives your shoulder a gentle squeeze

> “But…” You say, tears making your vision blurry

> “Come now, this is Joker we’re talking about, I’m sure he meant what he said.”

> You sniffle quietly before nodding

> “You’re r-right.. Let’s go, everyone.”

~~~

> It’s silent on the way back

> You glance over at Crow who is sitting in the passenger seat and notice that his expression is a lot more… Different than usual

> You’re used to seeing his signature polite yet charming smile but this time he looks…

> Scared.

> Does that mean?…

> No, don’t think like that. This is Joker we’re talking about. I mean… This man runs across rooftops without the slightest care there’s no way he could be defeated…

> Right?

> After a bit more driving you eventually manage to reach the first floor

> But instead of going up the last platform you stop, just right before it

> “Hm? [Code name]?” Queen says as she leans forward a bit

> “I- I want to wait for him.” You say, trying your best to keep your voice from shaking

> You can almost feel everyone turn to look at you but instead of saying anything else you just grip the wheel a bit tighter

> “… Okay.” Crow says after what feels like ages, “let’s wait five minutes and then go up, alright?”

> You nod and bite your lip

> You can’t cry right now, because Joker is fine, and if Joker is fine, then there’s no need to cry

> You repeat these words over and over like a mantra but…

> … Five minutes pass, and Joker is nowhere to be seen.

> You let out a shaky exhale as you grip the wheel once more

> “We-” you begin as you shut your eyes “we have to go up.”

> No one says anything, but it doesn’t matter

> You know everyone’s thinking the same thing.

> You watch as the other Thieves slowly climb out of the Mona car, supporting any of the members that can’t quite find the strength to stand anymore

> Once you’re all out, Mona quickly turns back into his usual form and quickly walks up to you

> “[Code name], let’s go.” He says tugging at your outfit lightly

> You give a quick nod before finally climbing up the stairs

> You’re exhausted and you wish for nothing more than to collapse on your bed and sleep for about a week

> But what you see as soon as you climb the final step makes you instantly break out into a sprint

> Leaning against the wall is… Joker

> His clothes are torn and there’s blood everywhere but he’s really there

> He’s alive

> “Hey, what took you so lo-” He says before you knock the air out of his lungs as you collide into him

> “Oh my God.” You mutter into his chest as you wrap your arms around him tightly

> You hear him hiss which can’t mean anything good but you feel one of his hands slowly rise until its settled on your back

> “Joker! Y-you made it!” Skull shouts as he hobbles as quickly as he can towards you

> “Oh my, you look horrible!” Noir exclaims as she quickly glances at him

> “We need to get him medical help, now.” Crow says as he glances towards the entrance

> “Yes, um, what’s the quickest way to get to the hospital again…” Queen mutters more to herself than anyone else

> “Come on guys…” Joker begins, his voice a lot quieter than before, “I’m fi…”

> He doesn’t get to finish his sentence, instead he just slumps forward causing you to stumble as you try to keep the two of you upright

> “Oh no, Akira! Akira wake up!” You shout as you shake him slightly

~~~

> When he opens his eyes again, he finds himself in a dark room

> He groans quietly as he turns his head to try and get a better understanding of his surroundings

> Upon closer inspection, he notices that this isn’t just a ‘dark room’, it’s a prison cell

> Or to be more exact, his prison cell

> Wait then that means that I’m…

> “How did I end up here?” He mutters as he slowly sits up and stares at the all too familiar bars

> “Hm? Oh my,”

> “So you finally woke up huh, Inmate?!”

> Akira watches as the twin wardens turn and face him at the same time

> “How did I get here?” He asked

> Instead of an answer, Akira just hears a deep chuckle

> “This place exists between mind and matter… I believe this should be enough to answer your question.”

> It really isn’t but okay

> “Don’t look at our Master with such a dumb expression Inmate!” Caroline says as she slams the bars with her baton

> “Caroline, I don’t believe this was his intention.” Justine says with her usual calm voice “I suppose he is simply confused.”

> “… Am I dead?” Akira asks turning his head towards Justine

> “Not exactly.” She answers as she glances at her clipboard

> “It seems you’re too stubborn to die, maybe you do have potential after all.” Caroline adds as a small smile appears on her lips

> “Your friends also seem very determined to keep you alive, they’re the reason why you woke up.” Justine says

> “My friends?” Akira asks

> “They practically dragged you to the nearest hospital! You should thank them for all their efforts!” Caroline says with an angry expression

> “Yes, it seems the bond you share is truly something special.” Justine says with a polite smile

> “Yeah, so stop wasting time and wake up already!” Caroline says before slamming the bars with the baton once more

~~~

> Once again, Akira finds himself opening his eyes

> Only this time, he’s staring at a white ceiling as opposed to a dark prison cell

> Also this time instead of the sound of water dripping, he hears beeps

> Turning his head to confirm his suspicions, he finds a monitor showing his heartrate

> Huh, so he really is in a hospital

> “Akira?”

> “[Name]?”

> He tries to turn his head back but before he can you’re already leaning over him

> “I was so worried… You- You collapsed so I- I tried to wake you up but you…” You practically sob these words out

> “Hey, hey [Name] it’s okay, take a deep breath and try to calm down okay?” Akira says as he raises a hand up to your cheek

> You hate hospitals, he knows that

> Yet here you are, right by his side

> He must’ve made you really worried if you managed to conquer one of your greatest fears

> He makes a mental note of how he will have to make this up to you once he gets out

> “You stopped breathing Akira.” You cry out as tears make their way down your cheeks

> Oh God, how does he even respond to something like that?

> “… I did?”

> Wow, congratulations dumbass.

> “Yes! I- We- Doctor Takemi… Oh God…”

> “[Name], [Name], hey, it’s okay, breathe with me okay? Come on, deep breath in…” Akira says before taking a deep breath

> You let out a few more sobs before trying your best to copy him

> Once you do, he smiles softly and deeply breathes out, hoping you will do the same

> The two of you continue this for a while, and eventually you manage to calm down

> “Good, it’s okay now [Name], I’m okay.”

> “Please don’t… Don’t ever do that again.”

> He nods as he strokes your cheek again

> “I promise.”

Goro Akechi:

> “Long time no see” Crow says to the group before his eyes land on you

> You couldn’t help but look away

> This wasn’t how it was meant to be

> You knew what he was planning, but you always thought hoped that you would be able to change his mind

> You quietly listen as Crow talks to the group and clench your fist when he tells you about Shido being his father

> Panther gives you a quick worried glance but you just raise your head and look directly at Crow

> “Why? Why must you be against us? We- We could’ve-”

> “Let’s finish this.” Joker says cutting you off

~~~

> It doesn’t take long for you to defeat the enemies

> “Goro…” You mutter quietly as you raise your hand slightly

> But then, something you never expected happens

> You watch as that mysterious persona, who you now know as Loki, appears once more and transforms Crow’s pristine white outfit into a dark blue and black costume, the small red cape turning into a ripped up black fabric and his pure white gloves turning black with talon like fingertips

> “You’re going down… I’ll destroy you…. Go down with me!” Crow shouts as more of the red mist surrounds him

> “That bastard, he made himself go psychotic!” Skull says reaching for his weapon

> “No…” You say as you stare in disbelief

> “[Codename] I know this is hard for you but you need to focus right now. You can’t let him win.” Queen says as she places a hand on your shoulder

> You take a shaky breath and nod

> She’s right. You can’t lose here, you need to snap some sense back into him afterall

~~~

> “Change Shido’s heart… In my stead… End his crimes… Please!…”

> “Leave it to me.” Joker answers staring at the partition

> “We can’t…” You begin as you look from one Thief to another

> “Isn’t there some way to get this open?!” Panther says as she glances at Mona

> That’s when you hear the gunshots

> You can’t help but cry out in shock, one hand flying up to cover your mouth

> You realise the others are talking but you just stare at the partiton, tears flowing down your cheeks

> You don’t move, at least not until Fox physically has to drag you away from the partition

> You don’t really know how long the group has been walking to reach the exit, but then again, you don’t really care about that

> You’re still crying when you return to the real world, only this time there’s no mask to hide your tears

> Your face feels hot, and your head hurts which must mean you look like an absolute wreck right now

> Once again, you notice the Thieves are talking but you don’t listen

> After a couple of minutes, you notice that some of the members are slowly shuffling away and heading off in different directions

> Soon enough, it’s just you and Akira left

> “[F/n].” Akira says, as he turns to look at you “I’ll walk you home, okay?”

> You shake your head at that, mentally cursing at the shooting pain you feel moment after

> “… Here…” You practically choke out

> “Huh? I’m sorry I-”

> “I’m staying… Here…” You repeat, hand vaguely gesturing at the Diet Building

> Akira looks at you for a solid minute before nodding a few times

> “Okay… But [F/n]-”

> “I’ll go home… Later.” You say cutting him off

> “Right.” He replies as he turn to walk towards the station “I’m sorry.”

> You listen to his footsteps for a little while, but then… There is silence.

> You’re pretty sure you’re out of tears by now, so you decide to wipe your face with both hands

> You need to calm down, crying won’t solve this

> You take a few minutes to just breathe and eventually, you feel yourself shaking a lot less

> Why did this have to happen?

> No, asking this is pointless now

> You look at the Diet Building once more and bite your lip

> Before you can fully comprehend what you’re doing, you find yourself marching towards it

> You really wish your weapon wasn’t just a plastic imitation in the real world

> Then again, what could you possibly do?

> Maybe you could-

> “Hm?” You hum to yourself as you take a closer look at the wall

> Due to it being early evening, there isn’t much natural light left but you’re pretty sure there’s something smeared on the wall

> Not only that, it seems almost like… There’s some sort of trail?

>… Wait, is that?

> You cautiously touch it with your finger before bringing it back for closer examination

> T-This is…!

> Before you can fully process why there’s blood on the wall you hear the nearby bushes rustle

> You move one hand close to your bag ready to pull out your plastic weapon as you take a few steps closer

> “Who’s there?” You ask

> “Don’t be… Stu-” The voice begins before coughing violently

> “G-Go…”

> “Mm…”

> You quickly drop your bag and use your hands to carefully move away the leaves

> Sure enough, there’s the Detective Prince, Goro Akechi, your boyfriend, lying in a small pool of his own blood

> “How- No, wait- Erm- Hospital.” You sayas you quickly move one hand towards your pocket to retrieve your phone

> “Heh…” Akechi coughs out as a small smile appears on his lips

~~~

> You were pacing the hospital hall back and forth for hours

> Despite your constant pleading, the doctors told you that you can’t be in the room

> Your hands are constantly fidgeting and the amount of times you bit your lip caused you to draw a bit of blood

> You hate this place, you would much rather be anywhere but here…

> But you can’t leave him. You won’t leave him.

> “[L/n] - san?”

> You look up at the sound of your name

> “Yes?” You ask as your eyes land on the doctor

> “You can go see him now, but…”

> “But what?” You ask as your eyes widen

> “He’s in a coma.”

> You nod and give a quick thanks before walking into the room

> Your hands are shaking again

> Calm down [F/n], just breathe

> You take a deep breathand slowly step towards his bed

> Goro is wrapped in so many bandages but he’s alive

> “Goro…” You whisper as you gently stroke one of his hands “you absolute fool…”

> You stay with him until visiting hours are over

> But you return the next day

> And the day after

> It’s not until the 3rd day that he actually wakes up

> The first thing he does when he wakes up is raise one hand slightly and flex his fingers

> “Hm.” He hums looking at his hand

> “Oh my God… Goro, how are you-”

> “Terrible.” He says with an annoyed expression

> “I thought you… You know…” You say as you turn to fully look at him

> “I almost did.” He answers, a hint of sadness in his voice

> There’s a moment of silence before he speaks up again

> “It was… A strange experience.”

> “Huh? How so?”

> He coughs before answering

> “I’m not sure how to explain it,” he says before clearing his throat “I saw… A blue room?”

> You frown at him, clearly confused

> “Don’t look at me like that… I told you I don’t know how to describe it.” He says, his eyes scanning your face

> “Ah, um, sorry.”

> “You know, I can’t say for sure but… I thought I heard your voice in there.”

> “Hm?.. Wh- What did it say?”

> “You said I’m too stubborn to die, especially in that asshole’s Palace, plus, I heard you crying.”

> You let out a small laugh at that

> “Well, it’s not wrong.”

> “There’s no need to cry over me. I told you, I’m not wanted, I’m a backstabber, a traitor.”

> You click your tounge at that as you reach for both of his hands and squeeze them lightly

> “That’s wrong. You may have betrayed the Phantom Thieves but you are wanted. I want to be with you.”

> “[F/n]…”

> “I… I can’t say I forgive you for what you did, but that doesn’t mean I’m just going to abandon you!”

> Goro doesn’t answer

> Instead, he just squeezes back

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kareofbears · 3 years ago

Text

plainly in truth, chapter 1/5

“Without you around, it's sorta like stuff is just kinda...bleh."

—

Or: hiding, confiding, and misguiding.

read on ao3 or below the cut :)

The sweat on the back of Ryuji’s neck is thick as he climbs the stairs to his apartment after a lengthy run.

It’s hot for spring, mild for summer, and now that it’s late June, it’s finally starting to teeter into real heat. He escalated slowly, gripping the guard rail like an old man to make sure his legs don’t give out, in no rush to head back to an empty apartment. His mom’s been doing back to back shifts, businesses booming like it does during this time of the year.

Normally, that would make him miserable. Nothing worse than hopping back from a day of fun shit only to come back to an empty living space with laundry piled to the nines and the TV left running. He doesn’t blame his mom because he’s not an asshole, but he never dealt well with being alone. But nowadays, he’s actually starting to like it. Crave it. Maybe a little too much.

It’s easier to deal with being alone than getting that sinking feeling he gets whenever he talks to his friends.

Shoving his hand in his basketball shorts, he pulls out his keys when something makes him pause. The plastic plant beside the entrance had been moved. Ryuji squints. Quietly, he grabs the knob and turns. It’s unlocked.

“Hey.”

Ryuji lets out a frustrated sigh, tension leaving his shoulders as he kicks the door closed. “Fucking hell. How’d you get in here?”

Seeing Ann sit primly with her legs crossed in a dining table that’s barely big enough to put two plates down evokes a feeling of nostalgia in him. She holds a key between her fingers idly. “Spare key hasn’t changed since we were thirteen.”

He walks to the fridge, pulls out a carton of milk and drinks it straight, ignoring her grimace. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he offers it to her.

“Hard pass.”

“Suit yourself,” he shrugs, putting it back in the fridge. “I’m gonna shower. I think we might have some chips in the cupboards if you want some. Might be stale though.”

When Ann speaks again, her tone is flat. “You haven’t been hanging out with us. Or even talking to us.”

He tries not to let the annoyance show in his face too much. “Yeah, well, what part of ‘I need some alone time’ was confusing to you?”

Wood creaks, and he can feel her presence right behind him. “Cut the crap, Sakamoto. Something happened, I know it did. It’s not like you for your big mouth to be shut like this.”

Shaking his head, he strides to his room, praying that Ann will take the hint.

She doesn’t. “Okay, so I’ll just keep talking until something happens.” She leans against his door frame as he rummages for a change of clothes, listing off with her fingers. “It’s summer vacation, so it’s not a school thing. Phantom Thief stuff has been done for a while, so it’s not that either. I saw your mom last week, and she’s doing great. Congratulate her on the promotion for me, by the way. And the only other thing in your life that’s important is—” he hears her pause suddenly. “Are you and Akira doing okay?”

The sudden sharpness in her voice is enough to make his irritation ebb away for a second. “We’re fine,” he answers, pulling a probably clean shirt from the bottom of his drawer. He knows just how much she’s invested in their relationship. She’s pretty much a third member given how desperate she is to make them work. “I would’ve told you if we weren’t.”

“Thank god,” she breathes. “So what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” he rolls his eyes. “A big fat load of nothing with nothing sprinkled on top. You want me to say it again?”

“If it’s nothing, then why aren’t you over the moon that Akira’s finally visiting tomorrow?”

His stomach does a weird flop inside of him. He can’t tell if it’s a good flop or a bad one. “I’m over the moon,” he defends. “I’m crazy excited.”

“Then show it!”

“Okay! Damn, sorry I wasn’t happy enough for you.” Giving up on finding clean shorts, he picks one up from the floor and hopes it isn’t too gross. “I’m headed to the shower.” He rounds on her, giving her a glare. “And do not tell Akira that anything’s going on with me, ‘cause there isn’t anything going on. You’re just gonna make him worry for no reason and he’s gonna be all—” he frowns, overexaggerated. “—About this, so cool it.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. He won’t hear about it from me.” Ann gives him a long stare, and he refuses to look away. “You sure you’re okay?” she asks, softer this time.

“Never been better. Now scram.”

“Good. See you tomorrow, and don’t be late!” she calls as she marches through his apartment, foot out the door. “Noon! Leblanc!”

“I got it!” he yells back.

When the lock clicks back into place, Ryuji leans his back against the wall, letting his eyes slide shut. Is he that obvious that Ann would notice? He rubs his eyes with palms, frustrated. If Ann noticed, Akira’s definitely going to notice, and that isn’t allowed. He’ll just have to do better.

Going into the bathroom, flicking on the shower, he realizes he forgot his towel in his bedroom. Stupid Ann, distracting him.

Padding back to his room, he nabs it from the side of his bed, refusing to look at the letter collecting dust on his desk as he flicks the light off once more.

—

Akira came home to a face-full of streamers, two pots of curry, and six arms tackling him. Smiles and hugs were passed like a bottle of wine after a war has been won, and Akira shrugs it all off like he isn’t soaking up each and every exclamation of how much they miss him for a rainy day. Morgana gets his fair amount of head scratches, Akira gets enough noogies to warrant a concussion, and even Ryuji somehow manages to forget his problems for approximately three minutes.

It’s evening now, and while everyone had already left (not after slamming down two plates each and Yusuke brazenly asking for tupperware after the fact), Ryuji decided to linger.

“So,” he starts, sleeves rolled up as he washes the dishes while Akira dries. It might not look like it, but he doesn’t mind doing his chores; especially not with the way they both purposefully knock their knuckles against each other whenever they pass a plate between themselves.

“So,” Akira repeats. “I’m home. That’s cool, huh?” Even with eighteen layers of nonchalance layered on top of each other, there’s no hiding the lilt in his voice.

“Pretty damn cool,” he rinses a mug and hands it to him. Ryuji pauses as he watches Akira dry, lip quirked up. “I like seeing you like this.”

“Cleaning?”

“No, you bastard.” He reaches forward, unable to help himself as he pinches his cheek. “Smiley.”

Akira slaps his hand away. “I’m always happy,” he says, voice fond.

“I didn’t say happy, now did I? I said—” Ryuji wipes both hands on his jeans before pinching his cheek with both hands. “Smiley!”

He doesn’t fight back this time; instead, he lets Ryuji knead his face. “Your hands are wet,” he complains, slightly slurred.

“Suck it up.” His skin is mesmerizingly soft. Probably softer than even a girl’s. He would hold him like this all night if he’d let him. “This saves you from washing your face tonight, so you’re welcome.”

With one last tug, he reluctantly sets him free. Akira’s face is red and blotchy from the assault, but somehow he pulls it off because of course he does. “Thanks,” he deadpans.

“Don’t sweat it, dude. You know I got you,” he laughs, and for a second, he feels good. Light. Being with Akira does that to him, a pendant that wards off all evil. The pendant must’ve had some fine print in the contract though, because his stomach drops again when he remembers again. Ryuji turns around and starts scrubbing the pan harder than he needs to. Chill out, chill out, chill out.

Arms encircle his waist. “Sojiro’s gonna smite us if we don’t finish these before he opens tomorrow,” Ryuji says.

“I know.” A chin hooks around his shoulder blade, sliding in place. A perfect fit. “We’ll get to it.”

Ryuji leans back, far enough to smell the shampoo in his hair. He breathes in deep. It’s not what he’s used to, probably different brands in his hometown, but it still smells nice.

With the water still running, a group of businessmen’s laughter booming from just outside the cafe, Ryuji nearly says it. To take that weight off of his weakened knees and share some of the burden with someone who’s never complained about carrying some of his baggage. It would be embarrassing, humiliating, fucking mortifying, but it would be better than this, right?

He opens his mouth. “Missed you,” is what comes out instead.

“Missed you more, I think.” A beat passes, and then Akira continues, quietly: “You don’t know how good it feels to be back.”

That was all it took. The final piece, the last lock. The words he needed to convince him that this was the right thing to do. If he was on the fence of whether or not to tell Akira, this was the tug that took him over the edge. Because Akira came here for one reason: to have fun. To feel good again. To feel like Akira again. Is Ryuji really going to be the one to shit all over that? To fuck up his summer vacation with his problems again?

Yeah. Fuck that.

He wishes he can pull Akira impossibly closer. “Welcome home.”

It can wait until he leaves. After that, the world will just have to explode, taking him with it.

—

Ryuji’s in bed that night, tossing and turning, blanket tangled in his legs and head underneath his pillow, when he finally caves.

Smacking around for his phone, he pulls it to his face, squinting against the bright light.

SR: futaba

The response was immediate.

SF: what SR: that was fast. whatre you doing up SF: im always up. why are YOU up SR: just wanted to talk SF: ok

He waits a few moments to see if she’d continue the conversation. She doesn’t.

SR: hows school? SF: ?????? who cares, its three am SR: i care SF: ugh, go to sleep. we’re meeting tomorrow anyway SR: yeah but you dont talk about school during group meetings much SF: alright weirdo SF: schools cool. people mostly leave me alone, and i think akira must’ve tipped off kawakami cause she is wayyyy too nice to me even after bullying her in front of the class SR: what did you do lmfao SF: she said that whoever could recite pi to ten decimal points can get a bonus ten percent in the final SF: and i kept going until the bell rang SR: damn! SF: its mostly okay though. better than i thought it’d be for sure SR: and how about actual school stuff SR: like classes. Math, science, english, all that shit. SF: sheesh, easiest part no doubt. could do all that stuff in my sleep SR: really? even though youre a year behind? SF: uh yeah? i could be eight years behind and still dunk on these clowns with one hand tied behind my back and watching a live stream

Ah, right. Futaba’s a literal genius. As in ‘Make A Documentary Of Her In Twenty Years In A Movie He’d Never Watch But Makoto Would Love’ kind of genius. He forgot.

SR: nice SR: thanks, im gonna sleep now SF: kk see you SF: (¯﹃¯)

—

“Okay, this is getting a little ridiculous,” Ryuji says when he opens the door to his apartment.

Ann is sitting in his dining chair once again, this time donned in hot pink shades and a comically big sun hat. He tries not to let annoyance and panic flare inside him. He loves her, because of course he does, but he was banking on stocking up some energy and alone time before they hit the road. Maybe even shed a couple of frustrated tears, who knows? As long as he’s alone, it’s fair game.

“Hey, don’t give me any of that,” Ann says. “You and packing your luggage is like mayonnaise and my flawless complexion—it’s not good, buster. Remember Hawaii?”

He feels his skin heat up, and slams the door harder than he should. “How the hell was I supposed to know I’d get randomly checked? ‘Sides, I didn’t do anything illegal.”

“A backpack filled with condoms and a toothbrush might as well have been illegal.” Ann reaches into her pocket, whipping out a wrinkled piece of paper. “You can’t pull that kinda crap now, and if I know him as well as I do, I’m sure Akira’s already packing for that.” She laughs at her own joke and raises her hand enthusiastically. He can’t help but grin as he high fives her. Hey, even if his life is falling apart, at least he’s still getting some, right?

“So I’m here to help,” she continues, shaking the sting from her palms. “I finished packing a day early and everything, so I better get some thanks after this.” Before he can complain, she holds up a finger, expression stern. “I know you don’t need help. Yes, I’m still worried about you. Yes, I’m doing this because I’m worried about you. Let me do this stupid little thing, okay? It’ll make me feel better.”

His stomach churns, more intense than usual. “You’re still worried about me?” he asks, breath hitching. What? No. Did he fail at that too? Does she know? That must mean Akira knows, right? And if Akira knows, then—

“Whoa, hold on!” A hand grips his shoulders. “Deep breaths, Sakamoto. Don’t spiral on me now.” Gently, he’s led to a chair. He sits gratefully and waits for his heart rate to drop. The entire time, Ann stays quiet.

Eventually, when the room stops closing in on him, he sighs and leans back against his chair. “Sorry,” he says, feeling really stupid. Damn, what happened to him keeping this on the down low?

She slaps his knee. “Shut up, don’t apologize for that,” she scolds, and he almost smiles. It’s easy to forget how good Ann is at this sort of thing. For better or for worse, she’s had plenty of practice while talking to Shiho. The grip on his knee tightens. “Ryuji…”

He shakes his head. “No.”

And, for better or for worse, she absolutely does not let things go.

“Look, buddy.” The grip is starting to hurt, and it means business if her red acrylics are anything to go by. “I just saw you have a teensy little panic attack two damn minutes ago, and you’re expecting me to just leave you to it? Are you a clown? Are you a clown in a circus, Sakamoto? Is that what you are?”

“I just don’t want to fucking talk about it.” He shoves her hand off his knee, and before he knows it, his voice is raised. “Christ, can’t you just leave me alone? All you do is get up in my business when I clearly didn’t ask you to. Just cause we did this whole Phantom Thief crap together doesn’t mean it gives you the right to everything going on in my life.”

He loathes the ringing in his ears from his own voice. He hates it when he yells in the apartment, but hates the silence that follows more. Too much like his dad, too much like his exhausted mom.

Ann is staring up at him, hard and unwavering. “You’re such a piece of shit sometimes.”

“Huh?”

“If you want me off your tail, you’re gonna have to work harder than that.” She gets on her feet, glaring at him. “‘Piss me off and make me leave in tears’ was your tactic, right? Boring. Overdone. Try again.”

The way she’s standing, shoulders pushed back and chin jutted out like she’s ready for a shoot in some kind of army magazine, means she’s dead serious.

“Ann, just get the fuck out of my house. You’re really starting to get on my nerves.”

“Ooo, classic 'angry and make me storm off’, right? Better, but not good enough.”

“What the hell are you even saying?”

“I’m saying that you could say whatever pops into your bleached head—” she flicks his forehead, viciously sharp nails digging into his skin. “And I wouldn’t go anywhere. You could call me names, or threaten me, or try to hurt me, but I am not going anywhere.”

Her eyes are bright blue, but he can still feel the heat of it like Carmen was inches in front of him. His throat quivers when he swallows. She’s really not going to give in.

“My knee’s been real bad lately,” he relents, making a fist and lightly knocking it against his thigh. “Normally it acts up during bad weather, but the sun hasn’t left in weeks and it still sucks. I didn’t wanna tell anyone, ‘cause I hate talking about…” he trails off, but she doesn’t need him to continue. They both know damn well who he’s referencing.

Ann’s face crumbles. “That’s horrible,” she says, absently rubbing the red mark on his forehead. “I’m sorry I was mean.”

He waves it off, the same way he does whenever his mom asks him if he’s getting enough sleep. “Don’t sweat it. I know how crazy you get.”

It’s a real testament to how worried she must’ve been when she didn't take the olive branch. “I know you probably don’t want to worry the group, but you should tell Akira.”

“Ann—” he starts wearily.

“You know I’m right about this. Now that the Metaverse is back and we’re going to be running around more, he can’t not know about this. Your boyfriend aside, he’s our leader. Something really nasty can happen if we’re not thinking straight.”

“...Sure.”

Ann gives him a weird look. “That was surprisingly easy. I thought you’d complain more.”

She’s getting way too sharp. “What, you wanted me to be a dick about it?”

“I guess not.” Leaning against his kitchen counter, she chews her lip like it’s bubble gum. “Can I do anything to help?”

“Yeah.” Ryuji stands to stretch, ready for this conversation to be over. “You can keep this between us—”

“—Except for Akira,” they say in unison, Ryuji exasperated and Ann insistent.

“Fine. I’ll back off if you think you have it under control.”

“Hallelujah, she’s finally giving me space.”

“But,” her gaze is harder than steel. “Never, ever keep secrets from me again, got it?”

Ryuji rolls his eyes. “Gotcha. Can we get started now? I’m over talking about my horrible past so that we can finally have a straight-out-of-an-anime summer vacation.”

Her eyes brighten up. “Yes! Okay, I made this huge list and I know for a fact we’re gonna have to go for a quick shopping trip—”

“Quick? So, like, three hours going by your standards?”

“Don’t interrupt me. We need to pack some swim trunks, toiletries, and I know you’re worried about your mom so we’ll go grocery shopping for her before we leave in the morning.” Feet tapping excitedly, “This is gonna be so fun. You start packing, I’ll go shopping. Rendezvous in an hour.”

Before he even gets a chance to put a word in, she’s already out the door.

—

Later that night, when everything is messily thrown into one oversized backpack and a rucksack and the fridge is chock full of groceries for his overworked mother, he gets a text.

TA: i know you said not to bring it up but i dont care TA: i searched it up and apparently cold and hot compresses can help with the pain on your knee TA: also getting shoes with really good support would help too. i modeled for some shoe brands, i can def get you some discounts!!! TA: like, i know this is all base level stuff and you know this already, but i bet you we can ask sophia for more help. maybe she can access top secret doctor stuff for knee injuries?? :O

Ryuji stares at his phone for a long moment, before shoving it under his pillow.

Great. Add ‘guilt’ and ‘keeping up with a lie’ to the list of shit he has to worry about.

—

“A lake!” Yusuke cries, kneeling in front of the body of water like a man discovering a desert oasis. Gently, he cups the clean water and cradles it against his cheek. “You are nothing like the garbage-infested sewers in Tokyo. You are crystal clear. You are divine. You are salvation. You are—”

“Akira, Inari’s being a weirdo again,” Futaba points an accusing finger at Yusuke, who’s shirt is slowly absorbing more and more of the water. “At this rate, he’s gonna have to change.”

Makoto grunts as she lugs out the grill singlehandedly, a loud clang ringing out when she nonchalantly sets down a family-sized piece of machinery. “Alright, here it is.” She catches the look of awe that Ryuji’s giving her. “Does it still shock you that I can probably bench press you twice over?”

“I’m just trying to figure out where you’re hiding all that muscle, prez,” he snorts, and it’s the truth. Her and Akira must be the same breed, considering they’re both way too lithe to be this strong. He’s seen the way they throw a punch in the Metaverse—they could probably disintegrate a dude in real life if they really wanted to. Like yeah they workout, but not that much. Maybe they’re dieting too? He’s tried dieting, but ramen is just way too good, even at the expense of muscles.

“Ryuji, when you’re done spacing out, can you grab the ingredients?” Akira calls out.

“Ugh, cut the mind reading dude, it scares the hell out of me.”

He shoots him a signature Kurusu Akira smile; small yet disarming all the same, and it never fails to get Ryuji’s heart to do weird flips. “It’s not mind reading once you realize that I’m just obsessed with you.”

Instead of answering, Ryuji grumbles as he stalks off into the RV. Damn him and his genuine words and compliments.

He pulls out their luggage from underneath the table. Akira doesn’t need to say what ingredients he needs to grab—he’s helped out enough times during Leblanc’s afterhours to know the curry spices by heart. Ryuji might be a failure, but hey, he can do this no problem.

Grabbing bottles and shakers and balancing them on top of his arms like an overworked waiter, he glances left and feels his heart dropped. The envelope from his room—dust-free from rubbing against the rest of his luggage—is sticking out of his backpack. After a quick adjustment, he uses his free hand to shove it deep in his bag, hearing the paper crinkle in on itself.

It was a spur of the moment decision to bring it along with him, one that he’s still half-regretting. Why’d he do it? Maybe he was worried that he might enjoy this trip a little too much? Maybe he was some kind of masochist that likes having his problems and anxiety follow him literally everywhere he goes? Maybe he was scared to hell and back that his mom would find it before he had a chance to tell her himself? Fuck if he knows.

Poking his head out of the door, he yells, “Heads up!”

Throwing a bottle of black pepper, Akira catches it without looking. “Thanks.”

“Don’t sweat it.”

“Too late, I already sweat a little bit.”

Ryuji squints. “It’s sweated. Right, Ann?”

“Don’t look at me. I went to America for modelling, not a spelling bee.”

“I won all my spelling bees in middle school,” Makoto says, chest puffed out in pride.

“Were you the only one who joined?”

“That’s not important.”

Akira’s phone beeps enthusiastically, and Sophia’s voice rings out. “Got it! According to the internet, ‘sweat’ and ‘sweated’ are both grammatically valid. Technically, both Ryuji and Ann are correct.”

“Can we all just shut up for a second about sweating, for the love of god,” Futaba fans her face weakly. “It’s already sooooo hot. I feel like my skin is melting. Yusuke, is my skin melting?”

He looks at her for a moment, peering closely. “Yes.”

“How about we go in for a quick dip in the lake?” Haru offers, and Ryuji suspects that she can feel the same energy that he’s feeling when the group gets like this. “We were all talking about how beautiful it was, and it would cool down Futaba-chan no problem.”

She leans down, swirling her hand in the water. “It’s a little chilly, but it’ll definitely take care of the heat.”

“Good idea!” Futaba jumps up and throws off her shoes, ready to march in. “This is gonna feel so good.”

“Socks!” Akira reminds her.

“I know that!”

Haru and Yusuke follow suit, eager to get away from the heat, Makoto going in to change to shorts. Ryuji guesses it’s probably not an easy feat to roll up leather pants. Probably makes it either to ride motorcycles, or whatever people with leather pants do.

He feels a poke in his side. “You hopping in with them?” Akira asks.

No. The answer is already at the tip of his tongue, ready to roll out. Given how cramped the RV is, keeping up the trademark Sakamoto energy while lugging more baggage than an airport employee is brutal. It’s barely been a day since they started the trip, and he’s not sure how much longer he can keep this up. Already his chest feels heavy with something, and whenever all the windows are rolled up, it gets weirdly hard to breathe. But if he says no, Akira would definitely know something was up.

“Uh—”

“Actually, I think we’ll take over the curry for you,” Ann cuts in.

Ryuji turns to her, startled and wide eyed.

“Why?” Akira asks, just as confused as he is. They both know how much Ann loves being in the middle of things, especially in group hangouts.

“Because you look like you could use a break. I know for a fact that you had to pack Yusuke’s stuff for him, or else the van would’ve had fifteen canvases and an easel, and you had to grocery shop for everyone, and talk Haru out of a guilty spiral because she wasn’t confident enough in her driving. And all this before—” Ann looks down at her wrist to peer at a non-existent watch. “Five o’clock.

He frowns. “Sure, but I’ve done twice as much during our prime. This,” he gestures at the pot. “Is a walk in the park. Thank you, though.”

Ann sighs, heavy and contemplative. “I didn’t want to say it out right, but since you’re being difficult…” She places a hand on his shoulder. “You should hang out with Futaba more. Being gone from her for that long has been rough, and yes, we took care of her while you weren’t there, but you’re different.” Her hand tightens. “You know, Wild Card and all that.”

“That’s not what that means, but I appreciate the effort,” Akira says. Despite his words, it’s clear that what she said bothered him. Eyes flickering to Futaba, enthusiastically kicking the water to see how far the droplets would go, he directs his gaze to Ryuji. “Is it okay if…?”

Ryuji rolls his eyes, pretending like relief isn’t crashing through his body. “Go.”

Akira kisses his cheek. “Thank you.” When he pulls away, he gives Ann a hesitant look.

She grimaces. “Thanks, but no. Go hangout with the gremlin.”

He gives her a salute and saunters off, rolling up his jeans to wade through the water, making sure to splash Futaba on the way there.

After a moment of silence, he sighs. “Fine, I’ll say it. Your acting classes are actually doing you some good.”

“Ha!” she points at him triumphantly. “And you said it’d be a waste of time!”

“I didn’t say that.” Ryuji slouches into a nearby camping chair, the one that Sojiro forced them to lug along, hoping that some of his fatigue would seep away. “We both know that Futaba’s never been better, so what’s up? Why’d you throw out Akira like that?”

“It’s not for me, stupid,” she scoffs, but he can’t help but feel the weight in his chest get even heavier. He sinks even deeper into his chair. “The water was cold, right? That would make your knee even worse.”

“Yeah,” he blinks, having already forgotten the whole fucked-up knee story. “Thanks.”

“I won’t chew you out for not telling Akira, even though I should. But like I said,” she ruffles his hair. “I got your back. I know it must be hard, but you’re still acting all normal. We’re lucky that it’s only affecting you in the real world, too.” She had come up with that one herself, and thank god she did, cause he wouldn’t have known what to say if she had confronted him on how he could easily do flips and sprints in the Metaverse. “That just takes a lot of guts, and even though I know for a fact this would make you feel so much better once you tell him, I trust that you know what you need better than me.”

“Quit trying to look all cool,” he says, and prays to fucking god that the red on his face comes off as embarrassed gratitude rather than earth-shattering guilt. “And aren’t you supposed to be cooking, curry master?”

“Hey, he asked you to do it, not me. I’ll help you get the ingredients, but no way I’m doing the whole cooking shebang.”

“Ugh, fine,” he says, as if he doesn’t secretly love the idea of getting to cook for Akira this time instead of the other way around. Pushing himself up, Ann reaches out to help him. “You don’t gotta baby me, Takamaki.”

“I’ll baby you for as long as I need to, and then eventually Akira will be the one babying you. We come in shifts.”

“I hope you’re unionized.”

Makoto pokes her head out of the RV, wearing a showercap. “Did someone say unionized?”

“What the hell?” Ryuji staggers back in shock. Crap. “How long have you been there?”

“And why are you wearing that?” Ann gasps.

“Not long, and I don’t want my hair getting wet in case I fall in. We have no idea what’s been in here.”

“Were you going to fall in a bathtub?”

“Did you want me to push you in?”

“No, ma’am.”

—

There wasn’t a problem initially. Well, not one in Palaces, anyway. Wait, they’re called Jails now, which is really confusing. Ryuji’s just gonna have to avoid using those words so he doesn’t make himself look like an idiot.

Back in Shibuya, it had been...fine. Attacks landed, punches were dodged, Batons passed like his life depended on it (and it did). Like clockwork, instinct came to him and the weird nostalgic normalcy of fighting Shadows made it bearable.

Ryuji was off his game, and he could tell.

But he was barely off his game. If anything, he still had a foot on his game. Maybe even an entire leg on the game if he was being generous. He was still enough on the game that even Akira doesn’t notice.

But the weird part was, he doesn’t mind the fact that he’s off his game. In an even weirder way, he’s never been more on his game in his entire life.

“There!” Futaba’s voice crackles through the comms. “Uncle is open wide!”

“Her name is Ante, Oracle,” Makoto responds, brass knuckles jammed into the throat of some poor Shadow. “It’s open, but it’s vicious.”

Ryuji calls for Kidd just as she pulls away, wiping out the rest of the weaker ones with ease. “This thing’s like a goddamn mousetrap.” Ante’s serpent body slithering on the cool tiles so fluidly that it gives him the creeps. Her tail has tiny spikes etched into it, like mini knives hot glued onto a tetherball. The minute any of them even come close, she strikes outwards. “How vicious is vicious?”

“Depends on how fast you are.”

Akira’s head jerks up, and when their eyes meet, cracks a smile. “Fast, you say?”

Ryuji grins wider than he has in days. Joker relying on him? How can someone not feel a little giddy at that? “Say no more, leader.”

He stretches quickly, and feels eyes piercing the back of his head. Ann, probably. Shrugging it off, he sprints low towards Ante. As long as Ann doesn’t say a word, there won’t be a problem.

She’s taken hits from where Akira’s been concentrating on her. A mixture of bullet holes in its scales mixed in with cross slashes from where his bless attacks hit had left her delirious and pissed off. When he’s close, she bares her fangs and strikes, only for him to skid on the smooth tiles, rugged hands touching his mask.

“Come on out, Captain!”

His blond hair ruffled from Kidd’s attack, a crack of lightning came down from his Persona’s mangled hand, and a split second later her tail had been sliced clean through. And another crack comes, her neck landing on the tiles with a muffled thud. An attack that should’ve just been enough to incapacitate Ante had instead completely decapitated her.

A beat of silence passed as everyone processed what had happened. Ryuji’s mouth drops open, but he can’t muster any surprise.

He doesn’t know how, or why, but for some reason his attacks have been at least five times as strong as they had been back before the Metaverse was still intact. Moves that he didn’t even know are on the tip of his tongue, as if he had practiced them all his life. Normally this would only happen after rigorous training for months, adding up in tiny increments.

Now it happens every day.

“Well, looks like someone woke up on the right side of the gym today,” Futaba laughs awkwardly.

“What on earth was that, Skull?” Haru asks, eyes wide. “I had never seen you do something like that.”

Morgana’s tail swished. “She makes a good point. When’d you learn that one?”

“I don’t know.” He calls back Captain Kidd, eyeing the drop that Ante had left behind, but doesn’t move forward to snatch it up. “But whatever the reason is, it’s awesome as hell. I mean, did you see that? Sliced that thing open like a stuffed bear.”

“Let’s not bring stuffed animals into this, please,” Makoto frowns.

Akira’s giving him a look again, and it leaves Ryuji unsettled. “What is it, dude? I got something on my face?”

“No,” he steps closer, and his voice drops. “Are you alright?”

“Am I alright? I’ve never been better, man.” He flashes him a grin, hoping that it’s bright enough to distract Akira’s ever-searching eyes. “Come on, let’s get moving. Natsume’s heart isn’t gonna change itself.”

After one last glance, he nods, and Ryuji can see the minute Calculating Joker comes back. “You heard him. Let’s get moving, everyone.”

They all follow him up the stairs, eager to get moving past the eternally bleary and uncreatively written setting of Natsume’s Jail.

“Psst!” Ryuji hisses at Ann, who turns to him with a question in her eyes. “Panther! Get your ass over here!”

“What?” she whispers back.

He rubs the back of his neck. “I fucked up my knee when I rushed her, and I still haven’t told Joker, so do you mind…?”

An expected look of disapproval emerges from her expression, and Ryuji hurries to beat her to the punch. “I know, I know! But I can’t tell him in the middle of all this, now can I?”

“Fine,” she grumbles before calling Carmen. “I’ll cover you for now, but only ‘cause I’m a good friend and I’m super cute.”

“Yeah, the cutest, prettiest, whatever.” He glances over to Akira, swooping down to grab Ante’s drops before heading up. “Quick, before he looks back.”

Diarama washes over him, and even though relief floods through his body, he can feel a bead of sweat running down his temple. He’s not sure if it’s from her inherent heat or from the stress of lying to her again.

“Better?” Ann asks.

“Way better. Thanks.” He catches Sophia looking at them curiously. “The kid’s watching us. You better move ahead before she starts analyzing our personality types or something.”

Her eyes light up. “You think she’d do it if I asked? I really wanna know.”

“Just go!”

Ann hurries to catch up to Sophia, and while she’s distracted, Ryuji gently rolls up sleeves—he had gotten nicked by Ante as he slid. Normally that wouldn’t have been a problem; he had gotten thrown through walls, been hit by mini hurricanes, been blown up by a boat, and walked away from all that still swinging.

Yet lately, any tiny, fractional, miniscule injury is enough to shoot unbearable pain throughout his entire body. It’s as if he was back in Kamoshida’s Palace, where every punch thrown at him had been life or death.

Glancing down at his forearm, he sighs. The cut was gone, but he can’t keep asking Ann to heal him in secret every time.

“Skull?”

Hurriedly pulling down his sleeve, he glances up to see Akira standing in front of him.

“Everyone’s waiting for you,” he says casually, as if those words don’t mean the entire goddamn world to Ryuji. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” he answers, shaking his head. “My bad. Let’s go.”

They clambered up the staircase, and Ryuji decides that all of that stuff—getting injured and having it hurt like hell—just isn’t too important.

That just means that he’ll be fine as long as he doesn't get hit, and he’s had plenty of experience dodging punches that were thrown at him before.

—

“Cheers!”

All of them raise their red plastic cups, clinking it against each other in a way that they see adults do all the time on TV. Apple juice and iced tea slosh as they gulp it down eagerly, excitement so prevalent that they can hardly taste the cheap, convenience store-esque quality of their drink.

“This isn’t too bad,” Makoto muses, leaning against the faux-leather seats of the RV. “Though it would probably taste better if it wasn’t room temperature.”

“Does it look like this place has a mini fridge?” Futaba says, legs swinging down from her top bunk. “That’s a good idea though. I should’ve bought mine from home. Can you imagine we’re halfway through a six hour road trip and you want iced coffee and boom! Two feet behind you is Futaba’s Ice Cold Cafe, one hundred yen per use.”

“I hope you’d be ready to sleep on it, because this place is cramped enough as is,” Akira slaps the wall a few times, the way a rancher would a sturdy horse. “We’re lucky with what we have.”

“I know that! Without this thing we never would have been able to conquer Natsume’s Jail.” She reaches down to muss Yusuke’s hair. “I’m sure Inari feels good about that.”

He smiles, hair sticking up in all directions. “Of course I feel satisfied. Though I understand his struggle, being able to stop a fellow artist into becoming a true monster is always something that will bring me joy. Justice will never stop feeling good.”

“Cheers to that!” Ann raises her drink. “And you know what? This wouldn’t have been possible had Ryuji not kicked some major ass in that Jail.”

The group whoops and hoots loudly, and Ryuji can’t help but scoff when Ann winks at him. “Aw guys, you’re making me blush. I’m fucking awesome, sure, but we’re all pretty amazing.”

Haru shakes her head. “She’s right, Ryuji-kun. WIthout you, defeating dragon Natsume would’ve been much more difficult.”

“Even I can admit that you’ve gotten much stronger, Skull.” Morgana leaps onto the table, licking up the bowl of apple juice that Haru had left him. It feels wrong to let an animal drink that, but he’d never say anything about it. “Have you been training?”

Ryuji shrugs. “Yeah, a little.”

“Ooo, look at Mr. Humble all of a sudden,” Futaba jeers.

“I’m always humble!”

Ann grimaces. “I don’t think so. Remember when you finally got Akira to go on a date with you—”

“How dare you. He was begging me to go on a date with him—”

“And you wouldn’t stop telling us about how you had nabbed the coolest guy in Tokyo—”

Ryuji nearly jumps over the booth to put a hand on her mouth. “Quit yammering, Takamaki, I’m begging you.” He feels something slimy on his hand, and pulls back quickly. “Ew, did you lick me?! That’s so effing gross.”

“You’re gross.”

He feels a hand on the small of his back, warm and familiar. “I don’t think you’re gross, Ryuji,” Akira says. “I think you’re very clean.”

A harmonic beep rings through the air. “Sorry to interrupt,” Sophia’s clear voice cuts in. “But Akira, you got an email.”

“Thanks Sophie.” He points to where his phone is perched on the windowsill, propped up so she can see them celebrate their victory. “Can you…?”

Ryuji wordlessly passes it to him as everyone breaks off into smaller conversations, chatter blending into each other until it sounds like the kind of white noise he would queue up when he’s desperate to get some studying done. Immediately, Akira begins scanning through his phone, gray eyes focused.

He props his head against his shoulder to read alongside him and makes a noise of interest. “You signed up for cram school?” he asks, surprised.

“I did,” he replies, thumbing through the details of his admission.

Ryuji stares at him. “But you’re so fucking smart. Why are you paying who knows what to learn shit you already know?”

“Because Tokyo U barely cracks a 30% admission rate, and chemistry is hell incarnate.” With one last few clicks, he sets his phone down with a wince. “Sure is expensive though. We might have to reform the heart of someone in the education committee.” When he continues to stare at him wordlessly, Akira turns to him. “Don’t worry, I’m still leeching off of the Thieves' money from last year, so it’s not too bad when you take into account my part-time back home.”

“No, that’s not—I’m just—” he shakes his head and forces himself to start over. “Since when did you decide on Tokyo University?”

It’s Akira's turn to look taken aback. “What do you mean? You’d never leave Tokyo, especially if it meant leaving your mom.”

“That’s not the point. The point is I’m making you choose between me and your hometown!” he exclaims, but he already knows in his heart what Akira’s choice is going to be. It’s stupidly obvious. For some reason, the longer this conversation goes on, the tighter his chest feels.

The feeling doubles when Akira’s eyes, always focused and always sharp, subdued at his words. “Are you really comparing yourself to that place? You know I’d choose you over anything.” He reaches forward and combs through Ryuji’s hair, hushed and gentle in a way that only Akira can manage. “I’m so excited to live life with you again.”

The white noise, so comfortable before, abruptly turns overwhelmingly loud—grating and unbearable and painful to be around. Ryuji stands abruptly, barely reacting to Futaba’s yelp when he backs into her.

“Hey! What gives?”

“I…” his eyes dart around, flinching when he accidentally makes eye contact with Akira, and again when he locks eyes with Ann.

The sudden silence from the group is somehow worse than the noise from before, and if the tightness in his chest gets any more painful, his lungs are gonna burst into a million pieces and he’s not gonna be able to pick it all up from the ground if everyone’s watching.

“Trash,” he blurts out.

“What?” Makoto blinks, glancing up from her map.

“This place is disgusting and it’s way too cluttered and it’s bad to leave such a big mess so I’m gonna—” Ryuji grabs the plastic bag filled with garbage, haphazardly tossing empty cans and plastic cups into it. “I’ll be back. Don’t wait up.”

Before they can question him, he’s already out of the RV, towing trash and leaving his friends behind him.

—

“What the fuck was that?!” Ryuji screams into the sky.

He was far enough from the trailer that he knew they couldn’t hear him even if they had strained their ears, and it was late enough into the night that even the tourists weren’t poking around to look at the shrines or the Great Masamune himself.

“Keep it a secret’, my ass! That was the second dumbest thing—no, the third dumbest thing you’ve ever done in your entire life. Do you know how high that threshold is, Sakamoto? High! Higher than you can see with your own two eyes! Higher than Yaldabaoth’s goddamn crane-sized spine!”

Swooping down, he grabs a fistful of pebbles and throws it as hard as he can. “You are so selfish! What happened to keeping ‘Kira happy, you effing asshole?” Relishing in how far it went, he takes another two more. “You are so annoying. You are—” he throws, the rocks landing with a little plink. “Insufferable. Stupid. Selfish. A fucking—” this time, he doesn’t even know where it lands. “Gah!”

Turning on his heel, he glares up at the statue and grits his teeth when he sees Masamune’s stoic expression. “Don’t give me that look—you’re dead. You ain’t got nothing to complain about. Everyone’s remembering you as the guy who saved Japan, or whatever. But guess what? You’re probably a loser. A dumb, stupid loser who convinced everyone that you’re good for something when you’re worth jack shit!”

Before he can stop himself, he takes the garbage bag full of cans, glass bottles, and crumpled chip bags and hurls it at Masamune. It hits the base of the statue, far below damaging the One-Eyed Dragon himself, but the glass cracks under the force of being thrown, tearing through the plastic and causing trash and shards to explode all over the steps. Ryuji’s chest is heaving as he stares down at what he’s done.

“Impressive.”

He whirls around at the voice behind him, stomach lurching straight to the ground when he sees who it was. “In his years of war, I doubt that anyone’s ever tried throwing waste in his direction in order to defeat him.”

“Yusuke,” he breathes, feeling his frustration draining away to make room for even more guilt, if that was even possible. Ryuji cannot possibly look any more of an asshole than he does right now—tearing his throat raw in a public space, surrounded by the garbage he had thrown at a national monument in front of a guy who clearly worships and respects art that’s old as hell. “Sorry, I’ll clean it up, I promise. I was just…” he hesitates. “Talking to myself.”

Yusuke hums, unconvinced, and carefully approaches the mess in front of him. Ryuji waves him off. “No, don’t. Broken glass is a bitch, especially the little pieces. If that gets in your skin, it’s game over. You’d have to go into the hospital for sure.” He grimaces. “Trust me. My dad used to throw beer bottles at our place like he was in a ball game, and that ain’t fun, I promise you that.”

“I see.” Turning around, Ryuji hoped that he was magically going to head back to the group and not mention this to anyone there, but instead Yusuke stopped in front of a water fountain. “You’re right. If you’re not careful, it could be very easy to hurt yourself when dealing with broken glass.” Pulling out a handkerchief from his breast pocket in a way that only Yusuke can, he soaks it in water before crouching down at the shards glimmering under moonlight. “But if you use wet fabric to dab it on the shards itself—” he pats the concrete and flips the fabric over, revealing the moist and glistening pieces stuck on its side. “You can clean up the pieces with little to no danger.”

“Huh.” After a moment, he realizes that he’s making Yusuke do the dirty work for him. “Pass me that. Thanks for the tip, but I can take it from here. I mean,” he rubs the back of his neck. “It’s totally my fault that the glass is here anyway.”

He doesn’t look up from his task, eyes focused and movement meticulous. “No need. If you’d like to help, you can start picking up the non-dangerous litter around us.”

Ryuji does as he’s told, wincing as he has to pick up sticky, pop-soaked wrappers with his bare hands but he doesn’t complain. Karmic retribution has never held back against him. “The glass thing,” he starts, squatting down and picking up empty cans and plastic utensils with curry remnants still stuck to them. “They teach you that in Kosei?”

“No, from one of Madarame’s past pupils actually.” Yusuke shifts over to dab at another glass-covered section, concrete looking clearer with every pat. “Sensei had a rather violent habit of hurling canvases at the wall if they do not meet his standards, and his actions had led to many of our more fragile belongings being shattered when he did.” His tone doesn’t change, but Ryuji can see his shoulders tighten. “At least it allowed me to move away from that house very quickly, considering I had very little to pack away.”

Ryuji opens his mouth to comfort him. Instead, he finds himself speaking in a low tone. “Glad that bastard is rotting in jail,” he resists the urge to spit on the ground. “Then afterwards, I hope he rots in hell, just to really cover all of our bases.”

That pulls a chuckle out of Yusuke. “Thank you,” he smiles, and all Ryuji can do is nod. There isn’t much you can say after that without making it weird. But how weirder can it possibly get when the two of you are off towing around someone’s perception of the world on a daily basis?

They continue to work in silence; the wind is gentle, but it’s enough to rustle the leaves and allow Ryuji to feel some relief from the summer heat. He’s picking up wet paper tissues, and it’s gross, but it’s nice to be doing something with his hands.

He’s just about done his part of the clean-up when he can’t take it anymore. “Aren’t you gonna ask?”

“No,” Yusuke answers without looking up. That’s another thing that Ryuji really appreciates about him—playing dumb has never been something that he’s done to get out of an awkward situation. To be fair though, Yusuke himself is an awkward situation.

“Why not?”

“Did you want me to?”

That question makes him pause, and Yusuke doesn’t wait for an answer. “You’ve always been the most vocal in the group, and while many a time it has been our downfall in terms of secrecy, I have always considered it one of your strong points. And if you, Sakamoto Ryuji, are indeed struggling with using your words,” Yusuke’s eyes turn to him. “Then it must be very difficult to talk about.”

A beat passes. “No,” Ryuji mutters. “I don’t want you to ask.”

“Then I won’t,” he says easily. “But I do have a question.”

“Lay it on me.”

Yusuke shuffles to crouch down next to him, and it’s kinda weird seeing someone as elegant as him pose like some kind of hoodlum. “Does Akira know about your struggle?”

His mind flashes back to the confused look back in the RV and he scratches his neck roughly. “I bet he does now.”

Yusuke leans back, shocked. “He doesn’t know?”

“I’m getting there! Don’t pressure me, man. You said it yourself, I’m fucking struggling.”

“Well, yes, I did say that, but it’s Akira,” he says the name almost reverently. “I’d be surprised if he doesn’t sense that something is askew.”

“I just said that, didn’t I? Goddamn, you and Ann are just two of the same peas in the same freaking pond, aren’t you?”

“It’s ‘pod’, Ryuji,” he corrects. “Ann is aware?”

“She—” Ugh, how does he explain that she thinks she knows, but really he had lied about what he told her? “She basically knows.” And because his fat mouth just keeps getting fatter, “She’s sort of part of the problem.”

Yusuke’s eyes widen and Ryuji hurries to cover up for his mistake. “She’s not a problem, it’s just that I didn’t explain…It’s really my fault, and how I deal with internal shit, you know what I’m saying? And Ann’s just kind of in the crossfire, so what ended up happening is when I talk to her about what I’m feeling, I end up just feeling worse.” He winces. First he lies to her and now he’s shit-talking her? “I did not say that. What I really mean is that, uh, feelings...and actions...are complicated,” he finishes weakly.

“I see,” he says finally.

It seems that even Yusuke has a threshold for uncomfortable moments, because he rises to his feet. “Thank you for sharing all of that with me.”

“Uh, yeah, for sure. Thanks for the glass trick.”

“No need to mention it. It’s much easier to clean up a mess when you have someone helping you.” He points vaguely behind himself, “Would you like to head back together? I’m sure by now the festivities are winding down, and the trash you were so keen on disposing of has definitely been thrown away.”

Ryuji blanches. It grossed him out that he forgot he was holding an armful of garbage in his hand. “You go ahead. I just need to,” he rocks his arms, almost cradling the wet garbage. “Throw this out.”

“Very well. I’ll see you when you get back, then.”

He waves at him, and Ryuji wiggles in response (unless he wants it all hitting the ground and restarting that whole process again, which, no thanks.) After dumping it all into a nearby trash can, the process of which lasts several minutes since he still had to sort out the recycling, he feels a buzz in his pocket.

KA: come back when you can KA: i miss you

He takes a shaky breath.

SR: on my way

#p5 #p5s #ryuji sakamoto #akiryu #mine #fic tag #plainly in truth #akira kurusu #pegoryu #happy birthday ryuji this ones for you

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twilightknight17 · 4 years ago

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We’re at the end of the road, folks.

And god damn, I feel so validated by my Sojiro characterization. Wow. Thanks for basically making me canon for ten more seconds, Atlus. XDDD

So when last we left our intrepid heroes, they were laying at the bottom of the Jail of the Abyss, because Ichinose is an asshole. So we had to fight our way back up, carrying Sophia’s unconscious body. Which wasn’t that bad; the Jail isn’t very big. We left Sophia at the door to keep her safe, and then charged back into the hall of the Ark to hack Ichinose’s exploding crystal box thing.

Ichinose doesn’t understand why we came back.

So, yeah. I guess like... bizarro-world Maruki? Maruki wanted to alleviate suffering by granting everyone’s wishes. EMMA’s going to make it so that people can’t wish for anything.

After a kick-ass hacking battle set to the new version of Rivers in the Desert, Ichinose yells at us about our right to judge. Why should humanity keep this painful world, just because WE’RE strong? Just because we’ve never screwed up or suffered?

Which, clearly she has no idea who the fuck she’s talking to.

We’ve worked too hard to listen to that kind of bullshit.

Ichinose proclaims that “humans don’t need hearts” and charges up the laser crystal to blast us again, and Sophia steps in to block the attack. She’s still fighting Ichinose’s control even though Ichinose insists that she’s just a faulty prototype.

Apparently Ichinose created Sophia in the first place because she spent a lifetime being called a heartless doll, so she made an AI to help her learn about the heart.

I think you’re the problem, but not for the reasons everyone else is saying.

But she got angry when Sophia started asking questions of her own and basically tossed her aside, until EMMA found her and dropped her into the Shibuya Jail.

And Sophia, unlike her creator, has learned and grown, and is tired of being given orders. She’s ready to make her own choices.

That is certainly a persona.

I gotta admit, they got me. I was wondering why Sophia didn’t have her arcana yet, but for some reason, I also wasn’t expecting her to get a proper persona. I’m now wondering about the implications of someone being able to code an AI capable of developing a soul that can summon a persona. There’s a zero percent chance that Ichinose had any access to plumes of dusk, which are the reason that Aigis and Labrys gained enough consciousness to have personas. So Sophia is legitimately a miracle piece of technology.

Pandora is an interesting choice, but I dunno if I can articulate that beyond a surface-level, “Oh, because she’s Hope, and Hope was still in the box.”

I swear to god, every major villain in this game is trying to be Goro Akechi. For the last goddamn time, we don’t kill people. Get up, Ichinose. We’re leaving.

Ryuji literally grabs her by the arm and drags her out, because she’s trying to stay behind. Which just confirms for me that if Goro hadn’t put up that bulkhead door, we’d have dragged his stupid ass out of the Ship, too. XD

Back to the real world, and Tokyo is blacking out, and the Tower is losing its shit.

The metaverse is fusing with reality, the Tower is becoming the Tree of Knowledge, and hell yes we are climbing this tower after all!

Morgana points out that this is the same thing that happened last year, and Zenkichi freaks out a little bit.

You’re lucky you moved to Kyoto, sir. You missed quite a bit.

I love these kids, though. They’ve got so much black humor about this whole god thing.

The metaverse encroaching on reality means that everyone has to cram into the bus in their thief gear. Zenkichi, please. Your hat. Sir.

I love climbing this tower. I’ve been here, too! Also they have butter. XD

I was expecting the Mementos version of the lower observation deck, and instead I got some weird amalgam between Mementos and Azathoth’s boss chamber.

We had to fight Metatron as the guardian of the last elevator, which is another parallel to Yaldabaoth’s archangels. And then it’s up to what I guess used to be the high observation deck to fight the big box.

EMMA insists that all humanity wants is to let it give them all the answers, and it throws them into some sort of alternate fog world full of the voices of the public.

The Thieves are all separated, trapped in the fog. Each of them has to find their way out, and they realize that the fog of the Desires is protecting EMMA. EMMA knows exactly how calling cards work, so they won’t work on her. Instead, the Thieves decide that they need to send the calling card to the public, so that they’ll become aware of their desires again and the desires will crystalize.

...oh come on, Atlus. We’re right in the endgame.

One last hacker battle to break into EMMA’s server room in the tower, and Futaba and Ichinose manage to hack EMMA itself to deliver a calling card to everyone at once.

Love you, Zenkichi. We’ve taken out two gods already. We’re good.

Confronting the Ark again reveals a bunch of freaky tentacle arms grabbing the desires, and then the box turns into some sort of massive figure that looks sort of like Yaldabaoth, except less robot and more seraphim. It literally names itself the Demiurge, so I feel like EMMA may be drawing something from the lingering dregs of Yald’s influence? It’s cool.

Clearly no one told you what happened to the last false god that thought it knew what was best for humanity. ;) “Hope binds humanity to misery” is bullshit.

After a... not very difficult first phase, the Demiurge reveals its true form, and we split into three teams to take out its support orbs (modeled after the sephirot) and the main body.

I really liked the setup for the last boss. The teams were the first instance where it was really apparent that the whole team was fighting together. Each of the three battles was happening concurrently, and destroying the orbs has a concrete effect on the main fight. I wish we’d gotten to do things like this more often, especially during the Shadow Thieves fight.

That said, the main body was actually the easiest part of the fight? All the attacks were really telegraphed, and not particularly hard to avoid. Except for the spear jab.

But it finished off with a full-team all-out attack, and that was awesome.

The desires began to return to their owners, and we get to bask in a job well done once again.

Upon returning to the real world, it’s the next morning. Sophia’s happy that she got to be a hero, Zenkichi’s heading off to properly arrest Owada, and the rest of us need to head home, because we were supposed to be home last night. Zenkichi can’t figure out why we consider him a phantom thief, since he “only joined [us] to use [us]”. Which is silly. The Phantom Thieves are built on the bonds of friendship and stalking! It’s too late, Zenkichi. You and Akane have been adopted.

I’m a little disappointed we didn’t get to tell Akane the truth. That would have been great.

Atlus personally reaches out and pats me on the head, because Sojiro has the absolute perfect reaction to his kids coming home after a nationwide manhunt for them.

I feel so valid making him serve Lavenza coffee and be completely nonplussed about a guy marrying Death. I love him. We’re so lucky to have Sojiro. XDDDD

The next day, the kids have a celebration party for their victory, and learn that Akira is going home the next day. This kid needs to catch a break. He can’t even have a few days to relax with his friends. X’‘‘D

Everyone goes to see off Akira, though we detour to Shibuya to meet Ichinose. A news report shows that Owada was successfully arrested, and apparently Ichinose tried to turn herself in to the police, and they didn’t believe a word of it.

This is just highlighting my issues with Maruki. Even if he doesn’t think he did anything wrong to society as a whole, he never apologizes to them for what he put them through. Especially Akira. Ichinose turns around and helps them stop the final boss, and her last scene is her apologizing to the Thieves and trying to make amends for her actions. Maruki’s last scene is... “If things get bad, you can start over like me! Now we’re even!” We are not.

Sophia leaves to help Ichinose learn about the heart, Akira promises to come back for winter break, the Phantom Thieves go their separate ways once again, and the credits roll.

I’m gonna leave my final impressions in a different post, because this one is long enough already. So... look forward to that?

#Li plays P5Scramble #one more post incoming

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yusuke-of-valla · 4 years ago

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like rats fleeing a sinking ship, pt. 4

Whumptober Alt. 10

Prompt: Nightmares

TW: Mentions of bruises, the interrogation scene, and Shiho’s suicide attempt though the latter two are only mentioned briefly

<-Previous Next->

AO3

Ann pulls herself up into a large tree in Shiho’s backyard, and knocks on Shiho’s window.

She’s done this thousands of times before, but this time she’s shaking as Shiho opens the latch and Ann spills into her room.

“Shiho, I-” Ann starts, but she can’t make out the words.

“Ann? Ann what’s wrong, do you need help?” Shiho asks.

Ann stares at her for a second, a thousand thoughts flying through her mind, before settling on “...you don’t know?”

“Shiho? Is something wrong?” Shiho’s mother calls from downstairs.

“D-don’t let them know I’m here!” Ann whispers quickly.

“Just knocked over some books mom, it’s fine!” Shiho responds.

“Alright, just be careful!”

“I will!”

Ann relaxes a bit, slumping against Shiho’s side.

“I’m sorry, I’m-”

“Ann, take a deep breath for me, alright?” Shiho says, guiding Ann to her bed.

Ann sinks into the bed, and tries to organize her thoughts. The truth is, it all doesn’t even feel real yet. They’re wanted criminals. Not the Phantom Thieves, but them themselves. Ann Takamkai, Ryuji Sakamoto… all of them had their names and faces plastered everywhere.

Ann swallows. “Shiho, do you know about the Phantom Thieves?”

Shiho blinks. “Uh, yeah, of course.”

“I’m one of them. And now the police are after us.”

Shiho stares at Ann. “Oh.” Ann tenses up again, and Shiho quickly turns to her. “Sorry, I’m just surprised— or maybe I’m not. You being a Phantom Thief actually makes a lot of sense, but you can stay here, obviously.”

“Really?”

“Of course! I’m not leaving you to get caught by the police!” Shiho says. “My parents don’t barge into my room or anything, and I’m still being homeschooled while I recover so it’s not like I’ll be leaving you home in the house or anything.”

“Shiho…” Ann wraps her arms around her best friend. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem.”

Shiho grabs an old sleeping bag, a relic that’s survived many of their past sleepovers, and rolls it out for Ann while Ann borrows some of Shiho’s pajamas.

“As long as you’re here, wanna help me with my English homework?” Shiho asks.

“Yeah, sure.”

They go over the homework until Shiho insists Ann go to sleep, so Ann steals a pillow off of Shiho’s bed and curls up in the sleeping bag.

Ann closes her eyes and tries to sleep, but can’t stop thinking about, well, everything.

Makoto had said to avoid using phones before cutting off, so Ann doesn’t know what anyone is doing. None of them were prepared for this, none of them had even considered it an option.

Maybe that was on them though, maybe they should’ve thought about the possibility, but who could blame them? They had just gotten the upper hand after being manipulated for months by Shido and his stupid conspiracy. Now it turns out he had a trump card none of them suspected.

Ann’s thoughts run around for what feels like hours, until even with her eyes closed Ann can tell that Shiho turns off the lights and climbs into the bed.

“Hey, Ann. Trouble sleeping?”

Ann opens her eyes and stares at the dark outline of Shiho. “Yeah, sorry was I bothering you?”

“No. Not at all. Wanna talk about something?”

“...sure. I could use a distraction, honestly.”

Shiho sits up and looks down at Ann. “So… did the Phantom Thieves really kill Okumura?”

“No!” Ann says, sitting up as well. “We didn’t! We were just trying to help and we got framed by Shido.”

Shiho places a hand on her shoulder. “I figured it was something like that. I wasn’t accusing you, I just wanted to know what happened. And I want you to know that even if you had killed him, I’d still help you.”

“Thanks.”

Ann can just barely make out Shiho’s smile in the moonlight. “‘Course. You’d do the same for me.”

“Yeah,” Ann says, laughing a little for the first time all day. “Heck, I’d help you hide the body.”

“Honestly, you’d probably help me commit the crime.

“Totally.”

They settle into silence again, and Ann leans back down on the floor. “What do you think my parents think,” she asks, suddenly.

“Would the news have even reached them?”

“I’m not sure. The rest of the world started to pay attention to the Phantom Thieves after Medjed, but I don’t know how they reacted to the news about Okumura. Wonder if they’re also calling for our heads.”

“Even if they are, I think your parents would help you.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. You’re their daughter.”

Shiho says it so confidently, Ann can almost believe it. “It’s a nice thought, I guess.”

“Ann, you’re going to be okay. I promise.”

Ann turns over and tries to close her eyes again. “Good night, Shiho.”

Ann is running through Sae’s palace, trying to avoid the shadows at Oracle’s instructions. She slips out one of the back windows. From her perch she can see a bunch of police going after Joker.

She should try to regroup with the others, but can’t help but watch. She winces in sympathy as one of the officers kicks Joker and causes him to fall off the ladder he was climbing.

Except when Joker falls, his mask falls off too, and it isn’t Akira.

It’s Shiho.

Shiho who’s grabbed by the police and dragged away kicking and screaming, and covered with bruises, just like Akira after the interrogation just like Shiho after she jumped…

Ann jolts out of bed. She gets up clumsily and rushes to the bathroom, trying not to throw up. It was a nightmare. Just a nightmare, but…

It could still happen. The police could find out where Ann is and storm the house and arrest her and Shiho and Shiho’s parents. She’s putting Shiho in danger by being here. This was a stupid move.

There’s a knock on the bathroom door. “Shiho, is something wrong?” Mr. Suzui asks.

Ann tenses up. “Yeah, I’m fine dad,” Ann whispers, hoping he won’t realize the difference. “Just some trouble sleeping."

“Alright. If something’s wrong, just let your mother or I know.”

“I will, dad.”

Ann hears footsteps moving away from the door and relaxes. Then she meets her own gaze in the mirror.

No.

She can’t put Shiho in danger.

When Shiho wakes up, she immediately looks over to check on Ann. Her heart drops into her stomach to see her gone.

Shiho scrambles out of bed, taking in the fact that Ann’s clothes are gone, and there’s a note on the desk.

Shiho-

Sorry for leaving without saying goodbye, but I shouldn’t have come here in the first place. You’re my best friend in the whole world and I can’t risk you getting in trouble because of me.

I hope you’re not too mad. I wish things could be different. Maybe one day we’ll see each other again.

Until then

-Ann

Oh no. Oh no, no no no!

Shiho throws a coat and some shoes on over her pajamas and rushes out the front door, past her parents who are trying to stop her.

She can make out Ann’s footprints against the morning December frost, and they’re heading towards the park, so that’s where Shiho goes too.

She doesn’t want to risk calling out Ann’s name in case all the noise so early alerts the neighbors, but her heart is pounding in her chest.

Finally, Shiho finds Ann on the other side of the park, sitting on a swing with her hoodie pulled low over her head so she doesn’t stick out.

“You’re so stupid.” Shiho says, sitting on the swing next to her.

“Shiho? What are you-”

“You think you can just leave me like that?” Shiho asks. She’s angrier than she wants to be, and she can’t help the tears that roll down her cheeks. “What if something happened to you because you decided to run off in the middle of the night?”

“What if you get arrested? What if cops come to your house? You didn’t see the things they did to Akira, I can’t let that happen to you!”

“So I should be ok if something bad happens to you,” Shiho shoots back. “Ann, you’re my best friend. I couldn’t handle it if something happened to you, especially not after knowing you’re a Phantom Thief. You made Kamoshida confess to everything, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And you stopped him from killing himself so he can rot in prison like he deserves. You’ve done so much for me, more than you can even imagine, and then you kept doing it! You kept helping people, people you didn’t even know! You’re the nicest person I know, Ann you’ve got a big heart and you don’t deserve anything that’s happening to you right now. So for once, just this once, will you please let me, help you.” The words spill out and Shiho’s face is flushed as she grips the cold metal of the swings.

“I know the risks of helping you and I want to do it, because you’ve done so much more for me.”

“Shiho…” Ann reaches out and places a hand on Shiho’s shoulder. “You’ve done more for me than you could possibly know. The reason I stood up to Kamoshida, the reason I kept changing hearts afterwards, it’s because of you. You inspired me. If anything, I owe you.”

“Thanks Ann,” Shiho smiles. “Even now you’re the one cheering me up.”

“We’re cheering each other up.”

“Yeah. So c’mon. Let’s head back to the house. It’s kinda cold.”

Ann pulls back at that, and bites her lip.

“I know the risks. Let me handle it.”

“Fine. Yes, let’s go back.”

Shiho takes Ann’s hand, and they walk back to the house. On the way they, run into Shiho’s mother.

“Shiho! Why did you run out like that? And Ann-” Mrs. Suzui’s eyes narrow. “What’s going on.”

“Mom, Ann’s in trouble and she needs our help.”

“She’s a wanted criminal.”

“Mom, you know Ann! You’ve known her for years, you think she’d actually do anything she was accused of?”

Mrs. Suzui looks between the two girls for a minute before sighing. “Fine. Fine, we’ll set something up. I can talk to your father.”

“Thanks mom.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Suzui.”

“Let’s go inside, you girls must be freezing.”

~_~_~

Mr. Suzui brings tea down for everyone as soon as Ann and Shiho finish telling Haru and Morgana their story.

“So now what do we do?” Suzui asks.

“Well, the current plan is to meet at Shido’s Palace a week from today,” Haru says.

“With Ann, that means we have five people,” Morgana points out, “that’s not bad.”

“I’d feel better if we had everyone, though,” Ann says. “No word from the others?”

“We were hoping you’d know where to start with Ryuji. Does he have any family in the city or other friends?” Haru asks.

“I’m not sure who he’d turn to,” Ann says.

“I can go talk to his mom.” Suzui offers. “Or at least check out his apartment.”

“Suzui, we can’t-”

“Call me Shiho, and like I told Ann, I want to help. Ryuji’s a friend of mine too, and out of everyone here, I’m the only one who isn’t a wanted criminal.”

“Hey, what about me?” Morgana asks.

Shiho looks at him. “Well, I’m the only one who isn’t a wanted criminal, and who Ryuji’s mom can understand.”

Ann nods. “If you’re sure about this, Shiho, then yeah. You should do it. If you find him or a clue, you can meet up with Akira and move on from there.”

“It’ll be difficult staying in touch without a phone, but can we agree to meet up at Takemi’s clinic in Yogen-Jaya tomorrow evening? That way we can coordinate everything,” Haru says.

“Sounds like a plan,” Shiho says. “You can count on me, guys. Don’t worry.”

Ann smiles and grabs her hand. “I know we can.”

#alto writes #whumptober2020 #alt.10 #on the run au #ann takamaki #shiho suzui #haru okumura #morgana #wordcount: 1500-2000 #shihoann

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danganronpasurvivoraskblog · 3 years ago

Text

Bring back what I lost, keep what I have.

...

Zzz...

*In the UUV safehouse, Ayumu lays down on his temporary bed, cuddling with Marin.

*sigh*

YOU’RE A PLAGUE!

AYUMU YOU’RE A CURSE! No...NO, YOU’RE A DISEASE!

I SHOULD NEVER HAVE GIVEN BIRTH TO YOU!

YOU LEECH!

Everything bad that has happened to this family is ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT!

Tch...

...

Zzz...

*Ayumu cautiously lifts Marin’s arm off of him, and decides to go for a walk.

...

*Ayumu steps out of the safehouse on the docks and climbs on top of a cargo crate. He sits off the edge and stares at the rising sun in the distance.

Stare at the sun for too long and you’ll go blind you know?

Tsushiya...

*Akira sits down next to Ayumu and looks into the distance with him.

I don’t like the sun. To be honest, I’m indoor, NEET kinda person. Anyone opens the curtain, I hiss like an animal.

A vampire?

Good way of putting it...But I still gotta admit, this is bliss right here.

Yeah...Hopefully one day, when I’ve torn down all those walls, everyone will get to see this sunrise for what it really is.

Hm...

Ain’t your gal pal gonna be annoyed if she wakes up and finds you missing?

Marin? Wake up? Yeah, right.

That’s kinda morbid when you put it like that.

Sorry, what I mean is basically I’m her alarm clock.

I see...

...

Say...Tsuchiya...

Yeah?

Why do you do the things you do?

Hm? What’s that mean?

I mean...why do you work for Organization Zetsubou? Do you have something against the Future Foundation or something?

You seem more like the kinda guy who’s toil away on his lonesome. Not work for some...maniacal group like them.

Well, you’re very right, I am.

So...why?

Well, why do you lead the UUV?

Because I want to help people who are suffering thanks to our current government.

Kinda wish I had as reasonable an answer to give than that.

Huh? What’s that mean?

To be honest, you’re right. I do have a vendetta against the Future Foundation. And I have a specific vendetta against one of their members too.

But...that’s not why I’m with Zetsubou.

It’s not?

No. Things like tying loose ends, especially if it’s through such agonizing means like violence...It ain’t worth it.

Then why?

...

Despair. That’s all really?

Huh? D-Despair?

I mean...is that really so hard to understand?

My Grandmother was an agent of Despair, and one of Junko Enoshima’s closest followers.

I continue her legacy. Not because I want to, or because I have to...

But because the only thing in this god forsaken world that brings a smile to my face is someone else’s suffering.

I...That’s...

You didn’t expect that, I know...But let’s just reiterate a strong point here, in case you forgot. I am NOT the good guy. In fact, associating yourself with me will paint your team in a more villainous light.

But...Even so, I admire your resolve. And whether or not your goals succeed...or whether Zetsubou and Tsumugi Shirogane’s goals succeed or not...I really don’t care either way. Besides, Tsumugi’’s the one who proposed the team up. I’m just the guy who oversees it.

With all of that said...Do you still intend to work with us? Even though the repercussions might be fairly great.

...I do.

You and Zetsubou gave me these powers. If not for that, I’d still be...well...

What?

Useless...

Before I became an Ultimate Being...I had a very bad reputation, because...

*Ayumu stares down at his hand.

I’m cursed.

Cursed? Ain’t that a bit much?

No, I’m serious. Whatever I do, it will always end up going badly!

Either because I’m bad at whatever I’m doing...because I mess up...or because of sheer bad luck.

Everything?

Yes. Everything. And that curse applied to anyone that I was with as well. My own family hated me because of it.

Those guys in the UUV who are always with me? They too were affected by my curse. But they put up with it, because we’re all down on our luck.

They’re more family than anyone else.

...your family, huh?

Well, I’d imagine my family hate me too, so...

Do you have any family left?

I’ve got a brother, yeah. And there’s another Zetsubou girl who’s kinda like an annoying little sister.

You must really care about those guys in there to call them your family...

...

*Ayumu gets up and stares off into the sun.

...?

...

Make my, and everyone else’s dreams come true...That’s what I want to do. I want to save all of those starving, suffering people who got outcast and ostracized by our ruling party. It’s a duty I would like to do.

Keep the family I have, make sure we pull through this and save them. Start our lives from scratch and grow old together, regardless of whether the world is united or not, I HAVE to. I can’t lose what I have from all of this.

Right...So we’ve still got a deal?

For now...Yes...

#danganronpa survivor #danganronpa #danganrebirth voices #ayumu fujimori #akira tsuchiya #marin mizuta #misfortunes revenge arc

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lil-meow-meow-goes-rawr · 4 years ago

Text

Doubts

Pairing: Jungkook x OC

Genre: Fantasy, Pirate AU, magic, time travel, romance

Warnings: none

Rating: General

Word Count: 2.2K

Synopsis: Jungkook finds himself alone in a new time with too many questions left unanswered and no way home.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who’s been reading this new series! I do plan to update once a week if I can. If anyone would like to be added to the tag list, let me know💜 Otherwise, all parts will be posted under the #In Another Life - AU for easy finding and of course they’ll all be posted under the masterlist. Happy reading!

Masterlist

From the moment he awoke on the pier, alone and unfamiliar with his new terrain, Jungkook knew something was amiss. Aoi was not with him. He struggled to control his fear as he fought to navigate this new world. The only thing which told him this was his ocean was the familiar island cliffs just off the coast. Nothing else remained the same. The cobblestone streets had been replaced with a rough, black substance. He saw no horses as it seemed everyone in this town had become wealthy enough to own an automobile of their own. Buildings twice the size of any he’d ever seen, towered over the crowded streets.

Navigation was more than challenging. It only took one mistake of stepping out onto the street without first glancing in either direction for Jungkook to realize the dangers this new time possessed. The people here were far less friendly than those he’d met along his journeys in years past. He could not allow Aoi to navigate this horrifying new world on her own.

Jungkook spent every waking moment searching for her. With each passing day he’d become more frustrated. No one had seen her. No one seemed to know who she was. The sorceress had tricked him. He never should have allowed her to take Aoi.

That had been three years ago. The life he’d built for himself in this new time was hardly anything to be proud of. With no gift to his name, he was cast out by the rest of the people. He’d been deemed an outcast.

“Are you even listening?”

Jungkook shook himself from his own mind, blinking over to the man in front of his bike, securing a new headlight in place. Jae bore a remarkable resemblance to his quartermaster, Yoongi. He resembled that of a cat with his soft features and feline eyes. Jae was a bit shorter and his hair a striking blonde, but those remained the only differences.

“I’m sorry, did you say something?”

Jae sighed, standing up straight and wiping the grease from his hands. “You’re head’s all over the place today. Is everything alright?”

Jungkook leaned heavily across the seat of his bike, the wrench twirling lazily around his fingers. Of course nothing was alright. Today marked three years since he’d been sent to this cursed time and he still had no leads as to where Aoi may be. Three years she’d been on her own. He had no way of knowing if she was even still alive. He’d managed to fail her yet again. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

“Liar,” Jae gave him a pointed look, “you’re thinking about her again.”

Jungkook threw the wrench into the toolbox and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I don’t get it. It’s been three years. Rawena sent me here for the sole purpose of protecting Aoi, so where is she? How am I meant to know whether she’s even still alive? What if bringing her here didn’t work? I left my men to fend for themselves and yet I can’t even do the job I was sent here to do. Tell me, why do I keep thinking I can save her when I have no magic of my own?”

“Look,” Jae smacked the end of his rag against Jungkook��s cheek, leaving a smear of grease across his skin, “I know you come from a different time, but you’ve got to realize Aoi is perfectly capable of saving herself. Would she really want you sitting around blaming yourself for something that’s out of your control? You did what you felt was needed to save her life. If she’s anything like you say she is, she would have done the same for you. Now stop whining and turn the bike on. We need to have this thing up and running before Akira comes for you again.”

With a small smile, Jungkook did as he was told. Much like Yoongi, Jae never hesitated to put Jungkook in his place. He spoke the truth plainly, unlike others who would talk in circles for hours before finally saying what they mean.

Jae had given Jungkook his first bike the very day they met. It had not taken Jungkook long to learn that, if he were going to find Aoi, he would need some form of transportation. However, transportation was not easily obtained. Money was needed as an exchange. Something of which he had none. Yet finding work of any sort was next to impossible without some sort of magical skill. He’d nearly given up hope, resorting to his own methods of obtaining a vehicle. Methods which would surely land him in the prodigious prisons. Despite it all, Jungkook deemed it a necessary risk.

Luckily, the car he’d attempted to procure had belonged to Jae, a young man just a few years younger than Jungkook. With ripped jeans and an oversized hoodie which hid his tiny frame, Jae did not resemble the rest of the people from his time. Instead of reprimanding Jungkook for his actions, he offered to help. Jae found Jungkook only a week after arriving in this new world and he’d taken the lost boy under his wing, never once questioning his story.

He taught Jungkook the ways of his world and had provided him with work inside the mechanic shop his uncle owned. Whether Jae had truly believed Jungkook’s story at first, he wasn’t sure but he was glad for the boy’s kindness. For Jungkook may not have been able to find Aoi, but it had not taken Akira long to find him. Just as he had been in Jungkook’s own time, Akira was bent on destroying him in this world as well. Having met Jae was one of the few reasons Jungkook managed to survive this long.

“Have you figured out why he wants to kill you so badly?” Jae called over the sound of the engine.

Jungkook shook his head in defeat. Two days ago, Akira had attempted to run Jungkook off the road, wrecking his bike in the process. Jae had been quick to volunteer his help to fix it. “Not a clue.”

“Well, did you do anything way back in your time that may have made him hate you so much?”

“You mean besides kidnapping and dating his daughter?”

Jae poked his head up from beside the bike and grinned, “Yeah, besides that.”

Jungkook shrugged. “He’s hated me for as long as I can remember. Even before I met Aoi.”

“Well there’s got to be some reason. That witch, she didn’t give you any details?”

Jungkook closed his eyes, battling against his rising anger. It was always the same questions. Jae was determined to understand it all yet he struggled to put the pieces together. None of it made any sense. Jungkook could hardly understand it all himself.

The engine cut off as Jae pushed himself to his feet again. “Sorry, I’ll stop asking. I just think it’s a little strange. I mean, this guy’s been after you for your entire life and you have no idea why? Then there’s the sorceress who tells you to stop him but never tells you exactly what it is you’re stopping. If it were me, I wouldn’t know who to trust.”

“You think I do?”

Jae changed the subject with a small shrug, not liking the tension that had grown between them. “I’m picking Kihyun up from the hospital later.”

“Yeah? How’s he doing?” Jungkook threw his leg over the bike, thankful for the reprieve.

“He called this morning, said they’re releasing him in a few hours. If you want, we could search the upper town again while we’re there. We haven’t done that in a few months.”

Jungkook kept quiet.

Jae gave him a sidelong glance, raising an eyebrow in question.

“Honestly, Jae?” Jungkook’s voice shook slightly as he fiddled with the clutch, “I’m starting to think she’s not even here.”

“What makes you say that?”

“It’s been three years. Don’t you think we would have found her if she were?”

“Wow,” Jae dropped his rag on the table and climbed aboard his own bike, starting it up with a little more force than was necessary, “so that’s it? You’re just giving up?” Strapping his helmet on, he lifted the visor and turned to Jungkook. The disappointment in his eyes was worse than all the anger he could have shown. “I can’t tell you what to do, Kook. But Kihyun and I will be on the north side in a few hours. Feel free to join us if you want.” He sped out of the garage then, leaving Jungkook alone and buried in doubts.

Two hours later, Jungkook found himself speeding down the streets of northern Phainomai. He’d left Jae a text saying he’d meet them at the old train depot. The site had been abandoned for years. It was the location where Jae had taught Jungkook to ride, marking the beginning of his new life. Jungkook decided it would be a good enough place as any to continue his search.

Doubts lingered at the back of his mind. The voices too loud to drown out. He’d searched the northern areas more times than he could count, yet there’d been no trace of her. Jae was right though. He couldn’t just give up. She had to be there somewhere. Jungkook had attempted to leave Phainomai after the first three months but Rawena’s magic wouldn’t allow it. He was trapped within the city borders. While the city was large, after three years he felt as if he’d searched every inch of it. Jae of course had been nothing but helpful. Kihyun was much more cynical, but Jungkook couldn’t blame him. Even in a land of magic, Jungkook’s story was hard to believe.

Jungkook rested his bike on the kickstand before falling onto the bench which sat beside the old tracks. He could hardly see them beneath all the overgrowth. Aoi would have loved it there. She’d always been fascinated with abandoned places, claiming each had a unique history and story worth telling. Jungkook smiled at the memories. She’d taken them through every empty town or castle they’d come across on their voyages, much to the displeasure of his crew.

“Well, well, well,” Keiji stepped out from behind the depot building, his helmet in hand and a smirk on his lips, “look who we have here.” Fiery red hair stuck up at odd angles from being pressed beneath his helmet.

Jungkook pinched the bridge of his nose, a habit he’d picked up from Yoongi years ago. He didn’t have the energy to deal with this today.

Keiji had been a long time rival. Since the day Jae introduced Jungkook to the thrill of street racing and Jungkook had beaten Keiji his first time out, the boy had declared them enemies. Their rivalry only grew with every race Keiji lost against him.

“I don’t have time for this, Keiji. Go annoy someone else for a while.”

“You don’t look like you’re all that busy.”

“I’m waiting for someone.”

“Me too.” Keiji slid onto the bench beside him, crossing his legs and resting his chin in the palm of his hand as he braced his elbow on his knee. “I didn’t realize you were so popular.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t understand why anyone would want to hang out with someone like you. I mean besides Jae but he’s just as strange as you are.”

The more Keiji’s voice rang through his ears, the more Jungkook wanted to bash his head through a wall. After refusing to help find Aoi, Jungkook had grown a certain detestation for the boy.

“What are you doing here?”

“Some guy paid me a month’s tuition to find you. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like that. Not when Dad’s still threatening to cut me off.” Leaning in closer, Keiji’s voice dropped to a whisper, as if he were sharing a secret. “So tell me, Jungkook, what makes you so special?”

Jungkook didn’t grace him with an answer. He was on his feet and leaping onto his bike before Keiji had time to react. Keiji’s gift allowed him to know anyone’s location at any given moment, and while he didn’t like doing anything for anyone else, with enough money, anyone could be bought. Jungkook knew only one person who would pay that kind of money to learn of his location.

“Hey! You owe me a fair race. Where are you going?”

Jungkook started the engine in response. If Keiji had already alerted Akira to his location, it wouldn’t be long before he arrived. Jungkook had to be gone by then.

Fate had other plans.

Akira rounded the corner just as Jungkook shifted into first gear. Jungkook’s heart pounded wildly against his chest. The metal piping gripped in Akira’s left hand spoke of the man’s intentions. Jungkook had a feeling he wouldn’t be quite so lucky with his escape today.

Keiji shouted after them, confused and frustrated as they tore away from the depot. Tires squealed as they hit the pavement, the rubber fighting to gain traction. Jungkook was a good rider but he knew Akira was better. He would need to find some way to shake him from his tail before Akira gained the upper hand. Settling in, Jungkook hunched himself over as low as he could, feeding as much speed to his bike as he could handle.

The chase was on.

#In Another Life - AU #bangtanarmynet #bangtanfairygarden #bangtanscenery #jungkook fanfic #jungkook fantasy au #jungkook au #jungkook angst #bts #bts au fanfic #bts au #bts angst #bts fanfic

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a-fire-emblem-geek · 4 years ago

Text

The Incredible Shrinking Unlucky Student Part 1

Monodora feels like the killing game just isn’t interesting enough. He whips up an interesting new motive, which involves a peculiar thing happening to a certain unlucky student.

The day had started out average enough.

Ayumu woke up, the morning announcement blaring in his ears.

“Good morning, everyone! Please meet in the cafeteria for a very important announcement!” Monodora spoke.

Ayumu grumbled, mustering what little energy he had to get out of bed. He didn’t sleep a wink last night. The thought of a killing game was far too scary for him to sleep like a baby. But no one here looked like that they could be a potential murderer, right?

Right?

He slipped into his outfit, briefly taking the time to attempt to get the one tuft in his hair to just stick down. When that attempt proved to be fruitless, Ayumu stepped outside, only to be greeted by Seishi.

“Ah, Mr. Fujimori, good morning!” Seishi greeted.

“Hey, Seishi! Are the others at the cafeteria?” Ayumu asked.

“Only a few people. Come on, we shouldn’t keep Mr. Monodora waiting,” Seishi responsed. The mystery novelist and the unlucky student walked down the hallway.

Once they got to the cafeteria, they saw that Misuzu, Kazuomi, Kasumi, Mitsunari, and Narumi were already there.

“Good morning, Seishi. Good morning, Ayumu,” Misuzu greeted.

“Hey,” Kasumi grumbled.

“I wonder what Monodora fucking wants...” Kazuomi growled, the karate practitioner resting his head in his hands boredly.

“Hungry? I’m about to start breakfast!” Narumi chirped.

“Why did Monodora wake us up so early?” whined Mitsunari as he spoke for his puppet, Uma.

“Uma, you always wake up at 11 am!” objected Mitsunari as he spoke for his other puppet, Shika.

“Hey, I need my beauty sleep, you know!” Uma yelled.

“Now, children, we shouldn’t fight!” Mitsunari himself repremanded sternly.

“Sorry, daddy...” both puppets chorused.

Soon enough, more people started piling in. First came Aruma, who looked rather... aroused.

“Sorry, everyone! I was having the most... hot dream ever...” Aruma spoke. “It involved-.”

“Enough of that shit!” Kazuomi growled. Nevertheless, the purple-haired animal trainer went to sit by Kazuomi.

Next came in Saiji with Nico and Maiko at his heels.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone,” Saiji apologized with a polite dip of his head.

“You don’t have to apologize all the time, you know!” Maiko repremianded.

“So- Never mind,” Saiji stopped himself before he could be reprimanded again.

“I didn’t sleep. The thought of a killing game hung over my head like a hawk over a field of chickens...” Nico murmured. The poet, the undertaker, and the dancer sat together at their own separate spot at the table.

Marin and Kego came in a few seconds later.

“Good morning, everyone! Big sis hopes that you all had lovely dreams! Poka poka! （＾ω＾)” Marin beamed. Ayumu’s mood brightened upon seeing the cheerful weather forecaster.

“I was hoping that I could practice my sick beats before Monodora said that he needed to see us...” Kego mumbled.

Lastly, Mikoto came in the room with Akira not too far behind.

“Let’s see what Monodora wants now...” Mikoto grumbled. The mysterious girl sat next to the open chair near Ayumu.

“Eh, it’s probably for no good reason...” Akira concluded. The NEET took his own spot near Aruma.

Not too long after Akira sat down, Monodora popped out of literally nowhere.

“Goooooooood morning everyone!” The disembodied cat plushie head spoke. No one spoke. “Oh, come on! You youngsters are so rude!”

“You are literally keeping us here...” Akira pointed out. Monodora continued as if the dark blue-haired NEET hadn’t spoken at all.

“Anyway, I noticed that no one here was going to kill each other-!” Monodora started.

“That’s because we refuse to do that!” Seishi interrupted.

“Will you all STOP INTERRUPTING ME?!?” Monodora yelled. Once the room was completely silent, he continued. “I noticed that no one here was going to kill someone, sooo I concocted a little motive for that to happen!”

“We are not going to fall for it, Monodora!” Ayumu shouted.

“Ooooh, I think you will! Speaking of which, Ayumu... come here!” Monodora ordered. Seishi protectively wrapped his arms around Ayumu.

“He is not going to follow your orders!” The redheaded novelist yelled.

“If he doesn’t come up, I’m just gonna kill you all right now!” Monodora cackled. Ayumu gently pried himself out of Seishi’s grasp.

He got up, his legs shaking as if they were supported by jello instead of bones. Ayumu hesitantly stepped towards Monodora, his heart thundering in his ribcage like a boxer punching rapidly at a punching bag. Once he was close enough to Monodora, Ayumu found himself barely able to speak because his mouth was dryer than a desert. That was when a Monodora did something completely unexpected. He took out some kind of gun and shot it at Ayumu. The unlucky boy cringed as a tingling sensation encased his body and... nothing. Ayumu opened his eyes to see his body briefly encased in a yellow aura, which then disappeared after a bit.

“Well, that’s enough of that! Bye for now! Upupupupu!” Monodora promptly left.

A moment of silence filled the cafeteria. It was so quiet that you could easily hear a crumb drop. Finally, it was Kazuomi who broke the silence. “Hey, Ayumu? Do you... fucking feel okay?” the SHSL Karate Practitioner asked.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. I’m just... shaken up, that’s all...” Ayumu mumbled.

“Big sis hopes that nothing serious happens to Ayumu-kun... poka poka... (☍﹏⁰)” Marin muttered worriedly.

“Someone should just keep watch of Ayumu, just in case...” Mikoto suggested. “We don’t know what that beam did to him.”

“If anything at all, really,” Akira piped up. “It could just be a trick to make us think that something happened to Ayumu...”

“Guys, seriously, I feel fine!” Ayumu objected.

“I agree with Mikoto. Someone should watch Ayumu just in case...” Saiji pointed out.

“I’ll do it, Mr. Rokudou,” Seishi offered. “I hope you don’t mind, Mr. Fujimori.”

“N-not at all!” Ayumu stammered, his cheeks going as red as his eyes. Wait, why was he getting so flustered? Seishi was just a really good friend! Friends shouldn’t make other friends flustered. Ayumu shook off his romantic thoughts as he walked alongside Seishi.

The rest of the day continued as normal. Ayumu was always with at least one student: he was at first with Seishi, then with Saiji and Maiko, then with Marin and Kazuomi, and lastly with Mikoto. They never left him alone for a second. Once nighttime struck, Ayumu went back to his room, not feeling too different at all. He changed into his pajamas, got ready for bed, and crawled under the covers. For the first time since this killing game, Ayumu went into a deep sleep.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

The next day came surprisingly fast, but Ayumu found himself not wanting to leave his bed. The covers had a comforting grip on him, for they felt somewhat heavier than usual. The morning announcement broke him out of his tired stupor, and Ayumu climbed out of the covers.

Although it wasn’t obvious, Ayumu could tell that something was off. First of all, he found himself having to bend his legs a little less in order to get out of bed. Okay, nothing too strange. When he went to change clothes, he noticed that his clothes felt a bit... looser on his body. Maybe he lost weight? He hasn’t really been eating much since the killing game, no matter how delicious Narumi’s food was. But then as he could hear someone knock on the door, he noticed that the doorknob was a bit closer to his face last time.

Seishi was at the other side of the door, and he was immediately struck speechless the second he saw Ayumu.

“Uh... greetings... Mr. Fujimori...” Seishi sputtered out, still eying Ayumu up and down.

“Hey, Seishi...” Ayumu murmured awkwardly. The two boys left together.

As they walked towards the dining hall, Ayumu felt Seishi’s gaze heat up on him. Why was Seishi staring at him? Was it something on his face?

When Seishi and Ayumu got in, it became everyone who was staring at Ayumu. Some were scanning him up and down, others were whispering to the person next to them, and others gazed at him worriedly. He got his plate of breakfast from Narumi... noticing that the fork was slightly bigger.

As everyone ate, people kept glancing at Ayumu every now and then. That was when the unlucky boy snapped.

“Why is everyone staring at me?” He asked, nervousness in his voice.

“It’s nothing against you, Ayumu, it’s just that...” Saiji trailed off mid sentence.

“Something seems different about you,” Kego finished.

“Nothing really feels-.” Ayumu was cut off by a yellow aura encasing his body. A brief pulling sensation encased his muscles, and then the aura wiped away. Ayumu noticed that he could no longer touch his heels to the floor.

“W-what the fuck?!” Kazuomi stuttered.

“Is it just me, or did Ayumu get shorter?” Narumi asked, finishing her toast.

“No, Ms. Osone, we all saw it too,” Seishi replied.

“Did an evil spirit do this?!” Kasumi gasped.

“Calm down, everyone! Big sis is sure that it’s just a one time thi-! ⊙﹏⊙” poor Marin was cut off by the yellow aura encasing Ayumu’s body again, knocking him down a couple of inches.

Now everyone was freaking out.

“Is Ayumu just going to keep shrinking?!” Aruma yelled.

“D-definitely not! He has to stop eventually-!” Saiji stammered, rudely cut off by Monodora entering the room.

“Hate to tell ya this, prayer boy, but Ayumu isn’t gonna stop shrinking!” Monodora laughed.

“But if he keeps shrinking...” Akira mumbled, showing his own form of unease.

“Then he’s going to get too small for us to even see!” Misuzu finished.

“Correct!” Monodora cackled. “And he’s just gonna keep shrinking... and shrinking... and shrinking...!”

“Tell us what we could do to fucking fix this right now, you monochrome piece of shit!” Kazuomi yelled, seething with rage.

“Woah, woah, no need to get hasty!” Monodora laughed. The yellow aura encased Ayumu’s body yet again, which shrunk him down even more. “And the answer is simple, KILL SOMEONE! Bye for now! Upupupupu!” And with that laugh, Monodora disappeared.

“This is baaaaad!” Maiko yelled, looking at Ayumu.

“Oh, puh-lease, we are not going to give in to that c*cksucker’s motive!” Kasumi yelled.

“But... Ayumu...” Nico started. The yellow aura struck again, shrinking Ayumu down by a couple of more inches. Seishi looked lost in thought.

“Wait!” He spoke up. “There is a way! Mr. Monodora said that there is a chemistry room!”

“How’s that going to help Ayumu?!” Mikoto hissed.

“There are certain chemicals that Mr. Fujimori needs in order to stop the shrinking!” Seishi spoke.

“Then what are we fucking waiting for?! Let’s get them!” Kazuomi yelled.

“Wait, someone should stay with Ayumu! If no one watches him, we could step on him by accident!” Saiji pointed out, worry overtaking the voice of the typically cool and refined undertaker.

“I’ll do it,” Mikoto volunteered. “The rest of you, go!”

The other 13 students nodded, running off, leaving Mikoto alone with Ayumu.

————

Mikoto knelt down next to Ayumu, wincing as he shrunk further. Something in the back of the girl’s mind wouldn’t stop nagging her.

She failed.

She failed to protect Ayumu Fujimori, the Ultimate Unlucky Student.

Now he was going to shrink into nothingness if her classmates don’t hurry the fuck up.

“Uh... thanks for watching over me,” Ayumu spoke in an attempt to make conversation. Mikoto just nodded. Ayumu’s chest now lined up with the bench. “Mikoto? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Ayumu...” she mumbled, clutching her leg in worry.

“It’s not your fault, Mikoto, in case you were thinking that,” Ayumu spoke.

“It kind of is. I was supposed to protect you,” Mikoto hissed. That’s when she realized her error.

“Protect... me?” Ayumu echoed. He was knocked down a couple of more inches. Mikoto’s heart raced. He was now about the same height as Kego.

“I wasn’t planning on telling you this, but... my Ultimate talent is the Ultimate Bodyguard,” she spoke. Ayumu shrunk down more.

“A bodyguard?!” Ayumu echoed, still shrinking.

“Exactly. And as a bodyguard, I failed.” Mikoto grumbled. Ayumu placed a hand on Mikoto’s, which was now about the size of her entire palm.

“Hey, Seishi is gonna fix this! He and the others should be back anytime soon!” Ayumu reassured her. Mikoto gave a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it smile.

“I hope so,” she mumbled, staring off into the distance.

—————

Seishi straight up wasn’t having a good time right now.

Ayumu Fujimori, the boy he grew to care for, was now in severe danger. He didn’t know how small he was going to be when the other 13 students came back, or if he was even going to be visible to the naked eye.

Was this... all part of his plan?

‘No, don’t think about that!’ Seishi reprimanded himself, approaching the chemistry room.

“What chemicals do we need?!” Misuzu barked out, immediately rushing inside.

Seishi told them the chemicals that they needed.

“Hey, Seishi, how do you even know this?” Kego asked, currently rummaging through the supplement shelves.

It had been when they were kids. Zen thought it would be a good idea to shoot himself with a mysterious gun to scare his brother. However, Zen wasn’t counting on the gun being a rapid-shrinking gun. They had managed to stop the shrinking with those chemicals, but Zen now currently stood at an inch tall. Serves him right.

Seishi hoped that Ayumu would at least be bigger by the time the chemicals were obtained.

Saiji had gotten the first chemical, handing it to Seishi who responded with a ‘thank you’. Mitsunari had found the second, which Seishi immediately took given Mitsunari’s puppets being on his hands. Lastly, Kasumi had gotten the last chemical. Seishi immediately mixed them together, his heart racing in his chest.

The 13 Ultimates ran out of the classroom. Seishi’s stomach churned with nervousness. ‘Hopefully, we’re not too late...’

#gtronpa #danganronpa rebirth #tiny!ayumu #giant!literally everybody else #kudos to whoever knows what movie the title is spoofing #the-littlest-geek... posting about something OTHER than giant Saiji? It’s more likely than you think.#in this story Zen and Seishi are different people #the incredible shrinking unlucky student

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btsqualityy · 5 years ago

Text

Amour Vincit Omnia / 17

Warnings: oral sex (oc receiving), unprotected sex, squirting

“So, are you sure that you don’t want me to fly to Michigan and kick your father’s ass for you?” Cassie asked, making Akira laugh as they sat together on the couch in Cassie and Hobi’s apartment.

“Nah, it’s not worth it,” Akira shrugged. It was Tuesday night and Akira had been back in New York since Sunday night. She enjoyed the rest of her visit with her mom and her brother and once she was back in New York, it was business as usual; with her working in the gallery with everyone during the day and working on her art whenever she had free time.

Her and Taehyung hadn’t talked much since he left on Thanksgiving for Korea, him being busy sorting out his business and the time difference being the reasons for that. However, he was coming back to New York today and Akira could barely contain herself. She didn’t regret telling him that she loved him before he left, but she kind of wishes that she knew what to expect. Were things gonna change between the two of them because they had finally declared their love for each other? She hoped not.

“Hey Kira,” Cassie called as she waved her hand in front of Akira’s face and Akira gasped as she broke out of her thoughts. “What the hell were you thinking about so hard?”

“I just...I have something else to tell you about this weekend,” Akira said and Cassie rose her eyebrows. “Me and Taehyung told each other that we loved each other before he left my mom’s house.”

“Is that it?” Cassie chuckled. “It only took y’all long enough.”

“What the fuck do you mean, ‘is that it?” That’s a big deal!”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t but I’m honestly surprised that you guys hadn’t said it already,” Cassie admitted. “You two have been stuck to each other like Velcro since your first date so I figured that you guys would be that couple who says ‘I love you’ pretty soon.”

“Five months could be considered to be pretty soon by some people.”

“Who? Baby boomers?” Cassie wondered with a laugh and Akira rolled her eyes at her. Just as she was about to respond, Akira heard her phone ringing. She picked it up from it’s spot on the coffee table that sat in front of the couch and saw that it was Taehyung calling.

“Hello?” Akira answered after sliding the button across to accept the call.

“Hi pretty girl,” Taehyung’s deep voice said through the receiver.

“Hi,” she grinned, and Cassie smiled as she listened in. “Did your plane just land?”

“Yeah, I’m getting into my car now,” Taehyung replied and she could hear a car door shut from his end.

“You get everything settled with Vantae?”

“Eh, as much as I could,” he sighed heavily. “I didn’t wanna stay there for long so I did everything that I had to do there and the rest I can take care of when I get back into the office tomorrow.”

“Hm, well I guess you can just text me whenever you’re free then,” Akira whispered.

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, I know you’re gonna be busy for the next few days and you just got off a 14 hour flight,” Akira pointed out.

“That doesn’t mean that I don’t plan on seeing you, especially not tonight,” he said and Akira’s heart leaped. “I wanna see you pretty girl.”

“You sure that you’re not too exhausted?” She double checked.

“For you, of course not. Come over to my place?”

“Alright, I’m on my way,” Akira replied. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Ok. Bye baby.”

“Bye,” she smiled before hanging up the phone. She looked up at Cassie, only to find Cassie already looking at her with a wide smile on her face. “What?”

“Yeah, you are definitely in love,” Cassie smirked and Akira just rolled her eyes once again.

“Alright, I’m leaving,” Akira announced as she stood up and slipped her boots back onto her feet. “Love you Cass.”

“Love you too and tell Taehyung that I said hi,” Cassie replied and Akira nodded as she headed towards the door. “And don’t get pregnant!”

“Ugh, bye Cass!” Akira said as she walked out of her apartment.

................................

Akira knocked on the front door to his apartment, shifting idly from her left foot to her right when he opened the door.

“Hi baby,” he grinned, his wide smile on full display. She stepped forward, pressing a short kiss to his lips and giving him a quick hug before stepping around him and walking further into his apartment.

“How are you?” She wondered as he shut the door behind her and locked it before walking over to her and grabbing her hand in his, intertwining their fingers together.

“Tired,” he replied honestly as he let a rush of air out of his mouth. He began to walk forward, pulling her along as they walked up the stairs and down the hall to his bedroom.

“Sorry for the mess,” he apologized as they stepped into his bedroom. “I was unpacking when you knocked.”

“No, it’s ok,” she nodded before taking off her boots and climbing onto his bed, making herself comfortable. “So, how was Korea?”

“It was ok,” he shrugged as he kneeled down next to his suitcase, pulling out clothes and throwing them into his hamper. “It was just filled with tedious meetings with old ass men.”

“Are you the youngest person in the company?” Akira asked as she grabbed one of his pillows, hugging it to her chest as she leaned up against his headboard.

“The youngest with any actual say in what goes on? Yeah,” he confirmed. “And those old men hate me for it too.”

“Well, what about your uncle? Is he still a shareholder?”

“Yeah but his share is so small now, he really has no power anymore. He was serious about being done when he turned the business over to me and retired,” Taehyung chuckled.

“Why do the old ass men hate you?” She wondered with a giggle and Taehyung looked over at her, smiling lightly.

“They’re all very....old fashioned and think that the company should be run a certain way,” he summarized. “I’m trying to do what my uncle dreamed of and push Vantae into an entirely new realm.”

“And you’ve done that and Vantae is really successful because of it,” Akira shrugged. “So, again. Why do they hate you?”

“They hate me because I was right,” Taehyung said as he stood up straight, finally done with taking all of the clothes out of his suitcase and he zipped it up, carrying it over to his closet and setting it inside. “They hate the fact that I always ignore them when it comes to their opinion of me working with certain people, with certain models, with designing certain pieces. They hate the fact that I’ve ignored them and it’s always worked out in my favor.”

“Huh,” Akira hummed as she processed everything that he had just told her. He walked over to the bed and climbed onto the mattress, pulling the pillow that Akira was hugging out of her arms and throwing it off to the side before replacing it with himself, snuggling into her arms.

“I’m sorry for throwing that all on you,” Taehyung apologized and Akira looked down at him as she set her hands in his hair.

“No, don’t apologize. I actually understand what you’re saying.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. A comfortable silence settled over them as Akira continued to sift her fingers through his hair while he laid against her, his breathing slowly evening out.

“Taehyung?” She called and Taehyung grunted against her in response. “Are you falling asleep?”

“Kind of,” he admitted and Akira smiled to herself.

“Ok, never mind then.”

“Did you have something that you wanted to say?” He asked and she sighed.

“More like ask.”

“Ok, I’m listening, I promise.”

“Did you mean what you told me before you left my mom’s house?” She questioned and he looked up at her, his brow raised.

“You mean when I said that I love you?” He asked and Akira nodded. “Of course I meant it. I wouldn’t have said it in the first place if I didn’t.”

“I know but it was spur of the moment and I kind of sprung it on you and I didn’t really mean to even say it at that moment and I-”

“Baby,” he said softly as he reached up and set his pointer finger on her lips. “I love you and I mean that.”

“I love you too,” she rushed out once Taehyung had taken his finger off of her lips, making him chuckle at her. “And I mean it too.”

“I’d hope so,” he joked, making her groan as she covered her face with her hands to hide her embarrassment. “Don’t hide from me,” he tsked as he sat up, sitting up on his knees as he pulled her hands down from her face.

“Stop teasing me then,” she shot back and Taehyung smiled.

“I’m sorry pretty girl. Can I make it up to you?” He smirked and Akira’s breath caught in her throat as she nodded her head wordlessly. He leaned up, pressing his lips to hers gently. Her hands automatically tightened in his hair as he readjusted himself, slotting himself in the open space between her thighs.

“Kira, baby,” he murmured, his mouth leaving hers as he trailed kisses down over her cheek and down to her neck. “Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you.”

“Want you,” she moaned softly as he sucked on her neck. “Please.”

“Is someone begging already?” She felt him smirk against her skin. “I haven’t even done anything yet baby.”

“Full disclosure: I’ve been perpetually horny ever since I sucked you off in your airplane bathroom,” Akira confessed and he lifted his head from her neck, smiling lightly.

“Oh really, Ms. ‘I did that because I wanted to and not because I was expecting something in return’?”

“I wasn’t expecting anything in return!” She shot back with a huff as he went back to pressing kisses against her skin. “I really did just wanna suck your dick, sue me.”

“I’m teasing baby,” he chuckled. “But now I want to return the favor for you.” He whispered as he sat back on his heels. He grabbed the hem of the sweatshirt that Akira had on and she sat up as he pulled up and over her body. As soon as he threw it off to the side, his mouth was on her skin again, pressing kisses to her chest. He wasted no time in helping her unclip her bra and after she removed it, he took one of her nipples into his mouth.

“Ahh,” she whispered softly as he swirled his tongue around. He then moved over to her opposite nipple, giving it the same treatment. He then trailed kisses down her sternum, reaching down and grabbing the waistband of her sweatpants and pulling them down.

“Uh, underwear too,” she scolded lightly, making him laugh at her.

“And now you’re the one giving the orders?” He wondered.

“Not necessarily but this is about me right?” She simpered and he smirked lightly.

“That it is baby,” he nodded. He made quick work of taking of her panties off and he didn’t hesitate in coming face to face to her clit, wrapping his lips around it.

“Holy fuck,” Akira gasped, picking her head up and looking down to watch him.

“God, I’ve missed your pussy baby,” he muttered against her, swirling his tongue around her clit.

“Tae,” she whimpered.

“It’s been so long since I’ve tasted you and even longer since I’ve fucked you,” he whispered, almost to himself as he brought one of his hands up, slowly sliding a finger inside of her.

“Oh my God,” she moaned, letting her head fall back against the pillows.

“You gonna be good and let me fuck you baby?” He questioned and she nodded quickly.

“Yes.”

“I want to hear you say it,” he demanded softly and Akira lifted her head, opening her eyes and making eye contact with him.

“I’m gonna let you fuck you me,” she rushed out.

“However I want?”

“However you want Tae,” she acquiesced, making him smile widely.

“That’s what I like to hear baby,” he said, pressing one last kiss to her clit before taking his finger out of her and sitting up. Akira watched with bated breath as he pulled his shirt up and over his head, immediately moving on to his jeans and pushing them down along with his boxers. He then grabbed the base of his cock, taking time to rub the head along her folds.

“Tae, don’t tease me,” Akira whined. “Perpetually horny, remember?”

“I know baby, I know,” he chuckled. “I got you, don’t worry.” He then moved his hips forward, slowly pushing his cock inside of her.

“Fuck,” she gasped, her back arching up from the bed.

“Hold on to me baby,” he instructed and she did as he said, reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck. He reached underneath her and gripped her ass with his hands before beginning to pound into her, literally taking her breath away.

“T-tae,” she whimpered, moaning loudly when he managed to hit her g-spot.

“Shit, Kira,” he muttered as he stuck his face in her neck, his tongue sneaking out and licking her skin before he sucked it into his mouth.

“Fuck, you’re gonna make me fucking come already,” she laughed breathily.

“I can feel it,” he huffed. He let out a low growl and Akira swore, she could’ve come just from that sound alone.

“You’re so fucking deep, I can feel you in my stomach,” she moaned, throwing her head back in pleasure.

“Come on baby, come on my dick,” Taehyung encouraged her, pulling away from her neck to look down at her.

“Fuck, oh my god fuck,” she whined and Taehyung groaned loudly as he felt her walls clamp around his dick as she came for him. Taehyung continued to slowly fuck her, being careful to not overstimulate her.

“You weren’t kidding about the ‘perpetually’ horny thing, huh?” He smiled teasingly and Akira rolled her eyes as she threw her hand over her eyes as she recovered from her orgasm.

“Oh, fuck you,” she chuckled, making him smile.

“That’s not a very nice thing to say to the man you love baby.”

“The man I love lives to tease and make fun of me though,” she pointed out as she set her hands on the sides of his neck. “It’s what he deserves.”

“But he loves you right back though so that should make it alright,” he replied and she laughed as he leaned down and left open mouthed kisses to her neck.

“Are you gonna be this corny all the time now? Since we know we love each other?” She questioned and he nodded.

“Yep, I was just waiting for you to fall in love with me and now I have you trapped,” he grinned widely.

“In that case, I take it back then.”

“You can’t do that.”

“And why not?”

“Because I have too many redeeming qualities that you appreciate,” he said as he began to thrust at a normal pace again, making her moan softly.

“Which would be?”

“Well, I love you obviously. I treat you as my equal, I let you talk shit to me even though you’re the softest person I’ve ever met. Next to Jungkook of course,” he listed.

“I’m telling him that you said that,” Akira giggled.

“And most important, which is actually relevant right now, I fuck you really good,” he smirked, pushing deep into her to emphasize his point.

“I can’t argue with that,” she gasped as she reached down and set her hands on his thighs. “Fuck me Tae. Fuck me.”

“I will baby, I will,” he cooed, pressing a kiss to her forehead before speeding up the pace of his thrusts. Akira moaned loudly, the feeling of his cock inside of her and the sensitivity from her orgasm coupling together to have her eyes rolling into the back of her head.

“Oh, right there,” she whined. “Right fucking there.”

“I need you to come again for me,” he told her suddenly as he looked down at her.

“I don’t want to yet,” she whispered.

“You’re gonna have to because I’m gonna come soon,” he chuckled.

“I don’t even know if I can,” she huffed. Taehyung then took one hand and cupped her jaw, squeezing lightly as she looked up at him.

“You can because I’m gonna get you there, ok?” He said and she nodded. “You want me to make you come again baby?”

“Please,” she whispered.

“I need to hear it.”

“Please make me come Tae,” she pleaded softly and Taehyung smiled before angling his hips and pounding into her again.

“Come on pretty girl,” he goaded as he reached down and rubbed her clit for her. “Fucking come on me.”

“I-I’m close,” she stuttered, shutting her eyes and turning her head to the side before letting out a loud moan. Taehyung’s hips stuttered as he felt her coming, her body shaking as she squirted on his dick.

“Where can I come baby?” He asked.

“My, my stomach,” she whispered and Taehyung nodded before pulling out of her and wrapping his hand around himself. He stroked his dick, shutting his eyes and moaning softly as ropes of his cum shot out and landed on Akira’s skin. Once he was done coming, he exhaled harshly and set his hands on Akira’s hips, using his thumbs to rub her skin softly.

“You still there pretty girl?” He wondered and she shook her head tiredly.

“The more we have sex, the more that I’m convinced that you’re trying to kill me,” she muttered and Taehyung laughed loudly.

“Not trying to kill you, just wanna make you feel good.”

“And you always do,” she nodded before extending her arms out towards him. “Come cuddle.”

“Let me clean you up first baby,” he said before moving over to his nightstand table, where he grabbed a few tissues from the box that he kept there. He used them to wipe his cum off of her stomach, throwing them into the trashcan next to his bed afterwards.

“Now cuddle,” she demanded and he smiled before moving up towards her, pressing a kiss to her lips before leaning back to look at her.

“Love you,” he said.

“Love you too,” she replied with a sleepy smile and he laid down next to her, wrapping his arms around her body and laying his head on her chest.

119 notes · View notes

therainroguefanfiction · 4 years ago

Text

⁂ Falling Harder (Shinji Ibu)

Genre: Friendship, Slice of Life, Fluff, Comedy ☁

Word Count: 3,520 ☁

Pairing: Reader x Shinji ☁

World: Prince of Tennis ☁

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

“Hurry up you two!” Momoshiro called from up ahead. He was making you come along to the street tennis courts with him, even though you and Ryoma didn’t want to go.

“Shut up, Momo!” You both chorused back.

He rolled his eyes and ran up the stairs with the two of you a few minutes behind.

When you finally climbed the stairs, you found Hajime Mizuki, Shinji Ibu, Akira Kamio, and Yuuta Fuji there. They were having a doubles match; Mizuki and Yuuta vs. Shinji and Kamio. You and Momo sat on the bench and watched the match while Ryoma leaned against a tree.

The match ended with Shinji and Kamio as the winners, and the four of them walked over. Kamio glared at Momo, “What are you doing here?”

“An invited us,” he glared back.

“She invited you, not us.” You pointed to yourself and then to Ryoma.

Ryoma nodded, “You made us come.”

“I don’t mind you two,” Kamio muttered.

“What?!” Momo yelled, jumping up and pointing an accusing finger at him, “What makes them so special!?”

The two of them started to argue back and forth, first about An and spiraling into random events that happened before they even met.

Mizuki grabbed your arm, sitting down on your right, “Do they always do this?”

“Yup,” you quipped, watching the two yelling at each other.

“They’re being too loud,” Shinji muttered quietly, nearly making you jump; you hadn’t even noticed him sitting there.

You glanced at him, “That’s nothing new either. Those two only have two settings – loud and louder.”

“Like you’re better than I am!?” Momo screamed, getting into Kamio’s face.

“You’re damn right I am!” Akira screamed back.

The sound of giggling broke your attention away from their bickering and you turned around to see a girl about the same size as Ryoma. She had deep green hair and blue eyes. She was giggling and staring at Shinji who tensed as soon as he saw her.

“Hii~ Shinji!” she giggled again, holding her folded hands to her chest.

“Hello,” he answered, his voice emotionless as he turned back around, giving the two quarreling boys his full attention.

The girl smiled and ran over, sitting next to him, much closer than she should have. In response, Shinji moved closer to you, trying to escape the girl as she scooted closer and closer until she was practically in his lap.

He closed his eyes as she grabbed his arm, hugging it tightly to her chest.

“I didn’t know you swung that way.” Mizuki chuckled.

Shinji didn’t even acknowledge him, so you hit Mizuki in the back of the head in his place.

“What was that for?!” he cried in surprise, glaring at you. “Why do you have to be so mean?”

“Don’t be a jerk, Hajime.” you hissed.

He scowled at the use of his first name and Yuuta chuckled from beside him.

“What are you up to this weekend, Shinji baby?” the small girl giggled.

He shook slightly, his eyes staying closed. A couple minutes later, he lifted his free arm and put it around your shoulder, pulling you closer to his side. “I’ll be spending it with my partner.”

You raised an eyebrow in question but said nothing. Mizuki jumped up and sent you an accusing glare, “When the hell did that happen?”

Both Akira and Momo stopped yelling at each other, having been drowned out by Mizuki’s outcry. Putting on a fake smile, you stomped on his foot before sending him a warning look, telling him to shut his trap. He scowled again, plopping back down onto the bench and rubbing his sore foot.

“You never said anything about dating Y/N.” Akira murmured to Shinji, sending him a suspicious look.

“Neither have you,” Momo stared at you with the same look.

The small girl removed herself from beside him to stand in front of the group, her eyes watering, “I t-thought we had s-something s-s-special!” And with that dramatic act, she ran away.

Shinji made no movement as his eyes slowly slid open. Everyone stood around the two of you, waiting for some sort of answer. Silence settled over the group before he finally spoke up, removing his arm and putting some distance between the two of you.

“She has been stalking me for two months,” he muttered, so soft that the other boys had to lean closer to hear him properly. “She does this every time I try to tell her there is nothing between us. She always comes back.”

“I get it,” Yuuta snapped his fingers. “You told her that Y/N was your partner in hopes that she’d leave you alone.”

Shinji slowly nodded, “Sorry.”

“It’s fine, I understand.” you offered him a smile.

“I won’t allow it!” Mizuki jumped up, stomping his foot on the ground much like a child would. “I won’t allow my little sibling to be used like this.”

You rolled your eyes and stood, kicking Mizuki hard in the face with the bottom of your sneaker. “Will you shut up, I’m not even related to you.”

He twitched slightly before stepping backward, holding his nose. “How can you be okay with this? He’s using you!”

“It’s not even a big deal,” you responded, smacking his hands away when he tried to grab you. “It’s not like it’s real or anything.”

He blinked a few times before sighing, “Fine. But I’m not happy about this!”

You rolled your eyes as he stomped his foot again and then you sat back down next to Shinji who hadn’t moved an inch. You took his hand and held it in both of your own, “Don’t worry, Shinji. I’ll play along.”

He blinked slowly, his navy eyes set on your hands. “Thank you.”

You nodded, “Happy to be able to help!”

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

It’s been about a month and a half since you became Shinji’s partner. Honestly, it wasn’t as much work as you thought it would have been. You hung out with each other like you normally did, with the exception of holding hands and hugging, and you were spending a lot more time with Fudomine, as well. Mizuki and Momo liked to tag along, both for different reasons; Momo had nothing better to do and Mizuki was being an idiot. Even Ryoma came quite a few times, as well. Against his will, of course, but that’s just minor details.

The little girl, who you soon found out went by the name Gracie, had started to come around less and less, instead choosing to hide in the shadows, going after Shinji when you weren’t around. Apparently, she hated and felt threatened by you all at the same time.

You were sitting inside the burger joint with Shinji at your side, hand clasped within your own. Ryoma sat to your right, stuffing his face while simultaneously glaring at Momo who was glaring back and also stuffing his face. Eiji was trying to contain his laughter as he watched the two of them. Eiji, Shinji, and yourself had already finished eating and were just waiting on the two boys to finish their eating contest. Honestly, though, it didn’t look like there was an end in sight anytime soon.

Your phone started to vibrate in your pocket so you stood up and stretched before bringing it to your ear, “Yeah?”

“Hey, Y/N-chan.” It was Taka.

You smiled at the group before excusing yourself to walk outside where you leaned against the brick wall of the building, “What’s up, Taka?”

“Oishi asked me to call you,” he answered softly.

“What’s he got planned now?”

“Bowling,”

“Please tell me Inui isn’t going!”

“He is,”

You sighed deeply, knowing what was in store. “Can I at least bring some friends with me?”

“Of course you can. Will you let Momoshiro, Eiji and Echizen know, please?”

You could hear the smile in his voice before the line went dead. Taking a deep breath, you walked back inside and stopped beside the table, giving Eiji a look.

He cocked his head to the side, curious. “Who was that?”

“Taka,”

“What’d he want?”

“Oishi asked him to call me.” You sighed deeply. “He asked me to inform your guys… we’re going bowling again.”

“No!” Eiji cried, letting his head fall onto the table. “I don’t wanna!”

You patted him on the back, “The good news is that Inui’s going to have more victims. I’m inviting Mizuki, Shinya, and Yuuta.”

“Well, at least we won’t be suffering alone… right?” He pouted at you, trying to look less traumatized.

“Hey, Shinji. Invite Kamio, too.” Momo muttered through a mouthful of food.

“Shinji isn’t going,” you declared, folding your arms over your chest.

The bluenette looked at you with a mostly blank face, his navy eyes lit up with curiosity. He didn’t voice this, though.

“Eh? But you have to bring him along!” Eiji protested.

Ryoma swallowed his food, took a sip of his drink, and stared up at you. “If you leave him alone too long, senpai, that girl will probably take advantage.”

Your eye twitched, ‘Damn that brat, he has a good point!’ With a frustrated sigh, you said, “Fine, but bring Tetsu with you!”

Shinji slowly nodded.

“Maybe this won’t be so bad, after all!” Eiji chirped, offering the group a grin.

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

“Will you hurry up?” Mizuki sighed as the group walked down the street.

You muttered incoherently under your breath, walking very slowly behind the two boys.

“Hey, guys!” Yuuta waved before crossing the street. “What’s wrong with Y/N?”

Shinya chuckled, covering his mouth. “Y/N’s not much of a morning person,”

You scoffed, leaning on Shinya when he put your arm around his shoulder to help support your slouching frame. “We weren’t even supposed to leave yet. This fool woke me up too early!”

“There’s no harm in being there early.” Mizuki glared at you over his shoulder before huffing.

“No harm my left buttcheek,” you muttered darkly, glaring daggers at the male’s back.

“Why your left cheek?” Shinya wondered, making you shrug.

“You’re so weird,” Yuuta shook his head.

When your group finally arrived at the bowling alley, it was about 8:45 in the morning. Oishi, Eiji, Kaidoh, Inui, Tetsu, Shinji, coach Ryuzaki, and Kamio had already arrived. You pulled away from Shinya and sat down against the side of the building.

Once everyone had arrived – a large group of students from several different schools -, the group filed inside and got ready to bowl. You weren’t sure how, but coach Ryuzaki was able to book the entire building for the event, meaning there were no other people to interrupt.

“Alright everyone, listen up.” Coach Ryuzaki called out and the room slowly quieted down.

Oishi stood beside her with Inui on his other side. “Here’s the deal. You’ll be put into teams of two. If you drop out, refuse to play or get a gutterball, you’ll be drinking a shot of Inui’s Aozu drink.”

Inui grinned evily, holding up a small shot glass full of thick blue-green liquid. The Seigaku team shifted uncomfortably.

“If you lose, you drink an entire pitcher.” Inui held up the pitcher and Seigaku took a step back, leaving the others looking around confused. “If you win, you will not be required to drink Aozu.”

You moved to stand next to Fuji, giving him a weary look. “Hey, Shusuke?”

He nodded knowingly. “Yes, I know.”

“Alright, I’ll announce the teams.” Coach Ryuzaki stepped forward with a sheet of paper in her hand. “Inui-Kaidoh. Kawamura-Horio. Eiji-Fuji. Kachiro-Mizuno. Echizen-Momo. Mizuki-Mori. Jen-Choutarou. Shinji-Kamio. Shinya-Yuuta. Myself-Oishi. Everyone clear?”

Everyone nodded and found their respective partners.

“Quite the turn out, hmm?” Fuji murmered from beside you.

“They have no clue what they’re in for,” you muttered apologetically.

Eiji nodded in agreement, clutching your arm tightly. “Do you think Ryuzaki-sensei and Oishi will cheat again?”

“Probably,” you and Fuji chorused.

“Inui-Kaidoh pair. You’re up first.” Ryuzaki grinned.

Both boys glanced at each other before moving forward. Inui managed to knock down one pin in the corner, while Kaidoh knocked down five.

Taka and Horio went next. Taka was about to throw the ball when Horio stopped him. “Here, Kawamura-senpai!” he handed Taka his racket, making him go into burning mode and get a strike.

“That’s cheating!” you and Eiji chorused, angrily.

“Not-uh!” Horio stuck his tongue out at you.

Eiji and Fuji were next. Fuji grabbed the ball in his hands and threw it. The ball ended up going into the gutter. “Still haven’t gotten much better.” he murmured, thoughtfully.

Inui grinned evily again, appearing behing Fuji who sweatdropped. Everyone else froze, watching on in horror as he drank the blue-green liquid. He only took a couple sips before his body hit the ground.

“Fuji!” Taka ran to his side and shook him, to no avail.

Eiji ran over, as well, whining about that drink being murderous.

“Honestly, if Fuji can’t even stomach it, the rest of us are really in for it.” you announced, sitting next to Choutarou. He looked frightened. Then again, so did the others.

Eiji swallowed hard as he threw the ball. He hit a strike and jumped for joy, happy not to have to drink the demonic liquid.

Kachiro and Mizuno were next. Kachiro managed to get a strike on the first try.

Ryoma and Momo were after them. Momo managed to knock down all but two pins. Ryoma tried to get them both, but still only managed to get one.

Mizuki and Mori were up next. Of course, Mizuki had to be a show off and get a strike. He turned toward the group with a chuckle, twirling his hair around his finger. “Of course I got a strike, it’s all about the numbers.”

“Showoff,” you muttered as the two boys walked by. Mizuki stuck his tongue out at you and Mori only grinned.

Then it was time for you and Choutarou.

“I’m counting on you, Chou-chan.” you told him, resting you hand on his shoulder. “No pressure, though!”

He nodded, glancing down at you. “Don’t worry. I’ve got it.”

You grinned, taking a step back to give him room. He grabbed one of the balls and took a deep breath, throwing it down the lane. You instinctively grabbed onto the back of his shirt, praying to every god and deity you could think of. Your prayers were answered – he made it! A strike, he got a strike!

Letting out a relieved breath, he turned around just in time to catch you as you launched a hug at him.

“Way to go Choutarou!”

Shinji and Akira were up after you. Shinji was staring at the ball and muttering, so Akira tried to grab it. The two fought for the ball until Akira accidentally dropped it. He gulped, staring at the ball as it landed in the gutter.

Inui appeared behind him, grinning like a psychopath as he held the shot glass out to Kamio. He took it from his hand, gulping again before guzzling it down. Two seconds later, he collapsed.

Two drop out; Shusuke Fuji and Akira Kamio.

Shinya and Yuuta were the next ones to take their turn.

“Let me,” Shinya said, grabbing the bowling ball from Yuuta. He managed to hit a strike, making Yuuta let out a sigh of relief.

Last to go was Oishi and Ryuzaki-sensei. They both grinned and went over to their bags, getting out their bowling gloves.

Eiji gulped from your left, “We are so~ doomed.”

“Yup,” you nodded, watching as Oishi grabbed his ball and stepped forward. Of course he got a strike.

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

The battle continued on for a while and you had to admit, it was pretty fierce. Just like the last time, Oishi and Ryuzaki were cheating, catching people off guard just as they were throwing their balls. It wasn’t going well for the others.

After twenty minutes, almost everyone had dropped.

Ten Drop Out; Shusuke Fuji. Akira Kamio. Kaoru Kaidoh. Tatsunori Mori. Eiji Kikumaru. Yuuta Fuji. Inui Sadaharu. Takashi Kawamura. Shinya Yanagizawa. Satoshi Horio.

“Hey, Y/N?” Choutarou whispered, grabbing tightly onto your arm.

“Hmm?”

“We’re not that far behind. If Momo and Ryoma can ace this shot, their score will be above ours, but we can easily get our place back. It’s those seventh graders we have to look out for.”

“I know. Do you think you can take it?” you glanced at him curiously.

He nodded, giving you a determined look. “Definately.”

“I’ll take care of Momo and Ryoma, then.”

He nodded again, pulling away from you and grabbing one of the balls. He got another strike. Who would have thought that he was so good at bowling? You almost couldn’t believe that he’s never played before, but you were thankful that he was on your side.

You glared at coach Ryuzaki as she tricked Mizuki into getting a gutter ball. If she can play dirty, then so can you! Just as Momo went to throw the ball, you grinned and yelled out, “Momo, watch out for that puddle!”

“Huh?” He tripped over his own feet, the ball flying from his hands and into the gutter. It took him a moment to realize what had happened and then he turned around, glaring at you. “Cheater!”

“Like I’m the only one doing it?” you retorted, sitting back down next to Choutarou.

Momoshiro gulped as Ryuzaki held the shot glass in his face. He frowned, downing it and passing out before he got halfway through the drink.

Twelve Drop Out; Shusuke Fuji. Akira Kamio. Kaoru Kaidoh. Tatsunori Mori. Eiji Kikumaru. Yuuta Fuji. Inui Sadaharu. Takashi Kawamura. Shinya Yanagizawa. Satoshi Horio. Hajime Mizuki. Takeshi Momoshiro.

Choutarou picked up the ball and approached the line. He faked a throw, the corner of his mouth twitching up when Ryuzaki screamed, trying to distract him – he had anticipated it. You sent her a glare and she shrugged.

“I saw a roach,”

You glanced around the room, from the pile of bodies near the door to the eight people left standing. Kachiro squeaked when his foot slipped and he fell onto his behind, the ball landing in the next lane over. Your eyes narrowed at the small puddle of water near the line before snapping to Ryuzaki who was whistling innocently.

‘Isn’t she supposed to be teaching us sportsmanship? Jeez,’

Inui’s shadow covered the small boy like a menacing creature from the darkest depths of hell. Before the drink could even be offered, the boy flopped backward, unconscious. Mizuno, his partner, gulped in fear.

Shinji stood up and made a move toward the ball rack, but you stopped him, resting your hand over his. His eyes met yours and the concern touched his heart, bringing pink to his cheeks.

“Take your time and don’t let coach Ryuzaki distract you,” you told him softly, keeping your voice low.

He nodded, seeming to hesitate for a moment before leaning down and pecking your cheek. He mumbled something, but it was too low for you to hear it and he didn’t give you time to question it before he was approaching the line.

His form looked good and you were sure that the ball was at least going to hit, but it only just clipped the side pin before hitting the gutter. The pin in question wobbled a bit and you held your breath. The pin stilled.

Inui pounced, grabbing Shinji’s shoulder and nearly smacking the bluenette in the face with the cup. “Drink up, and enjoy~”

“No, wait!” You rushed forward, snatching the cup from his hand. The liquid felt slimey on your hand when it slipping over the rim. “I’ll drink it instead,”

“Senpai, no!” Choutarou grabbed your free hand, his brown eyes filled with worry.

“I have to do this,” you shook your head, pulling away from him. “Shinji… I really like you!” Before anyone could stop you, you tilted your head back and downed the contents of the cup. Those that were still conscious cried out in surprise and terror.

And then everything went quiet.

You blinked a few times, staring at the small drops in the bottom of the cup. Your head felt foggy.

“Senpai?” Choutarou whispered, scared that if he raised his voice, you might break.

Shinji approached, carefully taking the cup from your hand. “Are you okay?”

You wrinkled your nose and smacked your lips a few times. “Taste like lemon,”

Everyone fell to the floor dramatically aside from Ryuzaki, who just stared at you as if you had grown an extra head.

“What? Why are you lookin’ at me like that?”

“Oh look at the time, I have to go pick up Sakuno. Bye!” Ryuzaki turned tail and all but ran from the building.

“Isn’t Sakuno at home?” you wondered, bringing your attention back to Shinji when he took your hand. “Shinji, what -”

His lips met yours, silencing you. “I really like you, too.”

Oishi sighed deeply from his place on the ground, running his hand across his face. “What a strange world we live in,”

You grinned at the comment, wrapping your arms around Shinji’s waist.

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

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yami-yomiel · 4 years ago

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LETS DO THE SPACE GAMES, AGAIN!! BUT WITH @anaripsa , @gelberus AND MY AUs/ CHARACTERS!!

REN AND PIX KILL A MAN AND WOMAN BRUH CONTROL YOURSELF DietyUlala killing shadow with a sword is also very medusa/renaissance-ese so OHOHOO..

PLANEMO, THE MOST INNOCENT OF THE PIREMO GROUP,HAS OFFICIALLY KILLED A MAN also carbonara just DIES,,rip, ALSO EVENT HORIZON RLLY DID SAY “anthro moth hours”

I shouldn’t have laughed but HAHAKASLHAKSASLKALKAMWK

so a demon, a child, a dnd character, and so many others just got game ended SMH,also i thought thorn would live because were-wolf man type guy

Anaripsa( aka Ana): Pam getting lost is definitley in character Me: MAIE JUST KILLS HER BROTHER WITH OUT HESITATION

Me: pix Ren and Shion singing songs together will make me ugly sob but also wholesomly sob

also Ulala’s gonna die im CALLING IT,

me: NICOLE WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, ALSO JAGUAR KILLS HIS OTHER SELF I MIGHT DIE Ana: THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE JAGUAR me: also the image of this teeny decebal (assuming Planemo is HUMONGUS somehow) scaring Planemo just by looking at him is FUNnie

(we then go off saying how Tenshi mistakes Ulala O. for being the dead Ulala in his universe and we tag it with vines)

Diety!Ulala didn’t have enough protection and Twinks died

ULALA AND SHION ARE HOLDING HANDS

also Brooke and Planemo,,wholesome

but back to the holding hands,,PIX IS LETTING REN INTO HIS HOUSE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

the jaguars are the same but also different,,crying themselves to sleep(fun fact, ‘Jaguar’ is Dandelion’s jaguar aka their dad)

(in response to pix and ren) Ember:Gay rights prevail but only a little Ember: Im glad planemo and brooke get to have a nice night :) Ana: yeah it’s wholesome me: big sister brooke time Ana: everytime something wholesome happens i always expect the worst to be next me: YEAH ME. this dang game:

me: THEY HELD HANDS AND EVERYTHNG WHAT THE ACTUAL FLIP

Ana: SHION YOU {redacted by brooke lol}

Ember: we love 2 different purges in Chase,Trust no one especially not yourself

(Decebal and Tenshi rlly did say https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6oQUDFV2C0 )

Me: IM SRTILL UPSET OVER SHION KILLING ULALA AFTER HOLDING HANDS WITH HER Ana: YEAH SAME

ya’ll get a screenshot of my reaction because reasons

Ana: shout-out to the drama involving the gays— i mean, fiore and tenshi Ana: jaguar my man don't get close to that moth [redacted by brooke] and they said and quote “ really unfair that event horizon is still alive but ren just died “

Fiore this is the 2nd time you’ve questioned your sanity is everything ok?

fun fact Jerome is like 17, so a 17 yrold just beheaded nicole, powerful,..

ana says “ see jaguar i told you you couldn't trust that mothman son of a [redacted]” also a little musical number from me: PRESSURE, PUSHIN DOWN ON PAM PUSHIN DOWN ON MAIE

HOLY MOLY PIX IS GOING TO DIE MY BABY IS DEADDDDDDD ALSO JEROME DID WHAT HE HAD TO DO(orinally mistoke it for shion lol) AND ALSO DIAL IS SUCH A SWEET MOROLIAN WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT TO DECEBAL

Akira 🤝🏽 Dandelion

tripping into an acidic puddle Tenshi 🤝🏽 jérôme

dragging your killer to hell with you

If planemo wins, he’s doing it for Pix and Ren, they passed the torch onto Planemo..

Dial was opened with the opportunity to kill a god and she turned it down everyone agrees that Dial is powerful, but does only uses her power if nessasary. also She killed decebal but didn’t even bother to save pix what is her ISSUE

im so angery at that pit rn you DIDNT HAVE TO BE THERE???? BUT YOU CHOSE TO BE THERE also Jaguar will just end himself if no one does it for him.. smh Piremo united in heaven..:’)

Maie im sure that Fiore is like WAYYYYY older than you, but everyone is so cuddly... in some way ember says “touch starved space pals” and i agree..

Maie really said “We’ve cuddled now LETS CUT TO THE CHASE >:D” also Diety jaguar acting like an animal lets gooooooo

also this is like the 3rd jaguar that’s falllen out of a tree and died do you know guys know how to climb..but also Diety jaguar with a spear got ana going 👀👀👀👀👀

THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTINGGGGGG

MAIE FIGHTS GOD

i am mean to my own OCs..

MAIE CUDDLED AND CHASED FIORE, AND HE HAS HAD ENOUGH

diety jaguar needs to C H I LL,,someone give him a HUG

Avengence and death..

Everyone agreees that Fiore lived surprisingly long so good for him

but all Brooke had to say was:

(usually i’d draw smth for this but uhhhhhh my tablet isn’t acting right atm, so maybe later smh)

(also there could be some missing pics because tumblah mad dummy with formating)

#The Space Games #hunger games simulator #me #what did i tag this as before #space channel 5 au

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nobeliumoxygenoxygen · 6 years ago

Text

Dabi || Hurt me one last time

Part 2 of Hurt me if you’re there

SUMMARY: You get one chance to meet your soulmate. One chance and then the connection disappears, leaving you and your soulmate on your own. Luckily, one chance is all you’ll need. Right?

Little did you know how much it’d hurt.

GENRE: soulmate au

WARNINGS: swearing

WORDS: around 3800

You’d begun to wonder if this was how other people felt when they couldn’t reach their soulmate.

Stuck, helpless, and utterly alone.

You’d read all the cute textbook soulmate meetings; your parents’ meeting was a simple yet effective one--they’d bumped into each other and your mother had spilt burning hot coffee on your father. When they’d both yelped in pain, they knew. Right then and there. You’d gushed and dreamed of meeting your soulmate in an easy way like that.

You found it strangely fitting that burning was how your parents found each other considering your own situation.

And yet as much as you loved your parents, you couldn’t exactly tell them that your soulmate was one of the most wanted villains in Japan. It wasn’t a conversation that would end well. This went for your friends too; you weren’t sure how much you could trust them--would they tell your parents? You loved them and they loved you but what if they had mixed ideas about the whole thing? It was too much of a risk you weren’t willing to take.

Soulmate help centres and online sites weren’t much help either. Paranoia kicked in whenever you hovered outside the centre, debating whether to go inside and explain your situation. Would they report you to the police? Would they even help? Online ask threads were worse; you had expected backlash, but reading all the comments directed at your soulmate made you furious and frustrated. They all spoke like a villain wasn’t capable of love.

Were they?

Of course they were. All people were--it was only that others had different senses of love.

But it was thoughts like these that led your mind into darker thoughts. What if Dabi really couldn’t love you? What if he hurt you? You weren’t blind to the possibilities--you knew that the worst kinds of people existed, and sometimes people changed into terrible monsters. But even though he was a villain, you couldn’t help but yearn for him--to give him a chance to see just what the universe had planned for you two, as much as it scared you to think too far into the future.

But then you pondered other thoughts; what did you have to offer your soulmate? Dabi was one of the strongest villains you’d seen--on tv--and he was a part of the most powerful villain organisation in Japan. You, a simple, background civilian, had a laughably useless quirk and no fighting skills whatsoever. Would he want you? Would he need you? How was life going to work out?

What if he died? What if you were too weak for him? What if his enemies used you?

Each and every time though, you’d forced those thoughts out of your head. Those were questions for the future. You chose to put your faith in the universe, as stupidly optimistic that was, you had no other choice. There was a reason--good or bad--he was your soulmate and you’d learn it once you got to him.

If you ever did, that was.

Truthfully, you hadn’t wanted to go out tonight. You were still mulling over your soulmate dilemma when your two best friends had barged into your apartment, sloppily dressing you up and dragging you outside for a ‘well-deserved night out’. For what, you weren’t quite sure, but apparently their favourite hangout was reopening and they had organised a get-together with a bunch of others.

So now you were swirling a cup of what you hoped was only water as you distantly listened to your friend recount her experience with paint and preschoolers.

“So the paint’s on all me right, and then since I’m with kids and all I can’t swear, obviously, so I just go to the toilet and let it out--like they were my favourite pants, okay? It had pockets, come on! But then the other teacher--”

The club music lowered as someone spoke into the mic. “Hey hey! Hope you’re all having fun but an Akira Makeo just dared all his friends--you know who you are--to a warehouse run! Whatever that is!”

The music returned and the party goers went back to their dancing, talking, drinking. Except for you and your friends.

“He did not!” Kari yelled, standing up so quickly that she nearly knocked over her own drink. You grimaced, knowing exactly where this was going and not necessarily liking it. Kari grabbed your arm, dragging you up. “Let’s go let’s go! I’m no pusillanimous fuck! Norio, you donkey, get up!”

You and Norio, who was currently giving you a look that wordlessly conveyed ‘we’re getting roped into this illegal activity god help us’, were forced to follow your more energetic friend as you swerved through the crowd of dancing--more like grinding--adults on the dance floor, narrowly missing the roaming hands and thrown back heads. “I’m staying in the car--like usual!” Norio called out in vain, Kari too engrossed in striding out the club to hear him.

You repeated his words instead.

“I know. You and Norio can stay in the car. Just be my getaway drivers, kay?”

“Yeah, no. I’m only being a driver. No need for getawaying,” Norio retorted, frowning. You smiled at your friends’ exchange, if only to offset the growing pool of anxiety building up. Another reason why you hadn’t wanted to go out; nights like these ended nine out of ten times with Kari getting herself almost in trouble and you and Norio having to drive like hell but also like sane, normal civilians to bypass police and patrolling heroes. It wasn’t good for your health, but Kari was a close friend--close enough that you practically risked your life for.

The three of you piled into Norio’s car, you calling shotgun, Kari taking out her phone to text the others that you three--mainly her, only her--were joining.

When done, she kicked the back of Norio’s seat. “Fuck yes let’s do this!”

“No! Let’s not do that again, please,” Norio protested hotly, having jumped when his seat had been kicked. You laughed at him sympathetically; Kari was sometimes too much for the both of you to handle.

Twenty minutes later, the three of you had arrived at your destination; an abandoned warehouse in a plot of land situated in the ‘dodgy’ end of the city. Dodgy enough that there was only one working streetlight and the gate that kept out supposed ‘trespassers’ was distinctly battered. At least, it would have been abandoned if it weren’t for the other vehicles parked outside and the other twenty or so people in party-standard attire.

Akira was there to greet you all, swooping Kari into a headlock and Norio and you into one of his famous bear hugs--for someone as wild as Kari, perhaps wilder, he gave the warmest hugs--something that you loved. But then he got serious, leaning down to speak to you all in hushed tones.

“Be warned, I don’t think we’re all alone here--” Norio let out a strangled gasp. “But it’s all good! I think it’s just a bit of low-time thugs, or something. Besides, they all disappeared, so I don’t think it’ll be too much of a bother.”

You couldn’t help the overwhelming desire to get back in the car and drive away, but you squashed it down--for one thing, that would mean Kari and Norio had no ride. Plus, there were at least twenty other people here, so if worse came to worse, it’d be enough of a pandemonium if anything happened. Hopefully.

“Are you sure? ‘Low time thugs’ might not be so ‘low time’,” Norio mumbled, emphasising his words. Though it went unheard by the other two, who were already making their way to the rest of the group.

You followed, trying to ignore the way your gut was pulling.

“Alright everyone!” Someone yelled, getting the attention of everyone gathered as they climbed atop a van. “You know what’s going on! If you’re new here, just remember; all you have to do is get inside this place and find something worth bringing out! The best thing gets-uh, what was the prize again?” The last question was directed at someone by their side. “Right! You get fifty bucks!”

Norio leant towards you. “This is just a scavenger hunt for adults, I swear.” You nodded your agreement. A scavenger hunt in an illegal warehouse, you silently added, not wanting to seem more pushy than you already were. “What happened to staying in the car? We suck at this.” Norio laughed self-deprecatingly. Indeed, you had forgotten all about that--Kari and Akira had that effect on people, unfortunately.

The person on top of the van clapped their hands and yelled, “Let’s go people! You got forty-five minutes!”

And that was that.

The crowd dispersed, Kari remembering you and Norio at the last moment as she took hold of a hand each and you three began to rush inside, adrenaline coursing your veins. Most likely a significant more adrenaline that was coursing Kari’s--or maybe not. Whilst your heart was begging you to leave, Kari’s was probably singing in joy.

Something caught your eye just as you passed the lone streetlight and you thought you saw a figure disappear through the side of the warehouse.

But then your eyes were forced to readjust to the sudden darkness and you blinked only to find nothing there.

Your gut was still pulling you--but this time, you weren’t sure which way.

“You two. Go get the shipment from Hayumi.” That was all Shigaraki needed to say before Dabi was heading straight for his room, dismissing his leader’s order. “Hey,” The boss growled as Dabi made it to the other door, though his eyes never left the video game he was playing.

“We just got back from a mission, and you want us to go back?” Dabi muttered, loudly enough to be heard.

“I’ll be transporting you two, if that helps,” Kurogiri put in, no doubt hoping to calm the fighting before it began. It was a predictable outcome--Dabi and Shigaraki were usually arguing.

Toga jumped on the couch, draping herself over the arm. “He’s right though Tomura-kun! I’m tired, can’t someone else go?” She asked, frowning as she held her bloodied knife above her head, admiring the red liquid.

Shigaraki hissed, violently pressing on his controller. It told them enough about his answer.

“Why are you always asking us though!” Toga whined, more a complaint than a question.

“I would ask the others if they were here but they’re not, so why don’t you make life easier and just go,” Shigaraki seethed, a notable amount more aggression put into his actions; at this point, Dabi wondered why Shigaraki didn’t just disintegrate his controller if he was mashing the buttons so hard.

“Please just go, you two. It’ll be quick. It’s all been paid for already,” Kurogiri advised, hoping that the two would do it before Shigaraki got any more tense. “I’ll get you that twisted knife you saw online, Toga. And that new coat you wanted.” He aimed the last sentence at Dabi.

Toga visibly brightened, grinning all of a sudden, and sat back up. “Yay! But only because Kurogiri is super nice! Let’s go Dabi!”

“Hang on, I didn’t agree to--”

“Let’s go!”

“Seriously, I get no input around here.”

A black portal opened up in the middle of the bar and the two villains stepped inside, but not before Dabi sent a quick glare the same time Toga poked her tongue out at their leader.

The duo were transported to the warehouse.

Where they were promptly met with screams.

You jumped when you heard the shriek.

Glancing worriedly at Kari and Norio, the former who shrugged it off, the latter who stared back just as worriedly, you scanned your surroundings. The three of you had made it into a more deserted area in the area between the warehouse and the side gate. It was tight enough that most of the others had given up looking into but Kari wasn’t one to be put off and had dragged you both in with her. You’d promised yourself a million showers to get rid of the crawling on your skin--you weren’t sure if you were happy or not that it was too dark to see what caused it.

The shrieks hadn’t continued--it was short and quick enough that you could have chalked it up to someone having found something exciting and yet, with your mind already on overdrive, you couldn’t help but think…

“I think we should go,” Norio declared. You silently thanked him for saying the words you were too scared to say, lest you were called a party-pooper one more time.

Kari waved her hand dismissively, grazing her other hand over the ground. “It’s nothing. Come on guys, we only have ten more minutes, and we haven’t found anything. Aren’t you, like, low on funds, Y/N?”

Yes, but you weren’t going to risk your life for only twenty dollars considering you had to split with the other two.

Before you could reply, another shriek, quieter but distinct, was heard. This time it was accompanied by a bang.

Kari was thankfully more alert now.

“Still nothing?” Norio whispered, tense and crouching.

“Okay...maybe not,” Kari whispered back, eyes darting to both sides. With a sinking heart, you realised how much of a trap you three were in--the side was narrow, and the gate on this part was still intact. If someone charged from both entrances, you had nowhere to go. “Okay okay, fine, let’s go.”

She slowly stood back up--

And then bolted back towards where you three had come from.

“KARI!” Norio shouted in shock--wincing when he realised how loud he had been. You two ran to catch up, hearts racing. You heard breathless snorts and wondered if that was Kari laughing.

Yes, it was.

Once you three had made it back in front of the warehouse, Kari doubled over, wheezing.

“You should have seen your faces, guys!”

Norio stomped his foot childishly, crossing his arms. “Well-well it’s scary alright?!” He shot back, embarrassed. You would have been, too, if your gut weren’t twisting your insides. At this point, you were so anxious you might have sworn that your soulmate could feel your insides twisting--

Akira came running out of the warehouse, his eyes wide enough to pop out.

“Fuck fuck-Kari! You--” He stopped talking and merely kept running towards the open gate, no thought of explaining until Norio lurched aside and grabbed him.

“What’s going on?!” He hissed, frantic.

Akira swallowed and shook his head. “I-I-they’re there-the League of-the League--”

Your heart stopped.

Kari swore under her breath, all traces of laughter gone. “You’re serious? You’re serious?” Akira nodded, wrenching himself out of Norio’s grip to continue his escape. “Fuck-oh fuck I’m so sorry guys let’s go-Y/N!”

You ran.

Ducking underneath Norio’s outstretched arms, blindly ignoring the lack of air in your lungs as you sprinted towards the warehouse, where you could feel the heat rising--

Was that--could it be--

“Y/N COME BACK!” Kari screamed--and god, it was so loud and high-pitched--she was terrified for you and it hurt you to leave but--

But if it really was the League inside, you could not miss this opportunity.

The only chance you had.

The reason why your gut had been pulling you, not away, but towards the warehouse--you were sure of it now.

Dabi was inside--it was the only possible explanation.

Your soulmate was inside.

And so, even though you still heard Kari’s screaming, felt Norio’s hand brush against your back--you ran, pushing your limits because--

“How come the pain stops when we meet our soulmate, mom? Does that mean we aren’t soulmates anymore?”

“Oh, of course not, honey, where’d you hear that?”

“At school.”

“It stops because you only get one shot at meeting you soulmate. So you gotta realise you’ve met them--or else you’ll never know!”

“Do we really? What if I do miss them?”

Your parents shared a look, smiling wistfully at each other. It was in that moment, whether you knew it or not, that you realised the love shared between your parents was enough to make you ready to love your soulmate even at the tender age of five. Your father leant down to kiss your head.

“You won’t, Y/N. You’ll find them, I promise.”

“Are you suuure?”

They laughed at your wrinkled nose as you scrunched your face up in confusion.

“Yes, we’re sure. You only get one chance to meet your soulmate.”

“But that’s all you’ll need, Y/N.”

One chance was all you’d get.

And one chance was all you’d need.

Right?

And as you burst into the warehouse, the doors slamming open, you saw him.

You saw Dabi--his back towards you yet you knew it was him--by the figure, the fire coating his arms--the feeling in your gut--

You smiled, despite your breathlessness.

And then something punched your stomach--at least, you thought it was a punch.

You fell, dull pain flashing. It was only when you saw Dabi double over did you look down at your own stomach--red pooling in your shirt. The pain hadn’t been fleeting--it had been sharper than anything you’d felt before; realer.

It wasn’t Dabi who’d gotten hurt this time.

It was you.

“No…” You breathed, pain blinding you as bile rose up your throat.

“Another one!” An excited, young voice called out. You couldn’t see properly--it hurt god it hurt-- “What’s wrong Dabi?”

His name--his name. He was right there but you couldn’t even open your eyes to see--

“I-I--” A grunt of pain. “I got stabbed or something.”

A squeal--not the same as the earlier ones. This one was ecstatic, and mockingly happy.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS? NO WAY!” You heard footsteps coming towards you, and though you wished desperately to see him, it wasn’t him--somehow you knew they were too light to be his. You felt yourself get moved onto your back, your body protesting but helpless--so, so helpless. Briefly, you were reminded of the Burning; the way you’d curled up on your bedroom floor, helpless to the pain.

But now the ground was cold and the pain was sharper than ever and the blood was pooling around you--

“ARE YOU HIS SOULMATE?”

You cracked open an eye to see a girl hovering above you, her grin wide and manic--Toga, a distantly working part of your mind told you.

You wanted to say yes. God, you needed to. To say the news you’d been holding in for such a agonisingly long time.

But now that you knew you’d been stabbed, your mind was whirring--you’d never been hurt like this before, it was almost too much to handle.

No, it wasn’t almost too much.

It was too much.

Your head dropped back and blackness fell.

It struck him sharply--he’d been stabbed before, so he knew what it felt like.

And yet it was different this time. Distant, almost, and airy.

Dabi glanced down at his stomach. He hadn’t been hit--so what had that been? A quirk? But whose? No, he must have been overusing his quirk, pushing his limits once again.

“Another one!” Toga cheerfully cried out before she looked at him, puzzled, as he straightened back up, still clutching his stomach. “What’s wrong Dabi?”

He half shrugged, smoke dissipating at his fingertips. “I-I--” He grunted, clearing his throat of any remnant of pain. “I got stabbed, or something.”

This time he winced as Toga shrieked--goddamn she had a loud shriek sometimes. He wasn’t surprised that she was so happy about that, though.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS? NO WAY!” She skipped forward, Dabi watching her movements and only then realising there was another civilian lying on the ground just a few feet from the entrance--the pain stopped but he was too confused to register it. Honestly, why were there so many people here? Where were Hayumi and the others? All he knew for sure was that there was going to be consequences for this mess up of a pick up. “ARE YOU HIS SOULMATE?” Toga yelled, shifting them on their back.

Dabi’s heart stopped, his gut twisting.

No, no it wasn’t true though. It couldn’t be. Couldn’t it?

He had no soulmate.

Then why was someone there? Bleeding from a stab he’d felt?

Coincidence. Imagination. Nothing more, nothing less.

It wasn’t true, damnit. Why not?

Their head fell back and Dabi’s head pounded all for a moment before it disappeared.

“Dabi! Dabi, oh no, I’m sorry, I think I stabbed your soulmate. Oops! But look, we found them! They’re so pretty! Look at their blood! Oh, right they’re bleeding! Uh-we need to fix them! Dabi? Dabi!” Toga stomped her foot, glaring.

He snapped out of his thoughts, walking numbly towards her.

“Okay, so, I don’t know what to do,” Toga stated simply, peering up at Dabi innocently, like she hadn’t just stabbed his soulmate--

No, he couldn’t think that. Yet.

He breathed, noting how ragged his breathing was--why? “Let’s just-bring them back to the hideout. Get Kurogiri. Now.”

Toga beamed, whipping out her phone to call their misty transporter. She was answered immediately, to which she explained their situation--in a tone too happy for someone with a bleeding person on their lap--and quickly hung up, waiting for the responding portal.

“I knew you weren’t that much of a sad sack!” She grinned, wriggling in her spot. She was just so excited! She’d always wanted to be there when someone found their soulmate! She’d never gotten the chance but it was such an exci--

“Stop moving, you’re hurting them,” Dabi growled. Toga stilled, staring at him. Before an even bigger shit-eating grin appeared on her face.

“You’re already so worried about them! Aw, that’s so cute Dabi!” She cooed, giggling.

Dabi gritted his teeth, practically glaring at the person in her lap.

And as the portal opened up, he still wasn’t sure what he was feeling--disbelief, shock--what was he meant to feel? He’d never learnt. Never known because--

“Is father your soulmate, mama?”

She had stiffened, her eyes fluttering in the way she always did when she was remembering--remembering things too dark for her now.

“Mama?”

She jumped, turning to her son. “I-...Of course, Touya. Of course he’s my soulmate.”

He’d frowned, eyes lowering. “But father says...he said that it doesn’t matter.”

She shook her head, placing a hand on his hair gingerly. “It does matter. I just...your father is...different, Touya. Different.”

“Is he really your soulmate, mama?” He knew she was lying. He knew--like all the other times he’d heard her lies. Lies that he longed to hear because it was better than the words--truth or not--coming from his father’s mouth. “Because-because if he is, why does he, he do that to you? I thought soulmates were meant to...stop hurting each other once you...met them…” His voice trailed off as he watched his mother’s eyes cloud over--seeing not him, but through him.

She smiled weakly, her soothing hand becoming robotic as she smoothed down his hair repeatedly. “When you meet your soulmate, Touya, you must love them, okay?” He had opened his mouth to interrupt but had shut it, noticing the moment his mother started talking--not necessarily to him, just talking to fill the void, her void.

The moment when she stopped being there.

He shifted to hide his face in her arms, hating the way her eyes stayed cloudy. Hating whenever she did this. “Because you will find your soulmate. Whether it’s five days from now, five years, fifty. You will find them, and...and you will love them. Because all the pain they’ve felt, you’ve felt with them, right there with them. But when you are together, it won’t matter. Because there will be no more pain.” A tear had dropped onto his hair, fat and heavy. “Only love, only love.”

His mother’s voice had cracked on the words.

Soon after, he’d been discarded by his father, and forgotten by his mother.

His questions had never been answered. He didn’t know what love was--it certainly wasn’t what his mother and father had and he’d had no other examples to look up to.

He had never felt love from the people who had meant to love him the most.

A/N: here’s part 2!! im terribly sorry for the fact that i took forever (and also i made up that warehouse run thing lol so idek if people actually do those sort of things) but i hope u all still enjoy!! Thanks for reading!! (yes there will be a part 3 someday)

DISCLAIMER: all publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

#bnha imagines #dabi imagines #bnha scenarios #dabi scenarios #dabi x reader #bnha x reader #bnha dabi #dabi #bnha #my work

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kareofbears · 4 years ago

Text

desperate as that sounds

Five times Ryuji ran for Akira (and one time he ran for himself.)

—

read on ao3 or below the cut :)

It’s 4:45 am with the weather sitting at a brutal -3 degrees when Ryuji really starts wishing that he brought another jacket.

People are lined around Akihabara by the hundreds outside of closed electronic stores, and the sun has yet to even rise. Some people are yawning, some are clutching their rapidly cooling coffee in a death grip, and most have dark, purple bags underneath their eyes—proof of the battle scars that they’ve acquired. Every person here had the same goal in mind: To get what they need and get out as quick as possible.

As it turns out, if everyone has that same mindset, it creates the violent, yearly November tradition that is Black Friday.

Glancing around, he notices that people came in packs, teams. Teenagers and pre-pubescent kids are all scuffling around, hyping themselves up and creating strategies for the war to come. The more seasoned veterans of the yearly massacre came in pairs—the smaller the group, the faster you move, the move land you cover.

At the biggest electronic store in a region that’s already been nicknamed ‘Electronic Town,’ he is fourth in line—an impressive feat, especially for a first-timer. But it came with a heavy toll: he is completely and utterly alone.

”Skull, do you read me?”

Well, physically alone, anyway.

“Loud and clear,” he replies, readjusting the mic in his ear. “Not that I mind, but what’s with the codenames?”

Futaba scoffs. “You think Black Friday is just about the physical aspect? Foolish boy—the psychological aspects are half the battle. If I get you into the mindset that we’re in a Palace, then you’ll get into infiltration mode, and you’ll be OP compared to the nerds out there.”

“Ooo, I like it! Your brain is effin’ galaxy sized!”

“I do what I can for my faithful pack mule.”

“I’ll try not to take that personally.”

His deal with Futaba had been a simple one. She helps Ryuji navigate the horrors of Akihabara during Black Friday in exchange that he acts as what is essentially a drug trafficker sans the drugs. Despite her rigorous societal training she’d undergone with the Thieves, something about entering a borderline stampede still seems somewhat unappealing to her. Besides, he doesn’t mind. He’d always wanted to do something nice for Futaba anyway, and the store that has her computer thing is the same store that holds what he needs.

”Five minutes to go,” her voice crackles into his ear. ”Infiltration route—go!”

Their deal had also come in with an intense tutorial session that ended up lasting until one in the morning. “Floor 4, down 3 aisles, 8 steps in, turn right, second shelf, grab a box that says ‘GTX graphics card.’ Pink, if possible.”

“A+, Skull! You know, if you can memorize that, I seriously don’t get why you’re failing English verbs.”

“Please, this is actually important.”

Futaba cackles. “Now you’re speaking my language. With your legs and my navigation, this’ll basically be a Tuesday afternoon in Leblanc.”

People around him are starting to straighten up, some going as far as to remove the extra layer of clothing and shoving it in backpacks for maximum speed and minimum restrictions. “Damn, people here look more intense than some dudes in my track meets.”

“If you’re throwing out portable chargers with 30-hour battery life for only 800 yen, you’d be a little intense too.”

Ryuji scoffs and begins to stretch, being extra sure to get his right thigh. “I’m plenty intense. Just last Saturday, I almost beat the Big Bang Burger challenge.”

“Pretty sure Akira beat that on his second week in Tokyo. You know, you still haven’t told me why you’re bothering with this whole Black Friday mess. I didn’t peg you for an electronics type of guy, and your phone is as crappy as your posture.”

“Rude! But I can’t argue with that.” He starts to run in place, and for a brief second, he wonders if he should’ve packed a protein shake.

“Well, too late now. If your thing sells out because you didn’t want to give your Navi information, that’s on you.”

“Gimme some credit, Futaba,” an employee who looks equal parts sleep-deprived and terrified approaches the glass doors. “Ain’t no way in hell I’m failing either of us this morning.”

The glass slides open, and as if sunlight was released from the captivity of the clouds, or perhaps a meteor just broke through the earth’s atmosphere, the people start pushing, shoving, and flooding inside. The crowd looked both impenetrable and unwavering; an unstoppable force and an immovable object rolled into one giant stream of desperate shoppers.

Ryuji spares a split-second to crack his neck. Mission Start.

The moment he breaks through the initial threshold, people who were only one step behind him suddenly became ten, twenty, thirty. Weaving through crowds and aisles with the precision of a seamstress, Ryuji evades it all with ease.

”Skull, status report.”

“Smooth sailing, Oracle!” He ducks as an overly buff businessman turns around with a 3-metre pole used for studio lighting threatens to bash his head in. “You’re totally right about the codenames, by the way. It’s almost like I’ve got Captain with me.”

“Right?” She laughs. “It’s all about the mindset.”

Ryuji turns, and finally gets to the stairs—the most brutal section and the biggest gamble. It’s the reason why it was essential that he’s one of the first in line. Once the stairs get jammed with people, it’s game over. Making a mad dash up four flights of stars, he thanks any God that may be that Palaces are fantastic for rehab.

He makes it to the top, panting. It’s empty, save for a few nervous-looking employees. He hopes the smile he throws their way came off as ‘pleasant and grateful for their service’ rather than ‘a delinquent asshole who might steal loads of shit.’

“Down 3 aisles, 8 steps,” he mutters to himself as he quickly scans the fourth floor. “Turn right, second shelf,” eyes landing on his target, he grins. “I effin’ rock.”

”You got it?”

“Of course I did!” He fist pumps before swiping the box. In his excitement, he nearly runs over to give a random employee a high-five. “Alright Oracle, you’re up.”

”I love you so much in a non-weird way. Okay,” he hears the clacking of keys on the other side of the mic. “What do you need?”

“Two words: game console.”

The clacking stops. “You’re joking.”

Ryuji snorts. “I ain’t waking up at 3 in the morning for a joke.”

”Those are hard enough to get as is, and on a day like this—”

“So you can’t do it?”

In the same way every one of the thieves know they could bait Ryuji with a few choice words, it’s a lesser-known fact that Futaba is quite nearly as bad when it comes to open defiance. “Jerk. Of course I can.”

“Then let’s do it!”

“Ugh, fine!” The clacking resumes, more vigorously. “Yikes, only 3 left. Make it quick!”

“Got it,” he replies. He turns around and his stomach drops as he sees people rushing in. “What floor?”

“Third.”

Ryuji groans. The stairs, with people packed in like sardines, are a circus. It would take at least two minutes to try and go down a single flight of stairs. The elevator is even worse, and he honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it had already started to malfunction. Only one choice, then.

He takes a deep breath. “Pray for me.”

”Godspeed, soldier.”

Ryuji, like a wild animal on the loose in the streets of Tokyo, jumps on the handrails and begins his descent that way, begging to the skies that he doesn’t slip and create a domino effect that knocks down a dozen people.

In thirty seconds flat (with no small amount of cursing from both the customers and himself) he jumps off and lands (tumbles) onto the third floor, grinning triumphantly. Eat your heart out, Sumire.

“Oracle, I’m here. Almost broke my ankles. Where to?”

”Straight ahead,” she replies. ”Only one left, though. Better make it quick.”

His eyes land on the last game console, and he sees someone making their way towards it. “Not a problem.”

Ryuji sprints.

Throwing every societal rule and common courtesy into the air, he makes a mad dash and, somehow, miraculously does not bump into anyone or knock down any huge shelves.

In approximately 3 seconds, he grabs his treasure and yells a very loud but completely genuine “sorry!” over his shoulder as he half runs back to the stairs, face red for multiple reasons.

Delving back into the sea of the crowd, trying to navigate himself to the cash register, he sighs. “I’m going to hell.”

”Mission success, then?”

“I had to steal it from some guy! I feel so bad. What if he’s like, buying it for his long lost son or something?”

”Whatever! That’s just part of the Black Friday spirit. Congrats! At least you finally got a game console.”

“Huh? Oh, I already had one.”

Static crinkles in his ear, before, ”WHAT!?”

“Ow! Don’t yell!”

”You already had one and you still did this shopping run?”

“Yeah…?”

”Why?! Are you gonna sell it? Are you one of those sleazy men who take advantage of the good will of gamers, Sakamoto?”

“Hell no!”

”So—“

“Oops, almost at the front of the cash register. I’ll drop off the goods at Akira’s. Talk to you later, shortie.”

Click.

”Wha— Hey! Ryuji!” Silence. “Ugh!”

————

After a much-deserved nap, Futaba climbs up the stairs to Akira’s attic.

“The star has arrived!” she says in lieu of a greeting. “Where’s Ryuji?”

“He left,” Akira answers. He’s looking at something on his worktable. “Your stuff is on the bed.”

Futaba whoops and snatches up the little plastic bag. Peering inside, she sees an adorable GTX hot pink graphics card, and a note. In a horrific scrawl, it writes: dont tell him plz ;)))

She looks up quizzically when her eyes land on Akira’s desk: A shiny new game console.

“Um…”

“Hmm?” he looks up. “Oh, Ryuji dropped it off. Said his mom won it at work, and since he already had one, he gave it to me. Nice, right?”

She opens her mouth, before closing it with a clack. Just two weeks ago, Ryuji had asked Akira in the group chat if they could play video games at his place. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget about Akira’s situation: false accusation, an attic for a room, no definitive meals, not even a proper bathroom in the building, but Akira plays it off like it’s easy. He answered by making a joke that he’s too poor for something like that when you can buy faux battle axes and realistic shotguns instead. Everyone had forgotten about that interaction.

But apparently, Ryuji hadn’t.

He’s an idiot, Futaba thinks. To which boy she’s referring to, she’s not sure.

“Yeah,” is what she says instead. “It’s nice.”

====

The dust motes flying around the attic of Leblanc are lovely. Swirling in senseless formations, floating through the still air like snow. The way none of them collide with each other, as if they have some sort of motion detector that tells them to move out of the way. It’s pleasing to look at.

It’s a shame Ryuji doesn’t give a single shit about them at this moment.

He’s sitting on Akira’s bed, back pressed against the window sill with his hair tipped up, staring unfocused at the wooden beams, eyes glazed over. He’s been like this for the better part of the day, and now the evening is slipping by him. Time continues ticking on like a rigged bomb; an ongoing reminder of how many seconds he’s losing, and how much more he can lose.

He’s considered moving. To walk around the room, shift the dust that’s surely settled on him. Getting up, stretching his legs, outwardly expelling some of his trapped, balled up energy is a good idea. Healthy, even, if those shitty YouTube videos he’s watched on his phone about anger management were on to something. But he can’t. He shouldn’t.

Amidst all the uncertainty and the wound-up anxiety that has currently made permanent residence deep inside his core, he knows that if lets his joints unlock, he’s going to fucking lose it.

Slam a fist inside the dry wood, tear up a blanket, throw the adorable ramen bowl he gave Akira against the wall until it shatters into a hundred pieces. He’s so terrified of ruining this room that he won’t even give himself the option. And Ryuji would rather let hell freeze over than scare Futaba again in his fit of fucked-up rage that comes with the package that is Sakamoto Ryuji.

So he’s stuck on the bed for God knows how long.

Footsteps come up, and he doesn’t need to look down to know who’s going to chew him out. If it’s not Akira that’s going to chide him out of his stupor (which it isn’t, even though Ryuji would do anything if it means that Akira’s back here with them), then they’d send in someone who’d drag him out of it with her nails perfectly manicured.

“You look terrible.”

“Screw off,” Ryuji spits automatically, and he cringes inwardly. Ann doesn’t deserve the sharp end of his horrible mood. It’s not her fault that it feels like his insides feel like they’re trying to eat their way out.

She ignores him and moves to hop on top of the old work desk. The wood creaks underneath her. “You’ve been here all day.”

“I know.”

“Did you sleep last night?”

“Yes. No.” He feels Ann’s stare burn into the side of his face—a ghost of Carmen’s presence. “I don’t know.”

“He wouldn’t want to see you like this.”

Irritation swells in him. She’s never learned to take a hint in her life. “Really? Are you seriously saying that?”

“Are you saying he would?”

“I’m saying he’s too busy having the living shit beat out of him to see me like this.”

His body twitches, and that’s all he needed for his resolve to break down. He jumps from the bed, feet landing heavily enough that he’s sure they can all hear him from the floor below. Unconsciously, his feet pace around the small room; quick with agitation but heavy with dread. Anything to distract from doing something stupid.

“You’re worried about me, what, not sleeping? For lying down on this damn bed for too long? Screw that. Akira’s being grilled like cheap meat for the past couple of days and you’re expecting me to act normal about it? That’s bullshit.”

Bad. This is bad. His fingers are already curling in his fists, eager and all too willing to be used. He settles for balling the edge of his shirt instead.

“He isn’t here. That’s the fact, isn’t it? And what the fuck am I doing about it? Freaking out? Trying not to throw a tantrum about it like some kind of stupid kid? Am I really this messed in the head that everyone on the team is—-is hiding from me like I’m some kind of—” he cuts himself off.

Delinquent.

Ryuji takes a deep breath, fully inhaling and slowly exhaling. He focuses on the dust motes again. In and out. Countdown from ten. He can do this. He can get a grip on himself. Thank God it was Ann that came up—if it had been anyone else, he doesn’t think he can put his pride aside as easily. (Unless it was Futaba. God, he loves her so much.)

For a while, it was silent except for his breathing; it stuttered occasionally, but eventually it evens out. Ann only watches from her perch.

When he feels stable enough, Ryuji drops to sit on the hardwood.

“Okay?” she asks. Ann never babies him when he gets like this—she’s good that way.

“Okay.” And he really is. Not completely, of course not. His nerves weren’t strung as tight, but he still feels a heavy weight right in his stomach.

She hops off the desk and goes to sit in front of him on the floor. Crossing her legs, Ann waits. They regard each other for a long minute.

“He’s the toughest guy I’ve ever met,” he says. It feels weird saying this out loud, instead of repeating the mantra in his head like a broken record. “If anyone can handle this, it’s Akira.”

She rolls her eyes. “Duh.”

“He’s going to be okay.”

“I know that.”

“Sooner than later, his dumb ass is going to be walking through the door downstairs.”

“You bet he is.”

“And I get to yell at him as much as I want.”

“Get in line.”

“I’m not going to lose him tonight.”

Ann reaches over—slowly, giving him plenty of room to shift away—and places a hand on his knee. “You’re not going to lose him tonight.”

Ryuji laughs, a little breathy but still genuine. He prods at her hand. “When’d you get so good with me, Takamaki?”

“I do the Lord’s work around here, free of charge.” She grins, before her tone drops again. “Can you do something for me, though?”

“Lay it on me.”

Ann pulls back and leans on a propped hand, her blue eyes piercing. “When Akira comes back, and he will—”

“And he will. No doubt about it.”

“Obviously. He’s the best person for this. But when Akira comes back, he’s…” Ann gnaws on the inside of her cheek. “He’s not going to be okay, Ryuji.”

Somewhere in his mind, he already knew what she was going to say. While the biggest of his worries is that he’d never see Akira walk through the doors of Leblanc again, there was a quieter fear. A very specific fear, one that Ryuji knows all too well. Because stories don’t just end at the climax of a single event—they keep going. It’s the fear of what happens once he does see Akira.

The aftermath.

The bell chimes downstairs.

His heart lurches, and he makes the briefest of eye contact with Ann before he’s gone.

He’s the toughest guy I’ve ever met.

It’s like his feet have a mind of their own.

If anyone can handle this, it’s Akira.

In an instant, he’s scrambling towards the stairs on all fours before pushing himself up.

Sooner than later, his dumbass is going to be walking through the door downstairs.

His hand finds its hold on the old wooden railing as he sprints his way down. More than once, he almost trips and bangs his head into the wall.

And I get to yell at him as much as I want.

Rounding the corner, he jumps on the landing, ignoring the sharp pain that shoots up his thigh. He ignores the stares from everyone else. Looking up his breath catches in his throat. Gray eyes meet his brown ones. He takes one step forward, and then another. And then he sprints the rest.

He’s going to be okay.

Ryuji stops himself right in front of him, an arms-length away. Akira’s face looked like it’s been through hell and back. Split lip, black eye, bruised cheekbone. An intense fury flares up his spine when he sees the grime and dirt up along his temple.

He hesitates.

As much as he wants to reach forward, close the gap, to make sure that this boy that he can’t afford to lose is real… he can’t do it.

Because he knows what would happen if he tries to cross a boundary that isn’t ready to be crossed—he might not be ready. Ryuji could hurt him by touching any injuries he doesn’t know about (God, how much more is he hiding in there? He’s this close to either throwing up or throwing a punch). But what he’s most scared about, what he’s terrified of doing, is touching Akira in the state of mind he’s in right now. For someone to grip him, grab him, even just brush past him right now, it might be too much. Judging by how beat up he looks just from his face? That does shit to people. That changes you.

Ryuji would know. So he keeps his distance.

Akira’s eyes turn dark, and for a second, Ryuji is terrified that he must’ve overstepped a boundary.

Then he throws his arms around Ryuji, the force knocking them both back by a couple of steps.

“Akira?” he asks, bewildered. Never in their friendship has he seen Akira act like this. It sends alarm bells ringing through his head. “What—”

“Don’t,” Akira cuts off, voice hoarse and quiet, so quiet that even this close, Ryuji is straining to hear him. The arms around him tighten. “Don’t be like that. Please. I can’t. Not right now, Ryuji.”

It hits him all at once. And in his sixteen years of living, Ryuji doesn’t think he’s ever been stupider.

Akira’s been trapped in an interrogation room with nothing but a bunch of make-believe police officers. He got the shit beat out of him, had to stage his own suicide.

And Ryuji just tried to push him away.

He lets his arms wrap around Akira tightly; not too tight, but enough to make sure he won’t slip away from him again. (Never again. Not if he can help it.)

“I’m glad you’re back,” he whispers. Tilting his head up, he stares at the soft lighting of Leblanc, forcing his lungs to breathe evenly—not for fear of losing his temper, but for fear of exposing the tears silently streaming down his face. “So fucking glad.”

Akira doesn’t answer. He only buries his face deeper into Ryuji’s shoulder.

Ann was right—Akira isn’t okay. Not for now, not for awhile. It’s up to Ryuji and everyone else in their group of friends to fix that. That’s fine. They’ll all take as long as they need. He isn’t okay right now, but he will be. They can work on that.

But one thing was clear.

I’m not going to lose him tonight.

====

Summer in Mementos is pretty gross.

Granted, it’s always nasty in here—there’s a perpetual air of moisture, like the inside of a whale, if Ryuji had ever been in one (he’s basing that off of an American movie Ann showed them last week; he didn’t even know it was possible for a fish to get lost in the ocean). There’s also the ongoing sound of trains passing by them on loop, and to him, trains are just inherently cramped and humid and always too sticky for his liking.

Of course, there’s the disgusting, weird amalgamated Shadows that litter every level of Mementos. At least in Palaces they sort of resemble something from the real world, but he guesses they didn’t even bother with these ones. The worst part of all this is that right now, it’s hot, but not hot enough for the Shadows to process a heat wave.

So essentially, they’re fighting with additional bucket loads of sweat, but with none of the usual reward that comes with it.

Well, not that they needed it.

“Fox.”

“As you wish.”

Yusuke’s boots skid to a halt as he points his katana at the fast-moving Shadow, the tip perfectly still. “Your assistance, Goemon.”

They’re on their weekly Mementos grind, the list Mishima keeps updating finally too long to ignore. (Akira hates it when things pile up. It’s a big reason why Ryuji hastily cleaned up every time he wanted to come over. Now though, he doesn’t even bother.)

The current All-Star team includes Yusuke, Makoto, Ryuji, and Akira, with the rest of them keeping a close eye in case they need a quick shift in strategy.

From his katana, black ice crawls in the ground beneath rusted train tracks, the air suddenly chilly despite the humidity that was there a moment ago. Frost shoots forward, encasing the legs of the Shadow only to shatter with a strong jerk forward. It roars, the ear-piercing sound causing the scattered debris around them to vibrate. Akira clicks his tongue.

Strong against ice. Easy fix. Ryuji mouths the words along with Akira when he says, “Panther, you’re up.”

“Finally!”

Ann darts in, high-fiving Yusuke as he rushes out. Ryuji can see Makoto pat Yusuke on the back, sympathy etched on her expression and Futaba mussing his hair. He always took it the hardest when he had to be switched out.

Akira’s gloved fingers brush the edge of his monochrome mask. “Come, Principality.”

As if a human version of justice has been summoned down to earth, the winged statue floats for a moment, eyes filled with scorn as she casts a simple, yet effective memory loss spell. The Shadow shakes its head aggressively. It works, but it won’t hold for long.

“Skull.”

“Don’t mind if I do!”

He grins and sprints right, squeezing into the Shadow’s blindside. It tries to twist around to take a swipe at him, but Ryuji is too fast—he slides right between its legs to confuse and disorient it. Once it seems like it completely lost sight of him, he raises his hand to grip the edge of his black mask. “Come on out, Captain!”

It’s a classic tactic; make the enemy lose focus, stun it, and stop it.

A pirate straight out of the Caribbean materializes from the embers of his mask—Captain Kidd in all of his glory regards the Shadow with a look of disdain before sparks fly from the hull of his ship, and an intense streak of lightning bursts forth, shocking its target like something from a regrettable movie about torture, knocking it down to the ground, a buzz perceptible even from here. He might have overdone it.

Ann whistles. “You didn’t even let me get a chance with it.”

“You can have the next million Shadows we bump into, I promise.” He calls Captain back into his mask, fragmented pieces forming together impossibly quick. “We good, Leader?”

Akira nods. “Just let me get the loot,” he smiles at Ryuji. “Awesome voltage on that last one, Skull.”

A grin stretches over his face before he can stop himself. He won’t deny it—getting a compliment from Joker was always something he filed away for later.

He’s too busy feeling pride surge through him that he can’t even bother to get ticked off when he hears Morgana scoff. “It doesn’t matter how good that attack was; he got in the way of Lady Panther’s finishing blow. That’s a crime in my eyes.”

“But doesn’t that just mean he saved her from doing anything?” Makoto raises an eyebrow. “Technically, he prevented any danger from befalling her, right?”

“Queen, as a gentleman, I have an obligation to tell you that that is a sexist notion.”

“You did not just say that.”

Something makes Ryuji pause. Immediately, his eyes flicker around them automatically. He tunes their chattering out, and finds himself tapping his foot, a slight jitter overcoming him. His nerves are trying to tell him something. Or maybe he’s imagining it? Is it just an aftershock from the intense lightning he cast out? No. It’s been too long since he’s had any problem with electric moves, and he’s never had problems from ones that he threw out himself.

Something was wrong, and he can’t put his finger on it.

He rattles his brain trying to figure out what it is. No one’s hurt, everyone’s safe and together. Well, mostly together, since Akira’s still approaching the Shadow—

A cold sweat drapes the back of his neck. Akira is still approaching the Shadow.

The Shadow hasn’t disintegrated yet.

“Akira—!”

The name slips past his lips, codenames forgotten. In slow motion, Ryuji sees Shadow’s body tense, its mouth frothing with what looks like liquid magma made from pits of hell—specializes in curse, and a strong one at that; Ryuji can feel the potency of its malignancy from where he’s standing. He watches as Akira stiffens, fingers twitching towards his mask, ready to retaliate, or at the very least, defend. And like a domino effect of bad luck, Ryuji feels bile rise to his throat.

Akira is good at what he does. Infuriatingly good. Took the whole Metaverse bullshit like a fish to water. But even he can’t switch Personas the same moment he summons them.

Principality would crumple like tissue paper against the Shadow. And Akira along with it.

You’re too late, a voice whispers in his head. You wouldn’t make it.

A heartbeat passes. And then Ryuji is flying.

It’s never too late, screams back something stronger, something unshakeable. Not ever. Especially not for him.

His boots hit the ground like the first strike of lightning amidst a storm—impossibly fast and unexpected. Lungs wheezing and legs throbbing, he crossed the distance in the span of a breath.

The Shadow throws the curse at Akira, red and black and filled to the brim with intensity, and Akira’s eyes can only widen, pupils dilated wildly to the point where there’s only black—a mirror of what’s about to hit him if Ryuji isn’t fast enough.

He doesn’t hesitate.

Ryuji shoves Akira, hard enough that he crashes onto the ground and he can hear the breath forcefully leave his lungs, and suddenly Ryuji can’t hear anything at all. His fingertips are fire and ice, his sense of surroundings have completely dissipated. Any energy in his body is being drained, like a dam cracked into millions of pieces—and all he’s left with is air. Vaguely, he can hear a choking noise, a broken sort of sound.

The blow is not just a violent one—it never is, with curse attacks. Instead of just feeling his skin bruised or blood running down his temple, he also feels himself get weaker, his mind growing heavier. An attack on the mind and body; a perfect cocktail of fucked up.

The last thing he sees before he loses consciousness is the glint from Akira’s knife slicing through the Shadow’s throat.

====

Tokyo is currently at a wicked thirty two degrees.

The sun radiates scorching temperatures down from the sky, the concrete eagerly absorbing every bit of its heat, making something akin to walking across hot coals. It’s hot enough that a mirage is visible to the naked eye. It’s hot enough that every ice cream store has a forty-minute line-up. It’s hot enough that no birds were flying, in fear that they may truly be fried by the sun above them.

Basically, it’s hot as hell.

“Ryuji-chan, pick up the pace!”

But Haru is more vicious than any conceivable temperature.

Looking like a survivor who was lost in the desert for several days, Ryuji lets out a half-garbled battle cry and sprints the last dozen meters. Haru clicks her stopwatch.

Sitting on a lovely lilac blanket, she tsks from underneath the shade. “Three seconds slower.”

“Ugh!” he collapses beside her on the cool grass. If she looks at him from a certain angle, she can see the steam positively radiating off of him. “I’m going to beat the living shit out of the sun.”

“You know I’d support you in anything you do, Ryuji-chan, but I don’t think you’d be fast enough to catch it,” Haru says. She hands him a cold water bottle. “Drink slowly.”

He rolls over so that he can squint up at her. “You’re mean.”

“I’m harsh,” she corrects, shaking the bottle in her hand. “There’s a difference.”

He takes it. “Have you done this before?”

“Helped someone train in running? No. But,” she rummages through her pastel pink tote bag, and proudly shows him a handful of books. He squints at them. “Since I’m so new to the group and everyone has such broad interests, I decided to try reading up on them! Did you know that drinking cold water after running results in less dehydration than drinking warm water?”

Ryuji stares at her. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For saying you’re mean. You’re not mean. You’re real nice, Haru.”

She smiles at him and pats his head, despite the overflowing heat and moisture settled on top. “You’re very sweet Ryuji-chan, but that’s not going to make me go easy on you.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re the tough-love kind of coach.” Ryuji sits up, cracking open the seal. Chugging down the water, he makes eye contact with Haru before slowing down substantially.

He dumps the rest of it on his head, sighing and shivering in relief. “That’s the good shit.”

“Why not wait for the sun to go down a bit?” she suggests. “The heat is really scorching, and there’s still plenty of time to keep training later.”

“Nah,” he stretches his arms behind his head before he stands again. “I gotta keep going while I still can.”

Haru frowns. “Overexertion isn’t going to help anyone.”

“Don’t you worry your fluffy head! I may be stupid, but I know when to stop when I gotta.”

“I really think you should rest for a bit.”

“I will when I’m done, I promise.”

“You looked rough in that last lap—”

“Haru,” Ryuji is grinning, but his tone leaves no room for argument. “I’m going to keep training.”

They stare at each other for a few moments, before Haru’s shoulder sags slightly. “Alright.” He’s about to say something when she cuts him off. “But only if you tell me why you’re so insistent.”

Ryuji shrugs. “If that’s what it’ll take to prove it to you, then sure. It’s kinda stupid, though.”

“I’m sure it’s not.”

“Oh, wait till you hear it,” he laughs, a little shy. “So you know how Mona and Futaba are, like, the Metaverse experts? And Makoto is the big brain? And Yusuke does the whole calling card part?” Haru nods, and he continues. “Well, I’m not really… anything. Ann already took the role of moral support and there’s no way in hell I’m the ‘brain’ in anything. Jeez, last time I picked up a paintbrush was in kindergarten. So I figured, I’d be the fast one, you know? The one that can get to someone fast enough to help them out.” Ryuji’s grin turns into something softer; less edge and more fond. It does something to her heart. “And if it’d help ‘Kira down the line, then it’d be worth it, right?”

Haru stays silent.

“Anyway! That’s enough of that cheesy shit.” He moves back to the track, running shoes scuffing at the concrete. “Wish me luck, maybe I can actually catch up to the sun this time. Teach it a lesson.”

“Ryuji.“

Looking back, he gives her a curious look. “Yeah?”

Haru hesitates.

I never once thought you were stupid. You’ve given so much more to the team than you can imagine. You have no idea how many times you’ve helped Akira without even lifting a finger.

“I have a cooler full of water behind me, so… please try your best out there.”

Ryuji gives her an enthusiastic salute. “Yes ma'am!”

He runs off, the sun continuing to beat down him relentlessly.

====

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Ryuji knew they were all going to die someday. It’s inevitable. The circle of life, the winds of time, la vie en rose, etc.

He just didn’t expect it to happen at the age of 16, on the sinking cognitive ship of their next Prime Minister, wearing a wack-ass leather outfit surrounded by his panicking friends.

“We’re going to die!” Futaba wails, knees shaking uncontrollably to the point where she can hardly keep standing. “I don’t know how to swim!”

“It’ll be fine,” Akira spits through gritted teeth. He’s far tenser than anyone else, red gloves formed into fists and eyes constantly darting around to see what can save their lives. “We just need to focus.”

Makoto points to something on their right and shouts, “There! A lifeboat!”

Sprinting down the slowly escalating ramp, their eyes widen at the single lifeboat propped at the very top of the bow—which is slowly approaching a ninety degree angle. They all had one thought in their minds.

“We’re not going to make it in time,” Yusuke says, quietly.

Akira bangs his fist into a nearby column. “To hell with that. There’s no way I’m letting us die here.”

A heavy silence falls over them. The air is practically crackling with electricity and pure agitation, but there’s also a determination between all of that. Everyone’s overcome with a need to protect their friends and teammates, but they were at a loss of what to do. A quiet realization overcomes the group—there wasn’t going to be a miracle to save them.

Ryuji’s eyes land on Akira. He’s scanning the area, Third Eye activated but unable to pick up anything that isn’t the lifeboat. There’s no panic in his clear, gray eyes, but the terror in it is the most prevalent out of anyone present.

It hits Ryuji, all at once. The boy in front of him may be his age, and even younger than some members of their group, but he is undoubtedly the leader of the infamous Phantom Thieves. Every decision he made had led them here, in this moment, in their imminent death. And if he lets them all get taken, whether it’s through the ocean or the approaching explosions behind him, the truth of the matter is Akira feels that he would be responsible. That it’s his fault that a cognitive boat would take the lives of his friends.

Yeah. That’s not happening.

Ryuji clenches his eyes shut for a few seconds and slowly opens them. He begins to jump in place, hyping himself up.

“Skull…?” Haru asks, brows furrowing.

“Hang tight, guys,” he says, taking quick breaths. He can do this. “I’ll nab the boat.”

A chorus of gasps and heated objections rang through the air, and Akira steps forward, more shaken than Ryuji’s ever seen him. “No. Skull, please—”

Ryuji throws him a wobbly grin, more for Akira than himself. In one smooth motion, he jumps down and hits the ground running.

“No!”

Immediately, he feels his knees and thighs begin to protest, only intensifying the further he sprints up. For a minute, if Ryuji closes his eyes, he can imagine that he’s in a meet. A race. That the screams he hears behind him are his track mates, and not teammates, friends, best friends that would die if he failed to get to the boat fast enough.

He pushes himself even more.

It’s a miracle that he gets to the raft before his legs give out, and he feels a satisfying crank underneath his palms when he rotates the lever. As he throws a thumbs up at his friends, seeing them safe, healthy, alive, he feels relieved beyond words.

He makes eye contact with Akira, and he really should’ve expected the explosion that comes next.

====

His ceiling has seventy-nine plastic stars.

Ryuji stares up at it from his bed, arms crossed behind his head; they’d long since lost their cheap light. It was raining hard outside, enough to rattle against his window like pebbles calling for his attention. He ignores them.

It’s been years since he got those stars—dating all the way back in middle school. He got into a bad habit of sneaking out in the middle of the night to look at the sky from the roof of their apartment building. It scared the shit out of his ma when she finally caught him, scolded him to hell and back. By the end, they found a compromise: she’d buy him a crap ton from the hundred yen store, and they’d stick it up together. When they did, it kept falling down, so she went back and bought him a bottle of superglue. Now you can’t take them off, even if you tried to use a little scraper.

It bothered him, for a while. Young boys were cruel, and anyone who came to visit always poked fun of him for it. It wasn’t until he visited Akira’s room one day, saw how pleased he was that Yusuke bought them for him that he couldn’t help but revel at his own stars again, after all this time.

Ryuji twists his body sideways, ripping his eyes away from the plastic figures. Enough of that.

His eyes have long adjusted to the darkness that surrounds him, allowing a clear view of his room in the limited moonlight. Laundry splayed around his tatami mat from his sprints training today, gaming controllers scattered on the center table from when Akira came over a few days ago. That was a blast. He helped him beat a boss he’s been stuck on for weeks, and Akira beat it like it was nothing, it was the coolest shit ever—

Ryuji forces himself to flip over to glare at the wall. Sleep. That’s a better idea.

He takes a deep breath, forcing his breathing to go steady. There’s lots to do tomorrow—school is a drag, but they plan on meeting up at Leblanc afterwards. The thought allows his muscles to relax. Really, the atmosphere of Leblanc is just so pleasing to him. The warm lighting, the run-down booths, even the smell is a welcome presence. Well, that’s mostly because Akira drags it with him wherever he—

Slowly, his eyes open.

It always comes back to him, doesn’t it?

He rolls onto his back, in a position to stare at the stars again. The rain hammers on.

Ryuji’s a dumb kid.

It’s not a self jab, it wasn’t manifested by some sort of long-standing insecurity. It’s a fact. He’s never been good with a book, never done anything half-decent by picking up a pencil, his mind was never programmed to listen and retain information in long classes. It’s definitely not like he’s the brains of the Thieves, never a strategist of some kind. His ma encouraged him to take on a tutor in the past, and he’d rather bite a finger off than spend her money on wasted potential, so he found himself wandering the streets of Central Street as a way to pass time.

Ryuji’s a dumb kid, but even he knows he’s irrevocably, completely, stupidly in love with Kurusu Akira.

He sits up and ruffles his hair, frustrated. There are too many things wrong with that sentence, too many things that can go wrong because of that sentence. Of course, he finds the one thing that can mess up the unshakeable foundation that he and Akira built for each other. He must’ve really pissed off some God upstairs for him to have a hell-bent queer awakening with his best friend.

No, that’s wrong. It was the furthest thing from hell-bent—it was soft, it was gray, it was raining, and most importantly, it took its time.

They were halfway through Kamoshida’s Palace when Ryuji realized it; the sheer amount of power that hindsight gave him made him pause long enough to get clocked out by a Shadow.

Doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. It can’t matter, because he would never, ever do anything to fuck up what he has. Not again.

Wait, no, that’s not true. Even before Kamoshida, he’s never had something like this. He’s never had someone like him. He’s never had someone who’s so entirely on the same wavelength as him, who’d have his back even when his was against a wall. Kurusu Akira is…ethereal. Out of this world. Cool as fuck. (Hot as fuck, too.) If you lined up the entirety of Tokyo and told him he could pick one. One person out of the whole lineup to be his friend, he’d have his answer in a heartbeat.

See, now that isn’t something that changed with hindsight—Ryuji’s known that he’s been in love with Akira since before they completed Kamoshida’s Palace. And when he figured it out, he didn’t feel shock. His eyes didn’t widen, his heart didn’t start thumping like crazy. It’s more like he just scratched his head in a huh kind of way. It felt like his life had been waiting for that day in April, like everything was at a standstill until he finally met Kurusu Akira. It made sense. Everything just makes sense when Akira’s involved.

Which just makes this all the more fucked up.

He knocks his head back against the wall, eyes stuck on the raindrops’ rapidly moving shadows on his bedroom floor. Karma. That’s probably what’s happening. The world still hasn’t forgiven him for losing his shit, so they decided to make him pine for the only person that he can’t afford to lose.

He can’t even stomach the idea of trying to get over it, to try and put distance between himself and Akira. He spent a lifetime waiting for a miracle, for someone who didn’t know existed. He’s not giving up a single second of time with him. That’s probably why the world relentlessly shits on him; he’s selfish enough to keep the feelings that he has. But he can’t bring himself to regret that decision. Not with the way his breath hitches in his throat whenever Akira walks into the room.

Ryuji’s in love with his best friend, and there’s absolutely nothing he can do about it. He’s accepted it. Just like how the sky is blue, or that he well and truly hates Calculus. It’s a factor of life.

The rain seemed to fall harder, droplets sounding like rigorous hail against the windowpane. He lets out a long yawn.

Ryuji’s in love with his best friend, and there’s absolutely nothing he can do about it.

That’s not the reason why he can’t sleep at night.

Akira is a quiet guy. He gets his point across with as few words as possible, as if each letter costs him fifty yen to say out loud. So he speaks through his expression; a quirk of his brow, a tilt of his head, a certain smile is enough to carry half of the conversation.

And, every once in a while, Akira gets a look.

It comes up at the weirdest times—when the two of them baton pass in the Metaverse, when Ryuji eats ramen too fast and gets sick, when he helps an old lady cross the street. Plenty of times it’s because Ryuji is doing something incredibly stupid (like when he said that the square root of sixteen is six, because if you just get rid of the one, then that makes sense, right?), or when they’re laughing so hard neither of them can breathe. But sometimes it comes up in quieter moments, too. The two of them talking quietly in the attic at Leblanc, or when Akira confesses that he’s relieved Ryuji’s always there for him. (As if there would ever be a time where he won’t be.)

The look is subtle enough to miss but easy to find if someone knows what they’re looking for. The usual attentiveness that resides in Akira’s eyes disappears, in its place a softer gaze; his pupils get dilated, and the edge of his eyes get all crinkled like Valentine’s tissue paper. A half-smile rests on his lips, never quite turning into a full-blown grin, but that’s okay. For some reason, it all reminds Ryuji of the moon. Of soft moonlight. Of streetlamps on empty roads.

Ryuji’s in love with his best friend, and there’s a small, tiny, infinitesimal chance that his best friend might love him back.

His eyelids slide shut, though he knows that it won’t be enough to let him rest.

Realistically, he’s probably wrong. Akira isn’t in love with him, and he’s only seeing what he wants to see. With every eligible person seeming to fall in love with him at some point in time, how would it even be possible that Akira would love him?

He rubs his eyes, desperate to get rid of the unending fatigue that’s plagued him for months on end. It doesn’t work.

Bad excuse. Akira does love him, just like he loves everyone he encounters and befriends and ends up risking his life for. Ryuji’s surprised Akira hasn’t passed out yet, given his bleeding heart for the entire population of Tokyo.

Lightning flashes and thunder rumbles as he rubs his eyes harder.

But what if he wasn’t wrong? What if the signals he’s seeing aren’t based on misunderstood yearning?

When his eyes start to burn, his fingers move up to his hair.

There’s no way in hell he’d ever risk losing his best friend. His partner. His Akira. It’s not something he can gamble. It’s not worth it.

He begins to tug, hands shaking, and he can barely feel the sting of pain from nearly pulling his hair out his scalp.

It’s not worth it. He decided that in the very beginning.

Ryuji buries his face into his palms.

But he is so, so exhausted of being tired.

Lightning flashes, and for a split-second, his room is bright.

Fuck it.

By the time thunder rumbles through his apartment, he’s already out the front door.

His sneakers squelch against the wet concrete, soaking his unsocked feet. He’s sprinting fast enough that the street lights around him blur, and he can feel quick breaths getting pulled out of him. It takes him a few seconds to realize that he forgot to wear a raincoat, but he doesn’t care.

Akira is his best friend. Akira accepted him, flaws and all. Akira loves him, one way or another. That’s what held him back. He can’t risk losing that.

Ryuji quickly checks both sides before running across the street, wiping the rain off his brow, and keeps going.

But that’s what should’ve pushed him into confessing sooner. Because if that’s all true, then that can only ever mean that Akira would accept this part of him too, right?

He jerks out of the way as he almost barrels over a fire hydrant, making him step into a deep puddle. It doesn’t slow him down.

Maybe he would’ve realized it sooner if he wasn’t too fucking tired to think straight.

His lungs begin to complain, his breaths turning to wheezes, but he ignores it in favor of going faster.

Too late for that now. All the matters now is to talk to—

He skids to a halt.

In front of him—eyes wide, hair drenched, no shoes—stands Kurusu Akira.

Ryuji’s mouth falls open, and for a minute, he almost laughs. Of course. He should’ve known. Just as he’s willing to sprint to Akira at an unholy hour in the night…

He smiles sheepishly at him, and Ryuji feels his chest constrict in the loveliest way possible.

…Akira would do the exact same thing for him.

The rain slows, and the thunder ceases for a moment. The world pauses long enough for both of them to speak in the same breath, the same heartbeat:

“I’m in love with you.”

#fic tag #akiryu #pegoryu #fanfic #writing #ryuji sakamoto #akira kurusu #persona 5 #persona 5 royal #mine #desperate as that sounds #and yeah man thats a jon bellion song #fic

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