#high&low rao

[cheshirecatuniverse]

Gummy Bears (Rao)

"Rao" Misaki Mario x Reader (She/Her)

Song: Skipping Stones (feat. Jhené Aiko) - Gallant

Summary: In which you have too many run-ins with Rao and every time you want to stay with him longer. But your nightmares never go away.

WC: 7.2k

Notes: my works can be gorey, violent, and other mature themes! lots of plot. reader went through a traumatic experience and has an injury that effects their lifestyle. there's also a nickname reader gets called by. murayama's bestie makes an appearance. barely edited I'm so sorry, it will be soon!

It was quiet, as quiet as a restaurant could be midday. There was only an elderly couple who stopped eating to exhange a word or two sometimes and a young woman with her child sleeping in a stroller.

Even the clatter of the dishes being washed echoing from the kitchen was tolerable. You considered the moment a gift as you enjoyed the soft hum of the music playing through speakers. But it was all tragically ruined by someone's finger.

"Stop tapping the glass."

Tap Tap Tap.

You put down the cup you were cleaning and lifted your head to the ceiling, "Do you have a death wish, kid?"

Your fellow waiter snorted at you, "Pretty sure if I did you'd still be fired."

He continued to tap on the cups lined up and it took too much of your willpower to not follow up on your warning. He happily ignored your looming urge to throw him across the restaurant.

The new generation were just so rude, which was your own but that wasn't the point.

You hated new coworkers, especially when they were from that nearby boys school. Usually they last a month, before they get bored or decide it wasn't worth the extra cash. That leaves yourself with cleaning up after them.

If you were going to be honest though, the current newbie wasn't as annoying as you'd have thought. Which was more than fine, but it doesn't mean you want to get along with him. You were only here to get your paycheck and a daily free meal. So, you focused on yourself. Tilting your head to the right to look closely and dried the glassware.

The door opened, and you heard several people step in. There it is. Well it seemed that having some quiet wasn't very realistic.

"It's yours," your coworker shot over the cabinet door he sat by, putting the clean aprons away.

You clenched your jaw because he was right. Of course you knew that. But this little brat had to tell you the obvious. "Put the glass away then."

He waved you off without turning away from the cabinet. "Yeah, Yeah. When I'm done here."

You let a breath out from your nose and threw the towel down. For the first time you looked at the people who came in, seated and restless. The black uniforms that you've grown accustomed worn by all of them. It was around that time school was out.

As you stepped around the lunch counter you didn't notice your coworker pop his head up from the floor. He scrambled up and stood like he was struck by lighting. Mouth opened and closed like a fish trying to talk underwater.

You slid the worn-down menus to the six boys, "Okay, what drinks can I get you guys started on?" Your tone was never much for customer service but at least you knew how to word yourself.

"Three waters, two cokes, and a green tea," It was the one at the edge of the booth, with tinted glasses.

You began to write- "Yah, Mercy. You know I want a beer."

You turned a little to your left, and you could see your dear coworker making motions in front of his face. Is he telling you to smile? You gave a simple glare in warning and turned directly at the table. The Suzuran student who wanted a beer was the one with crazy hair and even crazier eyes to match it.

"Yeah and I want a unicorn. But guess what? They don't exist and you're underage. So three waters, two cokes, and a green tea," You read out from your writing pad with your head tilting to side. "That it?"

Crazy hair slumped and dropped his head harshly on the table. The giant thud didn't make you react, much to the surprise of the biggest person at the table. He had a grimace on his features as he looked at you, though his eyes felt different. You immediately pushed that thought out of your head. Don't try reading people, you thought. Especially this one, you heard one of them call him Rao. Although you tried keeping Suzuran information limited, there were enough rumors about him to reach you.

Mercy, as it seemed, let out a mix between a scoff and cough at crazy hair in the corner. "Sorry about him, and if you can get us a basket of bottomless fries..." The sulking crazy hair boy slowly rose up, like his soul was revived.

"...Can I smoke in here?"

You squinted and said nothing for a minute. "Sure go ahead. While you're at it, go ahead and blow the smoke in front of the baby." You jabbed a thumb to the back, the soundly sleeping small child with his mother at the farthest table. You watch as Mercy dropped the cigarette he had ready between his fingers. Rao followed his gaze from your finger to the left corner of the restaurant, his expression darkened even more.

If he thought for one second that you were going to let one of his buddies expose the baby to second-hand smoke, you were willing to throw your job away. He could intimidate you, even threaten you. It wouldn't move you one bit.

Everyone went quiet quickly, so you gave one last look and walked away.

"Wow. What did you do to her, Mercy?"

"Ah? I don't even know her."

You sighed when your coworker kept whisper-yelling at you for failing to be nice to Rao and his group. This day needed to be over. And over fast. You kept your words curt as you gave them their drinks and their food that followed.

When you were done with them, you heard someone call your name while you were wiping down tables. It was Yuki, the young woman who came here with her child once a week.

"Sorry. I-" She hesitated before raising her hand with an envelope. "I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't an emergency, but is it possible for you to watch Isamu? I have to drop off paperwork off to the office across the street, and I know he'll wake up if I take him."

Yuki wasn't a friend but she was someone you knew well, as she lived two apartments down from you. You checked the time and then back at her, "How long do you need me to watch him?"

"It shouldn't be longer than 15 minutes."

You checked the time. Well, you were going on break in five.

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Thank you, thank you! I'll pay you back, I promise." You waved her off. You really didn't want anything in return. She went back to the table to gather her things and pushed the stroller to the counter.

You sat on a stool, giving your aching feet a break. The kid was still asleep, thankfully. He was small, really small. Maybe a year old? You may have remembered Yuki saying he was turning two soon.

Someone slammed one of cabinets behind the lunch counter loudly and woke him up immediately. Your glare was loud enough for your coworker to put both his hands up, "That's my bad, honestly."

The little kid was wailing and you shakily picked him up. A good temperament was something you lacked these days, but you were relieved to feel the kid accept you. He clung to you as you rocked him and you leaned over to the stroller to find his sippy cup. You did find it, but when you tried reaching for it, it fell and rolled across the floor.

"You've gotta be f-" You clamped your mouth shut. No cursing in front of small children.

Your eyes slightly widened in surprised when you saw someone's feet stand around it. Rao reached down and grabbed your lifesaver. With a napkin in his hand he wiped the top of it and slowly stepped in front of you.

"Here."

Rao still had the same grimace on his face. Body towering over you in a much more exaggerated way because you were sitting. It was like the world's smallest and most intimidating eclipse. It's probably the only way you can call him small. You were sure the muscles in his arms were bigger than your head.

Confused at the way his emotions were frozen on his features, you wondered. Just what is he doing? You took the cup with caution, as if you were taking a bone from a bear.

The kid calmed down when you placed it in his hands. You patted his head as you watched Rao walk outside to where the Suzuran boys were waiting.

◇♧◇

Shopping wasn't your strong suit. Okay, it was but not in any way that was good for your wallet. There was only one goal right now, quick cook food and medicine from the convenience store. Hunched over the candy section was nothing, you were just looking. Your hand that slipped and pushed a bag of gummies into the basket? Purely accidental.

Too busy looking at the gummy packets piling in your basket you didn't hear the door chime or the footsteps behind you. On instinct, you tense up with your shoulders raised. You felt an arm slip around your shoulders and felt someone on your right side.

"Sweets," someone giggled and pushed your head down to bump it with her own.

You rolled your eyes, "Hi to you too."

You didn't imagine seeing your friend here, especially since she lived in the Sannoh district. Not to mention she was in Sannoh Rengokai. This was more out of her way.

She hummed and let you go, "I haven't seen you in a bit. So when are you going to start working with me for real, Sweets?"

"If you go get me ibuprofen maybe I'll think about it."

Your dull headache that began an hour ago was a reminder that you had to restock your kitchen. Your friend returned from a couple aisles away and handed you a bottle of ibuprofen. You said thanks and placed it in the basket while she looked at you curiously.

"Are you sick?"

"My head just hurts," you shake your head.

She pursed her lips into a thin line and looked at the back of the store. Where a group of guys were grabbing a variety of drinks. In a quieter voice she asked, "Is it your eye? Your next appointment is for next month right?"

"Yeah but it's always been like that. It's fine," you sighed.

The conversation got cut short at the call of her name. A couple of people walked over to you, some of them with black uniforms. It instantly reminded you of Suzuran but these guys weren't, the uniforms were slightly different.

One of them pointed at you which you didn't like very much, "Oh, Who's this?"

Your friend introduced you and then looked at you, "This is Fujio, he's from Oya High."

He waved enthusiastically with a big smile, "Nice to meet you."

That made you raise your eyebrow, "But I thought you and Murayama were done with Oya?" As soon as you said that you realized that he wasn't anywhere to be seen or heard. "Where he is by the way?"

She looked down at the ground and tried not to look mad, "Away. On a trip or something. But yeah, we don't go there anymore. I still like hanging out with these losers though."

"You mean you like to leech off us."

"And you let me because you love me, Todoroki," She leaned towards the guy with the glasses and blew kisses at him until he walked away. "Anyways. You should come hang out with us, Sweets."

"Sweets? No way is her name Sweets!" Two figures you unfortunately recognized. Rao and the guy shouting at you as they came over, crazy hair. There was change in Rao's eyes, they widened a little. Your vision didn't let you see it.

You tilted your head at crazy hair, "I thought you were just having a bad hair day last week but I guess I was wrong."

Your friend laughed at that. "Wait, wait. You know Binzo?"

"I don't." You were staring at Rao, who easily loomed over everyone around you. He had originally stepped as close as Binzo but took a small step back. Hands in his pocket, he watched.

Binzo had a hand on his chin, his eyes wide in fascination, "So why sweets and not salty?"

"When we were younger people called her that because she liked to eat or make anything with sugar." Your friend pointed at the basket you were holding, half of it had candy.

You were embarrassed enough to rub a hand on the back of your neck. You buried it down and headed to the register with our friend clung onto you as she laughed.

After she said a soft sorry, she smiled, "Are you coming with us?"

"My head," You pointed quietly at yourself, "Maybe next time, okay?" Although you really wanted nothing to do with Oya and Suzuran.

You didn't understand how your friend still stuck around them. Everything that happened at the peak of Kuryu made you want to lock yourself in your apartment forever. The throb of your headache got worse.

She nodded, "And you'll let me take you next month? Y'know to-?"

A hum left you, agreeing. You paid for your things, your head tilted to right as you read the total amount. She turned around to look at the rest of the group.

Arms crossed she asked, "And which one of you men are gonna help her with her bags? She's not feeling well enough to be left alone."

At the sound of no one stepping up she had taken a breath to yell. You rolled your eyes hearing it but it still gave you secret and small smile. The yell never came though, you heard someone walk forward. He was swift to grab your bags, you couldn't turn your head to the right fast enough to see him.

By the time you had realized who it was he stood outside, waiting with your bags. Waiting for you.

"Ah?" Your hearing was good enough to hear Binzo's confusion. It mirrored your own.

Fujio walked over to the window beside the entrance and started dancing. Dancing? Even though Rao had his back turned.

"Alriiight Rao! A gentlemen as always," Fujio said in approval.

Your friend nodded in agreement and bumped her hip against yours. With a jolt you looked over at her.

"Well go on," She smiled mischievously, "Y'know I haven't gotten my hands on him. He is cute right?"

You sputtered out half words and noises of confusion. You walked fast, away from her, away from Fujio, and hopefully they didn't see the slightest red on your face.

Outside, you froze in place. Rao was so tall that you stared at his chest and you refused to look up. You jabbed your thumb over your shoulder.

You mumbled, "Ah... this way."

To your happiness it was a quiet walk, your noise sensitivity probably didn't help your head. The two of you kept some distance and the one time you glanced over he was staring straight ahead. God, his jawline looked chiseled from stone. The guy looked like an ancient warrior who's defeated armies, which is a funny thought while looking at him hold your grocery bags.

The headache bothering you since the last hour got worse even through the quiet. If you didn't do anything about it now it'd cause more trouble. Desperate, you turned to look at him again.

"Can you hand me that bag, please?" You pointed and he gave it to you. Rao watched you frantically find the medicine you were looking for. You took a couple a pills, not needing water even though your throat didn't appreciate it. Forgetting about him for a moment you hissed in pain and rubbed your fingers against your eyes.

"Are you okay?" Rao asked softly. You were caught off guard at the tone of his question. His voice was deep but didn't hide the concern.

You shrugged it off, "It's just a headache."

He went back to facing ahead and you thought it was the end of it.

Rao said your name and asked, "What highschool do you attend?"

"Oh. Why?" You left out any malice because you were genuinely curious.

"I haven't seen you around."

Since you gave him and his friends the worst customer service in the world a week ago, you almost wanted to say.

"I do school online," you sighed and kicked a can on the ground, "No problems that way. Actually going to school- that's too much." After Kuryu, after what you did, after everything.

Rao left a big pause, like he was trying to form what he wanted to say to you.

"Listen..." He stopped his footsteps, "If anyone from Suzuran did anything they shouldn't have-"

"Ah?" You shake your head, "Like I would let anyone from that place even near me." You managed to look him in the eye and let yourself smile, "No offense."

Rao let out a scoff but lightly he told you, "None taken. But you seem to not like Suzuran very much."

"I don't like the idea of Suzuran," You corrected and began to walk again. That was enough to for him to drop the subject, but it wasn't bad.

The rest of the walk was peaceful, with a few words in between but it didn't feel awkward like the beginning. Rao wasn't the worst person to walk you home. Which was a frightening thought only to you. He respected your space and let you talk freely. Well he didn't allow you to talk freely, but anything you said felt like it was heard by someone who wouldn't judge you.

There was nothing you knew about him. You knew enough to know he wasn't awful but that was all you wanted to know. You weren't going to analyze him, keep the little details in mind, or find out his weaknesses. You were just going to acknowledge that Rao was here, with you.

Outside your apartment you told Rao to leave the bags against the wall. He was quiet when he slipped away. When you unlocked the door to your apartment you bit your lip. Damn it.

Rao felt someone grab his wrist, he turned around to see you. You were refused to make eye contact and shoved something in the palm of his hand, "Bye."

There was no time to say anything as you rushed yourself and your bags into your home. Rao looked down at his hand, a soda. A strawberry flavored one, with little cartoons and pink hearts on the can.

"Bye," Rao with wide eyes whispered to himself.

◇♧◇

You now were officially working three jobs. Your friend was ecstatic when she got your call. She had wanted you on her team since she had gotten back into kickboxing. To your suprise, it was your least stressful job. You cleaned her wounds up between rounds and got to watch her beat men twice her size.

After another victory, there were plans to go out to eat. The both you were walking to the restaurant, she mentioned that a couple others would join you too.

You shivered in the cold and your friend basked in it after hours of fighting. The mini dress you had on was too cute that you had to wear it, there weren't too many occasions for it anyways.

"So you wanna tell me what happened with Murayama?" You asked to distract yourself from the crisp night air.

Caught off guard your friend flinched, "Huh? There's nothing."

"Nothing my ass. It's honestly kinda freaky that he's not with you. Is he really on a trip?"

"Yeah, he actually is and I was supposed to go too. Murayama, Seki, Furuya, and me," She looked away and found interest at the closed shop windows, "We got into a fight. He thinks I need to stop avoiding what Kuryu did to us."

"I'm sorry," and you meant it. You were sorry that he had point.

She said your name and looked at you, "...do you think we'll ever be able to talk about it?"

Your eyes stung, "I wish I knew."

That was a lie, you only wanted to lock yourself in a room. Where no one can hurt you, where no nightmare can find you. That could be enough. But you didn't say anything, you blinked your tears away and took a deep breath.

When you two made it to the restaurant, you sighed in relief when you felt the heaters. You rubbed your arms up down to get your blood warm again. Your friend ran over to a table as soon as she saw the people she was looking for. As you followed slowly behind, you froze at the sight of Rao. Oh, you gotta be kidding me, you thought.

It was strange not to see him in his school uniform, a good strange. Something that you weren't going to pay attention to. Rao was in the middle of a conversation with Fujio, Binzo and a couple others when he saw you. Your friend had called your name and dragged you over to the table. You sat down next to her and across from him.

Rao looked at you and you looked at him, and awkwardly you thanked him as he poured you a cup of water. He kept his stare on you and he said something to himself so quietly you could only hear an incoherent grumble. Out of habit you tilt your head to the right, wordlessly asking him a question.

"You look really nice," He finally told you.

You took a sip of water to hide your nerves, "You do too."

Your friend draped her arm around your shoulders and announced, "Y'know, Sweets is my fastest cornerman. She could be my medic too and be faster than the one we have now."

"That's true, we saw you between rounds. You were like a cheetah," Fujio gave you a thumbs up.

You were surprised, "Oh. I didn't even see you guys."

"Cause I put up a fun match right?" Your friend beamed. "Better than any of those rigged ones on tv."

You nodded energetically, "God, of course you are. You hit like a truck. You should watch your kicks though. You get too excited and hit early and lose damage. The guy was slow though- and with a big ego, you were gonna win either way."

That made her light up, with her knees on her chair she jumped up and hugged you. You groaned and made a bad attempt to get out of her grasp. For a small second in time you felt like nothing had changed the past couple of years and you let your childhood friend celebrate the deja vu.

She laughed, "Will do, Coach!"

"Yah, Sweets, do you fight? We should go one-to-one," Binzo asked.

"Nope," Your friend and yourself say at the same time. You hissed lightly at her to let you go.

You pointed, "She's got that covered."

The opponent she faced really was never going to win, even if you didn't know your friend, you knew that. You couldn't help watch closely tonight, your neck sore from how you liked to tilt your head. Crowds of people cheered and it made your friend's opposition grow taller. His movements were exaggerated and he kept making laps around the ring. The dead giveaway to you though, was that his gloved fists weren't even up to his face.

Just thinking about it all made you look at the people around you. Binzo's body spread out as much as he can with his chair at a farther distance than the others, relaxed but easily reactionary. Fujio seemed to like to keep his hands in his lap or on Tsukasa's shoulder, gently patting him. He had an injury, maybe a sprained shoulder or arm. Before you could process it, your stare made it Rao's hands. Arms crossed and tucked in arms, it wasn't a barrier, no, it was an act of soothing.

You caught yourself in time, you looked down at the table. Water, you needed water. When you reached for the glass you grabbed air. Your stomach dropped at the sight. You missed the fucking glass, you thought. It was about 4 inches farther.

Reality hit you and you were quiet the rest of the time. Even Rao spoke more than you. While your friend tried to ask you questions to join in the conversation you just nodded or shrugged.

"Hey." Outside the building, everyone was about to part ways but your friend pulled you aside. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

You took a step backwards, "It's fine."

You were in the Sannoh district and getting home would take a little longer but you just wanted to be alone. You shrugged off the sound of your name being called and left.

In some sick way you wished you were back to a couple years ago. Before everything hurt so much, you were so empty and cold. It was better that way, it was better than trying to shove everything you felt down in the abyss.

The uncomfortable soreness of your heels, your cold arms and cheeks, and the tight feeling in your throat. You walked through it.

Your ears caught the sounds of the occasional car that drove out of sight. Building owners had begun to close their shops and offices as you passed by. The sound of a big dog barking in a home nearby echoed from somewhere. Someone's footsteps who walked around in the alleyways closely. But nothing seemed to process in your mind or maybe you didn't even care.

A gasp barely left you when you got slammed against the alley wall with a rusty knife pressed against your neck.

"Your fucking wallet. Now, bitch." The stranger jammed the knife harder into your throat. It was dull but if the man wanted he could jam it through your neck. He smelled like alcohol and vomit, the smell. That's all it took.

A cold and dark room, your vomit, blood, and decaying flesh being the only thing you could smell. Some people remember their first kiss, favorite Christmas, anniversaries and birthdays. You could only remember how much you threw up in that awful room. Your infected wrists and blisters on your face, you could still feel them everyday.

Fingers weak and jittery, you failed to get his hands off of you. It was clear what was going to happen and again there was no one. The worst of the world would follow you until you were dead. You were alone.

So you did the only thing you could do, run your mouth.

"Fuck off," You tried to scream but it came out strangled. There wasn't any stopping him, things like this would just keep happening.

He growled and yelled so close to your face you could feel spit on you. You could feel the knife begin to cut your throat, you whimpered quietly in pain. Don't cry.

Just as you were ready, he flew into back of alleyway. You stumbled away from the wall and your hands found the dumpster to lean on.

Rao didn't look anywhere near you, completely focused on the man who had just started to get up. The grimace on his face that had most of the times was absolutely nothing compared to the look he had right now. His eyes completely dark with no empathy for the drunk.

Your attacker made the stupid decision to lunge at Rao. His wrist was caught easily. It only took Rao to tightened the grip around his wrist for the knife to the ground.

Rao scowled, "You ever hurt another woman again, I'll find out. I don't give second chances." You turned away when you saw him raise his other fist. A couple loud thuds and a yell were enough to know that the drunk was out cold.

You breathed heavily, and tried to get your legs to stop shaking. It wasn't working. You felt a hand touch your shoulder and you yanked yourself away.

You turned to Rao with a scoff, "Can you stop helping me?"

"Why?" Clearly taken back but Rao didn't move any closer.

"You don't know who the hell I am. You have no idea-" You sucked in a breath, "I'm the type of person who would work for yazuka, Rao."

You walked back to the dumpster and found an old metal machine to sit on. You curled up on yourself, as much as you can with a short dress. Did you want to go home? Did you wanna go back to that dark room? Anything felt better than being here with Rao. Him being anywhere near you was suffocating. God, you couldn't stop shaking. There wasn't anywhere you wanted to go, everywhere you go you felt the same.

Rao took a knee in front of you. He looked up and down, he scanned for anything serious. He had his hands on either side of you, but he never touched you. Then he looked at your eyes.

"Are you? Right now?" He asked.

"What?" You lifted your head. Rao, day or night, cold or warm, actions or looking afar, could never fail to make you confused. You paused for moment, weighing the choices.

"No," You whispered.

"Then it doesn't matter," He simply said. Like it was the easiest thing in the world. It took your whole being not to snap at him.

Rao reached out a hand before he pulled it back a little, "Can I look at you?"

He gave you all the time in the world, no ticks of impatience anywhere. You finally nodded and he checked the cut on your neck. It felt strange to feel his fingers. Confused, you felt his hand at the back of your neck and it returned with fresh blood.

Rao called out your name in a way that made your chest hurt. He rose up to his feet, "You need to be taken to a hospital."

"No, No," You shake your head, "I'm fine it's nothing. Look I'm fine and I'm standing." The impact to your head didn't felt like it had hurt at the time. You moved a hand to the back of your head the cut, it was as superficial as the one on your neck.

"Rao, it looks worse than it is." Your adrenaline wore off and you started to get cold again. You shivered, "Please. I just want to go home."

"Are you sure?" You nodded immediately and he sighed. He looked down the alleyway and then to you. When he slipped off his jacket you would never imagine that he would put it over your shoulders.

"Okay. Let's go then."

Rao watched you slip your arms through the sleeves, your fingers barely peeked through. When you zipped it up to cover the bloody mess he realized how small you looked in his jacket.

At your door, you could hear a distant bark. The lock clicked open at the turn of your key. Before you turned the knob you sighed.

"You can come in," You said softly.

There was no way you wanted to look at his reaction, so you stayed turned away and pushed the door open. You flipped the light switch at the exact same time your dog ran over.

It made sense that he was stand-offish with Rao behind you. "Sit. Good boy." You commanded and made you way inside. Rao watched you walk into the kitchen and then looked at your big dog. He had a black spiked collar with a heart shaped name tag that said Baby.

"He's trained," You called out from the other room, "Doesn't bite anyone's head off without my permission."

That didn't surprise Rao. He unhooked your heels from his fingers and put them in the shoebox near the door. When you two made it to your neighborhood you slipped them off and sighed about how you were done with tonight. He had wordlessly taken the heels from your hands.

It took a couple minutes to find what you were looking for. You got off the kitchen counter when you took it from the top of the kitchen cabinet. Avitene powder wasn't hard to come by when your friend was a boxer. You took off Rao's jacket and cleaned yourself up. The powder clotted your bleeding and you found a couple bandaids for your neck and head.

You asked for help when Rao walked in. You held your hair up as he carefully placed the bandaid on your scalp. His hands lingered as he looked with worry, not that you could see it.

"I could still take you to the hospital." You shake your head at that and you let your hair down to make him pull away.

"Do you know what they would do?" You walked over to your fridge, pulling out a soda and water bottle. "They would say I don't need stitches, clean me up. Then charge me my rents worth."

Not to mention you had doctor visits often, but he didn't need to know that.

"Thank you," He told you when you passed him the water. You led him to the couch and your dog pranced over too. Head laid back and you took a minute to process. Rao looked at the couple of picture frames you had, one of your dog when he was a puppy and another of a younger you and your friend.

He turned to you, "Did you two grow up together?"

You smiled, "A little bit. It was the wrong place, wrong time. Somehow, we're still here."

Rao's arms were crossed, it made him look much bigger. You didn't read him, you didn't want to.

"It's good." He found his shoes to be particularly interesting.

"Hm?" You tilted your head.

"That you're still here."

◇♧◇

When Yamaguchi told Rao that a girl was at Suzuran to see him his stomach flipped. He's been seeing you a lot these days but he never found you anywhere near Suzuran.

The rumors circling around about him recently, he knew them well. The girl who worked at that one restaurant half a mile away who kept being seen with Suzuran's strongest. Suzuran weren't the only ones, his own faction and friends were talking too.

Fujio had been telling him things to say to you since the convenience store. He immediately saw how much Rao paid attention to you. To help his friend, Fujio made sure to encourage him to voice out his thoughts and to make sure Rao made you feel comfortable. Which Rao really didn't need help with but Fujio advised him on what not to say. It was helpful.

The door to the roof creaked open. Rao should have known it wasn't you from how he heard no bickering from Binzo. When Rao turned around, what he found was your friend. A former Oya High part-timer and Sannoh's fighter. She was no joke, despite how easily she laughs and how affectionate she is with you.

She gaped at the whole school view, "Never been here and this place is already giving me memories."

Binzo grinned, "Missing Oya, huh?"

She didn't answer and instead looked at Rao. With a wink she smiled and waved.

"I need to talk to you." Yamaguchi and Binzo stepped closer- "Alone."

Binzo groaned but she taunted them with a wave. Her smile dropped immediately when they closed the door to the roof.

"I need a favor and you're going to do it."

"I am?" He furrowed his brows.

"Do you know about the appointments?" She quickly judged the confused look on his face and shaked her head. "...'Kay, well for long time I've been taking Sweets to her doctor's appointments. Never missed one, but now I don't got a choice."

"Why does she have to go?" The look on her face made him feel unsettled. A hundred thoughts seemed to go through her mind and she pursed her lips.

"About 3 years ago Sweets got hurt. The only reason she got better cause we were there for her. But now it's just me," She ran a hand through her hair, "Everyone else is dead or on the run. I don't know if I should even be telling you this."

Her pace was fast, Rao followed carefully. As he started to process it she began to walk away.

"If she doesn't miss the doctor's appointment tomorrow then this will be worth it." She glared at him, "At least just walk Sweets there. You don't do it, fine. You can not care. But if you hurt her, I'll kill you."

She walked away, and Rao could hear her laugh ring inside the building at a joke Binzo made.

◇♧◇

A Saturday was a perfect day to stay inside all day. Everyday was, if you could. Originally, you had plans but they're not going to happen. You called out of one of the restaurants you worked at and your friend's boxing match.

Baby had already been walked and fed. There was a constant squeaking from his chew toy outside your bedroom. You were nice and comfortable in your bed and sipped on your fresh tea.

A month ago you had been attacked. For a little bit you had to wear turtle necks but your cuts healed nicely. You didn't tell anyone what happened but Rao had made sure to check on you. At the restaurant it's a common sight to see him pass by or come eat with his group.

Whenever he pulled you aside to talk, Binzo would make faces behind Rao. You made sure to shut Binzo and your coworker up with a wack of a dish rag.

The closet door was opened and Rao's jacket was hanging in the corner. Your ears heated up, when you had worn it that singular time it smelled really nice. The cologne he wore you didn't know the name to but it was on your mind often these days.

"I should give it back," You told yourself.

Not today, though. Today you were going to stay inside and sleep. The mug you had in your hands was now on your nightstand. Right as you settled into your covers you heard your dog bark. A knock at the door made you roll your eyes.

Now who the hell was that? The neighbors never bothered you on the weekends and on the afternoons. No one texted you today other than your friend who okay'd your absence.

Begrudgingly, you shuffled over to your door. With the dog ready at your side you found, Rao?

You were embarrassed, "I... didn't know you were coming." Your sweats and old sweatshirt proved that.

Baby circled around Rao when he came in. You smiled at how gentle Rao patted the dog's head.

When your dog walked away, satisfied with the attention Rao turned to you. "Sorry, I should have called but I wanted to offer this in person."

"Offer what?"

"To take you today."

Your throat hurt, "What did she tell you?"

You were going to beat the hell out of your friend. How did she think this was a good idea? Rao called your name out to try to calm you, it was clear by your panicked eyes.

"Just that you needed to go to your doctor's appointment."

Okay, good. But still not good, you did calm down. You had told her you were not going, she guessed that Rao would work. You still planned to jump her for roping him into this.

With the soft encouragement Rao gave, somehow you ended up sitting on the couch as you slipped your shoes on. Well, if you wanted to get there on time there was no time to change.

You didn't want to talk and Rao respect that. He didn't need to know the details and it was a sensitive subject.

But when you two entered the waiting room his heart dropped. The eye posters and pamphlets on the wall. You had to go to the ophthalmologist?

When the nurse called your name, you stood up and began to walk away. Before you could take a step Rao grabbed your hand.

"I'll wait here." He watched your eyes water and you nod.

As you left, Rao realized you always had your head tilted to the right. He remembered the one time that Binzo teased you for it and how quiet you got. Rao may have to fight him again.

Rao had seen you reach out to things hesitantly. You were always aware of your steps and always on edge if you weren't in your home.

Why didn't he see it sooner?

It had gotten dark when the two of you walked out. You said nothing about your visit, you said nothing at all. Too much was happening in your head, so you were more stuck in there than out here.

You tripped over a box, that's what happens when you're not careful. If it weren't for Rao's hands that steadied you, you would have met the pavement.

"Are you-" You didn't let him finish as you stumbled somewhere, anywhere.

Away, you wanted to go away. Ignoring Rao as he called your name. It hurt so much.

Rao found you breaking a bottle against a dumpster. He tried getting your attention but nothing was working. Rao just watched you pace and pace until you walked to him.

"Did you know I can't see anything in my right eye?" You tried to smile and failed. "That I haven't been able to for years now."

Rao said your name and you scoffed, so tired of your feelings.

"No, no. Listen, I did a lot of bad things. I hurt so many people because that was the only thing I was good at. And when I wanted to leave," You gasped for air as tears streamed down your face, "I got what I deserved."

The only thing he could do was hold you, and that's what Rao did. You sobbed and cried on how it was your fault. Mumbled his name against his shirt. It was a long a time before you stopped crying. Rao didn't care, he could have his arms around you for an eternity. If it was for you, he would.

Anyone that walked by he made sure to shield you from them. Anytime your arms started to shake in anxiety he rubbed them up and down. And when you repeated over and over again how it was your fault he told you that he was here. He was.

Rao asked after you stopped crying, "Do you want to go home?"

You shake your head, for the first time you didn't want to. Slowly, you pulled away from him. You needed to stand on your own feet. Your head cleared.

"I don't know where I want to go."

Rao hummed and thought. He took your hand when he found an answer, "Let's get you gummy bears."

"How do you know I like gummy bears?"

"You had a bag filled of them one time."

You giggled, and then you couldn't stop laughing. Rao couldn't stop his smile that appeared.

He remembered. So you agreed. When he walked you home and kissed your cheek, you felt better.

You walked your dog, gave him a treat. Washed your face and teeth before going to bed. You dozed off in your warm bed and the last thought you remembered made you smile.

That was the first time you laughed in years.

[wolame-o-ccx]

No but like...

Think about it

[mrskenpachizaraki]

THE MIGHTY PHOENIX

Chapter 2

~The Next Day~

The sound of flesh hitting could be heard throughout the garage before Kansuke could be seen falling on top of the pile of tires that had been laying around, passed out.

Above him, Magoroku popped his gum before whistling “Damn, Phoenix, thought he was going to get you with that left, but you faked him out with that right.”

He laughs before pointing to Binzo “ You owe me a 1000 Yen.”

Binzo flips the other male off before shoving his hand into his pocket and pulling out 1000 Yen. He walks over to Magoroku, who had his hand out, and slams the money into his hand. He walks back to his normal area mumbling about weak sophomores.

Magoroku smiles as he pops his gum and counts the money.

Rao was sitting in his normal spot which was an old reclining chair near next to his make shift gym in the corner of the garage closest to the entrance. His Faction was in their hangout place which was the schools old garage. The doors of the garage no longer worked leaving the entrance of the school the only way in or out.

Rao, Phoenix and Mercy had found it when they first started at Suzuran years ago and it slowly turned into the hangout spot of the Roah faction once they joined them. Though they all liked to roam and stay in other parts of the school, the place gave them a place to go back to.

Rao looked to his left side towards the floor where Phoenix now laid after the fight, bruised and breathing hard behind the bandana she wore. “Had fun?” He asked her, which she responded with a laugh.

She wore the school uniform (now disheveled and ripped)with a bandana around her face and her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail that had came loose during the fight. Her gender not not noticeable behind the male clothing.

Mercy couldn’t help, but shake his head, smiling, his cigarette hanging between his fingers “You know, he’s going to want a rematch. I don’t think he knew you could fight better than him. Plus, you’re a boxer and he’s a boxer, he’s never going to leave you alone.”

Phoenix looked up at Mercy, her smile obvious in her eyes “Most don’t. Why do you think I’m always the one everyone goes after first.” She laughs “Maybe it’s because I’m short.”

Even though he knew he shouldn’t Rao laughed at this comment while shaking his head. “Alright, that’s enough. Let’s talk about the situation with Oya as we wait for Kansuke to wake up again.” Mercy nod, putting his cigarette out in its bowel as Phoenix sat up. Binzo, Ito, and Magoroku left their position of poking Kansuke to pay attention to what’s going on.

“Ito, tell me what you and Kansuke saw.” The attention was now on Ito.

“Kansuke had to pick up some medicine for his younger sister and asked me to accompany him. The only store that sold it was in Oya district. As we were traveling to the store we passed, what we assumed were multiple factions. All of them had left the school. They were visibly upset and talking about a new student of the name of Fujio Hanaoka. We also passed by a few students doing a type of an exchange further from the school.”

“Redrum.” Mercy states out of nowhere forcing everyone’s attention onto him.

“Isn’t that the drug that S.W.O.R.D got rid of when Kuryu Group fell for a short while?” Magoroku asks, remembering the rumors and whispers from a few years before.

Mercy scoffed, pulling out a cigarette “ They may have thought they got rid of it but it showed back up only months after. It may not be in S.W.O.R.D until now, but it’s definitely in the districts beyond there.”

Binzo added “Kuryu has been trying to get it under control though.” He laughs “ I swear some of them plus one of those guys from that music group grabbed these guys that were on that stuff and causing trouble down the road from my building.”

“Which is weird since it seems like they were once the main contributor of Redrum.” Mercy added, placing the cigarette he had been holding between his lips and lighting it. He inhales some of the smoke before blowing it out. “I suggest for Ito to keep watch on the power shift between the full and part time students. Also, keep on any word of Redrum coming into the school or more into our district.”

Rao nod, taking all the information in. He had to admit this was a cause for concern since he or Phoenix hasn’t seen anyone on anything besides the normal things which they kept away from the kids. The new student didn’t really concern him though besides the possibility of them trying to target them and the possible power shift. After a few minutes of silence, Rao makes his decision.

“This may be a concern. I agree, but we need to take any possible consequences into account as well. For now, Ito just find out any information on that new student. Just who he is, any factions he is connected to, and what seems to be his goal. Phoenix will look into Redrum since most won’t notice her looking around. The rest of you I want you to keep an eye if that comes into the school. Even though the other factions can handle themselves we all know there’s a few dumbasses that would still try.”

The others nod as they heard a groan. They all turned where they left Kansuke and saw he was waking up. They could see him slowly moving where he had been before he got up and made his way to where they were, groaning as he went.

“Hey dumbass!! How was your nap?” Magoroku shouted causing the male to flip him off as he slowly stood, groaning as he went. He slowly made his way to the group, Binzo and Magoroku laughing at him as he came.

Once he made it to them he sat down between Ito and Magoroku, glaring at Phoenix, who only waved at him, smirking under her mask.

“I want a rematch.” Kansuke tells the other, his eyes focused on Phoenix. Phoenix signed to him “Anytime time.”

Rao couldn’t help, but shake his head while smiling “Another time. “ Suddenly older males voice turns serious “But for now let’s get down to business.” His eyes focus on the male.

Kansuke, suddenly aware of everyone’s eyes on him sits up straighter and focuses on hopefully his new leader.

“You are now apart of the faction. That means you are loyal to not just myself, but everyone of us. We are a family.” He looks at everyone before his eyes land on Phoenix, who stood up. “There’s something else you should know.”

Kansuke watched as Phoenix slowly took off their uniform jacket and shirts, revealing she was wearing multiple, his eyes slowly growing bigger as the others tried not to laugh. Finally, she got to her tank top that showed off her more feminine form before she took off her bandana. She smiled at him before waving at him. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“W-what?” Kansuke shuttered out causing the others to laugh.

“This is Phoenix, known as my other second along side Mercy to many. Also, known as Suzuran rising Phoenix and our factions Brutal Beast to the rest of the school.” Rao introduces officially, before finally adding “She’s also my little sister.”

“How is she even able to go here?” Kansuke asks finally, not knowing what else to say.

Rao and Phoenix look at each other before shrugging “There’s certain things that allows me to go to this school. It helps that no one ever can tell what I look like so it doesn’t really matter in the end.” Phoenix says, giving a brief explanation, showing she doesn’t want to explain more.

“It’s always a bitch finding out, but nothing is different than before except Phoenix will go between speaking and doing sign language at times.” Magoroku adds in, popping his gum as the others agree.

Kansuke only nods, still trying to process everything going on. Binzo jumps on him, wrapping his arm around the younger male “Plus, she’s always down to fight. Everyone else is so boring when we fight each other.” Binzo adds his own piece, causing the other to shout in disagreement and Phoenix to laugh.

“So, I still can get my rematch?” Kansuke asks, addressing both Phoenix and Rao. This causes the others to laugh. Phoenix smiles stepping forward and Kansuke slowly stands up and the others moving back as the rematch slowly gets started again.

[airbendertendou]

IN CHAOS NOW! synopsis : your brother and his friends make a small trip to get you from school, only to run into the local gang.

cw ; reader is gender neutral. no pronouns used. [name] in place of y/n. high&low characters implied to be your adopted brothers.

h&l taglist ♥︎ @straysugzhpe @yuken-gf @strxwberrychocolate @star2fishmeg @rouzuchan [if you would like to be added / removeed let me know ♥︎]

song inspo ; frost by txt

if you have a blank blog [no bio, no user, no header or profile pic, nothing reblogged, etc] do not interact with my content. you will be blocked.

——♥︎——

toman + suzuran

“…does that make a little more sense?” The group of five stay silent before letting out a drawn out oh! in unison. You grin at their antics, shaking your head.

“Thanks again for doing this, [name].” Takemichi says. He rubs the back of his neck nervously, a sheepish smile on his face. “Hina gets upset with my grades, and I don’t want to bother her with re-teaching all of us this stuff.”

You ruffle his blond hair, “I don’t mind. I’m just glad I can help.”

“You help so much,” Atsushi speaks as he looks over his notes. Takuya nods enthusiastically, Yamagishi humming between them. “I don’t understand the teacher at all.”

The window leaks an orange haze as the sun begins to set ; a crow caws in the distance.

You tilt your head only to shake it after, hiding your unease with another smile. There’s no way. You look at the boys again, “need help with anything else?”

“Well—“

A loud bang echoes around the mostly empty school, an eerily familiar cackle hitting the walls soon after. With wide eyes, you and the group of five scramble outside of the classroom to see the commotion. A set of black and gold jackets are stood against… another set of black and gold jackets.

You blink, finding who you’re looking for as you walk up to him quickly. “Why are you here? Where’s my brother?”

“Curfew.” Is all Mercy says as another bang hits the wall. He glances to you, “it’s past your curfew.”

“Is it?” You mumble before pulling out your phone. It was past time for you to be home — an hour past, actually. You suck in a breath through your teeth, sending a sheepish grin his way. “My bad…”

A loud cackle hits the area again, “you’re a fun guy!” Binzo steps out of a pile of desks, knuckles bloody and a bruise forming on his cheek. In front of him, a boy with orange hair grins as he rubs his fist against his open palm. Binzo’s eyes widen, “I can’t wait to get rid of you.”

You act quickly, grabbing the wild boy’s ear and pushing his attention onto you. You frown his way, “and why are you fighting in my school?”

“Oh, hey [name].”

“Hi, Binzo,” you deadpan before letting him go. Across the hallway, you can see a boy identical to the orange haired one doing the same as you — calming a fight. Yamaguchi appears out of nowhere, slinging an arm around your shoulders as he leads you away from the fights damage.

Your brother is face to face with a blond, glaring as they stare each other down. They seem equal height wise but your brother has a different air to him ; a monstrous rage hidden he only uses to protect his siblings.

Your small study group follows behind you meekly, Kamui and Mercy behind them. Takemichi lets out a squeak at the sight of your brother, “he’s huge!”

You snicker to yourself and unknowingly catch the attention of a different blond. Smiling to your small group, you place your hand on Rao’s back and step into his line of vision. “Sorry I stayed so late ; I didn’t realize what time it was.”

Rao looks you over, as if making sure you’re okay. You roll your eyes, “I’m just fine, brother.” You point your thumb backwards to the group of trembling boys — their eyes widen at the attention. “Was with my tutor group.”

Atsushi smiles, a small laugh escaping his lips as he waves. “Nice to meet you mister Suzuran, sir.”

“Mister Suzuran,” Mercy laughs to himself.

You send a glare his way before looking at the new faces in front of you — and their matching uniforms. “That’s not a school, is it?”

“Toman!” Takemichi pipes up. He rushes to stand beside you and almost shield you from the group’s view. “My friends. Who are here because…”

“To hang out.” His voice is deep as he speaks, that taller guy. You raise your eyebrows — like you’re impressed — and look to your brother again. The rest of the crows have wandered up and gathered around you by now, shoulder to shoulder as they stood with you. “Why is Suzuran here?”

“You’ll have to excuse my brother and his friends,” you grin sweetly. Your eyes close and the irritation seems to leak from you as you hold the fake smile. “They have no manners. I’ll go get my things.”

The middle school boys follow behind you quickly, like sheep being herded to safety. The Toman boys eye the Crows apprehensively, but stay silent otherwise. You pop back up, school bag in hand as you stand beside your brother once more.

“We’ll go first. See you next week, boys!” you excuse yourself, pushing Binzo out of the school. Rao stuffs his hands in his pockets as your eyes land on him once more. “Showing up at my school just to fight… what nonsense.”

Takemichi is stopped by Mikey, a hand on his wrist as the leader stares at the spot you were just standing at. “Introduce me to your friend next time. ‘Kay, Mitchy?”

The blond can only agree helplessly as he watches a small light of intrigue fall into Mikey’s eyes.

——♥︎——

tenjiku + housen

“Housen…” a boy in a school uniform passes by them shakily. “Housen… it was them…”

“Kakucho,” the white-haired male speaks up. He pauses in his step, glancing from the boy to where he came from. “What is Housen?”

“A nearby academy,” Mochi answers instead. He nods ahead with his chin, hands in his pockets as a schoolyard comes into view. “They call them the Killer Corps. Four lower ranks, below the head of the school ; the strongest.”

Shion tilts his head with a hum, “sounds like us, huh?”

“What are they doing in my district?” Izana purses his lips, lilac eyes narrowing at the school in front of them. A small group of five stands there, gray uniforms sticking out from the plaid ones other students wore. He watches as the group is avoided ; people passing by averting their eyes and hunching their shoulders. “Hey. Housen, was it?”

Their heads turn, stone-faced but curious of the red clad group. Shion tries to look as intimidating as he can ; the others just stand behind their king. A blond speaks up, “is there a problem?”

Before anyone can speak, an energetic voice calls through the air. “Oh, what’s this? A surprise visit?”

The next thing Izana knows, the guy with the undercut has another person attached to him. You jump on Kenzo’s back, grin full force and pulling at your lips. “What a nice surprise! Good to see you, brother!”

“So noisy…” Yuken glares your way, but it falls into a soft smile as he watches Kenzo pull you from his back. “How was school, [name]?”

You deadpan, no emotion in your voice as you sigh. “It was school. What do you expect?” You turn to Housen’s leader unexpectedly, melting into something more gentle and quiet. “Hi, Sachio. I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“We all came to get you,” Kenzo speaks up. You swat him away absentmindedly, eyes focused on Sachio. He clicks his tongue, “I’m your brother and you’re paying more attention to him? Hey, don’t get any ideas!”

You face your brother coyly, “ideas like what?”

Yuken snorts to himself, looking to the ground. It reminds him that there are outsiders watching this take place ; other guys wanting to size them up and fight them. His face smoothed out, “right. You guys. What did you need again?”

Izana’s mind is spiraling as he watches you and your brother joke around. You don’t look alike at all ; don’t share a smile or eye shape or laugh. Yet you greet each other joyfully and bask in each other’s company. It reminds him of earlier times ; simplier ones when maybe he would've called Mikey his brother.

Kakucho clears his throat and looks on awkwardly as his king stays frozen. "Just making sure there aren't any problems. Carry on."

Your grin and playful voice lingers on Izana's mind far longer than he thought it would.

——♥︎——

haitani's + fujio and kiyoshi's factions

You're walking out with a classmate — Rindou, he said to call him — when he lets out a small laugh. "Seems my brother is here."

"Oh, mine too!" Your brother has dragged Yasushi along with him — of course. The two are rarely separated. What surprised you, though, was the sight of a taller boy facing the two of them. He's smiling with his eyes closed, twirling one of the braids of his two-toned hair. "Looks like he's causing trouble already."

Rindou saunters up to the unknown guy, scrunching his nose at the sight of your brother and his best friend. It makes you giggle — they often received that reaction. A whistle is heard in the distance as Fujio and Tsukasa strut their way to you.

“[Name]!” Fujio grins your way. He holds out a plastic bag to you, shaking it enthusiastically. “Brought some snacks for you!”

“I didn’t realize you’d all be getting me today,” you grab the bag from him. Yasushi peers over your shoulder as you pillage through the snacks, humming at the selection. “Oh, this is my classmate… and his brother, I think.”

The dual-toned boy raises his hand into a wave, his smile growing condescending and troublesome. “Didn’t realize the middle school was so close by.”

Your eyes widen as you see the four boys beside you twitch. Fujio’s smile has fallen ; Yasushi lets out a cackle as he cracks his knuckles. You exchange a look with Tsukasa and step in front of them before anything can start. “That wasn’t very nice, Pippi Longstocking! You should apologize before things get ugly, hm?”

His grin falls flat, mirth hitting his eyes as Rindou lets a snort out at your insult. You let out a sigh and rub your forehead. “Brother, let’s get our friends away from here before a fight breaks out.”

Kiyoshi groans but agrees anyways, slinging his arms around Yasushi and Fujio. The two are still frowning — but a lollipop from you is placed in their mouths in hopes of calming them down.

Looking back to the blond, you wave as Tsukasa waits on you. “See you Monday, Rindou!” You skip up to your group, looping your arm through Tsuakasa’s as you walk.

Ran lets out a laugh as he looks at Rindou’s complacent form. “Catching feelings, brother?”

Rindou shoves him with flushed cheeks and a frown. “You’re seeing things.”

——♥︎——

valhalla + senomon

Ryo often walked you home from school. As soon as your brother was in his car, the quiet boy was on his way to you — feeling as if he had some type of unspoken duty to do for you. You smile at the sight of him leaning against the school's wall, stark red uniform standing out against the white building.

A tap to your shoulder brings your attention to a boy wearing glasses. His longer hair is pulled back into a ponytail, a grimace on his face as he side-steps nervously. "[Name]... you don't mind looking over this for me, do you?"

He holds a mess of paper out to you — one you recognize as grammar homework. You glance at Ryo, smiling at him reasurringly as you take the paper. As you read over it, the boy in red takes your school bag and slings it over his own shoulder. "Just a few mistakes this time, Baji!"

"This one? I didn't think it was right," Baji frowns as he looks it over You walk between him and Ryo, messily and hurridly trying to explain everything Baji was confused about. "That one and— 'Tora?"

Outside of your building stands your brother and his following. Kohei's sneer is painting his face — as always — as two other boys face him. One is smoking, tattooes on his hands while the other has an intricate tattoo on his neck, his fiists clenched and eyes narrowed in. Ryo comes to a stop, "Kohei. You're here."

"Of course I'm here," he spits out. He makes his way to you, nose curling at the sight of Baji as he stands in front of you, blocking you from view. "Heard there were delinquents lingering about."

You grin, putting your chin on his shoulder. "And you decided to protect little ol' me? How sweet, brother!"

Kohei grimaces at you, "shut your mouth."

"No delinquents," Baji grins. He saunters over to the strangers, letting his hair down and taking his glasses off. "Just my friends!"

Scratching the back of your ear, you share a look with Ryo. "Well— same thing, really?"

The taller guy stomps his cigarette out, staring stonely at your brother. He breathes out a puff of smoke, "what're some rich kids doin' here? This is our part'a town."

"We don't want any problems." Ryo speaks before Kohei can. It's the best choice —your brother started and ended fights, never putting himself in the middle. He steps closer to you, "just walking this one home. That's all."

Golden eyes hit you, the jingle of his earring echoing at he tilts his head. You meet his gaze, looking away soon after and walking past your brother to Baji. You hand over another paper or two, "don't forget these. Let me know if you need anymore help — I'm still willing to help!"

"Thanks, [name]. See you tomorrow."

You pull your brother from the potential fight, letting him pout and whine as you ignore his words. Ryo smirks at your eye-rolls, nudging you and letting you tease Kohei freely. A golden gaze is still sinking into your skin as you peek over your shoulder, stealing another glance at the tiger boy. He's still staring.

"Tora," Baji speaks up. He narrows his eyes as Kazutora blinks rapidly, breaking his stare on you. "Be careful with that one. Don't want to make Senomon angry."

Kazutora smiles to himself, "wouldn't dream of it. Let's go."

——♥︎—— airbendertendou © do not copy, plagiarize, repost, or translate my content on any platform. if you see my content under any other name than my own, let me know. i only have this tumblr and an ao3 account under the same name.

[rainisawriter]

Sweet Giant – Rao (ITYc2)

༻ITYC Ficography༺ ༻ITYC Tag

Genre: Comedy, fluff, slice of life

Word Count: 1,986

Pairing: Reader x Rao

World: High&Low

I Trope You! Challenge #: 2 – Furniture Blockade @itropeyou

━━━━━━༻🕯༺━━━━━━

“Oi, get back here so I can murder you!”

You cursed under your breath as you ran down the hall of Oya Kou, shoving other students out of the way. You could hear his thundering footsteps getting closer and you knew you had to make a decision before you got caught.

Your eyes darted back and forth across the hall as you looked for an escape route. As soon as you spotted an open door, you darted inside, slamming the door shut. There was a tall wooden storage shelf beside the door and you grabbed it, pulling with all your strength until it fell in front of the door.

You could hear him roaring your name, nearly upon you now. With another curse, you started piling the desks on top of the shelf, jumping back when it started to rattle.

“Get out here, you coward! I’m going to murder you!”

You honestly didn’t doubt it. Yasushi was insane and you knew he might actually kill you if he got his hands on you. You scanned the room, looking for a place to hide. No, he would tear the room apart looking for you.

One of the desks fell off the pile from the sheer force he was using. ‘It’s not going to hold!’ You bit your lip, looking at the window. It was a dumb choice but it was the only choice you had.

Taking a deep breath, you pushed the window open, the cold autumn air hitting you in the face. The ground seemed farther than it actually was and you swallowed hard, rethinking your decision.

Yasushi managed to get the door open a crack, his arm slipping through to try and shove the desks out of the way.

It was now or never.

Do or die.

Taking a deep breath, you carefully slipped your leg over the sill. You ducked beneath the window, jumping when the pile of desks were thrown across the room. The shelf scraped across the linoleum floor as the door was slowly pushed open.

You pulled the rest of your body out the window, clutching onto the sill for dear life as you looked over your shoulder at the ground below. The door was finally opened enough for Yasushi to squeeze through and, despite the fear you felt, you couldn’t help but snort at his neon pink hair.

“Hah?! You have the nerve to laugh after what you’ve done?!” He growled, rushing toward you.

You cried out in surprise, jumping from the window. He reached out to you, fingers brushing against yours but he was unable to grab you. Your body hit the ground hard, startling the group of boys standing nearby. They looked at you in shock, eyes wide.

Clenching your teeth in pain, you slapped your hand atop a desk sitting in the courtyard, pulling yourself to your feet. Your ankle protested but you knew Yasushi was making his way toward you and you knew you couldn’t stick around. Taking a deep breath, you forced yourself forward, heading for the school’s gate.

Your number one priority was to get somewhere safe, far away from both Oya and the hot-headed blonde. ‘Well… I suppose he’s a pinkette now,’ you snickered, though it died as soon as you put weight on your ankle. It wasn’t broken, you knew, but it certainly was not having a good time.

Using the wall for support, you walked as quickly as you could.

You could hear Yasushi screaming in the courtyard, demanding to know where you had gone. Oya was notorious for their students being loyal to their own factions. Since you didn’t belong to a faction, they had no loyalty to you and, though they didn’t belong to the YasuKiyo faction, they weren’t dumb enough to go against Oya’s psycho.

They weren’t as dumb as you and that was a bit depressing to think about. To be fair, you had been dared to do it and you weren’t the type of person to stand down from a challenge. 

“When I find you, I’m going to kill you! I know you hear me, you brat!”

You winced, slipping into an alley. You really should have chosen truth instead… Heavy footsteps were heading in your direction and you quickly ducked down beside an overflowing trash can. The smell nearly made you gag but you managed to catch yourself, slapping your hand over your mouth and nose.

The footsteps stopped at the end of the alley and you tensed up, holding your breath. A heavy silence seemed to settle over you for an uncomfortably long amount of time. Was he still there? You were too afraid to check. With your luck, he would be standing on the other side of the trashcan, waiting to grab you as soon as you peer your head around. 

You were nearly out of air and, just as you started to remove your hand to breathe, you heard his boots hitting the pavement, heading away from the alley. Your heart raced within your chest and you continued holding your breath until you couldn’t anymore, sucking in a gulp of air.

As you stood up, you winced in pain. 

What were you supposed to do now? Yasushi wasn’t the type of man who forgave easily and he never forgets when he’s been wronged. You’d have to avoid Oya for a while. 

Possibly even the rest of your life.

You sighed deeply, running a hand through your hair. “I’m such a dumbass.”

━━━━━━༻🕯༺━━━━━━

You fell onto the curb with a sigh, suppressing a shiver when the wind picked up. The sun was low on the horizon, barely visible behind the buildings. Leaves littered the ground, an ombre of orange, brown and red. They scraped across the ground whenever the wind blew, the sound echoing through the quiet night.

You untied your shoe, hissing as you slid it off your foot. Even with your sock on, you could tell it was swollen and it was sore to the touch. All you wanted to do was return home and curl up under your warm comforter. How could you, though, when you lived right next door to the psycho you had pissed off? The walls were thin and he’d definitely hear it if you came home.

You groaned, falling back onto the sidewalk and closing your eyes. The cement was ice-cold through your clothes, bringing goosebumps to your skin. Thunder rumbled softly in the distance and you groaned again. Normally, you adored the rain, but not when it was cold outside and you had nowhere safe to stay.

The sound of footsteps made you tense up but you didn’t open your eyes, hoping that it wasn’t Yasushi come to actually end your existence. 

“Hey, are you okay?”

You released the breath you had been holding when you realized it wasn’t him. Opening your eyes, you found an extremely tall, well-built guy towering over you. He was looking down at you with no expression, though you could see a hint of worry lingering in her dark eyes.

“Oh, uh, yeah… yeah, I’m fine.” You offered him a sheepish smile as you pulled yourself up into a sitting position. As you slid your foot back into your shoe, you hissed in pain.

“Doesn’t sound like you’re okay,” he commented, squatting down beside you so he could see your foot better. He still towered over you easily and you hoped he had no beef with Oya.

If he did, there was no way you could hold your own against this guy. He was just radiating raw strength and power – it was almost stifling.

“What happened?” he wondered, glancing at you.

“I, uh… fell…” You rubbed the back of your neck, finding it hard to admit that you had jumped from the second floor just to avoid the consequences of your actions. “But I’m fine!” You replied quickly, pulling yourself to your feet. “Excuse me.”

You bowed your head to him before turning and starting down the street. Only… your ankle chose that moment to decide it had had enough, giving out beneath you. You closed your eyes, waiting to hit the cold cement.

Strong arms wrapped around your waist, holding you against a firm chest. Warm breath hit your ear when he spoke. “Let me help you home.”

“Ah, no, that’s not necessary…” You forced a smile, trying to pull away. He allowed you to do so, yet he kept his hand on your arm just in case.

“You can’t walk,” he frowned, brow furrowed. 

“I can’t go home right now, okay? I’ll just…” you rubbed the back of your neck with a frown, glancing at the opposite end of the street. “Find a park or somethin’.”

“It’s supposed to rain tonight. You’ll catch your death if you spend the night in the park.” Rao scanned you, considering for a moment. Many kids who came to the orphanage were running from abusive families and he had to wonder if you were doing the same.

To him, you were clearly lying about how you came to be injured. Now, you claimed you couldn’t go home, choosing instead to weather the cold instead.

“You can stay with me.”

Your head snapped toward him, eyes wide, and he realized he had phrased it poorly.

Shifting his weight, he motioned toward the orphanage behind him. “We have spare rooms. You can stay here tonight.”

You glanced at the building, taking note of several older kids peering out the window curiously. When they saw you, they darted back behind the curtain. “Are you sure that’s okay?”

He nodded, getting a firm grip on your arm before he began leading you toward the building.

“Thank you,” you replied softly before introducing yourself to him.

He smiled down at you, his brown eyes warm. “My name is Mario. Misaki Mario.”

“Nice to meet you, Misaki-san.”

“Just call me Mario,” he told you softly, pushing the door open. Several kids were peaking their heads around the doorway, looking at you curiously. When he noticed them, he frowned. “You guys are supposed to be in bed.”

“We were curious, nii-chan,” replied a young girl with black hair. Her dark eyes met yours and she frowned. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” you replied with a small smile. “Just hurt my ankle.”

“I’ll get the ice pack!” She stated before turning and rushing off.

“No fair, I wanted to get it!” cried a young boy as he rushed after her.

“I’ll get the pain meds.”

“I’ll grab a blanket!”

“I’ll get the snacks!”

Rao chuckled, shaking his head before leading you over to the living room where an old couch sat. It was full of holes and it creaked sadly when you sat down. “Prop your foot up on the table.”

You lifted your foot and –

“Take your shoe off first,” he scolded, reaching forward to pull it off. When he realized what he was doing, he paused, a light dusting of pink on his cheeks. “Sorry, habit.”

“It’s okay,” you smiled, surprised by how gentle and cute such a massive guy could be.

The children came rushing into the room, carrying various items they believed would help, including toys and a card game. After propping your foot up on the table with a pillow beneath it, you were given some pain meds and some water. The young girl gently sat the ice pack on your ankle and you winced at how cold it was.

“Thank you, everyone,” you smiled gently at the group, hugging the worn teddy bear one of the smaller boys had given you for comfort. 

“You’re welcome!” They chorused.

“Alright, back to bed,” ordered Rao, shooing the kids toward the door despite their protests. 

You sunk farther down on the couch with a smile, eyes closed as you hugged the teddy bear. Maybe pissing off Yasushi hadn’t been such a bad thing, after all.

━━━━━━༻🕯༺━━━━━━

-> High&Low/Rampage Taglist: @kiraaaeon, @simpforchuchu, @star2fishmeg, @thatpoindexterpixy @manhwabtch

-> General Taglist: @asterhaze, @mrskenpachizaraki

[tiredlittlewriter]

Shibaman : There are three chairs and five kids. What do you do?

Tsukasa : Get two more chairs.

Rao: Cut each chair in half to make six.

Tsuji: Make them FIGHT for their seats!

Binzo : I would never be near children.

Todoroki: Get rid of two kids.

[prodbyblush]

mitsuki mario aka Rao as bfie pleasee 😭💖

dating rao

ｎｏｗ ｌｏａｄｉｎｇ …

▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ 100%

ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇ!

・❥・requested

an: contains spoilers for the worst cross. read with discretion.

→ fem!reader

• with his well built and muscular figure, i say good luck in escaping from his arms during cuddle sessions. • most especially when you woke up first and you want to get out of the bed. even just one lift of your muscle, rao's eyes will immediately flutter open and you're being scooped back to bed. • house husband rao!!! but that's saved for another headcanon yes. • always has an arm around your shoulders or waist, but mostly around your waist! • prior to dating, he talks to Mercy a lot about you - gushing about how pretty you looked today with a new hairstyle or how pretty you looked smiling while with friends. • takes you to the orphanage of where he grew up and fondly recalls some of the memories. • not only is he very protective around children, he's very much protective around you as well. if anything, he detests violence and doesn't want you getting mixed up with suzuran's or his factions business. • not in the mood to workout with him? it's fine! he'll use you as his weights when exercising - cling on his back or have you underneath him when doing push ups, have you stand above his head when lifting weights and all! • he loves physical dates because it allows him to show you how strong he can be. like going out for a bowling and air hockey! • given his cold nature, he gives off as intimidating to others but he's a puppy through and through with you! fights are very rare and avoids conflict at all costs! but if disagreement arises between you two, then he'll try and understand where you're coming from. • doesn't get jealous too often. he trusts you and he trusts that no one from his faction will do anything bad or funny to you. but if anyone else in suzuran were to make a move on you, you best believe that he'll grab them by the back of their head and toss them away from your sight. • i honestly cannot help but say that rao is going to become a great and proper dad figure to his kid. as someone who's been abandoned the moment he is born, he'll never let his child / children feel like they aren't loved by him. • whatever ever he does, he always asks for your opinion. it could be asking you which between going to the city or to the countryside would you prefer when going on vacation, which ice cream flavor do you like best or do you prefer bathing with cold water or hot water. it also helps him get to know you more a little deeper in a sense! • has a whole album gallery of you on his phone. doesn't let anyone in on it. • his favorite spot to kiss you? the top of your head! have i mentioned it's because given his tall stature and he can't help but find your small height as cute size? now you know! • will never let you be the big spoon. • a dom. is very gentle and makes sure to put your needs on top of his. • calls you "baby", "babe" or "bunny". • prior to dating you, he doesn't have any dating experience. but he makes it a goal to always make sure you're happy and comfortable with him. • would probably be the first to say ily!

[awritersstuff]

Can i request leaders of Housen, Oya, Suzuran (Raoh faction), and three school alliance having a crush on their classmate in middle school and how they would confess? Thank you!

Guess who is back ! Thanks for requesting and sorry for the wait

My baby love!

Sachio -

- you where not exactly friends with sachio in the beginning but when his mom introduced you to sachio as his friends daughter and you guys became friends. Most of the time when your mother hung out with his mother you, sachio and yui will hang out together.

- He first time realized he liked you when you helped him patch up after a fight and he made you promise that you won't tell his mom but you being you gave him big scolded but still didn't tell his mom and then he realized that how you care about him and his mom .

- he will confess after some time when he knows that you are totally comfortable with .

- his confession was short and simple, when after another fight you were helping him patch up (and also scolded him) he should asked you " will you go on a date with me ?" .

Fujio -

- fujio always liked you , like since the movement he saw and he won't even try to hide it but the movement he realized that he truly loved you when he saw you beat some guys for HIM , like you absolutely hate fighting but you fought for HIM .

- like I said he is like a open book , he would be soooo obvious that HE LIKES YOU .

- his confession was right at the movement, you ended up beating the guys , he will straight up walk to you and say " let's date " . Like not even asking but telling .

Rao -

- like it is mentioned in the movie Rao didn't had any friends so , let's just say you were just classmates but he always had a crush on you because you were a caring person and according to him it is very cool . The movement he realized that you can't just stay classmates anymore is when he saw you helping a little girl from his orphanage and that's how he met you .

- he will wait a long long time until he knows that he is serious about you .

- he is a very chill and cool man so , some day he will just dropping you off to your house and he will ask you out in the most sweet way possible.

Amagai-

- he has a attitude of a bitch so if he likes you , he will bother you and bully you . Always tease you and always make fun of you to make it look like he absolutely hates and the cherry on top will be that your parents were business partners so he won't even leave you alone at home . He realized that you are the one for him was after all the mess of 'the worst x ' , when you told him "keep smiling, I like this amagai better" .

- he won't confess to you or become like normal friends with you he will just do something that your both parents fix your marriage together. There will be no enemies to friends or lovers but enemies to happy arranged marriage.

Sameoka-

- you guys were just normal benchmates but knowing sameoka he didn't talked much but he always loved listening to talks and sometimes when fujin or rajin mentioned it he will always deny saying that he only hear because he doesn't wanna upset you. He realized he liked you when your seats were switched and sat beside rajin and you both were talking and laughing . He felt like he was being cheated and then he did what he thought he should grabed your seat and kept it beside his and when the teacher asked him why he replied the teacher outside of school (ikyk).

- he is quite clear about his feelings but tends to hide until he is pushed to the limits.

- so , he confessed on like almost the last day of middle school when he realized that he won't get a chance later and he might lose you to someone else .

Reiji-

- he might seem crazy ( which he is ) but he was somewhat like the class clown in middle school not by choice but he just loved being the reason behind your smile . definitely threatened the teacher to make you both sit close and just like that everytime you laughed at his jokes how you never thought that he is weird but just himself, he knew that he fell for the right person . He was always serious about you.

- he won't take much time he just needs a little courage which gandhi will provide.

- his confession was very fun like he toke you to amusement park and proposed you on the gaint wheel when you both were on top .

Thanks for reading. Honestly never thought I will write for amagai but did it for you guys 🙃 . Anyways, love you , byeeeee ❤💖💖

[jaejoongs-nipple-piercing]

A Cozy Autumn Date

@emeraldbabygirl

He had been monitoring the weather forecasts for the last couple weeks to make sure everything was perfect. It had to be. Your date was something very special to him and he wanted you both to be able to look back and cherish it.

So when he finally saw the day in the forecast that would be absolutely perfect, he started getting things set up. Which was a little hard to do in between his daily fights against the other school gangs, but this was something important that just had to be done.

He called up a few places for food catering and dining out, just for price ranges and locations, options-that sort of thing. He called to find a very specific type of flower bouquet and since it was a seasonal kind they always sold out quickly. Upset that nobody had any left over, he decided he would make you one from scratch, hoping that even though it wasn’t store-bought you would at least like it a little.

Finally finding a place that was still open on October 31st proved more difficult then he thought.

“People really like going on Halloween dates? Maybe I’ll keep that in mind.”

After about a week he found one. He gave the owner all the information that was asked for and he asked about the location, directions (since he was never really sure how to get to these places), and time slots. Picking the second-to-last slot, he thanked the owner many times.

“No problem, young man. I hope you enjoy your date.”

Then disaster struck: the week of your date everything was suddenly closed and unavailable. And it was showing rain all week.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!” Smoky fell to his knees in anguish. Your date was ruined.

“What’s up with you?” Fujio asked, walking into the room.

Smoky just glared at him.

“YOU!!”

Fujio stepped back, startled.

“H-hey bro, I-I-I didn’t do anything. I didn’t hit you, r-right? C-c-calm d-down.”

Fujio backed up so far he hit the wall, now Smoky was right in his face.

“You’re going to help me with my date since the weather ruined my plan. Got it?”

“Okay..?”

“Good! Now here’s what you have to do. Get some people from Oya and Murayama, oh and Rao too, and…”

October 31st, at the break of dawn, everyone was gathered in the gym they fought Senomon in, working out the details of this date.

“Ok, so I know we’d rather be fighting each other, but I really need your help. As you know, it’s soaking wet out which put a damper on my date plans and everything was suddenly closed up. So I need you guys to do some behind-the-scenes magic for me to make this a great date. If everything goes well, I’ll hold off on beating you guys for a month.”

“So what do we do?”

“Ah, Todoroki and Odejima! Ok I need you guys to go get these things for a pretty fall bouquet since everyone ran out.”

“What am I doing here, again?”

“Murayama, you are Mr.Muscle. I need you to drive the tractor. But please go slow- it’s supposed to be a nice date, not a car race.”

Murayama scowled, but nodded his head in acceptance.

Fujio and Rao were already off setting up a cute little corn maze and a pumpkin-lined path for the tractor. Murayama came over to help put a canopy up over the cart the tractor would be pulling. When Odejima and Todoroki finished with the bouquet assembly they helped Smoky put some hay bales into the cart for the two of you to sit on.

“Now we wait. Meet me here in 2 hours.”

~~~~~~

Your boyfriend Smoky hadn’t contacted you in a few days, so when he finally did you asked him what was happening. Did he get hurt real bad in a fight this time?

“No, no I’m fine. Hey do me a favor, will ya? Put on a cute outfit, maybe bring a light jacket or a sweater, and meet me outside. I’m gonna take you somewhere you’ll like.”

You smiled. “Ok, I’ll be right down.”

Hanging up and charging your phone for a little bit, you go to look for an outfit.

Urgh!! I have nothing to wear! You groan, tearing apart your closet. You finally decided on a black corduroy jumper and a fuzzy lavender sweater, paired with some Bearpaw boots. You grab a windbreaker and unplug your phone, putting it into your jacket pocket. You want to look nice for Smoky so you put on a little makeup-mascara and some lip gloss is enough. You practically ran downstairs to the door, yelling your goodbyes to your pets as you left. You locked the door and ran to Smoky, flinging yourself into his arms.

“I missed you! Are you sure you’re ok?”

Smoky just chuckled, “Yeah, I’m great. Here, let’s get going,” he said, opening the passenger door of his 1975 Ford Bronco for you.

It didn’t take as long as either of you thought it would to get to the date place, and when you got to the parking lot Smoky told you to close you eyes.

“It’s a surprise, so you have to keep them closed. I’ll guide you there.”

You were surprised now. “Ok, then. Lead the way.”

You feel the hard ground under your boots, hear the leaves crunching a little through the water on top of them. There’s a faint smell of rain and something else you can’t quite place.

“Hey gimme a hint! Where are we?”

Smoky chuckled. “Not very patient, are we? You’ll see soon.”

He loved this about you, so sweet and always curious about things. And the way you cared so deeply about him.

The two of you stopped after a few more feet, and he warned you first before continuing.

“Ok, I need you to grab my neck. I’m going to lift you to the next part.”

Confused, you wrapped your arms gently around his neck, and the he proceeded to lift you princess-style into the cart. He came up shortly after, helping you to your feet. He walked you over to the hay bales, and gently helped you sit down on one.

“Why is this seat so prickly? Can I open my eyes now please?”

Smoky just about bursted from being so giddy.

“No, not yet. Almost.”

He reached over and flicked the fairy lights that Todoroki and Odejima had put up around the inside of the cart. Then he grabbed a lap blanket for the two of you. He sat down next to you and spread the blanket over your laps.

“Now.”

You opened your eyes and were absolutely amazed. What you saw before you was more than you could have asked for in a date from Smoky. You were in a cart in a pumpkin patch, with a corn maze and a path lined with pumpkins for the tractor to go through.

Smoky handed you the bouquet Todoroki and Odejima made, nervously.

“Do you like it? Is it ok for a late fall date?”

Your eyes were suddenly moist. You were so happy he put this much thought into your date.

“Yes, of course I like it. I love this idea so much!”

Smoky signaled to Murayama to start the tractor, but he didn’t.

“MURAYAMA!”

Still nothing.

“Murayama called in sick, he said he didn wanna see you guys bein all mushy gushy on each other.”

“Oh no.”

Murayama called in sick? Really? That could only mean one thing. He got Binzo to drive.

“Please tell me you know how to drive a tractor?!”

The tractor started, and you were surprised at how smooth it was. Then the driver turned around.

“I put off my date with Todoroki for this, so you owe me.”

“Odejima!! Hi, I’m glad to see you!”

Odejima. Odejima is driving. Ok, now you can relax.

Hours later after you went through the pumpkin patch and path, picked out a couple pumpkins to carve later, and got spooked in the corn maze, it was dark. You got up go jump down off the cart but Smoky was faster.

“Here, I’ll go first.”

Smoky jumped down from the cart and turned around. Spreading his arms like he wanted you to jump into them.

“Now you.”

Smoky stood there smiling, and since he had given you such a nice date and even got a lot of the boys to help, you decided to let him have this.

You jumped down into his arms, scared that you would fall. But he caught you, swinging you around.

“I know this wasn’t the best date, but I hope it was ok.”

“Smoky, I already said it was great. I loved it. I mean, a date in a pumpkin patch and all our friends came to help you out? That’s amazing. And I did catch glimpses of Fujio, Rao and Binzo so that was fun too.”

“BINZO WAS HERE THE WHOLE TIME?!?”

Smoky was shocked.

“It’s fine, he only came in to see how we were doing. He didn’t want me to tell you until after and he said you promised no beatings for a month.”

“Grr, but he’s exempt. He didn’t help. So he gets the punishment.”

“Smoky, don’t ruin the date we had. I don’t think it’s over yet.”

Smoky looked at you, now he was the confused one. The date wasn’t over? Yes it was. This was all he had planned.

You walked toward Smoky, now you were nervous again.

“I want you to close your eyes, please.”

Smoky just looked at you, blinking.

“Smokyy! Please? I have something for you.”

Smoky reluctantly closed his eyes.

“Now put your hands out toward me, face up.”

He did, still confused. You put your hands in his, squeezing them so you had a good grip. Then you got on your toes (since he was a bit taller than you) and kissed him on the cheek. You got so embarrassed and you felt your cheeks heating up.

Smoky opened his eyes and saw you, beet red. He was also blushing-you had never kissed before so it was a first for both of you. He walked toward you and gently took your head in his hands, giving you a light peck on the forehead.

Both of you were still blushing when Smoky turned to you and said it was getting late.

“Yeah, let’s go home.”

[cheshirecatuniverse]

i have another h&l fic coming out soon ☺️ (hopefully) and after ill be replying to my inbox cause i have some really interesting asks

[gojou-violin]

High & Low Announcement

Hi, everyone! I know that I have been MIA for a hot second (tbh, will prob continue to be until my interest in anime is back), but I wanted to announce that I will be accepting requests for characters in the "High & Low" series! I know that this fandom is lowkey dead, and it was small to begin with, but for anyone who is still around and interested, I am writing for it! I'm currently in the process of writing a Ryo Suzaki x OC short story (about 10 chapters), which I'll be posting on here and AO3 inevitably, but in the meantime, I'd love to talk about the series and write some drabbles, so please send some asks my way! <3 <3

Characters I'd love to specifically write for (not limited to them ofc): SUZAKI, TSUKASA, COBRA, Yamoto, Todoroki, Amagai, SMOKEY, Chiharu, Noboru, Murayama, Fujio, TAKESHI, Sachio, Rao.

[sliceofcake-cupoftea]

Hi! Just wanna say i really like your writtings and i'd like to make a request only if you dont mind 💖

Could you please make lao x housen! Femreader where they meet each other for the first time (during 3 aliance) and reader was abt to be targeted by reiji himuro but Lao was there taking over thinking she couldnt fight eventhough she shows she's a good fighter at the end. Both shock seeing each other since she only heard bad rumours abt lao and lao dont know this is the girl from housen people been talkin abt. Kinda awkward at first but reader has this easy going but lil cocky persona. They then meet each other for several time unexpectedly and started to like each other secretly.

Anyplot will do cuz i'll leave it to you. Sorry for writing to long to explain the plot that you might take as inspo 😘

Love you 3000 xoxo

Big Mouth

Character(s): "Rao" Misaki Mario (x reader), Ueda Sachio (slight x reader)

Plot Line: As per usual when Seibang's Kendo team showed up at Housen for practice, the gym was locked. Having to track down the boys yet again for the keys, you run into an unusual male.

Warnings: High and Low Violence

Note: Thanks so much for the request! I didn’t use everything you said because I like to go with the flow when writing (a stylistic choice on my part not your fault) so I hope you like a couple of surprises I sprinkled in.

“All–” You huff as another student comes barreling towards you causing Jamuo to let out a girlish yelp as he gets out of the way. Quickly, you snap your bokken down right on the back of the guy’s neck chasing him, making the guy instantly collapse to the ground in pain, “I wanted–”

Kicking in the door to a classroom, you see three more Senomon tech students inside–all instantly turning around at the commotion–but no Housen students in sight; more specifically no Odajima. A fact that makes you let out an aggravated sigh as the students begin to come at you,

“--Was the gym keys!”

It was true. That was all you wanted. 

Hailing from Seibang Girls’ High School, your school had a lot of prestige and, most importantly, class. Two elements you tried your hardest to embody when you entered high school as a first-year. Though, it was at times like this even two years later, that you failed miserably at that.

Due to your close relationship with Ueda Yui and eventually the boys at Housen, the girls Kendo team you were captain of often borrowed Housen’s gym for practice. Most of the time caused by the fact the softball team was taking up your original practice space. Which is normally fine until you show up to Housen and no one is there to unlock the gym for you guys. 

Meaning as the closest to the Housen members, you had to go track down the keys. 

“I swear to fucking–” You start feeling an aggravated twitch go through you as someone kicks you in the back. One you instantly return ten fold by kicking the guy in the nuts, “Odajima! When I find your dumbass you are dead! Dead, you hear?!”

You really lost your class in situations like this. Really. 

As Jamuo yelps about some other students coming after you two, you instantly grab the cowardly male by the collar and jump through a window. Landing on the roof of an area down below. Jamuo sputters, attempting to catch his breath after what you just did, but you are more interested in something else.

Suzuran?

Based on the black and gold uniforms amongst the red, you could only guess the six males fighting on the ground in front of you hailed from that chaotic and unruly boys’ school. 

“What…” You mumble, already feeling a headache come on as you attempt to wrap your head around the situation, “How the fuck does Housen get in some much trouble…? Oi, Hey!”

Not allowing the Senomon Tech guys on the ground in front of you enough time to turn around, you leap from the roof and onto the group. Kicking most to the ground and hitting a guy in front of you with your wooden sword in the process. 

“Wha–” You jump in surprise, stopping you from going after another student, as a person–a full on person–is thrown past you like a ragdoll. As you turn to your right to look at the source, you see a rather tall and looming Suzuran male standing there; who freezes in his tracks as he sees you, “Oi! Watch it!”

However, it wasn’t in the way the male at first thought intended as you threw your sword, smacking a student that was sneaking up behind him. Quickly, the Suzuran student turns around and chucks the knocked out one through a window; putting him out of commision and out of the way as you get closer to him. Not even bothering to jog to go grab your sword, you take the opportunity to look the male over, beginning to realize that he looked oddly familiar. Not in the way that you have seen this male before but that he looks exactly like someone Sachio once described. 

Raoh.

“Hey, Oi. Pay attention next time, pretty boy.” You say, huffing as you grab your wooden sword poking the male in the chest as he continues to stare at you. Raoh, slightly taken aback by your words and action, seems to freeze once more, “We don’t need you getting injured. I’m too busy today to be kissing any boo boos away.”

“There they are!” Scrunching your eyebrow slightly in annoyance, you begin to curse Housen out in your mind as backup for the opposing group arrives. All armed with pipes and wooden weapons; Kamasaka students. Of course.

When would Sachio be back again? He never forgot to leave the keys at Housen whenever you had practice that day. 

“Oi!” You yelp as while kicking some guy in the gut, a strong arm suddenly wraps around your waist, lifting you up and bringing you around as he spins. It takes you a moment to realize it was this Raoh guy grabbing ahold of you. In his other hand a Kamasaka student, who he swung around before eventually throwing into a crowd of them. 

“A little warning next time?” You say, raising an eyebrow at him as he places you back down on the ground. You can tell Raoh is a bit flustered by your confrontation and sarcastic attitude. However, he was no were close to how flustered he became at your next words, “I like to be manhandled but jeez take me on a date first, will ya?”

Without another word, you kick a metal pipe away from a twitching injured student on the ground and walk off. Leaving Raoh without an opportunity to ask what you mean. Allowing him to just ponder with all the chaos going on around him.

Little do you know the impact you had on him just from the brief moment in time.

–.--.--.--.--

“Ow. Ow.” Odajima curses as you continue to look through his pockets. The young man dangling off Jinkawa, quite bruised and battered from the fight. However, you don’t pay it any mind, instead lighting up when your hand comes into contact with familiar metal. You nearly scream with joy as the jingle of keys is heard as you pull it out of Odajima's front pocket. “Oi, watch your hand–”

“Thank you, God,” You yell, cutting the Housen student off from his whining as you kiss the key to the gym. Finally–fucking finally–you got the keys. “I need to call the girls.”

“Oh? Sachio?” 

As you begin to pull out your phone, Housen practically erupts in excitement as they see their leader–Ueda Sachio–at the front of Senomon Tech. A sight you are relieved to see as well. No more days of chasing down the keys to the gym.

“Sachio,” You whine, not hesitating on jogging up to male. Him seeming quite taken aback that you are here, “You need to make a copy of these keys. I can’t keep on tracking down Housen for them. Do you know how long the ride was here?”

At your whines of agony, Housen begins to laugh. Not taking the pain you go through in trying to find them seriously. Even Sachio can’t help but let out a chuckle as he brings up a hand to wrinkle your hair. 

“I’ll be sure to–” Suddenly the smile on Sachio’s face wipes clean as he spots something behind you, “What is Suzuran doing here?”

Turning around, you nearly jump in shock at the group of black uniformed males standing behind you. More specifically Raoh, the boy you were fighting with earlier, that literally was towering over you. 

“Hey– Oh.” You are taken aback as Raoh suddenly pulls out his phone and hands it to you. As you stare at the blank contact on the screen of it, It takes you a moment to put two and two together, “Oh… Do you want my phone number?”

Raoh nods his head, seeming patient despite what you’ve heard as you begin to slowly put it in. All the while Housen and Oya look on confused. Wondering what in the world was going on and how the two of you knew each other.

“Are you free this saturday? At three o’clock?” Raoh asks, his deep voice catching you off guard once more as it is the first time you heard him speak today. With a small and meek nod of your head, the Suzuran man smiles. Though only for a moment before he gently takes the phone from your hands.

“It’s a date.” You let out a small gasp as Raoh leans down and places a soft kiss on your forehead; unable to stop your heart from doing a summersault at the romantic gesture. One of his large hands running down the back of your hair to the tips of the strands as he pulls away; bringing some hair to fall gently back to your face as heat rises to your cheeks, “I’ll pick you up at two.”

As Suzuran begins to walk away, leaving everyone stunned at what just took place, it is–of course–Fujio that breaks the dead silence of the situation. 

“Oh, good job Raoh!” He cheers, giving his friend a thumbs up. While he didn’t understand what just took place or the context behind it, he knew the Suzuran male just asked a girl out. So like every male, he was supportive of the heroics and guts behind it. Well maybe not every male in this situation. 

It is as Raoh gives Fujio a thumbs up back, that everyone else breaks out of their stupidor. Especially Sachio who instantly challenges Raoh. Declaring that you were friends of Housen, thus part of Housen. Even Odajima hopped off Jinkawa to challenge the other students of Raoh’s faction.

It seemed like an all out brawl was about to commence with everyone present.

Well… everyone but you. You, still shell shocked, couldn’t believe getting in a fight for Housen got you a date with the Misaki Mario of Suzuran. You couldn’t wait to tell the girls about this one. They would be so excited. 

Though… Yui might be a little disappointed as she has been trying to set you up with her brother for as long as you remember. 

Whoops. 

[tinyvariations]

the black mercy / la miséricorde noire

content warning: violence

Kara has always admired good craftsmanship, and when she finds a sword pressed perilously into the exposed flesh of her neck, its razor-sharp edge biting just enough to paint a thin crimson line onto her skin, she still can’t help but admire the beautiful details forged into the steel - the blade’s faint blue sheen, the delicate swirls etched throughout its length, the way it reflects the dappled sunlight filtering through the tree canopy high above. It’s a gorgeous piece, and the man holding tight to its gilded hilt likely paid handsomely for it in the east, the only region Kara’s seen metal of its equal before. 

Fleetingly, she wonders if her would-be assassin would, given a chance, admire the simple elegance of the stiletto she surreptitiously sinks between the plates of his armor, efficiently bypassing his chainmail and ribs to puncture his lung clean through. 

There’s a singular moment when realization hits the man threatening to end her life - a realization that he, in turn, has gravely erred. His expression slides quickly from smug to confused to shocked, and his sword hand begins to shake, the pain overwhelming. When Kara plunges her blackened blade a second time, shifting the angle to pierce the other lung, all of the fight leaves her foe. Kara steps back, unchallenged, the black, needle-like blade dripping at her side while the man in front of her crumples to the ground, his handsome sword falling, forgotten at his feet. Rivulets of blood, red as cherries, run from his wounds and stain his armor while vivid pink droplets form around his mouth where he struggles to breathe, blood already filling his lungs. 

As Kara steps forward, kneeling quietly at his side, the man’s eyes widen, the stench of fear permeating his body. It’s an acrid scent, pungent, and combined with the sourness of his sweat and the faint hint of metal in the air, it’s enough to make Kara’s stomach lurch.

It’s the smell of battle. The smell of death, imminent. 

Removing the gloves from her hands and removing the gauntlets from his, she takes his trembling hands in one of her own, offering him the small comfort of contact during his last moments. This man, this giant brought low, shivers beside her, gasping and gurgling, facing the agonizing fate of a long, painful death. He holds tight to Kara’s hand. 

“Shhh,” she whispers, leaning over him, holding his gaze. “Your burden is no more, brother. Rao’s light is yours.” Her words are earnest, soft as velvet, and the frantic movements of his eyes slow in response. “Her mercy is yours.” She nods her head, and he mirrors the action in response.  

With a practiced hand, she sinks her blade once more between the plates of his armor, this time through the exposed area of the armpit, the point tearing its way through his heart with precision. A flick of the wrist, and the damage multiplies. By the time she removes the Black Mercy, its blade heavy with blood, he gasps a final breath before the light fades from his eyes. 

With a final squeeze, she lets go of his hand and runs her own lightly over his face, closing his eyelids and ushering in his final rest with a prayer to Rao. It’s a prayer of her own making, one she has used more than she’s cared to. It’s a prayer of thanks, a prayer of regret.

Above all, it’s a prayer for peace.

Standing, Kara wipes the blood from her blade, meticulously cleaning it of its crimson stains and returning it to pristine condition. Unlike the fallen foe’s blade, hers catches no sunlight, its face dark as night. She calls it the Black Mercy, its purpose to end suffering, to finish what must be finished, and to send those who meet its steel to a better life, to the light of Rao.

It hasn’t failed her yet.

She’s peripherally aware of the stories told of her in the dark corners of taverns or the tall tales whispered in the ranks of the Queen’s enemies in Daxam. But Kara, Keeper of the Queen, faithful servant of Rao, takes no pleasure in ending the lives of others. 

Make no mistake, however. Kara will go to the ends of the world to keep her queen, her beloved, safe from all who would see her fall. 

<><><>

Note: the misericorde was a dagger used in the High Middle Ages to deliver the death stroke to a grievously wounded knight. Its use on the injured was considered an act of mercy, hence its name, “mercy.”

[airbendertendou]

self care with your love! ♡

@fi-fi19 said : This is so cuuuutttte ❤ .. Keep up... Can you do this but with reiji himoru , shoji sameoka and amagi kohei ?

synopsis : even more various!HiGH&LOW boys and how they'd be when dating you.

no pronouns used / gender neutral

if you have a blank blog [no bio, no user, no header or profile pic, nothing reblogged, etc] do not interact with my content. you will be blocked.

play-fighting w ICE only for him to hover over you, his chain dangling so you tug on it until you’re kissing

AMAGI not allowing anyone but you to hear how honey-like and tender his voice can b when calling you sweet names

touches hidden beneath the table you sit at as TODOROKI traces shapes into the back of your hand as he reads

having matching pajamas with RAO every time you spend the night

SMOKY holding you close as you sleep, tightening his grip on you tightening w every move you make

every bruise, scratch, stitch you get, ROCKY gives a small kiss no matter how small

having a built-in nap area whenever SHOJI is near — his shoulder or lap are always yours to lay on

REIJI teaching you how to fight, only as an excuse to let his hands linger

giving RYO a tiny flower your grew yourself — it was the only bloom and he keeps it in a notebook

——♡—— airbendertendou © do not copy, plagiarize, repost, or translate my content on any platform. if you see my content under any other name than my own, let me know. i only have this tumblr and an ao3 account under the same name. if youd like to b tagged / untagged, let me know! ♡

🍓FOREVER TAGS : @straysugzhpe ♥︎ @star2fishmeg ♥︎

🍓 H&L TAGLIST : @rouzuchan @yuken-gf @strxwberrychocolate @simpforchuchu @thatpoindexterpixy @vicious-defect

[emeraldbabygirl]

Here’s part two of High & Low characters as Tutter memes

Todoroki:

Tsuji:

Shibaman:

Kiyoshi:

Rao:

Odejima:

Tetz:

I gave up :/

[rainisawriter]

You’re All That I Adore (Ito)

━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━

Genre: Fluff, slice of life, domestic, slight angst

Word Count: 4,367

Pairing: First Person x Ito

World: High&Low

A/N: 100% self indulgence right here because this man has my heart in a fucking Cobra twist. Seriously, send help.

━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━

I put a cigarette between my lips, lighting the end before taking a long drag. The sun was shining brightly above against a bright blue sky, not a single cloud in sight. Cicadas were chirping happily in the distance, not the least bit bothered by the heat that was currently engulfing the Sword district. 

“There she is!”

“Huh?” My gaze fell on a group of guys standing in the shade of the foot bridge. There were six of them, wearing the same black uniform and carrying metal bats and pipes. “Who the hell are you guys?”

“Nishiya-san sends his regards,” smirked a black-haired male, pointing his bat at me.

My brow furrowed as I searched my brain for the name, but I was coming up blank. “No idea who that is, bro.”

“Get her, boys!”

All of them rushed at me at once, screaming out as if they were going to war. I sighed deeply, pinching the end of my cigarette to put it out before sticking it behind my ear. A bat swung at my head and I quickly stepped backward, grabbing the bat so I could tug him closer, my fist slamming against his face. I felt a pipe hit my shoulder blade and I cursed, spinning around to slam my foot against the guy’s stomach.

One guy tried to punch me but I grabbed his wrist and squeezed hard. He cried out in pain, trying to pry himself away but I kept my grip, using him as a shield when another swung a pipe at me. The pipe hit him in the head and he went limp. 

“Attacking your own guy?” I tsk’d, punching the guy in the face. “That ain’t cool, man.”

I could sense the last two guys coming up behind me and I ducked, the bat swinging through the air. I kicked my foot back, connecting with his shin before I grabbed the front of his shirt, throwing him into the final guy. They collided hard, falling back into the river with a satisfying splash.

“Ren!”

I glanced up, seeing Tsukasa jogging toward me, his brow furrowed as he looked around at the fallen boys. “Yo, Kasa.” I lifted my hand to him before putting the cigarette back in my mouth and lighting it again. “I thought I was coming to see you, not the other way around.”

“I had a bad feeling.” He pushed one of the guys with his foot, causing him to roll onto his back. “These are Suzuran guys.”

“Suzuran?” I repeated, scratching my cheek. “The hell are they?”

“It’s a school in Toaru city. Fujio went there yesterday to challenge Rao… is that why they attacked you?”

I inhaled deeply, turning my head so I didn’t exhale the smoke into his direction. “They didn’t say anything about Rao, but they did mention a Nishiya.”

“I don’t know who that is,” he shook his head, long fingers wrapping around my wrist and tugging me along the path. “It’s possible that it’s just a coincidence…”

“You don’t sound too sure about that.” I watched him closely, taking in how his brow remained furrowed. There was clearly something bothering him and it had been for a while. I came to a stop under the foot bridge, tugging him around to face me. “What’s goin’ on, Tsukasa?”

His lips parted, no doubt to say nothing but he seemed to change his mind. His gaze met mine, filled with worry. “I have a bad feeling. I have for a few days now and it’s not going away. It feels like… the calm before the storm.”

I hummed in realization. “So, that’s why you called me.”

He nodded. “I didn’t want to bother you because I know you’re busy, but… I’m really worried, Ren. This feeling won’t go away and I would feel a lot better knowing you’re close by.”

“Hey,” I called out softly, resting my hand on his shoulder. “You know if you ever need me, I’ll be here. You’re my baby brother, Tsukasa, and I will always protect you.”

He smiled warmly, nodding his head. “Thank you.”

“What’s got you so worked up, though?”

“The other schools in Sword keep being spotted near Oya. It’s as if they’re watching us.”

“Yeah, but that’s nothing new, is it?” I wondered, leaning back against the metal railing that separated the path from the river.

“No, it’s not, but this feels different. I don’t know why, it just does.”

“If you keep frowning like that, you’re gonna get wrinkles and lose half your fanbase.”

He scoffed, sending me a look. “Are you saying people only like me for my looks?”

“Only part of them,” I grinned, ruffling his blonde hair. 

Tsukasa smacked my hand away but it had no malice. “Thank you.”

“You said that already.”

“I mean it. I feel a lot better having you here.”

I grinned, throwing my arm around his neck. “I’m always happy to assist.”

“We’re going to see a movie tonight. Are you in?”

“Nah, can’t go. I’ve got plans with my boyfriend. Been ages since we had any time together. Something always seems to come up on either end.”

“That makes sense, you’re pretty busy, aren’t you?” A frown tugged at his lips again. “Sorry for bothering you.”

“It’s no bother at all. Listen, Tsukasa,” I paused, grabbing him by the shoulders and staring him dead in the eye. “If you ever need anything, no matter how small, you better call me immediately. I don’t care what time it is or how busy I am. I’ve always got time for you.”

“I know,” the corner of his lips twitched upward, eyes shimmering with warmth. “Th -”

“If you say thank you one more time, I’m gonna throw you in the river.”

He scoffed in disbelief. “You’re so rude.”

“Yet you still love me,” I grinned, patting his shoulder.

━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━

I stifled a yawn as I stepped into my apartment, being greeted by the smell of food and the sound of sizzling meat. A smile tugged at my lips as I stopped in the doorway, watching my boyfriend as he cooked dinner. I approached slowly, wrapping my arms around his slim waist.

“I’m home,” I mumbled, nuzzling against the side of his neck.

Ito smiled, leaning back against me as his free hand came to rest over my arm. “Welcome home, anata.”

“Sorry I’m so late.”

“You’re just in time. Dinner’s almost ready.”

“It smells amazing.” I pressed a kiss to his neck before pulling away to grab a soda from the fridge. “What movie are we watching?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Should I be worried?”

“You’re gonna love it,” he promised, dark eyes meeting mine.

No matter how many times he looked at me, my heart skipped a beat every time. He was so beautiful and his gaze was always filled with love for me. No one has ever made me feel so much warmth and love the way he does and, honestly, I’m beginning to believe in soulmates. If they exist, he’s definitely mine.

“You’re staring at me again,” he scolded lightly, sending me a look as he lifted the pan off the stove.

“Sorry,” I muttered, settling down at the table.

After dinner, we set our plates in the sink and headed into the living room. 

I fell onto the couch, watching him as he pulled a box from beside the TV, holding it up proudly. I grinned at him when I read the title. “You bought The Lord of the Rings?”

“Extended edition.”

“Have I told you how much I love you?”

“Every day,” Ito chuckled, setting the first movie into the DVD player before settling down beside me on the couch. He brought his legs up, leaning against my side. I threw my arm around him to pull him closer, and he rested his head against my chest. “I forgot to get the blanket.”

“Forget it.” I held him tighter, running my hand up and down his side. “We can get it later.”

“If I catch a cold, I’m blaming you.”

“It’s summer, babe.”

“Summer colds are a real thing, you know.”

I clicked my tongue. “Fine, go get the damn thing.”

Ito laughed, pressing a kiss to my cheek before standing up. I watched him disappear down the hall before reaching forward to grab the controller, starting up the movie. He returned a moment later with the blanket, flicking off the lights before settling back at my side.

Honestly, I clocked out for most of the movie. How could I possibly focus when I had such a beautiful man just inches away from me? Every time he moved, I could smell his shampoo mingling with the light cologne he wore. It was a pleasant smell that always left me feeling calm and at peace. Even so, I found myself thinking about Tsukasa. He was always so level headed that it was rare to see him so worried.

“Do you think it counts?” wondered Ito softly, glancing up at me with his dark, beautiful eyes.

I glanced at the screen, realizing it was the scene of Legolas and Gimli seeing who could get the most kills. “It definitely doesn’t. The guy was dead when he shot him.”

“He was twitching.”

“Doesn’t matter. A body can still move even after death, but the body is still dead. He shot a dead body which definitely doesn’t count. Gimli wins this for sure.”

“Most people side with Legolas.”

“Because they’re simps.”

His lips parted but he was cut off by the sound of my phone ringing on the other end of the couch. 

I scowled at the TV, pretending not to hear it.

“You should answer it,” he told me softly, hand resting in the center of my chest. “It could be important.”

“It could be not important.”

“Anata,” he sent me a stern look before reaching over me to grab the phone, holding it out to me.

I took it with a scoff, seeing an unknown number flashing across the screen. “Hello?”

Ito grabbed the controller to pause the movie.

The sound of music could be heard in the background, along with the giggles of a woman. “Hey~”

My brow furrowed at the familiar voice. “Masaki? Are you drunk?”

“What? No~” he giggled, slurring his words. “I’m not drunk, silly, you’re drunk!”

I heard the girl giggled again and I pinched the bridge of my nose in annoyance. “What do you want?”

“Hey, hey. Can you come get us?”

“I’m not a fucking taxi service. Call your brother.”

“But -”

“Idiot,” I muttered under my breath, tossing the phone onto the couch.

“I still can’t believe you’re friends with Amamiya Masaki.”

“It’s not as cool as one might think.” I stifled a yawn, rubbing the back of my head.

Ito glanced at the clock before standing up, holding his hand out to me. “Let’s go to sleep, love.”

“Are you sure? It’s still kinda early.” I slid my hand into his and he pulled me up easily, leading me toward the bedroom we shared.

“I had a long day and it seems like you did, too.”

I couldn’t argue with that. Besides, there was nothing better than cuddling with Ito before bed. I got changed before him, sliding under the cold covers and sighing in content. He turned the light off before sliding in beside me, curling up against my side with his head resting on my chest. I wrapped my arms around him tightly and he hummed in satisfaction.

I didn’t want to go to sleep so quickly, but my eyes felt heavy and I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay awake much longer.

“Anata?” called Ito, his voice so soft I almost didn’t hear it.

“Hm?” I shifted to try and wake myself up a bit, my hand rubbing up and down his back.

“I love you… you know that, right?”

“Mhm. I love you too, Ito.”

“No matter what happens, don’t forget that, okay?”

I wanted to question what he meant, but I could feel my consciousness leaving me. I held him tighter, resting my cheek against the top of his head. “I won’t.” The last thing I registered was the feeling of his fingers curling around my t-shirt.

━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━

The sound of an alarm ringing through the room forced me from my sleep and I groaned, rolling onto my side. I could feel Ito shift as he started to get out of bed so my arms shot forward, wrapping around his waist and tugging him back onto the bed. I wrapped myself around him, nuzzling against his neck.

“I don’t wanna get up yet.”

He chuckled. “We both have things we need to do. We can’t stay in bed forever, love.”

“Just five more minutes. Please?”

“Only five,” he conceded, relaxing into my embrace.

I pressed my lips to his neck and hummed. “I wish we could stay like this forever.”

“Me too. I think you’d grow tired of me after a while, though.” His tone was lighthearted and joking but it made me scowl, increasing my grip on him.

“I’ll never get tired of this, of you.”

Ito slowly turned around to face me, his gaze flickering to my lips. I didn’t hesitate to close the distance, my hand going to his cheek as our lips met. I poured every ounce of love I had for him into that kiss, as I did every single time we kissed. He needed to know how much he affected me, needed to know how much I love him. Honestly, I don’t think there are words in any language to explain it. I can only hope he can feel it, too.

My tongue brushed against his bottom lip and he didn’t hesitate to open his mouth, arms going around my neck to pull me closer. My phone started to vibrate on the nightstand and I groaned, breaking the kiss to hide my face in his neck.

“For fuck’s sake.”

Ito chuckled, running his fingers through my short hair. “We need to get up anyway.”

“Don’t wanna.”

He pushed me gently and I groaned, rolling off him so he could get up. “You have a meeting today, don’t you?”

“Oh…” I blinked up at the ceiling. “I forgot about that.”

“I figured you might. Come on, up!” He grabbed my hands, pulling me up and out of the bed despite my protests. Said protests were quickly silenced by his lips. “I’ll make breakfast. You better not go back to sleep, anata.”

“Sure, sure.” I grabbed my phone, finding a missed call from Fujio. I sent him a quick message before hopping in the shower. He had replied by the time I got out, telling me that he was going to go visit Rao this afternoon with Tsukasa and Jamuo. I replied that I would meet them there before getting dressed.

Ito glanced at me when I entered the kitchen, a smile on his lips. He was already dressed and ready for the day. “You actually listened to me this time.”

“I can’t be a pain in the ass all the time, you’ll get tired of me.”

“Never,” he chuckled, pecking my lips. He set two omelets down on the table before sitting across from me. “What time is your meeting?”

“Uh…” I tugged my phone from my pocket, checking my messages. Shit, the meeting is happening at the same time I’m supposed to meet Fujio. Maybe I can talk Hiroto into going instead. “Noon.”

“Be careful, okay? There have been a lot of… unsavory guys around lately.” His nose wrinkled, annoyance flashing through his eyes. 

“Careful is my middle name,” I replied with a grin, earning a disbelieving look in return.

“Last time I checked, it was reckless.”

“Same thing.”

“Not even close.”

After we finished eating, he gathered the plates and set them in the sink. “I’ll wash them when I get home. I have to get going.” He pecked my lips and I looped my finger around the ring hanging from his choker, stopping him from pulling away. He hummed, moving his lips against mine. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Be safe, babe.”

“I will.” With one last smile, Ito left the apartment.

━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━

I felt anxiety coursing through my veins like lava, not letting me stay still for more than a few seconds. Fujio was supposed to have been here five minutes ago but there was no sign of him and he wasn’t answering his phone. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem but with everything that’s been happening lately, it had me on edge.

Oya had been attacked.

No, attack wasn’t the right word.

Oya had been slaughtered, half of their students taken out like they were nothing. Even Tsuji and Shibaman, two of Oya’s top fighters, had been put out of commission. Worse yet, Tsukasa had been taken.

My heart clenched painfully at the thought and I started to pace faster, barely containing the urge to punch the wall beside me. I had promised to always look after him, to protect him with my life and yet… he had been taken right under my nose. I didn’t even know until I had gotten the call from Fujio.

It made me question everything.

Before meeting Ito, I didn’t believe in love. I didn’t believe that love was possible for someone like me. I was a firm believer that love made you weak, it softened your resolve… now, I’m starting to think I was right in believing that. If I wasn’t dating Ito, if I wasn’t so madly in love with him, would I have noticed Tsukasa’s absence? Would I have put more faith into his words when he told me he was worried? 

“Goddamn it!” I cried, slamming my fist against the brick. It cracked beneath my fist, blood trickling from my skin.

“Ren!”

My head snapped up at the sound of Fujio’s voice. There he was, standing tall as he approached with the rest of Oya behind him. They weren’t alone, though – Housen was with them.

Fujio gave me a determined look, holding his hand out to me. “Let’s go get Tsukasa back.”

“Yeah,” I slapped my hand against his. “I’ll kill all of them.”

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“Motherfucker!” I growled, slamming my fist into the face of Amagai’s thug. God, we knock down one and five more appear. How many losers does this bastard have in his pocket?

Todoroki put his hand on my shoulder, glaring at the group standing in front of us. “We have to get through them to get to the gym.”

I huffed in annoyance, wiping the blood from my cheek. “Yeah, leave it to -“

The sound of scraping metal made everyone pause. I turned around, muttering under my breath, “What now?”

Large metal shelves and scaffolding had been chained together and put up at the exits, preventing anyone from entering or leaving Senomon. What was once an impenetrable barrier now shook and trembled before slowly falling to the ground, half laying atop the hood of a broken down car.

I recognized Rao immediately from when we had approached him at Kasumi house, his towering figure inspiring fear in the thugs we were facing. I heard their scared whispers, voices trembling.

“That’s Suzuran!“

“Shit, we’re so dead!“

“Rao is unbeatable!“

Amagai took a few steps back, a nervous look on his face. 

“This isn’t your fight, Suzuran!” cried Saboten, his voice shaking despite how hard he tried to steady it.

My eyes scanned the five guys that had arrived with Rao, wondering if they had appeared as friend or foe. All thoughts left me, though, when my eyes locked with one of them. Despite the mask covering half of his face, I’d recognize those beautiful eyes anywhere. 

“Ito…” I muttered, my brow furrowed. What was he doing here? He’s part of Suzuran? Part of Rao’s faction?

He sent me a pleading look, slowly lifting his hand to tug down the mask. His beautiful face didn’t fill me with calm like it usually did, unable to Pentwater the strong feelings swirling within my gut. Confusion, frustration, worry. They were too strong.

“Fujio is my friend,” Rao said simply before rushing forward and beginning to clear the way.

Ito’s lips formed my name but no sound escaped him.

I turned away, fists clenched at my sides. I had to stay focused on Tsukasa, I had to save him. With a roar, I rushed forward after Rao, helping him clear the way. I dodged a pipe, kicking him hard in the gut before elbowing another in the face. Someone brought a metal chair down across my back and my vision blurred for a moment, the sound around me becoming muffled.

“Ren!” cried Ito, rushing toward me, a terrified look on his face.

I shook my head, taking a deep breath. Before he reached me, I cried out in anger, grabbing the chair from the guy before slamming it across his face. 

“Let’s go!” Fujio ran past with Todoroki close behind. 

I clicked my tongue in annoyance, throwing the chair onto the ground before rushing after them. I wanted so badly to look back at Ito, I could feel his eyes burning against my back, but I had to stay focused. 

Tsukasa was more important.

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“Fucking hell,” I muttered, wincing as I touched the back of my head. “Am I bleeding?”

Todoroki pushed his glasses up, glancing at the back of my head. “You’re fine.”

Fine was a gross understatement. The battle against Senomon was over and Oya had come out on top, but I had to wonder if it was truly a victory. All of us were beat to hell and poor Tsukasa could barely stand. Worst of all, he stopped me from beating Amagai within an inch of his life.

“I need a vacation,” I muttered, body tensing when I felt someone occupy the spot Todoroki had been only moments ago. I didn’t even have to look to know who it was.

“Maybe we can go to the beach.”

Where the hell do we go from here? Both of us lied to each other, keeping secrets like our lives depended on it.

Ito had believed that I was a simple bodyguard working for one of the clubs downtown. He didn’t know that I was a debt collector and part-time Oya student.

Meanwhile, he had told me that he was a first year in college, working part-time at a cafe. 

Honestly, we should have been able to see through the lies, right? We spent so much time together. We know each other’s ticks and tricks. Apparently, neither of us can tell when someone is lying to their face.

“I’m sorry,” I told him softly, keeping my gaze forward. I was afraid I would break if I looked at him. “I’m sorry for lying to you.”

“You’re not the only one,” he replied softly, his shoulder brushing mine as we walked. “I lied, too, though I think mine’s worse…” He sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. “When we first met, I knew you would become the most important person in my life but I was afraid. If you knew I was just a second year, I was afraid you wouldn’t give me the time of day.”

I shrugged a shoulder only to wince as pain shot through my body. “Fucking hell, that’s gonna hurt in the morning.”

Ito’s face filled with worry, scanning me for any visible injuries. “We need to get you home and get your injuries taken care of.”

“I’m fine.”

“Now is not the time to be stubborn,” he scowled, eyes narrowed at me. His slim fingers wrapped around my wrist, tugging me through the crowd. “I’m taking you home.”

My eyes met Tsukasa’s and he smiled encouragingly, nodding his head to let me know he was okay. Total bullshit, I knew, because he was beat pretty bad, but I knew he was safe. It would be some time before they let him out of their sight and I really didn’t feel like apologizing in front of the whole of Oya.

When we got back to my apartment, he made me sit on the couch while he grabbed the med kit from beneath the sink. He sat on the coffee table in front of me, a frown tugging at his lips.

“What hurts the worst?”

“Uh… everything?” I muttered, holding my pounding head. 

“You might have a concussion,” he mused, resting his hand gently on my head but it still hurt, making me wince. “Sorry.”

I leaned forward, resting my forehead against his shoulder.

“Do you…” his voice was soft, vulnerable. He had always been the kind of guy that was calm and collected, just like Tsukasa, so hearing the tremble in his voice hurt. “Do you want to break up?”

“I can’t imagine my life without you,” I admitted.

Ito gently pushed me backward before straddling my lap, his forehead against mine and his hands on either side of my neck. I reached for his waist on instinct, tugging him closer.

“I love you,” he whispered, lips brushing against my own with each word.

“I love you, too.” I claimed his lips as I had done so many times before but this time felt different. It was more passionate, more overwhelming. I felt as if I was drunk off him, unable to think about anything else. He invaded my every thought, overwhelming my every sense. He was my everything. He always had been.

“Marry me,” he breathed out, dark eyes shimmering with love as they met mine.

I scoffed in disbelief. “We’re a bit young for that, don’t you think?”

“No, because I know you’re the one I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. I want to make sure everyone else knows it, too.”

My lips slid up on their own, my thumb rubbing gently across his hip. “And what if you’re wrong?”

“I’m not,” he replied without hesitation. 

“But if you are?”

“Then you get to say, ‘I told you so.’“

I snickered at the look he sent me, nuzzling against his neck. “I can live with that.”

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