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xenonluxius · 3 months

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You’re Mine; Don’t Forget That - Chapter 2

“Sorry for that… Our captain is a major pain in the ass on a good day,” Suzuran apologized as the two girls walked down the Frostheim corridor, the hall empty due to it being nearly lunchtime.

“No, it's okay! Thank you so much for your help,” the honor student said, dipping into a grateful bow.

“You're such a cutie! Jin seriously has no eye for good women,” Suzuran bemoaned, a hand to the crease on her brow as she sighed.

“Y-you flatter me…” the honor student stammered shyly, a shaky smile on her face a sign of just how shaken up she was from the earlier encounter.

“...Don't mind him. He sounds like he has a body or two in his basement, but he's never gone through with his threats… mostly. Still, it would be best if you steer clear of him, Miss…” Suzuran trailed off as she realized that she didn't remember the honor student’s name.

“Oh, I'm sorry for the late introduction! My name’s Yurika Senri, but you can just call me Yurika,” Yurika introduced herself, a hand to her heart with a bright, more relaxed smile.

“A beautiful name for a beautiful soul. I'm Suzuran Fujiai; it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Suzuran said, a hand lifting the edge of her skirt as she lightly curtsied.

“Fuji…ai?” Yurika echoed, her train of thought comically clear to Suzuran.

“No, I'm not related to Kaito Fuji, although our last names are similar,” the older woman laughed. “You two are friends, no? I think I saw him with you after the entrance ceremony.”

“Yes! He's been very kind to me, even though I caused a lot of trouble for him,” Yurika said, her eyes downcast in guilt.

“Trust me, that man would go through hell and back for a pretty lady like you. Accept his goodwill with an open heart,” Suzuran insisted, heartily patting Yurika on the back.

“If you say so… Oh, I should probably head back to the staffroom to report to Professor Dante,” Yurika realized, her eyes widened in panic as she remembered her initial mission.

“He knows how this lot can get, so he probably won't give you much grief. If anything, tell him that you know me; that should be enough to placate him,” Suzuran reassured her, then dug her phone out of her pocket. “By the way, wanna exchange contact info? I’d like to think that I'm pretty knowledgeable about the Academy, so feel free to hit me up whenever you need help or just want a familiar face to chat with,” she offered with a smile.

“I would love to!” Yurika exclaimed, her face lighting up as she dug out her phone. After the two women exchanged numbers, they bid farewell to each other and parted ways - Yurika with a notable skip to her step.

“Now then, I guess that I can get a little healing done before heading to lunch,” Suzuran murmured to herself as she leisurely stretched, her lower spine satisfyingly popping in place. Straightening her blazer with a huff, her brisk steps turned her towards the Jabberwock Safari.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

“Are you just the cutest little fluffy baby in the world?! Yes you are, you adorable fluffball, you! Gimme some snuggles, precious baby girl~” Suzuran squealed as she glomped an adult Peekaboo, sighing in pure bliss as she ran her fingers through her soft fur. “You're such a cutie! Who's my cute little baby~? You, that's who! Awww, you're so soft and snuggly~”

“If it isn't my number one customer! Here to check up on Mama Peekaboo, eh?” a cheerful voice called out from behind the blissful woman, and she reluctantly peeled her face from her sanctuary to gaze hazily at the approaching redhead.

“Haru! Great work taking care of the safari, as usual,” she complimented, straightening up and trying but failing to brush off the white Peekaboo fur clinging to her uniform.

“It's my one joy in life, after all!” Haru exclaimed cheerfully as he reached over to pat the Mama Peekaboo. “You're a right spoiled lil’ bugger, Mamaboo.”

“She's just being treated like the queen she is, ri~ght?” Suzuran trilled as she nuzzled her face into Mamaboo's soft belly fur. “I would commit national crimes if Mamaboo gets even a chipped nail,” she vowed when she came up for air.

“Gahaha! That'd put me in a pickle if my best customer got put in the slammer,” Haru lamented, a dramatically horrified expression on his face.

“Who said I would get caught?” Suzuran asked with a scarily straight face, and a cold drop of sweat trickled down Haru's forehead at her words. “Anyways! Was my last donation enough to repair the pasture anomalies’ fence?” she asked, quickly changing the subject.

“More than! There was even enough left over to expand the feed fields a few acres,” Haru replied cheerfully, a sparkle in his eyes. “You're the savior goddess of the safari! I honestly can't ever repay this debt.”

“Don't worry about it! Money is best used for the things you love rather than sit rotting in a bank account,” Suzuran said dismissively, running a hand through Mamaboo's fur. “Besides, having free access to all the fluffy healing I could ever need is more than enough to make up for a few digital numbers.”

“With a scary captain like yours, I don't blame ya. How about it? Put any more thought into transferring?” Haru asked hopefully, his hands clasped in front of him.

“Tempting, but I'd have to refuse. There’s… a reason why I can't leave Frostheim,” Suzuran shook her head with an apologetic smile. “I hope that won't keep me from being able to frequent here?”

“Of course not! No matter what house you belong to, a kindred soul is always welcome. Sorry to put you in an awkward position,” Haru apologized sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

“It's all right. Oh, and about the worn saddles-” Suzuran paused as she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. “Sorry, give me a second,” she said as she scanned the text, her expression instantaneously souring. “Hypocritical bitch…” she muttered under her breath before tucking the device away, forcing a bright smile to her face. “Duty calls! I'll catch you guys later,” she said, planting one last kiss onto Mamaboo's furry head.

“O-oh, all right! Stay safe,” Haru waved goodbye, confused yet used to Suzuran's abrupt retreats from her sanctuary. No matter what she was doing, as soon as she saw a certain text on her phone she always dropped everything to leave. He never questioned it… but he hoped that nothing bad came from those three words flashing on her screen.

My room. Now.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Deep breaths. Don't sock him in the face as soon as you see him, no matter how tempting it may be. Come on, you can do this, Suzuran! Just focus on his handsome face and ignore everything else, Suzuran told herself as she stopped in front of familiar cerulean doors, both hands on the handles but not yet applying pressure.

Yet another sigh weighed her down at the thought of facing the captain after their spat. It wasn't rare for them to butt heads, but it was a bit strange for her to be this worked up. This wasn't the first time Jin kicked her out of his room only to summon her back, and it certainly wouldn't be the last, but there was something about the way his glare seemed more… vicious than normal.

Vindictive.

Well, nothing would move forward if she stayed put; fortune favors the bold. With one last inhale and hold, she pushed open the heavy doors.

It was pitch black.

Only the faintest of light dared to creep into the shadowy room from the hallway, and even that faded away when the doors slammed shut behind Suzuran. Frostheim's dorms were often described as an ice castle, but this was the first time she truly felt the chill penetrating through her blazer. Tiny needles pricked the nape of her neck as she walked further in, the muffled thump of her padded heels against the marbled floor swallowed up by the void before her.

“Jin, I'm truly convinced that you've embraced your identity as a vampire. Why the hell is it so dark in here?” Suzuran asked, her voice a bit louder than normal in order to fill the uncomfortable silence. Not even a grunt of annoyance followed her words, a foreboding chill settling into her stomach at the unfamiliarity of the situation.

I've never liked the dark.

“Jin? Whether you like it or not, I'm opening those curtains. One of us actually likes having a field of vision,” she warned, a hand reached out in front of her as she searched for any sort of purchase.

Silence.

A heartbeat.

Two.

A breath that she vaguely registered as her own.

“...Jin?”

Suzuran hated the slight quiver in her voice. She loathed the way her pinkie finger trembled even as the rest of her body remained under perfect control. She despised the way she was reminded of a truth she spent 3 years trying to turn into a lie.

Fuck you and your entire bloodline, Kamurai.

Just as her knee collided with what she assumed was the couch in the middle of the room, she felt familiar calloused fingers grab her arm and yank her down, her stomach left behind as she fell against a warm, firm chest. One heartbeat became two, two became four, and a pair of breaths intermingled within close proximity.

“What the fuck did that woman do to you?” Jin's raspy voice demanded into her ear, sending a shiver down her spine at the vibrations ringing into the shell of her ear.

“I haven't the foggiest what you mean,” Suzuran replied smoothly as she recovered unnaturally fast from the shock, trying and failing to push herself up. A veined hand kept an iron grip on her wrist, the other anchoring her waist against his stomach. Suzuran's long hair curtained the two young adults away from the rest of the world.

“Cut the crap. You might’ve been able to fool Tohma, but I’m not as dense as he is. That woman did something to you with that enhancement of hers,” Jin growled, his grip almost painful against her skin.

“You knew about her,” Suzuran said, a statement rather than a question. Jin loved to play the unmotivated, useless captain, but there was seldom a fact to run unnoticed by his ears.

Curse his perceptiveness.

Even with their close proximity, Suzuran couldn't make out his expression; however, she could feel the burn of his icy eyes against her skin, the angry pulse of his heart passing from his wrist to hers, and the momentary lapse in his breath as he made a split decision.

“Is she resurfacing?” Jin asked instead, those three words freezing her blood like an avalanche.

No.

No, he couldn't have noticed.

Instead of answering him, Suzuran ripped her arm away from his grip, not even blinking at the sharp pain originating from his nails catching against her skin. Her free hand pulled her hair away from her face, the shadows sufficient to hide her expression. A mirthless chuckle rattled through her dry lungs as she sat up, straddling his stomach as her left hand fell towards the right side of his waist.

“Captain, that's a terrible joke even for you,” she murmured, her husky voice rasped like sandpaper against her own ears, catching against nonexistent barbs in her throat. “This is why you’re still single, you know?” she teased, dainty fingers tracing light hearts against the fabric of Jin's shirt, drifting down and down and even lower so.

His silence irritated her - he knew that she hated silence - and the fact that he didn’t try to stop her was a provocation still.

Her thumb hooking through a belt loop, she tugged at it as the rest of her fingers dipped into his pocket and snatched his lighter. Freeing her thumb, she tossed the polished metal from her left hand to her right, flicking it open with practiced ease.

The tiny flame flickering to life was just enough to illuminate Jin's unreadable expression and Suzuran's lopsided, provocative smirk.

“Can I open those curtains yet? It would be such a terrible shame if my hand slipped and dropped this lighter,” she purred.

“Stop fucking around and answer the damn question,” Jin sighed, his hand reaching up to snag the lighter from her hand. “You would rather dance on a bed of coals than let me have the last word, yet you retreated with a pathetically weak challenge. Your infallible mask cracked, Ran, and it was that damn woman's fault. The question is: what did she do?”

Suzuran sucked in a breath at the sound of her nickname, one that was so seldomly used that she almost forgot it existed.

Fuck you, Jin.

He knew exactly how to weaken her, how to get exactly what he wanted to know from that stubborn mouth of hers. Who knew that Suzuran Fujiai, the temptress Liaison of Frostheim, was susceptible to a bit of pleading (could it even be called that?) from the infamously icy Captain of Frostheim?

She did, that's fucking who.

“That… ring of hers. The Sage's Ring. I underestimated its power,” Suzuran admitted quietly, her head lowering as her hair fell to shield her face. “I felt her voice in my head, my heart… I got her under control in time, but the incident from three years ago was dangerously close to repeating itself. I guess that I just didn't have the energy to deal with your bullshit after that,” she snarked at the end, hiding her vulnerable eyes with a teethy grin.

Sapphire eyes speckled with flickering molted gold studied her, his brow creased in thought. After a few seconds his shoulders heaved with a huge sigh, and a heavy arm wrapped around her waist while the other put the lighter away, plunging them into darkness once more. “Whatever. Lay down; I'm going to sleep.”

“Insomnia again?” Suzuran murmured, scooting down a bit before stretching herself across Jin's sturdy body, her ear to his steady heart, a hand on his chest, and her legs entangled with his. A grunt of affirmation vibrated into her body, and she nodded in understanding.

Lilium.

A breathy whisper laden with innate power echoed into the dark room, and the temperature seemed to rise a few degrees until the chill was counteracted with a cozy warmth. Suzuran's eyes radiated a faint glow as her irises reshaped into ruby hearts, her canines sharpening into small points like those of a vampire. A gentle hand rose up to trace the contour of Jin's jaw, and she tilted her head to press a small kiss against the crook of his neck.

Amidst the rough intake of his breath, Suzuran uttered a quiet “Sleep,” a foggy haze seeming to descend over his eyes. His limbs were crafted from lead, his head stuffed with cotton, his eyes nearly impossible to keep open.

As Suzuran’s hums facilitated the influence of her Stigma, Jin forced his lips apart to give her one last warning.

“Don't use your Stigma… on any other bastard out there.”

#jin kamurai #succubus oc #tokyo debunker #ghoul #stigma #tkdb

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xenonluxius · 3 months

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God strike me down if this isn’t one of the most beautiful TKDB fics I had ever read.

routine

Pairing: Kagami Subaru x MC/reader

Tags: SFW. Character analysis, a bit of angst, hurt x comfort (I think), fluff and romance between you and Subaru, over 6k words

Author's note: this is probably the biggest fic I've written lol and I'm kinda proud of how it came out, since it also took me some days to fully flesh it out. I'd appreciate comments if you liked the fic! Comments literally keep every write alive. Anyways, hope you enjoy!

Kabuki Glossary:

Biwa: Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling

Geza: the music that plays during kabuki, performed live

Hanamichi: flower path; a long, raised platform, running left or center to the stage through the audience, connecting to the main stage, used to make dramatic entrances and exits

Mie pose: a powerful and emotional pose struck by an actor

Onnagata: actor who acts the role of a young woman

Sewamono: a genre of contemporary setting plays in Japanese traditional theatre

Shamisen: three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument

Tachiyaku: young adult male roles, the actors who play those roles; most commonly these are hero roles, though not all of them

Takemoto: a specific type of song, it is also the narration device used during a kabuki play. It consists of a chanter/narrator (tayu) and the shamisen players

Subaru had become used to it.

You would come to visit him right after your classes, if you weren’t assigned a mission, and Subaru would welcome you with tea and some obscure sweet he managed to get, just to let you try it. You two would talk, and you would share stories about your friends in the Academy, how your life was before you became cursed, and he would tell his own stories, even if he thought they weren’t nearly as interesting as yours.

It gave him a sense of belonging.

Subaru hadn't had much experience with friendships or any interpersonal relationship at all.

His life was merely the background for his career as an actor. His bare skin was merely the foundational bricks for the red and white makeup that would adorn him once he was out on the stage.

When he was under the spotlight, his monotone voice resounded loudly – louder than the drums, louder than the shamisen, louder than the biwa. Subaru became gigantic under his costume. His movements were sharp and hypnotic, the flow of his kimono as he walked down the hanamichi and the pierce of his gaze turned all heads towards him. He was a genius, a talent like no other, the future of the kabuki theater.

And he did not see himself in any of it.

Here lies the true tragedy of a burned out genius child: to go under insurmountable levels of pressure, only to find that the dreams of your parents were never your own.

Subaru did not want to be under the spotlight, no matter how much the spotlight wanted him and no matter how much others wanted him to be under it.

As he was forced to keep walking the flower path, his chances of living life as a normal kid were gone: he had no friends, no acquaintances, nothing that helped him find out who he was for himself.

So, he had no experience.

But he knew that he could pick out the feeling of belonging somewhere after spending time with you.

Eagerly, he waited for the clock to reach 5PM everyday, knowing that you would come through his door to spend time with him.

Routine was always something he appreciated, anxious as he was. He didn't like surprises, he wanted things to be predictable, to give him even the slightest sense of control over his new life as a student.

Therefore, to know that you would come to visit everyday, at the exact same time, was his comfort – even if the thought of you made his heart skip a beat, although he didn't quite understand why.

Not even standing behind the greatest stages made his heart drum loudly after a while. As the green, red and brown curtains of the stage were pulled, his body went on automatic. The takemoto went through his ears, unnoticed, and the geza became white noise. He moved gracefully, although his mind flew into other planes. As the audience clapped enthusiastically as he stood in his mie pose, Subaru wished he was somewhere else. He felt extremely guilty for not being able to appreciate the hard work of the musicians and the actors, but after he figured out that the passion he thought he had was merely a reflection of his parents’ passion, everything became black, white and gray.

Yet, planning fancy snacks for you made his hands clammy and his heart restless – and it wasn't the most comfortable feeling, however, he didn't hate it. He knew you'd come through with the routine and wash his anxieties away.

However, much to his dismay, his comfort had been ripped off of him for the past three days. His precious routine had been broken and Subaru would be lying if he said he wasn't counting the hours, the minutes and the seconds until it was restored, somehow.

He just had no idea how to fix it.

You had been fiercely avoiding him for three days, ever since the last meeting was cut short, and he blamed himself for hurting you in the worst way he could have ever done it.

Subaru has always had awful self-esteem.

No matter the compliments about his genius, none of them stuck to him. When you despise what you do, being good at it just brings forth more bitterness towards oneself.

Subaru was a rarity in the kabuki world – someone who could represent a captivating tachiyaku or the most elegant onnagata. He could be the hero or the princess, something that most actors could not do. To don the costumes of both genders was the cause of endless praise and awe from the audience and members of his acting house alike – none of which he accepted.

To him, his talent came as second nature. There was no need to hone his skills – they were already there, much like an additional organ he was born with – and he loathed that fact. He loathed how this pushed him towards a world in which he didn't want to participate.

He truly valued the hard work he was now putting into his studies, something he was creating with his own hands. He could see his own growth and pat himself on the back for it – even if he still had a hard time accepting compliments (he knew the only reason he was the captain of Hotarubi was due to his status, after all. He was just a figurehead).

Subaru’s stigma was an even bigger burden towards his path of bettering himself.

If he hated being an actor, he hated himself even more for his powers. Much like his talent, he did not ask to be bestowed with such a repugnant stigma. It was the reason why his parents would never touch him, never hold him. He was a walking breach of privacy, a dangerous little thing that could easily become a weapon, if the truth of his stigma was found out. He was untouchable in every way, figuratively and literally.

He truly couldn't understand how Lyca, Zenji, Haku and you were so quick to accept his ugliness.

“You aren’t disgusting, something like this could never be your fault”, you had said, when he wallowed in self-pity after revealing his secret. But to step out of his cycle of self-hatred was a tough task.

Your visits helped, however. For the first time in his young life, someone saw him as himself and stayed.

Haku and Zenji were his true friends, but they still saw him through the lens of that one genius kabuki actor. And Lyca… he was alone and desperate.

You, however, had the ghouls of Darkwick Academy wrapped in your little finger and, still, you chose him. Despite his social awkwardness, his anxieties, his anger, his stigma. You chose him whenever it was time to get lunch, when you could be resting, when you could have anyone else. The thought of it made his heart skip a beat again. He was sensing a slight pattern.

Yet, it had been three days, and you were gone. No messages, no visits, no news.

He understood your avoidance despite it all. He had committed the worst sin he could have done to his dearest friend.

He had touched you.

You had come to Hotarubi at your usual time, 5PM, sharp. Your hair was disheveled and a few droplets of water stained the tatami of the tea room as they fell from your face and hands, while you hurriedly took off your shoes.

“I’m so sorry for making a mess, Subaru! I had to run here to arrive on time and ended up forgetting my umbrella… I had to walk under every cover I could find, but I still ended up being sprayed by the rain.” you said, as you stood at the entrance, shaking your body as if you were trying to get rid of the excess water.

Subaru shot up from his spot, his face contorted in worry.

“Oh no, please don’t do that!” he said, as he ran to quickly rummage through the drawers of the room for towels “You always have to use an umbrella when you come to Hotarubi, what if you get a cold?”

You grabbed the towel he gave you, smiling awkwardly.

“I know, I know. I just didn’t want to arrive late. I didn’t want you to get anxious.”

Subaru blinked, face blank, as he was caught off guard by your answer.

“You… you don’t need to worry about me. I’m not that anxious.”

You laughed, and he felt his breath hitch on his throat.

“Suuure, and I don’t breathe oxygen…” you said jokingly, hanging the towel on a nearby hanger after you finished patting your face and arms dry, giggling as you noticed the way he was pouting slightly. “I’m just playing with you! I’m sorry.”

“No no, I’m sorry about worrying you to the point of you having to hurry…”

You rolled your eyes and raised your hands to put them on his shoulder, quickly stopping yourself before you could actually touch him, resting them on your hips instead.

“Subaru. You don’t have to apologize for something like that. I am doing this because I care about your well-being. You're my friend and I want you to be okay. It’s not something to feel apologetic for. Instead, you can just thank me for being a great friend.” you winked and he immediately looked away from your face, that was too bright for him to stare at.

“O… okay… Thank you.” Subaru murmured, forcing himself to look at you again, from under his lashes, a small smile adorning his features.

“You’re very welcome.” you nodded “Now let’s drink some tea please, I do need something hot to warm myself!”

“That’s true, let’s get you warm so you won’t get a cold, please.”

Soon, time slowed down as you two sat and chatted about everything and nothing at all. You talked about how weird Darkwick's shopkeeper is, how awfully crowded the dining hall is (Subaru avoided it like the plague), how scary Professor Hyde can be sometimes, how loud Kaito and Luca are, how cute are the little cats running around all day…

How funny it is that you two always met for lunch in a place where only romantic couples hung out, you mentioned in passing, almost mumbling to yourself like you didn’t want to be heard.

“Does it make you uncomfortable?” Subaru asked, already looking apologetic, hearing you despite your low voice.

“No, no” you were quick to dismiss his concern “It’s, um, I don’t know... Doesn’t it make you a little nervous?” you said, laughing sheepishly, a foreign blush warming the tips of your ears, which went unnoticed by him.

“You get nervous when we’re there? We can eat somewhere else, you don't have to stay in a place you dislike just to appease me…” Subaru muttered, frowning “I’m so sorry I didn’t notice that it was making you uncomfortable…”

“No, no, no” you shook your head vigorously “That’s not what I meant at all! I… I don’t think I can explain it to you just yet. I don’t think I’m… ready, or… whatever, I don’t know…” you trailed off, incoherently.

“Ready? I’m sorry, I don't understand.”

“It’s okay” you flashed him a smile and grabbed one of the kimono catalogs that were littering his table, fidgeting with it, mindlessly “Don’t worry about it. Let’s just keep eating there, okay? Promise we’ll keep eating there?”

“But I want to understand what you mean- oh!” Subaru cut himself off as he saw a thick sheet of paper cut your thumb while you flipped it anxiously “Your thumb…”

You looked at the small cut that was letting out a single droplet of blood and shrugged.

“Oh, I didn’t even notice… it’s okay, I’ll put a bandaid over it later. Wait, Subaru? Wait… wait, no!”

The boy didn’t quite register his own movements, as his hand went to grab your bleeding one, gently grasping your pulse with his soft fingers, running his own thumb over your cut, as if his touch could heal you faster.

His hands were bare.

You inhaled sharply and, instantly, it all flashed into his mind in quick succession. Like a large wave overwhelming an inexperienced swimmer, he was pushed down into the deep waters of those memories, causing him to gasp, breathless.

Subaru was swarmed by visions of himself in every possible situation. He saw how your gaze followed him when you spotted him from a distance in the campus; how you searched for him in the crowd of students during lunch time, on the tranquil balcony in which you two have shared your food together plenty of times before; and how you turned your head around whenever you heard someone mention his name in passing.

He had glimpses of the way his hands moved while making tea; his profile as he smiled gently when he tried explaining your homework to you; and his own eyes softening as he talked about Lyca. In your eyes, he looked magical. Ethereal, even. Someone who deserved to be admired, loved, praised and he knew these were your own emotions being whispered so subtly to him.

Subaru saw himself in a way the mirror had never reflected back to him. He discovered parts of his being that he wasn't able to find out for himself, because they would only come to the surface when he was with you.

In his mind's eye, right then, Subaru laughed, loud and breathless, as he clutched his stomach – all the restraint he built through his lifetime, gone through the window, after you had merely told him some silly joke. The way he brightened with your words, making your heart beat in a terrifying, yet delightful way, made your breath catch on your throat.

And much like a dying man seeing his whole life flash through his eyes, he arrived back to the present and saw himself, staring wide-eyed at his own hand tightly gripping yours.

He blinked, and his consciousness came back to him.

Subaru, like usual, felt incredibly weak after using his stigma, yet he still quickly turned his gaze towards you, eyes wide and mouth opening and closing like a fish, unable to say a word.

Your face was beet red and your eyes were blankly staring at your own lap, lips pursed into a thin line and eyebrows furrowed. Your free hand was clenched into a fist, knuckles pale with the force in which you dug your own nails into your palm.

“I…” Subaru murmured, trying his best to weave a coherent thought.

You got up quickly, breaking the hold Subaru had onto your arm, and grabbed your things in a hurry.

“I think- I think I should go.” your voice cracked and you cleared your throat harshly “Thank you so much for the snacks and tea, they were delicious like always” you blurted out, quickly making your way to his door.

“Wait, no, I- I'm sorry, I-” Subaru held his hand out, as if he tried to reach you but you were too far away, oceans of distance between you two.

“There's nothing to apologize for!” You said, way too cheerfully for him to believe you “I just gotta go now. I have… I gotta go. Yeah. See you soon, Subaru.” you stepped out into the rain and soon disappeared into the mist that surrounded Hotarubi, not waiting for whatever he tried to say.

Subaru stared at his own hands. The little droplet of your blood stained his fingertip, and he took a deep, shaky breath.

He had betrayed you. He had seen your innermost memories without your consent and now you were mad at him. He had to apologize. He had to beg for your forgiveness, until you took pity on him and allowed him to be your friend once again.

Falling into a deeper pit of self-hatred was hard, but he tried to keep it together, for you. He needed to be lucid in order to beg for your pardon once you came back to visit him. He just hoped it would be soon.

But you did not see him soon at all.

“I don't think they're mad at you for seeing their memories, it’s not really like them. But maybe they're embarrassed?” Haku pondered, taking a bite of the mochi Subaru had set out for you out of pure habit.

“No” he shook his head, adamant “They wouldn't simply disappear if it was just that. I don’t believe that. I have done something that made them angry at me. I saw something I definitely shouldn't have seen.”

It was the fifth day of you avoiding Subaru and he was hanging on by the thinnest thread. He was so close to snapping that it was becoming clear to the other Hotarubi students. And so, Haku and Zenji came to intervene.

“Well... I can't really give you my proper opinion if I don't know what you saw.” Haku said bluntly, making Subaru flinch.

“I can't tell you. I would be breaching their trust again. That’s the last thing I need to do right now.”

“You are absolutely correct, my dear friend!” Zenji remarked “However, we can’t possibly figure out the true essence of your situation if you can't tell us the whole entire story! How can we write an ending without knowing the beginning and the middle of the plot?”

“I don’t know…” Subaru murmured, looking more miserable with each second.

Haku sighed loudly, shifting his legs on the seat.

“Subaru. We don't want to gossip. We just want to know the situation better. We are their friends as well, you know?” he smirked “We can help you figure out their emotions. If anything, you might feel better after venting. How’s that phrase? A burden shared…”

“Is a burden halved!” Zenji finished, boisterously.

A pang resounded in Subaru's heart at how his friends were doing their best to help him.

“O…okay. I'll tell you”

After finishing recounting the last day he saw you, Subaru sighed loudly.

“Well?”

After a moment of silence, Zenji exclaimed loudly, startling the other two.

“Oh!! The spring begins!!” he yelled, one hand on his chest as the other went up in the air “How lovely it is to see young buds bloom into perfect flowers!!”

Haku slowly nodded at Zenji’s words and chuckled, rubbing his own face in disbelief while he noticed how absolutely perplexed and confused Subaru still was.

“I see now…”

“What?” the brown-haired boy fidgeted, almost desperate to grab Haku and Zenji and shake them by their shoulders “What's going on?”

The other boys looked at each other, before turning back to him.

“Subaru, I don’t want to beat around the bush so I’m just gonna say it straight away. They're like… very much in love with you.”

He blinked slowly, as if the words were entering his brain at a snail’s pace.

“What?” was all he managed to utter.

“Yes, my friend! Our lovely flower seems to be completely smitten by you!”

“No” Subaru shook his head “That can't be. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Man, if there’s one thing that makes sense in the world, is what we’re telling you right now” Haku said, while laughing “Specially after everything you said you saw. You just… saw their feelings when they weren't ready to tell you yet, so I bet it feels embarrassing. It's probably eating them alive right now. That’s why they’re not visiting.”

Subaru stared at his own lap, his mind not properly processing the depth of the situation – the word “Love” bouncing in his brain like a lost temari.

“Then…” he whispered, throat hoarse “What should I do now?”

“What do you feel for our little flower, my friend? Do you correspond to their feelings? Do you love them back?” Zenji worded gently, as if he was talking to a scared wild animal.

“Do I love them back…”

Haku nudged Zenji, motioning for both of them to get up and leave Subaru for the moment.

“Figure that out first. If you do, go after them and tell them you correspond to their feelings. If not, just let them deal with it on their own. Also, if you don’t like them back, don’t ask for them to come visit you again like nothing ever happened. You’d just be rubbing salt on their wounds.”

“How do I figure that out though?” Subaru looked up at the two men as they leisurely walked outside of his room, eyes already brimming with tears.

“You're a smart guy. You'll figure that out by yourself.” Haku winked at him and both him and Zenji slipped away, leaving Subaru at a loss.

Subaru did his due diligence the only way he knew how: by studying. He started reading romance mangas and watching romance movies. It was the type of media his family would never approve of, as they deemed it unworthy of someone refined like him.

Still, despite him thinking that that “forbidden knowledge” would give him all the answers, it still led him nowhere.

He wasn’t like any male lead from these works. He could never run after someone in an airport and yell their name, begging them to stay and forgo all of their life plans. Subaru wasn’t like that. He couldn't run, couldn't yell and could never see himself as more important than anything.

His self-esteem wasn’t nearly as good as what was necessary for him to feel even the slightest kinship towards the strong, bold male leads, who always had something impressive to show – something that made them who they are, even if they had failures in their personalities.

Subaru could say he had his career as a Kabuki actor as something impressive, but again, it wasn’t him. Kabuki was a part of him, yes, but he wanted to shed it like a cocoon.

Despite that, he thought, then, of all the romantic plays he had performed.

He remembered the pain of most love stories, the tragic end of most sewamono plays he performed and he felt the thorns of grief strangle his chest, tightly.

He remembered the star crossed lovers who could never be together, the man who was promised to someone else and couldn’t be with his beloved, and the woman who had her life binded to a place that would never let her be with the one she desired the most.

All of them, lovers who could never be together, so they chose to erase their own light, because being without one another was more painful than dying together.

Subaru thought about not having you in his life for a moment and he figured: maybe not having you was its own type of death. A life without his most beloved friend felt like an empty one. A loveless one.

He paused.

Love. He thought of this word so candidly, it came to his mind without conscious thought – like it was second nature, like it was the obvious conclusion. And so, he decided to allow his thoughts to flow naturally, without pressure or expectations for once.

He thought of the way he searched for your gaze whenever you two were in public, seeking your comfort and approval.

His heart skipped a beat whenever he glanced at you and you found his eyes, smiling silently at him, as if you two had a secret inside joke.

His chest swelled with pride whenever you agreed with him (it didn’t matter the subject) and he almost felt like he could burst with it whenever you thanked him for his help studying, or when you praised him, or when you giggled at something he said.

Subaru cared for your tastes and opinions, always asking for your favorite foods, flowers, scents and colors. He made sure to smother you in your favorite things, in order to keep you more comfortable – in order to keep you with him just a little longer everyday.

His thoughts wandered over to you at any given moment and he didn't even notice. He'd question himself whether you'd like something, which sweets he could order for you, which teas he could brew.

Without noticing, he based his life around you and it felt absolutely right when he did that. It felt like belonging somewhere.

Subaru inhaled sharply.

The place in which he belongs is wherever you are, he figured.

Subaru hastily got up and bolted out of his room, out of Hotarubi and into Darkwick's campus, where the rain was pouring heavily, accumulating around the lamp posts and pitter-pattering loudly on the asphalt. His clothes were drenched in mere seconds.

He had forgotten his umbrella.

Subaru banged as loud as he could on the door of the rundown cathedral, trying to blink away the raindrops that stuck to his eyelashes and blurred his vision. He could barely see through the heavy rain anyway, so he missed the lights on the windows flickering on and your shadow hurriedly descending the stairs to walk towards the tall doors.

“Subaru?!” you yelled through the sounds of the storm, his hands still raised in fists, ready to keep on banging at the door. “Oh my goodness, Subaru, you’re drenched!”

You pulled him by his uniform’s sleeve, doing your best to avoid touching him without his consent. ‘Always so thoughtful’ he thought to himself, feeling a little floaty after finally seeing you after a whole week.

With his realization, the dam that was keeping his feelings for you safely contained inside a hidden part of himself was no more.

Subaru acknowledged that he was madly in love with you and he immediately began feeling foolish. His fingers itched to touch you despite his fears and he could look at you for hours on end, drinking every detail and every mannerism.

It was like admitting his love was also letting go of his self control. He felt like something inside him nudged him to be as close to you as possible and it flustered him.

No wonder the movies and mangas said that being in love made people a bit sillier, a bit dumber. But the extent of it was almost ridiculous.

He followed you like a lost puppy when you motioned for him to come with you, and soon you two found yourselves in the kitchen.

“Okay” you let out a loud exhale “This is the warmest place in this dorm. You’re lucky I was already making myself some tea. Also, I’m gonna bring some towels and a change of clothes for you, although I might not have something that’s your size. Geez, Subaru, what were you thinking, walking all the way here in this storm? And this late? Without an umbrella!” you rambled on and on, pouring boiling water into a mug for him to drink and dipping a tea bag inside, carelessly.

Subaru grabbed the warm mug and looked at you, with saddened eyes that felt like an arrow through your heart.

“I missed you.”

You took a long breath as you heard the words coming out of his lips, and stared at him, dumbfounded, like he had suddenly grown a second limb. You were about to reply, when Subaru shivered intensely despite the warmth of the kitchen, and you came back to your senses, walking briskly towards your room, in order to fetch the towels, leaving his words unanswered.

Subaru sipped on the tea, suddenly every insecurity bubbling up to the surface while he waited for you to return. What if he totally misunderstood your memories? What if you just loved him as a friend and nothing else, what if Haku and Zenji were totally wrong, what if what if what if-

The sound of your hurried footsteps interrupted the avalanche of thoughts that were most definitely about to bury him under a panic attack. He focused on your silhouette approaching him with a handful of towels and what appeared to be a big nightgown.

“Okay, let's get you near the stove.” You said, beckoning him to sit where you were standing.

As soon as he sat down again, you covered his head with a towel and began drying him up as best as you could. Subaru focused on the feeling of the soft fabric rubbing against his head, and then his neck and his arms.

“I'm gonna turn around and close my eyes. Meanwhile, please try to dry yourself properly and then put on this nightgown I found, okay?” you said, quickly turning around on your feet, not waiting for his input.

Subaru stared at your back for a moment, and began doing as he was told – the thoughts that were plaguing him calming down and silencing on your presence, as if you were a protective charm. His protective charm.

“I'm done” he muttered, hair still dripping, but mostly dry when it came to his whole body.

You sighed, looking at his wet mop of hair and began drying him again, in silence.

“I’m sorry for touching you” Subaru was the one who first broke the comfortable stillness between you two.

“You know I’m not mad at you because of that, right?” you replied.

“You disappeared” he stares at you, the hurt in his eyes clear as spring water.

“I know, and I'm…” a beat passes by, longer than it actually was “I apologize. I know running away isn't the best approach, but that was all I came up with.”

Subaru stayed silent, as if he was waiting for you to complete your answer.

“It's just… I can imagine what you saw and I wasn't ready to discuss it yet.” you finished, shoulders slumping after you finish drying his hair.

Subaru moved a few strands of his brown hair away from his eyes.

“What do you think I saw?”

You glared at him, cocking an eyebrow at the question that sounded way too much like a tease.

“I don't think you’re in a position to ask questions like that, are you?” you replied, unintentionally snappy.

“Oh, I'm sorry… it truly wasn't my intention”

But it was Subaru that was standing before you, not anyone else. Truthfully, you knew he would never in a million lifetimes think of teasing you on purpose. It was one of the reasons why you ended up so lost in your feelings for him.

You sighed, more in frustration with yourself than anything else.

“I know, I’m just… Look, Subaru… I'm sorry too.”

It was his turn to raise his eyebrows, but in confusion.

“For what?”

You chewed on your bottom lip, avoiding his eyes even though you were standing so close to his sitting form that his whole presence overwhelmed you.

“For putting this burden on you. I know you saw my… like…”

He waited yet again for you to finish.

“I know you saw my feelings for you.”

Subaru could immediately feel a warmth spread through his chest, cheeks and ears at your words. So he wasn't mistaken? So you liked him back? Truly?

“But I didn't want to burden you with them.”

The smile that was tugging at the corner of his lips suddenly dissolved into nothing.

“B-burden me?”

You pursed your lips, transferring your weight between your legs, back and forth, back and forth, anxiety clear on your face as you thought of how you could tell him what was on your mind.

“I didn't want to ruin what we have, I think? But there's no point in hiding now, right?” You chuckled nervously “I mean, you already know, but I really like you, Subaru. If I ruined our friendship because I got too greedy, I think I wouldn't be able to handle it.”

You looked at him, eyes swirling with emotion and, for a second, Subaru thought this could all be a dream – the only thing that confirmed otherwise being the uncomfortable chill of his body, a sign of a fever approaching.

“Everything you do… every interaction we have, I just get more and more in love” you cringed at how emotional your own words sounded “But I am so scared of your rejection. I think in part I was hoping you'd forget about that incident during my time away from you. I din’t imagine you’d come after me.”

Subaru's heart beat drummed loudly and fast inside his chest, although he tried to keep it hidden (his face betrayed him, however).

“Did you think of me while you were away?” He managed to mutter.

“Are you kidding me?” you laughed, breathlessly “You were all I thought about this whole week.”

His ears burned red.

“I… thought about you all the time too.” he mumbled, gaze fixed on his own hands.

“What?”

He took a sharp breath and steadied himself, training his eyes on you as he spoke his next words.

“I'm so… I'm so sorry I'm not good with emotions and I'm sorry that it took me a whole week to understand things when I could have relieved you of this earlier but… I figured it out. I finally did.”

“Figured out what?” you tilted your head to the side and his chest warmed once again at the effortlessly cute gesture, giving him even more certainty to keep saying what he had to say.

“I like… no… I love you too.” he watched the way your eyes widened and darted all over his face, as if to search for a sign of truth behind his words.

“I am so blind and afraid of other people that it took me that long” he proceeded “But I know now. I.. I really do love you and I don't want to be away from you any longer. You don't have to stay away anymore. So please.” He got up from his seat and took a small step towards you “Please don't leave me behind like that anymore.”

You shook your head, tears welling up on your eyes, his intensity squeezing your lungs until you thought you could die, breathless, his eyes stealing every ounce of air from you.

“Subaru… Please… please don't tell me you're doing this to appease me.”

He paused.

The thought of you not believing in his words tugged a little at his heartstrings, but he also couldn't blame you. Not when he was so unsure of all of his feelings on a daily basis, towards everyone and everything, and you were the main witness of the way he clumsily stumbled his way into understanding himself.

He was absolutely sure of this, though.

“I'm not.” he said, voice steady as he looked at you.

“Because if you're saying this just because you want to keep me close, I would never be able to forgive you.” You looked away from him, pain over this imaginary scenario clouding your face. It was the time for him to extinguish your anxieties and insecurities for once.

“I'm not.” He took a step closer towards you.

“Please… don’t try to please me if you don't truly feel the same way.” You shut your eyes tightly, throat clenching as you felt the tears threaten to fall.

“Look at me.” He pleaded, and you hesitantly complied, breath hitching on your throat when you noticed how close he was standing to you “I promise you. I'm not.”

Subaru leaned forward, capturing your lips into a quick, chaste kiss, a fire burning on his cheeks at his own boldness.

He was still afraid of his stigma and how it would work with the other parts of his body besides his hands, but once he noticed he was still grounded in reality and not locked in another memory of yours, he got a bit bolder once again, and kissed you for just a little longer, lips melding together just a little more. The softness of your kiss made him sigh and his heartbeat deafened his ears.

He tentatively rested his forehead on yours once the innocent kiss was broken.

The first thing he noticed was the warmth you radiated while he stood near you. Both of you had beet red faces and your minds were hazy, as if they were made of clouds.

You were the first to come back to reality and giggle at how overwhelmed both of you were with just a little kiss.

Slowly, hesitantly, your hand came up to cup his cheek, and he leaned into your touch like a cat.

“The stigma?” you whispered

“Not activated”

“Good.”

Your other hand came up to run your fingers through his hair, on his nose, on his chin.

“Do you believe me now?” Subaru asked, wholeheartedly.

“Maybe, I think I'm going to need a few more kisses to fully believe you.” you smiled, teasing him a little bit.

“Really?” He leaned away to look at your eyes, still a bit worried he hadn’t convinced you yet.

“No” you snorted “I'm just joking.”

“Oh I see… sorry I didn't get it right away” he furrowed his brows, apologetically.

“I don't mind getting more kisses though!” you squeezed his shoulders, reassuring.

Subaru chuckled, still a bit flustered at your proximity. Suddenly, however, he scrunched his nose and stepped backwards.

“Subaru?”

“Oh. Oh, I think I'm gonna–” Subaru quickly turned around and sneezed into the towel that still hung on his shoulders “Oh-oh. I think I'm getting a bit sick.” he said, nasally, nose dripping a little bit as he sniffed loudly, back still turned towards you.

You fretted, hovering all around him as you scolded the poor boy.

“See! What did I tell you!” You quickly placed your hand on his forehead and gasped “Let's get you to bed right now, Subaru. You're already feverish!”

You pulled him quickly towards your room, hearing his wheezes as both of you climbed the stairs that led to your quarters.

“But I don't regret what I did” he stifled another sneeze “I needed to talk to you.”

You blushed, opening the door to your room, and glared at him.

“And now you're sick…”

You two climbed the stairs to your lofted bed and you pulled the covers, motioning for him to lay down.

He sat on your bed and looked at you, puppy eyes blinking his allergy tears away.

“But… it kinda looked like a movie thing, didn't it…?” he said, sheepishly.

You pushed him towards your pillows and covered him thoroughly, pouting a bit.

“I think it did…” you stared at the giddy smile that tugged on his lips and sighed, shaking your head.

“I'm going to be down there” you pointed to the bottom of your room “So if you need anything, I'll be here. I'll just grab you some water and medicine and come back quickly, okay?”

You got up, but as you began to leave, Subaru held your hand. His eyes were already droopy, the events of the day getting to him, along with the cold that was quickly racking his body.

“Are you going to start visiting me again?” he asked quietly.

You felt your heart skip a beat as you looked at his sleepy face, the question making you fall even deeper in love with the adorable boy in front of you, if that could be even possible.

You nodded.

“Everyday, for as long as you want me near you.” you said quietly as well.

He shifted on the bed, snuggling closer to the blankets, and closed his eyes, letting sleep wash over him.

“Forever, then.” he mumbled, and, soon afterwards, began snoring softly.

#tokyo debunker #subaru kagami #tokyo debunker subaru kagami #ghoul #stigma #oh my god oh my god oh my god this is so sweet 💜

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xenonluxius · 3 months

Text

You’re Mine; Don’t Forget That - Chapter 1

Footsteps akin to the cracking of ice resounded through a crystalline hall, grand chandeliers refracting dancing speckles of light across the pale blue carpeted floor. Murmurs, drabbles of nameless humans buzzed around the single woman striding down the path with the confidence and grace of a predator. Isolated words, breathless sighs followed every bounce of her wavy amethyst hair, the tips dipped in a soft lavender hue. Sly ruby eyes glanced at her captivated audience, her eyelashes casting a web of shadows upon her almond shaded skin.

Darkwick Academy’s uniform sat like a mischievous black cat upon her lithe body, the velvety jacket unbuttoned to reveal a crisp white dress shirt underneath. The stormy gray skirt swirled around her mid thighs, matte black tights clinging to toned calves as blood red school-issued dress shoes sauntered merrily along their way. Polished black titanium glinted on their soles and armored the tips, black rubber padding the heel and front tip so as to not make much noise on hard surfaces. Small lily of the valley earrings dangled from her ears, ringing out a soft tune with every step she took, and the gold braids decorating every female uniform seemed almost teasing as they rested upon her bosom, challenging onlookers to allow their gaze to drift downward.

“The Madam Liaison is here…” Hushed whispers gaped incredulously as regular Frostheim students gazed upon the ravishing woman with a mixture of fear and reverence, their eyes skittish as they tracked her movements with anticipation. Full lips tilted upwards as the object of their attention fixed her glimmering eyes upon the hesitant onlookers, siren eyes winking as she waved a nonchalant hand. Men and women alike flushed a crimson red, some of the more faint hearted averting their eyes with a hand to their heart.

Quickly losing interest in the nameless rabble, the woman ran a deft hand through her waist-length hair, clearing strands from her field of vision as she locked on to a monocled man in the distance. “Tohma! Sorry for the wait,” she called out, her honeyed voice toughened with a bit of huskiness. It cut through all remaining whispers like a knife through butter, demanding obedience and begetting silence.

“It is no problem to me, Suzuran. Our captain, on the other hand, may not tolerate your tardiness with such magnanimity,” Tohma Ishibashi uttered as he adjusted his monocle, organizing a stack of papers nestled in his left arm. Despite his blunt words, there was a hint of humor in his eyes as he dipped into a shallow bow, gesturing for Suzuran to place her hand into his palm. Politely kissing the back of her hand, Tohma straightened up and let go. “I wish you all the best in dealing with our problematic captain.”

“What're you talking about? You're going in with me, Tohma. I'm not the one carrying the investigation report,” Suzuran said with a dramatic hand to her heart, spinning on her heel as she began to lead the way to Frostheim’s captain's quarters.

“Of course. You cannot be trusted to give a satisfactory report,” Tohma scolded. “Left to your own devices, you would simply hand him the papers and leave, and you know that the captain would proceed to burn those papers because he couldn't be bothered to read them.”

“I would be hurt at the fact that you have so little faith in me… if I weren't fully aware that it's the truth,” Suzuran chuckled, a seductive sound that had had every poor passerby student in the vicinity flushed and flustered.

“I am thankful of your self awareness,” Tohma commented dryly as they stopped in front of an elaborately decorated wooden door. With zero hesitation, Tohma pushed open the heavy slabs of wood, then stepped aside to allow Suzuran in first.

“Thank you,” she nodded in appreciation, then focused her attention on the man sprawled on the couch on the other side of the room. “Jin! Guess who came to make sure you don't truly morph into a vampire?” Suzuran trilled as she strolled further in, completely ignoring the stirring albino as she flung open the curtains. “It's noon, captain. Wake up and smell the damn roses, you incorrigible man,” she huffed as she tied the curtains up, keeping them ajar.

“Shut the hell up… The sun’s too damn bright,” Jin Kamurai groaned as he covered his eyes with his forearm, his free hand searching blindly for his pack of cigarettes. “Close the fucking curtains and leave, woman.”

“As much as I would love to preserve my mental wellbeing by staying far away from this musty dump of a room, we both know that you simply cannot live without me. And I, the generous person that I am, am willing to set aside therapy in order to make sure you don't send yours to the hospital,” Suzuran drawled as she snatched the wayward cigarettes from the coffee table next to Jin's couch. Lazy ruby eyes regarded the unopened paper box with undisguised disdain, a sigh dragging itself out of her cherry lips as she tore the seal open. Popping one out, she tossed the rest of the pack towards Tohma as she dug into her skirt pocket to grab a lighter.

“I'll send you to the damn hospital if you don't shut that insolent mouth of yours up,” Jin growled, lowering his arm to glare balefully at Suzuran, a leg dangling off the edge of the couch as the other lay across the couch. His white dress shirt, full of unrealized potential to be crisply pressed and unwrinkled, lay like a crumpled tissue across his toned body - two buttons rendered unused, the collar of the shirt ajar to reveal unmarred jade skin and a polished silver necklace. Snowy hair tipped in winter blue hung over his spiteful eyes, only to be combed back with a veiny hand.

“You wound me,” Suzuran quipped, lighting the cigarette and approaching Jin from behind, a hand resting on the couch's wooden frame as she leaned over Jin's head to bring the lit tobacco to his lips. A cheeky grin settled on her lips as soft tendrils of her lavender hair wafted around Jin's face, encapsulating him in a cage of those silken strands. “I'll need compensation for dealing with your bullshit all the time,” she chuckled as he grumpily snatched the cigarette from her fingers, smacking her hand away and breathing in a long drag from the cancer stick.

“Stop stalling and get to the point. Tohma, quit your lurking and come here,” Jin ordered as he lifted his gaze to the ceiling and cushioned his head with a hand, the cigarette limply hanging from his lips as a trail of smoke rose mesmerizingly from its embers.

“I was simply awaiting permission to step foot within your pristine sanctuary,” Tohma uttered smoothly as he stepped forward, stopping a few feet away from the couch as Suzuran stepped away from the moody captain, opting to lurk near the doors in hopes that she could slip away in time for the cafeteria lunch sale.

“Bullshit,” Jin muttered as he closed his eyes, a prominent wrinkle appearing on his brow.

Says you, Suzuran snorted to herself as she turned towards the doorway, then paused as she noticed a timid face peeking hesitantly through the parted doors. Round hazel eyes widened as she noticed the beauty's gaze, a blush of embarrassment dusting the brunette's cheeks. “Who might you be?” Suzuran asked gently, a soft smile brightening her face as she held one of the doors open for the shorter girl.

“Pardon me… I've come to introduce myself to Frostheim's captain at the Chancellor’s request,” the girl said, her fingers fiddling nervously with a button on her blazer as she looked into Suzuran's ruby eyes with no small amount of awe.

“Introduce… Oh, you must be the honor student that the Chancellor was talking about at the entrance ceremony! I caught a glimpse of your cute face from a distance, but I must say that you're absolutely adorable up close,” Suzuran gushed as she reached down to clasp the honor student's left hand between her own, lifting it up with a wide grin.

“C-cute!? Such flattering words are wasted on me,” the brunette denied vehemently, her blush growing even as her nervousness shrank due to the other woman's overflowing goodwill.

“Your modesty makes you even cuter-” Suzuran insisted before a resounding crash interrupted her and caused the brunette to violently jump, a disgruntled sigh escaping Suzuran's mouth at Jin’s following words.

“Who the fuck are you?” he demanded, a glare akin to a freshly sharpened dagger piercing through the distance between the two men and women.

“Show some decency,” Suzuran scowled as she raised an arm to shield the honor student from his ire. “That's no way to talk to someone, and you know it.”

“Like I give a damn. Tohma, use a match on the intruder,” Jin ordered as he took another drag from his cigarette.

This little fucker- Suzuran cursed inwardly even as a strained smile forced its way to her face, stopping Tohma on his tracks with a wave of her hand. “If you ever left your glorified man cave, you would know that the matches don't work on her. A curse, apparently,” she elaborated, knowing that the captain wouldn't know about the curse.

“A curse, huh?” Jin muttered as he stood up, grabbing his jacket from the back of the couch and throwing it over his shoulders as he strode towards the two women.

Just wear the damn thing like a normal person… Suzuran deadpanned before her thoughts were disrupted by Jin's foot slamming into the door behind them. The honor student quaked in fear as Suzuran simply gazed into her captain's eyes with disdain.

“I've had enough of your mouth, Suzuran. My room has anomalous soundproofing,” Jin growled lowly, leaning forward so that the cigarette hanging from his lips drew dangerously close to Suzuran's own lips. “No matter what I do to you two… no matter how much you scream and cry, nobody's gonna hear you.”

“I could say the same thing to you,” Suzuran shot back challengingly, her mouth twisted into a mocking smile and her chin tilted up as she stared down her captain with smoldering fury in the ruby depths of her eyes.

A wolf with fangs of fire and a tiger with claws of ice clashed within the spacious room, the tension between them weighing down like a boulder upon the two other people unfortunate enough to be in the same space. After a heartbeat more, Jin lowered his leg and spun around, his footsteps echoing into the space growing between him and his liaison.

“I never want to see your faces in here again. Same goes for you, Tohma,” he ordered, dropping onto his couch and resuming his recline, the arm thrown across his eyes a clear indication of his desire to have them gone.

“Suzuran, if you would,” Tohma whispered into her ear, somehow materializing beside her with a hand on the handle of the door.

“I know. See you later, Tohma. Miss Honor Student, let's go,” Suzuran bade, a gentle hand on the brunette's back as they retreated from the source of the migraine quickly making its presence known within the crown of Suzuran's head.

Fuck you too, Kamurai.

#jin kamurai #succubus oc #tokyo debunker #ghoul #stigma #tkdb

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