#imagine him only taking an interest when he meets Yata though

[ridiasfangirlings]

I enjoyed reading the thingy of Yata being in an insane asylum so I was wondering if you'd do a Sarumi thingy—whatever you call these— of Med student Saruhiko and mental patient Yata

This is a nice twist, since usually Fushimi is the patient. Imagine Yata’s in a mental institution after dealing with a bunch of rough stuff, like he had a major bout of depression after the death of two of his friends, Mikoto and Totsuka, and started self harming and such. It worried his friend Kamamoto and Mikoto’s little sister Anna enough that they eventually convinced Yata to check himself into a mental institution for his own safety. Yata’s kinda struggling because he feels like he shouldn’t be here, like no really he’s fine this isn’t necessary, but then he also has these downward spirals feeling like he’s so worthless, he couldn’t save Mikoto or Totsuka and now he can’t even be trusted to look after himself. 

 Meanwhile Fushimi is a new med student working at the facility, probably mostly in non patient-facing roles because his bedside manner sucks. His advisor Munakata reminds him that part of working with mental patients is learning to empathize and understand them, Fushimi clicks his tongue and says that’s stupid, as doctors they should be impartial (and Fushimi himself probably holds thoughts like ‘I had problems and turned out fine without being in a mental institution so these people must be idiots,’ ignoring the part where he very much did not turn out fine). As it happens they’re short handed so Munakata sends Fushimi to administer some lunch and pills and a quick checkup to one of the patients, Yata Misaki. Munakata thinks this patient may be a good one for Fushimi to handle, Fushimi rolls his eyes but is like fine.

When Fushimi walks in Yata tries to be all friendly like hey a new face (and in honor of the typo I just made writing this, imagine he starts to say ‘a nice face’ and quickly stumbles over his words). Fushimi clicks his tongue and he starts mechanically reading off Yata’s chart. He’s surprised that Yata’s the same age as him, he figured Yata was a middle schooler. Yata’s like what the fuck kind of doctor are you and Fushimi curtly says he’s Yata’s, telling Yata to lie back so Fushimi can check on his vitals. Yata’s like well maybe I don’t want you to check my vitals, you could at least say please. Fushimi snorts and says he’s the doctor here so he’ll tell Yata what to do, Yata’s like oh yeah well if you want to check my blood pressure you’re gonna have to work for it. Fushimi wonders if Yata’s defying doctor’s orders and does Fushimi need to have him restrained, Yata’s like that’s power harassment you jerk. When Fushimi finally shoves Yata’s lunch at him Yata groans at how bland all the food is here and asks if the doctors get this kind of stuff too, like you’re probably eating good curry and hot pot while we get this baby food. Fushimi says he had a Caloriemate for lunch and didn’t complain so Yata shouldn’t either, Yata’s like you know you should enjoy being able to eat whatever you want while you can. 

Afterward Fushimi complains to Munakata that Yata’s annoying and loud, Munakata is pleased that they got along so well and decides to assign Fushimi to Yata’s case. Fushimi objects but Munakata won’t budge, he thinks this would be good for Fushimi’s development. Fushimi groans and says what a pain, Munakata tells him to treat his patient well. Of course Fushimi and Yata slowly start to enjoy each other’s presence, I imagine Yata likes that Fushimi never treats him like a sad sack or mental case, he can feel almost…normal when talking to Fushimi. But then imagine one day Yata has kind of a relapse and Fushimi finds him in a depressive funk in his bed, Fushimi suddenly finds himself grasping for all the things he knows he’s learned about this and struggling to be an impartial doctor because this is Misaki and Fushimi wants to be able to help him. Afterward when Yata’s feeling slightly better he weakly says he must have looked so uncool in front of Fushimi and Fushimi mutters at Yata not to say that kind of thing, isn’t there more to worry about than looking cool (and even as he says that Fushimi thinks that he wants to look cool in front of Yata, he wants to be one that Yata can come to if he’s having problems and be the one who solves them all).

[womanlalaboy]

Panhik #4: Batulao Revenge Hike

My first official climb happened during a typhoon at Mt. Batulao in Nasugbu Batangas. The 2-4 hour climb became an excruciating hike of 9-long hours. Can you imagine the struggle? I can still feel the leg cramps whenever I think about it. Wanting to quit at first peak would sound unrealistic, but believe me when I say that for a beginner like me (a heavy one), the conditions that time were just too much. Nevertheless, we made it and we vowed to avenge that painful trek by doing another hike. We wanted to see the Batangas landscape on a sunny day so we plotted to do it on a February- thinking that it would be a cold, comfortable and a pleasant hike. It was a sunny hike, but never a cold nor a comfortable one.

There were many things we failed to take into consideration:

What's up on that very day? We failed to consider the actual day of our hike. I didn't realize that it fell on a long weekend- a Sunday followed by the People Power Anniversary the next day. Over a thousand people of all ages and sizes swarmed the place to do a hike. Some of those have been there since Saturday. Some were planning to camp and stay til Monday.

Since our day of hike fell on a very busy weekend, we also failed to anticipate the availability of public transportation. We had to ride a jeep to Silang and wait for a bus bound for Nasugbu. We found one that is full and settled to stand all the way to our destination. From Imus, Cavite to Batangas, including the waiting time, I spent a total of 5 hours just to get to the jump off.

I failed to consider my health. I’m lactose intolerant, but mindlessly sampled the mais con yelo in one of the stops at Mt. Batulao, and bought an ice cream at the summit. On top of that, I didn’t get to bring my medicine.

The climb nonetheless was still fun. We got a cool guide, Kuya Paeng who wore a pair of running shoes and a camouflage coat. He looked more like a politician than a guide, to be completely honest. He said that they have over 200 official guides, but at that time, they ran out of people so he volunteered. He used to guide people up there, so he knows the way around Batulao. Since there were so many people, we decided to team up with another group. We got to meet a couple originally from Palawan. They’re a bit quiet, but we got the feeling that they’re also fun to be with. It just took us a few peaks to get a glimpse of their fun side. 

Both of them are fair-skinned so when they told us they came from Palawan and moved up here to work, we didn’t believe them at first. Then they started talking about their travels, and how they find the time to go out despite having busy schedules as teachers. We also initially thought that they’re not used to climbing as they only brought a few stuff and those string bags triggered me a lot. We’ve realized that they’re actually just more prepared and practical than we are. They brought lightweight clothes, jackets to cover them up, enough trail food and liquid. They really didn’t need much.

We’re lucky to have met such nice people. Kuya Paeng and the couple we hiked with laughed with us and listened to when we tell stories of our first hike at Batulao. We really got along. We became their third wheel and Kuya Paeng became our father, especially when my stomach started to ache and needed to release so badly. I felt it at first after I took my share of that mais con yelo we got from one of the stops. There’s actually a group who camped and were cooking sopas when we got there. They even insisted that we wait for the sopas to be ready so we can all share a breakfast together. Instead, we got ourselves some mais con yelo and an egg. We told them we’ll get our share once we get back from the summit. We weren’t able to catch them, but it was alright. That sopas would’ve made my stomach ache worse.

The struggle started when we were approaching the look-out tower. We‘re seeing more people and felt that the path we’re taking was crumbling faster and easily more than expected. We actually took the old trail, then the new one towards the look-out tower and then the old trail again. But regardless of the trail we decide to take, we always see a line of people. They are most visible whenever we trek through the ridges. There were several points where we had to stop as well and let those from the top pass through. This usually happen at steeper paths like the photo below:

From higher points, people lined up looked like ants trying to find their way to get food. We stayed the longest at the summit along with many other climbers. It looked like a feast of the Nazarene. I even joked about it and told my friend, “nasa’n ang poon, teh? Ready na ‘yung bimpo ko.” (where’s the patron saint? My face towel’s ready). We just laughed things off then bought ourselves an ice cream which was a very bad decision on my end. I felt a sudden adrenaline. At the time, I was really considering releasing my shit in the bushes, but the summit is an open area and regardless of grass length, people will still be able to see me. I asked Kuya Paeng to help us get down the fastest. He went down to help guide the others descend so they could lessen the people up in the summit. It took him quite a while so we just distracted ourselves with jokes. “Akala ko teh Feb. pa lang? Bakit parang napaaga yata ang bisita Iglesia ngayon?” (I thought we’re still in Feb. Why do I feel like Visita Iglesia came a little bit early this time?) I jokingly said. 

Kuya Paeng came back and told us we could go down the slopes where those tall and sharp grass are rooted from. He made us a new path so we could go down fast. However, we were only able to do that from the summit down to the first hill. We lined up along with the others ready to descend. It wasn’t nice to wait there under the scorching heat of the noon sun and my will to hold my literal shit together. There was a guy that was really scared of going down saying in his breath he’s only good at going up, but never down. I told him, “at least, hindi ka natatae.” (at least, you don’t feel like taking a dump), and we laughed at our worries. 

I was pretty good at convincing my body that I don’t need to take a shit yet. I’ve successfully distracted myself. Then a guide shouted from down below, “oh, tiis tiis muna sa mga natate d’yan, papaakyatin lang muna natin ‘tong isang batch.” (Let's try to be patient with this for now, especially to those who would need to take a shit. We’ll guide this next batch up first.” to which I shouted, “Kuya, ‘wag mo nang ipaalala, nakalimutan ko na nga, e!” (you don’t need to remind us. I’ve almost forgotten about it!).

Even with what happened, I’m glad that we’ve seen the summit and the range clearly. Actually, over a thousand hikers did that day. It was a rare event, said the locals. They get a lot of visitors during weekends, but this only happens during long weekends and long holidays. Though Batulao is a favorite among beginners and experienced hikers alike, this massive visit would be detrimental to the protection and conservation of the mountain. 200 of them guides weren’t even enough to accommodate the number of hikers. We descended by afternoon and there were still more coming.

The path for sure doesn’t look healthy anymore. There were more loose rocks than usual which can be dangerous if you’re not too careful. The boulders are really what bothered me. They were shaking. Imagine a thousand people going back and forth using the boulders to help them climb up and down. There are also  more stops compared to when we hiked in 2017. This means more commercial goods being brought up in the mountains which will result in trail trash if there’s no proper waste management. And yes, I believe there is none as we’ve seen a lot of trash along the way. 

Pico De Loro, another favored mountain in Batangas had to be closed several times to allow it to recuperate. This is a possible sight that can happen to Batulao if we continue to mindlessly do what we’re doing that contributes to its likely destruction. Here are a few insights from a traveler’s point of view that are worth considering.

Mindful consuming isn’t only healthy for our bodies, but also for our environment. If you’re reading this because you fancy mountain climbing, then for sure you enjoy what mountain climbing can offer- great scenery, memorable adventure, stillness, simplicity, a moment to contemplate and breathe. There are other activities that make you feel alive, but there’s nothing else like mountain climbing. If we enjoy doing things like this, we should at least pay attention to how we affect our mountains. Taking care of the very thing that gives us pleasure wouldn’t hurt. It’s as simple as taking the protection and conservation of the mountain in mind whenever you have to visit one. When you are mindful of what you consume, you are also mindful of what waste you produce. Do you really need to buy that bottled water? Did you really have to get a bag tag from every mountain you climb or pick up that interesting flower along the way? If we continue to mindlessly consume things we don’t ultimately need, then we are just demanding their production which would have to involve non-renewable energy in manufacturing and probably non-biodegradable materials that aren’t really designed to be up or downcycled. Also, let’s bring our own trash back home and make something out of those than just leaving them in the mountains. Let’s have a little decency. It’s free.

Conscious traveling should be a traveler’s mindset. We get more than what we give when we travel and it’s only as important to be conscious with what, when and how we are visiting a place as to being conscious if we would need to bring an extra pair of underwear. Always think about the date of our travel and how it will affect everything. I failed to take that into consideration and I’ve learned my lesson the hard way. It’s best to visit a place off-peak than swarm the place along with the thousands of people trying to maximize their holidays.

Consider the locals and how they actually live their lives there. Water in Batulao is scarce, and the locals would have to share theirs with the visitors. Even with fees, a thousand visitor is still too much to accommodate. Batangueños are just naturally hospitable and friendly to allow people like me to use their toilets or bedrooms when the souvenir shops and eateries are just filled with people. My friends and I settled with damped towels instead of taking a bath. We also maximized the water we brought with us instead of buying bottled water in the area.

Help the locals to capitalize on goods that would speak their identity. I always find it nice to try things that are specific to what a place can offer. Batangas Lomi sounds about right.

MORE...

Also see: Batulao photo sets Also read: Panhik #1: Mother Mountain Also read: Panhik #2: Braving Batulao Also read: TUCLAS Climbs Gulugod Baboy Also read: Womanlalaboy's Travel Guide to Gulugod Baboy Also read: Womanlalaboy's Travel Guide to Batulao

[emeraldwaves]

Title: Cacophony Chapter 7 Read from the beginning Music/Band AU Pairing: Mikorei, side Izuseri, Rating: M Word Count:  4,183,

AO3 Summary for Ch7: The competition has finally arrived, but Suoh’s not very happy about it. thanks to @its-love-u-asshole for reading this over! Only a few more chapters left

After weeks of practice, it was finally time. The competition was this evening, and Munakata awoke, the music in his head filling the silence. The songs had consumed him over the past few weeks, and they rolled through his head on repeat. He did feel just a hint of nerves, tugging under his skin. It had been so long since he'd actually performed, and he had never performed like this before.

But he knew these songs perfectly, and he was determined to do them, and Totsuka Tatara justice. He was ready.

Munakata stared at his closet, letting out a gentle sigh. He was certainly ready when it came to understanding and knowing the music, however, dressing for a rock concert was a whole different beast. Most concerts required him to wear a suit and tie, or at least a dress shirt and slacks. This time however, Suoh had told him not to show up in his suit or they'd send him directly home.

The only problem was, Munakata had no idea what to wear. Most of his pants were slacks, and many of his shirts were sweaters or sweater vests. He had a few t-shirts, but they were mostly plain, blue and white. He had no need for any grungy rock clothes.

Rubbing his forehead, he reached for his phone in his pocket. He'd have to ask Suoh if he could borrow some clothes. Though Suoh hadn't been in the best of moods during their last few practices. He wasn't much of a talker, but Suoh had left abruptly after every rehearsal for the last week, not staying to say anything. He hadn't even been critiquing Munakata, which had Kusanagi believing Suoh was satisfied with Munakata’s performance. Munakata however, wasn't so sure.

Text to Suoh: [Do you have some spare time? I was hoping to ask for your assistance in regards to my clothing situation for this evening.]

He pushed send, and began to look through his closet again. Nothing was really jumping out at him, but maybe he could...rip a t-shirt or something. That was edgy and interesting right? He did have a pair of dark jeans, maybe those would work? His phone buzzed and he glanced at the reply.

Text from Suoh: [comin]

Of course Suoh wasn't exactly the best with words, and his text messages were always clipped and short, but Munakata didn't care at the moment. He was relieved Suoh was going to help him.

It took Suoh close to an hour to get to Munakata's apartment. He had no idea how far away Suoh lived, but knowing him, he'd probably taken the majority of that time to get out of bed.

"Thank you for coming over Suoh, I appreciate it, seeing as I have absolutely no clue what I could possibly wear tonight," he rambled, as Suoh brushed past him and stepped inside of his apartment. Munakata noticed the few bags in his hand. He tossed them onto Munakata's couch and flopped down.

"Here," he grunted, holding one of the bags out. "I brought this."

Reaching forward, Munakata took the bag and peered inside. A collection of shirts were all bundled up and squished inside, wrinkled, completely messy. "Suoh...What is this?"

A sigh trilled from Suoh's lips. "Figured you had nothin', brought you shit," he grunted.

"Well I... appreciate it," Munakata said, clearing his throat as he pulled out one of the shirts. The front was completely torn up, and Munakata's face flushed red. "Suoh, if I wear this, my..." he trailed off.

"Yeah people will see your chest. Who cares?" he asked.

Munakata's nose wrinkled, and he placed the shirt down on the table, shaking his head. Instead, he pulled out another shirt. This one was completely black, with a pattern of dark gray paint splatter across the front, the sleeves were short, cut up to be a short-sleeved t-shirt. It looked tiny, though Munakata could imagine he and Suoh weren't too different as far as sizes went. They were about the same height and build, though Munakata was possibly a bit more lean comparatively.

"This seems...small," he observed.

"Just try it. It's supposed to be tight, and you put this over it," he muttered, chucking a leather jacket towards him. "Ya' have jeans right?"

Munakata nodded. "But they're not...tight like this?" he said. Glancing over at Suoh, he picked up the shirt and his jeans and made his way to the bathroom.

"What?" Suoh called after him. "You can't change in front of me?"

"No!" Munakata called out from the bathroom. He wasn't going to strip down in front of the other man. His mind immediately flashed to their prior kiss. Kisses had the potential to be innocent, but they also had the potential to lead elsewhere, and Munakata was starting to wonder what would've happened if Suoh had come inside with him that night. He swallowed, shaking his head. Now was not the time to be thinking of that.

He yanked the shirt over his head, surprised at how tightly it hugged his body, and he pulled up his jeans, bringing his jacket over it. "Is this...alright?" he asked, tugging on the bottom of the shirt to make sure it didn't ride up at all.

Snorting, Suoh stood up, folding his arms. "Yeah. You actually look...cool." Munakata tried to ignore the hint of red which sat upon Suoh's cheeks.

"Cool?" Munakata muttered, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah, less uptight," he chuckled, patting Munakata on the shoulder.

"Really now?" he smiled. "I suppose I should be thankful then. Without your clothes I would've looked quite foolish this evening," he smirked. He stepped back, glancing at his phone as he noticed the time. "Should we be heading out? Kusanagi mentioned sound check would be early."

Suoh sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Guess so. I gotta go home and grab my guitar. I'll meet you there."

"Indeed," Munakata nodded. "I look forward to...performing with you tonight," he bowed.

Suoh only waved, shutting the door behind him as he left.

~~

Suoh was not looking forward to this evening. He’d had just about enough of their practices, and though Munakata had grown on him slightly, lately he'd just been so damn angry. He was a hypocrite, he understood that, but it didn't change how he felt.

All this time he'd been wanting Munakata to be better, to play Totsuka's songs like Totsuka. But now that he was, and he was playing them even better, Suoh regretted it. It was so damn hard, feeling as though Totsuka was behind him, playing his songs, only to turn around and discover it was Munakata...

Plus these weird stirrings he felt in regards to Munakata...he hated them. He hated how his mind kept constantly flashing back to their one, stupid kiss, and how he wanted to do more. And then the idiot had called him over this morning because he didn't have any clothes. The moron wouldn't even take off his shirt in front of him, and Suoh felt like he wanted to punch something.

Sitting on Munakata's couch, all he could imagine was Munakata nervously changing in the bathroom, his bare chest smooth and pale under the bright light of his bathroom...

No. These thoughts were absolutely stupid. He didn't have feelings for Munakata. Munakata was a replacement for one night, and one night only. Nothing more.

And after tonight, it would be all over. After tonight he could announce that he was quitting, and Munakata could go about his business, go back to his snobby classical school. Everything would be back to normal after tonight.

He stepped inside the venue, snuffing out the cigarette he had walked over with in his mouth. All around were various groups, and Suoh recognized a few of them. JUNGLE was off in the corner, looking all sullen and creepy. Suoh wasn't a fan of their style. Hakumaitou was there as well, looking bright and cheery. Their rock was upbeat, and fun, but also not really to Suoh's taste either. There were a few other groups he didn't recognize as he casually walked to where Kusanagi, Yata, and Munakata stood.

"So nice of you to join us," Kusanagi teased, and Suoh grumbled a grunt of approval in response.

"Yeah."

"Our sound check is in 30 minutes," Kusanagi explained. "We'll play a little bit of each song, just the first couple of measures, and then move on. But hey, I'm feeling pretty confident about tonight, how about you guys?"

Suoh shrugged, but watched as Munakata nodded sagely, as though he were the King of rock concerts now. Yata of course cheered, always the positive one.

"Then let's do this!" Kusanagi cheered.

The soundcheck went off without any sort of hitch, none of them needing to change anything about their set up. Yata had been nervous and started too early, so Kusanagi talked with him, making sure he didn't do it during the actual performance. Suoh however, was simply counting the hours until the damn thing was done.

He knew it was wrong, but he almost hoped they lost. He wasn't so horrible as to throw the competition, seeing as it meant too much to Kusanagi, and Suoh couldn't imagine ever playing Totsuka's songs badly even if he tried. But...if they lost, maybe Kusanagi would give up on this whole thing, and Suoh wouldn't have to be the one to quit yet again.

The groups were led backstage, told the concert was to start in a mere hour and a half, so they had to start letting people into the venue. And as they walked backstage, Suoh felt a hand on his arm.

"Suoh..." Munakata's voice was oddly quiet, and Suoh saw the way his hand trembled ever so slightly. Was he...nervous? He had no reason to be.

"Hm?" he grunted.

"I wished to...thank you," he said, a slight hint of pink of his cheeks. "You were quite harsh these past few weeks, but I do believe I have improved and it is mostly thanks to your assistance. So no matter how HOMRA does this evening, I am very grateful for what I have learned here."

Why the hell was Munakata thanking him? Actually he couldn't believe Munakata was thanking him, mostly because it seemed so out of character. The blue-haired man had come into this whole situation with so much pride, Suoh could barely believe it.

"Yeah well, you sucked, now you suck less," he grunted, stepping into their dressing room, ready to wait their turn.

Munakata let out a chuckle as he followed behind them. "Indeed. I'll take that as the highest compliment coming from you," he snorted, sitting down inside.

The group was quiet while they waited, and Suoh kept tapping his foot on the ground. What he really wanted was a damn cigarette, but he knew he wasn't allowed to smoke inside and he couldn't leave so here he was, desperately wanting to scratch that itch. They were the sixth band to play out of ten, so he knew he had quite a while before they went on stage.

His gaze kept flicking over to Munakata, the man looking a bit anxious. It was strange, he was so used to seeing Munakata looking poised, composed, as though he owned a room when he walked in, and yet now, he looked quite perturbed. He kept wringing his hands together, and glancing at his phone. Occasionally, he would close his eyes and lean his head back, his body swaying a bit as though it were going through the music in his head.

"Awashima is coming," Kusanagi said, making light conversation to break the tense silence.

"Ah yes, I spoke with her earlier," Munakata chuckled. "I think she will be quite surprised to see me...like this," he said, tugging on the jacket.

"You look perfect. I can't believe someone like you would have that just lying around in your house," Kusanagi teased.

"Oh no," Munakata began, "Suoh lent this to me. I have nothing of the sort, though the pants are mine."

"Oh yeah?" Kusanagi grinned, giving Suoh a telling look.

"Yes, thank goodness or I would've looked quite the fool," Munakata chuckled.

"Yeah," Suoh grunted, folding his legs.

There was a knock at the door finally, the stagehand letting them know they'd be up next so they were to come backstage to wait.

"Wait," Kusanagi said, standing up with the group. "I just want to say that I believe in us. We've worked really damn hard, and Totsuka would be so proud of us doing this," he said, smiling proudly. "So let's go out there and kick some ass."

"Hell yeah!" Yata cheered, thrusting his fist into the air.

Suoh nodded, his heart clenching at the mention of Totsuka's name.

They made their way backstage, waiting for JUNGLE to finish their set. Suoh wrinkled his nose, listening to Hisui Nagare scream his lungs out on the stage. Their sound hadn't changed at all in a year.

The audience cheered, louder than Suoh could ever remember them cheering for JUNGLE in the past, perhaps they had gained some traction while he'd been gone. Good for them, he supposed, though he knew they were going to be better.

Hearing JUNGLE play ignited a fire in Suoh's heart. These were Totsuka's songs, and even if Totsuka wasn't here to play them, he had to do them justice. He knew they could get more cheers than that.

"Back after an entire year hiatus, we are proud to be the ones to bring you HOMRA! Finally back to play us their amazing songs!" the MC called out, the audience cheering loudly.

Stepping out onto the stage, Suoh suddenly felt as though everything was happening in slow motion. The lights were brighter than he could remember, the white light shining brightly down onto the stage. Suoh could hear his heartbeat in time with each step he took, the crowds cheering growing more and more muffled as he stood in front of his microphone.

His guitar felt heavy around his neck, the instrument planting him close to the earth, and he couldn't feel his hands. Eventually they were going to have to start playing. He'd have to introduce them, but right now all he could hear was the sound of his shaky breathing.

Behind him, he could hear Munakata sit down, and Yata, his foot pressing against the drum pedal.

 'You're the best guitar player I know!'

 'I love your voice, Mikoto!'

Suoh didn't love his voice as much as he loved Totsuka's...but he had no choice. He had to find his voice. He had to say something. Their set was to be starting right now.

"Hey, uh," he grunted. "I'm Suoh, and this is HOMRA. We're gonna play some songs. They're uh...written by the best person, who couldn't be here. So...please enjoy," he muttered into the mic, not sure if anyone understood a word he had said.

 'Just play something. Anything. Don’t think. Just go.’

And so...he did. His guitar felt lighter as he strummed the chord of the first song, the sound echoing through the venue. Immediately the crowd's cheers cut through his ears, and he heard as they hollered and called out to them while they played.

The music began to flow, circling around his body as he felt Totsuka's soul descend upon the stage. The brightness of the lights grew even brighter, and Suoh thought he was floating. Behind him Yata's drums pounded in his ears, and Kusanagi's bass strummed perfectly in rhythm. The worst part was, he felt as though Totsuka's soul had possessed Munakata. If he were to look behind him, he kept feeling as though he would see his old love, and not this other man, and yet, every time he glanced to the side...there was Munakata. His blue hair swayed with the motion of his body, and his fingers struck the keys at the perfect moments, the sound flowing out of the keyboard just as Suoh had wanted it to.

His heart was soaring and breaking, simultaneously, and he couldn't stop the overwhelming emotion which throbbed through his blood.

~~

Munakata's fingers felt light as the glided over the keys, his sweat rolling down his cheeks, his body feeling so damn hot from the lights and the speed at which they were playing. He kept his eyes trained on the keyboard, not wanting to miss a note, or anything. He could barely keep track of what song was happening when.

Suoh's voice reverberated against his chest and his ears. He could hear everything, every crack, every small hitch in his voice, and Munakata could tell Suoh was feeling the music more than he had during practice. The audience's cheers and claps were positively addicting, making Munakata wish to play more, and faster, if only to keep in time with Suoh and the rest of the band.

His heart pounded, but it was light, and fluttery, the adrenaline coursing through his body. It felt better than any classical piece he'd ever played. Nothing had made him feel so damn connected, not like this. He could tell when Suoh was going to slow down, speed up...or pause...it was incredible.

The lights were blinding, and switching from song to song seemed to go by in a whirlwind, Munakata wishing it never had to end. And yet when the last chord played, he felt his hands tremble against the keys.

The audience roared with approval, and Munakata stood up, pushing himself away from the keyboard to give a shaky bow with the rest of the band. His body felt like jello, as though he were about to fall right off the stage and into the crowd.

"I...I cannot believe we did it," he said once they stepped off the stage. "That felt...amazing!" Munakata whispered, his palm placed over his chest as if he could still his fast beating heart.

"It sounded amazing!" Yata cheered.

"Totsuka would be so proud!" Kusanagi smiled, placing his hand on Suoh's shoulder, who quickly shrugged it off.

"I need a smoke," he muttered, and stormed by all of them, his body hunched over.

Munakata pursed his lips. They only had a few more sets until the announcement of the winners, but Munakata had a sneaking suspicion Suoh probably didn't care.

Walking forward, he nodded to Kusanagi, deciding he was to be the one to speak to him. It might have been better for Suoh's best friend to follow him, but Munakata's feet were moving before Kusanagi could speak up to say anything.

Munakata had no idea what to say, though he knew why Suoh was upset. Their performance had been amazing, and it had been amazing without Totsuka. It had to be a weird feeling to the other, especially when Suoh had obviously been so in love with the other.

He hadn't gone far, unsurprising of Suoh, and Munakata let out a sigh. "Do you mind if I join you?"

A non-committal grunt was Suoh's response, and Munakata leaned back against the wall, letting Suoh enjoy his cigarette in silence.

"I know you do not wish to hear this, but Suoh, Totsuka would be very proud of how you played this evening," he muttered.

"You're right, Munakata," he hissed. "I don't wish to hear it."

"It...was a really incredible performance. It is...something I've never experienced before. I have never known music to feel so alive," Munakata said.

"Yeah, because you keep playing that shitty classical crap," Suoh retorted, chucking the butt of his cigarette to the ground, stamping his foot on it aggressively.

"Well...I appreciate you letting me play these beautiful songs," Munakata said softly. "I think we have a real chance to win," he smiled.

"Whatever," Suoh said. "It doesn't matter. I don't care what happens, I'm still quitting after tonight."

Munakata felt his mouth run dry. Suoh was quitting? He blinked, staring at the other. "Y-You can't?"

"Why the hell do you care?" he sneered, glaring at Munakata. "It's not like you're sticking around. You're about to head back to your pretentious music school, and I don't want to play without Tatara. I made this clear to Izumo and he didn't listen and somehow I got roped into this bullshit!" he snapped.

It was the most Munakata had heard Suoh talk, and the loudest, and his message had come across more than clear. "It seems...no one can change your mind then?" he said, quietly. "Which is a damn shame," Munakata hissed, stepping back from him. "What you did on that stage tonight was incredible. I know you felt it, because we all felt it, and you wouldn't be this upset if you didn't notice how amazing it was. You took me to concerts, you wanted to teach me about music, and here I feel I finally connected with it, and with you, the audience and all of this. I could tell you missed this feeling. But if you want to throw it all away, no one can stop you it seems," Munakata snapped. "It'll be such a shame, to have a talent like yours wasted."

With a grunt, Suoh turned his head away from the other. "Leave me alone, Munakata."

"So be it," he said, yanking the door open to return inside.

~~

When the results came in, it was obvious HOMRA was the clear winner. No one else had moved the crowd so greatly, and no one else had been as talented as they had. They had truly connected with the audience and each other.

Kusanagi had offered the trophy to Munakata, since it was his first concert, but he had insisted on Kusanagi keeping it since it was his idea.

"Did Mikoto come back?" Yata asked, looking around for where the guitarist could be.

Munakata simply shook his head. "He said he didn't care about the results and that he was quitting after this evening anyway."

"What!?" Kusanagi exclaimed, standing up. "What the hell, Mikoto!?" he growled, tilting his head back in frustration. "I thought...I figured after a performance like that he'd be ready to come back."

Munakata smiled sadly. "It is...quite a shame. He was so emotional, passionate, and alive tonight. He is...really doing a disservice to the world, by not sharing his talent, and Totsuka's songs. You could write more and do many great things," Munakata finished.

"I wanted to," Kusanagi whispered. "I was hoping that this would help him see how good he is, how good we can be. Totsuka would want him to do this, you know? He loved how Suoh sang, he loved how he played, he loved him."

"It seems Suoh can't let go of that, and he's letting it hold him back instead of push him forward," Munakata nodded.

"I was hoping with you here, it would help," Kusanagi admitted. He ran his hands down his face. "Now I gotta go talk to him," he groaned.

"I don't know if you'll change his mind, Kusanagi," Munakata said gently. "He sounded very resolute, and based on how he was acting at practice up during this last week, I'd say he's been planning this for awhile."

Yata slammed his drumsticks down on the counter. "Goddamn it Mikoto! We can't be HOMRA without him!"

"I'm aware, Yata," Kusanagi sighed. "But I can't force Mikoto to stay with us, or keep playing. If this is what he chooses, then so be it."

Munakata squeezed his hands together. "And...I'm afraid this must be my time to say goodbye as well. Of course I would love to...play with you, but I really must return to my main goal of working towards being a part of Scepter University," he said softly. "I have to start working on my original piece and if I get in well, I will not have a great deal of free time."

"Really?" Kusanagi said. He chuckled sadly. "I guess I should've expected that, I mean I knew when you got involved that would be the case. I just thought after tonight, ya' might consider staying. But then again our lead guitarist won't even stick around so I guess I can't blame you," he sighed.

Munakata let out a sad laugh. "Please, do not view this as personal. This was...one of the best musical experiences of my life. And I feel I'm finally ready to do what Scepter wants me to do. I finally...understand what they were looking for when it came to emotional music," he said. "And really that is all thanks to you, Totsuka, and tonight and..." he trailed off. It was obviously thanks to Suoh, but there was no point in thanking a person who wasn't there.

"So I guess this really is it then?" Kusanagi asked.

"I suppose so..." Munakata whispered, remorse heavy on his lips.

[brynne-lagaao]

(Fanfic) Set in Stone - Chapter Twelve

Title: Set in Stone

Pairing: Sarumi

Chapter: 12/18

Rating: R18 (explicit content)

Mirrors: AO3 | Website

Summary: Yata wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he performed a summon on his own in a fit of drunken loneliness. It definitely wasn’t some asshole demon with a bad attitude, even if that demon happened to be frustratingly hot. But breaking their contract was going to mean working together, and he wasn’t sure how much of that he could take before he snapped… one way or another.

Note: Thank you to @dropletons for being my beta and to @chromekins for helping with the magic aspect. This fic is not entirely accurate in terms of modern magic and the demon lore was basically made up to suit the story, but I tried to keep somewhat of an authentic feel, so hopefully that succeeded.

If anything, things were hotter than ever between them.

It hadn't started that way – in the immediate aftermath of their impulsive “session” against the kitchen counter, the period of satiation had felt almost invigorating. They'd flown out and found another charging point before going to bed even, and things felt refreshingly comfortable between them. No awkwardness or anything. Even Fushimi's usual biting remarks felt softened up by the mutual orgasms somehow; either he'd loosened up and become less of a dick or Yata had relaxed enough to let it roll off his back more easily.

Come to think of it, though, he'd started getting used to them even before they'd blown off all that tension. Fushimi wouldn't be Fushimi if he wasn't being a pessimistic asshole, and to be honest... Yata didn't mind it any more. Sometimes it was even funny.

Either way, he'd been in a great mood when he'd flopped down onto his bed and had passed out almost immediately, sleeping soundly and feeling thoroughly pleased with himself.

... Until he'd woken the next morning with another raging hard-on and the memory of his dream-self vigorously riding dream-Fushimi still vivid in his mind. For a moment as he lay there, blinking owlishly at the ceiling, he was sure that he could feel the thick length pulsing within him – and the mental image of Fushimi's flushed, desperate face had his own cock twitching with interest.

Shit.

That was the first time in years that he'd jerked himself off before getting out of bed, and there was no holding the fantasies back as he did. The imagined sensation of Fushimi squirming beneath and within him as he released brought Yata to orgasm, and even as he breathed heavily in the wake of it, he could still feel the underlying desire.

It wasn't enough. Not after last night.

Fushimi had been in the shower when Yata emerged warily from the room, which was kinda suspicious; they'd done that last night already, so there was no reason to do it again, other than... yeah. Another mental image to add to the growing collection. But, frustratingly, there wasn't even a trace of guilt on Fushimi's face when he came out.

Not that Yata had really been looking at his face - at least, not at first. He'd come out shirtless with a towel around his neck and stray droplets of water sliding down along his pale, defined collarbone. It was... distracting.

Once he'd managed to peel his eyes from that tantalizing line of moisture and up to meet Fushimi's gaze, he'd gotten a smirk and a lidded gaze for his trouble. “Where are you looking, Misaki?”

The drawling tone had brought him right back to last night, when that name had been mumbled breathily against his skin, and Yata could feel prickling heat rising right up the back of his neck. “Where the fuck do you think?” he'd managed to snark back, pulling a scowl against the embarrassment, and retreated into the bathroom so he could slam the door shut against Fushimi's amused huff.

No doubt about it: last night had made everything several hundred times more intense between them. It was like a floodgate had been opened or something.

Honestly, he should've known. Goddamnit...

It only got worse throughout the day. As hard as Yata tried to ignore it and play it cool, he could feel it every time Fushimi's gaze was on him; every time they so much as brushed up against each other; every time their eyes met. There was a kind of building energy that he couldn't deny. Last night had kicked things into motion between them, and now that they'd picked up that momentum, there was probably no stopping it.

He wasn't even sure if he wanted to – hell, it had felt great and they more or less understood each other, so why not kick it up a notch? But the pace and intensity bugged him. Things were moving really fast all of us a sudden, and he wasn't sure he trusted himself not to make stupid decisions in the heat of the moment.

Fucking Fushimi in the first place was probably a stupid decision actually, but that bridge was already crossed, and he was heading straight for 'don't give a shit' territory at an alarming speed.

It was clear again that day, allowing them to pick up another charge for the moonstone, and as the sun set and the moon rose, one of the contributing factors behind that furiously mounting tension became clear.

That night was the full moon.

Yata could feel the familiar surge in his blood before it was even visible in the sky; honestly, if he hadn't been so fixated on Fushimi, he'd have noticed way before. All of his senses were heightened with the influx of energy and power. He could feel it buzzing beneath his skin like electricity, intoxicating and fluid.

On this particular night, it always felt like he could do anything. No limits.

Glancing up over his dinner at Fushimi, who sat across the table frowning at his laptop, Yata was struck by the sudden thought that sex during the full moon would be fucking amazing.

It was probably the helpless little rush of lustful anticipation that had Fushimi glancing up at him, one slender eyebrow raising in inquiry. “What?”

Yata jerked his gaze back down to his meal, frowning as he forcefully repressed the thought and reaction. “Nothing!” he responded, voice harsher than he'd intended, and hastily began to shovel down his food.

He could feel Fushimi's eyes on him, but aside from what sounded like an impatient sigh, there was no comment.

The moonlight felt like a physical touch against his bare skin when they flew out; a seductive caress, as if to entice him into giving in to the flurry of confusing urges that flooded his body. It was almost overwhelming, and Yata had to close his eyes against the rush a few times during the flight.

He'd more or less adjusted to it – didn't have much of a choice, since it had always been like that – but the light of the full moon always brought out feelings he had trouble processing. It made him feel like there was too much power in his body for his puny human soul to manage. Every little whim and desire felt like a demand; his base instincts couldn't understand why his brain didn't want him to indulge everything. You can do whatever you want, they seemed to whisper. Anything could be yours if you want it. Do it... take it...

Shutting his eyes again, Yata breathed out slowly. No sleep tonight, huh?

It was normal. Too much adrenaline. Maybe Fushimi would be cool with hunting down more charging points – or even just circling the city. Anything, really. It usually helped to fly during the full moon; he could expend some of that excess energy, reducing the urges back to a kind of dull longing at the back of his head.

Then again, being around Fushimi was way more likely to excite longing than dull it...

That thought had barely occurred to him when they reached their target; even before landing, he could feel the strengthened flow of moonlight and just about fumbled and crashed before recovering his equilibrium. His veins seemed to sing, vibrating under his flesh in response to that brilliant, blinding glow.

“Are you going to be able to manage?” Fushimi's voice cut into that pleasant haze drily. When Yata turned his head, he got another raised eyebrow. “This is going to be a pain if you end up spacing out like that.”

That was enough to bring sharp clarity back to the front of his mind. Yata scowled back. “It's not that bad, c'mon.”

A second eyebrow joined the first. “If you say so.” Still, Fushimi reached into his pocket to draw out the sunstone.

It was like a moment from some cheesy ass movie; everything seemed to slow and focus intently on that one motion. Yata found his eyes drawn to those slender, dexterous fingers as they dove into the fabric and emerged, delicately lifting the stone free before curling and turning deftly as they lifted and opened to the moonlight.

Those fingers had been on him last night, holding his hips, undoing his fly, squeezing and stroking his balls and cock...

“Fuck,” Yata muttered under his breath, gritting his teeth as he forcefully turned his gaze aside. The abrupt and unexpected surge of arousal had caught him off guard, nearly taking his breath away with its ferocity.

Fushimi made a soft, amused noise. "I'm fine with it if you are," he drawled.

That was way more tempting than it should've been; Yata swallowed back the little burst of anticipation. “Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled, deliberately moving to the other side of the roof – a high rise with a spectacular view that he could barely focus on - and slumping down to a seat against the low wall. “Bite me.”

“I already covered that last night.”

The reminder had him swallowing again hard, and he had to physically restrain himself from reaching up to brush his fingers over the mark. It was stark against his skin, though he'd been able to cover it up no problem with a T-shirt.

He'd fucking liked it when Fushimi had done it, though. A lot. More than he would've expected.

“Well,” Fushimi drawled, moving to sit a short ways from him, “I don't mind repeating it if that's what you want.”

Tempting. Seriously tempting. Yata sucked in a breath, letting it out in a sharp rush and deliberately not turning his head. He could already picture Fushimi's face clearly, eyes dark and lidded with his thin lips curled in a smirk, and he thought he might lose it if he saw the real thing.

I fucking want him so bad... He wasn't even sure why he was holding back, other than to make sure they got the charge done first. Last night he'd let go of his inhibitions and it had been incredible. But still... there was something...

The sharp click of Fushimi's tongue cut into that thought. “Seriously? Even after last night...” The irritation in that soft mumble was a stark contrast to the earlier teasing. “Are you doing this on purpose? Even I have limits, you know.”

“Huh?” At that, Yata was startled enough to turn and stare at him, perplexed. “The hell are you talking about?”

Fushimi was frowning, although it wasn't directed at Yata; his gaze was pointed in front of him, past the hand still holding the charging stone up. “In case you've forgotten, you're not the only one impacted when you let your emotions run wild,” he muttered. “Do you do this all the time? Building things up to a fever pitch and then slamming on the brakes? I can't see how anyone would find it entertaining, but if you have some sort of masochistic tendencies...”

“What the fuck?” Yata cut him off quickly, feeling heat rising fast across his face. “I’m not a masochist, goddamnit!” The little rush of gratification he’d gotten from the sting of that bite came back to him, but he hastily shoved it back down, moving on quickly. “Anyway, it's not like I can control it! Emotions just... y'know... they just happen!”

Fushimi clicked his tongue again, frown deepening. When he spoke again, it was in an even lower mumble, almost too quiet to hear. “I wouldn't know.”

Yata blinked, caught off guard by that admission. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but something about Fushimi’s tone and posture and expression tugged at him. He felt a little ache in his chest, and had to swallow before speaking again. “Wait... so... you don't have emotions, or...?”

“Are you being stupid on purpose?” The insult came with a snort, but the cutting tone that usually would’ve come with it was absent. “Of course I have them. But they’re not like yours are.” Another click of Fushimi's tongue followed; he tipped his head back and turned his gaze toward the sky. “I’ve never met anyone with emotions like yours. It’s like you take them to the edge of what they're capable of, and then keep pushing. It's excessive. And annoying. Especially at times like this.” Drawing in an audible breath, he added with obvious reluctance, “I don't... exactly dislike it.” As if irritated by that moment of honesty, he immediately clicked his tongue again and followed up with, “But seriously, you restrain yourself at the most inconvenient times. Doesn't it bother you?”

“Ah... oh.” The new information had Yata staring again, too stunned to think of an immediate response. “Sorry...”

He knew it – of course he fucking knew it. That was a large part of what he'd been working on, after all. He was pretty damn aware that he was overly emotional, overly energetic, overly obnoxious and all the rest. He was really trying to learn restraint. And he was getting a hell of a lot better at not pushing things on other people. He was learning to understand others a bit more, and to not go with the knee-jerk reactions so much.

But yeah, emotions... They were always running wild, no matter what he did. He could control what he did about them, but controlling the feelings...

Probably impossible.

Fushimi shut his eyes, letting out a short sigh. “You’re apologizing for the wrong thing,” he said drily, and then tilted his head to the side, opening his eyes slowly to meet Yata's gaze. “The emotions aren't bad – if nothing else, they're proof that you're honest with yourself." A tiny, sardonic-looking smile spread on his lips. “Most of the time, anyway. It's the times when you aren't that are annoying. What makes you think it's a good idea to hold back when you've already taken things that far?”

'The emotions aren't bad.' Somehow, that seemed to resonate with something deep within him. Yata felt an ache rise at the back of his throat – the beginnings of an old hurt that had started when he was very young and amplified over the years. Kusanagi had said the same thing to him: that his emotions weren't bad, he just needed to learn restraint over his actions. But Kusanagi wasn't in his head and couldn't feel what Yata felt. So how would he know if those feelings were good or bad? Maybe they were abnormal. Maybe he was a freak.

Maybe his mom had thought the same, back then...

'I don't... exactly dislike it.’

And then there was that.

Fushimi was inside his head, feeling everything Yata felt... and he still said it.

It felt like too much. Yata dipped his head, the ache intensifying as an accompanying sting snuck in behind his eyes and caused his vision to blur. “Asshole,” he muttered, unable to keep the emotion from choking his voice and finding it hard to care. “Can't even say something nice without bitching, huh?”

There was a moment of sharp silence from beside him; when Yata gathered himself enough to look up, Fushimi was studying him with that vaguely bewildered look that he remembered from the café. It was touchingly unguarded, a perfect counterpart to the emotions raging within Yata’s chest. For that brief instant, he found his breath catching in his throat, mesmerized.

He’s really something, huh?

Once again, as soon as their eyes met, Fushimi blinked rapidly and looked away, all traces of the earlier vulnerability fading. “I didn't do it on purpose,” he mumbled, lips turning down in a frown again.

In the wake of that unguarded moment, the petulant response had Yata grinning again, a huff of a laugh escaping him helplessly. Not honest at all. “What, saying something nice or bitching?”

“Shut up,” Fushimi muttered back, sounding irritated.

“Yeah, yeah.” It was easier to let it go with the catharsis that seemed to spread across his chest and up through his head, clearing the air within him. Yata leaned his head back against the wall and breathed in deeply, allowing a comfortable silence to spread between them again.

He felt... light. Happy. Part of it was probably the moonlight amplifying everything, causing his nerves to sing with pleasure and his emotions to rise to intoxicating levels, but he didn't really care. He could’ve sat there on that cold hard roof for hours, if it meant feeling like this.

Because of that, it felt like almost no time at all had passed when he felt the little warning quiver in the sunstone that indicated it had nearly finished its charge. Already, huh? Without thinking, he shifted closer to Fushimi, reaching out to brush a finger over it. “This guy’s almost done, I think.”

“That was fast,” Fushimi murmured in response.

So it wasn't just him. “Yeah, probably the full moon.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

The answer was so flippant that Yata looked up, fully intending to snark back, and found the words dying on his tongue before they could quite make it out.

Fushimi was close, nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with him, and he was gazing down at Yata intently, as if waiting for something. With the light of the full moon illuminating him, his pale skin seemed stark and his hair cast from shadow. His lids were low over his eyes again, but he wasn't smirking. Still, Yata couldn't help but trace the outline of those thin lips with his eyes, drawn by an impulse he couldn't fully control. The slender line of Fushimi's neck and the beginning of his collarbone were visible against the fabric of his shirt.

He was beautiful. Yata's throat felt dry just from looking, and his fingers itched. He could feel the phantom sensation of Fushimi’s face and hair beneath them, and it stopped his breath, chest constricting with sudden, almost overwhelming longing.

Fushimi drew in a breath, seeming unsteady. “Misaki,” he mumbled, drawing the name out again in a way that made Yata shudder involuntarily, “I told you before, I have limits. If you're going to pull back now...”

Something about that tone – maybe it was a hint of desperation – pushed Yata over the edge he'd been hovering around. “I got it,” he responded roughly and leaned in closer, giving in to the wild urges flooding his brain. “Not gonna.”

He felt the tremor in Fushimi's body as they came into contact, and couldn't be sure if he'd surged up or Fushimi had surged down. Maybe both. They met in the middle regardless, heads tilting to allow their mouths to meet hungrily.

They hadn't done this yesterday; somehow it was a shock to realize that they’d fucked without bothering to kiss first, but things had been kinda crazy at the time. Now, the initial contact was an overwhelmingly sweet blend of eager and awkward – a moment of stillness as they learned how they fit together before breaking just slightly. The damp heat of their mingled breath hung in the bare inch between them for just an instant before they reconnected, mouths moving to form the shape of the kiss.

The moonlight surging through Yata’s veins was just a pale echo of the pulsing in his chest at the contact. He couldn’t believe how incredible it felt to have Fushimi’s lips against his. It was crazy – Fushimi’s hand had been on his dick, and he’d had Fushimi’s come on his back, but it was this contact that felt more intimate and made his heart swell uncontrollably. Just the simple act of kissing, even without tongue.

‘Without tongue’ didn’t last long; neither of them was feeling particularly patient. Egged on by the seductive counterpart of the moon working its magic and the surge of emotion that came with the kiss, Yata made the first move, parting his lips just enough to allow his tongue room to slide out along the line of Fushimi’s mouth.

The response was immediate and satisfying; Fushimi made a soft, helpless-sounding noise and opened his mouth, the slick pressure of his tongue meeting Yata’s with matching enthusiasm. They fumbled with that for only a few seconds, adjusting to each other’s motions and momentum, breaking apart and coming back together with increasing urgency. Their breath was already growing frenzied and the contact between them gained more pressure as that sense of desperate desire intensified.

It had been ages since Yata had felt this: the hot, wet inside of someone else’s mouth under his tongue, responding eagerly to him. It was so good. And it was the full moon, and it was Fushimi…

He was already losing himself, body and mind drowning in want as the pleasurable contact continued, when the sudden trilling of the sunstone broke in through that haze, effectively shattering the mood.

Oh, right… that…

Yata pulled back with effort, forcing himself not to lean back in when Fushimi chased his lips. “Stone,” he managed to mumble, mouth feeling swollen and tender as he formed the word. His face and body felt warm, and there was a pleasurable, throbbing ache between his legs.

Fushimi stared back at him with incomprehension for a moment, eyes dark with lust behind the fog that had spread unevenly on his glasses. His face was flushed appealingly, lips plush from the force of the kiss, and looking at him made Yata’s heart ache, desire nearly overpowering everything else.

He was on the verge of deciding ‘fuck it’ and leaning back in when Fushimi’s gaze cleared. He clicked his tongue softly. “Again, huh?”

Right, that had happened last night too, hadn’t it? Yata felt a rueful smile spreading on his lips, a small trickle of clarity edging in through the haze over his thoughts. “Least it wasn’t before we fucking kissed this time.”

“That’s one point in its favor, I guess.” Fushimi shifted as he moved to put the stone in his pocket, forcing them to separate further.

The extra space brought another cold wave of clarity into the mix. Yata turned his head and leaned it back against the wall, shutting his eyes momentarily to absorb what had just happened. Maybe it was the full moon, but he felt the same thing as he had after the previous night: a complete lack of regret, and on top of that, satisfaction.

On top of that... he wanted more.

That thought had barely struck him, along with the full weight of the certainty and urgency behind it, when Fushimi let out a small huff beside him, sounding amused. “Should we go back?”

No question about whether they were taking this further; it was obvious at that point. Yata found himself grinning before he even turned to meet Fushimi’s eyes, his own going lidded without him even thinking about it, body tingling with the moonlight-enhanced anticipation. He felt that confidence and desire within him increase tenfold when met with the small, promising smile on Fushimi’s face and the intensity of his responding gaze. “You bet your ass we will!”

The flight back to his apartment was mostly a blur – a rush of exhilaration and mounting excitement. By the time they made it there, Yata was keyed up enough to grab Fushimi roughly by the arms before the door had shut completely behind them, leaning up to boldly snag another kiss.

It was fervently returned, a small pleased hum vibrating against his lips. They had to break apart briefly so Yata could kick off his shoes, but came back together open-mouthed and hungry as they stumbled inside. Fushimi’s shirt vanished somewhere in the process of backing towards Yata’s room, and Yata fumbled with the waistband of his shorts while trying to keep up the kiss. His back hit the wall next to his bedroom door by mistake just as they dropped to his ankles, but they didn’t bother to correct themselves immediately, pressing together instead.

Fushimi’s skin was warm beneath his hands, the firm reality of his half-naked body nearly setting Yata on fire internally. It felt just as incredible as he’d imagined: the pressure and friction of bare flesh against his own, the light touch of slender fingers over his sides and the small of his back, the flex of back and shoulder muscles under the pads of his own fingers... And of course, the unmistakable press of Fushimi’s hard, clothed erection grinding against his hip. He thrust forward mindlessly and caught friction from Fushimi’s leg against his own aching cock, tearing a moan from his throat as sensation washed over him.

So. Fucking. Good.

They broke apart again – reluctantly – to readjust, breathing heavily, fingers clenching hard against each other’s bodies. Yata had to restrain himself forcefully from chasing his orgasm right then and there. He didn’t want to come until Fushimi was inside him; it was gonna be fucking amazing after all this teasing, and if he blew it beforehand it wouldn’t be the same. But damn, he felt ready to lose it, gazing at Fushimi’s flushed face and catching the desperate gleam in his eyes behind his skewed glasses. He was so turned on it hurt.

In a good way, though – knowing what was coming made all the difference.

Yata could feel the breathless grin spreading on his face even as the answering smirk on Fushimi’s started; on a whim, he freed a hand to reach up and slide the glasses off carefully. “These real or illusion?”

Fushimi squinted at him briefly, then tipped his head, materializing a new set. “Those ones are real.”

The laugh that bubbled up in response was involuntary. “You fucking dick. Take ‘em off.”

“No.” Fushimi leaned in to swallow his protest with an insistent kiss; when they broke apart again, it was only by inches. “I want to see everything,” he murmured, sliding a hand from Yata’s back to reach up and take the real set of glasses from him. “Show me all of your reactions, Misaki.”

Those words seemed to burn within him; Yata felt a little shiver of arousal work its way through his body in immediate response. “Same to you,” he responded, voice coming out rough and throaty. The hand he’d left braced on Fushimi’s bare upper arm clenched hard enough to bruise; he had the feverish thought that he wanted to leave a mark right there, right in this moment.

Fushimi made another of those low, pleased noises in response, leaning in to meet Yata halfway in another urgent kiss. They were becoming more familiar with each other’s bodies already, mouths connecting with ease as they pressed into each other. Yata reached down to fumble with the waistband of Fushimi’s pants before he could forget the end goal again. “These… these are… real, right?” he managed to mumble in between heated kisses.

“Mm,” was Fushimi’s half-hearted positive response – barely a thrum against Yata’s lips. He reached down to help with his free hand as Yata got the fastenings undone and tugged the clothing down off his hips.

He was expecting more fabric beneath, so it caught him off-guard when Fushimi’s cock sprang free as his pants were lowered, flushed and fully hard against the thatch of dark hair around it. Yata’s skin prickled at the sight, a mingling of surprise and arousal, and he couldn’t help but stare for a moment, pausing the flow of heated kisses. “Wait… you… you don’t wear any…?”

Fushimi sighed, kicking his pants off as he leaned in to mouth the corner of Yata’s jaw instead. “I do,” he mumbled against the sensitive skin, breath hot and enticing. One of his legs wormed between Yata’s, creating more of that delicious friction from before. “They’re just not real.”

“Hah…” The word came out breathless; Yata instinctively tilted his head to allow for more of that pleasant touch, grinding back against Fushimi with enthusiasm. He slid his hands around to run them over the small of Fushimi’s back and down along the fleshy curve of his ass, squeezing hard and reveling in the sharp exhalation against his jaw. “Do you just… ah, fuck” – Fushimi’s tongue ran along the length of his neck, hot and slick and purposeful – “do you just get a uniform of… mm… pants and boots… or something?”

He felt the reverberation of laughter against his skin. “Something like that,” Fushimi murmured, lifting his face again to capture Yata’s lips – a gesture that Yata enthusiastically responded to.

They disengaged after only a moment or so more, reaching the limits of where they could extend the heated foreplay before passing the tipping point that would lead to an inevitable climax. Not that Yata would’ve been entirely opposed to Fushimi fucking him up against his apartment wall, noise complaints from his neighbors aside, but it was going to be more comfortable in his bedroom, and that was where his lube and condoms were, so… “Bed?”

“Yeah.”

They had to separate at least a bit to get away from the wall and into the room, so Yata took the opportunity to slide his underwear down past his hips as Fushimi set his glasses down on the bedside table, tugging the drawer open as he did to expose the contents. He didn’t immediately grab for anything inside, instead opting to hastily return to the kiss – like he was worried the opportunity would be snatched away if he didn’t keep up contact.

As if I’d stop at this point. Yata’s body was taut with arousal and he could still feel the moonlight surging around in his veins. It felt like he’d fly apart if they didn’t fuck now.

With that thought in mind, he let himself fall back onto the bed, tugging Fushimi along with him and eliciting a startled ‘oof’ as they collided. “So impatient,” Fushimi muttered, clicking his tongue – but he was smiling still, eyes catching the pale light streaming in through the window as they shifted into a better position and he could brace himself above Yata.

He was fucking stunning. For a moment, Yata almost couldn’t breathe, captivated by the sight of that beautiful face and the expanse of pale skin exposed beyond it. He reached out almost tentatively to brush his fingers along the line of Fushimi’s cheekbone and then down, tracing the shape of his jaw and catching on the rough evidence of closely shaved stubble.

It was fascinating to watch Fushimi’s eyes close briefly, hear the audible shudder in his intake of breath in response to the touch. “Misaki,” he murmured, opening his eyes only a fraction to offer back one of those heated looks.

His blood felt like it was boiling. Yata swallowed hard, fingers trembling, and lowered his hand to brace it on Fushimi’s shoulder as he hooked his legs loosely around those slim hips. It didn’t quite bring their erections into contact, but he could feel the heat gathering fast in the space between them, and his anticipation rose to a fever pitch.

“Hm.” Fushimi leaned forward, almost enough to bring their faces together again, a tiny smirk curling on his lips. “Do you want me to fuck you, Misaki?”

Isn’t that obvious? Still, the question was enough to send a little buzz of excitement through him. “… You already know the answer to that, huh?”

He got back a little hum of acknowledgement, but Fushimi didn’t budge. “I want to hear you say it.”

Seriously… Well, he was past the point of any embarrassment. Yata returned the smirk, letting his eyes go to half-mast. “I want you to fuck me,” he responded, keeping his voice low and throaty – and giving Fushimi’s shoulder a little squeeze for good measure. At the last minute, he impulsively added in a drawn-out tone, “Saruhiko.”

The full-body shudder he got in response was thoroughly satisfying. Fushimi’s eyes seemed to soften and grow dark with lust, and then he was leaning down, closing the distance between them again with a desperate kiss.

The shift in position brought their dicks into contact briefly – just a light brush, but it felt like a jolt considering how hypersensitive Yata was feeling already. He moaned a little against Fushimi’s lips and felt the answering thrum almost immediately.

Then Fushimi was pulling back again, with obvious reluctance. He sat back on his heels to free his hands and reached into Yata’s drawer, retrieving the half-empty bottle of lube and a string of condoms. Setting the bottle down first, he separated one packet and tore it open. As Yata watched hungrily, he rolled the condom deftly over his flushed erection before retrieving the bottle and dribbling a generous amount of lube onto his fingers.

Their eyes met. “Ready?” Fushimi murmured, dropping his fingers to the space just behind Yata’s balls and massaging lightly.

The proximity to where he really wanted to be touched was almost maddening. Yata squirmed, drawing in a breath. “Don’t fucking tease me.”

“If you say so.” The questing finger slid back, finding the puckered hole at the base of Yata’s ass and dipping inside.

Fuck, there it was. Yata let out the breath shakily. The initial sting was so damn gratifying somehow. He spread his knees further to allow better access, heels still hooked together behind Fushimi’s back.

Taking the cue, Fushimi added a second finger, pressing both all the way inside and back out before scissoring them on the next thrust. Yata sucked in another breath through his teeth, adjusting. It stung a bit more, but not unbearably so.

“You’re tight,” Fushimi observed, withdrawing his fingers after a few more strokes. “I guess you really haven’t done it in a while, huh?”

Yata scowled up at his lazily smirking face. “Thanks for the reminder, asshole.” The breath left his lungs again immediately after he’d gotten the response out as Fushimi pushed three fingers up inside him. More out of shock and pleasure than pain, though there was some of that.

The friction felt damn good – it had been way too long.

“Interesting choice of insult,” Fushimi drawled, “considering the situation.” When Yata offered him a half-hearted glare, he lowered his lids, smirk widening as his fingers flexed enticingly. “Want me to take it easy on you?”

Oh, fuck no. Yata grinned back, showing teeth. “I’ll fucking kill you.”

“I wonder about that…” Fushimi bent his fingers, pressing them in as far as they’d go, his eyes intent despite the lazy expression. The questing struck that familiar sweet spot, sending a jolt of throbbing pleasure up Yata’s spine, and he couldn’t help but arch his back, letting out an involuntary moan as his body stiffened. “You’d lose your chance to finally get laid if you did.”

Yata shot him a disgruntled look, too drunk on the heady shot of pleasure to be properly angry. “Fuck you.”

“Mm.” Fushimi pulled his fingers back, pouring more lube onto his hand and swiftly coating his dick. “Another time, maybe,” he murmured, raising Yata’s ass into his lap and positioning himself.

The unexpected innuendo brought out another little spike of surprised arousal – despite his preference, yeah, sometimes he did like to be the one doing the fucking – but it was quickly overwhelmed by sensation as Fushimi pushed forward. His cock penetrated the ring of resistance slowly, allowing for the initial sting to pass as Yata clenched his teeth and made an effort to relax his tense body. Fushimi was thick and hard, and it had been a while, but the pain felt deeply satisfying when it came with that slick glide deep inside him. Yata let out his breath slowly, taking it all in. He could come right then and there if he reached down and gave his cock a tug or two. It was that good.

The sting was already subsiding by the time Fushimi buried himself to the hilt. He made a low noise, not quite a moan, and reached under Yata’s legs to grip his hips with both hands, bending forward so he was nearly draped over Yata’s body. His face was flushed with pleasure, lips parted sensuously and pupils blown wide when their eyes met. “You feel so good,” he mumbled, tone unsteady. “So good, Misaki…”

“Fuck.” That voice was gonna be his undoing. Yata’s cock gave a little twinge of pleasure, and he growled under his breath, too aroused to be patient. “Move, goddamnit – fuck me – come on – ”

Fushimi didn’t seem to require any more invitation than that; his fingers tightened almost painfully just before he pulled out and pushed back in languidly, drawing moans from both of them with the pleasurable friction. With another throaty noise that was almost a match for Yata’s growl, he snapped his hips back and forward again, beginning to thrust in earnest.

That was it. Yata didn’t bother to try and hold in his voice, hands clenching into fists against the bed and heels pressing into Fushimi’s upper back as he was fucked the way he’d been craving. As promised, Fushimi wasn’t going easy on him, and the unrestrained pace was only matched in pleasure by the depth of the penetration each time. It was like he knew exactly how Yata liked it best, filling him completely without brushing his sweet spot for the early spike of pleasure. Drawing it out; making the sensation last as long as possible, until they both couldn’t stand it anymore.

The fucking best… Fragmented as his thoughts had become, that one still managed to float to the front of Yata’s mind, repeating over and over as he lost himself in sensation.

All too quickly, that point of no return approached; Yata could feel the tension of impending orgasm mounting fast in his groin and managed to gasp out a rough, “Coming!” between helpless gasps.

Fushimi let out a low whimper, expression almost frenzied, but he tilted Yata’s hips further and changed his angle, thrusting a couple times more before…

Sparks seemed to fly at the corners of Yata’s vision as that telltale spike of pleasure so sweet it bordered on pain wracked through him; without warning, his body was stiffening and he was coming hard, the sensation of release pulsating through him in heady waves as he cried out and arched against the mattress.

He was still in the throes of it when he felt Fushimi tense and shake, cock twitching within Yata’s clenching ass as he let out a long, low moan and came.

The sensation drew another violent, pleasurable shudder from Yata’s body, and then he slumped back against the bed, breathing hard. Moonlight bathed the side of his face, amplifying the satiation from his recent orgasm and revitalizing him, even as Fushimi’s weight fell over him, bending Yata’s body without bothering to withdraw his cock just yet. His nose nuzzled the underside of Yata’s jaw, a low noise escaping him as he relaxed.

Damn… Yata took in a breath and blew it out slowly, still a little stunned. That was fucking amazing. He’d never had sex like that before. He raised his hands almost tentatively and ran them through Fushimi’s hair, unsure what else to do in the moment. His brain hadn’t quite pulled itself together yet, but he felt a sudden need to touch somehow, establishing a softer connection.

Fushimi let out a little hum, and Yata felt it as his lips spread in a smirk. “Don’t relax too much,” he murmured, and lifted his head just enough to bring it above Yata’s again. “We’re just getting started, Misaki.”

Yata blinked, a little taken aback. The expression that met his was soft and lazy, but it had a definite edge of promise to it. His heart did a little jump in his chest at the sight, skin prickling. Another round? It wasn’t unappealing, despite his post-orgasm lethargy. He had a lot of energy, and there was a full moon. Tired as it was, he could feel his body starting to take interest again, too. “Yeah, okay, but I’m gonna need a few – ”

“You know,” Fushimi cut him off, voice drawling out, “demons have a certain amount of control over the energy we take in. Since it’s sustenance for us, it’s smarter to store any excess for emergencies. Among other things.” He leaned in even further, lips brushing Yata’s as he spoke again. “And one of the benefits of a contract is…”

That sentence was left hanging as he pressed in with an unexpected kiss, insistent and fierce. Caught up in the mood, Yata responded automatically – and then gasped against Fushimi’s mouth as he felt energy flood his body, faster and wilder than the moon’s light. His dick, which had softened to about half-mast, began to stiffen with anticipation. Within him, Fushimi’s cock stirred as well, growing hard.

What…?

“… being able to share that energy,” Fushimi continued, voice growing low and just a bit breathless, “in creative ways.” He shut his eyes as if savoring the moment, shifting against and inside Yata.

The sensation of being filled again so soon after orgasm had him arching against the bed, fingers clenching instinctively in Fushimi’s hair and a little whine escaping him as his overly sensitive body was stimulated again. Above him, Fushimi made a soft, appreciative noise and began to thrust again, his pace slow and sensual this time.

It was hard to even think, much less form words; the combination of bliss from his recent orgasm and the influx of arousal and pleasure from their current actions made him feel like he was overloading. “You,” Yata managed to growl out, breathless and desperate, “fucking…”

He was cut off with his own uncontrolled moan as Fushimi drove into his body again, clutching at the dark strands of hair in his hands as he was flooded with sensation. The remaining thoughts fractured and he forgot what he was going to say, heels digging into Fushimi’s back with helpless delight as he lost himself to the pleasure and the dual stimulation of demonic and moon-soaked energy.

Fushimi was in no better shape than he was, flushed and panting with his lips parted appealingly, little noises escaping him as he moved deliciously within Yata. Every little motion they made seemed to drive them both mad; Yata felt wild and untamable, chasing his next orgasm without any shame or restrain, and Fushimi whimpered above him, slim muscles tensing with each thrust.

It was slower but far more intense than the first round, and by the end they muffled their cries into each other’s mouths in a sloppy, fierce kiss, convulsing on the bed together as they came almost in tandem, pushed to the limits of that blinding pleasure.

When the final shudders had passed through his body, Yata felt his arms and legs finally give out, flopping to the side like dead weight as he focused on breathing. His vision was lined with tiny pinpricks of light, and he still wasn’t quite thinking straight.

His body felt fucking amazing, satisfaction extending even to the tips of his fingers and toes, and he was pretty sure he could’ve laid there in mindless bliss for hours.

Fushimi kissed him one last time, heavy and clumsy against his lips, and then pulled back with obvious effort, grunting as he extracted his cock from Yata’s ass with his fingers pinched around the sides to retrieve the condom along with it. “I think this thing is at its limit,” he observed in a weary-sounding mumble, quickly tying it off and tossing it carelessly at Yata’s garbage bin.

That at least gave him something to focus on. Yata managed a tired grin in return. “Yeah, that shit isn’t really made for demons, y’know?”

Fushimi lowered his eyelids, smirking in response. “It’s a good thing you have a lot of them then, isn’t it?” he drawled back, reaching out to brush his fingers down along the line between Yata’s ribs, pausing just before he reached the mess pooled on his abdomen.

The touch wasn’t an innocent one. Again, huh? Yata couldn’t imagine it in that moment, putting his thoroughly spent body through another cycle of that maddening sensation.

… But then again, that was part of the fun, wasn’t it? He couldn’t deny how good it felt. And he’d never tested his body’s limits before in this kind of situation. Even outside of the curiosity, he had to admit that he wanted to experience it – to feel every second of getting all the way to that edge.

The moon’s energy was still passing fiercely through his veins, but more than that, it was the prospect of the challenge – and the pleasure it promised – that had Yata forcing his trembling arms into motion, propping himself up enough to twist and reach into the open drawer for another condom. He returned Fushimi’s smirk as he held it up.

“I’ll buy more tomorrow.”

[ridiasfangirlings]

AU where maybe instead of dying, Niki goes into years long coma and when he wakes up, the damage to his brain alters his personality? Like he becomes this super genuinely kind man who doesn't remember much. The doctors tell him about himself and Niki goes on an adventure to reconnect with his family. Imagine he tries to go to Scepter 4 because, "Oh, I have a son!" Fushimi thinks he's hallucinating again or something but nope they let him waltz right through the gates and the squad is like "it's your dad!" And imagine it's post-ROK so he was just finally feeling stable and comfortable with his life at S4 and with Misaki and this was the last thing he needed! I highly doubt he would want to even reconnect.

This explains that one short story AU with the flower shop and good citizen Niki, he has brain damage is that AU (that’s right, the only thing between us and happy Fushimi married to Yata running a flower shop is Niki getting dropped on his head). Imagine Kisa’s reaction to this whole thing, she suddenly has a loving husband and she doesn’t want him. Say instead of dying Niki’s gone into a coma and it’s likely he won’t wake up, Kisa has him moved to like a long term care facility that’s super exclusive but also way out away from the city so she doesn’t have to think about him. I could actually see that being stressful for Fushimi in this AU at least at first, always the worry that Niki will wake up and come looking for him (the jungle hallucinations would become even more traumatizing in this AU too, now that I think about it). Eventually he reaches a point where he just considers Niki dead though, he’s been told Niki won’t ever wake up and he sincerely hopes that’s the case.

So then many years later Niki defies medical science and does indeed wake up, but he has no memories and his personality is drastically affected due to the traumatic brain injury. Can you imagine the doctors telling Kisa that he may become violent or childish, he may end up someone who has no empathy, and Kisa’s like he didn’t need a traumatic brain injury for that. What happens though is Niki is now a nice, thoughtful, kind man, he doesn’t like seeing others hurt and he even wants to use his intelligence to help people. He’s all nervous and shy meeting his wife and Kisa can’t believe this is really her husband, imagine him taking a sincere interest in her career and she keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop. Niki gets to go home with like a care helper for a while and Kisa still largely avoids him but Niki’s so busy rediscovering his previous life that he barely notices, instead he just wants to reconnect with his whole family — which, of course, is when he learns about his precious son.

Kisa I assume knows Fushimi’s with S4 and even if she didn’t Niki does research until he finds out. He decides to go visit his son, all excited to meet the boy who looks just like him. By this point I assume someone has told him that pre-brain injury he was a piece of trash so he knows he’s a bit estranged from his son but still, he wants to meet Fushimi and apologize for his past self at least. Nobody at S4 knows that Fushimi’s dad is a touchy subject and since they look so alike when Niki shows up at headquarters it’s immediately clear that he isn’t lying about being Fushimi’s dad. Fushimi meanwhile is finishing up some work when Akiyama comes by to say his dad is asking for him and Fushimi just immediately freezes, going deathly pale. Akiyama notices that reaction and wonders if they should tell Niki to come back later when Niki himself walks in and greets Fushimi.

I just imagine Fushimi immediately pulling a knife and Akiyama has to stop him, like Fushimi-san wait this is your dad. Fushimi is breathing hard and his eyes are dilated, snapping at Akiyama to get out and take Niki with him. Niki says he understands Fushimi’s reaction — well, not entirely, he doesn’t remember anything, but he’s sure they can talk this out. I imagine Fushimi would just be entirely disbelieving of the whole ‘traumatic brain injury’ thing, even calling the hospital doesn’t convince him and he has to actually hack into their files before he feels even vaguely calm. Niki is being patient and caring about it too, like he leaves his contact info with Fushimi and says if Fushimi wants to talk he would love to talk. 

Even knowing about the brain injury I think this would be tough on Fushimi, this ghost of his past that he thought he overcame coming back. He feels like everything was just starting to get good again and he was almost starting to believe that things could stay good, and now in waltzes his worst nightmare — and his nightmare doesn’t remember him, and wants to reconnect. Fushimi is like vaguely aware that ‘this’ Niki isn’t really the guy who abused him but at the same time it is, he will never be able to look at Niki’s face and not see the guy who laughed at his pain. Ultimately I think Fushimi wouldn’t want to reconnect and would tell Niki to leave him alone, there’s just too much trauma there for Fushimi to reconcile even if ‘this’ Niki is a kinder person. I think he would maybe want to take this moment to finally get out what he’s always been holding in, I could see Yata or Munakata urging Fushimi to use this moment to say his feelings honestly to Niki just so they won’t continue to haunt him. Fushimi manages to tell Niki at least some of what the old Niki did and makes it clear he doesn’t need a dad now, he doesn’t need this back in his life, he’s trying to move on and he can’t do that if he’s still tied in any way to that man’s ghost.

[ridiasfangirlings]

Niki gets a little monkey pet he names "Saruhiko" and torments it alongside the real Saruhiko. He does it so Saru doesn't know who he's gonna mess with - him or the monkey. At first Saru hated the monkey as it's another way for Niki to insult him but later he realized they're on the same boat. He and Yata take care of it (and gives it a name that is similar to Saru's name so it's not confusing) once they get an apartment later and Saru takes it with him when he joins s4. They're siblings now.

Aw, Fushimi has bonded with the monkey XD I imagine Niki doing this on just a random whim, like he’s out drinking and being a useless drain on society when he sees some shady dude on the corner of the street selling a little monkey in a cage. Niki thinks this is hilarious, like hey I have a little monkey too. He buys it and brings it back to the house (imagine Kisa having such a fit that he’s messing up the pristine house that she never lives in), telling Fushimi to say hi to his little brother. Fushimi can’t believe Niki bought a monkey just to tease him and of course at first he hates the monkey, it screeches all the time and Niki is always teasing and tormenting it, calling it ‘Saruhiko’ and Fushimi never knows which one of them is going to bear the brunt of Niki’s amusement. 

Niki and Kisa are gone most of the time and the maid doesn’t like the monkey so Fushimi finds himself stuck caring for it and that’s how he sorta becomes unexpectedly attached to it. He doesn’t want to be — if Niki knows he likes the monkey then the monkey will definitely be tossed out — but the monkey’s as much a prisoner of Niki’s whims as Fushimi is. I imagine the monkey only likes Fushimi too, it cowers and screeches when Niki is near but it chitters happily whenever it sees just Fushimi and when he’s alone in the house Fushimi will sit there watching it eat for hours, letting it out of the cage to run around in one of the empty rooms. He tries to get it to run away a few times but the monkey will just perch on his arm and Fushimi quietly sits there because in truth even just having this one creature that understands makes him feel better.

So then when he meets Yata you just know Yata would think this is amazing, like you have a real monkey that’s so awesome. Yata initially doesn’t get why the monkey is also called ‘Saruhiko’ until he’s met Niki a few times and imagine Yata being the one to suggest they call the monkey something else, teasing Fushimi like ‘well you can be Saru and the monkey can be Hiko!’. Fushimi scoffs at him but the name sticks and when Fushimi leaves the house he takes Hiko along. Homra probably finds it pretty funny that Yata and Fushimi have a real monkey, imagine it gets the run of the apartment. Fushimi kinda knows he should take it to a zoo or rescue or something but he doesn’t want to admit he’s too attached. 

When he leaves Homra and joins S4 the monkey comes as well and Munakata is so interested in Fushimi having a monkey, I imagine he always wants to try and like play with the monkey or give it treats. Maybe Munakata does help Fushimi with it though, like he gets a vet in and an animal behavioral specialist and the monkey goes weekly to some wildlife center for enrichment. The monkey still mostly stays with Fushimi though, it has no interest in other monkeys and just wants to hang out with Fushimi, Fushimi will be doing reports and there’s just a monkey chilling out on his shoulder.

[ridiasfangirlings]

Spy x Family AU: either IzuSeri with their child being Anna or MikoRei with their child being Fushimi. (I remembr sending separate asks before with these two but they probably got lost so here's a combo).

I feel like Mikorei AU would turn into Fushimi doing everything and saving world peace while Mikoto and Munakata uselessly flirt with each other XD Like imagine Munakata as the top spy of the Blue kingdom, who in order to keep the peace must obtain a spouse and child. He first goes to an orphanage specially selected not to ask questions in order to find a child, all of the kids are eagerly trying to be chosen except for one gloomy kid who’s sitting in the corner focused on a puzzle. Munakata is immediately intrigued, even though the kid keeps glaring at him and telling him to go away. Fushimi doesn’t trust adults due to being used for experiments that gave him mind reading abilities. He knows right away that Munakata’s a spy and thinks it’s best not to get caught up with this person, Munakata meanwhile totally ignores all the ‘go away’ vibes that Fushimi is radiating and is like yes this will be my new adorable child. 

So now that he has the cutest most talented child Munakata is in need of a spouse. The intelligence agency had initially planned to provide him with one but was unable, so he needs to find someone who won’t ask questions or cause him any trouble. Munakata doesn’t like the idea of leading some woman on, even though he knows that he can easily charm anyone he wishes. That’s when he happens to run into Mikoto, who’s annoyed because he’s being suspected at the government office where he works as a security guard, all because he’s young and unmarried and entirely unmotivated by anything. They run into each other while Fushimi is being fitted for new clothes and the moment Fushimi sees Mikoto he’s like ‘that person’s scary, I’ll avoid him’ only to end up like accidentally running literally into Mikoto while getting a drink of water. Munakata and Mikoto immediately clash but Munakata decides this would be a splendid challenge, he will marry Mikoto and turn him into a proper member of society while also maintaining his cover.

Mikoto doesn’t like this guy at all but being taken in on suspicion of being a spy would be a problem for his real job, working as an assassin known as the Red Monster. When Munakata proposes a marriage of convenience he thinks this guy really is weird in the head but then on the other hand it’s interesting so he figures why not. Mikoto possibly regrets this decision when he finds himself constantly lectured for being a lazy and inattentive wife, he just smirks at Munakata like you’re wearing an apron so which one of us is the wife here. Fushimi meanwhile sails through his tests at the prestigious academy that the son of Munakata’s target attends, which is good because his ‘parents’ bicker through the entire interview. He doesn’t trust either of these two to solve world peace, which is why it’s a good thing that he just has to be successful with his studies (only to find himself being given a tontritus bolt immediately for fighting with the guy he was supposed to be befriending, a ‘Yata Misaki’). 

Bonus Izuseri scenario: they would be perfect. Absolutely perfect. Imagine Kusanagi as this smooth charming spy, who can talk his way into almost anything. When he adopts Anna he doesn’t think he’ll get attached to her but he’s not going to neglect her either, she’s a sweet girl and he figures the least he can do is take care of her and make sure she has a good childhood. He doesn’t think finding a wife will be easy either but then he meets Awashima, the pretty office worker who somehow doesn’t already have a boyfriend. Kusanagi figures he’s hit the jackpot, until she goes out for drinks with him and orders them both anko martinis.

Awashima is of course secretly an assassin and ridiculously strong, when they get attacked by some guys after Kusanagi he’s amazed at how well Awashima holds them off (using some martial arts she claims she learned from a correspondence course, nothing suspicious here). When Kusanagi proposes the marriage of convenience she gives him a cold look, thinking he’s some kind of smooth talker, but Kusanagi quickly explains it’s for the sake of his child and wouldn’t it help her out too, he promises he’ll respect her privacy and everything. Awashima sighs and supposes it would be for the best, she can’t have anything jeopardizing her assassin job after all. She immediately becomes attached to Anna, who’s sweet and mature and has read both their minds by now but is keeping it to herself. Anna really loves both her ‘parents’ and wants to live with them forever so she doesn’t mention her powers but does maybe do her best to nudge the two of them together, aware that they do really care for each other. They don’t need much help from her in securing world peace though because Awashima and Kusanagi are mature adults who can flirt while also doing their jobs (also please imagine Munakata as Yuri in this situation, he’s Awashima’s boss and longtime friend and he is just somewhat surprised to hear she was married, he simply wants to see if her husband is worthy of her. He intends to grill Kusanagi properly to be sure this isn’t some trick but gets distracted by being incredibly passive aggressive and petty instead, while Awashima sits to the side and busily makes everyone some anko tea). 

[ridiasfangirlings]

I know it's a ship that doesn't get much attention so how do you think kusanagi and fushimi started dating and how is there dating live looks like ?

I imagine if they were going to hook up it would be post-ROK, Fushimi’s been coming to the bar more often and Kusanagi takes this as a good opportunity to get to know him again. Kusanagi’s always had a high opinion of Fushimi and while he doesn’t necessarily approve of some of Fushimi’s choices since leaving Homra he’s always wanted to see what kind of person that sullen kid but talented would grow up to be. Now that Fushimi’s reconciled with Yata and become more willing to be on good terms with Homra again of course Kusanagi can’t resist offering him a drink every time he comes into the bar. At first Fushimi only stops in when he’s meeting Yata but eventually he starts coming in on his own and Kusanagi’s always happy to serve him  and have a chat. Fushimi’s hesitant at first, because I think out of all of Homra he’s always respected Kusanagi the most and he’s sort of awkward about everything, that he knows the expectations Kusanagi had for him and that Kusanagi tried to make him feel like he belonged in Homra and all Fushimi did in return was burn everything down. Eventually though he loosens up, Fushimi appreciates being able to talk to an actual mature adult (who isn’t a weirdo) and Kusanagi is always interested in hearing Fushimi’s thoughts on things because he appreciates Fushimi’s level of insight. 

I imagine once they start dating Kusanagi would take it slow, like just starting off maybe with going out for drinks. Kusanagi definitely knows all the bars in the area and he knows which are more quiet and more to Fushimi’s tastes so he’s careful with where he takes Fushimi. Fushimi’s still picky but he’s slowly opening up so Kusanagi tries in his own way to make Fushimi a little more adventurous, I could see him suggesting drinks for Fushimi to try that he knows might be different but still within Fushimi’s tastes. Kusanagi also occasionally takes Fushimi to his own restaurants, so they can have a private table, and Fushimi admits that he’d forgotten how much actual non-Homra business Kusanagi does. Actually on that end I could see them maybe not having a ‘date’ exactly but Fushimi does help Kusanagi with his finances from time to time, like just imagine Kusanagi all harried one day because he can’t get the books to balance and without needing to be asked Fushimi just walks in and starts arranging things. Afterward Kusanagi can’t help but admit that this is one of the reasons why he thought of Fushimi as a successor — and more of a partner, now — because he’s always been aware of just how talented a person Fushimi is. 

[ridiasfangirlings]

Sort of a Cinderella tale, but without the magic. Fushimi is the crown prince of the land and he grows up in pretty strict conditions, but at least he grew up with his personal servant, Yata, by his side. Yata isn't like the other servants, though-- brash and graceless and all too genuine to know better than to run his mouth at Fushimi about how rude he is the moment they meet. Fushimi is smitten with him immediately, and falls even deeper as they grow up and learn to get along. It's pretty much known in the palace that Yata is the only one who can get Fushimi to do anything.

Fast forward a few years, a ball is held to find Fushimi a bride to make into his queen. He has, predictably, absolutely no interest in it. He already knows his heart can only belong to Misaki, but he unfortunately is obligated to attend and find a suitable bride. Besides, Misaki has to help around the palace to prepare for the ball, and he won't be able to attend.

...until Anna and the rest of the staff (Homra) and guards (S4) assure him that no! They'll take it from here! Yata is dragged by Anna to be fit into some plain but overall very attractive clothes. He attends the ball all hyped up and excited because he's never been allowed to before. Thankfully, he's got a mask since its a masquerade. He roams around the ballroom, excited to maybe be able to hang out with Fushimi only to find him meeting other girls.

This is the moment where it clicks for Yata: ah, I'm in love with him, but he's the prince, and there's nothing I can do.

Looks like it’s time to kidnap yourself a prince, Yata :D So imagine Fushimi is the sad lonely prince of some prosperous country, maybe Kisa is like the cold calculating ruler who’s mostly focused on making her country bigger and richer than before and Niki is just her arm candy who mostly lazes around doing whatever he wants and isn’t allowed to weigh in on royal policy. Kisa is very keen on her son being her successor and continuing the successful royal line, however she has no interest in him whatsoever beyond his position as a tool to help secure her rule. Niki mostly considers the kid a play toy and the rest of the servants don’t want to get involved so the only one Fushimi has that he can confide in is his personal servant Yata. Yata’s the kid of like one of the palace servants who was chosen to be Fushimi’s aide solely due to being close in age, he’s expected to serve Fushimi’s every whim but also remain mindful of his position and not get close to his master.

Of course this doesn’t happen at all, because Yata isn’t the kind of guy who can stand quietly at the prince’s side being a perfect silent shadow. Fushimi initially assumes Yata’s just like the other servants and treats him coldly, only to be surprised when Yata talks back to him and calls him a jerk. That makes him interesting to Fushimi but what neither one realizes is how much they’re starting to actually care about each other even when it seems like they dislike each other. One day Fushimi falls ill and Yata remains by his side the whole time taking care of him, worrying about this guy who seems to have no one who’s ever shown him real affection, not even his own parents, and Yata becomes determined to be the one who protects Fushimi and cares for him. After this Yata starts slowly breaking through Fushimi’s walls and Fushimi begins to trust him, seeing Yata as his only friend and the only person who really wants to be by his side because he’s Fushimi rather than just because he’s a prince. 

Eventually Niki dies and some more decent servants get hired, who feel safer getting attached to the prince because the asshole King isn’t around to torment people who dare to show his son affection. Yata befriends some of the new staff and the guards, he’s even cautiously okay with the Queen’s new annoying young adviser Munakata who keeps giving Saruhiko appraising looks. Of course it’s clear to all the servants that Yata and Fushimi are crushing hard on each other and also totally clueless about it. The only one who doesn’t seem to know is Kisa, who is already making plans to find Fushimi a suitable match. She decides to hold this fancy masquerade ball for all the eligible (wealthy noble) women in the kingdom and tells Fushimi she expects him to choose a queen. Fushimi naturally isn’t pleased about this but thinks he has no choice, Yata tries to be all supportive and says he’s sure all the girls will be attracted to Fushimi, he doesn’t get why Fushimi looks extra annoyed at that.

The day of the ball Yata’s all anxious and busy helping out, even though he’s Fushimi’s personal servant he’s not allowed to attend. Anna, who works with Totsuka in the kitchens and is a good friend of Yata’s, asks if Yata wants to attend the ball, Yata feels like she’s trying to hint at something but he just shrugs like yeah I guess it would be cool. Anna and Totsuka exchange a nod and then Anna takes Yata by the hand and tells him not to worry. Yata’s so confused as he’s dragged to adviser Munakata’s quarters, where Munakata has the staff and guards doll Yata up in these fancy ball clothes along with a masquerade mask. Yata thinks that they must be worried for Fushimi’s safety and that’s why they’re all so focused on getting him into the ball and he gets a little concerned, like what if someone’s planning to assassinate Saruhiko.

Yata enters the ball and say some of the women are dressed in more ‘manly’ fashion, and with the mask on plus Yata being short no one really even notices that he’s a guy. Yata starts looking around for Fushimi in order to protect him and immediately spots him surrounded by all these fancy rich women. Yata starts to say Fushimi’s name but suddenly can’t seem to get the words out, this unexpected pain in his chest as Fushimi looks at a girl and gives this small smile (Kisa sitting next to him finally stops subtly stepping on his foot, approving of her son’s fake smile and wooden attempt at looking interested in girls). Yata steps back into the shadows and puts a hand to his chest, realizing it for the first time: he’s in love with Saruhiko, and Saruhiko is the prince.

Yata intends to leave the ball but then dancing starts and he finds himself dragged along with the crowd, standing morosely on the sidelines as Fushimi dances with all the women one by one. Yata’s so wrapped up in his thoughts that he’s caught off guard when Fushimi walks up to him and holds out a hand. Yata’s dragged into a dance and he’s trying to keep calm, not wanting Fushimi to know who he is even though Fushimi’s smiling at him so gently. Yata thinks that if only he was a noble he could have had Saruhiko really look at him that way, if he wasn’t a servant maybe he could actually stay by Saruhiko’s side as something more than a bodyguard. They end up dancing all night, Fushimi totally focused on this short redhead that no one really recognizes. At midnight Yata has to go though because he’s needed in some other part of the castle and if he doesn’t show up his cover will be blown, he runs off leaving one of his shoes behind.

The next day Yata’s depressed, he had a great time at the ball dancing with Fushimi but that’s dimmed by the knowledge that Fushimi didn’t know it was him and probably thought he was some noblewoman. Yata wonders if he should just resign his position, like can he really watch Saruhiko being happy with someone else. He’s summoned to the throne room to accompany Fushimi, Kisa expects her son to pick a bride. She notes that no one has been able to get the name of the girl who left her shoe behind, Fushimi is adamant that he only wants that girl. Kisa’s irritated with him but also aware that her son is stubborn and normally shows no interest in girls, it’s easier to agree to find the one girl he’ll accept than have to fight over someone that he refuses. Maybe Munakata butts in to be sneaky and notes they have the shoe, if the Queen will agree that Fushimi can marry whoever fits it that will solve things will it not. Fushimi gets Kisa to like agree to some binding contract, like he won’t fight her on the marriage itself as long as it’s to the person who fits this shoe. Yata’s listening to this whole thing like oh shit but there is no girl I really screwed this up…which is when Fushimi turns to Yata with a smirk, telling Yata to put on the shoe. 

[ridiasfangirlings]

(1/3) I have this Au where Fushimi is a "child of the slate", he was just willed into existence and Kisa was a medium. He's born as an archive of cultural and historical knowledge of the slate, as well as all its past kings up until Shiro. He's even got slight authority over the slate, he can take away strains power and temp disable clansmen powers, but he can't affect kings. The gold clan try to pry him for information, but he's very aware of the knowledge he holds and tells them nothing.

Somehow I can absolutely see Fushimi insulting people in Slate language XD I like this idea, imagine the Slate like reached out when Kisa was pregnant and sorta resonated with her child somehow. Or maybe it happened after he was born, like imagine when Kagutsu’s Sword fell say little Fushimi happens to be near Mihashira rather than Tsubakimon and at the moment the Sword falls the Slate ‘cries out’ and ends up syncing with Fushimi in a way beyond how it normally syncs with a King. Fushimi is immediately filled with all this knowledge that his five year old brain can’t even entirely handle, all this history of the Slate and what it can do, and it even changes his physical appearance a little, like one of his eyes has a sigil inside that looks like the Slate. Kokujouji becomes aware that something happened with the Slate and that part of the Slate’s sentience now rests inside a human but he doesn’t know who, which is how Fushimi manages to escape his notice for a while.

Eventually they find him though, like to converge this with the series say it’s while Fushimi’s in middle school that the Golds find him. He’s all attached to Yata by this point but he’s never told even Yata about his connection with the Slate, thinking Yata won’t believe him. When the Golds take him to Kokujouji they want to erase everyone’s memories of him too, like Fushimi’s knowledge is too important to just leave him lying around where any King could find him. Fushimi scoffs that it doesn’t matter if Niki and Kisa forget him but he won’t help them at all if they make Misaki forget and so Yata alone is allowed to keep his memories of Fushimi. Kokujouji sets him up with a room in Mihashira and treats him like a young lord, telling him that he’s a respected person, but Fushimi bitterly realizes that this is basically a prison now. Kokujouji and the Rabbits always press him for information on the Slate but Fushimi won’t tell them anything, only speaking in riddles if he speaks to them at all, and he hates being cooped up in here. He’s continually aware of the Slate though, especially being this close to it, and when Yata joins Homra Fushimi just knows the moment it happens. 

Fushimi is used to people only wanting him because of his Slate powers but then when Munakata becomes Blue King and visits Mihashira he takes an immediate interest in Fushimi. Fushimi isn’t a Gold clansman but say Kokujouji uses him somewhat like a bodyguard anyway, so Fushimi’s trained with his knives and he even does a lot of IT work for the tower. Kokujouji tells him he isn’t a captive and is free to go anywhere but Fushimi feels like there’s nowhere for him to go, even if he didn’t hate his parents they don’t remember him and he isn’t even sure if Yata still remembers him at all either. When Munakata approaches him Fushimi assumes this is just another person wanting the power of the Slate and not him but Munakata surprises him, while Munakata knows about the Slate connection he’s much more interested in Fushimi’s own talents as a hidden weapon user and a hacker, and offers Fushimi a place in his clan. Fushimi initially doesn’t believe him but Munakata is nothing if not persistent and Fushimi ends up joining S4, he’s wary at first but soon it becomes clear that Munakata really doesn’t care that much at all about Fushimi’s Slate powers (and now Kokujouji gets to be salty that Munakata stole his child).

He eventually meets Yata again and Yata’s thrilled to see him but imagine this happens right around S1 so Yata knows some about Mikoto’s Sword deteriorating. Maybe he overheard Kusanagi talking about it and Yata thinks he can ask Saruhiko to find a way to save Mikoto-san, there’s nothing Fushimi can do though and of course he’s bitter that Yata even asked, assuming Yata’s only interest in him is for the powers he has and not that Yata sincerely missed him. When ROK happens I imagine Hisui is just as interested in Fushimi as he is the Slate (and possibly even when Fushimi first left Mihashira with Munakata Hisui attempted to contact him but wasn’t able to do much without getting Munakata suspicious). Say the Slate can’t even be fully awakened without Fushimi present and that’s why Hisui wants him, instead of Fushimi joining the Greens say he gets kidnapped instead and like chained to the Slate, and now the three clan alliance isn’t just trying to stop Hisui they’re all working together to try and save Fushimi too. When Kusanagi finds a way to destroy the Slate in Shiro’s notes both Munakata and Yata are hesitant because no one knows if this will destroy Fushimi as well — but then at the same time in this AU Munakata is willing to sacrifice to destroy the Slate if need be as long as it doesn’t cause Fushimi’s death, because that may be the only way to free Fushimi from its influence at last so he can live his own life.   

[ridiasfangirlings]

Fushimi and Kusanagi playing pool game scenario. I just read the short story about Kusanagi playing it with Shiro in German ig. Fushimi has good aiming with his saber. So I think he would quite enjoy it (of course Fushimi won't admit it) 🤭

I feel like Kusanagi would enjoy this, imagine him kinda teaching Fushimi while playing against him. Oh maybe Kusanagi taught him to play in the first place when Fushimi was in Homra and then post-ROK Fushimi stops by the bar and they get to have another game. Like during the Homra years one day some of the alphabet boys are playing pool, Yata's trying but he isn't very good at it. He waves Fushimi over and tells him to try but Fushimi refuses, he's not interested in playing such a stupid-looking game. Later the other Homra guys get called away and Fushimi ends up helping Kusanagi clean up the bar. He's putting away the pool stuff and complaining under his breath about all those idiots when Kusanagi asks why Fushimi didn't want to try the game. Fushimi shrugs and says he's never played before, Kusanagi hands him a cue and offers to give him some pointers. Fushimi just goes along with it because he doesn't want to deal with arguing and anyway he'd rather play against Kusanagi than the other Homra guys. Kusanagi shows him how to do it and praises Fushimi for picking it up quickly, he's very precise in his aim and good at calculating the trajectory of the ball in advance, Kusanagi thinks Fushimi could really be a pro at this if he applied himself.

Later post-ROK he stops into the bar to meet Yata and Kusanagi's the only one there, cleaning up. Fushimi sits at the bar to wait, refusing a drink and just being all awkward here alone with Kusanagi. Kusanagi smiles at him and holds up a pool cue, asking if Fushimi wants to play a game. Fushimi says he hasn't played in years and Kusanagi says that's fine, the other guys are usually too rowdy for a proper game and he'd love to play against Fushimi instead. Fushimi sighs a little but agrees, taking the cue. Kusanagi says he won't go easy on Fushimi this time, that last one was a teaching game this is the real thing. Fushimi nods, maybe not expecting Kusanagi to really mean it quite so seriously, but then when they start playing Kusanagi's immediately like hitting all these fancy shots.

Fushimi starts out rough, getting the hang of this all over again, but Kusanagi's pushing him hard enough that soon he's actually really concentrating on the game. Kusanagi praises Fushimi's skill, like you really are good at picking these kinds of things up. Fushimi shrugs and says it isn't hard to do, sinking another shot, and Kusanagi grins as he says he'll have to level up his game. He sinks a few more balls in one shot and tells Fushimi to go ahead, Fushimi finds himself smiling back as he gets in position and sinks a couple himself. They end up tied and imagine they both start getting really serious, going back and forth and doing all these impressive shots. Eventually Kusanagi pulls out a win and Fushimi can't hide his look of dissatisfaction, Kusanagi holds out a hand to him though and suggests Fushimi take a break and Kusanagi will pour him a drink as thanks for a good game.

[ridiasfangirlings]

Couldn’t get this out if my head - Brother AU where Yata and Munakata are half brothers. I just can’t get the reactions of everyone finding out. Like say during group missions with red and blue if it looks like Yata is about to be injured Munakata will jump in to be big brother and save Yata. Which in turn confuses some squad members to spark rumors of them dating. Cue Fushimi who has a freak out and doesn’t know how to ask if they are true or not. The stress gets amplified when Munakata tries to get lunch with his little brother cause that’s what a big brother does. And that since Munakata is the big brother he is allowed to call Yata “Misaki-kun” (Yata does not see it this way). Or that he’ll stop by HOMRA and Yata’s part time jobs to check up on him. It eventually comes to head when one member of the blues decided that enough is enough and that Yata should be more considerate other feelings and he should treat who he’s dating better. They rally the troops and go off to find Yata who’s walking around with the rest of the HOMRA crew and confront him. This leads to Yata having to scream at them that he is not dating their boss that would just be gross. Cue blue member asking back wants wrong with our captain anyone would want to date him. Yata feeling attacked bites back I’m not into incest that’s why before going red in the face embarrassed. Shocked and confused pikachu faces. Yata explains your captain’s my brother before leaving to go into hiding. The two squads part ways with everything making a little more since and when the blues get back they pass the information around that no the two are not dating and that they are brothers. Fushimi goes from relieved that Misaki is not dating he annoying captain to anxious that Misaki and the captain are related (Sarumi for the win...sorry). The blues now understand the relationship and the reds now have jokes like “you brother poached your boyfriend” or “hmm you better go say hi to your big brother” whenever they see Munakata out. Idk I just couldn’t get this idea and several others out of my head and was wondering your take on the different reactions of the two clans or how they all find out.

I am honestly very amused by the idea of the clans assuming Munakata and Yata are dating only to find out that they're related and probably thinking why does the idea of them dating suddenly feel like the more realistic one. Like say Munakata's always wanted to be a doting big brother to Yata but Yata's never liked him, like imagine by the time they are aware of the other's existence Munakata's already in high school preparing for college (oh maybe Munakata was the result of like Yata's dad having an affair before Yata was born too and he finally decided to leave Yata's mom for his mistress and so Yata also kinda dislikes Munakata for that even though he technically didn't have anything to do with it). Munakata never gets the chance initially to do much with his younger half brother, he only meets Yata like once before going to college and it's not until he becomes the Blue King and sees who the members of Homra are that he's very intrigued to discover his little brother has been busy in his absence.

Of course Munakata has always secretly wanted to be a big brother himself and now he's like determined to foster some brotherly affection between himself and his unruly younger sibling. Yata has no interest in this whatsoever and he also doesn't want anyone to know that he and Munakata are related because how uncool would it be for him as a member of Homra to be the younger half brother of the stupid Blue King. This does not stop Munakata from trying to be the best big brother he can be, which leads to moments such as Munakata noticeably stepping in to save Yata from being attacked by a Strain during some mission where Homra and Scepter 4 ran into each other, or giving Yata special attention whenever they run across each other (also he doesn't stop Fushimi from riling Yata up but maybe he keeps trying to encourage Fushimi in his own way to be more honest with his feelings, like a good big brother he wants to help his sibling find love too). He also refers to Yata within earshot of other clansmen as 'Misaki-kun' which is what really gets the rumor mill going, like did you hear the Blue King and Homra's Yata Misaki are on a first name basis with each other.

The Scepter 4 and Homra rank and file are soon all gossiping about it and of course Fushimi hears it eventually too. At first he blows it off as ridiculous but then imagine he hears Munakata call Yata 'Misaki' too and he's confused and irritated and doesn't know why the idea of this upsets him so much. Meanwhile imagine one day Yata runs across some Scepter 4 guys and he can't resist making some comment about their stupid King, the S4 alphabet are pissed that Yata could speak so cruelly of his supposed boyfriend. A few other members of Homra and Scepter 4 happen to be in earshot as the arguing progresses, the S4 boys thinking Yata needs to be ore grateful and is this how you treat someone in your type of relationship while Yata's mad thinking Munakata told everyone that they're brothers and that's the type of relationship they mean. He's like that guy's always smothering me and trying to act like we're close, the S4 boys are like so you don't even think you're close to the guy you're dating. Yata's immediately like what the fuck we're not dating we're brothers you sickos a moment before he realizes that no one actually knew and now he just told everybody his 'big secret.'

This of course opens a whole new can of worms for Yata, on the Homra side while no one questions his loyalty I'm sure the Homra guys can't resist teasing him sometimes about being 'the Blue King's baby brother.' The Scepter 4 guys like to use this to taunt Homra with too, like shouldn't you show respect to your vanguard's more successful brother. Fushimi is initially still a little bewildered by all this but I can totally see him using it as ammo to taunt Yata too, like noting Munakata got all the height in the family (and meanwhile Munakata's probably continuing to try and get the two of them to reconcile and finally admit their feelings, if only so he has an excuse to suggest that Fushimi also call him 'big brother'). Munakata only knows that Yata told everyone they're brothers so he assumes this must mean Yata has embraced the strength of their filial bonds at last and he's even more eager to bond as siblings should, poor Yata is like I should have just said we were dating.

[ridiasfangirlings]

Vampire Saru When Saru sucks Yata’s neck he has to delete his memory everytime Yata woke up without a previous memory and confused. Saru told him he’s just fell asleep Everything went back to square one Day by day Saru continue this routine. One day Yata finally said “I don’t want forget about today , I just want to fall in love with you.”

Maybe in this AU Fushimi's a vampire but he's also just hanging out in high school like a loser because that seems to be a thing vampires like to do. Say Fushimi was turned by his dad, who upon becoming a vampire promptly turned his kid into one so that he could torment Fushimi forever. In the end though Niki got killed by some vampire hunters and Fushimi escaped to go live on his own, mostly avoiding other people and trying to disguise himself as a normal person. He goes to school only because he found wandering around during the day while looking like a high schooler makes people more likely to call the police on him for being truant. He skips class most of the time though, not interested in learning stupid things from teachers who are really younger than he is. Fushimi's never had any friends before and that's fine with him because this way he doesn't need to worry much about blowing his cover.

But then he meets Yata and they end up becoming friends despite Fushimi trying to keep Yata at arm's length. The closer they become the harder it is for Fushimi not to want to bite Yata, like imagine Yata just smells really good to him and Fushimi is completely unaware that this is because he's actually falling in love with Yata. Finally one day they're just like hanging out on the couch together at Yata's place and Fushimi can't resist any more, he hasn't eaten in days because no blood smells as good as Yata's and he ends up drinking from Yata's neck. He's momentarily horrified at himself and Yata likes looks at him all groggily, a little dizzy from the blood loss but not in danger because Fushimi managed to control himself enough not to take too much. Fushimi thinks that if Yata knows what he really is Yata will leave him behind and so Fushimi uses his vampire powers to wipe Yata's mind, erasing the last hour or so from Yata's memory. When Yata wakes up Fushimi just tells him that he fell asleep, Yata's like 'oh...I did?'. He doesn't remember falling asleep but he figures he must have just been really tired.

After this Fushimi starts drinking from Yata regularly, never taking too much and always wiping Yata's mind afterward. Maybe he even manages to be a little honest sometimes because he figures Misaki won't remember this anyway, like imagine him removing his mouth from Yata's neck and murmuring 'Misaki...you're the most important person to me' before quickly wiping Yata's mind before Yata can respond (so he doesn't have to hear Misaki's response, in case Yata rejects him). He starts saying this every time after that, like it feels better somehow to be able to say it when there's no fear of being rejected or hated, because Misaki won't ever know these feelings either. Except then one day he says it just as he's about to drink Yata's blood and Yata stops him, angling Fushimi's head up so that he can look Fushimi in the eyes as he says this time he doesn't want Fushimi to erase his memories okay, he wants to answer Fushimi this time: that Fushimi's his most important person too, and Yata wants to have the chance to properly fall in love with him.

[ridiasfangirlings]

AU where the different Kings' headquarters are like shrines protected by their head priest (King) and then a spirit animal. Like Homra's got Mikoto as their head priest and say Yata is a fiery crow or phoenix with three legs who also has a human form. Fushimi is the lone white and blue kitsune who's friends with Yata in Homra, but he really is destined to be the spirit animal for Scepter 4's shrine run by head priest Munakata. (I just want to see them all in pretty robes!)

Putting everyone in pretty robes is a 100% valid reason for an AU :D So imagine AU where maybe the Kings are almost like gods of nature, they take on the form of a human but have powers beyond normal people. The Kings each have their own head priest who's like their right hand (so imagine Kusanagi as Mikoto's head priest and Awashima as Munakata's priestess) as well as like a 'guardian' spirit animal. In practice the high priest communicates the god's will to the rest of the worshipers when the god is too busy to do so, so like Awashima and Kusanagi run a lot of the day to day work in the temple and their respective gods often wander about unseen doing whatever they feel like – Mikoto just likes to go into human form and nap on his own altar, while I could see Munakata taking on a variety of human forms to mingle amongst his worshipers because he finds humans to be so very interesting. The guardian spirit animal is in charge of defending the temple against interlopers, while the gods themselves often clash in person the temple itself is sacrosanct, the King's sanctum where no one but the King and his chosen followers can go.

Yata ends up being chosen to become the guardian spirit of Homra, like imagine Mikoto takes over as the god after the previous temple god, Kagutsu, died in a battle with rival god Habari. The battle between the two causes a lot of destruction in both the nearby lands and the two temples, which stand empty for years before Mikoto and Munakata awaken as the new gods. Due to this both temples are without a guardian spirit for a long time as well, Kusanagi and Awashima take over as priests and plenty of the worshipers can defend the temple but there's like an obvious 'hole' left by the lack of a guardian beast. Meanwhile Yata and Fushimi live in the forest near the temple, Yata's a six-legged crow who lost track of his flock when he was only a fledgeling and stumbled upon lonely little kitsune Fushimi, who's an outcast even among the other kitsune due to his parentage.

The two of them have been living alone for a long time when they stumble across Mikoto's temple, when they step over the threshold they both get like a strange feeling that comes over them. For Yata it's almost like an exultation, like he's finally stepped into a place where he's always meant to be, while for Fushimi it feels almost like an itch that he can't scratch. When they meet Mikoto Yata's amazed while Fushimi can't help but shake and back away, Mikoto looks down at Yata and immediately knows that Yata's meant to be the guardian beast of this place. He puts a hand on Yata's head and Yata gains the ability to take on a human form as well as gaining like new stronger powers, like his black wings turn red and the tips of his feathers change to fire and all that. Yata thinks Mikoto is super cool and he's excited about his new role, everyone in the temple treats him like he's someone special and it's like the family he always wanted. For Fushimi though everything is uncomfortable, like imagine when Mikoto gave Yata his powers he also glanced down at Fushimi and gave this rueful smile like he knew something Fushimi didn't, and that gaze has been bothering Fushimi ever since. He can't transform into a human himself and it feels like he's just nipping at Yata's heels, an animal who can't catch Misaki's gaze anymore now that he so much better things to look at.

In the end Fushimi decides to leave the temple, thinking Yata won't even notice he's gone. However as he's walking through the woods he ends up in this clearing and he's met by a man in glasses with a strong aura, holding out a hand to him. Fushimi is wary but he also has an odd feeling meeting this person, like he should recognize the man in front of him. Munakata notes that Fushimi is indeed a strong being and that his abilities were being wasted in Homra's temple, offering to take him somewhere that he can belong. Fushimi moves forward despite himself and when Munakata touches him Fushimi feels all this power rushing through him and realizes that Munakata's a god as well. Fushimi becomes Scepter 4's guardian beast and gains his own human form and everything, though unlike Misaki he isn't awed by his chosen god and prefers to complain about Munakata's irritating habits and idiot worshipers and all that. Even so he's fiercely protective of the temple and committed to his job, which Munakata praises him for quite highly.

Naturally since the Homra and Scepter 4 temples are nearby and their gods traditionally at odds this means their spirit guardians tend to clash often too and Fushimi is more than happy to have the chance to fight with Yata again. Yata's initially shocked that Fushimi's gone to the 'enemy' and Fushimi leans into that, wanting to seem like an awful traitor who abandoned Mikoto and chose Munakata instead, when really Mikoto at least is well aware that Fushimi was always 'meant' to be at Scepter 4. Maybe eventually rogue god Hisui shows up and the Homra and Scepter 4 temples have to work together to defeat him, during the conflict Yata realizes that Fushimi really does belong in Scepter 4 and Fushimi realizes that he was always important to Yata so they reconcile (though they do still fight occasionally but more just as a way of testing their strength, enjoying going up against each other and being proud of their roles as guardian spirits).

[ridiasfangirlings]

I remember Gora said that Fushimi is somewhat noble family, so what if Saru is the only male heir in Fushimi family? One day a girl from other noble family comes to him and offers to have contract marriage but only to produce male baby so Fushimi lineage is still going (and she will have Fushimi fortune). Will Saru accept it?

I feel like Fushimi's reaction would be a pretty firm 'go away and leave me alone' XD In particular I can see the girl reminding him that the Fushimi line ends with him and doesn't he want to like make sure the family name endures and Fushimi just gets this twisted smile as he says that he doesn't, as far as he's concerned the Fushimi line can die and good riddance. Like imagine the Fushimi family is this old noble type family and maybe the Fushimi name in particular is like the 'main' family line (with cousins like Aya's family being more side branches and so not as important as the main family). Niki is tolerated only because he's the sole male heir to the family line and his parents and grandparents are probably worried at first that this piece of trash is never going to get married and have a kid to carry the family line on. When Niki hooks up with Kisa there's some relief, like well at least he'll have a kid right, and the reason Aya's parents push her to be better than Saruhiko is sort of them being angry that their line gets passed over constantly for people with the Fushimi family name even though Niki is so very clearly just the worst.

The older members of the family all have plans for Fushimi to carry on the family name, like the kid seems gloomy and looks too much like Niki but he's better than nothing. Fushimi has no idea about any of this because no one's ever mentioned it to him (and then imagine how pissed the family gets when they ask Kisa about her son's marriage prospects and she shrugs and says she hasn't spoken to that boy in years and doesn't even actually know where he is, because no one mentioned this to Kisa either). Even after Fushimi basically disavows his family and moves out in middle school to be with Yata his grandparents and great grandparents never stop looking for a suitable bride for him, determined to keep the family line going.

So then eventually they settle on some girl from an equally noble family, with the idea that Fushimi will have a child with her and probably like a sham marriage just so she can take his name and then she and the kid will inherit the Fushimi fortune. She contacts Fushimi and gets him to agree to meet her somehow then lays this whole thing out for him, the importance of carrying on the family line and all that, and then Fushimi promptly laughs in her face and says he knew this was going to be a pointless meeting. I think Fushimi really wouldn't give a crap about his family line or the idea of a family fortune and he definitely has no interest in having a kid, even if the girl says she would raise it and he'd never have to see the kid (in fact I could see him immediately thinking about how absent Kisa was and does he want to become someone who his child only speaks about in terms of their relationship to the mother and not each other). I feel like for Fushimi even agreeing to such a thing is basically 'playing their game,' doing what the family that abandoned him and never cared for him wants him to do, and as far as Fushimi's concerned if the only use they have for him now is to be a sperm donor he's not even going to give them another moment of his time.

[ridiasfangirlings]

What if Yata were a selkie or such wherein Fushimi could, in theory, "trap" Yata into remaining with him. How do you think that would affect things?

Oh imagine AU where Fushimi meets Yata and maybe the rest of Homra are also selkies, so like Yata can be on land with Fushimi but then he goes back to seal form when he returns home to where Homra are. Fushimi meets Yata when he's still in middle school, he's a lonely kid and maybe during the summer Kisa drags him to her summer home down by the beach. Fushimi's walking along the beach totally bored when he runs into this red-haired kid playing in the water. Yata's not supposed to be this close to the beach but he's always been interested in humans and wants to meet one. When he sees Fushimi he gets really excited and tries to get Fushimi to come into the water with him, Fushimi refuses and walks away with his shoulders hunched, ignoring Yata trying to wave him down and just continuing to walk alone along the shore.

Yata thinks that human was kind of a jerk but he also seemed sorta lonely so Yata decides to hang out by the beach again the next evening, hoping to see Fushimi again. He and Fushimi pass each other a few times until one night it's storming and Fushimi ends up getting too close to the water, getting dragged in by a sudden wave. Fushimi can't swim well and he thinks he's going to drown, figuring it's not like anyone will even notice that he's gone anyway. Yata however rescues him, going into seal form and dragging Fushimi up onto the beach. Fushimi wakes up in time to see Yata transforming back into a human and he realizes that Yata's not just a random irritating kid.

From this point on they become friends and spend a lot of time together. Fushimi begins to feel like Yata's the only one who's ever cared about him while Yata feels like Fushimi can kinda understand him even though they live in different worlds. Except maybe Fushimi's going to have to go back to the city soon and he doesn't want to have to leave Yata behind. Yata promises that he'll stay around here and wait for Fushimi but he also brings up his family group 'Homra' and how sometimes Mikoto likes to travel further out into the sea and they all go with him of course. This makes Fushimi start to become nervous, thinking that Yata's going to just swim away from him and never return. I think he would definitely be tempted to take Yata's coat and force him to stay a human, like one day when they're together Fushimi hides the coat without saying anything and sits there while Yata panics looking for it. Though actually I think if Fushimi does eventually decide to take the coat he does it very openly, mocking Yata and acting like this was his plan all along, to take the valuable coat of a selkie and leave Yata alone on the beach -- alone, where Yata can’t run away from him and can only wait until Fushimi returns, hating him the whole time just like Fushimi wants.