#...man if chiaki was still around here that would be a good place for her to die actually

[aparticularbandit]

thinking about like.

chisa and sakakura were investigating hope's peak during dr3, right. and like, i'm including chisa and munakata in oafc. in theory, this means sakakura should be there, too, but i'm honestly not sure that he is.

because see, here's the thing. junko only escapes getting caught in dr3 because she manipulates sakakura and brainwashes (and lobotomizes) chisa.

but i'm not having chisa brainwashed/lobotomized in the fic.

and i'm playing with her a bit in terms of how she interacts with junko and the whole situation. these three have been disillusioned by hpa even before finding out about the izuru kamakura project. they still believe in what hpa can be, but are convinced of corruption from within - corruption that chisa specifically finds. because i'm taking away the remnants' brainwashing and instead having junko step in and do things that hpa should be doing but isn't, chisa as a result has a higher opinion of junko - to the point that she would be a character witness of the sort who would say that's not the junko i know, junko would never do that. (and then finding out that junko is, well, junko would just. that's a spike of despair on top of believing that she'd failed her kids because they were dead (assumed) and then because junko corrupted them and drew them into ultimate despair when she finds out they were alive. like. there are layers of despair to chisa that i'm playing with that i like!

but sakakura wouldn't have any such reason to believe that junko was better than what he sees, and his and munakata's research should pull up the same as it was before. and, sure, junko could pull the same strings she does in dr3, but like.

wouldn't it be more effective for him to be dead.

like - dead before munakata even asks him to go talk to junko (because if he got killed while trying to look into her, that would be bad, and she's not that dumb). like junko assesses the threat before it even gets to that point. and just. he needs to be gone.

there's an entire group of rioting students. there's an entire mob. maybe someone just. lets the mob in. maybe mukuro just. hides in the mob. or peko, at fuyuhiko's request, because junko says this guy is a threat to her and she's scared of him and fuyuhiko's not going to see another sister of his die because he didn't act.

and then sakakura is out of the way.

and munakata will listen to chisa.

and then that's another layer of despair for chisa later, when she realizes that one of hers is the reason her other best friend is dead. (especially if going with the peko and fuyuhiko route.)

and then that's another layer of reasoning for munakata to want junko dead, because she's the reason that his other best friend is dead. (which leads to greater conflict with makoto and more reason for kyoko to just not tell anyone anything about what she's learning because she doesn't trust any of them.)

adds conflict. adds layers. makes things more personal to the characters getting added in.

also means i don't have to write sakakura. ;D

[tobiasdrake]

As brilliant as 2-5 is, there's just one thing that really irks me about it. Like, in a vacuum, it's not a problem. But when I look at it in context with the rest of the game?

Like. Nagito's suicide roulette wheel is cool as fuck. This is right up there with Kokichi's plan to derail the Killing Game by forcing Monokuma to misidentify the victim. It's so good.

The one drawback here is Chiaki's total lack of involvement in the murder that she becomes the Blackened for. She's the unlucky winner of the suicide roulette. She was selected because she was the Traitor but ultimately Chiaki dies not for anything she does, but simply for what she is. She's a passive recipient of a murder she commits.

By itself, this would be a minor foible. But in light of the larger trend of how the game has handled its male and female deaths? Like. Okay.

Women in DR2 die like this:

Peko: I killed Mahiru because I am nothing but a tool for my master--OH WAIT THE RULES DON'T WORK THAT WAY guess Mahiru and I will just die for no reason.

Mahiru: On top of that, I was bludgeoned to death in retaliation for a crime I was barely even involved with. I'm not even the guilty party or anything. I was just nearby. I died for being crime-adjacent.

Mikan: Afflicted at random by the Murderer Disease.

Ibuki: Afflicted at random by the Victim Disease.

Hiyoko: Wrong place at the wrong time by pure coincidence.

Chiaki: I won the suicide roulette because I am the droid you're looking for.

Meanwhile, men in DR2 die like this:

Teruteru: I just wanted to get out, man.

Imposter: When I saw the murder about to happen I threw myself in front of it, heroically giving my life for the sake of others!

Gundham: Nekomaru and I fought a duel to the death to liberate our friends from the Funhouse, heroically giving our lives for the sake of others!

Nekomaru: Gundham and I fought a duel to the death to liberate our friends from the Funhouse, heroically giving our lives for the sake of others!

Nagito: I carried out the suicide roulette, a complex and intricate master plan to exterminate the Remnants of Despair and bring Hope to this island! AHAHAHAHAHA I am the most complex and interesting character in this game!

In the end, I really like 2-5. The suicide roulette and the reveals surrounding Chiaki are incredible.

But it's also hard to shake the feeling like she's just another name to add to the list of female characters killed off for underwhelming reasons, having very little to do with her own death.

The one female character who had anything approaching agency in her death is Peko - A character who literally self-identifies as an unpersoned tool existing only for her master's benefit, and whose plan is unraveled by simply being too stupid to pull it off correctly.

(Seriously. She spends an HOUR of gameplay framing herself for the crime she committed. I still can't get over that.)

The male killers and victims of Danganronpa 2 are active participants in the events that end their lives, while with the exception of Peko, the women of Danganronpa 2 are consistently passive recipients of said events - even when they're the ones carrying them out.

Chiaki's execution comes as a parallel to Alter Ego's in a variety of ways - particularly setting them up to make an eleventh hour return because Junko doesn't actually know how to kill an AI. But Alter Ego was executed because Monokuma found him sniffing around sensitive files on Junko's server. Chiaki was executed because she grabbed the Jackpot fire grenade.

I just.

Danganronpa 2 has fun, interesting, and engaging female characters.

But I don't think Danganronpa 2 is actually interested in any of its female characters. It treats them like set dressing around the important, active characters.

[kazuichis-whore]

Gundham x male!reader

Warnings: Death

Summary: Ya trying to get a date with Gundham <3

Sunflower Seeds

This takes place after the second class trial

You have had your eye on Gundham since you've all arrived at the island. Ever since the free times you've had, you always spent them with Gundham. If not Gunham, then Kazuichi, which made Kazuichi a bit upset since all I did was talk about Gundham, and Kazuichi wasn't really fond of him. Since the killings have started to happen, you've only grown closer to him and his 'Dark Devas of Destruction'. This wasn't the best for your heart, many times you thought it would explode when you were close to Gundham.

You see, you'd love to confess to Gundham, but you weren't entirely sure if he was into guys even in the slightest. You could just walk up to him and ask "Hey are you gay? Bi maybe?", but that is too straightforward and weird. So you settled on just keeping these feelings to yourself and just being a close friend of his. That is until Chiaki caught on to me.

It was a cool morning and everyone was either waking up or already heading to the restaurant. You had barely got out of your cottage before Chiaki got in your face.

"Hey, (Y/N). Can I ask you something? In private...", you hated that term, 'in private'. It usually meant that something bad was going to happen, but you trusted that Chiaki wouldn't say or do anything weird.

"Uhm... Sure. Come in" I moved aside so Chiaki could enter. She immediately cornered me. "Do you like Gundham?" She seemed so confident in the question. I was shocked and frozen, I studdered before I even got out a comprehensive sentence. "Whawhawahaa?! How... How did you know? Am I that obvious..?" She backed off with a soft smile. "No, it took me a while to figure it out. Your really good at hiding your romantic feelings. Anyway, Akane and I want to help you and Gundham get together."

"Thanks, Chiaki, but how are you two gonna do that??" There's no way that they could set us up, right? Dumb question. "Akane already found out Gundham is bisexual, but he only likes people he's known for a while and is close to, so you definitely have a chance with him. All I need to do now is convince him to go to the beach with you." What "Wait wait wait, how did you find out he's bi?" "Akane just asked and he was fine with answering" Of course they just asked.

"We can have you and Gundham meeting up at night and Akane and I could set up some lights in the sand and a picnic" Chiaki looked up as she was thinking out loud. "But what about Monomuka? We aren't allowed to be out of the hotel resort after 10 pm." She just smiled, "I'll appeal. He enjoys teen romance so there's a good chance that he'll let us all be out after the curfew", "How do you know he likes teen rom-", "That's not important right now, meet with Gundham at the beach around 10:30 pm." She seemed so determined. I agreed and we both made our way to the restaurant together

Of course, we were a little late. Gundham was the first to notice us, I think he was staring at the door... "The rest of the mortals are here." God his voice was hot. Kazuichi looked over at us "Finally! Gundham and Akane were about to go looking for you guys!" Man, did we take that long? oh. my. god. What the FUCK is that? I was about to say something before I saw this hideous tribute to our recently deceased friend, Mahiru. I was going to say something rude about it before Hajime grabbed my attention. He was signaling for me to be nice about it and that Hiyoko made it. I spoke with an unsure voice "Wooww that looks so coolll. Whoever made that is verryyy talented.". Hiyoko seemed to be satisfied with it. Good because that's all I got in me.

I made my way over to a table so I can eat. Gundham glanced over at me and continued to eat at his own table. It was a quiet morning, everyone must have still been tired. After we had all finished and left, I went to the supermarket to get some sunflower seeds for Gundham. Yesterday he helped me with a cow attack at the barn, so I wanna try to pay him back. It was a good thing he was looking for me anyway.

I still had some free time after I came back from getting the sunflower seeds. I decided to look for Gundham since I knew he was free most of the time. When I finally found him he was talking with Chiaki and Akane at Jaberwok Park, they must be talking to him about going to the beach with me. That also means I need to find someone else to talk to, I get really bored if I'm by myself for too long. I could either look for Kazuichi and look for things he can take apart or just go annoy Fuyuhiko. I'll look for Kazu, I don't feel like hearing boss baby yell at me.

I walked to the 3rd island and was on my way to Electric Ave. since that's become Kazu's new hangout. When I got there he was already digging around looking for anything to fidget with. Kazu is a nervous guy, so I understand if he wants something to with his hands constantly.

"Hey, Kazo! What 'cha lookin for today?" I asked as I leaned over his shoulder to see what he's grabbing. "Anything really. Although it would be nice to find something to corrode the cameras that Monokuma put everywhere. Hey, have you seen some yellow wires anywhere?" He stopped whatever he was doing to look at me. "No, but I think I saw some orange ones by the old game consoles", I pointed to the pile not too far away from me. "No no no, It has to be yellow, orange won't work with my current project." He went back to rummaging. "What are you working on?" I turned my head to the side, it's a bad habit. "I'm trying to make a phone, so we can call someone or something. At least be able to play some mobile games so I'm not so bored all the time." He was still digging around.

"Ok then, see ya! I'm gonna go find Chiaki or Akane, whoever comes first." I said turning away. All I heard was a very faint 'bye' from Kazuichi, he probably wasn't listening. Oh well, at least he said bye. I walked back to the resort where our cottages are. I must have lost at least 30 pounds from all the walking between islands. As I was walking past the farm, I saw Akane. I walked up to her to ask about Gundham and if he was going to the beach. "Heyyyy Akaneeee!" I tried to strike up a conversation since I'm not very good at it. "Oh, what's up (Y/N)?" She definitely knows how to match someones energy. "Sooo what did Gundham say?" I asked, slightly bouncing from excitement. Akane just deadpans "What?". "About the beach! What did Gundham say about going to the beach with me?". "OOOHHH, he said he'll go with ya, but you have to not force him to swim with you. Something about him poisoning the water from his skin? I don't really know, I wasn't really listening". "Oh, that's fine! I won't force him!" I beamed.

"By the way, he said he wants to talk to you about something. He's at his cottage if you wanna talk to him right now." Akane seemed to not be interested in anything she's saying. She probably agreed to help Chiaki only because she was bored. "OK! Thank you, byeee!" I turned around and hightailed out of the barn.

As I was making my way towards the resort gate, I heard Sonia scream at the supermarket. I left the gates and started booking towards the market. When I finally got there, I didn't see her anywhere. I started calling out to her and poking around every crevice of the store. When I finally found her, she was just standing in the back, perfectly fine from what I could see. "Sonia oh my god! What happened? I heard you scream, are you ok?" I was panting from the running and looking. She looked at me with a pang of guilt in her eyes. "I am sorry for scaring you (Y/N), but thank you for taking the time to find me." She looked down at her shoes. "Well yea of course, but why did you scream?" I tilted my head to the side again. "I am terribly sorry (Y/N), but I have a kingdom to lead and I need to get back, I'm sure you understand. Right?" She slowly started walking towards me. I saw a screwdriver in her hand, It looks like....Kazuichi's! How did she even get his screwdriver? Oh what am I thinking, she probably just asked for it while batting her lashes and Kazuichi just gave it to her.

I started to walk backward until I was fully against the door. I quickly started to feel for a handle and scrambled out, back to the isles. As I was running towards the door, I felt a stabbing pain at the back of my head. After, my body felt numb, as if I couldn't control it. I fell. The last thing I heard was the door opening, it was Gundham. "Hello? I heard a scream so- (Y/N)!!" I really hope he finds the sunflower seeds in my pocket. At least the last thing I saw was Gundham.

Mod Jax: HAH, yall probably thought you were gonna have a nice beach date with Gundham. Foolish. You don't get to have a happy ending. Anyway, this took a while ahaha. MAYbe I'll make a version where ya survive and get yer beach date, maybe I won't, idk yet. BUUUUT there is a 90% that I make a part 2 where it's the trial for your murder.

Todays message that ya probably need to hear

You're not responsible for someone else's mental health, fuck with yourself before you fuck with someone else

[cobaltusami]

Friendship

Hey hi hello! I'm finally back at It with another t word fic! I had so much trouble getting into the groove of this one, but regardless I had fun writing it! I think this will be the last installment In this mini series, I feel like I'm at a good stopping point. That being said, Obviously I will eventually write more for these three beans.

Part One: That's what Friends are for

Part Two: Intimidating

Characters: Lee!Kazuichi, Lee!Gundham, Ler!Sonia, Ler!Hajime, Ler!Chiaki, Fuyuhiko

Pairing: Platonic!Sonsoudam (Though you could construe It as romantic, Whichever you prefer--)

Word count: 3430

The Ultimate Princess scoured the island In search of The Pink haired mechanic after leaving the dining hall, Normally he was easy to find since he was always so eager to talk to her but today was different.

Walking with her was Hajime, Who had volunteered to help her find Kazuichi. “Are you sure It was a good Idea to leave Gundham sleeping In the dining hall? I feel as though we should have woken him up.” Sonia asked.

“It’s better for him to get some sleep.” Hajime responded. “Besides, It’s not like we left him alone, We left him with Chiaki.”

“I suppose you’re right but… I feel bad for not waking him up and sending him to his room.” She frowned.

Hajime smiled a bit, A knowing look on his face. “You really do worry about him a lot…”

“Of course I do, He Is my friend.” Sonia responded. “I worry about all of my friends.”

Hajime was about to open his mouth to respond but he changed gears upon catching sight of the pink haired Mechanic. “There he Is. What’s he doing?”

“It appears as though he is working on something.” Sonia said quietly, the pair silently approached Kazuichi where he sat on the ground tinkering with something.

He was humming quietly while he worked, he seemed as though he was In good spirits so that couldn’t be the reason why he was ignoring Gundham.

“Just put this here and…”

“YO!” Hajime said suddenly, stepping In front of Sonia. “KAZUICHI!”

Kazuichi screamed, launching his screwdriver into the air in surprise. He spun around In his spot on the ground and let out a breath of relief. “Oh. It’s just you. Jeez man, Don’t scare me like that! What the hell Is wrong with you!?”

Sonia stepped out from behind Hajime, her arms folded. “Kazuichi--”

Kazuichi’s face turned pink as he quickly got to his feet, throwing a tarp back over his project. “M-Miss Sonia!”

“Kazuichi,” she started, frowning. “I wish to know why you are avoiding Gundham.”

“W-What? I’m not--”

“Yeah, You are.” Hajime interrupted. “He tried to talk to you the other day and you made up an excuse and practically ran away.”

“What Is going on? You two were getting along so well at the party.” Sonia stepped closer to the mechanic. “Please, Tell me the truth.”

The pinkette frowned, looking away from his crush awkwardly. His eyes fell upon his tarp covered project as he thought about It in silence.

Kazuichi had blown Gundham off because he didn’t want to accidentally blab about the surprise he was working on for him, Soda was creating a brand new play area for The Four Devas as a peace offering, to prove to him that he wasn’t just trying to get along with him for Sonia’s sake.

He always had trouble admitting how he felt with words, usually stumbling over them or saying something stupid. He preferred gestures over words.

The truth was this... He had a lot of fun at the party, as much as he initially hated spending time with Gundham, he actually started to have fun. Kazuichi didn’t have many friends either, he’d always been picked on as a kid and didn’t have much free time due to helping his dad out with the bike shop.

That day, even If for just a little while, It felt like he had friends. And he wanted to make sure Gundham knew he was genuinely thankful for that.

But he knew he was a horrible liar and Gundham would eventually figure out what he was doing, so he was avoiding the Breeder so as not to spoil the surprise.

“I… I can’t.” Kazuichi said, realizing he hadn’t answered yet. “I-I mean, not yet anyway!”

Sonia sighed softly. “I did not want It to come to this, but I promised Gundham I would get to the bottom of this.”

Kazuichi gave a confused look in response. “What are you talking abohohout-- H-Hey!” He yelped, chuckling a bit as he jumped backwards at the sudden pokes to his midsection.

“If you will not tell me what Is going on, I will tickle you until you do.” She smiled, sending chills down the mechanic’s spine.

“Y-You wouldn’t dare...” He smiled nervously, backing away from the blonde princess.

“I would dare.” She insisted.

Kazuichi felt his fight or flight instincts kick In, and he chose the latter. He went to run away from her but he ran into Hajime, who he just now realized had been eerily silent.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He asked, smirking as he grabbed a hold of his arms. “I didn’t just tag along to help her find you, Y’know.”

“I thought you might try to run away, So I asked Hajime If he would help me just in case.”

“L-Let go! This Isn’t fair!” Soda whined, struggling in Hajime’s surprisingly strong grasp.

“Life’s not fair.” The tsundere sighed in reply, spinning him around to face Sonia and holding his arms up over his head.

“Kazuichi, Last chance. Tell me why you are avoiding Gundham or else…” She threatened, a determined glimmer in her pale blue eyes.

The pinkette shook his head, already resisting the urge to giggle anxiously. “N-No. I can’t.”

Sonia nodded, unzipping part of his yellow jumper and shoving her hands under the white shirt underneath. Her nails began gliding across his sides. “Very well then.”

Soda tried not to laugh or show any reaction, but he ended up laughing after a few seconds of holding back. “Wahahahait! M-Mihihihiss Soniahaha! Dohohohn’t!” He whined between laughs.

“I am sorry, Kazuichi. But I must get to the bottom of this.” Sonia smiled at the sound of his laughter. “Gundham Is upset and I do not wish to see my friends upset.”

Really? Gundham’s upset by Kazuichi not talking to him…? Does that mean he considers him a friend too? “I cahahahan’t tehehehell you!”

“I am sorry, but I must know.” Sonia reiterated, digging her fingers into his stomach.

He yelped and crumbled back against Hajime, laughing harder as he tugged at his arms. “Nohohohoho! Ahahahahaha!”

“Does this tickle~? I am willing to wager that It does~” She cooed, his fingers wiggling into the muscle beneath his skin.

“Sohohohonia stahahahap! Hahahahaha!” he blushed at the teasing words, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting of a Princess but It sure as hell wasn’t this.

“No~” she sang. “I’m not going to stop until I get what I want. Even If I have to tickle you for hours.”

To emphasize her point her fingers sped up as they traversed upwards, brushing teasingly against his sides and wiggling like wild spiders against his ribs.

Kazuichi screamed and threw his head back, knocking Hajime In the face as he did. “SHIHIHIHIT! NOHOHOT THEHEHEHERE!” He shrieked helplessly.

Hajime yelped In pain and readjusted his grip on the Mechanic, now holding both of his wrists in place with one hand. He used the other to tenderly rub his chin. “Jeez, Kazuichi. Watch where you’re throwing that thing.”

“YOUHUHUHU DEHEHEHESERVED IT!” Kazuichi laughed heartily, still attempting to pull his wrists free. Though thanks to Sonia’s merciless tickling he was much weaker.

Hajime huffed. “Oh yeah? Well, I think you deserve this.” He wormed his free hand into Kazi’s jumpsuit and began scribbling his nails against the back of his ribs over his white tee.

When I tell you the boy screamed.

“AAAAH! NONONONONO!” He screamed, His body jerking violently to the side, trying to shield the sensitive spot.

“Ooh, Hajime, It looks like you found a really ticklish spot~” She grinned, her fingers darting around to the back of his ribcage to join the Tsundere In torturing their friend. “What do you think Kazi? Is this a bad spot?”

“Yeah Kazi,” Hajime grinned. “Does this tiiiiiickle~?”

Kazuichi couldn’t even form sentences, he was laughing way too hard to focus on anything else. His laughter was borderline going silent from the intensity, as evidenced by his constant wheezing.

“Just tell us~” Sonia hummed, her fingers tickling the sensitive spots between the ribs now.

“You gonna tell us?” Hajime asked.

Kazuichi nodded frantically, tears streaking down his pink cheeks from laughing too hard.

Sonia and Hajime relented, though Hajime kept a grip on his wrists, evidently not trusting the pink haired boy. “Why have you been avoiding Gundham?” She asked again.

Kazuichi coughed as he gulped down air, clearly not used to being tickled. “I… Didn’t want to spoil the surprise… for him…” He panted.

“The…” she trailed off.

“Surprise?” Hajime and Sonia exchanged confused looks. “What are you talking about?”

Kazuichi nodded his head towards the tarp covered project. “Check… For yourselves…”

Curiously, Hajime released the Mechanic and went over to the tarp. He pulled It off to reveal what Soda had been working on, A play area made out of pvc pipes, A fish tank, and a wide assortment of metal and plastic items.

“Huh?” He was confused, but Sonia recognized what It was intended to be instantly.

Her face lit up at the sight of It. “Oh my! You’re building a pen for the Four Dark Devas of Destruction!” She twirled around to face Kazuichi, who had just finished zipping his jumpsuit back up.

He chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head, blushing as he glanced away from the bright girl. “Y-Yeah. I wanted to show Gundham I really consider him a friend, So I was doing It the best way I knew how…”

“By building something for him.” Hajime finished, smiling at the dork. “That’s really thoughtful of you. I’m impressed.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?? I’m always thoughtful!” He shot back, flustered.

Sonia giggled and hugged the pink haired boy suddenly. “You’re so sweet. Gundham and I are lucky to have a friend like you.” she praised.

Just when he thought his face couldn’t get any redder… It was close to matching Mahiru’s shade of hair now. “F-Friend?” He stuttered, asking for confirmation If what he heard was what she just said.

“Of course! We’re friends.” She beamed up at the embarrassed tinkerer.

He smiled warmly back at her and hugged her back. “Thank you.” he whispered almost silently, not even sure If she had heard him or not.

But she did.

After another minute or so they both pulled back. “I should get back to work on this. I don’t wanna make Gundham upset by not talking to him.” Soda announced nonchalantly, sitting down in front of the project again.

“Would you like some help? I am not very mechanically inclined, but I can be taught.” Sonia volunteered, sitting down next to him.

“Sure! I would love some help!” He smiled at the blonde.

“Is there anything I can do?” Hajime asked.

“Can you go check on Gundham? I am worried about him.”

“Sonia, We’ve been over this. We left him with Chiaki at the hotel, I’m sure he’s doing fine.”

“You left him with Chiaki?” Kazuichi repeated, looking at Hajime for confirmation.

“Yeah… What, Why are you looking at me like that--”

“In the hotel, Where there’s video games?”

Hajime stared blankly at him for a minute before cursing and running off towards the hotel.

Apparently reaching the same conclusion Kazuichi had, That Chiaki would most likely be sidetracked by the video games and not check on the Breeder.

He burst through the doors but didn’t see Chiaki anywhere near the video games units. He did, however, hear Gundham scream from upstairs. “Gundham??” He called out, confused.

Hajime bolted up the stairs into the dining room, and froze at the sight before him. Gundham was on the floor, trying to curl up Into a ball, and Chiaki was on top of him, tickling the life out of the Dark Prince.

“Uhhh, Chiaki? What are you doing?” Hajime asked, leaning against the doorway.

Chiaki looked up at him and offered a smile. “Oh, Hey Hajime. I’m tickling Gundham.” She responded bluntly.

“GEHEHEHET THIHIS FIHIHIHIHIEND OFF OF MEHEHE!” Gundham laughed helplessly.

“I can see that.” Hajime laughed, Ignoring Gundham’s plea. “The question Is, Why?”

“I promised I would keep an eye on him, But that got too boring. So I’m entertaining myself.” She answered, skittering her fingers across his neck.

There was something about the thought of being on the receiving end of Chiaki’s tickles that scared Hajime, It could be how merciless she was being, Or maybe how nonchalant she was, Or both.

Gundham squealed uncharacteristically and covered his face. “STAHAHAHAHAP! I AHAHAHAM AWAHAHAHAHAKE NOW! I DOHOHOHN’T NEEHEHEED WAHAHATCHED!”

Hajime smirked, approaching the two. He sat down next to Chiaki. “I dunno, I think you still need supervision.” he said playfully.

“I agree.” Chiaki smiled mischievously.

“NOHOHOHOHOHO! I DOHOHOHOHON’T!”

“I think another hour should do it, Don’t you, Chiaki?” Hajime asked, winking at the pink haired girl.

She giggled. “I think so too. That way we can make sure he’s going to stay awake.”

“AHAHAHAN HOUR?!? SUHUHUHURELY YOU JEST!” Gundham whimpered at the thought, considering adding Chiaki Nanami to the small list of people he finds intimidating.

“No, I’m quite serious.” She replied with a determined glimmer in her eyes. Her fingertips lightly dancing across his neck and collarbone.

“I think she means It, Gundham.” Hajime chuckled, unable to resist the urge to help her any longer. He began teasingly poking at random exposed spots on his midsection. “And who am I to stop her? I think I should help her If anything.”

“I WIHIHIHILL DEHEHEHEHESTROY YOU BOHOHOHOTH!” Gundham threw out an empty threat.

“It doesn’t scare me when Fuyu threatens me, And It doesn’t scare me when you threaten me.” Hajime snickered.

“Oh, I don’t scare you huh?” Hiko’s voice was suddenly right at Hajime’s ear. “You sure about that?”

Hajime yelped in surprise, whipping around to look at his friend. “F-Fuyu! Jeez! Don’t scare me like that.” Hajime sighed, holding his chest to steady his rapid heartbeat.

Fuyuhiko grinned triumphantly. “What are you two dipshits doing, Anyway?”

“Tickling Gundham.” Chiaki answered.

“O...kay. Well you think maybe you should… I dunno… Let him breathe?” Fuyu asked, having noticed how much the Breeder was gasping.

Chiaki paused what she was doing, allowing the dark prince to breathe. “Oh… Right. Air, He needs that.”

“Hey Fuyu.” Hajime motioned for the Yakuza to come closer, he hesitantly did so. He whispered something to the small blond so Gundham couldn’t hear.

Hiko rolled his eyes, making a show of huffing as he threw his hands up. “I GUESS.” Although he had a smile on his face as he did so, negating the annoyed response he was going for. He sauntered off, leaving Gundham at the mercy of Hajime and Chiaki once more.

Fuyuhiko made It to the area where Sonia and Kazuichi were, curiously peering over their heads at the project they were working on. “Uh, What are you two doing?”

Kazuichi yelped in surprise, nearly throwing his screwdriver for a second time.

Sonia giggled and turned to look at the Yakuza. “Hello, Fuyuhiko! Kazuichi Is building a play pen for the Devas and I am helping.”

Ahh, now It makes sense why Hajime and Chiaki were wrecking poor Gundham… They were trying to keep him from finding out what was going on. “Ah, Gotcha. Uh, Hajime sent me to tell you both that Gundham Is awake but uh… He’s being distracted by him and Chiaki.”

Sonia and Kazi exchanged confused looks. “What are those two doing to him?”

“I walked In on them…” Hiko paused, blushing. Fuck, of all times to be unable to say that word why did it have to be right now?! “U-Um. They were sort of destroying him.”

“D-Destroying!?” Sonia asked, alarmed.

“N-Not literally!” Hiko quickly corrected. “They’re uh…”

“Ohhh… I get It.” Kazuichi laughed. “I think what Fuyuhiko Is trying to say Is that they’re tickling him. Right?”

“Yeah, That.” he nodded, still blushing.

“Oh. Why didn’t you just say that? You scared me for a minute there. Not that I believe they would hurt him, But still…”

“Uh… Well… I…”

“Some people have trouble saying the word ‘tickle’.” Kazuichi explained casually, tightening a bolt on the play area. “Usually people who are super ticklish themselves.”

The pinkette grinned as he winked at Fuyu, who seemed to turn pinker at that. Though he would vehemently deny such a thing.

“H-Hey! I am NOT! I just… Think the word Is stupid and childish!” Fuyuhiko pouted, crossing his arms childishly.

“It Is okay, Fuyuhiko. I understand.” She smiled sympathetically. “Though I am not nearly as ticklish as Kazuichi or Gundham, I see how It would be difficult for one to say.”

“Hey! Whose side are you on??” Kazuichi blushed, nudging her side.

She giggled and recoiled.

“So…” Fuyuhiko cleared his throat, trying desperately to change the subject. “How much longer until you two are done? I’m not sure how much longer Gundham will last.”

“Actually,” Kazuichi tightened another screw, then set his screwdriver down. He looked It over one last time then smiled. “It’s done.”

“It looks wonderful, Kazuichi! You did great!” She beamed, standing up and dusting her dress off.

“Thanks…” He chuckled sheepishly, standing up too. “Hey Hiko, Can you help me carry this?”

Fuyuhiko looked at it, skeptical. “I’ll try, but If you drop It on me, I will kill you.” he threatened.

The two lifted it up and began carrying It towards the hotel. It wasn’t as heavy as Kazi expected It to be, much to the relief of the petite Yakuza.

They brought It up Into the diner and quickly covered It with a tarp, luckily Gundham hadn’t noticed them thanks to Hajime and Chiaki both smothering him with tickles.

Hajime looked up and saw the three students, smiling he withdrew his hands and motioned for Chiaki to do the same.

Though she relented much more halfheartedly, pouting as she pulled back.

Sonia and Kazuichi both approached the recovering Supreme overlord of Ice and sat down on either side of him. “Gundham, I found Kazuichi and made him explain to me why he was avoiding you.” Sonia explained, helping him sit up.

He tiredly looked at Sonia, then over at Kazuichi who was trying not to laugh at how disheveled he looked. “I-Is that so? Then why…?”

“Uh, Listen man…” Kazuichi started, reaching over and fixing Gundham’s hair. “I wasn’t avoiding you because I didn’t want to talk to you. I just didn’t want to spoil my surprise for you.”

Gundham tilted his head in confusion. “Surprise…?”

“Yeah. I wanted to show you that I really consider you a friend, And that I’m thankful to consider you a friend so I… was doing It the only way I know how.” Soda blushed, looking over at Hiko and Hajime as if to cue them.

They pulled the tarp off, revealing the playpen for the hamsters. Chiaki, wanting to be included, motioned to It like she was on a gameshow showing off a prize. This drew a laugh from Hajime and Fuyu.

Gundham’s expression softened, his face turning red. “Y-You… built that? F-For… Me?”

“Yeah. I’m not so great with words, But I am great with building things.” Kazuichi smiled. “Do you like It??”

Gundham bit his lip, he went to pull his scarf over his face to hide his blush but quickly realized his scarf was still chilling on the table from earlier. “Y-Yes…” Gundham turned to Kazuichi, smiling a little at the way his eyes sparkled with happiness. “Thank you, Friend.”

Kazuichi squealed happily and pulled him Into a hug without giving it a second thought.

Gundham flinched, but eventually returned the hug. Sonia smiled at her two dorks, happy they were getting along. She got up and retrieved the Devas from the table, putting Gundham’s scarf on again.

“Fiends! We must seek not the approval of the Dark Prince, But the Four Dark Devas of Destruction and Tickles!” Sonia mimicked Gundham again.

“The… what?” Kazuichi asked, totally confused as he pulled back.

“She renamed them.” Gundham explained. “But she Is right. Their opinion is what truly matters.”

Sonia set them down In the fish tank, And they began happily scurrying around through the different pipes and segments. They seemed to enjoy It.

Gundham smiled as he watched his pets having fun. “They like It.” He confirmed to his friends.

Though their friendship may not be typical, and It may be confusing at times. I have a feeling that this friendship will be one that’ll last. And Who knows? Maybe down the road, It’ll turn Into something more…?

[miss-kit]

Maybe Teruteru with a reader who's like Mikan? Nervous, sensative, and shy. If you write fanfic, maybe him confessing to her. I just need some Teruteru content for my birthday ��

Aaah happy birthday Anon! I know this is late, but I hope you like it! Honestly, I feel like it could have been better. I want to thank Mod BZ for helping me with the ending! She’s honestly the reason I finished it in the first place.

                                                                        - Mod Kitten

Teruteru Hanamura x Reader

Warnings: None!

Today was the day! He's going to do this!

Teruteru Hanamura, the Ultimate Cook, was going to tell his crush he loves them! And this time he refuses to wuss out.

Teruteru strolled through the halls of Hope's Peak, a cake in his hands and a bouquet of roses poking out of his bag. He wasn't as great a baker as he is a cook, but after weeks of perfecting the recipe, he was confident that (Y/n) would love it. The words "Wanna go on a date?" were delicately written on the top and covered in edible glitter to make the question as obvious as possible.

He hummed as he reached his classroom. Making sure the cake wasn't damaged in the slightest, he went to open the door, ignoring the sound of the school bell. "Good morning, everyone!"

"Good morning, Teruteru. What's the occasion?" Princess Sonia questioned him as she noticed the cake and flowers the short man held.

"Today is the day, your highness!" He beamed as he showed her the cake. "I'm finally going to ask the sweet (Y/n) on a date!"

Sonia clasped her hands together, a smile taking over her features. "Oh Teruteru, that's wonderful!"

"You're not going to wuss out this time, are you?" Mahiru questioned as she walked up to the two chatting friends, placing her hands on her hips. "Last time you tried, you ended up screaming "Taylor Swift" in their face and running away."

Teruteru chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "N-not one of my best moments, I'll admit. But today will be different! I declare it! After all, I've worked on this cake for weeks now and I know they'll-"

"S-so sorry for being late! I-"

Teruteru yelped as someone crashed into him from behind, knocking them both to the ground.

"Ah! Are the two of you alright?" Teruteru could hear Sonia's voice as he groaned in pain. He turned his head to see a very, very red (Y/n). "Gyah! Sorry, Teruteru!" They quickly picked themselves up, dusting off their clothes as Teruteru stood back up.

"No worries, (Y/n), it was an accident," Teruteru reassured as he picked up his fallen hat. "Ah!" Sonia gasped. "Teruteru, the cake!"

Teruteru could feel a chill run down his spine. He examined the front of his clothes, only to find it covered in frosting and cake. The cake itself was a mess, crushed and almost flattened. Even the words were unreadable, the frosting and edible glitter smeared.

"Oh no! Teru, I am so so sorry!" (Y/n) cried when they realized what they had done. Tears began to form at the corners of their eyes.

Teruteru sighed. "Now, now. No need to apologize, it was just a cake. " He picked up the ruined cake off the floor. "Besides, it's still edible, even if it can no longer be used for its original purpose." He muttered the last part under his breath.

"Sooo whatcha gonna do with that cake there, Teru?" Akane came out of nowhere, a drop of drool forming at the end of her mouth. Sighing, Teruteru handed her the ruined cake. At least someone would be able to enjoy it.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to go change." The ultimate cook briskly made his way out of the classroom, keeping his head down to keep his embarrassed blush hidden.

~~~

Well, the cake idea didn't work. But that wasn't going to stop Teruteru!

He still had the flowers, which had somehow survived the incident that morning. He watched as the sweet (Y/n) came out of the school gym, red from exercise and on edge as they normally were. Clearing his throat, he walked up to them, words already forming in his head.

"Good afternoon, my sweet (Y/n)!"

(Y/n) jumped in surprise, but relaxed as soon as they noticed the ultimate cook walking up to them. "Good afternoon, Teruteru. What brings you here?" They questioned as they eyed the roses he held in his hands.

"Well you see, I was hoping to ask you if you'd like to hang out after school today. You see, a new bakery opened up nearby and I was hoping that-"

"O-oh, I'm sorry, Teruteru. Ibuki, Chiaki, and I already have plans."

A cold feeling washed over Teruteru as his smile dropped. "Oh, I see."

"Gyah! You hate me now, don't you!?" (Y/n) shouted. They clasped their hands together as tears pricked at their eyes. "P-please forgive me!"

"Now, now. I don't hate you, sugar." Teruteru dropped the flowers as he took their hands in his own, feeling the glares from judging students nearby. "You have nothing to apologize for. I, uh-" He picked up the dropped flowers and shoved them into (Y/n)'s shaking hands. "Here, please accept these as an apology for making you think such a thing."

(Y/n) blinked away the tears as they examined the flower. "But Teru, these are lovely. Are you sure I can have them?"

"Of course! Now then, how about we join everyone else for lunch back in the classroom?" Teruteru relaxed as the other smiled shyly at him, nodding.

~~~

"You still haven't asked them?" Mahiru raised a brow as he scrubbed away at the chalkboard. It was cleaning time, which meant she and Teruteru were alone as they cleaned and organized the classroom.

"I tried, alright?" Teruteru sighed exasperatedly as he straighten one of the desks. "Things just don't want to go my way."

Mahiru rolled her eyes and turned to the other, "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you weren't trying hard enough!"

Teruteru felt himself become tense. "And just what is that supposed to mean?" He asked the redhead, trying to keep his temper to a minimum.

"You're always saying "today is the day", yet you don't go through with your plans half the time, and when you do attempt one, you either back out last second or make (Y/n) nervous!"

"It isn't my fault!" Teruteru shouted at her. "(Y/n) is the best person I've ever met. They care more about others than they do themselves, they always smile despite being on the verge of crying, they can cheer anyone up with just a word, they... they..."

Teruteru dragged off as he stared at the door. Confused, Mahiru turned around to see what had stopped him so abruptly.

Standing at the door with a very, very blushy face, was (Y/n) themself.

The air in the room suddenly got a bit heavy as Teruteru realized they must have heard everything. "Uh..."

Mahiru smiled. "I'll just leave the two of you alone." She ducked out of the class pass (Y/n), sending them a quick wink.

The two classmates stared at each other, neither quite sure what to say.

Teruteru was the first to break the silence, clearing his throat as he pulled out his comb. "Ahaha. I s-suppose it'd be silly of me to ask you if you heard what I said." He chuckled as he shakingly fixed his hair.

"Uh..." (Y/n) was trying to find the right words, the heat in their cheeks distracting them.

"If you don't feel the same, I understand completely," Teruteru reassured them, trying to keep his voice as clear as possible. "S-someone as amazing as you probably prefers someone bet-"

"I-I like you too, Teruteru!"

"...huh?" Was all Teruteru could say. (Y/n)'s blush slightly reddened as they stared down at their shoes. "I... I like you too. I've liked you for a while now, actually. But, I sorta figured you'd prefer someone who could keep up with you or at least someone who isn't on the verge of a freakout. Or someone who overthinks things. Or someone who-"

(Y/n) bit their lip. "I honestly didn't think you'd like me back."

Teruteru absorbed every word. He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"W-well then..." Teruteru cleared his throat.

Teruteru placed his hand against his chest, sighing a breath of relief as (y/n) looks up at him.

"I do have to say I'm shocked sugar. I wasn't expecting today of all days to be the day you found out. And all this time..."

He looked up at (Y/n) and smiles, walking closer to them. He extends his open hand out, and waits for a moment. "Any day is better than never, and that bakery isn't going anywhere. Do you..."

(Y/n) takes his hand and in a nervous heap hugs him.

"S-sure!" (Y/n) spoke, nodding happily as Teruteru pats their back.

"This time, don't get any cake on me." He teased, smiling as a blush formed on (Y/n)’s cheeks.

With a final good-bye, Teruteru watched as they left the classroom. A warm feeling spread through his stomach as he placed his hands on his hips.

He finally did it.

[brynfelan]

PFFFFFFT WAIT REALLY?! Listen hurt/comfort is my fav trope, I CAN KEEP GOING. NO LIES. Alright then here's another one! I think KuzuKomaHina would be interesting here, but if you're not comfortable with that then just Komahina is also great! (I'm a multishipper and my pain is immense. Gotta spread the love.) This could be either Non-despair...or Pre-despair depending on how much you wanna kill people. Heehee.

Hinata and Izuru are twins and both go to Hope's Peak, Izuru in the main course and Hinata in the reserve course. Hinata meets Izuru's hell class and they all warm up to him eventually, plus they feel bad for him. Izuru's an overgrown cat and Hinata's basically his babysitter, god bless his soul. Everything's somewhat hunky dory, because that Reserve vs Main course divide creates enough tension to be a problem. Then main class 78 is assembled, and Junko's batshit crazy and ready to drum up despair.

She still decides to try and break class 77, throw suspicion off of her and Mukuro, but there aren't any obvious cracks to be exploited within the class...until she sees the bonds they've all made with Hinata, Natsumi, and Sato. So Junko starts doing her despair schtick with those three, but mainly Hinata. I mean, mentally breaking the brother of the Ultimate Hope AND the boyfriend of one or two of the Ultimate Hope's classmates AT THE SAME TIME? That's the best first round of despair you can get, so Junko goes hard and all-in from the get-go with Hinata. She also starts with Natsumi and Sato, because their past is ROUGH and a great second round of despair for class 77.

But Hinata is her main focus. And when Hinata starts acting weird, class 77 don't know what's going on. Whether they figure out and save Hinata from Junko's plan or fall to Junko's game one by one is up to you...

multishipping is where it’s AT babeeey. i ship both hajime and fuyuhiko with ANYBODY that makes them happy, that’s it that’s my thing. and i like komahina. i like kuzuhina. kuzukomahina? that sounds IDEAL.

but oh man i love hajime and izuru being brothers? like, so much? and hajime as an honorary/adopted member of class 77b? my FRIEND this is too good.

izuru is 100% the first to notice what’s up. he lives with hajime, sees him all the fucking time, and on top of everything is the ultimate Everything. he doesn’t know WHAT’S up with hajime, but he does notice that hajime’s colder and spending less time with everybody. he blows off fuyuhiko and nagito (and they both take it VERY differently. nagito’s like “ah, it seems I’m not even good enough for a reserve course student, I am a bug!” and fuyuhiko is pissed off and basically yells at izuru to get his fucking brother in check), but then when they do see him he’s all weird and shit both fuyuhiko and nagito start hatching a plan to figure out what’s going on. izuru is in on it, because that’s his brother and he hates not knowing shit.

so uh, basically they start stalking hajime. they follow him around, take notes, like if this wasn’t his boyfriends and his brother this would be creepy as shit. slowly people start to ask where hajime is, or what’s up with him because like... dude’s usually one of the nicest motherfuckers out there and he’s gotten really fucking blunt recently. hell, sometimes he even gets mean, agreeing with nagito about him being worthless, that kinda shit and that’s when everybody really notices something is UP.

it ends up essentially becoming a class-wide thing, where they all report back to either izuru, nagito or fuyuhiko after seeing hajime. izuru is kinda the brains here, taking all the information he can get and analysing it, but it’s nothing he’s seen before ever.

and then one day, everybody’s wandering around the school grounds, and finds the stairway. when the walk through there, which is hajime’s idea, he disappears. like, off the face of the earth. it basically runs the same way as in the anime when chiaki is captured by junko, but instead he’s there willingly to show everybody he loves this beautiful thing called despair. he knows he’s going to die, and he loves it.

as shown previously though, izuru can’t be kept in one place if he doesn’t want to be there. ultimate escape artist who? anyway, when he hears junko’s voice, he knows what the fuck is up, he knows some shit’s about to go down if they don’t intervene immediately. the man manages to get them out of there, and starts running. everybody’s running with him (except for teruteru who’s complaining that he’s too short to go as fast as everybody else lmao). unfortunately, this is not anime izuru and he doesn’t know the layout of the place, but he does remember exactly where hajime disappeared and uses that to help him.

when they do find hajime, he’s basically bleeding out and he’s fucking pleased about it. he starts saying a load of really mean shit to fuyuhiko and nagito, how he hates them and shit, and it’s taking everything for fuyuhiko not to just deck him. yeah he’s dying, but he’s also being a massive douche?

most of the class carry hajime to the nurse’s office, so that mikan can stabilise him. izuru, nagito and fuyuhiko absolutely have more business in this building. using some logic that i am too tired to figure out because it’s nearly 6 in the morning rn they find junko, who blames mukuro entirely for everything going wrong. it isn’t mukuro’s fault, but that’s not the point here at all. she’s got the brainwashing video ready anyway, and starts going to play it when nagito just fuckin tackles her. this scrawy twink literally throws himself at junko at full force. fuyuhiko is restraining mukuro and izuru stops the video from playing.

back with hajime, when they were transporting him back to somewhere that he can be treated properly, juzo probably saw them and went in to try and find junko because they’ve got their whole thing. he walks in to find a skinny twink and a shortass restraining the Ultimate Despairs, and the human embodiment of a cat fucking with a brainwashing video. it would be hilarious if a student didn’t nearly just die.

either way, hajime gets stabilised but he’s still Royally Fucked Up and has to be basically restrained to stop him from trying to get back to Junko. Junko and Mukuro get fucking arrested (this will later cause media uproar because everybody loves Junko, but that’s not the focus here), and Izuru has to come up with a way to fix his brother.

I’m gonna leave that here because I need fukin SLEEP and maybe come back to it when I’m less dead but i am a sucker for a happy ending after a load of angst so for now ya get a happy(ish) ending, with everybody alive! for now!

[despairofthefuture]

"hey I heard you do animations" that's a good way to start

Yasuhiro approaches the Ultimate Imposter, taking a large breath to calm his nerves. As he comes to a stop in front of him, the man posing as Ryota Mitari looks to the obstacle that has suddenly appeared in his way.

"U-um...can I help you?" He asks in a timid sounding voice.

"Uh...hi!" Hiro starts, glancing around at the many spirits surrounding him, including the two very familiar ones before looking back to Imposter. "You...you're uh...Ryota, right? The Ultimate Animator?"

The upperclassman nods slowly, confusion still on his face. "I am..."

Hiro beams. "Great! That's really cool!" He continues awkwardly. "Do you...uh...think you could show me?"

The imposter tilts his head. "Show you...my animations?" He repeats.

Hiro nods. "Y-yeah, if you dont mind of course!"

"Oh, of course not! Anime is a very important part of our culture after all!" The animator declared excitedly. "Here, why dont we go over to a bench?" The fake Ryota led Hiro to a bench underneath a tree, and he took out a tablet to show the fortune teller some of his works.

Hiro shuffles worriedly. He wasnt sure how to move on from here. How could he get to the topic he needed to talk about?!

Hiro brightens up at the advice and grins. He lets out an impressed whistle, gaining Imposter's attention. "Dang, those look really good! I can see how you got your Ultimate!" He places an arm around the other's shoulders, to which 'Ryota' glances at Hiro's arm. "Speakin' of which, I never mentioned mine. I'm the Ultimate Clairvoyant! Name's Yasuhiro, or Hiro for short! Whaddya say to me reading your future as a thank you for letting me see those cool animations?"

The imposter looks up at the brunette before furrowing his brow in thought. "Ultimate Clairvoyant huh...yeah, sure! I dont see why not!" He smiles softly at Hiro.

The clairvoyant grins and claps his hands. "Alright great! Lemme just see your hand..." With that he takes one of Imposter's hands in his and, just as he had with Junko, begins tracing the other's palm with his finger.

~~~

Hiro watches in horror as a girl is impaled by several spears, the event playing on screens and forcing a group of people to watch the brutal death.

He's hit with an overwhelming sense of despair. The feeling was so strong Hiro immediately felt tears stream down his face. But...he didnt...hate the feeling? It was almost as if he wanted...more despair.

A set of images flash through his mind. War and destruction. Bloodshed and violence. The world in ruins as Imposter, now dressed as Byakuya Togami runs through crowds and kills off soldiers trying to stop him.

Another series of flashes show Imposter and 14 others being captured. Then a surge of pain erupts through Hiro's stomach and chest, forcing him to clench at those areas.

Imposter was dead. He was killed. He will be killed.

~~~

Hiro returns to the present with a loud gasp, which quickly turns into hyperventilation.

"Hiro? A-are you alright?"

The clairvoyant looks over to the imposter as his breathing settles down. He shakily nods. "Y-yeah..." He answers, his voice quivering. "B-but, uh..." He looks the other man dead in the eyes. "You wont be."

Imposter blinks, before reeling back. "I-Im sorry?!"

Hiro sighs and runs his hand through his hair. "L-look....I'm just gonna cut to the chase." He says, glancing over to Leon and Chihiro, who nod, urging him on. "...I didnt come here to learn about your animations."

The fake Ryota tilts his head. "Then...why did you approach me?"

Hiro bites his lip. "...I read the future of one of my classmates, a girl named Junko Enoshima." He begins. "The future...isnt pretty. She plans on forcing my class to kill each other, and throwing the whole world into despair. And she's going to use Ryota to do it."

Imposter's eyes widen slightly. "W-why did you say-"

"I know you're not the real Ryota Mitari." Hiro cuts him off. "I...uh...saw it. Yeah, that's it. I saw it in the visions. I know you're actually the Ultimate Imposter, and you're simply a close friend to Ryota."

The Imposter stares at Hiro for a while before he frowns and crosses his arms. "Well, if that's the case I suppose your fortunes are accurate." He says, his tone changing slightly to be a bit deeper. "If you were able to see that, which is correct, I suppose I have no reason to believe your other predictions are false."

Hiro lets out a breath of relief. "Oh thank Buddha." He mumbles.

"So what is it you need me for?" Imposter questions.

Hiro looks to him and nods. "Right. I need you to make sure Ryota never interacts with Junko. If he does, she'll use his talent to create a Despair brainwashing video to start the end of the world."

Imposter blinks at that before slowly nodding. "Very well...I suppose I can do that. Although this is a large amount of information to take in all at once."

Hiro huffs. "Tell me about it." He mutters before shaking his head. He pulls out his phone and looks up a picture of Junko, showing it to the other man. "This is Junko Enoshima. Keep an eye out for her and keep Ryota away from her at all costs."

The imposter looks at the photo and nods. "Alright. I'll warn Ryota to avoid her. Is that all?"

Hiro starts nodding before he stops. "Uh, actually...Chiaki Nanami. She's in your class, right?"

Imposter nods. "Yes. She's our class rep." A worried expression takes over his features. "...why?"

The fortune teller frowns. "She's going to be killed. And you, along with the rest of your class, will be forced to watch it." He shudders at the memory of the image. "Seeing that, plus Ryota's video, it fills you all with despair and causes you all to do...bad things. So along with keeping Ryota away from Junko, can you help me keep an eye on Chiaki?"

The imposter stares wide eyed at Hiro for a long time before slowly nodding. "O-of course." He finally replies. "I will do what I can."

Hiro lets out a breath, a heavy weight having been lifted from his chest. "Great. Thank you!" Hiro grins and begins to turn away. "If anything happens, come find me! But this should be a big help!"

With a final wave goodbye, Hiro runs off. He leans against the outside of the building, smiling happily. "That went way better than I thought it would!" He exclaims to his ghostly friends.

"Yeah!" Leon agrees. "Not only that, we dealt with the Chiaki problem too!"

"So now all we need to do is figure out about this Izuru guy?" Chihiro ponders.

Hiro nods, furrowing his brow in thought. "Yeah...that might be a bit tricky. I dunno how we're gonna get information on him." He grins and shrugs. "But we'll find a way! I'm sure of it!"

A/N: This was my first time ever writing for Imposter, so I hope I did a good job!

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Best of three.

So...the location on the website was here of all places?

Ah, it feels so good to come to Chinatown. It’s certainly been a long time!

*Sure enough, the group head out to Chinatown.

We’re not here for a vacation Nagito.

Of course, of course! I’m merely saying.

Ugh...I don’t like this place...

Why? What’s wrong with it?

Physically? Nothing. But it brings back some bad memories.

Ah, yes...of course...

What are you two talking about?

The Kuzuryu Clan once participated in a very large turf war here. The influence was still felt, and only dissipated with the tragedy being the bigger issue.

Yeah, so I just hope to god no one recognizes me. I wasn’t there, but someone might be able to tell.

I see...

Speaking of turf, we’re on the UUV’s turf right now. We can’t let on that we’re trying to catch Itsuki and Todoroki.

Yeah, good point. Start with small talk so that no one gets suspicious. Then when you see an opportunity to talk about the UUV, go for it.

Okay, then let’s split up into groups. By default I should go with Chiaki.

Peko and I will go together too.

Guess that leaves us two, huh Mahiru?

Fine. Let’s just get this over with.

Um. Hello there.

Old Civilian: Hm? Is everything ok sir?

Everything’s fine. I was just wondering, how did this town get so scenic?

Old Civilian: Scenic? How do you mean?

The buildings have a nice old school feel to them. It would be nice to take some photographs.

Old Civilian: Forgive me for saying this, but I don’t think that’s a very good idea.

Why not?

Old Civilian: If you start wandering around with a camera, people will get the wrong idea. They’ll think you’re a police officer or a spy.

A spy? What for?

Old Civilian: ...

*The old civilian turns his back and walks away, saying no more.

H-Hey!

Stop. Even if you caught up with her, she wouldn’t talk.

Dammit! Don’t tell me she’s in on it?

Well, as I said, the UUV are influential in this area.

To be honest, this doesn’t come as a surprise...

But...even the old people?

Um...hello there.

Little boy: Oh! Hi!

*Mahiru and Nagito approach a young boy.

Sorry to bother you young man...but you see...We’re having a little bit of a problem. Mind lending us a hand?

Little boy: Sure! Need help with directions!

In a sense...You see, we’re trying to look for some people called the UUV. Do you think you can point us in the direction?

Little boy: ...

Is everything ok?

Little boy: Sorry...I can’t...

Why not?

Little boy: It’s part of my 5 rules to stop me getting grounded. Alongside brush your teeth every morning and night, and always go to bed on time, she told me to never talk about the UUV to strangers.

That’s one of your rules!? It’s THAT important it doesn’t get out!?

Little boy: Waaah! This man’s scary!

*The Little boy runs off.

Curses!

Even the children are made to keep quiet...Just how much influence to the UUV have here?

...It might be best if you stay quiet Chiaki. We don’t want anyone getting freaked out by a voice in the phone.

Gotcha.

*Hajime and Chiaki approach a father and a child sitting outside a cafe.

Excuse me? I was hoping you could help me out.

*The father immediately lifts up his child and starts to walk away.

Excuse me? It’s very rude to just walk away when I’m talking to you.

Father: Oh I know. I just don’t care. You Future Foundation aren’t welcome here.

...You know I’m Future Foundation?

Father: It’s obvious. I don’t know what you want, but if you want information, I can tell you one thing.

And that is?

Father: That all of these people you see in this town were helped out, or are members of the UUV. No one is going to help you here, so you should get lost.

Helped? How?

*The father walks away.

Well, that went as well as I could’ve hoped.

How is their influence this strong, but they’ve been under the radar for so long?

*sigh* 

...

Wanna take a break?

Yeah...thankfully, I brought my console.

Yas!

*Everyone meets up after the end of the search.

We got nothing...

Neither did we...

Given how things are, I doubt we’re going to get anything either.

Yeah...even the old people and the children are in on it. They won’t talk either and they’re our two best bets...

*sigh*

*Hajime listens in while he plays Tekken with Chiaki on their virtual console.

{PLAYER 1 WINS!}

*sigh* You beat me again. That’s another loss today, on top of the last round and the searching.

Oh, quit beating yourself up. If they won’t talk, they won’t talk.

???: Um...excuse me? 

Huh?

*Everyone’s eyes look up to see the source of the voice.

...Um...You guys are Future Foundation, right?

Everyone’s been complaining about you. They were talking about how you wanted to find the UUV?

...

Future Foundation are dealing with a problem. We need the UUV’s assistance to deal with it. Can you tell us where we can find them?

(Nice save Nagito...)

Sorry, I can’t...but...

But?

Maybe...just maybe I could give you SOME information...?

Really!?

*Hajime stands up.

Yeah. I’m actually a member of the UUV, but I’m pretty new. Oh, the name’s Fujimori by the way. Ayumu Fujimori.

And like I said, I can give you some info. Not really a location but something else.

Ok...what’s the catch? I feel like there’s a condition we need to meet.

You’d be right.

See that game console there?

This?

*Hajime shows his game console to Ayumu.

I wanna play. I’ll give you the information that you want if you defeat me at that fighting game.

(Perfect!)

Alright then. You V me. I’ll be Player 1.

Alright. Sure. Don’t go easy on me.

If you insist.

*Ayumu sits down in Hajime’s spot as everyone looks over Ayumu’s shoulder at their Tekken match.

(This should be a cakewalk.)

{ROUND 1! FIGHT!}

Go on Chiaki. Crush it.

Alright, let’s-

Ah!?

...Hrngh!

*Ayumu suddenly pulls off an almost impossible combo with relative ease.

(N-No way! He’s actually super good!?)

Yrgh!

Chiaki, what’s-!?

*Chiaki’s character and Ayumu’s character clash and Ayumu is able to land more hits on Chiaki!

N-No way!

{KO! PLAYER 2 WINS!}

!!!??

!!!??

!!!??

!!!??

!!!??

...I...lost...!?

Yeah, I won! That was lucky. You’re not bad. What’s say we do best of three?

Hmph! Alright! (That might be the only way I can survive this! I have to bring it back now!)

(Chiaki...lost the first round?)

(How’s that even possible!?)

{ROUND 2! FIGHT!}

HMPH!

*This time, Chiaki is prepared for it. Ayumu starts the match off the same way.

(Come on...!)

{KO! PLAYER 1 WINS!}

Ah, I lost...

Good game though. This last one’s the kicker.

Right...

(Who the heck is this guy!?)

{FINAL ROUND! FIGHT!}

...!

...!

*Chiaki and Ayumu’s hands move so fast that it’s hard to see them.

Come ooon...

Come on Chiaki!

You can do it! Show that Ultimate Gamer talent!

...!

Grgh!

{KO! PLAYER 1 WINS!}

Ah! I lost!

PHEW!

(Oh thank god!)

*The match is unbelievably close. Chiaki is on almost 1HP by the time it ends.

Well...you won...And I’m a man of my word...

So you’ll talk?

Yeah...but first, let’s go somewhere more private.

*Ayumu gets to his feet and hands Hajime his console back. He beckons the group and they get ready to follow him.

What the hell happened there...!?

I...don’t know...I won, but...that was the most intense match I’ve ever had. I was about to lose...! Now I’m really tired...

How could you lose!? You’re the best gamer on the planet!

That’s what I thought too!

Did he use some sort of cheat code?

No, I would’ve noticed. I know all the cheat codes for this game. That first round he beat me entirely with his own skill. 

Sorry, you guys...mind if I just...

Zzzzz...

*Chiaki is completely drained of all her energy.

No...there’s no way...

Just...

...

Who the fuck IS this guy...?

[soudam-appreciation]

Study... date?

Gundam sighed, shrugging his overweight backpack over his shoulder. He had not planned for today to become a social one, though he supposed it was not quite unwelcome. The mortal known as Kazuichi, Tamer of Automatons, had requested his presence here, though for precisely what ritual, Gundam did not know.

Kazuichi leaned back in his chair and rested his legs atop of the table as he inhaled the overwhelming (and honestly, kinda gross) scent of old and new books as he waited for Gundam to hurry the fuck up and get to the library, because he really didn’t have all day. 

He perked up, though, when he saw a small flash of purple and black move by one of the bookshelves he sat next to. Souda stood, waving his hands frantically in an attempt to catch the goth boy’s attention, not wanting to call out and cause more of a scene than the literal highlighter waving his hands sporadically like he was at a concert.

The neon blur tugged at Gundam’s peripheral, and he crossed his arms before him. Facing the boy, he began a usual greeting. “At last, you have been found. Do you not fear this meeting, Fool?” His voice boomed and echoed through the stacks, inciting an annoyed rustle and collective whisper.

Kazuichi’s eyes went wide as he started rapidly shushing him, because if him basically jumping up and down trying to get Gundam to notice him didn’t draw attention to the two, Gundam basically shouting definitely did. Speaking as softly as he could considering how badly his heart rate spiked, he tried to get him to quiet down.

“D-dude! Shut- shut the- Don’t! Stop fuckin’....fuckin’ screaming like that! Jesus! Shudda’...shut the- shut the fuck up! Shhh!” 

Recollection of the location at hand hit Gundam with a hell-strength impact. Clearing his throat, he hurriedly glanced around, mumbling fractured apologies for his forgetfulness. If there was one thing that would make even the Dark Overlord himself bow, it would be intense embarrassment as a direct result of his own foolishness- not that he would even say such a thing. To allow enemies access to his weakness?! Preposterous. He whispered a short apology to Souda as well, for the mortal seemed far more distraught than he. 

Souda groaned softly, rubbing his face with his hands for a few moments before bouncing back almost as fast, a lazy grin plastered across his face. That didn’t stop the drop of malice and embarrassment showing through in his cheerful voice as he pushed out a chair next to the one he was leaning on before to invite Gundam to sit with him. 

There were a lot of books, papers, pens and one lone computer scattered across the table. Souda easily pushed these aside as he sat down to take a sip of his…something. 

Gundam followed suit, dropping his bag on the floor beside him as he took his seat. He was not entirely sure what they were to do on this day, although crawling deep underground was an option he prayed upon. Unzipping his backpack as soundlessly as he could, he retrieved a notepad and slid a simple message to his companion.

What, pray tell, have you summoned me for?

Kazuichi read it over before snatching the notepad from Gundam’s hand, as well as the fancy pen he had (despite there being many writing utensils of his own he could’ve used, he honestly just wanted to be a bit of a dick to his past rival). He scrawled something quickly on it and slid it back nervously, despite there being no teachers nor rules against slipping each other notes. 

ok, well, i asked u 2 come here bc i am fucking failing math and biology and there r these 2 tests cming up i need u 2 help me study for. i thought u’d know a lot abt biology and u seem smart ig so-

He ripped another blank note out to write on more.

-so i thought u could help with, math too. hinata won’t help me he’s mad i spilt monster on his laptop still even though that was a whole day ago :(

The writing was barely legible and Kazuichi seemed to shorten words as best as he could, since he also wrote very large on the small sheet of paper. He slid the second note to Tanaka for him to read.

Squinting, Gundam managed to make out Souda’s print. He sighed, briefly wondering how incompetent Souda actually was, and where to even begin studying. Retrieving his pen, albeit a bit forcefully, he turned to a new page and began his transmission.

Where should we begin? Is there a specific field in which you have little expertise?

As Souda read over the note in the pretty cursive handwriting, he let out a small giggle. He couldn’t help it, reading Gundam’s dumbass Overlord-victorian speak was somehow funnier than hearing it out loud. Snatching the pen and paper back, he started writing.

uh um well i never ever got algebra the little letters always confused me and in biology kind of everything. man i’m not good with that kinda shit like u i’ve seen ur grades you don’t know how 2 whisper when ur flaunting them to sonia lol

Gundham’s ears got hot, and he fidgeted with the end of his scarf. Grabbing his pen, he scribbled out, I do no such thing. I simply share because I am asked, that should be a simple concept to grasp. His scrawl was messier, his haste blurring his senses. Deep breaths stilled his hostility, and he turned to a new page.

So shall we begin with variables, then? You may need to work exceptionally hard to recall these, as no doubt it will be of importance. 

Once again, Kazuichi laughed as he watched Gundam get a little pissed at the Sonia comment. Even when they were slowly getting closer, messing with the guy still yielded hilarious results.

come on man!!!! why r u getting so pissy i’m just teasing u. u know i know that u know we aren’t rivals anymore so calm down!!!!! >:3

anyways uhh ya sure we can start w, variables ig. i don’t remember a lot of this stupid ass math lingo so ur gonna need to remind me some of it.

Variables are those “little letters” you spoke of. If something I mention confuses you, alert me at once. 

Gundam chose to ignore all of Souda’s previous statement, focusing instead on the task at hand. There did not seem a logical reason to become so frustrated when Souda spoke of her. So why did it ignite a hellfire in his chest? 

He shook off the thought, selecting a standard textbook from his oversized backpack and placing it on the table with a thunk. Opening to a page about Variables, the most annoying of unknowns, he slid the book across for Souda’s viewing ease. 

We should begin here, page 28. Do you have a journal for notes?

yeah that’s fine also do u mind me keeping our notes or atleast yours please plz plsssss

Sure enough, the smaller boy was already making a pile of the discarded notes they had forgotten about. Mostly Gundams. It was the only neat thing on the table thus far.

Sighing again, Gundam ceded. He had no use for them, anyway. It caught his attention as slightly strange, but he chose to pay it no mind. Scratching out what information he could on such a small surface, he quickly realized that simply would not work. He slid a mostly-empty notebook from his bag and selected a blank page to share with Souda. It wasn’t as if he really needed the pages in this notebook either, so he added a small note at the top offering the torn-out pages for outside studying.

Souda took the page and studied it, before brightly grinning up at Gundam and quickly nodding. This was fancy shit, definitely not something extremely expensive (he knew Gundam definitely wouldn’t dare share that kind of paper, seeing the small slightly-faded stains of car oil on his hands that he just couldn’t scrub out) but Souda probably wouldn’t be buying these things, especially for every class, without at least a week of ramen dinners to make up for the waste of money working at his Dads mechanic shop.

Souda suddenly realized that ‘fancy shit’ to a slightly broke kid like him was definitely not ‘fancy shit’ to Gundam “I don’t know how to dress casually Ever” Tanaka.

Gundam continued to script line after line, attempting to explain these subjects in terms Souda would understand. The look in Souda’s eyes gnawed at him, such excitement on display over some math notes. He wasn’t certain what rubbed him wrong about it, so he brushed it aside. Reaching the bottom of the page, he printed a small question. 

Do you still understand thus far?

Souda finally grabbed one of his own pens that lay discarded on the table instead of stealing Gundams.

yeah i get it u explain it a lot better than the teachers or chiaki despite ur little demon talk r whatever lol. chiaki use to help me like all the time but she kept falling asleep on me we never got anything done

Reading Souda’s message tempted laughter, and Gundam bit his cheek to silence it. Nodding sagely, he scrawled, As likely as you are to bend truths pertaining to women, this account does seem trustworthy. He knew just as well as anyone how exhausted Chiaki constantly seemed. 

Tugging the newly completed page from its binds, Gundam offered it to Souda as well. 

Souda looked almost offended by the note (he still took it, because of course he did) and hastily scribbled another and shoved it in Gundams chest with a grin.

WOW DICK i’m not gonna go after every girl that falls asleep on me!!! sonia hasn’t fallen asleep on me yet and you know!!!!! >:(((((( 

Gundam stiffened, bandaged hand safely out of sight under the table. If it had been visible, Souda would have a clear view of numb fingers folding against his palm before stretching into claws, over and over. Another deep breath was necessitated by his pounding heart, and he stilled his mind. There was no reason for this feeling. What possible purpose could this rush of adrenaline serve? Certainly nothing pertaining to math. He cleared his throat again, which ended up sounding a bit more like a growl, and took up his pen.

You say “yet”, as if there is even the slightest chance of such an occurrence in the future. This, I do know. A smug smirk crossed his face, daring to settle on his lips.

Souda pouted as he read the note, a somehow adorable sight as he quickly snagged Gundams pen again (once again ignoring his own) and scrawled something on a new note and shoved it back to him. 

nuh-uh! u don’t know shit. unless u can see the future!!! tell me tell me tell me. maybe ur freaky demon shit is real after all ANYWAYS do i end up w miss sonia plz please tell me??!?? :3

Gundam tasted blood as he bit his lip hard. Why was Souda so insistent on her? No, he knew why. She was aesthetically pleasing to someone like him. This was not new information, but it still irked Gundam like hell. He pursed his lips. The last thing he was going to do was tell Souda his pathetic simpering dreams would come true in the end. Or perhaps, the last thing he wanted would be to admit to Souda that he cannot truly see the future? Grumbling, he snatched his pen back and tapped it against his knuckles. Neither option was preferred, though one was a clear admission of weakness…

He settled on a third choice. Of course not. I know precisely who you shall fall for in the end, although I cannot tell you. That is the Law of Causality.

actually it’s the law of cASSuaslity because ur an asshole who the fuck cares why can’t u just tell me!!! if i don’t get with miss sonia or whatever u say i don’t even know if i completely believe ur bonkers shit why can’t u just tell me their name or anything i just!!! want a hint. please 

Kazuichi’s handwriting grew sloppier as he grew more desperate. Why the fuck was Gundam hiding it? It’s not like he’s gonna get suspended for some random ‘law’ or whatever he probably made up. He didn’t even know what the word Causality meant but it sounded exactly like a freaky word Gundam would say.

All I may tell you is that… Gundam paused, wiggling his pen between thumb and forefinger to come up with an excuse. …you have likely already made their acquaintance. All trace of smugness had dropped from his features, now replaced with stale indifference. He locked his worry deep in his chest, buried it. The last thing he needed was Souda to call him out on such a ridiculously big lie.

Souda didn’t know why, but he grinned at that. He grinned at a lot of dumb shit, and Gundam telling him some vague dumbass answer like that was apparently dumb enough to get on his list of Dumb Shit That Made Him Grin. He flicked Gundams note into his ever growing pile and chugged the rest of his drink, his eyes blown wide with the sudden rush of, apparently, sugar. He tapped the textbook again, trying to remind them both to stay on task. His hands were starting to shake too much from the sugar high to make writing any good.

Gundam nodded. They needed to focus on the task at hand.. Which was math. Boring math. Another sigh settled in his chest, and he thought fleetingly on how he would much rather talk about silly magic business. Shaking dramatically dual-toned hair from his eyes, he set to scribbling some more numbers. Stupid, boring numbers. 

Kazuichi watched with interest as Gundam quickly drew out complex strings of numbers and occasional letters. However, his mind quickly drifted as well as his eyes. Higher and higher until he was watching Gundam’s facial expressions shift as he tried to help Souda. How he bit his lip as he hesitated before continuing to keep writing, how his eyes narrowed, Souda half-mindedly thought of how pretty Tanaka’s eyes were, he could get lost in them if he really wanted to, and he did. So he simply tuned out the sound of pen against pencil, rustling of paper and the occasional whisper between others in the library and just stared into his eyes.

Sliding another page across the table, Gundam glanced up at Souda’s face, before they quickly flicked away. On the quickly growing list of things he did Not Want to happen today, was for Souda to catch him staring. Or- he paused. To catch… Souda staring? He didn’t want to look again, even if he was right, but the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as if he could feel Souda’s gaze. Ears growing red, he scripted a small note back, faltering slightly as nerves made his fingers stiff. 

Do you still understand well enough?

Kazuichi’s gaze didn’t move until he finally noticed Gundam actually wrote words down. He did a double take back at his face before he picked up his pen, his cheeks heating up. Shit, did Gundam catch him looking? His hands trembled slightly from the sugar and caffeine as he scribbled on the paper.

yeah i understand completely ur a good teacher  i already said that didn’t i sorry

He slid the note over, now doing his best to keep his eyes on the table and not on Gundam.

Do not fret, I am pleased you understand. 

Clearing his throat as quietly as he could, he returned to numbers. Gundam really tried to focus, he did. But he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering… Muscle memory served him well, and he continued to write, but his mind’s eye strayed from questioning Souda’s gaze, to wondering why keeping their notes tidy was so important, to the way Souda tapped his fingers on the desk ever so slightly, the sugar and caffeine running rampant through his veins. It soon became impossible to focus, and he started mixing up numbers and crossing them out. He shook his head, hard, mumbling apologies for scrambling up his figures. 

Kazuichi easily picked up Gundams distraction and yanked an empty note from him to write on.

do u wanna stop for today

He slid it over, giving Gundam a small smile as he did. He wasn’t unfamiliar with his brain getting jumbled and melting into mush and before he knew it, the day was over and he hadn’t got shit done. So he didn’t mind giving up for today, starting again tomorrow or next week. He just liked being with Gundam, kinda. As weird as that was. 

Gundam nodded. 

My sincerest apologies, I seem to have lost my senses…

What the hell had gotten into him? This was highly unusual for him. Gundam mumbled another quiet sorry, sliding the incomplete and jumbled page across to Kazuichi just in case he needed it anyway. 

Souda tidied everything up on the desk, sliding his books, computer and the notes into his black backpack. As he stood, he bounced on his heels, the caffeine suddenly taking full effect as he finally got out of the chair and could move around to his heart's desire. He slid his backpack over one of his shoulders and didn’t hesitate to start playing with one of the enamel pins of a vocaloid character that hung from the zipper, needing something to occupy his hands with.

Gundam stood as well, fumbling as he slipped the last notebook into his bag. Offering a hand, he gestured towards the door. He whispered, “Shall we meet again tomorrow, then? I swear I shall do better at my job.” 

Kazuichi laughed softly at that, nodding. His hands fiddled with his jumpsuit pockets as he made his way over to Tanaka, a small bounce in his step. He would definitely blame that and what he did next on the overload of caffeine in his system the next day. He put his hands on Gundams shoulders, slightly dragging him down as he stood on his tippy-toes, kissing him sweetly on the lips before he was already skipping towards the door, waving him bye as he exited, most likely to his dorm on campus.

Blood froze in his veins. Gundam’s heart pounded, throbbing in his ears. His face was beyond red, and his stiffened fingers twitched in surprise. Mouth opening and closing like a fish, he could not even will his feet to carry him after the boy. What… What just… happened? His mind felt as slow and sluggish as if it was buffering through a torrented movie file. 

Finally gathering enough control of his own limbs, he pulled himself through the door. He wanted desperately to give chase, to pull Souda into his arms and kiss him back, but he knew there was no possible way he would keep his courage. So he settled, simply deciding upon returning to his own abode. He would have to speak to Souda at their meeting tomorrow. Just thinking about it gave him… butterflies? Oh dear, what an unpleasant sensation.

. . .

Thank you @kazudam for writing with me! This was so much fun, and something I’ve always wanted to do :’) 

[tackyink]

Last and longest, 1600 words. Manga spoilers.

———————————————————-

The lack of footsteps at night is disconcerting.

Jujutsu High isn’t that different from her former residence, in the sense of being nested in a forest and built in a traditional style. Sleeping on a bed instead of a futon took some time to get used to, but it was fine. The sounds coming from outside are just what she’s used to — the odd night bird, the crickets and cicadas taking turns to compose a strident symphony that, she learned a few years prior, does bother many city people — and would effortlessly lull her to sleep was it not for the lack of percussion from inside.

The Tatsumi manor is a hub of activity day and night, a natural consequence of being an extense family with servants. It is the latter who mainly move at night, while the family members are asleep, either finishing their work for the day or getting an early start for the next. Shiho didn’t pay them any mind when she moved to that residence, but as she grew up she learned to distinguish the regular footsteps of the staff from the occasional interruptions in their routine. Once a pattern broke, it meant that something was happening in the house, and if that was the case, it was best to stay still and listen until the storm blew over. Chiaki, on occasion, hid in Shiho’s room at night, and Shiho played along if Chiaki was questioned about it. Their story was that Shiho had nightmares and was scared of sleeping alone, and since Chiaki’s job was to be at her beck and call day and night, they didn’t think anything of it.

Shiho’s used to waking up at once when a floorboard creaks too close to her room, but having no noise at all? It is unnatural, and the empty space where all the noise should be doesn’t feel any better than the constant, familiar state of vigilance.

If she’s lucky, she’s so tired that the lights turn off the moment her head hits the pillow. But excluding the days when she’s sent to get field experience, the moments of absolute exhaustion are less and less frequent the more her physical condition strengthens and she doesn’t have to exert herself so much to complete her daily tasks.

It’s the end of the second semester and she’s staring at the ceiling of her room for the second night in a row. Suguru expressed concern that morning when he saw her sleepy face, which was very sweet of him, but then the others poked fun at how gross she looked and nobody paid her any mind anymore. She isn’t looking forward to running on three hours of sleep again, but she hopes that at least that means that she’s going to sleep like a rock the next day. It often works like that.

She’s lost count of how many times she’s turned in her bed when something hits the deck outside and she jumps out of her skin because she didn’t hear anything approaching.

She waits, ear trained outside, when the same thing happens. Confused, and perhaps the slightest bit scared, she leaves her bed to check through the curtains. It takes her a while to notice the two small pebbles sitting on the deck. Long enough, in fact, that another one collides with it before she can open the glass door and look at the direction from which it came.

Four empty rooms down the row, Gojo Satoru is lying on the floor with half his body inside his room and half on the deck, undoubtedly the sniper Shiho was looking for, and she replies to his hostile advances with the universal arm gesture for what are you doing? 

“Can’t sleep,” he says.

She blinks very slowly. She’s probably grimacing, but people shouldn’t be required to be self-aware in the wee hours of the night. Morning? So she thinks what the hell, backs into her room to get a jacket, and she walks the length of the deck towards him.

It is so tempting to step on his face that she gives in.

“You’re so mean.” He’s grinning when she removes the foot from his face because, evidently, she hasn’t been able to touch him.

“Couldn’t resist,” she says, or at least tries to when a huge yawn makes its way out at the same time. He chuckles. “Trying to wake up people while they sleep is mean too.”

“You weren’t sleeping, though.”

Her eyes narrow. “Are you spying on me?”

“Not intentionally. All the rooms between yours and mine are empty. I see your cursed energy.”

“You could look at Suguru’s.” Who is adjacent to him on the other side.

He pouts. “But he’s asleep.”

This time he moves to push her away when her feet starts to descend on his face again.

Satisfied with that, Shiho sits cross legged next to him. “Why are you here?”

“The Six Eyes make it hard to sleep.”

Oh. That made a lot of sense. “That’s shitty.”

He laughs good naturedly, but there’s a tired edge to it. “What’s your deal?”

“Not enough noise.”

“...Seriously?”

“Yeah. I guess I’m not used to it yet.”

“I didn’t take the Tatsumi manor for a lively place. Every time I’ve met the head of your family he looked like was trying to dislodge a pole from his ass and failing.”

Her mouth twists at the memory of the man. “He’s not trying, I assure you.”

“Not fond of him?”

He takes her lack of response as a valid answer, though it isn’t as though she didn’t want to talk. She just didn’t know how to word what she needed to say.

“Not fond of him.”

She settles on what she thinks is a good enough response to an audience who will appreciate it. “He and his sons can choke.”

It’s the closest he’s seen Satoru to wearing a scandalized look. Not quite there, though, but he was not expecting that comment from her.

“They’re awful. Very… traditional, in the worst possible sense.”

“Hmm. So I’ve heard.”

She wonders how much, but she doesn’t ask.

“Sometimes I stargaze when I can’t sleep,” he suddenly says, and she welcomes the distraction.

Looking up, she understands what he was doing on the floor. “Oh.”

The idle thought that it makes sense, since his eyes look a lot like a lighter version of the starry sky above the school lingers for a bit in her mind before she realizes what she’s thinking and frowns. When has she developed a flair for the artistic?

“The eaves get in the way, though. Wanna go up?”

“Up where?”

He points at the roof. “Duh.” He gets up and smiles in that way of his that says he’s going to get his way and he knows it, and extends a hand towards Shiho. “Are you coming or not?”

Shiho regards the hand as a contract she should meticulously read before signing. Logically speaking, he is the fastest way to the roof, and she is unwilling to climb, so it’s either his hand or resuming her contemplation of the ceiling. Of course, accepting the offer also means a measure of trust that she’s not sure she should give to anyone grinning that way, much less this guy. “Fine.”

She’s taking his hand at the same time she gives her reply, and the word is barely out of her mouth when she’s suddenly standing barefooted on inclined singles.

After a brief second of panic in which she grasps his hand painfully tight, she regains her balance and says, “You’re a menace.” She hears him laugh and suspects he takes it as a compliment. Maybe he should.

They do their best not to slip as they sit down, but their shuffling around must have been louder than they thought, or maybe their neighbor is a light sleeper, because no sooner than they’ve made themselves comfortable, there’s a sound of sliding doors below and Suguru walks out of his room. Uncannily coordinated, they stay very still and quiet and watch their classmate inspect his surroundings to locate the source of the noises, but the moment he looks up at them Shiho’s face is split by a sincere smile and she waves at him. 

He’s confused, and frowning, but mostly confused. “What are you doing?”

“We can’t sleep! Come with us?” she asks, hopeful.

“Yeah, what are you waiting for?”

For a second before Satoru opened his big mouth it looked like he was going to say yes, but instead he retorts, “Are you stupid? We have class in the morning!”

Shiho gets it, because Satoru’s face always makes everyone want to say no. It’s hilarious and annoying, depending on what side of the conversation you’re on.

“Bring snacks!” he says at his friend, and Shiho lets out an unladylike snort that makes her cover her mouth.

Suguru looks so affronted by the assumption that he’s going to join them in their nonsense that they’re convinced that he’s gone back inside to sleep, but he surprises them when he reappears right away and throws a bag of crackers at Satoru that does hit him smack dab in the middle of the face, and Shiho’s still vicariously celebrating that little victory when he steps on the roof with the help of a curse and sits between the two of them.

“Someone needs to keep an eye on you,” he says to Satoru with a smile of his own, taking back his bag of crackers and opening it.

Shiho doesn’t get her three hours of sleep, but she thinks the tradeoff’s been worth it.

[fantranslatorbychoice]

Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Volume 6 Chapter 6 - An Uncle and Pampas Grass and Moon Viewing Sake

T/N: Hi y’all, I’m back with chapter 6, how are you doing? I thought tumblr didn’t want me to post, kept getting error logs but here we are now. I got a bit unwell so I didn’t get to post this as soon as I wanted to, but I hope you still like it somehow.

As always, if you like this translation, you can heart it, share the link, reblog, I just respectfully ask that DO NOT REPOST ELSEWHERE. This is my contribution to the scant English content of this fandom, and I worked really hard to finish this thing, it’s not like I just copy-pasted everything. I even had to build the kanji in Jisho one by one. Try it and you’ll see what I mean.

You can rave about this, rant about this, reply, etc. but if possible please link back to this page. If you’re unsure how to do that, just copy the web address of this page. If you’re on a blogsite just insert the web address as a hyperlink as a link back to here. Honestly if this light novel was officially-published in English, I wouldn’t even be doing this right now... And if it did, I’d take this offline to support the publishers and Yuuma-sensei. Creators support creators, is what I believe in. I’ll prolly do 1-5 once 6-10 has been done, or however long I can manage to translate the raw texts, it can take a toll at times.  As previously-mentioned in earlier chapters, if you stumbled upon this one, the two seasons of the anime covered volumes 1-5, so other than the extra details, you didn’t miss much stuff. OK, here we go, this chapter’s a racket lol

P186 Kasuga's resignation from Tenjin-ya has been announced. Aside from that, the guests were also a bit dreary that day. Many people came to ask if there's any beef stew or hamburger steak but there's none left already, and there were still a lot of the chestnut okowa** for the Autumn set meals... "It took a lot of pains to steam these in a bamboo steamer, the sweet and piping chestnut okowa though..." It's a waste, what will I do? I wonder if everyone from Tenjin-ya's going to come and eat... "Kasuga... would she be coming? There's so many terrible stuff tonight, she's probably not going here." I remembered Kasuga again, and I got even more gloomy. Today's no good. She's probably thinking about a lot of things due to her leaving. It can't be helped but be sad. As more time passes by, my heart feels more depressed and more bemoaning. When I came to Kakuriyo, Kasuga played a lot of tricks on me and some of the other Ayakashi that I got involved with. Then after that, when she came to my place a lot, she eventually became a very dear friend. T/N: okowa=steamed sticky rice with stuff like beans, nuts, etc. replaces plain white rice in some meals. P187 I wonder what I could do for Kasuga when she leaves...

When I went outside the shop curtain to wear my geta sandals, the lovely waxing gibbous moon floating in the sky lept out in front of my eyes. "Wahhhh" The moon is almost at its fullest. The autumn air that goes with it, it's heartrending. When I walked underneath the rustling willow tree, it was already twilight in the quiet inner garden. "Is there something wrong, Aoi Ojou-san?" In that moment, a young man was leaning over the wooden bridge and chewing on a blade of grass. Having a slender body, with his brown hair covering his eyes, and what seems to be a charming smile showing on his face... It was the Gesokubanchou, Chiaki-san. "Chiaki-san... This is unusual. For what reasons have you come here?" "Oh, Aoi-san, I have a little favor, to ask of you." "A favor?" It was different from Chiaki-san's usual sloppy presence, somehow his manner was solemn as he came here. He was Kasuga's uncle. Could he be talking about something regarding Kasuga? P188 "Errrr... Can Aoi-san expertly stir fry these?" "Say what? What are these.. Ah, ginko nuts!" Chiaki-san nodded eagerly and handed me a thin, drawstring bag that looked like it was filled to the brim, these were ginko nuts." "Today, Odanna-sama and Byakuya-sama, also Dr. Saraku who rarely leaves the underground facility, the three of them went to the mountain behind Tenjin-ya to watch the moon while drinking sake**. This time around, Tenjin-ya was troubled with the Bunmon Tanuki situation, so I decided to pick up some ginko nuts in the inner garden to stir-fry them and bring them to you, but I'm not good at stir-frying." "Oh, I get it now. It's OK, Yugao's already closed and we can go inside. Speaking of Odanna-sama, they went moon-viewing? Because it's nearly the full moon?" "Ayakashi like to drink sake while moon-viewing. Aside from that, those were the three seniors of Tenjin-ya. They probably had something important that they needed to talk about this time." "...oh, I see." If it wasn't the marriage of an employee, then it's likely something else. Likewise, the Northern Land's Hachiyo has been replaced, and Kasuga is going to get married to him, and this brings yet another huge issue and problems in the entirety of Kakuriyo. Previously, Odanna-sama announced his engagement to me while in Youto, and that caused a huge commotion. We entered Yugao, and sitting in his favorite seat, Chiaki-san immediately propped his chin with his hands on the counter.

T/N: Yep, it’s a thing, people drinking rice wine while moon-staring. When spring has the cherry-blossom viewing thing, autumn has moon-viewing activities. They say that when the moon reflects on your sake cup, spirits come out. Well, whatever lol I rather moon-stare sober P189 With that mannerism, somehow he resembles Kasuga during the day. But looking at them in their appearances, they don't look alike. Kasuga is springy and bouncy, and this guy is reasonably quick-paced. "Oh, Chiaki-san, are you hungry?" "Me? I'm good, I've finally had a meal." "You always have your dinner late, don't you?" "Oh, right. Gesokuban have so many minute and detailed jobs, and I also have to take care of the ogre kiddies. I have to put them to bed, and have dinner after that... Ah! Could it be, that you made something for me?!" He was already in a Japanese restaurant, and based on his reactions he only remembered about that now. Even though he explicitly came bringing some ginko nuts, with regards to me he's rather the uninformed type. "Hee hee. I only have chestnut okowa left, it that OK for you to eat? I still haven't had dinner yet." "Did you say... Chestnut okowa?!" Somewhat, Chiaki-san was taken aback. With such a strong reaction, I got anxious. "Is it likely, that you're not fond of chestnuts?" "No! It's not that, it's just that Tanuki love chestnuts and persimmons!" "Really? Thank goodness-- But that's the first time I heard it. That Tanuki love chestnuts" P190 "Yes. There's a huge chestnut tree in Bunmon's University Library, when autumn comes everyone goes out and gathers them." "Ehh?" A library that has a chestnut tree. That's somehow cool. "What side dishes would you like? There's some saury, how about salted and grilled saury? There's also miso soup, try it out, it's a reddish miso soup, it's a suitable accompaniment to the chestnut okowa." "What is that, isn't that the best autumn menu?" Hearing what the menu was, his empty stomach was remembered and it growled. While rubbing the back of his head, Chiaki-san's eagerness shone across his face. "That was embarassing. I uhm, haven't eaten anything since lunch." "Is that so? When Kasuga says that she's hungry, you should have come with her, it's OK." "It's fine, Odanna-sama and I had to go back and talk about other things too. In addition to that, it was necessary for Kasuga that time, to be with Aoi-san who is her friend. Since yesterday, we have been completely surrounded by esteemed Ayakashi." "..." While Chiaki-san wore a strained smile, he secretly let out a sigh. I didn't fail to see that, so I turned on the fire on the grill, and started preparing the salting and grilling of the saury. P191 And then, Chiaki-san weirdly seemed to become fidgety, and suddenly he stood up and took a broom in his hand, and started sweeping inside Yugao. "What are you doing, Chiaki-san?" "Oh, it's nothing, if I don't move I couldn't calm down. You seem to be in the middle of cleaning and tidying up Yugao, is it fine if I sweep here?" "Uhm, thank you, I'm grateful for that..." He might be a manager, but by nature he is humble and feels much obliged. "Ah--  It's Tanu-tanu-shaaan's voice-" For some reason, Chibi who was sleeping in the back room woke up, and that time when he heard Chiaki-san's voice he went out. He held the acorn he picked up during the day on his flank, and with a heave-ho climbed up Chiaki-san's counter seat. "Heyyy isn't that Chibi? Have you slept? Your beak is smeared all over." After saying that, Chiaki-san wiped Chibi's beak with his hand. Apart from being humble and obliging, he also gives off the vibe that he's used to taking care of children... "I'm a baby Kappaaaa. Baby Kappa are the cutesssht newbornssssh in the worrrrld." I have been taking care of him, but for some reason Chibi has returned to being a baby and shows how he's suckling on his thumb zealously. "So to speak, you know of Chibi, Chiaki-san?" P192 "Yes, I do, we went picking up some ginko nuts during the day." "Yesh we diiid. When I wasssh about to get eaten by Shoft-shelled turtle-shan in the garden'sss shmall pond, Tanu-tanu-shaaan saved mee. And for that, this Kappa returnsssh the favor." Chibi went "I presshent you my gift", and he brought out the acorn that he was holding on his flank for Chiaki-san. Even though he seemed to have no need for the acorn, Chiaki-san replied with a smile, "Thank you, Chibi", as Chibi acted morosely. Chibi...Isn't he spoiled by Tenjin-ya's male army? Now then, back to Chiaki-san's saury. To this extent, for anybody with a high-class taste there's probably no other food that is more famous than this one during autumn. Long and thin, rounded and fatty, the luster of the fresh saury, it has been caught off the coast of the Eastern Lands. I salted both sides of the fish. This removes the fishy stench, and improves the elasticity of the flesh. I lightly rinsed this in running water, and again lightly sprinkled salt over the dazzling flesh again, before cutting this into smaller pieces. After that I turned on the charcoal grill and slowly grilled this, steadily holding it over the fire. "Chiaki-san, is Kasuga's uncle, aren't you?" "Yes. Kasuga's father and mother in Youto have been estranged for a long time, I have practically took measures to look after her." "Really? You have been her father's replacement?" "Ahaha. Saying that I'm her father is too much. Well, I'm like a big brother who's older by some years, it's something to that extent. I think it's sensible that way. Kasuga P193 is the youngest daughter, and compared to her other siblings she hates studying... she's a naughty and troublesome child." While Chiaki-san was suppressing a laugh as he recalled some memories, he was sipping some warm sencha tea that I poured for him. That atmosphere, it was a bit different from the light impression that I have of Chiaki-san, he was somehow polished and elegant. "Ah... The fragrance of the grilled saury is good, right?" "Tee hee. When this saury is grilled at just the right amount of time, the skin and the fat just makes it more mouth-watering for anybody and you can't get enough of it's scent." While the saury was being grilled and the appetizing smell was wafting out, I placed the hot and piping chestnut okowa in a rice bowl, and checked out the taste of the reddish miso soup I was using. In a small bowl, I added vinegared miso with squid and scallion. I placed all of these in a four-legged tray, and when the saury was about to be grilled enough I grated daikon over a long and narrow plate, and beside this I placed the grilled fish. Wah, the fat is dripping, and the skin has been grilled to become crunchy, this saury is both delicious and really smells great. It's filled with all the tastes of autumn, and I served this like it was made at home. "Alright! This is Yugao's 'Nothing but Autumn' set meal. These directly echoes the tastes of a hungry stomach during autumn. Ah, kabosu, kabosu!** I'll cut half of a kabosu and if you squeeze that all over, the citrusy fragrance makes it even more appetizing." I sliced a kabosu in half and plopped it beside the saury. "Ahaha. How you smiled, that meant that it's really delicious." Chiaki-san put his hands together and said "let's eat", and as expected took a mouthful of the chestnut okowa. T/N: kabosu=香母酢=some type of citrus fruit, well to be honest anything citrusy goes well with fried or grilled fish, or just fish in general. gwah P194 Rounded and scattered, there's so much of the lovely yellow chestnuts. The steamed sticky rice I used for the okowa, it mildly envelops the chestnuts with sweetness, tenderly and endearingly, it was enjoyably warm and fluffly, and the springy texture have its finishing touches. "These rounded chestnuts, they're surely delicious. Chestnuts in plain rice** is good,  and so is chestnut okowa." "Try eating that with the saury. It's also the best." That being said, Chiaki-san squeezed the kabosu juice over the saury's crunchy skin, and with the chopsticks neatly scattered this to soften the meat, and picked up the jiggly flesh. He ate it as it was, and closed his eyes as he chewed on it. "Oh.. This is good, this is good. This IS autumn. There is so much of this saury's fatty umami, even more so when it was salted and grilled and the skin got crunchy. The refreshing kabosu and the grated daikon over it, no other fish suits this the best. Also, the reddish miso soup really goes well with with everything, it worked the best." This time he tried the saury with the chestnut okowa. Occasionally letting out a sigh of relief and closing his eyes as he eats, it was charming and adorable. Kasuga was also like that, a Tanuki with a distinct gentle air about them, and I love how she's like that. "Kasuga said that when she's eating Aoi-san's delicious food, she goes to work cheerfully everyday." "Kasuga?" T/N: OK, so to make it a bit clearer since not all rice are equal, some rice when boiled or steamed have a texture that makes the grains scattered, and then there are some rice varieties that become sticky/glutinous when cooked, like your usual sushi rice, and then there are some super-mushy ones that need a lot of water-regulating skills to prevent it from becoming rice porridge. The okowa is somewhere in between the excessive watery stuff and the sushi rice consistency. P195 "Yes, she does. That girl, she seemed to have loved working in Tenjin-ya. Way back, she hated working in here." "...is that so? But that's curious. Kasuga's an Ojou-sama, isn't she? Why was she working as a waitress in Tenjin-ya?" "Uhm, that..." Chiaki-san's gaze lowered for a bit, and asked me "How much do you know of... the person Kasuga is engaged to?" I took out the newspaper that Juujirou-ojisan left behind sometime ago, and placed it in front of Chiaki-san. "This child on the photo, I heard that he was the next Hachiyo of the Northern Lands. Isn't he the one that Kasuga previously said that she'll get married to?" "Yes, that's correct. It's Kiyo-sama...He's grown to be very handsome." Chiaki-san looked at the youth on the newspaper, and somehow he seemed calm, he smiled as he drew his eyebrows together. "You know of him?" "Of course. When that child was quite young, he used to stay in the Land of Bunmon a lot. He was sickly, and he gets medical treatment in our University Hospital..." Starting to eat a bit again, Chiaki-san went "Shall I tell you a story from long ago?" and started to talk once again. "The Northern Land's new Hachiyo, Kiyo-sama spent so much time with Kasuga when they were children. Kasuga hated studying, and always hid in the hospital and the library and caused troubles to the adults.” P196 "Kasuga right now is a real hard-worker, I couldn't imagine she was like that. But then again, that was probably because she was still young." "That girl's pranks, as a kid she made those very ingenious and cunning. During that time,  it was hard for me to even handle Kasuga at all." "Tee hee hee" Imagining Chiaki-san following around Kasuga in that situation, somehow I could only smile at that. "During that time when Kasuga has been fleeing a lot and entered a hospital's private room, she met Kiyo-sama. Kasuga and Kiyo-sama were almost the same ages, and they immediately got on good terms. Kiyo-sama read a lot of books, and Kasuga became influenced to read books, as well as growing a bit in working hard in studying. Kiyo-sama was especially interested in the culture and history of Utsushiyo, and those were the topics and books that those two talked about and read about, they had so much fun imagining things." Chiaki-san's expression gradually changed. He was just talking about Kasuga's childhood, but he was smiling a lot as he seemed to remember the past while I was listening, I wonder if there's nothing else other than that. "Kasuga started to have growing feelings for Kiyo-sama. But Kiyo-sama seemed to imagine that he wasn't going to live long, as his body was prone to sickness. Then one day, Kasuga and Kiyo-sama broke out of the hospital room, and the two of them decided to go to Utsushiyo together." P197 "Wahhh? Is that even possible?" "Because it is necessary to go to Utsushiyo, a Hachiyo is issued a travelling pass. Kasuga used her cunning skills to steal the travelling pass from my mother, the Institutional Director. It was preposterous, that wicked brat. But Kasuga, it was because she really wanted to take Kiyo-sama to Utsushiyo so badly..." What I heard happened after those events, was that Kasuga and Kiyo-sama wandered in Utsushiyo together, and after about three days they were discovered by the Bunmon Tanuki who went out on a manhunt, and they were taken to be returned. Because Kiyo-sama has a frail body, his condition deteriorated and took the turn for the worse. Kasuga received severe reprimands, and she was forbidden to meet him again. After that, Kasuga was punished by her Institutional Director grandma to work in Tenjin-ya, so that she would learn the harshness of the outside world. Work really, really hard. That was why everybody always asked Kasuga to do a lot of errands here and there, she was told off to do things for others a lot... But nobody knew that Kasuga was in that circumstance. When everybody learned that Kasuga was an Ojou-sama, it was impossible not to get shocked. It seemed that none of the management staff in Tenjin-ya knew Kasuga's personal history. "However, when Kasuga started to work a lot in Tenjin-ya, it became obvious that she has become changed. Her movements P198 have grown to be more responsible, when total strangers scold her as she was earning hard for her money by working, it was because she hasn't had much experiences. It was altogether different when she met O-ryo-san. She raised Kasuga with eagerness and zeal, the Kasuga who doesn't know anything. This was because it was before O-ryo-san became the Wakaokami." "Really now. So that is why, until now 'O-ryo-sama' is still how Kasuga calls O-ryo." "Yes, that's right. Well, since O-ryo-san is always acting with so much insolence, being with her eventually turned Kasuga into a grown-up." "Well, that's for sure..." O-ryo may have raised Kasuga, in a way O-ryo's bad example probably made Kasuga grow... I could remember when I first came to Kakuriyo. When she got demoted from being the Wakaokami, when O-ryo got a fever, Kasuga brought her here. That time it was somehow unimaginable, but Kasuga, even though she has her own issues to deal with didn't forsake O-ryo. "Kasuga was here, due to the things that she did during her childhood. After that, even though Kasuga can't see Kiyo-sama again... it can be said that it was their fate, wasn't it? When Kiyo-sama became the North's Hachiyo, Kasuga decided to get married to him. Even though they were separated once, this time because they were pushed to a marriage against their own will, it can be said that they have grown into mature beings. Although they may be childhood friends, aren't they having such a complicated idea?" P199 "..." Kasuga, with what she meant with her expressions and her words, I could only realize what her explanations were. She may be smiling because she was going to get married to her first love, but to that end there were still some unfinished issues not taken care of. I was worried. Because Kasuga is my friend. When I came here, I prayed for everybody in Tenjin-ya happiness, likewise I allowed to myself to go through anybody's sadness that they hold, and I couldn't imagine that in my dreams. "Kasuga, she's surely leaving, isn't she?" "Yes, that's right. I daresay that the engagement talks, it's going to progress from now. Aside from that, the Northern Land is not in the road towards stability, but it seems that Kasuga is fully aware of her position. But isn't getting married troublesome? Aoi-san, when you came here, didn't you have a lot of problems?" I peeked at Chiaki-san's face, and he asked. Surely, it was also that same reason why I came here... "But.. I'm not going to get married to Odanna-sama yet!" "Ahaha. While Kasuga was talking about it, she seems to constantly retort that, right?" "Wah, don't laugh at me--" Chiaki-san kept hitting his hand faintly while laughing. Anybody who's facing their worries and affections would eventually show their true feelings, in the end. P200 "Aoi-san. Kasuga has concerned friends such as Aoi-san, who saves her. If that's the case, from here on end... If I could ask for Aoi-san's permission as the need arises, please help us. I want you to help us..." "..." "Aoi-san and Kasuga, will eventually grow to have similar positions in the future, won't they? Being a Hachiyo's wife... Behind the political stage, becoming one is a huge role to carry on one's shoulder. It's because in Kakuriyo, that is the wife of a great Youkai." With an earnest expression he was making his request, but I can't say my routine answer of "No I am not yet married to Odanna-sama". Instead... "Awww... Ish Aoi-shaan crying..?" Chibi who was playing with the acorn lying around, suddenly stopped and pointed at me. He placed his flipper on my hand. "It's, it's not like that! The ashes from the charcoal grill got into my eye!"** "Eh?! Aoi-san... I'm so sorry, I was being weird..." "No, it's not that..." But why do the tears keep on coming... My eyes hurt from the stinging pain, I thought that it was because of the ashes that flew out of the charcoal grill, but at the same time T/N: Yeah right, sure Aoi, keep telling yourself that bwahahaha we all know what's happening here **Lenny face** P201 I was attacked by the merciless thoughts that words cannot describe. Kasuga may have already braced herself with her decision, but I barely have any awareness, that in Kakuriyo I allowed myself to be dragged here to Kakuriyo selfishly. Kasuga is going to leave Tenjin-ya with a smile, I wonder if I can have that... When she's going to be the Northern Land's Hachiyo's wife, meanwhile me here, I don't know... "Ah, uhm, Aoi-san please stop crying..." "Aoi-shaan. Aoi-shaan if you keep crying you'll get uglyyy--" "What the, I already told you I wasn't crying!" Chiaki-san was all consoling-mode, and while at it Chibi was consoling while saying so many things. It's perplexing, it makes no sense that I was crying and sobbing. Chiaki-san was explicitly, one way or another saying a lot himself, and was in a panic. He stooped down and as he pulled out his hand towel, he was saying "I'm sorry, are you alright? I'm so sorry.." In the corner of my mind, as I was wiping my eyes I thought about what O-ryo said before, that this amiable, good-natured young man takes others into consideration so much, no wonder he's absolutely popular. But a while ago, he was wiping off Chibi's drool... "Aoi-san, thank you for your hard work..." Ginji-san unfortunately saw that scenario, just as he came to Yugao. P202 "..." While Ginji-san was still wearing his smile, he quickly went over to Chiaki-san. "Hey Chiaki. What is this? Why did you make Aoi-san cry?" It was scary, Ginji-san grabbed Chiaki-san's collar by the neck, and a shadow fell across his eyes. "The mild-mannered Wakadanna-sama got so scary!" said Chiaki-san as he went pale, and in that moment he turned into a cute, brown Tanuki. Turning into a surprised and scared Tanuki, he's definitely like Kasuga right there. Thankfully, my tears had stopped flowing. "I'm alright, Ginji-san. It's just because some of the ashes went into my eyes. Chiaki-san was just worried for me." "Is.. is that so? I'm sorry, everybody. I may have misunderstood a bit..." Somehow due to that misunderstanding, for some reason Ginji-san's cheeks twinged, and his ears drooped. "Oh! The ginko nuts!" "Ah!" In that moment, Chiaki-san and I remembered what we were supposed to be doing. While I was serving Chiaki-san food, it went over our heads and we forgot about it. "Oh, could that be for Odanna-sama and everyone else, in the back of the mountain? I was about to go there too. P203 I wanted to bring sake and a large towel, and I dispatched an Ogre-fire so fast." "Sake and towel...?" "Because it's rare, let's bring the charcoal grill, and let's all go to the mountain behind Tenjin-ya, together. We'll roast the ginko nuts in there, we're going to have an elegant feast. It's surely going to be a really good appetizer** for moon-viewing sake." "Wah, that's wonderful!" Ginji-san's plan made me feel ecstatic. Just a while ago I was sobbing because of that, but now it's because we're going to cook.

There is a mountain behind Tenjin-ya, and it's a facility where hotspring-boiled eggs are made, has an open-air hotspring, a foot bath, a famous summer place where rice can be cooked in open air, among others, it was a facility with a lot of various uses and has complete furnishings. Odanna-sama was with Tenjin-ya's founding members Byakuya-san and Dr. Saraku, I wonder what were they discussing about... "Hey, this is different from the usual path..." Normally we would be walking through the path in the bamboo grove, but this time we climbed up. I thought that the pipe cats would come out squirming as we passed through the bamboo grove, but this time we turned through a narrow path in front of us, it was lined up with old Jizou statues** and hanging lanterns, and we walked on a small, unpaved path. T/N: Yeah I know it sounds absurd but if you've tried drinking liquor while eating nuts or even some salty junk food, it actually tastes good together. Broke college days cheap beer and cheap junk food lol Jizou=地蔵=patrons of children, you probably saw at least one when you watched J-dramas or anime, the people usually put on scarves and/or hats on them whenever it snows. P204 "This time the bamboo grove is not passable. Other than Tenjin-ya's facilities, since long ago it has been called the secret base of Tenjin-ya's management staff." "Really, a secret base?" "Be that as it may, I didn't say that others are forbidden to enter it. It gives off the feel of children's secret base, that's why it was called as such." If that's the case. my expectations have increased. It has tickled my childish mind. "This season's surely great. Don't you think so, Ginji-san?" "Yes... I thought that Aoi-san would like too. Saying that somehow... You're twinkling." "Twinkling?" While Chiaki-san and Ginji-san were talking, as we left the little road lined up with Jizou statues, there was... "Wahhhh! Amazing! It's pampas grass!" It was a wide field where the pale silver ears of the pampas grass were swaying. Under the clear, night sky where the the moon floats up above, it mystically rules this place and its scenery. Occasionally I've seen the pampas grass growing in the inner garden, but in this wide field there was pampas grass everywhere I looked, like autumn has begun. The ears of the pampas grass in Kakuriyo were specially fluffy, it seems to be enveloped by the fleeting light. Not only does the light dance in the sky but there was also a light breeze, and with the floating full moon above, the light seems P205 to soak it all up... it was an emotionally-moving spectacle. "The children in Kakuriyo play in the pampas grass fields and turn them into their secret bases, you know. Even back in my hometown I used to do that a lot." "Odanna-sama and everyone else, I think that they're in an old shrine after that pampas grass field. There is a hotspring over there that gushes forth with high levels of pure spiritual energies, and since long ago there were facilities that were used to boil things like hell..." We followed Ginji-san who lead the way, and from somewhere we heard the sounds of laughter. That laughing voice, it seems to be from the Thousand-Year Mole** Ayakashi, Dr. Saraku. We left the soft pampas grass field, and there was billowy steam popping out... Is that a hotspring? "..." Somewhat wearing nothing, soaking in that natural hotspring, were the three senior management staff members. Suddenly without warning, with that scene that leaves out the imagination, I got utterly speechless. "Ahhh.. for sure, the moon and the hotspring and the sake, this is the best! I haven't gone above ground after so long... Full moon banzai!" What the, a sake bottle jutted out of a rock, and soaking in the hot spring while holding the small sake drinking bowl, was Dr. Saraku. "Good grief. You've gotten so drunk Saraku. Drinking sake while on a bathtub is bad for the health. You keep saying that you're always hiding and cooping up underground, well now you only want to go above ground whenever you want." Then someone's face appeared to be extremely cautious, with the towel wrapped around his head in the style of someone who's already finished T/N: yeah this mole is a hoax, it's just an old badger with skinny legs lol link to that is here P206 soaking in the hotspring, it was Byakuya-san. "Come now, Byakuya. It has been a long while since we've opened up together like this.** Let's just talk about the really important stuff. Alrighty, let's toast to tonight's full moo---- what the, AOI!!!!!" Odanna-sama wasn't even thoroughly finished when he realized that I was standing out near the edges of the pampas grass field, and he madly dashed back to the hotspring with a splash. Incidentally, Dr. Saraku screamed in a hoarse voice "Gyaaaaaaah" while Byakuya-san quietly and furiously looked at me with his eyes as if saying "It's shameless to peep". "No, no, it's not like I went here on purpose! I was just coming out of the lovely fields of pampas grass here in the mountain, and I didn't realize that I was entering the men's bath!" "Ah, Aoi... Could it be that you.. Wanted to take a bath with me too?" "And how can that happen, how can that even happen, Odanna-sama?" Odanna-sama in his sluggishness did all that he can to make an admirable retort. "Oh, uhm... excuse me but, please use this fresh towels that I have!" In the most critical moment, Ginji-san drew them in to leave the hotspring and wear the towels. "It was because I was in the pampas grass field too." I wasn't really embarassed or blushing like a girlfriend, so I just stayed on the opposite side of the men. "Y-you unfortunately saw a bunch of indecent men, Aoi-san--" T/N: OK fam this part is actually nsfw-ish, as they were all naked together in an open-air hotspring, Odanna-sama's line in the original text was "it's been a while since we've all been naked together" but that just sounds so nsfw so I made a euphemism of some sort. I may be a potty mouth but I also have limits, of infinity lol also srsly I just tried my best to make the following scenes clean, srsly the original japanese text has so many uhm...word play that I deem nsfw srsly I did not expect this, jfc P207 With a forced smile, Chiaki-san followed us here. It was awesome that Chiaki-san somehow said that the bosses being naked was indecent. "It's fine. I have been used to washing Grandpa's back thoroughly." "...what" "Why that speechless expressio....n?" Behind the startled Chiaki-san, I discovered what seems to be an inconspicuous square gazebo. "What's that over there?" We went closer to where it was. There was something that looks like a cauldron, and from its rounded wooden lid steam was coming out. I wonder what they're boiling in there... "Ah, that's is Hell's Cauldron. In here, it's almost never used..." "He-- Hell's Cauldron?" “That cauldron is used to steam ingredients using the hot vapors from the hotsprings. Since the hotsprings also have hot vapors, when these are used to steam food, why, passing them through open fires make them even more delicious. Other than that, here is another thing I can say. When steam that comes out from Tenjin-ya's basements are used to steam ingredients, the steam's composition seems to make them less prone to spoilage." "Really... Isn't that interesting?" Finally, when Ginji-san said that "Alright Aoi-san, it's OK now", I went in front of everybody. P208 A while ago I could only side-glance and go past the three men who were soaking in the open-air hotsprings, but now I followed them for a bit in climbing a small shrine. "Well, Aoi, it's nice that you came." And as if it was nothing, I found Odanna-sama who was sitting in his usual overly-magnanimous pose. There also was Dr. Saraku who was wearing his round, black spectacles  while smiling so brightly as he was holding a bottle of sake, and Byakuya-san who was tapping his fan to the corners of his mouth. But these three management staff members, even though they were comfily wearing large towels after taking a dip in the hotspring, they seemed to be delving into heavy matters. "What were you doing in such a place as this? Did the three of you came to bathe in the hotsprings?" "N-no. In the beginning we were talking about the matter concerning Kasuga. When we eventually thought of going into the hotsprings... Dr. Saraku here, in his drunkeness started pushing Byakuya powerfully into the hotsprings, it was a messy situation." "Byakuya-san wanted to get pushed into the hotsprings" At that point in time I have stopped trembling, and after Byakuya-san cleared his throat, Odanna-sama changed the topic of the conversation. "Kasuga's resignation this month from Tenjin-ya was caused by a lot of issues. That is the path that Kasuga personally chose. As for Tenjin-ya, as Kasuga's marriage is very fortunate, we can't just only give her support from the sides." "..." "...have you gotten lonely, Aoi?" P209 Odanna-sama read my changed expression, and pulling the corners of my eyes together, I smiled. I nodded deeply as I showed my true emotions. "However, there's this sole problem of Hachiyos that hasn't gone away. As Ougondouji-sama predicted, the faction of the Minister of the Left has been calling out the abolition of the Centralized Authoritarian Rulership along with the Hachiyo's Ruling System, hasn't it gotten a lot quieter, Byakuya?" "Hmph. Ougondouji-sama is backed up by the Minister of the Right, but Raijuu is backed up by the Minister of the Left. That guy's evolution doesn't appear to be good, but somehow he's probably making his flashy moves..." Raijuu, isn't it? Odanna-sama and Byakuya-san, they were talking about the movement of Kasuga's marriage, along with the politics of Kakuriyo, and I have no idea what they're talking about right there but... Raijuu making his moves, those words, I couldn't help but not hold on to that without worrying. As the charcoal grill was roasting and toasting the ginko nuts and other tastes of autumn at the shrine's entryway, I remembered the first time that I received Raijuu's maltreatment, and got anguished. "Are you alright, Aoi-san? Is the smoke getting over there?" "Hm? Oh, no.. That's not it, really. The ginko nuts look delicious, don't they?" Ginji-san was fanning the smoke outwards with all his might. Crackle, crackle, the husks of the ginko nuts splitting open were echoing all around. Ah, I could see that these have gotten transluscent, the ginko nut's lovely green color has appeared. When the ginko nuts were gathered they stank, but when they're cooked and ready to eat they seem so appetizing. Those differences were very fascinating. P210 Polishing them brightly, it's not an exaggeration to say that they're the jewels of autumn. Wahh, I wanna eat some... "Kasuga... She works cleverly and is a hardworking person, it's within her core. It's really unfortunate and regretable to lose her as our waitress. It also seems that as a granddaughter leaving by herself, it's so lonely..." Says Odanna-sama. He said it entirely as if he's Kasuga's grandpa. While Odanna-sama was restraining himself from the back, Kasuga's foster-dad Chiaki-san just started crying and sobbing at Odanna-sama's words. Odanna-sama just started patting Chiaki-san's knees, it mysteriously consoled him. "Hey, you know what, Kasuga Ojou-chan always runs so many errands for the basement team, I always give her the unsold manjuu to take home." Oh, so that's why Kasuga always brings in a lot of Tenjin-ya's unsold manjuu, those were given to her by Dr. Saraku. "But from now on, Kasuga's position has changed. Tenjin-ya will be protecting her from behind, and we'll make a lot of souvenirs and other things for her to bring when we send her off. Let's not talk about bad things, Tenjin-ya has its members marrying a Hachiyo one after another.” Byakuya-san opened his fan and while fanning his face, from the corners of his mouth he was somewhat stiffling a laugh. I wonder what souvenirs could those be... "Ah, that's right, Yomego-chan**! Speaking of souvenirs, our souvenirs, OUR souvenirs! Before, Tenjin-ya inquired about the hotspring manjuu, how are those coming along?" T/N: Yomego-chan=嫁御ちゃん=Dr. Saraku calls Aoi as Daughter-in-Law-chan. I've done enough speed runs to know why, so I'll just leave it like this. Don't worry fam, it's cute once that goes up, idk when though T_T dang it, my Nihongo learning skills couldn't keep up T_T P211 "Come again?" While talking about it, Dr. Saraku remembered the matter about the souvenirs, and he abruptly changed it. Everyone stared at me. "Ah, uhm... We're in the middle of our test trials, Dr. Saraku. It will get finished by the time we hold the Autumn Festival." "We don't want an expensive souvenir Aoi-kun." "Well now, Byakuya-san. My basic menu costs minimally. But one more step isn't enough... The usual manjuu as a newly-released product doesn't have enough impact, we have to change it into a striking product so people won't lose interest in it. When the Autumn Festival starts, we'll have it ready." While in the middle of talking about the souvenirs, I instantly had an idea. That's it. The new souvenir from Tenjin-ya...I should also consult Kasuga about it. Kasuga has eaten a lot of Tenjin-ya's manjuu, it seems that she'll have a lot of opinions on what kinds of suitable manjuu can Tenjin-ya make. More than anything, I want Kasuga to taste the new manjuu we'll make before she leaves. It's settled then. I immediately brought a bowl of roasted ginko nuts to Odanna-sama, and he oh-ed when he took one kernel, peeled it of its charred color, and ate the green seed. "Mmmm, this ginko nut tastes good" "It's because it was roasted on a charcoal grill. Roasting the seeds with their husks keeps in the fragrance, and the bitter after taste of the crumbly seeds get more tolerable, which are P212 uniquely the ginko nut's trait. Would you want to try adding coarse salt?" This is too easy to be called cooking, the flavors of autumn, enjoying these as they are, it's the best. Particularly the ginko nuts, just serving them with a bit of salt is exquisite. "Everyone, there's also grilled matsutake mushrooms, and some dried mackerel too. Please have these with the sake." Ginji-san grilled all of these on the charcoal grill, served them in a large platter, and placed them in the center where the management staff were seated. Seeing the flavors of autumn arranged together, my mouth started watering again. "Please take a seat too, Wakadanna-dono" Byakuya-san offered Ginji-san some sake. He only has been waiting to be called for and his expression became so bright, he brought his sake cup and entered the circle of drinkers. It seemed that he somehow, wanted to drink some sake. "Aoi, you come here too. I'm sorry that you have to work here even after Yugao's business hours." "Hm?" "...even your hand, it's full of cracks. She may be of a marriagable age, yet we're helped by such a hard-worker." Matching his concerned words, Odanna-sama faced me, and casually took my hands. Just a while ago the conversations were flowing, and that reminds me... After that Orchard Park date, after a long while we faced each other upfront, for one reason or another I felt embarassed. I flagrantly moved away my face, and the hand he was holding, I pulled it away. "Th-that is, because I work in a Japanese restaurant. Lately it has gotten cold, and my hands have gotten all worn out. P213 But today there weren't many customers, I thought that I needed my body to move some more." "Ahaha, Aoi is definitely a hard-worker, right?" Odanna-sama has always been extremely understanding.** I only realized, it seems that he's only weird with me. "Oh, right. Would you like to drink some of the sweet sake that I got hold of? It has no additives, and no alcohol." "What's that? I wanna drink that." Just a while ago I was all aloof and cold, now I just heard the phrase "There's sweet sake" and my bearing changed 180 degrees. Chiaki-san seemed to have realized my interest, and from the shrine's altar where a lot of the bottles were arranged, he took one and brought it for me. The package gives off a vibe of it being undeniably a high-class product, and my excitement was at its peak. Using the sake cup from the grilled foods plate, Odanna-sama triumphantly poured the sweet sake for me. The sweet sake's particularl trait, I peeked on it and its color is a bit like undisturbed milk, and on the clear top layer some malted rice were floating on it, I saw these as they were shining. "Tenjin-ya has always been in the care of OROCHI's work - The Ebitsu Liquor Products. They made these using only the newly-harvested rice for this year, this product isn’t released in stores to be sold." While Odanna-sama was talking about the product, I took a sip. Ah... Somehow the flavor gave me a sigh of relief. It wasn't too sweet, there wasn't any odor, this sweet sake is easy to drink. There were some grainy lumps left behind, T/N: this phrase is vague-ish, the transliterated version means that he's always glugging the liquor heartily but again, gah this chapter is just full of word plays, really P214 It was really delicious, the sweet sake is like home-brewed and hand-made. I like this grainy stuff too. I could understand why it's really enjoyable, it was hand-made and isn't sold to the public. "This is amazing... I always had the impression that sweet sake has a stench, but this one changed my mind." "It's not altogether a waste using this product, the sweetness of the malted rice helps the flavor to stick to it. That is probably why despite that there aren't so many people who like the sweet sake's unique odor, I like this sweet and mild taste, and every year, when the time comes they make this sweet sake, with a personalized note. I heard that it's also good for your body." "Really now.. Odanna-sama likes this sweet sake. And yet you hate the sweet pumpkin?" "Oh, aren’t the sweet sake and the pumpkin entirely different? A pumpkin is hollow, when it's boiled it gets stuck in the throat. It's soft and sticky, and that is why I find it difficult to eat it." Odanna-sama said those things while sourly turning his eyes away to the side. "That's why I thought somehow, that you were sneakily placing those in my bowl, Odanna-sama" "Byakuya! Don't reveal something that nasty to Aoi!" Odanna-sama was pnaicking and wailing a lot, but I have previously heard that from Ginji-san... On the other hand, Ginji-san has sunk into a drunken stupor. While Byakuya-san poured some sake for him, Ginji-san's nine tails would incidentally move a lot, and he has been extremely exhausted from drinking. It was like eating wanko soba.** "I also want to drink some sweet sake" "Ah, well then I shall pour for you" T/N: wanko soba=わんこそば= this has always weirded me out, it's like they put a bite-size portion in a tiny bowl and they'll keep giving this to you until you get full, like an endless stream of soba/buckwheat noodles. Personally just give the whole thing to me and I'll eat it lol P215 This time, I poured Odanna-sama some of the sweet sake. Looking at that scene with a laidback yet careful attitude, Dr. Saraku suggestively went "Hey, heeeey" while his face broke into a grin. "Yomego-chan pouring sake like that for Odanna-sama, somehow you look like a real husband and wife. After Kasuga Ojou-chan, it's also a good idea to write your marriage registration here too." "What?" "Hmmm... You have a point there. Following Kasuga's lead, pretty soon Aoi-kun will brace herself too." Even Byakuya-san. I could feel that the two higher management members have severely put me under so much pressure, I'm just thoroughly shrivelled. Well, isn't this vibe like what happens all over the country, when a girl reaches a marriagable age the parents just pushes her to get married? "Hey now, both of you stop that. I don't want to force Aoi against her will." "What's that?" "Until Aoi likely decides to have me for her husband, I'll... be waiting forever." "..." What the, this Odanna-sama is being meek. While sipping the sweet sake bit by bit, his face is just full of dejection. Even though before, he said that he had no intention of waiting forever... P216 I can't understand what Odanna-sama's intentions were, but if it's useless to push him, should I pull back? Might it be that, Odanna-sama already, vehemently, doesn't want to marry me anymore? I felt emotionally-struck a thousand times, I don't understand why there is this puzzling feeling of impending fears. Lately I have been... such an emotional wreck.

End of Chapter 6, Volume 6. Previous - Chapter 5    Next - Chapter 7

References:

Wonderful site for the youkai references

Other stuff I used to do this: Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (you can buy here, I’m not sponsored btw). I was about to buy the older edition but then the newer one came out 2013 so I bought that instead. Worth buying since I was able to find nearly all of the words I needed just by stroke pattern alone.

Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary (the red-covered 1996 version is apparently out of print right now). This is what I have been using for a very long time, I bought it when I was still a fetus (yes I am old so what lol), and after so many years, when compared to newer editions, I still prefer this one since its entirety is Japanese-English, the English to Japanese gloss are just 16 pages tops, so you get more Japanese words for your buck. But that’s just my opinion, maybe other people prefer the Jap-En x En-Jap IDEK.

Basic online dictionary, Jisho. Knowledge of verb conjugations  and other words are necessary since not all have entries.

If you can read Japanese, you can buy the whole set in Amazon Japan, they’re shipping worldwide now, I think.

[theoowadabrothers]

Oooh man i’m happy you’re active, tumblr mobile doesn’t show us that anymore for some reason. ANYWAY!! Love your stuff and I wanted to request a matchmaker!reader who’s never found love themselves, and probably isnt conventionally attractive and doesn’t believe anyone would ever like them, so they get other people together instead, hence the ultimate talent lol. Maybe Gundham has a big ol’ crush on them but being awkward himself, struggles to tell them until one of his friends gives them a push!

AN: Sorry for the wait! But I hope you enjoy!

Gundham x Reader - First Love

Your Pov

You were the Ultimate Matchmaker. That being said you would think you would have a boyfriend by now, right? Wrong.

You had never once had a boyfriend. It wasn't like you didn't want one, you just didn't think anyone would want to date you. Plus, that wasn't what your Talent was all about. Your purpose was to help others find love, not yourself.

So far you had set up a few relationships at Hopes Peak and none of them have broken up yet. Sonia and Kazuichi, Hajime and Chiaki, Fuyuhiko and Peko were all happy couples.

You were in an empty classroom daydreaming about your love life. There was this one boy in your class that you had a crush on. He was tall and had the most unique way of talking. Every now and then you would think about trying to matchmake yourself with him. But then you realized he probably wouldn't want you. You never thought of yourself as pretty or gorgeous. There was no reason for him to want to be with you.

You were pulled for your thoughts when you felt something pulling your pant leg. You looked down and saw a little hamster looking up at you. He was a bit chubby, but still cute.

You reached down and picked him up. "Hey little guy. Are you looking for Gundham?" Gundham was known for carrying hamsters on him, so you had no doubt it was his.

The golden hamster squeaked at you and and rolled over. He had a bit of trouble getting back up so you had to help him. You giggled and starting petting his tiny head.

Someone's loud yelling broke you and the fat hamsters peaceful silence. "CHAM-P! CHAM-P! WHERE ARE YOU CHAM-P!"

You looked up to see Gundham on his hands and knees trying to find the little creature. His head was currently under the the teachers desk. Your attention was so focused on Cham-P you didn't even notice him walk in.

You held in a tiny laugh. It was cute how much he cared about his animals. "Gundham," you said quietly.

His head shot up at the sound of you saying his voice. His head hit the roof of the table and he groaned in pain.

"I'm sorry Gundham! I didn't mean to scare you!"

The boy careful got up onto his two feet. "It is ok Y/N. Do not fear. I am not hurt."

You sighed in relief. You were so nervous that you ruined everything. Gundham began walking towards you rubbing his head. He told you he was fine, but you knew that must have hurt.

"May I sit down next to you," the breeder asked.

"O-of course!" You scooted over and made room for Gundham. He sat down next to you and began looking around the room.

"Y/N. Have you by any chance seen Cham-P? He is the golden hamster I always have with me."

You were about to answer when Cham-P did it for you. You had forgotten he was in your hands. You looked down at the tiny golden animal and smiled.

You held out your hands towards Gundham. "He's right here. He found me and I just started playing with him. I'm sorry if I made you worry."

Gundham began blushing and quickly covered it up with his scarf. "I was concerned about the whereabouts of Cham-P, but I am happy to know he was in good hands. Thank you for watching over him."

You gave him a huge smile. "No problem." The breeder picked up his hamster and placed him on his shoulder. You stared into his heterochromia eyes. He was so handsome.

Gundham cleared his throat and quickly stood up. "I must go now Y/N. It was nice seeing you."

Before you could respond he bolted out of the room. Your smile disappeared and you felt disappointed. You were beginning to think he might like you, turns out he just wanted his hamster back.

Gundham's Pov

I quickly ran out of the classroom and left Y/N behind. I felt horrible about it, but I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of my crush.

My face was still pink from my interaction with Y/N. She was so gorgeous and I wanted her to be my girlfriend, but I had no idea how to approach the situation.

There was only one person who could help me right now. And that was no other than my best friend, Sonia Nevermind.

I knocked on her door and waited for her to answer. She opened the door quickly.

"Gundham, it is nice to see you."

"It is nice to see you too, Sonia. I need help with something and I fear you are the only one who can help me."

The princess gasped. "If it is my help you need, then I shall do the best I can to provide help! Please come in!"

I walked into her room and took a seat on her bed. Sonia sat next to me and patiently waited for me to explain the problem.

"It is Y/N. It seems as though I have feelings for her. I have no idea what to do with these new emotions." I buried my hands into my head.

The blonde hummed in understanding. "If you love her, then you must tell her how you feel! I'm sure she will feel the same way. There is no need to be scared!"

I lifted my head up. "Do you really think so?"

She nodded her head. "I know so."

Your Pov

Your head hung low as you kicked the rocks on the ground. You were standing outside of Hopes Peak. You just wanted to find love, was that too much to ask?

You sat down next to your favorite tree and began playing with the grass on the ground.

Out of the corner of your eye you saw a flower fall from the sky and land next to your foot. It was purple and full of life. You picked it up and twirled it around in your hand.

"Ok, let's see if Gundham loves me," you said to yourself. "He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not." You sighed and threw the petal-less flower. "Guess he doesn't love me than."

"I beg to differ." You whipped your head around to see Gundham standing over you.

You quickly stood up and your face turned red. "G-Gundham, y-you didn't hear all that did you?"

He crossed his arms. "My apologizes Y/N, but I heard everything."

He probably thought you were weird and hated you. There was no way you could ever be with him now. Your chances with him just went out the window.

"Gundham I'm so sorry! I- I," you paused. There was no point of trying to cover it up now. Accepting your defeat, you confessed your feelings.

"Gundham, I have a crush on you. I didn't want to tell you at first because I was scared you wouldn't like me. But I can't hide my feelings anymore."

He nodded his head. You waited for him to respond hoping the suspense would end soon. “I’m sorry to tell you this Y/N."

This was it. He was going to break your heart and say he didn't like you. You didn't blame him though. You knew this was coming.

"But I'm afraid that the flower has lied to you."

It took you a moment to understand what he said. Was he? No, there was no way.

"I love you Y/N. You are the most beautiful mortal I have ever seen. You are truly one of a kind, and I want to be with you. So, will you be my queen?"

You felt tears sting your eyes. You couldn't believe this was happening. "Gundham. I love you too. I love you so much."

You jumped into his arms and hugged him. He held you tight in his grasp and didn't want to let you go. Without much warning, he leaned down and kissed you. You happily kissed back.

After all your years of watching other people fall in love, you finally did too. And nothing felt better than this.

[igirisuhito]

Title: Afflicted Relationship(s): Kamukura Izuru/Komaeda Nagito Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito Rating: Mature Chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / ? Chapter Summary: Monokuma has a fresh new motive! Monomi has been a bit too comfortable lately, so why not let the chains go and let the biggest secret they're trying to suppress manifest within the simulation under the guise of illness? Trigger Warnings: Vomiting, Illness, Personality issues Author’s Note: This fic is an AU of sdr2 chapter 3. Rather slow to update. Can’t tell you how long it will run for but if you like to keep track, I recommend subscribing on Ao3.

[Ao3 Link]

┈┈┈┈․° ☣ °․┈┈┈┈

"Hghh-GAH!"

My body shot up involuntarily, kicking me from my sleep. My breathing was laboured and sweat dripped down my forehead, was that a nightmare? As quickly as it had come, the nightmare had completely dissolved, feeling out of reach in the depths of my mind yet leaving a bad taste in my mouth

My body was hot, unusually so. It's so hot here on tropical Jabberwock Island but I was finally starting to get used to it. This heat was more...feverish. Have I come down with something? Can I even get sick here? Surely not.

…Can viruses travel across water?

Pocketing the thought in my mind to ask Tsumiki later, I buttoned my shirt and lifted myself from the bed. My body was heavy, exhausted, like I hadn’t rested in years. Vertigo made the floor deceptively uneven beneath my feet.

Oh god. Something is wrong.

I picked up my jeans from the floor and pulled them on, stumbling slightly as I tried to balance and get my legs in the right holes. I wrapped my tie around my collar and knotted it loosely before quickly slipping my sneakers on, not even bothering to redo the laces. I really should have had a shower with how sticky with sweat my skin was, but I really had to get to breakfast.

A weird thought floated through the back of my mind, it was almost as if I was…underdressed? This is what I wear every day…?

I stepped towards the door slowly. My heart was pounding in my ears, like I'd been running a marathon. Ohhh something was definitely off.

I turned the knob and stepped outside into the daylight. Crap the sun was bright. With slow steps, I made my way from the cabins to the restaurant where everybody usually met up.

My fingers glided along the banister as I stepped up the wooden stairs. This mundane task felt so much more difficult today. Upon making it upstairs and entering through the diner’s side entrance, I was confronted by the sound of loud sobs.

I assumed it was Saionji or Tsumiki, but the sobs didn't quite match those two. They were louder, less whiny. The sight that appeared before me was Owari leaning into Tsumiki's chest, bawling her eyes out and staining the nurse's white apron. It was such an unusual scene, I found myself glancing multiple times to see if it was actually happening.

"Ah! H-hinata! I-i-is there any ch-chance you could please give- give me a hand here?" The Ultimate Nurse stuttered out, clearly distressed and overwhelmed.

I attempted to step forward to help her with Owari, but my body was frozen, stuck in place.

Huh?

"My assistance won't make any difference to her condition."

A deep, unfamiliar voice spoke. I snapped my head around the room attempting to find its owner, but there was only there was only the three of us here.

Was that…? No, surely not. I don't talk in such a pretentious way.

"H-hinata…"

I stared at her with what I assumed was panic. Tsumiki flinched and was now clinging to Owari tighter than Owari had been clinging to her.

"Hey, what the fuck is going on here?" A familiar gruff voice broke the tension.

Kuzuryuu emerged from the stairs and looked towards the two girls clinging to each other desperately. He then glanced to me, expectant of an answer.

"At first glance it would seem the stress of Nidai's loss has finally tipped Owari over the edge and into despair, but it's rather something much more sinister."

There that voice was again! I could feel my lips moving and the words coming out, but there was absolutely no thought of these words going through my mind! The Ultimate Gangster appeared shocked as well.

"Wait what the fuck is wrong with you? You sound like fucking Komaeda."

"Huh? Who sounds like me?"

As if on queue, Komaeda arrived to the scene with Nanami in tow. The girl barely looked up from her device before sitting down at a table.

"Oi, say to Komaeda what you said to me!" Kuzuryuu barked at me.

Oh god this is going downhill so fast.

"I see no reason to repeat myself." Desperately seeking her help, advice, anything, I approached the dining table and sat myself next to the gamer girl.

Nanami paused her game to look at me with a wide eyed expression. "Hinata…" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Amazing! You've finally developed a personality fit for an Ultimate such as yourself!" Komaeda clasped his hands together excitedly. "What brought this on?"

It seemed whatever had possessed me and myself both agreed to ignore the Luckster.

Soon Saionji and Mioda were entering the room, Saionji giggling nefariously behind her small little hand.

"Hey guys look! Ibuki will do whatever I tell her to today!" Saionji yelled across the dining hall enthusiastically. "Ibuki! Go jump on Tsumiki!"

The colourful girl made a salute "Right away, Hiyoko-chan!" and threw herself at the Ultimate Nurse, who was still cradling Owari. Tsumiki screamed as she hit the floor with both Owari and Mioda on top of her.

"My my what's going on?" Sonia and Tanaka emerged from the stairs with a dejected looking Souda trailing behind.

"A new motive!"

A shrill voice shrieked excitedly. Suddenly, a familiar monochromatic bear popped up at the end of the dining table. Man, way too much is happening too fast, especially when I'm feeling like this.

"Motive?" Komaeda was the first to speak up, sounding almost excited.

"That's riiiight! The motive for the next murder! I've decided to inflict some of you with a bad boy I like to call 'Despair Disease!" Monokuma grinned a toothy smile as he addressed everyone in the room.

"I'm sure you've all gotten a good idea of what's happening by now, but I'll give you a nice little rundown regardless, just so you brainless bastards can understand." Monokuma pointed a furry paw at Owari.

"Akane Owari has Coward Disease."

Then to Mioda. "Ibuki Mioda has Gullible Disease."

Then to me. "Hajime Hinata has Apathy Disease."

Huh…me?

I was one of the motives…?

The words left my mouth too quickly once again. "There's no cure then, unless a murder occurs?"

The bear nodded. "That's right my hollow friend! Unless you take advantage of your 'no strings attached' state and kill somebody, you could be stuck like this forever!"

The room got suddenly hotter, forcing me to loosen my tie a bit so I could breathe. My eyes were becoming unfocused and everything was drifting away. The only sounds I could hear were Monokuma's rambles, Owari screaming about her fear of death, and the blood rushing in my ears.

Monokuma had made us the perfect candidates for a killing.

With this thought the world began to spin, even though I was still seated.

"Hinata-san…are you okay?" Chiaki's soft voice was distant as my head became unbearably heavy and the world slipped through my fingers. The last thing I felt was my forehead hitting the wooden dining table.

-

I awoke to the sensation of my muscles being stretched. Specifically, the ones in my arms.

"...ant…d...t...an…….'s t-...eavy…."

"urel….n…..t-m-t….ike…..you -an…ft another person, Souda!"

"I can't! It's not my fault he's so-"

"Ah! Hinata-kun!"

My eyes slowly fluttered open and I groaned. My head ached and there was sweat coating my body from head to toe. I could feel the hard floor on my back, pressing my shirt to stick damply to my skin.

A mess of fluffy white hair and sunken grey eyes was leaning into my gaze. The very sight of Komaeda made me want to close my eyes again.

The two boys were stood at either end of me, Souda still holding my arms up. His face was twisted into an uncomfortable look.

"You pick up heavy machinery almost daily, Souda. You're only feigning this weakness so that you don't have to carry me, right?" I mumbled, letting out an exasperated sigh and glancing back at the pink haired male.

Souda let go of my arms with a shocked expression, allowing them to fall to my side with a thud. "W-what?! I wouldn't do something like that to my soul-friend!"

I examined his expression closely, Souda wore a nervous smile. "How boring. It's not of any issue, I can walk by myself."

I set my palms down on the floor beside me and sat up. Komaeda reached out and uttered a "Wait" when suddenly I was overcome with an aching pain in my head. A small hiss escaped my lips and I faltered.

"It's so incredibly brave of you to try to move yourself, Hinata-kun! However, Tsumiki-san said you shouldn't try to in your state.” Komaeda spoke, concern apparent in his voice. “Souda and I planned to take you to the hospital, unless you don’t want talentless scum like me carrying you!”

“I don’t. I can take care of myself.” I had another go at lifting myself off the floor. My knees stuttered for a moment, but I managed to stand. My head was still pounding, but it was so much more tolerable than allowing myself to be carried.

Komaeda’s expression morphed into one of hurt, but his eyes gleamed with a whole different emotion; intrigue. “Hinata-kun…”

“Seriously Hinata! You could hurt yourself!” Souda objected, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I swatted his hand away and began to walk towards the stairs of the hotel. “Why are you two looking at me like that? You should have expected this.”

Komaeda and Souda stayed silent as I made my slow descent down the stairs. If my hearing was a little bit worse, I probably wouldn’t have heard the “stubborn bastard” Souda eventually muttered out.

I gripped the handrail tightly once I stepped off the last step, now finding myself in the games room. Son of a bitch- my head hurts so badly. It was almost as if somebody was shoving an ice pick through my brain. My body was still glazed with sweat and my eyes bleary. Whatever Monokuma had inflicted us with, it was pretty unbearable.

I know I’ve always been a prideful person, but even in this situation I should be completely fine with leaving my health in the hands of Tsumiki. Being the Ultimate Nurse, she would definitely be able to relieve my symptoms somewhat. But the very thought of seeking help seemed anything but of interest.

What is wrong with me? I thought Monokuma said I had apathy disease, not ‘huge prick’ disease. I felt like a completely different person. The very thought made my throat dry up.

On another note, what does apathy mean again? It means like...not caring, right? So I surely couldn’t be concerned about what Tsumiki thinks of me...I don’t get it. Something just feels incredibly wrong about putting myself in her, or anyone's, hands.

Shoving those thoughts down, I decided to make my way to the third island. The sun made my fever all the more excruciating and I found myself feeling faint, but I powered on anyway.

I crossed the bridge to the centre island, then took the bridge to the third island. I've never been so incredibly grateful for that red and white building to not be on the other side of the island.

I pushed open the door of the hospital building, finding myself in a small reception room. It was painted a dull blue-green colour, and bore a large white reception desk. There was also a small assembly of chairs, forming what I presumed is a waiting area. Kuzuryuu was lounged in one of these chairs in a seemingly uncomfortable position.

The Gangster jumped up the second he saw me, as it he had been awaiting my arrival. “Dude, did you fucking walk here? Did Komaeda and Souda ditch you?!” “Yes, and no. I left them at the hotel.” I explained, making eye contact with the shorter boy.

“Why the fuck would you do that? You’re sick as a dog! You passed out at breakfast, remember?!”

“I recall.”

“Then why’d you-”

“I don’t need to explain my actions to you.”

Kuzuryuu’s face twisted in a scowl, before he sighed and dropped all emotion from his face. “Man I don’t get this shit. Just go talk to Tsumiki okay? She’s in the first room treating Owari’s fever.”

I nodded and made my way into the hallway past the desk. There were doors on the left, labelled with numbers, patient rooms. On the right were windowed rooms with various…Monokuma displays?

Something about this place made my headache even worse.

I swallowed down the feeling and opened the door to the firsr room, stepping inside and quietly closing the door behind me. The room was filled with the loud sound of Owari sobbing her heart out. At this point, her voice was beginning to break, sounding hoarse and desperate. Tsumiki whirled around to face me, a wet rag in hand.

“H-Hinata! I-I-I’m glad you’re- you’re here. If y-you’d like, um, y-you can go rest in the second room. I’ll be- um, w-with you in a sec!” She stammered out, flashing a forced smile.

“I’ll stay there, as I assume the others will see me as a contagion risk, but I don’t wish for you to treat me.” I spoke sternly.

Tsumiki looked shocked, and then tears began to drip from her eyes. “I-I-I’m s-sorry! I-I didn’t know that- that I-I was in-in-inadequate in my n-nursing!”

I left the room before I had to listen to her cry any further, it was boring to listen to somebody act to so pathetically. As I stepped back out into the hallway, a rush of dizziness and nausea overcame me. I staggered slightly and leant an arm on the nearest wall, squeezing my eyes shut tight and trying to still the room around me.

Jesus Christ I feel like crap.

Light footsteps approached in my direction. I couldn't see who it was, but the sound of metal chain clinking against itself hinted as to who the footsteps' owner might be.

Komaeda's voice sounded cheerful. “Hinata-kun! Kuzuryuu-san told me you made it here okay! Ah, you look awfully-”

“I’m going to throw up.”

“Oh, I understand. It’s only natural for you to have that reaction upon running into somebody like me.” Komaeda laughed at his own self-deprecation.

“No, Komae-” I gagged on my words and quickly pressed a hand over my mouth.

Komaeda’s eyes went wide, followed by a soft “oh”. The boy then grabbed my wrist, pulling me into the second patient’s room. The room had a small ensuite bathroom, much alike most hospitals. I didn’t bother looking around too much, instead opting to make my way into the bathroom as quickly as possible. I spied the toilet and removed the hand from my mouth, opting to lean it against the cistern and sinking to my knees.

I heaved into the toilet, tears pricking at the corner of my eyes as my throat burned and my head screamed. This feeling was utterly...despairing.

After what felt like hours, my stomach had finally begun to calm down. I wiped my mouth with a groan and laid my face on the cool tiles of the floor.

“That’s kind of unhygienic, you know.” A breathy voice spoke from the doorway.

“It doesn’t matter.” I mumbled.

I heard Komaeda’s footsteps come closer, followed by a cool hand being pressed to my forehead. A quiet sigh escaped my mouth in relief.

“You’re incredibly hot, Hinata-kun.” Komaeda paused for longer than necessary, “Hang on, I’ll go get Tsumiki.”

He removed his hand from my forehead and I groaned out in annoyance. “Nooo.”

“Huh? Why don’t you want me to go get Tsumiki.”

“I don’t want to be treated.”

“Wh- why?”

“I want to see what happens.”

Komaeda laughed a wheezy little laugh. "Hinata-kun, normally I'd agree to anything you say, but an Ultimate like yourself shouldn't force yourself to go through something like this."

“Your opinion on the matter isn’t important, Komaeda. I’m just telling you not to get Tsumiki.” I stated firmly. “Besides, knowing the people here, it won’t be long before a murder occurs and I'm free from this.”

Komaeda tilted his head, looking somewhat intrigued by my statement. He had hardly reacted to my harsh words. “Not that I disagree, but why do you think that will be the case?”

I shrugged slightly and pushed myself up from the floor, now sitting up. The room was still spinning dangerously around me. “You’re all psychotic. That’s all.”

This statement seemed to tickle Komaeda, as he laughed and drew a big grin on his face. “It’s surprising how much more honest you are at the moment. Has your new apathetic outlook made you unbothered with hurting people’s feelings?”

I sighed. “You can sit here and philosophise all you like about the despair disease and its impacts. I’m going to go get a drink to calm this migraine."

I pulled myself up, slowly rising to my feet when a shocking pain pulsed through my head again.

"Ghuh-!"

My legs went weak and Komaeda reached out, grabbing hold of my torso to keep me from crashing to the floor below.

"You probably shouldn't try to do that." He muttered, gripping my waist tightly.

"No shit. Let go." I hissed, reaching out and latching on to Komaeda's shoulders.

The boy laughed heartily, making no attempt to remove his hands. "You tell me to let go whilst using my body to prop yourself up? You're awfully strange Hinata-kun."

Komaeda moved to my side and, removing one of his arms from my waist and now placing his hand over mine. "Please put your arm around my shoulder, we should just get you to your bed."

I sighed loudly in defeat and placed my arm around Komaeda's shoulder. The boy nodded and slowly started to move forward.

"I really don't need your help for this Komaeda."

"I know. Thankyou for allowing me to assist you, even if garbage like myself isn't worthy to."

I didn't bother to entertain Komaeda with a response. Instead I leaned more of my body weight onto the boy and groaned.

"It's alright, Hinata-kun, you're doing an amazing job." Komaeda breathed in a hushed tone.

The sound of his voice so close to me made me shiver, but it provided a momentary distraction from the pain.

My knees bumped into something hard and I looked up, realising we had made it across the room. Komaeda slipped his hand out from my waist and helped me lower myself to sit on the mattress.

"God I'm so hot." I murmured.

Komaeda pressed a cool hand to my cheek, making me sigh in relief. Using his right hand, he pressed his fingers into the knot of my tie, pulling it further undone from my neck.

"You should probably change into a hospital gown, it would at least be much cooler than wearing jeans." Komaeda spoke in a low voice.

He must be trying to help my migraine by being quiet. How…considerate of him?

"I...you're right." I sighed, bringing my fingers to undo the top button of my shirt.

Komaeda backed off, removing his hand from my face quickly. "Oh, Hinata-kun! Should I leave?"

I undid the rest of my buttons and shrugged off my shirt and tie. "Do what you want."

The boy nodded quickly, his cheeks were slightly flushed. "I-I'm going to get you a gown." And with that, he dashed out of the room, shutting the door gently behind him.

Weirdo.

I undid my belt and lifted my hips from the bed, carefully wiggling myself out of my jeans. They were awfully tight on my body, probably from the sweat of the fever.

I discarded my jeans and laid back on the bed with a groan. I probably shouldn't lie down yet, but I'm so goddamn sore and tired. The bed was hard and uncomfortable, but it was so nice to be off my feet for even a moment.

The door opened again and in stepped Komaeda, holding a folded up gown in his hands. "Ah, Hinata-kun, are you okay?"

"No." I mumbled, rolling over so I was now face-down in the pillow.

"I'm sorry, can I get you anything?" Komaeda spoke softly as a weight sat on the edge of the bed, most likely him.

"Water."

"Can do." The weight disappeared once again. "I left your gown on the bed if you want to change."

"Mhm." I mustered the strength to push myself up before scanning my eyes around the room. Komaeda was gone once again, I never heard the door click when he left, how strange.

I picked up the gown from the edge of the mattress. It was incredibly lightweight, but the linen was soft. I slipped my arms into the sleeves and pulled it up onto my shoulders. I then tied it around the waist loosely and sat back down on the bed.

Komaeda returned a few moments later with a tray holding a jug of water and a cup. He set the tray down on the bedside table and began to pour a cup of water.

"Are you feeling any better, Hinata-kun?" He quizzed, not taking his eyes away from what he was doing.

"I'm less hot." I mumbled.

"That's good." The boy turned to me, holding a plastic cup of water in his outstretched hand. I took it carefully with two hands, raising it to my lips and sipping.

The cool water felt like heaven on my burning throat. I squeezed my eyes closed tight and drank the whole cup, finishing with a pleased sigh.

"Ah, you probably shouldn't drink too fast, you don't want to make yourself sick again." Komaeda smiled and took the cup from my hands.

"That would be exciting though, wouldn't it? To be desperately seeking a release from pain only for it to make things worse? Actually, no, that's so incredibly predictable…" I babbled out, somewhat dazed and sleepy now that the ache in my throat was relieved.

"Haha, you're starting to sound a bit like me. How scary." Komaeda chuckled to himself, pouring another cup of water.

I slowly lowered my body back onto the bed, resting my head against the pillow. "Mmnn...it would be most unfortunate to have a mindset as boring as yours."

Komaeda gave a sad smile and placed the plastic cup onto the tray. "I think I'll go. I need to talk to Kuzuryuu-san about what everybody else is doing. Please call for Tsumiki-san if you need anything."

"Mmm."

The last thing I heard was the sound of Komaeda muttering to himself and the click of the door behind him. Fatigue took hold and I found myself falling into a deep sleep.

[cobaltusami]

Tropical Vacation pt 8

Well, this isn't the fic I was planning to release next, but oh well-- I was feeling It.

Hey hi hello dolls! It's been a long ass time since I've updated this series, and unfortunately there aren't many tickles in this part, but there Is a ton of fluff! either the next part or the part after will be chock full of tickles! (Or both)

I hope It's alright!

Characters In this part: All of DR1 girls excluding Junko and Mukuro, All of the DR2 girls. Lee!Chihiro

Word count: 3429

All previous parts, as well as my other fics, can be found here!: Masterlist

Hina kicked at the sand absentmindedly as she gazed longingly out at the water. “Man, I really missed seeing the ocean but…” She crossed her arms and made a face. “What good Is it If I can’t swim in it!? I’m like a fish, If I don’t swim In water I’ll die!!”

Sakura smiled amusedly at her best friend. She can be so dramatic sometimes… “Hina, they said It was safe to swim In…”

“Yeah but Monokuma didn’t give me any of my swimsuits…” She mumbled dejectedly, kicking a rock into the water.

Yeah, they didn’t exactly get the chance to pack their stuff or even ask Monokuma for specific things from their rooms. Aside from the morning announcements he hasn’t even shown up-- not that anyone besides Byakuya was complaining.

“Ugh!! That’s It!” Hina ripped off her red jacket and tossed it to Sakura. “Hold my jacket, I’m going In!”

The Martial artist fumbled the piece of clothing, caught off guard by the swimmers sudden outburst. She quickly grabbed the brunette’s arm to stop her. “W-Wait! Instead of doing that… Why don’t we just go find the store and see If it carries swimsuits?” She suggested.

As usual Sakura was the voice of reason amongst the chaotic gays.

Hina paused, thinking it over. “Okay… That sounds good In theory, But what if they don’t carry them?”

“Then I’m sure they’ll carry donuts… we’ll get some to cheer you up then ask Usami if she knows where the swimsuits are.”

Aoi giggled as she took her jacket back from the tall girl and tied it around her waist. “I like the way you think!” She grinned. “Let’s go!”

“Alright, Let’s just ask Nekomaru where the store Is.”

They both looked to Neko, who had stuck around to keep an eye on Mondo.

“No need! I can show you where it is if you want.” Mahiru volunteered, suddenly behind the two.

Hina squeaked as they both quickly turned to face the Photographer.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you both.” The red head apologized with a sympathetic smile.

“Geez Mahiru!” Hina giggled, placing her hand over her still racing heart. “You got me good!”

“Are you sure? We don’t want to trouble you.”

Mahiru nodded with a smile. “I’m sure. Actually, I was coming to find you two. Apparently Usami has something to tell us girls...”

The two tensed. It’s not a motive, Is it?

“What do you think It is?” Hina asked as she started walking with Sakura and Mahiru.

“I’m honestly not sure. Normally she gathers all of us, not just the girls.” Mahiru responded.

As they crossed over the bridge to the second island, the girls of both classes came into view. Even Toko, surprisingly.

“Hey Toko!” Hina waved her hand at the writer. “Glad to see you out of your room!” she smiled as she turned to face her.

“W-Where Ha-Have you two b-b-been?!”

“We were checking out the beach.” Aoi answered. “Sorry, did we worry you?”

“D-Don’t b-be ridiculous! Why w-w-would I worry a-about you m-m-meatheads?!” she blushed.

Hina smiled and wrapped her arms around the awkward girl’s shoulders in a hug. “Aww, You WERE worried about us!”

“S-Shut up!” Toko blushed even more, batting the brunette away.

Soon enough, Usami appeared out of nowhere. Much like they were used to Monokuma doing. “Love love! Hello everyone!” She greeted the group cheerfully. “I hope you are all getting along okay!”

“We’re doing fine, Usami.” Chiaki smiled, patting Chihiro on the shoulder. She had brought them along and wanted to include them In on whatever Usami had planned.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Usami replied. “As some of you may know, I no longer have my magic stick…”

“Magic stick?” Sakura repeated quietly, confused.

“It’s a long story.” Mahiru whispered back.

“But It appears that Monokuma must have one of his own. Because there’s some new buildings on this island!” Usami explained, surprised. “One of such buildings, Is a women’s clothing boutique. Which is why I asked you all here.”

Sonia’s face brightened. “Really?? Wow! That Is wonderful!”

“I thought I should tell you all first before I told the boys.” Usami giggled. “I thought It might be a nice chance to bond with the other class’s girls.”

“And enby.” Chiaki and Mahiru both said at the same time. Chihiro smiled at the two girls In response.

“Right! I’m sorry, I’ll remember that for next time!” Usami apologized. “Anyway! There’s also a spa on the Island! So enjoy yourselves!”

She disappeared from sight, leaving the group to talk amongst themselves.

“This has to be a trick of some kind.” Kyoko said thoughtfully. “A motive, Maybe?”

“Yeah, I am not trusting It either.” Peko agreed.

“It’s gotta be a motive, It’s been too peaceful!” Hina chimed in.

“What If Monokuma put ‘Saw’ movie level traps in the clothing?” Ibuki theorized. “And the moment we put on the clothes-- SQUISH! BLEH! Off with our heads!”

Mahiru cringed at the gory sounds Ibuki tried to make, sighing softly. “I doubt he would have time to do that. But It’s definitely suspicious…”

“And why only things for girls?” Akane thought aloud. “It seems like a trap.”

“I think we should check It out regardless.” Celeste smiled. “I think a spa trip sounds lovely, perhaps even worth the risk.”

“I GOT IT!” Hina yelled in realization, all attention now on her. “WHAT IF MONOKUMA PUT SHARKS IN THE SPA?!”

“This again…? H-Hina I doubt there Is enough water for sharks in the spa.” Sakura sighed. She loved this girl, but sometimes she could be a bit… out there.

“She might actually be onto something.” Kyoko surprisingly agreed with her wild theory after a moment of thinking.

“H-H-How wo-would that e-even be possible?” Toko stammered in disbelief.

“Maybe not specifically sharks, but that would be the least suspecting place to put something dangerous.” The detective calmly theorized. “It may be too dangerous to check out without more muscle power.”

“Why do we need more muscle power? Sakura, Peko an’ I can handle it!” Akane grinned.

“No offense to you three, but there is strength in numbers.” Kyoko responded, to which Sakura and Peko nodded in agreement. “But there are less places to hide dangerous traps In a boutique, So I think we should be okay to check that out.”

“And then we get the boys to go with us to the spa?” Peko asked for clarification.

“Yes. I think that would be wise.”

So with the group in agreement (except for Toko, who immediately went back to her room), the girls and enby headed to the boutique to investigate.

After some time looking around for clues or traps, they were shocked to find it was literally just a normal clothing store… or so It seemed.

“That’s strange.” Kyoko said, surprised as she inspected a piece of clothing.

“What? Did you find something?” Chiaki asked, yawning as she approached the detective.

“It’s… just clothes.”

“You mean, These are actually safe?” Sayaka asked curiously, poking her head around the corner to look at the two girls.

“It appears so… I’d still check before you try anything on but--”

She was already back around the corner with Ibuki. “Oh my gosh, Ibuki! With some leggings this would look so cute on you!”

Sonia giggled. “I agree!”

Ibuki looked at the frilly mini dress held up against her body in pure disgust. “Eugh! Ibuki doesn’t do this style anymore, It makes Ibuki feel restricted.”

“Okay, maybe not this dress then…” Sayaka put it back and looked around for another one. “We should match for our concert though.”

While the three looked through the costume dresses, Chihiro was on the other side of the store looking at all the cute casual dresses. They felt a little self conscious looking at them.

“Hi, Chihiro.” Mahiru greeted, approaching the small programmer with her girlfriend in tow. “Are you alright?”

Chihiro jumped in surprise, immediately letting go of the dress they were looking at. “O-Oh! Hi Mahiru… Hiyoko.” They greeted the two girls shyly.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you!” Mahiru apologized with a small smile. “I was just coming over to look for a new sun dress.”

Chihiro nodded, absentmindedly going back to looking at the dress they found as Mahiru began shuffling the articles of clothing on the rack.

The red head stole a few glances over at Chihiro, noticing their hesitancy. “Are you okay?”

Hiyoko tilted her head curiously as she too looked up from the dresses.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine! S-Sorry… am I distracting you?”

The two ultimates exchanged glances before looking back at the small enby. “Of course not… I’m just concerned about you.”

“O-Oh… there’s no reason to be concerned, I’m okay… really.” Chihiro put on the best smile they could, but Mahiru, who constantly photographed smiling people, immediately knew it was forced.

Hiyoko’s eyes scanned the clothing rack in front of Chihiro until she noticed a disturbed article of clothing, she walked over and plucked it from the rack. “This Is a cute dress.” She commented, drawing both Mahiru and Chihiro’s attention.

Hiyoko looked at the Programmer and smiled. “You should try It on.”

Mahiru had to do a double take, had someone replaced her fiery imp of a girlfriend with someone sweet???

Chihiro blushed brightly. “Um… I-I could never pull that off…”

“Sure you could.” Mahiru smiled, following Hiyoko’s lead.

“I-I don’t know…”

“Chihiro!” Sonia bounced over brightly. “You would look adorable in that!”

“Maybe If we found a sweater to go with it you’d feel better.” Chiaki smiled.

“Ooh! And some accessories!” Sayaka joined in.

Chihiro had a bad feeling about this…

“R-Really girls, I-Its okay! I was heading over to look at skirts anyways!” They tried backing away, but the girls weren’t letting them off the hook that easily.

Meanwhile, Hina found the swimsuits much to her excitement. They were pretty cute too! Some of them were plain, others had skirts to them, pretty patterns, bikinis, one pieces… you name it, they had it.

Hina picked up a red tropical flower patterned bikini with a skirt. “Check this out Sakura, It’s so cute! And It’s my size!” she squealed happily.

The martial artist stopped what she was doing and looked over at her best friend with an amused smile. “It looks nice.”

After another moment of searching she produced a similar bikini and showed It to Sakura again.

“That kind of looks like the last one.”

“Mhm! Except It’s white with red and pink flowers! What do you think?”

“It’s… pretty?”

“Good, Because It’s your size.” Hina grinned impishly.

Sakura paused. “Hina… I don’t do bikinis.”

“Why not?”

Sakura immediately got flashbacks. She recalled when she had first started gaining muscle and went to the beach with her friends, she had gotten stared at and made fun of. She was made so uncomfortable that she just went home.

“...Reasons.”

Hina pouted. She knew that was code for something serious. “Fine, I don’t want you to be uncomfortable… I’ll keep looking.”

“Thank you for respecting my--”

They were interrupted by Chihiro shrieking, they looked at each other in alarm and bolted in the direction of the sound. Upon rounding the corner they found Chihiro wrapped up in Sayaka’s arms while Chiaki and Mahiru tickled them.

Sakura sighed in relief upon seeing it was just something harmless.

Hina grinned. “You good Chihiro?” She couldn’t help but tease them.

“Hehehehelp mehehe!” They squealed as Chiaki squeezed their sides.

“Why are you all ganging up on Chihiro?” Sakura asked, feeling some pity for the smol programming bean.

“Why not?” Hina retorted. “Chihiro’s too cute not to tickle!”

“Hinahaha you’re not hehehelping!” They blushed even more.

“Oh sorry~ I’ll help you now.” Hina smiled innocently, approaching the trapped enby. The swimmer fluttered her fingers against their belly, drawing even more squeals of laughter. “There, do you feel helped now?” she giggled.

“Hahahahahaha! That’s nohohohot whahahat I meheheheant!” They whined.

“Chihiro started crying because they did not feel they could pull off this dress.” Sonia explained gently, holding the dress up. “So the others are trying to cheer them up.”

Sakura frowned. She understood where Chihiro was coming from, but literally Chihiro would look so fucking cute in that dress. It was a white ruffle sundress with a light yellow ribbon sash.

It was bewildering that Chihiro didn’t think they could pull it off…

Sakura scanned around until her eyes fell on a light yellow sweater with short sleeves, she picked it up and walked back over to the giggling programmer.

The girls stopped tickling and looked at the piece of clothing in the tall girl's hands. Chihiro slid to the floor in a heap of lingering giggles and soft gasps.

The white haired girl sat down next to them. “Chihiro, I understand how you feel. You feel like everyone Is going to be staring at you and judging you.”

They nodded meekly, staring at the floor.

“And maybe people have done that to you before…” She paused as Chihiro nodded again. “But you’re among your friends here, and we aren’t judging you In the slightest.”

“Yeah, Sakura’s right.” Chiaki agreed, sitting down too. The other girls followed suit. “We would never judge you.”

“We all have things we are self conscious about, Chihiro.” Sonia smiled kindly at the enby. “I am self conscious about my skin.”

“R-Really…? But you’re so pretty…” Chihiro looked at her.

“Thank you, but so are you.” Sonia pinched Chihiro’s cheek gently. “I burn in the sunlight, The kids I went to school with used to call me ‘Princess lobster’. So I try to avoid exposing myself to the sun.”

Chihiro blushed at the compliment and looked back down.

“I’m super self conscious about my weight.” Hina spoke up next. “I’m always weighing myself. I used to get teased for how many sweets I eat, my friends told me I was going to end up alone because no one would be able to look at me.”

“Hina, You’re gorgeous. You don’t have to worry about your weight!” Chihiro frowned.

“I used to get made fun of because I had braces when I was younger.” Sayaka shared. “They said I’d never be a singer because the metal in my braces would mess with the recording equipment.”

“Do I even need to say what I’m self conscious about?” Hiyoko sulked, folding her arms across her chest. “I’m short.”

Mahiru put her hand on Hiyoko’s shoulder. “You’ll hit a growth spurt someday.” She teased. “People called me a boy growing up.”

“I-I-I’ve al-always been s-s-s-super c-c-clumsy. People h-h-have always ma-made fun o-of me for It.” Mikan said softly.

“Of course they have, You’re a walking pile of pig barf!” Hiyoko snapped.

“Aah! I’m sorry!” Mikan cried.

Mahiru shoved her hand over Hiyoko’s mouth and pulled her into her lap to keep her contained. She sighed. Welp, so much for her being kind…

“People I went to school with used to accuse me of stuffing my bra, and constantly harassed me because of my home life.” Akane said quietly.

“I was feared, I was told I had monster eyes. Most kids avoided me.” Peko chimed In.

Kyoko looked down at her gloved hands then back up at Chihiro. “I think my insecurity should be obvious…”

“I got made fun of for loving video games. And I’ve got some pudge.” Chiaki poked her stomach.

After a moment of silence the girls looked at Sakura, who gave a hesitant sigh. “Do I need to say It?”

“Yes.” All except for Chihiro said in unison.

Sakura sighed again. “I get called ogre. People call me a freak or abomination. When I started bulking up, people told me that I looked better before and I lost a lot of friends because they were embarrassed to be seen with me.”

“Remind me to smack Hiro and Hifumi when I see them next.” Hina said quietly.

“Hiro doesn’t mean any harm by It.” she waved her off.

Hearing their friends being open about their insecurities made them feel a little better about opening up.

“Um…” Chihiro kept staring at the floor. “Kids I went to school with knew me when I Identified as a boy… and the first day I went to school in a dress, I got beat up and made fun of. Since then, I’ve been afraid to wear dresses… N-Not that skirts are much different… I’m just kind of traumatized by them.”

“Chihiro, You are adorable and beautiful.” Hina smiled warmly.

“Trust me, If anyone comes near you to beat you up or make fun of you… they’ll have a lot of people to get through first.” Chiaki added.

“You are one of a kind, don’t let people like that ruin something for you.” Sakura said gently.

Hina side eyed her, receiving a quiet; ‘shut up’ In response.

Chihiro sniffled, wiping their eyes. “Th-Thanks guys…”

“If you don’t want to try on the dress, We respect your comfort zone. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Mahiru put a hand on their shoulder reassuringly.

They looked at the dress In Sonia’s lap, then back up at the girls. “No… I… I want to try It on.”

“Are you sure?” Sonia asked.

They nodded, more sure this time. “You’re right. I need to learn not to take things to heart so much. Everyone has something they don’t like about themselves, even the people who picked on you.”

“That’s exactly right.” Kyoko nodded with a faint smile.

Chihiro took the dress from Sonia and stood up, they were about to head to the dressing room but they were stopped by Sakura, who handed them the matching sweater she found for the dress.

The enby gave her a smile before taking the article of clothing and retreating to the closed room with a new pep in their step.

A few minutes passed by, and something had occurred to Mahiru. “Wait a minute, Ibuki? You never said what you were made fun of for.”

Ibuki looked up at the red head, previously she had been drawing shapes on the floor with her finger waiting for Chihiro to come out. “Oh, Ibuki didn’t?”

“No, You didn’t.” Chiaki confirmed, eyeing the musician.

“Welllll…” Ibuki looked away sheepishly.

“Were you not bullied?” Sonia asked.

“N-No. Ibuki was bullied.” She sighed. “Ibuki was made fun of for the way she talks In the third person. Also the way she dressed.”

“I think It’s… endearing.” Sayaka smiled.

“Ibuki didn’t mention It because Ibuki didn’t want to be reassured or complimented.” She smiled shyly, tapping her index fingers together. “Ibuki doesn’t know how to take compliments…”

“I understand that.” Sakura responded.

Hina, again, side eyed her best friend. “I will hype you up and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

“Nothing huh?” She didn’t even bother looking at Hina, she blindly squeezed at the swimmer’s side, making her squeak and giggle as she twitched away.

“Come to think of it…” Kyoko hummed, glancing over at Celeste. “You didn’t say anything either.”

“That Is because there Is nothing I was made fun of for.” Celeste smiled, closing her eyes as she did.

Hmm… doubtful.

Chiaki looked at the wall clock. “Chihiro’s been In there a while… I think someone should go check on them.”

Before anyone else could volunteer, surprisingly, Hiyoko was on her feet. “I’ll do it.” with that she disappeared into the back room as well.

Mahiru blinked in surprise. “Should I go with her?”

No one got the chance to answer before Hiyoko came back out, Chihiro In tow.

The Traditional dancer stepped aside so the girls could see Chihiro, they were absolutely radiating happiness. “S-Sorry, I kind of froze up… How do I look?”

“Ohmigosh, Chi you look so cute!!” Hina squealed.

“That dress looks like It was made for you, You look so pretty!” Sonia beamed, stars practically in her eyes.

The Programmer giggled and twirled around in the dress happily.

The other girls quickly got over their surprise and flooded Chihiro with compliments. (even Kyoko and Celeste complimented them, shockingly.)

The rest of the boutique visit hit different for the group, they felt a lot lighter and closer than before.

Sayaka and Ibuki had decided to just coordinate colors, that way they could both wear something they wanted to wear.

Hina and Sakura found a few swimsuits they liked.

Chihiro got a bunch of different dresses and had a mini fashion show with Hiyoko, Mahiru, and Chiaki.

Right then.

Time to go find the boys and check out the spa...

[a-student-out-of-time]

ASOOT Timeline: September 2012 (In the Eye of the Hurricane)

Oh, boy. Here we go. The Puppetmaster Arc. One of the best arcs of the series so far, in my humble opinion. How many storm-related puns will I be able to make before it’s over?–Timeline Anon

September 27:

There are now 104 people missing. The Quantum Crew still doesn’t know where Sunny Days Vacation Island is, but Mahiru is using her photography prowess to analyze Maverick’s video for clues. So far, she’s deduced that he’s not using a green screen or a movie set, and she’s observing weather patterns in the video to narrow down a potential location.

The Naegis got a Sunny Days brochure, but it was accidentally thrown away thanks to Makoto’s luck, and Iroha warned them about it.

Chiaki calls her parents for the first time since August in order to make sure that they’re safe. Tenmei and Harumi Nanami are okay, albeit busy and worried about their daughter, and Chiaki assures them that she’s okay as well. She warns them about the brochure. 

Taira goes to check on Ayame. She finds her barricaded in her house, and after they hug, Ayame explains that she’s afraid and doesn’t want to be alone right now because she saw one of her neighbors get taken. They were standing outside at night, a car appeared out of thin air, they got into the car, and then the car vanished. Taira stays with Ayame to help her feel safer.

The fact that a brochure was delivered to the Cuddle Puddle at Chiaki’s house gives Chiaki an idea. She wants to click the button on the Sunny Days VPN that will send someone to pick her up and take her to the island. Her friends are nervous about this idea, but they concede that it’s their best bet at finding the missing people. Hajime will go with her. Kyoji advises Chiaki and Hajime not to answer any personal questions from Maverick and not to let him get into their heads.

Unfortunately, Sora cannot be involved in the mission to the island, as she has a crippling fear of water due to her PTSD.

Hajime and Emma go to Umeko and Setsuka’s house. Emma plays with Masaru and the other Warriors of Hope, Setsuka is busy talking to Kakeru about the legal requirements for a more permanent solution to the problem of what to do with Maverick when he’s been captured, and Hajime chats with Umeko about the logistics of sending messages to and from the island. Since no one can deliver any messages to the people on the island, the Quantum Crew concludes that Maverick must have radio jammers up to prevent signals from getting through. Umeko’s solution is to find a way to compress the messages to a small enough level that they can get through said radio jammers.

Taira calls Hajime from Ayame’s house and tells him what Ayame saw. They hypothesize that Maverick might be in possession of cloaking devices, which also would explain the man at the police station who disappeared after talking to Juu the day before the prison break. This implies that whoever’s backing Maverick is the same person who backed Kanade.

At the Hope’s Peak Medical Building, Kokoro performs an MRI on Mikako and finds no signs of damage. Thus assured, Mikako wants to try seeing the future again. First, she shows Hiyoko another glimpse of the nice future from before; in this vision, a grown-up Hiyoko and Hibiki are with three little girls, one of which is Sayuri. The other two are Itsuki Hinata (the future daughter of Hajime and Hiyoko) and Kana Hinata (the future daughter of Hajime and Chiaki). Hiyoko is happy to see such a wonderful future. Next, Mikako shows Nekomaru a vision that’s set a few days from now. In it, Nekomaru is with Kyoji, Fuyuhiko, Monaca, Mikan, and Gundham on a boat at night, and they’re making plans to invade the island with the help of gas drones made by Monaca. A deadline is also mentioned. Mikako gets seizures again. Yamato and Kokoro encourage her to rest when she needs to.

The Quantum Crew convenes via video chat to share their findings and create a plan. They decide that Chiaki and Hajime will go to the island, while Umeko will compress the messages. Once Chiaki and Hajime are there, they will map the place out, see what’s going on, figure out how to take down the radio jammers, and then coordinate a rescue/capture mission. Hajime asks his teammates to pretend to be Kasugano if necessary. It turns out that Mahiru, with Honami’s help, has pinpointed the island’s location to somewhere around the Izu Islands. Kazuichi has also made some contact lenses for Chiaki to wear that will give the rest of the crew a video feed of what happens at the island.

There are now 107 people missing. One of them is Kizuna. Yoruko hears about it via a phone call from Minako, who is very upset about her daughter’s disappearance. Chiaki subsequently decides that she and Hajime will leave tonight. Umeko assures her that she can have the message compressor ready by 2 AM. Yoruko wishes them luck and gives Hajime a hug.

Iroha shows the Cuddle Puddle her drawings (commissioned by Hiyoko) of Sayuri, Itsuki, and Kana. Hope and happiness ensues.

Taira and Ayame watch movies together. Ayame is still frightened, but she thanks Taira for staying with her. They share a blanket. Ayame tells Taira about her dream to win a gold medal in the Olympics someday, as well as her fears that she might not be good enough, and Taira shares her own insecurities about whether or not people would like the real her. They encourage each other and agree to be better together. Ayame kisses Taira, leading to makeouts and confessions of feelings, and they become a couple.

As Hajime and Chiaki wait for 2 AM, Kotoko and Mikan pop by, as Kotoko wanted to see Hajime and Chiaki before they left. She hugs them, wishes them good luck, and tells them that she loves them.

//Time for an extended vacation, in hell : P

[otomefoxystar]

Moving On

Fandom: Our Two Bedroom Story

Warning: Mentions of an abusive relationship 

Genre: Angst 

Word Count: 1,620

Written by: @otomefoxystar

She had tried to cover the bruises that covered her body, but this one was on her face right on her cheekbone. She had to work, she would call in but she’d rather be at work than at home moping about the most recent incident. She put an exuberant amount of concealer and foundation on, then covered it with blush. What if they notice? What excuse would she use this time? With that thought, she put away her makeup and headed out to work. That was until she noticed her long time boyfriend on the couch. 

“ Have a good day at work” She nodded slowly

He got up from his seat and walked over to her.

“ If you wouldn’t talk back to me, I wouldn’t have to hurt you.” He caressed her cheek gently.

He kissed her on the lips and out of fear of upsetting him again she kissed back even though she didn’t want to. She left for work with her heart beating fast.

When she arrived at work Akiyoshi walked up to her 

“ You’re late!” She bit her lip

“ I’m sorry,” she said softly 

Akiyoshi looked at Chiaki thinking she didn’t have her usual energy. Chiaki shrugged his shoulders, and as she was settling into her desk for the day Shusei came to her desk. 

“ Hey, _ _ _! You ready to kick some ass today?” He was waiting for her enthusiastic answer as usual.

“ I guess” Shusei looked at her confused 

“ Is something wrong?” He studied her as she looked up slowly at him feeling dejected.

“ I’m just tired.” He narrowed his eyes, skeptical of her behavior.

She ran her fingers through her long hair and he noticed a fading bruise on her wrist. He gently caught her hand as she was bringing it down. 

“What’s this from?”  

“ I don’t need to tell you, use your imagination.”

Then Minato walked by 

“ Are you into kinky stuff in bed _ _ _?” 

“ I don’t think that’s it.” Shusei pulled her out of the chair.

“ You are coming with me.” He dragged her into the hallway.

Once they were in the hallway he looked at her firmly and cornered her by the window.

“ What is going on with you?” She looked straight at him 

“ I told you I’m fine.”  

“ I don’t believe you, something is going on. You need to tell me okay? Because I’m worried.” She glared at him and sighed.

“ I’ll be okay, nothing I can’t handle.”

Minato and Chiaki came out along with Akiyoshi. They all looked at each other.

“ look Shusei I know you’re sweet on _ _ _, but she’s taken leave her alone.” Chiaki pipped in.

Minato dropped his pen and she went to pick it up when the back of her shirt lifted up as she bent over. There was a large bruise on the small of her back.

“ Okay _ _ _ enough of these games! Tell us what’s going on what’s with the big bruise on your back?” Akiyoshi was demanding answers 

“ I fell down the stairs.” Minato glared at her

“ Bullshit!” Minato shouted and she flinched and it didn’t go unnoticed. 

Chiaki put his hand on her head and smiled warmly.

“ You can tell us _ _ _, we care about you and we are all worried.” 

That was it, the tears came running down her face. 

“ Here come in the office we don’t want anyone to see.” Kaoro saw what was happening and got some tissues.

He sat her down and wiped her tears but in the process wiped her makeup off revealing the black bruise on her cheek. They all gasped. 

“ You can’t hide anymore you have to tell us” Chiaki stated

“ It’s your boyfriend, isn’t it? He’s been hitting you hasn’t he?” Shusei got on his knees and looked at her

More tears came and she put her face in her hands.

“ Yes,” she said quietly 

“ Take off your clothes, I need to see what we’re dealing with.” Akiyoshi crossed his arms

“ What!? NO.”

“ It’s okay, not all of your clothes just to your underwear.” 

She sniffled and got up.

“ I can't believe I'm doing this" 

She turned around and unbuttoned her blouse, as she took it off her shoulders some bruises varied in color from yellow to green to purple to black. She took off her shoes and unzipped her skirt and pushed it down. She turned around teary eyed, and the men in front of her took in the ghastly sight of bruises old to new scattered across her body. 

Over her ribs, on her hips, on the side of her thigh, on her collarbone,  along her arms. She was covered. 

“Here, you can get dressed”  Shusei handed her her shirt and she took it turning around again.

Once she was dressed she turned back around and fell to the floor a sobbing mess.

Minato caught her in his arms and stroked her hair as she cried into him.

“ Let it out, it’s okay to cry. We will keep you safe” She looked up at Minato 

“ No ! I can’t, he’ll come after me and you know when he’s not mad he’s a good man.”

“ And when he is mad?”

“ I know how it sounds okay, but I love him.”

Kaoru shook his head angrily 

“ That isn’t love, have you seen your body _ _ _? Love is supposed to be fun and make you feel good. Not what you’ve gone through that is a demented love.

“ I’m going to give you a couple of weeks off of work to heal. You’re going to leave him _ _ _. I can’t stand to see the way he hurt you.” Akiyoshi took her hand and helped her up.

“ What about my things?” Chiaki raised his eyebrow 

“ Is he at work? We can go now... all of us” 

She sat down in her chair and she closed her eyes.

“ This is too much I don’t know if I can do this” 

Shusei  walked to her and kneeled in front of her 

“ You have to, what happens when he goes too far one day and you wind up in the hospital or dead? I know you’re scared, but we will be there. There will be nothing to fear.”

She bit her lip and nodded her head, but she was still afraid of leaving him.

“ What if he comes after me?” Kaoru shook his head 

“ He won’t get that chance”

“ He’s not at work, he quit his job and refuses to get another job. He’s always there, the only time I can get out is when I go to work.”

“ We will protect you we’ll come in with you.”Kaoru  took her hand “ Trust us” 

“ I do trust you, we need to go now before I lose my courage.” 

They all nodded and met at her house. When she got out of her car and walked to the front door she paused at turning the knob, but Chiaki took her other hand and squeezed trying to convey that he was there for her. 

She turned the knob and walked in holding Chiaki’s hand. Her boyfriend turned around.

“ Why aren’t you at work? Who the hell is this?!” He went up to Chiaki and pushed her and grabbed her arm, pulling her away. 

“ These are my coworkers and friends." He turned to look at her with rage in his eyes.

“ what is going on?” He squeezed her arm tighter.

“ _ _ _, come over here,” Akiyoshi said with worry in his voice.

He squeezed even tighter and backed away from them. Then she turned to look at her boyfriend.

“ I’m leaving, I came to pack my stuff.” He pulled her hair forcing her head to go back.

Then he backhanded her face.

“ No you’re not, you know the consequences don’t you?” 

“ Let go of her!” Minato yelled, and marched forward 

Shusei and Chiaki came on either side of Minato with everyone else behind them.

“ Get it through your head, she’s leaving you. You douchebag of a human.” 

“ You don’t talk to me that way in my own house.” 

“ Tsk..” Minato shook his head 

As Minato was distracting him _ _ _ kicked him straight in the balls and hard. He finally let go of her hair. She was free and she moved into the hallway 

“ Go! Pack your stuff, we’ve got this.” She ran up the stairs and Minato followed her

She got a box and a large suitcase out.

“ looks like you were prepared to do this.” 

“ I always wanted to but I’ve always been too scared. Just throw my shirts in the box we aren’t folding anything” 

He complied and they both started throwing clothes in the box and she placed her jewelry box and perfume in the suitcase. She threw her makeup bag in there and continued to frantically pack until it was full.

“ We can come back for the rest of it right now you just need the essentials” 

when they came down Akiyoshi had her boyfriend's arms held behind his back as they hurried to the car to put away her things. 

“ I’ll find you! I’ll hunt you down and drag you back!” 

Shusei punched him causing him to fall to the ground. 

“ No, you won’t because there’s more of us, and she coming with us and you can’t stop her!” 

They all walked out the door, and Minato helped her put her things in her car. He closed the trunk and looked at her.

“ It’s time for you to take your life back and we’re all here to help you make that happen.” He smiled warmly and _ _ _ hugged him. 

“ I look forward to the future. Thank you, all of you.”

She got in the car and drove off into the distance leaving the scared girl behind her and becoming the brave woman she was meant to be.