#and i love taka so so much and he is my one and only boyfriend and husband 🫂💓💓 any other characters i ship ocs with are just comfort ch

[takasgf]

WTF !

yea . i actually have a lot of oc x canon ships i dont talk about, so they might get posted on here once in a while 😆 no worries!!! Its only oc x canon, NOT a selfship . Goldbug is pretty cool, but Ishi is my one and only love!!! ;^; 💗 I ACTUALLY WANT TO DRAW ishi and frog cosplaying as these two for halloween XD i inspired my oc's design of one of frogeru's outfits, so it would be a perfect match !!

[chalkscene]

tokyo revengers ⇢ YOU’RE TOO DRUNK TO RECOGNIZE YOUR BOYFRIEND

ft. manjiro “mikey” sano, ken “draken” ryuguji, keisuke baji, takashi mitsuya, rindou haitani, ran haitani & shuji hanma

warnings: alcohol and a very hammered reader. the boys are more responsible than you <3

this is one of the rare occurrences wherein MIKEY actually shares his food. when you’ve finally given up on fighting him for the last bottle of alcohol, you start whining about your sudden hunger so he slides his plate of nachos over to you. he watches you eye it for a second before you drag your gaze up to him. “i have a boyfriend you know?” you tell him, your attempt to be menacing coming out pathetically as the attitude dripping from your tone is dampened by your slurred speech. mikey doesn’t need the club to be well lit. the strobe lights already illuminate your face enough for him to get a clear view of your glassy eyes and flushed cheeks. “i know,” he confirms with a tinge of exasperation, “because it’s me. mikey. your boyfriend.” he emphasizes his last words, his last effort to knock some sense into you but you only let out a cackle which catches him off guard. “nice try but mikey never shares his food.”

“that’s enough.” DRAKEN snatches the last of your many drinks for the night before you can gulp it down. being the perceptive boyfriend he is, he can already hear the complaint that’s about to slip from your tongue so he’s quick to pull you by the wrist, up from your seat and out the door. “where are you taking me?” you ask as clearly as your drunken state can let you—not so much but enough for your boyfriend to understand. “home.” at his curt reply, you yank your hand from his grip with a strength that startles even toman’s former vice president. “what the hell are you doing?” draken hisses lest you make a scene in public. “i’m calling my boyfriend,” you warn him, “bet he can kick your ass.” “yeah? i’d like to see him try.” he dismisses your empty threat, reaching for you once more to guide you to the exit but upon hearing a few whispers from prying strangers who are clearly getting the wrong idea, he stops in his tracks and turns to no one in particular, no longer caring about whatever commotion he may cause as his voice booms over the loud music: “i’m the boyfriend!”

“let me go!” you relentlessly thrash around, yelling out threats of calling your boyfriend, while BAJI—the boyfriend in question—pulls you into an empty alleyway to avoid any possible public humiliation for the both of you. “fuck,” he huffs out a breath, “when did you get this strong?” some time in the night, he’s tuned you out telling him off, on a sole mission to stop you from drinking more than you already have. and he’s relieved he managed to get you out of the bar—that is until he hears a weird noise coming from you. “wh-” baji doesn’t get the chance to utter a single word as you begin to throw up. in a panic, he hastily puts your hair up with his spare tie before rubbing soothing circles on your back. your hair looks real messy, he notes, but that’s the least of his worries. “you feeling better?” he checks on you after a while, only to be met by more retching, making him grumble to himself, “and i get an earful when i drink too much.”

MITSUYA is helping you get on your feet—sweet boyfriend he is—but as soon as you find your footing, you give him a hefty shove. “i have a boyfriend, jackass!” you seethe, too drunk to recognize him, and all he can do is sigh as he regains his balance. “yes. me.” something clicks in your brain at his response and you squint your eyes to get a better look at him. “takashi?” “hi, love.” and just like that, you perk up, your mouth stretching into a wide grin. “taka,” you squeal, excitement coursing through your veins when you recognize your boyfriend, “hiiiii~” he laughs at the shift in your tone and takes the opportunity to slide an arm around your waist once more. “let’s get you home okay?” “mhm.” you wrap your arms around him and he lifts you with ease. mitsuya assumes you’re fast asleep until a few minutes later, you mumble something against his skin, “someone tried to flirt with me but i said no.” a chuckle bubbles past his lips as he adjusts his hold on you. “really?” “mhm,” you nod into his neck as you snuggle closer, “i only love you.” “i love you more.” “love you most,” you reply before soft snores fall from your lips and your breathing evens out.

you’re rambling about RINDOU to rindou himself, going on and on about the reasons that made you fall in love with him. and while you’re occasionally interrupted by your hiccups, he patiently listens to your every word then he hears a “but.” the ways you describe him next are less flattering, less romantic—how he tries so hard to act indifferent to your cooing as if the tips of his ears don’t instantly turn red. or how he has a permanent scowl etched on his face. and other things you already tell him even when you’re sober. “he’s really lucky he doesn’t have any wrinkles yet,” you add with a giggle. “you’re really annoying when you’re drunk, you know that?” rindou deadpans. despite the lack of lighting in the club, he doesn’t miss the shock washing over you, your eyes getting mistier by the second. “what?” your voice comes out shaky and your bottom lip starts to wobble, making rindou release another groan. “for fuck’s sake.”

in spite of your insistence to stay at the club, RAN easily managed to drag you to his car. this isn’t his first rodeo. as an older brother, he has had to deal with rindou when he was blackout drunk. “where are we going?” you mumble as you begin to stir in the passenger seat. “home.” “i wanna see ran.” your boyfriend throws you a quick glance—your eyes remain closed and the rest of your words are incomprehensible—before he focuses back on the road. amused by your drunken state, he plays along. “alright, we’re going to ran.” the stretch of silence that follows is cut short when you speak again, “i’m thirsty.” so ran makes a quick stop at a convenience store, coming back shortly with a bottle in hand. he unscrews the cap before he gives you the drink, “careful.” you take a big gulp, instantly grimacing at the taste and it elicits a snort from your boyfriend. “what is this?” “water.”

“want more,” you slur. across from you, HANMA watches as you clumsily reach for the empty shot glasses on the table, flipping them upside down as if more alcohol will magically appear. he’s not going to lie—he finds it funny. entertaining, even. and if the circumstances were any different, he would’ve even encouraged this behavior. but he’s your boyfriend now and if there’s one thing he truly cares about, it’s you. drunk out of your wits, you don’t notice when hanma slides out of the booth until he’s soon presenting two more glasses to you. even though the contents are the same, he asks you to choose, “which one?” “hmm… that.” before you can get your hands on your drink, hanma intercepts and downs it in one go. you’re about to protest when he throws you over his shoulder and chugs the other drink out of your sight before heading for the exit. “let’s go.”

[mitsuyafics]

TR boys when you use their first name for the first time.

gender neutral reader

Includes : Mikey, Mitsuya, Inui, and Hanma.

Note : Implied NSFW, a little angsty on Inui’s.

Tell me if you want me to do others !!

Manjiro Sano

Mikey had been your boyfriend for around a year before you decided to try to use his first name. You usually used pet names or just calling him Mikey, but you really wanted to know what he’d think.

“Mikey~” You called out, as your boyfriend stayed on your chest, cuddling deeper into your body.

“Mikey, we have to get up. The gang will be waiting on us soon..”

He continued to ignore you, his eyes closed and a small smile on his face. Light breathing and the sound of birds outside filled the room.

Finally, you gathered enough courage.

“M..Manjiro..” You said quietly, a slight heat rushing to your face. The heat became even greater when his head sprung up at you, his gaze directly on your eyes.

“What did you just say?”

That tone. Was he mad at the random drop of his government name?

“U-Uh.. Manjiro..” You kept your confidence even though it was starting to falter.

“Say it again.” He demanded, his tone and face stone cold.

“Manjiro”

Suddenly a big smile showed on his face, and he started to kiss all over yours.

“Call me that from now on, yeah?” He smiled again, continuing his ministrations.

“Manjiro! That tickles” You giggled, extremely happy at how this turned out.

Mitsuya Takashi

It wasn’t long before you decided to call Mitsuya by his first name. It just kinda slipped out because of how much Hakkai would say it. Besides that, He just has such a pretty first name.

“Luna, Mana, I’m home!”

“Taka-nii!”

“Nii-chan!”

They yelled, running down the stairs.

“You brought Y/n-nee too! Yay!” Luna smiled, as both sisters hugged onto your legs.

“Hi my loves, how was school?”

You and the girls got into random conversations about the day, smiling and laughing.

Mitsuya started dinner, while softly smiling at the sight. He adored the way you got along with his sisters. It only pushed the attraction he already had for you.

After a while of talking with his sisters, you told them you were going to help him with dinner, and left them to play.

“Hi Love” He smiled when you walked towards him.

“Need any help, Takashi?”

Suddenly he froze, the knife he was using to cut vegetables dropped beside him, luckily not hitting anything.

“W-What?”

“Did I say something wrong? Was it too early to call you that..?” Anxiety started to creep into your mind like a wildfire. Everything in you telling you to apologize and say Mitsuya instead.

“N-No!” He turned around, and grabbed your hands. A smile present on his face. “Could you repeat that..?”

“Do you need any help, Mitsuya..?”

He frowned, “That’s not what you said..”

You swallowed the lump in your throat and tried again.

“Takashi..”

Suddenly one of his hands left yours and he hid his face behind it.

His ears shined red and he smiled brightly.

“Yes, I would love your help.. Please call me that more.”

“O-Okay!” You smiled brightly, happy he was okay with it.

“My name has never sounded better than it did when you said it..”

Inui Seishu

Inui had been your best friend since he originally joined Toman. Both him and Koko leaned towards you more than anyone else from the first division.

You had always thought Inui was so pretty, which Kokonoi noticed fairly quickly. He teased you about it often before you two got together.

You didn’t like calling Inui the same name as everyone else, which is where the thought of using his first name came from.

One night, you were hanging out with him in the old bike shop Inui stayed at. Usually Koko would be here too, but he had something going on he said he “had to deal with”.

“Are you hungry? I brought some food from the store..”

“Yeah I am, Thank you Seishu.”

He froze, The bag in his hand dropping to the floor. Suddenly you regretted this decision greatly. Especially when you noticed tears underlining his eyes.

“Inui! I’m sorry!” You rushed over to him, wiping his tears, a worried expression on your face.

He just stared at you, before pulling you into his arms and sobbing into your shoulder.

“I’m so sorry Inui.. I didn’t mean to hurt you..”

“No..” He cleared his throat, “Please call me that again..”

“Are you sure?? Uh.. I’m sorry, Seishu.”

His sobs got harder for a bit longer, as you held him tightly.

“Do you know.. how long I’ve waited to hear that name..?”

“What are you talking about..?”

“I’ve waited so long.. for someone to see me as just me.. Seishu..”

He sniffled again into your shoulder, before leaning back and holding your face with so much care, as if you could break at any second.

“I’ve always seen you as you, Seishu”

His eyes teared up again, and he smiled, before bringing you into a kiss beyond anything you’ve felt before. He put his all into that kiss.

That night he showed you exactly how much you meant to him. How much he loved you.

Hanma Shuji

Hanma and you started as a fling that just stayed to each other. There wasn’t any stated commitment, yet neither of you went to anyone else.

You thought about saying his name so many times, but never got the courage to. Until you were at a party with the Toman members.

The bar was filled with people, most tipsy and on the dance floor while Rindou Haitani played music for the whole crowd.

Hanma has never entertained anyone else, so you never felt the need to get possessive or jealous ever. Until this party.

“You’re Hanma right?” The girl slurred, “Wow. You really are as handsome as people say, Reaper.”

“Thanks.” He replied, before going back to his conversation with Kazutora.

“Are you here alone? I could show you a good time tonight, if you’d like~” She flirted, slowly getting closer to him before you walked up.

Placing yourself on Hanma’s lap, You smiled and kissed his cheek.

“Hi Shuji~ I missed you. Oh? Who is this?” You asked nicely, while smirking at the girl.

“Just some random girl. Says she can give me a good time. You believe that, doll?” He smirked.

“Oh! By all means try, But remember who he’s coming back to after, okay?” I smiled her way, as she scoffed and walked off.

He places a few sloppy kisses along your neck before smiling up at you.

“Was that jealousy, Doll? That side of you was.. extremely hot..”

“What can I say, You’ve been mine for a while.” You smiled, placing a slow kiss on his lips.

“Ugh. Get a fucking room.” Kazutora scoffed.

Suddenly you were picked up as Hanma stood, “Oh don’t worry, we will” He smirked as he walked away from Kazutora.

“Oh and doll?”

“Yes?”

“Be sure to call me Shuji for the rest of the night~”

[aakariiiii]

You’ll Catch My Coldˏˋ°•*⁀➷

contains: mitsuya being sick, thats really it….

requests: open

a/n: i had this uncompleted in my drafts so i finished writing it n here i am uploading it!!! i kinda (only kinda) like it tbh so i hope you guys like it as well, just a reminder that requests are open!!!! please enjoy reading it <33

____________________________________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

It was 2pm at the moment, and I have been woken from my deep slumber that I promised myself I would get as a reward of my hard work during the academic year.

“Who the fuck wakes up at 2pm on the first day of summer vacation. And who the fuck even woke me up?” I ask myself as I rub my eyes to help clear my obscured vision.

My phone has been ringing for the past eternity, and it’s not shutting up.

I grab my phone to check who’s the asshole who’s been calling ever since the morning, only to find out that it’s my very dear boyfriend, mitsuya.

11 missed calls from taka <3

“oh shit, oh shit” I curse to myself as worry embraces me, spreading through my veins insidiously.

Did he die? Did something happen to him?

I ask myself these questions as I dial his number on my phone.

“pick up you idiot” i whisper to no one in particular.

“Luna, Mana, get the hell away from me.” I hear mitsuya on the other line cough up this sentence.

“Babe?” I ask

“y/n. Where the fu—hell have you been. I was starting to get worried, you idiot!” His voice, scratchy and full of cold, asked through the phone.

“Ahaaha…I have been…asleep…” I muttered shamefully and then added, “Are you okay though, you sound exhausted…and full of cold..”

“That’s the reason I ca—cough—ca—cough—” he stops to take a breath and continues “called. Luna and Mana are not leaving me alone and I dont want to spread my cold to them, the—cough—they’re trying to help me out which is pretty nice but I dont want them getting sick.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in a bit.” I say, getting up from my bed.

“I’ll get you some medicine on the way. Stay put, love you.” I add.

“Mhm, thank you—cough—Genuinely have n—cough—no idea what i’d do with—cough—without you, i love you so much.” he says in a weak, feeble voice.

“Oh shut it, I’m your girlfriend for a reason, dummy.” I replied.

“I’m—cough—I’m trying to be nice—cough—but anyway, b—cough—bye”

“Bye.” I giggle as I end the call. He’s so cute!

———————————————————————

I slowly open the door of Mitsuya’s house, expecting him to be asleep. I truly did not expect to hear yells and giggles coming out from both Mitsuya and his sisters, who are currently seated in the living room.

I tip toe to secretly steal a glance, only to be greeted by the scene of Luna sitting on top of mitsuya, who was laying on the couch, head on the couch’s armrest, and Mana standing beside that armrest, gawking at mitsuya straight in the eyes from above.

I couldn’t help but let out a giggle, which turned all the attention to me, and with that, both Luna and Mana ran straight up to me, hugging my lower torso.

“Y/n! You’re here!” one of the girls yelled in excitement, causing me to grin.

“Indeed I am! How do you girls think Mitsuya’s been feeling?” I ask, playing along with their ‘doctor’ game.

“Well—based on what I have seen, I think he has—uhhhh…a cough!” Luna says hesitantly as Mana nods.

I kneel down as I place the grocery bags I brought on the floor, trying to reach to their level, and say in a surprised manner “Oh, really?! Poor Mitsuya, he must he feeling awful, right? What do you guys recommend him to do?”

“Sleep!” Mana answers and Luna adds, “Yeah, I think he must rest well!”

“Exactly, now why don’t you girls go to your room while I make sure that Nee-san gets the sleep he needs so that we can all play together later?” I offer, excitingly, earning nods and ‘yeah, hurray!’ from one of them as they rush to their rooms.

I stand up again and approach Mitsuya, and Oh God. Exhaustion was painted all over his face, tired eyes begging to sleep and some messy hair.

“How are you feeling, Taka?” I ask softly.

“Take a guess, babe,” He responds sarcastically in a rough, scratched voice.

“Well, based on what your little doctors told me, not very well,” I joke as I bring my hand to his forehead, and as expected, he was burning up.

“Woah, what an absolute genius you are, babe” he coughs.

“Yeah yeah, whatever. I get that all the time, but anyway, do you wanna head to your room? I’ll make you some food before handing you your medicine and then you can head to sleep and I’ll take care of the girls for tonight,”

“Sounds good to me, I think my head is about to explode,” He winces as he tries to get up in a vain attempt.

“Take it easy, Taka, let me help you,”

And with that, I help him up and make sure he walks without stumbling and breaking a bone to his room. I grab some water and place it beside his nightstand.

“You can sleep while I make the food if you want, but it shouldn’t take long,” I mention as I lean in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah I think I’ll stay awake—b—cough—but you stay away from me- or else you—cough—you’ll catch my cold—“ He coughs again.

“Oh don’t be silly, of course I’ll catch your cold, but you’ll take care of me the next,” I grin as I begin making my way out of his room.

“I don’t know how I ended up being with you, but I’m not complaining,” he faintly mutters to himself, smiling softly at no one in particular.

He does realise that even if you make silly jokes sometimes, he’s indeed the luckiest man on earth to have you beside him.

____________________________________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

[sprinklenoodles]

Since it's Pride Month, it's time for some THH sexuality headcanons!

Sayaka: bi, with a preference for men. Doesn't mean she doesn't find girls PRETTY though. Might had a crush on one of her female classmates before falling in love with Leon.

Leon: straight. He's just a straight dude that's vibing.

Mukuro: bi. Pretty sure this one is kinda canon, so don't have anything else to say about this.

Chihiro: AroAce. I just... can't see him dating anybody. Ever. Plus, he's one of my favs, so that means you gotta be on the aro spectrum.

Mondo: bi, with a preference for women. Did not know he liked men before going to HP. However, it wasn't Taka that was his first male crush there...

Taka: gay. He's very gay, no explanation needed.

Hifumi: straight and ace. The other straight guy here. Don't have much else to say about him.

Celeste: bi, with a preference towards women. While she does want a castle full of servants that are men, she would rather date a woman.

Sakura: pan. Gender doesn't matter to her, she had an amazing boyfriend and now has an amazing girlfriend.

Junko: pan. Her true love is despair though.

Toko: bi. While she does like men, her true love is a woman.

Hiro: gay. He hasn't managed to find a boyfriend though. He's lonely, I'm afraid.

Hina: Lesbian. She loves girls and girls only. No boys there. The bad ending doesn't exist. Her heart belongs to Sakura

Byakuya: AroAce. If you know me, you know I have a LOT of thoughts about this headcanon. Made multiple posts about it, so won't say anything here. He and Chihiro are AroAce buddies though.

Kyoko: bi and demiromantic. She doesn't fall in love easily, though that doesn't mean she doesn't fall in love at all. Like with Makoto.

Makoto: pan. He doesn't care about gender, which causes him to fall in love very easily. He had a crush on multiple of his classmates, both male and female, before falling in love with Kyoko.

[bebe-writes-stuff]

Mikey x reader (angst with a good ending)

One of Mikey's problems is he doesn't realize how neglectful he's been of you until it was too late. He wasn't the perfect boyfriend, you already accepted that. But you weren't going to accept pushing your self-respect aside for him. You knew your worth. And what happened today was your breaking point with him.

You had both of your arms wrapped around your body, trying to shield yourself from the biting cold, as you waited. Your skin, touched by the icy air as you felt numbness set in, your movements became stiff. Hours, you had spent hours in the cold winter waiting for him.

Your breath is visible in clouds. You had accepted the fact, he forgot our date...again. you crouched down, grabbing a hand full of snow, the crystals cling light to your palm, cool and delicate against your skin. You bring your hands closer to your face before parting your lips feeling the snow melting on your tongue forming a small, involuntary smile at the sensation. It tasted pure and clean.

"Huh? yo Y/n, whatchu' doin' out here?"

You jumped at the sudden noise that cut through the air, knowing who it was, you turned around immediately.

"Oh, hey Taka-kun."

You wave a little with a smile but your eyes look sad, his eyes widening at your state. quickly making his way to you, taking off his scarf and wrapping it around you,

"Holy hell Y/n! How long have you been out here! you're freaking blue!"

He pulled you into a tight embrace, you were freezing. you look up at him with a sad look,

"he forgot...again."

You nuzzled into Mitsuya, desperate for any warmth,

"I am so sorry, Y/n. Please go home, you're so cold. Here, I'll drive you home."

He pointed at his bike and gently pulled you towards,

"C'mon, I'll make you something warm to drink."

Despite Mitsuya's gentleness, he was infuriated with Mikey. Mitsuya knew that if he didn't show up coincidentally, You would've stayed until Mikey showed up and from the looks of it, he wasn't going to anytime soon.

...

Once you stepped inside the comfort of your home. You felt like you were melting. You handed Mitsuya his scarf back before taking off your layers of clothes that didn't really make a difference in the cold weather.

You snuggled into your couch, when Mitsuya came out of your kitchen with 2 mugs of hot cocoa.

"Hot coco! perfect timing taka-kun!"

He sat next to you handing one of the cups as you started explaining your situation and how you almost ended up freezing to death because of Mikey forgetting about the date HE asked you on. He listened to you carefully , nodding and humming, but when you reached the end of your story. You said something that caught him totally off guard,

"Taka-kun, I think I am done with Mikey. T-this was my last straw, I can't do it anymore!"

You shook your head, as tears began forming at the corners of your eyes,

"I've been patient with him since the beginning, but there's only so much stress he can put on me! It feels like I've been pushing constantly at a cement wall! All I do is give, and give, and FUCKING GIVE...I am tired!"

Tears spilled from your eyes, it was the first time Mitsuya ever saw you cry. He even wondered sometimes if you were capable of crying, but now you proved him wrong. You had feelings, emotions, and most importantly a limit. A limit Mikey has crossed.

"C'mon Y/n, y-you don't mean that right? You love him. And he loves you too, so much in fact, even if he is too careless to show it sometimes. You're all he talks about-"

You cut him off,

"Of course you're gonna defend him, you're one of his best friends. Go home Mitsuya, I wanna be alone."

You were weak and tired. You just wanted to be alone. away from everyone and away from Mikey. But the thought of it made you miserable, Mitsuya was right. You did love him, but you loved yourself also. Mitsuya reached your front door when he turned to you,

"I swear to Toman, Y/n, Mikey has never talked about anyone the way he talks about you. The way his eyes light up when your name comes up in anything. He is just a dense idiot, he'd never ever have the intention to hurt you purposely."

...

Once Mitsuya left your place, he instantly called Draken, informing him about your situation and especially how you wanted to end it with Mikey. Draken expected Mikey to fuck it up with you but this, he was just as frustrated as Mitsuya.

"DAMMIT MIKEY, PICK UP!"

He punched his wall, staring at 6 calls Mikey had missed. No use in calling Mikey again, He called Emma,

"Oh draken, hey-"

He cut her off,

"EMMA, WHERE'S THAT DUMBASS SHRIMP? WHY ISNT HE PICKING UP HIS DAMN FUCKING PHONE?"

Emma quickly removed the phone from next to her ear before going deaf because of draken's yell.

"Jeez, what the hell, you're gonna make me deaf! He is still sleeping, what's wrong?"

"That idiot fucked up with Y/n. He asked her out on a date today and forgot about her. She was waiting outside for hours dammit, HOURS. Mitsuya found her and said she was freezing her ass off...and she wants to end it with him."

His voice lowered as he got to the end. Emma's eyes went wide, angry at her older brother's actions.

...

A yawn leaving his lips and messy blonde hair, Mikey appeared behind Emma stretching a little.

"Good morning Emma, mm are you talking to Ken-chin on the phone, I think I heard his voice."

Mikey ducked the flying pan that Emma threw at him, before she glared at him angrily with tears in the corners of her eyes. Poor Y/n she almost froze to death because of him.

"Woah, what is your problem? Wait hold on, are you crying?"

He made his way to his sister, before cupping her face and looking at her face. Tears were in the corners of her eyes, and cheeks stained with tears she'd already wiped away. He wiped her tears away,

"Hey, what's wrong? Who made you cry?

She pushed him away from her,

"You, jerk!"

He looked confusion,

"What did I even do? I literally just woke up. Also why was Ken-chin spamming my phone with calls?"

"Y/n, She almost froze to death because of you! Why even ask her on a date when you aren't gonna show up, not to mention, this isn't the first time!"

Mikey froze still, checking the time, it was hours after your planned date.

"Dammit, dammit, are you fucking shitting me right now? Fuck, I promised her I wouldn't forget!"

He scrambled to quickly fix his hair and put on his shoes before Emma continued,

"...She wants to end it, Mikey."

Almost dropping to his knees, Mikey trembled slightly, using the door next to him as leverage,

"W-what?"

He was scared, No you can't leave him, You were the best thing that ever happened to him. All Mikey could do was think about all the silly moments he had with you. How he teased you. How he'd poke and pinch those cute rose cheeks, that were always as soft as mochi. Not waiting a second more, Mikey ran out of his house, he had to reach you, and apologize, and kiss you.

"M-mikey wait, it's too cold to go out without a jacket."

Emma tried, but no way could she keep up with Mikey's speed as he ran, one thought in mind, his love and how he hurt her.

...

He was gasping for air when he reached your house, instantly knocking on your front door frantically. Startled by the loud knocking, you quickly made a way to your front door, stopping when you heard,

"Y/N! PLEASE! I'M SORRY!"

It was Mikey, you stared at the door, Your heart aching to keep him waiting outside in the cold.

"Go home, Mikey."

He stopped knocking once hearing your voice, his heart dropping at your words. He could tell you've been crying,

"Y/n, I'm sorry, I really am, I'm sorry for making you wait! I'm sorry for making you cry! I am a terrible boyfriend, I'll do better, I swear. Please let me in. Y/n, I love you."

"It's cold, please go home,Mikey, I don't want you to get a cold. I want to be alone right now."

You didn't hear any response, only footsteps going further and further. you leaned against the door, curling in a small ball. Hugging your legs close to your chest.

"I shouldn't have done that, damn it Y/n! we could've talked it out!"

You dug your nails in your shoulders regretting your decision. Crying made you tired, before you even knew it. you had dozed off in front of the door to your home on the cold floor.

...

You weren't sure how long you'd been out for, but you woke up suddenly at the sound of your phone ringing, it was Emma calling you to check up on everything.

"Hey Emma,"

Your voice was hoarse and raspy, Her heart sank at the sound of your voice.

"Hey Y/n, how are things going, um did you guys make up?"

"Huh? what do you mean?"

"Mikey hasn't been home? I am guessing he is with you working this out, right? huh? Y/n hello?"

You dropped your phone on the ground, horrified. Mikey wasn't at your house nor was he at his in this Frigid weather.

You snatched your front door in an instant, Mikey was nowhere in front of you. Without thinking, sliding your feet in your shoes before running out the house not bothering closing the door behind you,

"MIKEY!"

You looked around as your screamed his name,

"MIKEY!"

You screamed even louder. But, it was no use, no matter how loud you shouted, the streets were empty.

"I'M SO STUPID, DAMMIT WHY DID I DO THAT?"

why couldn't you have just let him in, instead of being selfish and a hypocrite. Leaving him out in the cold just like he did to you. You wouldn't forgive yourself if something happened to him. You bit your lip so hard he drew blood before pulling your fist back and punching a tree to let out your internal frustration. Blood dripped from the tree, you busted your knuckles.

...

The only idea that made sense to you was to follow the footstep in the snow that spread out away from your house. You didn't care about the biting cold, mikey was your source of warmth. You didn't care about the date, you just wanted to make sure he was alright. You ran in the direction of the footsteps that seemed to be the same size as Mikeys.

"Please, Mikey! please be okay!"

Tears flooded out of your eyes freezing half-way down your cheeks, as you reached what seemed to be the last footsteps imprinted in the snow, only to be replaced by a new pair of footsteps, two of them. That led to an abandoned warehouse. It was old and shabby.

There was something that made your chest tighten. Blood, Small drops of the next to each pair of footsteps. You couldn't help but overthink as you got closer and closer to the warehouse. You were facing the door leading inside the isolated place, you hadn't realized how far you've gotten away from...anyone. You push the old rusty door and it creaked loudly, You gasped when you heard,

"Huh? Oi Tatsumi, did you hear that? come with me,"

A wave of fear and anxiety washed over you. You couldn't hide anywhere, Your footsteps would only alert your hiding spot. Whoever was out here, in this weather, and the blood that stained the pure white snow, they weren't nice people. There was only one place to hide.

...

"What the- Matsuda, no one is out here-"

"Look, you fucking idiot, there's a 3rd pair of footsteps leading to our hiding spot. There's someone hiding out here."

you held your breath as you ducked.

"Wait where? There's no more footsteps left in the snow."

he walked around, the only footsteps were his, as he continued looking for this hiding person.

"Matsuda, what if they're already in the warehouse."

"Maybe...well if they are. find them. you know what to do, Tatsumi. Tie them up next to that fucking brat."

"You know Matsuda, I heard a lot about that kid. Apparently, he is the strongest teenager around here. They named him, um, yeah I remember now! The invincible Mikey."

Your eyes widened, as you heard. Features contort, revealing a mixture of anxiety and distress. Brows drawn together you began to think. They kidnapped mikey...

...

Hiding on the roof of the abandoned warehouse was the best option. You used all the strength you could possibly collect to pull yourself from window to window until you reached the top of it. There were a few openings on the roof to get inside but could you hide inside until you found mikey, or do you call the cops- Fuck you forgot your phone at home. You had no choice, you had to save mikey.

You walked around the roof, making sure of things, your footsteps were as silent as possible. You peeked into one of the openings of the roof. Clear, You jumped in, your footsteps as silent as a brown bear. You hid in the shadows, you didn't know where you were going, but your heart led you to him. The ache in your chest only tightened when you saw the scene in front of you.

...

On the other the two criminals were searching the warehouse for any lost prey waiting to be hunted. What both men concluded, the footsteps belonged to a girl from how small they were compared to theirs.

"Matsuda, are you sure?"

"100%, you saw the difference didn't you?"

"Wait, but why are we looking for her?"

"...A little treat after dealing with that kid, we could have some fun."

...

"...Mikey...?"

you mutter below a whisper, almost a squeak, as you stare at the man you loved. Covered in blood, bruises, and cuts, Mikey, looks at you. He was stripped down to his boxers as he was tied down to a wooden chair with duct tape.

"...Y/n...I'm sorry."

You knew Mikey could easily beat those guys up without breaking a sweat, so why, why was he doing this to himself. But then you noticed his eyes. You've never seen Mikey's eyes so dark in your life before. He had no fighting spirit left, and one thought lingered in your mind.

I caused all of this.

You walked closer to Mikey, You cupped his face. Cold. He was cold.

"Oh Mikey, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

You felt your heart break, as you pulled him into your arms,

"Heh, you're so warm, Y/n-chin."

You looked down and saw how his eyes let up at the sight of you, Your tears sliding off your face onto his.

"Jiro, I am so sorry. I love you. I was being childish and stupid and you got hurt because of me. I am sorry."

You couldn't stop your tears, you just wanted to go home with Mikey and cuddle, absorbing each other's warmth. You wanted all of this to just be a bad dream you'll wake up from, and wake up to Mikey's soft whispering of everything will be alright.

"Mm, I love you too. Hey, stop crying, okay? Your tears are precious to me and I am sorry for making you cry. Don't worry, everything will be alright."

...

"Sorry to break your little love sessions here, But I doubt anything will be alright, as your little boyfriend here is saying."

You heard as soon as you finished ripping off the tap holding your boyfriend down. He gave you a look which meant, stay close to me as much as you can. You nodded a little.

"I mean I wouldn't want to beat on you more than I already did but looks like I don't have a choice."

Both men ran towards Mikey. Not even a blink of an eye later. Both men, splayed on the floor, completely knocked out.

"The only reason, I let you two pieces of shits do what you've done, because it was a punishment for me for breaking my promise to Y/n and making her wait for me."

He looked at you with a wide smile,

"Let's go home, angel."

"Put your damn clothes back on, mikey."

...

You were in his room, take care of all his injuries. Patting the small cotton ball drenched in alcohol.

"OWIE, BE GENTLE Y/N-CHIN!"

"I AM BEING GENTLY, STOP SQUIRMING AROUND!"

You couldn't help the smile creeping on your lips at the sound of his childish voice, causing him to smile also.

"I guess they made up?"

Emma asked Draken,

"Yeah, I wonder what happened though."

He responded.

You stopped patting the cotton ball and looked down before you mutter,

"Hey mikey?"

"Yeah."

"I like you most when you're on your feet kicking ass, I don't wanna see you get hurt ever again, m'kay?"

[brainfilehasstoppedworking]

(I'M BACK ON THE JEALOUSY THING I ALMOST DIDN'T FUCKING SLEEP AND IT'S 7AM LETS GOOOOO)

At first, Taka didn't realise Mondo's changement of attitude. Sure he was a bit more clingy when they were around Daiya but it's not like Mondo hated physical touch ! To the Pinkie holding to the hand holding passing to the arm around your shoulder and finally to the hand on your hip, Mondo was always touching Taka. So he didn't pay much mind to it.

But, it got worse. Way worse.

When Taka even mentioned the fact that they could pass at Mondo's house (No Daiya mentioned !!! Just his house !!), Mondo would start to trow a fit saying that they didn't need to be here everyday.

When Taka started to call Daiya by his first name (the Older Owada having asking him multiple to do so and finally explaining that Owada-kun was weird to him and that he prefered being called by his first name anyway) Mondo lost his mind ! He went on a long rant about the fact that he was still Owada-kun until they we're friends and that it was "disrespectful" of Taka to call Daiya by his first name. Mondo ? Caring about respect ? Nah. That was weird.

And then, Taka started to bite back. If Mondo was going to be a brat, Taka was going to be petty.

He used everything against Mondo. Saying that he was being a controling boyfriend and that he could call whoever he wanted by whatever name he wanted (if the person in question agreed to, wish in that case he did). He started to not tell him when he would come to their house (showing up without calling at least twice to make sure the person is not busy ?? That wasn't very Taka like.) And he took Daiya's number. Just in case. (No really he did take it just in case, the number of time Mondo had gotten it trouble and only told his brother and "forgot" to tell Taka is hilarous)

And lastly. They fighted about that. Taka hated that Mondo was doing all this stuff. He wasn't like that with anyone !! Why suddenly was he acting like an animal when it came to his brother ??

It was a big fight honestly. Taka was in tears and Mondo was almost there too. But Mondo snapped and finally yelled "IF IT MATTER TO YA SOOO MUCH WHY DON'T YA JUST GO TO MY HOUSE AND MY BROTHA-"

And Boom. The truth was out. Taka understood. Mondo was jealous of Daiya.

And Taka ? Well Taka just laughed. Not a sweet small laugh. Not the usual "Ha ha ha". But an almost psychotic one. Because how could Mondo be so fucking stupid !

After another hour of Taka screaming love letters at Mondo and a good half hour of kissing the two lovers we're finally reunitated in a cuddle session.

The last word Mondo heard before falling asleep was "I love you Mondo Owada. And no one not even your brother would change that".

(but yeah Daiya is hot and Taka know that but he's like "no Thanks i have my own version :)")

Thank you for the meal, Chef! See, this is what I want in IshiMondo stuff sometimes. It makes things so interesting! Mondo, you dumbass. We love ya, but you're so stupid. *pats his head*

And Daiya is hot, lol. The fucking Owada's are hot, Aphrodite fr gave them all the beauty LMAO. I'm jealous of them and their looks.

Anyways, glad they were able to clear shit up in the end. Also, damn, 7 AM??? Go back to sleep!!!

[itadoriyuuuji]

tokyo revengers pairings but it’s my thoughts/headcannons

doramai:

-they’re best friends, duh

-we all know how far draken is willing to go for mikey, and it’s amazing.

-personally, i think that if they were in a relationship, draken would be 100x clingier than mikey

-mikey always buys one extra dorayaki for draken, but always ends up eating it anyways when draken passes on it (it’s his master plan. he knew draken would pass)

-mikey always supports drakens dumbass ideas. he thinks it’s funny.

-draken buys mikey a ton of snacks. it’s his only way to get mikey to shut up at times.

-mikey has a thing for playing with drakens hair. he also washes it at times.

-if/when they get together, nobody in the gang is surprised. however, hakkai is surprised it didn’t happen faster.

maitake:

-they’re my top brotp.

-while i don’t see them every having anything romantic, i think if they were too, they’d be insufferable.

-pda. everywhere. no one can escape it.

-takemichi ends up giving mikey more career advice than anyone, however, he really shouldn’t be giving it… (i’m looking you manager-of-video-store.)

mitsukkai:

-literally one of the best duos ever.

-hakkai has every right to be obsessed with mitsuya. i would be too.

-i ship them 100%

-i think hakkai and mitsuya would be great together, however, i feel like they would come to a lot of bumps in the road (a relationship can never be perfect all fo the times).

-i think after the final chapter, it would make sense for them to partner up and for hakkai to use his connections to boost mitsuya’s work.

-going off of the end, i think mitsuya and taiju would work together to torment (no abuse, taiju isn’t abusive in this timeline) hakkai at times. especially with their awful baking skills.

-one time, mitsuya burned his hand making dinner for his sisters, leading to hakkai not letting him cook because he didn’t want taka-chan to get hurt again.

-mitsuya makes hakkai cook since he won’t let him near the stove. hakkai never cooks again.

takefuyu:

-idiot partners in crime

-literally trust each other with EVERYTHING

-half of their texts consist of chifuyu sending takemichi cat memes and pictures of kittens.

-chifuyu helped takemichi plan his real proposal, mostly because takemichi was too much of an idiot to get it done on his own (bless his heart)

-takemichi knows far too much about chifuyu’s dating life (or lack thereof)

bajifuyu:

-first love turned best friend type shit

-baji is chifuyu’s biggest supporter. #1 chifuyu fan right here

-one time, baji tried to visit chifuyu as a surprise. he never did it again, as he got hit in the head with a shoe before he made it through the door.

-baji consistently complains about chifuyu underpaying him at the petshop, prompting chifuyu to stop cooking for him and only cook for kazutora.

-baji once tried to come in between kazutora and chifuyu because he was jealous. he failed miserably. however chifuyu gave him more attention after that.

-baji buys a lot of yakisoba when chifuyu decides to stop cooking for him.

-chifuyu gives baji and kazutora weekly bags of necessities. they can support themselves, but chifuyu has done it for baji since they were younger.

kazufuyu:

-forgiveness is key.

-kazutora is chifuyu’s second biggest fan. he thinks chifuyu hung the stars.

-chifuyu cooks special things for kazutora when he’s having bad days

-one time, kazutora saw his father in public. chifuyu flipped his father off from a far, trying to lighten kazutora’s mood. it didn’t really work.

-kazutora once locked chifuyu out of the pet store to stop him from overworking himself. chifuyu nearly fired him.

-every year for chifuyu’s birthday, kazutora and baji make him a cake. it’s terrible every year, but chifuyu still eats it.

-the day baji tried to surprise visit chifuyu, kazutora was at his apartment. he was the reason the shoe was thrown.

-kazutora sleeps over at chifuyu’s apartment all the time. however, he wakes up far earlier than chifuyu, so he spends most of his time bored in the living room while he waits for his log of a boyfriend to get up.

yuzuhina:

-they’re so cute. not my favorite pairing, but my GOD they are CUTE.

-yuzuha and hina laugh over their idiots together

-one day, yuzuha decided to teach hina how to fight. it worked out fairly well.

-yuzuha and hina go shopping together all the time

-they model for mitsuya and are his biggest hypemen.

-sometimes yuzuha will take hina to the beach just so she can have time away from her family. they aren’t bad by any means, but yuzuha knows first hand that you just have to get away at times.

-yuzuha always takes care of hina when she isn’t feeling well. whether it be that she’s sick or sad, yuzuha is there.

kokonui:

-these two stress me OUT

-they’re soulmates but they can’t be together until they work all of their shit out

-there’s a lot of shit to be worked out.

-in every timeline, koko kind of abandons inupi. let’s have one where he’s ALWAYS by his side.

-inui and koko both need therapy because they’re crazy. they would Literally kill for each other and that’s not exactly okay

-one time, koko had a bit of a breakdown. in this breakdown, he came to believe that no one could ever love him. inui spent months undoing this belief in kook’s mind.

-koko has a tendency to distance himself from inui to “protect” him. inui hates that he does it, and has started to practically attach himself to koko when he tries it.

-as adults, they literally cannot stay mad at each other. any fight always ends fast because they don’t want to be without each other again.

-one night when inupi was working late, koko got restless so he went to the shop. he happened to get there immediately as inupi is walking out. eventually this becomes a habit, as it makes inupi’s walk home less boring.

[tinkertoysdamn]

A Government Coverup, An Excellent Choice

This is an AU where Reigen and Reagan are siblings.  WWWEEEEEEEEEEE!

Serizawa had locked the door when they left to meet the client, he was certain of it.  Yet, there was a disheveled foreign man leaning against Reigen's desk when they arrived back at the office.  Scruffy, and looking more than a little hungover, the foreigner grinned at the sight of them.

"'Taka, my boy."  He held out his arms, as if waiting for a hug.

Reigen stiffened by Serizawa's side, setting off all the visible alarms of prey encountering a predator. "You stay back!" Reigen shouted at him.

"Come on," the other man said. "Can't a man see his son without an interrogation?"

"Not according to the restraining order," Reigen snapped.

The other man threw his head back and groaned. "Don't tell me you're taking Tamiko's side. I didn't see you at the wedding."

Reigen's hands flailed in rage. "Why would I watch my mother marry herself?

Serizawa found himself dreadfully confused.  “How can your mother--”

“She’s a narcissist,” Reigen explained.  Then he pointed to the other man in the room, his father, “And he’s a sociopath.  You have no idea what it was like growing up as the only normal one.” 

“Your sister is a fine young woman.”  Even though Reigen’s father had said it, it sounded like he didn’t believe it.

Reigen gave Serizawa a look.  “The only normal one,” he punctuated.  “Anyway,” he said, “Rand, this is my business partner Serizawa Kat--”

“His boyfriend,” Serizawa clarified.  If Reigen felt this agitated around this man then he wanted to make it clear that Rand was outnumbered, physically and emotionally.  

However, the hurt expression that crossed Reigen’s face told Serizawa this was a bad, bad move.  “Don’t give that man any ammunition,” Reigen hissed.  “He will use anything against us--”

And he was right.  Rand smirked, turning up the charm.  “I’m sure your boyfriend would love a few days to get to know his future father-in-law.”

“No,” Reigen said.  “Not until you tell me what you’re doing here.”

“Look, kid,” Rand rubbed the back of his neck.  “I’m on the run from the Robes and need a place to lay low for a while--”

Reigen slapped his hands over Serizawa’s ears.  “Don’t listen to him,” Reigen ordered.  “Whatever you do, absorb nothing.”

Serizawa was starting to getting annoyed.  “Stop talking like you’re in a spy movie--”

That’s when all hell broke loose.  The building trembled as the bass thump of helicopter blades killed all sound.  The glass windows trembled before shattering as Black-Ops types kicked their way through.  The front door flew open as a woman in a labcoat with a high-tech laser gun stepped on through. 

She sneered at Rand.  “Hands up, Dad!” she shouted. 

Rand rolled his eyes as the Black-Ops creeps slapped handcuffs on him.  Once secured, the woman lowered her laser pistol.  “Oh, hey ‘Taka,” she said.

“Hey sis,” Reigen said.  Despite the chaos erupting in his office he looked more tired than anything else.  “So how long is he going to prison?”

“Forever if I have anything to say about it,” the woman said.  “Who’s your friend?”

“Serizawa, this is my sister Reagan,” Reigen said.

Serizawa couldn’t believe his ears.  “Reigen Reagan?” 

“I was named after the President,” Reagan said.  “Reagan Ridley,” she corrected, “‘Taka took mom’s maiden name after the divorce.”

“To put as much distance between me and this family as possible,” Reigen Arataka said. 

Serizawa couldn’t blame him. 

“You’re coming to Thanksgiving this year,” Reagan ordered.  “The last couple of months have sucked and I don’t need to spend Turkey Day drinking alone.”

“Are you kidding me?” Reigen said.  “I’d have to close the office and inform my clients--”

“The shadow government will let you have a few days off from pretending psychics aren’t real to drink with your sister,” Reagan argued.

“Shadow government?”  It was the wrong thing for Serizawa to say.

From out of nowhere, Reagan pulled out a shiny silver pen.  “What shadow government?” she asked.

Then everything went white.

-------------------

“How much did you erase?” Reigen asked.  He brushed back the bangs from Serizawa’s forehead, worried over the other man’s blank expression.

“Only a few minutes,” his sister explained.  “He’s susceptible to suggestion right now.  Tell him he met your sister and you’re both invited to the States in November.”

Reigen shook his head.  “I hate you all so much,” he said, only partially meaning it.

“I hate us, too,” Reagan said with similar sentiment. 

At that, they hugged for probably the first time in decades.  “I’ll send you plane tickets,” Reagan whispered.

Reigen resigned himself to the future trip.  There was no arguing with his sister nor Cognito Inc.  He knew that all too well.

[glareandgrowl]

Everyone Saw it coming if they are on my blog but

Kiyotaka Ishimaru for the ask game plsssss !

Ask game Here

Sexuality Headcanon:

Now, see, starting off with a kinda hard one... Taka's an interesting bean in what I calculate his sexuality to be. Most people assume Gay since... ya know. And while I don't think that's necessarily a bad take, its the popular take. And I am one who tends to shy away from popular takes. (I am also one to vehemently project onto the characters I love). Hence, I HC Taka as Demiromantic! (and demisexual to an extent...)

Forms strong emotional bonds with people close to him? Check. Only ever seems to fall romantically for those he is extremely close with??? DOuble check babeyyy!

Gender Headcanon:

Aaaand now its simple. Taka's a male. Cut and dry. Rather fondly a guy, I must say. He strikes me as the kinda guy who would be so excited to share with you that he uses he/him pronouns! He probably did some soul searching when he first learned of transitioning and other gender orientations only to find he was rather comfortable and happy where he was. (you know he spent hours studying to learn all he could) and would be all for helping others explore their gender too!

I know a lot of people hc him and mondo both as trans, but personally I think hes just very proud of his manliness.

A ship I have with said character:

I couullddd go the easy route and say Ishimondo... But you all already know that. Instead I'm going to go with a more... scandalous... ship.

Its KiyoKiyo. Korekiyo and Kiyotaka. Its my guilty pleasure ship.

Now, granted, I imagine this as a Korekiyo who has shaken himself of his 'sister's' grasp and is "normal" (Ie LOTS of therapy), so its more like the shy introvert getting dragged along by the loud golden retriever boy but I digress. Its sweet to me. Tall lanky and smol but strong.

(And YES this originated from Danganronpa Redemption FIGHT ME---)

A BROTP I have with said character:

Once again I could go with an obvious, that being Chihiro or Hina, but you ALREADY know this and I GO AGAINST THE ORDINARY!!!

I think Sayaka and Taka would be great friends :3

Hardworking, burnout-having besties who have to be told numerous times to slow down and take a break by their chiller, sweet yet partially annoying boyfriends.

A NOTP I have with said character:

There are so many... who do I begin with... Genuinely who do I begin with. Alr I hardly see this one in the wild but Kokichi and Kiyotaka I despise. Either that's just because I hate kokichi but-- BESIDES THE POINT. Hiro and Taka is another one I don't particularly like.

I get where it comes from, the few times they interract in the canon could be seen as brotherly (I GUESS) from Hiro's standpoint but-- Idk it just kinda rubs me the wrong way. Hiro's character in general does that...

A Random Headcanon:

Taka enjoys, and is really good at boxing. (Or wrestling) Like how some stories I've read put him on the football (soccer for us americans) team (or rugby ig idk.) I have a (self-inflicted) HC that Taka has slight anger issues hes still recovering from as a child and ABSOLUTELY uses the environment of controlled violence as a way to work off pent up steam. Any sport could do that really, but the inherent homoeroticism of wrestling is just *mwah* too good to pass up.

I know people like to HC he's into some kind of martial arts lessons for the same kind of vibe, and the art of him and Peko, but I find the inante physicality of using yer fists and body as a much more... *Taka Centric* activity. Idk.

Its the same reason he really enjoys thrill rides like rollercoasters and horror movies (if he can stand to not postulate the entire plot the whole time, ruining climactic moments and making people shush him.)

General Opinions:

HE GOT FUCKING ROBBED IN CANON MY BOY---

anyway feel free to ask me about more characters!!! This was fun :3

[fujisakistan]

S/O saves Chihiro from being killed in chapter 2 (part 2)

The sound of the morning announcement chimed you awake, stretching your arms out as you realize you're still in the arms of your boyfriend. The events of last night weren't a dream and you had saved him from a fatal incident.

"O-oh! Morning S/O." Chihiro rubbed as eyes, smiling up at you. You place a gentle kiss to his forehead, enjoying the peaceful morning bliss with him, before remembering your current issue.

"Morning, Chihiro, are you okay after what happened?" You noticed his eyes were puffy from the crying, you could guess yours didn't look much different.

"Oh... I'm still a bit s-shaken up from that, but.. I-I want to keep you safe, so I'll try my very best to be strong enough to protect you!" It warmed your heart to see Chihiro so confident.

"Thank you, my love, I feel safer with you." You thought back on the attacker, realizing he hadn't come after you again last night. You wondered if he had calmed down by now.

"Are you ready to get up, Chi?" You asked your boyfriend, still under the covers.

"Y-yeah, I don't think he'll attack us with everyone there, but if he does, I'll protect you!" The boy knew he'd do what he could to be strong, but he knew he was still scared. Could he still be this confident around the others?

"Alright then, let's go!" Taking your sleepy boyfriend by the hand, you dragged him out of bed. He gave you a lazy smile in response.

Upon entering your usual meeting area, Kiyotaka greeted you by scolding your tardiness.

"S/O! Chihiro! You're both very late! What have you been doing?" He gave you both a stern look.

"I-I'm sorry, Taka, we just both slept in, that's a-all." Chihiro gripped your hand tight, still seemingly nervous.

"Nevermind that, have either of you seen Bro or Toko? They are the only ones still missing, and Mondo wouldn't answer his door." You shared a quick glance with Chihiro, debating if you should tell the moral compass.

"Sorry, we haven't seen either of them today. Maybe they're just sleeping in." You sheepishly explained, Taka seeming unamused but didn't press any further, leading you both to sit at the table. The Affluent progeny shot you a knowing look, but said nothing.

"Hey, S/O... d-do you think he's still a-after us?" Your programming partner whispered to you, holding your hand tight.

"I'm sure he's calmed down by now." You reassured him, gently rubbing his hand with your thumb.

Your calm morning was quickly interrupted by an unwanted guest.

"Nyuck nyuck nyuck... what a beautiful morning for killing, am I right, guys?" Monokuma made his entrance standing on the table.

"What could you possibly want from us this time?" Byakuya groaned in annoyance, to Monokuma's enjoyment.

"Like I said, perfect morning for killing, perhaps someone already did it." The monochrome bear grinned at the rich boy.

"No, you're wrong! None of us would do that, not after what already happened!" Makoto shouted at the robot, making him laugh.

"I wouldn't be so sure, hope boy, you should probably check on the missing folks." With an uproarious laughter, Monokuma disappeared once again.

"Perhaps it really has happened again." Sakura crossed her arms in contemplation.

"But over an embarrassing secret?" Aoi asked her friend, hoping it wasn't true.

You noticed Byakuya pulling Makoto aside, heading toward the halls. Maybe he knew what happened?

"Hey, Chihiro, let's go follow them." You pointed toward the leaving pair.

"H-huh? What for?" The programmer looked at the duo, wondering what they could be doing.

"They, or at least Byakuya, might know what happened. Let's hurry." You took your boyfriend's hand and quickly but stealthily followed the two, heading toward the locker rooms. You watched them turn the corner to where both locker room doors were and heard a scream from Makoto.

"W-what h-happened over t-there?" Chihiro jumped at the sudden scream, too nervous to look at what happened. You gripped his hand tightly, reassuring him you'll be there beside him.

You both turn the corner to see what happened for yourself, and a wave of regret washed over you. It was the nightmarish feeling of dread.

In front of the two boys, was the dead body of Toko Fukawa, your fellow classmate.

[umi-teardrop]

Ace Attorney and Danganronpa

Crossover

A Magic Trick for a Turnabout.

Created by,

@thomas-poems and @umi-teardrop

Chapter 1

Takaaki Ishimaru had just woken up from what seemed like long slumber. Which was very unusual for the man. Since he would all ways worry about what he and his son would eat today or could they even eat today? Or how will they handle the debt that his own father left behind. He was very lucky that Hope’s Peak Academy the school his son goes to gives scholarships to Ultimate students.

Takaaki sighed as he took his body off the bed. He then changed out of pajamas and wore his usual clothes a white shirt, black pants and jacket lastly his black tie as he was grabbing his tie from the closet. But instead of grabbing his usual tie he accidentally grabbed the wrong tie. The tie that Takaaki was holding was a dark blue tie with a starry pattern on it. Takaaki looked at the tie. He remembered how he got that tie it’s was a gift from someone he loved someone he tries to forget. Takaaki wanted to put the starry pattern tie away but after some minutes of searching and not finding his usual tie he reluctantly wore the starry pattern tie and went to the kitchen to cook breakfast. As he went to the kitchen he saw his son Taka in the kitchen sitting on a chair with his bunny plushy that Taka calls Etsuko. “Good morning son… and Etsuko” said Takaaki looking at his son and Etsuko I guess he wasn’t the only one who was using her gifts. “Good morning father” said Taka holding little Etsuko in his arms looking down at the floor.

Takaaki was worried about his son, today was Friday a school day and whenever there was a school Taka would be in full energy and sometimes he tries to skip breakfast to go early to the school. But this time he looked tired and spaced out “Taka is everything ok?” “It’s just I saw a dream about Etsuko last night” said Kiyotaka without talking his eyes off the plushy. “Was it a nightmare?” Asked Takaaki “It’s wasn’t a nightmare in fact it was quite opposite actually, it was a comforting dream” said the Moral Compass now looking at his father.

“Then what’s wrong? Asked Takaaki confused. “My dream was about how I met Etsuko. There was a woman in my dream her face was blurry but she looked nostalgic to me”

“Taka…” Takaaki tried to find some words but nothing came to his mouth after all what can he say about this. “Father is that a new tie?” Asked Kiyotaka looking at his father starry patterned tie.

“Its nothing special just some Tie” said Takaaki looking at the fridge for some food but the only thing was left was a cup of noodles. Takaaki sighs and says to Taka “Taka would you like to eat while you go to school?” “I have no problem with it father I already prepared the necessary things for school!” Said the Moral Copmass excitedly ”Alright here you go then this is what I can give for now” said Takaaki giving Kiyotaka the cup of noodles. “Thanks father!” Said Kiyotaka smiling then grabbing his bag but before he left for school he put Etsuko The Bunny in side his bag he knew toys weren’t allowed during school hours but he couldn’t help but break this rule for some reason he would always hide his dear bunny friend either in his locker or in his bag he knew it wasn’t right to break the rules but he couldn’t help but make an exception for Etsuko. Whenever he was in so much stress or sadness or anything like that Etsuko would be Taka’s only comfort item. “I’m leaving father see you soon” said Taka as he left for school.

……………

Taka had just arrived at school on time as always. He was going to his class but he couldn’t help but think about the dream he had last night What did it mean? Who was that woman these thoughts were interrupted when he heard yelling in the Corridor. Taka went were the yelling was coming from to warn the student who yelling in the corridor when he came closer he realized it’s was his boyfriend Mondo Owada who was doing the yelling he was on the phone with someone but that didn’t mean he was going make an exception for his boyfriend.

“I swear Takemichi! What if he doesn’t like it what if he hates it’s and hates me for it!” Mondo was saying or well yelling at his phone. Taka slowly tapped his boyfriend shoulder. I when Mondo looked at his shoulder and saw his boyfriend behind looking at him with his red eyes a bit angry at Mondo. “Boss?” Said Takemichi behind other hand. “I’ll call you later Michi” Then Mondo hang up the phone. Soon after Taka scolded Mondo for yelling at the hall. After Taka scolded Mondo,

“Sorry Taka for yelling in the halls” said Mondo apologetically 

“Just don’t do it again” warned Taka to his boyfriend “Besides what we’re you yelling at the phone for?” Asked Taka out of curiosity

“Well…” Mondo paused then blushed

“Is everything alright darling?”Asked Taka innocently, Which made Mondo blush even more. “Well I was planning to ask you on a date today” said Mondo while blushing so hard “I was asking one of my buddies in the gang for advice and he said he won two free tickets to a show for tonight and I was just so nervous that I kinda yelled” said Mondo looking at the floor his face was redder then a apple.

Kiyotaka smiled at his boyfriend and kissed him on cheek “Thanks darling I’ll be looking forward for the show!” He said happily,

Mondo was so happy and thought “What did I do to deserve such an amazing person like you.”

But what the both of them didn’t know that after tonight’s date everything will not be same again.

-End of Chapter-

[silenthillmutual]

i keep looking at my own fic ideas from like a couple years ago that i have outlines for and going "wow, i really don't want to write these!" so here's a comprehensive list of fanfics i still have on my desktop which i have started but made litle progress on:

masterpiece theatre - an akira/mob psycho 100 crossover. the premise of this one was that tetsuo managed to create an alternate universe at the end of the film/manga, which was the mp100 universe. he's just kind of there trying to live a normal life while navigating the trauma from his past life. naturally this does not work out well and he winds up both meeting people from the akira 'verse and people from the mp100 'verse. i think i had in mind that it would end roughly around the first season of mp100. anyway this was roughly inspired by my musings about mp100 reminding me of a sort of inverse of akira's storyline that i can no longer articulate because it has been years since i read mp100 all the way through.

cause - this was just going to be a complete rewrite of rebel without a cause where i fixed what i saw as a pacing issue with the film and also gave more context to the characters' lives because i have a love/hate relationship with the original

it's not my party, but i'll still cry if i want to - a really short fic that was taking characters from rebel without a cause and plopping them into a modern 'verse just for the sake of having jim infodump about the 50s while sulking because he thinks judy & plato are doing something together and generally having rsd

where worlds collide and days are dark - all i got is that it's for mgs and i still have a hold of this document despite it just being snippets of fic i wrote like years ago.

statement of daniil dankovsky // statement of artemy burakh - magnus archives crossovers for pathologic, the first one being daniil's statement about the world being alive (based on pathologic classic) and the second one being artemy's statement about seeing daniil die, only to be "replaced" by another actor the following day while everyone else acts like nothing ever happened.

when you finally get involved, face to face - danganronpa ishimondo fic that was a project to see if i could focus long enough to write 100k. instead of getting together as teenagers, the fic would take place over the span of 10 years, where they'd get together as adults. i was really excited about this one when i started it, but people started being transmisogynist in the comments so i stopped working on it and got into pathologic instead.

a document titled 'cool ishimaru has a chill day with boyfriend' which i think was about ishimaru discovering he's trans, that was meant to be a non-despair au and with everyone being generally supportive of him.

flaws - danganronpa fic where taka talks to makoto about feeling possessive and how horrible it feels but i never actually finished or published it. it's pretty much done now... i could go back and edit it down to where i'm satisfied with it but i don't know :/

i wanna ruin our friendship (we should be lovers instead) - some kind of au where either it's non-despair or everyone lives... it was going to have hina and taka bonding over having crushes on their best friends who are oblivious. it was gonna be from hina's pov bc i love her

in the middle - okay this one i swear i will write one day... whenever i replay trigger happy havoc... it was going to be a polyamory fic where mondo is dating chihiro, who used to date taka and desperately wants mondo and taka to be friends. they'd be in college here. chihiro is transfem and taka is transmasc and mondo realizes he's nonbinary i think was a plot point. anyway,

an untitled danganronpa fic wherein hope's peak decides the classes need mentors and taka picks juzo, w ho came out of the closet for the express purposes of getting out of having to mentor anybody. but taka thinks it was very brave of him and wants advice on coming out despite being a public figure.

letters - this was just going to be eight, thirty-one from taka's pov

jojo's despaire adventure - jojo characters put in a danganronpa situation. pretty sure polnareff was going to be the protag of this one. it was going to be a simulation dio was running to try and rewrite the universe, hence why so many characters from so many parts were there and also had no memory of each other. i think kakyoin was going to be the first casualty.

all of my started but unfinished assorted jjba works you can still find on ao3: next chapter of cherry wine was going to have a karaoke section because fox gave me the funniest image of hol horse singing a shitty maroon 5 song. i have no idea where i was headed with heads on a science apart. not sure what the next chapter of heart of glass was going to be and i don't feel like pulling up the outline but i can tell you how it ended if anyone is curious about that. she told me to come but i was already there - there was going to be a battle of the bands kind of thing wherein we were going to get hol horse singing 'ride a horse, save a cowboy'. that was the highlight of the chapter and i don't remember what else i had planned for it. starfish crusaders was going to have a mechanic where some of the joestars were part merpeople and could transform at will. warmth, though, i have no idea where i was going with that.

alexithymia - a patho fic exploring the turmoil of not knowing, understanding, or articulating your own feelings. with daniil, of course.

something just titled 'angst outline' that is for a long form pathologic angst fic i was never going to write because i was convinced nobody was going to read it. it was going to be burda but with even more problems and issues and angst for the sake of angst.

a fic about artemy's insomnia

some unspcified fics about daniil being autistic

bio murky - okay this is really obvious but the reason to read the fic was that it was transmasc artemy. essentially artemy and daniil met and hooked up and maybe started falling in love in the capital and then artemy left for home unexpectedly... because he was pregnant. i think this was going to be an everyone lives kind of au or potentially even a no-sand pest au.

a blurb about andrey and his bipolar disorder

e pluribus unem - if i ever actually write this one i'll have to find a title that won't invoke such a knee-jerk reaction but anyway this was a fic about daniil going about wooing artemy by making amends/friends with those of artemy's bound. it was going to be told in little shorts of daniil meeting with the kids. originally i wrote this from daniil's pov but i think if i write this one i'll do it from the kids' povs.

a blurb about daniil having a breakdown after the end of classic

let's climb the cliff edge and jump again - this was gonna be a fic about daniil and andrey's tentative friendship in university where andrey is a horrible influence, a horrible friend, and a horrible brother. it was loosely inspired by my toxic girl friendships i had in college [a/n: i was a girl in college] and the first time i got high. i wanted it to be My Dandrey Fic but without happy dandrey at the end... hints of griefdrey instead... and again thinking about andrey's bipolar disorder because i'm always thinking about it!

a mark/rubin fic that was gonna be nsfw.

mystical inclinations - a soulmate au with tattoos i think? polyamory and platonic soul mates were going to be a thing in this au but i kind of don't remember what i was doing with it.

another pregame burda au

a fic i started where rubin is mortified to be caught in between artemy and daniil's...whatever

a fic about artemy & daniil's first kiss

talk too much - daniil, who is usually a smoother talker, has a habit of sticking his foot in his mouth whenever artemy is around

another fic entry in my modern au thing, where artemy's kids meet daniil for the first time

vince malum bono - clara talking to each of her bound on the last few days of the plague, patho-2 version

when my time comes around, lay me gently in the cold, dark earth - this was going to be mashing up daniil and artemy's routes (and at the end, clara's as well). with burda. of course.

when the day met the night - burda fic where daniil is about to get taken out by the government because he's a criminal against common sense and good morals, and artemy panics and tells the emmisaries who show up that they can't take daniil because they are to be married, and they can't take the menkhu's husband. and of course the emmissaries aren't stupid so they say they'll be back for the wedding. very romcom.

[danggirlronpa]

Hm, in theme with other people asking about ships, what's your favorite poly ship of each game? I really like Makoto x Kyouko x Sayaka x Mukuro for DR1 (sometimes with Celestia and Chihiro added also into the mix, though with Celestia only liking the girls since I headcanon her as a lesbian), Chiaki x Mikan x Nagito x Hajime for SDR2, Syo × Komaru x Touko for another episode (because of course), and spoilers for DR0 from this point but, Makoto x Yasuke x Junko/Ryouko for DR0 (Makoto shows up in DR0 so this TOTALLY COUNTS; I have such a soft spot for anything that explores the Makoto x Yasuke side—whether romantic or platonic—because I feel like their dynamic could be super interesting), and hmmm. Actually I don't know whats my favorite for V3. I kind of like Kaede x all of the girls, Shuichi x Maki x Kaito, and Kaede x Shuichi x Kokichi, sooo... I guess if pressed I'd pick the training trio? Honorable mention goes to Yasuke x Junko/Ryouko x Mikan; since Mikan doesn't show up in DR0 I was hesitant to count it, but I totally love that ship too.

Makoto/Kyoko/Mukuro is one of my favorite polyships as well!! I don't usually go for ships that are one guy and a ton of girls, because most of its content inevitably ends up being harem-style erotica, which is...fine, but not my thing. Probably the only exception to that for me is Hajime. It's SO funny that every single person on the island is sort of dtf with Hajime except the One person he's interested in (Peko) and the token lesbian (Ibuki).

To go back to the question: I've already brought up my V3 OT5, so I won't harp on that again for the sake of brevity!

Makoto/Kyoko/Mukuro is definitely the fave for THH, but honestly, that's mostly in IF-scenario - I think the dynamics that evolve from that particular situation are so good and interesting. In THH proper, it's actually probably Makoto/Taka/Mondo. Oh to be just a lil guy with two extremely loud boyfriends.

SDR2 is probably a tie between Hajime/Fuyuhiko/Kazuichi (I love my survivor boys) and the Twilight Syndrome Girls. I LOVE the Twilight Syndrome Murder Mystery stuff. It would be my favorite case in all of the games if it weren't for the fucking rocks in the swimsuit. Everything about it caters directly to what I love in games and in relationships. Fucked up girls who commit crimes for each other and dark sibling relationships and moral ambiguity that can be twisted by a skilled manipulator (Junko) to become a rabbit hole of horror...one of my biggest complaints with DR3 was the glossing over of Twilight Syndrome. I genuinely believe that, in a better written world, it was the catalyst for the whole class' fall to despair.

It's harder to pick polyships for the anime and books just because they don't have as much to work with. Obviously Killer Killer has Fujigawa/Hijirihara/Asano, and DR3 has Chisa/Munakata/Juzo, but, like...I've just never really liked when a love triangle is magically resolved by polyamory unless it's done Really well. It gets too easy to use it as a magic wand without addressing the actual characters' dynamics and personalities.

[dracothedeatheatingcupcake-ao3]

Chapter 4 The Ultimate Fake Boyfriend.

You know what? I just realized that I never posted the last chapter I did for The Ultimate (Fake) Boyfriend. This chapter is not complete unfortunately. I think I was trying to finish it but ran into some problems, which I did fix, but made it harder for me to find the energy to keep going with the story. Oof.

Anyway! Here is the unfinished chapter 4 (the last chapter I have written) for my mini fic TUFB. It introduces some more OC characters, so be warned. If anyone wants to know what ideas I had/have for the rest of this story, feel free to send me an ask and I can write them all down! I have this entire story mapped out in my head and know exactly where I want it to go, which is part of the problem. To me, it's already finished. I just have to write it all down for y'all to enjoy it, which is the tedious part. 😬 Oh well. Maybe one day... if I ever finish TPWM.

Last thing! I have another Ishimondo fic that is in similar WIP Hell. Would anyone be interested in seeing it here? It's based on that tweet by... someone from Danganronpa (I forget who at the moment and am too tired to go looking) about how Mondo and Taka would move in after high school and be too stupid to realize they're in love, or something. In this fic, they're in their mid twenties and Mondo is the one who is too stupid to realize he's in love, though it's questionable if Taka realizes it, since the fic is in Mondo's POV. The only chapter fully finished is the first, but I have a lot of small scenes written for later chapters that make some sense alone. I also really like the first chapter, ha. Anyway, let me know if you'd be interested! If even one person comments or messages me about it I'll work towards posting it. ^-^

(Here are the previous chapters if you want to refresh before this one, since it's been a bit.)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

4 The Ultimate (Fake) Boyfriend. 

Mondo spends the next hour lying down quietly while his kyoudai sleeps, his eyes closed but sleep not finding him. He didn’t expect it to, though, so it’s not like he minds. He mostly just wants to be close to Taka, really. It relaxes him more than words can say to just let his kyoudai hold him, not worrying about ‘manliness’ or being weak or whatever other bullshit he usually worries about. Maybe it’s pathetic, but he knows Taka won’t judge him. He… he never fucking does. 

However, lying still has never been something Mondo’s been particularly good at, so in order to not die of boredom, he lets his mind wander, flitting between various thoughts and daydreams. He makes sure to steer clear of anything that would anger or upset him, not wanting to ruin the peace being held by Taka has given him. 

At some point during his musings, he lets his thoughts turn to Taka, a smile rising on his lips as he thinks of his kyoudai. Of all the things they’ve done together and the many good times they’ve had. Like the first time he convinced the dude to go out on his hog, Taka screaming his head off the entire time, arms so tight around Mondo’s waist that he’s positive he had almost bust a rib. But then, once they stopped, Taka had had the brightest grin, claiming that the ride made him feel /exhilarated/. Or the time he took Taka to meet Daiya for the first time, Mondo so fucking nervous that they wouldn’t like one another, only to feel so fucking relieved when the two got on like a house on fire. Taka had even been very respectful about Dai’s injuries that he’s been struggling with since the crash, somehow managing to be both considerate and helpful while not being condescending. Or their ‘epic’ snowball fight that first winter, which slowly turned into an all out war between them, with multiple classmates slowly getting roped into the expanding battle. Or… well. The list goes on and on, really. It makes his smile widen to think of how much he and Taka have done together. How much the teen has helped him over the past years. 

And he has. Helped him. So goddamn much. In so many different ways. Case in point, Mondo never would have had the guts to sign up for that woodworking elective class that Hope’s Peak offers if not for Taka’s enthusiastic encouragement, the hall monitor telling him all the goddamn time how he believed that Mondo could do it. That Mondo wouldn’t fail at it like he feared he would, that he wouldn’t prove himself right about how there is absolutely no future available to him. Taka had slowly but surely convinced him to try it even despite his fears, and now woodworking is his favorite fucking class, the only one he honestly feels /excited/ to attend. 

He still doesn’t think he’s that great at it, but he’s built so many fucking things for his room now, like a slightly crooked chair, and a surprisingly stable shelf. Not to mention all of things he’s whittled, since he finds that whittling actually helps calm him down after one of his rages. His first projects looked like utter shit, looking nothing like he wanted, but his more recent ones have started looking almost decent. And he just… he never would have gained the courage to take the class if not for his kyoudai. Nor would he have had the confidence to keep going after all of his numerous fuck ups during the first few weeks. 

The point is… honestly, he doesn’t know the point. Just… Taka is important. So fucking important. And as he lies on Taka’s broad, surprisingly comfortable chest, letting his mind wander down the memories he treasures the most, feeling so warm and full inside even despite the earlier negative emotions and uncertainty… he remembers why he’s doing this. And why he has to ensure he doesn’t screw this up. Outside of Daiya, Taka is easily the most important person in his life. He’s even surpassed the gang, he’s that fucking important. He’d walk through hell and back for his kyoudai, he truly would. And part of him thinks that Taka would do the same for him, even if he’d never want the teen to go through anything like that for his sake. It’s give and take, really. That’s why they work so well. 

Mondo continues to daydream for most of the afternoon, not sure what time it is since his phone is in his pocket and there are no windows in this tiny ass, dark as shit closet, but it doesn’t matter. Taka has a frighteningly accurate internal clock that somehow always wakes him up exactly when he needs to be up for any given event, with time to spare to get ready. Mondo relies on that internal clock a lot, honestly. 

However… it’s after what Mondo assumes must be around an hour that something changes in their little space. And it has nothing to do with Taka. 

At first, Mondo isn’t entirely sure what it is. His eyes are closed and nothing has really changed from what he can tell, but just… shit. He can’t fucking explain it, but there’s just something /different/ about the room now. He furrows his brow as he thinks about this, examining his surroundings as best he can. Listening close, he can still hear the faint sound of people talking and passing through rooms, the same shit he’s been hearing this entire time since the walls are thin as shit in this place. So, it’s not that that’s different. It’s nothing he can smell either. Thinking on it, it’s more… a feeling. Like… like he’s being /watched/ or something. But that’s fucking ridiculous. It’s just him and Taka in this small, dark closet… 

Right?

A minute passes, the sense he’s being watched growing with each passing second, until Mondo can’t take it anymore. With a heavy sigh, he opens his eyes and lifts his head from Taka’s chest, even though he’d been trying not to do that and break the peace inside him. Feeling annoyed at himself, he turns towards the door and lets his eyes land on the doorway. 

And promptly finds a pair of eyes staring back at him. 

“The fuck…?” Mondo mutters, blinking in shock, immediately on alert. He half sits up, forgetting everything as he looks at the unexpected intruder. As he does so, he realizes that one of the things he’d subconsciously noticed earlier was that it’s now a bit brighter inside the room. With the door closed, the closet had been mostly dark, with only a little light leaking in through the thin sliding door. Now, though, the door is open, causing the figure to be silhouetted by the faint light from the hallway. As such, all he can see are their wide eyes and their silhouetted head, which seem to be tilted in question. What in the goddamn fuck…

“That’s a bad word,” the intruder claims, their voice far higher and younger sounding than he’d been expecting. Blinking, Mondo squints and forces his eyes to adjust to the light, and is absolutely floored to see a young child standing in the doorway of the closet, still mostly shrouded in shadow, though he can make out some details. Like how their eyes seem to be bright red. Which is, uh…  shit. Not good. “Mommy says that you shouldn’t say bad words. It’s not nice.” 

Mondo can only blink at the words, his mind blanking as he’s faced with what must be another of Taka’s cousins, though this one is a lot smaller than he’s used to dealing with. Mondo honestly can’t recall the last time he’s been around a goddamn /kid/. Shit, he doesn’t think he’s done that since he was a kid himself. Fuck… and of course he would fucking /swear/ in front of one of the literal worst persons to swear in front of, god fucking dammit…

“Uh… y-yeah. Yer, uh… yer ma’s right. Ain’t good ta swear. Sorry,” Mondo mumbles, too taken aback to remember to use his more ‘respectable’ voice. He’s just so fucking floored. And kind of tired. While he hadn’t been sleeping, it had been very peaceful to lie on Taka and just daydream. Having to face a kid, let alone one of Taka’s endless fucking cousins immediately after that is… yeah. Not fun. Especially since Taka is, of course, merrily sleeping on, none the wiser that one of his cousins is standing there, watching him sleep…

Thankfully, the kid doesn’t seem put off by his accent. From what he can see, the kid just gives him a toothy grin, head still titled. 

“That’s okay! Just don’t do it again, or else mommy will wash your mouth out with soap like she did with my ani when he said a bad word. Why are you lying on cousin Taka?” the kid asks quickly, not giving him much time to process whatever they’re saying. And he’s not sure, since they’re still mostly in shadow, but based on how high pitched the voice is, Mondo thinks the kid may be a girl… or a very high pitched boy. Which is also possible, especially with young kids. Shit.

“Uh… w-well, we’re uh… ya know. Together,” Mondo states awkwardly, shifting so he’s fully seated, though he makes sure to leave Taka the blanket. Sitting up puts him about eye level with the kid, which honestly makes him feel a little better, since he can at least see them better now. They look young, but not super young, so he guesses they’re not Samantha then… 

“What does that mean?” the kid asks before he can try and figure out which kid this is, flooring him again. Uh… shit. How to fucking explain this in a way a kid will understand…

“Uh… it means we’re datin’,” Mondo says slowly. When the kid doesn’t show any signs that they understand, Mondo awkwardly tries to explain a different way. “Uh… like… ya know. We go out on dates together an’ stuff. An’… we uh… ya know. Love each other? Uh…”

Despite himself, Mondo feels his cheeks heat up at that last part. While it’s not unusual for a couple who is dating to be in love, it makes him feel weird to say that kind of shit about him and Taka, even if just an act. And it’s not like he doesn’t love Taka, right? He does. Very much so. Just… as a friend. A brother. Not like /that/. Not… ya know. Romantically. 

At least that seems to make sense to the kid, as their eyes light up, nodding their head quickly as they smile at him. 

“Oh! Like mommy and daddy, right?” 

Mondo blinks once, before nodding slowly, giving a single shrug. 

“Uh… yeah, kinda. I’m his boyfriend,” Mondo explains further, wondering if the kid will question that too. However, it seems that they understand that one, since they nod again, still smiling. 

“Cool! What’s your name?” the kid asks, eyes wide as they lean into the closet, closer to him. 

Mondo pauses, debating if he should answer or not, remembering what happened the last time he gave his name. Well… it would be rude not to… and it’s unlikely that a kid would know who the fuck he is, so… whatever. Fuck it. 

“Uh… I’m Mondo. Mondo Owada.” 

Like he’d expected, the kid shows no sign that they recognize his name. They just nod quickly, smile still bright. 

“Cool!! I’m Rini, wanna go see my dollies? I have soooo many at home, but mommy told me I could only bring three with me. I brought Ren and Ruki, who are sisters who hate each other and are fighting for the love of Haru. He’s the third dolly I brought. You can be Haru if you wanna, since you’re a boy!” 

Mondo stares at the kid— who he now realizes is, indeed, a girl, and is also sadly the youngest daughter of Taka’s fucking homophobic aunt— without a single clue as to what to say. Obviously, he doesn’t want to do that shit; he’s almost a grown ass man, he doesn’t fucking /play with dolls/. But how to say that without hurting the kid’s feelings…? Like he said, he doesn’t spend time with kids much, but he knows better than to be an asshole to a fucking /kid/. That shit’s about as bad as punching an old lady. Maybe even worse, really. 

Fortunately (or not…), before Mondo has to figure out how to gently say no to the kid, an unholy screech sounds through the house. It’s so loud it finally rouses Taka, who bolts upright with wide, bleary eyes, clearly not fully awake. Mondo doesn’t have time to get the teen reacquainted to the land of the living, because then… then he can begin making out the words that are being said. Which are… shit. Not very good. 

“-INI! RINI, WHERE ON EARTH ARE YOU?! IF YOU DON’T COME HERE RIGHT NOW, THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES!! RINI!” 

Mondo looks down at the kid in the doorway, who is now cowering down against the frame, looking so much smaller than even a six year old girl should look. It honestly breaks Mondo’s heart, and he has to fight to not rush over to the kid and make sure she never, ever gets hurt. Fuck… he hates it when people yell at kids… shit’s the fucking worst… 

“Uh oh…” Rini mumbles, meeting his look with wide eyes. She then looks to the side in just enough time for a hand to appear on her shoulder, the girl letting out a high pitched yelp at the touch. 

“There you are! My goodness child, how many times do I have to tell you not to wander off?! You were supposed to be helping your brothers unpack your things in your room, not wandering about! I swear, I don’t know /what/ to do with you some days,” a sharp, exasperated voice calls, causing Rini to shrink down, her eyes falling to the floor in what Mondo can tell is shame. It honestly pisses him the /fuck/ off, but he reins it in, knowing that exploding ain’t gonna help anyone. He really has to call on every anger management bullshit that Taka’s been feeding him this last year in order to stop his anger from consuming him, though…

“I- I’m sorry mommy… I was just looking around… but I found cousin Taka! And cousin Taka’s boyfriend, Mondo-san! He’s sooo cool!! And he’s really nice, and fun to talk to, and he loves cousin Taka, and he’s gonna play dollies with me, and-“

“You /what/?!” the lady exclaims, cutting the girl off. Rudely, in Mondo’s opinion. He can feel his anger spike when he sees Rini shrink down even further, trying to shy away from her ma’s touch, though the lady is holding the girl too tightly for that. And considering that Mondo is nearly positive he knows /exactly/ who this fucking lady is, it’s getting really hard to reel that anger in… “Rini, what did I tell you before coming here?! What on earth is the matter with you?! Can’t you listen?!”

Rini’s eyes start to water then, and Mondo can see her lip wobbling. She looks up at them sadly, before looking up at her ma, her expression turning guilty. Mondo can feel Taka shift beside him, reminding him that the teen is there, but he doesn’t take his eyes off the scene before him, his breathing getting a bit too heavy. S-shit…

“I… I know… b-but I love cousin Taka… he’s always nice to me and plays games with me, even if his games don’t make much sense… a-and Mondo-san was gonna play dollies with me, and I was gonna let him be Haru, since he’s a boy… I- I know you said I shouldn’t talk to them, that there’s something wrong with them, but I don’t understand why. Cousin Taka is nice, and Mondo-san is nice too… why can’t I talk to them anymore?” 

While it’s still kinda dark, Mondo can see that the lady’s face is turning red, her eyes pinched as she looks down at her daughter. It makes Mondo’s hands clench, his anger rising rapidly. 

“We already talked about this, Rini. If you cannot understand basic orders, then there truly is no hope for you. Now, come along. You still need to unpack your things and get settled. If I see you talking to either your cousin or his… /whatever/ again, then believe me, there will be consequences. Come, Rini.” 

The lady strides away then, leaving Rini behind, though it’s clear she expects the girl to follow. Mondo’s heart clenches as he watches the poor kid look wide eyed between them and her ma, clearly not knowing what to do. Taka shifts next to him again, and Mondo can tell he’s also upset with what’s going on. Deeply so. 

“A-ah… i-it’s okay, Rini. Y-you can go after your mother. It… it’s alright,” Taka says softly after a moment. Mondo finally glances over at the teen at the words and feels his heart break even more when he sees a sad, yet also resigned look on Taka’s face. It also makes him even angrier, Jesus Christ… honestly, /fuck/ Taka’s aunt. Lady can go burn in hell for all he cares… shit… 

“B-but… I… o-okay… I don’t know why mommy doesn’t want me to talk to you… I’m sorry…” Rini mumbles, looking at the ground, shifting awkwardly. A beat passes, and then they can hear Taka’s aunt call for Rini again, voice sharp and angry. Rini winces, gives them one last, unhappy look, before darting off after her ma, leaving them behind without a word more. As she runs off, Mondo develops a bad taste in his mouth, his stomach churning angrily. So. Not only is Taka’s aunt a no-good, motherfucking /homophobe/, but she’s also a piece of shit ma, too. Figures. It does tend to work that way. 

The silence between him and Taka is stifling in the aftermath of that shitshow, neither of them really knowing what to say. What can they fucking say in response to that goddamn shit? Fuck… /fuck/, Mondo hates this. So fucking much. 

Just when the silence is about to consume them, the tension unbearable, Mondo feels Taka shift to face him, his eyebrows furrowed with a bitter frown on his face. 

“What… w-what happened, kyoudai? I think I missed some of that… I’m sorry…” Taka says softly again, sounding so fucking /sad/ it physically hurts. Mondo shakes his head sharply in reply, turning on the mat to face Taka, eyes intent. 

“Nah, don’t fuckin’ apologize man. Ain’t yer goddamn fault. Just… I was kinda dozin’, not really asleep, when I felt like someone was starin’ at me. When I looked up, yer cousin was there. We talked fer a bit, it was awkward, an’ then… /then/ yer fuckin’ aunt started screamin’ her goddamn head off. That’s when ya woke up, so ya know the rest. An’ can I just fuckin’ say that I fuckin’ /hate/ yer goddamn aunt? Fuckin’ homophobic, abusive piece a’ goddamn /shit/,” Mondo curses, so angry it’s not funny. He swears, if he didn’t have a rule against hitting ladies (though he’s fairly certain this fucker doesn’t qualify), and if she weren’t unfortunately Taka’s family… well. Let’s just say he’d be feeling a whole lot better right about now… 

“A-ah… I- I see. Well, I’m sorry you had to experience that, kyoudai. I… I knew that Aunt Ryoko didn’t, um… /approve/ of my sexuality, but I had hoped that it wouldn’t affect anything at the gathering. I… see now that I was wrong… I- I… I’m sorry…” 

Mondo scowls at the faltering words, shaking his head sharply and shifting to be closer to Taka. He can see that Taka’s eyes are wide and watery, which he knows from experience means he’s about five seconds away from bursting into tears, which is utter /bullshit/. Needing to get Taka to listen to him and pay the fuck attention, he lifts his hand and cups the teen’s cheek firmly, ensuring he has his attention. Once he sees Taka staring at him with wide eyes, his mouth open slightly in surprise, Mondo begins. 

“Listen here an’ listen good, okay? That shit /ain’t/ yer fuckin’ fault. Not a single, fuckin’ thing. Yer aunt is a fuckin’ piece a’ shit who’s got shit fer brains, an’ it ain’t got nothin’ ta do with you. Ya hear me? So, don’t fuckin’ ‘pologize fer her bullshit. Ya’ve done nothin’ ta deserve it. Absolutely fuckin’ /nothin’/.” 

Mondo keeps his eyes steady on his kyoudai, and as such he can see the second the first tear begins to fall. But Mondo can tell by the small smile on Taka’s lips that they’re not tears of unhappiness, but just… emotion. His kyoudai has always been super emotional… Mondo used to look down upon Taka for it, back before they were kyoudai, but now he almost envies the dude. He doesn’t even remember the last time he cried. Not without hating himself for it. Taka, though, has always been able to cry so easily, and it’s… good. It’s definitely helped show Mondo that dudes can cry and show emotion, and yet still be strong. There’s no one stronger than his kyoudai, after all. 

“I… I know that, k-kyoudai… I just… I don’t know. I greatly dislike this whole situation. I knew that coming out would make things more challenging, just like I knew that bringing my supposed boyfriend with me would create tension. And yet… despite knowing this and preparing for it, I still feel so lost. I simply don’t know what to do here, kyoudai, and you know how much I hate not knowing things. I… I’m also very tired… this was not exactly the best way to awaken,” Taka states solemnly, sounding so fucking serious it actually makes Mondo snort even despite the severity of the situation. He can see Taka pout, but he doesn’t think the dude is hurt, thankfully. With a shrug and a sigh, Mondo sobers up and does his best to respond. 

“Shit, yeah. I know man. Ya think I know what the fuck is goin’ on? I just spoke ta a fuckin’ /infant/ who wants me ta play fuckin’ /dollies/ with her. An’ now, since yer fuckin’ aunt don’t want me ta do that shit, of course I gotta do it just ta fuckin’ spite her. Shit fuckin’ /sucks/. But don’t ya think fer a fuckin’ second it’s yer fault, got me? An’ y’ain’t gotta take it when people say that kinda shit ta ya. Ya deserve more than that shit. Yer the best fuckin’ person I ever fuckin’ met, an’ that’s fuckin’ that. I ain’t gonna hear ya say otherwise.” 

More tears begin to fall down Taka’s face, and Mondo finally gives in and wraps his arms around the teen, pulling him close. Taka goes easily, sniffling as he buries his face against Mondo’s chest, snuggling to get closer. It makes Mondo smile, his heart giving a little lurch at the sight. But fuck, if his kyoudai ain’t cute as shit… 

The pair remain like that for a while, just holding onto one another in their dark room. The door is still open a little, but no one passes so Mondo doesn’t pay it any mind. It’s so much nicer to just hold his kyoudai and forget everything than to worry about all that other shit. He’ll have to eventually but… not right now. Right now, he’s holding Taka as the dude slowly calms himself down. And that’s all that fucking matters. 

Eventually Taka does pull away, wiping his eyes with a shaky smile. Mondo lets him go reluctantly, unhappy with it but knowing he’s gotta. 

“T-thank you, kyoudai… you are right, like usual! This situation is not my fault, I am simply being myself and that’s what should matter! I… thank you, Mondo. You truly are too good to me,” Taka smiles softly at him, his eyes soft as butter. It makes Mondo want to pull him close again, to feel his warmth against him, but he knows he can’t, so he doesn’t. He just lets Taka look down at his watch, the dude’s eyes widening at whatever he sees there. 

“Ah! It’s getting late! Great Aunt Hana and Grandmother Kichi expect people to be at dinner at 6:00 promptly, and it’s almost 5:55! I- I am sorry, my dearest kyoudai, but I must put my uniform back on immediately! I-“

“Go, ya dork. I’ll change back inta 

my fuckin’ get up too, shit,” Mondo interrupts, rolling his eyes and standing up. He knows better than to argue with Taka about this kinda shit by this point. The dude is so fucking anal that Mondo is positive he will spontaneously combust if he doesn’t immediately start getting ready for this dinner. Wasting time by arguing will just upset him more and Mondo… shit. He definitely doesn’t want that. 

Taka gives him a grateful look as he stands to get his gear, turning the single lightbulb the closet has on so they can see better, though it’s still fucking dark as shit. Mondo turns to the uncomfortable polo shirt and black slacks he and Taka bought at a night market a few days prior, wrinkling his nose at the uncomfortable outfit. 

“I fuckin’ hate this goddamn shit,” Mondo mumbles as he shimmies into the slacks, which are a thin, highly uncomfortable material. He supposes he can’t be shocked since he got them for ¥400, but still. “I don’t know how the fuck ya dress in that goddamn outfit a’ yers every goddamn day. Seems uncomfortable as shit.” 

“It’s actually not that bad, kyoudai! I find it very comfortable! And convenient!” Taka responds, looking over at him as he zips up his fly. Mondo snorts, knowing the dude means it fully even though it’s complete bullshit, but Taka ignores that. “Thank you for agreeing to wear that outfit, though! I think you look very sharp in it!” 

Mondo feels his cheeks heat up at the compliment, and feels a bit too flustered to respond. Instead, he just shrugs sharply and turns back to his clothes, getting dressed as quick as he can. Taka does the same and they spend a minute in silence as they dress. 

Mondo is just finishing up combing his hair out and putting it in his half pony when he hears Taka let out a noise of dismay. Turning to face the hall monitor, he sees Taka with his hands up near his hair, a distressed look on his face. 

“Everythin’ good, kyoudai?”

Taka turns to face him, pout on his lips. 

“Ah, kind of! Or… not really! I mean… well! It’s just that my hair is out of order, but we don’t have any time for me to head to the bathroom to fix it! And it is highly unprofessional to walk around with mused hair! It is not that big of a problem, I suppose… just highly annoying!” Taka exclaims, nodding his head for emphasis. Mondo can’t help but smirk at the comment, snorting softly. Honestly, he’d noticed that Taka’s hair was a bit all over the place and not all contained and spiky like the teen prefers, but Mondo hadn’t mentioned it because it honestly suits him. 

He knows how much Taka hates that shit, though, and so he doesn’t hesitate a second before gesturing for the hall monitor to move closer to him. Taka does so without hesitation, though Mondo can see the confused look Taka gives him. The look vanishes once Mondo lifts the hand that’s still holding his comb, running it gently through Taka’s hair. 

“A-ah-! M-Mondo, you… you needn’t do that, kyoudai… I can handle it myself! … besides, it’s unsanitary to share a comb,” Taka mumbles, his entire face bright red as Mondo determinedly combs the knots and kinks out of his best friend’s hair. With a snort, Mondo tugs gently on a silky strand, ignoring the flare of heat that blooms in his belly at the feel. 

“Shut the fuck up, Kiyo. Ain’t like I got fuckin’ fleas or shit. An’ I don’t fuckin’ mind combin’ yer hair, man. Don’t make a big fuckin’ deal outta it,” Mondo mumbles back, his own cheeks stupidly pink. He can tell that the hall monitor isn’t exactly happy at the situation, his lips pulled down in a little pout, but he doesn’t offer any more complaints. 

However, after a few moments of careful combing, Mondo can feel Taka’s shoulders relax, the teen letting out a soft, happy sounding sigh as his eyes close with contentment. The heat in Mondo’s cheeks increases, but he doesn’t stop his combing, not even for a second. And if he keeps combing for a few moments longer than he has to, the feel of the silky strands too nice to stop that shit, well… whatever. Doesn’t fucking matter, shit. 

He is eventually able to force himself to stop combing, reluctantly. He knows they gotta get going soon or else they’ll be late, which he knows would upset Taka. And he doesn’t want that. Definitely not. 

“There ya go, man. Nice an’ fuckin’ ‘proper’ again. Ain’t all spiky, since I don’t got any gel at the ‘mo, but it’ll fuckin’ do. Now, c’mon. Let’s get this fuckin’ dinner bullshit over with.” 

Taka gives him a single wide eyed, slightly dazed look, cheeks a soft pink and mouth hanging partially open, before snapping out of it and nodding quickly. Mondo shoves aside the lurch in his stomach and follows after Taka as the teen opens the sliding door to exit their small ass room. 

As they move at a brisk pace through the house, Taka doing his usual ‘not running, just walking super fucking fast’ bullshit, Mondo can feel a spike of unease fill him at the thought of sharing a dinner with at least the majority of Taka’s family. He doesn’t know if everyone’s arrived or not, but shit. Either way, it’s still gonna be way more than Mondo is comfortable with. The shit he does for this fussy ass hall monitor… 

Once they reach the bottom of the staircase, Mondo follows after Taka down a few hallways, until they reach an open doorway that a lot of noise is flooding out of. Mondo figures that must be the dining room, the spike of unease increasing the closer they get. He can see an unhappy look on Taka’s face as well, his lips pulled down and his intense eyebrows furrowed. But Taka barely falters as he approaches the room. Rather, after a brief moment of hesitation, he just sets his shoulders and pastes a painfully false smile on his lips, looking for all the world like a man about to go into battle. Mondo would find it funny if he wasn’t feeling vaguely sick. And if he wasn’t concerned about his kyoudai. 

Taka spares him a single, commiserating glance, before the teen is slipping into the room, his voice loud as always as he apologizes for his tardiness. It makes Mondo smile slightly to hear Taka acting like himself, settling his insides a little. Well… better get this shit over with… 

Entering the room after his kyoudai, Mondo tries to look more confident than he feels, eyes casually glancing across the room to get a lay of the land. He has to fight against the lurch in his stomach when he sees a hell of a lot more people than there had been earlier milling around the room, half of them kneeling at the low table and half of them helping bring the food from the kitchen to the dining room. Shit…

“No need for apologies, nephew. It has been a long day, I am sure,” Hana calls from her place at the table, smiling wryly at the teen. Her eyes dart over to him quickly, before nodding her head towards the table. “Now, why don’t you help your mother grab the rice while your partner takes a seat? You will be sitting beside your parents like usual, with Mondo-san sitting between you and Yoshi. You may show Mondo-san his seat before going to help your mother.”

With that, Hana turns back to the table, instructing the various family members as to where to put the shit ton of food that was made. Literally, it’s like they’re expecting to feed an army, the fuck? It briefly distracts Mondo from his nerves, but the distraction does not last long. Not when Taka turns to face him a moment later, a small grimace upon his face. 

“Ah, of course, Great Aunt Hana! I will do that right away!” Taka exclaims, gesturing for Mondo to follow him. Which Mondo does immediately, knowing that trying to resist would be fucking pointless. Shit. 

He follows after Taka towards an empty area of the table, his kyoudai pointing casually to a cushion that is placed around the edge of the long table. There are a few unoccupied cushions around him, though there is a man that Mondo has never seen before a cushion over from his. From what Mondo can see when he glances over at the man, he appears to be white, with sandy brown hair and bright blue eyes. He’s also holding a wriggling infant, with a small toddler sleeping soundly on his lap, making Mondo fairly confident that he’s found Taka’s cousin-in-law, Alex. What joy… 

“So, Mondo! You may sit here while I go and help my mother bring out the dishes, like Great Aunt Hana said! I will be right back, I promise!” Taka exclaims, barely giving him a second to process the words before he’s darting away with a small half smile, half grimace. Leaving him alone with the foreigner and two infants. Great…

Unable to see what else he could do, Mondo takes a seat like he was informed, fighting to not squirm uncomfortably. God fucking dammit… he hates this shit… he honestly would prefer to be up and helping out, hating to be inactive when shit is going on, but he knows that would be considered ‘rude,’ or something, so he just sits down on his little cushion, feeling like an utter jackass. Fuck. 

Wanting to dispel the awkwardness he feels, Mondo looks around the room, trying to place the new faces he sees at the table, thinking it will help to know who is who before dinner officially begins. 

Other than Alex and the two babies, Mondo notices three kids sitting across from his cushion, down the table a bit. One of them is clearly Rini, though the poor girl is staring resolutely at the table with her hands in her lap, quiet and sad looking. It angers the shit outta Mondo, but he quickly pushes it down, knowing anger won’t help him here. 

He turns his gaze to the two kids beside her, assuming they’re her older brothers. They both look very similar, with dark black hair kept in a short, messy style, like they just woke up or something. They also have red eyes, from what he can see from his distance, and one has a shit eating grin on his face as he talks animatedly, while the other listens quietly, a thoughtful frown on his face. If it weren’t for the fact that the quiet kid is a lot smaller than the loud one, Mondo would think the quiet one is the older brother. But, judging by size and by what Taka has told him, he assumes the quiet one is Raidon, the little brother, making the loud mouth Ronin. Huh. Whatever. 

Moving on, Mondo notices Hana, Kichi, and Akiro sitting around the head of the table, across the table from where Mondo is sitting. The two ladies are dictating where everything goes to the numerous family members who are bringing the food in, while Akiro watches silently. Since Mondo already knows those three, he quickly moves his gaze on, looking at the last seated occupant of the room. 

Sitting on the other side of the three elders, across from Rini, Ronin, and Raidon, sits a lone teenage girl, who looks bored as she scrolls on her little smart phone. She has dark auburn colored hair and mahogany eyes, which are glued to the screen, ignoring everything else around her. Considering that only younger kids and elderly seem to be seated at the table (excluding him and Alex, though he guesses he’s seated since he’s a ‘guest’ and Alex is seated to mind his kids), he guesses this kid must be Taka’s second cousin from his other ‘aunt,’ Haruki. Which, Mondo realizes with a sinking heart, must mean that Taka’s stuck up family members must have also arrived while they were sleeping upstairs. Fucking fantastic… but wait, hold up a second…

With a frown on his lips, Mondo goes over that fact in his head a little more in detail, the sinking feeling expanding. As he tallies up the numbers, he realizes that if Taka’s Aunt Kumi, Uncle Daichi, and their brood is here, then that means everyone who is coming to the gathering is currently in the house, other than maybe one or two people. Which, Mondo realizes with a queasy stomach, is far sooner than he had anticipated. Taka had told him that it often takes longer for everyone to trickle in, some not arriving until the second day. Of fucking course everyone would be on time this year. God fucking dammit… 

Suddenly feeling put off of his curiosity, Mondo shifts his eyes to the table, glaring at the wood. His hands are clenched in fists at his sides and his stomach is in knots. He hadn’t expected to meet pretty much everyone today. He had hoped he’d have a little more time to fucking prepare. Of course not, he thinks bitterly. Of fucking course not…

“It’s a bit much, yes?” Mondo suddenly hears come from his right, the words a bit clumsy and the accent not that great, to be honest, which tells him exactly who is speaking right now. He darts his eyes over to where he heard the voice, his back stiffening as he wonders if the dude is actually talking to him or not. He stiffens further when he notices that, yeah, the dude /is/ talking to him. The person he assumes is Alex is definitely staring right at him, a shaky smile on his lips as he holds his fussing babe. Shit… god fucking dammit. He was hoping he could avoid conversation until Taka got back… Taka always helps him keep his cool in awkward situations… fuck. 

“Uh… yeah, I uh… I guess,” Mondo mumbles, feeling unbearably awkward, not sure what to say to the American. Alex doesn’t seem to think he’s fucking up too badly, he guesses, since the man just nods, his smile turning a bit wry as he looks around the chaotic room. 

“Yes, I remember my first time here. Very… noisy. My Japanese was bad then, and it was hard to keep up. It’s gotten better, but can still be a lot at times. They’re a good bunch once they get used to you,” Alex claims, his accent still clumsy and his words simple, but he’s mostly understandable. Mondo wonders if he should switch to speaking in English to help the dude out, since he’s almost fluent in the language, but decides against it. Ain’t like it fucking matters. He doesn’t even want to be having this conversation in the first place, so… shit. Whatever. 

“Yeah, I guess,” he mumbles again after a couple awkward moments pass, not sure what else he’s supposed to say. He’s never been good with conversation when he doesn’t really know the person he’s talking to. Shit’s awkward as fuck and he hates feeling awkward. 

However, once again Alex doesn’t seem deterred, the man simply nodding in agreement, looking back at him with another crooked smile. 

“My name is Alex, by the way. I’m Yoshi’s husband. She mentioned you earlier. You are Mondo Owada, correct? You go to Taka’s school?” 

Mondo’s fists clench further at the reminder of the earlier disastrous meeting, wondering what the fuck Yoshi has been saying about him. He takes a deep breath to push down the rush of anger and just nods his head jerkingly, saying nothing as he glares at the table. An awkward silence rises between them then, but Mondo doesn’t fucking care. He’s not here to entertain douchebag Americans, thanks. 

The silence stretches on as the baby fusses, Mondo not really interested in continuing the conversation. He feels a bit shitty about that, knowing that Taka expects him to make an effort with his family, but… shit. He’s been feeling so fucking off since ‘waking up’ that he thinks keeping his mouth fucking shut is prolly the best idea. Get through this dinner as painlessly as possible when surrounded by overbearing go getters, get some much needed rest, and hope tomorrow won’t be an absolute disaster. That’s the best he can fucking hope for, honestly. Fuck. 

And yet, of course he can’t get even that, he thinks sardonically as Alex clears his fucking throat, clearly intending to continue on with the goddamn one sided conversation. God fucking dammit… how the fuck long does it take to bring the fucking food out, god fucking dammit… 

“So. You’re the… uh, what’s the word… Ultimate Motorcycle Rider, correct?” Alex asks, head tilted, rocking his kid a little. The stupid ass question makes Mondo snort, his eyebrow raised as he finally looks over at the dude, unimpressed. Shit. He didn’t even bother making sure he had the right info before bringing it up? Fucking dumbass. 

“Ultimate Biker Gang Leader,” Mondo corrects in a drawl, restraining an eye roll, not wanting to be seen as overtly rude. He wonders if Alex is gonna have a problem with his talent, though. He’s such a straight laced looking dude, Mondo thinks as he takes in his white button up, black slacks, and simple hair cut. From what he recalls, Taka says he’s a fucking accountant, AKA the most boring profession of all time. He prolly ain’t a fan of the rough and tumble kind of life Mondo leads. Or… led. Whatever.

Alex, however, doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, not if his benign smile and thoughtful nod is anything to go by. Jesus. He’s like the human equivalent of a stale cracker. Absolutely nothing of real value. 

“Ah, of course! My mistake. That’s… interesting. I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before. They seem, ah… dangerous.” 

Mondo snorts again at the words he’s heard a thousand fucking times, unable to stop the eye roll this time. He leans back on his cushion, turns slightly to face the dude, and gives him his most unimpressed look. Dumbass. 

“Yeah, no duh,” Mondo snarks, forgetting that he’s supposed to be talking ‘respectable’. “Hogs are fricken dangerous rides. S’why I like ‘em. Ain’t nothin’ like ridin’ down the highway, nothin’ but wind in yer hair an’ asphalt under yer wheels. Feel every turn an’ curve ya take, practic’lly part a’ yer ride. Best fricken feelin’.” 

Alex gives him a confused look, his head tilted and his eyebrows furrowed, and at first Mondo thinks the dude is judging him for his enthusiasm for riding. The thought makes him angry, his hands clenching into tighter fists, hating it when people fucking /judge him/ for liking to ride. Shit, it ain’t a fucking crime is it?! Well… sometimes it is, he likes to drive super fucking fast and without a fucking helmet, but… still! Fuck!

Luckily, before he can snap anything out, Alex speaks, his words slow and hesitant, a hint of embarrassment lining them. 

“Er, I’m sorry, Mondo-san… I didn’t quite catch half of your statement. While I’ve been living here for five years, my Japanese still isn’t the best… I believe you mentioned something about enjoying riding? It does sound like fun!” 

Mondo blinks and realizes suddenly that he’d switched to his more laid back style of speaking, which he knows for a fact is faster and lazier than his more ‘formal’ speech. Shit, Mondo forget he was supposed to be doing that shit. What happens when you get him started talking about riding… shit. 

Mondo doesn’t get a chance to say anything else (not an apology, because fuck that), since at that moment Taka approaches, smiling brightly as he takes a seat to Mondo’s left. 

“Hello Mondo! Mother sent me out here since she only has one last dish to bring out before we should be able to begin eating!” Taka exclaims brightly, smiling an only somewhat strained smile. Taka then turns to Alex, his eyes immediately seeking out the baby, looking strangely intense. He begins speaking in English a moment later, words steady enough. “/Hello Alex! It is nice to see you again! Is this Benjamin/?” 

Alex relaxes now that Taka is here, his smile much easier as he nods his head, shifting to visibly present the baby to Taka. 

“/Hey man! It’s great to see you too! And yeah, this is little Benny. We’ve told him a lot about you, you know, though who knows how much he took in, ha. He’s usually a pretty happy baby, but he’s a bit fussy today. Yosh thinks he’s coming down with something/,” Alex claims in English, though he doesn’t sound super concerned. Mondo looks down at the red faced infant, who is staring up at them with bright red, tiny eyes, glassy with unshed tears. It’s strange to see such eyes on a baby, and Mondo can’t quite tear his eyes away, not even when the kid begins fussing again, his little eyes squeezing shut. 

Taka, of course, immediately begins to coo over the baby, fucking nerd that he is, leaning precariously over Mondo to get a closer look. Mondo automatically places his hand on Taka’s back to stabilize him as the teen presents his finger for Benny to hold, his face completely enraptured. Mondo’s eyes transfer from the baby to Taka, feeling ‘enraptured’ himself. Shit… 

“/Oh, he is adorable! Hello, Benny, it is nice to meet you! I am your Uncle Kiyotaka, though you may call me Taka/!” Taka says to the baby in English, talking in his usual forceful manner, not bothering with that ridiculous ‘baby talk’ voice adults usually use around infants. Heh. Nerd, Mondo thinks fondly again, letting out a quiet snort. The sound seems to get Taka’s attention, since the teen is turning his face to look at Mondo with a soft smile then, their faces a lot closer than Mondo is used to. Not that he minds. Not at all. “/Oh! And this is Mondo! He is my, er… my boyfriend! He means a lot to me, and I hope the two of you get along well!”/

Mondo flushes at the praise, averting his eyes away from the overwhelming sunshine that is Taka. His eyes land on the baby, who is looking up at him uncertainly, his tiny chest trembling with his unhappy fussing. He’s not full on crying, but he definitely looks uncomfortable and unhappy. Mondo does his best to smile at the kid, not used to dealing with infants in the slightest, but not so big of a dick that he’d be rude to a literal fucking baby. Like… seriously. 

“/Hey, kid. Nice to meet you/,” Mondo says, also in English, though he’s a bit clumsier than Taka was. Daiya taught him English when he was little, but he doesn’t get a chance to practice speaking the language often, so he’s a bit clumsier speaking than he is listening. The kid doesn’t seem to mind. Honestly, Mondo doesn’t know if the kid can understand him at all. He’s five months old, yeah? Is that old enough for them to understand shit yet? Mondo has no fucking clue. 

Alex gives Mondo a surprised look for some reason (what, didn’t expect him to know English? Jackass), but doesn’t get a chance to say anything more, since at that moment, everyone who was helping set up the table comes back into the room and heads for their seat, though there are a lot of happy greetings made as they go along that prolongs the endeavor. Mondo just watches as this happens, feeling decidedly uncomfortable as more and more family members spill into the room, his heart beating fast as he realizes that this is it. He’s fucking meeting all of Taka’s goddamn family now. As his fucking /boyfriend/, even though they definitely are /not fucking boyfriends/. Which is… shit. Whatever. Whatever, he agreed to this fucking plan, he doesn’t fucking care. Fuck. 

Mondo is still slightly distracted when Yoshi returns with a happy hum, plopping down onto the cushion beside him, giving them a happy grin as she takes Benny from her husband without a word. Alex gives up the kid without question, his attention going to the child sleeping on his lap, seamless and easy, like it’s something they’ve done a thousand times. It makes Mondo even more uncomfortable, like every interaction he witnesses between an actual functional family unit. He struggles to ignore it. It doesn’t fucking matter. None of this fucking matters. 

“Hey Taka, Mondo-san! Did you guys sleep well?” Yoshi asks them in Japanese, head tilted and smile easy. Mondo feels awkward around the chick, remembering how fucking /scared/ she looked when she realized who he was, but Taka has no such reservations. The teen just nods happily, still leaning over Mondo to get a better look at his cousin and ‘nephew.’ 

“Yes, we did Yoshi! Thank you for asking! We were just talking to Alex about Benny! He’s very adorable!” Taka exclaims, still singularly focused on the kid. It makes Mondo snort again, shifting to get more comfortable, seeing that the teen is not intending to go anywhere anytime soon. The new position has Mondo’s arm wrapped loosely around Taka’s waist while Taka kneels practically on his lap, but, uh… shit, whatever. They’re close friends, it’s not like it’s fucking /weird/ or anything. And they’re masquerading as boyfriends. It’s fine. Taka doesn’t even seem to notice, as focused as he is on the kid, so it’s fucking /fine/. 

“Aw, thanks Cuz! He really is a little cutie pie, isn’t he? He’s usually such a happy and upbeat baby, but he’s unfortunately got a bit of an earache today. I’m hoping it goes away by morning and he’ll be back to his usual bouncy self soon,” Yoshi explains, giving her kid a small, concerned look. Taka hums worriedly as well, frowning with concern as he leans closer to look at the kid. This unfortunately lands him firmly in Mondo’s lap this time, Taka practically lounging across him, his heat scalding. But it’s, ya know… fine. Totally cool. Not like Mondo is internally panicking or anything, no sirree! 

/Fuck/.

“Yes, I hope so too, Yoshi! I would hate if he was suffering throughout the entire gathering! I’m sure it’s already confusing enough for him to be surrounded by so many people; doing so sick would decidedly be unpleasant! You have my fervent wish that he gets better soon!” Taka proclaims, sounding as serious and forceful as he does about everything. 

Mondo can’t help the warmth that blooms inside his chest as Taka says this, nor can he stop how he looks at the teen, smile soft and eyes practically smitten. He knows he shouldn’t look like that, knows it tells shit he doesn’t want told, but… shit. Shit, shit, god fucking dammit. He can’t help it, okay?! Taka is just so fucking… /Taka/ and he can’t help the way he looks at the teen! He never fucking could… 

Apparently he’s not the only one who finds Taka’s proclamation endearing, though. Yoshi lets out a small laugh, her eyes squinting as she looks at Taka, her expression definitely fond. It does nothing to dim the warmth in Mondo’s chest, and he suddenly feels very glad that Taka has someone in his extended family who genuinely seems to appreciate him. He knows how much the hall monitor struggled to make friends growing up, knows that he was actually Taka’s first real friend, so to see that at least Taka had /someone/ is… a lot.  It might even be everything. Fuck. 

“God, never change, Cuz. Never change,” Yoshi grins, echoing Mondo’s sentiments exactly. Taka jolts a little at the comment, his cheeks flushing with his obvious embarrassment. Mondo can’t tear his eyes away as Taka ducks his head and smiles bashfully, looking so fucking /pleased/. Goddamnit, it should be a crime to be so fucking adorable. It really fucking should. 

“Ah! T-thank you! I, er… will try not to!” is Taka’s eventual answer, as awkward and adorable as the nerd himself. Mondo tightens his hold on Taka unconsciously, not sure why he does it, but just… wanting to feel him. In a, ya know. Brotherly way. 

Unfortunately, the action seems to remind Taka of their position. Taka jolts again and turns his eyes to Mondo, the blush deepening as the teen hurriedly scrambles off of him, stammering as he goes. Mondo has to fight his disappointment and just watches as the hall monitor goes, listening to his hurried (and needless) apologies. 

“Ah! M-Mondo, I… I’m so sorry! I did not mean to lean over you like that, ky- ah, kareshi! I hadn’t been thinking and it was a complete accident, one I assure you will not happen again, and-“

“It’s fine, man,” Mondo interrupts gently, taking care to remember his ‘formal’ voice this time. Yoshi is listening, after all. And most likely Taka’s parents, who have taken their seat on the other side of the teen. Which is… shit, not the time to focus on that. “I don’t mind. We’re, you know… dating. Don’t mind you being close to me. I’ve never minded that.”

Mondo gives Taka a significant look, hoping his kyoudai will understand what he means. Which is that they’re close, they’re fucking /brothers/, and he never minds when Taka gets close to him. Never. No matter the reason. He doesn’t know if Taka gets it, but the dude does go a shade brighter and his smile a bit shyer, so he understood /something/. Which is… yeah. Yeah. 

Luckily, that moment is cut blissfully short by Hana clearing her throat, the entire table coming to attention as they turn their gaze towards her respectfully. Mondo follows suit, sweating fucking bullets, but like hell is he gonna fuck this shit up so quickly. He’s not that big of a dumbass. Even if it is getting so much harder to fucking breathe…

“Welcome, family. It has been far too long since we were last able to all gather together like this. It is a pleasure to see you all again, and to meet our newest additions,” Hana begins, her eyes first sweeping over towards Benny, and then, surprisingly, to him. Her eyes are piercing as they look at him, as piercing as Taka’s eyes have always been, and it makes his blood run cold. It makes his brain go a little funny, his breathing speeding up for reasons he can’t quite explain, and despite the fact he tries so fucking hard to push it down and pay attention, he finds it nearly impossible. Not when he can still feel that phantom stare on him, piercing him, /judging him/, s-shit… 

His distraction causes him to tune out most of the speech, the words distant in his mind, like he’s listening through water. From what he can hear, he thinks it’s mostly about how it’s nice to make time to meet up with family and that familial ties are what are most important in life. He stops listening entirely then, his stomach clenching the way it always does when people talk about family, the envy and jealousy he hates rising bitterly inside of him. It’s all he can do to push it down, eyes hard on the table, his hands clenched in tight fists by his side. He knows he’s being ridiculous, knows he shouldn’t care about this shit, but it’s fucking /hard/, alright? It’s always been hard, from the time he was four years old and realized that the man who hated his guts was actually supposed to love him and not beat the shit out of him on a daily fucking basis, god fucking /dammit/-

“Are you okay, kyoudai?” Mondo hears whispered into his ear an unknown amount of time later, though he thinks it’s only been a couple of minutes, causing him to shudder. His eyes dart to the side to look into concerned scarlet, the most beautiful color he’s ever fucking seen. Even in a room surrounded by red, Mondo is positive that these eyes are the most splendid. The most expressive. The most luminescent, and all those other fucking words Taka’s been teaching him over the past year. He gets a bit lost in them, honestly, looking and searching and feeling. What he’s feeling, he has no fucking clue, but it sure is /something/. 

“Mondo…?” Taka asks again, after a few moments pass and Mondo says nothing. The teen also reaches out and places his hand gently overtop Mondo’s, looking so concerned it makes Mondo’s breath hitch, not sure how to fucking handle this. He’s never known how to handle Taka. Especially not when he gets all concerned like this. Fuck, but he can’t continue to say nothing and just fucking /stare/ at Taka, he’ll concern the shit outta the dude, he’s gotta fucking say something /right the fuck now, you goddamn piece of shit/-

“Yeah. Yeah, I… I’m fine, man. Just… ya know what I’m like with family shit,” Mondo mumbles, cheeks heating up, shrugging awkwardly. But it’s true. Taka… Taka does know. Taka is prolly the only person he’s ever told about the shit his old man would do to him, the abuse he faced at the hands of a man who was supposed to love him. In fact, the day he told Taka about that shit was the first time he allowed Taka to hold him as they fell asleep, his eyes leaking pathetic tears as his kyoudai whispered soothing words to him, promising him that he didn’t deserve the shit his old man had done. Mondo… Mondo hates thinking about that day, as embarrassing as it had been. The way his heart races every time he thinks about it is even worse, though, so he quickly pushes the memory aside. 

“Ah… yes, I- I do know… i-if this is too much for you, kyoudai, we could always retire early, if you’d like? I’m sure my family wouldn’t mind too much…” Taka trails off, sounding uncertain. It makes Mondo snort, giving Taka an unimpressed look. If there is one thing that Mondo has learned about Taka’s family in the short amount of time he’s known them, it’s that they absolutely /would/ mind if he left early. Well… half of them would. The other half would be forcefully worried, constantly bugging him if he was alright, and honestly, he’s not sure which he’d want the least, thanks. 

“Nah. Nah, I’m fine, man. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry ‘bout me, ‘kay?” Mondo mutters back after a moment, before looking back around the table, noticing that the speech seems to be over and everyone is reaching out to grab some food. Hoping that he’s not making some social faux paus, Mondo reaches out blindly to grab something, not really caring what. When he sees the bowl of white rice he’d managed to snag, he figures that’s as good a place as any to start and begins loading up his plate. He fucking loves rice, could eat three whole plates of the shit in a row, really. 

Taka doesn’t seem convinced, his eyebrows still all furrowed and his lips pulled down into a pissy little frown, but thankfully he turns away before Mondo can get too annoyed by the stare. With a soft sigh, Taka reaches forward and grabs the bowl of rice Mondo has finished with, giving him a soft, somewhat awkward smile. 

“If you say so, my friend. But I will always worry about you. It is my duty as your best friend, after all!” Taka exclaims, voice still quiet enough to hopefully not be overheard, but still as forceful as ever. It makes Mondo relax again, his lips pulled up into a gentle smile as he looks at the teen, so fucking glad to have him. Like always…

“Heh. Yeah, ‘course,” he replies absently back, feeling soothed. 

After that, no more words are exchanged between them, the pair happily grabbing the food that interests them, swapping it with the rest of the family around the table while Taka converses with those near him, seeming to be engrossed in the conversation. It makes Mondo feels hella awkward at first, not sure how to ask someone to pass him the shit he wants, not wanting to accidentally offend anyone and not wanting to interrupt Taka’s conversation. Luckily, it seems that Yoshi notices his predicament and begins grabbing the shit that Mondo is looking at, passing it to him with a wide smile even while holding her kid. It’s honestly kind of impressive. 

“Thanks,” Mondo mutters after she’s done it for the fourth time, cheeks a little heated at needing the help. Yoshi doesn’t hold it against him, though. She just waves her hand carelessly, her eyes twinkling as she looks at him. 

“Don’t mention it! Anything for Taka’s boyfriend,” she states, her words teasing. Mondo usually hates being teased, and he can even feel the discomfort bubble inside his chest, but… it’s surprisingly not as bad as it usually is. Something about Yoshi makes Mondo feel at ease. Honestly… she kind of reminds him of Daiya a little. If Daiya were an energetic, nosy chick. Which, considering who his brother is… heh. 

Overall, the dinner is… nice. Simple. No one really engages Mondo in conversation, but he honestly prefers it that way. It’s easier for him to spend the time observing the family from an outside perspective, watching them as they interact. And it’s… honestly kinda fascinating. While they’re seated fairly far from each other, Mondo can see how Taka’s stuck up family interacts with the rest of them, their noses upturned and their demeanor haughty. Despite that, they still seem to be engaging in conversation, the rest of the family not seeming to mind the clipped words or the haughty tone. Though, every so often Mondo will see a teenage boy roughly Taka’s age— who Mondo believes might be Taka’s second cousin Eichi, who’s apparently the biggest fucking asshole around— turn to face them with a smug little smirk on his face, eyes dark with amusement, but luckily the shithead never says anything directly to them. Which is good. Mondo’s supposed to be on his best behavior here. Punching the lights out of Taka’s cousin would kinda ruin that shit. 

But that doesn’t happen. And Mondo is mostly left alone while Taka speaks to his various family members, seeming happy. Mondo entertains himself for a few minutes watching Taka enthusiastically talk to his ‘uncle’ Akihiko, the happy bachelor who also apparently arrived sometime when they were in their room. From what Mondo can tell, they’re talking politics, Taka trying to get the older man to understand the importance of some policy or other, though the man seems mostly to be humoring the teen, nodding and humming when appropriate with an indulgent smirk on his lips. From what Taka has told him about the man, he’s a lot more laid back than anyone in the family, enjoying to ‘go with the flow’ rather than having any concrete plans in life. It often puts him and Taka at odds, Taka aghast as someone not caring about every last little thing possible, but despite that the pair seems to get along well. It’s definitely entertaining to watch the two, he’ll say that… 

This continues on for a little while, nothing too out of the ordinary happening, Mondo able to just zone out and chill while eating some honestly super delicious food. In fact, Mondo is just about thinking that the whole dinner is going to go on in a similar manner, the even not nearly as bad as he’d feared, when he gets distracted by a small commotion to his right. 

Head turning automatically, Mondo watches absently as Samantha— who has been sleeping merrily on her da’s lap this entire time, not stirring even with the loud noise— abruptly wakes up and begins fussing. Loudly. 

Without even looking away from her conversation partner, Yoshi immediately begins to hand little Benny over to Alex, the man accepting the bundle without question. Then, still talking to one of the various cousins, the chick grabs her daughter and brings her onto her lap, bouncing her leg immediately to try and soothe the cranky toddler. The whole interaction takes maybe five seconds, maybe less, and it leaves Mondo feeling… something. What that something is, he doesn’t know, but it definitely feels twisted, so he determines to not examine it too closely, thanks. 

But then… for reasons he absolutely doesn’t understand…

Mondo enters into a conversation with Samantha. The fucking /infant/.

And it’s not really a conversation. She’s like… fucking /three/ and her grasp on language is iffy at best. In fact, she’s clearly being taught both English and Japanese at home, since she’s babbling in a confusing mix of the two, Mondo having to stare at her with furrowed brows to try and understand a goddamn word. And as for why the hell he’s even bothering, well… it would be rude to ignore her, ya know? Especially after she makes it abundantly clear she‘s speaking to him when she grabs his arm and yanks painfully on his skin, babbling a sharp reprimand when he dares to look away from her after a minute of absently watching her babble. 

Yoshi finally looks away from her conversation at that, looking down at her daughter with disapproval, chiding her gently about her actions. The chick then gives Mondo an apologetic look, but he immediately waves it off. 

“It’s fine, I, uh… don’t mind,” he mutters, and finds that it‘s strangely true. He honestly doesn’t. Yoshi gives him a curious look at that, and for a second Mondo thinks that the chick is gonna be mad at him for, he doesn’t know… interacting with her precious child and soiling her with his rough lifestyle. But no. Instead, Yoshi just nods happily after a moment and goes back to her conversation, Samantha tugging on his arm again to get his attention. And, well… it’s not like he’s got anything better to do…

And so, that’s how Mondo finds himself wrapped up in the most convoluted, confusing conversation he’s ever found himself in, which is saying a lot considering who his kyoudai is. Honestly, Mondo doesn’t think he’s ever spoken to a three year old before, and he’s gotta admit that he’s glad for it. Don’t get him wrong, the kid is kinda cute and he doesn’t really regret entering into this ‘conversation’. But goddamn is it confusing. 

More than the kid constantly switching between English and Japanese, it seems that she doesn’t know what she wants to talk about. Every five seconds she starts talking about another topic, sounding just as enthusiastic as she had before. After about three minutes of this, Mondo absently wonders if this was what Taka was like as a child. Endlessly enthusiastic and painfully confusing. Somehow, the thought makes him feel less awkward about the whole situation, his lips smiling fondly as he thinks of his kyoudai acting like this little girl when he was a kid. It’s honestly not that hard to imagine. 

This ‘conversation’ between them lasts for about ten minutes, Mondo not really contributing to the conversation, but not minding listening to the kid babble. It’s honestly kinda cute, not gonna lie. He makes sure to nod along and make some noises that indicate that he’s listening, not wanting to be rude to the fucking kid, and it seems she’s happy enough with just babbling along. At one point he sees Taka look over at him and Samantha, pausing briefly in his conversation with his ‘uncle’ to give Mondo a wide eyed stare, before giving him a blinding smile. He doesn’t say anything, though, and instead just returns to his previous conversation, though his smile never fully fades from his lips. Mondo tries not to focus on it, but his chest definitely begins to bloom with a bright, hot /something/ at that fact. It’s hella distracting, though, so Mondo redoubles his efforts of following along with whatever the kid is saying, kind of able to make out that she’s rambling about something she did with her ‘dada’ the other day. It’s honestly hella cute, her little baby voice endearing, so Mondo doesn’t mind putting his full attention on the kid, humming with acknowledgment whenever it seems appropriate. 

What Mondo does mind, however, is when the kid decides it’s a good fucking idea to climb off her mother’s lap and onto /his/ during a lull in their ‘conversation’.

Well… ‘mind’ is a bit strong of a word. Honestly, he’s more surprised than anything, eyes wide as he looks down at the dark brown curls he can see under his chin. He’s never had a kid decide to sit in his fucking lap before. It’s… weird. 

It also makes Yoshi abruptly end her conversation, her red eyes wide and her lips pulled down into a frown as she looks at her daughter. 

“Samantha,” Yoshi hisses, looking embarrassed as she reaches out for the kid, shooting Mondo an apologetic look. The kid, however, evades her mother’s hands and settles herself firmly on his lap under his arm, her lip jutted out in a stubborn pout. She babbles something angrily at her mother, stubborn as all hell, and it makes Mondo smirk a little. What can he say, he likes the kid’s spunk. 

What he doesn’t like is how the commotion cuts across the entire table, everyone going quiet as they turn to look at what’s causing the problem. It makes Mondo flush, anxiety rising in his chest to see everyone staring at him— /judging him/— and he knows he has to defuse this situation as quick as he fucking can before something happens. What might happen, he doesn’t know. But knowing him and his anger when people judge him…

“It’s okay. I don’t mind,” Mondo mumbles to Yoshi, his hands still awkwardly at his sides as he darts a look between the kid in his lap and the chick sitting next to him. Yoshi looks uncertain about something, and for a moment Mondo thinks she’s upset because he’s a fucking biker and she doesn’t trust her kid with him. Which is… shit, /fair/, but he fucking hates it, he hates it, he fucking-

“Are you sure Mondo-san? I know how pushy Sammy can be, you don’t have to entertain her if you don’t want to. I can take her out of the room to calm down, it’s not a problem,” Yoshi replies softly, giving him a concerned look. She seems fairly genuine, too, like her concern is about him and his comfort, not… shit. Anything else. 

Taking a deep breath to shove everything down, he gives the chick a crooked half smile, shrugging as casually as he can while he shifts to get more comfortable. It makes Sam grumble, the girl pouting up at him, which strangely helps settle him more. What can he say. He’s unfairly fond of stubborn as shit, bossy, red eyed people. 

“Nah, it’s, uh… it’s cool. She isn’t bothering me,” Mondo claims, voice still quiet to prevent eavesdroppers. Yoshi still seems a bit uncertain, like she isn’t sure if he’s just being a martyr or not, but after a moment, she nods hesitantly and goes back to her dinner, darting frequent looks at the two of them. Mondo keeps himself as loose as possible, staring unseeing at the table, trying to ignore the fucking stares. God, does he hate people staring at him. Shit’s the fucking worst. 

Fortunately, people seem to grow bored of staring when nothing is going on, and soon enough everyone is going back to their own conversations, all seeming to accept that things are fine now. This relieves Mondo so fucking much, and it doesn’t take long for him to relax as well. Yeah, he has a fucking /kid/ in his goddamn lap, and he has no idea how to handle that shit, but hey. At least people aren’t staring at him anymore. Or… most people…

“I ain’t gonna explode man. Ya don’t gotta look at me like that,” Mondo mutters towards Taka a few minutes later, noticing that the teen is still staring at him weirdly. Taka jolts a little at the comment, eyes wide and cheeks flushing. He hurriedly looks away, embarrassed. 

“S-sorry, k-kareshi. I didn’t think you were going to explode, I just… a-ah. I hadn’t known you were good with children, is all,” Taka mumbles to him after a moment, giving him the shyest fucking look through his goddamn eyelashes. It makes Mondo flush in response, his eyes falling to the table, not sure how to respond to that. Because… shit, he ain’t good with kids. Or… he’s never really been around kids much, so he can’t say one way or another if he’s good with them or not. He just isn’t a fucking dick to little kids, ya know? And if a fucking three year old wants to climb on his lap and babble nonsense to him, what does he care? As long as she doesn’t kick him anywhere sensitive, he doesn’t mind. And he’s gotta admit… it is kinda cute how she’ll ramble on and on about absolutely anything, not caring that he has absolutely no idea what she’s saying. As long as he makes the appropriate noises, she’s golden. 

It’s also kinda cute how she’ll tug on his arm every so often, point to a type of food she wants to eat, and say something (in either English or Japanese, whichever one comes to her mind first) like ‘peas’ or ‘gimme’ or ‘dat one, tanks.’ And then, once he dutifully grabs the desired food, she’ll reach out to eat it with her hands, regardless of what it is he put in front of her. He’s super fucking glad he’s not wearing his coat or else she’d have gotten food all over it, which would not fly. As it is, she’s just ruining this stupid as shit polo and slacks he got hella cheap, so he doesn’t give a shit. 

Anyway… all of that besides, he’s not sure why Taka thinks he’s suddenly ‘good with kids,’ but whatever. Not like it bothers him. He’d worry about his image, but a) he’s supposed to be trying to be seen as an upstanding citizen of society here, and b) who the fuck says bikers can’t be nice to kids? Most bikers he knows are super nice to kids. In fact, anyone who isn’t gets the beating of their life from him. It’s actually a fucking rule of his gang: don’t be a fucking dick to kids. So… yeah. Whatever. 

“I ain’t, just… I dunno. Ain’t gonna be rude ta a kid. Ya know?” Mondo eventually says, a few moments later, voice as quiet as he can go to prevent more eavesdropping. Taka hums, nodding slowly, turning to look at him with a small smile. Shit…

“I don’t know, kareshi. You seem fairly good with Samantha. I know for a fact that she can be, er… a bit much. Not many would be willing to listen to her conversations, let alone let her climb onto their lap. It’s… admirable,” Taka mutters in reply, eyes glittering in the low lighting, admiration clear within them. It causes Mondo’s throat to grow dry, and he has to look back at the table to prevent himself from saying (or /doing/) anything stupid. Goddamn. 

Dinner continues on after that, the kid in his lap happily babbling about anything and pointing to the food she wants, while Mondo listens with half an ear and responds when appropriate. The rest of the table continues on with their own conversations, everything seeming happy and very… homey. At no point does the discomfort within him go away, but it does settle a little as the meal goes on, enough so that he’s able to eat a fairly substantial amount of the super fucking bomb food that was made. He even manages to enter a small conversation with Yoshi and Alex, who ask him about his gang and what it’s like to lead. All in all, while it’s definitely not his scene, Mondo finds that the dinner is… not that bad. Could be worse, definitely. 

Eventually, the meal does end, the mountain of food dwindled to dregs only and everyone at various stages of exhausted. Taka is leaning subtly against his shoulder, his eyes drooping every few seconds, which tells Mondo that he’s super fucking tired, even after his nap earlier. Mondo doesn’t mind the dude leaning against him and just moves a bit to give Taka more room, shifting Sam a little to make them all a bit more comfortable. Unfortunately, moving wakes Taka up, his kyoudai blinking at him sleepily while his cheeks flush bright pink. 

“Ah, s-sorry, kyoudai… I must be more tired than I thought,” Taka mumbles, still looking exhausted. Mondo chuckles, turning to face Taka fondly. 

“It’s okay, man. I don’t mind. But, uh… we should prolly head ta bed. Yer lookin’ pretty sleepy, Kiyo,” Mondo mumbles in reply, lifting a hand to absently run it through his kyoudai’s hair. He feels Taka stiffen for a second, but before he can worry that he did something wrong, the teen is relaxing with a soft, happy sigh, leaning further into his side without a care. It makes Mondo smile, the sight honestly super fucking adorable. It gets even cuter when Sam decides she’s also sleepy and so she shifts so that she can rest her head against his chest, her little hand reaching out to grab Taka’s sleeve. Taka smiles gently at the little girl, and Mondo has a moment to think that it’s not just him that’s supposedly good with kids.

His thoughts get interrupted when he hears Taka’s great aunt clear her throat again, a hush falling over the brood. Mondo respectfully turns his head to face the woman, knowing that if he were to show her even the slightest hint of disrespect things would be all over for him. If there’s one thing he’s learned most from his few hours here, it’s that everyone in the family adores the matriarch and wouldn’t tolerate any disrespect. 

~~~~

Aaaaand that's all she wrote, folks. Like I said, I have a ton of ideas for this fic, it's just hard writing them down. And connecting all the ideas together. If you did like this fic, please let me know, though! I cannot guarantee it ever getting finished, but I do like the premise and I like what I have written so far.

Also, I hope the kids seemed realistic, ha. As I've mentioned on here before, I work with kids, so I tried to model the kids on the kids I work with. Samantha was based off a friend to a kid I used to babysit, who was three when I met her and LOVED to talk about anything. Her name was also Samantha, which is why I named the character that, giving her an American dad to excuse it. ^-^

[leafiion]

+more playthrough thoughts. mostly tourmaline aka the bird chapter

first of all, for the people who want to know: you can actually cut off titania's walk-away when she says "you take west, ill see if i can get anywhere north" but she doesn't have collision so she just walks right through you into the next room.

anyway. taka's dialog here is always the best. ive said it already but it's really funny. titania: (ruminating paragraph) taka: ok. anyway titania tells taka what she wishes someone would tell her and we all run off into the sunset because every single one of us in this WTC is still doomed whether to die or otherwise. aughh i hate his little begging segment it makes me so sad. taka i love you really

big gap here to do all the quests and then quickly run through devon. i know a lot of people don't like devon bc it's kinda lame but from a narrative standpoint i think it's so fucking cool like just imagining it. it falls a little flat gameplay wise but the events are very memorable and extremely interesting to reimagine

tourmaline desert time HI TAKA. myguy.. help me not only does he hide behind/lean on that tree but he also walks super slowly over the sand dune. "i know i can't win, not against you... and not against them" every time i see those lines i die a little i think. something that hits me here is how much of a snap decision his "can i come with you?" is. and its very familiar. a la "i don't suppose i can just... tag along with you?" im a huge fan of taka in general... i have a hard time super analyzing him because i see him and i go yippee!!! i love his speech mannerisms we are literally friends.

no fucking way the forbidden lemonade stand AND it has a leafeon. fuck yes. He actually buys you a lemonadeeee cries... taka to me to lin communication taka to me to lin conversation. the narrative connections between taka and lin are insane actually but i wont get into that right now

+1 relationship points for calling him my boyfriend and he doesnt even want my ride chat

"the water isnt even drinkable.. i guess id try in a pinch" god please dont drink the corpse water taka. keeping this guy alive is so hard. for obvious reasons such as that one and other things he says and does. chiefly being him trying to kill me by being so cute. anyway now we have to go to the steel gym and put taka on the shelf :( killing myself is scheduled for right now.. his princess tower scene is sooo. can we get a little gayer justa little. asking for me. anyway fine go run off whatever..