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mirrortouchedsea · 11 months

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Everyone tells me to just stay the same (but it's not like that)

Word count: 1640

Summary: Hinata finally decides to tell Rinne about his past at Yumenosaki. CW for Setsubun mentions, identity issues, and mentions of abuse

Read on AO3

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Hinata isn’t entirely sure what compels him to send a message to the leader of Crazy:B. Rinne Amagi had a habit of doting on him and treating him like another younger brother, which he knew Yuta wasn’t a big fan of. Yuta would often call Rinne a bad influence on Hinata, but Rinne was also one of the only people who treated him like a normal kid.

It was kind of addicting in a way. It wasn’t just Rinne who had treated him like that either. The rest of Crazy:B had taken him in as one of their juniors (despite the fact that Kohaku was younger than Hinata) and Alkaloid, or at least Hiiro, had taken a liking to him as well. He treasured those nights that he spent with Niki and Hiiro playing video games and snacking on homemade sweets late into the night.

Maybe it shouldn’t have been surprising that the first person he texted was Rinne on the anniversary of Setsubun. It had only been a year and yet it felt so much longer than that. He was grateful that the year since then had been filled with smiles and warmth, much more than years previous had been. The Amagi brothers were partially responsible for that change in his life.

Rinne responded quickly and asked if he’s alright since he doesn’t normally send cryptic messages like this in the middle of the day. He said he’ll be there in 15 minutes after debriefing with his unit.

Hinata didn’t bother replying to that, instead opting to just tell Rinne everything when he gets to the rooftop garden with him. He needed to figure out exactly what he wanted to tell Rinne anyway. It’s not in the older man’s nature to judge people based on things they can’t control, and he would understand a lot of Hinata’s own problems…probably. Rinne also wasn’t fond of showing weakness in front of other people.

Hinata sat at the edge of the garden, towards the back. Being so high up reminded him of that day, but this was almost cathartic in a way. He was in a better place now, with people who didn’t know about that incident at all and cared for him as his own person. As much as he knew Yuta didn’t like the nickname Rinne gave him, it was a comfort for Hinata.

Hina, such a simple nickname and yet it was a breath of fresh air, a new start, and here he was about to change everything. He just hoped that Rinne wouldn’t change how he talked with Hinata afterwards.

Hinata was dangling his feet over the edge, looking down at the bustling street below when Rinne finally sat beside him.

“What’s up, Hina? Somethin’ on your mind?” Rinne’s voice was gentle today, soft and even. Such a strange contrast to the Rinne most people knew.

“Mmm, you could say that,” he replied, not looking at the older man. “Rinne, have you ever felt like…people don’t see you for you?”

Rinne chuckled. “Every damn day Hina. Even back home…” he trailed off. Hinata knew not to push that topic.

The two of them were like peas in a pod in that sense.

Hinata laughed too. “Yeah, I knew you’d get it.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Rinne waiting patiently for Hinata to keep going and Hinata searching for the words to say. But just having someone else there helped keep him from spiraling too much.

“I just…feel like people wouldn’t miss me if I was gone, because they see me and Yuta-kun as the same person. It hurts a lot but I don’t know what to do about it because…I feel the same way. Like Yuta-kun and I are one person in two, but that’s not true anymore. I try to keep telling myself that we’re different but it’s hard to change how you think when it’s all you’ve ever known.

Yuta-kun has so many friends and is always laughing and smiling with them and I want to be like that too, but after ah…”

“After what, Hina?”

“After Setsubun fes, people started treating me like I would break at any moment. I’m not grandma’s fine china or anything that will break if you handle it too roughly! But everyone at Yumenosaki can’t seem to get past that video.”

Hinata still couldn’t look at Rinne, but he knew Rinne was confused. He hadn’t known about Setsubun at all. Of course he hadn’t, he didn’t go to school with them and was much too old to have been there at the same time as Hinata even if he had. It’s why he was drawn to him in the first place, along with his roommates, Niki and Hiiro.

“Ah, sorry. You don’t have any idea what I’m talking about, do you?”

“Not a clue.”

“Long story short, I had a mental breakdown on the roof of the school last year and…it was filmed and everyone at the school saw it. It’s not like I had much of a choice in the distribution either, so everyone was just watching me like I wasn’t a real person.”

Rinne moved a hand to Hinata’s back and began rubbing gentle circles between his shoulder blades. There were damp spots on Hinata’s cheeks. He rubbed his eyes with his hands balled up in fists. Why did his lowest moment have to be broadcast to everyone he knew? Why was it made to seem like a spectacle for people to watch and not do anything to help? Even after his monologue to his brother making it clear that he didn’t want to be treated like the same person anymore and not knowing how to distinguish himself without just moving into the background, nobody offered him help.

He was drowning in the unknown and it took the creation of ES and Crazy:B for him to find a lighthouse to guide him to somewhere safe. Even when Crazy:B was against the entire world, hated by everyone, Rinne and the other members never once hurt 2wink. After their collaboration at the nightclub Rinne had taken a liking to Hinata. He was there for him to lean on when he wasn’t sure about the direction of his unit or how to be a big brother or a good senior to the new first years or just how to navigate life.

At some point, Rinne had pulled Hinata into a side hug and just let him cry into his side. Hinata leaned into the touch and allowed himself to let it all out.

Rinne’s hugs were always warm.

It took several minutes of crying before Hinata ran out of tears. His sobs turned to sniffles and he pulled his legs to his chest.

“You didn’t deserve any of that, Hina.” Rinne’s voice was serious, but not cold. It was a warm honey-sweetened tea on a rainy day.

Another stretch of silence. Hinata’s head was spinning and numb and full of cotton.

“But…I know how it feels. When I was younger, I had to keep my emotions in check, especially in front of other people. Any sign of weakness was always punished by my father. ‘A good leader doesn’t cry’ he would tell me.

When my mom died, I was…eight or nine. I couldn’t cry at her funeral and when we returned home I just couldn’t hold it in anymore. I’ll spare you the details but he punished me severely. I never wanted Hiiro-kun to see me like that again and I made myself stop feeling. It felt like I was just there to be the next leader of the village, never allowed to be myself.

What I’m tryin’ to say here is that I get it. I know how it feels for people to try and put you in a box that doesn’t fit, and how they treat you when you finally break. It’s okay to be frustrated and angry that it happened, but you can’t let it consume you. Show the world that Hinata Aoi is his own person, that you aren’t just that video and that you’re here to stay.”

Hinata sniffled and leaned more into Rinne’s touch.

“Thanks, Rinne-senpai. It means a lot, heh. I guess we all have our own burdens to carry.”

“Yeah. Life is about learning to carry them and not let them drag you down. If it gets too heavy, I’ll be there to pick you back up and carry it for you.”

“You don’t have to go that far, Rinne-senpai. How will I learn to carry my burdens if you take them for yourself? Wouldn’t that just make it heavier on you?”

“I’ll take on everyone’s burdens if it means they get to smile just for one moment. I’ll fight fate itself if that’s what it takes.”

“I’m not sure why, but I believe that you would find a way to do that, even though most people would say it’s impossible.”

“Thanks for believing in me, Hina.”

Hinata laughed, Rinne lightened the mood just enough that he felt like everything was at peace for the moment. His cheeks were stained with tears and his eyes would be puffy and red when he returned to the dorm, but at least he’d be smiling.

Even if the world was against them, Hinata could count on Rinne at least being in their corner no matter what. Rinne was a lighthouse to people like Hinata, a steady light in the rocky ocean saying that someone is there, watching out for you.

Despite the front that he put up and how he had a bad habit of pushing people away, Rinne was always there when it mattered.

Hinata fell asleep curled up on the rooftop as Rinne hummed a gentle melody from his hometown. And everything was right with the world.

#shay writes #enstars #ensemble stars #hinata aoi #rinne amagi #aoi hinata #amagi rinne #dont tag as ship #i think about them too much. have you seen my meta post on main? have you?#this is based on that. ugh theyre so.#i read setsubun a month ago and then reread night club and i was like. oh this make so much sense #why hinata feels kinda distant from the other characters sometimes #the kid just wants to be normal but he really cant after setsubun huh.#and then you get these new guys who know nothing. and well. second chance.#also i felt like rinne was too direct but also i considered that like. 1) hinata doesnt need stupid riddles and games right now and 2)#rinne was very straight forward with hiiro in the main story so i think he can be up front about this stuff when he knows the situation #calls for it. so i think this is fine. its good. big bro rinne means so much to me do u understand #also he gives the warmest hugs. not necessarily the gentlest or anything but theyre very warm. to me #anywayyyyyyyyyy tag ramble over im waiting for an email from my loan provider #biting and maiming i need to pay my student loans please please please #okay im doneeeeeeee im done i'll cross post this to ao3 in a bit

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wovenstarlight · 2 years

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hey remember what i said about thinking of a new and interesting way to ruin yoojin's life. au of the secret haunting au. i love ghosts i love talking about ghosts but i especially love when they're real

Han Yoohyun dies.

And then Han Yoohyun wakes up.

To screaming, to strangers' hands stretching out, to his brother with tears staining his cheeks and a glowing red stone in his palm--

Han Yoohyun wakes up, and he's in one of Haeyeon's reception rooms, his brother in front of him. "Hyung-?" he starts, already reaching out, eyes scanning him--no blood, no scars, no awkward stance to keep the weight off his bad leg--

There's a hand on his shoulder. He whips around, slapping the hand off--

It's Song Taewon.

Song Taewon is dead.

"You're dead too," Chief Song says, like he knows what Yoohyun's thinking. His voice is steady and firm, like he's giving a mission briefing. Not looking for a fight. Yoohyun grits his teeth and doesn't let himself relax. "We're ghosts, or something like it. It's a side effect of your brother's skills, as far as we can tell."

(The dragon's claws, ripping through him like scissors through paper. He can't remember the last time he felt that sort of pain, but he can remember thinking worth it.)

Yoohyun turns and stares at his brother. He looks--healthy, thank god, but he also looks... strangely young. "What's..." He frowns, glancing around. He knows this room. Didn't they replace these sofas? "How are we here?"

"A wishing item." Chief Song steps up beside him; out of the corner of his eye, he can see him studying hyung with a frown on his face. "He asked to go five years back in time with his memories."

A do-over? Hope swells inside Yoohyun, only to die just as fast, because-- "Hyung," he says again, loudly. Too loud.

His brother looks straight through him, a hollowness to his eyes.

"He can't hear you," a new voice whispers. Yoohyun glances over sharply to find the room crowded by strangers, except... He knows these faces. Aren't these hyung's old teammates? (A side effect of your brother's skills.) The one who must have spoken is near the front, staring at him. Her name slips his mind, but the brown hair and that sweater are distinct. She was among the earliest people hyung worked with, and if he's remembering the report right, she died in that very outfit.

Whatever her name is, she gives him a cautious glance before taking a slow step closer, peering at Yoojin as her mouth thins into a line. "He can't see you, either," she continues. "And you won't be able to touch him. Oppa's got no idea we're here."

Yoohyun thought so. He's clenching his teeth so tight his jaw aches, and he forces himself to relax, or at least enough to stop the hurting. "How long have you been watching?"

"Since we died," one of the others pipes up. Yoohyun vaguely recognizes him, too. (Hyung's friend, hyung's coworker, hyung's friend, hyung's friend, hyung's teammate, on and on... And Chief Song? whispers a tiny voice at the back of his mind.) The man shrugs. "Like Chief Song said. We're ghosts, right?"

Ghosts, or something like it. Yoohyun swallows. "And you've never been able to--"

That's when someone comes storming through the door, hyung's teammates hastily pulling out of his way. "Hyung," the intruder snaps, and Yoohyun bristles as he looks over (his hyung not yours not yours-!).

It's--him. It's Han Yoohyun.

"Dungeon brokers are--"

"Sorry," hyung says, and Yoohyun feels like shaking apart at the look in his brother's eyes when he gazes at the other-him. "I won't do it again."

Other-Yoohyun's brows furrow. Yoohyun realizes that on his face, surprise looks a lot like frustration. "If you've maybe gotten yourself in trouble-"

He keeps talking, but Yoohyun doesn't want to listen. Five years ago, Chief Song said. He knows the way he was talking to his brother five years ago.

He remembers exactly why he spoke to him that way, because it's the same reason he spoke to him that way just an hour or so ago. That doesn't stop him from wanting to put a fist through other-him's face when he sees the way hyung just takes it, the sheer lack of fury, of even just indignation. I was being immature, he's saying with a laugh, like it wasn't an hour ago that he threw his weapons aside and faced down a dragon and told Yoohyun I'll save you the trouble of holding a funeral--

He's not sure what sort of expression he's making, but by the way Song Taewon hisses "Han Yoohyun," and the other ghosts draw back, it must not be a very nice one.

Well. It's not like he cares about that sort of thing.

The tangled surge of emotions has his ears ringing, and so it's hard to hear what exactly other-Yoohyun says to their hyung before his brother suddenly steps forward and pulls him into a hug. Yoohyun steps forward, too, unable to stop himself. "Hyung," he whispers, strangled, and he isn't calm enough to hear properly again but he can see his brother's lips shape the words my brother, shape his name.

The next words cut clear through the ringing.

I love you.

There's arms wrapping around Yoohyun, and he shoves them away instinctively, pulling back with a snarl--

Hyung stares back, eyes wide with surprise and--a flicker of hurt that disappears a second later, replaced by blankness, and Yoohyun gasps, reaches out, and when he clutches at his brother's shoulders, his hands don't go through.

His hands don't go through.

(And you won't be able to touch him.)

"…Yoohyun-ah?" hyung asks, tentatively raising a hand before hesitating and going to drop it. Yoohyun instinctively grabs for it before he can lower it completely, wrapping his fingers around his brother's, and hold on, hold on, where's the stiffness in his fingers and the tightness of the skin at his wrist from old injuries and scars--?

Yoohyun slaps his other hand against his own face. Cheeks softer and rounder than he remembers, the line of his jaw not nearly harsh enough. Cold air against his forearms as he fumbles his way through the check; his forearms are bare--

His forearms are bare. He's in a T-shirt. The blood-soaked turtleneck, the rippling coat, they're- they're gone.

Hyung's still here.

"Hyung," he breathes, and yanks his brother back into another hug, tighter than before. Hyung lets out a muffled squawk, but he falls into the hold without a fight, clutching back at Yoohyun just as hard. Yoohyun buries his face in his brother's neck. "Hyung."

"Yoohyun-ah," hyung says, audibly bewildered. He reaches up and combs a hand through Yoohyun's hair. "What's- What happened? What's wrong?"

What's wrong? What's wrong? "You almost died," Yoohyun hisses. "You almost died, you would've died if I hadn't- You would've- You were going to--"

His voice rises as he keeps talking, and Yoohyun's fingers curl into his brother's shirt as he all but shouts- "Don't ever do that again!"

His voice cracks on the last word, and the next breath that escapes him comes out halfway to a sob, and his brother's hand has frozen in his hair, so Yoohyun raises his head to look at him--

Yoojin is staring back at him in undisguised horror. "What?" And then, a second later, eyes widening impossibly further: "You remember?"

#star.txt #you attempt to DIE? you attempt to give your life for me? oh!! oh!!!! confinement for hyung!! confinement for hyung for One Thousand Ye #yeah anyway after the shitstorm that is the resulting freakout yoohyun's like hey wait where'd chief song and the others go.#and yoojins like THE WHO? YOU'RE SEEING THE HATMAN NOW? and yoohyun's like no just your old teammates. they were hanging out.#they said you used a skill on them?? and yoojins like . now hold on a second. what.#please feel free to imagine the other side of this. where the ghosts are like oh jesus christ hyh's here with us n[hyh gets keyworded]#[ghost hyh disappears] HEY WHAT WHAT THE FUCK WHERE DID HE [alive hyh starts saying shit only ghost hyh can know] HEY WHAT THE F U C K #tl;dr. what if ghost au but one of hyj's old targets getting keyworded meant the ghost got merged into their living self.#my sranks #my sranks spoilers #<- presence of stw as always #han yoojin #han yoohyun #song taewon #choi yumi #i neither know nor care if this is ooc i wrote it exclusively as a warm up exercise for cached au prompt response #which is so. both the scene itself and having to Write it are making me weep and wail #why is stw like that. why is HYJ like that.

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