#TakeRitsuWeek2017

[auro-cyanide]

TakeRitsu Week Day 1: Horror

It was meant to be a rescue mission. They were meant to bring Shou home safe.

Ya’ll can thank @fireflysummers for that lovely thought right there.

Hoping to do the rest of the week as well, though Wednesday and Thursday at least will be fics because I will be away at a conference. You can find out out TakeRitsu week here! @takeritsuweek2017

Apparently this isn't meant to start until Wednesday and I can't read

[azeher]

“Ritsu?”

“Hmmmhmmm?”

“If… I were alive? Would you go out with me?”

“Hmmmhmmm.”

“Ritsu?”

“Hm?”

“Can I keep you?”

“Hmmmhmmm… Momo, close the window.  It’s cold.”

Takeritsu week day 7: Sci-fi/Fantasy/Pick what you want day

So I decided to go with a Casper au :D (yeah, another 90s movie. Hope it’s not so obvious I’m that old lol). This time it occurred to me because I was listening to the Casper soundtrack and got a mighty need. I advice you to listen to it while looking at this, feels will intensify ;D

I don’t have many details, except here Momo was a very sulky ghost and after Ritsu found him on the streets he just followed him home. He used to be a telepath while alive but he can’t remember anything else from his past life. Eventually, Ritsu agrees to go out with Shou and Momo realizes his own feelings, so this iconic scene plays out.

Thank you @hydrachea for inviting me to participate! ❤️

[takeritsuweek2017]

It’s summer break! What better time for a TakeRitsu week than summer break? This week, from August 9th to August 15th, we focus on Ritsu and first-name-still-unknown Takenaka, as friends, or as a couple. Feel free to participate, and have fun!

Prompts:

Day 1: Horror

Day 2: Drama

Day 3: Action

Day 4: Crime

Day 5: Comedy

Day 6: Musical

Day 7: Sci-fi/Fantasy/Pick what you want day

Rules:

• No nsfw, please. Blood and light violence are accepted because of some of the prompts (such as horror and crime) but please tag them appropriately. No sexual content as both characters are minors in middle school.

• Submissions can be anything as long as you made them yourself! Art, writing, edits, anything.

• Anyone can participate, but please keep others and what could make them uncomfortable in mind. The point is to have fun and it’s an open week, but be considerate with what you post.

• Don’t worry about deadlines, as previously stated the main point is the enjoy the week. You don’t have to be perfectly on time or do all the prompts. Just have fun!

• Content can be platonic or romantic! Any kind of interaction between them is welcome.

• Tag your posts with #takeritsuweek2017 or @ this blog to be reblogged here and make your content easier to find!

(art by the talented @sumyna!!)

[msfcatlover]

TakeRitsu Week, Day 1: Horror

Did I just rewrite this whole thing literally the day of because I had an idea roughly one thousand times better than my initial plan, right in the middle of editing my original?

...I refuse to feel shame, because I finally figured out how to write my “Esper Powers = Eldritch Horror” AU. Although... this is mostly unedited as a result. Ah well, that’s on me.

Oh, um, @takeritsuweek2017

Warnings for body horror, and some mostly-vague violence. 

Ritsu Kageyama is terrifying.

That was the impression Momozou had of him, long before the two ever met. What little he’d seen of the youngest student council member didn’t do much to dissuade the notion; the strange, impassive stare Kageyama wore when trailing behind the other members certainly wasn’t the most welcoming thing in the world, and his smiles always seemed more teeth than feeling. During sports days, his joints seemed to flex just a little too far, and no matter how vigorous the exercise, he never seemed especially tired afterwards.

Maybe he was just in really good shape. Momozou could respect that. Certainly the girls seemed to, based on the level of exasperation Kageyama emitted on Valentine’s Day. Plenty of people were just intimidated by success and good looks, and didn’t notice how many teeth someone had in their smile.

It wasn’t like he was one to comment on it. Still, whenever he felt the sharp chiming of Kageyama’s thoughts coming down the hall, Momozou pulled his own scarf up just a little bit higher.

He didn’t need anyone making any observations about his own oddities, after all.

 .

Ritsu Kageyama is terrifying.

It was three days after Onigawara had been driven out of class, and the thought was beyond deafening; it blared out so loud, so drenched in fear and nightmares that Momozou was shocked the building didn’t come down around them.

It kept up, pounding in his head, making his stomach churn, until he finally gave in and asked to be let to the nurse’s office. The teacher took one look at his sweat-drenched face and nodded, and Momozou did his best not to actually flee the classroom.

The adrenaline in his mind wasn’t even his, it didn’t make sense to be panicking, it didn’t—

“Oh. Hello.”

Momozou squeezed his eyes shut, and adjusted his scarf before turning around. Kageyama, of course, with Kamuro trailing some distance behind him, still sending out pulsating waves of panic and fear.

“You don’t look so good,” Kageyama said. Were his eyes actually bottomless, or was it just the fear prying open Momozou’s skull? The concerned furrow in his brow seemed genuine enough, but it was hard to hear anything over flightflightfightfreeze.

“Gee, thanks.” No response. Momozou sighed, and pushed his hand through his bangs. The sweat that had held them stuck to his forehead did nothing to keep them from flopping right back down in his face. “I’m going to the nurse’s office. I got the teacher’s permission and everything.”

“Do you need someone to walk you?”

“No.” Oh sweet gods, if Kamuro didn’t fuck off, there was going to be blood in this hall. Momozou allowed himself a glare at the president before turning his attention back to Kageyama. “I’m not going to faint or anything, I just need to lay down for a minute. Somewhere quiet.”

“I see.” Kageyama glanced back over his shoulder and ohshit WHY DID HE HAVE TO DO THAT—Kamuro’s fear spiked again. Momzou pressed one hand over his mouth, and felt the skin all across his body begin to pop horribly.

Distantly, he could hear Kageyama saying something—“Hey, are you going to puke? You really ought…”—but for the moment Momozou needed, needed Kamuro gone. He took all the fear and roiling frustration building up inside of himself, and turned it back, feeling his neck spplllliiiitt as he shrieked out the most aggressive FUCK OFF he possibly could.

He got back an impression of absolute panic, of dark spines and dark eyes and too many teeth. Then Kamuro all but bolted back down the hallway with every intention of heading right out of the school.

His retreat was a wave of relief.

Slowly, the world began to make sense again. Dark spots cleared as Momozou’s brain found his eyes, and he realized he’d slumped back against the wall. Kageyama was bending over him, hands held awkwardly in front of his chest, like he didn’t know whether to reach out to help or if he ought to hold them back. There was tension in Kageyama’s jaw and… no, his eyes really were that dark and unfathomable.

That didn’t seem quite fair.

Momozou fixed his scarf and lowered his hand from his mouth. “No, really, I’m fine.” He pushed himself to his feet.

Something like a smile tried to creep onto Kageyama’s face. “Forgive me if I don’t believe you.” The younger boy fell into step beside him as Momozou made his way to the nurse’s office. He didn’t say anything, didn’t even acknowledge that there was anyone else in the hall; if it weren’t for the way their footsteps lined up and the gentle whispering chimes of Kageyama’s thoughts, Momo probably would have assumed they were just coincidentally heading the same way.

By the time they arrived, he honestly didn’t even need to lay down anymore, but he wasn’t about to explain that. Instead Momozou turned, plastering a smile across his face, and offered a small “Thanks, I guess.”

“No trouble. It would have been bad for everyone if you fainted in the hallway. I hope you recover soon, Senpai.” Kageyama twisted on his heel, and headed off back down the hall.

Momozou watched him go, trying to place what it was about Kageyama’s gait that made him look like he was carrying so much more weight than could possibly fit in that body or book bag for a good minute or so before entering the office and asking for as much advil as was legally allowed.

 .

Ritsu Kageyama is terrifying.

Momozou finally saw it himself in his third year.

It started with some punks from another school taking issue with Momozou’s attitude, and the next thing he knew, he was on the ground in an alley waiting for this to be over. Usually, assholes lost interest if you just didn’t react to what happened.

Someone kicked him, and a pained gasp snuck out anyway.

“What’s going on here.”

Everything stopped.

“None of your business, pretty boy!” someone snapped. “Scram!”

“I beg to differ. I happen to know this isn’t your turf at all.” Momozou watched, transfixed, as Ritsu shrugged his book bag off his shoulder and set it down on the ground.

“Oh yeah? You gonna kick us off?”

Ritsu’s smile split his face like a wound. One of the punks began backing away. “Takenaka-kun. Are you alright?”

It took a second for Momozou to realize he was being addressed. He tried to get up on his elbows, only to have his left arm give out on him. He snorted and pressed his face into his elbow. It gave him to opportunity to subtly spit out the glob of blood and snot that had been caught in the back of his throat for the last minute or so.

“…I’ve been better.”

“You might want to stay down for now. This will be over quickly.”

“Wha…” Momzou looked up just as two of the punks bolted for the other end of the alley. Ritsu’s hand snapped up, and the runners hit the ground as though they’d been tripped.

“Hey—” one of them started, before another gesture sent him flying into a wall.

“My brother is going to be so disappointed. He really thought all you gangs had made peace about this.” Ritsu’s hair floated around his head. His pupils seemed to be growing, swallowing up the whites of his eyes, sucking all attention away from his face. “And now you’ve hurt one of his friends. I guess the lesson didn’t stick last time.”

“What are you talking about?!”

“Wait,” one of the punks grabbed their leader’s arm, hands shaking. “remember, a little over a year ago? There was a big fight with some brat who turned out to be stronger than everyone, and then—”

A whisper went through the thoughts of every punk in the alley. The same name.

Ritsu’s face was nothing but blackness and teeth. His feet didn’t seem like they were quite touching the ground. He took up far too much space to be the same size.

“Run,” someone whispered. Then, louder, “Run!”

“Yessssss…” Ritsu’s voice rasped. His hand came down on the pavement, and it buckled under the clawed touch. “Run!” Spines erupted from his back, and he lunged.

 .

It took a little while for Momozou to get to his feet. He wiped the blood away from his busted lip, and looked around for his scarf. Nowhere to be seen. He sighed and looked up to where the monster had one of the gang members pinned against the wall.

“Kageyama-kun.” His voice was weak, and Ritsu showed no sign of hearing. “Kageyama-kun. Stop.”

Ritus snarled, and threw the punk into one of his friends.

“Kageyama.”

Nothing.  Ritsu grabbed another guy by the leg, his whole hand wrapping around the punk’s calf. Momozou felt his head cracking, fear and anger bleeding together so heavily he couldn’t separate anyone’s from his own anymore.

He felt his lip curl as he pulled himself up straight. 

His skin popped and split, the world was suddenly more and too much, and every one of his mouths cried out in unison.

“Ritsu.”

Ritsu stopped.

Momozou stepped forwards, not bothering to keep his eyes closed anymore. They opened, on his cheeks, on his forehead, on his arms. Five mouths, all around his neck, panted for breath. Earholes bored their way in between the eyes on every available stretch of skin.

Everything was too much

Momozou was beyond caring.

“That’s enough. Please. Just stop.”

Ritsu dropped the punk he was holding and sat back on his haunches. Those who were still conscious scrambled to their feet and fled the alley.

Momozou came up alongside Ritsu and gently rested one hand on his friend’s shoulder. The eye on his palm closed just in time. Ritsu turned to look at him, and Momozou suddenly understood what in that bottomless gaze had Kamuro pissing himself just a year ago. He held it anyway.

It felt longer than it probably was. Ritsu didn’t so much shrink as just become less as the darkness leeched from his skin and the spines settled onto his back and the claws and fangs retreated. His hair still stood on end afterwards, and there was a hard, angry heat in the soft chiming of his mind.

Momozou took a deep breath, and felt Ritsu echo him. His eyes were starting to drift closed again. “Are you done?”

“For now.” Ritsu reached for Momozou’s face, then stopped. “I know someone who can fix... your lip. I’ll give him a call.” He stepped back, giving Momozou a once-over. “Where else are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you.” Ritsu’s hands clenched into fists. He was shaking. “Damn it. I should have come sooner. I… I should have…”

“Last I checked, clairvoyance was not one of your powers.” Momozou swallowed, and gently took one of Ritsu’s hands in his. The younger boy froze again; Momozou pretended not to notice. “Though I thank you for the rescue, all the same. Mob-kun’s going to be pissed to hear you used your powers for fighting again.”

“What my brother doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

And Ritsu is looking at him with those big, bottomless eyes, and it’s really still not fair.

 .

Ritsu Kageyama is terrifying.

That’s fine. Momozou Takenaka isn’t half bad himself.

[feroluce]

TakeRitsu Week Day 7: Choose

aka RiMomo, aka Peach Sorbet, aka Feroluce continues her fond tradition of beating the tar out of Ritsu.

Warnings: Bruises, a single vague mention of a knife/blood, dehydration, starvation. We’ll say the genre for this Pick Your Own Day is Romance. Its basically the Comfort part of the Hurt/Comfort. Some plotless fluff.

Parts 1 and 2 can be found under #Latent Toxicity on my blog, or #feroluce on @takeritsuweek2017.

Everything is dark and grainy. He recalls an immense pressure and the blissful relief when the gasket finally blew, but not much else. For now, he's content to simply drift in the ether.

There's something bright and warm, something that feels and sounds like home, sinking into him and lifting him up, up...

"Ritsu, please wake up. Please..."

Shige. Ritsu opens his eyes, finds a near mirror image looking back at him.

"Oh, good. I need your help. I-I don't think I can do this by myself." His hair is swaying up above his forehead in an invisible current. "I don't know what happened or what's wrong with Momozou. I don't know what I need to do. And he...he's still out cold."

Ritsu is suddenly a lot more awake. He turns his head, finds him immediately. Momozou is laid out next to him on the floor, looking brittle and frail and all too easy to break.

"Ritsu, are you OK? You look like you got hit in the head." It's nice of his brother to be concerned, but he's sure he's not even concussed and waves it off easily. It can be dealt with later.

Momozou doesn't even stir as he's settled onto the living room couch and Ritsu has to remind himself this is normal. He's a deep sleeper, once he's able to actually fall asleep. He's slept through small earthquakes before. He's fine.

He watches his chest rise and fall for a few seconds, just in case.

He’s been here since Friday, according to the phone and the spirit... Shit, did he have any food or water in that time? Ritsu leans down closer, takes a quick inventory of the face in front of his. His eyes are the most obvious part. Momozou has always had dark circles there, they're a permanent feature. Now, though, they're far darker and dip even further towards his cheekbones. His eyes and cheeks are sunken in, he looks sickly and exhausted. Ritsu runs a thumb over his lips and they're chapped to the point they've split down the middle.

"Shige, get a glass of water. There are straws in the drawer next to the sink." After being given actual instructions, his brother's shoulders visibly sag with relief. His dark hair is still billowing upwards, but he doesn't look as close to 100% now, at least. It strikes Ritsu then why Shige had probably needed help so badly. Its hard for him to keep calm on his own and he does better with others in the lead. Had he tried to take care of everything by himself, he might have exploded and they're not sure what Shared 100% would do to Momozou in this state.

He has to shake Momozou by the shoulders for far longer than he's comfortable with before he'll wake up. His eyes are slow to open and his voice is cracked when he asks, "Ritsu...? Am I dead?"

"No. You're pretty badly dehydrated, but I think you'll be OK."

"Dammit... So close."

Ugh, he shouldn't have worried so much. Ritsu shoves the glass up next to the couch cushion, the end of the straw brushing one sunken cheek. It takes some help, he's too sluggish and uncoordinated, but Momozou manages to grip it between his lips and sucks down several gulps before he has to catch his breath.

Afterwards, he turns his head back towards the ceiling, rubbing at his bloodshot eyes. At the moment, all Ritsu wants to do is climb onto the couch and not let Momozou out of his sight, but…

"Ah, Momozou…? Why is your fridge empty?" There are other things to be taken care of first. Like the fact that Momozou's refrigerator is apparently broken and there's nothing but instant noodles in the cupboard. Shige leans over the back of the couch to give him a look…which does little because Momozou has already passed out again. Both brothers sigh as Ritsu surveys the damage. There are small items thrown around the kitchen and living room, a disgusting red smear on the glass doors, but that's about the extent of it. The evil spirit had obviously never stood a chance.

"I think we should take him home with us. Mom went grocery shopping yesterday, we should have something we can feed him there. Instant noodles will probably just make him sick right now."

"Mm. And because you don't want to leave him alone, either, do you?" Shige smiles and pats his head, something he's recently picked up from the conman. "The two of you are so close. I'm glad." Ritsu ignores the warmth in his face as he hauls Momozou up onto his back, forces invisibility to cover both of their bodies. Flying will be much faster, especially if no one notices them. "You go ahead of me. I'll pack some stuff for him and walk back."

Ritsu brings him home and repeats the process. He lays Momozou on the couch and then shamelessly curls up on top of him, deciding to use his powers to bring water and a straw to them. This time it's the weight of another body that wakes him up and he's just a little more alert after he's drained the glass.

"Ritsu...your face..." His voice is still weak and raspy as he lifts clumsy fingers, brushing them across a bruised forehead and swollen jaw. Ritsu tilts his head to lean into the touch, decides the throbbing pain is worth it. "Did I do that...?"

"Hey. No, you didn't do anything. You had no part in any of this, except for the part where you saved us." His face isn't important, anyway. He wonders how much of it all Momozou remembers. (He knows he sure as hell doesn't want to be anywhere near that pocket knife for a while.)

...What happened to the evil spirit? Is it gone? Telepathy has become easy, its second nature between them after knowing each other long enough.

Yeah. We...Shige got it. Its gone for good now. Ritsu looks up towards the kitchen, just enough to see what he's levitating to start making soup. Momozou is going to need more than just water.

Thank you. That was...an experience. (He should be telling that to Shige, not him.) Ritsu refills the water and manages to get him to drink a little more before he passes out again.

By the time his brother comes home with an overnight bag, Momozou has managed to down all of the soup (and nearly die a second time choking on it) and change clothes. He's currently asleep on the couch again, sitting up with his head tipped back and arms crossed in front of him, while Ritsu stands in the kitchen and cooks an actual meal. Shige is the one to shake him awake this time because watching Momozou’s arms flex and chest push against Ritsu’s too-small T-shirt is doing weird things to his heart.

"Momozou...I know you're sleepy, but I think you should wash up. You'll feel better after and then you can eat again." Momozou rubs at his eyes (they look better after so much water) as he grumbles something below Ritsu's hearing. Shige extends his hand and hauls the other boy up, both of them stumbling from the upset of balance. His brother appears by his side a moment later, offering to help.

Ritsu startles and nearly squeaks when he suddenly feels a body press up behind him, two arms engulfing his neck and his shoulders as Momozou's cheek rests on top of his head. He must be really exhausted to be quite this clingy.

"Ritsu, you wanna come help me shower?"

He must be really, really exhausted. Momozou seems to think it's hilarious to fluster Ritsu at all times of the day, but he usually watches himself around Shige (at least, more than he does anyone else). Ritsu swears he can hear the mental brakes screeching in all three of their heads.

...I said that one out loud, didn’t I?

You dumbass.

"I'll come help you, Takenaka. No problem." Shige's voice and face have both gone flat. Well, flatter than usual.

PLEASE TELL ME HE KNOWS I DIDN'T MEAN ANYTHING BY THAT.

Sorry, dude, tough break. What kind of flowers do you want on your grave, “Takenaka?"

"That, uh... That's OK, Shige. I think I can actually do it on my own."

"Of course not. I insist." Momozou  doesn't resist when Shige takes his arm and starts to help him towards the upstairs bathroom.

I can’t believe I survived an evil spirit and now this is how I die. Tell my mom I love her.

Ritsu waits until he hears the door shut to bury his steaming face in his hands (and then quickly recoil from the pain there. He'll do something about it later.) Thank god Shou and Teruki aren't here. With Shige he'll never live it down, but between those two he'd never hear the end of it. They tend to egg each other on when they're together.

After he's packed away all of the food, Ritsu drags himself into his bedroom and flops down on the bed as he pulls his shirt off. He should really change, he's still in his uniform, but now that he's laid down its difficult to get back up again. His body feels as though he's been hit by a truck and there's weariness and exhaustion worming through his skin and down into his bones. Maybe he'll just rest his eyes. Just until Momozou gets out of the bathroom.

He wakes to the sound of his bedroom door opening. Momozou comes stumbling in wearing the clothes Shige brought from his apartment, with two bowls of food and glasses of juice balanced in his arms, trying to settle everything on the desk in the corner. Ritsu catches them twice with his telekinesis before there's a mess on the carpet. "Hey, there. I brought up dinner. You haven't eaten yet, have you? You were too busy taking care of...me..."

He's staring. Ritsu follows his gaze down and curses internally when he realizes he had fallen asleep without a shirt. His torso is more black and purple than it is actual pale skin color.

"...It's fine, Momo. They're just bruises. You should eat."

He clenches his jaw, looks like he wants to say something more, but ultimately Momozou goes out on the window balcony with the food while Ritsu finally changes out of his high school uniform and into sweatpants and a hoodie. When he follows, though, he goes right back to staring, his cheeks stained red.

"Uh, Ritsu? I think that's actually mine."

Oh, no wonder it felt a little big. Ritsu pinches and pulls at the fabric, smoothing it out to its full length. The end of the hoodie easily comes down past his hips with the sleeves flopping over his fingertips. He nearly gives it back, but Momozou insists, so he keeps it on as they sit on the landing together to eat.

As soon as they're done, Momozou all but drags him to the bed and pulls him down next to him. Ritsu goes willingly, squirming and kicking around until he can keep Momozou pressed up against the wall and away from the outside. He curls in close, runs his hands up under the back of Momozou's shirt just because he's warm and alive and because he can. There will probably be a lot to talk about later, but for now there's warm breath tickling his hair and legs tangled up with his and it's enough. Everything else can wait.

[mp100ficrec]

Peer Pressure Makes You Jump of a Building by GrimTheReaper

Fic can be read HERE.

Surreal Horror, Slow Burn, Pre-Relationship, TakeRitsuWeek2017. Ongoing. Rated: T. Word Count: 11401

Pairings: Kageyama Ritsu/Takenaka Momozou, Kageyama Ritsu/Suzuki Shou, Kageyama Ritsu/Takenaka Momozou/Suzuki Shou

Trigger Warnings: Canon Typical Violence, Eyes, Nightmares

“Kageyama Ritsu needs to take friendship lessons, preferably from someone other than Suzuki Shou, and Takenaka Momozou is 100% suffering.

Or:

‘Peer Pressure Makes You Jump of a Building: I don’t care that you have telekinesis’, an autobiography by Takenaka Momozou.”

[literallydevice]

Is it late? Yes. So am I.

Chapter Summary:

Fight or Flight doesn't help if you can't do either.

Possible Warnings: Eyes, a chase, and general creepiness.

Fic Summary:

Kageyama Ritsu needs to take friendship lessons, preferably from someone other than Suzuki Shou, and Takenaka Momozou is 100% suffering.

Or:

‘Peer Pressure Makes You Jump of a Building: I don't care that you have telekinesis’: an autobiography by Takenaka Momozou.

[purplecladmerchant]

This summer, yet another romcom, with all the romcom cliches you need: like bad choices and accidental confessions. In where Mob is pushy and Takenaka blush a lot.  Date my brother. The romcom movie you can’t not see.

Takeritsu week Day 4: Comedy 

Imagine any adam sandler romcom. Remplace the characters for these three. You have the best romcom for this summer, everyone is gonna watch it. It also have a sideplot in where Mob start dating Tsubomi.

I didn’t paint it, paintschainer Painted it (mostly).

[auro-cyanide]

TakeRitsu Week Day 5: Comedy

Hot Fuzz is one of my favourite comedy movies so I decided to set it up like that. Ritsu would make a good Nicholas.

Fuck I’m slow, kill me

Day 1 |  Day 2  |  Day 3  |  Day 4

[auro-cyanide]

TakeRitsu Week Day 3: Action

Takenaka is showing a great deal of faith in Ritsu’s telekinesis, even if he did scream all the way down.

I am way behind, the conference threw me off :’D I’ll get them done though!

Day 1 |  Day 2

[auro-cyanide]

TakeRitsu Week Day 2: Drama

Remember this drawing? It now has a story to go with it! It’s a little late because I was doing it around a conference I am attending for work. This one you can blame on @hydrachea.

(2026 words, Warnings for bullying, abuse, descriptions of violence)

Maybe. Maybe if he had been paying more attention, this would never have happened.

“Takenaka! Long time no see!”

Momozou squinted at the arm that had been thrown around his shoulders casually and then at the boy to whom the arm was attached to. The face was very average, a nose that looked like it was broken at some stage, a grin stretching his mouth wide but never reaching his eyes. Fairly ordinary, mostly unremarkable, and totally unfamiliar… except not quite. Something pulled at the threads in his memory. Something was off, something he couldn’t quite remember. His mind stumbled as it tried to put the fragments of memories to the face and in his momentarily lapse of concentration found himself pulled down the hallway.

He frowned, having to hunch slightly to accommodate the other boy’s shorter stature. While he was surely at fault for not being able to remember who ever the hell this kid was he was pretty sure that he had never known him well enough to excuse the gesture of familiarity. What a weirdo.

“Y’know, I wasn’t sure it was you the first time I saw you since I didn’t think I would ever run into you again ha! But by the second time I was sure, I was like, ‘There’s my old buddy Takenaka! Haven’t seen ‘im since elementary school!’ So ‘course I had to come say ‘ello again, me being the new transfer kid and all. Only been ‘ere a week but couldn’t miss the chance to see you again.”

His heart started to race as old memories clicked into place, fitting together with a face that was now older, different, the same, anger, blood, that one time! He pulled away, turning as he remembered something that he had been hoping to forget and was pushed solidly in the chest through a doorway. He stumbled and fell backwards, hitting the cold linoleum hard. The other boy quickly stepped into the classroom and slide the door closed behind him.

“We need to catch up for old time’s sake,” the boy said, the same grin still plastered on his face as before but now Momozou could place the last time he saw it. He opened his mouth to let him know exactly what he thought about “catching up” but quickly closed it when he realised that the classroom wasn’t as empty as he had thought. There were four other boys, leaning against the desks to the far side. They he vaguely recognised. None of them where from his class, had never even spoken to them. One in particular stood out, he had said something telepathically to him several days ago, he didn’t even remember, it had been something so small and stupid. He had thought he had seen his eyes flick to him but he hadn’t taken any notice. Given what had happened in the past though, maybe he should have. Him being here was not a good sign.

He turned to glare back up at the boy by the door but was immediately thrown back when a kick collided with his face. He saw stars and his face went numb before exploding into a web of blinding pain across his right cheek. He could taste blood.

“This might all be seemin’ a little familiar given what happened last time I saw you. Of course didn’t stop you from going and telling stories to the teachs, but you were always a little slow.”

Another kick connected with the soft tissue of his stomach, driving out any air he had managed to gasp and refusing to let him draw it back in. He barely had time to pull himself in before the other kick landed and given the dagger sharp pain that lanced through his arm he wasn’t so sure that had been a good idea anyway.

A fist grasped a handful of hair and pulled his head back to a painful angle. “You caused me all sorts of trouble, y’know? I bet you caused all sort of people trouble with that little mind trick of your’s.” He managed to turn his head just enough to avoid his nose from being broken on the floor as the hand slammed his head down.

“You’re dangerous, y’know? Being able to know what people are thinkin’? Know what they are up to? I know that’s how you did it. You’re still doing it, you did it the other day. Right?” This was shouted to the other boy that Momozou had remembered, now standing much closer than before. He couldn’t see him, he wasn’t facing the right direction and he couldn’t turn his head, but whatever his response was caused laughter from the others.

“You got all high and mighty with my friend here, gave ‘im a scare, talking in ‘is head like that. Just cause he was thinkin’ something you didn’t like. That isn’t fair, y’know?”

The hand released his hair but it was soon just followed by another kick, he wasn’t even sure from whom. He should get up. He wanted to get up. But it hurt and his head was spinning. He pulled himself up onto his elbows, noticed that his spit was dyed red. At least he was used to seeing blood by this point. He was too slow to avoid the foot that came stomping down and knocked his arms out from under him

That was the funny bit, a small and entirely too rational part of his brain noticed. He could hear what they were thinking, he knew exactly what they were planning to do. He was just too slow to do anything about it, and getting slower with each blow. Was it better or worse, this part wondered, to know ahead of time that the pain was coming. It would have to think on that.

Someone sat on his back, pinning him to the ground and making every breathe a struggle. Through the pain he could feel anger flare, he wanted them to get this over and done with and fuck off. It’s not the first time he’d been beaten up. He just wanted to go home.

“Hey, you got a pen?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I have an idea.”

Momozou heard someone shuffling around with a bag and approaching footsteps. A hand roughly grabbed him by the neck and pushed down. A pen was dangled in front of his face, swinging backwards and forwards slowly, mockingly.

“Old buddy, I’m gonna make sure you never hear a thing again.”

The pen disappeared from sight and Momozou felt his heart stutter, almost stop. No… he couldn’t mean… no… nononononononononoNO! He couldn’t see! He couldn’t see! What was happening?! They wouldn’t, he wouldn’t ….

“No…” His voice sounded strange, croaky. His gasps were wet, chocked with tears he hadn’t even realised he had. “Please… no… don’t!” He tried to move his arm, to reach for the hand strangling him, but someone else just trod down hard, pinning it to the ground. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t see. And they were going to…

“…Please!”

The classroom door slide open.

It took Momozou a second to realise who was standing there, the flip in context making him seem surreally out of place. He hadn’t moved to enter the room, his hand still grasping the edge of the door.

Ritsu…

A sharp crack filled the silence as everyone froze in silence. Immediately the hand grasped around his neck disappeared with a snarl and little shards of plastic rained down on his face.

“What the fuck… The pen…!”

All the boys were now standing, facing Ritsu in the doorway. Momozou was no longer pinned to the floor but his limbs weren’t doing a very good job at following his commands to get up. He needed to get up. Everything was shaking and it was too much noise. He felt like he was going to be sick. Maybe he could just lie here a little longer. Would anyone mind if he just stayed down here?

“What are you doing?”

Ritsu didn’t sound any different than usual, his voice flat, almost bored. His facial expression wasn’t much better. But his aura… Momozou wasn’t very good at sensing auras but Ritsu’s was everywhere and wasn’t really helping the breathing situation. He wondered if it would be impolite to ask him to pull it in a bit, given he was being rescued and all that. Hahaha…

“Nothin’. We’re just playing around.”

“It doesn’t look like you were ‘playing around’.”

“Oh yeah, and what are you going to do about it?” Momozou could hear the annoyance in the kid’s voice and the question was followed by the sound of spitting. That wasn’t going to help Ritsu’s aura at all. Ritsu hated that type of thing.

“Wait… I don’t think you should…” That was one of the other boys, and this time Momozou heard fear. Now that was more appropriate.

“Shut the fuck up!”

“Your hand is bleeding.” Ritsu again, like he was commenting on the weather. Momozou wondered what he sounded like talking about something really boring, like math. Did he get more deadpan or was this just it.

“It’s none of your fuckin’ business.”

“I think it is.”

The next sounds set his teeth on edge, the sound of bones grinding against each other in a way they never should. The crack happened at the same time the screaming began. “You should go to the nurse, it could be bad.”

The screaming didn’t stop and was now punctured by sobbing. They weren’t paying attention to Ritsu’s instructions, that wasn’t good. Ritsu turned his head ever so slightly to address one of the other boys. “Take him to the Nurse’s office. Now. The rest of you, get out.”

“Y-Yes!”

And that was it. They were gone as soon as Ritsu stepped out of the way of the door. One of the boys’ arms was hanging at a weird angle, blood dripping down his fingers. He was crying. Momozou was probably meant to feel happy about that but he just felt so, so tired all of a sudden. Still, he made the effort to pull himself up unto his elbows, then his hands, then his knees and finally made it into a sitting position. His heart was thundering against his ribcage, every single one of his muscles was shaking. He felt like he had run a marathon in the last 10 minutes and was struggling to focus on anything.

“Are you okay?” He hadn’t noticed Ritsu come to crouch next to him. He wasn’t even sure how long he had been sitting there. He thought just for a second, but he could be wrong. It would be okay, to be wrong.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, laughing. He wasn’t sure why he was laughing, that didn’t seem like the right response, especially considering how much he was crying. But he was laughing anyway, or maybe it was sobbing now, he couldn’t tell. His breathing was too fast, panting, nowhere near enough air.

Ritsu moved closer and hesitated before laying a hand on his back and rubbing soothing circles. Momozou wasn’t sure what he was thinking when he pulled Ritsuin further and wrapped his arms around him, holding him tight against him. He didn’t seem sure about a lot of things at the moment but right now he needed this more than he had words to say. He didn’t need long, just a moment to get everything back together again, just a moment.

He buried his face into the crook of Ritsu’s neck and felt the sobs hiss out between clenched teeth as his muscles continued to ache and shake with suppressed tension. Ritsu alternated between patting his back too hard and too soft and eventually gave up and moved into a more comfortable sitting position so that he could slide his arms around Momozou properly.

There were a lot of things Momozou wanted to say but he wasn’t sure where to start. ‘You shouldn’t have done that’ was one. ‘Sorry’ was another. ‘How did you find me?’ was a question for sure. But instead, for the moment, he settled on just one.

“Thank you.”

[feroluce]

TakeRitsu Week Day 1: Horror

aka RiMomo, aka Peach Sorbet, aka Feroluce continues her fond tradition of beating the tar out of Ritsu. 

Warnings: swearing, kinda sorta kidnapping, body horror (eyes), a knife, and spooky evil spirit shenanigans. Overall rated T for Teen. Its not particularly plot important, but Ritsu is in his first year of high school and he goes to the same one as Tokugawa and Kamuro. Mob and Momo are second years and they go to a different high school nearby.

Related hcs: Momo doesn’t actually have an aura/barrier. He can be possessed by force, but he’s so powerful that they get kicked out automatically. He’s probably been almost possessed NUMEROUS times in his life without realizing it, because he can’t actually see/sense spirits. (He can Hear them, though, if they want him to.) He would have to be very weak for it to succeed...

Momozou has been acting strange. For the past couple days, he's been oddly twitchy. On Wednesday he seems anxious and keeps close. On Thursday he keeps periodically looking behind him, to the point that Ritsu gets jumpy as well.

On Friday there is no student council, thank god, because Ritsu isn't sure how much more he can watch Kamuro and Tokugawa make out with their eyes across the table. They were far more tolerable in middle school when they were just childhood friends.

"Ritsuuu!" Oh, god, no.

Momozou comes trotting from around the school gate with one arm waving above his head and the other holding...are those flowers? Ritsu can feel his face deepening from peony pink to rose red.

"Momozou, what the hell are you doing?" He has a reputation to keep around here, dammit!

"Being a good boyfriend." His cheeks are slightly flushed, but he's obviously enjoying himself, the handsome bastard. He must have run from his own high school instead of waiting and meeting at a halfway point as usual. He probably cut his last lesson again just to make it right when class gets out, too.

"Oh, but you're always such a good boyfriend, Momo." The smile Ritsu gives is saccharine sweet, sugar added in excess to hide the bitter taste beneath it. Two can play at this game.

It works, much to his delight. Momozou’s face develops a petal of dark red that bursts and blooms towards his ears and down his neck.

"Kageyama, please remember that high school still has rules on PDA. You, too, Takenaka." Ritsu quickly wipes the smile from his lips as he turns to face none other than Kamuro and Tokugawa themselves. Are they giggling at him?

"Of course, President and Vice President. I wouldn't dream of subjecting other students to such a thing. Especially other council members." He really hopes they get what he's hinting at. The four of them walk together until they separate at the sidewalk. Kamuro wraps himself around Tokugawa's arm as though it were a trellis almost as soon as they step outside the gates. Ritsu and Momozou both make gagging noises once they're out of hearing range.

"They absolutely knew what you were hinting at, by the way. They just don't care," Momozou speaks up eventually. Dammit. He's going to start putting rude anonymous notes in the comment box next week.

The two of them stay out until almost dark, meandering around the quieter parts of the city, with Ritsu watching and observing the entire time. He picks out several incidents where Momozou acts as though he's Heard an unpleasant thought, or turns and looks over his shoulder for something that isn't there.

Ritsu has a lot of homework (well, they both do, but whether or not Momozou will do his is questionable), so he figures they'll see each other Saturday night after he's done. Sunday, at the latest.

He doesn't hear from the other at all over the weekend. Not so much as a text message. Shige tells him he wasn't even in school on Saturday. This is highly unusual, at least for this amount of time. On days when Momozou's headaches get too bad, when his skull starts to feel like cracked glass, he can't bear to look at a back-lit screen and will let social and educational obligations slide. It's never gone on for two days straight, though, even during large public events where crowds gather like dumb birds around shiny coins and their thoughts crow just as loudly.

On Monday Momozou still isn't in school. Not even the disbanded telepathy club members or his older brother have heard from him. Class lets out and he decides to try to call one last time. It goes to voicemail. Again.

Ritsu can almost physically feel the uneasiness welling up around him, a dark and sticky pool slowly growing deeper and deeper. The longer he thinks and stews in his own muck, the worse it gets. They've been going out for a few months, but they've been friends for much longer, would it be too pushy to show up at his apartment? What if Momozou is just avoiding him? But his mom is also gone for the week, so he's home alone. What if something's really wrong? What if he goes over there and finds a body-

That's enough of that. Ritsu takes all of the images his own traitorous mind has conjured and tamps them down tightly into a neat little box before taping it shut. It'll be fine. He'll get Momozou's homework from his high school as an excuse to show up and his boyfriend will answer the door and give some explanation and everything will be fine.

(Unless he doesn't and-)

Ritsu lights the damn box on fire.

No one comes to the door and he sinks deep enough that the uneasiness forces it's way through his mouth and settles into his lungs, threatening to drown. There's something really wrong here, he's sure, he just doesn't know what yet.

Now what should he do? There's a balcony with glass doors in the kitchen and Shou never seems to have trouble getting into Ritsu's room through the same set up, so... After making sure no one is around to see, Ritsu levitates himself around the corner of the apartment building and onto a tidy landing with potted plants. The doors stay shut at first, but just as he's wondering if he should jam open a window, there's an ominous click. They're unlocked now.

His barrier manifests itself unprompted in shards of color as he cautiously steps inside. The air feels thick and oppressive, weighing heavy on his limbs and clogging up his throat.

He nearly drops his bag when a voice filters from down the hallway, quiet murmurs slipping beneath Momozou's bedroom door. The thudding in his chest starts to go faster, knocking his breathing into something quick and shallow.

"This time I've gone all the way without you. There's nothing more I can say..."

It sounds painfully weak and wispy and yet its still familiar from days spent in each other's quiet company. Ritsu’s feet carry him to the door.

"So maybe I took a little too much. Maybe life didn’t want this part of me. If it helps to know, I never let you go. I'm sorry, but I lost my mind..."

It sounds wrong, wrong, wrong, because Momozou usually only sings to himself like that when he's desperately trying to block out something terrible and Ritsu is the only one here. (Isn't he?) The door eerily creaks open before he even touches the handle, inviting him in.

"So maybe I took a little too much. Maybe you sucked the life right out of me. I should have let you know I never meant to go. Sure, I lost my mind, but I never really Meant to Die..."

It sounds like a swan song.

Ritsu steps into the room and nearly trips over something heavy and solid. He looks down and the box from before flies open, spewing ash and soot and thick black smoke everywhere.

Momozou is laying curled into a ball on the floor, arms wrapped around his head and pressed hard against his ears. He's staring up with his sunken eyes blown wide and glassy, looking at Ritsu like he's not sure whether he's even real or a hallucination.

"Ritsu...?"

His eyelids slowly sink shut. The shadows beneath them have never been worse.

"Help..."

Everything goes still.

Time stops and stretches into something almost infinite until Ritsu dives down and grabs ahold of a wrist to check for a pulse. This isn't real, it's a nightmare, he probably just ate too many sweets before bed again-

The hand he's holding suddenly grabs back, tight enough to pop his knuckles, as the body in front of him jolts. He's ecstatic for all of two seconds until laughter starts to fill the air, because that is definitely NOT Momozou.

Ritsu throws himself back out into the hallway, scrambling to get up on his feet as the thing in front of him rises. There's a physical sense of revulsion boiling in his gut at the way Momozou's body moves like it's being pulled upward. It's still laughing.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't the little brother! How sweet of you to save me the trouble of finding you."

The sound is an all out assault on his ears, it's Momozou's voice, but it's not at all the way that he usually talks. His posture and the way that he carries his long limbs is slouched where it shouldn't be. The sneer on his lips and the slant of his eyebrows has gone outright manic and murderous. Most startlingly, the whites of his eyes have turned a bright noxious purple.

Ritsu is made to revise that statement when more eyes appear over every exposed inch of skin, lining his arms and giving a spider-like appearance where they dot his cheeks and forehead. All of them are that same toxic shade.

"I was getting pretty impatient. It took three days to possess this body! Three days! Do you have any idea how boring it is to watch a kid either lay around or drive himself up the walls for three days straight in one tiny room? The answer is pretty fucking boring." There's a short pause as it stuffs Momozou’s hands in his pockets. "…OK, it was a little funny." The thing giggles again and it grates like nails on a chalk board.

Ritsu snarls as he raises his hand, aims straight ahead and lets loose his powers. Momozou's body is engulfed in color before it all suddenly disperses, flying at the walls in ripped apart chunks of blue and green and pink. Shit.

"Adorable. Alright, kid-" Another blast, stronger this time. Same result. "Awww, aren't you cute? Well, go ahead, then. Third time's the charm, right?" Ritsu grits his teeth as he forces his body to double the output. His aura whirls like a tornado with Momozou's body at the eye of its storm, but even still its sent flying back at him. "You done now? I suggest you quit." As if Ritsu would take advice from some evil spirit. He can already feel the pressure building up inside of him for another offensive. The thing just smiles and rolls Momozou's eyes and pulls something out of his sweatshirt.

A pocket knife.

"Do you really think you can threaten me with something like that?" Ritsu switches the charge to defense, shards of light glittering as his barrier comes into being around him. Momozou is taller and has a longer reach, but Ritsu has better stamina. As long as he can keep out of range, he should be OK.

"Oh, I think I could. You're not the one I'm threatening, though." Then the knife is pointed right at Momozou's throat and its as though a vacuum has sucked all the air out of the room, out of the apartment, directly out of his lungs. The uneasiness he'd been choking on before is drained and replaced with panic and cold fury, because how dare this thing go so far?

"There we go, now I think you understand. I'm gonna need some cooperation out of you later and if you don’t, well... This is a veeeeeeery nice vessel. I've never seen such a powerful telepath! But I just need it to be able to use its powers. It wouldn't hurt anything if I broke it a bit." The entire time it's talking, it's waving the knife around casually and Ritsu flinches whenever it gets too close to Momozou’s face or especially his eyes.

He should have known something was wrong earlier in the week. He never should have left him alone.

"You, on the other hand..."

Momozou's body lunges forward, slamming a fist against the wall that Ritsu only barely dodges.

"You're only the bait! It doesn't matter what I do with you!"

Part 2 goes up on Day 3: Action! @takeritsuweek2017

[msfcatlover]

TakeRitsu Week Day 5: Comedy

@takeritsuweek2017

I swear, it started out funny. I mean. It was supposed to be the opposite of the “fake dating to make my family happy” trope; “please come show my family how very platonic we are, so they’ll get off my back and stop assuming we’re a couple!” That’s funny, right?!

I don’t know where it turned into this mess. I don’t care. I have rewritten it four times, been editing it for hours, and I can’t look at it anymore. 

The doorbell rang, and Ritsu all but dashed from the kitchen. “I’ve got it!”

His parents exchanged indulgent smiles behind him as he opened the door and—

—Oh. This was a mistake.

Takenaka wasn’t exactly dressed up, per se, but he’d apparently found a pair of pants that were neither pajama bottoms, jeans, or part of his uniform, and had traded his usual t-shirt for a short-sleeved pink button-up. He’d also located a thin black headband from somewhere to hold back his bangs.

“Kageyama. Sorry I’m late,” Takenaka said, digging his hands into his pockets.

Ritsu blinked, and wondered if he was staring. “You put your hair up.”

“That I did.” Takenaka pitched his voice a little softer, “And, yes, you are. Is it that bad?”

“No, you look fine, it’s just…” Ritsu glanced over his shoulder. “They’re going to think this is a date.”

“They were going to think that anyway,” Takenaka pointed out with a smile. “At least let me make an initial good impression before we shatter their hopes and dreams.”

Ritsu swallowed a laugh that was threatening to escape his throat.

“Ritsu? Is that him, dear?”

“Yes, mom.” Ritsu got out of the way and let Takenaka into the house. Takenaka paused only a second to take off his shoes before going to greet Ritsu’s parents. Ritsu closed the door behind him.

“Mr. and Mrs. Kageyama? Takenaka Momozou. It’s good to be properly introduced at last.”

Ritsu watched his parents exchange another look, this one a little more confused than the ones they’d been sharing all evening.

“Yes,” Ritsu’s father finally said, “We’ve seen you around, but haven’t really gotten the chance to talk.”

“I’m sorry if I’ve been a little distracted the last few times; your son has been helping me with my studies, and there’s only so much room in my head.”

Ritsu hadn’t seen this side of Takenaka before; of course, it made sense that a telepath would be able to be perfectly charming if he wanted to, skimming the thoughts of people around him to know just the right thing to say, but most of the time he seemed so hell-bent on not giving a damn it was…

…honestly, a little unnerving.

“Is it alright if we go study until dinner is ready? Thank you.”

A warm handed folded around his, and Ritsu looked up into Takenaka’s still-smiling face. It felt artificial, and weird, and this was really, really a mistake because—

So help me, Kageyama, if you abandon me to this mess, I will personally murder you. Takenaka’s expression didn’t change at all. Can we go upstairs before my face breaks from holding this stupid-ass grin, please?

...Yeah, sure. Ritsu nodded and lead the way to the stairs. “We’ll be in my room if you need anything,” he called to his parents.

The moment they were out of sight, Takenaka’s grin vanished. “Finally,” he muttered, rubbing his jaw. “I don’t know how much longer I could have kept that up.”

“Not used to being respectable?” Ritsu asked. Takenaka rolled his eyes.

“Not all of us can be perfect, Kageyama.”

“You don’t say.”

“Heh.” Takenaka ducked his head. A smaller, more genuine smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and something like relief filled Ritsu’s chest. Takenaka gave his hand a small squeeze before releasing it and pushing past Ritsu on the stairs. “Come on, let’s go.”

.

The time until dinner was passed in relative quiet; Takenaka sprawled on the bed, playing some game on his phone, while Ritsu tried to study. Eventually, Ritsu gave up and began keeping a tally of how often he heard the winning versus the losing music, and very quickly realized something.

Takenaka was bad at this game.

“You think you could do better?” Takenaka muttered.

“Maybe. What type of game is it?”

“It’s a racer. You’re supposed to dodge the—oh god damn it.” The losing music played again. Ritsu swallowed his laughter.  Takenaka frowned at him, and held out the phone. “I’d like to see you try.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“No, you think this is funny! Let’s see you do it!” Takenaka sat up and patted the spot next to him. Ritsu sighed and moved to the spot, taking the phone when it was handed to him. Takenaka reached over and tapped the ‘Continue’ button, and the screen lit up, revealing a scrolling star scape with a little pixelated space ship in it.

“Alright,” Ritsu started, looking at it, “What are the contr—”

The little space ship crashed into an asteroid. The losing music played.

Takenaka snorted. “The what?”

“The controls.”

“I don’t know.”

Well that wasn’t fair. Ritsu tapped the button himself and tried to steer the ship by dragging his finger around the screen; it only half-worked. He was able to dodge the first few asteroids, but then a big one came along that clearly had to be destroyed in some way, and tapping didn’t seem to do anything. The ship crashed, and the losing music played.

Takenaka made a sound that might have been a muffled laugh. Ritsu huffed.

“I can’t give it a fair shot if I don’t know the controls, Takenaka.”

“No, probably not.”

Asshole. Ritsu tried again. There must be a gun, or a missile somewhere that he could trigger to…

The ship hit the asteroid. The losing music played.

He tried again.

This time, just when the ship was about to hit the big one, Takenaka leaned over and swiped his finger across the screen. The ship did a little twirl, apparently getting closer to the screen for a second before settling back into its former path on the other side of the obstacle.

Ritsu stared at the screen. “You have got to be kidding me.” He glanced over at Takenaka, intending to ask how many special things like that needed to be done in one level.

Takenaka was smiling, wide and genuine. A few locks of hair had come loose from his headband and flopped back into his face, and he was still pressed into Ritsu’s personal space, closer than he probably should be. He looked up from the screen, the starscape still reflected in his eyes, and frowned slightly.

Ritsu heard the losing music play again.

.

Dinner was fairly boring. Their mother asked Takenaka about his grades (good, but not excellent,) and at least half the conversation was consumed by talk of sports after Shige asked Takenaka how tennis club was going. Ritsu mostly tried to keep his attention on his tofu and ignore the polite mask Takenaka had put back in place on their way downstairs.

“And what are you planning to study in the future?” he heard his mother ask.

“I’m not sure yet. I’m not that serious about sports.” Takenaka shrugged. “I have another couple of years to decide, anyway.”

“Oh,” Ritsu’s father said, sounding a little bit concerned. “Well, do you have a job?”

“I’m looking for one, but I haven’t found anything yet.” There was a pause in the conversation. Takenaka glanced around the table. “Is there something wrong with that?”

“Nothing,” Ritsu said, jumping in. “My parents are just worried about our future. They get ahead of themselves sometimes.”

“…‘Our?’” Takenaka asked, as though he and Ritsu hadn’t talked about this problem at length leading up to tonight.

“Yes. ‘Our.’” Ritsu fought to keep his voice casual. He took another bite, even though he couldn’t taste the food anymore.

Takenaka looked back to his parents, the picture of innocent confusion. “I feel like there has been some sort of miscommunication here? Although Ritsu and I are good friends—” Ritsu felt his tofu catch in his throat at the sound of his first name. “—I don’t see any reason our futures would necessarily be interconnected. Am I missing something?”

Ritsu’s parents exchanged a look.

“Well, we just thought—”

“They thought you and Ritsu were dating,” Shigeo provided. Takenaka’s eyebrows shot up almost to his hairline.

“I told them we weren’t,” Ritsu muttered.

There was a long, awkward silence.

Finally, Takenaka cleared his throat. “I see. So that’s what this is about.” The wide, fake smile stretched across his face, but the cracks showed just a little more clearly. “Whoever does wind up with Ritsu will be very lucky, but unfortunately, that’s not me.” He gave Ritsu a half-hearted elbow in the side. “Hey, is there something you’re not telling me? Got someone special on the side?”

There was something clenched in Ritsu’s fist; he thought it used to be a piece of silverware. “No. I’m too busy for all that.”

“Married to the job, huh?” Takenaka laughed, and it sounded almost pained. He looked back to Ritsu’s parents. “Sorry for any confusion.”

“Ritsu?” Shigeo reached over and gently pulled the remains of the utensil from his hand. It unfolded in his grip, changing back into a… apparently, it had been a fork. “Are you alright?”

“Yes.” Ritsu sighed, setting his hands in his lap. “Thank you, Takenaka, for clearing that up. I’m sorry to have put you in this position.”

“It’s fine.” Takenaka cleared his throat. “I… should probably be going soon. I don’t want to miss the bus.”

“Of course,” Ritsu’s mother said, “we were just wrapping up. Ritsu, please make sure our guest doesn’t forget anything.”

“Yes, mom.”

.

“Thank you again.” They were back in Ritsu’s room, while Takenaka gathered up his belongings.

“Hey, no problem.” Takenaka shrugged. “You needed them off your back, right? I doubt they’ll bother you about this sort of thing again. For a couple years, at least.”

“I owe you one.”

“Yes you do.” Something flickered in Takenaka’s expression, but it was gone just as fast. “Maybe you can get me out of detention the next time I’m in trouble.”

Ritsu smiled. “We’ll see.”

Ever the hardass. The thought was tinged with fondness, and the bubble of warmth that had been building in Ritsu’s chest up until dinner suddenly saw fit to reappear and try to escape.

After a moment’s pause, Takenaka cleared his throat and turned towards the door. “You don’t have to walk me out. It’ll just make the goodbyes more awkward. They want me out of this house so they can think without worrying they’ll say something wrong when I come downstairs.”

Ritsu sat, frozen as Takenaka walked out, the bubble still clawing at his throat. Distantly, he could hear the goodbyes coming up from downstairs, but it was the front gate slamming that broke his reverie. Without really thinking, Ritsu scrambled to the balcony and threw open the door.

“Takenaka!”

The older boy had already started down the street, but stopped and turned.

Ritsu swallowed. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow!”

A feeling like laughter blossomed at the back of his head. The streetlight over Takenaka’s head came on, and he waved back. “Sure, Kageyama! I promise I won’t skip!”

.

Some period of time later, a soft knock on the door of his room finally gets Ritsu’s attention. When he answers it, he finds himself face-to-face with his brother.

“Shige?”

“Ritsu, at dinner. You seemed upset. Are you… feeling any better, or i-is there some way I could help, or. Um.”

Ritsu laughed, and wished his chest didn’t feel like it was bursting. “Shige. I think… I’ve made a horrible mistake.”

[msfcatlover]

TakeRitsu Week Day 7: Fantasy

@takeritsuweek2017

There was more I wanted to get to, but this seemed like such a good place to stop... I don’t want to push my luck. I guess I’ll add this to my list of AUs I need to expand on later.

I know I read the idea of Takenaka being a seer in a fantasy AU and wearing a blindfold to block out his visions somewhere, and I want to give credit, but I can’t find the original post anymore? Does anyone know what it was for? EDIT: Thank you, @feroluce​ for confirming that the idea did, in fact come from @beanpots’ Black and Gold AU. I... still can’t find the exact post where it was mentioned, but credit where it’s due. ANOTHER EDIT: Thank you again, @feroluce​! The post is here. Takenaka is only mentioned at the very end.

(Ritsu hides his identity because he’s one of the crown princes of the country and, um, that’s pretty damn dangerous boy. It... gets cleared up in the parts I wanted to get to. *sigh*)

Aged-up characters, although it’s only mentioned once; I’m picturing them in their mid-to-late teens for this one.

Hopelessly, Ritsu looked up at the sky, but the trees blocked both moon and stars, and he wasn’t about to risk drawing down the wrath of some forest sprite by trying to climb one. It wasn’t a good thing to be wandering the forest at night, especially not alone; you never knew what might take an interest.

A bramble caught on his cloak, and he pulled roughly away, hearing the fabric rip as he did so. A small curse slipped past Ritsu’s lips, and he swore he heard something titter behind him. He grit his teeth and determinedly did not look back, continuing to pick his way along the path of least resistance, hoping and praying that he wasn’t being lead to somewhere—

The forest opened up into a clearing, a small cottage sitting at its center. Ritsu froze in surprise.

It could be a trap; there were plenty of fae and creatures like them who delighted in trickery like this. The weak firelight flickering behind the shutters was just their kind of tempting, a promise of safety sure to be rescinded as soon as he got comfortable.

On the other hand… a fat drop of rain landed on Ritsu’s cheek, and a ruble of thunder passed in the distance. The timing was suspiciously convenient, but it very clearly told him he couldn’t stay out here. Taking a deep breath to brace himself, Ritsu strode across the clearing to knock on the door.

“Hello? Is anyone home?” Another raindrop, this one on the back of his neck. Ritsu knocked harder. “If you are human, I need shelter for the night! If not, I request this hounding cease immediately!” The tittering came again, this time from a little further back. Through the shutters, Ritsu could just make out the shadow of movement.

“I’m coming, I’m coming…” A man’s voice called, sleep-rough and bleary-sounding. Ritsu heard several bolts slide on the inside of the door— “Sweet mercy, you’re loud,” —and then it was yanked open under his hand.

Ritsu knew that he was tall for sixteen; this man was taller, even slouched against the doorway as he was. His nightshirt seemed a little too big, hanging well past his knees and swallowing his frame like a wire doll. His long, brown hair was a mess, his mouth set in an unwelcoming grimace. One hand was tucked out of sight, likely reaching for some sort of weapon in case Ritsu proved to be hostile; the other was clasped tightly over his eyes. Despite that, Ritsu had the distinct impression he was being glared at.

“Wadda you want?”

Ritsu bowed. “I apologize for interrupting your sleep just now. I’m afraid I’m a little lost, and it’s beginning to rain.” Three raindrops in quick succession drummed down on his back. Another hit his hair. “If you’re not responsible for this, and are, in fact, human, I would request a place to stay for the night.”

“Yeah?” He sounded a little more awake now. “How do I know you aren’t some trickster, trying to get a free invitation in to my home? It would hardly be the first time one of your ilk showed up like this.”

Ritsu considered. “My belt buckle is iron, and I know I have a ring that is silver; you could examine them if you like. If you have milk in the house, I’d be happy to handle it and show that it doesn’t curdle.”

“What about salt?”

Ritsu scoffed. “I don’t make a habit of carrying any on me, and I doubt you have the purified kind anywhere around this house. But if you do, I could handle that too; it won’t burn.”

The man paused for a moment, before lower the hand from his face. His eyes remained scrunched shut. “Let’s see this ring.”

Ritsu considered his hands. Each of his rings denoted a different aspect of himself, of his station in life. Each one would reveal something different if he handed them over, and each would be a different scar if it wasn’t given back. Finally, he decided on the thin band around his littlest finger, twisted silver with a small black pearl set in it; the second son of a noble household. Unless this man could identify the type of silver or pearl from a quick analysis, it wouldn’t tell him anything about which household it was.

Ritsu slid the ring off and handed it over. The man rolled it around in his hand, feeling out the shape of the ring and the pearl, before raising it to his lips and settling it between his teeth. He bit, doubtless feeling for the degree of give in the metal, and likely tasting it for good measure. Ritsu’s heart rose in his throat, and he hoped the ring wouldn’t be damaged.

The man opened his mouth, dropping the ring back into his hand and offered it back to Ritsu, who took it with relief. “Alright, you’ve got silver. I’m not going to invite you in, but if you can cross the threshold on your own, you’re free to spend the night.” He turned and walked away, and Ritsu hopped quickly across the threshold, closing the door behind him as the rain began to pick up.

It was a simple, one-room cottage. Herbs and dried meats hung from the rafters, pots, pans, and kettles decorated the mantle over the fire, and the bed was shoved off the corner farthest from the source of heat. On one side of the door, a beautifully crafted sword sheath leaned against the wall, likely the weapon the man had been reaching for earlier. On the other, a wide-brimmed hat and shapeless coat hung on hooks set in the wall.

Ritsu pulled off his own cloak and set it under them. “Thank you, sir.”

“Don’t. Only a fool would leave you out for the fae to get at.” The man fished through a pile of blankets by the fire. “I don’t need a changeling nobleman causing trouble around here.” He returned to Ritsu, dumping the bundle of selected blankets into his arms. “Make yourself comfortable, my lord. Try not to lay on any peas when you put them on the floor. I’m going back to sleep.”

He returned to the bed, still not having actually looked at Ritsu once, or apparently even considered offering the softer surface to his guest. Not knowing what to make of that, and too tired to make much of a fuss, Ritsu set about spreading the blankets on the floor.

.

When Ritsu woke, he was at first very confused. His back hurt, someone was humming, and he could smell food… burning? Had he been sleepwalking? Or was Shou pranking him agai—

“My lord, breakfast is ready. Or are you just going to lay there all day?”

Everything from the day before came crashing back, and suddenly, Ritsu was very much awake. He sat up and scanned the room, and yes, it was definitely still the cabin from the night before. The owner sat by the fire, dressed in simple pants and a green tunic, hair pulled back with a piece twine. In the morning light, he seemed much farther from manhood; he couldn’t be that much older than Shigeo, really. Still, there was something bordering on cruelty in his smile.

“I didn’t realize my floor was so comfortable.”

“It’s not,” Ritsu told him, feeling his bruises pull as he stretched out his arms. “but it’s better than outside. Thank you.”

“I told you, don’t bother.” He turned back to the fire, and stirred the pot sitting there. “I hope you like pork stew, because that’s what you’re getting.”

It was probably leftovers from whatever he’d had the previous night; still, Ritsu’s stomach rumbled. He folded his arms across it, embarrassed, as the man let off a surprised laugh.

“It’ll do,” Ritsu muttered.

“I guess it will.” The maliciousness seemed to have temporarily fled his expression, though he quickly suppressed his smile and turned back to his pot. “Shall I ladle you a bowl, my lord, or do you wish to do that yourself?”

“I can handle a ladle,” Ritsu replied, trying not to feel offended.

The man shrugged and pulled a bowl and spoon out of one of the pans on the mantle. “Suit yourself.” Ritsu watched as he filled it and retreated back to the bed to eat his breakfast alone, and bit the inside of his cheek.

It would be terribly rude, after all, to ask why the woodsman wore a blindfold tied around his eyes.

Instead, he asked for his name.

“What does it matter?” the man asked, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “It’s not like you’re sticking around, are you?

Ritsu shrugged. “Maybe I just want to be able to tell the other nobles how rude you were. In which case, keep it up; you’re just adding to a great story.”

He snorted, then broke down in a sudden coughing fit, as apparently the last bite of soup managed to go down the wrong way. Ritsu scrambled to his feet and tried to go to his side, only to find himself waved off.

“I’m fine, I’m fine! Don’t—” More coughing. “Don’t worry about it.” The man wiped his hand down his face. “I’ve lived through worse.”

There was a pause, and then the man straightened, setting his bowl to the side. He offered one hand in the same stiff, mechanical manner Shigeo did when someone reminded him it was necessary for some sort of ceremony. “Takenaka Momozou. And your name, my lord?”

Something caught in Ritsu’s chest as he realized the corner he’d just walked himself into. Not allowing himself to show any hesitation, he quickly clasped the hand in his own and plastered on his best diplomatic smile.

“Asagiri Taro,” he lied.

“I’m sure it’s an honor,” Takenaka said with the air of a man with neither knowledge nor interest in the name-value of the nobility. Which… was probably good, seeing how there was no such person right now. Still, the smile hurt Ritsu’s face and the name stuck uncomfortably to his tongue.

“Likewise.”

“You’d better get that soup,” Takenaka advised, picking his own bowl back up and emptying the remains in a single gulp. He got to his feet. “or I’m going eat it all, and you’ll never get to experience peasant cooking.”

Ritsu’s stomach growled in response, and the woodsman grinned.

.

About mid-morning, Takenaka lifted the longsword left by the door and hitched it to his belt. “Well, my lord, I need to go get some shopping done. If you wanted to be heading back to town, now’s as good a time as any.”

Ritsu wrapped himself in his torn, stained cloak, and hurried after him.

Takenaka walked the path with confidence, not seeming bothered by his lack of sight as he explained how to find it, should Ritsu ever get lost again (“Shouldn’t be out in these woods if you can’t tell the difference between a real path and a faerie trail,” he said,) but eventually they fell into a companionable silence. Ritsu kept his eyes mostly on the path, aside from the occasional glance at the man walking by his side. The light falling through the leaves edged Takenaka’s hair in gold and highlighted the soft curve of his smile.

Ritsu swallowed and refocused on the path.  Tiny faerie lights sparked at the corners of his eyes.

.

When they reached town, Takenaka made good on his claim of shopping, heading first for a bakery with apparently little thought for the noble at his heels. He chatted with the woman behind the counter, purchased two loaves of bread and some fruit tarts before stepping out again, and heading for a vegetable stall. Ritsu trailed along behind him, fully aware of the odd looks he was drawing.

He wondered how many people actually recognized him, versus how many simply noticed the style of his clothing.

Almost two hours after arriving, Ritsu noticed a handful of guards at the edge of the crowd. When he pointed them out, Takenaka shrugged.

“Probably looking for you. I doubt you really blend in.” The woodsman paused. “If you want to get back to your fancy mansion, you should probably just go introduce yourself.”

Ritsu shifted. “That… makes sense. My family would be worried about me.”

“So what’s the matter?”

“I…” I still haven’t thanked you properly; you won’t let me. How do I even say something like that?

Takenaka waited for a long moment before reaching into his basket of groceries and pulling out one of the loaves of bread. With a single, strong twist, he ripped it in half, scattering crumbs across the cobblestones. He held out one of the halves towards Ritsu. “Here. In case you decide you want some more peasant cooking on your way back, my lord. It’s probably more filling than whatever they feed you up in the castle, or wherever.”

Ritsu accepted it with a quiet “Thank you.”

Takenaka grinned and fished a peach out of the basket and took a bite out of it. “Eh, don’t mention it. I’m sure you’ll forget all about this as soon as you get done complaining to your noble-friends about how much it sucked.”

Somehow, Ritsu doubted that; he didn’t want to forget any of this.

[mp100ficrec]

Latent Toxicity by Feroluce

Fic can be read HERE.

TakeRitsuWeek2017, Horror, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Possession, Action/Adventure. Completed. Rated: T. Word Count: 5726

Pairings: Kageyama Ritsu/Takenaka Momozou, Background Kamuro Shinji/Tokugawa Hikaru

Trigger Warnings: Knives, Body Horror, Bruises, Dehydration, Graphic Depictions of Violence

“It sounds wrong, wrong, wrong, because Momozou usually only sings to himself like that when he's desperately trying to block out something terrible and Ritsu is the only one here.

(Isn't he?)“

I’m really impressed by the action scenes in this. It got my heart pumping even on my second read!

[msfcatlover]

TakeRitsu Week Day 4: Crime

@takeritsuweek2017

You say “Crime” I think “Noir!” Also, you should probably blame @bakanohealthy, who has this truly awesome noir!AU already and whose art definitely was a big part of my inspiration for this.  

...So there’s not any actual crime in this oneshot, but I have so many ideas for this AU already that I’m probably going to expand on it at some point. And. I’m out of time. So. *raspberry noise*

Aged up characters; Ritsu and Momo are in their early 20s.

Ritsu double-checked the address as he stood in front of the scratched, stained door. Surely this couldn’t be the place. He sent a quick message to Tome, only to get a cheerful “you’ve got it!” in response. He took a deep breath, and opened it.

The office within was split evenly down the middle by a paper divider. To the left, an empty desk crouched amongst a mess of boxes and overflowing paperwork. To the right, a young man sat at a second desk, opposite an empty chair. He wore bulky headphones, and seemed fixated on whatever he was typing away at on his computer.

Ritsu closed the door, and cleared his throat. “Hello? I’m looking to hire a detective. I… I need help.”

“Of course you do.” The man didn’t look up from his screen, but waved one hand at the chair. “I’ll be with you in just a sec.”

Ritsu walked over and lowered himself into the chair. A small name placard on the desk confirmed he was in the right location—“Takenaka Momozou: Private Investigator.”

The detective kept typing away for another minute, before letting off a long huff and removing his headphones. (Ritsu wondered, based on the disappointment in the man’s face, whether he’d kept a client waiting in order to play a game.) Takenaka’s eyes swept over Ritsu—his finger-combed hair, his rumpled suit, the dark circles beneath his eyes, the file clutched to his chest—and his brow furrowed.

“Kurata Tome sends her regards,” Ritsu said quickly, “and recommends you very highly.”

Takenaka’s lips quirked up, the faintest hint of a smile. “She should; I made her dreams come true. I’ve gotta say, you don’t seem the type to spend much time with her, though.”

“She’s a friend of a friend.” Ritsu put the file down on the desk. Takenaka glanced at it briefly, before refocusing on him. “Actually, that’s what I need to speak with you about.”

“Your friend?” Takenaka asked, still not reaching for the file. Ritsu resisted the urge to push it closer.

“My brother.” Ritsu took a deep breath, and swallowed the lump building in his throat. “I need you to find him.”

Takenaka’s eyes widened slightly, and he finally reached for the file, flicking it open and beginning to go through the papers. He lifted one of the photos, eyes shifting between Ritsu and the image in his hand.

“I knew I’d seen you somewhere before,” Takenaka murmured.

Ritsu nodded reluctantly. “You probably saw me in the news when the case was fresh.”

“Hmmm.” Takenaka set the picture down. It was the beach photo from a few years ago; Shige had sand in his hair, and an arm around Ritsu’s sunburnt shoulders. They were both laughing. “It’s always harder to pick up a trail when the case is more than a month old. Kurata’s regards aside, what makes you think I can help with this?”

The bottom dropped out of Ritsu’s stomach. The thickness in his throat felt suffocating.

“I… I don’t…”

There was sympathy in Takenaka’s voice, but his eyes were cold.  “I don’t want to take your money if this is just a desperate last gamble, and I’m not going to work for free. I’m running a business here, kid.”

“I’m not asking for charity,” Ritsu hissed. And you can’t be more than a year or two older than me. “I can pay. I just…” He swallowed. “I know people have their doubts, but Shige is strong; no random asshole would be enough to kill him! He’s out there somewhere, and I can’t sit around and do nothing!”

Takenaka started to open his mouth, then paused. His head tipped to the side, eyes boring into Ritsu’s. “…You’re serious. That’s not just brotherly admiration; you’re actually serious about that.”

It didn’t sound like a question. Ritsu nodded anyway. “I know my brother; the only way anyone could have gotten to him is to play dirty, or force him to go willingly. Shige cares a lot about people, and as strong as he is, he can be… painfully easy to manipulate. He takes everything at face value. They could’ve taken him…” Anywhere, anytime, I wasn’t looking…

Ritsu realized he was shaking.

Takenaka nodded, turning his attention back to the file. He seemed much more interested this time, paying more attention to the police report, to the witness statements, to Ritsu’s own notes about his brother’s behavior in the days leading up his disappearance. “If I’m going to take you on as a client, I need you to be completely honest with me,” Takenaka said, idly pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

“Of course.” Ritsu said, watching as Takenaka flipped the box open and grabbed one of the higher butts between his teeth. Almost as an afterthought, he proffered the box to Ritsu.

“Want one?”

“I don’t smoke. I’d really rather you didn’t either.”

Takenaka blinked, cigarette still hanging from his teeth. “Well. That sucks.” He dropped the box back into his drawer, only to pull out a lighter. In a single motion, Takenaka lit the cigarette, took a long drag, and dropped backwards in his chair to blow the smoke up towards the ceiling. “Because it’s my office.”

The detective eyed Ritsu through his lashes, before the same small, faintly amused smile from before returned to his face. He reached over, tapping the cigarette on an ash tray Ritsu hadn’t noticed before. “But you’re not leaving.”

“I. Am. Desperate.”

“Yes, you are.” Takenaka leaned forwards, setting the cigarette in the ash tray but not actually stubbing it out. He folded his hands under his chin. “So, Kageyama Ritsu. Be honest with me: why do you feel so responsible for your brother’s disappearance?”

Every muscle in Ritsu’s body locked down. His brain fizzled, and stopped responding. His mouth worked silently, words beyond his actual capacity at the moment.

Takenaka watched.

When Ritsu managed to actually say anything, it was a simple, breathless, “What?”

“It’s written all over your face when you think about him. There’s something you’re holding back, and you think it lead in some way to his disappearance. That’s why you’re here, now, talking to me. What I want to know is, why didn’t you tell the police when they were still on the case?” Takenaka’s eyes narrowed. “I know your reputation isn’t worth more to you than your brother’s life.”

The detective’s hand shot out to grab the ash tray, just as Ritsu’s fist slammed down on the desk.  “Of course it’s not! I would rot in jail for the rest of my life, if it meant Shige came home safely; I’d do it happily!”

“So what is it you think you’ll rot for?” How was the bastard so calm?! Ritsu took a deep breath, and leaned back in his chair. He carefully unclenched his fists and relaxed his shoulders, trying to locate his composure; he’d had it when he walked in, after all.

Takenaka waited.

“It’s not. Illegal.” Another breath. “But nobody would believe me.”

“Try me.”

Their eyes met again, and there was a degree of understanding in Takenaka’s face that Ritsu hadn’t expected to see. He was Tome’s friend; maybe, just maybe, he really did know about this sort of thing.

Maybe it wasn’t pointless.

Ritsu sighed, and looked away. “My brother was born with psychic powers. I recently came into some myself.”

Breathe.

“I may have gotten mixed up in a few fights, and put them on display a bit. It would have been easy for someone to learn of my powers. Shige was always far more careful; you could count on one hand who outside of our family knew he had any talents at all.” Ritsu remembered his brother’s face, the day he learned about the fights; he’d been so disappointed in Ritsu, so upset with himself for not realizing what was happening, so determined to help out—

Breathe.

“I believe someone was after me, and they took him instead. Shige is so much more powerful than I am; he would be much more valuable as an asset or tool. And if he thought it would protect me, he’d never even fight back.”

Breathe.  He looked back, meeting Takenaka’s eyes again.

“I need you to help me get him back. I can’t—” —keep watching everyone else give up, go back to that empty apartment one more time, listen to anymore platitudes about how much progress is being made, make it any further looking on my own, go on feeling like this— “—just sit around on this one. I need to be involved. I need to see what’s happening.”

Ritsu had thought that last request would be the hardest part; a detective would have to be insane to treat a client like a partner after all. He hadn’t expected to have to explain the powers either—surely if someone was trafficking psychics, there’d be some sign of it outside of that specific circle—but once the word were coming, they’d been easy enough as well.

No, the worst part proved to be the way Takenaka looked at him as he closed the file. The detective picked up the beach picture again. He looked at for a second, shook his head, and held the picture out. Ritsu took it with trembling fingers.

This is it. This is where he says no, tells you you’re crazy, and need to focus elsewhere. “Trust the cops, Ritsu, they know what they’re doing.” You’re just desperate, sick with worry, don’t know what you’re asking for. You—

“Of course, Kageyama-san. I’ll do my best.”

It took a second for the words to register. Ritsu felt his mouth drop open. His breath caugh halfway in his throat. He blinked rapidly as the office threatened to dissolve into swirls of colors. Takenaka sighed and pulled a package of tissues out of a drawer, pushing them across the desk towards him.

“I can’t make any promises, you know. The cops have been on this case for, what, five months? They’ll have pursued every lead they could find, and a lot of those will not be in the official report. We’ll be treading a cold trail that’s already been mostly trampled too badly to pick out any tracks.” Ritsu nodded along as Takenaka picked up the cigarette and took another slow pull off it. “But, I’ll look into the psychic angle and see what I can learn about how your fights might tie into it. And I have some contacts the police don’t I can ask about other possibilities. I can’t take you everywhere—you’re, what, almost two meters tall? And probably handsome under all that exhaustion.” Takenaka snorted. “You’ll stick out like a sore thumb just about everywhere. But anywhere I deem it safe enough to bring you, I’ll reach out and see if you’re available before I go. Does that sound reasonable?”

“Yes.” Yes, thank you, thank you—

“It’s just what you’re paying me for.” Takenaka paused. “About which, I take half up-front each week you keep me on, and half again at the end. Because you’re here on recommendation, I’m willing to give you the friends and family discount on the first payment, if you like. That’s half off.”

“I… appreciate that.” Ritsu dug out his wallet. He could still feel the detective’s eyes on him as he did so. “Would that be 20,000 yen, then?”

“Fifteen.”

“Got it.”

“Kageyama-san?” Ritsu looked up from counting the bills. Takenaka looked… concerned about something.

“Yes?”

There was a long pause. Finally, Takenaka sighed, stubbed out his cigarette in the ash tray, and pulled his headphones up. “…Nothing. I’ll get right to work. You should find somewhere to sleep; you look like shit.”

Despite everything, Ritsu found himself chuckling. “Thank you.”

“Well, honesty is what you’re paying me for.” Takenaka held out his hand, and Ritsu put the bills in his palm.

It was odd. After months of confusion, frustration, and hurt, just one meeting with this strange, brusque detective had planted something warm that felt an awful lot like hope in his chest. 

It wasn’t until Ritsu was back out the door that he realized he didn’t have anywhere to go. He sighed, and prepared to message Tome again. Maybe she’d let him crash on her couch.