fanficbackup

[fanficbackup]

𓆸 s t i l l d o l l

no warnings. gn reader. not proofread ☆〜（ゝ。∂）

❝ you start to feel like you spent a lot of time taking care of mika when it came to the normal every day annoyances of being an idol—signing contracts, booking meetings, reminding him to set timers and mark calendars for said meetings—so much so that he finds the simplest ways to catch you off guard ❞

𖣯 mika had a gracefulness that always felt unearthly. when the stars would align for you to catch him in practice, secretly looking through the small window of the door, you could see him moving with his eyes closed to the rhythm of the violin. or maybe the violin followed his instructions, his fingertips drawing out the sound as he twisted and turned his facial expressions setting the mood. to call him mesmerizing was a violent understatement the world faded into nothing when you could witness him in that state

𖣯 the same could be said for the somber tone in his voice, the sound of standing in the rain waiting for someone to come home to you. hearing him sing clearly gave your heart reason to move, your head slowly leaning towards the side….are you swooning? there’s an air of confidence he inherits on stage you never get to see when he sits with you in the es cafeteria passing a jelly bean onto your plate, maybe it’s for your own benefit to see his blushing face everyday instead

𖣯 and you’re grateful for his skittish affection, because you do get to see his serious countenance on occasion. when you’re either lucky or unlucky enough (in your opinion) to become his mannequin for the weekend for a new commission, you get a glimpse of the intensity his eyes could hold. while he makes adjustments to the garment, biting the inside of his cheek, tilting his head to get the right angle, admiring or disapproving his work, all you can do is think of much he smells of peppermints and how easily he touches your waist without a second thought. you still burn hot underneath his gaze, even if it’s on his creation. between his singing, dancing, sewing, eyes, hands, prescence, maybe mika is a completely different person than you originally thought? well, the thought crossed your mind until you noticed mika had pricked his finger while threading the needle without noticing, now you’re going to have to get your first aid kit.

[fanficbackup]

Croissants with a Side of Feelings {Shu Itsuki x Reader}

Relationships: Shu Itsuki x Female Reader Word Count: 11367 CW: Reader has a medical condition, fluff, slight hurt/comfort (like a cinnamon sprinkling of hurt I swear) Set during ! era, specifically around the time of the Tanabata Festival.

“Really! It’s a miracle that you’re still up and standing, foolish girl.”

Shu shook his head at me, frowning as I stumbled to a halt in the middle of the practice room. 

“Shu-senpai! You’re earlier than usual.” I rushed to the speakers, stopping the recording of Sacred Youth Games that had been playing.

“Hmph and if this is what you’ve been doing before our practices perhaps I shall make a habit of it…” His frown deepened. “I have no use for broken dolls, girl.”

I scratched the back of my neck.

“I know. But it really wasn’t much, just a quick warmup!”

Shu “hmph”-ed again, moving to connect his own phone to the speakers.

“Shu-kun just doesn’t want you to overwork yourself, Y/n-chan,” Mademoiselle’s high-pitched voice peeped from her spot in Shu’s arms. “He worries about you.”

“Hush Mademoiselle!” Shu snapped.

“I know Mado-chan, but I’ll be careful,” I said. “I know my limits.”

A soft giggle answered me before it was silenced with a glare.

“Ngahh, sorry I’m late Oshi-san, Y/n-chan!” With his usual amount of grace, Mika stumbled into the room.

“Hmph, typical.”

“Don’t be fooled by his attitude Mika-kun, Shu-kun is happy you made it.”

“Ngah, thanks Mado-nee!”

Shu shot another glare at Mademoiselle.

“You’re particularly cheeky today.”

“Fufu, and who’s fault is that Shu-kun?”

Shu clicked his tongue, a scowl on his face. Despite his frustration, he gently placed Mademoiselle on the table next to the speaker.

“Regardless, now that we’re all here, perhaps we can begin rehearsals?”

I rolled my eyes, nodding, as Mika chirped an excited “Yes, Oshi-san!”. It wasn’t as if any of us had been late, in fact, it was a good 10 minutes earlier than we usually started rehearsal. But I knew better than to protest—the lead-up to lives always made Shu testier than usual and the Tanabata Festival was worse than usual.

I shook my head, moving out of the centre of the room as Mika and Shu took their positions for their warmup routine. The workload for the Tanabata Festival hadn’t exactly been light on my end—as Anzu’s fellow producer, she had asked me for help with some of the less major work so she didn’t have to shove it all on Eichi and the rest of the student council. Something about proving her capabilities as a producer without their backing? Not that it mattered to me, I would rather not ask Tenshouin for help.

Sighing, I pulled a pile of paperwork out of my bag. If Shu had bothered to tell me about this before he submitted the paperwork, maybe I wouldn’t be so irritated. But nooooo, he just had to accept Tenshouin’s challenge. I pursed my lips, reading over the proposal for the stage lighting. Well, there were worse things than a bit of extra paperwork. And school-hosted events were far less work organisation-wise than most of the places Valkyrie had been performing at recently.

I glanced up as the warm-up routine finished. Shu looked pleased and Mika looked significantly less flustered than he had been earlier. Shu fished his phone out of his pocket, stopping the piece of classical music that they had been warming up to. 

“Hmph, better than yesterday, I suppose.”

“Ngahh thanks Oshi-san!” Mika grinned at the back-handed compliment.

“It wasn’t a compliment, you failure!” Shu pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. I resisted the urge to snicker as the two assumed their starting positions.

As the starting notes for Enthralling Theatre filled the room, I smiled down at my paperwork. Maybe this live would be the push Shu needed to return to the Yumenosaki stage.

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“Non! This simply won’t do!”

I watched as Shu tossed yet another bolt of fabric to the side. Shaking my head, I pointedly turned back to the stack of papers Anzu had asked me to look over. Staging…Lighting…Airspace permissions for Hibiki-senpai’s blimp…I resisted the urge to sigh. Only at Yumenosaki. 

Anzu had asked me to proofread the proposals before she handed them to the student council. I’d eventually agreed, but I still didn’t think my involvement would make Tenshouin more likely to approve the plans. But she’d insisted, saying that the Student Council couldn’t very well refute her proposal just because she’d asked a fellow producer for help! (Tenshouin was petty enough to do just that, but Anzu hadn’t lived through the War and didn’t know any better.) I scribble a note on the lighting plan—as much as Ryusetai (read: Morisawa-senpai) wanted flame machines and no matter how “cool” (this was true) or “heroic” (less true) they’d look, they were most definitely a fire hazard at an event that centred around highly flammable bamboo and paper.

Another bolt of fabric was violently discarded, rolling from the towering pile of rejects. I eyed the ever-growing pile and raised my eyebrow at Shu’s back. Across the room, Kiryu-senpai just shook his head before continuing to sew the outfit in front of him.

“Um, Shu-senpai…” I started nervously. “Do I need to make a trip to the fabric store?”

Shu turned to face me so suddenly, I jumped a little, almost dropping my pen to the floor.

“I know I’m not the best at picking fabrics, but if you tell me what type you’re looking for I could send you pictures of the colours? Or I could take some headphones and video call you?” I tapped my pen against the pile of paperwork, breaking eye contact. “You and Kiryu-senpai have got a lot of work to do here right? You can’t afford to waste time searching for fabrics for any unit’s outfits.” Even if it is for Valkyrie.

Shu pursed his lips, his gaze flicking to the nearly empty fabric rack in front of him and then to the pile of completed outfits Kiryu-senpai had finished. As he watched, another was added to the pile.

He sighed.

“Very well. I shall write down what I need and you can fetch it for me. However,” he raised a finger. “You must take someone with you to carry the bolts of fabric. Let me think…Rei should be in his club room…” He stood and wandered over to the cup phone that hung by the window, unhooking it and tugging three times on the string before pulling it taut.

“Rei? Yes, sorry to disturb you. I don’t suppose you could give me a hand? Of course.” He hung the cup phone back on its hook. “Rei will be here in a moment.”

“Senpai, I’m fine to bring the bolts back by myself,” I protested. “You don’t have to bother Rei-senpai.”

Shu raised a hand to forestall any more protests.

“Non! What if you were to drop them on the way back? I can’t have your clumsy hands soiling the fabric before it reaches this room.”

“Fufu, what Shu-kun means, Y/n-chan,” Mademoiselle spoke up from her seat on one of the shelves in the clubroom. “Is that he doesn’t want you to wear yourself out. You’ve been working so hard lately, we can’t have you passing out from overexertion again.”

I flushed slightly.

“Mado-chan that was one time!” I pouted. “I haven’t even had difficulty in getting up and down off the floor lately, I can carry a couple of bolts of fabric!”

“That is not up for debate. Rei will accompany you to the fabric store.” Shu shook his head at me and began replacing the bolts of fabric he’d gotten out on the shelves.

I sighed, turning back to my paperwork. Who knew how long a moment was to Rei Sakuma. All of the Eccentrics that I had met operated on their own timetable. Speaking of, I turned to the airspace permission forms for Wataru’s blimp. Eccentric indeed…

“Shu? You said you needed my help?”

Apparently, Rei-senpai’s definition of a moment was eerily similar to a regular human’s.

“Ah, my friend, you were faster than I expected.” Shu dusted his hands and went to the entrance to the clubroom. “I need some more fabric but neither Kiryu nor I can go. I’d just send the girl but I can’t trust her to carry the fabric back on her own. Would you accompany her?”

Rei-senpai glanced over at me, his lip twitching at the way I pretended that I most definitely was not listening to their conversation, thank you very much.

“Of course. It’s no problem at all.” He smiled at me. “Well then, shall we take our leave?”

I nodded, pushing my chair out from the table, leaving my paperwork where it lay. I’d be back before long—the fabric store that Shu preferred was luckily only a few blocks away.

I nodded goodbye to Kiryu-senpai, who nodded back, his focus on the intricate embroidery on the collar he was stitching.

“Here.” Shu shoved a piece of paper into my hands. “The list. Make sure you bring the fabric back in one piece!”

I nodded, glancing at the paper before shoving it into my skirt pocket next to my phone.

“Anything else, senpai?” 

Shu shook his head.

“Be safe y/n-chan!” Mademoiselle called. I smiled, waving briefly in her direction as Rei-senpai and I stepped out the door.

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“So, Valkyrie is finally returning to the stage, hmm?” Rei questioned, hands in his pockets as we walked through the courtyard.

I nodded, glancing at him from the corner of my eye.

“Senpai seems pretty worked up about this live,” I explained. “Something about Tenshouin personally challenging them after the live the other night?”

Rei cocked his head.

“The performance at the live-house Kaoru-kun manages?”

I nodded and he hummed thoughtfully.

“I wasn’t with them, so I don’t know the details and Shu-senpai just,” I gestured vaguely.

Rei nodded sympathetically.

“Shu was Shu about the whole thing.”

I nodded, leading the way out of the school gates.

“Yep. And then Kiryu-senpai asked him for help with the unit costumes, so between the outfits and before and after school rehearsals, he’s been stretched thin.”

“I’ve noticed,” Rei said. “As have the other Eccentrics. And,” he turned his head to look me in the eyes. “We’re thankful to you for taking care of him for us.”

I waved my hands frantically.

“It's fine really! It’s just…he’s done so much for me and Mika-kun…I can’t let him starve himself to death because he’s so busy making Valkyrie look good! It’s my job as a producer to look after him!”

Rei chuckled softly.

“Of course, of course.”

I shook my head, opening the door to the fabric store.

“Alright, let’s see what he wants,” I muttered to myself, pulling the list out of my pocket. Rei peeked at the list over my shoulder, eyes scanning the immaculately written kana.

“...why is wine red satin on here twice?” Rei questioned, pointing at two items written directly underneath each other.

“It’s not. One’s wine-red satin and the other is wine-red sateen,” I explained, pointing at the kanji. “And wine red is our shorthand for Valkyrie red.”

I headed to the satin and sateen section, Rei trailing behind me. Carefully, I inspected the bolts of fabric, eventually pointing to two bolts I deemed Shu would approve of. Rei easily hefted them, slotting them under his arm. I felt my eyebrows rise slightly. A bolt of fabric usually had about 92 metres of fabric on it—lifting two so easily and with one hand, was no easy feat.

At least…I was hard-pressed to lift even one with my full strength. This trip was definitely going to be easier with Rei’s help. Once again, Shu had been correct to send me with help. 

Didn’t mean I had to like it. 

Though Rei was definitely an improvement over the time Wataru had insisted on accompanying me. Thank goodness the fabric had been slightly glittery already, though the face Shu had made upon seeing his slightly sparkly black fabric doused in red glitter had been hilarious. Wataru had still been banned from the clubroom and from accompanying me on any future fabric store runs. I had been punished with weeks of extra meaningless paperwork—which was not an experience I was eager to repeat.

It didn’t take Rei and I long to find the rest of the fabric on the list. Thankfully, all of the colours Shu had specified had been in stock, so there was no need for photographs or video calls. I paid quickly, apologising to the lady who ran the store for not being able to stay and chat this time. She smiled and laughed it off, promising to come and watch the performances at the Tanabata Festival.

With at least 5 bolts of fabric under Rei’s arm and a bag full of smaller amounts of fabric and other trimmings on mine, we exited the store.

“She seemed glad to see you,” Rei commented as we began the short walk back to school.

I hummed an affirmative.

“It's been a while since any Valkyrie members stopped in,” I explained. “We used to be regulars and the store’s close enough to the school that she probably heard about our fall. She’s a nice lady, she was probably worried about us.”

Rei chuckled.

“You seem to have friends everywhere, Y/n-chan.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I’m not Anzu-chan, Sakuma-senpai.”

He smirked at me. Smirked. The audacity. Why do I hang around the Eccentrics again?

“Oh? But you seem to have just as many friends, though maybe not in such high places as hers. I certainly can’t see you socialising with Tenshouin-kun or Hasumi-kun.”

I felt my face twist in disgust instinctively and Rei’s chuckles turned to full laughter as we entered the school grounds. The. Audacity.

I sighed, shaking my head at him.

“You are the worst, Senpai.”

His laughter echoed down the hall as we made our way to the Handicraft Club room.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“Hmph, this fabric is acceptable.”

Shu frowned down at the bolts of fabric Rei had laid out on the table before he returned to his own club room.

“Shu-kun thinks that you chose excellent fabrics, Y/n-chan!” Mademoiselle cheerfully explained.

“Aww, thanks Mado-chan,” I smiled.

“Mademoiselle!!” Shu exclaimed. “Please keep your opinions to yourself!”

“Fufu, we both know whose opinions they really are Shu-kun.”

Shu sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Carefully, he rolled the bolts of fabric back up and began sorting through the bag of trimmings, ignoring Mademoiselle’s comment.

“Kiryu-senpai finished for the day?” I asked, pointing my question at Mademoiselle.

“Kuro-kun had a rehearsal with the rest of Akatsuki,” she informed me cheerfully. “He said he’d be back in…hmm…let’s see about 30 minutes now? Tsumugi-chan also dropped in for a bit while you were gone—he said to say ‘hi’. He was just picking up some trimmings for Switch’s outfits, so he wasn’t here long.”

We both pointedly ignored Shu’s snort of “good riddance”.

“It’s a shame I missed him, I haven’t spoken to Tsumugi-senpai in a while…” I mused, tapping my pen against my pile of paperwork. “Though it would be easier if someone didn’t insult him the second he walked through the clubroom door.”

Shu sniffed pointedly and continued inspecting the blue cord I had bought. I shook my head, turning back to my paperwork.

The club was filled with the sound of sewing machines whirring, overlockers clacking, and paperwork being filled in. Kiryu came and left. The sun was almost completely set before I finally completed the paperwork.

“Senpai, it's getting late. Senpai?”

Shu blinked, looking blearily up at me.

“It’s past 6. Don’t you need to get home to Mika-kun?”

“Hm? Kagehira?” He blinked again, before realisation dawned. “Kagehira! Ah, where is my phone…?” He patted his pockets realising it was on the table.

“Ah, he hasn’t returned yet…he and that Narukami girl were going on a shopping trip today. It appears I still have some time…” He placed his foot on the pedal, but nothing happened. He frowned, tried again, then looked over at me.

I sighed, the sewing machine’s cord swinging in my hand.

“Senpai…We’ve had this discussion. You’re not allowed to stay late anymore.”

He huffed.

“Fine then. I shall simply take these costumes home then.”

“Nope. You promised. No working on costumes at home either.” I narrowed my eyes at him, dropping the cord to the ground. “Unless…you want me to message the group chat? I’m sure Natsume-kun or Rei-senpai are still around. In fact,” I turned, tapping my phone against my chin. “Hidaka-kun mentioned that the Theatre Club had rehearsals until late tonight too.” I stopped, staring right at him. “So. What is it?”

Shu had been getting paler and paler throughout my little monologue and now he was almost as white as the costume in front of him.

“I- I assure you that's not necessary!” He hurriedly stood up, grabbing his things from around the room.

I stood watching him, phone at the ready in case he decided to slip some pieces of fabric into his school bag. Before long, we were both heading our separate ways outside the school gates. Watching Shu head towards his house, I pulled out my phone to send a quick text.

|Shu’s Slave|6:27pm| Mission “get-shu-home-at-a-reasonable-time” accomplished

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Shu’s Mental Support Squad

|Magic Man|6:27pm| AMAZING!!!

|Magic Man|6:27pm| a new record~~

|Magic boi|6:28pm| did he take anything home with him??

|Shu’s Slave|6:28pm| he didnt put anything in his bag…

|Shu’s Slave|6:28pm| he probably has stuff at home tho…

|FISH|6:29pm| unfortunatrly there isnt anythign we can do abiut that…

|FISH|6:29pm| sorry wet hands

|Magic boi|6:29pm| niisan if ur going to swim in the fountain at least have something to dry urself off with…

|FISH|6:30pm| hehe ill remember natsume-kun~~

I slipped my phone back into my pocket as the chat devolved into the usual discussions. Rei’s icon had just joined the cluster of ‘online’ icons and there wasn’t much point getting dragged into the group’s antics before I got home for the night. Luckily, I’d gotten all of my school-related work done while I was in the clubroom. The only things left on tonight’s schedule were dinner and bed. 

It didn’t take long before I was snugly under my blankets, scrolling through my Instagram. It was a pretty bland feed—I mainly followed the idol groups from Yumenosaki and any notable competitors from Shuuetsu and its sister schools. Nothing caught my attention (except for a sneak peek on Ra*bits page of their new costumes, which I had seen Shu pouring over the day before), so I placed my phone on my bedside table and went to sleep.

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“One of these days,” I muttered to myself as I fumbled with my alarm. “I’m going to force him to make practice start at a reasonable time.”

I pulled my phone closer to my face, groaning as I looked at the time. 5:45 am. I groaned again. The clock flicked to 5:46. Still groaning, I slid out of my bed onto the floor. After almost two years as Valkyrie’s producer, you’d think that I would have been able to get out of bed for morning practice easily. But no. My body still hadn’t adjusted.

Well…I mused as I fixed my hair in the mirror, it is our first week back at weekly practice in almost a year. 

It took me longer than I would have liked to arrive at Valkyrie’s usual practice room. Looks like I won’t have time to run through any dances before Shu and Mika arrive. Though…I rubbed my chest as my heart twinged painfully…dancing probably wasn’t the best idea today. Had I remembered to take my medicine before I left today? I mentally ran through my morning routine, before shaking my head and moving to connect my phone to the speaker. It didn’t matter anyway. I’d live.

Or not, apparently.

I blinked, looking at the room around me. The infirmary? I mentally ran through the day, trying to figure out how I got here. Morning practice had been fine—better than fine really. Classes had run as smoothly as 2-B’s classes ever ran. We’d had P.E. and I’d ended up wearing myself out more than I had expected. I’d planned to head to the rehearsal room and do paperwork until practice finished, then move to the handicraft clubroom to supervise Shu. However, Anzu caught me almost immediately after classes had finished and dragged me around the school to inspect the area of the stage. The last thing I remembered was her excitedly showing me the layout she had in mind, before passing out.

I groaned. Forget the medicine, it’ll be fine, I said. I really ought to know better…I sighed, pushing myself up into a sitting position, cradling my head.

“Hmph, so you’re finally awake.”

I looked over at Shu, standing in the doorway, Mademoiselle in one hand and the other on his hip.

“Are you alright, Y/n-chan?” Mademoiselle asked softly.

“Ugh, I think so?” I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache building. “‘M gonna need some panadol though…”

A packet of painkillers landed on the bed. I took one silently, reaching for the glass of water I knew would be at my bedside. I swallowed it down, then drank the rest of the glass of water. Shu’s eyes followed my movements and the second I placed down the glass, the rant he was obviously preparing started.

“What were you thinking, fooling girl? Not only did you run to school, but you also forgot to take your medicine. And this morning, you probably did a warm-up dance routine before Kagehira and I arrived, didn’t you?” I opened my mouth to object—I’d done some vocal warmups instead of my usual dance routine—but Shu barreled onwards.

“And of all days to forget your medication, a day you had P.E.?!?! You have had the same class schedule for over a year, how could you forget something so vital? Then, running all over the school with that Anzu girl! You’re lucky that Kiryu happened to be passing by and carried you to the infirmary! You could have been seriously injured!” He paused, face slightly flushed from his rant.

“Aww, so you do care,” I teased.

“I-!” His face flushed even redder, his mouth opening and closing silently. I laughed at his expression.

“It wasn’t intentional, Senpai. I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” I looked back down at the blankets. “I’m sorry for interrupting practice and distracting you from the upcoming live.”

I heard a light scoff and a muttered “foolish girl” before Shu loudly turned around.

“Well, if you are truly sorry, make sure you take your medication regularly from now on. Come, now that you are awake, you can return with me to the clubroom and finish whatever work you have to do.”

That night was the first night since Valkyrie had decided to participate in the Tanabata Festival that at precisely 6 o’clock, Shu stopped sewing and we walked to the front gates together.

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The days passed quickly in the lead-up to the Tanabata live. Between morning and afternoon rehearsals, production meetings, and classes, my days were filled to bursting. I arrived at school at just past six in the morning and left at around 6:30—depending on how easy it was to pull Shu away from his work on the many costumes that had been commissioned for the upcoming live. Thankfully, I’d only needed to put a call out to the other Eccentrics once. Both Wataru and Kanata had swiftly appeared and carried Shu out of the Handicraft Club and out the school gate, Mika trailing behind them. Clearly anxious not to repeat that particular experience—“Wet hand, wet hands, can you believe it?!?”—Shu was usually packed up and gone before 6:30.

Despite my busy schedule, I always managed to take time out of my day to practise. Valkyrie practice actually began at 7, an hour and a half before school started. My personal practice started at 6.

I had always dreamt of being an idol. But, my fragile body prevented me from being able to complete the strenuous activities being an idol required. I wasn’t sickly like Tenshouin, just weak. My medicine helped, but even missing it once resulted in disasters like the previous week. 

But it didn’t stop me from trying.

I applied for both the idol and production courses at Yumenosaki. I studiously copied dance moves in the mirror after practice, I broke down live performances, I practised singing on the terrace during lunch.

It was never enough. I could never be on the same level as the idols I dreamed to work with. Even Tenshouin, who spent half of the freaking year in a hospital bed, had greater stamina and performance ability than I ever could.

But that didn’t stop me from trying.

After Valkyrie’s fall, I had worked harder than ever, laying the groundwork for when Shu would eventually return. When Nazuna-nii asked me for help setting up Ra*bits, I dedicated myself to the work, doing my best to carve these adorable, fresh-faced first-years who knew nothing of the horrors of the year before a place as idols.

And still, I practised.

Even now, two weeks before the Tanabata Festival, I stood in the centre of Valkyrie’s practice room at 6:30am, Pavilion on the Sand echoing through my ears as I ran through what had been Nazuna’s part.

“Again?” An exasperated sigh filled the room. Shu walked past me, gently placing Mademoiselle on the table, and dropping his bag to the floor.

I didn’t stop dancing.

He raised an eyebrow, tapping his foot impatiently as the dance slowly came to a close.

“Morning, Senpai,” I greeted, belatedly.

He raised both eyebrows.

“Good morning.”

I grabbed my water bottle from where I’d left it on the floor.

“You’re here early…Where’s Mika-kun?”

“Kagehira shouldn’t be long. I happened to rise significantly earlier than usual this morning, so I left as he was beginning his breakfast.”

I nodded, taking the bottle over to my school bag. Shu watched me, lips pursed, foot still tapping.

I sighed.

“Senpai…If you have something to say, just say it already. You’ve been like this for a couple days now, it's starting to get on my nerves.”

“I- I…” He sighed deeply, eyes shifting nervously as he tried to find the words. “I am concerned about this…habit of yours. This…rising early specifically to come here and practice.”

I stiffened.

“I see. Don’t worry, I won’t let it impact my work as Valkyrie’s producer. You have nothing to worry about.”

He frowned.

“That is not-”

“It’s fine, Senpai,” I cut him off. I didn’t want to sit through Shu’s patented “I have no use for broken dolls, if you can’t be useful, I will cast you off” lecture. “Like I said, it won’t affect Valkyrie.”

“I-” Shu shook his head. “Very well then. You are usually well aware of your limitations, if you say that it won’t affect Valkyrie, then I believe you.”

I nodded sharply.

“Thank you, Senpai.”

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

I cut back on my morning practices after that. 

Instead of spending the whole hour running through different dance routines from both Valkyrie and other units, I chose one each day and spent half the time focused on the dance and the other half on vocal practice. Aside from a few pointed frowns, Shu didn’t bring it up again. The Tanabata Festival was approaching and he had far bigger things to worry about than my health. The pile of uncompleted costumes was almost done, Kiryu and Shu making quick work of them over the last three weeks. There were only a handful of costumes left to be completed outside of the Valkyrie and Akatsuki costumes, both of them had left their unit’s outfits to last. The beautiful red, grey, and yellow fabrics Rei and I had purchased still sat in the corner of the costume, barely touched.

I shook my head. Costumes—completed or not—were not what I needed to focus on. I scrolled through my playlist, deciding which song to practise this morning. This one…? Too hard with one person. That one…? Too high for me to sing. This? Too low. I clicked my tongue in frustration before my eyes landed on one I hadn’t done in a while.

It was one of Wataru’s, from the days before the war, before the Eccentrics. A solo piece—designed to be danced alone. The moves were tricky and it had been a while since I had rehearsed it, but I was confident that I could remember how it was done. I quickly moved to the centre of the room, tapping play.

Music filled the room, and I lost myself in the dance. It was easier to focus on the movements on the first run-through, left foot there, right foot behind. One arm up, the other outstretched. Turn. The melody was simple, but that didn’t change the vocal complexity. Even thinking about how to sing distracted me, a slight stumble in my step, so I redirected my focus to the dance.

“Oya? I thought I heard a familiar tune~”

I 100% did not jump and I did not scream. I didn’t. I swear.

“Hibiki-senpai!”

“Ah,” He sighed dramatically, laying a hand on his forehead. “So cold! Am I still nothing more than an upperclassman to you, Slave-chan? How often must I beseech you to call me by my given name?”

I sighed, feeling my heart rate begin to return to normal.

“As often as I have to ask you to stop calling me that awful nickname, Senpai.”

It also annoyed him, but that was just an added bonus.

He sighed dramatically again, leaning heavily on the doorframe.

“So cruel~ Ah! But I didn’t come here so early in the morning just to mope about in doorways!” He straightened up, pulling a rose out of thin air. He gestured for me to take it and I gingerly took it from his grasp. In my hands, it transformed into a letter. “A special delivery for you, dear Slave-chan~”

I carefully unfolded the letter, eyes skimming the beautiful calligraphy.

“Senpai…”

“Yes?”

I looked him in the eyes.

“This is in English. I can’t read it.”

He slapped his forehead.

“Of course, my mistake. Here.” He flicked his fingers towards me and the letter wiggled and merged, transforming into equally beautiful Japanese calligraphy.

Wataru Hibiki, in association with Kanata Shinkai, Rei Sakuma, and Natsume Sakasaki, invites you to lunch today, in the secret room.

“This…is a very dramatic way to be asked to sit with you four at lunch,” I said slowly. “I like it. Very aesthetic.” Wataru nodded excitedly. “But, is there a reason that this unusual gathering of the Eccentrics doesn’t include Shu-senpai?”

Wataru’s grin turned mischievous.

“That’s for us to know and you, dear Slave-chan, to find out.”

And with that, he vanished.

I looked down at the invitation in my hands. Shaking my head, I slipped it into my backpack.

Even if I forgot, Natsume-kun would drag me there the second class got out and I knew better than to push for more detail than I had already been given.

I’d find out at lunch I suppose.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“Kanata-niiSAN can you NOT drip wateR all ovER my secRET roOM?” Natsume sighed as he dragged me into the secret room.

“Ahh ‘sorry’ nacchan,” Kanata smiled, looking as unapologetic as he always did. Natsume sighed, shaking his head.

“HerE,” he pushed me towards a chair. “siT.”

I rolled my eyes and sat, tucking my legs up in front of me. Natsume plopped himself down on the chair next to me, across the room from Kanata, who pouted slightly.

“Oya? It appears that I’m not the last one here…” Wataru sighed dramatically. “My dramatic entrance has been ruined.”

“Trust me Senpai, you don’t need to try and make your entrances dramatic,” I said, smiling wanly as he sat in the chair next to Natsume. “Are you going to tell me why you called me here? Not that I’m not grateful for the excuse to get out of production meetings for the Tanabata Festival…”

“Someone’s in a hurry,” Rei commented, slipping into the room through one of the side doors. Wataru paused in the slow shuffling of his chair closer to Natsume and Kanata opened his eyes and smiled at Rei as he sat down opposite me, in between Kanata and Wataru.

I shrugged.

“Not really. But I am curious. It’s not every day four of the Five Eccentrics “summon” me to a meeting.”

“You’ve already ‘mentioned’ it,” Kanata hummed. “The ‘tanabata festival’.”

The others nodded.

“I thought so,” I sighed. “You guys worry too much.”

“You can’t really blame us,” Rei rested his face in his hand. “It is Valkyrie’s first performance since the War.”

“We can’t help but be ‘concerned’, y/n-chan,” Kanata chimed in. “Especially after the ‘last’ time. Mademoiselle-chan can only ‘help’ so much.”

“Indeed,” Wataru nodded, his serious side showing. “Even though Eichi~ has relaxed his tyranny and the time of war is over, we cannot exclude the possibility of some ‘over-zealous fan’ repeating the incident.”

“I know. And, Anzu-chan and I are working to make sure nothing like that will happen,” I assured them. “Anzu-chan wasn’t here for the War but she’s been working hard to design a new system that doesn’t disadvantage new units.”

For someone who hadn’t lived through the start of the DreFes system being so quick to overturn it and put something more fair in its place, Anzu really was a kind person, as much as she annoyed me sometimes.

“HmmM, I did catCH a gliMPSE of thE neW plaNS…” Natsume muttered thoughtfully, hand on his chin. “TheY haVE a gOOD chaNCE of succeedING.”

“Hmm Hmm! Anzu-san~ has been working AMAZING-ly hard!” Wataru’s earlier seriousness had been replaced with his usual cheerful mask.

“If y/n-chan is not ‘concerned’, we should ‘leave’ it to her,” Kanata hummed. “I am beginning to ‘dry out’, so I’m going to go puka-puka~”

Kanata pushed himself out of his chair and stretched.

“I suppose this meeting is adjourned then,” Rei said, doing the same as Kanata but with slightly more groaning and cracking bones. “Thank you for joining us, Y/n-chan. Please continue to keep an eye on Shu for us.”

I nodded.

“Of course, he’s my friend too.”

Wataru raised his eyebrow.

“Oho, just a friend, slave-chan?” He teased.

I looked away, blushing, and Wataru disappeared with a laugh.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“Stupid Wataru,” I muttered to myself, trying not to stomp on my way back to class. What does he know anyway? Shu is my friend—and that wouldn’t be changing anytime soon.

“Friends, we’re just friends.” Even if I had been crushing on him for a while now…at what point does it go from being a crush to…something else? Not that it mattered, it's not like I could ever tell him.

In the entire time I had known Shu (not that a year and a half is a long time to know someone), he had never confessed romantic feelings for anyone. No prolonged glances at particularly attractive classmates only scoffs and sneers directed in the direction of any mention of romance from his friends or unit-mates. Even his obsession with Nito-nii wasn’t romantic. A little weird and slightly uncomfortable for Mika and I, perhaps, but not romantic.

Besides, even if I confessed, if he rejected me…I could be kicked out of Valkyrie.

I could just see it.

“You harbour romantic feelings for me? Non! This absolutely won’t do. I can’t have your love-sick pining ruining Valkyrie. You are dismissed!”

Then he’d stick his nose up in the air and walk away, leaving me behind.

I sighed.

I was being dramatic. At least after Wataru’s comment, aside from a soft chuckle from Rei, the other Eccentrics hadn’t said anything. Though, if Wataru knew, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tenshouin, fine, the Student Council, and the entire Theatre Club had heard of Wataru bemoan my ‘hopeless, tragic love’.

I shuddered just thinking about it. It was a good thing Shu didn’t pay attention to the school gossip, otherwise, I’d be screwed.

“L/n, what are you doing?”

I nearly jumped out of my skin, turning to see Shu walking around the corner.

“Senpai! What are you doing over this side of the school?”

He crossed his arms—no Mademoiselle?—and frowned.

“Hmph, I could ask the same of you.”

I shuffled awkwardly.

“Uhh, I was in the library?” I offered. “I was heading to the cafeteria now. What were you doing?”

He sniffed, clearly not buying it.

“The library? What could you possibly need from there?” He sighed, shaking his head. “Never mind. Well, I suppose I’ll accompany you to the cafeteria. Perhaps they’ll still have some croissants left…”

I shrugged.

“Okie dokie, I’m just gonna grab whatever.”

A soft ‘tsk’ came from Shu, but he didn’t comment further, so I just ignored it. If Shu had issues with my diet, I’d just remind him of the (multiple) times I had to call Kiryu to carry him to the infirmary when he’d passed out from low blood sugar. At least I had a valid medical reason for passing out, not “I simply didn’t feel like pausing my work to eat”. One cannot subsist on croissants alone. At least since Mika had moved in with him he had been careful to make sure the both of them ate well at home. And Mika had Narukami-chan constantly breathing down his neck about eating well at school (“If you don’t stop eating so many sweets, Mika-chan, your skin will never clear up!”), so it was just Shu who needed reminding.

“Shu-senpai, where’s Mado-chan?” I tilted my head to look at him, surprised to see him already looking at me.

“Hmm? Oh, I left her in the Handicrafts Club. Kiryu’s with her,” he explained when he saw my raised eyebrow. “I can trust him to keep an eye on her while he finishes the costumes for his unit."

I nodded. That made sense. Still, it was a little unusual to see Shu without Mademoiselle on his arm even before Valkyrie’s fall. But, it was probably okay.

“Besides,” Shu muttered so quietly I almost missed it. “She might say something foolish.”

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“Why’d we hav’ t’ study,” Mika complained, slamming his head against his books. “There’s a live next week.”

I patted his back sympathetically.

“C’mon its the last question, we got this!”

We did not “got this”.

Mika and I both sucked at maths. You’d think between the two of us we’d be able to figure out what the heck the teacher had been explaining in class but nope. I frowned at my notes and Mika groaned, lifting his head from his book.

“Oshiii-sannnnn,” he whined. “Ya gotta help us.”

Shu looked up from the sheets of music he was writing.

“No.”

“Awww,” Mika pouted. “Ya know we’re no good at maths and stuff, ya gotta help us.”

“Yeah Senpai,” I chimed in. “Come on. It's the last question~”

Shu looked at me, unimpressed.

“I have already said that I will no longer help you with your homework,” Shu resumed scribbling notes on paper. “Mathematics is a very important skill.”

“Read through the question again Mika-kun,” Mademoiselle suggested. “You always forget to read them through properly. And Y/n-chan, you always write out your formulas wrong. Check it again.”

“Thanks, Mado-nee,” Mika crowed, rushing to do as she said.

“You’re the best Mado-chan,” I said, giggling at the look on Shu’s face. The embarrassed blush that spread across his face when Mademoiselle spoke his true feelings was kind of adorable.

I shook my head. Now was not the time to be thinking about that. I double-checked my formula and—sure enough—my formula was copied incorrectly.

I smiled at Shu as I corrected my answer.

“Thank you~”

He sniffed.

“Thank Mademoiselle, not me. I did nothing.”

Mika and I laughed.

“Sure thing, Oshi-san.”

Despite claiming that he wasn’t going to assist us anymore, both Shu and Mademoiselle helped us finish our homework for the week. It wasn’t like there was a lot—most of our classes were idol (or producer) related, things like music and dance. Maths, Japanese, English, and History were some of the few academic subjects that Mika and I took. Shu didn’t even take English—he took French. I shuddered every time I saw his homework. Why were there so many unnecessary letters???

Shu caught me frowning at his closed french textbook where it lay on the table and tapped me on the head with his pencil.

“Focus, Y/n, focus,”

I smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry Senpai,” I turned back to my final problem of the night. “There. All done.”

I slid the homework across the table and Shu examined it carefully. Mika noticed and frantically scribbled his final answers on his maths questions and slid the book next to mine.

Shu flicked his gaze between the books, then looked up at us.

We grinned, hopefully.

He sighed.

“The eclairs are in the fridge. You may get them.”

The loud scraping and shuffling of chairs as Mika and I frantically scrambled to the fridge wasn’t loud enough to cover Shu’s sigh. Shu’s eclairs were delicious and he only used them as bribes for homework. He refused to let us have more than two a week claiming that it would ruin all the hard work he put into making sure Mika stayed at ‘an acceptable weight’. But the limits were worth it.

I groaned as I bit into the eclair.

“I would answer a hundred maths problems if it meant I got to eat these afterwards,” I said to Mika, who nodded enthusiastically, a small bit of cream on his nose.

“I’d do anythin’ f’r Oshi-san’s cooking,” he said, wiping the cream off his nose.

“And you get to eat it every day.”

“Mhmm,” Mika nodded, closing his eyes in bliss.

“Are you two quite finished in there?” Shu raised his voice from the kitchen table. “I can hear you, you know.”

Giggling, Mika and I returned to the table to go over the preparations for the Tanabata festival.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“Kanzaki-kun!” I shouted. “Stop pointing your sword at Hakaze-senpai.”

Souma lowered the sword slightly, turning his head towards me.

“But Y/n-dono-”

“No. Put it down. Now.”

He still hesitated, but Kanata put his hand on his shoulder.

“Hmmm, now is not the ‘time’, so~u~ma~,” he tilted his head and smiled. “y/n-chan and anzu-san are trying to ‘get’ things done~”

Souma shot another glare at Kaoru, who chuckled nervously, but sheathed his katana.

“Yes, Buchou-dono.”

I sighed, rubbing at my forehead. Tech run-throughs were the worst. Having nearly every unit in the school in the same place at the same time was next to impossible, so Anzu and I had organised it based on the student timetables. Of course, not all students in one unit were in the same grade, but we went with the majority. 

Unfortunately, that meant we had Ryuseitai, Akatsuki, Undead, and Valkyrie here at the same time. Anzu had been understanding enough to make sure fine was scheduled later in the day. An early confrontation between Tenshouin and Shu would not have been fun.

“Um, okay everybody, can we just have Undead on stage, please.” Anzu took advantage of the lack of weaponry to start the tech rehearsal. The stage cleared, the other units taking seats in the front row.

As Undead started to sing Gates of the Abyss, I made my way to stand in the tech booth. The members of the Broadcasting Committee gave me a nod before focusing on the lighting and sound.

I leaned against the wall, rubbing at my chest. I wasn’t sure if my meds were less effective lately, or if it was just the stress of the last few weeks catching up to me. I hadn’t said anything but the glares Shu kept sending in my direction told me he’d noticed something was wrong,

“Why are you overworking yourself, girl,” his glares seem to say. “I have no use for broken dolls and neither does Valkyrie.”

I sighed. A Broadcast Committee member shot me a questioning look, but I waved her off. I was fine.

After about half the song, the Broadcast Committee gave me the thumbs up, so I grabbed one of the mics as they cut the sound.

“Alright, thanks everyone, that’s all we need,” I explained. “Give your earpieces to the tech crew and you can head back to classes now.” Undead filed off the stage in an almost orderly fashion.

“Who’s next?” I asked Anzu, who had joined me in the tech booth. She pointed at the next name on the list as she scribbled down a note underneath Undead’s name.

“Okay,” I said into the mic. “Ryuseitai can you please make your way to the stage?”

From the tech booth, I saw both Tetora and Chiaki jump out of their seats, dragging their unit members with them.

“Kanata-senpai, please leave your spray bottle on your chair,” I said quickly, noticing the blue misting bottle in his hand. Kanata pouted but complied, waving his now empty hands at me to show me he’d put it down.

Ryuseitai’s run-through took a couple of songs to perfect their audio levels, but eventually, the tech team was satisfied.

Akatsuki’s rehearsal went quickly, the tech team quickly finding the correct audio levels.

“Alright, thank you Akatsuki,” I said. “Please return your headpieces to the tech crew and return to class. Valkyrie, you’re next.”

Mika jumped a little and Shu shook his head, pulling him out of his chair by his elbow. Mika stumbled a bit and a “Sorry Oshi-san” echoed through the mics. 

“Ehe,” Mika’s nervous laugh filtered through the sound system again, but he didn’t say anything else as he and Shu took their positions for Enthralling Theatre.

I had been watching them rehearse this every day for almost four weeks. It never got any less amazing. Shu’s movements led Mika across the stage as if he really was the marionette doll they were singing about. Even the tech crew was stunned. Even though they found the audio balance almost straight away, they let Valkyrie finish their performance.

“Thank you, return your headsets to the tech crew and return to class, please.”

Shu gave a sharp nod and Mika shot me a goofy grin.

I smiled. Tonight was going to be a performance worth seeing.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

My chest hurt from all the running around, preparing things for the Tanabata. I sighed, shaking my head as Hibiki-senpai’s blimp appeared in the sky and the crowd loudly cheered. At least I had prepared the paperwork in advance, though I’m sure Tenshouin would have paid any fines Wataru incurred.

Rubbing my chest, I moved to the wings of the stage to watch the performances. My work as a producer was mostly done—Anzu was taking the majority of the work onto herself, leaving me to supervise the units backstage. Not that that required much, this late in the year even the units consisting mainly of first-years knew the protocols.

There was nothing I could do except watch as Valkyrie rushed on stage to protect Ra*bits from fine. 

Their performance was spectacular. The tech rehearsal early was nothing compared to now, with the staging and lighting fully complete. Mika’s spins were perfectly timed with Shu’s movements—the illusion that Mika was moving as Shu’s puppet was near perfect. I could almost see the strings stretching from Shu’s fingers, connecting to Mika’s arms, the stage lights reflecting off the golden threads.

I could feel fine’s shock. They joined the audience in watching in silent wonder as Shu and Mika sang and danced, Shu’s art—no, Valkyrie’s art—reaching them after so long.

The lyrics of the piece Shu had been composing during our last study session echoed through my head.

Now, the song of their triumphant return shall resonate once again. The tale of the returning sovereign shall be heard once more.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

My heart was still beating fast from the adrenaline of Valkyrie’s performance as I dragged Kanata out of the fountain.

“Really, Senpai, you should know better!” I ranted, pulling him towards the stage. “You have a spray bottle for a reason!”

“Sorry, y/n-chan, i ‘forgot’ it,” Kanata smiled at me, letting me pull him along. I shook my head, pulling him in front of me and pushing him up the steps for the stage. 

“Just…don’t ruin the earpiece with your wet skin.”

“hehe,” Kanata giggled, patting me on the head. “y/n-chan ‘worries’ too much.”

I playfully slapped his hand away.

“Hurry up! Morisawa-senpai and the others are waiting for you!”

“i ‘know’. shu is ‘waiting’ for you too. hurry and ‘see’ him, okay?” With another closed-eye smile, he skipped onto the stage.

I paused, looking as Kanata joined the rest of Ryuseitai on stage against fine. That’s right…Shu had been lying by the fountain, recovering from the live. Mika was still backstage in case Valkyrie was called back for another performance—the Tanabata system ensured that all of the units would get a chance at first but once everyone had gone, it was randomised. It would be a while before Valkyrie would be called on stage again, but it was best to be prepared. 

But it was best to not leave Shu alone by the fountain. He might doze off, or worse—pass out. I had been busy all day and hadn’t been able to make sure Shu actually ate something at lunch instead of slaving over the finishing touches of the Valkyrie outfits. 

Maybe I should get him something sugary to drink…Performing with low blood sugar wouldn’t be the best idea Shu had ever had but then again, it wouldn’t be the worst one either. My mind helpfully supplied images of the time that Shu had decided that the only way to get through all of the costumes he needed to sew and his homework was to drink 3 cups of coffee and eat a chocolate croissant and proceeded to go into some sort of caffeine-fueled haze. Which was fine while he was in it…but the crash had been awful.

Needless to say, Shu was banned from coffee now.

Still, I picked up a juice from the nearest vending machine as I hurried back to the fountain. If Kanata had said Shu was waiting for me, there was probably something important he needed to tell me. My chest twinged again as I jogged to the fountain. I was going to have to see the doctor about my meds—clearly, they weren’t working properly anymore.

Shu was still lying by the fountain, in almost the same position he was in when I had forcibly dragged Kanata out of the fountain. I sat down by his head, placing the bottle of juice next to him.

“I didn’t know if you had eaten much today, so I thought I’d pick one up,” I explained, crossing my ankles and looking up at the stars. “If you don’t want it, I’ll just drink it.”

“Thank you.” Shu slowly swung himself into a sitting position, before taking a sip of the juice. “I had gotten so caught up in my preparations for tonight that lunch slipped my mind.”

I hummed in acknowledgement.

“At least you ate dinner, even if it wasn’t much.”

“I- yes. Kagehira was quite insistent.”

I nodded.

“He can be pretty stubborn at times, huh.” I giggled softly and turned to look at Shu.

He was already looking at me, an unreadable expression on his face.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” I asked.

Shu shook his head, but his hand moved forward a bit before he withdrew it and laid it on his lap.

“I suppose Kanata told you that I was waiting for you, didn’t he,” Shu asked, turning his gaze to the sky. I did the same, looking at the faint constellations.

“Yep~. Did you have something you wanted to tell me?”

“I…” He paused and took a deep breath, seemingly bracing himself. I frowned, worried. I didn’t want to speculate on what he was going to say but I was a little on edge.

“Y/n, I…have feelings…for you.” His gaze didn’t move from the stars above us but he shifted slightly closer to me as he spoke.

Wait, what.

“Pardon?” Surely I hadn’t heard correctly. He wasn’t going to say something like “feelings…of disgust” and play it off as a joke, right? Or worse, had the other Eccentrics put him up to this…had he somehow figured out that I liked him? I felt my heart rate start to rise as panic started.

Shu looked over at me, a light blush dusting his face.

“I like you, Y/n. I have tried to hint at it for quite some time but I…I am not the best at expressing it and I just ended up hurting you. I’m sorry…” He reached out a hand to caress my face. “Can you ever forgive me?”

My mouth opened slightly and I stared at him in shock. He…liked me? Shu, Shu Itsuki, former Emperor of Yumenosaki, my crush for the last year and a half, liked me back? I floundered, staring at him in silence, my heart beating in my ears.

Obviously, my silence was taken as something else—disgust, indifference—because Shu’s soft smile dropped and he began to move his hand from my face. Quickly, I snatched it, pushing it back against my face. Shu looked at me in shock, trying to understand what I was doing.

“Shu…I like you too…” I started. “I’ve liked you for so long…I never thought that you would like me back.” Tears began to well in my eyes and I tightened my grip on his hand.

“Y/n…” Shu gently wiped the tears from my eyes, both hands cupping my face. “Y/n…may I kiss you?”

I nodded frantically, closing my eyes and leaning in. My heart rate was so high, I could barely hear Shu’s breathing and he was two centimetres from my face. We were so close, our lips almost touching…

And then, everything went black.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

When I next opened my eyes, I was in the infirmary. Mid-morning sunlight streamed in through the windows, softly lighting the room. I blinked, pushing myself up into a sitting position. I rubbed at my eyes, clearing the sleep from them. I reached for the glass of water next to my bed, but couldn’t move my right hand.

I frowned, then looked down. Shu was tightly gripping my hand, his head resting on the side of the bed. He was in his practice clothes, his soft pink hair mussed from sleep. I smiled softly, running my left hand through his hair.

Shu liked me back.

Shu liked me back.

He liked me back and he was going to kiss me! And then I had to ruin the moment by passing out.

I groaned out loud, slamming my head back against the wall behind me. Stupid body, causing me to pass out at such an important moment! A tear of frustration trickled down my face and my hand stilled in Shu’s hair.

“Mghm…” A soft groan came from Shu and he slowly sat up. “Y/n!” He jerked upright, his eyes searching my face. “Are you alright? You suddenly passed out and I had to call Kiryu to come and carry you to the infirmary. Sagami-sensei said that you would be alright and I had to go back to the Tanabata with Kagehira.”

His grip tightened around my hand and I smiled tiredly at him.

“I’m fine, sen-...Shu. I’m just,” I leaned my head back against the wall again. “I knew my meds weren’t working properly. I’ve known for at least a week. But did I go get it checked out? Noooo~ I just had to stick it out. And now…I ruined it.”

Tears spilled down my face and I closed my eyes, wishing that I could disappear so that Shu didn’t have to see my tears.

I felt the bed shift underneath me and opened my eyes as Shu pulled me into his arms.

“Oh…mon chère…you didn’t ruin anything.” He gently stroked my hair as I sobbed harder. “Though, it pains me to hear that you knew that your medication wasn’t working and didn’t tell anyone. Though I know that it is a little hypocritical of me to talk about things like that.”

I nodded into his shoulder, my tears slowing as I listened to him talk.

“We have plenty of time, now that we’re both on the same page, yes?” Shu continued stroking my hair. “There is no need to rush, darling.” He softly kissed the top of my head.

We stayed like that for a while, Shu stroking my hair while I tightly squeezed him, my tears eventually stopping. Slowly, I pulled away, sniffling slightly.

“‘M sorry…I think I ruined your practice shirt.”

Shu smiled, handing me a tissue.

“It’ll wash out.”

The door opened with a slam.

“Oshi-san! Is she awake?”

Mika burst into the room with his usual amount of grace.

“Ngah, you are!”

“Even if she hadn’t been, you would have woken her, barging in here like that! What were you thinking, Kagehira?!?”

“Ahh sorry Y/n-chan…”

I laughed softly, blowing my nose.

“It's okay Mika-kun, I would have been overdue for a wake-up call anyway.”

“Mhm mhm! Anyway, its lunch so I brought’cha both something!” Mika smiled proudly, handing each of us a bento. “I promised Naru-chan I’d eat with her so see ya later!” And with a wave, he was gone as quickly as he came.

Sighing, I leaned against the bed frame, shuffling over as Shu moved next to me to wrap his arms around me. We sat there for a while, Mika’s bentos placed on the bedside table.

“Shu?” I asked.

“Yes, my love?”

I looked up at him but I didn’t meet his eyes.

“I know you said there’s no need to rush but…could we…maybe…kiss?” My voice got softer and softer as I went on but Shu’s soft smile encouraged me.

“Of course, mon chère.”

This time when our lips met, I didn’t pass out. The kiss was soft and unsure, but it was a kiss. And that was better than I could have imagined.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“Ohoho~ Slave-chan, you’ll never believe what a little birdy just told me.”

I looked up from my paperwork to glare at Wataru. It was a few days after the Tanabata. Both Shu and Sagami-sensei had insisted that I take a few days off to recover and an appointment had been booked with my doctor to work out why my meds had stopped working correctly. But after only a few days, the paperwork had really piled up.

“Hibiki-senpai, I don’t have time for your dramatics right now. Can’t you see I’m busy?”

He chuckled.

“Fufu, I’m sure you are. But this was the most AMAZING~~✩ news,” he placed an elbow on the desk, cupping his face in his hand. “Are you sure you don’t want to hear it?”

I closed my eyes, briefly debating if murdering one of the Eccentrics would truly be a punishable crime. After all, if it was Wataru I would be ridding the world of a great nuisance, right? Maybe I would be free to complete paperwork without any distractions.

“What news did you hear, Senpai?”

Wataru clapped his hands.

“AMAZING~~✩ I knew you’d come around.” He was suddenly sitting on the desk next to me, instead of the seat across from me. He leaned in conspiratorially and I put down my pen to listen to him. “A little bird to me~ that a certain someone finally~ got their act together.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“You’re going to have to be a little more specific, Senpai. I’m not up-to-date with the school gossip.”

“Oya?” He twirled his braid around his finger. “I didn’t think I would need to be more specific when this piece of news involves you.”

I felt my face flush instantly. Shu and I hadn’t told anyone yet, how did Wataru know? Did Shu tell the Eccentrics already and just hadn’t let me know?

“Ah ah ah~ I can hear your thoughts racing! Don’t worry, Shu didn’t tell me. Like I said,” he gave an exaggerated wink. “A little bird told me.”

I groaned, slamming my head onto the pile of paperwork and homework in front of me. Wataru laughed merrily.

“Such a wonderful reaction! But, getting a reaction out of you is not the only reason I came here! I had hoped to find Shu-kun sewing away in here as well, but it appears its just you. Ah well,” he sighed, standing dramatically up from the desk. “I suppose I shall just have to tease him another time.”

“Tease me about what, Wataru?”

Wataru turned to face the doorway, hair nearly whacking me in the face as I lifted my head to see Shu standing in the doorway, a box of croissants in one hand and Mademoiselle resting on his other arm.

“Ah hah! So you have appeared Shu! Such a dramatic entrance rivals one of my own!” Wataru spun around the table, arms outstretched.

Shu sighed, walking into the room, placing Mademoiselle on her usual perch before sliding the box of croissants over to me.

“I got one for you. Feel free to start while I deal with this idiot.”

Wataru gasped.

“Is that any way to treat your friends, Shu?”

“Hmph. It’s certainly the way I treat annoyances.” He crossed his arms, staring Wataru down, which was kind of funny given how much shorter than Wataru Shu was. “Why are you in my clubroom Wataru? Surely you have an actual purpose other than being unnecessarily irritating.”

“But of course!” With a flourish, he pulled an envelope out of his hair. “For you and your dear Slave-chan~”

I looked up from my croissant.

“What is it?”

“An invitation…” Shu mused. “Really…what is the point of having mobile phones if you are just going to deliver these sorts of things in person?” He handed me the piece of paper. I read it over quickly.

“A party…? What for?”

“What for? My dear Slave-chan, it's a congratulatory party! From us Eccentrics to the two of you! Congratulations on saving us from another day of your pointless pining! Congratulations for finally getting your act together! Isn’t the power of love AMAZING~~✩?”

Shu let out a long-suffering sigh, but his face was slightly flushed.

“Fine. In order to spare Y/n and myself from any more of your shenanigans, we’ll agree to attend. Now, get out of my clubroom!”

Wataru smiled widely.

“Ah, I knew you’d come around! AMAZING~~✩” And he skipped out of the room a trail of rose petals falling to the ground behind him.

Shu sighed again, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek before sitting down next to me. I silently slid him the box of croissants.

“Ah, thank you, dear.”

I smiled, brushing the crumbs of my croissant off my paperwork.

“You know,” I said, as I started filling out the post-live paperwork. “I think this is the first time in nearly a year you went and got lunch all by yourself. Normally Mika-kun or I bring it to you.”

Shu hummed, carefully taking bites of his croissant.

“I guess…I wanted to do something for you instead.”

I stopped my paperwork to gape at him.

“What? Do you not believe me?” He asked as I stared at him.

“No, it's not that, I just can’t believe you said it out loud. Normally you’d be like ‘I’m perfectly capable of getting my own lunch!’ and then Mado-chan would pipe in, telling us something like ‘Shu-kun just wanted to make your life a little easier, Y/n-chan!’ y’know?”

There was a slight smile on Shu’s face from my attempts at mimicking his and Mademoiselle’s voices, but he glanced away from me.

“Well, if you prefer I can go back to that. It's just…” he paused, searching for the words. “I am trying to be clearer at communicating my feelings without Mademoiselle’s help.” ‘For you’ was left unspoken, hanging in the air around us.

He…was really serious about us, wasn’t he? Not that I had doubted him but we had only been dating for a few days and even though we’d spoken over the phone, today was the first day we had properly seen each other since the Tanabata.

I smiled at him.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

He smiled back and we kissed again, illuminated by the afternoon light streaming in through the clubroom window.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“ReaLLY…do we haVE to uSE my secRET roOM for this…?” Natsume sighed as we watched as Wataru produced a disco ball and used his hair to attach it to the roof. Kanata laughed and clapped happily, while Rei and Shu were engaged in a rather heated discussion about the pros and cons of electric guitars and their proper place in music.

I laughed a little at Natsume’s forlorn expression, pouring him another glass of the punch he’d made earlier.

“Well, would you rather do this at someone’s house?” I asked. “The only person who lives close enough and has lax enough parental supervision is Shu and I believe this was supposed to be for him, so wouldn’t that defeat the purpose.”

Natsume took the glass from my hand and downed half of it in one gulp. I laughed harder.

“It’S noT juST foR yoU anD Shu-niiSAN,” he huffed. “It’S foR thE faCT we no lonGER haVE to watCH yoU pinE aftER eaCH otHER.”

“Hey~ I can’t disagree with you on my end but Shu pining? I can’t imagine that.”

Natsume looked at me with an expression of pure disappointment.

“No wonDER it toOK you twO so loNG to geT togetHER…” he muttered.

“Hey!”

He looked me dead in the eyes.

“LeT me recreATE a sceNE frOM the laST EccenTRICS meetING.” He cleared his throat and an imitation of Shu’s voice came out. “Ah, but I don’t deserve her. I’ve done nothing but cause her pain, just like the rest of Valkyrie…How could she ever look at me with love in her ey-”

“NATSUME!” Shu shrieked from the other side of the room. “Just what do you think you are doing?!?”

The rest of the Eccentrics burst out laughing. I looked at Shu’s embarrassed expression—his face redder than Valkyrie's stage costume, his eyes wide with fear—and I couldn’t help it. I started laughing too. Soon the room was filled with the wheezes of five people so far gone into laughter that the slightest thing set them off again. In the midst of it all, Shu stood arms crossed, pouting.

By the time we all managed to calm down, we were lying on the floor in the centre of the secret room, absolutely exhausted from our laughter.

Shu frowned down at me, hands on his hips.

“If you are quite finished, can we head home?”

I pouted up at him.

“Come on, we can stay a little longer right?”

All four of the Eccentrics on the floor turned to Shu with pleading eyes. He sighed.

“Fine…fine…we can stay.”

We all cheered and Shu rolled his eyes as he lay down on the floor next to me. I turned so I was on my side, facing him.

“Hey.”

He smiled softly.

“Hello.”

Before either of us knew it we were kissing again, ignoring our surroundings even as Wataru cheered, Rei wolf-whistled, Natsume groaned, and Kanata giggled.

A perfect ending to a perfect day.

[fanficbackup]

SHU REQUEST HO!! ily korka i will wait as long as this takes you needn't fret at all <3

Could you write Shu making an outfit for his partner? Maybe there's some miscommunication because Shu wants it to be a surprise, so his partner ends up wondering if something's wrong, and wondering just what Shu's keeping from them... With a cute fluffy ending where it's revealed all he was hiding was a new outfit as a gift for his beloved partner!

Sighs. Shu Itsuki. I'm just a tiny bit in love with him. Thank you for requesting and giving me an excuse to write him :') Also, @mayoiayasep, I remember you mentioned wanting to be tagged when I was talking ab wanting to write smth with a similar concept to this so <3

Word count: 1603 Summary: After weeks of not hearing from Shu, his partner grows worried that something may be wrong. But, upon finally getting a hold of him (by letting themself into his home), their expectations are flipped on their head as Shu hands them his gift. Warnings: it's implied Shu hasn't been eating properly </3 Notes: they/them pronouns, a singular use of (y/n), a hint of an angst as result of a misunderstanding, but with a happy, fluffy ending :>

Shu has been avoiding them for a while now. Them, his beloved muse, his significant other. The one he promised his loyalty and love to. Now, it was as if he’d forgotten of their existence. Worse, actually, he has been actively negating their existence by ignoring and avoiding them. And the people around them have noticed, and the people around them started whispering, and then they themselves noticed it, too. How could they not, hearing the other students pitying them so openly. “Did you hear?” they whispered, as if the object of their rumours wasn’t standing just a few steps in front of them. “It seems like Itsuki’s lost interest in them… They say it’s only a matter of time before they break up. If Itsuki doesn’t just ghost them!” Laughter. Venomous, hurtful laughter. Shu wouldn’t do that, they assured themself. He was… a lot of things, but he wasn’t the type to just ghost someone. They were sure he simply got engrossed in his work once more. They shook their head to free themself of the negative thoughts, deciding to visit Shu in the coming week. They’d bring him some food, check in on him. Hopefully, get the answer as to why he’s been avoiding them. It’s been long enough, and they’ve found themself sick of all the rumours that flew around them.

And so they stood, about three days later - three days of unanswered texts and missed calls later - by the front door of Shu's home. A bag hanging from the grove of their elbow, croissants fresh from that bakery they remembered Shu praising once in it, they knocked on the door. Only to receive no response. They shifted their weight from one foot to the other, gritting their teeth together. Truth be told, they were becoming quite frustrated with his behaviour. Nothing was wrong that they could tell, in fact, their relationship was only becoming stronger in the days preceding his disappearance. And then suddenly… he just goes radio-silent. They were worried, yes, but they wouldn't deny that they had feelings, too, and regardless of what Shu was going through, he was their boyfriend. Didn't they at least deserve an excuse? An explanation?

They’ve rung the bell twice by now. They called him once more - voicemail. They even called Mika at one point, who was about as helpful as Shu himself, only hanging up with sorries and, worst of all, telling them to just go home. That Shu was fine. But, being Shu's partner for as long as they were, they had a spare key. They didn't want to use it, knowing it was only given to them for emergencies, but for all they knew Shu was lying passed out on the floor and it might have been an emergency. They were worried, after all, even more so when that particular thought ran through their head.

"Shu! I've let myself in!" they said upon unlocking the door. Looking around, the home didn't seem to be in a disarray - that much. There was some settled dust on the shelves, and stale bread left out on the counter. No dishes in the sink. Either he was at least making sure he had something to eat off of, or he’s been neglecting to eat again. The dining room table was covered in papers, on which some seemingly unfinished sketches were hastily drawn. It looked like he was making something again, which made his partner breathe out in relief. Relief at knowing he was, after all, just engrossed in his work again. Relief that was soon replaced with an even stronger worry. They were thankful they came to check in on him, he was probably overworking himself if he hadn’t even the energy to answer their calls.

So, they went straight to his workroom. They knocked on it, still keeping their manners. “I know you’re in there, I can hear your machine,” they said upon getting no response. “Come on, it’s me! I’m giving you two minutes, and then I’m coming in.” “Non!” The first word they’ve heard from him in weeks. In what felt like years. His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn’t even spoken at all in those weeks. “Don’t come in yet! Give me ten- twenty more minutes and I’ll come out.” “Shu, I’m worried about you!” “Fifteen more minutes! Just wait in the-” a whispered curse, “... in the kitchen!”

And what else could they do? They’ve waited this much, fifteen more minutes won’t kill them. And if Shu collapses, well, they’ll at least hear it and be able to help. So, to pass the time faster, they tidied up the papers from the table, placing them all on one stack in the corner. And sneaking a peek at a few of them. It looked like a full outfit this time, quite the attractive one, too. They left the bag of croissants on the table, and proceeded to wait the remaining time. Soon enough, Shu stumbled out of the room, as if in a daze. The dark bags under his eyes told the entire story. “What date is it?” He asked. They took a glance at him, looking him over. His fingers were sloppily bandaged. “You’ve hurt yourself. Come on, I’ll properly bandage that for you.” He dodged their attempt at taking hold of his hand. “The date. What date is it, (y/n)?” Upon getting an answer (and a worried look from his partner who now knew just how badly he was out of it), he nodded. “Perfect. Perfect timing. Actually, scratch that. You were too early. Work on that.” He was rambling. “Work on what? Never mind. Sit down, when’s the last time you slept?” “Unimportant. Come with me.” “No. I’ve been so worried! At least eat first and-” “With me, now.”

He grabbed their wrist, pulling them over to the workroom. Truthfully, he wasn’t very strong, but they’ve decided to humour him just a little more. The sooner they comply, the sooner they can shove carbohydrates down his throat and forcefully tuck him in. “Fine, fine, stop pulling!” Immediately upon entering the workroom, he laid a bunch of cloth in their arms. A full outfit. Was this what he was working on? “Go put this on. I will turn around, rest assured.” “That’s not the problem… Surely, playing dress-up can wait until after you eat something?” “It’s not playing, darling, it’s a fitting. Go on. Call for me if you need my help.”

A few minutes later, they were both situated in the dimly lit workroom, standing in front of a wall-length mirror that, frankly, could have been cleaner. “Stand up straight,” Shu mumbled, patting down their waist and pulling on the cloth here and there to straighten it out. “Give me your hand.” He took hold of the sleeves, folding them inwards a few times, shaking his head, and unfolding them again. The sleeves were a perfect length. He walked a circle around them, his piercing gaze boring holes into every part and detail of their body. But it seemed like everything was just right, and not even he, ever the perfectionist, had any complaints. Once more, he stood behind them, this time kneeling to check the hems. Once more - “Perfect. Exactly as I envisioned it.” And he finally sighed out. 

Shu stood up, patting down their shoulders for one last time. He let his hands trail down their arms, and back up, before he gently took hold of their shoulders. And they caught his eyes in the mirror. He held their gaze. “I told you to stand up straight. You’re wearing the Itsuki Shu’s work. Wear it proudly.” They took a moment to properly take those words in. They were wearing an outfit made especially for them by Shu. They marvelled at their reflection for a moment. The outfit truly looked perfect, not to mention it was tailored exactly to their tastes. Shu must have been quite the listener, even if he acted uninterested so often, there was not a single detail that wasn’t precisely to their tastes. From the silhouette to the colours, nothing was less than perfect. And as they stood there in awe, Shu’s hands started travelling once more. Down their back, and around their waist, he wrapped them into a hug, one rather uncharacteristic. He must have truly been tired. He buried his face into the crook of their neck, as if hiding, before whispering into their skin, “I’m taking you out for dinner… Tomorrow. Make sure you wear this.” “Tomorrow? Did you make this for-” “Our anniversary, yes. I’m… not proud of the fact that I made you worry. I can assure you I will try my best that it doesn’t happen again. But I won’t apologise for wanting to keep your gift a surprise.” “Fine. Thank you.” They placed their hands on top of Shu’s, who was still keeping his wrapped around their waist. Well, right up until that moment. He retracted his hands the moment theirs touched him, as if he was burnt by the contact. “The… The clothes will get creased.” He came up with an excuse quickly, but the words did little to hide his reddening face. He coughed, stepping back and putting some distance between them. 

“You mentioned you brought food, is that right? I could eat… As long as you agree to keep me company.” “Of course. Come on, I bought your favourites.” “Thank you…” And though he merely mumbled it, too proud to say out loud, they heard it anyway: the smallest of apologies for having worried them.

[fanficbackup]

thank you for enabling me korka ily. your writing is amazing <3 idea number one! numero uno! silly little Mika fluff!! How about Mika realizing he has a crush on someone; and his idea of a confession is to make them a plushie! But Arashi tells him he needs a little more flare than that to make his feelings clear. So, perhaps some cute little Mika shenanigans, trying to plan the 'perfect' confession and make the best plushie for his potential partner~?

I told you this was the first fic I'm gonna write in the new city, and I think I kept my promise. I thought about scheduling this for your bday, but~ Instead of a late request, consider this an early bday gift <3 and I hope I'll get your second request finished in time, but I can't make any promises

Title: Operation: Score Mika a Date Word count: 3576 Summary: Arashi does her best to make Mika finally, finally confess to his crush. But when nothing she suggests works, maybe it's best to trust Mika do to it his way... Notes: Less of a focus on the "making the best plushie" part, but I hope I made up with it with the shenanigans. Arashi turned out to be a major character lol and Mika and Naru being besties <3

“Na~ru-cha~n!” Cries reverberated throughout the common room. Mika, the originator of said cries, laid draped across the aforementioned Naru-chan’s lap, whining all the while. "I dunno what to do!" he drawled out, groaning into her thighs. And Arashi, who tried her best to comfort him by petting his hair, sighed. "Well, they seem to like you, don't they? You're always telling me about how they give you compliments and like talking to you, right?" Of course, the “they” she was talking about was Mika’s crush. The person he’s been going on and on about for ages. He was absolutely in love, and it was obvious from how he alternated between crying and giggling about them every day. Today – it was crying. "But what if I'm misunderstandin'? What if they don't like me like that? Uuwh…” he cradled his head in his hands. “It makes my head hurt…" "You'll never know if you don't just tell them how you feel." "But what if… How do I even do that? I can't just tell 'em - I l-love ya…" "Oh, Mika-chan…" Arashi truly didn't know what to do about him anymore. "Just speak from your heart!" Mika paused, pondering it for a moment. He seemed to really give it some thought, his brows furrowing as Arashi continued twisting his hair around her fingers. Ultimately, however - "That ain't helpful at all!"

This has become their routine by now. Mika, the silly guy, managed to fall in love. No, rather, he tripped into love. Faceplanted straight into it before he was even aware of what had happened. Arashi was thrilled to find this out; she always aspired to live out a teen drama and if there was one thing missing from her checklist, it was helping her best friend woo their crush. Now her best friend, Mika, has finally fallen in love, and she, as knowledgeable as she is about matters of the heart, can help him! But Mika was not very open to her ideas. Every "Confess to them!" was met with "What if they reject me?", every "They were flirting!" with "They were just bein' polite" and every "Just ask if you can kiss them" with "Are ya crazy?! They'll start hatin' me!" It was as if he was working directly against her and himself, rejecting every idea in its conception, not even entertaining the idea of a happy ending. Yet, Arashi never gave up.

Like many best friends, they frequently had sleepovers together. When HiMERU and Tetora had work or other plans, Arashi would often invite Mika to sleep over in her dorm, and Mika would do the same whenever Ritsu was gone for the night. The beds were big enough, and they were close enough to share them without any awkwardness - not to mention that it was fun. And this time, too, Mika was sitting criss-cross on Arashi's bed, who was sitting on her legs next to him, peering at his phone while eating cucumber slices. "So, you’ll confess to them in person, right?" she inquired. “How are you going to ask them to meet up?” "I sent ‘em, … um, hey - are ya free this weekend?" "Oh, sweetie, that makes you sound too shy. Just ask if they want to hang out this weekend." "Ain't that too direct?" "Everybody likes direct men. You have to show you’re confident! You know what you want and you’re not afraid to ask for it!" Mika flinched. "Read!" he exclaimed. "They left me on read! N'agh…!! This is too stressful!" He hugged the pillow in his lap, burying his face into it. "Bein' in love sucks for real!"

"Alright, alright, it's not the end of the world, maybe they're busy! Put the phone down, come on, I'll do your nails." He hesitated letting go of his phone, hoping he’ll see them typing any second now, but ultimately doing as he was told. He watched Arashi grab her kit before setting his hands on a magazine. To be used as a pad; to avoid getting product on the bed sheets. It was a magazine targeted towards girls, one of Arashi’s older ones. A few seconds passed in silence, but, as she started prepping his nails for the new paintjob, she began speaking, "Talk to me, Mika-chan. How are you planning on confessing, anyway?" "’M not. I mean, I am, but I ain’t got a plan. I was just gonna wing it." "Wing it?! Oh, dear… Well, fine, think about it now. What do you think you could do? I’m sooo curious, and you never talk with me about your plans on seducing them." "Se-seducin’?" His face burnt red. "I dunno… They mentioned they liked the plushies I made once. Maybe I can make 'em a plushie and…" "I'm sure that'd be cute, but for a confession," she tsked, "you'd need a bit more pizazz!" He tilted his head, not unlike a confused puppy. "Pizazz! Flair! Everybody loves a grand gesture of love. Hmm, actually-" She set her tools down, raising his hands and grabbing the magazine that was under them. As she showed its cover to Mika, she beamed, "Look! Read what's written here!" "Um… I dun think knowin' trends from four years ago will impress 'em." A groan. "No, silly, here." She pressed her finger against a box of text in the corner. "The 10 best ways to confess to your crush! You can even do their 'Do they like you back?' quiz if you’re so worried!"

When Mika's nails were painted and dried, he helped Arashi dye her hair. Rather, he was dying her hair while she read him out the questions in the magazine’s quiz, marking all his answers to count up later. "Do they go out of their way to talk to you? A: they only talk to me when they have to, B: no, they tend to avoid me, C: sometimes, but they stick to small talk, or D: yes, they talk to me about almost every topic there is." He huffed. "Well, I guess D…?" "Alright… Do they find excuses to touch you while talking to you?" "N'ah… I dunno. They touch my arm when I make 'em laugh and… Sometimes they bump their knee against mine when we sit next'ta each other?" "That's a yes!" As she tallied up his answers, he was finishing up with her undercut. Absentmindedly playing with her hair as his thoughts trailed off.

Mika knew he had to confess to them someday. Being around them started becoming painful recently (he's been pining for some months, and being friends with your crush can sometimes be a curse as much as a blessing), and he felt guilty over how much his heart hurt every time they made plans with somebody else instead of with him. They've become friends and, he was certain because of how much of a catch they are, it was only a matter of time before they end up telling him about a significant other. His heart would break. He had to confess, otherwise he was always going to wonder. Especially if they start dating someone else, especially if it turns serious. He can pretend to be happy for them, but… "Great news, Mika-chan! Listen, it says: Sparks are flying! You are your crush's crush! If they not only like being around you, but also initiate conversation often, if they hold eye contact and smile easily at you, if they can't help laughing at your every joke (no matter how bad) and touching your shoulder when you talk - they like-like you! Confessing is not only safe, but highly encouraged. A romance is already blooming between you, and you need to make sure you lock it in." She closed the magazine, leaving it on the desk and spinning around in her chair to meet Mika's wide-eyed stare. "See? Just as I told you! They li~ke you, Mika-chan, you have to tell them how you feel! As your best friend," she placed a hand over her heart, as if swearing, "it is my duty to make sure you two end up on at least one successful date." He bit his lip. Truthfully, he felt like crying, both out of happiness, but also out of anxiety. He was afraid to raise his expectations, but if Arashi was that confident… "Alright. What's it say 'bout those ways of confessin'?" "That's my bestie!! So-" she grabbed the magazine again, jumping from the chair to the bed again. But a ping interrupted them. Mika's phone. He immediately grabbed it, checking the new notification. Arashi looked at him worriedly as he started trembling, but his huge smile quickly made those worries dissipate. "They replied!" he all but squealed. "They replied?!" "They replied!!"

It was easier to convince Mika to go with the magazine's advice when Arashi had managed to convince him he had a chance. Usually, he would stay away from grand gestures - he was shy himself and didn't like the pressure of it all - but the seductive sparkle of the possibility of a date with his crush was too tempting to turn down. And so, method one: asking them out directly. Per Arashi's instructions, Mika was to talk to his crush, and ask them if they wanted to get coffee with him after work. Something casual enough, but obvious as a date. Unfortunately for Mika, his crush responded with, "Oh, cool! Should we invite the others, too?" … Arashi bought him ice cream and promised they were just a little oblivious. It can't be helped, since he was too chicken to say, "As a date".

Method two: leaving them a note. They both decided that would be a good next step. He can write out a proper confession, and not worry about stuttering or chickening out. All he has to do is write out his thoughts, leave the note somewhere where they'd see it, and then wait for them to bring it up. Mika poured his soul into that note, he didn't even want Arashi to give him advice on it - he wanted it to be all his own words. He mentioned how long he's liked them and how shy he feels around them, the excuse for why he's writing a note. How he really wants to take them out on a date. How he just wants that single chance, one date! But that he'll respect their wishes if they don't feel the same way, not even enough to give it a shot. He ends it all with a scribble of a flower. But in the adrenaline rush of "Oh, shit, I'm actually doing this, I'm actually leaving my heart out in the open," signing the note escaped his mind entirely. He just slipped it into their pocket when they weren't looking, and ran off.

"You're never gonna believe it, Mika!" they laughed, fishing for something in their pocket. "Look! I have a secret admirer~!" They waved the note in front of his face. His note. Did they recognise his handwriting? Were they making fun of him? He blushed, the very tips of his ears burning up, ready to deny and defend himself, but they spoke first. "What, are you jealous? Come on, you're an idol, I know you get love letters all the time, too, let me have this. You're no fun!" They joked. "O-oh, you dunno who it's from?" His heart was about to explode, he could feel it beating in his throat. "How could I? There's no signature. Whoever it is uses a really cute dialect, though." "Cute?" There it was. They were making fun of him. "Yeah, I think it's very attractive, actually. Well, I hope this person will actually ask me if I got their note, I'm dying of curiosity." "... Y'think it's attractive…" Mika has stopped listening. And functioning. "Hey? Mika? Do I need to take you to the infirmary? You're looking a bit feverish." "N'gah!" He got startled, hand clasping over his chest. "No, no, ‘m fine, I just suddenly remembered I have some, uh, work to do. See ya later!" It was a step closer, but he was still unhappy with the result. At least he could be comforted knowing they thought his dialect was cute. Attractive, even.

Method three: spreading a rumour. This one sounded counterproductive to Mika, but Arashi found merit in it. She was going to be the gossip, to "wing woman" him, as she put it. "Hey, did you hear," she whispered to whoever would listen, "that Kagehira has a crush on (y/n). He's head over heels in love. Do you think he has a chance?" All Mika had to do was gauge his crush's reaction to hearing the rumour, and decide whether it's a good enough reaction to mention that the rumour is true. It travelled across town fairly quickly (and Mika was scolded by Ibara over it, as it escaped the confinement of ES, but those were the sacrifices they had to make) and soon enough… "I heard a weird rumour, Mika - you'll laugh, I promise - people are saying you have a crush on me." They laughed, but he had trouble discerning whether they were laughing at the absurdity, or out of their own shyness. "Yeah, that’s… weird. And what do you think about it?" He stuffed a candy in his mouth the moment the sentence dripped off his tongue. Where did he get the courage for such direct questions? "I don't know. We're friends, aren't we? People often confuse close friends' behaviour with that of lovers. Maybe they thought you were into me because we always hang out alone. Like now!" "Right. That is funny." He never laughed in a more forced way. They'd already changed the subject, and he was left with no information on how to proceed.

"Mika-chan, I'll be honest," Arashi was lying on her stomach on Mika's bed, leafing through a fashion magazine. "I think we're running out of methods." Mika was sitting on the floor, back to his bed's frame, head leaned into his palms. "I know." "You're going to have to ask them out directly. I mean more directly than last time. You’re going to have to tell them you want to take them on a date, in those words exactly." "... I know. It's just!" He groaned, hitting the floor with a hand and leaning his head on the mattress. "This sucks, this sucks so bad! Why’s it so hard?! I'm always tellin' ya how I feel 'bout them, I can write it all out, I can talk to anyone else 'bout it, but in front of 'em, I just… I freeze up, like an idiot! Like a stupid, worthless coward! I hate it so much!" He sniffled, quickly wiping his eyes before the tears could fall. "It ain't fair at all! And nothin' I do is workin'... Naru-chan, I think they just don't like me and're pretendin' they don't get it. I'm probably embarrassin' myself badly 'n they're just too nice to say anythin'." "That's not true!" She flipped closed the magazine, shifting into a sitting position. "You're not an idiot or a coward! I don't want you to talk like that about yourself." "I am… I'm so stupid to think they'd even like me back." He hid his face in his hands. His shoulders were trembling, and Arashi felt bad. She felt guilty, as if her pushing him was to blame. "Are you crying...?" "... No." "Mika-chan, you're my best friend. I know when you're crying. Do you want a hug?" He just sobbed into his hands and nodded. And she got down, kneeled beside him, and hugged him close to her chest.

He cried into her shoulder for a minute or two. Shaking and sniffling, squeezing her for comfort. When his sobs died down, she took the chance to speak up, "Hey, Mika-chan, I had an idea." "Please, no more ideas… It ain't gonna work, nothin’ will." "No, hear me out. Please? You don't have to do it, just think about it." When she was met with silence, she decided to continue speaking. "Remember what you told me when we started Operation: Score Mika a Date? About the plushies? I was thinking…"

It took weeks of hard work. A big chunk of his savings for the materials, too. And a lot of patience. But it was finished. He'd already called his crush and asked them to meet up in their usual hangout spot, one that he knew wasn't going to be crowded. And he arrived early, enough that he can take a moment to calm down and steel his nerves. Even Arashi came with him, hoping to give him a last-minute pep talk. "You have it with you?" She asked rubbing his shoulder. "I do, 's here." "You got this, okay? If they reject you, just nod and say-" "'S okay, I hope we can still be friends - I know." "And don't be pushy." "Mhm." "Oh, I think I see them… I'll be a bit further away if you'll need me. Text me how it goes, okay?" "Y-yeah."

Arashi left, and a few minutes later, his crush stood in front of him. "Hey! You said you wanted to see me because you had something to tell me? It's not something bad, I hope?" He stood silently. Gulped. He was holding his gift behind his back, and he could feel his palms getting sweatier. It was now or never. "(Y/n)-chan," he didn't stutter yet, "I wanted to give ya somethin'. You said ya liked my plushies, so…" He slowly brought his hand in front of him. He was holding a classical teddy bear, with dark green fur and mismatched yellow-blue button eyes. Though the craftsmanship was definitely a bit unprofessional, the amount of care and love that went into it was truly visible. The bear was holding a heart, sewn into its paws, with embroidered lettering. Shaky, but obviously something that was worked very hard on. A simple message on it: I love ya.

Mika's hands were shaking as he outstretched them, offering them the plush bear. "Ac-accept it, please." And he bit his tongue for that stutter. "And… Accept my feelings… (Y/n)-chan, I wanna be yer boyfriend." Did he sound confident enough? He hoped he did. He was certain he didn't look confident, what with the blushing and the avoiding eye contact, but he said it loudly, clearly… "D’ya wanna go out with me?" He really couldn’t look them in the eye, instead he stared down, fiddling with his sleeves, while waiting for the answer. Seconds felt like hours. He looked up timidly, curious on why they were silent. He was afraid they were creeped out. But they were… staring at the teddy bear. "It's really cute. I love it… Thank you, Mika!" They smiled at him. His heart skipped a beat and his knees nearly buckled. He didn't want to press them for an answer to his confession, but he couldn't deny that not even that praise was enough to distract him. He just wanted to hear an answer. "And… So, will ya…?" "The rumour was true, then?" They smirked at him. Mika was truly going to die if they kept looking at him like that. But he nodded. All his cards were now thrown face-up on the table. "The note… The note, too. Tha' was me…" "I knew it," they laughed. "It was so hard trying to give you hints to just ask me out already. But it was cute watching you struggle." "N'ah? Ya wanted me to…? Is that a yes? You'll go out with me?" His vision was getting blurry, and if his legs don't actually give out, he'll consider it a miracle. Mika was barely breathing, his heart beating out of his chest from the excitement. And his eyes just sparkled as he leaned in closer to them, eager and excited. If he had a tail, it’d certainly be wagging. "Of course I will! Let's make this our date, then. Where do you want to go?"

When he arrived home that day, he was running on autopilot. He texted his crush, no, his significant other (he's getting giddy just thinking about it!) he had fun today. He asked them if they want to go on another date sometime soon. He took a shower, changed into his pyjamas, and he just… lied in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Before flipping over and screaming into his pillow. Memories of their first date still fresh in his mind. They walked holding hands, they shared cotton candy… When they were sitting on a bench, they even leaned their head on his shoulder. They did all the things couples do on dates… They were a couple now! He held the pillow closer. When the sun set, he walked them home and they… He kissed them.

Mika was still high off the excitement of that day. He wasn't going to get any sleep that night, but he's happy. He's as happy as he was when he was accepted into Yumenosaki, when Shu allowed him to become a part of Valkyrie. He just wanted to call them, to hear their voice again, but instead he called Arashi. He wasn't going to bother them so late in the evening, and Arashi was dying to hear the details, anyway. One thing is certain, however: Mika cannot wait for their next date.

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aight another break for me im tired again appreciate how I can only do like 5 before getting sidetracked and going I don't wanna anymore

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hi!! can i request hcs for mika who is going to the beach with his s/o or something like that please?? I will be grateful in advance! don't forget to take care of yourself♡

mika going to the beach with his s/o.

gn!reader. headcanons. fluff.

authors note : ugh mika the mipy i love him so much u guys got no idea how much i love him

tag list : @nnatsume

— mika is one of the best people to go to the beach with, he surprisingly has the best floats/toys just in his closet. he builds some of the best sand castles, like seriously he builds actual “castles” out of sand and just brushes it off.

— shu and or arashi often comes along with, the more the merrier right? although shu mainly just relaxes in a sun chair/on a float, arashi is more than willingly to join you two in building sand castles and swimming. you guys have played marco-polo more times than you can count.

— he always stops by a store before going to get drinks/snacks/ice cream to enjoy while at the beach. he cried once cause he dropped his ice cream so you two just shared, arashi took a picture and sent it to him. it’s his lock screen now.

— shu appreciates how these days can really help mika destress, he is visibly more happy and walks with a pep in his step after a day at the beach. mademoiselle also thinks you two are the cutest and has definitely discussed matching swimsuit ideas with him.

— mika loves having you on his shoulders while swimming, he loves the smile and look in your eyes more though. he has definitely wrestled with you in the water too. arashi on your shoulders and shu on his, although it took a LOT of bribing to get shu to join.

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Haloo! Can I please have cuddles hc with Mika? Thankss uwu

Cuddling Headcanons with Mika

Cuddling starts by asking each other’s affirmation. This can rendered through tugging one’s sleeve or brushing your hands with the other.

You would likewise be the first to cuddle. Gently intertwining your hands with his, as if you were unsure if the other party would welcome it.

Eventually, the two of you become confident about each other’s touches. In private, Mika would hold you in different ways. One is through letting you rest in his lap while he stitches fabric. He also hums you a song and as he feels your breathing become slower, you see a small grin on his face.

Two, as mentioned earlier, is by linking each other’s hands. This may seem the most basic. However, this form of cuddling is how the two of you started showing physical affection. Thus, is also a means to dispel doubt since you seek affirmation.

The last is by snuggling in each other's embrace when you sleep. This could be at any time depending on how tired the two of you are. Mika will lean into your touch and pull you closer to him. Entangling your limbs together as he doesn't want to be separated from you during your most intimate times. You're so close to each other, heartbeats becoming sober, eyes exhibiting longing, but this is how you'd like it to be.

maow's note: mikami is too precious💕💕 can i put him in my pocket pls

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Hello! I'd like to request Natsume, Hiiro, and Mika (separate) finding out that their s/o has a keychain of them, thank you and have a nice day!

Finding out their s/o has a keychain of them - Natsume, Hiiro, Mika

Characters: Natsume Sakasaki, Hiiro Amagi, Mika Kagehira

Genres: Fluff, fluff, and fluff!

Smaller “tags”: Keychains, Jealousy, Kisses, Video calls, Dates, Canon Universe

TW: None!

A/N: The requests are coming in~! Those that submitted requests so far, thank you for following the guidelines! All of you have really interesting prompts and ideas, it’s fun to write them! 

I’m not too familiar with Mika in general- Sorry if any of them are OOC! Also Gr*mmarly stop picking on Natsume and Mika’s speech you bully. 

I hope this was what you were looking for, anon!

NATSUME SAKASAKI ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

— You'd recently bought a small Nendoroid keychain, an inanimate replica of your lovely, redheaded boyfriend who was now scrutinising it with a sullen expression, similar to a pout. 

— How did you end up here, in his secret room, with a displeased Natsume in front of you? 

— Simple, though not really - you had been proudly displaying the redhead’s keychain everywhere, talking about it whenever you could. It was no surprise that even such an insignificant piece of news had reached the ears of your boyfriend. 

“Hey, don’t break that, okay? It was hard to find,” Your words finally pull his eyes away from the dangling keychain in his fingers, with that frown still on his face. 

“When did you get thIS?” 

“A day or two ago, at-” 

“So hE’s your new lovER?” 

His question catches you off-guard, a confused expression creasing your face. 

“What? No, it’s just a keepsake.” 

“I don’t think sO. People say you have been calling it your darLING.”

Ah. Now that you remembered. But you weren’t referring to the keychain, you were talking about him! 

Then again, you did indeed gush over how tiny and cute the Nendoroid was, and you did call it “darling”, as Natsume had pointed out in a huff. 

“I mean, yes, but it’s just a toy…” 

The male didn’t seem to accept the excuse, turning the figure in his hands and looking down at it with disdain. 

“FinE. If you want to kEEP it with you all the tIME, might as well make it useFUL.” The redhead nonchalantly says, turning to his little workspace, the keychain still in his hand. 

You watched his back as he tinkered with it, muttering under his breath. There was this odd atmosphere in the air, giving you the sense that Natsume had just run from an awkward conversation between the both of you. You would've laughed at this moment if you weren't so nervous from his small outburst just now that suddenly turned into silence as he focuses on his work. It was as if you could never figure out what this wizard was up to.

He returns after a short moment, grasping the Nendoroid in his hand so you could barely see the head of red poking out, the silver chain hanging out.

“Hold your hands oUT,” Your lover orders, and you comply, arms outstretched and palms facing up. 

He takes your hands in his with surprising gentleness - wasn’t he irritated earlier? - and wraps your hands around the keychain, placing his hands around yours. 

Just as you were about to ask what he was doing, Natsume bends down and brings your hands to his lips, planting a tender kiss on your fingers as his golden gaze never left yours. 

“I magickED it, so now, it’s a lucky charm for you, my kitTEN~” The self-proclaimed magician says in a sing-song voice, pushing your hands down and moving past them to claim that smile of yours.

Eccentric, that’s what he was, and you loved him for it.

“When I’m not around, you can let this protect yOU. When I’m around, I want thAT out of sight and your eyes on mE.”

HIIRO AMAGI ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

— The moment the latest ALKALOID merch was released, you snagged multiple copies of each type of your lover's merchandise!

— Sadly, his keychains sold out fairly quickly - you could only get one instead of twenty as you were planning to buy, how terrible!

— Needless to say, this little limited edition keychain of your beloved redhead was your most prized possession. 

— You carry it around everywhere, hooking it to your bag or clothes and showing it off proudly!

— Which is why Hiiro notices it the moment he meets up with you again, on a date. 

— He doesn’t recognize it at first - the man’s too distracted by the sight of your smile, the way your eyes light up when he meets your gaze. 

— Until you proudly show off the keychain, angling one side of your hip towards Hiiro to show him the mini him dangling off your pants, hooked on your pocket. 

“Aha! That’s the keychain that got sold out in a few minutes! Why do you have it?”

... Honestly, you wanted to smack him for being so oblivious to the obvious sometimes. 

You huffed and pointedly explained how you had “risked life and limb” to get this limited edition merchandise, toying with the keychain as you did so. Hiiro would probably take your words literally again - but it was cute, so you exaggerate as much as possible, expecting his questioning look and small frown of confusion.

What you didn’t expect was for him to suddenly grab the hand you were fiddling the toy with, slipping his fingers between yours and locking your hand in his grip. The frown on his face was there, but not due to your bombastic words this time. Instead, Hiiro was staring at your hands, casting a resentful look at… The keychain?

“Hiiro?” This time, you were the one who was confused. (Oh, how the turns have tabled-)

“Hmm?” He perks up at your voice, piercing blue looking into your questioning eyes. “Ah, it’s nothing.” A smile returns to his face, his thumb stroking your hand reassuringly. Hiiro pulls you along as he begins walking, never letting go of your hand. 

“The keychain… Keep it at home, okay? You might lose it outside, and that would be a shame!” He hums, turning his head to address you directly.

“But it’s meant to be carried around-” 

He immediately silences your argument when you had barely started, pressing his lips against you in a shallow, yet fierce kiss. Thank goodness it was dark out, and there weren’t many around to witness this display of affection. In the middle of the street, no less.

You recognized this - he was annoyed at something involving you. The keychain tapped against your hand, like a reminder, and you figured out what was on his mind, closing your eyes and accepting his show of dominance. 

Just how ridiculous and endearing could this man get? You didn’t have an answer, for now, kissing him back with a grin. Either way, you loved him, as he loved you. 

“That’s just a toy - it can’t love you like I can and do!”

MIKA KAGEHIRA ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

— Like your heterochromia boyfriend, you had quite the aptitude when it came to art! 

— As an idol and student at Yumenosaki, Mika didn’t have much time to see you - completely understandable! But you still desperately missed the boy who had such a hold on your heart.

— Perhaps something that looked just like him would alleviate your longing! Yes, a plush just like the many soft toys he had, but smaller so you could always keep him by your side!

— There wasn’t any fan merchandise or official merchandise of him as a plushie yet, so you decided to take matters into your own hands.

— A tiny plush of your precious Mika, all for yourself! 

— It wasn’t too convenient to carry the plush everywhere as you wanted, despite its size  - aha, why not make it into a keychain, then? 

— And so the first Mika plushie keychain was born. By your own hands, no less! 

When you were satisfied with the product, you immediately texted him to see if he was free for a video call right now - you couldn’t wait to show your artsy boyfriend the results! 

Your excited smile only grew wider when you saw his beautiful pair of gold and cyan eyes, partially hidden by his cheekbones from the soft smile that dominated his face at the moment of seeing you. 

“What up? Ya’ wanted me to see somethin’?” 

Nodding, you dangled the keychain in front of the camera. “Look, a mini you!” 

“A min’ me!” He repeats. You love the way his cat-like eyes widen in awe, mouth forming an ‘o’ as he watches you turn it in your hands. “Why makin’ a min’ me all of a sudden?” 

“Ah, um…” 

His big grin tones down to a small embarrassed smile, with matching cheeks of pink when you explain. 

“Awhh, you bein’ so sweet… I done miss you too!” Mika nuzzles his cheek up to the camera, making you laugh at how cute he was. Maybe a keychain wouldn’t be enough to keep you company - you wanted to have the love of your life in your arms even more, now. 

“Ah, also…” You tilt your head at his voice, soft and breathy from your phone, waiting for him to speak again in that beautiful voice of his.

Instead, Mika presses a kiss to his camera, directed at you. It was the closest you two could get to an actual kiss right now, but it satisfied him, for now.

It's your turn to blush, hiding your face behind your arm at his action. God, how was he so adorable and loving? You could only thank fate for delivering him into your open arms. 

“I’m happy ya’ wanna keep me close to ya’ with that min' me... But I wanna be tha favourite, please?”

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I spent a little trying to come up with what I wanted to request >w> how about a kitsune AU Mika asking the gn Producer to brush his fluffy tail ?

KITSUNE... KITSUNE MIKA..... YOUR MIND ...... okay I needed some fluff in my life, actually, thank you for requesting this <3 Anyway, anyone wanna talk about a youkai AU-

Word count: 1726 Summary: A producer should take care of their idols, so it's only natural they agree to brushing their kitsune idol's tail to help him unwind after a particularly hard practise session. Notes: minimally proofread </3

A producer’s job is to support the idols on their path to fame; to have meetings with various radio and television representatives, to keep track of the idols’ schedules and promotions, to negotiate in their name and to help pitch their ideas to various agencies. These duties are very straightforward, and every producer signs on knowing that this is what they will be in charge of during their career, but still, their main job is – to support the idols. Every once in a while, a situation in which that support has to be shown in some stranger ways arises. Emotional support and a strong bond between idol and producer is also important, after all, and should be nurtured just as much as a professional bond. Of course, because every idol is an individual person first and foremost, they all wish to be supported in unique and special ways, which is ultimately up to the producer to find out and come up with the appropriate methods of support on their own. These are the most basic of the basics taught at Yumenosaki Academy’s producer course.

Knowing this, one of the students of the producer course always made sure to keep gaps between their scheduled tasks, in case something unofficial, but still imperative in supporting an idol, comes up. And so, with a bag full of water bottles and snacks, they headed towards the last bullet point on their schedule for that day. That was, to oversee a practise of the unit Valkyrie. The unit, known for always aiming for perfection (and never believing they’ve reached it) was already well into their practise by the time the Producer arrived. Though it was only supposed to start after their arrival, sweat shone on the duo’s necks, shirts and hair clung to their skin and there were more empty water bottles than full strewn on the floor. Even the mirrors had fogged up by then, an irrefutable proof of their hard work – their ambition and wish to be nothing less than perfect. Their breathing was laboured, but their eyes lit up at the chance to show off, to show their best (until then) again. And seeing them dance, seeing them sing, one could truly believe they’ve reached perfection. That was Valkyrie – Shu Itsuki and Mika Kagehira – the duo that always aimed for more.

Watching them get in formation as if even their hair wasn’t slicked with sweat, as if they weren’t heaving and as if their muscles weren’t tensing with overexertion was like a surreal experience. All these visible signs of fatigue disappeared the moment they started moving; if the Producer hadn’t seen them minutes prior, they would have believed they’d been resting until that moment. It was as if they weren’t even fully human… or rather, it was because they weren’t even fully human. Those two were spirits – supernatural entities – and so they could boast exceptional stamina, among other abilities. However, this was all kept under wraps, and only the student council, and the Producer, were aware of Valkyrie being formed of a tengu and a kitsune. Shu was the more skilled one at hiding, anyway, capable of switching from his winged and fully human form at will and preferring the fully human form, anyway, but Mika was still a young kitsune with less powers (as evidenced by his singular, however cute it was, tail), and hiding his ears and tail was far more of a chore. Though he’d scold him all the way through, Shu was the one squeezing his ears under caps and helping him alter his trousers to fit his tail without causing suspicion. But, well, Mika was at least free to let his beastly appendages breathe in private and during practises, as he was doing that day.

The music faded out, signalling the end of their performance. The Producer gave them a polite clap before handing them freshly opened bottles of cool water. “Excellent as always,” they praised, “Great work today, you two.” “We still have a long way to go until I can be satisfied,” Shu was quick to assert. Mika merely groaned in response, still catching his breath, but it was an articulation of agreement with the leader’s words. There’s not much the Producer could say to that but nod, as they were already used to Shu’s perfectionism. “Well, for today, you did well,” they played along. “Are you two done with your work?” The sun had already fallen well below the horizon, the moon and stars taking its place, but the question was more rhetorical than anything. Knowing Shu- “No,” the Producer nodded to his answer, having expected it. “I want to alter the clothes we plan to wear for the DreamFes next week, I shall do that tonight, at home. And, speaking of which, I want you to check in with those tyrants and notify them that we will be making some changes to the plans for the stage, more specifically, we have decided…”

Shu left shortly after saying his piece and coming to an agreement with the Producer, which left only Mika and them in the practise room. Mika had cooled off already by that point, but, hesitant to interrupt, he stood aside somewhat awkwardly, as if he was waiting for his turn to speak. “Um,” he started, quietly, “I wanted t’ask, if y’ve got the time…” He avoided their eyes, but the Producer could more or less assume what it was that he wanted. Mika was holding a small wooden brush, decorated with intricate carvings of swirls and foxes, in his hand. The brush he’d often hand to them when asking for help in brushing his tail. Even that day, all he did after saying those vague words was outstretch his hands, the brush cradled sweetly on his palms. “Please.” It was hard to tell whether his apple-red cheeks were a result of the physical exertion, or his own embarrassment. Well, the way his ears were pressed flat against his head made embarrassment the more likely answer. But the Producer was happy to accept.

And so, that was another day of practise that ended with Mika sitting on his knees, back turned to the Producer, who sat criss-cross behind him. His fluffy tail swayed lightly despite being held in their hand. They were careful to hold it as gently as possible as they ran the brush through the fluffy fur. Though the bushiness of his tail was what made it so soft, the sheer amount of fur took a great amount of care to not look unkempt. Brushing was part of that care, but spending so long dancing naturally left the tail looking somewhat dishevelled. “Mika,” the Producer called out between brushes. His ears twitched, a sign that he was listening, though he made no response otherwise. “Why do you always ask me to brush your tail?” He hummed. “Well… It’s sorta hard fer me to do it m’self.” “Yeah, I can guess, but why me? Wouldn’t Shu be willing to do this?” Noticing his shoulders tense, they quickly added, “Not that I don’t want to, I was just curious.” “Oshi-san ain’t as gentle as you,” he mumbled. “’Sides, I just… like it better when y’re the one brushin’ my tail. Helps me relax after practisin’.” “I see. Well, I guess it is pretty therapeutic on my end, too.”

They didn’t talk much for the next few minutes, and the only thing heard in the practise room were their breathing and the swishes of the brush’s bristles running through Mika’s fur. He started humming after a while, one of the songs the duo was preparing for the upcoming live. But nothing good lasts forever. Though he knew that that would hardly be the last time the Producer would brush his tail, noticing that they’re nearing the end still made his mood deflate a little. The Producer had a pattern that Mika had learnt by then – they would start brushing from the base of his tail, moving upwards to the tip. This method always left him with a smooth and fluffy tail, but it also made him that much more aware of how much time he had left in their company. They noticed he’d tensed up again, but their pace didn’t slow down, and they were diligently working their way up his tail. But the kitsune spirit was still strong in Mika, however meek he usually was, and he’d decided to pull a tiny little prank on his Producer, if only to lengthen the time he’d spend with them.

He leaned on his hand, spinning around to face the Producer in one swift motion. Thankfully, they weren’t holding his tail too tightly, so he was able to get it out of their grip without much pulling. “Pro-producer, um, ain’t it a bit hard to brush my tail while I’m sittin’ in front o’ya?” “Huh? How else would I do it? Do you want to lie down?” “No, I wanna… Let’s try like this.” He gulped, louder than he’d wanted to. Quickly, before he had the chance to lose his sudden bravery, he leaned in and hugged them, hooking his arms below theirs. “Ain’t it easier like this?” Well, he was still a young kitsune, so his idea of a trick was lacking, to say the least. The Producer hadn’t the heart to tell him that it was just as hard to brush his tail from this angle, however, and instead indulged him, noticing how nervous he seemed. “It’s fine, I guess we can give it a try,” they said. He nuzzled his face into their shoulder as they continued brushing the tip of his tail. And he savoured every brush, every squeeze of their fingertips around his tail as they attempted to brush out a more stubborn knot, every breath of theirs he could feel on his ears. “Thank ya kindly,” Mika mumbled into their shirt when they paused, seemingly done. Before he could pull away, however, he felt their hand rubbing between his ears. He muffled a happy squeal in their shirt, too embarrassed to let it out fully, leaning into their hand eagerly. And as the Producer once more started brushing from the base of his tail, and despite his greatest efforts to experience every moment as consciously as possible, he felt himself dozing off, still holding onto them.

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Hello hello! So lately I have been reading some of your enstars self aware au(you and your anon thoughts is so good 😭💕💕💕) and I have been thinking something... What do you think self aware idols will react if they found out that (isekai'd)player has Dakimura of them??!!! Just imagine how flustered they would be or maybe they will jealous because you can hug them instead of hugging a pillow with their full body print! 😔

(I think the official enstar has released Dakimakura of Mika, Midori, Chiaki, Ritsu, Mao, Izumi, Leo, and Rei I would to buy them but I don't know where I can buy them 😭)

Thank you for reading, I couldn´t do it without the support and cool ideas from all of the other anons as well!💕

gn reader

tw yandere

How would they react to you having a dakimakura of them?

Kind of funny that I´m answering this now because I literally just saw @koinotame ( I can remove the @ if you want) reblog the thread again where we discussed Mika making a plushie of himself and giving it to us and then getting a bit jealous in the end because why aren´t we cuddling him? He´s warmer and more comfortable than a plushie🥺 If he knew that you had a dakimakura of him, he would probably react similarly. Like he´s so so happy and elated that you like him enough to want to cuddle him every night but now that you have him, he´s more than happy to offer himself up! He will get pouty if you prefer that pillow over him

Ritsu can empathize with the need to have a lot of comfy pillows, his own bed is covered in them to allow for the best conditions for sleeping peacefully. And of course, he can´t help but grin a bit to himself when he learns of the fact that you have a dakimakura of him. Hah, you really adore him so much that you want to have him next to you when you fall. I wouldn´t be surprised if he somehow got a custom-made dakimakura commissioned off of someone or hugged a large pillow in his sleep while pretending it was you. But now you actually have each other and don´t have to pretend any longer, right? So put that pillow to the side and make some space for Ritsu to join you! He´s been waiting forever to finally cuddle with the real you so he´s not going to take no for an answer! Wants to cuddle with you at any given opportunity and would actively get jealous and really moody if you hugged his dakimakura when he was there with you. Pay him some more attention, will you? Or he´s going to have to nibble your neck a little bit to make you remember that he´s still there

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Can i request mika crawling inside the reader's shirt when it's cold? Thank you!

— SYNOPSIS ; Mika used you for warmth.

CW ; none!

WORD COUNT ; 176

PAIRING ; Mika Kagehira x GN!Reader

A/N ; URRGHH MIKA <3 There wasn’t much to go off of so it’s not alot;;^^

Mika hadn’t anticipated how cold it’d be today, he didn’t dress heavily enough to shield the cold from himself.

As he searched the area for you, he encircled himself in his arms. He would warm up more if he was near another human, right? 

He scurried over as soon as he saw you and immediately unzipped your jacket.

“Hey—“

He crouched down, dipped his head under your shirt, and then gently stood up and popped his head out. Your shirt stretched so unbelievably wide; you were afraid it’d tear open.

Mika turned his head a bit to face you, giving you a cheeky smile,”Was a bit cold, hope you don’t mind!”

You sighed, grabbing onto your jacket and wrapped it around him as much as you could. When he stares at you like that, you don't believe you could ever become angry with him. Thank god today you decided to wear a shirt you didn’t care too much about, though.

“Warm up as much as you can.”

Mika nodded, leaning against you to absorb more of your warmth.

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hi!! could you please do some headcanons of shu + mika with a crush? thank you so much!!! ^^

A/N: Of course! Sorry these are so short :bow emoji:  I'm about to start school in... six days, however that means I’ll be on my computer more. I’ll probably be writing increasingly often once the semester starts, as a way to de-stress

I’ll also be making character banners soon! 

Word Count:

CW: Gender Neutral Reader(default)

Shu Itsuki

Shu expresses his newfound affection in rather weird ways, ranging from you being allowed to get closer to Mademoiselle in proximity, to directly requesting you to accompany him while he works on designs (he still requires and expects complete silence however!)

He will often times show you his designs, secretly seeking your approval on his projects, and accidentally makes extras of the ones you favor

He isn’t one for outright stating his feelings, so it might seem sudden when Shu links your arms when crossing a road (to keep you safe, of course) or when he invites you over to his home

Over time, his physical affection (if you choose to call it that) only increases, to a point that there is a couple of weeks where your relationship can’t easily be defined by either of you

Shu, however, refuses to let things stay neutral, and one day very suddenly visits you and confesses

Mika Kagehira

Mika doesn’t originally differentiate between his romantic and platonic love for you, he knows that he enjoys being by your side, however he also doesn’t see a reason why he should have to differentiate them. You make him feel a bit better no matter what circumstances are going on, but that doesn’t mean he wants to date you... right?

He becomes subconsciously more affectionate (more so than he used to), and gifts you the small sewing projects he makes on the regular, but other than that, things stay virtually the same

Other than a few close people, nobody knows of his infatuation, Mika likes keeping his personal life.. well, personal, and there’s no reason for him to go blabbering about you to a bunch of classmates anyways

Similar to Shu, there’s a stretch in time where things stay undefined, he’s more affectionate and loving, does things that would normally signify people being in a committed relationship

However, Mika makes no moves to change this, he likes having you close to him and being able to have this kind of emotional intimacy without worrying about rejection or shoving the two of you in a label

If someone is going to confess first, it’ll have to be you

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Hi I hope I’m not late with the Christmas prompts! I just saw today was the last call, may I have 16 with Shu? Thanks in advance!

A/N: Mademoiselle should be enough to make everyone produce Valkyrie send tweet . Also this got a leeeedle long but it’s okay, cause shu is great. Idk if this is ooc but I’m really hoping it’s not 💔

*ೃ༄ Shu Itsuki + 16: “Are your hands cold? Here, let me see.”

Shu was calculating in every sense of the word. He always moved and spoke with meaning, and everything he did was for a reason. He was always focused and worked incredibly hard. It was admirable, truly—the way his fingers worked around a needle and thread, how he gracefully danced on stage, everything. Simply put, you loved and admired him.

You both had just come inside, back from one of Valkyrie’s winter lives. It was too cold for your light jacket, but you had to make due. Plus, you wouldn’t miss one of your boyfriends lives for the world. Shu instantly ran off to stitch up Mika’s outfit, which he clumsily tore. You followed, sitting down with him at the table and watching him. It was almost hypnotic—relaxing. He really did have a gift, which is one of the reasons why you found everything he did endearing.

You were startled when he stopped abruptly, setting down his things on the table and looking up at you. You hands were shaking, he commented. How embarrassing! Instantly, you laughed, shaking your head and looking away from him. The man sucked his teeth. “Cold hands…Give them to me.” Full of purpose (and love), as with everything he did, he picked up both of your hands, gazing over them with his beautiful violet eyes.

He stayed like that for awhile, running his fingers over the lines of your palms. How sweet—he really did care. He cupped them within his own hands, bringing them up to hold his cheeks and closing his eyes. These moments were cherished greatly—he wasn’t typically outward with his affections, but he didn’t mind doing these things for you…He quite liked them, actually. You just observed, smiling at him. It was picturesque, you would’ve snapped a photo if your hands weren’t full. But it’s alright, you’d make a mental note to always remember this image.

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Hi hi! I’m the one who sends the Shu requests (I refuse to come in too many times I don’t want to bother you with my way too active brainrot jssjks, not because I’m also very uncreative or anything...)

Sooooo, I was wondering as a request perhaps a date with no other than Shu Itsuki himself, which he planned for days or something, go horribly wrong. Like the perfectly clear day suddenly turned rainy. This date that was supposed to be perfect isn’t and now he feels horrible (not to mention that now he might have some doubts and think that his darling might leave him for messing this one and only chance that he had) but alas his darling tells him that’s it’s all ok or something and that they still love him.

Yeah I may have thought of this like 5 minutes ago. I just want more of Shu and I love your writing A LOT. Have a nice day (or night)!

The failed date

Genre: crack and fluff

A shu itsuki x reader

a/n: been a while since I wrote for ensemble stars but hello! I'm back! Hope you guys enjoy this one! Let's get started!

Shu is a control freak, we know that much.

He doesn't really like people touching his works in progress or mademoiselle because they might ruin it.

Your dates are no exception. He always wants it to be perfect.

Let him plan the dates, he'll literally start sulking if something unexpected happens.

Anyway, He planned this little picnic with you at the park.

He even made an effort to make matching outfits for the two of you.

you both go to the park and started setting up when you saw the thick gray clouds rolling above you.

"shu," you called to him, looking up at the sky. "it looks like it's about to rain," you said nervously.

"oh darling, it can't rain! I checked the forecast, isn't that right, mademoiselle?" he cuddled his doll to his cheek with a smile.

Yeah, he was very wrong. As soon as he said that, it started to rain.

You had to rush and grab all the food and get into the car.

You were both soaked to the bone. The rain ruined your outfits and his mademoiselle's hair.

Shu was sulking. He took out the blanket in his trunk and wrapped himself around his figure as he whimpered.

"come on, shu, don't worry about it," you said, as you pumped on the gas to head back home as quickly as you can. "we can do a little indoor picnic," you suggested.

Shu's head perked up at that.

"really?"

"really. We can even watch movies while we fix mademoiselle's hair."

Shu's eyes lit up. "wonderful idea, darling! We shall head home at once!" he exclaimed with happiness, making you smile too.

Even in a situation like this, Shu can never fail to put a smile on your face.

And that is all! Requests are open so please don't be shy to leave anything in my inbox! Love you guys 💕♥️💖

General taglist (don’t be shy to comment your tumblr @ below): @tokyoghoose @macaronnv @reogou @midnightangelfox @wumboho @seiijixcia

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Hiiii saw that requests are open and thought I would drop in! For the ask game, can I have uh❣️🔎💋 with Shu? Thanks in advance!

I wanna preface this by saying that I hc Shu as having OCD or something of the like, and I lean into that quite a bit when I write him. If anyone with OCD reads it and thinks "well this doesn't sound like MY experience" I want to remind you that people's experiences can be vastly different, that I personally suffer from quite bad OCD, and that I use my own experiences to inform the way that I write Shu.

Thank you so much for requesting!! <3

❣️. What makes them blush/ gets their heart pounding?

When you understand him. Shu is often known as strange, even for an oddball, his little 'quirks' and his need to have everything just so setting him aside from the rest- labelling him as "troublesome" or "high maintenance" and other distasteful, unfair things. When you show him that you don't see any of that, that you understand why he is the way he is and accept him unconditionally- even going out of your way to make sure he's comfortable- he loses himself for a moment and just... stares at you, revelling in the knowledge that you love him as much as he loves you.

He also loves it when you smile genuinely at him. You're so cute, it always brings the blood rushing to his cheeks.

🔍. Do they ask for advice or just deal with their crush on their own?

Shu is far too proud to ask for advice. Crushes are messy, and not at all artistic, and he refuses to even acknowledge to himself that he has one until it gets so bad that he literally cannot deny it anymore. If someone he trusted noticed, he might be persuaded to confide, but only if he really, really trusts them- or if he's absolutely lost on what to do.

💋. How do they kiss?

At first, softly, almost timidly. Kisses are... messy, and Shu reserves them for the most intimate of moments, when words aren't enough to tell you how he feels and he's desperate enough to convey his feelings that he's willing to ignore the mental discomfort for a moment. Still, he's kind of hesitant about them, especially the first few times. You might stop him and ask him if he really wants to kiss you, making it clear that if its uncomfortable for him he doesn't have to, but he really does want to- there's to battle to be had with the part of his mind that tells him the world will cave in if everything isn't perfect first, though. Be patient with him, and he'll be able to work through it in time, especially with you by his side giving him the courage. Once he does, he's a lot more passionate, though he still likes to reserve them for private moments- to Shu they're the most romantic gesture there is, not just a sign of love, but of how much he was able to overcome with your help and motivation.

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You know when you think of something and you think you request it to someone but the. You aren’t sure? Yeah that is me.

Can I request something along the lines of Shu meeting his s/o’s conservative parents. Who immediately question his appearance? Like as if not looking manly enough I guess??? I hope this makes sense lol. My parents always talk bad about Shu when I talk about him to them when I like him a lot and uh rip ;-;. So I wanted to see how he would act??? Sorry for such a weird request haha.

Oh and if you see something like this in your inbox it might be also me as like I said I think I sent it to someone (I think I sent it to this one user that deleted their account tho so that’s why I’m sending here haha)

I'm so sorry you have to hear them insult him! :( Mine have insulted Nazuna (and other characters/people I like) a few times, calling him a girl and such, and it sucked big time, so I definitely get how you feel!

I went to a lot of different directions with this lol. I still hope it was what you wanted^^

Remember, like who you wanna and don't let them stop you from doing so :)))) Hope you enjoy this!!

Tw: Critical parents. This might hit a bit too close to home for some, so be warned! Also, sth is implied abt gender and such, of the type "you don't look like your gender" which may be uncomfy to some. So ya, please don't read if it's gonna trigger you, loves! 💗

SHU X READER WITH CONSERVATIVE PARENTS

You were anxious. From the moment he arrived to your doorstep, till that obnoxious time at the dinner, your heart has been beating like crazy. They've yet to say something bad about him, but their judgemental looks pierced you.

And you weren't the only one who had caught up to this.

"So, mister and misses (L/N), would you mind not staring? That's quite rude of you," he broke out before he took a chomp off his food.

"Quite some tongue you've got," commented your father in an annoyed tone. Before anyone could say anything, he added, "And what's with that doll you have? Do you bring it everywhere."

"Her name is Mademoiselle. She is-"

"Seriously, dear," your mother turned at you, "are you sure you don't want to date someone else? Someone more..."

"Mom, I'm pretty sure I don't."

"But look at him!" your father finally snapped. "He's got pink hair and looks so.. so girly! Are you sure he's-"

"Yes, dad, I'm sure." You were hurt. Very hurt. But you cared more about Shu than whatever sad feelings your parents were causing you.

You've seen him low, hugging Mademoiselle and not leaving his room for weeks. The last thing you wanted was your parents to trigger something like this.

Yet, glancing up at Shu, you could see his face was stoic and unfazed. Eating his dinner like nothing was happening, he didn't even bother to do as much as look at him.

"I have seen your videos young man, and if that ridiculous hair wasn't enough, those clothes-"

"Your eyes are way too weird, are you sure it's not an illness?"

"You clearly are more of a girl than a guy, with that hair and those outfits!"

"I'm finished," he said, pushing his plate away. Getting up, he grabbed Mademoiselle and his stuff, and went to walk outside of the entrance of the house. "May I speak with you for a moment, (Y/N)?"

With a nervous look on your face, you followed him outside of the house, before looking down. Your parents had been insulting him about how he looked long before you dated, when he was simply just an idol you liked. But now that they knew he was dating you, how could they be so openly judgemental?

"I'll understand it if you wanna break up-"

"Whoever talked about breaking up?" he questioned in an annoyed tone. "I just won't meet them again. End of."

"But they insulted you... And Mademoiselle."

"They just don't understand a complex artist," he scoffed. With a soft smile taking over his features for a moment, he said lowly, "If you ever feel uncomfortable here, Mika and I are gonna be glad to have you in my estate."

With a bright smile, the only thing you could say was, "Thanks, Shu."

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Whoaaa new account, real cool! I’m the one who had requested on your old account the Shu comfort fic (idk if you remember lol, I still read it because he gives me so much comfort still and you wrote him so well!!!)

I was gonna request again but I was never sure if the enstars request were ever open again because of the whole tagging issue but they are open now and I’m like :0! So could I actually request Shu with an s/o who actually shows him a prized doll that they have (that’s like idk chilling in their room or something and they just really care for the doll?) I hope this isn’t too oddly specific lmao) Best of luck with this blog!

the prized doll

Genre: fluff

A shu itsuki x reader

a/n: hey guys! Thank you anon for your continuous support ❤ Yes, I'm finally doing requests from this inbox so hope you guys are as excited as I am! I decided to make a multi-fic for kenma which will be coming out very soon! Hope you guys enjoy! Let's get started!

 So when shu found out you liked collecting dolls too, he was very ecstatic.

When you decided to show him your most valuable one, one with rich brown skin and glimmering hazel eyes, he was in awe.

Would show mademoiselle her new playmate.

Can we just talk about how cute Itsuki is when he does mademoiselle’s voice?

Play 👏dates 👏

Like he would play dollhouse with you.

Bet you guys he has a small little replica house for mademoiselle and now your prized doll.

Like mademoiselle would show your doll around the house and give her a tour. Give her “baked” goodies.

TEA PARTIES

You and itsuki would sit next to each other and maybe even snuggle while your dolls are sitting across from you, tea cups in hand.

He cares for your prized doll as much as he cares for mademoiselle.

He would take care of her like she was his own.

Would get mad when someone other than you or mika do something to her clothes.

Yes, he will make your doll new clothes and give them to you for your doll to wear

yes matching mademoiselle.

And he expects you to come to a live show with your doll wearing her new custom outfit.

And if you do show up with that, he would boast it to anyone who would listen.

 Hope this is at least close to the canon and hope anon, you enjoyed this! Requests are open so please don’t be shy to leave anything in my inbox! Love you guys so much ♥️💕💖

General taglist (don’t be shy to comment your tumblr @ below: @tokyoghoose @macaronnv @kuro0luvr @reogou @lnarizakis @himichii