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xxeffortlessxx · 1 month ago

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all your works are so cool!! pls write more shinichiro ones! you really capture his personality so well 💙💙💙💙💙

Hi there 💙💛

It’s so nice to hear that 😊 I’m happy to know you like my works, and yes, Shinichiro is one of the characters, I enjoy writing for the most, so I will definitely continue in the future as well.

Thank you for writing to me 😊

Title: Little Help

Pairing: Shinichiro x Reader

Summary: You take pity on the poor guy crying inside the groceries store. | Genre: Fluff | Warning: Mentioned stalking, hinted toxic family and pevious relationship | Word: 8.6K

‘Excuse me, but can I, please, help you somehow?’ you asked walking away from the register for a moment even if you really shouldn’t do that, but honestly, you just couldn’t stand any longer.

The tall dark-haired young man, who you were asking abruptly paused his dramatic wailing about what was he supposed to decide and other incoherent nonsense and looked up at you with wide shining dark eyes as he was on the verge of tears for some time now.

He had to look up since he was currently kneeling on the floor in the small convenience store you worked at. It was quite a scene. You saw grown men cry in dramatic movies, but never in a convenience store in the hygiene products aisle. Then again you supposed there was a first for everything.

The dark-haired man looked at you with a mixture of absolute gratitude and desperation and sniffed almost like an adorable little child, ‘Yes, please.’

Or a puppy, you thought to yourself questioning if you could get away with patting his head since he really resembled a K9 with his dark eyes and desperation mixed with joy covering his face.

Sighing to yourself over just how long it had been since you were on a date if you were thirsting after this random fool, you turned to look at the shelves and immediately deduced what his anguish was all about.

‘Girlfriend?’ you asked casually pointing to the female section of the selves as the man slowly got up revealing his height in full, ‘No, I wish,’ he said and sighed gloomily before he explained, ‘Younger sister.’

You nodded, ‘Got it. First time?’

‘Yes,’ he said and hung his head down a very negative vibe appearing around him.

You still found it amusing enough to chuckle and picked two options you deemed most suitable, ‘These should work for now until she finds a brand, she likes for herself. It’s really embarrassing, so you shouldn’t make fun of her or give her a hard time by being weird about it.’

‘I WOULD NEVER!’ he practically shouted causing a few other customers to look your way, but you paid it no mind only chuckling some more at his embarrassed state. If nothing else, at least he gave you some entertainment. Working in a tiny convenience store was the furthest from your dream job, but at the moment, you definitely weren’t in a place, you couldn’t be picky about where your next paycheck would come from. Anyway, the work wasn’t too bad. Despite this not being the best neighborhood, your only problems so far were small shoplifters and too chatty elderly people who seemed to enjoy talking your ear off while you worked. Since the clientele was mostly either too young or too old, it was refreshing to see someone your age and laugh a bit at his misfortunate.

‘Is it store’s policy to laugh at good paying customers?’ asked the man as he must have noticed how much you were enjoying his misfortune.

‘It is if they’re funny,’ you said quickly and chuckled, but not unkindly hoping he wouldn’t seriously get offended. He seemed he caught on as even for a moment he shot you a smirk and a look. At least, he knew not to take himself too seriously.

‘I will put this at the counter for you,’ you said motioning for the pads in your hands, ‘if you want something else, feel free to browse.’

You returned to your post by the register and waited for the guy to finish, in the meantime taking on and finishing another customer.

You couldn’t help, but think it was nice that the dark-haired man was willing to suffer this embarrassment and anguish over his sister though, and when he finally came back with some groceries, you scanned everything and tossed him some chocolate bars for free, ‘For your sister,’ you explained, ‘Chocolate helps.’

The man’s hand paused in stuffing things into his bag, and he went to pick up his wallet again.

You shook your head, ‘Nope. It’s on me.’

His dark eyes widened surprised, and instantly he started to protest, ‘No way, I can’t do that-’

‘Well, I’m not giving you a choice so,’ you said closing your register that let out a small ring as you did.

You smirked victoriously at him as you saw him realize there wasn’t much he could do, and to your surprise, he offered you a small smile instead.

He continued to stuff his bag with the groceries he did buy and then took the chocolate bars pausing before he looked back up at you appearing far more relaxed almost casual now that his mini disaster was averted.

‘Thanks for the treats and help. I would have been really lost without you,’ his smile morphed into a grin, and you felt almost star-struck for a moment because of how honest and grateful it seemed. People thanked you a lot every day while you work the register. It was part of the job. Not everyone, but in general those who came here often always spared a small thank you for your help or something more polite and formal, but you couldn’t help, but feel properly rewarded by how this dark-haired young man said it.

Maybe it’s because he’s young and not half bad looking, you thought trying to sober up a bit and wondering if you shouldn’t start dating again since you might gain a crush on this man simply for grinning at you like this.

‘Hey, uh, do you know anything else that might be useful?’

Your own smirk a bit as you heard the hesitance in his voice and for the first time you properly took him in.

He seemed like a nice guy; he went out of his way to help out his little sister even if it must have been frustrating and embarrassing for both parties. If you weren’t working in the story and having to handle all sorts of purchases, you would probably still be a bit awkward about it too. Not to mention you had a few years of experience when it came to feminine hygiene products. But back to the young man in front of you.

‘No mother or aunt around?’ you asked quietly since you knew not everyone was interested in digging into such things. You didn’t even dig into your own family drama.

‘No, just me, my two younger brothers, grandpa, and my younger sister,’ he said, and you sighed to yourself feeling a bit sorry for the unknown younger sister who had to deal with so many men in the house. They might have been loving and all, but sometimes, it would help to have a good female role model. Not that you would consider yourself such, but you didn’t think you were that horrible either.

A sudden nagging took space inside your mind, and even if you never thought yourself to be an overly good and helpful person, looking at this dark-haired guy, you couldn’t help but feel like maybe it wouldn’t kill you to try a bit harder.

You glanced at the clock. Your shift wouldn’t end for another two hours, ‘If you want,’ you started hoping it didn’t come off as pushy or suspicious. You were still essentially strangers, ‘I can talk to her. I have some expertise in the uncomfortable area of becoming a woman. And in my experience sometimes it’s better to hear it from an actual woman, and well stranger.’

His dark eyes widened and his mouth opened in surprise. You didn’t blame him. You were a stranger, and here, you were offering to meet up with his little sister and talk about periods. Putting it like that, it sounded better in your head.

However, that surprise quickly bloomed into something else, and before you could blink the young man looked properly hopeful about your out-of-the-blue offer. It made you wonder if it meant, he didn’t get offered help often or was just really desperate about his little sister.

His small smile turned into an honest and enthusiastic looking one, and a sudden urge arose inside your chest to look away from him.

He’s actually quite handsome.

So, he’s going to be trouble, You couldn’t help, but mentally prepare yourself before you tried to change the topic and redirect your loose thoughts, ‘I finish in two hours. Text me an address, and I will be there.’

‘You’re serious,’ he said rather than asked and set the bag full of groceries down looking for something he could use to write you, his address.

You pulled out a pen and paper from behind the register, and the dark-haired man instantly got to work, ‘I’m Sano Shinichiro, by the way. Call me, Shin.’

He handed you the paper, and just as you went to grab it his fingers caught yours for a moment holding your hand from moving away, ‘You��re a really amazing person.’

He looked so happy yet casual, it was like those things radiated off of him and somehow found cracks in his skin before getting under it. It was too much.

Suddenly, you felt a wave of self-awareness hit you in the gut, and you almost shyly looked away chuckling a bit to ease the tension inside you, ‘Can you stop being so grateful? It’s embarrassing.’

‘But true,’ he said but allowed his fingers to let yours go and pulled his hand away still looking rather happy about it as he snatched his bag and quickly rushed away waving at you as he did.

‘I never saw one pick up a date like that,’ commented your next customer, an elderly man, and you quickly shot his senile imagination down, ‘It’s not a date.’

Right?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The evening wasn’t the worse. It was a bit overwhelming to meet so many family members of a guy, you knew for less than twenty minutes, but it seemed you quickly fit right in.

‘You’re not Shin’s girlfriend, are you?’ asked his youngest brother peeking at you through one of the doors as you were introduced.

‘No, I met him today.’

‘Thought so, he couldn’t get a girl to safe his life,’ commented the boy earning a loud disapproving ‘Hey! Don’t tell her that. She barely knows me.’

‘Then she should know right off the start how uncool you are.’

Brutal, but it got you to laugh and definitely lightened up the awkwardness of being in a stranger’s home for the first time.

You spoke to Emma, who tried to act a bit too mature for her age for some reason, but you couldn’t help, but thought she was sweet, and very intelligent for her age too.

It would have ended in less than an hour, but you were surprisingly asked to stay for dinner and ended up helping to cook in the process.

It’s a bit pathetic to admit it, but it was the best night, I had in months.

The next day, you were reading your magazine by the register when Shin appeared in front of you caring something inside a shopping bag.

You couldn’t help but grin brightly and sweetly when you saw him all the while asking, ‘Hi, need more pads?’

The words obviously startled him so he must have been deep in thought, but once he got over it, he chuckled and shook his head. You could tell some of the tension he seemed to have been carrying as he walked in fell off his shoulders, ‘No, thanks. All good on that front.’

You nodded and looked back down at your magazine. It wasn’t that you were ignoring him or anything, you were very aware of his presence which was why you felt you needed to try your hardest to look like you weren’t. You couldn’t have for him to jump to the conclusion that you might gain a tiny crush on him from spending a couple of hours in his presence of him with his family.

It was ridiculous really, but at the same time, it was sort of hard to unsee how sweet and carrying father figure he was to his three younger siblings all the while being charming and easy-going around you.

‘Thank you,’ Shin said after a while, and you forced your eyes up from the words you weren’t even paying attention to in your magazine, only to watch him nervously rub the back of his neck with an almost serious look on his face, ‘You really helped me out yesterday. Uh, Emma was a bit down lately. After you talked to her, she seemed more like her usual self.’

A bright small smile pulled across your lips upon hearing that, and you would be lying if you didn’t admit to yourself, it felt genuinely good to hear you actually helped her. It was embarrassing to talk about this with a pre-teen girl who you just met, but it was just a moment, and the rest of the evening was rather fun. You liked the Sano family dynamic although that might have been due to how much such a good atmosphere lacked inside your own family, and how lonely, you have been lately, ‘Don’t worry about it. I had fun. Emma is a sweet girl, and your brothers are hilarious,’ you said and grinned, ‘Especially when they make fun of you, I might add.’

His nervousness melted away with a groan and eye-roll, ‘Yeah, they love to do that, especially in front of other people.’

You chuckled recalling the evening and then said, ‘I gave Emma, my phone number, so she can talk to me whenever she wants a break from you guys.’

‘Really? I don’t even have your number, but my sister does?’ he asked raising an eyebrow mockingly, and you pushed further by stating in your sweetest voice, ‘When you’ll be as adorable as your little sister, you can have it too.’

‘Should I start wearing pink dresses and braid my hair too?’ he asked half-seriously, and you nodded, ‘Yes, please, and allow me to take pictures.’

You both chuckled a bit, and you looked away playing with the edge of the magazine making a dog-ear only to straighten it up a moment later, ‘But seriously. Your family is really great. You’re lucky.’

When you dared to look back up from under your eyelashes, you could see Shin had a very fond smile on his face, no doubt knowing just how lucky he was to have his siblings and grandfather in his life, ‘Thanks.’

You couldn’t really say anything else. There was no joke or tease that came to your mind, and at the same time, it seemed impossible to speak at all while looking at how soft Shin’s whole face, whole persona, appeared when he was smiling in such a tender way.

You felt a tension settle against your stomach just by watching him, and so you rather looked back at your magazine just to be safe.

‘Oh, I wanted to give you something,’ he said suddenly, and you blinked at his bag as he pulled out a small Japanese bird's nest fern inside a brown pot, ‘Yesterday at dinner, you said you want to have many houseplants inside your home. So, here’s a new addition.’

Your eyes blinked and the tension inside your stomach melted away as you watched him settle the small houseplant on the side of the counter, ‘Is it okay? I had to ask the florist about it.’

You looked up and saw that Shin looked almost hesitant now maybe because he could see how much your own face lacked responses.

It lasted only that moment because in the next event whether you wanted to be so obvious or not, your lips pulled into a bright and wide smile, and you giggled almost like a little child, ‘It’s beautiful, thank you, Shin.’

You could see the relief wash over the young man, as he closed his eyes almost painfully tight and opened them nodding and smiling, ‘I’m glad.’

Your fingers started to softly stroke the pedals, ‘I used to have a lot of plants before. So much so they were tripping people in the hallway, but in my new place I only have a few. They’re expensive, and I don’t have much daylight because of a nearby building,’ you confessed and bit your lower lip feeling strangely cozy inside even if you were brushing against bad memories, ‘I’m going to keep it here, so it has the right among of sunlight coming from the windows.’

When you looked back at Shin, his face carried his usual casual look, but also something close to a fondness for a moment. It surprised you because you weren’t sure you were ever looked at in such a way, by anyone including your ex-boyfriend, who was the reason why you had to move into a small apartment with little sunlight, work in this store, and avoid all your friends.

Shin's dark eyes blinked, and you could tell something changed because the fond look got replaced with momentary panic and him clearing his throat, ‘Good. The florist made me promise it will be taken care of properly. She was intense. You plant enthusiasts sure are weird.’

‘Says the guy whose default topic of conversation is motorcycles.’

He shrugged his shoulders returning to his nonchalant attitude.

Soon after that, you said your goodbyes as Shin needed to get back to work, and another customer showed up. From the day before you learned that Shin worked at a shop nearby, so it was likely you would see him again. You wouldn’t hate the idea, and if you were a bit more honest with yourself, you would even admit, you would like to see him again.

It’s that damn smile, you thought brushing the pedals of your new house (store) plant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘Hey, what are your intentions with my brother?’ asked a short blond kid that carried a remarkable resemblance to Shin which was only fair since it was his younger brother, Mikey, after all.

You leaned a bit further against the counter to have a better look at him.

He and a horde of his friends entered the shop a few moments ago. At first, you simply assumed, they were there to load up on some popsicles due to the horribly hot summer weather. It was unbearable, and since the shop was really small and not as profitable as its owner would like it to be, you were forced to suffer behind the glass windows with almost no cooling too. Miraculously, your plant seemed to be doing well despite the heat, so at least you could take pride in that.

‘Oh, you care about him that much?’ you asked and grinned at the younger boy noticing that even as he looked away seemingly disinterested his cheeks were quite red revealing you did hit a spot, ‘I just down want to see him mope around because of another shitty rejection.’

‘Another?’ you asked genuinely interested. Shin had been coming to the store a lot after that first time, almost daily, and even if your little crush was still very much present, and at times, you were almost positive he felt the same, he never really instigated anything making you think you must have been projecting your own feelings.

Currently, you were very friend-less, so you wouldn’t hate the idea of having him just as a friend, but if there was a chance for something more, you might be brave enough to try it.

‘Just how many times did he get rejected?’

‘Twenty,’ said Mikey looking directly at you with dark eyes that looked almost the same as Shin’s except there seemed to have been something a bit more dangerous inside them for a second before it was once again replaced with a typical childlike spark.

‘Twenty?’ you repeated, ‘That’s rough.’ You wouldn’t rather tell a child, what you would do if you got rejected twenty times, but it would be pretty bad. Still, maybe you shouldn’t feel all that bad about Shin and remember that you got dumped not so long ago and ended up friendless and almost homeless in the process.

‘Shin’s weak when it comes to women,’ explained Mikey, and you wondered if that was the reason why up until now, the dark-haired guy, who seemed to show up every day to spend time with you during his break hadn’t asked you out so far. You wouldn’t hold it against him if he wanted to stay friends, but you couldn’t help, but occasionally catch him looking at you with that same smile you noticed before and wonder about.

‘So?’ asked Mikey clearly not too patient with you spacing out.

You sighed. It didn’t sound like the best idea, to tell Shin’s little brother of all people what was running through, your mind thought, ‘Look, don’t go assuming things about adults. You’re too young to get those,’ you said and watched the boy pout, ‘But know that I don’t plan to hurt your brother. Definitely, not if I can help it, alright?’

You reached your hand to him, ‘Let’s shake on it.’

His hand snatched yours after a moment and shook it while the blond kid stated, ‘I’m going to tell him to man up and ask you out soon. You’re pretty cool. Someone else might steal you before he finally grows a pair.’

You chuckled but thanked him wondering what would happen now if Shin’s whole family got involved in this. Emma already sneakily told you a couple of evenings ago, she would like if you were like her older sister so if now Mikey would also urge Shin maybe he could finally cut the crap and ask you before the end of summer. Or at least make it clear that he wasn’t interested so you could get rid of your crush sooner.

Idiot with a cute smile, you thought to yourself fondly before you noticed something else, and your good mood fell a bit.

‘Oi, you need to return what you took before you leave though,’ you said and looked at the black-haired kid, who came in with Mikey that froze in his track near the shelves with sweats and snacks.

‘What?’

‘You heard me,’ you said looking at the kid but making sure not to appear angry or too adultlike since you could still recall how bothersome that was when you were their age, ‘Come on, if you take it, it gets cut from my paycheck, and the owner will call the police on you and report to your parents.’

You saw the dread that passed behind the kid’s eyes immediately signaling to you something was wrong. It was just the look a child got when he feared punishment. It was the look a child got when he feared the parent.

You pushed back against your own past memories and tried again, ‘Just put it back alright?’

You walked around the counter to the freezer and pulled out some cheap popsicles, ‘Here. Take these instead. The chocolate will melt before you can enjoy it. This will at least cool you down.’

You tossed one to each of Mikey’s friends and kept the last one in your palm looking at the little shoplifter.

He seemed to weigh his options looking at his friends and when his eyes landed on Mikey you saw something shift.

He pushed his palm into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar tossing it back toward the box with the others.

When he turned back to you, you tossed him the last popsicle and waved at the door, ‘Now, out. You scary delinquents are chasing away all the good paying customers.’

Some snickered or grinned at your poor joke before they all rushed outside the bell above the door ringing each one out.

The boy who almost stole from you paused those, ‘Won’t this go out of your paycheck too?’

You glanced at him and offered him a smile, ‘It will. But it’s different when it’s my choice, do you understand?’

His eyes watched you for a moment before he grinned, ‘Yeah, thanks.’

You nodded to yourself satisfied with the outcome while hoping a couple of popsicles wouldn’t ruin your plan to pay rent and buy more plants.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After that first time, Shin stopped by every day whenever he had some short break from his work in the motor shop to talk with you. Sometimes the conversations were short because there were customers, the shop owner, or Shin had a busy day and was using his brief smoke break by spending time with you instead. Other times, it was a slow day for the both of you, and the dark-haired guy, you grew to know pretty well now, wouldn’t leave your side until someone called him.

‘Your boyfriend can’t steal your attention when there are customers,’ warned you the owner, and you politely listened, ‘I promise he doesn’t, and he’s not my boyfriend.’

The older man waved his cane at you mumbling to himself as he went to his upstairs apartment again.

Every once in a while, Shin would show up with Emma or Mikey because they came to the shop with him. It wasn’t often due to school, but you liked having them around to help you lightly tease Shin, who never seemed to let it get to him too much.

This time, he showed up with Izana surprising you as you just finished up a customer, ‘Hey, if you bring your grandpa next. I will have the whole Sano family visiting me at work.’

Shin grinned while Izana offered you a short wave and went to look around. He seemed bored.

‘I wanted him to spend some time with me too. He and Mikey often get jealous of me,’ said Shin quietly brushing the back of his head while you deadpanned, ‘No, way. I thought they adored one another.’ You noticed right away that even if the boys were brothers their relationship was more combative if the window that got broken during your visit had anything to say.

You reached through your things and pull out something. You were meaning to give it to Shin sooner, but every time, he showed up, you started to chat and forgot about the manga, ‘Hey, I saw this and thought of you.’

Izana watched you for a moment before he came toward the register and took the manga from your hands, ‘Coco Long Vacation?’

‘It’s set in the Philippines,’ you said and watched as his purple eyes widened in amazement before he quickly opened the manga and started to read.

You smiled pleased with yourself, and when you looked up, you found Shin giving you a thumbs up and grinning, ‘I told you, you were an amazing person.’

‘Yeah, just don’t tell anyone, or they will start taking liberties. I’m a tough cashier, you know?’

‘I won’t let them,’ he said referring to the first statement causing you to swallow. Given how confident he seemed, you could almost believe him. It felt nice to know you would have someone in your corner. You didn’t really feel that in a while.

You looked at Izana who was now fully absorbed in the manga in his hands.

‘I’ve never been anywhere,’ you said eyeing the front page of the manga and thinking about traveling, ‘You?’

He nodded in the direction of Izana and smirked, ‘Manila. I found a pair of engines for my ride there.’

You grinned teasing him a bit, ‘Bet you thought it was destiny that you found something for your bike there.’

You joked for a bit while Izana quietly read the manga near you until you stumbled upon the topic of dinner, ‘I’m going to come later today to cook for you. Emma asked me to show her some things.’

‘You don’t have to-’

‘I tasted your teriyaki if you can’t cook that how do you plan to teach Emma and your siblings to be good significant others?’ you asked pretending to be very serious, ‘it’s a modern age, and men need to pick their share of the chores, Sano-sama.’

You turned to Izana who was still busy reading but did a little hum to let you know he heard you, ‘It’s always a good adult skill, and just because your brother doesn’t possess it, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.’

‘I’m right here, you know!’ said Shin rather annoyed, but you knew he didn’t mean it. You knew well by now and knew it was hard to get under his skin.

‘Oh, and tell Mikey to bring that Draken and Kazutora kid,’ you said before you would forget recalling the boy who tried to steal from the store not so long ago.

Shin blinked surprised and curious by this, ‘Why?’

You shrugged your shoulders hoping to appear more nonchalant than you felt at that moment, ‘They seemed to like their families might not be the best either. They could use home-cooked meals too.’

You tried to avoid it, but it was hard not to know that dummy was smiling at you now all the while carrying that fond look on his face that made him so stupidly handsome, it was honestly unfair, ‘Oh, you care so much.’

‘Don’t be sappy, alright?’ you said and turned only to see him handing you his wallet from one of his pockets, ‘Take as much you need.’

You shook your head quickly trying to protest, ‘You don’t have to, I offered-’

‘You work at this low-income job and frequently feed my siblings with snacks and sweets. I might not be a decent cook, but I would die of embarrassment if I wasn’t at least a good provider.’

You watched his face wondering if this was a dig at your earlier conversation, but since Shin didn’t look any other way but his charming and calm self, you took the money and offered him a small smile, ‘Don’t do it too often though. I might get used to it and bankrupt you.’

‘Nah,’ he said with ease and went around the counter tapping at Izana’s shoulder the follow since they needed to return to the shop, ‘You’re too much a good person to scam someone out of their money. I can tell.’

His words weren’t all that surprising, but the fact that they warm your heart was. You didn’t think you were someone who would take anyone’s money, but it felt nice to know Shin wouldn’t believe you would either. Even if there was still a chance, as there always was, that he wasn’t sincere, you believed him. Every word.

It’s that stupid cute smile.

You noticed Izana was about to put down the manga, but you waved it off, ‘Keep it. You can give it back when you’re done with it.’

The boy looked at manga with a small smile and whispered or breathed out a small thank you before walking outside.

Shin watched a bit stunned before he grinned at you, ‘You’re the best you know that? Call me when you’re done. I will help you with the grocery bags.’

‘Alright,’ you said and waved at the young man and boy as they left.

Shin and Izana were already waiting for you by the time you ended your shift, and as promised helped you with the bags both telling you about the customers they had and what he learned so far from the manga.

‘If you like, I will have a day off soon, so we can go to the store, I found the manga and you can pick up the next one,’ you told the boy who thought about it and enthusiastically nodded, ‘Yes, let’s do that. But let’s not invite Manjiro.’

‘Hey, that’s not very nice,’ you tried to be a bit more adultlike, but Shin cut in, ‘He probably won’t care anyway. He doesn’t like to read manga all that much.’

You had to walk, but it was still summer, and their evening was nice and warm, not to mention, your chest felt warm and soft knowing you were once again going to spend some time in the Sano household.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘Oh, so that must be her,’ said a male voice causing you to pause reading your magazine and listen. The person who spoke wasn’t being too loud but given that it was only him and his friend inside the small convenience store, and it had been quite a few minutes that you thought you felt their eyes on you it certainly seemed like they were talking about you.

Are they planning to rob the store?

Horribly judgmental thought on your part, but to be fair they looked a bit delinquent-like.

You remained seated with your eyes on the magazine but mentally prepared yourself so you wouldn’t be too surprised if they did something. You were a cashier earning low-income in a store that wasn’t yours, you were not planning in any way to try and play the hero if it came to it. Even if the store owner told you it could happen, you were never robbed before despite the seeming interest this neighborhood seemed to be to ex-gang members according to your employer.

Finally, you sensed the two men approach your counter and settled some snacks on it.

Usually, when you worked to scan their goods people tended to look at your hands or around the shop. However, there was no doubt in your mind and body (since you started to sweat across your back), that these two were looking at you.

Your instinct was confirmed when you finally finished offering them your polite smile and thanked them for shopping at your store, ‘Here you go.’

They were looking at you rather intensely before one of them was rather tall and practically towering over his friend and you and likely many people he met in his life. While the other was rather distinguishable because of his purple and blond hair and quite feminine features.

‘Is there anything else?’ you found yourself asking before you could stop yourself because this seemed fairly weird, and if these two had some business with you, you would rather know about it upfront. Even if you hoped that wasn’t the case. Minus some catty behavior from your classmates in middle school, and the whole ordeal with your family and ex-boyfriend, you were never in a physical conflict with anyone. Let alone these two men who looked like they could take you down with a single hit if they really wanted to.

‘Say, would go out with a known-gang leader?’ asked the bulky one, and your smile froze in place as your panic and confusion kicked in because huh?!

‘Uh, what?’ you asked looking from one to another wondering if he was asking you out. You honestly didn’t really know what to say. You didn’t want to accept, but you didn’t want to get beat up either.

‘Ignore him,’ said the other one, and took their stuff not bothering with a bag.

You felt honestly relieved except, you couldn’t overhear their words from the next moment, ‘If you scare her off before Shin even grows the balls to ask her, he will never forgive you, you know?’

Again, what?!

Luckily, Shin stopped by only after they left, and you were already prepared for just what you would ask him. However, you decided to toy with him a bit pretending to have a secret all the while waiting for him to declare he was going to go out to smoke a bit, ‘Say, you wouldn’t happen to be a well-known former gang leader, would you?’

The look on his face as he opened his mouth causing his cigarette to fall out was priceless.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time October rolled in, you lost all hope Shin would ask you out, and you had to wonder if maybe everyone was mistaken. Even if you and Shin were constantly teased about it, it seemed the dark-haired boy would simply tell everyone to shut up or mind their business rather than admit there could be more to his feelings than friendship. You made some peace with yourself about it, but it didn’t stop from occasional wishful thinking especially when you slowly morphed into a sixth member of the Sano household with how often you came to cook them dinner and saw them around the store. It was probably just the whole feeling of safety and comfort, that it couldn’t be helped, and the best you could do was make sure your feelings that now seemed to move beyond crush wouldn’t get in the way of your new domestic routine. You liked it too much to jeopardize it.

In the present moment when you took a break from checking out customers and thinking about what to cook today for the two growing boys, one growing girl, an elderly dojo master, and a young man, you were very fond of, you frowned.

You looked out of the window and saw that the man from earlier was still standing there.

Asshole!

It happened a couple of days ago. You were doing your job and being decent enough toward this strange man, who however seemed to have taken a likely of you. An inappropriate and unreciprocated liking of you!

You were doing your job and being polite, not once signaling you had any interest in the man whatsoever. He was much older than you and seemed to have a certain vibe that didn’t sit right with you at all.

Since you told him a couple of times, you weren’t interested until the point you asked him to leave because he was holding the line, he tried to stay inside the store with you without buying anything.

Luckily, the owner of the store didn’t like that and his behavior toward you either and kicked him out threatening to call the police if he didn’t leave his shop.

You were relieved and hoped it would be the end of it, but it was far from it. Yesterday, you stayed longer in the store because the owner wished to properly tidy and clean it up. You didn’t mind since he offered you more money, and it was painful to watch the old man try to do it himself when he needed a cane to move around. However, this forces you to walk home in the dark and a couple of moments in, you were positive you heard footsteps following you.

Your heart sank even now just thinking about how terrified you were running for your life even if you couldn’t really see if anyone was there.

It was a horrible experience and seeing that the creepy man from before was back, you couldn’t help, but think it was him yesterday who followed you. Even if you didn’t have any proof. You had a hunch.

Today, it seemed he had the same tactic. It seemed, he learned of the days when the shop owner wouldn’t be around and decided to wait for you then. You felt sick to your stomach despite trying to appear all tough about it as if it wasn’t a problem.

I’m scared.

This was why you hated being alone before. But at least now, you would like to think you weren’t completely.

You snatched your phone and called one of the few numbers you had there even if the owner frowned upon you making personal calls during working hours, ‘Hi, are you busy?’

‘Just finishing up. Do you still plan to cook for us tonight? Because if not Mikey took a liking to hamburgers.’

You chuckled knowing that sounded like something the younger Sano would enjoy easing up a bit before you glanced outside again knowing the man was still there, ‘Listen, uh, there’s a troublesome situation. Well, it’s mostly a bother, not actual trouble.’

You could hear how he stopped working and probably fixed his phone to hear you better before he asked, ‘What’s wrong?’

‘There’s this man outside who’s waiting for me,’ you said realizing just how stressed you felt just thinking about it let alone talking about it.

‘Y-you have a boyfriend?’ you smiled a bit at how freaked-out, Shin sounded, and instantly felt better brushing your face and calming down knowing just hearing his voice helped, ‘Sadly, no,-‘

-because he’s taking his freaking time to ask me out-

‘-a stalker,’ you said and grimaced a bit, but that was essentially what the weird man waiting for you outside even if you told him, asked him, begged him not to, was.

‘I’m coming over,’ he said with an almost chilling voice, and you heard him move.

‘If you’re not done, you don’t have to. He’s outside and I’m inside the store-’

‘Good, stay there. Talk to me before I get there, alright?’ Shin asked his voice softening up but remaining tense throughout the entire conversation. You felt almost completely safe and comfortable just hearing his voice as you talked through the phone, but your eyes still shifted to the man outside from time to time just so you wouldn’t be surprised if he was gone.

‘I’m here, I’ll be over in a bit,’ you heard him say finally and end the call.

You patiently watched as Shin suddenly appeared in front of your stalker and without a warning hit him across the face sending him to the ground.

You were shocked. Ever since you found out Shin was a former gang leader, it didn’t really affect your views of him. Maybe because of how calm and charming he was, you couldn’t even imagine it, however, now as you watched him, he sent the man down and stood above him obviously telling him something, you had to admit he seemed beyond powerful.

The man rushed away tripping on the sidewalk, but Shin didn’t come into the store until he was sure he was gone.

He barely opened the door, but you felt a rush of something take over you, and came to meet him halfway, ‘Shin!’

He immediately pulled you into a firm and safe embrace, ‘It’s alright. He won’t bother you anymore. I promise you’re safe.’

You found yourself closing your eyes and pressing your forehead against his body while he put the hand that wasn’t keeping you close on your back to the back of your head to bring you even closer.

This feels really good.

Your whole being relaxed against the young man, and you whispered a soft, ‘Thank you.’

Shin kept you company until it was finally time to close, he helped you tidy up and lock up.

‘From now on, I will ride you to and from work. I can take you home to get some clothes, and you can sleep at our house for a while. Emma will be over the moon,’ he said as he took your hand in his leading you back to his shop to get his bike since he ran over without even thinking that taking it would be faster.

You chuckled feeling touched but also trying to ease the seriousness of the situation, ‘Don’t you think, you’re overdoing it a bit?’

‘I know you’re safe now, but I want to make you feel better. You like spending time with us, right?’ he asked watching your face, but you both knew the answer even before you nodded.

He grinned and continued to watch you softly, ‘Then let us help you take your mind off of this. Let’s make you feel better.’

You giggled a bit at his antics, but he made it impossible to feel anything negative at the moment.

Your hand squeezed his hand back enjoying how warm and solid it felt as it held onto you like he didn’t plan to let you go any time soon, ‘Alright.’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fortunately, you never saw or heard from your stalker again although you rarely found yourself walking around and you figured after getting beaten up by Shin, the creep wasn’t too inclined on returning and potentially meeting him again.

Unfortunately, you did meet one of your old friends.

‘Oh, I didn’t really come here to buy anything. I simply came to ask if you could give me smaller cash?’ she asked and immediately showed the bills in front of your nose.

You did your best to appear polite if only because you knew it bothered people more if you acted like their insults didn’t get you.

‘So, I heard from someone that you worked here, but I’m still stunned. I could never do what you did. Move away from your ex, quit your job, and start fresh,’ she looked around the place as if she was worried something nasty might be leaking and touching her.

You didn’t really care much for her words, but it did bother you that Shin, who stepped aside when the woman showed up could hear her too, ‘Did you hear your ex is getting married? It must have been really hard for you since you were together for so long. Are still alone?’

You knew she was going to ask that or something similar, and you feared it would still hurt, but the moment she did ask, you didn’t really feel any pain, you simply recalled seeing Shin and his family grinning at you as they threw you a small dinner party not so long ago giving you even more house plants and other things they learned by now that you liked.

A smile appeared across your lips, and you opened your mouth to answer in good conscience that you weren’t alone at all.

However, before you could you noticed Shin stepping around the counter toward you, ‘Sorry, I have to get back to work, but I will pick you up after your shift, alright, darling?’

You were stunned beyond words, but it became worse or better when suddenly you felt his palms take hold of your face.

His thumbs gently nuzzled the skin on your cheeks, and you had a second to see Shin’s fond face look at you with something unreadable behind his eyes before he leaned closer.

The moment, you felt his lips touch your own, you forgot all about your former friend, the potential other customers, or everyone else in the world. His lips were soft and warm, and the moment they pressed against your own, it was like static ran through you lightening up every corner of your body. It was all too short and tender, and it broke you in a way, you didn’t think would be possible, and enjoy every micro-second of it.

When he leaned away, he seemed to be in a strange peace all the while your heart threatened to burst out of your chest.

His smile was the charming calm one you knew so damn well now it should have been illegal based on all those things it could do to you without effort.

Then since even such a small kiss made it too hard to process what was happening around you, Shin winked at you and turned you around settling one of his arms around your shoulders in order to keep you close to his side, ‘That’s so lucky.’

His voice sounded a bit off, and you were grateful that it at least made it clear you weren’t the only one affected by what happened.

You blinked and realized he was talking to your former friend who seemed stunned by what happened as well. Obviously, she assumed you would never find anyone again.

Shin cleared his throat a bit, but carried on in an overly cheerful way, ‘Make sure he gets our congratulations, right darling?’ he asked looking into your eyes before he turned back to the annoying woman in front of the counter, ‘But shouldn’t you be on your way. You needed to change the money for something, right?’

You couldn’t help but burst out giggling upon hearing him act this way toward the woman and offered her your best fake polite smile that wasn’t your best at all because of all the giggling, ‘T-thank you so much… for shopping here. Have a nice day!’

You both waited until she was gone before you burst out laughing only to calm down a moment later with you immediately looking at Shin’s face, ‘Why did you do that?’

‘She was annoying,’ he said, and you gave him a look, ‘Do you often have the urge to kiss other people when you find someone annoying?’

He smirked, ‘If that person is you then yes,’ his dark eyes seemed darker now, but not in a bad way, ‘Often.’

You watched one another for a moment before Shin cleared his throat, ‘So that was your friend?’

‘My ex’s friend. When I moved from my family,’ you said, and he nodded since you already shared a lot about how toxic and troublesome, they were, with him, ‘he immediately took me in. He had a good-paying job, and all his friends became my friends. He gave me a job in his small business. He fell in love with someone else, dumped me, and forced me to move and quit. All our friends became his friends again,’ you said in a nutshell. It was horrible, and you still felt hurt by a lot of those things, but it didn’t hurt as much as it did at the beginning, not when there was still a tingling inside you caused by the sweet kiss you received a moment ago.

You glanced down noticing he was still holding his arm around your shoulders and smirked a bit, ‘Darling?’

You watched Shin’s usually pale face turn slightly red and his free hand rubbed the back of his neck, ‘She was really annoying.’

‘She was, wasn’t she?’ you agreed but continued to look at him not able to stop smiling, ‘It was nice,’ you said and with your free hand you reached out letting your fingers brush your lips as if you could touch the remains of Shin’s kiss on them, ‘You always try to save me. I really like that about you. You’re a really amazing person, Shin.’

His dark eyes followed the movement of your fingers before he breathlessly said, ‘I like a lot of things about you too.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah.’

His dark eyes looked a bit hazy now, ‘For a long time now actually.’

Your heart skipped a beat before it started to beat even faster than before all the while you couldn’t stop smiling feeling like your chest might explode with the wave of absolute adoration you felt toward Shin at that moment, ‘That makes me really happy.’

He took in a deep breath moving closer to your face, ‘Really?’

You bit your lower lip pulling your fingers out of the way, and nodded all the while moving closer as well, ‘Really.’

Your lips touched again, this time far more unkindly than before moving against each other as if they wished to leave an everlasting mark spreading the spark from before even further and deeper inside you leaving you breathless when you finally broke apart for air, ‘E-every-one told me…,’ he took in a deep breath and let it out before he carried on, ‘to ask you already.’

‘You should have,’ you told him leaving no room for doubts before you put your arms around his neck enjoying how flushed his face looked knowing yours was no better.

You giggled as he let out a silent curse.

He managed to put his palms on your waist bringing you closer to him and holding you still.

‘Shin,’ you giggled some more urging him on feeling like your chest might explode with the feelings of adoration and affection for this man, ‘Shin, ask me now.’

He chuckled, ‘Go out with me, darling?’

Your answer was another kiss.

Koniec

A.N: Thank you for taking the time to read this. It turned out longer than my usual works. I hope you and your loved ones are alright. English is not my first language so I apologize for mistakes and such. Have a lovely day 💙💛

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xxeffortlessxx · 1 month ago

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I'm so glad I found someone that writes for shinichiro! if ur ok with it, would you write a scenario where he sees Mikey hitting a boy his age, who happens to be reader's lil brother. so when shinichiro goes to stop Mikey, the boy runs away. the next day, shinichiro takes Mikey to the boy's house (after finding out where he lived) to apologise and reader opens the door and shinichiro is so shocked because there's a really pretty girl on the door when he was expecting a little boy!

you can continue then 🥰🥰

Hi there 💙💛

Thank you so much for your request.

I hope you will enjoy it 😊

Have a lovely rest of the day 😊

Title: I would definitely remember a pretty girl like you!

Pairing: Shinichiro x Reader

Summary: Your brother gets punched by Mikey, who comes with his older brother Shinichiro to apologize. Genre: Fluff | Warning: Mentions of blood and injury | Words: 2.6K

‘Onee-chan, don’t freak out,’ called your younger brother from the hallway when you heard the front door open and close that day.

You paused cleaning the dishes and wondered if there ever was a good scenario that followed such a request before you dried your hands in a towel and went to the hallway only to find your little nine-year-old brother standing there holding onto his very heavily bleeding face, ‘Oh my god!’

You immediately pulled him into the bathroom and pried his hands away to check the damage, ‘Who did this?’

‘Some kid,’ he said sighing, and apart from the very much hurt if not broken nose you could see the lines of dried tears since he must have been crying all the way home.

‘Some kid?’ you repeated and started to wipe the blood away to have a better look at the injury, ‘Like a middle schooler or something?’

Your brother hissed a bit before he said, ‘Nah, he looked my age.’

His eyes, which were the same color as your own, looked at you for a moment before he admitted, ‘He was even a bit shorter than me.’

‘What happened?’ you asked trying not to sound too accusing, but you practically raised the boy, so you knew very well how much of a pain in the ass he could be.

He shrugged his shoulder looking like he didn’t really want to talk about it, but you knew if you gave him space, he would so you just carried on trying to fix his nose mentally cursing at the small hole in his skin wondering how could another nine-year-old hit your brother this hard?

‘I played with the new remote control toy car dad gave me, and he wanted to check it out,’ he said after a while, ‘I didn’t know him, so I didn’t want to, we sort of argued about it, and then he just hit me. I swear I didn’t provoke him!’ he said quickly making it unclear if maybe he didn’t just a little bit, but you nodded anyway and brushed the top of his head, ‘Good. What happened then?’

‘I heard someone yelling at him to stop or something distracting him so I ran,’ he admitted and then sighed looking really dejected, ‘I left the car there. Do you think I will ever find it again?’

You gave him a look full of sympathy, ‘I can go with you to look for it now.’

His wound stopped bleeding, so you applied some ointment.

‘I don’t want you to fight for me or anything,’ said the younger boy quickly with confidence and pride, ‘I’m the brother, so it’s my job to protect you. Dad said so too.’

You offered the boy a grateful smile making sure he wouldn’t feel like you were simply humoring him, ‘I know, but it goes both ways. I am the older sister after all.’

You tried to find the toy car, but it seemed someone must have taken it by the time, you returned back to the spot much to your despair.

‘That’s okay,’ you said as you saw how miserable your brother looked. You understood. Your parents worked hard and sacrificed their free time to achieve both of you had better future. This unfortunately meant you rarely saw them and seldom received anything that wasn’t practical like books and clothes from them, ‘I will make your favorite food today, and I can earn some extra money to replace the car before they find it.’

Your brother shook his head, ‘That wouldn’t be right. Let’s just go home.’

You honestly felt bad about your brother and tried to cheer him up all through the rest of the day but with very little success. You genuinely felt bad about what happened since you assumed guys took it differently when they got beaten, and because of your parents' hard and long hours of work, you were always the one in charge of your brother making sure he was fed, did his homework, was healthy and happy. It could have been annoying at times since it meant you couldn’t spend time with children your own age when you were younger, but now the older you got the more you appreciated the experience especially since your brother was getting older too and didn’t need you as much as he did before.

The next day seemed to be better as your brother ate breakfast and watched some morning TV with you. You thought sleep must have helped him forget about yesterday, and he seemed like his usual self at most.

When the doorbell rang, both of you shared a look curious about who would bother you this early. The school was out for the summer and your neighbors tended to knock as they were rather old.

You got up from your place on the ground next to your brother and went to open the door.

‘Sano-san, good morning’ you said surprised looking at the dark-haired young man standing behind your door before you looked down at the blond boy next to him carrying a toy car, the same one, your brother lost yesterday.

‘Pretty,’ you thought you heard Sano Shinichiro say before you looked back up to me this gaze only to find him looking away with his face slightly red rubbing the back of his head, ‘Ah, sorry, you know me?’

You blinked hearing the smaller boy next to him chuckle, ‘You’re so lame,’ but chose to answer Sano instead, ‘We went to the same middle school together.’

‘No way!’ said Sano immediately snapping his head back to look at you. He seemed shocked, and you were almost certain the next words to fall out of his mouth weren’t meant to be anything but thoughts, ‘I would definitely remember a pretty girl like you!’

Time seemed to stop and both of your eyes widened as those words properly soaked into the reality of the moment.

Your face felt warmer now, and although you wouldn’t think it would ever be an issue, you couldn’t help now, but look away from the young man feeling far too self-aware and embarrassed.

His shorter companion on the other hand didn’t have a problem and started to snicker quite loudly only for Sano to snap at him, ‘Cut it out, Mikey!’

‘You’re hopeless,’ said the boy just as you heard a loud, ‘YOU!’

You turned around and found your little brother came to see what the commotion was about and now with a very upset face was pointing at the blond boy that came with Sano, ‘You’re the kid who punched me.’

Your eyes widened and you turned back to look at the blond kid.

He didn’t necessarily look like he regretted the action, but he did frown a bit before taking a step closer toward your door only for Sano to put a hand on his shoulder, ‘Hey, don’t be rude. We weren’t invited.’

You took that as your cue and spoke, ‘Well, would you like to come in and sort this out?’

Sano’s eyes returned to yours, and it was obvious both of you still felt a bit embarrassed about what happened a moment ago. Your face remained feeling hot, and you could still see the visible red color across Sano’s.

‘Sorry for the intrusion,’ said Sano as he and the young boy took off their shoes and followed you into the living room where you quickly started to clean up since just a moment ago, you and your brother were relaxing not really expecting company.

The blond kid walked closer to your brother and handed him the toy, ‘Here, aniki fixed it. One of the doors cracked when I jumped at you, and he changed the old batteries.’

Ah, so this must be Sano’s little brother, Manjiro.

You weren’t by any means close with the dark-haired young man growing up as you were always a year older in class and not someone who stuck out too much while you only knew of Sano from the rumors that his reputation created, but even so you heard some parts of his family situation.

Your brother took the toy to inspect it narrowing his eyes suspiciously before he deemed it good and nodded, ‘Thanks.’

The blond boy shrugged his shoulder pushing his hands into his pockets looking almost careless, ‘Sorry, for beating you up. Next time don’t cry so hard though. It makes you look weak, you know?’

‘MIKEY! HOW IS THAT A GOOD APOLOGY?!’ snapped Sano loudly, and you couldn’t help but cover your mouth not to giggle out loud and undermine the situation.

Your brother pouted slightly, but you knew him well enough to know he wasn’t really offended, ‘It hurt a lot, and you did beat out a chunk of my nose, you beast. I have a hole in it now.’

Mikey blinked looking for the first time genuinely interested, ‘Really? Can I see it?’

‘No,’ sighed Sano brushing the back of his head obviously thinking this would go a bit differently, but it seemed his brother was used to doing things his own way from the start.

Your brother watched the boy for a moment and shrugged his shoulder, ‘Sure, Onee-chan will wrap it up later.’

Your smile fell, and you raised your brows at the boy since yes, obviously you would wrap his wound again, but he didn’t have to say it like that.

‘Come on,’ said your brother and motioned for the other boy to follow him leaving you and Sano in the living room.

The young man dropped his head, ‘Sorry about that. He’s really a pain in the ass sometimes.’

You offered him a smile, ‘It’s alright. At least it seemed they might get along in the end.’

Sano seemed to agree, ‘So you really went to middle school with me? I don’t remember you at all.’

You remained smiling but kept your eyes averted since it made you remember what happened a moment ago in the hallway, ‘Yes, but I was a year older than you so it’s okay.’

‘Ah, then you probably missed my debacle from my final year,’ he said almost with relief appearing the relaxed self you remembered the most about him.

You bit your lip a bit and closed your eyes quietly asking, ‘Do you mean your rejections-’

‘Oh man,’ he sighed and covered his eyes for a moment before he chuckled seemingly at peace with his legendary failure or at least he found some humor behind it too, ‘I really hoped you wouldn’t know about that.’

‘Why?’ you asked, ‘It’s a great example that you don’t give up easily and are open to love,’ you realized all too late it might have been an odd thing to say to someone who was more or less a stranger as his calm face morphed into a surprised one and his dark eyes landed on you again.

You felt your face getting warmer again and tried to laugh it off, ‘Or not? I don’t really-’

‘I’m sorry, I don’t remember you from before,’ he said and stood up from the floor revealing his full height which was quite different from that he had when he was in middle school, ‘If we were in the same year, I would have definitely asked you out too.’

Your eyes widened, and it seemed again the world stopped as you couldn’t help but feel cozy warmth appear and spread across your chest. You thought it was a very nice thought to say about someone.

Sano looked hesitant, but he still took a step closer and asked, ‘Would you have accepted back then?’

‘No,’ you said all too quickly realizing that you did as his face dropped, so you quickly waved your hands in front of your chest frantically and explained, ‘but only because my brother was very young and my parents worked all the time so I had to take care of him.’

‘Oh,’ said Sano his gloomy face sobering into a calm look again, ‘I see. That makes sense. You older sisters sure have it hard.’

You smiled fondly and looked in the direction of your brother’s bedroom before you looked back at Sano, ‘You’re one to talk. I heard you have three siblings now, correct? It must be hard too.’

He grimaced probably remembering something funny making you realize even with age his core didn’t change much. He was still a bit goofy and boyish, but also nice it seemed, ‘Did you track us down so Mikey would apologize?’

Sano nodded, ‘I saw him on my way from work. I’m really sorry he hurt your brother like that. He was bleeding pretty hard, but he ran before I could stop him.’

You nodded since you couldn’t really argue with that, ‘It look very scary at first because it was bleeding so much, but I think he took it pretty well, and it wasn’t anything serious,’ you recalled, ‘Our parents didn’t even notice the band-aids until we told them something happened.’

‘Yeah, our grandpa rarely noticed my injuries too since they happened so often,’ said Sano and brushed the back of his head but grinned nevertheless like he was proud of it, ‘I always got hurt during fights.’

You openly laughed upon hearing that before your face settled for another smile, ‘You haven’t changed much, Sano-san.’

‘Uh, Shin,’ he said quickly, ‘Sano-san makes me feel like my grandpa.’

You nodded and offered him your first name as well before you paused and thought about how nice it was to talk to the young man. Even now with more time on your hands, you didn’t really spend it around people your own age busy with work and other obligations.

‘Ah, Onee-chan, we’re going out,’ said your little brother suddenly dressed in his outdoor clothes with Mikey tailing seemingly bored behind him while carrying the toy car.

You blinked, ‘Yeah? Okay, have fun.’

‘Thanks,’ he said and then turned to look at Shinichiro, ‘You have permission to ask my sister out.’

Your eyes widened and your smile dropped upon hearing that, ‘What the-?!’

‘Mikey said you’re a nice guy but desperately in need of a woman, and my sister is getting pretty old so she should find herself a husband before it’s too late-’

‘How is twenty-one old, you brat?!’ you snapped feeling your face burning from the embarrassment of both being called out on your lone wolf ways and lack of any dates despite your age.

‘Mom and dad say it all the time too,’ said your brother as if that should have explained everything.

You never felt more humiliated in your life, especially since when you glanced at Shinichiro, you found him holding back laughter all the while looking just as red as you felt at that moment.

Your brother and Mikey waved their goodbyes before they discussed where the best ground will be to play with the car while putting on their shoes, and you closed your eyes hoping that when you would open them this wouldn’t be real, and you wouldn’t have to die out of embarrassment.

You only opened your eyes once you heard a small chuckle from your side and turned to see Shinichiro scolding his face into a more relaxed look, ‘Younger brothers are awesome.’

‘The best,’ you agreed sarcastically before taking a deep breath and smiling as well looking at the young man who brushed the back of his head and with a calm smile asked, ‘Would you like to go out with me later today? I have to open the shop, but in the evening?’

Even if it felt like your brother pushed you sort of into a corner, you found yourself genuinely glad that Shinichiro asked you.

Your lips continued to smile as you accepted, ‘Yes, I would love to.’

Koniec

A.N: Thank you very much for reading. English is not my first language, but I hope it turned out alright. Have a nice day and stay safe 😊

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xxeffortlessxx · 1 month ago

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You should totally make a 2nd part for 'Taiyaki for the Soul' it was so good

Hi there 💙💛

Thank you for your request.

Due to the popular demand, I decided to give it a go.

Again, I would like to stress out. I’m not good with 2nd parts. If I write something as a one-shot it usually does not turn out good when I add a 2nd part, but I’m a people pleaser, so here it is. 😊 I hope you will enjoy it.

@ninabellaka, @ajmiila02, @royalmuffinsworld

Attention: Please read PART 1 first!

Title: Taiyaki for the Soul PART 2

Pairing: Manjiro x Reader

Genre: Fluff |Warning: some angst since I chose Bonten Mikey | Words: 4.8K

‘Not again,’ you heard your cashier groan loudly all the way from the register into the small back kitchen where you were finishing your daily cleanup.

Drying your hand in the towel, you peeked out from your spot making sure you wouldn’t be seen by the customers who were picking something at the counter nearby.

Your cashier, a middle-aged woman, you grew to find essential in your line of work since she dealt with your customers so swiftly and well, noticed you and came closer, ‘It happened again. I pick up, and I know they’re there, but once I speak they end the call.’

You offered her a small smile and shrugged your shoulders, ‘Maybe, they wrote the number wrong and didn’t want to waste your time.’

She shook her head not impressed by the idea at all before she returned to the register as the customers already made their choice and wanted to buy some of your snacks.

You returned to the small kitchen putting the towel away thinking.

Mikey-kun, was that you?

It had been over a month since the man with short silver hair and empty eyes came into your back kitchen and baked taiyaki with you. And despite trying not to bring your hopes up because he didn’t promise you anything, you couldn’t stop thinking about him. Being a shy baker in Tokyo, there weren’t many if any interesting things happening in your life and although you tried to look at the bright side of this as it was a good thing, you couldn’t seem to settle your mind or your heart.

Every time, you heard the small shop phone ring, you paused your movements on the dough and held your breath.

Mikey-kun, is that you?

You couldn’t keep the phone with you as your hands were always covered in flour or some other ingredients, and you wouldn’t want to get it dirty. All you could do was hold your breath and eavesdrop on your cashier as she either spoke with a customer or once again groaned when the call was cut short.

Of course, your heartbeat speeded up every time, she did groan and you quickly tried to get to the phone yourself just in case, but every time you did you were both left confused as the number was hidden and impossible to dial back.

‘That’s very bizarre,’ said your cashier, and you agreed with her quietly.

At night, alone inside your bed upstairs, you wondered, if it truly was your mystery tattooed taiyaki-lover. Your fantasy took you to all kinds of scenarios, but again, you were a rather ordinary baker, so everything too out of the ordinary seem like you were trying to be more interesting than you truly were. It should frighten you, and it did because he was still a stranger, but at the same time you could still picture how happy he looked talking to you. And that small fact, that it was you who made him look that way overshadowed any doubts you might have had before.

Sighing, in the present time, you put the towel on the pile for you to carry them upstairs to wash later tonight.

The idea made you scold a bit as it truly underlined just how much of an ordinary person you were. It had to be why you were clinging so much to the idea of Mikey ever coming back. Those few hours with him were the most you felt like you did something outside your comfort zone in… well… ever. Even if it was just doing your favorite activity and talking. He was a stranger, who appeared outside your shop and as bizarre as it was, who you dragged inside and taught how to bake taiyaki all the while talking as if you were on a date close friends.

You swallowed feeling a bit embarrassed and mentally scolding yourself for even thinking that. He was a stranger. An interesting stranger with haunting dark eyes, who would have kissed you if you didn’t stop him.

A stranger with a story that keeps me up at night.

You waited for your cashier to finish as you always did and then proceed to clean up the front shop and prepare it for another day. It was a routine now. One which you were so used to, you would probably get insomnia if you didn’t end up doing it every day.

You cleaned up, check all the doors and windows if they were locked, and started to go upstairs when it happened.

The sound of the phone ringing coming from downstairs was almost as loud as thunder in the silence of your building, and you moved before you could stop yourself, rushing back toward the counter and hitting your ankle against its side in the process.

You hissed but managed to snatch the phone before it finished and called out breathlessly partly still in shock and partly with hope, ‘M-mikey-kun?!’

You caught your breath feeling like a fool for doing so. The eagerness felt almost pathetic, and still, it could not be helped. Even the off chance, that it might be him was enough to keep you going.

You don’t know if it’s even him.

He’s a stranger.

Please, let it be him.

There was a soft almost breathless chuckle, and your heart skipped a bit, ‘Sounds like you missed me.’

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath a smile pushing against your lips before you could even stop it.

You lied so poorly, ‘Just a little bit.’

He hummed, and you wondered if he could tell, and if he was smiling just a little bit too, and if he was the person who constantly called hoping you would pick up, and if he wanted to come again, and if…

You sighed and covered your closed eyes with your palm feeling your heart speed up as you giggled.

There was a sound, something like a gasp or a deep hoarse inhale, you couldn’t be sure, but in the next moment he spoke, ‘Are you busy today?’

‘No,’ you answered all too quickly and honestly.

‘Oh, that’s not a very cool response,’ he teased you a bit, but before you could answer, he spoke again almost like he didn’t want you to overthink it or grow upset about it, ‘Can I come over? I…I have a few hours to spare, and I…,’ his voice grew softer and quieter, but still loud enough for you to hear, ‘I want to make taiyaki with you again. Can I?’

You smiled to yourself at how tender the question sounded almost like he was a child asking if he could have another sweet, ‘Yes, Mikey-kun. When will you come?’

‘Thirty minutes,’ he said, and you quickly started to walk to the front, ‘Alright, I will keep the door unlocked for you and turn on the oven again-’

‘DON’T!’ he said all too quickly and sharply almost making you think he was talking to someone else and panic before he spoke again, this time much quieter than before, ‘Don’t unlock it until I’m there.’

You paused waiting if he would continue, and to your surprise, he did only sounding, even more, quieter than before now, ‘It’s dark, and anyone could be on the streets now.’

Your chest expanded with the warmth from feeling touched by his concerns at the same time as it ached because it sounded like he knew what could happen in the dark when anyone could be walking the streets.

Still, you nodded even if he couldn’t see you and returned to the small kitchen where you wouldn’t be seen to prepare the over and ingredients, ‘It’s alright. Call me when you’re outside, I will go and unlock the door for you then.’

He seemed to relax at your words, ‘I will hold you up to that.’

You did just that. You prepared the red beans pasta as well as other flavors to spice it up and the dough before you took a seat on a stool waiting for Mikey to call your business number again.

Only once the phone rang, did you rush to the front door.

Your eyes caught his shadowy figure because of a nearby streetlight, and even before you opened the door, you could tell, he was looking at you through the glass window.

‘Hi,’ you said as you stepped aside to let him in.

Only when he stepped inside, and you properly saw him from the light coming from your back kitchen, did you finally realize a part of you almost believed he wasn’t really in the first place? It was easy to understand why. It seemed too bizarre to have happened in the first place. For shy hard to communicate with others, you, to bring someone into your shop and spend hours with them talking like you were good old friends? It was almost unimaginable, but here he was.

He looked the same as last time. Exactly the same. His clothes were dark, and a bit depressing, and if you didn’t know better, you would assume they were the same ones. Everything from the dark loose pants and black thin sweater to the flip-flops that made him look like he stepped out from his apartment nearby for a smoke.

His face looked the same too. You almost forgot, how he looked. How hauntingly handsome he looked even if there were dark circles under his eyes and this aura around him like he needed to be held or stayed the far away from. People often forgot new faces, but even so, you were certain until the day, you would die, you would forever remember his dark empty eyes that threatened to suck you in and drown you if weren’t too careful.

Your throat felt dry, and you looked away from his lazy yet intense gaze noticing there was something different about him.

‘What’s that?’ you asked motioning to the simple white plastic bag that so leisurely hung from his wrist.

It seemed he needed to blink at you before he glanced down as well as if he forgot he had the bag with him and shrugged his shoulders, ‘I figured if you wouldn’t let me pay, the least I could do was bring some goods to cover those we will use.’

Your lips curled into a smile, ‘That’s a very sweet thought,’ you said honestly feeling touched that he would think up something like this, ‘Thank you, Mikey-kun. It was really thoughtful of you.’

He looked at your face again and seemed almost less exhausted now with something close to life radiating from his dark eyes as they kept looking at your face, ‘It’s nothing. You make big deals out of small things, you know?’

‘Not true,’ you said a bit stubbornly and far too quickly, but it seemed to have lightened up his mood some more because he chuckled, ‘Yes, yes, my sister would have the same face you do whenever I teased her of such things.’

You thought someone else might have felt self-aware that he saw something from his sister in you, but the idea made you smile because the way he spoke about her before and now showed that he truly cared for her, ‘It’s only normal to be upset when you’re being teased, Mikey-kun. Let’s get started, alright?’

He followed you to the back already familiar with the surroundings immediately changing into the spare slippers you laid out before and reaching for the spare pink apron, ‘Can you tie it for me?’

You chuckled a bit since he once again looked a bit like a child when he asked it like that, but you still quickly went behind him and tied the apron with a single bow behind him momentarily taking a moment to steal another look at his tattoo.

He glanced at the piece of fabric with a fond face before you brought him to the sink and helped him properly wash his hands noticing how he let you do almost everything for him making it impossible to feel like you were being too pushy.

‘I like when you do that,’ he said suddenly as if he could read your mind.

Your eyes blinked and looked over at his, ‘What?’

His smile was small and soft, the kind he had before when he was reminiscing about his past, ‘Kenchin always took care of me like this. He would tie my shoes and feed me if I asked him to.’

You rose your eyebrows upon hearing, ‘He sounds like a really good friend and person.’

‘The best,’ he agreed, but then something about his softness stopped, and he looked at you turning that softness into something even sweeter but more intense, ‘Don’t worry, you’re pretty great too. But you need to try harder if you want to be my number one caretaker. You should feed me taiyaki right into my mouth this time,’ he said and opened his mouth pointing a finger inside.

The teasing got to you, and you laughed embarrassed shoving him weakly, ‘No, thanks, I rather stay second best.’

The amusement behind his dark eyes was evident enough, but it helped when he let out a small chuckle and got to the counter, ‘So, can you remind me a bit? I didn’t really repeat what you taught me at home.’

You giggled but nodded and pointed to what he needed to do next. He caught on easily, but it seemed he really liked when others helped him out because he often asked you to direct his hands and check things for him all the while talking about his childhood, friends, and family again.

‘Say,’ you said at one point while you were finishing another batch waiting for the first one to finish in the oven, ‘Was it you who kept on calling and hanging up?’

Your heart was in your throat as you asked. You didn’t want to upset the young man who seemed to be even in a better mood than he was last time. Even if your previous encounter was brief in the grand scheme of things, it seemed like he wasn’t like this as often as he should be as he could be, and something about that made you try harder to keep the mood light and casual than you ever did for anyone else. Yet, it shocked you after a while how easy it seemed to have happened. Even if you were essentially still strangers, with the baked goods smell and warmth around you, it was impossible to be anything but in a good and light mood.

And with such a good mood, you probably felt like you could keep it going no matter what you would say or do so you asked.

You knew it was partly a mistake even before Mikey’s hands visibly paused and a look of absolute emptiness passed his face, but once it did you felt so much worse.

Your hand instinctively reached out and touched his cover by the apron chest so you wouldn’t dirty his dark clothes, ‘I’m sorry.’

His eyes blinked, and it was as if whatever he was thinking a moment was forgotten and his mind cleared up before he looked over at you and then your hand on him.

Self-aware and embarrassed you pulled it away and started to work again, ‘I just wanted to say. I’m happy, you called,’ you admitted feeling even more embarrassed, but at the same time feeling you wanted to take his mind off whatever crossed it before, ‘I did miss baking taiyaki with you.’

His entire face softened and a small smirk pulled against his lips, ‘Ah, careful, I will think you’re only using me as free help.’

You grinned hoping to chase your humiliation away, ‘Don’t say that, Mikey-kun. I pay you well with delicious taiyaki after all.’

‘Half of which I make,’ he pointed out and stepped closer to your side before you felt his lips whisper far too close to your ear, ‘You should give me something sweeter to keep me working hard for you, you know?’

You covered your ear on instinct as you felt his breath against it feeling your whole face warm up.

He seemed to take great pleasure from this as he was smiling rather pleased with himself when you glanced at him again as he returned to finish his share of the workload.

It’s like he’s a different person.

You shook your head trying to calm down before the timer went off again, and you pulled the first batch out of the oven.

You had to chase Mikey’s hand away so he wouldn’t get burned as he tried to snatch the treat before the two of you then finished the next batch.

‘How come this was the first time you picked up the phone?’

The question caused you to stop working for a second since a moment ago it seemed he didn’t wish to return to the topic.

‘I work back here, so this lady who works as my cashier usually picks up the phone. My hands are always covered in something,’ you explained finishing the final fish treat and watching the young man’s next to you reactions, waiting.

‘Would you answer if you knew it was me?’ he asked sounding almost shy and his refusal to meet your gaze even if he finished his own last taiyaki assured you that he did in fact feel shy when he asked that.

You smiled a bit to yourself and put the treats on the pan before you went to put it into the oven. Knowing that your face was protected by having his back to him, you could blush freely as you admitted, ‘Maybe if you waited longer in the line, you would have found out.’

You felt your heartbeat was too fast as you were never good with this sort of flirtingif it could even be called that.

You put the batch into the oven and closed it with your back still turned to Mikey waiting until you would feel confident enough to turn around again. You wished you were brave enough to sneak a look and see if you made him flustered as much as he made you.

But before you could find your inner peace, and not feel so hot and embarrassed, you felt a pair of strong arms move around you.

You let out a small gasp as you found yourself pressed against a firm body and a pair of arms were hugging you around your neck keeping you close all the while you heard a soft yet needyvoice say, ‘I wanted to hear your voice. I kept on telling myself that I would just hear it, and…be done with this. But when you finally picked up…,’ he sighed and you felt his forehead rest against the back of your head all the while feeling your body was warming up not just from working in your hot back kitchen, ‘I felt so happy when I heard your voice, I wanted to see you. Warm,’ he laughed a bit and you heard his smile even if you couldn’t see it, ‘When I think of you, I feel warm and cozy. You’re like a nice fluffy dream.’

Your eyes closed as you allowed the feeling of being held like this to take over every corner of your body and change it in a way you didn’t think you cared for, but now felt you needed more than anything. It was so long since someone held you and made you feel like this. You felt like you couldn’t breathe in the best way, ‘I was happy to hear your voice too, Mikey.’

All too fast, the arms let you go, and the sudden lack of his touch was almost painful. You understood what he meant about warmth because now despite the hot working oven in your kitchen, you felt chilly out of Mikey’s hold.

When you turned around Mikey was already with his back to you standing in front of the counter and chewing on one of the already cooled-off fish-shaped goods, ‘So good.’

The mood changed, and you felt like you did something wrong, but you didn’t know what. You felt like something shifted between you now, that would cause your sweet and casual mood to be ruined with tension now.

He didn’t say anything else, just kept on eating without looking at you. Not one glance or word, and you couldn’tstand it.

It was too much. You felt like you would start to cry at any moment simply just by looking at his back turn to you.

I hate this. I hate this. I hate this.

‘I-I’m sorry,’ you whispered, and your voice broke a bit at the end, ‘Whatever it is I’m sorry.’

His hand paused from taking another treat, ‘Don’t…say it like that.’

‘Like what?’

‘Like you’re hurt…because of me,’ he said quickly into the silent back kitchen, and your eyes fell to his hand again noticing how it shook mid-air, ‘I shouldn’t have come.’

Your eyes widened, and your feet moved before you could stop them.

Fingers dug into his forearm at the same time as he made a step perhaps to simply look at you or to leave, you didn’t know, but your body felt like it couldn’t take the chance.

Please, don’t leave just yet.

‘Why?’

His face was different than before. Different than that empty, exhausted, and lazy look he usually had. Different than those rare rays of pure joy he showed at times talking about good times from his past. Different than the amusement whenever he teased you. Different than the intensity right before he was about to lean down to your face. Different one than you ever saw.

Broken

His tongue darted out and licked his lip that moved despite no words coming out for a moment, ‘I’ll stain you.’

The only sounds in the kitchen after that were those made by the turned-on oven.

You blinked your eyes adjusting to their normal size as you stepped closer pressing your side against his. Your body immediately started to warm up, ‘What?’

‘I’ll stain you,’ he said again as if it would explain everything, and somehow it did without revealing anything at all.

‘You won’t,’ you said strangely calmer than you felt with your heart beating so fast.

He shook his head and shut his lifeless eyes so tight it must have hurt before he let out a small and weak, ‘Stop.’

‘You won’t.’

‘Stop saying that!’ he snapped now rather harshly and looked at you making you see just how upset he was. Angry. You didn’t know if it was at you or himself, and strangely, you found yourself wishing it was you because you hated the idea, that he would be at himself.

You held his arm tighter, ‘You won’t.’

‘You don’t know me,’ he broke free with ease and his dark eyes turned into daggers as they cut into your face, ‘You don’t know me! I’m a stranger! I’m…I’m a monster.’

You remained silent, but your face didn’t change. His words were desperate more than angry. He wanted to convince you. He wanted you to understand, you could tell, but it seemed he didn’t understand at all.

‘You’re not,’ you said and saw how his lips twisted into a nasty-looking grimace before he spoke again, ‘I’m the leader of Bonten.’

That for once made you pause at least for a moment.

Your lips parted and a simple ‘Oh,’ fell out.

‘The hell?’ he asked looking at you in disbelief now just as the timer went off again, and you went to pick up the fresh batch from the oven and turn it off.

You gathered your thoughts as you did since this always helped you out before you set the treats aside, ‘I didn’t know you were the leader. But I figured you were a part of it.’

You looked over at Mikey.

He remained frozen in place with his dark lifeless eyes on you and the rest of his face unreadable, ‘You knew?’ he asked or breathed out quietly, and you nodded curtly, ‘I saw your tattoo the first time we met. It’s all over the news. You should hide it better if you want to stay anonymous,’ your poor attempt at a joke didn’t land on fertile grounds, and you mentally cringed turning partly away to compose yourself.

Mikey took a step closer to you, and you looked right at him again unafraid only embarrassed a bit by how much you wanted to look at him, ‘Then you know what I do,’ he rose his hands, ‘You know I’ll stain you. I won’t mean to,’ absolute pain shifted across his face before he shook it away with a shake of his head, ‘But I will. My family, my friends …everyone. I’m covered in it, and if I stay too close, you will get dirty too. You…you’re the first person who got me to smile and laugh in forever. You talk to me, and I feel like I’m really here with you. You’re so warm, good…,’ he kept on shaking his head, but his eyes were still on you, ‘clean, I can’t…I won’t have your blood on my hands too.’

You didn’t answer. You couldn’t. So rather hesitantly because you weren’t confident when it came to these things, but you knew right now, Mikey needed you to be, you took hold of his hand. All the while your heart was beating loud enough that in the silence of your back kitchen and empty bakery. He had to be able to hear it as well. His hand was rougher than yours, but not by much. You were a baker after all. You worked with dough all your life. It didn’t feel bad to hold it or that it held you when his fingers interlocked with your own.

‘But I’ll stain you,’ he said so weakly almost like he didn’t believe it anymore. Almost like he just said it because he had to not because he wanted to. Almost as if he wanted you to tell him that he was right and let him go.

I won’t.

You swallowed your saliva and along with it your insecurities for a moment reaching your free hand over to the cooled-down and almost forgotten at this moment batch of taiyaki before picking one up.

You felt his eyes on you the whole time as you carefully brought it in front of his mouth and with a smile, no matter, how awkward because of what you were doing you said, ‘Open up, Mikey-kun.’

His eyes were desperate, almost pleading as if asking you to reconsider, but you knew you couldn’t, not after he first appeared in your life and baked with you. Not after he took that card and called you.

You looked away for a moment, ‘I think about you at night before I fall asleep. I can’t stop,’ you licked your lips letting out all you felt inside. You were just an ordinary you, a little baker in a small shop on some random street. It wasn’t bad. You preferred it. But maybe every once in a while, you could be someone else, ‘and I don’t want to.’

There was silence for a moment before you felt Mikey’s free hand snatch your wrist.

Your eyes shifted to his face again only to see him take a large bite out of the fish-shaped treat all the while gazing into your eyes almost like he was accepting your agreement even though you didn’t say anything out loud.

He kept on holding your wrist all the while eating the taiyaki from your palm until all you had left were crumbs of the sweet fish.

‘Can I kiss you now?’

‘No,’ you said immediately feeling your face growing hot and almost tearing your arms from Mikey’s hold, but he didn’t let you.

Instead, he blinked confused, ‘Why not?’

You shrugged your shoulders looking away knowing you were acting silly after all of that, but you couldn’t seem to help yourself, ‘I still don’t know you that well.’

‘You know more about me than anyone who does work with me,’ he deadpanned, but you didn’t budge, ‘I don’t even know your full name.’

He watched you for a moment almost making you look at him to see his expression, but before you would you felt him leaning toward you.

Your heartbeat spiked, and your throat felt dry.

Even if you tried to keep your gaze off his, you could still see the lazy smirk playing across his face when he got too close to yours, ‘Sano Manjiro.’

You wished it didn’t if only to hold your ground a bit longer but hearing him say it brought a smile to your own lips.

You rose your gaze to his excited and full-of-life eyes, ‘Okay.’

He let go of your hands in favor of taking a hold of your waist right before his face finally reached yours.

The next day, your cashier asked for the shop phone, but you told her it was fine and kept it by your side. When it rang, even if your fingers were covered in flour or chocolate, you picked it up anyway. Careless, if you left stains on it or not.

Koniec

A.N: Thank you for taking the time to read this. I apologize for the mistakes. I hope you and your loved ones are alright. Have a lovely day. 💙💛

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xxeffortlessxx · 1 month ago

Text

Title: ‘It wasn’t all bad. I met this nice guy who used to be a gang leader.’

Pairing: Shinichiro x Reader

Summary: Your disastrous blind date gets better when you meet Shinichiro.| Genre: Fluff | Warning: one of the characters is a real jerk | Words: 4.1K

You would like to say the date wasn’t going so bad, and that although there wasn’t everything you liked, there were still some good parts. Unfortunately, that really wasn’t the case as ever since a couple of hours ago that your blind date arranged by your overly eager cousin started it was one disaster after another. Perhaps, your date wasn’t the worst person in the world, but they were far from the kind of person you liked to spend your time with and who could somewhere in the distant future be a solid partner for you.

The topics of the conversations were very one-sided, and since you at least try to look interested and ask polite questions, he seemed to be either bored by your interest or made comments and jokes that made you feel like you were being mocked for them.

Overall, it didn’t feel like a good time, and you would rather call it a night early and leave.

Unfortunately for you, your date refused to let you pay for half of your share even going so far as causing a small scene that you absolutely hated when people did. You let him pay only to now feel bad the entire time because you knew you would do absolutely anything in your power to avoid a second one. He didn’t seem like the right fit for you, and it honestly annoyed you how he felt entitled to drag you with him even if you specifically said you didn’t want to go anywhere else. But he drove you, and you always had a hard time staying assertive. If you would be better at it, you wouldn’t even end up on the blind date in the first place.

After the date, he dragged you to an unknown place that looked like a bar. It seemed he was well-known there, and quickly upon arrival, he forced you by standing too close and walking behind you almost stepping on your heels, to the table with some of his friends.

No words would be able to describe the level of discomfort you felt being surrounded by people you didn’t know, and who since the first given moment started to ignore you. Perhaps, they weren’t being rude but simply expected you to engage in conversation if you wanted to. You hardly ever did so unless you immediately felt connected to the person with you, so you stayed silent listening to their crude and at times lewd jokes. The worse part came when you noticed one of the women present seemed to be all too friendly with your date and he seemed with her. You weren’t bothered by it because of jealousy. You could tell since the first few moments of your date, you were not interested in this person even if you kept on repeatedly giving him a chance to at least be a potential friend? Or at least a pleasant experience, but even that proved to be impossible. So you weren’t bothered by the person being potentially interested in someone else and even got lucky with the woman, it seemed. But you were bothered by being left completely alone surrounded by a ground of people you didn’t know too well all the while being ignored by the one person who forced you to come. You hated how left out and pathetic it made you feel.

You started to wonder if you would be able to sneak away for a bit. Maybe find some rest inside the restroom’s stool and take a much-needed break from this social event, that you did not even ask for? It was honestly, a bit of a nightmare come true that from mentally preparing yourself for a date with one person, you ended up in the unwanted company of so many.

After a few moments, you were convincing yourself of your tactic already hating the fact that you were stuck between your date and one of his friends so you would have to ask either of the two to be able to get out. The horror! Your date suddenly rose his hand and started to wave like a maniac looking very eager to bring someone’s attention to them, ‘OI! Shin, over here!’

He nudged you with his elbow rather harshly before he snickered to the others, ‘Here comes the Weak King.’

The title puzzled you, but you looked up to see a slim and tall dark-haired man slowly approach your table wearing some jeans and a white shirt with a jacket casually tied around his waist.

Although it was brief and gone before he properly got to you, for a second you were sure you saw the annoyance flash across his face as if he wasn’t all that thrilled about being called over to the table.

‘This is my friend, Sano Shinichiro,’ he said introducing the new man who showed up at the table, you already felt was too overcrowded, and you hoped it wouldn’t mean another person was about to come to sit down next to you, ‘You should be extra sympathetic to him, he can’t score a date to save his life.’

You were startled by his words not because of the context, but because he would say them so loudly in front of the person he was gossiping about. It seemed so incredibly rude and genuinely mean to say such a thing about your friend when they were right in front of you. Not to mention, it made you even more upset because to be fair your date didn’t score a date with you either. It was a blind date set up by your cousin, who apparently did not know you whatsoever if they thought this person would be a right fit.

Yet, you offered a quiet introduction, and nice to meet you feeling somehow humiliated that this new person saw you with your date who was so rude to him. You felt almost like you should apologize to this man even if that was silly because you barely knew your date to begin with. You just felt so bad about it.

You got off the table somehow maneuvering through the many people there excusing yourself that you needed to find the restroom as quietly as you could. However, not a few steps away and you heard a loud burst of laughter right after your date rather nastily stated, ‘My my Shin, you seem to repel even the dates of other people.’

What a horrible thing to say, you thought and shake your head. How could someone treat their friends like this?

You went into the small hallways instead of the bathroom and watched as Sano Shinichiro seemed to tolerate the people behind the table and their jokes for a while before he went to leave.

Making a decision, that you didn’t wish for him to think anything bad about you for some reason, you quickly cut off his way and bowed, ‘It’s nice to meet you, Sano-san. I’m sorry for leaving earlier.’

His dark eyes blinked surprised and the hand that was holding onto a bag of cigarettes pushed them back into his pocket.

His free hand scratched the back of his neck and he grimaced, ‘No, worries, I didn’t think anything bad of it. Your date just has…that specific type of humor that’s all.’ You gave this person a lot of credit that despite how rudely their friend acted to them, Sano tried not to show them in too bad of a light.

‘Yes, if by specific you mean rude and awful then yes,’ you said, and to your delight, Sano smiled a bit. You were glad his mood approved. You hoped such an incident wouldn’t bring him down too much. Given how warm his dark eyes appeared when he was smiling like this, he looked far more handsome if he was in a good mood than a sour one.

‘That’s definitely how to call it, but I didn’t want you to think anything bad about your date,’ he said, ‘Since you agreed to go out-’

‘I didn’t. This is a blind date,’ you said because you simply couldn’t allow Sano or anyone to think you would voluntarily go out with such a mean person.

‘Ah, that explains it,’ he said looking like he just understood the key the solving some puzzle inside his mind.

‘What?’

He waved his hand trying to dismiss your curiosity, but he was unfortunately too late as you were genuinely interested in now, ‘No, tell me, you can’t. You have to know now.’

He seemed to weigh his options before he sighed and admitted, ‘You just don’t seem like his usual type of date.’

You wondered if it means you were not as pretty looking or dumb enough to get his crude arrogant humor, but Shin quickly put your mind on the right track, ‘You seem nice and polite enough.’

His dark eyes seemed to soften even if just a tiny bit now, ‘You could have just ignored it, but you took your time to come to see if I wasn’t offended.’ It makes your chest feel nicely cozy and warm, that he understood your reasoning and seemed pleased with it.

‘You might as well use this time to run out on him,’ he added much to your delight causing you to snicker a bit upon hearing him say that.

‘Oh no, I could never just run out on someone,’ you said genuinely sure that was true, ‘My ancestors would probably curse me for my rude behavior.’

It earned you a sincere laugh, and you couldn’t help but smile because it felt like the first time today that someone thought you were funny reminding you of that at times were you?

You and your date really did not click throughout the whole evening, yet here talking with Sano for less than five minutes you seemed too instantly. You found yourself disappointed that you didn’t have a blind date with someone like him instead.

You would feel bad about so openly talking with someone else while you were on a date with another man, but every time you looked over at the table he seemed to be still engaged in conversations with his friends and the woman he must have been attracted too, so you didn’t really allow it to bother you too much.

You stood there, away from your date for a couple of more minutes, chatting about unimportant things that came to your mind, and both of you seemed to be in no rush to leave one another.

He’s charming but somehow humble, you thought while listening to him and looking at his face. It was a strange combination that seemed to work rather well for the young man in front of you making you enjoy his company.

‘Hey, what are you two talking about here?’ asked your date suddenly appearing by your side and trying to put his hand over your shoulders only for you to flinch and try to take a step away, ‘If you need some advice about bikes, you could have just asked me.’

You rose your eyebrows at your date confused not for the first time that evening about what he was talking about before you turned to Shinichiro whose good mood immediately dropped from casual and comfortable to tense and more than a bit upset.

It made you feel bad for him again, ‘Uh, bikes?’

‘Shin, here, owes a motorcycle shop. You can always find him there dirty from the oil. Bikes are all he basically knows how to talk about. So, don’t worry if he bored you with it in the first few minutes,’ he said in a clear mocking manner which left no doubt in your mind that was a way to someone bring the bike shop owner down even if you couldn’t really tell why he was doing this or why would someone think owning a motorcycle shop was a letdown.

You shot your date a look feeling even more of your own patience taking a hit because of his horrible behavior before you offered Shin a smile, ‘That’s awesome. Your own shop. I don’t know much about bikes though, but if you’re into them so much, you’re really lucky to be working with them.’

He seemed to recognize your attempt and offered you another casual grin ignoring your date, ‘Yup, it was my dream since I was a kid to work in one. I hope one day, I can run it with my two brothers.’

Your smile genuinely softened, and you really meant it when you said, ‘That’s a really great dream, Shinichiro-kun.’

Maybe it was because your date finally noticed that you and his friend were clicking, or because he didn’t like to be ignored and felt entitled to your attention, but in the next moment you felt his palm on your shoulder before you were pulled backward against his side.

You felt the weight of his palm was greater than it should have been and a wave of discomfort entered your body at being manhandled like this by someone who you still considered a stranger. You weren’t an extremely touchy person, to begin with. Of course, you could be, assuming you felt comfortable enough with that person, but that usually takes time and a very deep and good connection between you too. You felt neither of that with your current date, so the whole touching was uncomfortable and must have been reflected on your poorly guarded face because, in the next moment, Shinichiro’s hand was over your date’s pushing it away from you, ‘Hey, knock it, off. Don’t you know how to act on a first date?’

You felt so grateful, you could cry, but settled for a smile and three quick steps away from the situation.

‘Hey, don’t tell me what to do. Your days at the Black Dragons are history, and you've never even been on a first day,’ he snapped before he looked over at you as you were trying to hide a bit behind Shinichiro feeling safer with him between you and your date, ‘Don’t you know? He got rejected twenty times! He’s a total loser.’

Your eyes widened, but not because of the new information about Shinichiro’s love life, but because of the poor mockery and rage with which your date spit it (for lack of a better term) at his so-called friend’s face.

You couldn’t see Shinichiro’s face from behind him, but you could see the slight clenching and unclenching of his fist, ‘That’s none of your business.’

His voice was cold, and honestly, you didn’t blame him if he wanted to punch your date right here and now, you would consider violence simply because of how absolutely barbaric this person acted toward Shinichiro, who by all accounts seemed like a really cool and good guy.

Still, it probably wouldn’t be good to start a fight around with so many witnesses, so you found yourself taking a step closer to the man and say, ‘You know,’ both men turn to look at you, ‘the whole evening you acted horribly, but regardless, the worst thing you did to me, you were ten times crueler to Shinichiro, so I’ll be going, and I would appreciate for you to not try and contact me again.’

Your date’s smug face shifted into one of shock and anger twisting it into a quite ugly looking one, ‘Are you pulling my leg now? We’re just teasing each other. Learn to take a joke. I know you don’t have any friends, but this is a part of the dynamic.’

Your eyebrows lifted wondering if this was something he thought so because of how anti-social you acted with his friends, closed off you seemed during the actual date, or something your cousin told him about you, ‘Like I said, thanks and don’t contact me.’

He tried to reach for you again making you mentally groan and try to shield yourself before he would since you didn’t have the time to move, ‘Hey, I paid for the gas and dinner, you little-‘

A punch sound echoed through the place and your date ended up on the ground with Shinichiro standing on top of him his back to you, ‘You’ve been pissing me off all night, but don’t you dare to talk to them like that,’ it was chilling to hear his voice sound so authoritative and dangerous, ‘They don’t owe you shit, you idiot.’

You couldn’t really see his face, but his voice spoke volumes about how angry your date made him. It almost seemed like he somehow grew bigger.

Once, you got over the shock of what he had done, you quickly looked around worried people might try to start an actual fight, mainly your date’s friends, but they merely seemed to just sit back and watch the show.

‘Oi, you want to go?!’ shouted your date looking up Shinichiro, ‘You really want to-’

‘SHUT THE HELL UP!’ yelled someone from another direction of the bar, ‘Do you really want to start someone with a former Black Dragons leader, you, dumbass?’

You were still in the dark about what it meant, but you figured it was safe to assume no actual fight would break out given how nervous your date suddenly looked.

Using the momentary distraction to your advantage you quickly fished out some extra yen you took with the intention to pay if your date didn’t go so well before you tossed them across the lying on the ground man’s chest, ‘Now we’re even.’

You glanced at Shinichiro and bowed a bit, ‘Thank you for your help and the nice chat.’

The intense and hard look on his face eased a bit into a much softer and kind one that made you smile a bit before you turned to your former date, ‘And you shouldn’t make fun of people for not scoring a date since this was only a blind one arranged by my cousin.’ You wished you had more gut to say something even cooler to humiliate the man a bit more for how much of trash he was, but that wouldn’t be you, so you settled for quickly walking away shaking with nervosity over the fact that so many people were looking at you as you were leaving.

At least once you would be out, you could breathe the fresh air and relax knowing you finally untangled yourself from that horrible situation.

However, before you could reach the door, you felt someone approach you, and turned around only to find Shinichiro looking at you hopefully while nervously brushing the back of his head, ‘He said he paid for the gas, does that mean you need a ride?’

You did, and normally, it would be hard to admit so to anyone else, but Shinichiro’s warm dark eyes and the openness of his face made you budge, ‘Yes.’

‘Do you want me to take you? My bike’s parked outside,’ he said, and you felt your heart skip a bit even if it shouldn’t because he was only asking to give you a ride home not out. Also, would that mean you would like someone like him to ask you out?

‘Really that sounds cool, thanks-’

‘HOLY SHIT! IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING!’

‘LOOKS LIKE SHIN’S GOT ENOUGH GAME TO STEAL SOMEONE ELSE’S DATE!’

‘GO SHIN!’

All at once it seemed many of the people who knew the dark-haired man inside the premises started to chant in excitement over his success.

Your face suddenly grew unbelievably hot from the embarrassment of all these people watching you and acting like this.

‘SHUT UP!’ shouted Shin with his face looking just as red as your own felt before ushering you outside without making you feel crowded as that other person did.

His own awkwardness and embarrassment forced a laugh out of you. At least you’re not the only one who was humiliated by that.

‘I’m sorry, they’re the worst,’ he said and rubbed the back of his head which was apparently what he did when he was nervous all the while leading you down the street.

You giggled trying to get the cold night air to calm your face a bit, ‘Maybe, but at least their overall message was a positive one. Unlike that jerk’s,’ you commented, and Shin turned back to look at you with a rather upset look on his face, but it wasn’t the cold serious one from before when he would no doubt start a fight on your behalf, but a rather cute angry kitty one, that made you bit your lip to avoid giggles.

‘We’re not friends. He’s just a jerk who used to be in the same gang as me. I never really liked him, and I would have kicked him out a long time before disbanding it if I knew he was acted so poorly to his dates or friends,’ he said rather seriously, and even if you barely knew him something about how he spoke made you immediately believe him.

You took his words in. The gang aspect sounded alarming, but the meaning of his words was very honorable and sweet. You also believed when he said he had a dream to run a moto shop with his brothers, and it seemed like he could be generally a good person.

‘You were in a gang? Was this the Black Dragons that were mentioned so many times?’

‘Yes, but I was their leader.’

You chuckled before you asked curiously, ‘Why did you disband it then?’

‘I had a dream to reform the world of delinquents, and then leave it in the hands of my brothers. My time passed,’ he said and shrugged his shoulders like it wasn’t a big deal, ‘I made many friends, and I am still fond of them as well as the gangs and the delinquents with a good heart and proper moral code, but I’m a bit too old to be running around starting fights. Besides,’ he looked like he remembered something because a joyful grin pulled across his face, ‘I was a shitty fighter. Ask anyone?’

You watched him in disbelief wondering if he was pulling your leg along with the strings inside your heart. But either way, you felt somehow getting hooked.

The walk toward his bike was silent which gave you plenty of room to think and overthink everything, but once you got there, you smiled to yourself and said, ‘Y-you know, you should ask me out to dinner sometime, Shinichiro-kun?’

Your words shocked him enough that for a moment his arms let go of the bike, and it started to fall to the side only for the both of you to jump trying to stop it.

His dark eyes shot to yours, ‘You mean that?’

You found his honest concern and shock endearing, so you bit your lips not to flat out a giggle at him and make him feel like you were mocking him, ‘Yes, you stood up for me, and the chat was nice. It can’t be worse than the date I was just on today.’

He looked speechless for so long, you almost believed you made a mistake and maybe he wasn’t into you at all only for him, he chuckle and covered his eyes, ‘Sorry, this literally never happened to me. I feel like I need a moment.’

You blamed your heart skipping a bit on his adorable honesty as you got behind him and let him drive you home enjoying the late-night ride across the city and the feeling of your arms around Shinichiro’s body.

‘Do you want to go out with me? I promise it will be much better than the date you had today?’ he asked the moment you stepped down from the bike, and feeling a wave of courage and simply too good in the young man’s presence, you leaned down and peaked his cheek with a simple chaste, but promising kiss, ‘It wasn’t all bad. I met this nice guy who used to be a gang leader. But I think I will skip that last part out if my family asks. For now.’

Koniec

A.N: Thank you for taking your time to read 😊 I hope you enjoyed it. English is not my first language so please apologize for the mistakes and confusion in some parts.

Your Date was based on a person who I unfortunately know, and who makes a habit of bringing people down in front of others (usually girls) in an attempt to impress them/look in a better light. :P I really hate ppl like that.

Anyway, I hope you and your loved ones are alright and have a nice day 😊

686 notes · View notes

xxeffortlessxx · 1 month ago

Note

hi hehe can I request a shy reader that owns a bakery and mikey walks in one day soaking wet from the rain, so the reader fussed over him before offering sweets :0? - 🔆

A.N: Hi there!

Thank you for the request.💙💛

I hope this was something that you had in mind, and that you will like this. Enjoy 💙💛

Update: Now PART 2

Title: Taiyaki for the Soul

Pairing: Manjiro x Reader

Genre: Fluff |Warning: some angst since I chose Bonten Mikey | Words: 4.5K

The weather wasn’t getting better, so your decision, to let your cashier home early seemed like the right call. You would hate it if the poor older woman had to walk to her bus in such horrific conditions. It was the type of weather no one should be left outside and given the lack of customers inside your small bakery and on the street behind the large windows, it seemed most of the people really took that advice.

You played with the business card near the register for the last half hour arranging them across the small plate they were usually placed for customers to see and pick them up if they felt like it.

It was overall a boring day due to the rain, and it seemed like you even might end up closing early and going home yourself when your eyes caught some sort of movement outside in the darkness and nonstop downpour.

A person outside in this weather?

You walked from the other side of the counter closer to the large windows and peeked outside. It was still hard to see a lot, but even so, after a while, your eyes could make out the shadowy figure standing outside your bakery.

This caused you to gasp a bit alarmed. It was raining and the wind was horrific, and yet this person was just standing there without an umbrella or raincoat or anything really.

They could be homeless.

The idea that anyone would be forced to spend their evening outside in such conditions didn’t sit right with you, but what could you do about it? In general, you were not good at interacting with people. You preferred to bake alone in the comfort of your kitchen and have your cashier deal with customers. You were better with people you knew for a longer time, but even so, it often felt like too much to even speak out loud when asked let alone when you needed to ask something.

But the weather is really bad, and they’re just standing there.

You tried to rationalize that they had to see the lights coming from your bakery so if they felt like coming in they would have, but…

Don’t we all sometimes want things, but are too afraid to reach for them ourselves?

With that in mind and before your doubts could get the best of you, you opened the door and called out through the sounds of the wind, ‘Excuse me!’

The person stood not far from you and the door to the bakery with their back turned to you, so you tried again, this time a bit louder, ‘Excuse me! Would you like to come inside, please?!’

You couldn’t help, but feel silly that you were yelling on the street like this. You weren’t used to yelling at all. You tried to avoid it as much as you could, but given the loud sounds of the wind and rain, it couldn’t be helped.

The person didn’t turn around, but they might have just not heard you.

You rushed back inside and snatched something to throw across your head and shoulders and put on outside shoes before you opened the door again partly shocked that the person was still there.

You stepped outside and touched that person’s arm not wanting to startle them in case they didn’t hear you.

They flinched anyway, and when they turned around, you were shocked to find such empty eyes looking back at you. You couldn’t explain how they looked if you tried, but there was something profoundly empty almost dead about them that caused an instant chill to rush toward your heart making you feel sad just by looking at them.

How can anyone still alive have such dead eyes?

You feared to think about what had to happen to them.

The person, who you now could see was a young man with white hair, was staring at you blinked releasing you from the intense lifeless imprisonment of his gaze and caused you to stutter, ‘Uh-you-if…w-w-would you…,’ the rest came out too rushed, ‘like-to-come-inside?’

You felt cringed over how pathetic you sounded cursing yourself for it a bit.

The man didn’t say anything. He just carried on staring at you with his dark empty eyes causing you to feel even more nervous and like an idiot, since it must have looked odd that out of the blue someone asked him to come inside, ‘It’s really…cold and uh, this weather will make you sick. So if you want you could come inside with me.’

The dark eyes blinked again, and the man looked up behind you at your bakery probably trying to piece together what was it that you wanted from him.

You bit your lip imagining this going better inside your mind and cursing yourself for making this so hard and weird, ‘Please?’

The dark eyes snapped back at you, and even if they stayed lifeless the rest of his face appeared confused more than anything, but to your absolute surprise and delight, the man gave out a single and curt nod which got you to immediately let out a sigh of relief and quickly turn around motioning for him to follow.

Once inside you quickly put down your coat and changed your shoes into a pair of slippers for when you were behind the counter and kitchen, ‘Wait here, please. I’ll find you some towel.’

You snatched a couple of dry and warm from the oven towels and rushed back to the man who now seemed to have taken a seat at one of the stools meant for customers who were waiting for their orders.

‘Here,’ you managed to get out a bit too squeakily since now all too aware this man was in your bakery, your shyness started to kick in all over, ‘Uh, you need to dry yourself…so you don’t get cold, you know?’ You asked at the same time shaking your head and avoiding their gaze a bit.

‘Thanks,’ he said shortly and simply back.

He took the towel from your hands almost lazily or less than lazily like it was almost pointless and started to dry his hair which now you could see wasn’t blond or white, but silver.

You didn’t question the odd choice. You saw many customers from tourists to regulars, so you were not unfamiliar with varieties of hairstyles and clothing. Despite the exhaustion or even more depression and complete dejection of life that was coming off of him in waves now, you couldn’t help but notice he was rather attractive. The hair color suited him just fine.

Apart from his hair, he seemed to be dressed in simple black pants and a shirt with long sleeves. The most bizarre thing about him was the flip-flops attached to his feet. If you didn’t think it was unimaginable, you would think, this man simply put on something for a nice evening stroll. But how could that be when the weather was so profoundly terrible?

But his eyes look so…dead…

‘Is there a problem?’ asked the man suddenly breaking your train of thoughts as you realized that you had spaced out with your own eyes at him, and he must have realized it.

Almost immediately, the cold was the last thing on your mind as your whole face felt warm from the shame and embarrassment, and you bowed a bit, ‘No, sorry!’

You quickly turned around, ‘It’s really cold outside. You shouldn’t just go out dressed like that or at all in such weather, you know? I…I’ll turn on the heat and make you some tea. Herbal?’

You didn’t really give him time to finish and rushed behind the counter busing yourself there for a bit all the while stealing glances at the man as he finished drying himself and set the towels over the chairs.

He wasn’t all that tall, and although he was built a bit better, you could see he looked like he hadn’t had a decent sleep and meal in a while which made your heart clench again for some reason, ‘Here’s your tea.’

He came closer to the counter and reached for the cup at the same time as you were about to give it to him causing your fingers to brush and some static to pass over your skin, ‘SORRY!’

You quickly let go and turned around to cover your face with your palm feeling more than a bit self-aware. You weren’t used to people. It was always a bit of a challenge to connect with them, which was why the form of your cashier, a middle-aged woman, who seemed could talk with anyone was a gift from heaven. You preferred to bake in the back kitchen and prepare the treats rather than serve them. Hearing her repeat the praises from the customer or describe the looks of gratitude on their faces was enough to fill your aching-to-please-others heart with content.

But you couldn’t really stay quiet and mind your own business when you were the one who invited this man to come over.

Not to mention, he looks so broken.

Luckily, by the time, you got the hold of yourself, the man was slowly drinking the tea and warming his hands against the cup all the while looking at you, but you tried to accept small victories for now.

You shifted your gaze and tried to ask politely to ease the mood. You were alone and strangers, so you weren’t at your best, but you still felt like you should try because of how sad this man looked.

He looked young…no young person should look so sad…

‘W-Would you like something? Anything, you like…uh. It’s on the house,’ you finally got out looking at him hopefully with a smile polite smile playing across your face hoping it was friendly enough to make him feel more comfortable.

The man looked like he might have stepped outside for a smoke, so you figured he wouldn’t have any money, phone, or even his house key on him. He almost seemed like he appeared in front of your bakery out of the thin air.

His dark eyes finally shifted from your face and glanced over the glass to see the treats and baked goods which you had prepared for today.

His lips stayed pressed into a thin line for a while before finally, he asked his voice a bit hoarse, but something close to hope flashed behind his dark eyes, ‘Say, do you have any taiyaki?’

Your heart sank a bit as you heard him ask that of all things, ‘No, it’s not very popular among the customers, so I don’t make that.’

He nodded as if he almost expected such an answer, and you felt something inside you riot a bit against the idea that out of all the deserts and snacks you had around, he wanted one which was so laughably easy to make and simple, and yet you did not currently have. One, that might potentially bring him something close to joy or a spark of happiness behind his eyes. Such an idea, for someone who wanted to please people, like you, left you feeling absolutely disgusting on the inside with yourself.

‘But,’ you spoke and looked at your hands as it was a bit hard to have his absolute attention on you, ‘if you’re not in a hurry. I can make you some,’ you said with a low voice hoping it didn’t come off as too pushy because you would hate if he assumed you were trying anything on him.

‘You don’t have to-’

‘But I want to!’ you said and looked away feeling a bit embarrassed at how eager you sounded. You didn’t know this man, and you didn’t owe him anything, but he looked so sad and empty, you couldn’t help yourself but want to give him something.

You forced your eyes back at him, ‘So what do you say?’

His dark eyes remained the same, but there was clear curiosity coming from the rest of him as he put his elbow at the counter and pressed his cheek against his knuckles to look at you, ‘Why?’

What a horribly loaded question…

You looked down again and ironed your clothes with your palms a bit in a nervous way, ‘I like making snacks and baked goods for others,’ you admitted, ‘It makes me feel good to know they enjoyed them, and I fed them well? So…if you want taiyaki, I don’t mind making you some. I…I would really like to make you some.’

When you looked back up, he was still looking at you, but even if his gaze was intense and his dark eyes seemed so empty, you couldn’t help but think there was something alluring about someone like him looking at someone like you like this. You didn’t think anyone ever looked at you with such interest.

‘Alright, make me some then. Feed me,’ he said and opened his mouth for good measures causing your heartbeat to speed up and your face to grow warm again before you turned your back and quickly.

‘Right…so, uh…I’ll go and make you some now,’ you started to make your way to the back, where your small kitchen was, only to catch movement behind you and find the man now standing behind the counter with you.

Did he really just jump over it like that?

He paused and blinked at you probably noticing your shocked face, ‘Am I not going with you?’

You weren’t planning on asking him to join you in the kitchen, ‘It’s not in order with the health department rules,’ you admitted, but once you saw his face almost drop into more despair than it was already in, you quickly made up your mind, ‘Uh, but, please, join me.’

You found him a pair of slippers and an apron, ‘So you don’t drag mud or dirty your clothes.’

He put the shoes on himself, but then he waited while holding onto the apron which made you blink and walk closer to him, ‘Here, let me.’

He let you walk around him and tie a small bow in the back. Your eyes briefly catching the tattoo on the back of his neck as you did.

That symbol...

‘Do I look like a baker now?’ he asked, and there was almost a hint of amusement in his voice, which made you smile even if just a bit, ‘Not yet.’

You helped him wash his hands properly and prepared the ingredients, ‘Can I ask for your name? It feels strange, to bake with you and not know.’

‘Mikey.’

He didn’t offer you more, so you accepted it and offered him a smile as you introduced yourself. It could have been awkward, you were still strangers, but oddly, it didn’t feel so after you started directing Mikey on what to do or moving your hands over his to help him.

At first you hesitated to touch him, but he seemed so casual about it, you managed to find your footing.

You told him a bit about yourself mostly to try and fill the silence while you work. You tended to hum when you baked, so this wasn’t all that different. It surprised you, how easy it seemed to talk to him, and even more so when he admitted, ‘I used to eat taiyaki all the time when I was younger. My buddy Kenchin was always out of money because of me.’

‘That’s not very nice,’ you teased, but he was quick to pout, ‘Don’t say it like that. If he really minded, he wouldn’t have left me. Kenchin is no pushover.’

You chuckled, and you took it with great relief when you found him easing up a bit. He seemed casual before too, but there was tension in his whole body that couldn’t be explained and contradicted by the laziness of his persona. However, now he seemed to properly let his hair down so to speak, and before you knew it he told you about why he loved taiyaki so much, ‘It’s like a distant memory. My brother’s warm hand holding mine as we walk through the festival stopping at booths and eating taiyaki.’

Mikey looked most alive you saw him since you met him when he spoke about his childhood, siblings, and friends. You watched him closely, and whenever you saw a shadow of something haunting appear behind his eyes, you purposely asked another question or shared something from your own childhood to bring him back to the light.

You managed to prepare the fish-shaped goods in an hour and a half. Maybe you would manage faster on your own, but it was nice to have company, and even if for a bit, you would have sworn that Mikey’s eyes lightened up when you praised his work and called his taiyaki better because he put more love and effort into them.

The more time you spend together in the small kitchen in the back, the more the depressed-looking man seemed to almost relax and radiate with life.

‘Delicious,’ moaned Mikey and closed his eyes and looking properly blissful making you wonder how long it had been since he felt this content about something in his life.

‘See, you can make yourself some at home too,’ you assured him taking a taste of one yourself. They turned out really well.

He shook his head almost instantly, ‘It wouldn’t be as good,’ his dark eyes looked you over, ‘It wouldn’t be as fun as it was with you.’

He smiled so openly and almost happily, you thought there never was a more beautiful person in the world. It made your chest feel warm, and a smile settle against your lips to be in his presence and to see him like this and know some of it was your doing.

You settled for just one chuckling as Mikey ate one after another clearly enjoying the snack and looking almost like a child.

After a while, you heard some buzzing, and you were surprised when Mikey pulled out a phone from his pants as you assumed, he didn’t have anything on him.

His alive and content face darkened as his eyes scanned through the phone screen, and you wondered if it was the work, he mentioned that he didn’t like so much at one point.

‘I need to leave soon,’ he said and put the phone away looking upset rather than empty.

You nodded and tried to ease his mood, ‘That’s alright, I can pack the rest of the taiyki for you.’

‘How much?’

‘I told you it’s on the house,’ you argued feeling awkward that you had to say it again, but Mikey shook his head, ‘No, it’s too much. How much is it?’

‘No,’ you argued back although it was weak since you were never good or comfortable with arguing with people, ‘I…can’t take your money. You helped me make them, and you looked…happy. I don’t want to ruin it,’ you smiled at him honestly feeling the warmth inside your chest over the experience and his presence, ‘It was nice baking with you and seeing you enjoy it too.’

You watched the hard look on his face soften so profoundly, it was almost like they were two different people altogether.

‘I liked baking with you,’ he admitted and looked away almost unsure of himself or self-aware, ‘and talking. Today was the first time, I didn’t think about my past in a bad way. I missed thinking about my childhood bathed in sunshine colors instead of the grey ones.’

Your heart ached at his words, and you almost felt tears rushing toward your eyes before you chased them away by turning your back to him, ‘I’m happy to hear that. I feel like I want…I want to make you talk about your childhoods, and be happy…glad that you got to experience those good parts, and not feel guilty about them.’

There was silence after you said those words that made you almost regret them until you heard his soft and broken, ‘You don’t know me. How could you…want good things for me when you don’t know…’

He didn’t finish, so you decided to speak again, ‘Sometimes…you don’t need to know everything about a person. Sometimes it’s enough to know they’re sad and hurting. It’s enough to want to make them feel better.’

There was once again silence after that making you question whether you made things awkward or if he was simply going over your words. You were honest. You didn’t know Mikey and everything who he was, but when he spoke about his childhood, siblings, and friends, you felt like he came alive. As if it was so long since he talked to anyone about these things, he might have forgotten there were good things about his past too.

When you turned around, you found him unexpectable close forcing you to move back until your back hit the counter behind you.

He caged you by stepping even closer to you almost touching all the while looking at your face before his dark eyes moved to your lips.

It was a feeling more than a comprehensive thought about what was about to happen, but it was enough to jump-start your heart to the extreme.

Panic kicked in before you could stop it from taking over, and before you could stop yourself, you loudly gasped, ‘Don’t,’ right before Mikey moved his face closer to yours.

He paused and leaned away looking genuinely shocked before his eyes darted away from your face, and it seemed he wanted to move away too, ‘I’m sorry. I thought…I must have misjudged this.’

It was the closest to shame, you saw the young man get through the whole evening.

You looked away as well and gathering all the courage, you could find, you reached out and took hold of his arm chasing the feeling of connection and happiness from before to settle your thoughts and feelings that blossomed inside.

Your voice was soft again as you barely managed to get those words out of your mouth with how embarrassed you felt, ‘Uh, you didn’t misjudge anything.’

The moment, Mikey moved closer, your palms shot up and covered his mouth before he would be able to reach your face.

He looked confused, and you didn’t blame him. It would have sounded confusing to you as well if someone else was retelling this story to you, but it couldn’t be helped.

You shut your eyes closed trying to gather your thoughts and push them above your feelings, ‘I-I don’t allow people to kiss me…unless I know them well.’

You didn’t open your eyes fearing, he might find your reasoning silly, but your mouth seemed to get the best of your and carried on, ‘I…I don’t know you very well yet…so please don’t…don’t take advantage of the fact that I…that…I like you so far.’

You felt hot breath against your palms which caused your eyes to open and then to freeze in place.

Mikey’s dark eyes were on you, but for the first time their emptiness didn’t bother you as you grew familiar with it, and in contrast with his surprised face, it seemed almost bearable. Familiar. Welcoming even.

‘Don’t…do that,’ you whispered feeling your cheeks were on fire again referring to what you assumed he was planning to do each time he leaned closer to your face, ‘Unless you plan to come back here again, and…and tell me more about yourself. Alright?’

It sounded ridiculous in your own ears to demand something like that. It felt like you had no right, but at the same time, it felt like you owe it to yourself, to demand at least that much for yourself.

‘You’re a bit strange,’ said Mikey shocking you and forcing your palms to fall to your sides as you felt embarrassed now. But just as quickly as he caused you to feel such a way, you watched and heard as he chuckled out loud almost joyfully, ‘But very kind and sweet.’

He reached behind you and took another fish-shaped treat before he took a bite with a small smile pressed across his face as he chewed, ‘Just like your goods.’

His free hand reached out and patted your head a bit, ‘Don’t change, no matter what, okay? It feels too good to know that people like you exist in the same world as someone like me.’

You didn’t hear such things often, so it brought a smile to your own face. Most people suggested you try and be less shy, or less naïve and trusting often viewing all that as a flaw. You didn’t blame them for their views, but it felt good to for once hear it wasn’t a bad thing to be the way you were.

He stepped away from you and allowed you to pack the rest of the taiyaki in peace which helped to calm your rapidly beating heart and mind that only now seemed to properly realize, you almost let him kiss you.

He already stepped out of the kitchen by the time, you were finished, and you couldn’t help but wonder if your choice really was a good one. You stood by it. You didn’t know Mikey well enough yet to be that intimate with you no matter how attracted you felt toward him. You were just too you to allow yourself to be that carefree about such things. But at the same time, you felt a stab of worry that this might be the last time, you would see the young man with silver hair and if that was the case, shouldn’t you want to have something to remember him by?

You handed the plastic container over to him, and he easily placed it under his elbow as he switched from your slippers to his flip flops, ‘Thanks for today.’

You smiled at him wishing you knew something better to say if this really was the final time you would see him.

‘M-Mikey-kun,’ you started when he opened the door into the darkness outside. It seemed it stopped the rain if nothing else.

Your voice broke a bit at the end, ‘Come again.’

He paused and offered you a final smile that almost reached his eyes before he stepped out into the dark as if he was never inside your shop to begin with.

Almost immediately, you felt a sense of coldness enter your body, but you couldn’t bring yourself to follow him outside sensing that if he wanted to come to see you again, he would.

There was no promise, but there also was no final goodbye.

You spent the rest of your opening hours cleaning up erasing almost all the evidence that Mikey was there at all.

Once you returned to the register you noticed something was off. It was almost unnoticeable at all, but you did notice that from the small plate near the register where you kept your business cards, the same card, you were playing with earlier, there was one missing.

This brought the familiar tender warmth to return to your chest as you silently let out a small prayer into the universe.

Mikey-kun, call me, the next time, you’re alone and feel like baking taiyaki together.

Koniec

A.N: thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you and your loved ones are well. English is not my first language, so I apologize if things were unclear, or if there were unnecessary mistakes. Have a lovely day :)

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xxeffortlessxx · 2 months ago

Note

I imagine you get this a lot, but how do you recreate the CRT TV cartoon look? It looks great!

lately i've been using ntscQT to add those types of visual effects!

i highly recommend it, as it has different filters/adjustment options (the fx can also work on videos and GIFs)

tho ever since i heard about ntscQT tbh i dont really make my own crt tv effects within the art program i use anymore because i lack confidence with how it visually looks LOL (im not the best at recreatimg the look by myself)

but to those that do prefer achieving a similar 2000s cartoon tv vhs overlay (what do u call this haha), you can use this as reference or to come up with your own process that works best for you:

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xxeffortlessxx · 2 months ago

Text

turning my art into fake VHS screenshots part 1 of ????

(i used this program: ntscQT)

122 notes · View notes

xxeffortlessxx · 2 months ago

Text

Undertow

A tokrev purge AU, as a treat :))

Kakucho x female reader, Kurokawa Izana x female reader

w.c 6.4k

tw: murder, blood & slight gore, implied non/dub-con, yandere themes

This is not a test, this is your Emergency Broadcast System announcing the commencement of the annual Purge sanctioned by the Japanese Government. Weapons of class four and lower have been authorised for use during the Purge. All other weapons are restricted. Government officials of ranking ten have been granted immunity and shall not be harmed.

Commencing at the siren, any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for twelve continuous hours. Police, fire, and emergency medical services will be unavailable until tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m, when the Purge concludes.

Blessed be our new founding fathers and Japan; a nation reborn.

As the polite, female voice falls silent, klaxons ring out, blaring through the night.

Seven years now.

Five, since your brother decided to join the would be Purgers and never made it home. It never becomes normal, you never lose that fear. You do, however, learn the rules.

Stay home. Lock yourself away behind the reinforced shutters and doors, pretend that everything’s fine, that you can’t hear the screaming and gunshots, the violent chaos being gleefully wreaked outside. You put on some movies, music maybe, sit on your couch, swaddled in blankets with the volume too loud and pray that tonight won’t be the night that someone decides to test just how impenetrable the defences around your home truly are.

Arms encircle your waist, pulling you back against a firm chest. A kiss is pressed against your hair. “Babe, don’t look so worried. We’ll be fine. We always are.”

–Only this time, you’re not waiting out the Purge by yourself.

You exhale, Natsuya’s hold easing to allow you to turn and face him. He smiles at the pinched expression on your face, “We’re gonna be fine,” he repeats. “Now will you please come have a drink with me? The others are starting to wonder why my beautiful,” his lips meet your forehead, “smart,” the tip of your nose, “incredible girlfriend’s hiding herself away.”

He kisses your lips last of all, a sweet, gentle thing. Brushes your hair back from your face.

“No one’s getting through the security system, and even if they did, no one’s gonna hurt you, I’ll make sure of it.”

Yes, you’d caught an eyeful of the shotgun he’d been cleaning when you’d arrived. His friends undoubtedly have their own weapons stashed away, too. After all – there’s no such thing as a pacifist on Purge night.

It doesn’t ease your worry any, but you smile and nod for him, letting him tug you back to the lounge room where his friends and sister await.

Because what else does Purge night call for, if not a party?

Miyano – charming and roguish, long dark hair swept up into a bun – the first to greet you, passing you a shot of amber liquor with an easy wink. “Purge classic,” he tells you, referring to the drink, “it’s tradition – and a secret.”

You knock the shot back, wincing at the burn in your throat as it goes down. “Why does it taste like toothpaste?!”

“Disgusting, isn’t it,” Tomori, Natsuya’s sister and the only other girl present, says with a grimace.

Miyano looks mightily pleased with himself, Ayumu and Suwabe both snickering good naturedly. The two of them couldn’t be more different from each other. Suwabe’s short and stocky, Ayumu willowy-tall, blond and bespectacled, and yet one’s never far from the other.

Your boyfriend sneaks an arm around your waist, dutifully accepting his own with a rueful sigh.

“So you guys do this every Purge?”

Suwabe nods, “Yeah, for the past four or five years. It’s a shit night, we figured we might as well make the most of it together instead of stressing out about it alone.”

“And you’ve never been tempted to…?”

The three of them share a look, Suwabe shrugging, “What, to Purge? Ayumu and I went one year. Not to kill anyone or nothing,” he hastens to clarify at your wide eyed expression, “we wanted to rob his boss’s place.”

“The guy was an asshole. Rich as hell, too. We knew he wasn’t gonna be there, it seemed as good a time as any to try our luck,” the blond elaborates.

“And how’d that go for you?”

He laughs, rubbing the back of his neck, “Yeah, we didn’t even make it onto the property. And it was fucked out there, not something I want a repeat of anytime soon.”

Your brother’s face flashes to mind, a pang striking deep in your chest. He’d made his choice, though, with intentions far less justifiable, and so you shove those feelings aside, tilting your face to meet Natsuya’s, “And no Purging for you?”

Intended as a joke, his fingers, resting comfortably above your hip, inexplicably twitch. “‘Course not.”

“The whole thing’s messed up. Who wants to go out and hunt people for fun?” Tomori snorts, passing you a glass of wine and pouring one for herself.

“Kind of a necessary evil, though, right?”

She meets her brother’s gaze with one raised, unimpressed eyebrow, “Oh c’mon, Nats, you can’t honestly tell me that you believe the Purge is in any way a good thing. Those who can afford it lock themselves away, and the poor pay the price. It’s chaos for the sake of chaos, the only difference between now and before is that alongside all the criminals who would’ve gone out looting and murdering anyway, the government’s convinced stupid, entitled dumbasses like those two,” she jerks her chin towards Ayumu and Suwabe, both suddenly fascinated with their drinks, “that killing and stealing and hurting other people is morally upstanding, and worse; fun.”

And so the conversation goes, as it always does. You nod and hum idly along with the others every now and then, nestled comfortably into Natsuya’s side while they argue back and forth, until– “Look, all I’m saying is that anyone who’s dumb enough to get themselves killed on Purge night probably isn’t a great loss to society anyway.”

The change in the air is palpable. Natsuya stiffens behind you, Tomori’s breath catching, her eyes immediately finding yours.

Figures that Natsuya told her.

And to Miyano’s credit, he seems to realise he’s misstepped even before your boyfriend’s growled, “Dude, shut the hell up.”

“Shit, that’s not what I– Fuck, I didn’t–” You raise a placating hand, and his mouth closes with an audible click.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it, I’m not gonna bite your head off,” you chuckle awkwardly, pretending that you don’t see Suwabe’s wince.

Still, his expression looks almost stricken, eyes darting between you and a disapproving Nats, and you feel a slight twinge of… something.

Miyano hadn’t said it to be spiteful.

What happened to your brother happens to hundreds every Purge – they leave the safety of their houses with the belief that because they’ve got a weapon and a free pass for twelve hours, they’re invincible.

Usually, they’re wrong.

“It’s fine,” you repeat with a tight smile, pointedly ignoring Natsuya’s scoff.

“No, I shouldn’t’ve–”

Whatever he’s about to say falls by the wayside as a loud, pounding suddenly reverberates through the house.

The front door.

For a long beat, nobody moves. Nobody breathes. Six pairs of eyes shift to the entry-way, towards the unknown figure waiting on the other side of the door.

Silence settles over the six of you, thick and uncomfortable, and undercurrent of tension pressing down on your body. Every door and window’s locked and reinforced behind steel shutters, they’re not impenetrable, though. Nothing is.

Abruptly, the banging resumes, so sudden that you jerk, flinching back against Natsuya’s frame.

“Pull up the security feed,” Suwabe suggests.

There’s a panel with a keypad on the wall by the kitchen, a few clicks of the buttons and the screen comes to life. Split across six sections, the cameras show a near 360 degree view of the exterior of the house. Natsuya taps on the upper left, bringing the view from the front of the house – the man battering down the door – full screen, the audio filtering through.

“–gonna kill me! You have to let me in! I promise I’m not armed, I swear it, just– help me, please!”

Your stomach flips.

“I–” you swallow, drawing in an unsteady breath.

The shock of black hair, the jagged scar cut like a bolt of lightning across his forehead, his eyes, one red, the other a milky white, wide and frantic now as he risks another look behind him – they’re not features you’re likely to forget any time soon. “I know him.”

You feel more than see the way that Natsuya tenses, pulling back to study you, a note of questioning in his eyes.

“He catches the same train home, we talk sometimes.” There’s more to it than that; a creep that tried to feel you up and Kakucho’s intervention, but you don’t feel like getting into that now.

Not when he’s hoarse and begging on Nats’ doorstep.

He hammers his fist against the shutters, strong enough that you swear you can feel the vibrations rattling in your chest. “He’s coming– fucking hell, please!”

Nobody says anything, uncomfortable glances shared between all six of you.

It’s an exercise in futility begging anyone for help on Purge night. He has to know that – everyone knows that.

And yet your heart’s lodged firmly in your throat, because it’s not just anyone at the door. It’s not a stranger begging for mercy, for sanctuary, it’s Kakucho.

Kakucho, who stood up for you.

Kakucho, who took the seat next to yours for weeks before he so much as said a word to you.

Kakucho, who looks half crazed – terrified – pleading for his life.

You barely know him, a kind act and a few conversations on your nighttime commute doesn’t make him a saint, doesn’t mean you have any sort of deeper relationship or trust built between you, but…

“Nats,” you breathe, your hand seeking his. His palm’s warm, engulfing yours, and you squeeze it, “I know him.”

It isn’t a plea, not quite.

“Dude, are you crazy? You can’t let him in!” Suwabe hisses, smacking his shoulder. “It sucks, but that’s what happens–”

Tomori‘s eyes flash. She folds her arms over her chest, shooting daggers his way, “So we throw him to the wolves? Just leave him to die?”

“Yeah; that’s the fucking Purge, Mori! He’s banging on your door ‘cause no one else’s stupid enough to let him in!”

“And if it was your friend and not some random stranger, you’re telling me you‘d leave him to the wolves rather than risk opening your door?”

Miyano, up until now silent, exhales, “She’s kind of got a point.”

“He’s not a friend though, she said it herself!” Suwabe snaps back, jabbing his finger in your direction. He turns to Ayumu, watching the argument unfold with a small frown. “Back me up here, dude, you know I’m right.”

The blond shifts on his feet, fingers tapping an uneasy rhythm against his drink as his gaze flickers between you and Natsuya. And all the while, the pounding outside continues, furious and desperate, layered beneath Kakucho’s shouts. You’re half convinced that any second now, that door’s gonna give way, and your stomach churns. You feel sick.

He’s a mere step above a stranger; an acquaintance at best. Suwabe isn’t wrong, either. This is Purge, this is what happens. Those who don’t have the means to protect themselves either learn to fight back or pay the price. There’s no helping that and it’s naive to think otherwise.

Right now you’re safe. Barring an all out assault, you’ll remain that way for the rest of the night.

The smart thing to do would be to hunker down and pretend the world outside the front door doesn’t exist for the next however many hours. That was the plan. That’s always the plan for the Purge.

Even the harmless looking ones pose a threat tonight. Kakucho, with his stature and scowl, the scar and those frighteningly intense eyes, never struck you as all that harmless.

So you don’t blame Suwabe for his reticence. You can’t. The smart, rational choice here is as cold and brutal as it is simple; you keep the door locked.

Yet your hand tightens around Natsuya’s, anchoring yourself in the touch as Ayumu’s eyes flit across yours, considering.

You won’t beg, you won’t, but–

“It’s your house,” he eventually says, more to Natusya than you. A shrugs then, sliding his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. “There’s six of us, we’ve got guns if he tries anything.”

Something looses inside of you, a shuddering breath filling your lungs.

Natsuya doesn’t look particularly thrilled judging from the clenched muscle in his jaw, the crease between his brows. One glance at Tomori, though, her lovely face set is a mask of determination and that resolve of his weakens.

And shatters entirely.

“Fine. Fucking– fine. Let him in; 4869.”

He snatches the shotgun off the table as he says it, drawing you back into his side whilst Miyano – the closest to the door – punches in the code. Suwabe, meanwhile, disappears from the room, reappearing a moment later with a gun in hand.

Sliding himself into position between Tomori and the door, he cocks the slide with a grim expression. He locks eyes with you – only for a heartbeat – and you find yourself wanting to blurt out that the guns aren’t necessary, that Kakucho isn’t a threat.

You don’t, though, tongue leaden in your mouth, and he nudges her back as his attention shifts to the door.

In your ear, low enough that the others won’t hear, Natsuya murmurs, “You don’t leave my side, understand?”

You nod.

With a heavy clank, the shutters begin to lift.

Your fingers dance by your side, your insides in knots. Inch by inch it goes until finally, Miyano unlocks the door, pulls it open and Kakucho barrels in.

No one breathes. No one moves as he rights himself, bleeding, panting.

“Shut the fucking door,” he rasps, and like that, whatever spell everyone’s under is broken and both Suwabe and Miyano snap into action to close off the house once more.

And all the while you simply stare, blinking, unsure of what you’re supposed to say or do right now. Kakucho’s eyes shift around the room, slowly considering each of your friends, tasking them in one after the other, Suwabe’s gun, Natsuya’s, until at last, his eyes fall on you.

Recognition glints. Surprise. His head tilts, almost puppy-ish, brows drawing together. He murmurs your name in that deep, gravelly rumble, and Natsuya goes rigid.

It’s an instinctual response, you think, because a breath later his thumb rubs soothingly at your hip, slow and gentle, a quiet apology for brutish behaviour. Everyone’s on edge tonight.

And once again, it falls to Tomori to break the tension.

“Are you hurt? You look like hell.”

Kakucho doesn’t answer her immediately, his attention lingering on you for a heartbeat longer than necessary. Long enough that you have to fight the urge to fidget. Eventually, though, he grunts and shakes his head, turning his head to face her. “It’s nothing. I‘m fine.”

“You’re bleeding,” she presses, as gently as she can.

Dazedly, he lifts his hand to his face, fingers finding the gash on his cheek. They come away wet and shining, glistening with his own blood – he stares at it, almost confused. “It’s… nothing,” he repeats, slower this time.

Tomori rolls her eyes, huffs in a way that’s so similar to Natsuya that under other circumstances you might have laughed. “What is it with men and their bullshit need to act tough all the time?”

None of them, not even Miyano has anything to say to that, and despite the heavy tension still hanging in the air, a wry grin pulls at your lips.

It only lasts a moment.

“You guys have a first aid kit, yeah?” Ayumu asks, to which both Tomori and your boyfriend nod.

“In the kitchen, the shelf above the fridge.”

And like that, the boys begin to disperse. Ayumu to fetch the kit, Miyano water and alcohol. Suwabe sticks by Tomori’s side, and when she mentions something about towels for the blood, he follows her out into the hallway. You suspect it’s more to give you a moment with Kakucho – or to escape the thick, awkward atmosphere – but you’re grateful all the same.

With the others gone, Kakucho’s attention turns back to you. Says nothing as you approach, Natsuya trailing right behind you, watching the two of you carefully.

Tomori hadn’t been wrong. Tough act or not, he has to be in pain. Split lip, knuckles grazed and reddened. The gash on his cheek, and blood seeping from a cut on his brow. Mottled bruises darkening his skin. Even his gait is off, his left leg supporting the majority of his weight. You’ve never seen the aftermath of a beating like this before. They hadn’t even let you see your own brother after they’d found him.

It twists at something inside of you, sends a pang right through your heart. He has to be hurting, yet Kakucho wears the damage like it’s nothing.

There’s a strange urge – one you steadfastly ignore – to reach out and take his ruined cheek in hand. To see someone in pain, hiding it… you might not be friends exactly, but a lump forms in your throat, your chest tightening. You’ve never felt so uselessly inadequate.

You sigh, eyes searching his, “What happened to you?”

“Let him sit down first, babe,” your boyfriend mutters.

Kakucho regards him warily. He’s still holding the shotgun, admittedly by his side, his other hand moving to your shoulder.

A clear message, and you don’t know how you feel about that.

In any case, your cheeks warm, a sheepish laugh – one without much humour – leaving your lips. You’re doing this all wrong. Stupid, stupid. “Of course, it’s probably better if we do this at the table, right?” you ask no one in particular. “Can you walk over or do you need somebody to lean on?”

A faint frown mars his face, “I said I’m fine.” Again, there’s no heat in the statement, the words are dull, robotic almost.

The others are returning now, Ayumu blowing his blond locks away from his face as he sets the first aid kit down on the table and pops it open. Yet surprisingly it’s Suwabe who pipes up, “Stop being an asshole, she’s just trying to help.”

Well, maybe not that surprising.

You repress another sigh, shaking off Natsuya’s grip to go and help him, Ayumu clearly having the same thought, when the doorbell rings.

You freeze.

No one dares to breathe, each of you slowly turning to face the door, still locked behind those steel shutters.

The doorbell rings again, twice in quick succession.

You hear someone quietly whisper, “Fuck.”

Cold dread sluices through your system, every pound of your heart echoing in your ear as Natsuya chokes on his spit, glances to Miyano.

And all eyes shift to the security screen. Tomori’s closest this time, Suwabe’s quick to grab her, pull her back as he instead brings the feed to life. Another tap, and the exterior front door once again fills the screen.

Your heart, pounding so violently in your chest that it feels like you’re going to be sick, constricts.

A blond man with striking – deeply unsettling – violet eyes stands at the doorstep, smiling directly into the camera. He’s not much older than you, less than five or so years you’d guess, dressed in an elegant, brocaded red coat.

“I’m assuming I have your attention,” he begins. His voice is pleasant and smooth, it sends shivers down your spine, the warmth leaching from your blood.

He waits a beat, still smiling that chilling, awful smile. “Good. Excellent. As I have no intention of wasting my time on this precious Purge night, I’ll make this brief. Nice and simple for you; it’s come to my attention that you’re harbouring something that belongs to me.” You hear Tomori’s breath catch, and hers aren’t the only pair of eyes that shift to Kakucho. “The man – the dog – you’ve inexplicably given sanctuary to tonight is nothing but filth. A defiler. A killer. A menace to our just society, and like all dogs, he must be brought to heel.”

His teeth, straight and white, glint as his grin widens. You can’t breathe, Natsuya’s hand finding yours, tightening wordlessly. You can feel the tension shift in the room, the fear that descends like a blanket at his words. But you know Kakucho, he’s wouldn’t– he’s not–

“By offering him sanctuary, by standing between me and what is rightfully mine, you’ve aligned yourself with those to be Purged. So, again, I’ll make this clear. You may think that behind this security system of yours, you’re safe. That the locks on your doors and steel shutters will keep me out – that is a lie you’ve been sold. I am coming in, it might take five minutes, maybe twenty, but these defences will fall. And if the dog inside hasn’t ripped you all to pieces, rest assured that I will. I suggest you good folks run. Hide. You cannot keep me from what I want.”

Abruptly the screen goes black, and no less than a split second later, the power in the house cuts out, plunging you into an eerie green-lit dimness as the sole emergency light flickers on.

The sound of your shaking breath feels too loud in the dead stillness. You swallow, and slowly turn to face Kakucho.

A defiler and a killer, the smiling man had said.

Those things can’t be true, because the Kakucho you know…

He meets your stare. Cold and empty, and that racing, trembling heart of your sinks into the very pit of your stomach. “K-kakucho?”

Two guns lift, Natsuya yanking you back, and in the space of a breath, everything goes to hell. Ayumu’s closest, had gone over to help, and quicker than your eyes can follow, Kakucho lunges forward, a knife appearing in his hand.

One moment, your friend, with that quiet, dry humour and a heart of absolute gold, is standing, the next – Kakucho’s knife is at his throat, and he’s being yanked backwards. “Put the guns down,” he says.

Like his expression, his voice is cold and flat.

Neither Natsuya nor Suwabe make a move to lower their weapons, Suwabe teeth bared in a silent snarl.

“Just do what he says, for fuck’s sake!” Miyano hisses, and you’re not imagining the panic lacing his tone.

The corner of Kakucho’s lips curl, “However fast you think you can shoot, I can guarantee you it won’t be quick enough. Put them down. On the floor.”

“Kakucho, please…”

He doesn’t so much as spare you a glance. Natsuya’s hand tightens, a silent plea for you to keep quiet, and not draw his attention.

“Do what he says.” It’s Ayumu, his voice a hoarse whisper. Wide eyed, shaking, the knife at his throat pressed so tightly that the movement of his vocal chords causes skin to break, a thin line of blood beading across his neck. “Please.”

“I am not–”

“Do what he fucking says, Suwabe!”

A long silence settles, neither making a move, unwilling to give an inch despite their friend’s desperate plea. And perhaps the terror in the blond’s voice finally breaks through to them, or the cool, detached ruthlessness of Kakucho’s demeanour, but with a heavy reluctance, the two lower their weapons.

“On the floor,” Kakucho repeats, pressing the blade tighter against Ayumu’s throat. “I’m not asking.”

Suwabe snarls, dropping the pistol. A moment later Natsuya follows suit, the both of them glaring at the larger man.

Kakucho smirks. Glances at you.

A defiler, the smiling man had called him. A killer.

And too quickly for anyone to stop him, he yanks the knife across Ayumu’s throat and shoves him aside. There’s a ringing in your ears as Tomori screams, Suwabe falling to his knees, scrambling for his discarded gun. Too slow. Kakucho’s sprinting – unhindered by his supposed ‘injured’ foot – disappearing into the darkness of the house, and Ayumu’s bleeding out on the floor.

Gaping and gasping, twitching like a fish out of water.

You can’t move, can’t hear a thing but the pounding of your pulse in your ears as you stare into his eyes. There’s so much blood, more and more spraying with every dying beat of his heart, pooling beneath his body, splattering the walls, the furniture, everything. And you can’t move.

Ayumu, glasses knocked askew, pretty blond locks falling into his eyes, chokes and gurgles, a trembling, bloody hand stretching out for help – and you can’t do a thing.

No one can.

And just as Miyano jolts out of his stupor and lunges for him, Ayumu’s body falls slack.

The light in his eyes fading away into nothingness.

Dead.

Suwabe screams, fires two shots blindly down the hallway, howling in rage and agony. Natsuya grips you so tight that it cuts off your circulation, his own eyes wide and horrified, taking in the carnage before him. Tomori lets out a keening sob, and the shutters on the front door screech ominously, as if to remind you all that there are bigger problems at hand.

There’s no time for grief. There’s a killer in the house, another forcing his way inside. Five of you left, two guns, and another ten or so hours until all of this can be over.

And suddenly Natsuya’s in front of you, grabbing your face in both hands and forcing you to look at him. You blink dazedly, trying in vain to focus as he speaks to you.

“–bathroom, lock the fucking door and do not open it until I come back, you understand?”

You blink again, eyes sliding back at Ayumu. His eyes are open, gazing at nothing, empty, empty, empty–

Your fault.

He’d told them it was okay. They had guns so it’d be okay, but you were the one–

“Listen to me!” Natsuya hisses, yanking your attention back to him. “I need you safe, so take Tomori and lock yourself in the bathroom right now. You don’t open that door no matter what, not ‘til I come back and tell you it’s safe, do you understand me?”

You find yourself nodding, a short jerking movement.

It’s enough for Natsuya, who presses a quick, desperate kiss to the crown of your head and takes you to Tomori. She grips your hand tight and the two of you disappear into the bathroom, one last glance at the three of them, grim faced and vengeful, gathering their weapons under the green glow before the doors shut, and you click the lock into place.

The two of you sit in the darkness, Tomori’s arm around your shoulders, sniffling into your shoulder as you wait.

You hold her, a hand running up and down her spine, tears of your own spilling down your cheeks.

Your fault, your fault, your fault. All of this is your fault.

Tomori flinches with every noise, every muffled thump. There’s a deafening bang somewhere on the floor above you – a gunshot maybe, or something falling, it’s hard to tell.

Your fault. Your fault. Your fault.

“It’s okay,” you whisper, clutching her closer as she whimpers – the only reassurance you can bring yourself to give her. “It’s okay.”

How could this happen, you think numbly. For months now, you’ve sat next to a murderer, talked with him. Laughed with him.

You thought him a protector. A friend, even.

And you all but begged them to let him inside.

Ayumu’s blood’s on your hands. You might all die here tonight and it’s entirely your fault.

‘I know him,’ you’d told them. ‘I know him, and it’s okay.’

The look he’d given you, that smirk. Like he knew every thought that was running through your head. Like none of this was accidental, but the pieces of a puzzle falling slowly into place.

A defiler.

Bile creeps up your throat, and it occurs to you that death might not be the only thing waiting for you and Tomori if Kakucho finds you.

The tears fall quicker, and you close your eyes and bite down on your quivering bottom lip.

Locked away in the darkness, time crawls by. Minutes, maybe, or hours – there’s no way of knowing how much time has passed when you hear the tell tale sound of metal groaning, the splintering of wood. Tomori moans in despair, sobbing uncontrollably now as the front door gives way.

“It’s fine,” you soothe, “It’s okay.”

It’s a lie, because while the others – if they’re still alive (they have to be alive, they have to be) – are distracted with Kakucho, all that’s between you and the smiling intruder is a locked door.

Far less indestructible than the one he just broke through.

And soft as they may be, you hear the footsteps echoing off the wooden floorboards as the intruder leisurely makes his way down the hall. Closer and closer. Desperately, you try to quiet Tomori, but it makes no difference. He comes to a stop on the other side of the door.

Bringing a hand to your mouth, you bite down on the back of your palm in an effort to stifle your breathing. Tomori cringes.

When the door opens, you’ll attack, you decide. Go for the eyes, or knee him in the crotch – anything to give Mori a chance to run.

A heavy, pregnant pause, and then–

“I know you’re in there. Hiding away while your friends are getting hacked to pieces.” You can’t see it, but you know he’s smiling, grinning on the other side of the door. You can hear it in his voice. And you hate him, hate him even as paralysing fear claws its way through you, keeping you rooted in place. “That’s fine, I don’t mind. You can stay there for a little while longer, I still have one last thing to take care of, and then we can have some fun, no?”

He laughs then, light and boyish, as if this is nothing more than a game. To him, perhaps it isn’t.

“I’ll see you soon.”

In any case, his footsteps recede, and you’re left sitting in the darkness alone with your fear once more.

The thumping upstairs grows louder. There’s a crash and more yelling, a series of gunshots.

And then the screaming starts. Awful, bloodcurdling howls that have every hair on your body standing on end. Your stomach roils, what little you’d eaten earlier forcing its way back up your throat as you retch into the toilet, shaking and pale.

“We’re gonna die here, aren’t we?” Tomori whispers, and you can’t find the strength within yourself to try and convince her otherwise. If you survive this, those screams won’t ever leave you. You’ll wake in the middle of the night, gasping for air, unable to shake them.

“I don’t know.”

Silence, when it falls, feels like a death knell.

And then come the footsteps. You wait with bated breath, praying that it’s Natsuya. Miyano. Even Suwabe. Any of your friends.

A knock; the sound ricocheting through you. “Love, are you gonna open the door for me?”

Tomori wails like a banshee, broken and agonised, and you feel that little, tiny spark of hope you’d kept deep within your chest wink out.

“I’m sorry,” you tell her, kissing her hair as you hold her close. “I’m so sorry, Mori.”

And as the door shudders under the force of a kick, you hold her close and pray for a quick end. Another kick, and the wood splinters.

A third, and it breaks open entirely.

That eerie, green light floods the bathroom, the blond man stepping inside. He smiles at you, blood flecked across his face. The blood of your friends. Natsuya’s maybe.

“Ah, I thought there was one missing. She’s in here,” he calls out, glancing over his shoulder.

For a heartbeat, confusion flickers beneath the terror. Did he bring others with him? Maybe that’s how he broke in so quickly, maybe there’s a whole gang of them.

Your unspoken question, however, is answered when another figure steps into the bathroom behind him.

“She won’t be a problem.”

Your blood turns to ice.

Kakucho. Tall, broad and looming, he surveys the two of you with interest, his gaze lingering on you. “Are you gonna come quietly or am I gonna have to drag you out?” he asks, a single eyebrow raised.

To your credit, you try to stand. You might not be brave, but you’re not suicidal either. If there’s any chance that compliance gets you or Tomori out of here, even if these monsters killed Natsuya and the others, you’ll do what they ask.

Yet your legs are shaking so bad that you barely make it to your feet before they give out beneath you. Kakucho tuts, sighing heavily – and sweeps in to lift you up into his arms as if you weigh nothing at all, paying no mind to the way that you flinch and shudder.

The blond pads out behind you as Kakucho carries you back into the living room.

You’re half expecting to be shoved to your knees, the barrel of a gun pressed to the back of your head, but Kakucho sets you down gently on the couch, pats the top of your head twice before retreating back to the bathroom.

The blond stays behind, those violet eyes a sickly colour under the green glow fixated curiously on you. Your hands are shaking in your lap as he draws closer.

“I bought you something,” he says.

You frown, tongue darting out to wet your lips as you mumble, “W-what?”

From the pocket he pulls out a velvet box, pressing into your hands as he settles down beside you. “Open it.”

Swallowing tightly, you fumble with the lid for a moment – until he sighs and takes it back from you, popping it open and handing it right back to you.

And you don’t understand when you take it back, because nestled into the white pillow is a necklace with a pendant, a hanafuda design, matching the earrings dangling from his lobes.

“Well? Are you going to put it on?” he asks, just as Kakucho returns with a squirming Tomori. Yet rather than setting her down the couch as he had with you, he drops her carelessly onto the floor in a tangle of limbs and retreats again – this time back towards the stairs.

You start to rise with the intention of helping her, only to be stopped by an iron grip around your wrist. “If you get up from this couch, I’ll put a bullet through her brain right here and now, do you understand?”

He says it so mildly, the threat takes a second to register.

When it does, though, you nod shakily and fall back to your seat. He smiles again, a mirthful twinkle in his eyes. “Good girl.” He pats your knee, “Now, put it on for me.”

Casting a quick glance to Tomori, prone and near catatonic on the floor, you do as he bids, lifting the thing chain from the box. It’s long enough for you to slip it over your head without having to fiddle with the clasp – a good thing, seeing as your fine motor skills seem to have abandoned you in your terror. The pendant falls between your breasts, which the blond man takes a good, long moment to admire.

“Suits you,” is all he says as Kakucho returns once more.

And drops another body on the floor.

Your heart seizes in your chest as it moves. Groans and lifts his head, blinking to adjust to the dim light.

“Nats–” you cry, and forgetting the blond at your side you go to rise once more. This time he snarls, quiet and vicious, seizing your shoulder and forcing you back down.

“Don’t. Be. Rude.”

You draw in a shallow breath, hope and despair warring inside of you as you glance from Natsuya to Kakucho, who manhandles him onto his knees. His face is bruised and bloody, a dark, wet-looking patch you can only assume to be blood seeping from one of his thighs.

He’s alive, though. Put through the wringer but alive.

You almost sob.

Beside him, Tomori’s also being raised to her knees, the dead look in her eyes fading somewhat as she takes in the sight of her brother.

Your gut clenches.

Both of them are facing you, Kakucho looming threateningly behind them. Despite the momentary joy, this isn’t a happy reunion.

The blond at your side hums, leaning in close. With a delicate touch, he sweeps back a lock of hair, tucking it behind your ear. The hand on your knee drifts higher, grazing along the inside of your thigh.

“You get a choice, think of it as… a going away present,” he says. The warmth of his breath fans across your skin, his hand now slipping beneath your skirt. You shudder, trying to blink back the hot tears that well up in your eyes. You refuse to cry in front of him, you refuse to give him the satisfaction. Amusement and something like glee dances across his face, “One of them dies now; quick and relatively painless. The other…” his fingers brush the seat of your underwear, his tongue darting out to lick at the stray tear that slips from your lashes. His voice dips, “The other gets to watch while the three of us have our fun tonight.”

Natsuya snarls, only for Kakucho to kick him back to the ground and keep him there with a foot on his back.

“And a-afterwards?” you force the words out.

“Afterwards, Kakucho’s going to beat the other one to death with his bare fucking fists. I wasn’t lying when I told you he was violent,” his lips brush your cheek, featherlight and gentle, “I wasn’t lying about any of it.”

You look to Kakucho then, his eyes bearing down on you with a hunger he doesn’t bother to hide. An obsession.

All those nights, sitting on the train next to him. All the stupid, meaningless conversations you’d had, the night he’d damn near knocked the lights out of that creep. The way he’d begged on the doorstep, and the smirk when his ruse was discovered.

Lies, all of it lies.

You draw in a shaky breath and close your eyes, hands tightening into fists by your lap.

“So tell me, love,” he continues, fingers once again teasing at your panties. “Which one goes first?”

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