#'should I do a thing for akechi's birthday'

[pickles4nickles]

Happy June 1-2 timezone purgatory also known as the start of pride month and also Akechi's birthday

[cosmichorrorsarestillnicerthanme]

contributing to the curse (ask number) and your request for anything persona x reader (whims)

any game goes, but how about the characters with a reader that doesn't seem to mash with the rest of group too well? i'm talking someone who is quiet, the complete opposite of a team player, doesn't get the inside jokes, and doesn't hang out much with the others outside of persona ass-kicking pursuits...

this errs on the platonic side of things :3c just for fun

I had fun putting this together, though I feel it is a tad sloppy in the middle section but I am pretty sure that's just me.

Now! Your Wish Is My Command!

Ren drank his can of soda through a silly straw as he watched you, the hat he received from The Boss for his birthday which matched Sojiro’s own save for Ren’s being black with a red band as opposed to white with a black band sitting snugly upon his head.

Ren had to go through hell to get you out here, he was going to make sure you didn’t slip away when no one was looking.

The sound of billiards cracking against one another rang out.

“ARRRRGH!!! C’mon man!Cut me some slack here!” Ryuji cried as Akechi laughed.

“Hmph, and why should I do that? You’re the one who carries around a blunt instrument all the time, perhaps you should learn a bit of delicacy!” Akechi said as he moved to the sidelines and next to Yusuke who seemed to be pondering something.

“Crow, tell me, have you noticed?” Yusuke asked vaguely.

“I have, our dear Joker has been glaring at them for quite a while. Then again, it quite is rare for them to come out for a “Team Bonding” exercise.” Akechi stated as he briefly turned his gaze onto you from the corner of his eyes.

“I… was talking about the scene we are currently in being perfect to paint…” Yusuke meekly muttered, causing Akechi to sigh.

Was Joker the only one with a brain cell in this group?

He was promptly reminded that his favorite and most powerful Persona was a Jack Frost that can nuke anything and anyone. He chose Jack Frost purely because it was cute.

Joker most definitely did not own any brain cells.

“I am well and truly surrounded by idiots…” Akechi hissed to himself.

How could Joker believe such sacrilege?

Jack-O-Lantern was clearly the cutest.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Haru kept her eyes on you as the Mona-Mobile rattled down the halls of Mementos.

This was the first time she had ever been sent out with you on the same team.

It was proving to be… enlightening.

Especially with your Persona, Robin Goodfellow.

Trickery, illusions, and misdirection to position an enemy in the perfect spot to ensure defeat.

That is what your Persona specializes in.

And when Haru took your weapon into account… It made her think of the tricksters in the old stories she used to read as a child.

A wiley trickster causing mischief and chaos as they pleased to both friend and foe alike.

And to a certain point, that fit.

Except… you were always a bit off to the side.

Watching everything, working with the others for only as long as was needed.

The jokes the thieves made were lost on you and the moment they were done with Mementos or a Palace you were gone on the wind.

Now that she thought about it, that is probably why you were only able to do a Showtime with Joker who seemed to be the only one you listened to.

And it was certainly a mindblowing sight.

A “Midsummer Night's Dream” if she had ever seen one.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“It's Showtime!” Joker shouted with a grin as you walked forward, spear in hand.

“Do you Shadows dream?” you asked as you reached for the mask on your face.

Joker rushed past you, knife in hand and carved through the enemies before them.

You tore the mask from your face and your Persona appeared behind you with a manic laugh and an impish grin upon its face.

“I know that I do.” you declared evenly as you stabbed the tip of your weapon into the ground and the world changed.

A forest at night in the dead of summer with a hundred fireflies flying through the sky and a clearing filled with flowers stunning the thieves and the shadows.

“Unfortunately, dreams are but illusions without the will to make them real.” You stated as you appeared behind the shadows, speartip stained with their black Ichor.

Then, as quickly as it came the illusion shattered and an explosion rained down from above, courtesy of Joker.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Haru continued to be vexed by you.

She was not alone in that if the way the others talked about you was any indication.

“So then Joker, is ya pal gonna be joining us tonight?”

“I am desperate to paint their Persona, its whimsical beauty has truly enraptured me!”

“I got these sweets earlier today! I want to share them with everyone! Wait! They’re not here!? You better not eat their share, Ryuji!”

“C’mon! We can’t have a party discussion about what we’ll do in the next Dungeon if we’re missing our Illusion caster!”

“Joker, shouldn’t we try to get them to show up to at least a few of these to ensure everything runs smoothly?”

“If they bring me pancake mix again I am going to break their fingers.”

Haru was happy to see that everyone was treating you as part of the team despite how distant you were.

But… she just hoped you knew they had your back if they needed it.

They all knew what it felt like to be the odd one out as well as anyone could ever hope to know it.

They were outcasts, misfits, social pariahs, delinquents, and weirdos.

They were the Phantom Thieves Of Hearts, and you were one of them.

[andtheyreonfire]

sacrifice

ao3

WC: 1,065

AN: happy birthday @averagegtenjoyer !!!! you are a fucking awesome friend and i offer this to you until i can get your actual gift sorted out fhdskjl

~

“Does it get lonely?” Akechi asks. “Being a god?”

Akira snorts. He’s hunched over his own creation, room-sized hands polishing massive bits of metal. One of these days, Akechi should ask him what he’s doing. One of these days, it might make a difference. “I'm not a god?”

“Oh?” Akechi smiles, wide enough for Akira to see. He shifts on the embroidered pillow he’s perched on. The cushion’s larger than his mother’s house. Akechi pretends the thought doesn’t make him cower. “So, the sacrifices, the temple, the cult at your door—all of those are just for show?”

Akira pulls a needle from—somewhere. Hammerspace surrounds him. Akechi'd be lying if he said he wasn’t the most dangerous entity he’s ever seen. It's good thing he’s practiced, then. “I suppose gods’ sacrifices wouldn’t ask these types of questions.”

“Do you mind?”

“No.” Akira shrugs. He threads the needle, adding leather to the handle of something that almost looks like a sickle. At least, if the blade didn’t spiral inward like a fractal. “At least, I don’t think so.”

“You can’t tell?”

“A god would mind. I don’t know. I like hearing about your life.”

All at once, Akechi has the urge to scoot closer to him. He’s sitting on a cushion to the side of Akira's—desk is a generous word, considering it’s the size of a cliff and carved from a species of wood Akechi's never seen in his life. The set-up is enchanting, inviting. It makes Akechi feel special, to be here. It’d be effortless to close the gap.

Akechi freezes, warning lights blaring in his mind. His hand twitches for the sword at his side. With a tremendous amount of effort, Akechi retracts it. He must soften his edges, appear something like innocent, for his mission.

This—flirting is dangerous. The longer his enemy does so instead of showing his true, monstrous colors, the more dangerous it becomes. Akechi shouldn’t be this close.

There’s nothing Akechi can do but persist. “Time is all we have, I suppose. I understand wanting to find ways to pass it.”

Akira snorts again, dropping the needle. “Sure.” Akechi doesn’t flinch as it clatters against the desk, doesn’t move as Akira reaches for a cloth the size of a bedsheet. He can’t stop his palms from sweltering. “I'm surprised I couldn’t convince you to pick up a hobby. It does get boring down here.”

“I can entertain myself well enough.” Studying the giant would be Akechi’s hobby, if it wasn’t already his job. That, and sharpening his skills for the day of reckoning: slashing matchsticks as long as his leg whenever Akira turns his back. He didn’t sacrifice himself to the demon’s dimension without an army as backup, ready to strike the second Akechi finds his weakness. That would be foolish.

Almost as foolish as believing Akira when he says he cares.

Akechi says, for the sake of learning weaknesses and nothing else, “If you’re not a god, then what species are you?”

Akira doesn’t look up, polishing the long, cold blade with a soft cloth. “I’m just condemned, I guess.”

Akechi laughs. He’s self-aware enough, at least, to know his side will lose the war. And then, Akechi will have the commander right where he wants. And then—well. Akechi asks, “By whom?”

“I fucked up.” From this far down, his face is impossible to read. It’s easier to pretend Akechi's at a disadvantage than acknowledging Akira has the most impressive poker face he’s ever seen. “I didn’t mean any harm, but someone thought I did. I'm trapped here for as long as they see fit. We’re all bugs to be squashed by someone, I suppose.”

Fucking rich, considering Akechi's almost been on the wrong side of Akira's boot several times. Still, Akechi smiles. “And, what are you? You didn’t answer my question.”

The blade is otherworldly in the pale light of Akira's room. Akechi watches as Akira finishes, heaving an object that weighs as much as a house into a drawer. When he turns to Akechi, his gaze is readable, sharp. “I don’t think I need to be anything. It’s restricting. What matters is that I'm here, and what I can do with the tools I have.”

Akechi steels himself, trying not to feel like a bug pinned to a corkboard. “Wouldn’t it be nice to define yourself? To describe yourself?”

“For what? For other people? Or for your own sake?”

Akechi rests a hand on his chin, forcing himself to relax, a little, into their usual back-and-forth. “For others, I suppose.”

“You tell me.” All at once, Akechi's veins turn to ice, as Akira tilts his head and says, “You never told me your given name.”

Because Akechi doesn’t have one. Because he remembers his mother—her warnings, the fear in her eyes, the scars, the blood, her cold, limp embrace—and there’s nothing else Akechi wants to honor. There’s no one else he’s doing this for. He’s an Akechi, he’s Akechi, and if Akira peeled back the walls of his heart with a sword-like claw, he’d find nothing beyond that.

The perfect soldier. The unwanted child. The burden of a son—his identity doesn’t matter. He’s here, he’s going to slay this monster, and he’s going to take revenge on the commander who ruined his life. That’s final.

“You’re right, I suppose.” Akira rumbles, snapping Akechi out of his thoughts.

It’s been a minute since Akechi was supposed to respond. Akira's looking right at him, eyes the size of Akechi's head locked onto his pathetic—no, not pathetic, Akira's just freakishly oversized—form. Akechi keeps his tone level when he asks, “What?”

“I didn’t answer your question.” Akira crosses his arms, placing his head in the crook of his elbow. Akechi freezes, instinctually, at the proximity. “It does get lonely, around here.”

Akechi's limbs threaten to tremble. It’s his weakness—all this time, and he still freezes up when Akira when levels his full attention on him. It’s the size. It’s the strength. It’s the fact that he’s taking off his mask to look someone the size of his finger in the eye. All Akechi can manage is, “O—oh.”

“But, it’s not so bad.” Akira smiles, then, unmasked gaze turning soft. “I have you, after all.”

Akechi hunches his shoulders, hand tightening around the hilt of his sword. He doesn’t look back.

[mayuichi]

𓆩♡𓆪 “Feeling lonely ? Let me keep you company... Or perhaps you're bored of my hyperactivity...„ ♢ ੭

✧ 『 Masterlist 』 ✧

ALSO CHECK ⤷ /ᐠ - ˕ •マ ⳊTo know more about me! 【 ღ Main Page -`♡´- 】 ⤷ /ᐠ - ˕ •マ Ⳋ To request! ✧ 『 Rules and Requesting 』 ✧

══˖⁺.══╡Genshin Impact╞══.⁺˖══

୧ ITTO ꣹

“i found saberlight...„ “Happy birthday!„ (special gift - won't suit everybody)

୧⋆｡🕯. -ʚɞ KAZUHA KAEDEHARA ₍⑅ᐢ..ᐢ₎ ♡.°₊ˎˊ˗

“Darling, I'm home.„

𓆩⚝𓆪 SCARAMOUCHE ʚїɞ WANDERER ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

“You want to spend our money on... that?„

☘︎ TIGHNARI ✿

“That... is the silliest thing I have ever heard of you.„ “So... You like my scolding?„

𓏲⋆ ִֶָ ๋𓂃 ⋆ DEHYA ✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚

“Come on, I'm sure that day isn't lost yet!„

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ FURINA ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

She wants to trust you. Give her reasons trust you. Give her reasons be happy.

𓃠 WRIOTHESLEY ☾

“My joy... My joy is when I'm next to them.„

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 COLUMBINA 🂱 DAMSELETTE 🕊

“... I couldn't let you be sad, could I ?„

⃝𖤐 ARLECCHINO 𐙚 THE KNAVE ༊·˚

“Oh, you're still here ?„

‧˚₊⋅ ୨ MORIARTY THE PATRIOT ୧ ⋅₊˚‧

₊˚ʚ ᗢ₊˚✧ ﾟ. WILLIAM JAMES MORIARTY ✧˖*°࿐

“Rest assured, it is not mine.„

*ੈ✩‧₊˚｡ ू ₒ ु ˚MULTIPLE CHARACTERS˚ ◌༘♡⋆｡˚ ꕥ༊*·˚

[A smart reader, you say?] [William James Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes.]

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ HONKAI STAR RAIL ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

❀ JING YUAN ੭

“It can wait. For now, I just want to be with you only.„

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚ BUNGO STRAY DOGS ˚｡⋆ ೀ ༘˚

☆ NIKOLAI GOGOL ⟢

“If I die in the process, will you join me?„

✵ SAIGIKU JOUNO ⊹

“... I didn't meant what I said.„

・┆✦ ʚ ♡ PERSONA 5 ♡ ɞ ✦ ┆・

⌕ Nothing here yet... Come check back in a few days!〣

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨ ʚ DIABOLIK LOVERS ɞ ୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

૮₍´˶• . • ⑅ ₎ა KOU MUKAMI ˖࿐

“I convinced Ruki and Yuma, just for you!„

˃̵ᴗ˂̵ AZUSA MUKAMI ✸

“You should... wear one with me...„

༘⋆♡MAGIC KYUN!RENAISSANCE⊹。°˖➴

ೀㅤ۫ ㅤ۪ㅤ۫ ♡ oop... nothing is here! come back next time! ♡₊˚ ・₊ ♪ ✧

໒꒰ྀིっ˕ -｡꒱ྀི১ OMORI ໒꒰ྀི´ ˘ ` ꒱ྀིა

꣼ MARI ᨐᵉᵒʷ

“Pfiew. If Hero would've caught us, he would've scold us.„

˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ ✧ DANGANRONPA V3 ✧ ˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚

𓍯 Still nothing... Come back later! ะ

⋆˙⟡♡ ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM ♡⟡⋆˙

യ seems empty... sorry! maybe another time? ೃ࿔

♡❀˖⁺. ༶ RAINWORLD ༶ ⋆˙⊹❀♡

꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱ it was supposed to be only a joke but that game is a hyperfixation and its killing me so perhaps.. they'll be something there one day? ₊˚⊹≽^•⩊•^≼₊˚⊹

. • °⛓✧༺ MULTIFANDOM ༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚⛓

[How your partner reacts when you're on your periods.] - Include: Heizou, Lyney, Wriothesley, Alhaitham, Veritas Ratio, Kafka, Tetcho Suehiro, Jouno Saigiku, William James Moriarty. [Spending your birthday with them.] - Include: Alhaitham, Wriothesley, Heizou, Aventurine, Veritas Ratio, Akechi Goro, William James Moriarty, Fred Porlock.

/ᐠ - ˕ •マ Ⳋ Thank you for your time once again. I hope you had fun with me. Come back whenever you want, alright sweetie? ･: * .ೃ࿔ ⋆

/ᐠ - ˕ •マ Ⳋ mayuichi's property. do not repost, copy or translate without permission.

[no-psi-nan]

Real Answer:

I've cried about this before on here multiple times but this is my favorite line, and the one that made me an indefatigable Akechi stan:

Yeah I'll have feelings about this again, why not.

"I can still be your playmate" literally recontextualized the way I think about love hsfjdlshfks. Like. Play is such an essential part of living. Not just for humans, pretty much every animal we've ever studied turns out to engage in play when given the opportunity (feels safe, not hungry/thirsty).

And playing with others is especially important in social species! Notice how core playing is to human society: all games obviously, but also sports, gambling, a huge chunk of media dedicated to various games or using games as a base for a story, etc.

Anyways, Kusuo just hasn't gotten the opportunity to play, really play, since he was a small child. Even if those early games with Kusuke counted, they no longer did once Kusuke installed the limiters. After that, every game was tinted with the danger of basically losing his life should he lose, essentially destroying any fun that Kusuo could have gotten from it. Not at any point does Kusuo wish he could play a game with his brother again – it's something he would rather avoid at all costs.

And we can see that Kusuo does not really know how to play on his own either. When left to his own devices, he only reads/watches/plays shitty/obscure media, watches live TV, or stares at the ceiling. His powers prohibit him from doing a lot of things, and if he's up to anything else, it's usually training to improve his control (like when he threw a baseball back and forth a billion times to get better at it).

So when Akechi comes up with a game for Kusuo to play, it's actually groundbreaking. Especially because Akechi purposely does not place any limits on Kusuo in order to do it! That's HUGE!

Kusuke ALWAYS tries to limit Kusuo when they play, handicapping Kusuo in London with a GPS tracker and 2 friends to limit his power use, and using Toritsuka as a hostage during the Cat Tank arc (and there's no way Kusuke didn't shoot at Toritsuka directly multiple times to make Kusuo take the hit). The only time Kusuke doesn't handicap Kusuo is for the fireworks "birthday surprise", but that was explicitly because he was testing the limits of Kusuo's powers to adjust the Cat Tank.

On the other hand, Akechi doesn't put any limits on what Kusuo could do to play, and in fact, watches him obviously using his powers (specifically clairvoyance and distance telepathy). To him, Kusuo using his powers is not cheating, because Kusuo's powers are as much a part of him as his hands or eyes.

The wording of Akechi's comment in the first panel, "I guess [...] I'm still better than you when it comes to betting on horse races", and then "It seems there may still be plenty of things we can go head to head in", shows that Akechi didn't actually know whether he would be able to provide Kusuo with a challenge. And that he's happy he can! Because it means that he and Kusuo can play together!

And tbh, Akechi himself probably has trouble finding people who can keep up with him in games. He mentions in the same chapter that he doesn't have any friends and isn't even sure what social people do for fun, rip.

So anyways, it just really hit me that the ability to be playmates is so important for a deep personal relationship. Like if you can't feel safe enough to relax and be silly and vulnerable, and try new and different things together, how good is that relationship really, y'know??

Yeah. That line gets me every time lol.

Stupid Answer:

Love that he's trying so hard to take the conversation away from anything that could mess up the manga rating but as soon as someone makes an incorrect statement about dick, he immediately has to correct them with penis ethnography. We stan this pan king lmao.

My special interest is cock and brother, I'm about to start info-dumping.

[pugs-cats-bb-8]

Fav Characters

favorite thing about them

Ren- that he has more personality in the game than the past protags. His voice (eng), he's cute.

🤷‍♀️I just do.

Akechi- great character, voice (Eng and Japanese), cute

🤷‍♀️I just do.

least favorite thing about them

Ren- he doesn't get enough lines. We don't know much about him.

Akechi- we don't know much about him.

favorite line

Ren- "Pillage him, Satanael. "Begone". "You're right Mishima. We should take them down"(might not be the exact quote"). "See ya". "Before that happens we will take this country". "The Phantom Thieves are taking them back" (might not be exact). I like how he says "S's", like Succubus, Saki Matima. I like a lot of his quotes because he doesn't get too many.

Akechi- "And I hate cleaning out the attic". (might not be exact quote).

brOTP

Ren&Ryuji, Ren&Yusuke, Ren&Morgana

Akechi&Ann, Akechi&Futaba, Akechi&Yusuke, Akechi&Sumi, Akechi&Ryuji

OTP

Ren/Akechi, Ren/Sumi/Akechi, I do like Ren/Haru but not to the extent of the other ones.

nOTP

Ren/any adult, Ren/Makoto, Ren/Ryuji (I see him as more than a friend).

random headcanon

I believe Akechi's homeschooled. A. Shido has the money for it. B. No one knows where his school is or the name of it. C. No one recognizes the emblem on his jacket. Unless the school is some underground special ops place. You would think someone would've heard of it. D. No one, even celebrities, can miss that much school and not have to repeat grades or get kicked out.

Ren- He's from Inaba and had a personality more like Joker's before he came to Tokyo.

unpopular opinion

Ren's birthday is between 7-23 and 8-31 (Strikers timeline). He turns 18 during the game.

Akechi is not straight-up evil. He has more feelings than anger.

song i associate with them

Akechi- Shatter Me-Lindsey Stirling Feat. Lizzy Hale

Ren- Insane Dream- Aimer

favorite picture of them

I have Way more pics of Ren.

I like how the light shines in his eyes in the first one.

You really see him with short sleeves.

Yeah, it's just the box art for dancing. But I really like the dancing costumes and the pose.

He's so pretty. I mean, they both are.

I've never seen that swimsuit.

[charterandbarter]

Tag Game: Ten First Lines

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway.

Thank you @birdmenmanga for the tag! I’ll be using WIPs here, and a cut for long post

1] The Hippocratic Oath Revised, my premed!kaneki ken canon-divergence (off a cliff into College tm, academia, cannibalism, and me aggressively calling out every STEM major to the tune of #giftedkidburnout) for Tokyo Ghoul! WIP, still updating (EVENTUALLY!!)

“If he became a doctor, he could pay Auntie back for all the food he eats, or get Hide really good birthday presents, or even help lots of other people make bad feelings go away. If he became a doctor, he could take away other people’s pain. Mother always said it was better to be hurt than to hurt others, but doctors were different, weren’t they? They could take pain without feeling it. Without hurting anyone, including themselves.

Maybe, if he tried really, really hard, he could finally make it up to the world for having to deal with him.” 2] White Lily, Green Carnation, for Madoka Magica, a hitomi-is-a-magical-girl au (with some twists). WIP, on hiatus “It’s a lovely day to pretend to be happy.”

3] Flock Together, for Persona 5/BNHA, an ‘Akechi Goro is isekai’d into the BNHA world’ featuring accidental child acquisition (Eri). WIP, still updating (eventually!!)

“It is remarkably easy to break into a hotel room with a kidnapped six-year-old.

Granted, the six year old is light, quiet, and grips him tight despite her constant trembling–all things no six year old should be or do–so if Akechi were feeling charitable, he’d say he has an unfair advantage. Given the last time he had to break into anything, he got shot, he’ll instead just try very hard not to scream into the bedsheets.”

4] First Contact, a Persona 5/Death Note fusion where both storyline events take place in the same universe, and Goro Akechi was adopted by the Yagamis at a young age! Co-written with @frigidlyauthorial !! Finished, part of an updating series called mirrors of god! “Light catches Goro rifling through his father’s police laptop when Goro’s twelve years old.” And that’s all I’m comfortable sharing for now! I tag @ragnarokascendant , @yellowocaballero , @frigidlyauthorial , and @bitemeilovewaffles ! Have fun!!!

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Rpg Anon: Hey mod, I did tell you about my idea for Sayaka's Personas around a year ago. I said it's The Crane Wife/Miss Crane and/or Orihime from the Tanabata. But which one do you think should be the initial and which one is the Ultimate? To help you remember and make things short:

We all know Sayaka talks a lot about the crane wife story in her free time events. She likes bringing the crane and Makoto story and she likes to imagine she's the crane herself and junk. We know this already.

Orihime for Sayaka can be summed up with her wiki page: "Sayaka's Birthday, July 7, coincides with Tanabata, also known as The feast of the Stars. The Japanese festival Tanabata celebrates the annual reunion of the mythical lovers Princess Orihime and cowherd Hikoboshi, who were separated across the heavenly river Amanogawa by Orihime's father, Emperor Tentei. It's likely this date was chosen to parallel the relationship between the famous idol Sayaka and the plain boy Makoto being reunited."

I know it all revolves around Makoto but I don't think I ever knew which one to make the initial and Ultimate.

//Whichever one of them is closest to being a diety is the one that should be second.

//I know we're not necessarily basing these Persona's off the Phantom Thieves, but in their case, their tier 2 Persona's are all based on trickster gods.

Joker - Basically Satan Mona - the Roman God of trickery and thievery. Ryuji - The Monkey King from Journey to the West Ann - Witch Goddess of magic Yusuke - A Japanese trickster God who in his lore is actually a MASSIVE ASSHOLE by the way! Makoto - Egyptiona psycho rapist god (yes really) Futaba - Titan who defied the Olympian Gods Haru - Goddess of war, hunting, love, sex, horses and possibly the morning star Akechi - Infamous Norse God of mischief Sumire - Norse Goddess known to be a great beauty and a witchlike master of magic

//Same is true for the P3 and P4 characters Persona's even if most of those are based on Gods by default, so those are the lines I'm thinking on.

-Mod

[redminecraftbed]

I usually never make posts myself, I just reblog stuff most of the time and put my comments in the tags or something. Well I mean I pretty much reblog just for myself anyways, save for a small amount of people who have elected to followed me for some reason, I mostly just imagine me talking to myself. This will probably be that kind of post as well, since this is more specific to me personally.

But it is my favorite character of all time’s birthday, and I feel like he deserves this, because he has done so much for me as a person, more than any fictional character has in my whole life. Such a special character has spoken to me on such a personal level that half of the time I spend crying was because of him. I always thought it embarrassing and kind of weird and out of place for me to cry over a fictional character more than lets say, a pet or loved one. But I don’t really think it matters in the long run because someone did something for me, something special, real or not, and I feel like I should acknowledge it.

I talk about in the tags of reblogs sometimes how much I relate to him. About how important it is for someone to have a second chance. For at least one person to think you deserve a second chance despite all of the bad things you’ve done or might do. For someone to believe in you.

Goro Akechi was just a kid. He was always just a kid who grew up too fast and was thrust into circumstances that were out of his control, and there was no one to teach him right or wrong, to fully raise him in this world, so he turned to hatred and revenge until it destroyed. But it is so much easier to hate than to love, especially when there wasn’t much people to show you what love is. I can’t blame him, I can certainly believe that he needs to be held accountable for his actions and be punished for them, but I can understand him so, so well.

He was just a kid, and he is still a kid. And he just wants to be a kid again deep down, and so do I. Our lives as kids are so much easier, filled with better memories, and you always long for that time again, even though there’s no way you can go back because you get older, and it gets farther and farther away so much so that you can’t reach it anymore. In the proof of justice ova, although it’s not canon to the game, you can see that he still feels some sort of connection to his younger self, a time that made him happy. No matter how much he may deny it, he still wants to hold onto that part of him, that had love and happiness instead of pain and loneliness.

It makes me sad he was never able to get some sort of happy ending in canon because I see myself in him. I want him to have his happy ending so so badly it makes me so sad, and it makes cry whenever I think too long about him. I don’t know how to explain it any longer but he means so much to me. Idk how it happened but I’ve been thinking about him so long, he is constantly on my mind and he makes me so happy and sad at the same time.

And also his english voice actor, Robbie Daymond, did him so much justice, and even though I love a lot of voice actors, his work specifically for Akechi inspires me to want to become a voice actor, because he brings so much life to this character and it’s really amazing.

Idk what else to say, I might bring up more when I reblog some art today but I needed to make this because he is so important to me and will always be a huge part of my life, even if he’s just a fictional character and it might be a little silly, I don’t care anymore. Happy birthday my ace detective, Goro Akechi <33333

[deus-ex-mona]

The Case of Yamamoto Kodai

Happy Birthday Kodai! 

This is one of the stories from the Koiiro ni Sake novel, namely Kodai’s one moment of fame!

pdf version

Yamamoto Kodai was unable to forget that incident, which had happened in Middle School.

“Yamamoto-kun, lend me your glasses!”

Before he could respond, fingers much thinner than his reached out and grabbed his glasses. Despite Kodai’s confusion, the girl put on his glasses.

“Whoa! Everything’s so blurry…”

“I would think so. The lenses have a degree.”

“Hmm, I guess I really shouldn’t mess around with glasses,” the girl had said, quickly returning the glasses to Kodai. He wondered why she had even decided to try on his glasses.

 “Truth is…” the girl continued, as if she had noticed Kodai tilting his head in confusion. “I was just curious about how the world looks like to you, Yamamoto-kun! Just kidding.”

“...I think it’s rather normal, though.”

“That’s not true. You’re a bookworm, and you always pay attention to the people around you, Yamamoto-kun! That’s why I wanna figure out how to reach the heart of a casual bystander like you.”

Kodai had been stunned into silence. The “Yamamoto Kodai” that the girl had spoken of did not seem to resemble him in the slightest. Reading certainly was a hobby of his, though he did not think it gave him any useful skills thus far. And while paying attention to others around him did sound like a good thing, he really just liked to observe people. A “casual bystander” was just a term that she had used for the fun of it.

(And you can just say words to reach another person’s heart, anyway…)

But, if the girl had said so, it must have been so. After all, her words had the power to bring smiles to the people around her, so Kodai was inclined to believe in those words of hers.

“The world I see is always changing around me.”

“Eh, really? Why? And how?”

The person who had changed Kodai’s world was completely oblivious to it.

Kodai just laughed ambiguously in response to the girl’s questions.

“It wouldn’t hurt to tell me,” she had puffed her cheeks, before laughing as well.

She had a dazzling smile, just like the midsummer Sun.

~✿~

After school, a fragrant scent filled the Japanese Language department room, the source of which seeming to be a silver mass atop the stove.

Kodai snorted, and Akechi-sensei, who was checking a draft, looked up at him. “Yamamoto, do you like roasted sweet potatoes?”

“I don’t hate them, but…”

“But?”

“I’m wondering why roasted sweet potatoes are being cooked in the department room.”

“It’s fine, I’m keeping the room well-ventilated.”

No, that was not the problem at hand. 

Kodai wondered if he should respond with a punchline, before eventually nodding hesitantly with a sigh. “Haah.”

(Akechi-sensei really is a free-spirited person as always, huh?)

Even though he taught Classical Literature, he wore a lab coat for some reason. He was able to gain the support of his students, regardless of their genders, because he did not act like the other teachers, as seen from his casual words and mannerisms.

When Kodai thought about it, Akechi-sensei’s trivia-based lessons had a reputation for being easy to understand and not boring to sit through. 

Kodai wondered if the phrase “hard to comprehend” was the best way to describe Akechi-sensei as a person. In that regard, Akechi-sensei was similar to Shibasaki Ken, also known as “Shibaken”, who was Kodai’s acquaintance from Middle School.

(Well, in Shibaken’s case, it’s easy to understand him if I hang around him for a bit.)

“By the way, about this article,” Akechi-sensei put the draft on the desk, seemingly having finished checking it over. He had written some comments on it with a red pen, though there did not seem to be any major corrections to be made.

“Thank you for your hard work.” Akechi-sensei’s facial expression had relaxed. “Only a few details need to be fine-tuned after this, so I’ll take it from here.”

“I’ll leave it to you. Thank you,” Kodai had responded formally, though he was secretly relieved in his heart.

The draft Akechi-sensei had been checking was the draft of the school newspaper, which was scheduled to be published the next week. It would not be published without the approval of the club advisor, so the publication must be revised repeatedly to prevent blank spaces throughout the issue. Worst case scenario, the blank spaces would be filled in with photographs and drawings.

Though, to be honest, there were cases when they had no other choice due to time constraints, but Kodai had no such excuse this time. It was due to the fact that the people that Kodai had interviewed were First Year students of different clubs, including Kotaro and the others.

(If that article gets published, I’m sure that the seniors will…)

“Ah! It’s Nacchan-senpai and friends!”

“Senpai, please drop by the club later.”

Kodai suddenly heard cheers from outside the room. Although they would not normally be audible, the windows of the room were opened slightly for ventilation, as Akechi-sensei had said earlier.

“Are Enomoto and her group still there?” Akechi-sensei, who had stood up from his chair without Kodai realising it, looked out of the window.

To put it simply, Third Year students were supposed to have returned home after their morning classes had ended. The only times when they would stay back after school would be to take elective lessons, or to attend either club activities or committee meetings.

“Oi, you Third Years over there!” Akechi-sensei opened the window before leaning out of it. 

As a cold breeze blew in, Kodai escaped to the front of the stove in the centre of the room. Meanwhile, Akechi-sensei was conversing with the students outside.

“If you have some free time, why not stop by?”

“Huh? Why should we?”

(Ah. That voice sounded like Serizawa-senpai.)

The names Kodai had heard earlier were “Nacchan-senpai” and “Enomoto”, so he had assumed that Enomoto-senpai was with her close friends, Aida-senpai and Hayasaka-senpai. 

However, if Serizawa-senpai was there, all of the members of their group were probably there as well.

There were many ways to refer to them, such as “The Year of Success”, or the “Golden Generation”. But in any case, the six of them were definitely a group of stars in Sakuragaoka High School.

Simply put, in terms of name recognition and general fame, no one could compete with Narumi Sena, who actively modelled for magazines, as well as appeared in television commercials. However, Enomoto-senpai, who was an “ordinary person” also had something that attracted others to her.

All six members of the group had such characteristics as well.

The first one that would come to mind was probably Serizawa Haruki-senpai. It was said that if he filmed a movie, he would definitely win an award for it. He was also called a “competition troll” by some groups. In addition, he was good at taking care of others, having the temperament of a big brother. He was also known to be popular amongst his juniors, especially the boys.

Hayasaka Akari-senpai, the Club President of the Art Club, as well as Aida Miou-senpai, the Vice-President, were both regular participants in art contests. They seemed to be commended at every school-wide assembly, and their works were often displayed on the walls in front of the art room and the reception office throughout the year.

Enomoto Natsuki-senpai, who was in the Art Club as well, had received fewer awards than the two of them. However, she was a mood maker, no matter where she went, and she had many fans amongst her juniors, regardless of their gender. She was also the older sister of Kotaro, Kodai’s friend since Middle School.

There was also the person who was rumoured to be dating Enomoto-senpai, Setoguchi Yu-senpai. Setoguchi-senpai excelled in both sports and studies, and was tall in height, so he was known to be a prince-like character amongst the girls. He was also selected as Mr. Sakuragaoka High School that year, as well as the year before that. Just like Enomoto-senpai, Kodai knew him to be the older brother of Hina, whom he called “Setoguchi-san”.

And the sixth member of the group was Mochizuki Sota-senpai. He had started the Movie Research Club with Serizawa-senpai and Setoguchi-senpai, and was the Vice-President of it. Along with Enomoto-senpai, the four of them were childhood friends, and Mochizuki-senpai was called “Mochita” by them. He was also known to be an easy person to talk to.

(But the truth is, Mochizuki-senpai is the one who maintains the balance of the group.)

At least, that was how it looked to Kodai. Mochizuki-senpai and his group of four childhood friends had attended the same Middle School as Kodai. He was two grades apart from them, so he had only attended school together with them for one year. Even so, they had left a strong impression on him.

“So anyway, please keep the roasted sweet potatoes a secret,” Akechi-sensei looked back, closing the window in order to leave just a small gap open. Since Kodai was in the same room as him, he had probably thought that Kodai was listening in on the conversation.

However, as Kodai had shut out external information when he was lost in his thoughts, he had no idea as to what Akechi-sensei had been talking about earlier. He briefly wondered how he should reply to Akechi-sensei, before ultimately deciding to just be honest with him.

“I’m sorry, I spaced out.”

“Ah, you didn’t hear me earlier? The Third Years are on their way over now, but I’m wondering when I should start to divide the roasted sweet potatoes into eight equal parts.”

What he had missed was more ridiculous than he had expected… Well, it seemed to have been a pointless conversation to begin with.

“Haah,” Kodai replied with a sigh, before beginning to point out the facts. “But, even if I’m silent, I think you’ll be able to tell based on the smell.”

“...Right, that’s how it is, right? Whoa, what should I do?!”

Whether he was being serious or if he was joking, Akechi-sensei raised his hands and flailed them around, as though he was performing a strange dance. As Kodai watched him blankly, he heard the sound of footsteps along the corridor.

“Oi Saku-nii, we’re here.”

“Pardon my intrusion! Ah, it smells good.”

“There are roasted sweet potatoes? Right?”

“What’s the fuss about roasted sweet potatoes these days?”

The moment the door opened, the seniors began talking all at once. In order of speaking were Serizawa-senpai, Enomoto-senpai, Mochizuki-senpai, and Setoguchi-senpai, namely the group of four childhood friends. Hayasaka-senpai and Aida-senpai were watching the fast-paced conversation with smiles on their faces.

(The seniors look like they’re on good terms as always…)

Such a scene, which he usually saw from a distance, was now happening right in front of him. Kodai felt a little strange about it.

“Ahem! Unfortunately for you guys, these roasted sweet potatoes belong to the Newspaper Club,” Akechi-sensei cleared his throat as he stood between the seniors and the stove. He wore work gloves on his hands as he removed the roasted sweet potatoes, which were wrapped in aluminum foil.

(I see, so that was the matter with his hands.)

Although he had his strange moments, Akechi-sensei was an adult after all.

“Eh!” Enomoto-senpai shouted, unable to come up with a good rebuttal.

“Then, sensei, what is the ‘good thing’ you were talking about?”

“Wait, Saku-nii, you said that these belong to the Newspaper Club. So why are you holding on to it?”

(Hm? Did Serizawa-senpai just say “Saku-nii”...?)

Kodai thought that he had misheard the first time, but he was now certain that Serizawa-senpai had called Akechi-sensei “Saku-nii”.

“Hey, didn’t I tell you to call me “sensei” when we’re at school?” Akechi-sensei smiled in exasperation at Serizawa-senpai’s sassy remark.

Kodai wondered what the kind of relationship that the two of them had with each other was. As he pondered over it, his shoulder was grabbed by a hand that had extended out from the side.

“The only people of the Newspaper Club that are here right now are Yamamoto, a member, and me, the advisor. Got it?”

“Saku-nii is the advisor?! Is this for real, Kodai?”

“Yes. The teacher who was in charge of the club till last year was transferred out.”

“See, I told you so. Wait, the two of you get along with each other?” Akechi-sensei had a rather smug expression on his face for a bit, before his eyes began to sparkle in curiosity the next moment. Unlike Kodai, he seemed to be well-versed in managing his facial expressions.

“It’s cuz Kodai’s friends with Natsuki’s younger brother, Kotaro.”

“Natsuki and Yu are next-door neighbours, so we occasionally meet face-to-face,” Mochizuki-senpai added as a supplement to Serizawa-senpai’s words.

“I see,” the corners of Akechi-sensei’s mouth lifted as he listened to their explanation. “So is it similar to what it’s like between Haruki and me?”

“When you put it that way, the relations between me and Kotaro, as well as Hina, would be something like that, huh.”

(So that means that Serizawa-senpai’s sibling was friends with Akechi-sensei.)

Kodai was surprised, but he found that they had a pretty nice relationship. As he thought about that, he suddenly found Serizawa-senpai glancing at him.

“I don’t see Kodai that often, but he’s kinda like a nephew to me, right?”

“Huh, well.”

When Serizawa-senpai gave a lively reply to Akechi-sensei, Mochizuki-senpai huffed from his spot next to him. “A nephew…! Wouldn’t it be better to say that he’s like a younger brother?”

“Right? I’d rather be a big sister to him than my actual little brother,” Enomoto-senpai nodded enthusiastically, the bun atop her head shaking along with her movements.

“Speaking of that, shouldn’t you be more disciplined, like an older sister should be?”

“Hey, Yu, don’t say things like that even if you do think that way!” Enomoto-senpai whacked the shoulder of Setoguchi-senpai, who had poked fun at her with a serious expression on his face. That was a familiar sight to see as well.

“By the way, Akechi-sensei, what’s the ‘good thing’ you had mentioned?” Mochizuki-senpai asked, suppressing his laughter.

“Ah, right. Actually, the draft for the next issue of the school newspaper is ready.”

“Eh,” Kodai involuntarily blurted out. He was surprised to hear that the draft he had written was the ‘good thing’ Akechi-sensei had mentioned.

“This next issue will have lots of literary masterpieces. I have high standards as an advisor, you know?”

Ignoring the stunned students, Akechi-sensei hummed as he arranged the draft on his desk. When he placed a printed out photo next to the draft, Hayasaka-senpai gasped. “Wow!”

“Nacchan, your brother’s featured in this! Look, here.”

“Where, where? Ah, it’s true! And the photo’s really big too?”

“He’s the rising star, he’s amazing, isn’t he?”

“Right, right?” Enomoto-senpai nodded enthusiastically at Aida-senpai’s words.

(I’m glad. Enomoto-senpai looks so happy…)

“Yamamoto was the one who was in charge of this special feature.”

“Hey, Akechi-sensei…”

The eyes of the seniors all suddenly honed in on him.

“Amazing! So you’re the one who wrote this, Yamamoto-kun.”

“...It’s only because it’s my turn to do so this time around,” Kodai immediately looked down to the floor, blinded by Enomoto-senpai’s dazzling face. 

Around the same time, he heard a mystified voice from Serizawa-senpai. “But it’s pretty unusual. Aren’t Third Year students usually featured in the school newspaper at this time of year every year?”

“Ah, that’s… Something like a parting gift, of sorts…”

“Parting gift? Wait, then what’s up with this special feature?” he had asked in confusion, though he received no response.

When Kodai looked up, he saw Enomoto-senpai and the other seniors looking at each other in wonder.

“Aah!” Mochizuki-senpai’s voice rang out, echoing through Kodai’s blank mind. “The special feature’s our juniors’ way of reassuring us that they’ve learned from us properly.”

“I see, that makes sense,” Serizawa-senpai agreed, him and the other seniors having been convinced by Mochizuki-senpai’s words, judging from the expressions on their faces.

When Kodai finally felt relieved that the awkward air had cleared, Setoguchi-senpai suddenly opened his mouth. 

“Hmm, that’s pretty good! Ah, but this is also a secret from the Third Years in the Newspaper Club, right?” Setoguchi-senpai asked, speaking with confidence.

(They’re amazing, how did they find out?)

Kodai bowed his head to his seniors, as he tried to seek a favour from them. “Y-yes. So I’d appreciate it if you kept it a secret until it’s published…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on someone over here to ensure that she doesn’t accidentally let the information slip.”

“...Yu, why’re you looking at me? It’s rude!” Enomoto-senpai raised both of her hands in protest. 

Without taking a step towards her, Setoguchi-senpai smiled as he spoke. “The day before yesterday, I wanted to surprise Hina and her friends, so I remember asking you to keep it a secret that I bought pudding from the Haniwa Store. Though, who was the one who blabbed about it to Kotaro?” 

“People tend to let stuff slip when they panic. You have to be careful too!”

(I haven’t seen the seniors interact like this before.)

Speaking of which, Kodai was unable to feel the sweet atmosphere that tended to surround lovers from the two of them, who were bickering away like that. He wondered if it was because they were childhood friends, who had already known each other for a long time.

“Natsuki and Yu, that’s enough from you both.”

“If you want to continue to go at it, do it when you’re alone with each other.”

Serizawa-senpai and Mochizuki-senpai seemed to be mocking the two of them. However, even though Kodai noted that they “seemed to be” mocking them, as far as their facial expressions were concerned, they were only half-teasing them.

Though, at the next moment, Setoguchi-senpai and Enomoto-senpai started talking at the same time again. Heaving a sigh at the sight, Serizawa-senpai and Mochizuki-senpai began to snicker. Aida-senpai and Hayasaka-senpai also joined in, their bright laughter echoing around the room.

(...I wonder if I should get going soon.)

Kodai shifted his gaze around as he searched for the person he was looking for. Akechi-sensei had already moved from where he had been standing next to Kodai, having returned to sitting at his desk.

“Sensei,” Kodai called out softly, amidst the excited chatter of the seniors, who had already moved on to a different conversational topic.

Akechi-sensei looked up with a mildly surprised expression, though it quickly turned into his usual smile. “What’s wrong? Wait, is this about the roasted sweet potatoes?! Give me a sec, okay?”

“Ah, no…” Kodai paused as a roasted sweet potato was cleanly cut in half before his eyes. He accepted the roasted sweet potato, unable to correct Akechi-sensei in time, before returning to the main subject again. “I need to report to my seniors that my draft has your approval, so I’m done here.”

“I see. Ah, be sure to ask Takai-kun if he has edited the postscript.”

“Got it.”

Bowing a little, Kodai quietly left the Japanese Language department room. As soon as he closed the door, he heard a burst of laughter from within.

(Th-that surprised me…)

He pressed a hand to his shirt, where he could feel his rapidly beating heart beneath his palm, as he walked down the corridor. The lively area from earlier seemed like a lie, considering how quiet it now was.

(Ah. I wasn’t able to ask Mochizuki-senpai about his screenplay.)

~✿~

“By the way, guess what I heard from the class next door.”

The next day, as the three of them headed towards the school cafeteria, Shibaken spoke up as though he remembered something. Kodai wondered just what he was talking about. When he glanced at Kotaro, he was looking at Shibaken with a similarly suspicious expression.

“You heard something. So what?”

“There’s a queue to confess. You know, to that Third Year girl Hayasaka Akari-senpai.”

“A-a queue to confess? What the hell is that?” Kotaro’s eyes widened.

“Huh, you really don’t know about it?” Shibaken replied with a question.

“This is the first I’m hearing of it too. People who want to at least confess to Hayasaka-senpai before she graduates are lining up to do so… or something like that, right?”

“Kodai-kun, full marks to you!”

“So there’s such a thing. Hayasaka-senpai is crazy popular, huh,” Kotaro sighed. 

Kodai nodded. “Well, it would be more troublesome if they ran up to her to confess.”

Unlike Enomoto-senpai, Kodai had not talked much with Hayasaka-senpai and Aida-senpai. He happened to meet them several times face to face, just like they had the previous day, though the only times when he made conversation with them had been when he was interviewing them for the school newspaper. But even so, those interactions were enough for him to know that the two of them were nice people.

He figured that having to turn down confessions would be a considerable burden  on her.

“I wish Hayasaka-senpai would just accept someone’s confession already.”

“She’s not like you, Shibaken,” Kodai reflexively responded, before frowning in remorse.

Up till then, Shibaken had never refused being asked out by someone else, but he had become rather inactive in the dating scene as of late. Kodai did not know what had caused the change in him, but he knew that he should not have said that to Shibaken, who was known to be a playboy.

“Um, sor…”

“H-hey,” Kotaro opened his mouth, his words drowning out Kodai’s apology.

“What’s up?”

Turning around, Kodai saw that Kotaro had seemed to have stopped walking a while ago, as he was standing a distance behind them. His face was pale, as if he had suddenly fallen ill.

“Oi, Kotaro? Can you hear me?” Shibaken stopped walking as well, waving a hand at Kotaro. 

However, Kotaro did not react to him, pointing towards the end of the corridor with a trembling finger instead. “Th-there’s something over there…?!”

“Where? Do you get him, Kodai?”

“Hmm, I don’t see anything…”

“There is, behind the pillar by the boys’ bathroom!”

“Ah! Whoa!” Kodai and Shibaken instinctively blurted out in unison. 

The tip of Kotaro’s finger was pointed at Mochizuki-senpai, who was leaning against a pillar. He seemed to be muttering and mumbling to himself, as though his soul had left his body. His strength seemed to have been sapped out of him, and the thick brown envelope he held in his hand looked as though it was about to drop to the floor.

(Mochizuki-senpai never changes.)

It was the second time that Kodai had seen Mochizuki-senpai in such a state. 

The first time that Kodai had seen it was before Golden Week, when he had been interviewing the Art Club for the school newspaper. As he left the art room after the interview, he had casually looked around, feeling a gaze from somewhere. Then he saw Mochizuki-senpai peeking from around a pillar in the corridor, much like he was doing at that present moment.

(It definitely has something to do with Hayasaka-senpai.)

“Sorry. I just remembered that I have something to do, so the two of you can go on ahead first,” Kodai said, immediately rushing over towards the pillar. 

As he got closer, he could hear the words that Mochizuki-senpai was muttering.

“Confessions to Akarin? What’s more, they’re queuing up to do it…?”

“Did you not realise it? Aren’t the two of you classmates?”

Despite talking to him out of the blue, Mochizuki-senpai did not have any particular reaction. On the contrary, he had replied naturally, as though nothing had happened at all.

“I didn’t think much of it when she would leave the classroom for a short while when it was break time, but…”

“No, that’s not the point. You’re looking really suspicious now, you know,” Kodai rebutted mercilessly, as though he had been dealing with Kotaro or Shibaken instead. However, Mochizuki-senpai did not get angry with him, beginning to growl while clutching his own head instead.

(This happens as soon as Hayasaka-senpai gets involved.)

However, the moment Mochizuki-senpai picked up a pen, he would write stories that would amaze his readers. Kodai had realised this during an interview for the school newspaper.

The first issue of the school newspaper in September, following the Summer vacation, had a section that introduced each club activity in a relay format, including the Movie Research Club. 

Basic information, such as the number of members and the schedule of the club activities, was written by Setoguchi-senpai, the Club President. 

Other in-depth questions, such as “When did you first start to make movies?” and “Why did you decide to make movies?” were addressed to Serizawa-senpai.

(However, Serizawa-senpai’s answers were rather abstract and all over the place…)

The intentions behind Serizawa-senpai’s answers were conveyed, though it had been difficult to string them together into a coherent newspaper article. Even so, when Kodai managed to write it all down and went over to ask for a check, an “incident” occurred.

“Is it okay for me to make a few changes to this?”

“Ah, yes, it’d help.”

In truth, Kodai had been grateful for Mochizuki-senpai’s offer. He thought that, as an outsider, he would not be able to pick up on the detailed nuances in the answers given in the questionnaire, and that by having Mochizuki-senpai fix them, the number of checks required after that would be reduced.

Mochizuki-senpai rushed through the draft with a red ballpoint pen, and was done with the changes in less than ten minutes. Kodai had thanked him and received the modified draft, before starting to read it on the spot.

However, before he had even read it to the end, Kodai raised his face in amazement. The modifications to the draft were clearly written at a completely different standard from the original.

Mochizuki-senpai had seemed to be worried about Kodai’s reaction.

“I-I’m sorry! Was it really that strange? Should I undo my edits?”

“...No, I want to use this version.”

“Really? I’m rather concerned because I’m your senior…”

“You’re worried about such a thing?! Ah, there’s definitely nothing wrong with it, though,” Kodai had instinctively yelled, before mumbling his following words. Even so, his words seemed to have reached Mochizuki-senpai properly, which he was relieved about.

Ever since that day, Kodai had kept the red pen-modified draft with him in his bag. Whenever he lost his motivation to keep writing an article, or whenever it was difficult to get the approval from either the Club President or Akechi-sensei, he would reread the “model” of Mochizuki-senpai’s work. Of course, his own sentences would not improve suddenly, but his mood would change.

Kodai learned that Mochizuki-senpai, who had written such a “model” work, had been studying screenplays when they had met in the library by coincidence.

Kodai, who had run out of books to read on his way home, had dropped by the library after his club activities had ended. There had been few people in the library, as it had been a short while before the last of the students were supposed to leave the school.

Amidst the relative silence of the library, a chair suddenly fell down with a loud noise. Then, a mysterious loud voice suddenly rang out. “I’ve got it!”

When Kodai instinctively turned around, he saw Mochizuki-senpai standing there with a bright red face.

“Um, I’m sorry, I’ll be quiet now…” Mochizuki-senpai had apologised softly, sitting down in a chair and visibly wilting. However, at the next moment, he was writing with a mechanical pencil with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm.

Kodai was unable to keep up with the series of events. The stunned gazes of the surrounding people continued to look at Mochizuki-senpai, but he did not seem to care at all. Kodai was impressed by how focused he was.

However, a piece of paper fell off the desk when Mochizuki-senpai’s elbow hit it. He seemed to have been oblivious to it, and, in the worst case scenario, it may have been left as-is.

After a beat of hesitation, Kodai quietly walked over. He picked up the piece of paper from the floor and slipped it onto the edge of the desk.

“Ah, there’s a typo.”

“Eh? Where, where? Wait, whoaaaa!” Mochizuki-senpai shouted in surprise. 

As it was the second time Mochizuki-senpai had yelled, the surrounding gazes, as well as the eyes of the librarian, hardened, and Kodai found himself being forced out of the library with him.

“I’m sorry, it’s because I suddenly called out to you.”

“It’s not your fault at all, Yamamoto-kun! If only I’d looked around more… Ah, right, thank you for picking it up. I didn’t notice it at all. It was a great help.”

“Not really… I only took a glance at it earlier, but are you writing a novel or something?”

“So you really saw it after all? This is actually a screenplay. It’s still just a draft, though.”

In truth, Kodai knew that it would have been better if he had pretended that he had not seen it. It may have been a topic that Mochizuki-senpai did not want to talk about, and he was not as close to the seniors as Kotaro was.

However, Kodai lost out to his curiosity, and he found himself bowing down before he knew it. “Please let me read it!”

As he had expected, the screenplay that Mochizuki-senpai had written was interesting. As it was romance-themed, Kodai had had his doubts before he had started reading it, but he could not stop turning the pages, as though he was reading his favourite mystery novel. 

However, the screenplay was unfortunately incomplete. Therefore, Kodai had asked if he could be the first one to read it once it was completed, and he had been waiting ever since.

Judging from its thickness, the brown envelope that Mochizuki-senpai was holding probably contained a bunch of screenplays.

Kodai wanted to read it soon. He wanted to continue to read it.

Kodai gently called out, all while suppressing his urge to scream. “Um, Mochizuki-senpai.”

“Akarin really is cute, regardless of who’s the one looking at her, right?”

“Right? Aah, of course.”

“Y-you agreeeeed! Yamamoto-kun, I didn’t know that the feelings you felt for Akarin were l-lo-lo---”

“No, I just have respect for her. By the way, Mochizuki-senpai, have you completed the screenplay?”

“Eh? Huh, Yamamoto-kun…” Mochizuki-senpai blinked. He was probably thinking “Just when did you get here?”. It seemed that his amazing concentration was at play, even on an occasion like this.

“Kotaro spotted you, that’s about it,” Kodai said without further explanation, but it seemed to have satisfied Mochizuki-senpai.

“A-aah, so that’s how it is. I needed to find you anyway, Yamamoto-kun…”

“Is the script inside that brown envelope?”

“Yup, yup. I finally finished it last night, so I printed it out and brought it along. I’m sorry that it’s so bulky, but I’d be happy if you could read it when you have the time.”

“Thank you, very much…”

The envelope Kodai received from Mochizuki-senpai was heavier than it had looked. Its heavy weight spread across the palm of his hand, and his heart pounded in anticipation.

“I’ll be sure to read this immediately after.”

“I’m happy about it, but don’t you have to eat lunch first?”

“Then, I’ll read it as soon as I’m done with eating.”

“Ah, be sure to pay attention to your lessons as well.”

“...The moment school ends, I’ll read it all at once.”

“Ahaha! Yeah, please do.”

“I’ll be seeing you, then!” Mochizuki-senpai laughed shyly and began to walk, waving his hand. He was heading for the school cafeteria on the same floor.

(...I wonder if he’s looking for Hayasaka-senpai.)

To Kodai, the human heart, much less the feelings of love, was an unanalysable black box. He had always thought as such, which was why he tried not to show unnecessary interest in it. However, for some reason, he found himself concerned about such a thing at that time.

~✿~

On that day, Kodai hurried to the library the moment the bell that announced the end of the school day had rang. He secured the seat by the window, which was as close to the back of the library as possible, and opened the brown envelope to take out the screenplay.

“The Answer to Jealousy”

That was the only thing that had been printed onto the first sheet of paper. 

They were the first words that he saw.

It seemed that the title was decided upon after the screenplay had been written to completion.

With bated breath, Kodai turned the page.

~✿~

When Kodai finished reading the last line, the fluorescent lights above were beaming down on him. Looking out of the window while rubbing his stiff neck, he saw that the evening Sun had already set, and the moon was drifting about the deep blue sky.

“I’m so happy that you’re already reading it.”

The moment Kodai took a breath, he heard a voice from his immediate vicinity. Still basking in the afterglow of the story he had just read, he turned around after a beat.

“...Mochizuki-senpai?! Ah, ow.”

Kodai’s neck cracked loudly, and pain began to spread along the area, though that was not the issue at hand.

“I’m sorry, I called out to you without warning…”

“No, it’s fine. Anyway, how long have you been there?”

Kodai wondered if Mochizuki-senpai had seen him reading the screenplay. He was struck by a strong, uncomfortable feeling of awkwardness, though fortunately, Mochizuki-senpai laughed it off. 

“Just a while ago. I remembered that the deadline for returning my reference books was today, so I rushed over.”

“Is that so?” Kodai nodded. As if that was a signal, the conversation was cut off then. Mochizuki-senpai, who was sitting on a chair with a vacant chair between them, was staring at his hands with his head lowered miserably.

(One of the characters in the screenplay also had such a habit…)

Kodai slowly opened his mouth, feeling a little closer to solving the mystery. “I’ve already read the screenplay to the end.”

“Ah, yeah, thank you.”

“Senpai… Why did you write such a story?”

That question was the first thing that had come to Kodai’s mind once he had finished reading the screenplay. The screenplay that Mochizuki-senpai had written was a romance story set in a modern High School. On the other hand, it could also be read as a coming-of-age story of six boys and girls passing by each other, colliding with each other, all while coming to terms with their own feelings.

If Kodai had to give an overview for it, he’d describe it as a “common story”. However, he felt as though the screenplay had its own unique brilliance. All of the characters were realistic, and it felt as though they lived in the same world that he did. He really felt as though the characters physically existed close to him.

“The reason why I wrote this story, huh…” Mochizuki-senpai looked around as he groaned in thought. “Hmm.”

Before long, Mochizuki-senpai seemed to find his answer, and he spoke while scratching his cheek with his finger. “I think I was trying to project what I was feeling at the moment into the text. To be honest, I didn’t want to show it to anyone at first.”

“Eh…!”

It was the first time that Kodai had heard of this. As he was stunned speechless, Mochizuki-senpai continued.

“Haruki’s the movie director and Yu’s kind of the producer. They both have their own specialties, but I’ve always just been the odd-job guy! I didn’t have anything to call my own,” Mochizuki-senpai said, taking a clear file out from his bag. There were a few memos inside the file. The words on the printouts had been written over and over again with red, blue, and green ballpoint pens. 

“But when I wrote my feelings into the script in front of me, I found it to be a lot of fun. That’s why I wanted to write even more…” Mochizuki-senpai muttered softly, tracing the words he had written with his ballpoint pens.

Having nothing to say in response, Kodai just nodded in silence.

“I wrote it however I liked for a while, but you told me that you wanted to read it, right, Yamamoto-kun? I was so happy about it. From then on, I became more aware of the readers, and changed the outcome and the plot of the story.”

(Aah, so that’s how it was…)

Kodai felt as though it was a work that could be read like an I-novel, but he was convinced by the spoken words all the same. It was as though Mochizuki-senpai had written himself into a character in the screenplay.

That was why Kodai dared to ask a follow-up question. “Senpai, would you confess to the person that you love?”

“Yeah. I’ve done it.”

“...Is that so?”

“But things like this are on a case-by-case basis,” Mochizuki-senpai huffed a laugh and extended his fingers out, as though he was counting something off. “Like practising confessing with the person one loves, and because they know that they have no hope, they do not confess for real so as to not burden the other person…”

Kodai had no idea as to who Mochizuki-senpai was thinking of. However, from the gentle expression on Mochizuki-senpai’s face, Kodai could tell that that person was important to him.

“It’s different for each and every person, and I think that they’re all handling it in the right way,” Mochizuki-senpai said in a clear voice. It sounded as though he was reassuring himself of such as well. “...Yamamoto-kun, somehow I feel as though you’re kind of like me.”

“Huh,” Kodai nodded semi-reflexively at the sudden change in topic.

“You like observing people, and you have the tendency to be a bystander as a result of that, right?”

“!”

“Huh, did that hit the mark?” Mochizuki-senpai grinned.

Kodai smiled awkwardly. 

He had always been just a bystander. Reading was his hobby, he liked observing people, and he always spoke his mind. He also had a person who helped him to realise that he was also a person of value in this world. There was no other way to describe him other than a “complete bystander”, though there were people who joked that he was the main character in his own life.

Kodai wondered what he would be like two years from then. 

He wondered what kind of person he wanted to become.

Kodai clenched his fists tightly.

~✿~

On the day of the graduation ceremony of the seniors, a pleasant blue sky extended across the horizon. 

When Kodai was packing up the chairs in the gymnasium after the ceremony had ended, his phone vibrated in the pocket of his blazer. He had received a call from Mochizuki-senpai.

“Yamamoto-kun, bring your camera and meet us on the roof!”

Having said that, he hung up the phone.

Kodai wondered if they wanted him to take a group photo for them, though he then wondered why they had chosen him to take it out of all the people who could have done so. His curiosity getting the better of him, Kodai hurried to his club room to retrieve the camera he used for interviews.

When he got to the roof, Kodai found the usual six people there. Enomoto-senpai and Hayasaka-senpai had reddened eyes, but they immediately smiled when their gazes landed on the camera.

“Pardon me, but what kind of poses are you planning on making?”

“I want to link arms with Nacchan…”

“Geez, you’re so cute, Akari! Sure, sure, we’ll link arms as much as you want.”

As the girls loudly fussed over each other, Mochizuki-senpai had a depressed expression on his face. Without needing to ask him, Kodai could tell that he was envying Enomoto-senpai.

Setoguchi-senpai smiled awkwardly as he watched the different interactions before him.

“You have it easy, Yu. You have some leeway there. You can hold hands with Natsuki all you want.”

“No, that’s not…”

“What? Mochita, are you envious?” Enomoto-senpai laughed with a smirk. 

Hayasaka-senpai clapped her hands as though she had just thought of something. “Why don’t Mochizuki-kun and Setoguchi-kun hold hands, then?”

The next moment, silence fell.

Enomoto-senpai clutched her stomach as she laughed, and Mochizuki-senpai looked up at the sky without uttering a word.

“W-why?” Setoguchi-senpai asked Hayasaka-senpai with a forced smile on his face.

“I think it’ll be difficult for all six of us to line up in a row due to the camera frame. I think we’ll bend down a little in the front, while you and the others stand behind us, Setoguchi-kun.”

(I-I see. So she had a reason for it after all…)

Kodai secretly smiled to himself as he adjusted the lens of his camera. 

When he was searching for a subject to match the exposure, he saw Serizawa-senpai and Aida-senpai, who were standing at a small distance away, reflected in the frame, though they were standing too far away for their voices to be audible. However, Kodai could see gentle expressions on their faces, and he naturally began to smile as well.

“Okay, let’s gather, everyone! It’s time to take the picture!” Enomoto-senpai called out, marking the start of the photography session.

Enomoto-senpai, Hayasaka-senpai, and Aida-senpai were lined up in the front row with their arms linked and their hands held. Setoguchi-senpai, Mochizuki-senpai, and Serizawa-senpai stood in the back row.

One picture, two pictures, three pictures…

The last picture was taken with Mochizuki-senpai’s phone, which thus concluded the photography session.

The seniors still seemed to be a little reluctant as they looked down at the schoolyard, and at the pictures they had taken.

Kodai had intended to pack up and leave without saying anything, but he noticed “something” that was left in the inner pockets of his bag and paused.

“Enomoto-senpai, may I have a moment? Please take this, if you’d like.”

“Wow, thanks! Is this an album?”

“Yes. It’s the one that was taken by the Newspaper Club.”

“Amazing, there’s so many…” Enomoto-senpai’s eyes sparkled as she looked through the album. Eventually, her hands stopped turning the pages. “Is this…”

“It’s you, Enomoto-senpai, and Setoguchi-senpai,” Kodai described the picture in front of him. 

Enomoto-senpai huffed a laugh. “Pfft. Yamamoto-kun, that can’t be it~.”

“Yes. This is what I see. This is how you two always are when you’re together.”

“...I didn’t know that Yu and I looked like this.”

Kodai had brought a smile to her face with the picture he had taken, as well as with the words he had spoken. He thought that that was enough for him to be happy.

But, the truth was…

There were a lot of other things he wanted to say. Things that he had yet to tell her.

Kodai spoke in a loud voice, afraid of voicing his own thoughts. “Senpai, congratulations on your graduation.”

[ahanenohi]

Hmm... Hello! Could I perhaps request HC/fic with a warlord of your choosing playing with their pet? I'm curious to see what you'll come up with :o If you take it, of course 😅 Hope you have a nice day and thank you in advance ❤️

Hi, @mllorei !!

Although I am transparent about the fact that requests may take quite a while, I still felt a teeny bit bad about how long this sat in my ask box. That said, why not a two-in-one mini ficlet? I hope you enjoy (and don’t mind me running away with your request a bit)!

WC: <1000 words (<500 words per ficlet)

Characters: Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Akechi Mitsuhide, Mizusaki Mai (MC)

“It really won’t take long, alright?” Mai smiled happily, as she set the supplies she had down. “So you shouldn’t take long either! Promise me!”

“Alright then. I can’t wait to see what you have in store.”

Hideyoshi Toyotomi

The moon was beginning to glow through the castle’s windows. 

That should be the last of them, right?... Hideyoshi thought, setting his brush down carefully. Carefully rolling the letter he had just written, he crossed it off his “to-do list” as Mai called it. Yes, unless one of his vassals came running in with an urgent report, all of his tasks for today were done. He should probably leave before that happens.

After all, he did promise his beloved he’d be home early. Not that this was very early, he mused as he grabbed a bag of sweets given by Sodoko. Making sure to leave his space neat and clean, Hideyoshi was finally able to start walking back towards the room they shared. Which, speaking of, was dark as he opened the door.

“Mai? I’m home.”

“Hideyoshi! Welcome home!” 

“Eek!” Uri squealed somewhere in the dark.

“If it isn’t my two favorite girls.” Hideyoshi chuckled. 

Leaning up, Mai quickly stole a kiss. “You know, I expected you to be home earlier- it’s dark out now, Mr. Workaholic.”

Worka- what now? Discarding the thought, he carefully considered his response. “So it is- I ended up breaking our pinky promise after I received more work than expected. Thank you for waiting for me. Speaking of, since you’re clearly aware night has fallen, why haven’t you lit a candle yet? Working in the dark is bad for your eyes.”

“Well, I’m finished for today! I have a surprise for you, hence the darkness. Hmm… but now that I think about it, you do need a candle to see it…” Mai trailed off, as a detail she hadn’t previously considered reared its head.

Fondly shaking his head, Hideyoshi replied, “One moment. I’ll go light them up.” 

Utilising the moonlight to guide his hand, he managed to pat Mai’s head before leaving to find a match.

“I’m back and so are the lights. How’s the surprise you wanted me to see?” 

“She’s right over here!” Mai said, an obvious pleased tone affecting her voice. With a grand gesture, she indicated the monkey clinging onto her shoulder. The monkey who was wearing a rather adorable miniature kimono.

“Eek, eek!” Uri aptly responded, and immediately transferred herself to Hideyoshi. Loud laughter quickly burst out of him, as he caught her. Holding her as he bounced her around, she squealed excitedly.

“Aren’t you just the cutest little girl,” Hideyoshi cooed. “Thank you for making this, Mai.”

Stealing another kiss, she grinned. “No problem! After all, isn’t it Uri’s birthday soon?”

“It is, isn’t it? We should plan a fitting celebration.” 

“That we should do!”

“Eek!” With a fond smile, the two of them watched the cutest monkey in the world as she ran around in her new finery.

Mitsuhide Akechi

At long last, Azuchi Castle had come into view. Mentally, he ran through the things he’d need to do once he arrived. Write a report to Nobunaga, attend to any new work that had cropped up in his absence, issue new orders to Kyubei…

And naturally, he’d need to attend to his Little Mouse. Mai had been quite pleased when he had informed her he’d be departing for a few days, claiming it would give her time to work on her surprise for him.

The day he’d left she had come home with a whole armful of supplies and grins. After she’d gotten no less than 6 separate promises out of him to come home safe, sound, and soon-- only then had she sent him off with a loving kiss.

Indeed, it had been a little over a week since he had last seen her. Using his leg, he nudged the horse he was riding to pick up the pace. The sooner today’s duties were done, the better.

Unfortunately, in his line of work just a week of absence had left quite the backlog. Noting the sunset through the windows, Mitsuhide slowly stretched out the aches that were beginning to settle in his limbs. This was no matter. After all, it meant that his workday had concluded and he was finally free to return to the manor where Mai awaited him.

Calling to mind a picture of his wife’s excited face, he was certain that he could make it home to her. 

“Mitsuhide!” Mai shouted as he opened the door to their shared room. “Welcome home! You’re back early!”

“Naturally, Little Mouse.” Brushing her hair back, he slowly planted a kiss on the crown of her head. “Now tell me, what have you been up to in my absence?”

“Didn’t I tell you before you went on that trip? I’ve been working on a surprise! As it so happens, I’ve just finished and now our model is ready to perform her catwalk!”

“A catwalk, hm?” Mitsuhide clarified- he was somewhat familiar with the concept from Mai’s musings about her original time periods fashion shows. “And pray tell, who is tonight’s model?”

“Have a seat!” Mai responded in lieu of answering his question. Once he had settled on his cushion, Mai whistled a familiar tune- a certain albino fox’s call.

And indeed, Chimaki strutted out at that opportune moment, proudly displaying quite the fine Chimaki-sized kimono.

Accepting the incoming cuddles as the sweet girl made a dash for her owner, Mitsuhide cooed out some compliments directed at both Mai and the cute little fox.

For here in the privacy of their home, Mitsuhide didn’t feel the need to uphold any kind of image before the two of them.

[yume-fanfare]

Sakuragaoka Highschool’s Newspaper Extra: Interview

this is a translation of one of the short stories published for LIPxLIP’s birthday in japanese here. you can read the other one, starting line, here. this was translated from this spanish translation by mieltrabajos

Yamamoto Koudai went to the staff room after class. He was now the president of the journalism club, as the one before him had graduated, and he’d been called in by the club’s advisor, Akechi Saku. Koudai thought the talk would be about the school’s newspaper report on the school festival as it was supposed to be ready by December, but it turned out not to be the case. 

Mr. Akechi had said it nonchalantly, without looking up from his computer with a lollipop in his mouth. Koudai, however, was very confused.

“An interview…?”

Mr. Akechi nodded and then turned towards Koudai.

“Every now and then we have a section named Sakuragaoka’s Stars, don’t we?”

“Yes… well, there is one.”

They did have a section like that, introducing active students as stars. It wasn’t a bad project, but the... old-fashioned title was a bit cringy and people didn’t read it much. Well, the school’s newspaper as a whole wasn’t read much, people weren’t interested in it. They published it monthly and handed it over in the school festival, but not many people took them. Maybe if they didn’t publish information on all the school activities, they’d be able to cut down expenses next year. 

(I am lucky to be managing the school’s newspaper, journalism is the only school activity I’m interested in).

“Have you decided who it’ll be about this month?”

“No, I’m… still in the process of selection.”

He was thinking about the light music club, or maybe the drama one as they both were active during the school festival. Or maybe interview the students from the festival executive committee themselves. It could also be one of the swimming club members, as they were doing synchronized swimming even in the cold, or someone from the tea ceremony club who were doing something called “creative dancing tea ceremony”. December’s issue was going to be the last one of the year, so he wanted to end on a high note. There were lots of students he’d like to see.

“Would you like to interview my students, Shibasaki Aizou and Someya Yuujirou?”

Koudai stayed silent for a few seconds thinking about Mr. Akechi’s words.

“Wouldn’t that be hard?” he answered.

With just a few comments on those two’s appearance at the sports festival, that month’s issue had skyrocketed in popularity as their fans scrambled to get a copy. If Koudai got to interview them, the newspaper would be read everywhere.

But Shibasaki Aizou and Someya Yuujirou were professional idols. Interviewing them without getting through their office first would be a problem. That was why Koudai was unsure about being able to handle the project.

“They’re students of our school, so there should be no problem, right?”

“I’ll ask but… I’m not sure if they’ll cooperate.”

“That’s fine, Yamamoto.” Akechi smiled and offered him a lollipop, like always. “Please do it properly.”

“Ah…”

(He’s even telling me to do it right…)

Koudai excused himself out of the staff room, and twirled the lollipop in his hands.

“It’s so easy to say that…” he sighed.

But, did that mean he trusted Koudai as the club president? Mr. Akechi may look a bit eccentric, but he never said anything without a reason. Koudai couldn’t answer his “Will you be able to do this?” question with a no. He was determined to do it.

He put the candy in his pocket and pushed his glasses up.

“I want to do something really good…”

(If I got to interview those two, I want to make it a special issue, use big pages and highlight it. It’d be great if I could take a photo too).

“Is that really possible...?” Koudai brought a hand to his chin, deep in thought as he walked down the hallway.

He still wasn’t sure, and even if he didn’t have much hope, it may be possible. It was a very rewarding job for him, even if Mr. Akechi had put him between a rock and a hard place. If he managed to get it right it would be a fantastic opportunity to get more people to learn about the club.

(Where do those two go after school?)

He hadn’t heard anything about them being in clubs. Maybe they headed straight to work after class.

A voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Hey, Koudai!”

Shibasaki Ken was walking down the stairs. They were in the same class and together with Enomoto Kotarou, had been good friends since middle school. They usually called him Shibaken.

He looked like he was about to head home. Since he wasn’t in any clubs, he always wandered around after class.

“What are you doing? Club activities?”

“Something like that. Are you going back home, Shibaken?”

“Yeah. Kotarou is also doing activities, so I have no other choice.”

“And Takamizawa-san?”

Takamizawa Arisa, whom Ken was always running after, didn’t seem to be around either. She wasn’t in any clubs, like Ken, and Koudai had seen them going back home and spending breaks between classes together recently. However, that wasn’t the case today.

“Arisa-chan has intensive classes today,” Ken sighed, crossing his arms behind his head with a bored grimace. “Lately, everyone does.”

“You have a lot of free time. Why don’t you find a hobby or join a club?”

When they were in middle school Ken spent his time playing with girls, but he seemed to have lost interest in that. Now, he was really invested in Takamizawa Arisa. As a close friend of his, the fact that Ken was so focused on a single person alone was a bit surprising. Despite his appearance and carefree attitude, he seemed to be becoming a little bit more serious.

“There’s no club activity that stands out to me. I could consider your journalism club, though. You don’t have many members, right? It’d be a friendship club!” Shibaken joked.

“We don’t allow ghost members. What about the gardening club?”

Kotarou and his childhood friend Hina were in the gardening club, but there barely were any members, and it was at risk of closing. Though the journalism club was, too, they had only gotten one new member this year. The track and field was the most active one and the students were really good athletes, so most freshmen applied for that one.

“I’d only be a bother there.”

Kodai turned his head to the side.

“Really?”

He guessed it was because of Kotarou and Hina.

They were childhood friends, but everyone could clearly see Kotarou liked Hina, although she constantly made fun of him. Koudai, however, didn’t know how she felt about him and he wasn’t going to snoop.

Ken put his arm around Koudai’s shoulders.

“And where are you going, Koudai?”

“To an interview. For next month’s issue.”

“Oh, that sounds fun, I’ll go with you! Who are you interviewing?”

“A pair of freshmen idols,” Koudai answered.

Upon hearing that, Ken drew his arm back and stayed silent for a few seconds.

“Oh I just remembered I have a really important business to handle. Well then, Koudai, do your best with the interview!” Ken walked away towards the entrance.

Like always, Ken’s personality was a fickle thing. It seemed like he had some complicated and uncomfortable circumstances.

Koudai had wanted to ask Ken about ‘him’, because he probably knew him better. But as Ken’s friend, he prefered to not touch the topic much either.

After all, the interview was about ‘them’ as students, not some scoop.

Koudai took out his pen and notebook and whispered:

“All right, let’s go.”

Maybe they’d still be inside their classroom.

---

Koudai reached the first years’ hall and looked around with nostalgia. The first years who looked so nervous at the entrance ceremony now seemed completely used to high school life.

Time to start looking for those two.

Loud voices could be heard from one of the classrooms, so he stopped by there first. Most students seemed like they were about to go home or were getting ready for club activities. Only a few girls still crowded around their desks, excitedly talking about some magazines.

“Doesn’t Aizou-kun look like someone dangerous in this picture?”, Koudai overheard.

“Yes, and Yuujirou-kun looks so cute!”

“What kind of CD did you choose? I want a poster!”

“I preordered everything! If you get a Yuujirou-kun sticker we can trade~”

Seemed like those two were the center of attention.

(I hope I can talk to them…)

When Koudai walked into the classroom, someone seemed to have noticed him. A girl wearing the sports uniform looked at him with sparkly eyes.

“Could it be, Yamamoto-san from the journalism club!” She smiled brightly.

She was at the track and field club and had participated in the relay race. Suzumi Hiyori, Setoguchi Hina’s underclassman. Koudai had interviewed her a bit some time ago.

“Are you looking for someone?”

“Yes… for a small interview.”

“An interview!” The girl leaned forward with eyes full of curiosity.

“Yes, could you help me a bit?”

“O-oh, yes, if you’re fine with me!”

They moved away from the hall to not bother anyone and Koudai opened his laptop.

“Could we do it now?”

“Yes, of course!”

“I wanted to interview two of your classmates for next month’s issue, Shibasaki Aizou and Someya Yuujirou-”

“Shibasaki-kun and Someya-kun?!” Hiyori’s voice became surprisingly low and she took a step back.

(Uh…? … Why such an exaggerated reaction…?)

Maybe he shouldn’t have asked.

“Yes… I just want you to tell me a bit about them.”

“So it’s not an interview for me?” Hiyori’s face fell down and her shoulders dropped.

(Oh, so it was that…)

“Of course, I’ve heard about your feats at the sports festival. Setoguchi-san is also really happy about how you did and praised you for your hard work,” he tried to cheer her up, and it immediately worked as Hiyori lifted her head and smiled.

“For real?!”

“Yes, she always says she’ll do her best not to lose against Suzumi-san.”

“My goal is Setoguchi-senpai too! I’m so happy~” Hiyori laughed cheerfully, a bit embarrassed, touching her cheeks.

“Suzumi-san, you’re in the same class as them, right?”

“Yes… for now…” Hiyori rocked back and forth as she answered.

“Anything is fine, but if you know something, please tell me.”

“About what…?” “Anything is fine…”

“I don’t know anything, really!” Hiyori shook her head and stuck out her tongue, like she was annoyed.

“Why? You don’t talk with them?”

“I don’t! Whenever I try, their fans bite me…” Koudai slid his pen over the notebook as he mumbled:

“Even in the classroom…?” Then added. “Then, do those two usually stay alone in class? During lunch break, I mean.”

“Hmmm… they’re not always together. They usually eat by themselves… it’s kind of rare to see them talking to each other?” she answered.

Koudai leaned forward.

“That’s… surprising. Is their relationship bad?” He put his hand on his chin, thinking.

Hiyori grimaced and quickly added:

“That’s not it! There’s times where they have fun and cheer each other up when they’re feeling down!” After saying that, for some reason, Hiyori added in a whisper: “In front of the fans… I’m not sure…” she sighed. “It may look like they don’t get along… but they like the same things.”

“The same things?”

“Yes! Singing, dancing… and tuna mayo riceballs.”

“Tuna mayo…” Koudai mumbled. Without noticing, he doodled a riceball and wrote tuna mayo next to it.

“Oh, I prefer the dried plum ones. My grandma said that eating acids makes you live much longer and have 100 times as much energy!” Hiyori said and then crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks. “But those two don’t appreciate their greatness…”

“Eh?”

“Oh, it’s nothing! I was just monologuing…”

She got nervous, and Koudai softened his gaze behind the lens.

“I understand, Suzumi-san. But this is about them.”

“I know, I was just trying to explain!”

“What kind of bond do Shibasaki Aizou and Someya Yuujirou have in your eyes?”

“For me…?”

“Don’t think about it too much. How do you think they are like…?”

She took a while to think about it, but focused again.

“Hmmm… they’re incredible…” she closed her eyes as she answered. “They work very hard every day. When I look at them, they’re always doing their best, and they make me want to work hard too, so, to me… they’re cheerful partners?”

Then, she blushed and pressed her hands together in a plea.

“Don’t write that in the article, it’s too embarrassing!”

“Suzumi-san, you sound like you’re a fan of them too.” Koudai put the pen on his mouth, smiling.

“Yes… but even so, my number one idol is Setoguchi-senpai!!”

Koudai laughed and said: “I’ll let her know.” Then added: “Well, do you know where those two are? I was looking for them.”

“Today Shibasaki-kun has to record a song, and Someya-kun has a photoshoot at a fashion magazine, so they’ve probably left already.”

“Oh, I see...·

“Ah! Then, maybe I could…! I heard those two talking about that… something like...” Hiyori bowed. “I’m sorry, I have a club meeting!” she exclaimed and bolted out of the classroom in the blink of an eye. As it was to be expected, coming from a track and field pro.

“Such an interesting girl, Suzumi-san…” Koudai wanted to interview her, some other time. 

But now, he had to work on those two. Talking to them after class seemed complicated, since they left so quickly.

Koudai closed the notebook and pocketed the pen.

(I’ll look for them during lunch break tomorrow, maybe I’ll get lucky)

---

The next day, Koudai heard excited screaming as he was walking through the courtyard during lunch break.

The first years were playing soccer, and a lot of girls crowded around the fence, cheering and yelling. And not just first years, but also second and third year girls. Even the school’s nurse was looking towards the field from one of the school’s balconies.

(So popular…)

The reason for all of that was no other than Aizou. He had taken off his blazer, rolled up his sleeves and was running after the ball with his classmates. 

The soccer club members watched the first years with interest too. Koudai noticed Kotarou amongst them and walked up to him. A tournament was about to start, so they were practicing during lunch too.

“Hey, Koudai, what are you doing?” Kotarou called out to him. “An interview?”

“Something like that.”

Aizou reached the boy who had the ball, easily stole it and ran towards the goal. The defenders tried to stop him but he dodged them and scored a goal. The girls all stood up and screamed and his classmates high-fived each other and laughed, celebrating the victory. Koudai quickly snapped a picture. He didn’t know if he’d be able to use it but he didn’t want to lose the chance.

“He’s great. I wish he’d join the club.” Kotarou crossed his arms and sighed heavily, looking at Aizou.

He’d been pretty good during the relay race at the sports festival, and his motor skills would surely be great at any sports club. No matter what, he could adapt and excel at it for sure.

“Why don’t you try to recruit him?”

“He’s too busy with rehearsals, he’s a full-time idol…” Kotarou crossed his hands behind his head and eyed Koudai. “What’s the interview about?” “The first year idols. They’re hard to find.”

“Shouldn’t you hurry up and talk to him then? Before a girl bites you for getting too close.”

Kotarou clapped his hands together:

“Everyone, gather!” he ordered the first years in a serious club-president tone.

Koudai walked up to Aizou, who was still breathing heavily.

“Shibasaki Aizou,” he called out. “I’m from the journalism club, may I interview you a little bit?”

Aizou wiped his forehead with his sleeve and turned towards Koudai.

“Yamamoto-senpai.”

“Oh, you remember my name?”

“It’s because… I saw it during the sports festival. But I don’t know if I can accept the interview.” Aizou rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

Probably because of his agency.

“I think it’ll be okay, I don’t want to interview you as an idol, but as a first year student.” It was what Mr. Akechi had said: after all, he was a Sakuragaoka student.

Aizou changed his expression to a friendly grin.

“I don’t think that makes much of a difference but… what would you like to know?”

“About your school life. How’s this year going? Anything is fine, it’ll be interesting.”

(He seems like a normal student after all… not as carefree as Shibaken).

Both brothers were a bit shy but kind, with friendly personalities. Easy to talk to. Koudai had a lot of classmates like that. The other boys who were playing soccer called him by his first name, too. Koudai thought the fact that Aizou was an idol would make him less approachable in class, but it seemed like that wasn’t the case.

“Well, something interesting… do the cultural and sports festivals count?”

“During the last festival, your class did a haunted house, right? You were one of the best classes during the costume contest too. Yours was a very popular one, Shibasaki-kun.”

“The girls from our class were really excited about it and they were the ones to design the costumes. I hope everything looked good…”

Aizou seemed a bit embarrassed.

“I think it suited you…” Koudai remembered all the screaming fans running to the haunted house to see Aizou’s costume.

(It went quite well I think).

“Maybe the zombies could have been better,” said Aizou. “Even if it was a haunted house, I wasn’t very scared. I would have wanted it to be more realistic…”

“In my opinion it was pretty well made. Especially the sound. Though, in some areas the lights were too dark and we couldn’t really see the production work. Things like the chandelier, the mannequins or the hands on the walls. I would have liked to see them properly.”

Aizou crossed his arms and mumbled: 

“Yeah, it was a bit dark after all…”

Maybe it was so he and his partner stood out less. It was inevitable, though. If they were there, all eyes would be on them.

“The voice and the wind noise that played when you walked into the room was seriously frightening. It felt so real,” Koudai reminisced.

Aizou grinned widely.

“Oh, that was my voice! Maybe most people didn’t notice… The wind was Yuujirou’s hair dryer, though it wasn’t very strong.”

“It looks like you had a lot of fun at the cultural festival.”

Koudai thought he wasn’t very interested in school events, but it seemed like they both had participated with their classmates both in the sports and the cultural festivals.

“You really are a regular student too, like Mr. Akechi said.”

“Mr. Akechi?”

“Ah, um yes… It’s nothing. This is enough.”

“Are you sure?” Aizou asked rushedly.

“Yes, thank you. By the way, I’d like to interview Someya Yuujirou too, do you know where he is?”

“Yuujirou? Well… I don’t know if he’ll be okay with being interviewed. He can be a little problematic sometimes, but, if you want to… He must be at some secluded place, without many people. The backyard, maybe…”

“I’ll look for him. It’ll be a great article.”

“I haven’t answered much though… just things about the school festival.”

“Everyone wants to know about it. About you doing normal things.” Koudai closed his notebook. “See you,” he told Aizou before leaving.

The girls who had been looking at them from afar immediately ran towards Aizou.

Such a hard life, the school idol’s.

Koudai continued with his path: “The backyard huh…?”

---

When he got there, there were no other students around. Usually, it was the third years who met here, not the freshmen, but there weren’t any seniors around either. Probably because of the November cold. The cherry trees’ leaves had been taken by the wind a long time ago.

Koudai caught sight of a student, standing alone in front of the flower beds.

(Exactly where he said…)

It looked like there were no noisy fans around. That should be better, right? Koudai walked up to the flowerbeds, the ones the gardening club was taking care of. Yuujirou looked at them absentmindedly, like he wasn’t really there.

“Someya-kun,” Koudai said, raising his voice.

Yuujirou turned around, quickly changing his expression. 

“Senpai… Are you talking to me?”

Much like Aizou, Yuujirou also remembered him from the sports festival as a senior from the journalism club.

“I’d like to publish an interview of you and Shibasaki Aizou in the school’s newspaper next month.”

“I’m not supposed to agree to things like that though…”

Koudai sighed lightly at the negative answer, touching the rim of his glasses. He had gotten him to answer some questions at the sports festival, but maybe it was because there were a lot of students around… It wouldn’t be that easy this time.

“I only want to ask about your school life, is that still no good?”

“I am not very good at talking,” Yuujirou bowed his head. “Sorry.”

(I’ve already interviewed Aizou so that could be enough, but…)

He wanted an interview with both of them, but he didn’t want to force him.

Yuujirou turned his head back to the flowers and Koudai looked at them too. Swaying with the cold wind, they were yellow flowers.

“Rudbeckies… they’re still in full bloom…” he commented.

Kotarou and his childhood friend Hina had planted that one. They had joined the club as first years and had fought to preserve them. It was nostalgic. That flower was very important for those two friends.

Yuujirou lifted his gaze and looked back to Koudai, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

“They’re from the gardening club,” Koudai explained.

“There’s a gardening club…” Yuujirou said to himself, looking at the flowers again.

“Well, I’m not sure if there’ll still be one next year, there aren’t enough members and no one new has joined yet. If you’re interested…

“I can’t join, I’m not interested.”

Koudai exhaled, casually pushing his glasses up.

“Of course.”

Balancing idol work and school couldn’t be easy. He had no time for clubs. And even if he had, it’ll probably attract too many fans.

It was plain to see that Ayase Koyuki’s graduation had been the cause of the club’s demise. Kotarou and Hina were trying to revive it, worried for the club. They really wanted someone new to join.

“You’re staring at the flowerbed a lot… Are you worried about something?”

“It looks like they’re about to die. I was wondering if they’re well cared for.”

“Yeah, it’s because the season for flowers is over. They bloomed already, they’re fine.”

“... You know a lot about this.”

“One of my best friends is in the gardening club.”

He had stayed late reading a flower book with Kotarou at the library once. The season for these flowers was from summer til October. Maybe they had lasted this long because the warm days were expected to continue until mid-January this year. But their season was already over.

“Is the gardening club in charge of the flowerbeds at the rooftop too?”

“Indeed. Kotarou and Setoguchi-san said they had planted pansies. They plan on planting tulips there next spring.” Koudai pointed to a remote flowerbed. The grass had been removed from it and the soil had been smoothed out. “Since the third years are graduating…”

During spring, beautiful and colorful tulips would bloom. Just like the year before.

(Really, in the blink of an eye…)

“Have you had fun? This year…” Koudai asked casually.

Yuujirou furrowed his brow.

“I will not be interviewed.”

“It’s just small talk. I won’t write an article. I promise.”

Yuujirou looked ahead.

“Well,” he said. “It was…” His gaze softened and he smiled slightly.

He must have remembered something good. Koudai wanted to hear a bit more now but…

“I’m glad,” Koudai smiled and turned around.

“That was good?” Yuujirou said, confused.

“This was not an interview. Though, if you were to accept one, I’d gladly do it,” he answered, turning back to face him, and waved his hand.

“Oh, here you are!” Suzumi Hiyori rushed towards Yuujirou with a cheerful voice. “Someya…!!!” . When he noticed Koudai was there, she covered her mouth with her hands mid-yell.

Yuujirou furrowed his brow at her mistake:

“God…” he mumbled.

“Someya-kun… uh… eh… it looks like… Teacher Uchida is calling you,” she said to Someya in a terrified tone and then ran away.

(Is there a teacher named like that in school…?)

Passing by them, Koudai went back into the building.

---

Koudai went to talk to Mr. Akechi at the staff room after class before heading to the club room.

(Mr. Akechi told me to wait until tomorrow, but I don’t think I’ll be able to ask him again…)

He walked down the hall as he thought about it and opened the biology classroom they used for their club. The other members had other work that day, so there probably wasn’t anyone there yet.

However, when he opened the door, he stopped in his tracks. There was in fact a student there.

Yuujirou, standing next to the shelf by the window. He was looking with curiosity at the cameras and lenses Koudai used at the club.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” Koudai commented.

Yuujirou looked at him, chin in hand.

“You said you wanted to interview me, Yamamoto-senpai. But I want to interview you.”

Koudai laughed.

“I wanted to interview you, Mr. Akechi asked me to.”

Yuujirou clumsily turned around. He puffed out his cheeks in annoyance.

“I see,” he said, lowering his voice.

Koudai closed the door behind them.

“Then, let’s start.”

There were lots of things Yuujirou could ask about.

This was going to be a fun interview.

“I wanted you to tell me about the camera.”

“The journalism club is also looking for members. If you’re interested…”

“I can’t join.”

The answer was still simple, but his jaw softened a bit.

“Well… do you want to learn how to take pictures? Of whom?”

“For now… of my dog?”

Koudai walked closer to Yuujirou and handed him his single-lens reflex camera, his favorite one. Yuujirou held it very carefully and pointed the lens towards the window.

“...How do you focus?”

“Like this. It’s set on manual now, but if you set it to auto, it’ll focus on its own. When you change it to shooting mode, you can-”

“Ohhh...” Koudai noticed how bright Yuujirou’s expression was while he looked at the camera.

“... adjust the exposition,” Koudai finished.

Yuujirou nodded with a serious face.

“Can I take a picture?”

“Of course.”

Yuujirou took a step backwards and, much to Koudai’s surprise, turned the lens away from the window to focus on Koudai.

The shutter went off.

“Wait, I am supposed to be the one interviewing you.”

“A bit of change is always good,” Yuujirou joked, lowering the camera.

Koudai pushed his glasses up.

“I see…”

(With Shibasaki Aizou and him… this should be popular)

---

Mid-december brought Yuujirou and Aizou relaxing at the office’s break room.

Yuujirou was sleeping on the table while listening to music. In front of him, Aizou played mobile games to kill time. That day, they had had a meeting with their manager regarding their next mv.

In that moment, Suzumi Hiyori, manager in training, barged into the room yelling:

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!”

Yuujirou was startled by the scream, lifting his head with a sleepy face.

“Monster…” he mumbled. Maybe he was still asleep, actually.

“What the hell, you scared me!” Aizou put his phone down, frowning.

“I brought a surprise!”

Suzumi held the school’s newspaper in her shaky hands. The journalism club members had been handing it out in the school that morning.

“Our… our interview is here!”

Aizou quickly took the newspaper from her hands with sparkling eyes. That morning the girls at school had made a fuss over that issue and he’d been unable to catch a copy for himself; they all disappeared within seconds.

(Oh, last month’s interview… do I have it?)

Yamamoto-senpai had given Aizou a newspaper, but he’d been too busy to read it. He’d left it in his school desk’s drawer and had forgotten about it.

“Where’s the interview?” he asked, skimming through the pages.

Hiyori leaned over.

“Here!” she proudly pointed at the main article.

Comments from their classmate, S-san, a subheader said.

“‘Apparently, they like tuna mayo riceballs’...? What the hell is this?” Aizou complained. “Don’t accept interviews without permission.”

“Well… but I didn’t say anything out of place!” Hiyori shook her head.

“Don’t sound so happy about it. It’s a single line on a school’s paper.”

“Hey, it’s okay! Sometimes I like standing out too, alright? You two are always getting interviewed everywhere.”

“It’s only natural, who’d want to interview a manager in training?” Aizou got up, angry. He wanted to chop Hiyori’s head off.

“Wh… that’s the school newspaper? It’s out already?” Yuujirou mumbled in a sleepy I-just-woke-up voice while he ran his hands through his bangs.

“You got interviewed too. How did they buy you?” Aizou asked him with a  mocking smile.

With his interview, there was also Yuujirou’s. Aizou was surprised, he was sure Yuujirou would’ve refused.

“It was fine… I didn’t answer much…” Yuujirou looked at the article. “‘Preparing for the school festival was hard, but cooperating with everyone was very important’... Aren’t you a fraud? You didn’t do anything, just slept in a coffin.”

“Do you ever shut that irritating mouth of yours?” 

Yuujirou kicked Aizou under the table.

“That hurts! Don’t kick me!”

Right before the argument escalated, the break room’s door opened.

“Sorry for the wait!” It was their manager, Uchida, who seemed to be in a good mood. “The pictures in this newspaper are very good! I wonder if the boy from the journalism club took them, he’s got a good eye. He captured that natural side you two rarely let out.”

“Eh?! Why did Uchida-san read the newspaper?!” Aizou asked loudly, pointing at the school’s newspaper.

“Oh, the teacher in charge of the journalism club sent it to me. He asked me for permission to interview you two, he’s a good teacher. But, above that, he’s a good man~ ❤” Manager Uchida giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

“I don’t want to hear that!”

“I didn’t really cooperate anyway…” Yuujirou mumbled sleepily.

“I wonder if I can post the newspaper’s pictures on our website,” Manager Uchida wondered. “Like a precious photo of LIPxLIP’s school life!” she suggested.

“Oh, that’s right! If our interview appeared in a newspaper, I should contact my grandma and my mom!” Hiyori excitedly pulled out her phone and started to dial her house. “Oh, but I should contact my school counselor too and send them a picture!”

Manager Uchida happily strolled around the room, skipping steps, almost jumping.

“Stop that-!!”

“You’re so loud. You’re not a speaker, lower your volume.”

“Don’t cover your ears and stop Uchida-san! She’s out of control, what if she makes merch out of the pictures?!”

“It’s fine by me. Unlike Aizou, I don’t find it embarrassing.”

“What do you mean ‘unlike Aizou’?”

“Oh, mom! I got the newspaper! It’s our school’s but… I’ll fax it to you at a convenience store. So you can read it! Eh? Dried plum? Yes, I’d love to eat some! Oh, send me rice too. Yes… hm, canned.”

“Hey, potato girl, call your home outside of your work schedule!!”

“Don’t call me potato! … Oh, mom? It’s nothing. The pineapple from my part-time job is making fun of me… Yes, it’s fine. I totally defeated him!”

“Eh?! What are you telling your parents?!”

“Pfft… a pineapple!”

“Don’t laugh, Yuujirou…”

---

Koudai leaned over the rooftop’s railing after school, looking at the ground that was dyed by the sunset. The soccer, baseball and track and field club members trained with enthusiasm despite the cold.

Kotarou’s figure received a pass and ran after the ball. Hina’s running figure seemed small. And Suzumi Hiyori’s, who ran with her, did too.

Takamizawa Arisa and Shibasaki Ken were leaving the school building, walking next to each other. He saw Ken stop and laugh, waving at Kotarou.

In the school’s gate, the idol duo’s fans were waiting for the manager’s car to arrive, surely making a fuss. And it was not just Sakuragaoka’s uniforms, but from other schools too.

It was a familiar sight.

“It’s cold…” mumbled Mr. Akechi, his advisor, as he opened the door and walked into the rooftop.

When he got to Koudai’s side, he trembled and rubbed his arms. He put his hands in the pockets of his white labcoat.

“Mr. Akechi…”

“Thank you for your hard work. Today’s article was very well received,” Mr. Akechi smiled. “A success.”

“It was because those two answered properly…”

They had balanced what they should answer, what they wanted to answer, what Koudai was looking for and the proper wording for it. They were clever and talented. Going to school with those two…they really were pros.

“It worked because you’re you, Yamamoto, don’t you think?”

When he heard those words, Koudai turned to look at Mr. Akechi. His eyes were fixated on the ground, where the students could be heard yelling.

“Ah, the youth,” he whispered with a smile.

“I only wrote.”

It had been Mr. Akechi who gave him the article, and he had apparently called the office to ask for permission. Thanks to that, he’d been able to publish a special picture of those two in the newspaper. The interview wouldn’t have been possible without him.

“Did you ask me to do it because you trusted me? If not, I don’t think I would’ve done it. Those two…”

Koudai saw Akechi’s furrowed brow and laughed.

He must fight with them constantly too. They probably weren’t easy-to-handle students at all. 

“It’s hard, right? For teachers, too.”

“Well… they’re never boring, though. It’s like this every year.” He smiled, hands in pockets. His eyes were looking at the sunset sky, gazing at an airplane far away.

“I see,” Koudai commented.

“Those two’s manager praised your picture. It was a very good shot. She wants to put it on their website, is that okay?”

“Yes, I’ll send it to you later.”

Koudai waved him goodbye, and Mr. Akechi left the rooftop. Koudai stayed there some more time. The sun’s warmth hit his back, his shadow falling over the flowerbed.

He took out the lollipop Mr. Akechi had given him before. He unwrapped it and put it in his mouth. Koudai gazed at the ground, leaning over the railing.

An irreplaceable year for everyone.

Everything moves forward while the present turns into a memory.

Like the older graduated students, and the ones to follow too.

“Someya Yuujirou and Shibasaki Aizou, they both seem to have had a satisfactory year. The journalism club wishes to look over them to see what awaits them in high school.” -Yamamoto Koudai

[magioftheseas]

Back to December

​For @badthingshappenbingo and @i-demand-a-hug

Prompt: Don’t You Dare Pity Me taken from here.

Rating: PG

Warnings: Implied (?) mental instability and implicit references to death.

Summary: It was another morning where he wakes up entangled with Akechi Goro, and his phone buzzes.

Notes: That prompt could be stapled onto any shuake fic, because these two just be like that. But it’s friendly friend’s birthday and I thought I’d complete something more bitter than sweet. It’s been a while since I finished another prompt on my bthb, so here’s to another bingo! It’s pretty short, too, so I hope it’s an easy read in that respect.

***Alternate Ao3 Link*** Commission? Donate?

It’s not just any other morning, but Akira wakes up like it is. Face half-buried into chestnut locks, spooning a warm, sinewy figure—Akira wakes up with a contented sigh. The other stirs, but remains otherwise asleep.  Akira is half-tempted to squeeze his eyes back shut and revel in the scent of cinnamon spice and jasmine.

But his phone buzzes, so he has to detangle himself to answer.

>Coming to get you. Will be there at eleven.

He’s half-tempted to text Ryuji back and tell him not to bother. Obviously, he doesn’t and instead texts back a single letter. With his usual smile, he refrains from chucking his phone and instead sets it carefully aside.

Akechi shifts, rolling onto his back. He barely rustles the sheets, but Akira tugs them over his shoulder anyway. His smile is a bit softer when Akechi groans. When Akechi throws a hand on his face, digging his palm into his eye.

“What day is it?”

“Saturday.”

Akechi’s uncovered eye opens to glare at him.

“That’s not what I mean. Have you really been avoiding looking at your calendar again?”

He’s long torn the thing down. Neutrally, he shakes his head.

“I’ll make you coffee. Come on.”

Akechi groans again, louder and with more purpose.

“You’re incorrigible.”

“Yeah,” was his easy response. “I know. Three cubes of sugar as always?”

“You should stop wasting that on me.”

“Three cubes it is.”

It’s easy to glide into the kitchen as he always does. To pluck out some coffee beans to grind.

“Just instant is fine,” Akechi says from behind. “You shouldn’t go through too much effort. It’s not like my standards are that high, considering I’m with you.”

Akira gives him a grin. “All the more reason to spoil you, detective. The most expensive brand of beans we have it is.”

“It’s all just going to waste,” Akechi replied, straight-faced and unimpressed. “Seriously, Kurusu, what are you doing?”

He was grinding coffee beans and making coffee, obviously. There was no need to answer when it was obvious. Hell, it was routine. A nice, hot, high-quality cup of coffee was placed on the table for Akechi, with three sugar cubes added. Just as the detective liked it.

Akechi settles into the chair that Akira pulls out for him. Akechi sighs, looking quite tired, but not protesting as Akira squeezes his shoulders. Rather than protesting, Akechi sips at his coffee. There’s the slightest hint of a sparkle in his gaze at the taste, just as Akira remembers.

It’s nice to imagine you like this, he thinks. Domestic and content. Comfortable and mine.

In moments like these, his desire to embrace Akechi and squeeze was almost overbearing. At the very least, he wants so dearly to hold the other’s hand and entwine their fingers together. Because Akechi won’t let him, he settles for just placing his hand atop the other’s. He feels Akechi squeeze it into a fist, tense and not lightening up even when Akira strokes his knuckles.

“Stop,” he orders, almost weakly.

Akira grips the other’s hand. Akechi scowls at him but makes no move to physically pry him off. It’s cowardice that Akira holds no love for and absolutely doesn’t want to concede to.

“Kurusu,” Akechi hisses, but any move he makes is a barebones shift towards him. It’s infuriating, and that must show on Akechi’s face which darkens like the sky before a storm. “Kurusu...”

“Goro,” Akira returns cheekily, nuzzling into Akechi’s nape. He presses a kiss to the cervical spine, another to the base of the skull, and finally one atop the crown. Akechi’s honey-brown hair is as soft as it’s ever been against his lips.

“Stop this nonsense,” Akechi snaps at him. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Do you want a bullet point list?”

“Your jokes are horrible, Kurusu.”

“That’s Joker to you.” Akira finally felt his smile twitch. “Or leader, if you’re so inclined. I don’t think calling me by my surname like we’re just acquaintances is appropriate anymore. We’re much closer than that, don’t you think?”

Akechi turns away to scowl at his coffee. Clicking his tongue in disapproval, Akira leans in to kiss his jaw.

“Sakamoto is on his way,” Akechi reminds him stiffly and irritably.

“I’ll make the most of our time together before then.”

“Our time.” Akechi lets out a laugh, low and ugly and so very lovely for it. It’s nothing like the saccharine giggle of the second detective prince, but it’s so wonderfully Akechi Goro, even if it’s more muted than before.

“Your time,” Akechi then corrected him with a snarl, fitting an impressive amount of disdain into just that word.

“My time,” Akira agreed if only to show his fondness. “I’d give you all of it, you know. If only you’d ask.”

“Because I ran out of it?” Akechi looked so terribly unamused. “I don’t need your fucking charity. Nor your pity.”

Akira simply smiles at him.

“I don’t need your pity,” Akechi reiterates. “So, stop with this, Kurusu. Let me go. Let me leave.”

Let you leave me?

“You don’t have anywhere else to go,” Akira reminded him simply. With how understanding he was, he felt no annoyance. He did, however, feel a little sad when Akechi’s beautiful face crumbled like wet tissue.

“Please let me leave.”

You said not to pity you when you make a face like this...

“What value is there in keeping me around?” Akechi asked him next, still so outwardly broken with glittering pieces that Akira took in avidly. “Isn’t this hurting you?”

You really are...stronger than you think.

In lieu of a verbal answer, Akira takes the other’s hands and presses into them so very greedily.

--

When Ryuji finally arrived, Akira only had one last thing to say to Akechi Goro.

“Stay.”

Alongside the now cold cup of coffee, the once detective had no other choice to remain where he was. Still, Akira felt a little anxious as he stepped outside. And Ryuji, still, seemed a bit awkward. He still offered a wide grin, but the strain at the edges was undeniable.

“Hey, man, I know it, uh...” Ryuji pauses for a moment to shuffle uncomfortably. “With what time of the year it is, I figured... It wouldn’t be cool to let you stay in an empty house all day.”

Akira nods. “Mm.”

Nothing else would come, but Ryuji’s gaze was still warm with sympathy. Pity.

Akira’s gaze falls, but for Ryuji’s sake, he doesn’t look back even though he wants to.

It was just going to be another one of those days.

[lorei-writes]

Radio Call: The Original

Mitsuhide x MC Angst Post-Apocalypse AU

There are some innocent things that do divide humans - pineapple on pizza, the existence of spiders, this spice that tastes like soap if you got unlucky on genetic lottery... Fluff and Angst don’t seem to fall into this category, even though some have strong preferences regarding those.

“Unfortunately”, my dear friend R does have a strong preference for angst, and it’s her birthday, so I pulled out everything I had on hand >:3 Happy birthday, you angst-loving creature! I hope it hurts in just the right way! It is not a game, like the last year... But I do presume it completes the trilogy, so it’s angst to the power of 3.

Warnings: major character death (implied), death of the lover, deadly illness, swearing, needles, reoccurring nightmares (mention), swearing, food

The city was quiet, not even rats coming onto the empty streets. Planks covering most of the displays, it appeared nobody remained in place, old signs littering the pavement every now and again – not that it mattered, no cars driving through the lanes just regardless. A helicopter flew somewhere high above him, most likely nearing the old town square: evacuation, probably one of the last transports. Tomorrow, tomorrow he… He wouldn’t be there anymore. Clenching his fists, Mitsuhide slowed down in his steps. Did he really want to go? He couldn’t tell.

Mitsuhide watched, for seeing was all he was capable of. His hand pressed against the glass pane,  he didn’t dare avert his eyes from the room, his gaze falling onto the figure resting over the bed. He wished it was sleep, that it was peaceful – yet it wasn’t, her skin having turned the shade of light plum purple. Her chest heaved weakly with each breath, her fingers twitching as she struggled to grasp onto the sheets, as if clinging to dear life with what energy she had left…

Mitsuhide watched, for seeing was all he could do for her at the moment,  the monotonous beeping of the machine being more jarring than lulling or otherwise soothing. Perhaps he allowed himself to wonder: why of all people her? Why then? Why did they survive for so long, if it was all meant to end like so? His nails scratched against the glass, new questions flooding his mind at a much too great pace. Was there any reason to begin with? Was a reason even necessary? It didn’t seem to be, at least not if it was her of all people.

Mitsuhide watched, for he couldn’t hear, the commotion behind his back turning to mere whispers. He just stood there in place, a single unmovable object by the side of raging river of people, few remaining staff members evacuating alongside patients who still had a chance. Tough decisions, he thought – and among the lucky ones, there wasn’t her. His lips pressed into a thin line.  

It quieted down eventually, silence consuming all sound. A pull on his sleeve – and for a moment, for a mere moment he looked away, almost immediately cursing himself. A nurse stared at him sympathetically, their lips curling into a half-hearted smile. “It’s late, mister Akechi. Go home.” “It’s the last day. What will happen tomorrow?” “The power will be cut off. So…” “You’re going to give her the shot?” Mitsuhide asked, his gaze wandering back into the room. A moment of pause. “Yes,” the nurse replied finally. “It’s better than letting them die slowly.” Mitsuhide winced internally. ‘Die’, he grew to hate the word. “I see,” he almost hesitated. “Could I hold her hand?” “I’m afraid it’s not possible. The room is contaminated.” No reply came to his mind. Silence was his acceptance.

Mitsuhide stayed to watch, for it was all he could do for himself.

***

Live, live, live, live – Mitsuhide had enough of the nightmares, enough of her face and of everything, of everything lost reminding him of itself. There was no place of escape, each desolate corner and greyed street having seemingly been marked by her presence, his heart skipping a beat at each return, still hoping to see her welcome him. It had to be a mirage, a lie, a… A dream he got tired of dreaming, day by day hoping he’d wake up from it and get to speak with her again.

Mitsuhide opened his eyes to the white ceiling, morning light falling inside through the window. He turned onto his side and groaned, sleeping on the couch having proven to be rather harsh on his poor back. Slowly, he pushed himself up and opened the cabinets, his hand reaching for a can of red beans almost on instinct. Absent-mindedly, he opened it, and without as much as draining it or putting its contents into a bowl, he began to eat. Having finished his meal, he took his coat, the door soon closing behind him.

The city was quiet, not even rats coming onto the empty streets. Planks covering most of the displays, it appeared nobody remained in place, old signs littering the pavement every now and again – not that it mattered, no cars driving through the lanes just regardless. A helicopter flew somewhere high above him, most likely nearing the old town square: evacuation, probably one of the last transports. Tomorrow, tomorrow he… He wouldn’t be there anymore. Clenching his fists, Mitsuhide slowed down in his steps. Did he really want to go? He couldn’t tell.

Commotion rose above the square. They’ve been waiting for hours, for far longer than it took for any other transport to arrive – and yet, nobody came. “They left us!” “Motherfucking…!” “Mommy, I’m scared.” “My sister was in the last one!” “My son!” “They couldn’t have...Could they?” Mitsuhide sighed. Perhaps indeed, he was meant to stay. Slowly, he got up, odd sort of acceptance washing over him. “Where are you going?! They may still come!” somebody called after him. Without thinking much, Mitsuhide turned around. “They will not. Who did they leave? Elderly and few adults, children. It’s the time of tough choices, they may say – and sacrificing us seems to be one of them. I do not know about your intentions, but I do not plan to die just yet. City will provide only for so long.” “Oh, look at ya, a fucking smartass!” another person chimed in. “Indeed. Whoever wants to live, should collect what resources they have. We should set off before the collapse.”

Mitsuhide walked away.

***

Mitsuhide pressed the recording button, cough ripping through his lungs. “I hope this tape made it to you safely, Nobunaga. We shall meet again when the last wave is over,” he forced out of himself.

The day was warm as he stepped out of his tent, wind seemingly trying to embrace him, or to at least make it more bearable, each step being more draining than the previous one. Slowly, he dragged himself to the very edge of their settlement, empty streets reminding him of something he had seen before – as did the choked down cries, somehow identical to the shriek of his nails against the glass. All things end, he convinced himself. All had to end.

The border came into his field of vision, few people standing there, backpacks waiting by their legs. “Please, do leave this in the point I’ve told you about,” Mitsuhide asked.

It was a warm day as he retreated into his tent. As for the night… The night, he couldn’t tell. All things end – and some do so fast.

Tag list: @datenoriko, @nad-zeta, @tsubaki3192, @missjudge-me, @ikemencrossedmyth, @nuttytani, @thesirenwashere, @milas-imaginarium, @kisara-16, @yukas-clover, @alerialumina , @cheese-ception , @iamryxx, @cottonfluffballofdoom, @ozziegrl71, @mineko811 , @briars7 If you want to be tagged under my future works, let me know (any way works)! ^^ Also, if you have some preferences (for example: you’d rather not be tagged under some series, etc.), please, tell me.  If you don’t want to be tagged anymore - please, do not feel bad about it, just say so :)

[carnelianns]

Hello! I hope you're doing fine 😂 so can I request for Ikesen jealously headcanon with Nobunaga, Masamune, Ieyasu, Kenshin and Mitsuhide? Like they're jealous because their MC was spending time with other warlords but they found out in the end that its because MC was trying to surprise/talk about him something lol 😊 thank you so much!

♆ - jealousy headcanon

Nobunaga Oda

Nothing can be kept from your very observant lover, who happened to see that the time you leave the Castle just so happens to correspond with Hideyoshi’s leaves. 

He noticed how you seemed more.. jumpy than usual. Your behavior has been tinged with a slight nervousness lately, one that only causes him to quirk an eyebrow. 

“Fireball,” he almost speaks into your neck, causing you to shudder as his breath tickles you. “Is there something you wish to say to me?”

Your eyebrows furrow for a moment, before your eyes widen. Hoping he doesn’t feel you gulp, you say, “Nothing.”

His large hands squeeze your hips harder for a split-second. Bringing his head up to look into your eyes, you almost look away before his fingers lead you back to his face.

“Are you sure of that?”

You almost held it in. Almost. Bursting out into a loud sigh, you huff, coming clean of your now-ruined birthday plan you and Hideyoshi were working on for your lover. 

“And now you ruined your own surprise party!” You pout, lightly tapping his chest. “You deserve a punishment for that, my lord.”

Your joking words seem to have another effect on the man as he raises an eyebrow, eyes glinting, moving to tower over you.

“Don’t you think the one who’s been running around with another man deserves the punishment, my love?” 

He doesn’t mean it, of course, but what he does mean are the kisses and caresses that seem just a bit more aggressive this particular night. 

Masamune Date

Masamune had gotten home from his little espionage, tired and barely bandaged, seeking for your embrace, only to be informed that you were out. To visit Ieyasu.

Slightly taken aback, he can only laugh it off after a few moments. Then came the information that it wasn’t just today that you visited his fellow warlord, but for the past week or so he had been out, you visited the blonde every single day. 

The grand frown on his face doesn’t leave until you arrive back home, a surprised smile on your face as you practically throw yourself into his arms in a hug that he half-heartedly reciprocates.

“Masamune? Is there something wrong? Do your wounds hurt, or—”

“I heard you’ve been spending a lot of time with Ieyasu.” He manages a pained smile, his heart clenching more than he’d like to admit. “You know I trust you, lass, but—”

Before he could finish, your lips are immediately on his, silencing him in the only way you can. Masamune melts into the kiss, and it’s only when you pull away can he see how your lips jut down into a slight pout. 

“I went to Ieyasu’s so I could learn how to bandage you up, silly,” you shake your head, lightly hitting his shoulder. “You always come home with a new cut or a fresh bruise. Don’t you notice?”

“Oh,” is all he can say.

“Yeah, oh.” You roll your eyes, before giving him another, much-needed kiss. “Now don’t be dumb and let me patch you up.”

“I can think of other things we can—” “Nope. Your wounds first. I’m not making love with a man who has fresh bruises inflicted by someone other than me.”

He promptly shuts up at that.

Ieyasu Tokugawa

Even before you two had become a couple, only one name had come out of your mouth when you chose to speak of your interests. Sasuke. 

Now, Ieyasu isn’t an inherently jealous man, but the fact that this so-called “hometown friend” of yours you speak of so highly always manages to sneak into the conversation can only exasperate him. 

So when you finally asked him if you could go out with Sasuke for the day, he only blinked at you, before turning his head, continuing his work as if you hadn’t interrupted him.

Petty, yes, but he doesn’t really care at this point. Your eyes grew wide at his reaction, poking and probing your beloved about why he wasn’t answering, only for your questions to be left unanswered.

“No way… Ieyasu, are you jealous?”

“I am not jealous. What are you talking about?” He grumbles in almost an instant, causing you to grin.

“Sasuke’s just a friend, Ieyasu. You’re the only one I love,” you whisper cheekily into his ear, leaving a kiss on his cheek.

Blushing, yet still not meeting your eye, the warlord mutters, “Wrong spot.”

Your jaw drops in confusion, a laugh following soon after as you press a chaste kiss to his lips. 

Your outing with Sasuke went on just as planned, despite you being a few minutes late...

Kenshin Uesugi

It hasn’t been long since you moved into Kasugayama Castle, yet all the letters being delivered only seemed to be to you, from a certain man by the name of Masamune Date. 

Kenshin once seriously debated on whether or not he should make the letters magically disappear. 

The smile on his face whenever you so much as receive a letter from the man tears Kenshin between seething and enjoying the view. 

His curiosity takes the better of him one day as he opts for a quick peek at another one of the Blue Eyed Dragon’s many letters.

‘I miss you, kitten.’

“Kenshin, please, he was joking—”

“Let go of me. I will be marching to Azuchi myself,” is all he repeats as you and Sasuke desperately try to stop your sword-wielding lover.

You have to cuddle the angered warlord into the next day to calm him down. 

“I love you, you know.” He stares at you for a moment, as if your words were foreign, before turning away. “... Okay.” 

He’s quite petty when jealous. You still love him regardless. 

Mitsuhide Akechi

Although you are the Azuchi Castle’s chatelaine, Mitsuhide is sure that being in his lord’s chambers for minutes, sometimes even hours, is not a part of your duty. 

Neither is the bright smile you always seem to sport whenever you leave said chambers. 

He doesn’t comment on it — probably only willing to even think about it at his deathbed — but the giant frown on his face one fine day when you decide to visit him in his manor is worth pointing out. 

So you do. “Mitsuhide, what’s gotten you so blue?”

He stares at you for a moment, and then a few more, and it’s unnerving to see your normally bantering lover unable to say even a word, a flurry of emotions swimming about in his fox-like eyes. 

Then, finally, he smirks as if nothing is wrong, only opting to pull you close against his side. “What a lovely sight. Are you worried about me, little mouse?”

“Yes, I am.” Your answer is firm, only causing his eyes to widen. “I’m worried about you, Mitsuhide, so what’s wrong?”

And, well, he can’t refute when you’re being all angelic like that. The night ends with a long conversation, and your hands cupping his face, fingers rubbing soothingly against his cheeks.

“I love you, okay? You and only you.”

You swear you see his cheeks redden before he smirks once more, and you’re afraid of what’s to come out of that devilish mouth of his. 

“Is that so? Forgive me, but I’m a visual learner. Do you mind showing me?”

[akechicrimes]

thinking about this photo here & an AU (?) where akechi survives the engine room/the events of royal but fucks off to do a redemption arc somewhere else and never tells akira that he’s alive because he figures it’s better for everyone if akira moves on. but akira still has his number and about three months after akechi “dies” akira starts texting akechi now and then with updates on his life even though he thinks akechi wont get them

it’s entire years later and akira still says things like "second year of college starting today--i wish i knew where you would have gone to college" and "i'm getting even better at billiards" and “haru finally launched her new coffee shop; i think you would have liked the atmosphere” and "happy birthday” on the right day every year. akechi knows he should disconnect this number but he never does and he reads every single text

it takes akira like, three entire years to figure out that the phone number should have disconnected if nobody was around to pay the phone bill and that akira’s been texting his gay yearning DIRECTLY to his crush