#the black brothers are softies everyone knows it

[lady-of-endless]

Things you do that make their heart melt

(La Squadra Esecuzioni x reader hcs)

Author's Note: Those are random but that's the point. I tried to be a bit explicit for those who are at the start of Jojo part 5 and maybe don't remember each character's Stand name or ability. I couldn't write this only for my 3 darlings from La Squadra as I started it because I love them all too much. Proud La Squadra stan. Excuse any grammar mistakes. Enjoy!

Risotto Nero

- How you can balance being serious and being affectionate so easily. This is something he admires a lot and wishes to be capable of too sometimes. Yes, he's a serious and stoic man but the whole La Squadra knows just how big his heart is. Sometimes Risotto wishes he could show a bit of affection to the ones dear to him. Risotto is a softie inside but the nature of his occupation forces him to be as reserved and stern as he is now.

- How you can protect yourself. Being a hitman is tough, nothing new under the sun, but being the leader of the team is even worse. It's hard to watch out for others when he also must make sure that everything is working out smoothly. But he cares about you and your safety so damn much it's almost dangerous. So seeing you handle enemies alone helps him fall asleep at night with fewer worries. Also, watching you fight and come up with strategies makes him smile slightly and so subtly that of course, no one can notice it.

- How you look dressed in black with silver accessories. Aesthetically wise, black is one of his favorite colors and no one can tell otherwise. When you decide to match him with a dark outfit, his gaze will follow you more than usual. Be sure of the fact that he'll use his Stand, Metallica, to give you subtle signals, or not so subtle, by pulling onto your belt or necklace.

(it's loving Risotto hours)

Prosciutto

- How you calm yourself down after an intense moment. Prosciutto himself is not proud of when he snaps at people, thinking that it's not graceful behavior so he starts studying you from afar while calming down. He analyzes your soft tone, your calm face but alert eyes after being harsh, to learn from you but he finds himself falling for it. Like his brother, he also craves a bit of softness in his life but will never admit it, not even to himself so seeing you simmer down and transform into someone calm and understanding makes him want your presence more.

- How you counter him when he is too cruel to his brother. He is harsh with Pesci and he knows it, but he thinks it's only for good. It's not about how you're stubborn enough to argue with him but about how it reminds him that if something ever goes wrong with him on a mission, someone else will make sure that his brother is still alright and progressing. Also, as you two are arguing, things get pretty heated in no time and as the distance between you closes in, everyone knows that it's better to leave you two alone.

- How focused you look when deciding on an outfit. That and how you ask him for an opinion. You can see him leaning back in an armchair just looking at you searching through your clothes with an amused but admirative look on his face. Prosciutto likes to make himself look presentable and if you do the same, he can't help but find that fact attractive. Plus he can play dress up with you without you even suspecting it and he can't get enough of it.

(why is he like that? Love him though)

Ghiaccio

- How you let yourself be angry sometimes. To him, almost anyone seems calmer than him, but seeing someone being as furious as him from time to time and that someone being you? That's new. It doesn't happen often and in some odd way, he finds it fascinating. As much as he enjoys teasing you, he'll never be the type to say "Just calm down" or "You're exaggerating" because he knows how much it enrages someone already angry to hear this. He will be very understanding when you're like that. Plus, if someone or something gets you angry, he gets angry too so it will end up with the two of you being a scary couple.

- How your eyes shine when you smile and your smile in general. He is baffled by how when your lips are curved into a smile, your eyes are radiant too. Usually, he uses this expressiveness of yours against you, teasing you about it but when you smile so warmly, he feels like he's looking at the sun and that's unnerving because it makes him blush. He can't understand it.

- How your nose scrunches when you get a brain freeze from consuming something cold. This along with how your cheeks and nose redden when you're cold. He rolls his eyes at himself for like such a shallow and obvious thing but can't help it. It's not how adorable you look it's more how no one notices such details but him. It's his guilty pleasure. He has a kink when it comes to your reactions to cold temperatures.

(ugh I love him so much it's pathetic)

Pesci

- How you encourage him randomly sometimes. Pesci's already having a hard time adjusting to hitman life and constantly being scolded by his brother. At first, when you encourage him, he's stunned, flustered, embarrassed even but in time he starts to feel so much better overall because of it. His stress goes down and he gets more confident and sure of his actions because of your praise.

- How you're kind to the innocent - animals, kids, etc. Since he followed his brother and joined the team, the shock from seeing so much violence in his life all of a sudden left a mark on him. When he notices you being soft to the innocent and helpless while still being a hitman, he starts to heal. His only wish is for you to keep this side of yours so he can keep his too.

- How peaceful you look while sleeping. Again, being in an Italian hitman team is not easy, it distorted any perspective on peacefulness he had before. Seeing you rest without a frown on your face reminds him that there still is peacefulness in this way of living.

Melone

- How you're intelligent enough but don't flaunt it. Sure, he likes good looks but that's not as important as intelligence, any type. Melone is a bit of a sapiosexual, he knows it. If you come up with smart questions during meetings, his attention is immediately on you from that point on until the end of the meeting. Also, if you're genuinely curious about how his stand, Baby Face, works, it only adds to your charm.

- How you pick up on his "di molto" catchphrase. Melone works a lot. I mean A LOT. Besides progenation, he's skilled at finding out hidden info about the target, too. But usually, he does it alone, no one accompanies him and sometimes he can't help but feel slightly ignored. So when you start spending enough time with him to start using his phrases, he starts to feel less alone.

- How you walk. Simple as that. He has been caught many times staring at how some people walk, it's a well-known fact. So if you walk a bit slower and move your hips a bit more intentionally, making it look natural, he's dead. To hell with the mission for a few moments of pure admiration.

Illuso

- How confident you are. You don't need him to hype you up and he won't, but you'll always catch him looking at you with a proud look on his face. However, not everyone can be confident all the time and Illuso knows it very well. When he finds you letting your guard down and looking disappointed with yourself, he'll act right away. He hates seeing you struggle with shallow insecurities as you are just so wonderful in his eyes...

- How you take time to relax. He always insists on you taking everything a bit more slowly, so when you finally do it, he's more than pleased. He likes to see your facial muscles loosen up, causing a relaxed expression. He wishes to see it more often and he wishes for you to prioritise taking care of yourself.

- How you study yourself in the mirror while getting ready. He will use his Stand's ability to enter that mirror's dimension just to look at you from that perspective. This applies to intimate moments as well, just a heads-up. However, his favorite moment to do that is when you're fixing your hair, there's something about it that he finds so damn attractive.

Formaggio

- How you focus on the mission at hand. That, and how serious you look while doing it. Don't get it wrong, he's also focused on the missions but he looks more laid-back, like a natural. He finds it funny and adorable how you look so stern and even suggest him to pay more attention.

- How you always mention Sorbet and Gelato after their death. Everyone knows that Risotto said to forget about it after the funeral to focus on getting back on track as fast as possible and avenging them afterward but to Formaggio, this never felt right. So when you mention a memory from time to time to everyone, his heart feels a little bit lighter.

- How you dance to your favorite songs. He thinks that the majority of members of La Squadra are too stiff and grim sometimes so catching you dancing around alone to your playlist makes him smile. For him, it's like a breath of fresh air. Expect him to join you.

[flowersforfrancis]

James has the right idea obvi

[toast-on-dandelioms]

Disclaimer

I am not the biggest fan of dc but I do know the story and everything, so if any character from the batfamily is wrong please tell me so I will try to fix it.

Another story of Neglect

You were another one of Bruce's children, born by one of his nightstands with a model to which he just gave child support and didn't really visit.

You never cared, you didn't even know that he was your father since you were happy with just your mom and the life you were living at the moment, but everything changed because of a stupid drunk driver that ended up crashing the car against your mom's one and killing both of them at the impact. You were only 12 and your life just changed in one night.

You had no one else, or at least no one that could take you in since everyone was busy or couldn't be bothered to have another mouth to feed so you ended up in front of Wayne's Manor, two suitcases full of stuff plus all the boxes from your old room and house that you managed to save from the relatives who tried to grab everything valuable in the house.

After getting in your room and setting everything up, making sure your photos with your mom and you were safe and sound, you tried to interact with your new family, wanting to make the best out of a bad situation but you didn't think that they would be so different from what you saw in the media.

•Bruce Wayne: you heard that he was a playboy but very nice to his kids, you saw how he looked at Damian or Dick, a look full of love and adoration that your mom used to give it to you.

But to you, he looked at you like you were just a nuisance that wasn't supposed to be here, he made sure to tell you the first day that you came here to not expect much since he wouldn't have the time to take care of every small needs and to just tell him or Alfred if you wanted to do something out of the school activities since you would be changing schools.

You tried to interact with him, to learn from what he likes so you could just try and hold a conversation with him but he always left you behind for another one of his kids that needed him at the moment, leaving you there with a small smile and just a small light of hope that maybe he will come back to talk to you.

But he never did.

•Richard/Dick Grayson: you thought he was the nicest big brother you ever seen, especially from what you saw him talking or playing with Damian, Tim or even Jason.

(You did find out pretty soon that they were the famous vigilantes since they didn't really keep it hidden from you, especially since you saw them in costumes and even training while they ignored you or didn't even notice your presence.)

You tried to talk to him but he was just like Bruce, leaving you for Damian mostly or using any excuse to not spend time with you.

Even when you tried to ask him to do some acrobatics since you knew he was from the circus, he just gave you an excuse 'sorry but it's been a while since Damian and Tim saw me and I wanted to go out with them, maybe next time (wrong/name)", leaving you before you even had the time to correct him about your name.

•Jason Todd: honestly he was the most decent family member, second to Alfred who treated you better whenever you were left alone, since he just straight up told you that he didn't care and to not bother with him.

You did try a few more times, thinking he was one with a tough exterior but a softie inside, thinking that he just needed time but him accidentally punching you in the face and leaving you with a black eye from you walking up behind him made you understand that he didn't care, especially with the way that he looked at you with an annoyed expression before walking away.

At least you didn't have to spend months trying to gain his favor, he already made it clear that he didn't care about you.

But it still hurts you know?

• Tim Drake: he was the only one you couldn't really put a pin on who he really is, not of some double life or something like that.

It's just that sometimes he would act nice, talking to you but the next time you would see him, even if the time passed between the two intervals could be of 1 hour, he would act like you were an annoying thing or would just ignore you.

You understood that he was sleep deprived and just started leaving him some candies that could help him sleep, wanting to help in a small way, especially since he was the only one you could actually help a little.

And the last, but especially the worst one was none other than Damian Wayne/al Ghul since he first acted like you were gonna steal something from him, especially considered that you were a year or two older than him.

He harassed you, using his animals or just his assassin skills to torment you for years even though you never gave him reasons to do so.

Not more than once you had to patch yourself in the bathroom because of his harassment, the scars still visible but luckily in places you could hide so no one would question you for them.

After two or three years he finally stopped and went to be one of the family members to give you attention to completely ignore your existence, acting like you weren't even someone worthy of his attention.

You always wanted to just hit him back but it would be relatively impossible to even try to land a hit on him because of his assassin training that he had.

But one thing you still had that connected you to your old life, to when you were happy and still with someone who loved you was dancing, which you still went to practice everyday and tried to invite your family but everyone was either busy or straight up told you that they didn't care.

Only Alfred would show up but it was also rare, but it would fill your heart with joy everytime you saw him in the audience of whatever ballet you were casted in, even if you weren't the main protagonist and just a side character.

You also tried to be the best in school, just to show it to Bruce and make him proud like your mother was whenever you were in the top but with a family filled with geniuses like Tim Drake and Damian Wayne, it was difficult to even compare to them.

But every day, you still had hope that maybe, if you opened the doors of your heart they will finally enter and make you part of the family.

That you can finally be accepted again, and maybe even join them in their vigilante jobs but alas, they always had excuses, excuses and even more excuses.

You were getting tired of all their excuses.

After a while you understand that maybe the problem is not you, it never was.

You opened up many times in the past years. You gave them every piece of your broken heart to hold but they would always break it in even more little pieces.

But, not everything always goes to plan does it?

So, instead of continuing to try, you also decided to ignore them back and live your life, counting the days of your eighteen birthday so you could finally get out and be free from the mansion you were supposed to call home.

Part 2 is here!

[withwritersblock]

More Hearts Than Mine-Meeting her Family

~More Hearts Than Mine by Ingrid Andress~

Author's Note: this is the first of my one shot collection series where Luke and Y/N do varies fluffy (or angsty) activities with each other's families ! Per usual not edited Summary: Luke meets Y/N's family for the first time Warnings: I don't think so? Word Count: 3,155 Luke Hughes x fm!reader

Luke stood in the bathroom, staring at his reflection, running his fingers through his curls. He held the gel product in his fingers as he tried to style his hair perfectly. He got a haircut. The sides of his hair were shaved as the top of his hair was longer on the top. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it. It’s been almost a year since he had his hair this short. 

Y/N walked into the bathroom, wearing a maroon sweater with black jeans covering her frame. “Lukey, you look handsome. Please leave it alone,” she mumbled as she took a hold of his forearm. He glanced towards her direction in the mirror before he dropped his hands from his hair.

“It’s so short,” he said as he leaned towards the mirror. She rolled her eyes as she looped her arm through his. “I didn’t think she was going to shave it like this when I said shorter on the sides,” he explained, looking at his reflection again.

“Hey,” she mumbled as she reached her hand over, taking a hold of his chin to force his gaze to her. “You look very cute,” she muttered as she leaned towards him and kissed him briefly.

“Cute’s good right? I mean for meeting your family? Cute is supposed to be-”

“Luke,” she mumbled, raising her eyebrows. He nodded, taking a deep breath as he turned on the sink to wash the remainder of the gel in his hands. “It’s just three days,” she mumbled as she rested her hand onto the bathroom counter. 

“Three days is a lot of time to mess up and make your parents hate me,” he let out as he shifted his body to fully face her. She smiled towards him while shaking her head. 

“You want the cliffnotes?” she asked him and nodded as he delicately placed his hands onto her waist. He toyed with the ends of the sweater as he looked deeply into her eyes. 

“My mom will love you. She’ll say you’re too skinny and will feed you all the cinnamon rolls you can eat. She’ll probably end up loving you more than me,” she said with a wide smile. 

“My dad likes to think he’s this big tough guy. He’ll try to intimidate you but he’ll be a big softy once he sees how much I love you,” she explained. His hands slowly looped around her waist, pulling her closer. His cheeks flushed slightly as the word love leaves her mouth.

“My sister is nosey, she’ll try to get you to blush and she’s really good at it. She may even ask about our sex life,” she explained, raising her eyebrows as she watched his eyes widened. “Don’t tell her anything,” she teased. He nodded dramatically as she rested her hands on his chest. 

“My brother will probably ask you a thousand questions about hockey.” She leaned towards him wrapping her arms around the center of his back. He squeezed her tighter. “You’ll be okay, everyone is going to love you,”

“Am I allowed to touch you, or do I avoid all contact?” he asked, she chuckled as if he was joking but he was serious. She pulled away, keeping her arms wrapped around the center of his back.

“They know you’re my boyfriend, Lovely,” she teased. 

He licked his lips nervously, “I know but are they weirded out if we cuddle on the couch or something,” he asked as he brushed a few pieces of hair away from her face. 

“Please cuddle me,” she muttered as she leaned towards him and delicately pecked his lips, “But maybe wait to kiss me until tomorrow,” she let out.

“Noted,” he muttered before he kissed her for a few more moments.

~~~

Luke drove the hour and half it took to get to her parents house. With the ran and the traffic it took thirty minutes longer than normal. Luke was quiet, taking deep breaths as he tried to calm his nerves. Every so often she would reach her hand over and squeeze his hand that was in his lap. He would smile softly towards her briefly before he would shift his gaze back to the road. 

He slowly pulled into the long driveway into her childhood home. She lived in the middle of nowhere. “You can park there, Honey,” she said as she pointed to the small gravel side of the driveway. He nodded as he slowly pulled the car into park. He let out a long drawn out huff of air as he looked towards her. “Just be yourself, my love,” she hummed as she reached her hand across to rest her hand onto his cheek. She ran her thumb across the skin of his cheek. 

“I don’t know how to do that. What if they think you’re too good for-” she silenced him by kissing him. He melted into the kiss as his body relaxed. She pulled away, keeping her lips a mere inch away from him. His eyes fluttered open as he took another deep breath, “Thank you,” he let out before he pecked her lips once more.

“Come on, Lukey,” she mumbled as she opened her passenger side door and stepped outside. The rain had stopped during the last ten minutes of their ride. He stepped out of the car as well, slamming the door shut as he squinted his eyes.

“Please don’t call me Lukey in front of them,” he whined. She fought off the smile on her lips as she shook her head.

She walked towards him as she linked her arm with his as she whispered, “I’ll think about it,” she paused, “Lukey.”

He rolled his eyes playfully as they continued up the small path towards the front door. His heart began to quicken as they stepped up onto the deck, the board creaking as they stepped towards the dark blue door. She met his gaze and he gave her a reassuring nod before she knocked a few times before she pushed the door open. She stepped inside, dragging Luke into the house. 

Her house was a small farm-like house. It was cluttered but homey. Her living room had the fireplace lit and it was already quite warm in the house.

“Mom! Y/N and her boyfriend are here!” her little brother shouted as he jumped from the couch to greet the pair at the door. Luke’s cheeks flushed red instantly as his eyes widened. Y/N glanced towards Luke admiring his pink cheeks before she looked towards her little brother. Who’s not so little anymore, he’s fifteen and already taller than their dad.

“EJ, look at you!” she let out as he jogged towards them. He hugged her instantly, chuckling. After a few seconds she pulled away and looped her arm around Luke’s again. “EJ, this is Luke,” she said, pointing towards him. Elijah lit up as he reached his hand across to Luke to shake his hand. Luke quickly returns the gesture.

“You say that like I don’t know the guy.” Elijah muttered excitedly. Luke smiled, “Great game the other night, I’m a huge fan,” he continued.

“Thanks man. Y/N tells me you’re a goalie?” Luke offered. Elijah nodded dramatically. Before their conversation could continue her parents emerged from the kitchen together. Her mother was practically tearing up at the sight of them.

“Elijah James, will you let them enter the damn house!” her mom asked teasingly. Elijah moved out of the back towards the couch to his video game he was playing. “Come in, come in!” she said excitedly. Her mom guided them towards the living room to allow the couple to breath. 

“Oh Luke, we’ve been so excited to meet you.” her mom let out as she gave him a hug, his eyes widened as he returned the hug. He looked towards Y/N awkwardly. Y/N chuckled as she hugged her dad as he was ignoring Luke and her mom was ignoring Y/N. “How was the drive?” she asked him.

“It was raining but otherwise it wasn’t too bad,” he replied, a small smile on his lips.

“Oh good, come on, dinner is ready,” she said as she began walking back towards the kitchen to walk towards the dining room.

“Two point night the other night, huh?” her dad offered, keeping his hands in his pocket as he looked Luke up and down.

“Yes Sir,” he mumbled, Y/N tried to fight off the smirk toying to her lips. Y/N gave her dad a warning look.

“That was a really impressive goal in OT,” her dad let out as he cautiously clapped his hand against Luke’s shoulder. He walked towards Elijah who was still in the living room. Luke and Y/N walked through the house, ending the conversation there.

“You’re right, he’s scary,” he whispered into her ear. She rolled her eyes playfully as they wandered into the dining room where her sister, Jasmine was sitting waiting. She lifted her gaze from her phone to see the pair walking into the room. Jasmine was her younger sister. Jasmine and Elijah are twins.

Jasmine and Elijah were vastly different. It was hard to even believe that they were twins. Jasmine had dyed red hair and was a part of the school’s theater program. Elijah was the starting goalie for the varsity hockey team. He had been since he was a freshman. Despite their many differences they were very close and they shared the same friend group.

“Hey!” she said excitedly as she lifted her gaze from her phone. “Oh he’s cuter in person, nice job sis,” she said as she scanned Luke up and down. Y/N clenched her jaw as she guided Luke to sit at the dining table. They manuvered towards the empty side of the table, where she was closer to her dad and he was closer to her mom. 

“Luke, this is Jasmine. She tends to lack a filter when talking to people,” she explained as Luke pulled out Y/N’s chair for her to sit. She smiled towards him before she sat down. Luke sat down beside her, reaching for her hand desperately. She delicately interlocked their fingers as she moved her chair closer to him.

“Get a man who pulls out my chair for me,” she said as she mocks typing in her Notes App. Luke pulls his lips between his teeth as he feels his skin get hot.

“Are you doing okay?” Y/N whispered as she leaned towards him, he met her gaze and nodded.

It took a few more minutes before the rest of her family to join them all at the dinner table. Y/N reassuringly ran her thumb across the top of his hand beneath the table. It helped him calm down, feeling her touch on his skin. 

“Luke, how many days do you get off?” her mom asked as they all started to serve themselves food. 

“I get a week off and then I have practice the day before our next game,” he explained as he added salad to his plate. 

“Will you watch the All-Star games?” Elijah asked excitedly. Luke nodded.

“My brothers are there, I have to support them,” he said, meeting Elijah’s gaze. 

“I can’t believe my sister is dating an NHL player,” he said before he took a dramatic bite of his salad. Luke chuckled nervously as he met Y/N’s gaze. 

“Luke, Y/N told us you’ve only been in Jersey for about a year. Where were you before?” her mom asked as she put all of her attention on him.

“I was in Michigan, but I’ve been a bit everywhere,” he replied before taking another bite of his food. Y/N delicately rested her finger on his knee, delicately tracing reassuring circles. 

“That’s exciting,” her mom muttered. “How are you liking Jersey?” she asked. 

“I like it a lot. It's hard to enjoy the city when I’m traveling as much as I am but I plan to stay longer in the off season to experience it,” he explained. Y/N smiled towards him with so much admiration as he spoke. Her father watched the soft smile on his daughter’s lips.

Y/N’s brought home two other boys before Luke and her father couldn’t stand them. Mainly because she never looked happy around them, but she hasn’t stopped smiling since she was home with him.

“Can we come to one of your games?” Jasmine asked. Luke lifted his gaze, looking towards Y/N for assistance. 

“Let the kid chew his food before you ask him any more questions,” her dad interrupted. Luke met his dad’s gaze and chuckled as the rest of the table laughed along.

~~~

It was a few hours after they arrived and it was past ten o’clock and her parents were already in bed. Her siblings were in the living room with Luke and Y/N. They were all watching an episode of Friends. Y/N curled up to Luke’s side, his arm was draped along her shoulder as she was nuzzled into his chest. His hand would slowly trail from her wrist all the way up to her shoulder. 

It was simple and easier than what Luke thought was going to happen. Her sister was funny and her brother was super nice. Her mom was overwhelmingly kind and her dad was slowly getting accustomed to his presence. 

“How long have you guys been together?” Jasmine asked out of nowhere. Y/N blinked slowly as she lifted her head from Luke’s chest. 

“Seven months,” she looked towards Luke and his lips turned upward slightly.

“Wow,” she muttered as she tilted her head back against the couch.

“Who asked who out?” Jasmine questioned again, Luke pursed his lips forward as his cheeks pinked up.

“I did,” he mumbled.

“How’d you do it?” Jasmine pressed with a smirk. 

He looked towards Y/N, raising his eyebrows as he asked for permission to tell her the story. 

They met through a mutual friend. Y/N’s friend, Zara, had a fling with Luke’s brother Jack for a few weeks around the playoffs run last year. After a Devils win, Y/N and Zara went out with the team to celebrate. 

While Y/N was completely uninterested in partying as well as Luke. The pair sat together and talked for several hours before they left. After they lost their playoff series, Jack and Zara fling ended horribly. Except Luke really wanted to see Y/N again. It took days to convince Jack to break no contact with Zara to get Y/N number. It worked.

They later found out that Y/N wanted her to do the same thing but Zara refused.

They spent the first month FaceTiming and texting all of the time. There was a hint of romantic tension but they never acted on it until Luke moved back to Jersey. It took thirty minutes into hanging out in person for him to ask her on a date. There was not an ounce of hesitation to say yes.

“So you guys didn’t see each other for another month?!” Jasmine asked. 

“He was back in Michigan, Jaz. It was a little hard,” Y/N said with a chuckle. 

“A bit of a long game then, Lukey Boy,” Elijah teased as he slapped his hand on the shoulder of Luke. Elijah took a long breath as he continued towards the set of stairs near the front door. “I’ll see you guys in the morning, don’t do anything weird in our house,” he said with a yawn as he walked up the stairs towards his room.

Luke chuckled nervously as he met Y/N’s eye.

“He’s a real gentleman, sis. It’s a shame there aren't more guys like him out there,” she mumbled as she dropped her gaze to the floor as she walked towards the stairs to her own room. 

Luke kept his gaze on Y/N as she watched her younger siblings leave them alone in the living room. He took a hold of her chin, delicately turning her gaze to look towards him. Their eyes met and he felt his body relax. Her eyes looked down towards his lips as she inched towards him, “Kiss me,” she let out barely above a whisper. He smiled as he glanced around the living room. “Please,” she mumbled. 

He slowly leaned towards her kissing her so delicately, not to make a scene. It had only been a few hours without feeling her lips against his and he missed it desperately. Her father had stepped down the stairs, stopping short. He looked towards the pair, desperately wanting to interrupt them. Luke’s hand slowly rested on her cheek as he pulled away, keeping his face close to hers. “You look beautiful,” he muttered.

Her lips curled upward slowly as she tilted her head to the side. “Thank you, Lukey,” she replied before she leaned towards him and rested her head onto his shoulder. 

Her father fought the smile forming to his lips as he watched the small interaction between them. The entire night, he watched Luke and Y/N put on a show of their relationship and happiness. It was comforting to watch them be fully themselves. He awkwardly shuffled down the stairs pretending that he didn’t see anything. Luke fully scooted away from Y/N as her father walked towards the kitchen.

“Are you ready for bed?” she whispered wide eyed and he nodded as a reply. 

They both stood up from the couch, out of habit Luke rested his hand onto her lower back as they walked towards the stairs. Her father smiled softly as he watched the pair climb the stairs towards her childhood bedroom. She walked towards the last room at the end of the hallway and pushed the door open. 

Luke’s eyes lingered on each childhood photo of hers on the walls of the hallway. He stared the longest at a photo of her sitting in the center of a bean bag with Elijah and Jasmin in her arms. She was smiling shyly as her eyes were staring at her little sister. “That’s a nice picture,” he muttered as he pointed towards it. 

“I was terrified of holding them,” she muttered as they continued down the hall towards her bedroom.

Her room was extremely cleaned as her mother constantly kept it from being dusty. They stepped inside and she shut the door behind them instantly as she met his eyes. Her back was against the door as he rested his hands on her hips. 

“They like you,” she muttered as she ran her hands up and down his chest slowly. He shyly smiled while his cheeks flushed red. “I mean it, my dad would’ve said something if he didn’t,” she teased. 

“I like them too,” he mumbled before he leaned towards her and kissed her delicately.

[slumber-lexifer]

Five Yandere roomates x willing reader gn

(Warning creepy but tame)

You have five roomates what it's like to live with them whiny needy obsessive roomates meet who they are!.

There's Jeff he's lanky man with long black hair, skinny he oddly loves turtles and has bad hygiene but not horrible,you can smell him on your bed sheets, he's needy his jealousy is tame he collects bottle caps he's a loner he's the smartest,has a messy room.

Oh yes the invasion of privacy not all but not much of them do it but at least they pay there rant, and don't make messes and pamper you whenever Melcome cooks for you not the other's tho, have to fend for themselves when making food for themselves.

Melcome he's buff and but softy of the bunch, he holds the yanderes by the neck when they fight, he likes to read crawl into his lap ask him to read to you a bed time story, he be caressing your head if you fall asleep he cradle you to his big chest , he definitely takes pictures and shows em off to the roomates like a proud dad he's a domestic yandere, won't kill as long no one puts you in hospital that is big teddy bear energy is the oldest of the roomates.

Peter he's the shows as the most loving most sweetheart shy short skinny femboy to you, but a twist and the most sadistic yandere of them,oh he loves to show off in skirts to you rubbing you thighs seductively, others find peter obnoxious but Peter not stupid there playing a role for you , the cutise attire is an act to be all innocent, he does wear your underwear.

Brox he is the one who starts fights, doesn't like Peter the most Cain instinct between the two, is the most stalkersh of them all who sucks on your toothbrush thinking about it they all did it, l trough it away that toothbrush and hide the new one has the biggest shrine collects the toothbrush you threw away, is the most overprotective possive, coughs "cameras" coughs.

Alex is the most delusional bad staring problem he knows how many freckles are on you body the most clingy out of them all creepy displays of affection younger brother of brox is shortie compared to everyone else not a pushover he unhinged not incapable of being tough, has a shy deaminour is the real sweetheart, has a lock of your hair.

[avatar-saiki]

Mammon's Second

Mammon/Reader, 6.5k words

Summary: NSFW, 18+ (Part Two sequel for Mammon's First, because some asked for it and I ended up thinkin' too hard about what it could be)

Felt good.

Mammon stared at the door, still replaying the sensations in his head while… trying to figure out what exactly’d just happened.

‘I admire so much of you, in fact.’

Admire him, huh? He chuckled quietly, letting his hand slowly roam up his body. Admire him so much you’d made him feel…

Really good.

“NO! NO NO NO! GET AWAY FROM MY DOOR YOU… YOU… PERVERT!”

“Name calling? Don’t be mean, Levi, I just wanted to talk about—”

“NOOO! DON’T YOU DARE!”

Ah, right. He really should go feed Cerberus.

Mammon stepped out and peered down the hall to find you grinning to yourself at Levi’s door. You looked up when you heard him and he quickly averted his gaze, feeling… warm again.

He sighed and slipped out, choosing the long way down the hall toward the stairs. If Levi wasn’t willing to listen to you, he might have to… ah… well, he probably wasn’t the best one to do that. Hopefully Levi’d listen. Otherwise… 

Eh, he could probably figure out how to explain it. Maybe.

After he figured out what to make of it himself. Until then it was probably his best bet to avoid his brothers, lest he slip up and say something he shouldn’t and send them all screaming and running like Levi. 

After he’d made his way to the kitchen and snuck down the halls, he went out the back to look for Cerberus, that big overgrown hellhound that’d nearly scared him out of his skin only to turn puppy when Lucifer’d showed up. It’d been… terrifying, but in a different way, to see Lucifer come to their rescue, his eyes fierce and tongue sharp.

“Alright, c’mon ya big goof,” he said, dropping the hunk of meat onto the platter outside the beast’s hovel. Apparently, magical beasts in this realm could be tamed within pocket dimensions, allowing for quick summons once a caster knew how to pull them through but for now Barbatos had had a small group of Little D’s help put up some makeshift shelter in the back.

This place was so weird.

First the snuffles, then a big black snout poked out, followed by another, then another all sniffing and curious before Cerberus emerged, its heads all peering at him questioningly before the one furthest on the left noticed the meat. It bowed its head and nudged the meat with its nose, then snapped at it with massive, sharp teeth. The head on the right took notice and growled, turning its head to pull the meat away for itself only to have the center bite down and lift it high.

Mammon chuckled and sat down on the ground to watch, shaking his head. “Doesn’t it all go in the same place? Why do you guys gotta all fight over it?”

The beast flopped down to the ground with a heavy thump, both eating and fighting over its meal while Mammon held his chin in his hand and closed his eyes. Not his favorite chore so far, but not the worst either, all he really had to do was make sure they didn’t fight each other.

“It must be exhausting having three heads, don’t you think?”

“Mm… yeah,” he nodded, eyes still closed. “Even if we give ‘em multiple pieces, they still keep fighting so I figure one big piece is easier.”

Asmo tittered, his footsteps growing closer. “Sounds like an excuse to be lazy to me~”

He shrugged, “You can feed ‘em how you want when it’s your turn.”

“Ugh, please, I don’t want to go anywhere near what he eats,” Asmo said, taking a seat beside him. 

Cerberus made short work of the meat, two of the heads gnawing at the bone while the third sniffed Asmo’s outstretched hand.

“It’s crazy to think we were almost eaten by him, huh?” Asmo said, eyes softening a little as he scratched at the muzzle, its tail thumping against the dirt. “Now he’s such a softie~”

“Yeah…” It was… still a bit of a sore spot.

“I’m just glad everyone’s okay,” he said quietly.

Asmo chuckled and leaned over to nudge him. “You think too much, you know? I mean look at us! We’re the Seven Rulers of the Underworld now!”

Mammon laughed in turn, “Yeah… but I don’t really know what that means.”

“Neither do I, but who cares?” Asmo cupped Cerberus’ cheeks in both hands, giving them affectionate scritches. “Soon enough everyone will know about me here, just like before and I’ll have even more titles to use~”

Cerberus barked, tail wagging faster while Mammon couldn’t help but snort and shake his head.

“Don’t you laugh!”Asmo quipped, turning to him again. “Demons like titles and status! I got so many free samples for makeup and creams today because of it!”

“Wait, they give you stuff for free?”

“Mhm~ though, I wouldn’t get any ideas, it could be entirely because it was me you know.”

“Eh… I’m still worried I might get eaten by a giant snake or somethin’ if I buy the wrong kinda toothpaste.”

Asmo snickered, “Yeah… good point. I’m not entirely sure why anyone would even want a prize like that.”

“Beats me,” he muttered, his brother taking a seat beside him again.

The two let the conversation dwindle, both lost in their own thoughts with nothing but the sounds of Cerberus’ movements to break the silence. Even in the moonlight, its appearance was sinister but… softer too. Not anything nearly as cuddly or soft as anything he’d seen in the Celestial Realm but… sort of cute, in its own way.

“I do think this place is getting to Levi a bit though,” Asmo added quietly, “he started freaking out and won’t come out of his room now.”

“Oh that’s just ‘cause he walked in on me and—”

He sat up straighter, realizing he probably shouldn’t have but it was too late. Asmo’s eyes lit up and he turned to him.

“Walked in on you and what? What’d you do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” he said, turning up his chin. “Why you gotta assume I did?”

“Mammon, you just led a mission to go find some mythical creature. You always do something.”

“Oi, I—” Well, he was sort of right. Kinda.

He slouched again, feeling his face start to warm the more he thought about just what happened and rubbed his neck.

“Oo~ something definitely happened.” Asmo scooted closer, nudging him again, “Come on, don’t tease! Spill!” 

“I-I uh…” he blushed further, looking up at the stars. “I um… well he kinda… walked in on me havin’ sex.”

“Oh.”

He closed his eyes, about to breathe a sigh of relief when—

“Wait, WHAT?! When?!”

“A bit ago, just before—”

Asmo was on his feet so fast and grabbed the belts across his chest, yanking him up with him.

“WHEN?” He demanded, shaking him. “When did you- How.. How did you even-?!”

“I- Quit shakin’ me and I’ll tell ya-!”

Asmo dropped him and he landed in the dirt, scowling up at his mystified face.

“What was it like?” He asked, amber eyes starry.

What was it like…

“Um…” he leaned back on his hands, considering his words carefully. “I dunno it felt… good.”

Asmo’s expression grew a touch more annoyed. “Well of course it felt good, everyone knows that, but what was it like?”

He laughed and shrugged, “I dunno, it’s kinda hard to explain.”

Asmo’s eyes narrowed and he shifted his weight to one leg. “I can’t believe you would lie to me about something like that.”

“What?! I ain’t lyin’!”

“Oh please,” Asmo flipped his bangs from his face with a sigh, “There’s no way you’ve had sex and can’t even describe it. You probably just discovered some new fetish and freaked Levi out or something.”

“H-Hey, no that ain’t true!” He got up and threw up his hands. “I just dunno how to describe it, okay? I mean it was sex, but it wasn’t like sex sex, y’know?”

Asmo stared at him blankly. “How do you have sex that isn’t sex sex?”

“I don’t know!”

Asmo sighed and crossed his arms loosely, shaking his head. “Mammon… what even happened?”

“I… well,” He cleared his throat and put his hands on his hips. “They uh… they used their mouth on me.”

“They…” Asmo’s eyes flicked down to his waist, then up to his eyes. “Their mouth?”

“Yeah, but not like the whole time?” He said, face feeling warmer. 

“Ew… why would you…? Hm…” Asmo cupped his chin in thought.

“It felt great,” he said, laughing a little. “But uh… then I um…”

“You what? Made an ass of yourself?” Asmo teased.

“Maybe,” he admitted, shifting his weight. “‘Cause y’know… their mouth was on me a lot so…”

“So…?” Asmo echoed, waiting for him to finish before realization kicked in. “Wait- did you?”

He closed his eyes and nodded, earning a smack on his arm.

“Mammon, that’s so gross!”

“I know, that’s what I thought too! But then—” he clapped a hand over his mouth. No. Shouldn’t say that.

“But then what?” Asmo pressed, ever eager for gossip. “What? What happened? Did you make them sick?”

“N-No, they ah…” He looked away again, watching Cerberus retreat into its shelter. “…swallowed it….”

“They…” Asmo went quiet, processing what he’d just said. He’d expected more teasing, or a scolding, but when Asmo failed to say anything more he stole a glance at his brother.

Asmo was staring at the ground, eyes flicking back and forth as if trying to calculate just how exactly to respond. 

“Ew that’s so hot!” He finally cried, stepping back to fan himself while shifting his weight from foot to foot. “Ewww why would someone do that and how do I find someone to do that with me??”

“Huh?”

Asmo’s eyes focused on him again, a new motive shining through. “Did they say? Did they say why they’d do that?”

“Oh… uh…” he looked up again, reflecting on the conversation you’d had. “They said they… admired me….”

Asmo’s nose wrinkled and he hugged himself, still squirming. “Oh it’s so icky but so sweet I kind of want to try it but ugh oh dear it’s so… so naughty!”

He laughed, and Asmo smacked his arm again.

“Don’t you laugh! Ugh, I can’t believe you found someone first it’s so unfair!”

“Found- what? Whaddya mean unfair? I’m great!”

Asmo rolled his eyes. “Sure, maybe if you say that enough times it’ll be true.”

“Hey!”

He tittered again and sighed fondly, posing himself to be illuminated by the moonlight as he spoke to the stars. “I just can’t imagine you’d charm someone so quickly… especially with me around.”

“At least you’re gettin’ your confidence back,” he muttered under his breath, and Asmo’s fierceness returned so quick it threw him off guard.

“You just watch yourself, mm? You might’ve had first touch, but I’m going to be the Avatar of Lust you know. I can’t have my brothers showing me up.”

“S’that right?” He said with a grin, “What? So you tellin’ me to back off or something? It ain’t my fault I got admirers.”

Asmo raised a brow and poked him in the chest. “Admirer. Just one. One that you haven’t had ‘sex sex’ with yet.”

“Y-Yet? Whaddya mean, ‘yet’? I don’t even know if I’d—” Wait. He coughed and leered back at Asmo. “I mean, you can say you’re Lust all you want, all I know is I kinda want more~”

Asmo gasped. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothin’,” he said innocently, “It ain’t my fault if you can’t find someone to do the same before I do.”

“You… You wouldn’t!”

“Wouldn’t what?” He crossed his arms, “You’re my little brother, you can’t stop me.”

Asmo’s face turned pink and he sputtered a bit. 

It was almost funny, but then he felt a little bad.

“Look, don’t worry about it. I’m just t—”

“Let’s make a bet.”

Bet?

He tilted his head slightly, intrigued.

“What kinda bet?”

Asmo smiled. “Nothing too drastic, just a little bet. Let’s say… whoever gets it first wins and the loser has to… mm…” He pursed his lips and looked back at the house in thought. “Oh! Loser has to do the winner’s chores for a month.”

Not having to do chores for a month? Not a bad outcome.

“Sure,” he said, “why not?”

“Perfect~” Asmo hummed, turning to saunter back inside. “Oh, but one thing to keep it fair.”

“Okay, what’s that?”

“Well~ my charms are rather something, but I’m still figuring them out…” he admitted, “And you with your… admirer… how about we can’t charm or ask, it has to be offered?”

He considered that, reflecting on the way you…

He swallowed.

“Y-Yeah, that’s fine.”

Asmo clapped his hands. “Oh yay! I can’t wait to have a whole month free to myself!”

“Yeah, keep dreamin’,” he teased, following after him. 

————

Over the next few days all was quiet and simple, nothing too exciting. More exploration of the village nearby while Lucifer’d wander off with Diavolo to discuss thoughts about establishing RAD and what it could mean for the future. Lots of big ideas without a lot of direction or history to go off of, but whenever Mammon overheard or Lucifer shared some of the discussions with him, he couldn’t help feeling a little more… hopeful.

Maybe becoming a demon really wouldn’t be so bad. 

Especially since some demons seemed to be kinda sorta fun.

He did try his best to create space whenever you were called by one of his brothers. Somehow even Satan seemed to have taken a liking to you, and your visits had an impact on how often he’d throw his fits. Levi had been growing fond too, but after… that he didn’t seem as keen to seek your guidance. 

Mammon couldn’t help feeling a little bad about that, but when he saw you reaching out to the twins too it was easier to let it go. He’d figure out how to make it up to Levi some day, at least once he quit bolting out of the room whenever you and he were present.

It was… nice. Real nice. Experiencing yet another demon in this world, not quite like Diavolo or Barbatos where decorum was expected to some degree. You were sassy. You were funny. You were sometimes a little bit scary when you’d scold, but you were always… so kind after. Willing to explain, to understand.

Which made it all the more frustrating too.

Whether Asmo had put two and two together or not, your charms even enticed the fifth born to try and sway your fancy. Once you’d offered to show him around to your favorite shops it was like you were joined at the hip. He’d even painted your nails and excitedly told you why he enjoyed it so much.

It was nice to see his brothers making friends, but… this feeling inside…

‘We can’t charm or ask, it has to be offered.’

“Yeah, but I wanna ask so bad…” he muttered under his breath, scrolling through his D.D.D. and trying to figure out how to use it to find recipes. It was his turn to make dinner this time, but he’d never been that good at cooking even in the Celestial Realm. Stuff just wasn’t… none of these ingredients looked familiar, and a whole lot of things seemed poisonous or deadly. How’d anyone even figure out how to eat this stuff without dying?

He could… maybe ask you for help. You were their attendant after all, right? Wasn’t it your job to help him figure this stuff out?

He chewed his lip, swiping across to the Demmunication app and lingering on your contact name. Technically, he could figure out how to make dinner on his own but…

But…

Why… not ask you to…

“Whatcha lookin’ at so hard?” 

“Ack!” He jumped, startled by your voice and nearly dropping his D.D.D. “What the- Where’d you come from?”

“Cocytus Hall?” You said blankly, walking into the kitchen with your hands behind your back. “Duh, that’s where I live.”

He tsked and put his D.D.D. in his back pocket, “That’s not what I meant.”

“Mm… is it not?” You teased, sidling up to the counter and looking over the various vegetables and whatever the fuck he found at the market that looked… good? Was it good? He had no clue. Some of it was cool colors though so that had to mean it’d taste good, right? “Beel asked me to come over, he said it was an emergency.”

“An emergency? Is he okay?”

You laughed and met his eyes, “Oh yeah, he’s fine, he just got worried.”

“Worried? About what?”

You leaned on the table and gave him a sly grin. “You cooking dinner.”

“I- what!” His face heated, “That ain’t an emergency!”

You laughed and shrugged, “Hey don’t get mad at me, I’m just the messenger.”

He scowled and considered asking Beel just what exactly was wrong with him cooking dinner, but…

“Well uh… if you’re here anyway….” He said, glancing at you through the corner of his eye and gesturing to the spread. “What’s somethin’ I can make with all this?”

“Mm…” you hummed in thought, picking up a few things and putting them down again. “Well… I’ve never seen all these things used together in a single dish, but…” A light flickered in your eyes and you held up a devionion. “Could you dice this for me? We could make a few dishes to serve together.”

“Sure but they’re not gonna all be the same size,” he said, making you laugh again. 

“That’s fine, just do your best,” you said, picking up a carton of hellshrooms and walking over to the sink to wash them. “The closer they are in size, the better they’ll cook.”

“Yeah, okay,” he muttered, picking back the papery skin, its deep purple peeling back to expose a bright violet red. He set the devionion down on the board and picked up a knife, then cut it in half. Easy so far. He put one half down in the middle of the board and bit the tip of his tongue, trying to copy how he’d seen others do it before… just a few cuts here… and then there… and a few more…

“Ugh- Why’s everything-” He tipped his head back, blinking back tears as his eyes began to sting. “Seriously, why’s everything gotta be dangerous here?”

You snorted. “Is the devionion too much of a challenge for you?”

“I didn’t say that!” He snapped, but a new wave hit and he reached up to rub his eyes with the back of his hand.

“Aw…” Your voice was light with thinly veiled laughter. “It’s okay, sometimes they still make me cry too.”

“I ain’t cryin’, my eyes hurt,” he grumbled, leaning against the counter.

“Here, let me take that,” you said, reaching around him to pick up the board. He couldn’t see it, but the sizzles and pops testified the accursed vegetable was frying inside.

“Not bad, honestly,” you said, stirring in with a pinch of salt. “A little chunky, but mostly even.”

He blinked again, quickly wiping away a stray tear. “Yeah? Well chopping stuff isn’t so hard it’s all the other stuff that is.”

You chuckled and nodded to the pile of hellshrooms, “Would you mind chopping those up too for me?”

He squinted, your smile mischievous. “Are they gonna hurt too?”

“No,” you laughed, “Sure some of the stuff here is a hassle to work with but I promise the hellshrooms are fine.”

“Okay…” He picked up the knife again while you set the board in front of him. “How am I supposed to chop ‘em?”

“Just in chunks,” you said, placing the hellshrooms down beside him. “About the same size as the devionion.”

“Okay…” he said again a little skeptically, picking up one hellshroom and cutting it up. “This seems weird, what’s it for?”

You hummed and walked around him again, picking through the pantry for a few items before returning to his side and mixing them in a small bowl. 

“We’re making sandwiches,” you said, sprinkling in some seasonings and stirring the sauce.

“These’re gonna be some real weird sandwiches,” he muttered, grabbing another handful of hellshrooms to chop.

“What~?” you teased, leaning into him with a nudge. “You don’t trust me?”

“I didn’t say that,” he said, feeling his face start to warm again. “Just… never made sandwiches like this before.”

You hummed softly, “I think that’s enough, can you add them to the pan?”

“Oh, really? I still had some left, but okay,” he said, turning to dump them into the pan. Should he… stir it too? He glanced at you, but you were still mixing something so he shrugged and picked up the spoon, nudging the veg around a bit. Yeah, that seemed about right.

“Mammon, do you want a taste?” You asked, and he turned only to nearly bump into you.

“W-When’d you get so close?” He asked, stepping back and catching himself on the counter while you stepped closer, a dab of sauce dripping down your finger.

“Hm?” You tilted your head, stepping so close any closer and he might feel you against him. “I’m just offering you a taste~” you cooed, holding your finger up. “Don’t you want to try what we’re making?”

“I-I…” He glanced from your finger to your lips, tempted. “I-isn’t that kinda…?” 

“Kinda what?” You murmured, reaching up to touch his chest. “Weird~?”

He swallowed, the sauce running further down your finger and making him… want…

“You’re so cute,” you mused, meeting his eyes as you brought your finger to your lips, soft tongue peeking out to glide up and lick it clean. “So very cute~”

“Oh… fuck…” he whispered.

You smiled and leaned in closer, pressing your chest against him. “What? No sassy comeback?”

So close.

His wings began to curve around you, his heart rate picking up.

“Comeback for what?” he asked, eyes drifting down to your lips again.

And oh the way his heart leapt when you smiled.

“I missed you,” You cooed, leaning against the counter with your hands at either side of his waist, trapping him despite your shorter stature. “You haven’t been avoiding me, have you?”

“Avoiding you? What? No,” he laughed and turned his gaze up, the heat he’d felt before starting to return. “Don’t be silly, I ain’t avoidin’ ya, I just figure you’re busy.”

“Mm…” You lifted yourself up on your toes, resting your cheek against his shoulder and sighing fondly into his neck. “It has been a lot of work lately…”

He swallowed, flapping his wings in short little bursts.

“I don’t think I’ve really been able to… unwind… in a while either…”

“Well then-” He gripped the counter’s edge, your lips so soft on his neck. “Th-Then why don’t you take the day off? I can fi-hi—”

You wrapped your arms around his neck, pinching him with a sharp little bite.

“Are you really asking me to go?” You pouted, stepping between his legs and rubbing yours up his thigh. “Mammon, can’t I stay?”

“Y-You can do whatever you want,” he said, staring up at the ceiling. 

You giggled and stepped back, “Mammon, look at me~”

He hesitated and you giggled again, letting your hands slip from his neck and down his chest. 

“So cute~”

“Would ya quit callin’ me cute?” He said, finally meeting the mischief in your eyes. “I am a demon too y’know.”

“Right,” you tilted your head slightly, a spark in your eyes. “But aren’t demons a little… weird?”

The look on his face must’ve been amusing, because you stepped back and covered a more genuine laugh. “Oh it’s fine~ everyone’s a little weird, you know? Besides,” you reached out to touch just above his navel, drawing a slow circle around it. “I used to think the Celestial Realm was pretty weird… until I met you.”

A subtle shiver ran through his body, but if he was being honest it was the way it made you smile that really tickled. That seductive, sinful smile…

He swallowed again, his grip on the countertop relaxing.

“What’s so… weird about the Celestial Realm?”

“Oh lots of things,” you said, drawing idle shapes without a care while the tickling began pulsing the further down your touch flirted. “It’s a place I’ve never been, even just thinking about a place where the sun always shines is strange, don’t you think?”

“I mean… it’s always dark here,” he muttered, and you laughed. Ugh, was laughter supposed to tickle too?

“True~ but you know one thing I thought was interesting?” You asked, turning your palm to rest on his stomach and gazing at him with such sweet eyes. “I had no idea angels could fuck,” you said, amusement glittering. “I thought they were all just… prudish or oblivious.”

“I- well-” He blushed and turned his face aside. “It ain’t like we don’t know how stuff works, it’s just not… we- I mean they- they ah, uh…”

“Hey, Mammon?” Your fingers slipped under the hemline of his pants. “Would you… help me unwind a little?”

His grip tightened on the countertop again, the tightness down below even more aggravating when he felt your fingers ghost just shy of his cock.

“H-How would I… help ya with that?” he asked, trying but failing to keep cool.

“Mm…” Your thumb caressed him so lovingly it felt dirty wanting it lower. “Maybe… let me admire you again? I had so much fun last time~”

He wheezed out a laugh, glancing at you through the corner of his eye. “Again? Really?”

“I mean… only if you want me to,” you said with a shrug, “we don’t have to.”

“No, I want to,” he said a little too quick. “B-But ah, y-yeah, we don’t have to.”

You smirked and stepped away to give the hellshrooms a stir. “You’re so cute.”

“Would you quit—” He held his tongue when you glanced over your shoulder, that smirk still plain as day on your face. He looked away. “Never mind.”

You merely shrugged and began to busy yourself with the rest of dinner prep, humming an idle tune all the while. The way you moved around the kitchen was so confident and self assured, picking through the items he’d picked up and separating them into different piles. Maybe Beel was right and this was an emergency, he’d had no idea how to put anything together and you made it look so easy.

And…

There was something about…

It didn’t happen every time, but after a bit he realized it wasn’t some trick of the light or something in his eyes. Every now and then he’d see a flicker of light, like a subtle glow was housed just under your skin. Sometimes it’d shine in your eyes too, and those flickers made him feel real funny. But other times it appeared lower in your chest, and it felt… different when he saw it there.

What did it mean? Was he seeing things?

“Whatcha thinking about so hard?” you teased, cutting a few devispuds into wedges. “Do you not like fries?”

“Huh?” He blinked and shook his head. “No I was just… uh, is it… normal for demons to glow sometimes?”

“Glow?” You repeated, looking up at him. “Oh, you mean the Eyes of Greed?”

“The… what?”

You smirked and set the knife down, then pointed to your chest. “Demons of Greed can sometimes see the essence of the soul. It’s part of your charm.”

“Part of my… charm?”

You nodded and lined the devispud wedges onto the pan, “Yep. You’ll have to learn how to read it of course, but the sparkles can give you ideas of what a person values so you can… well… use it to negotiate and things.”

He watched you open the oven door and place the pan inside. “That doesn’t sound fair.”

“Doesn’t it?” You asked, shutting the door but still bent over, smirking at him as you swayed your hips to the side. “I think it is~ it’s a gift among curses, all demons have them.”

He felt himself warming again, the way you were leaning…

He closed his eyes and crossed his arms, folding his wings more inward around his hips. 

“Is that why you can mess with me? You can see?”

“Mm… no, I’m actually unspecialized right now. I do like Greed, but…” 

Your steps approached him again, the familiarity of sensing you nearby made his heart skip half a beat. He opened his eyes again to see you grinning up at him coyly, hands behind your back.

“I do really enjoy Lust too~”

“O-Oh you do, huh?”

“Mhm~” You tilted your head slightly. “It’s flattering to know I’m desired, you know?” You reached out to touch his arm, focusing your attention on it while you caressed his sleeve. “It’s nice to indulge.”

“Yeah… that makes sense,” he said, relaxing a bit.

You chuckled, “‘That makes sense’, you’re so cute.”

“I’m not—”

“You know what else is fun about Greed though?” You asked, taking another step closer just shy of pressing against him again. “Greed has its own… thrill,” you murmured, lightly trailing your fingertips up his side. “A risk of loss or reward.”

He shivered and you took the opportunity to reach behind in your back pocket. 

“Would you want to play a little game with me, Mammon?”

“A… sure? What kinda game?”

You smiled and took a step back, revealing a single Grimm coin in your hand. “I’d love to make you feel good again, but you seem awfully shy—”

“Oi, I ain’t shy!”

You laughed, “Right. Anyway,  why don’t we turn it into a game? If you call the coin toss right I’ll make you feel real good, and if you don’t,” you shrugged, “I’ll just finish up dinner and be on my way.”

“I…” That actually sounded… kinda good. “But shouldn’t I do something for you too?”

Your eyes glittered with mischief, and you reached out to touch his inner thigh, massaging deep into the muscle making his cock ache. 

“I like to be desired first~” you purred, “It’s more fun that way.”

“You…” His face heated and he crossed his arms, knowing damn well what you were doing but refusing to admit he’d caught on. “Fine, yeah. Coin toss sounds good.”

You grinned and flipped the coin high into the air, caught it, then slapped it on the back of your hand. “Alright,” You shifted closer and placed your knee between his legs, rubbing his thigh with your own. “Call it~”

“Tails,” he said, not wanting to overthink it.

Or overthink how badly he wanted to be right.

“Tails,” you repeated, rubbing your thigh higher up his leg. “Mm~ let’s see if you’ll get lucky.”

“Oi, c’mon don’t do that unless I won—”

Your eyes flicked to his again, alight with glee. “Why? Do you want to win?”

“I—” He blushed, this heat inside made it so hard to think straight. “Quit teasing and just tell me if I won or not!”

You giggled and sidled closer, your hip pressed right against his groin as they swayed with a gentle stroke. “Oh dear~ what happens if you lost? Will you be upset?”

“Of course not! Just show me the coin.”

“Mm…” your tail wound around his leg as you leaned back against his chest, gazing up at him innocently. “Promise you won’t be mad if you lose?”

Flustered, he couldn’t think of what to say, your tail stroking his calf so affectionately.

“I-I ain’t gonna get mad over some game.”

You beamed, tail giving his leg a little squeeze. “You’re so cute~”

“Would you quit—”

“It really is such a shame,” you continued, turning in to face him. “I wanted so badly for you to win, but…” You revealed the coin, showing it was heads up. “Too bad, huh?”

Too bad.

Too…

“Damn,” he said, wings falling slack. He’d wanted to win too, but it was almost a relief to not—

You grabbed the hem of his pants and pulled him forward, startling him.

“H-Hey wait, what’re you—”

You dropped the coin down his pants, the cold of the metal ice on his skin. 

“Well, I don’t need it anymore so you can have it,” you said with an idle shrug, turning on your heel as your tail unwound from his leg. “Consider it a consolation prize.”

“A consol- Oi! The hell was that for?! It was cold!”

You stopped with your back to him, tilting your head to the side.

“… Chopped nuts…”

He clapped his hands over himself, “Wh-What?!”

You looked over your shoulder with amusement, pointing at a bowl. “I said, could you pass me the chopped nuts?”

He scowled and reached over to grab the bowl, handing it to you before walking off. “I’m gonna go take a shower.”

“Yeah, you do that,” you teased, “I’ll finish up dinner.”

——

Mammon couldn’t make it to the bathroom soon enough, the ache almost starting to feel… sore. Luckily no one else was in it, and he locked the door behind him before stripping down then turned on the water and just.

“Fuck.”

He stepped into the shower, letting the hot water roll down his back. His cock didn’t… hurt but it felt…

He tsked, noticing an imprint of the coin on his thigh. 

“Cheeky demon,” he muttered, staring at his cock and watching it twitch. Why wouldn’t it go down? It felt so swollen, so sore, so…

He touched two wet fingers to the bottom side, stroking up his length while fantasizing about your tongue. That delicious, luscious, sinful tongue… so soft and wet… 

“So… warm…” he murmured, wrapping his fingers around his cock and starting to stroke. This body… wasn’t like the body he used to have… everything felt… more.

He groaned, leaning forward against the wall and closing his eyes.

More.

The way your eyes lit up whenever he’d fall for your teasing.

The subtle purse of your lips as you blew on the spoon before tasting for seasoning.

The way your moans tickled his cock as you swallowed it down your throat.

“Fuck,” he grit his teeth, chasing that high.

More.

Seeing you nestled between his legs, nuzzling him with—

His lower abdomen clenched, the swelling ache rising.

Cumming so hard only to watch you swallow it down, suckling him clean before you’d raised your head…

Why…

Had that been…

So…

“Fuhhhck…” he moaned, stroking himself faster. Almost. Just a little—

All he wanted was—

“Hh… hahhh…” He breathed out before his eyes rolled back, pumping his cock until he came, the euphoria of relief erasing all thought from his mind. 

Just…

Bliss.

Bliss…

The water continued to rain down,  and he leaned his cheek against the cool tile, reveling in the feeling. Hot and cold. Raw and numb.

Cumming had never felt anything like this before…

And…

He shivered, glancing down at himself and unable to help imagining you kneeling there, even rolling hips a few times for good measure.

Cumming could feel… even better…

He chuckled to himself, feeling a little clearer headed while he finished cleaning up. Maybe being a demon really wouldn’t be so bad. 

The shower helped too, and once he’d dried off he began to redress, pulling up his pants while a golden glint caught his eye.

The coin.

That damn coin.

He’d had a fifty-fifty shot and that stupid coin!

He picked it up, flipping it over in his hand.

Well, at least they let him…

Wait a second.

He threw open the door and ran down to the kitchen, unable to find you there before he checked the dining hall where you, Asmo, Beel, and Belphie were sitting down to eat. You were giving Belphie a plate to send up to Levi.

“Could you bring this up to him for me? He won’t answer the door when I go up there?”

“Ugh, do I have to? I’m so tired…”

“Please, Belphie?”

Belphie sighed and picked up the plate, “Fine… I’ll be back.”

“Thank you~” you cooed, giving him a little hug while plating up a pile of sandwiches for Beel, “Now Beel, you’ll have to tell me what you think so I can—”

“Oi!” He strode in, holding up the coin. “What’s this?!”

“Well hello there, Mammon.” Asmo teased, holding his chin in his hand. “Did you forget to finish getting dressed?”

“Shaddup,” he said, stopping in front of you.

You looked from the coin to him, your smile giving away what your voice did not.

“Why, it’s a single Grimm coin, Mammon.”

“No it ain’t,” he said, holding it up in front of you. “It’s got two faces!”

“Oh wow would you look at that.”

“Would y-” He growled, holding the coin in his fist. “That means you cheated! There was no way it was gonna be tails!”

Asmo gasped and looked between the two of you, “Wait, what happened?”

You merely shrugged and turned to pull out a chair. “Nothing really, just teaching Mammon some demon games.”

“It ain’t a game if I have no chance to win!” he protested, and you looked up at him with a smirk.

“Nonsense~ you had equal chance to say heads.”

Asmo laughed, “Oh~ that’s clever! Do you know any other demon games?”

“I know plenty,” you said, giving Asmo a wink. “I’d love to show you some time.”

“R… Really?” Asmo asked, his face turning a little pink. 

“Now wait just a sec—”

“Sit down, Mammon,” you said, patting the open seat beside you. “Come have dinner before it gets cold.”

“I- but—”

You raised a brow, that mischievous light shining in your eyes yet again.

“Ugh…” He sat down heavily, trying to not sulk too much. 

He should’ve said heads.

Dammit, he should’ve said heads.

“Let me know what you think,” you said, reaching out to pinch his knee. “I worked really hard on it~”

“Mammon, are you getting sick? Your face is looking rather flush~”

“Shaddup Asmo, yours is too!” 

“It is not!”

You snickered and refilled your glass of Demonus, lounging back in your seat while demons bickered around you. He tried to not look too much. Tried to not think too much. Tried to not ache too much as your throat flexed, swallowing the Demonus down, wishing it’d been…

“Is that enough or do you want more?” 

“Huh?”

You smirked, gesturing to his plate. “If you want more you might want to hurry,” you said, nodding to Beel who was four sandwiches in.

“It’s sh’o good,” Beel said happily, sauce smeared on his face. “What’s in it? There’s a spiciness I really like.”

“I’ll write the recipe down for you, Beel,” you said cheerfully, either unaware or expert at playing coy.

Asmo, though, seemed to catch on more than he would’ve liked, leaning back to smirk at him out of your line of sight.

He scowled at him and picked up a sandwich, pointedly ignoring all of them as he took a bite.

Damn.

Who would’ve guessed hellshrooms could taste so good?

[pistachi0art]

Hlvrai Complementary Colors (kinda like a personality swap au? More like “if the characters were fucked up and twisted and emo” >:) )

Gordon (from orange to blue): lost everything and really didn’t know how to cope properly. Play a game to not think about it? Why not. Gets waaaay too deep into it and starts projecting negative thoughts to everyone and everything around him. he’s really sad but covers it up by being an asshole. fun. Especially lashes out at Ben.

Benrey: (blue to orange.): Softie. He’s missing an eye bc he sucks and knows it- that’s what his brother told him :( thinks he can fix gordon but is often beat up because of it. boo. Well at least he can keep the rest of the team safe from him if he takes it. Tommy’s nice? Kinda. Better than the rest at least.

Tommy (yellow to purple): NOT A PHASE DAD. Is pretty laid back despite his problems. Has a black lab with three heads bc it’s cool. Named it Crush. Paints his nails black w/ Benrey bc he’s tolerable. Accuracy is still 100 despite never handling a gun. Poor guy needs a proper father figure and a hug :/

Dr. Coomer (green to red): FERAL BEING FULL OF HATRED AND RAGE. Anytime he kills a clone his mind gets a tad clearer- and he asks more questions…

Bubby (teal to reddish-orange): spent too much time and his tube and now is really curious about everything- which makes him very danger prone. Still can kick ass and has a tendency to set stuff on fire. What a pretty blue color. Bonds w/ Coomer when he’s coherent enough to interact with.

[seven-oomen]

Since I've had quite a bad day today I decided to pauze the writing for Caught somewhere in time for the day and instead work on some Clone / Clone wars headcanons of my own that I'm going to include in the fic. Link now under cut!!

A few things that will be a plot point:

Parentage of Cal Kestis (Like one of them is Obi-Wan, but the other...??? I know, you don't.)

Romance of Cody and Obi-Wan

Sibling relationship between Anakin, Cal, and Ahsoka

Corruption in the senate (Sith Lord and after)

Way to free the clones and end order 66 (chip storyline)

Headcanons:

The Jedi can tell all the clones apart by their presences in the force. It's like a second nature to them. They never mix them up.

Cody likes to knit.

Obi-Wan finds that an absolute delight and happily provides him with the materials and anything else he needs.

Although all the clones can technically count as 'twins' only the ones that shared a gestational pod are considered official twins among the clones. Fives and Echo are among these twins. The prevalence of 'twin births' is about 3%.

Triplets also occur but they are much rarer, there have been three documented cases in the history of the clone troopers. I kinda wanna headcanon that Cody, Fox, and Wolffe are one of these triplets. Out of the three Cody was the smallest at birth. (He caught up later just fine).

Echo has a photographic memory, Fives has a natural gift to spot patterns and connections.

Wolffe seems like a stuck up hardass, but he's an actual softie on the inside and has a knack for sensing when his brothers or others need him the most. His pack is his life.

Fox honors his name by having a very mischievous streak with his brothers. Even if he seems to be a bitch for the rules in every day life, his brothers know him better than that.

Wolffe is excellent at poker.

Fox and Echo battle for the title of Holo-tactic champion.

Waxer is actually fantastic with kids, this stems from his time in training, when he would often visit his little cadet brothers and spend time with them.

Kix is an excellent cook.

Cody can't cook to save his life. Neither can Obi-Wan. Fortunately Obi-Wan knows the right people who can cook.

All the clones are caf drinkers, black, no additives.

Rex carves jewelry like bracelets for everyone, Cody puts trackers in everything Rex carves, or he knits. He'll find a way.

All the clones have unique sleeping positions. It's one of the ways to tell them apart.

Cal and Anakin have a brotherly rivalry, to the point where Cal has actively tried to electrocute Anakin, and Anakin has attempted to force push Cal down a flight of stairs. But if anyone else tries to harm one of them, the other unleashes hellfire upon the assailant.

Cal and Ahsoka quickly become best friends and team up against Anakin whenever the situation allows for it. Obi-Wan actively encourages this, it's hilarious to him.

Among Anakin, Ahsoka, and Cal; Obi-Wan is known as mom. Cody is dubbed 'dad' at some point. The other clones find this hilarious.

While Ahsoka starts as a relatively short teenager, her species tends to grow larger than the average human. So by the time she's an adult, she stands at a respective 200 cm (6'6.7). Anakin hates this in particular, because he was used to being the tallest in the group.

And that's what I got so far. Will probably add more at some point.

[cresent2003]

First time

Oh Daehyun x Joo! Reader

Unedited

Rain covered her car as she sat in the parking lot for the gym her older brother went to.

She was unsure of being here but after getting in a bad fight with her roommate she just wanted to be far away from her apartment.

He would try to push her away and she knew that but she knew how to handle Jaekyung.

He was always mean and angry but was a softie towards her.

At least he was most days.

Blossom grabbed her umbrella before getting out of her car.

She walked to the gym before rushing inside as the massive puddles splashed her shoes.

She put her umbrella in the umbrella holder by the door before walking to the front desk.

"Hello, welcome.

What can I help you with?" the sweet young lady sitting behind the front desk asked.

"I'm here to visit someone.

Where is the team black gym?" Blossom asked.

"It's on level two on the left.

May I ask who you visiting?

The team is preparing for a championship and could do without distractions" the young lady said.

"My brother.

Joo Jaekyung" she said softly not wanting to come off like she was trying to show off.

"Perfect.

Go right that way and there should be an elevator" the young lady said.

"Thanks," Blossom said before walking to the elevator.

Sue went up to the second floor before walking to the gym.

She walked in and was met with her brother almost killing a trainee.

She looked around before catching her eyes with the coach.

"Hey can I help you?" he asked as he smiled at her in a way that she couldn't decide if it was fake or not.

"I'm here to see my brother.

I guess it's been a while Joesph" she said.

"Blossom?

It's been years.

How are you?" he asked as he lit up to know she wasn't a stranger.

"Recently not very great.

My roommate is causing issues and I need to find a new place quickly" she said.

"I've got a spare room at my place.

You're welcome to stay with me" he said.

She looked at him "I was hoping my brother would offer actually.

Sorry," she said.

"Don't worry.

Hey Jaekyung your sisters here!" he said before walking away.

Suddenly she felt all eyes on her as Jaekyung walked over with an unamused expression.

"What are you doing here?

You have your own place, why bother me?" he said as he walked past her to get some water.

"About that.

Maise kicked off again.

I'm not going back there as she just pisses me off.

I'm not letting myself turn into you because of a stupid fight" she said.

He smirked.

"What are you Hoping for?

You're not living at my place" he said.

"Alright.

But if you don't want me there I need to borrow money for a hotel for a month or so" she said.

He groaned "You always do this.

I'm not here to help you out with every single damn problem.

Get out" he said.

"I'm not doing anything.

I'm sorry im having to do this but I have no one else.

You know what this was a mistake.

I'll just sleep in my car" she said before walking to the door.

"Wait.

Until the gym closes you're staying here" he said.

"Fine.

I just want to be away from my apartment" she said.

She turned around before feeling her face drop as Jaekyung walked away.

"Bastard" she muttered before sitting down on a bench.

She watched everyone train for a long time before yawning as her body began to finally relax after everything.

Suddenly a fighter sat next to her.

He was tall and had a calm expression as he drank his water to cool down.

She looked at him as a drop of water poured from his lips to his collarbones.

He then looked over at her.

She quickly looked away before cursing under her breath.

She had never been that obvious in all her life.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," she said.

"You new here?

Sorry I but I've never seen you before" he said.

"Kinda.

I'm Jaekyung's sister" she said.

"Damn.

That really shows how much he doesn't like me.

I never knew that and to be honest, no one here does" he said.

She smiled "It's fine.

I don't come here often" she said.

"So does that mean your big bad brother won't beat me to a bloody pulp for this?" he asked.

She laughed causing him to smile.

"Hopefully not.

Sadly I won't be able to help if he does" she said.

"Really?

I thought you would be a fighter like him" he said.

"No.

Oh god no.

I'm not a fighter.

I've always wanted to be an artist actually" she said.

"Do you want to learn?" he asked.

"What?" she asked as she looked at him causing her confidence to shrink like she was.

He was stunning "To fight.

Do you want me to teach you to fight?" he said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Um..." she said.

"Sure but I won't be any good.

I'm very clumsy" she said.

"Do worry I'll keep you steady" he said.

Why was she doing this?

This was a really bad idea?

Everyone gathered around as Blossom watched the man she had just met wrap her hands.

"I'll be behind you so you can get the moments," he said.

"Ok.

Um, I just realized I don't know your name" she said.

"Daehyun," he said with a smile.

"I'm Blossom," she said.

"Pretty just like you" he said causing her to blush harshly.

"Cool," she said.

He moved to stand behind her causing some of the team to send a few whistles their way.

He wrapped his hands around hers causing her skin to tingle.

His hands were rough but gentle as he lined up with her.

He placed his hand on her stomach causing her to gasp.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah im fine" she said.

She then watched as he began to show her a few moves.

"Go like this and then like this and you'll land a good few hits on who you're fighting.

Just remember to hit hard.

Throw your body into one punch" he said before running his hands down her arms.

If her brother saw this she would have to watch a really gorgeous but kind fighter get torn apart.

"Try it," he said.

She threw a punch into the punching bag in front of her before smiling as she made the heavy bag move.

"You're strong," he said.

"I used to pull my brother off people when he got in fights," she said.

He laughed "How you're half his size?" he asked.

"I couldn't tell you honestly," she said before looking at him causing the world to stand still.

What was this feeling?

It was as if he was looking directly into her soul.

It burned but she could pull away.

"With a few more lessons you'll be ready to beat any mugger up" he said.

"Awesome," she said.

"What the hell are you two doing? Jaekyung asked as he walked up to them.

"Nothing.

Go train" she said.

"The fuck you say?" he asked.

"Woah calm down," Daehyun said.

"I'm twenty-three Jae.

Stop treating me like im five.

He was being really nice" she said.

He looked at her before walking away.

"I'm so sorry," she said.

"Hey, it's not your fault.

He's been throwing tantrums all day" he said.

She smiled before looking at her watch.

"When does the gym close?" she asked.

"In the minutes," he said.

"Ok.

Would you by any chance know any good hotels nearby?" she asked.

"Yeah.

Fight with your boyfriend?" he asked.

She laughed "Roommate," she said.

"Well if you want you can join me and some of the guys for drinks and a meal.

I can then take you to a hotel near the gym.

It's all on me" he said.

"I could use a good drink.

Why the hell not" she said.

"Cool.

Meet me by the door in ten.

It was nice meeting you by the way" he said before running off.

She smiled before looking over to see her brother "Do you hate that im here?" she asked.

"No," he said before walking away again.

"Ok then," she said before walking to a bench that was by the door.

Minutes passed as she tapped her foot on the floor before hearing a group of rowdy guys.

It was like a tornado as it came her way tearing apart everything in its way.

"Hey you're still here" Daehyun said as he walked to her in a maroon shirt and jeans.

"Dude I told you she wouldn't run away.

Maybe you didn't scare her off unlike the last one" one of the guys around him said.

Daehyun hit him before looking at her.

"Come on.

You can ride with me" he said.

She stood up.

"Will it be ok if I leave my car in the car park?

I don't have the money to be paying fines at the moment" she said.

"Nah it's free parking.

Coach will hook you up anyway" he said as they walked out of the gym.

She then looked around at all the cars that looked similar in many ways.

Expensive cars were like that.

At least the ones she saw the most of were almost the same.

"This way.

Mines way at the back" he said.

"You're gonna let the young lady walk all that way.

You bastard" another one of the guys around him joked.

"Don't listen to them.

I sure don't" he said.

She laughed "Alright," she said before looking at him.

Once they got to his truck he opened the door for her.

"You don't have to show off," she said.

"I'm not showing off," he said.

She got in his truck before watching him run over to his side.

He got in before looking at her.

"I still can't believe your that picking time bombs sister.

I can now see some resemblance but I still wouldn't have a clue either way" he said.

"Don't worry.

Everyone is shocked it thinks im lying.

To be honest I wouldn't pretend to be his sister even if I wanted.

I'm still trying to get past being in his shadow and all that so" she said.

"You're not in his shadow.

You radiate your own light" he said before starting to drive to the bar he was taking her to.

"Are you always this forward?" she asked as her curiosity took over.

"Actually not in the slightest.

I don't know you're just different.

Unlike a quick fling I actually want to get to know you" he said.

He drove to the bar before they both got out and went inside with the others.

She looked around before sitting in a boof with everyone causing her to press against Daehyun.

"Sorry," she said as she looked into his eyes.

"It's fine.

Move over a little" he said as he wrapped her arm around her shoulders.

"There.

Is that better?" he asked.

"Yeah.

Thanks" she said.

They all ordered a large round of shots and other drinks as Blossom struggled to focus on anything but how warm Daehyun was.

She had to stop herself from cuddling into him.

They all started taking shot after shot as Blossom struggled to realise how much of a lightweight she was.

This wasn't going to end well but as the vodka hit she didn't care.

She placed her head on his shoulder as he took another shot.

"Another," she said as she picked up another shot.

"This is gonna get me in trouble," he said.

"Don't worry.

It'll be fine" she said slowly as she slurred her words causing him to laugh.

They both took about her shot and then another and another before they were almost on the floor.

She looked at him "You're pretty" she said.

"Thank you," he said.

"You know it would be really funny if you just kissed me right now.

I mean we just met.

That would be hilarious" she said.

Suddenly his lips were on hers as the alcohol made the idea of a hookup very appealing.

"Hey?

Why did you do that?" she said.

"I wanted to," he said.

"That's fair," she said before trying to kiss him as she missed his lips.

"You're so cute," he said before knowledge kissing her.

He wrapped his arms loosely around her.

"Bathroom?" he asked.

"I'm no classic hookup, good sir," she said.

"I'll make you feel really good.

Plus we won't even remember this so no regrets right" he said.

"Alright.

Come on" she said as she stumbled to the bathroom with his behind her.

Thankfully everyone left as he would never be able to forget this might if they witnessed the both of them being lightweights.

Daehyun slammed against the wall of the disabled stall as he sloppily kissed her neck before taking off her leggings.

He unbuttoned his jeans releasing his cock.

"So big.

Wow, you're so pretty" she said as she wrapped her hand around his cock causing him to moan as he turned red.

"Put it in.

I'm getting bored" she said.

He kissed her before lifting her thighs.

Daehyun slammed into her causing her to let out a loud moan.

"Good.

Fuck so good" She couldn't hold herself back ad he hit every spot that had her dripping.

He moaned into the crook of her neck as his sloppy thrusts did enough to get them both feeling ecstasy.

He pulled her hair as he shivered against her body.

He didn't have enough brainpower to make himself last longer as he shot his cum inside her.

"Fuck.

Your pussy is so good" he said as he continued to thrust into her.

"Cumming oh fuck" she said before convulsing as she came onto his cock.

It wasn't a meaningful hookup but in their drunk state they were now bonded for life but as they both went for round two all she could think about was what Jaekyung would do when this became a rumour.

[nanaosaki3940]

A Condition Called Love [Tokyo Revengers]

|| Tokyo Revengers ||

(Almost follows the canon storyline of TR & is up-to-date with the manga.) 

Genre: Romance, Fluff, Angst. 

Note: A very long post (A collection of snippets from my original Tokyo Revengers fanfic. I know this is an xOC fic but you can read it as self-insert)

TR masterlist

"When I see you, it's as if space and time become the finest point imaginable as if time collapses into one tiny speck and explodes at light speed. It's as if my universe begins and ends with you. I could run forever, search forever, but in the end, every path leads right back to your heart and soul. I love you, always."

- Keisuke Baji 

Nana's POV 

As far as I could recall my memories, I had known the Sano family for ages now. My father's family, the Osaki and the Sano (who were apparently also my neighbor) had been family friends for generations, was what I had been told by my parents and the others. So, growing up, the people I always found myself surrounded by (besides my own parents) were the Sano brothers and their idiotic friends.

Shinichiro Sano, the eldest son of the Sano family, also the founder and First Generation President of Black Dragon, had always been a kind and sympathetic individual; a total softie if I must say. Known by everyone in the delinquent world as the 'Weak King', Shinichiro was yet a terrible fighter but nonetheless a charming and charismatic leader. Back when he led all the tough guys in Tokyo, to me, Shinichiro sparkled brighter than anything. All the delinquents in Tokyo respected and idolized him, a guy who was weaker than them, and sometimes this confused the heck out of his younger brother Manjiro. 

"Shinichiro-Nii... Even though you suck at fighting, you're girl-crazy and your farts stink, how come all the guys like you?" Manjiro once asked him that. 

"Haha, you just don't get it yet, Manjiro." was what Shinichiro responded back then with a bright smile and a hearty chuckle.

Maybe back then Manjiro didn't understand what made his older brother so special, but I on the other hand knew and understood everything. In one of many memories of mine, I could recall how Shinichiro never liked taking those dojo classes with his grandfather and always skipped the classes whenever he got his sweet chance. In his words, he would rather hang around with his gang (the Black Dragon) while riding his bike across the city than spend hours at the dojo with Grandpa Sano who kept scolding him for everything like a broken radio.

But despite his carefree attitude, Shinichiro was sensible, responsible, and reliable. Whatever the situation was, Shinichiro was always there, right in the front, reaching out his hand to anyone who needed help and saving. Aside from that, he also had a charm that attracted people around him, but even with that charm, Shinichiro never resorted to violence. He was just so kind and earnest that even the people who fought him ended up liking him.

And that's why I was attracted to Shinichiro in the first place. Even when he playfully warned me - "Don't go falling for my good looks now" - I still ended up falling for him hard. Before I could even realize how it happened or when it happened, I was madly in love with Shinichiro Sano despite him being 10 years older than me.

Another thing that I could recall from the past was what his friends (Takeomi Akashi, Wakasa Imaushi, and Keizo Arashi) used to call him back then - "A loser in both fights and love" and it was because of his inability to fight despite him being the leader of a delinquent gang and him getting rejected by women 20 times consecutively. I never understood why girls never liked Shinichiro or why he got rejected every single time. Good looks, charming personality, leadership quality, strong morality - he had it all, yet women still rejected his love confessions without giving a thought to his feelings. And not just his looks and personality, he also had this aura of warmth and homeliness that could make anyone feel comfortable and safe around him and that he was the kind of person who would cry along with and for someone if they got hurt or were in pain of some sort. 

In my opinion, those women were really dumb for letting go of an angel like him because to me, there was no one else like Shinichiro Sano. 

On the other hand, his brother Manjiro, the youngest son of the Sano family, was quite the opposite of his older brother Shinichiro. Manjiro was selfish, bratty, clingy, and possessive, yet was sometimes sweet and understanding all at the same time. He was someone who looked down on the weak ones and deemed himself as the strongest in the whole of Shibuya, all the way back from our elementary school days. He was everything that Shinichiro wasn't, meaning his personality wasn't likable enough for me and my taste, but even so somehow Manjiro and I still managed to get along with each other pretty well and became best friends for life in the process. People around us used to say that I was quite mature for my age while Manjiro was the most childish one between the two of us, we somehow balanced each other despite being the polar opposite of one another. Growing up together ever since when we were still in diapers, Manjiro and I had known each other for the longest and because of that we were practically inseparable.

Even to this day, I could still remember all those beautiful memories of mine with the Sano family like how my parents were so good friends with Mrs. Sano (Shinichiro and Manjiro's mother) when they were all alive and well or how Shinichiro used to babysit me and Manjiro back in the days when he was still in middle or high school or how we used to play and spend our time together with Takeomi's (Shinichiro's friend) younger siblings named Haruchiyo and Senju at the Akashi residence with Shinichiro and Takeomi by our side and the list goes on and on. And in every single one of my memories, I always found Manjiro there with me by my side all the time, never once leaving me alone even for a single minute. As if I was his other half and he was mine.

Although I didn't have any clear memories of Mr. Sano (Shinichiro and Manjiro's father) because he died in a car accident when Manjiro and I were only 3 years old, I did use to hear stories from either Shinichiro or Mrs. Sano about him like how he was so kind and gentle as a person or how Manjiro got his looks from his father and everything. At school or on a playground, I never felt lonely or abandoned because of Manjiro. He was always there whenever I needed him whether it was to support me, cheer me up, or grace me with his "cool and mighty" presence. I thought as long as I had Manjiro with me, I wouldn't need anyone else. But then I was proven to be wrong not so long after. In our own little world full of rainbows and unicorns, when it was just me and Manjiro, someone else suddenly walked into our lives and changed the whole dynamic of our friendship; it was Keisuke Baji. 

Manjiro and I met Keisuke for the first time when all three of us were only four years old. Living in the same neighborhood as us, Keisuke just newly joined the Sano dojo to learn martial arts from Grandpa Sano while Manjiro and I were already a part of the student body back then. As time passed by at the Sano dojo, I started to learn more and more about Keisuke as a person before realizing that his personality rested somewhere in between my mature one and Manjiro's childish one.

From my point of view, Keisuke Baji was kind, obedient, bashful, gullible, somewhat playful and yet was also pretty much brainless, and stupid. But also at the same time, he was loud, competitive, aggressive, and violent. Keisuke was the first person in my life that I had seen someone having a major anger issue. And aside from his hotheadedness, he was also very perceptive of the things around him and was fiercely loyal to the ones he loved and cared for the most. In other words, Keisuke Baji was wild and free, like a bird soaring high up in the sky with its wings spread wide open. 

Back in the days, Keisuke always used to challenge Manjiro in fights to see who was better at martial arts but in the end, would always get his ass whipped by the blonde Sano boy, and being the only mature one in the group, I always had to step in and stop the fight before giving medical attention to the ravenette boy named Keisuke. 

"Good, that's enough!!" Grandpa Sano shouted out to the students, letting them know that the class was over for today. 

Manjiro, Keisuke, and I were also there in the midst of many students in the dojo, getting ready to pack things up, and at the moment, Shinichiro who was a middle schooler back then, sneaked into the dojo to pay us a small visit. 

"Yo, Nana-chan, Keisuke, what's up?" Shinichiro called out with a grin on his face, leaning back on the doorframe with his schoolbag slinging on his shoulder. "You two sure got a pretty solid body for little kids..." 

"Shinichiro-kun!" 

"Shin-chan!" 

Both Keisuke and I greeted him back with a bright smile, our eyes twinkling like the stars in the sky. But Shinichiro's smile on the other hand immediately vanished in thin air when we called out his name out loud. 

"Keep it down, you dummies!" Shinichiro scolded us lightly with a nervous look on his face before running away from there. 

"Shinichiro!!" Grandpa Sano yelled out with a scowling face but the ravenette Sano boy had already left the spot. "Dammit! Always messing around, never coming to the dojo. Don't you two turn out like him, Nana and Keisuke! Both of you got potential." 

"Y-Yes, sir!" Keisuke and I responded back nervously. 

And just then our attention shifted towards Manjiro who was still practicing his special move; high kicks. 

"Sensei, how come he's so good, even though he never practices?" Keisuke asked with furrowed eyebrows. 

"He's a prodigy!" Gramps replied in a proud tone. 

"Whaaat?! No fair! Why's he get to be the one?!" Keisuke complained. 

"Because he's my grandson!" Gramps smirked at Keisuke in response. 

But Keisuke being Keisuke wouldn't give up that easily and stomped towards Manjiro. 

"Hey, Sano! Spar with me!!" Keisuke demanded. 

"Huh? No way!" Manjiro immediately rejected the demand. "I don't wanna get all sweaty." 

"Then why would you come to the dojo?!" Keisuke asked, pointing at Manjiro in an accusation manner. 

"To show off how cool I am. I wanna stand out!" Manjiro replied, flashing out a cheeky grin. 

"Wow, what a jerk!" Keisuke grumbled out in frustration. 

And this wasn't the only time that happened. It later became a daily ritual where Keisuke would challenge Manjiro in a fight and then later get his ass whipped. 

"Damn that Sano!" Keisuke hissed out in frustration while I was putting bandages on his new scars and bruises. 

"Don't get mad, Kei-chan..." I stated in a soft tone and the boy locked his gaze on me. "I'm sure that someday you'll get stronger and beat Jiro-chan in a fight." 

"You believe I can do that, Nana-chan?" Keisuke asked, his gaze softened, and his voice filled with hope and anticipation. 

"Hmm!" I hummed before flashing out a bright smile. "You work hard a lot and you have dedication. Mommy and Daddy say that hard work and dedication always pay off, whatever you do." 

"Really?" 

"Yes! I believe in you, Kei-chan!" 

And right on cue, Keisuke's face went blushing red like a tomato. 

"You know what? I'll help you train, Kei-chan. That way you'll get stronger." I suggested and his eyes went wide open in response. 

"B-But I can't fight you, Nana-chan!" he stuttered out nervously. 

"Why not?" I asked with a pouty face and a frown. "I know I'm not as strong as Jiro-chan, but I can still help." 

"But you're a girl, Nana-chan. My Ma taught me not to hit girls. That's bad." he pointed out. 

"Violence on anyone or anything is bad in general, Kei-chan. And besides, you're not gonna hit me with bad intention, so it's okay." I shrugged and Keisuke's eyes softened again in response. 

"You're really nice, Nana-chan..." he stated in a gentle tone and my eyes widened a bit at his words.  

"You think so?" I asked, a small blush appearing on my face. 

"Yeah! I told my Ma about you and she says you're a nice girl!" he added before hopping on his own two feet. "You know what, Nana-chan? You should come to my house now that we're friends. We can play video games and eat yakisoba together!" 

"Okay!" I giggled out, standing up on my feet as well. "Do you have any anime and manga collections? I love reading manga, you know." 

"No way! Really? Me too!" he gasped out in surprise. 

"Then I guess we should hang out more often!" I laughed out in delight. 

"Yeah!" Keisuke responded back with a huge smile on his face.

And that's when I noticed his left sharp canine tooth poking out in between his closed lips as he continued to smile at me. Curiosity got the best of me as I reached out and touched his pointy tooth. 

"W-What are you doing?" he stuttered out and a wave of red flushed his cheeks. 

"Your canine tooth was poking out in between your closed lips. That's really cute, Kei-chan." I giggled at him again. 

"C-C-Cute?!" he gasped out in shock. 

"Yeah, cute!" I nodded my head in agreement. 

"I'm not cute! I'm manly! Stop teasing me, Nana-chan!" he grumbled out with pouty lips. 

"Huh? I'm not teasing you. I'm just stating the fact. And who said you can't be cute if you're manly? I think you can be both manly and cute at the same time if you want." I pointed out and his blush deepened even more than before. 

Yeap, Keisuke Baji sure was a cute and adorable boy back then. 

And speaking of cute and adorable, when we were like 5-6 years old, a new addition came into the Sano family all of a sudden; Emma Sano. Through my parents, I got to know that Emma's mother was Mr. Sano's second wife and was a year younger than me, Manjiro and Keisuke. Meaning that Emma was Shinichiro and Manjiro's half-sister.

Everything just happened all of a sudden and happened way too fast in my opinion.

On one bright day, Emma's mom suddenly appeared out of nowhere at the Sano residence with Emma and dropped her daughter there in the care of Grandpa Sano, and just left. And when I meant left, I meant she never came back for Emma again. So from that day onwards, Emma became a part of the Sano family and a part of our friend group. It was already weird enough for me to learn that Mr. Sano had another wife while Mrs. Sano (Shinichiro and Manjiro's mother) was still alive and now this? 

"Huh? Wow! So you got different moms?" Keisuke asked in surprise and amazement as the four of us (Me, Manjiro, Keisuke and Emma) sat on the floor at the dojo after today's practice before Keisuke looked over at Manjiro with a grin on his face. "Sounds like a foreigner's name." 

"I know right?" Manjiro grinned back. 

"Then I will be Edward. Ed for short." Keisuke suddenly stated out of nowhere. 

"And... I'll be Michael. Mikey for short." Manjiro added as the two boys continued to grin like idiots. 

"Huh? What the hell?" I deadpanned at those two while Emma remained unfazed. 

"Nana-chin, pick a foreign name for yourself!" Manjiro stated excitedly, looking over at me with a smirk. 

"No way in hell." I rejected him immediately. 

"You're no fun, Nana-chan!" Keisuke complained. 

"Oh, I know! It's 'Nina' for Nana-chin! Or, maybe 'Nancy'. Or, 'Nathalie'..." Manjiro went on and on. 

"I think I like Nina better!" Keisuke chimed in. 

"Nina it is then!" Manjiro finalized. 

"Hey, I never asked for an American name!" I snapped but those two idiots won't listen as they began to talk in broken English among themselves, causing me to let out a heavy sigh in response. "I give up. Those two are hopeless..." 

"To be honest I know..." Emma suddenly spoke up for the first time in hours and we all turned our attention to her. "I know how Mommy feels... Mommy hates me. That's why she got rid of me. I know, but she told me she would come to get me after she finished her errands. She said so..." 

And with that, she started to sob in front of us, tears flowing down her chubby cheeks. At that moment, I didn't know what to say to comfort her even though I wanted to. It wasn't like Emma and I became really close friends as soon as she arrived at the Sano residence, but I knew I wanted to be friends with her; my first female friend. 

"I want to make Emma-chan smile..." I spoke up at the dining table later that night while eating dinner. 

"You want to be friends with her?" Mom asked me with a smile and I nodded my head in response. 

"But I don't know how to approach her though..." I added with a pouty face. "Every time we practice at the dojo, she would just stand outside and watch us from the doorway." 

"Maybe she wants to learn martial arts, but is too shy to ask anyone to teach her?" Dad pointed out. "Maybe you can become her teacher. You already train with Keisuke after class, right? Ask her to join you guys." 

"That sounds like a plan!" I responded back with a bright smile, loving the idea my Dad gave me. 

And then according to my plan, I approached Emma the next day and asked her to join us for the training, and to my surprise, she happily agreed. It wasn't as hard as I imagined. Maybe she also wanted to be friends with us after all then. So every day after the dojo classes ended, Keisuke and I would stay back and teach Emma some of the martial art moves we knew. 

"You're learning from them, Emma?" 

The three of us looked over to the side and noticed Manjiro standing at the doorway with a deadpanned face and this offended me and Keisuke to no extent. 

"What do you mean 'learning from them', huh?!" Keisuke snapped, frowning his eyebrows at the blonde Sano boy. 

"Just because we're not as strong as you, Jiro-chan, doesn't mean we can't teach Emma-chan martial arts!" I added, crossing my arms over my chest. 

"Yeah! And besides, we're also getting stronger because of our hard work and dictation!" Keisuke stated proudly, puffing his chest. 

"Kei-chan, it's dedication, not dictation." I deadpanned at the ravenette boy. 

"Oh really?" Keisuke asked in confusion and I facepalmed myself in response. 

"I will be Mikey from now on..." Manjiro spoke up again as he walked over to us.  

"Huh?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow as we all gave him a confused look. 

"If your big bro's name is Mikey, then we match, so it's not weird, right? So it's just gonna be Mikey now, Emma." Manjiro clarified himself and hearing this, Emma let out a chuckle in amusement. 

"Wah, she finally laughed!" Keisuke whispered into my ear in surprise. 

"I know right?" I whispered back, surprised as well. 

"You don't get girls at all. I wasn't worried about my name." Emma continued to giggle.

"Ah, you smiled." Manjiro pointed out before his lips curled up into a small smirk. "Don't fall for me now."

"No way, stupid. You are not my type." Emma responded back in a sassy manner. 

And from that day onwards we shared a bond that was completely unbreakable. 

At the age of six, I lost both of my parents in a car accident. My relatives rejected me, saying that I'd be a burden to them. And in a difficult situation like this, the Sano family was kind enough to take me in and give me a roof over my head. Mrs. Sano, Grandpa Sano, Shinichiro, Manjiro, and Emma, all welcomed me into their family with open arms. They became my 2nd family, my 2nd home. Even though I was very young back then, I started to come to terms with my parents' deaths and began to cope with the situation I was in. For myself, to survive in this cruel world, I needed to become strong, both mentally and emotionally. Instead of mourning over my parents' death, I needed to move on with my life, or else I'd never find happiness like this.

As things started to get a little better for me, another tragedy hit us like a typhoon; Mrs. Sano passed away from an illness after being hospitalized for months, just two years after the death of my parents. 

To me, Mrs. Sano was like my second mother and she loved me like her own child. Her death was another shock that I had to cope with along with the Sano family. When Mrs. Sano was still alive, I remember how Manjiro and I used to go visit her in the hospital once a week before going back home after school. There we used to spend hours with her telling her stories of what we did at school or at home and everything. And Manjiro being Manjiro would always share his 'heroic' tales with his mother of how he beat up some random kids at school or at the park, claiming how strong he was. That cocky little shit Manjiro made his mission of asserting his dominance in the whole of Shibuya back then. 

"I met this big guy from East elementary's third grade and I beat him up." Manjiro stated proudly with a huge grin as he and I sat on a chair beside the hospital bed. 

"You're so strong, Manjiro. Just like your father." Mrs. Sano responded back with a warm smile. 

"But violence is bad. Don't you think so too, aunty?" I chimed in and Manjiro threw a dirty glare at me. 

"That's true though. What Nana-chan said is also right." Mrs. Sano added, agreeing with me. 

"You're just saying that because you're weak, Nana-chin!" Manjiro snapped at me. 

"No, you're wrong. I'm not weak and I can fight!" I snapped back, huffing and crossing my arms over my chest. "Unlike you, I'm not a violent person and I don't pick up fights with random people to assert my dominance! Not to mention you always make them cry!" 

"They cry because they're weak. It's their fault that they're weak!" Manjiro tried to reason. 

"But children cry easily, don't they?" Mrs. Sano asked with a smile. 

"Did Daddy also cry easily?" Manjiro asked. 

"I wonder if he ever cried in public though?" Mrs. Sano wondered before her lips curled up into a smile. "That man was hopeless..." 

The way she smiled, I knew she was thinking about Mr. Sano at that moment. There were times when Mrs. Sano used to tell us stories about Mr. Sano which clearly indicated how much she still loved him and missed him. 

"You love Daddy very much, don't you, Mom?" Manjiro asked, tilting his head to the side. 

"You think so?" Mrs. Sano chuckled out with a smile. 

"Well, then I'll be like Daddy too!" Manjiro stated with a big grin on his face. 

But that happiness didn't last long when Mrs. Sano's condition worsened even more. I could still remember the last encounter I had with her. We all went to visit her one last time at the hospital where Manjiro boasted about his victories in fights as usual, and stated that weak guys did not cry so he will not cry as well. He also promised to protect her. However, Mrs. Sano told him that, just because he did not cry did not mean that he was strong. She also revealed that he used to be a crybaby when he was younger. To lighten the heavy situation, I even ridiculed him for being a "crybaby" which made Manjiro furious but Mrs. Sano and I simply shrugged him off and laughed away together. 

Three days later after our final visit, Mrs. Sano took her last breath and passed away. The Sano family and I all went to visit her at the hospital where her lifeless body was kept in a room, and there we all grieved and sobbed, except for Manjiro. At first, I was worried, wondering where he went but later I found him in one of the hospital corridors bawling his eyes out. Manjiro wanted to be strong. He wanted to appear strong. He didn't want to be deemed as weak. That's why he always went around and beat up people in order to prove a point that he was the strongest in the area he was at. And because of that, he didn't shed tears during his final visit to his mother. Even at that moment, he didn't want his family to see him cry like this.

I understood how he felt. I understood his pain. After all, I was also an orphan like him. I didn't say a word and simply walked over to him before pulling him into a bear hug. I let him cry silently on my shoulders. Manjiro knew I won't tell anyone about him shedding tears. We might bicker with each other every now and then, but when it came to keeping secrets, we always trusted each other to no extent. 

"Nana-chin, promise me you'll never leave my side..." he sobbed causing me to tighten my grip around him even more.  

"I promise, Manjiro... I promise...." 

Even though I said I understood his pain and suffering as a fellow orphan, I actually never realized what he was actually going through after his mother passed away. As time went by, I noticed some sudden changes in Manjiro which were very concerning. He was getting more and more aggressive and violent and started picking up fights with even older guys on the streets and alleyways. When I confronted him about this, Manjiro explained his situation to me - "Dark Impulse".

He explained that something dark was growing inside him and whenever he succumbed to that darkness, it conflicted with the aspects of his personality and contradicted his behavior like how he felt attracted to violence and wanted to embrace a life of violence by committing multiple atrocities or otherwise or how his emotions would shut down and that would make him act indifferent towards anyone while holding a cold poker face or how he felt capable of hurting or even gunning down his dear ones. 

At first, I got worried about his mental state when he told me all of that but then he also assured me that his "Dark Impulse" was in complete control and that there was nothing to be afraid of. As gullible as I was back then, I believed his words and that was the biggest mistake of my entire life. 

While growing up, besides Emma, Manjiro and Keisuke, I also became good friends with Takeomi's (Shinichiro's friend) younger siblings named Haruchiyo and Senju. Those two were also the same age as me and the others and we always used to play together at the Sano residence all the time. There was this one time Shinichiro made a toy plane for Manjiro which caught almost everyone's attention and I could still remember how Keisuke, Haruchiyo, and I used to chase after him and begged him to let us play with his toy, but Manjiro being selfish and possessive as always never shared his toy with us.

Senju was no different from us when it came to this aspect. She was also fascinated with Manjiro's toy plane and wished to have one for herself someday. One day, her wish almost came true when she sneaked into Manjiro's bedroom and found the plane sitting on top of a small shelf. Greed and curiosity got the best of her as she took the plane to play with it around the living room only for her to trip by accident and break the toy in the process. It didn't take long for Manjiro to find out about the condition of his toy and when Senju tried to apologize to him, he asked her who broke the toy and she lied, saying it was Haruchiyo just to escape from Manjiro's wrath. 

I wasn't sure how things later went down as I was hanging out with Emma in her bedroom, but when I heard Keisuke and Haruchiyo screaming, I immediately dashed out of the room and went outside to see what happened. There in the garden, I found Haruchiyo kneeling down on the ground with the corner of his mouth ripped out, blood gushing out from the wounds. Manjiro was standing right in front of him, his hands soaked in blood, eyes hollow and soulless. A trembling Keisuke was also on the ground just a few feet away from them, shocked and horrified, staring at Manjiro in utter bewilderment. I also found Senju standing on the porch of Sano dojo with her arms wrapped around herself, shaking in fear and horror. 

"Oh my God! Haru!!" I cried out in concern before rushing over to his side. "Shin-chan! Take-chan! Come outside, quick!!" 

I immediately pulled out my clean handkerchief and held it against Haruchiyo's mouth to stop the bleeding. I then looked over at Keisuke and found him still on the ground, shocked. 

"Keisuke! Go and get Shin-chan and Take-chan! Quick!" I ordered causing Keisuke to snap out of his trance. 

Keisuke didn't utter a single word in response and immediately obeyed as I said, getting up and rushing back into the house to get Shinichiro and Takeomi. 

"Laugh, Haruchiyo." Manjiro demanded in a cold tone and I looked back at him with a frown. 

"Manjiro, stop it! That's enough!" I snapped at him but my words didn't reach his ears. 

"Laugh, Haruchiyo." he repeated his words which Haruchiyo obeyed as he started to laugh out loud with tears rolling down his cheeks. 

There it was, the "Dark Impulse". I knew Manjiro had some mental issues. He admitted that to himself. But I never realized it was this bad. At that moment as Manjiro stood in front of me and Haruchiyo, staring down at us with those soulless eyes, he looked like a goddamn murderer from my point of view. And for the first time in my life, I felt terrified and threatened by Manjiro Sano. 

From there, things changed a bit between me and Manjiro after what he did to Haruchiyo. Sure, I still talked to him and was still friends with him, but I always kept a distance between the two of us out of sheer fear and terror. And me pushing Manjiro away from me brought me even closer to Keisuke in the process. Sure, Keisuke was a bit violent and had anger issues, but he wasn't as terrifying as Manjiro was.

Two years passed by since that incident and when we were all at the age of ten, we met Ken Ryuguji aka Draken for the first time.

"You defeated three high school students in seconds while you are only in 5th grade?! Are you a monster?!" Keisuke gasped out in shock as we were walking back home from school that day. 

"As expected from Mikey." Haruchiyo chimed in with a smile. 

'How is he even friends with Manjiro after that incident?' I thought to myself, looking over at Haruchiyo in concern.

"Hm, yeah, just like a biker gang." Manjiro mumbled to himself with a lollipop in his mouth.

"By the way Mikey, I don't know if you heard about Yamamoto from class 2." Keisuke spoke up again.

"He was being blackmailed by first-year high school students... Apparently, he was saved by a boy from elementary school class 4." Haruchiyo informed.

"Wow. Sounds like a great guy. From elementary school class 4, right?" Manjiro asked with curiosity.

"Not only that, even though he is in 5th grade like us, he has a dragon tattoo on his temple." Haruchiyo added.  

"What kind of guy is he?" Keisuke wondered. 

"Sounds like trouble to me." I scoffed. 

"If I am not mistaken... He's called Draken!" Haruchiyo went on.

"What a strange name." Manjiro commented.

"Ah! The other day I picked up an erotic magazine... It had a strange name like 'The 48 Positions'..." Keisuke chimed in, suddenly changing the topic. 

"Keisuke, you perv. You started reading porn at this young age? How disgraceful." I deadpanned at him. 

"I-I didn't read it, Nana-chan! I just happened to read the title on the cover only! Believe me!" Keisuke stuttered out in embarrassment, trying his best to convince me that he wasn't a pervert. 

"Yeah right. As if I'm gonna believe that." I scoffed, rolling my eyes at him. 

Keisuke was about to say something back when suddenly a familiar voice spoke up from the other side of the road, catching our attention.

"Ah, Mikey-kun!" 

We looked over to the side to see one of our classmates standing there with a tall, blonde-haired unknown boy who had a dragon tattoo on the left side of his temple. It took me a few seconds to realize who this unknown boy was; it was Draken. 

"A boy with a dragon tattoo on his temple..." Keisuke trailed off. 

"That's Draken!" Haruchiyo gasped out in a whispered tone. 

This caught Manjiro's curiosity and he immediately walked over to Draken with me, Keisuke, and Haruchiyo following him from behind. 

"Hey, don't you think the name 'The 48 Positions' is weird? I mean some of the 48 positions are overlapping, right?" Manjiro asked Draken, causing the taller boy to look at the shorter one in utter confusion. 

"Eh? What?" Draken asked. 

"No matter how you think about it, there's barely a forty of it. What do you think?" Manjiro questioned again.  

"What do I think? I never even heard of that." Draken trailed off before I smacked Manjiro hard on the back of his head. 

"Ow! Nana-chin!" Manjiro cried out in pain, looking back at me with a dirty glare and pouty lips. 

"Mikey, you friggin moron." Keisuke grumbled under in breath. 

"Baka!! You can't just ask a guy you just met about porn magazines!!" I snapped and Draken's face immediately went hot red in embarrassment upon hearing my words before I looked back at him with an apologetic look. "Sorry about that. He's a confused child." 

"It's okay, I guess..." Draken trailed off before looking back at Manjiro. "Erm, you're Mikey, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. What is it?" Manjiro asked with curiosity.

"Some dudes from middle school asked me to take you to them." Draken stated.

"Huh?" Manjiro asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Well... I won't force you." Draken responded back hesitantly.

"Okay!" Manjiro replied, his lips curling up into a smile. 

"Manjiro." I called out in a warning tone but the said boy ignored me.

"I'll come along because you asked me. I'll go put my stuff at school first." Manjiro added and I immediately stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. 

"No need for that. Walking back to school will just waste our time. Give your bag to me." I stated before taking his schoolbag from his shoulders. 

Draken then led us to a local parking lot in the neighborhood where we noticed a gang of middle schoolers waiting there, especially for Manjiro's arrival. Manjiro still looked relaxed and unbothered as if dealing with gangs like these was just another part of his everyday routine. 

"Hey, I brought him." Draken spoke up with his hands in his pockets. "This guy's Mikey-" 

Draken couldn't even finish his sentence as Manjiro dashed forward to those boys before jumping high up in the air and landing straight on the face of the leader, kicking him in the process. The leader was immediately knocked out cold, blood profusely gushing out of his nose while Manjiro landed on the ground with ease before looking back at the other gang members with a scary look on his face.

"Holy shit!" Draken gasped out in shock with widened eyes. 

"He really is a monster!" Keisuke commented. 

"That's Mikey for ya!" Haruchiyo laughed. 

"Show-off..." I sighed heavily, shaking my head. 

"So what do some mama's boys who gotta gang up on others want with me?" he asked coldly, his lips curling up into a cocky smirk. "I'm Mikey-sama from 7th Elementary." 

It didn't take long before the whole gang ran away from the spot in fear and terror, leaving the rest of us in the parking lot alone.

"You're Draken from 4th elementary, right? Why is a badass like you hanging out with those pieces of shit?" Manjiro asked before a warm smile formed on his face. "Let's be friends, Ken-chin!" 

In response, Draken smiled back before looking back at the rest of us. 

"Sorry, I didn't get your names yet..." he stated awkwardly. 

"Nana Osaki." 

"Keisuke Baji." 

"Haruchiyo Akashi." 

The three of us happily introduced ourselves to him and before we knew it, Draken also became a part of our group; a delightful addition and a reliable friend. 

Speaking of delightful addition, we had another one in our group after we befriended Draken; it was Takashi Mitsuya. We met Mitsuya through Draken not long after Draken became a part of our group. Similar to Draken, Mitsuya was a calm level-headed person who always served as the main source of positivity in our group. Despite his rough upbringing, he always tackled every day with a smile. Mitsuya was a pacifist, preferring to not get into an altercation if possible, but at the same time, won't hesitate to fight to protect what was dear to him. He never showed his angrier side to us and always kept his head cool.

Mitsuya also had two younger sisters named Luna and Mana and they meant the whole world to him which showcased how loving and caring he was as a person. And since their mother was rarely at home due to work, Mitsuya took the responsibility of raising his sisters by himself, acting more as the parent than as an older brother in their lives. Mitsuya and I immediately became good friends from the get-go and our friendship later deepened even more when his sisters also took a liking to me. Since I didn't have any younger siblings myself, becoming Luna and Mana's "onee-chan" was just a wonderful experience in my life. 

Soon after Mitsuya joined the group, Manjiro and Keisuke brought another boy into our lives and he was Kazutora Hanemiya. 

As soon as he arrived in our group, Kazutora became quite attached to Keisuke in a short period of time. I was completely okay with Keisuke and Kazutora's newfound friendship until I observed something odd about the latter. Unlike Draken and Mitsuya, something was off about Kazutora. I didn't know what it was but something about him was peculiar. Usually, Kazutora was calm and chill to hang around with but whenever there was a tough situation he would always talk about violence, fighting, and breaking bones. In short, he was fairly unstable, sadistic, and incredibly violent. 

On top of that, his violent tendencies were rubbing off on Keisuke and that had me concerned. Keisuke had always been a violent and hot-headed person ever since his younger days, someone who was hard to control, so the last thing I would ever want was Kazutora's bad influence in his life. While Manjiro was becoming calmer because of Draken's influence in his life, the exact opposite thing was happening to Keisuke because of Kazutora's influence in his life. And because of that, I always kept my eyes on Keisuke and Kazutora just in case they ever got into any trouble. I knew I couldn't stop Keisuke from becoming friends with Kazutora, but at least I could just stick by his side and make sure he didn't do anything stupid and irrational along the way of life. 

Unlike Manjiro and Keisuke, I wasn't aware of Kazutora's family situation until I started to hang out with him even more. From the man himself, I learned that Kazutora grew up in an abusive household in a case of domestic violence where his father was the abuser and his mother was the one being abused. At a very young age, his mother always forced him to pick between the parents, and because of all these things, Kazutora grew to scorn upon other happy families. Something as simple as seeing children having tender moments with their parents always trigger a sore spot within Kazutora and irritated him deeply. 

I knew I would never understand Kazutora's pain and suffering, but I still wanted to try and understand him. Unlike Kazutora, I grew up in happy and healthy families. I remember my Mom and Dad being loving and caring individuals in general and from what I could recall, they always shared a healthy marital relationship with each other and because of that, I led a very happy life with them till they passed away. After the death of my parents, the Sanos who became my 2nd family took me in and they gave me all the love, care, and respect in the world they believed I deserved. Unlike Kazutora, I was loved and wanted. So, I would never understand his pain, but I was willing to understand him and be friends with him. 

On June 19, 2003, Tokyo Manji Gang was formed in front of Musashi Shrine with Manjiro as the Commander, Draken as the Vice-Commander, Mitsuya as the Elite Guard Commander, another new friend added to the group named Pah-chin as the banner carrier, and last but not least Keisuke and Kazutora as the Attack Unit. Keisuke was the one who came up with the idea after we learned that Kazutora was getting bullied by the 9th Generation Black Dragon; the same gang which was initially created by Shinichiro years back when he was also the Commander of the 1st Generation Black Dragon. I was kind of against the whole plan of creating a gang like this knowing how gang life could get nasty and brutal through Shinichiro's experiences, but since it was about protecting each other from the outside terrors, I finally gave in to the idea. "A gang where we can all risk our lives for each other" - was the motto of the Tokyo Manji Gang, something that Keisuke came up with as well. 

"Nana-chin! I want you in my gang as the Advisor! The brain of the group!" Manjiro demanded and I deadpanned at him in response. 

"No way in hell." I scoffed at him while the other boys watched the two of us bickering from the side with amusement. 

"Huh?! Why not?!" he exclaimed out in shock. 

"Your gang's name is Tokyo Manjiro Gang. Who the fuck even name their gang after their Commander's first name? I ain't joining a gang with such a shitty name." 

"Are you saying my first name is shitty?!" 

"Yes." 

"So cruel! You suck, Nana-chin!!" 

"Right back at ya, Manjiro. If it was Shin-chan, probably I'd have given a second thought, but with you as the Commander, I'll pass." 

"Why are you so obsessed with my big bro?! He's too old for you!!" 

"It's called falling in love, Manjiro. You won't get it. And I've my reasons for liking Shin-chan. He's charming and charismatic, unlike you." 

"What did you say?!" 

"You heard me. You don't even fit as a leader. You always fall asleep in the backseat while riding a bike, you make us do your shit, all day you do is eat and sleep and never do anything productive, you make us carry you on the back like a potato sack, you suck at making decisions and choices and the list goes on and on. So there's no way in hell I'm working under you, bitch." 

"Bitch?! You're gonna pay for this, Nana-chin!!!" 

"Hey, stop that!! Don't cling on my back like a goddamn monkey!! Manjiro, don't you fucking dare pull my hair!! I'm gonna fucking kill ya!!" 

"Will this ever gonna stop?" Mitsuya asked as he and the rest of the gang continued to stare at me and Manjiro with deadpanned faces. 

"Not until the next few hours." Draken sighed while rubbing his forehead. 

"The drawback of being friends with one another since the diaper days..." Pah-chin commented in amusement. 

More time passed by and before I could even realize it, it was already the month of August in 2003. Shinichiro's birthday went by on 1st August and now Manjiro's birthday was coming up very soon which was on 20th August. And so, Shinichiro and I decided to make plans for cocky little shit Manjiro together for that year. 

Despite all his delinquent ways as a teenager, Shinichiro grew up to be a respectable adult in the end. Mature, responsible, sensible, dependable - these were the perfect words that could describe the adult Shinichiro Sano and these qualities were the reasons why I swooned over him in the first place. There were those days when I would spend hours with Shinichiro at his bike shop "S.S MOTORS" and we would talk to each other non-stop. We talked about anything and everything that came into our minds, from how we started our days to how we ended them. Or sometimes, we talked about our likes or dislikes, any new books or manga that I had read, any new TV shows or movies that he watched, his past life as a delinquent, those golden eras of gang life, and the list could go on forever. Shinichiro and I never got bored as long as we had each other. And even in those days, when we didn't talk much, just sitting there beside Shinichiro in silence made me feel that I wasn't alone in this world. I didn't know what supernatural power Shinichiro possessed, but his presence was soothing which always made me feel relaxed and safe around him. 

There were those other times when he would call Wakasa and Benkei over to his bike shop and they would bicker all day long while I would watch them quietly from the side with a content smile on my face. Then when it would get extra late, Benkei would go home while Wakasa would stick around and pull out a shogi board before asking me to play with him. I never thought someone like Wakasa Imaushi would be interested in a board game like shogi, but he always claimed it got his brain going. And then Wakasa and I would continue to play the board game while Shinichiro would work late into the night. At one point in time, Shinichiro would call it a day and join us in the game as well. Despite never being able to beat Wakasa in a game who was extremely good at strategizing and thinking ahead, I always won against Shinichiro who was way too cocky about his abilities for his own good and after losing against a kid like me, Wakasa would always rub my victory in Shinichiro's cute, pouty face. 

And this never changed between the three of us. It was a regular routine that we religiously followed, but only this time around we were hanging out at Wakasa's gym instead of Shinichiro's bike shop. Wakasa's gym was located in the opposite direction of Shinichiro's bike shop, on the other side of the road, and because of that, through the windows of the gym, we could easily see the bike shop from the other side. 

"A bike? As Manjiro's birthday gift?" I asked, looking up from the shogi board. 

"Yeap. A CB250T motorcycle." Shinichiro replied with a toothy grin. 

"That's the bike Mikey always wanted, right?" Wakasa asked, leaning back in his seat. 

"Yeah... Looks like Manjiro has to say goodbye to his dear old moped now." I stated, stretching my arms up. 

"Did that moped have a name?" Wakasa asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Yeah. Street Hawk." I replied with a smile, recalling just how a few days ago Manjiro kicked his own moped because some gang bullied Keisuke and shit.  

"That's so like Mikey." Wakasa chuckled in response. 

"And what do you want for your birthday this year, Nana-chan?" Shinichiro asked me with a bright smile, leaning towards my side. 

"It's August now. My birthday is in December." I pointed out. 

"Won't hurt if we started planning right now." Shinichiro shrugged and I took a moment to think about what I wanted from him. 

"Then take me on a date on my birthday this year." I responded back causing Shinichiro to choke on his cola while Wakasa stared at us in amusement. 

"D-D-DATE?!" Shinichiro stuttered out, his face erupting hot red like lava. "Y-You and I on a date-" 

"Don't worry. It won't be a romantic date, Shin-chan." I spoke up with a smile, trying to calm him down. "It's gonna be just you and me hanging out together all day long. We can go to an amusement park or to a movie theatre, grab some lunch at a restaurant, or maybe go to an arcade or bawling center, maybe sing our hearts out at karaoke, take a quiet stroll at a park while eating our favorite ice creams, and then when the sun goes down and the stars come out, we can go on a long ride on the outskirts of Tokyo on your fancy little bike." 

"Wow. Nana-chan's so mature." Wakasa commented in amazement. "Look at all the plans she made. But why you wanna go with Shin? I thought you and I were soulmates." 

"No, we're not. You're being delusional, Waka-chan." I stated in a cool tone. 

"You wounded me, princess." Wakasa sighed dramatically before looking back at Shinichiro. "Do you have any clue what to do on dates?" 

Immediately Shinichiro went completely silent, his lips forming a tight thin line. 

"I didn't know you were this clueless, Shin-chan. Even Keisuke knows better than you. Last week he even took me on a yakisoba date after school, you know." I informed. 

"Keisuke took you on a date?!" Shinichiro asked in surprise. 

"Looks like Baji's finally becoming a man, huh?!" Wakasa laughed out loud. "Hey Shin, might as well take some tips from Baji if you need any." 

"Fuck off, Waka!" Shinichiro snapped before standing up from his seat. 

"Where are you going?" I asked as I watched him walking towards the entrance of the gym. 

"I left my cigarettes in the shop. Be right back." Shinichiro replied. 

"You can take mine if you want..." Wakasa suggested, pulling out a cigarette packet - Black Stone, cheery flavor. 

"Nah, I don't smoke that shit." Shinichiro scoffed. "Seven Stars is the only one for me." 

"What's up with you guys and those cancer sticks? You two should stop smoking. They make your breath smell bad." I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. 

"One day, Nana-chan! One day!~" Shinichiro sang out before leaving the gym. 

"Shin's lucky to have some like you, Nana-chan..." Wakasa stated with a warm smile on his face. "We all thought he might die a virgin, but looks like that won't be the case anymore. Finally, there's someone who took interest in our poor little Shin!" 

"Yeah, someone who's 10 years younger than him. Is it weird for me to love him?" I asked and Wakasa shook his head. 

"Age-gap relationship is common around the world. There's nothing weird about it. But yes, at the same time, both the partners in this kind of relationship have to be of appropriate ages. And that's why you need to wait a bit longer, Nana-chan. First, grow up and become an adult. Till then I'll make sure Shin's here, waiting for you." Wakasa responded back with a toothy grin causing me to smile back. 

Although Wakasa's words did bring some hope and happiness to me, I never took into consideration to such possibility that his words might never come true, that it would be the last time we would be seeing 23-year-old Shinichiro Sano alive and breathing when he walked out of the gym in front of our eyes that very night. 

As if the whole universe stopped moving and every law of physics stopped working. To me, the world became monotone, dull and lifeless. I felt numb and weak. It felt like all my life's energy was sucked out of my body. And the reason I was feeling all of this was because of one thing; Shinichiro Sano passed away - or to be more precise about it - had been murdered by Kazutora Hanemiya. The fact that Shinichiro was gone for good and was never coming back, the fact that Kazutora was the one who killed him or the fact that Keisuke was there during the time of the incident and witnessed everything in firsthand, it was so difficult for me to come to terms with either of those facts and accept them.

At first, I was in denial when I saw Shinichiro's lifeless body in front of me and it went like that for the next few days but as soon as the reality hit me, the next thing I knew was tears rolling down my cheeks like waterfalls until my tear ducts went completely dry, leaving me with a painful headache. Grieving and crying, organizing and attending the funeral, handling and consoling the other two Sano siblings, coping and moving on from Shinichiro's death - all of these took a huge toll on me, leaving me completely lifeless on the inside. 

The last time I saw Keisuke was the night of the incident; when Wakasa and I started to wonder what was taking Shinichiro so long just to grab a packet of cigarettes, we went up to his bike shop to check up on him, and there I came face to face with that horrifying scene - Shinichiro laying on the floor lifeless with blood gushing out from the back of his head, a trembling teary-eyed Keisuke kneeling beside Shinichiro's unmoving body with a horrified look on his face and a petrified Kazutora standing beside them with a heavy metal tool in his hand which he might have used to hit Shinichiro on the back of the head from behind. 

"What do you want, Keisuke?" I asked in a cold tone.

There he was, Keisuke Baji, standing before me in the middle of my bedroom while I sat on my bed, staring him down with a hard expression. 

“I-I want to explain everything that happened and I want to say sorry...” Keisuke spoke up, serious and devoid of any emotion other than guilt. "I know you're mad and you've every right to hate me, but I also want you to listen to what I've to say. So please..." 

I didn't respond back and simply stared at him with cold eyes which was a cue for him to continue talking. He started to explain how Kazutora suggested stealing a bike for Manjiro’s birthday, how the two of them broke into the shop, how Keisuke recognized Shinichiro and tried to call for Kazutora, but his friend was so high on adrenaline and fear that he just didn’t stop in time, how Kazutora didn’t want to harm Shinichiro and how guilty he felt afterward, how Keisuke got away with hefty fine his mother had to pay, while Kazutora, being the one to commit the act of murder, was sentenced to two years in a juvenile detention center. 

"At first, I didn't want to do it. I was totally against the idea, but Kazutora kept on saying how Mikey would be happy if he got the bike and-" 

"I already know everything, Keisuke." I cut him off mid-sentence, furrowing my eyebrows a bit. "I wanna know... why are you here, Keisuke?" 

"I want you to forgive Kazutora..." 

"Huh?" 

"I said I want you to-" 

"I heard what you said just now. But why are you asking this for Kazutora?" 

Keisuke was here to make an appeal for Kazutora, but not for himself. Why was he so damn selfless?

"Nana, listen, he-"

"There's no way in hell I'm forgiving him for murdering Shin-chan, Keisuke. Don't you get it? Shin-chan is gone and he's never coming back. And Kazutora is the reason why Shin-chan is dead in the first place. Manjiro and Emma lost their brother. Gramps lost his grandson. I lost my childhood best friend, the love of my life, my first and only love. I was in love with Shin-chan for years now, Keisuke, years. For years, I kept loving him. And now all of a sudden he's gone for good because of Kazutora and you're asking me to forgive that guy? Have you lost your sanity just like Kazutora or what?" 

Silence filled the room once I stopped talking as I watched Keisuke looking down at the floor with shame and guilt. 

"What did Manjiro say?" I spoke up again. 

"Mikey forgave me, but not Kazutora." he muttered out in a low tone. 

"That's fair. I don't blame him for that." I shrugged, letting out a sigh. "Keisuke..." 

The said boy looked up again and met my gaze. 

"There's a saying that goes like - "Always forgive, but never forget. Learn from your mistakes, but never regret"... Have you ever heard about this saying before?" I asked and in response, he shook his head. "Well, but now you did... Keisuke, I don't know what Manjiro's current feelings for Kazutora are like and honestly, I don't care if Manjiro forgives him or not. The truth is I can't either forgive or forget. I can't forgive Kazutora for killing Shin-chan and I can't forget how Shin-chan lost his life. And talking about mistakes and regrets, it was my mistake that I allowed you to hang out with Kazutora in the first place, it was my mistake that I let you become friends with him, it was my mistake that I didn't pull you away from Kazutora when I had the chance. I'm learning from my mistakes, Keisuke. Meeting and becoming friends with Kazutora was a mistake, mine and everyone else. And from those mistakes, I learned not to associate myself with Kazutora anymore and I don't regret this decision, Keisuke. And also, I already forgave you and I hold no grudge against you. That's my final decision and you can't change my mind in any way possible. So take it or leave it, your choice." 

And with that silence filled the room once again as I continued to stare at my childhood best friend named Keisuke Baji - loyal, generous, trustworthy, dependable, a self-sacrificial idiot with violent tendencies and the need to destroy. 

"You shouldn't forgive me that easily, Nana..." he whispered out, eyes getting teary as he spoke. 

"But I just did..." I responded back calmly. 

"I was there when Shinichiro-kun got killed and I couldn't do anything to prevent it from happening." 

"I know but you weren't the one who killed him..." 

"I'm an idiot and I only bring destruction in life." 

"I know you do." 

"You should stay away from me." 

"You know I can't do that..." 

"Nana..." Keisuke trailed off in a soft tone before he walked over and stood a few inches away from me while I kept sitting on my bed. "Can I ask you a favor?" 

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and his eyes softened at me even more. 

"From now on, can you let me protect you and stay by your side till my last breath?" 

At one evening (2005) 

Right now, I was at Keisuke's apartment, helping him out with his studies and upcoming test. Keisuke Baji might not be the brightest flower on the field (certainly the prettiest of course), but he was very eager to learn. As his smarter study buddy since our elementary school days, a study date at his place was my way of saying sorry to him for ditching our yakisoba lunch date this afternoon. When I walked into the Baji residence, I was warmly welcomed by Keisuke's mother and his only parent, Ryoko Baji who greeted me with a friendly smirk and hair ruffle before she started to yell and kick Keisuke again (which she was probably doing earlier before my arrival).  

Much like her son, Ryoko Baji had a violent and short-tempered nature that would quickly lead to an aggressive attitude which could be heavily suggested that Keisuke got his unpleasant traits from his mother. However, unlike her son, Ryoko was normally able to be very cool and calm at times especially towards me because, in her eyes, I was a nice and polite kid. She was also someone who would always recognize the flaws in her son and would also be really worried about him like any normal parent should.

Ryoko always disapproved of Keisuke's violent attitude and would even smack or yell at him (not in an abusive way) for his actions (and by actions I meant him getting into fights almost every day and burning down cars just because he was craving peyoung yakisoba). Despite recognizing all of Keisuke's flaws, Ryoko always desired that he would be a good boy and would do better in his studies and school. 

When I met her for the first time, I was only five years old back. It was when Keisuke joined the Sano dojo a year back that he and I became really good friends and he ended up inviting me to his place so we could play together with his toys. Long black hair, sharp brown eyes, thin eyebrows, pointy canine teeth; she looked really pretty in my eyes (aside from my own mother and Mrs. Sano) and I was really amazed by her beauty.

And Keisuke got all those exact same physical features from his mother, even her hot-tempered attitude. In short, Keisuke was a mini version of his mother and it was really cute in my opinion. Upon our first meeting, I thought Ryoko was Keisuke's older sister or something like that just because she looked so young. Maybe she was one and had Keisuke at a very young age, who knows? Also, most of the time, she had this frown on her face which most likely indicated that she was always constantly worrying about her aggressive, angry son.

Ryoko was one of those cool moms who gave zero fuck to everything, like 'I don't give a fuck' sort of attitude. Single working parent who had a habit of smoking and always walked around like a boss with her head up high - that was Ryoko Baji to me and to everyone; a lady with a firm, explosive personality but underneath hid a very sensitive and caring person. 

"Did Keisuke get into fights again today, Nana-chan?" she asked narrowing her eyes at me with her arms crossed over her chest. 

I peeked to the side and saw Keisuke doing some weird hand gestures, telling me to lie to his mother. 

"Keisuke's been a good boy at school today, Ryoko-san..." I replied, looking back at her with a convincing smile. 

Even though he kicked asses of some punks on the way back home earlier today... 

"Is that so, huh?" she hummed before a small smile appeared on her face. "Well, that's good then. Thank you for always taking care of that useless son of mine, Nana-chan." 

"It's not a big deal, Ryoko-san." I chuckled in response. 

"Mom! Why do we have only one packet of peyoung yakisoba here?!" Keisuke suddenly yelled out from the kitchen before he started to head towards the front door. "I'll quickly go and buy some yakisoba from the nearby store!" 

"Oh, no you don't, mister!" Ryoko yelled back, kicking him to get inside the house again. "Nana-chan's here to tutor you, not to eat yakisoba! Don't waste her precious time, you son of a bitch! Get your ass to your room right now! And also, no yakisoba for you today cause I'm cooking dinner tonight!"

"Ouch! Stop kicking me, woman!" Keisuke yelled out again while I simply stared at the mother-son duo in amusement. 

Did Ryoko-san just call herself a bitch?? Wow... 

Soon after that, Keisuke and I settled down in his bedroom and we began to study, or more like I began to tutor him. When it came to studying, locations didn’t really matter to Keisuke, but somewhere quiet, with no “annoying punks” around always was the best way to get him to concentrate on his school stuff. To my own surprise, his school stuff was actually really organized - colorful folders for every subject, important documents in clear film, and so on, but unfortunately, he had zero motivation. When he would stray from his schoolbooks, I had to either kick his ass or smack him on the head to bring back his concentration, but once he would get into that “Learning Headspace”, things would go upwards from there.

Keisuke would even tie his hair up into a ponytail and put on those stupid glasses because he considered his study sessions with me a serious matter. I had to go through the entire school curriculum with him and since I already completed my second year in middle school last year, it was easy to teach him what he didn't know. However, the hardest part of the whole process was actually having him understand the content I was teaching him. Like he had trouble remembering kanji words in Japanese or events and key figures in Japanese history or phrases in English or understanding the formulae and methods of mathematics and the list goes on. 

"What? Takemichi?" Keisuke asked as he looked up from his book and locked his gaze on me, raising an eyebrow. 

"Yeah. That guy's name is Takemichi Hanagaki." I responded back with a smile. "He's weak at fighting, but the way he faced Kiyomasa... For some reason, he reminds me of Shin-chan... Manjiro took a liking to him. He's probably thinking about recruiting that guy in Toman." 

Keisuke immediately went quiet for a moment before furrowing his eyebrows at me. 

"So, now what? You started liking this twerp or something?" he grumbled out, sounding a bit irritated. 

"Huh? What? No!" I replied, frowning back at him. "Of course not, you idiot! What are you even talking about? Takemichi might remind me of Shin-chan in a way, but he isn't my type at all. Also, I just met him today. He's a total stranger to me. I don't fall in love with strangers." 

Hearing my answer, Keisuke now looked visibly relaxed. 

What's wrong with him? He never behaves like this...

"So, what's your type?" he asked, leaning towards the side. 

"My type?" I asked back and he nodded his head at me. "Well... someone who knows me well, someone who will accept me the way I am, someone who's loyal, honest, and respectful... I don't care about the looks, to be honest as long as the guy is nice and has a good heart." 

"Is that so, huh..." he trailed off in a whispered tone as he momentarily looked away from me and stared off to space, getting lost in his thoughts. 

What is he thinking now? This boy... so unpredictable...

"Okay, that's enough. Breaks over." I spoke up with a sigh causing Keisuke to snap out of his thoughts. "Let's play a game." 

"We finished studying already?" he asked in confusion. 

"No, we're not. You see, I'm gonna give you 50 pop quiz questions. It's about everything we went through up until now. If you get half of them correct, like 25 questions, I'll take you to a yakisoba dinner tomorrow... And if you get all of them correct, then I'll-" 

"Then can I get a kiss from you?" 

"I'll slap you, Keisuke." 

August 3rd, 2005 

That day after breaking and shattering almost everything Takemichi owned followed by the yellow-haired boy's sudden outburst with a piece of turd on his head, Manjiro and Draken finally decided to make up and things went back to normal like how they used to be. As long as those two weren't fighting each other and creating chaos, I didn't need to worry about anything anymore, for now at least. So I went back to my usual relaxed mood again, releasing myself from all headaches, burdens, and panics.

Then two days later after the incident at Takemichi's place, Keisuke called up and asked me if I wanted to go to the festival this year which was going to be held at the Musashi Shrine on August 3rd. I accepted his offer, thinking that it would be a great way to relax and treat myself to food and stuff while having a better chance to spend some quality time with my best friend named Keisuke Baji. 

Tonight was August 3rd, meaning the night of the Musashi Festival. Several food stands and game stands were whelming the area of the Musashi Shrine. The place was lighted up by numerous lanterns and decorations that emphasized the festival and the traditions. Walking down the path while pushing through the crowd, Keisuke and I were in our normal casual clothes (our usual denim shirts and black jeans with black combat boots) as we didn't even bother to wear yukatas on this occasion for various reasons. Like Keisuke came up with like - "What if we've to fight some punks on the street tonight? We can't do that if we're wearing a yukata now, can we?" He had a fair point though. Being a part of a delinquent gang meant we were constantly surrounded by punks, constantly fighting random gangs and shit. How exhausting. 

"What's Mikey doing tonight? Is he coming to the festival later on?" Keisuke asked as we walked together side by side, holding hands with fingers intertwined. 

"Don't know." I shrugged. "Manjiro suddenly got an urgent phone call from some Toman members this evening, saying that they wanted to meet him somewhere near the Shibuya station." 

"That's strange..." Keisuke muttered out, furrowing his eyebrows a bit as we walked down the narrow pathway. "What's so urgent that they have to call him up like that?" 

"I know right? Doesn't make any sense at all." I responded back, slightly frowning as well. 

To this day, I could still remember how I used to come to this festival every year with Shinichiro, Manjiro, Emma and Keisuke. Shinichiro used to take us to different food stands and buy us whatever we felt like eating. Playing games and buying souvenirs were things we all enjoyed doing but watching fireworks together at the end of the festival was a must. There was no way we could miss out on the chance of watching fireworks together - that was what we used to say back then. We even had our own special spot around the Musashi Shrine where the five of us would sit down on the grass and enjoy the firework show together. But everything suddenly changed after Shinichiro passed away. I really missed those days, really.

Then all of a sudden, a familiar voice spoke up from behind us. 

"Nana? Baji?" 

We immediately halted in our spots and turned around to look - it was Emma, Draken, Takemichi, and Hinata standing behind us with confused looks on their faces. The girls were wearing cute yukatas which suited them very well while the boys were in their normal casual clothes just like me and Keisuke. 

“Nana! You came!” Emma smiled brightly and walked up to hug me, but the hug wasn’t very comfortable as Keisuke refused to let go of our intertwined hands. "I thought you wanted to stay at home tonight." 

"Keisuke asked me to come, so I came here with him." I smiled back with a nonchalant shrug. 

“Look what the cat dragged in...” Draken stated with a smirk, looking down at Keisuke’s unbuttoned shirt. “Nice tits, Baji.” 

"One more word out of your mouth and I'm murdering you right here and now, Draken." Keisuke snarled out and I nudged him to the side to calm him down since Takemichi and Hinata were also there. 

"Be nice now, Keisuke..." I stated in a soft tone before looking back at Takemichi and Hinata with a smile. "Takemichi, Hinata. Hey there!" 

"Hello, Nana-chan!" Hinata greeted me happily as she and her boyfriend came closer to us. 

"Nana-chan, who's that?" Takemichi asked in confusion, feeling intimidated by Keisuke. 

"Oh, this is Keisuke Baji, Toman's 1st Division Captain. The biggest edgelord in the entirety of Shibuya..." I introduced them to Keisuke causing the said boy to twitch his eyebrows when I called him 'Shibuya's Edgelord'. "Manjiro and I've been friends with Keisuke ever since we were four years old. He's our oldest childhood best friend." 

"Toman's 1st Division Captain?!" Takemichi gasped out in shock, his eyes widening open. 

"You're that twerp from the other day." Keisuke scoffed, frowning down at the yellow-haired boy. "Takemichi Hanagaki, right?" 

"Y-Yes! Nice to meet you, Baji-kun!" Takemichi squeaked out in fear, almost comical in a sense. 

"Keisuke, stop scaring the poor guy." I scolded, causing Keisuke to pout at me before I looked back at Takemichi with an apologetic look. "Sorry, Takemichi. Keisuke looks scary, but he's a nice guy. He means no harm." 

"Anyway, where's Mikey?" Draken asked, looking around.

"He's not here..." Keisuke replied before draping an arm around my shoulders. "Got some urgent call or shit." 

"Huh? Really? I thought he would definitely be here given that Nana's here too. You know how clingy he is to her." Emma pointed out with a sly smirk but I ignored her remark while Keisuke scoffed in response. 

"Whatever. We're leaving. Let's go, Nana." Keisuke stated with his arm still draped around my shoulder before he started to pull me away from those other four. 

"Lead the way, my beloved arsonist." I joked with a cheeky smirk causing Keisuke's cheeks to turn hot red in color. 

“I have more to my personality than burning cars, Nana.” He grumbled, dropping his arm off my shoulder and grabbing my hand again, intertwining our fingers. 

“I know. I’m just teasing you.” I chuckled out at his bashfulness.

“Whatever.” Keisuke dismissed me, before leading me away.

“See ya later, guys!" I shouted out to my friends. 

Saying farewell to my friends, I walked away with Keisuke hand in hand through the crowd of the festival. Back then, as little kids, Keisuke and I used to come to this festival together every year with the Sano siblings, and I could still remember how Keisuke and Manjiro used to hold my hands on each side and walk down the path of the festival. They were so stubborn that neither of them ever wanted to let go of my hands. Holding Keisuke's hand at this moment was reminding me of those days.

During the Musashi Shrine festival, vendors would set up all around the shrine grounds and sometimes the surrounding vicinity. They sold traditional snacks, from baked sweet potatoes and takoyaki to newer additions, such as chocolate-dipped bananas, candy apples, and character lollipops. Traditional festival games were interspersed among the snack vendors. An example of this was goldfish scooping. The game master would provide a delicate paper ‘net’ to scoop the goldfish into a bowl. Once the net would break, the player's turn would be over. The player would get to keep any goldfish they caught. An unusual variation in this game was played with mini turtles. Other carnival-style games like ring toss and target practice could be found here at this festival as well. Small trinkets, stuffed toys, and other souvenirs could be bought at Musashi Festival. Many were edible, while the toys, masks, and other goods often appealed to young children. They would also include stuffed toys of popular cartoon characters and plastic masks depicting animal faces. 

"Okay, general knowledge time..." I spoke up and Keisuke looked over at me with curiosity. "Do you know what this Musashi Shrine is known for?" 

"This Musashi Shrine...?" the ravenette boy trailed for a moment before shaking his head. "No, I've no clue." 

"This shrine is locally known for being the site of what are claimed to be the graves of Hirata Muni, his wife Omasa, and most controversially, the grave of Miyamoto Musashi himself. Miyamoto Musashi also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke, or by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku was a Japanese swordsman, philosopher, strategist, writer, and rōnin, who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 61 duels. Musashi, as he was often simply known, is considered a Kensei, a sword-saint of Japan. He was the founder of the Niten Ichi-ryū, or Nito Ichi-ryū, style of swordsmanship, and in his final years authored The Book of Five Rings (Go Rin No Sho) and Dokkōdō (The Path of Aloneness)." I informed him causing the boy to give me a look of amazement. 

"And that's why I love having you as my tutor. You're just too smart." he grinned and I giggled out in response before looking up at the sky above us. 

"This year... I don't want to miss the firework show, Keisuke." I stated as we sat closer to one another on a bench somewhere quiet (a more secluded part of the festival grounds) eating takoyaki and candy apples together. 

"You really love the fireworks, huh?" Keisuke asked with a grin and I giggled out in response. 

"I always wanted to draw rainbows in the dark, hold pencils of pure light, I guess that's why I love fireworks so. The fireworks are chaos and predictability - their explosive gifts finding their own time and space to own. As they do, I am the spectator, seeing their blazing trails arc above. There's something about them that warms me even in the cold as if their stray sparks passed into my blood. Arcing fireworks light the sky as rainbows of starlight." I stated in a soft tone causing Keisuke to give me a look of amusement. 

"You can be so poetic sometimes, Nana. Seriously though..." Keisuke responded back, chuckling out as well. 

As I sat there beside Keisuke looking at him, I suddenly started to realize how beautiful he actually was. The silvery-platinum moonlight fell on him and illuminated his every feature, making him look absolutely ethereal. Long black hair - smooth, silky, and wavy; sharp brown eyes; sharp teeth; sharp jawline and cheekbones; skin like milky yet manly rough; eyebrows sharp yet thick; tall stature with a perfect muscular body for a middle schooler - Keisuke Baji was a total hunk among the many.

After Shinichiro Sano, if I did find any other man physically attractive or found myself getting attracted to someone other than Shinichiro, that was Keisuke Baji. I always knew from the start that I was somewhat attracted to Keisuke one way or another, but my love for Shinichiro was so deep and passionate that it blinded me from realizing my feelings for Keisuke. 

I always believed a man's beauty starts from his hearty, loving soul and radiates from there to create his final form; and men like Shinichiro and Keisuke were the perfect examples of that. Loyal, trustworthy, honest, respectful, kind, generous, compassionate, and a heart of gold - those were the words I could associate Shinichiro and Keisuke with. Sure Keisuke was violent and pretty much brainless while Shinichiro was weak and a crybaby, but I couldn't overlook the fact that they were the type of men who were perfect for almost every type of woman out there after analyzing their beauty and personality. 

"Take a picture. It'll last long." 

I immediately snapped out of my thoughts when Keisuke's words reached my ears. I then noticed the boy smirking at me mischievously, his left-top canine tooth poking out from in between his lips. 

"Why would I take your picture?" I scoffed, looking away from him a small blush on my cheeks. "You're ugly." 

"Ouch. Now you're hurting my feelings, Nana." Keisuke joked as he put a hand on the left side of his chest and I smacked him playfully on his arm. 

"Shut up." I huffed with a pout, causing him to let out another light chuckle. 

His voice was so deep and velvety, it sounded really tantalizing to hear. 

"We'll be able to see the firework show from here. I think it's a perfect spot for the view." Keisuke pointed out and I looked around at the area. 

"Yeah, you're right." I hummed in agreement. 

"I'm the one who found the spot here. I'm a genius, ain't I? You should thank me for this." He smirked at me cockily. 

"That's not happening." I scoffed and he threw a playful glare at me. 

"You ungrateful woman. You're lucky that I love you." he scoffed, rolling his eyes and I stuck out my tongue at him teasingly. 

"And that's your fatal flaw." I joked sassily as if the words I just said were the biggest secret this universe could offer him while staring up at the full moon night sky. "Your love for me might kill you someday." 

Then suddenly silence fell between the two of us for a moment and this caused me to start to panic from the inside. 

Why did he go quiet? Why isn't he responding? Did I screw up something? Did I say something I shouldn't have? 

When I looked back at him again, I noticed he was already staring at me with a soft look in his gaze - so loving and soft it started to make me all warm and fuzzy inside. Taking the advantage of me losing myself in a daze, Keisuke scooted closer to me, arms touching, shoulders brushing, as he gently grabbed my hand that was on my lap and intertwined our fingers. 

"To me, that's a beautiful flaw..." he whispered out, leaning closer to my face, his sharp eyes darkened and his thumb gently brushed the knuckles of my hand that was intertwining his. "I don't mind dying for you." 

And my eyes immediately widened at his words and without knowing myself, I tightened my grip on our intertwined hands. Worry and panic slightly started to display in my eyes as I looked into his eyes in desperation. 

"Don't you ever dare die on me, Keisuke..." I whispered back and his gaze softened even more. "I already lost Shinichiro. I don't wanna lose you too."

I could feel the heat and warmth radiating from Keisuke's body as he leaned closer and pressed his forehead against mine, his warm sweet breath caressing my face and lips. He smelled very nice, a mix of mint and sandalwood. Keisuke gently pushed a few strands of my raven locks behind my right ear and cupped my right cheek with his left hand, brushing my skin with his thumb, innocently yet teasingly while the look in his eyes was hot, fiery, and passionate. The way our skin touched, the way we invaded each other's personal spaces and boundaries, I didn't mind or feel uncomfortable with him being this close to me at this very moment, and neither did he. We never did and we never would.

"Sorry for scaring you... I won't say that again, Nana..." he whispered again and our noses touched, slightly. "I won't ever leave you alone. Ever. I promised you that day, remember? I'm here, always. By your side." 

Keisuke Baji was an unpredictable man. For me, who was good at reading people just by observing their behavior, there were times I couldn't tell what was actually going through Keisuke's mind. This man was so wild and loved the thrill of adrenaline so much to the point that he would punch someone out on the street for no apparent reason, only because he felt like it, or would burn down a car simply because he was hungry. His erratic behavior always confused me to no end and I always had to figure him out, always had to learn something new about him which was frustrating and fun at the same time. Like that one time when I was tutoring him, he asked me for a kiss as a reward. I still couldn't tell if he was being serious or he was simply just joking. Like right now the way he was touching me was so loving and passionate yet so playful and teasing.

Keisuke and Manjiro had always been touchy and clingy towards me ever since we were little kids; Keisuke lesser than Manjiro but it was still the same. As kids, their touches were friendly and innocent but it all slowly started to change once we entered middle school. While Manjiro's touches were possessive and demanding yet somewhat child-like, Keisuke's ones felt more different, more like the way one would touch their lover, not their mere childhood friend. I wasn't sure if I was being paranoid or was overthinking it, but that was how I always felt under Keisuke's touches; unsatisfied and breathless. I wanted more. I craved more. And I knew if this kept going on like this between me and Keisuke, I definitely would go crazy one day. Keisuke Baji would be the death of me someday.  

Hearing his soothing deep voice eased my heart and soul before I closed my eyes and nuzzled against his hand which was still holding my face ever so lovingly and gently. 

"Hey, Keisuke, listen... I want to tell you something-" 

I was suddenly out off when a cell phone started to ring; it was Keisuke's. We then quickly pulled away from each other before the ravenette boy answered his phone. I noticed his face went from calm to serious and then to furious. Furrowing his eyebrows deep, his eyes sharpened and his jaw tightened. 

"Yeah, okay... I'll go and get the rest of the crew right now. Don't worry about it..." he stated and hung up the call. 

"What happened?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows as well. 

"Mitsuya called. It's Peh." He replied, looking back at me with all seriousness. "That bastard snitched."

24th October 2005

After that whole chaos that went down this evening, I called a certain someone to meet up with me in the neighborhood park which was located in the same area I lived in, the same place where Manjiro, Keisuke, Emma and I used to play together back when we all were just little kids. Life was so simple back then. No gang, no fighting, no shit – just me and my friends hanging out together, goofing around. If only I could bring those days back.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting, Nana…”

As I was sitting on one of the benches at the park, I turned my head around and looked over to my side to face the person who standing there just a few feet away from me - black shirt with black jeans and boots while the cool breeze of late October blew by making his long, wavy black hair gently sway in the air; the man was looking as beautiful and exquisite as always in my eyes. 

“You went too far, Keisuke. Did you really need to punch Takemichi like that on the face though? That poor guy…” I stated with a pout, crossing my arms over my chest.

In response, Keisuke let out an airy chuckle in a sheepish manner before taking a seat beside me on the bench. I moved a bit closer to him as soon as he sat down until our arms were touching, our shoulders were brushing one another.

“Well, in order to convince them, I needed to keep up with the bad guy appearance, you know...” Keisuke replied and I scoffed in response. 

Keisuke Baji, as always, sought violence, even if he didn't mean actual harm. I doubted that man was ever going to change in life. 

“But still though… I think you went a bit far with it. Apologize to Takemichi the next time you’re seeing him.” I stated and this caused Keisuke to furrow his eyebrows in seriousness.

“I don’t think there’s gonna be a next time, Nana.” He responded back in a firm tone, causing me to give him a confused look.

“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to Toman after what I just did today…” he added.

“Do you seriously think that Manjiro and the others are gonna abandon you just like that for such a trivial thing?” I asked, almost deadpanning at him. “You’re their friend, Keisuke. You’re like a brother to them, like a family. Each and every one of them loves you to death. Do you realize how hurt they were when you said that you were leaving Toman for Valhalla? Even though they didn’t show it on their faces, I know how it broke their hearts when you left the gang and walked away from them. Especially Manjiro. That poor guy is getting more and more desperate with the passage of every second just to bring you back to the gang.”

“But Nana, I need to do this for the gang too.” Keisuke countered back.

“What are you talking about? I mean once we’re successful in kicking out Kisaki from the group, you can easily return back to Toman, Keisuke.”

“I’m not only doing this just to kick out Kisaki from Toman. I’m also doing this for some other reasons…”

“Like what?”

“Kazutora…”

Silence fell between the two of us when Keisuke said that name - Kazutora Hanemiya, the man who murdered the love of my life, Shinichiro Sano.

“Huh? Kazutora? What does this anything have to do with Kazutora anyway?” I asked, getting even more confused.

“I got a letter from Kazutora almost a month ago… He got out of juvie not so long ago...” Keisuke replied and my eyes went wide open in realization.

That’s right. Kazutora went to juvie for killing Shinichiro back in August 2003 and for the act of murder he was sentenced to two years of imprisonment. And right now, it was October 2005, meaning he was already out of juvie by now.

“I met up with Kazutora after leaving Toman’s meeting this evening. He has joined Valhalla as well…” Keisuke added.

“Kazutora joined a gang as soon as he came out of juvie? Just what in the world… Just why?” I questioned again and this time, Keisuke took a moment to respond back.

“To kill Mikey…” he stated in a low yet firm tone and I let out a small gasp in shock.

“Kill Manjiro? What do you mean kill Manjiro? Is this some kind of a joke now?” I barked out in annoyance.

“After killing Shinichiro-kun, Kazutora had this mental breakdown and he started to put all the blames on Mikey. Because of Mikey, he went to steal that motorbike and ended up killing Shinichiro-kun. Because of Mikey, he went to juvie and wasted two years of his life there… This is how he’s trying to cope with the fact that he murdered a person at the age of 13, no less Shinichiro-kun, Mikey’s brother…”

“Without taking the blame onto himself for murdering Shin-chan which he actually did and that’s the fact, he’s blaming Manjiro for everything that happened? I mean, what the fuck is he on right now? Was he doing drugs or shit for the past two years while being locked up in juvie? Does he really think he'll be able to kill the Invincible Manjiro Sano?" 

"I don't know, Nana. I don't know what Kazutora is capable of right now. So to protect Toman from Kisaki and Mikey from Kazutora, I need to join Valhalla. I need to stick around with Kazutora as long as possible because I promised him my support to the very end... 'I'd never kill Mikey's brother. I did this for Mikey's sake. This is all Mikey's fault. So I need to kill Mikey'... I remember that night, Kazutora kept on repeating those words over and over again after he realized that the person he killed was Shinichiro-kun. And without giving much thought to it, I ended up promising my support to him for eternity... And that's why I need to stay with Kazutora in order to fulfill my promise and to keep him away from Mikey." 

So he's doing all this shit for Manjiro and Kazutora...? Why is he so damn selfless?

"But what about me though, Keisuke? What about your promise to me? You said you'll stay by my side till your last breath... You're breaking that promise now, Keisuke, as if I don't matter to you anymore..." 

Keisuke's eyes widened a bit upon hearing my words before they softened a bit at the sight of me. Without saying another word, he immediately wrapped his arms around my petite form and brought me into a warm embrace, pressing me into his muscular chest. 

"I'd never break our promise, Nana and you know it..." he whispered into my ears, his hot minty breath sending a shiver down my spine. 

"But you are breaking your promise, Keisuke." I whimpered out in desperation, hugging him back with my dear life while resting my face in the crook of his neck, the scent of his cologne invading every five senses of mine. "Please don't leave me, Keisuke... Please don't... I need you..." 

"I think you need Mikey more than me." he chucked out in a dejected tone. 

"Who said I need Manjiro more than you?" I scoffed. 

"I just know, okay? I know you'll choose Mikey over me in a heartbeat-" 

I immediately cut him off by moving my face away from the crook of his neck and held his face in my hands, making him look into my eyes. I held his face so close to mine that our noses almost touched one another. Taking in his beauty under the silvery brilliance of the full moon in the sky, I began to wonder when Keisuke became as precious as Shinichiro to me. Before Keisuke came into my life, it was just and only me and Manjiro and no one else. Then it became the three of us, but when that whole Haruchiyo incident happened, I created a distance between myself and Manjiro out of fear and disappointment. Then it somewhat became just me and Keisuke and it had been like that ever since then.

During the time of my fallout with Manjiro that happened after he attacked Haruchiyo, Keisuke took Manjiro's place in my life and wiggled his way into my tiny heart, making himself at home there. Even I didn't know myself when Keisuke Baji became so dear to me. Back then I would've burned the whole world down just to protect Manjiro from any sort of malice. Manjiro was everything to me and I was everything to Manjiro. But it was years ago. Time passed, things changed along with feelings, people moved on.

The fact was - my first love was Shinichiro Sano and he would always and forever have a special place in my heart, it was something that was never going to change, ever. But also at the same time, it didn't take away the fact that I was falling in love again, that I was in love with someone else who wasn't Shinichiro Sano. Things were different now. Situations around me changed along with my feelings. I had already accepted the fact that Shinichiro was gone for good and he was never coming back, that I had to move on with my life without him, that my childhood best friend, Keisuke Baji had already replaced Shinichiro in my heart. To me, my love for Keisuke was a quiet emotion that in time became part of the oxygen I needed to breathe, and so though I might feel not sure that it was there, any form of removal and the emotions would begin to choke the life out of me. 

Only if Keisuke knew how wrong he was.

"You're so wrong, Keisuke..." I spoke up in a firm yet soft tone, frowning down at him while Keisuke looked at me with surprise, almost shock in his eyes. "Do you remember that one line I once told you years back when we were kids...?" 

Keisuke's eyes softened once again upon hearing my question, his arms tightened even more around my waist as he leaned closer to me. 

"I remember that, Nana... You and I are the fireworks in this velvet dark, the blaze that dares to light up the night... You told me that once when I lost to Mikey in a fight back then. You said you'll always have my back and that you believe in me..." Keisuke muttered out with his lips curling up into a small delicate smile. 

His response made me let out an airy sigh of relief and contentment before I gently pressed my forehead against his and this action made both of us close our eyes at once as we continued to bask in each other's warmth and embrace. To me, Keisuke was like my personal drug. One touch from him and the intoxication was instant as if everything was over; it was always that way with me ever since Shinichiro passed away and Keisuke became a constant figure in my life in Shinichiro's place. 

Whenever we touched one another, I could always feel electricity in my skin, hormones shutting down my higher brain. From there on in it was all passion, intense, intoxicating. Keisuke became my release, my escape, my drug. Not that I was easy, I knew well enough to avoid letting a man lay his hands on me. Yet with my chemistry with Keisuke, too many of my switches were flicked for a reverse gear to be possible. In short, I was simply smitten with Keisuke Baji to the point where all I could do was go along for the ride and pray my instincts were right. 

"Just because I knew Manjiro ever since we were babies, just because I knew Manjiro longer than I had known you, doesn't mean I'll choose him over you. Let's get one thing straight. If it ever came down to you and Manjiro, I would gladly let go of him, Keisuke. I will always choose you..." 

October 30th, 2005, 8:00 PM

"So, Chifuyu and Takemichi came to talk to you this morning, huh?" I asked the long-haired ravenette boy who was sitting right beside me in front of Shinichiro's grave before he simply hummed in response. 

"Chifuyu's smart." Keisuke pointed out in a serious tone. "I knew something like this was gonna happen." 

"Chifuyu's not smart, he's just perceptive. If he's smart, then I'm Albert Einstein." I countered back with a small smirk and Keisuke rolled his eyes at me in a playful manner. 

Ever since Keisuke left Toman and joined Valhalla, it got difficult for me to keep in contact with him, especially talking to him in person because wherever he went he was either accompanied by Kazutora or Hanma or maybe even both of them. The only way was left to talk to Keisuke face-to-face was at school but otherwise, it was either late-night phone calls or text messages. So it was a relief for me that I was able to speak to him in open like this without anyone noticing or spying on us. On top of that, we were at the cemetery in the nighttime, so the darkness of the night played a huge role in hiding us from the naked eyes of humans. 

"But you're right though... Chifuyu, Takemichi, and I went to meet Osanai at his workplace to do some digging on Kisaki." I added. 

"What did you find?" Keisuke asked, furrowing his eyebrows a bit and that's when I started to spill everything to him. 

"Kisaki was the one who put Osanai in the power and using Osanai, he started to instigate everything from behind the curtains. Kisaki was the one who sent his men to beat up Pah's friends and that led Pah to the edge. He used Peh for the conflict on August 3rd and he manipulated Kiyomasa to kill Ken-chan. After that, he approached Manjiro and got to his good side by bashing Osanai, saying that it was all Osanai's fault. And then in the next part, you already know what happened. Kisaki offered a deal to Manjiro regarding Pah and in exchange, he wanted the position of the 3rd Division captain." I went on while Keisuke simply stared at me with wide eyes in shock. 

"Kisaki did all of that...?" he trailed off and I nodded my head at him in response. 

"Not just that... Kisaki's new partner in crime is Shuji Hanma... Chifuyu and I assume that Kisaki is the one who's leading Valhalla." I added, leaving Keisuke even more shocked. "I mean think about it, Keisuke... No one knows who the Commander of Valhalla is. Hanma is the Vice-Commander and he's working with Kisaki. After everything Kisaki has done up until now, I won't be surprised if he turns out to be the leader of Valhalla as well..." 

"You're not wrong though..." Keisuke muttered out, furrowing his eyebrows a bit. 

After that, for a moment a comfortable silence fell between the two of us before I spoke up again. 

"You know, Manjiro assigned Takemichi to bring you back to Toman..." I mumbled out and this caused Keisuke to raise an eyebrow at me. "Did Takemichi say anything to you today?" 

"Now that I think about it... that twerp did say something really weird..." he trailed off in a daze and I gave him a confused look. "He said - Please make it through tomorrow alive. Please don't die. Because Nana-chan and Mikey-kun will be really sad... something like that." 

First Ken-chan and now Keisuke... that's weird...

Why does it feel like Takemichi always knows that something bad is going to happen to one of us... 

Like at first, he was against the whole idea of going into a conflict with Moebius... 

I remember Takemichi acting really strange when I asked him why we can't fight them... 

Then he was hellbound to keep Ken-chan protected from Kiyomasa during the August 3rd fight... 

And now he's saying this to Keisuke... as if he knows that something bad's gonna happen to Keisuke tomorrow... 

If that's what it is, then I'll definitely keep an extra eye on Keisuke tomorrow... just in case nothing bad happens to him... 

"So what's your plan tomorrow?" I asked and Keisuke looked over at me again. 

"Kill Kisaki." he replied in a firm tone. 

"You can't be serious now." I stated, raising an eyebrow. 

"I am serious, Nana." he huffed and I rolled my eyes at him. 

"You'll go to jail if you literally kill Kisaki, you moron. And this will make Ryoko-san cry again." I pointed out before noticing how Keisuke's eyes softened at the sight of me. 

"And you'll not?" he asked and I gave him a confused look. "You'll not cry for me if I go to jail?" 

"No. Why would I cry for you? My tears are too precious to get wasted like that." I responded back sassily, causing Keisuke to let out an amused chuckle before he leaned to my side and rested his head on my shoulder. 

"And here I thought you'll shade your tears for me, even if it's just a single drop." he sighed in a dramatic way, slightly shaking his head and my eyes immediately softened at his words. 

I can burn down the whole world for you, Keisuke... 

You're just that precious to me... 

Even I don't know myself what I'll do if something bad happens to you... 

So tomorrow Keisuke... better not die on me, my beloved arsonist... 

30th November 2005

“Now Valhalla is linked with Toman and fucking Hanma's joined the gang..." I muttered, letting out a heavy sigh in frustration. 

Right now, Keisuke and I were sitting by the Musashi shrine while having our very own little picnic with peyoung yakisoba noodles. After the whole meeting that went down back on 15th November, where Keisuke was appointed as my new personal assistant and bodyguard, he and I had been hanging out and spending a lot of time together lately. Although it wasn't anything different from what we always used to do before. Also on top of that, it was a good thing that we were together and I had no complaints about it. I mean in this way, I was able to look after Keisuke from dawn to dusk while making sure that either Kisaki or Hanma didn't come and cause harm to him. 

"After everything we tried to do…” Keisuke growled out, slamming his fist against the dirt ground. "It's not going well. Kisaki is going to take over Toman at this point. After the last ceremony, I tried telling Mikey again, but Kisaki somehow still managed to do this... If we don’t do something soon, there's gonna be real trouble."

Keisuke then laid his head against my shoulder as he relaxed under the rays of the afternoon sun.

“Damn that Kisaki...” he muttered out and all I could do was just pat his back and make sure he didn't get too angry.

"We did pick out some evidence about Kisaki from the outside, but pulling Osanai into this mess won't be the right thing to do..." I added. 

"I know right? Also, the sneaky bastard hides his tracks too well. It's crazy.” Keisuke stated while I let out another sigh and stretched out my arms causing Keisuke's head to fall gently onto my lap.

Instead of grunting about the sudden change of position, Keisuke just exhaled out a breath of satisfaction and closed his eyes.

“Are things going okay with you and the others?” I asked while I began to softly run my hand through his long, luscious raven locks. 

"Just normal stuff…" Keisuke trailed off before opening his eyes again, his gaze staring off at the horizon. "Everything's gone back to normal, so I’m glad that nothing has changed because of the fight. I wonder though, what's going to happen next?” 

I was about to say something back when suddenly my cell phone started to ring. I pulled out the device to see who it was. It was Hinata. 

"Hello, Hinata?" I answered the call.

“Nana-chan! Takemichi-kun is in trouble! What do I do?!” Hinata cried out from the other side of the call. 

"Huh? Takemichi's in trouble?” I asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion while Keisuke sat up properly and leaned closer to my phone. “Hinata, what's going on exactly? Where are you?” 

"We... I don't know where we are, but we met some new friends… Shiba-kun and Yuzuha-chan-" 

Wait... Hakkai and Yuzuha...? The Shiba siblings? What's going on?

"...the Black Dragons!! Takemichi-kun is getting beat up by Taiju-kun!" 

"Wait, you guys are with Hakkai and Yuzuha?" I asked and Keisuke furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. 

"We were hanging out with Shiba-kun, and Yuzuha-chan, and then we encountered the Black Dragons gang and they said we're on their turf. Takemichi-kun is getting hurt! He's going to die!” 

"The Black Dragons's turf?" I asked before looking back at Keisuke. "Keisuke, do you know where their turf is?" 

"It's the same area where Hakkai lives..." Keisuke replied before pulling out his own cell phone with a scowling face. "Did Hinata say ‘Black Dragons’? What did Takemitchy get himself into this time? Geez… Let me call Mikey and inform him about this real quick."

"…T-Taiju-kun just let Takemichi-kun go. Nana-chan, I’ll call you back!” 

And with that Hinata hung up the call. 

"She said Taiju let Takemichi go. Now they're taking him back home." I informed and Keisuke nodded his head at him in response. 

"Okay, let's go, Nana." 

Later that evening Keisuke and I went over to the Hanagaki residence to visit Takemichi and when we reached there we found Chifuyu and Takemichi's old friends in his bedroom chilling around with Takemichi still laying on the bed, sleeping, all bruised up. 

"He looks awful..." I commented in concern as my eyes softened at the sight of Takemichi. 

"Tell me about it..." Yamagishi stated before he and his other three friends went back to play cards on the floor. 

"What happened, Chifuyu?" Keisuke asked as he took a seat on a chair beside the said boy while I sat on the end of the bed where Takemichi was sleeping. 

"This afternoon Takemichi and Hina went out for a bowling date and met the Shiba siblings there. The Shiba siblings then invited them over to their place but weren't aware that Taiju came back home just at that time, and the rest you know what happened..." Chifuyu informed while holding a manga in his hand that he was reading earlier. 

Then just at that moment, I noticed Takemichi waking up from his sleep before he sat up on his bed and by the looks of it, it seemed like he didn't notice any one of us present in his bedroom. He looked like he was in a deep trance and was mumbling to himself. 

"I’m the only one who can do this… can't depend on anyone else… gotta do it alone…" he went on. 

Seeing this I reached my hand out at him and flicked hard his forehead, waking him up from his trance. 

"Ouch!" Takemichi groaned, rubbing his forehead where I hit him. 

"Takemichi, wake up..." I called.

"What are you mumbling about?" Akkun asked, furrowing his eyebrows a bit. 

"Creepy-mitchy!" Yamagishi commented with a scowling face while Makoto and Takuya stared at the yellow-haired boy with a deadpanned look.

"Huh? N-Nana-chan... You guys… what are you doing at my place?!" Takemichi gasped out in surprise. 

"We came to check on you, what else?!" Yamagishi snapped back. 

"You're captain, man. Grow some self-awareness." Makoto added. 

"If you keep being reckless, we won’t be able to keep the 1st Division together." Takuya pointed out. 

"Huh? what do you mean we…? What?! Did you guys join Toman?!" Takemichi asked and this made me give him a confused look. 

What the hell is he even talking about...? Does he not remember anything he's been doing these days...? 

"Huh? Yeah, we did." Takuya replied. 

"You invited them in yourself, didn’t you?" Chifuyu finally spoke up. 

"Oi, Shitty-mitchy, are you trying to ruin my legacy as the former 1st Division Captain or something?" Keisuke asked with a scowling face and in a menacing tone, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's been only two weeks, and there you go, getting your ass kicked by that fucking Taiju Shiba. I didn't make you my successor so that you can get our ass kicked by other bastards every time. Grow some pride and self-respect in yourself, dammit. Learn how to fight back and if you can't do that, at least learn how to defend yourself." 

"B-Baji-kun... Chifuyu..." Takemichi stuttered out, finally noticing their presence before suddenly small tears started to form in his eyes. 

"Hm…? What's with the pause?" Chifuyu asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Are you okay, Takemichi?" I asked in concern but Takemichi shook his head at us. 

"It’s… it's nothing…" he trailed off before looking back at Keisuke. "Sorry, Baji-kun for being reckless. I'll be careful next time, I promise." 

"It can't be helped I guess..." Keisuke sighed before running his hand through his hair. "I can't completely blame you for this though..."

"Still to think the Black Dragons would shatter the balance…" Akkun chimed in. 

"Yeah. Things are gonna get rough." Yamagishi added. 

"The higher-ups are gonna get involved for sure." Makoto pointed out. 

"Takemichi is a captain in Toman now, a gang that grew to over 450 members after absorbing Valhalla. Him getting beaten up by the Black Dragons is more than enough to start a conflict." Takuya stated in a concerned tone.

"If we get into a fight with the Black Dragons, it’s not gonna be like anything we have dealt with before. These are the guys known for their active fighting faction, the killer squad. The Black Dragons have been the top delinquent gang in the Kanto region for generations. And the 10th Black Dragons are the most maniacal and evil one they have ever had." Keisuke informed, leaning back on his chair. 

"The most maniacal…"

"And evil…"

"That’s because of one reason alone. Their absolute ruler, Taiju Shiba. Toman and the Black Dragons have an unbreakable connection. Because the Black Dragons are the reason Toman was created at all. Two years ago, Kazutora clashed with the 9th Generation Black Dragons and Keisuke brought up the idea of forming Toman so we could help him. Then we fought the Black Dragons. We crushed the Black Dragons and Toman became a well-known gang overnight." I added. 

"Damn Toman!" Akkun cheered. 

"Then this next fight will be easy peasy!!" Yamagishi added with a grin.

"It’s not gonna be easy! Toman beat the 9th Black Dragons at that time which was led by Shion Madarame, one of the members of the S62 Generation. The Black Dragons should have faded out after we defeated them but the guy who revived them was Taiju Shiba. The Black Dragons changed under Taiju. He got their uniforms totally redone… Trained the members to act like an army and made them an impressive-looking gang." I stated. 

"He’s one awesome guy!" Yagamichi gasped. 

"But those new uniforms… Wouldn’t making those for every member caused a shit ton of money?" Makoto asked. 

"Yeah, it would. Where would he get that kind of cash…?" Takuya asked. 

"He’s not that much older than us right?" Akkun asked. 

"Yeah, just two years older than us. And a year older than Baji-san and Nana-san." Chifuyu replied. 

"Unlike other delinquents, Taiju sells his violence. Taiju is not your typical bruiser. He's got ties to the wealthy and makes money in exchange for his military force." Keisuke stated in a serious tone. 

"So that means he fights for money?" Yamagishi asked in concern, getting all scared now. 

"Scary. Must be one fucked up kid." Makoto commented. 

"It’s like he’s from another world!" Takuya added. 

"Anyway, the current Black Dragons are totally different from the 9th generation. If Toman fights them now…" Keisuke trailed off. 

"There’s gonna be casualties…" Akkun concluded with a concerned look on his face. 

Then suddenly Takemichi hopped out of his bed and stood on the ground. 

"You guys don’t have to fight!" he stated in a firm tone and furrowed eyebrows while we all gave him a confused look. 

"Huh?" we all asked. 

"This is between me and the Black Dragons. It’s got nothing to do with toman. I’ll settle this on my own…" he went on. 

"Wait, what?!"

"The hell are you saying?"

"On your own?" 

While Takemichi's friends went on asking him questions out of pure shock and concern, Keisuke and I looked over at each other and shared a knowing look. 

"Takemitchy..." Keisuke called out before standing up from his seat. "Come with us real quick. You too, Chifuyu." 

In response, Takemichi gave us a confused look but didn't say anything back. The four of us then left the Hanagaki household and drove away from the area by riding our motorbikes. I was riding with Keisuke on his Goki while Takemichi was with Chifuyu on the latter's motorbike. A while later, we reached a different neighborhood and parked our rides in the parking lot beside a ramen shop. 

"I'm starving right now, so let's get some peyoung yakisoba..." Keisuke stated as we all hopped down from the bikes.

"Baji-kun, I get it..." Takemichi stated out with a furrowing face, looking down at the ground while clenching his fists. "You're gonna tell me not to take on all this by myself, right? I know you wanna say my friends are here for me!! But…!" 

"I didn’t bring you out here to say that, you moron." Keisuke scoffed and smacked Takemichi on the back of the head before the latter gave him a confused look. "I didn’t leave Toman to you because I wanted to stress you out. So cheer the fuck up, Shitty-mitchy!" 

"Just have fun while you're at it, Takemichi..." I added with a warm smile. "Don't worry too much." 

"Besides, you've me now as your partner, so cheer up!" Chifuyu grinned widely at his new friend. 

"Baji-kun, Nana-chan, Chifuyu…" Takemichi trailed off in surprise with tears rolling down his cheeks. "I... I've something to tell you guys..." 

"Huh? What is it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. 

"I-I came from the future…" he stated and the whole place went completely silent after hearing his words. 

Wait, what...?! What does he mean by 'came from the future'...? What is he talking about?

"Huh? What the hell do you mean? Came from the future?" Keisuke asked with furrowed eyebrows while we all looked at Takemichi in utter confusion. 

At that moment, Takemichi began to panic but somehow, someway he was able to speak up and started to tell us the entire truth. 

Apparently, the Takemichi standing right before us was a 26-year-old Takemichi who came from the future, back from 2017. One day after coming back from his work, someone deliberately pushed him into the train tracks and before he knew it, he was sent back 12 years into the past, back in his 2nd year of middle school days. Then he met Naoto (Hinata's younger brother) and shook his hand and was again sent back into the future. Takemichi later met up with the adult Naoto and together they started working together to save Hinata's life because according to Takemichi, 12 years into the future, Toman would become a huge but dangerous organization, committing all sorts of crimes from murder and fraud to prostitution and drugs and the list goes on and on. And the future Toman happened to be the one to kill Hinata in the first place. That's why to save Hinata's life, Takemichi was going back and forth between the past and the future to make changes in both timelines. It started from saving Draken's life and trying to stop the conflict between Toman and Moebius to saving Keisuke's life and stopping Manjiro from killing Kazutora during the battle of Bloody Halloween. Somehow Takemichi was able to complete all of his mission, but still, each and every time he failed to save Hinata and the rest of us simply because of Kisaki, as the adult Kisaki from the future was the one who kept on killing us each and every time. 

"And that’s everything I have done…" Takemichi trailed off. 

"So we are gonna get killed by Kisaki? We are gonna die…" I spoke up again, deep in thought. 

Now it all makes sense... the time when Takemichi tried to stop us from fighting Moebius... 

The time when he was getting desperate in saving Ken-chan's life... 

The time when he requested Keisuke not to die and stay alive... 

Takemichi always knew what was going to happen... He always knew...

"Just kidding! I was just joking around! Haha!" Takemichi began to chuckle out sheepishly, trying to ease the tension in the air. 

"Somehow we always knew…" Keisuke trailed off, causing Takemichi to give him a confused look.

"Thinking about it, there’s a lot that’s off about you. Also, there have been times when you have looked different. From our conflict with Moebius to our battle with Valhalla in Bloody Halloween... I noticed how desperate you looked each and every time. Whether it was about saving Ken-chan's life or saving Keisuke's life or stopping Manjiro from killing Kazutora, you always looked desperate... The first time I suspected you was when you tried to stop us from fighting Moebius because you knew Ken-chan might get killed. The second time I suspected you was when you requested Keisuke to stay safe and not die before the battle of Bloody Halloween. It was as if you always knew something's gonna happen, something bad's gonna happen..." I added.

"Well… I mean that’s…" Takemichi trailed off, looking away from us. 

"Before the fight with Valhalla, you told me, 'please don’t die, or else Nana-chan and Mikey-kun will be sad'…" Keisuke pointed out. 

"Yeah, even I heard that too… I wasn’t standing close enough, so I didn’t hear what you were talking about in detail. But I definitely heard that." Chifuyu chimed in. 

"You knew I was gonna die. That's why you were so desperate." Keisuke concluded. 

"Yeah, I knew and that’s why I tried to stop it. Even though Nana-chan got stabbed instead of Baji-kun in the end." Takemichi muttered in a sorrowful tone. 

"But hey, I lived, right? I didn’t die. So, don't worry about it anymore." I stated with a smile. 

"You're pretty incredible, Takemitchy." Chifuyu commented and Takemichi looked at him in surprise. "You have been fighting all alone, right? With nobody praising you or anything."

"Be proud of yourself, Takemitchy. The results don't matter." Keisuke stated in a firm tone, literally ordering the boy to cheer up. 

"Nobody’s watching but you stood and fought without running. We respect you, Takemichi." I added while gently ruffling his hair in an affectionate manner. 

"You guys really believe me? And all the stuff I say that sounds like total bullshit?" Takemichi asked in surprise with teary eyes. 

"Of course we do, dumbass! We’re friends now, aren’t we?" Keisuke scoffed before smacking Takemichi on the head again. "As much as it sounds or looks crazy from our point of view, we still believe you after everything you've done for us." 

And this brought tears to Takemichi's eyes again out of sheer joy and relief. 

"Damn it!! Quit making me cry, Baji-kun!!" He cried again and I giggled at him in amusement. 

"Haha! You’ve got giant tear glands!" Chifuyu teased him. 

"Shut up! You’re making fun of me?!" Takemichi scoffed at his partner. 

"Man, I’m starving!" Keisuke spoke up loud as he and I started to walk away. 

"Don’t ignore me, Baji-kun!" 

Later the four of us went into the ramen shop and sat together at a table to discuss future plans like what to do next about Kisaki or the Black Dragons. 

"Kisaki is really gonna kill us, huh? That future is really pissing me off right now." Keisuke snarled out under his breath as he grabbed his chopsticks so tightly that they might break in half at any second now. 

"So Kisaki really is Baji-san and Nana-san's enemy all along…" Chifuyu added. 

"Yeah, no doubt about it. Heard that straight from Kisaki himself in the future." Takemichi confirmed. 

"I’ll fucking kill him!" Keisuke snapped and I immediately grabbed him by the arm to calm him down. 

"Calm down, Keisuke..." I spoke up in a soft tone before the said boy cooled down a bit upon hearing my voice. "As the 3rd division captain, Kisaki has 100 men under his command. There’s also the newly established 6th division formed out of former Valhalla members. Plus compared to them, Takamichi and Chifuyu just became the new leaders of the 1st Division while you became my newly appointed assistant and bodyguard. None of us are real functional yet..."

"That’s a real big difference…" Takemichi agreed, nodding his head. 

"But even though I’m really pumped!" Chifuyu stated with a big smirk while Takemichi gave him a confused look. "We are gonna make the 1st Division into an unbeatable team, Takemichi! Just like how it was when Baji-san was still the 1st Division captain. You’re starting from nothing, but I know you can pull it off! We’ll curb stomp the Black Dragons, Kisaki, I don’t care who! I got your back to the very end! That's my answer to you for telling us everything!" 

"Chifuyu…" Takemichi trailed off in surprise, completely moved by Chifuyu's speech. 

"Let’s make this work!" Chifuyu added with a grin, making Takemichi grin back at him. 

"Yeah, alright! Let's do this, partner!" Takemichi responded back before the two blonde boys started to make plans about how they could stop Hakkai Shiba (the 2nd Division Vice Captain) from leaving Toman. 

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Keisuke asked, deadpanning at those two boys while listening in to their ridiculous plans. "Having Chifuyu by my side for more than a year made me realize what a big dumbass he really is. Takemichi's also not too far behind in that category by the way. They might get their asses kicked if they keep up like this..." 

"I think it's okay... Just let them be. You're neither a part of the 1st Division nor you're Chifuyu's boss anymore, so let them work together and figure things out on their own." I responded back with a shrug and in response, Keisuke gave me a skeptical look, narrowing his sharp eyes at me. 

"You're having fun with this, aren't you?" he asked and my lips curled up into a small mischievous smirk. 

"You know me so well, Kei-chan.~" I cooed causing Keisuke to simply roll his eyes at him before he let out a small chuckle in amusement and went back to his yakisoba noodles again. 

5th December 2005

"Ah? Then you want to fight the Black Dragons?" Draken asked the 1st Division admins while idly leaning back on his seat.

Right now, some of the Toman members (Draken, Keisuke, Takemichi, Chifuyu, Smiley, Mucho, Kisaki, and Hanma) and I were dining at Danny's for lunch while discussing what to do next regarding Taiju Shiba and the Black Dragons. Keisuke was the one who requested Draken for this urgent meeting to be held here today so that Takemichi and Chifuyu could talk things out with the Vice-Commander. 

"Yes!" Takemichi replied back with enthusiasm and determination. 

"Quit fucking with us, jackass. I have said I'll kill you a million times already!" Smiley intervened in a threatening voice but with a smiling face.

"If you actually kill people every time you say so, you end the world, you moron..." Mucho stated in a monotone voice and deadpanned face.

"I'll kill you, Takemitchyi! Ah! See, I say it again!" Smiley scoffed yet was still smiling before looking back at Takemichi again. "Anyway, we reject the decision to crush the Black Dragons to stop Hakkai from killing Taiju!" 

"Hella dull!" Hanma sang out with his annoying chuckle beside a brooding Kisaki. 

As much as I hated Kisaki and Hanma to the bone and didn't want them to join the meeting, I had no other choice but to helplessly watch Draken calling them over here today for the gathering because even after everything, at the end of the day they were still one of the higher-ups of Toman now. 

"Whaddya think, Draken?" Smiley asked, causing everyone to look over at the Vice-Commander.

"Hmm. Rejected!" Draken stated in a firm tone and looked back at the 1st Division captain with a frowning face. "Takemitchy, I know you probably have your own considerations backing this up. But do you really wanna ruin the peace pact Mitsuya worked for? Doing this would ruin his reputation. This discussion is over." 

"Well damn, Ken-chan, you rejected Takemichi just as fast as you reject Emma. No wonder your situation's so terrible..." I commented with amusement and in response, Draken kicked me on the legs from the under the table we were sitting at. 

"No more funny words from you, woman." the tall blonde beanpole threatened me in a menacing tone but I wasn't fazed a bit.

"Sure, this might ruin Takashi's reputation but also at the same time this is Taiju Shiba we are talking about and that bastard can't be trusted. We did all this shit just to protect Hakkai and Yuzuha but do you really think Taiju's gonna keep the promise? Ken-chan, take some time and think about it for once... If Hakkai commits that grave mistake, the poor boy's gonna end up in prison very soon. And it's not like he's doing this just to entertain himself or anything. He's doing this because he's compelled in doing so. He really has no other choice left if he wants to keep Yuzuha away from that fucking tyrant of a bastard Taiju..." I added before letting out a sigh. 

"That's their problem, Nana. We shouldn't get mixed in this." Draken argued back. 

"But Hakkai's our friend and a former teammate." I countered back with a scowl. 

"If we try to intervene, there's gonna be a war, Nana and you know it. Fighting Taiju Shiba means blood's gonna be pouring down like rainfall. That guy's a menace and he runs his gang like an army, so we need to be careful on this one, you said it yourself, remember?" Draken stated and that's when I didn't respond back because what he said was completely accurate. 

Sure I wanted to help out Hakkai but risking my other teammates' lives when Taiju Shiba was in the question...?

"Dammit, so many complications!" I groaned out in frustration and gently slammed my forehead on the table. "This is the worst birthday ever." 

"Huh? Today's your birthday, Nana-chan?" Takemichi asked in surprise and I slightly nodded my head in response before a gleeful smile formed on Takemichi's face. "Happy birthday, Nana-chan!"

I turned my head to the side which was still resting on the table and looked over at his form. 

"Thanks, Takemichi..." I responded back with a small smile. 

"It's never gonna be your worst birthday when I'm still around." Keisuke finally chimed in with a scoff as he stood up from his seat, making his way over to my seat. 

"I'm not celebrating shit in a critical situation like this, Keisuke." I scoffed back before the said boy softly grabbed my arm and pulled me up from my seat. "H-Hey, what are you-" 

"I'm taking you out right now. I promised you that, remember? Let's go." Keisuke stated and before I could even do anything about it, the long-haired ravenette dragged me along with him and pulled me out of the restaurant.

"But, Keisuke!" I whined out with a pout as we walked over to his motorbike Goki at the parking lot. 

"No buts, Nana." he cut off my whining. 

"But at least tell me where are we going? We can't go anywhere further or out of Tokyo." I stated with a heavy sigh. 

"I'm aware of that, dumbass. I wanted to take you to the Tokyo Disney Sea at Urayasu, Chiba but canceled that plan at the last minute. We can't go that far when the stakes are high..." he replied, slightly shaking his head. 

"It's that new theme park founded back four years ago, like 2001 right?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. 

"Yeah... I'll take you there next time, I promise. Right now, we're going shopping..." he stated, causing me to give him a confused look. 

"You know I hate shopping, Keisuke." I pointed out with a deadpan face. 

"We're not gonna shop for clothes and makeup. I'm taking you to the Animate shop at Akihabara. You wanted to buy some new manga and anime merchandise, yeah?" Keisuke asked, and hearing his words made me gasp out in shock while it brought the light of happiness to my brownish-amber eyes before I snapped out of my shocked state and jumped into his arms, hugging him all tight, literally startling him to death. 

Animate is by far one of the largest, most popular anime and manga chain stores in Japan. It has hundreds of anime and manga goods ranging from manga and figures to posters, stationery goods, and much more. Located at Akihabara in Tokyo, the home of anime and otaku culture, this branch is filled with seven floors dedicated to all things anime. No matter the level of anime fans, Animate's extensive collection of figures, cosplay goods, and collectibles are sure to captivate and intrigue guests of all ages. If one's looking for the latest releases or just wants to find merchandise for their favorite anime character, chances are they'll find them in this large anime shopping mall. The first Animate store was opened in 1983 in Ikebukuro, Tokyo which is also known as a town of subculture hobbies just like Akihabara. Each floor is subdivided to help guests navigate, split from CD & DVD sections, manga sections, video games, character goods, cosplay accessories, etc. There's even a floor dedicated to holding events where anime creators and voice actors come out for meet-and-greet events. Animate is one of the most popular stores to visit for all things anime and manga, making it a must while in Akihabara. Animate is so popular that it currently has about 120 shops all over Japan. There is no prefecture in Japan without an Animate shop. 

He actually remembered that I wanted to go and buy some new manga...?! Keisuke's so sweet!! 

Although he's always been sweet towards me no matter what... Keisuke's the best!! 

"You know me so well, Kei-chan! I love you!" I squealed out in joy. 

"Hey! W-What are you-" Keisuke began to stutter out with a deep blushing face but was immediately cut off when I placed a soft kiss on his cheeks. "D-Don't kiss me in public like this!" 

"Oh, so you want me to kiss you behind closed doors?" I teased him with a mischievous smirk. 

"W-What?! I never said that!" he argued back with a frowning face, his cheeks still hot and red. 

"Seems like it to me.~" I cooed at him.

"Tsk... Careful, you damn woman. You're playing with fire right now." Keisuke warned me with a sharp look but I brushed him off with my giggles and teasings. 

Let's just say that in the midst of all these troubles and chaos, my 15th birthday didn't go all that bad because later in the evening after finishing shopping, Keisuke took me to the Sanrio Cafe at Ikebukuro for dinner where I was able to take a cute picture of him (much of his own annoyance and embarrassment) and saved that photo as wallpaper in my cell phone (without him knowing of course). 

14th January 2006

It had been only four days since the 27-year-old adult Takemichi went back to the future after completing his mission and almost ten days since Kisaki and Hanma were kicked out of Toman. Now with those two out of the way, to me, life came back to normal. There was no stress, no burden. After New Year's, Mitsuya and I went back to school again and were getting ready for our middle school graduation which was going to happen this upcoming spring in April. Others like Keisuke, Chifuyu, Hakkai, and Emma were about to advance from 2nd year to their 3rd/final year in middle school. Manjiro and Draken were also about to graduate from middle school, but they weren't exactly thinking of attending high school, unlike Mitsuya and me. 

And in school, where it was just only two months left before my middle school graduation, student life suddenly became hectic as hell - from final exams and high school admission tests to taking preparation for the graduation ceremony and everything, I never found myself so busy and concerned in life. 

"Graduation is coming up soon... Any plans and ideas about which high school you guys wanna go to?" a brunette girl beside me spoke up as we were eating our lunch at the cafeteria; her name was Kyoko Hori. 

Kyoko was this tall, slim girl, known to be cute and pretty by most of our classmates with mid-back length chestnut-brown hair with bangs swept to the right side and possessed golden-brown eyes. She was normally a very energetic and popular person who always created a happy atmosphere around herself and was a hard worker in all aspects of her life. Although when nervous or embarrassed, she tended to switch to a violent state. She was also known to be the very jealous type when at times girls flirted with her boyfriend, Izumi Miyamura, to the point where we started calling her the "Ice Queen" or the "Goddess of Jealousy". But overall, Kyoko was a sweet, caring girl who became one of my closest friends in school. 

"I'm thinking of going to a school close to my home actually..." another girl with short blonde hair spoke up from beside Kyoko; it was Yuki Yoshikawa. 

Yuki was a short, slim girl with light olive-green hair that was cut short with bangs parted in the middle into bangs framing her face while she also possessed round yellow eyes and thin eyebrows. She had a typical bubbly and ditzy personality who often created a fun and happy atmosphere for those close to her, though she could be quite lazy which was evident by her tendency to sleep during class a lot of the time. She was easy to get along with and was someone who could make friends relatively quickly. However, Yuki often tried to hide her negative feelings, especially in front of friends, by pretending that she was alright and didn't care about the situation, hiding it by covering it with a smile and that the more she didn't want to let go of something, the less she talked about it. As she was reserved when it came to her own feelings, she would never tell anyone how she really felt or what she really wanted and due to this attitude of hers, the things she loved often were out of her reach most of the time. 

"I wanna attend the same school that Sakura's gonna attend!" another different individual spoke up in a cheery tone from beside me this time - she was a part of the student council committee, Remi Ayasaki.

Remi was a beautiful, very cute young girl with waist-length hot pink hair, always tied up in twin tails, bangs hanging over her forehead while she had these big dark-pink doe eyes. She had a very short stature and this caused her to be the shortest one among our girlfriends' group. Remi was a rather childish girl who had a very straightforward personality and who wore her emotions on her sleeve. She relied on other people's help regularly, especially her childhood best friend Sakura, and was also not very smart. 

"That would be nice if we all stayed together like this." the last person spoke up in a meek yet happy tone and it was Sakura Kono, another person part of the student council committee. 

Sakura had short green hair, green eyes, and wore a pair of eyeglasses whose height and body stature was similar to Kyoko's except she had a pair of fairly large breasts. Sakura was a well-rounded, kind, and responsible person. She was very hardworking, making sure that the student council did its work. She was quite reserved as a person and there were times when she used to feel insecure about herself but that slowly changed throughout her time in middle school with us, leading her to gain self-confidence and make new friends. 

Kyoko, Yuki, Remi, and Sakura - all four of these girls were my closest friends here in this middle school I was attending. 

"Hey, what about you, Nana?" Kyoko asked with a curious look in her eyes, leaning forward against the table while sitting on my opposite side and I gave her a questioning look as I looked up from my meal. 

"Huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Weren't you listening, Nana?" Remi huffed with a pout. 

"Oh, you mean which high school I'm choosing? Yeah well, I decided to stick to the reputable ones in the Shibuya area." I replied nonchalantly. "I don't wanna go too far from home..." 

"That'll be very sad if we all go our separate ways..." Sakura commented with a small sad smile. 

"Yeah. We won't be able to meet much often like now." Remi whined out while Yuki nodded her head in agreement.

"You guys... this isn't gonna be our final goodbye." I sighed and slightly shook my head. "The world is small. We'll definitely meet again. We'll meet outside schools and stuff if we end up going to different high schools. If you guys think that the walls of a school campus are all there in this wide world, then you guys haven't grown up much yet." 

"Oh, Nana and her wise words. Gonna miss that so much.~" Kyoko sang out dramatically.

In response, I scoffed and playfully flickered her forehead while the other girls let out some giggles and chuckles in amusement. 

"Hey, I've heard that a lot of the seniors are getting proposed and asked out left and right these days?!" Yuki suddenly spoke up in a whispered tone, now changing the topic and she talked in a way as if she was gossiping about something scandalous. 

"Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and Kyoko nodded her head in response. "Why?"

"Yeah. Graduation is on the way and many people are gonna go to separate paths and directions. They don't wanna lose the opportunities they have, so yeah, many of them are either asking out their crushes or getting asked out. Some are getting accepted and some are getting rejected." Kyoko explained.

"Hmm... Don't wanna lose the opportunities; Time is running away; It's not ever gonna return to us; Chances like these might never come back; Seize the moment and learn to live with it... Ah, how poetic." I muttered out and the girls started to chuckle again. 

"Seriously, Nana? You should become a writer or a philosopher in the future." Yuki giggled, wiping away her fake tears. 

"But now that we're on this topic... Nana, did anyone ask you out?" Remi asked with all curiosity. 

"Huh? No. Not yet." I replied, shaking my head. 

"Seriously, not yet?!" Remi gasped in shock. 

"But Nana, you're so popular in school. I'm sure there's a handful amount of boys who like you." Sakura stated but I just shrugged in response. 

For some reason, I always used to get this unnecessary attention here in this middle school from the very beginning. But one way or another I also had expected this attention since this school thought highly of successful students and I was, unfortunately, one of them. With getting high scores in exams and somewhat possessing good looks or whatever, I was one of the admired members of the top of my school's social pyramid. And this had its ups and downs. One of the advantages of having what I would call 'superficial popularity' was that I was never alone. People were never afraid to say 'hello' to me, asked how I was, sat with me at lunch, request tutoring and the list goes on and on. However, everything has its negative side or disadvantages to it, and the term 'superficial popularity' also pulled me into a situation where the student body would automatically see or wish to see me as someone "perfect" without even trying to know who I really was. 

"I don't know if I've secret admirers or not. I don't care really." I responded with a shrug. 

To be honest, I had never thought about this kind of stuff, to begin with. At first, I was in love with Shinichiro when I was younger and after he passed away, I decided to move on with my life when I again fell in love for the second time with someone else and it was Keisuke. Throughout my whole life, I had always been in love with someone who was very dear to me at different times and places in my life whether it was Shinichiro or Keisuke depending on those times and places, so small things like crushes or secret admirers had never actually crossed my mind. It was nice and sweet to know that someone was probably out there who liked me but also at the same time I wasn't interested at all. 

I mean I already had Keisuke in my life, so what else would I need anyway? 

"Ne, ne, Nana-chan... Is it true? Have you finally decided to..." a random girl from my class spoke up as she and her group of friends approached me after lunch and stood around my desk with a curious look in their eyes.

"Hm?" I hummed in response, looking up to meet her gaze. 

"...Confess to Sengoku-kun?" she completed her question. 

"Huh? Confess? What do you mean?" I asked in confusion. 

"Well..." another girl spoke up this time around. "You can't be in a relationship without someone taking initiative." 

And this had me even more confused. 

What the hell is she even blabbering about...? 

"If you're not together yet, the whole class agreed to help!" another one commented enthusiastically and I hadn't even asked for that.

What the hell? How would they know if I'm even relatively interested in a relationship right now? 

And only then did I realize that a good half of the class was listening attentively to our little conversation, including my girlfriends Kyoko, Yuki, Remi, and Sakura. I also noticed Remi was now wearing a sour, bitter expression on her face, her eyes downcasted when I was asked about Sengoku. 

Kakeru Sengoku was a charismatic member of the student council committee of our school who was also Kyoko's childhood friend since elementary school. He was a slim, pale-skinned young man with smooth red hair that was parted towards the right side where it completely covered both his ears and also possessed red eyes. Due to his skinny figure, he usually used to wear multiple layers of clothing to appear of a healthier weight. This, along with his unusually high voice, made him appear somewhat feminine. 

Sengoku was a rather shy boy who would get embarrassed easily. The slightest thing would make him cower in fear, especially things to do with horror or insects. As a student, he was very smart and serious, usually ranked No. 1 in terms of grades in the school and No. 2 in Sports and Physical Education class. He enjoyed reading and had an incredible level of concentration while doing so, to the point of ignoring everything else going around him. Sengoku wasn't generally very expressive with his emotions but the sole exception was his anger or irritation, which he showed from time to time as he was one of the leading members of the student council. 

The reason why Remi was looking all downcasted at this moment was that she had this crush on Sengoku for a while now. I had always been aware of her feelings from the very start. My other girlfriends were also aware of this whole situation and because of that, they had always supported Remi and her feelings. I supported her too, so it was kind of awkward for me whenever people would come up to me and ask about Sengoku. And it wasn't like I was super close to him or something like that. I met and became friends with him through Kyoko at the beginning of our middle school years and there were times when we would study together in the library or I would help him out with the student council work and because of that many people sometimes caught us spending time together but that didn't mean we were attracted to each other or liked each other beyond platonic level. 

Besides, I spend way more time with Keisuke than I spend with Sengoku... 

Then why the fuck rumors about me and Keisuke hadn't still spread through school yet...?

"I'm sorry. I believe you've got it all wrong." I sighed.

Lashing out would be like giving them what they wanted and what they wanted was some good gossip.

"Sengoku and I don't have any romantic feelings for each other. We're just good friends." I stated in a firm tone, establishing the fact as strongly as possible. 

Two weeks later

As presumed the rumors didn't stop with that, no matter how clear I made it. A week had passed and my class still hadn't shut up. The worst part of it was that they labeled me as some sort of "love-denying kuudere" or shit like that. And, just as I predicted, the small flame I believed I had contained had flared into a raging wildfire. After a weekend break, when I returned to school, I expected to resume my school life like normal, but I was suddenly the center of attention. Every single time I walked into a room, they were staring at me. Every single conversation I had, had to be about Sengoku. Whenever I walked beside the red-haired boy, a cascade of "ooo's" and "ahh's" would fill the hallways. I had become twenty times more popular than I was before and I hated every second of it. 

"Sengoku..." I called out sternly in a low voice as he and I were sitting in the student council room for lunch. "We need to talk about the elephant in the room."

"Mmph?" Sengoku mumbled, looking up at me, his mouth was stuffed with food. 

He looks like a little chipmunk... 

"The rumors...." I went on and he was yet to respond back. "Aren't you bothered by it? At all?"

Was he that clueless? It can't be, right...?

"C-Can you specify... Which rumors?" he asked in confusion and I raised an eyebrow at him. 

He really didn't care?! 

"You know... they think we're dating..." I replied and Sengoku immediately choked on his onigiri. 

Let's just say, the red-haired boy got so flustered that in the end the conversation didn't go anywhere and the problem remained unsolved.

Every time the rumors were brought up, I counted on Sengoku to shoot them down, but for some reason, he didn't do it and it was making my life a living hell. Remi on the other hand also started to feel more and more downcasted and gloomy as time went on and it made me so hard to even look at her in the eyes because the last thing I wanted was to hurt her feelings and become an obstacle for her potential love life. 

I need to do this for Remi...

"I love Keisuke and I'm currently in a relationship with him." I lied in a monotone yet firm voice to those girls who initiated this whole rumor shit about me and Sengoku. 

"Huuhh?! Baji-kun?!" they gasped in shock and I looked at them in confusion. 

Why are they so shocked anyway...? 

"Why do you girls look all shocked?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Keisuke and I are childhood best friends and our relationship blossomed from platonic friendship to romantic love. There's nothing unusual about it. Things like this happen all the time." 

Can't childhood best friends fall in love with each other...? 

"But he's a nerd and a former delinquent!!" they pointed out, looking all distressed and defeated. 

"Yeah, so?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows in annoyance.  

"Sengoku-kun's way better than him!" 

"I don't think so..." I stated nonchalantly. 

"Baji-kun's so nerdy looking and he always wears these weird glasses!" 

Bitch, have you ever seen him outside school? He's fucking hot as hell! He's too beautiful and sexy for his own good! 

Not to mention you bitches even said that same shit about Miyamura before that poor guy had to cut his hair short...

"If you girls see him without those glasses, you won't be saying that again. Besides, I don't care about his looks or anything. All I care about is his personality and his morality as a human being." I stated with a sigh and with that, I walked away from them. 

It didn't take long for people to spread nasty words like - "Holy shit, Osaki from Class 3-1 is dating Baji from 2-3" or "She's super smart and pretty cute too" or "Why the hell is she dating Baji?" or "It's crazy! Hell, I'd be a way better match for her!" or "Osaki's dating Baji? The nerdy-looking former delinquent? OMG! What's wrong with her? Talk about terrible taste!" and shits like these. And just as I expected, these words reached up to Keisuke's ears as well. 

"So rumor has it that I'm allegedly your boyfriend and we've been secretly dating for a few months now..." Keisuke stated, staring me down with narrowed eyes as he and I were sitting in an empty classroom after school where I was tutoring him for his upcoming math test. 

And this made me spill out everything to him about the rumors that were going around about me and Sengoku, thinking that he would obviously understand. 

"It was really frustrating, you know." I sighed while running a hand through my raven locks. 

"So you chose me as your convenient fake boyfriend to escape from the situation?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows at me. 

"More or less yes. You were my safe solution to this problem." I replied and placed my chin in the palm of my hand which was resting on the desk we were sitting at before my lips curled up into a small smile. "Also, I like the idea of dating you, even if it's fake." 

Keisuke's eyes immediately went wide open in shock when I said those words and his cheeks started to turn pink in color. 

"Y-You like me?" he asked in a quiet tone, looking at me all confused. 

It's now or never... Let's do this... Seize the moment... Don't let this opportunity go...

"I thought I was always obvious about my feelings for you..." I stated with a teasing smile. 

"What about Shinichiro-kun?" he asked. 

"What about Shin-chan? He passed away and he's never coming back. I don't wanna live the rest of my life loving a dead man." I scoffed in response. 

"But why me?" Keisuke asked, pursing his lips as the color of his cheeks were turning from pink to red. "What's so great about me anyway?" 

"To this, I don't have a specific answer. To be honest, I love everything about you - your good looks, your personality, your loyalty, your honesty, your morality, your passion, your energy... Even though you're violent and aggressive and love to live a carefree life, even though you burn down cars simply because you're hungry and craving peyoung yakisoba, I think you're still very charming and sweet. Life always seems fun and colorful when you're around. When I'm with you, I feel like I'm in a flower meadow for the first time having spent what feels like an eternity living in a windowless box. There's a lot of emotion I feel for you, Keisuke and I can't just describe it with just one word. I've always loved and cared about you ever since we first met, Keisuke, always..." I stated with a sheepish chuckle, my cheeks also started to turn the deepest red in color. 

For a moment silence fell in between us with Keisuke looking down at his hands on the desk, contemplating the words I just told him now while I was silently sitting there, waiting for a response. 

Please Keisuke, say something... Anything... 

I had accepted my feelings for Keisuke a long time ago and now that I had told him everything, there was no going back. The man was confident, but not too cocky and funny. Enjoying his company always seemed so natural to me. Whenever he was around, I couldn’t help but hear the loud beating of my own heart. But who was to blame? Keisuke was drop-dead gorgeous. Who wouldn’t get captivated by him? Keisuke was weird, but he was kind. He was a violent tsundere who liked to commit arson when hungry but he also had a heart of gold. He looked intimidating and scary, but his intentions were always pure and selfless. 

Maybe that's why I was in love with him. I loved him so much that I would lose control of myself. Keisuke was someone who was fine with being the sacrificial lamb for his friends and dear ones. And I found it irritating sometimes. He talked and walked around like nothing was wrong, always pretending that he was indifferent, just fine with all the negative things people thought about him. It was so irritating that it made me want to turn his head around and look at me, made me want to tell him how special he was to me, how great he was to me. That he, Keisuke Baji, had a huge impact on the lives of every people he came across up until now. 

I kept falling in love with him and each time was harder than the last. Every time the feeling got deeper, more complete, more bewitching. There wasn't a thing I wouldn't do to keep him safe, so Keisuke wouldn't ever have to think of asking for my affection. The more love I gave him the more I had bursting inside of me. Crazy, huh? The more love we shared the more it multiplied. 

I loved Keisuke in the way a puppy loved - devoted, playful, trusting. I guess I should be ashamed of that somehow; weren't we all supposed to be tough? Yet I preferred to be strong; strong enough to risk being broken all over again, to love again, fully knowing my own fragility. I had known heartbreak enough to shatter my mind, to leave my soul feeling like dust in the wind and my body unwilling to live. But Keisuke was worth my life and all that I had left was his. 

"If... if that's the case..." Keisuke spoke up, pulling me out of my trance as he looked back at me again with furrowed eyebrows and blushing cheeks. "Then let's make it real..." 

My breath hitched when he said those words and my eyes immediately went wide open in surprise. 

"Let's make this fake dating thing real..." he added as his eyes softened at my sight. "But before that... Nana, I’m a very simple guy, so, I’ll say my words in my simple ways..." 

I nodded my head, telling him to continue while my heart started to beat faster than before. 

"I'm in love with you, Nana... I always have been. It was always been you." Keisuke confessed before his lips curled up into a gentle smile when he noticed my red, hot cheeks and my widened eyes which were staring at him. "I'm not that smooth with my words and I'm not good at expressing my feelings, especially in things like this, but that's the truth and I wanted to tell you for a long time now..." 

I was always kind of aware of Keisuke's feelings toward me so it was somewhat expected, but I didn't think that it would be this soon. And he said he was in love with me from the very beginning we met. Did he really love me for that long now?

"I’ve been in love with you ever since I first met you 11 years ago..." he went on before reaching out and grabbing my smaller hands in his larger ones, intertwining our fingers, his warmth radiating through me when our skin touched. "I've been so in love with you, so desperately, hopelessly in love with you and I always hoped you would see me like that too. That one day you would wake up and realize I was right here, and I always had been. But at the same time, I didn't want to ruin this friendship since you're my best friend and one of the most important people in my life. I don’t wanna lose you. But I couldn’t stand keeping this to myself. I only see things in terms of 'what are'. No start or end. I guess that's a kind of pragmatism. I cannot conceptualize them as a passage or journey. That complicates things. My head has so many puzzles to solve. To me, love has to remain simple, pure, easy, and kind. So, that I love you now is that I love you forever. Moment, eternity... They are the same to my heart and soul. I ask you to stay. Just stay. I will too. I'm sure that's all it takes. I hope that is enough... Because it's all I have to offer. So, I need your answer, Nana. Will you go out with me? Like girlfriend-boyfriend kinda thing?” 

Some might call it bewitched but I called it love. For there was an emptiness in the freedom of being alone and liberty in being caught in that divine spell. And so when I saw in his eyes the feelings of my heart, in that very moment we became one and if that wasn't magic then I couldn't say what was. Because his love was so whole, my missing pieces would immediately appear. Because his touch carried such passion, what was scarred became soft once more. Because he was steady and patient, my open wounds had time to seal and vanish.

Perhaps that was why they say love is such magic, this gift from the universe, this sweet addiction to the man I was born to find. For with my twin soul, the only other born in the same flame as I, we were able to bathe one other in warmth and light as easily as we breathe, immune and oblivious to darkness.

"And you're saying you're not that good with words." I let out a chuckle in amusement as my frantic heartbeat started to slow down and his smile grew wider. "But I won't date you unless you promise to marry me in the future." 

"Deal." he immediately replied without any hesitation, grinning widely at me and I gave him a surprised look. 

"Seriously? You'll marry me?" I questioned and he nodded his head with all seriousness. "What about having kids after getting married?"

"We'll have them when the time is right. But not more than two, okay?" he replied with a smile. 

"And pets? I'm a dog person and you're a cat person." I pointed. 

"Then we'll have both; one cat and one dog. No big deal..." he suggested with a shrug and this caused me to let out a soft giggle. 

I could tell his love for me was real, pure, and genuine. His love for me became my protector, my defender, my ride-or-die connection that stayed with me for always and in all ways. It was raw and it would roar for me if required. It would stay with me in quietness and be my comfort. Keisuke's love celebrated with me and raised me up. His love would be okay with my sadness and kiss the scars I hid from others.

It was rare, so I always treasured it and was trying to keep it alive as long as possible, for Keisuke's love was the greatest blessing that heaven could ever give me. His love was pure, unselfish, and undemanding. His love made me feel free, made me feel all soft and warm. This was the kind of love I had waited for, prayed for. I inwardly thanked God for this because a love like this was to be cherished for life. Finally, I felt like being home.

Keisuke isn't perfect and I'm not either, but together we make a great team and are perfect for one another...

"Two kids and two pets, huh? Looks like you've all figured it out... But hey, at least take me on a date at first!" I stated playfully and Keisuke flashed his signature smirk at me. 

"Well, let's go then." he stated before standing up, pulling me up from my seat as well. 

"But your upcoming math test?" I asked as I watched him quickly packing up our bags and stuff. 

"Fuck the math test!" he grinned at me, showcasing his pointy canines before grabbing my wrist and dashing out of the classroom. 

Soon after that, we were out of our school campus and went to a small parking lot in the nearby area where Keisuke's Goki was parked at. 

"Hop on, Nana..." he stated as he hopped on his own bike and tossed his helmet to me. "Safety first.” 

After putting on his helmet, Keisuke shuffled forwards slightly to give me more space to sit on the bike behind him. He then took off his fake, goofy reading glasses and shoved them into his pockets, his long ravenette hair still tied up in a ponytail. 

"Where are we going?” I asked, taking my seat on the bike while Keisuke shrugged, chuckling slightly when I gently wrap my arms around his waist.

"Don’t know, but hold on tight!” he warned, revving his engine and taking off without another word. 

From other people's point of view, I might be a fool for getting on a motorcycle with Keisuke and letting him take me to an undisclosed location, but it had always been like ever since Keisuke started learning to ride his bike and I trusted him enough to know that he wouldn’t try to drive me off a cliff or put me in danger. Keisuke always drove his motorbike like a madman and would leave me with no other choice but to cling to him with dear life. If I didn’t bury myself into his side, I probably would have flown off with all the sharp turns he always did around the other cars or bikes. It was like being taped to the top of a vehicle in Mario Cart, but that was where the fun and the thrills lay. 

"You're never gonna change your driving style, huh Keisuke!" I shouted out over the harsh blaring of the wind while the said boy simply let out a loud chuckle in response. 

"Look over to the side, Nana..." he uttered, slowing down slightly. 

Taking his word for it, I turned my head to the side so my face was no longer pressed against his shoulder. Passing the edge of the road, I could see the perfect view of the beach below, the sea gently glistening under the orange sunset, the fresh ocean air hitting all my senses.

"The beach.” I mused, smiling down at the completely deserted sandy shore, which looked so beautifully peaceful in contrast to how busy it was when I would usually come.

"No shit.” Keisuke chuckled, his eyes remaining glued to the road. 

“But it’s closed.” I let out a defeated sigh, leaning against his back. 

“Yep, that means we’ve got the whole place to ourselves!” he nodded with a wide grin causing my eyes to go wide open in astonishment.

Before I could question what Keisuke meant by that, he steered off the edge of the road and down the steep hillside which led to the beach, though it definitely was not meant to be driven on as there were several warning signs at the side of the road, warning drivers about the hill.

"Keisuke, what the fuck?!” I scolded him over his amused laughter.

“Isn’t this fun?!” he yelled back, enjoying how the wind felt against his skin as he maneuvered his bike down the steep hill. 

Not going to lie, this experience was exciting and concerning all at the same time but it soon all ended when the bike came to a smooth landing on the soft sand of the beach.

“Well, how was that?” Keisuke asked with a smirk, immediately hopping off the bike before offering a hand to me. 

"You're a madman, Keisuke." I commented with an amusing giggle as I took off the helmet before accepting his hand, and stepping off the motorbike while the smile on his face widened a bit more. "But... do you think we could do this again? Some other time, maybe?" 

And in response, Keisuke let out another loud chuckle, resulting in me becoming sheepish for a moment until he wrapped his arms around me and picked me up for a hug.

“Obviously! Anything for you, doll!" he grinned, and my cheeks heated up slightly at his words. 

Keisuke and I are really dating now!! Holy shit!! This is real!!

It's not fake at all!! Can't believe this is actually happening!!

"Huh? Doll? Are we gonna give each other nicknames now?" I playfully scoffed at him causing Keisuke to lean closer to my face, his sharp bronze eyes boring into my brownish-amber ones. 

"You want other names? Like Baby, Babe, Buttercup, Cutie pie, Babydoll, Sweet-Cheeks?" he teased with a mischievous smirk to which in response I threw him a dirty glare and pushed his face away from mine. 

"Ew! No! That's cringey!" I scoffed while he let out another chuckle and placed me back down on the sand before he started to dash off towards the sea.

“Anyway, let's race! Loser owes the other lunch!” he shouted out at me. 

"Eh?! Oi, Keisuke, you moron! Wait up!" 

And this was how Keisuke and I started a new chapter of our lives. 

I love you, Keisuke, Like the sky loves the birds, With open hands and infinite freedom.

February 19th, 2006

It was still early in the evening when Chifuyu and Takemichi arrived at Keisuke’s place today to help him out with the furniture redecoration of the Baji household just because Keisuke’s mom, Ryoko Baji felt like doing so. The thing was, Ryoko heavily believed in astrology, good luck charms, and stuff like that and she also believed that redecorating her whole house would bring good luck to the Baji family’s life, especially in Keisuke’s life to be more accurate.

“Sorry about this, guys…” Keisuke stated in his usual deep yet soft tone to Takemichi and Chifuyu who were shifting heavy furniture from one room to another. “Nana and I were supposed to help my mom redecorate our whole house. Feng Shui says it’s good luck. But obviously, it’s impossible for just the two of us alone, so you two are really saving us here…”

“So heavy!” Takemichi grunted out through his gritted teeth when he tried to lift a box that was filled with showpieces.

“Careful, Takemitchy!” Chifuyu called out in concern before rushing over to his friend to help him out. “That box has showpieces in it. Drop it and everything in it will break into millions of pieces.”

“Thanks, Chifuyu and Takemichi…” Ryoko stated with a wide grin of gratitude on her face as she talked into the room while holding a book in her hand. “My Keisuke's here is a weak boy, so he ended up troubling you two.”

“Who’s weak?!” Keisuke snapped, growling at his mother with furrowed eyebrows before I put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

“Calm down now, Keisuke. Let’s not make a ruckus now.” I mumbled into his ears in a gentle voice to which the said boy immediately went quiet before returning to work.

“N-No, we're fine!” Takemichi stuttered out in embarrassment with a blushing face, smiling sheepishly at Ryoko.

This was the first time Takemichi came to the Baji household and the first time seeing Keisuke’s mom, so naturally, he was feeling quite flustered – after all, he didn’t expect the matriarch Ryoko Baji to be so young-looking and beautiful.

“Where should we put this, Ryoko-san?” Chifuyu asked her in a polite tone before the Baji matriarch started to guide the two boys with the whole redecoration again.

“Alright! That's it then!” Ryoko stated just after the two blonde boys shifted a cupboard to a different room.

“Okay!” Chifuyu and Takemichi responded in unison, sweat dripping from their bodies from all their hard work for the past few hours.

“Chifuyu, Takemichi, apparently the living room furniture is important too, so after you're done with that please take care of it.” Ryoko instructed with a smile while her eyes locked down at the pages of the book which was still in her hand.

The book in her hand happened to be one of those which tells you what’s good luck for you or not and using that Ryoko had been guiding us through this entire time.

“Oh! Ah, yes!!” they replied before dashing towards the living room.

“Hey, mom!” Keisuke called out with a frowning face as he pulled out some manga books from his mother’s bookshelf. “I thought all my manga were gone. Why are they here?!”

“Keisuke, I’m still reading them!!” Ryoko snapped back.

“Please, don’t fight over some manga, you two…” I spoke up again, sighing heavily at the antics of these two Bajis while rearranging some showpieces on the shelf just like how Ryoko wanted.

“Oh excuse me, Chifuyu. Can you go to the convenience store on the corner and get me a garbage bag?” Ryoko asked in a gentle, motherly tone.

“Yes!!”

“And Takemichi, please be a dear and get me a small parfait from the sweets section. The waitress there often forgets to serve it with a spoon, so make sure it’s ready to go.”

“O-Oh, okay, yes!!”

Making Keisuke’s friends do all of her work - that was one of Ryoko’s personality traits which I found very funny sometimes, like how she was ordering around Chifuyu and Takemichi and making them run around the house but none of them could say anything to her because one, she was a parental figure to them, so they couldn’t be disrespectful towards her which was obvious and two, she was ordering them around in such a soft, motherly tone that the poor boys didn’t exactly know how to refuse her orders.

“Finally, we are done!” a sweaty, tired Takemichi exclaimed out in joy with a grinning Chifuyu standing beside him as we all looked around at the redecorated house.

“Oh, I’m sorry. This is wrong.” Ryoko suddenly spoke up in a concerned tone, staring down at her book with furrowed eyebrows, and in response, Takemichi and Chifuyu went stiff as a stone in their spot.

“Huh? What are you saying?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.

“I was looking at the wrong page!” Ryoko stated, showing me a certain page from the book. “This isn't gonna bring me good luck!”

“What the hell are you doing?!” Keisuke snapped at his mother again with his hands on his hips. “You're kidding me! Come on woman, this is enough!”

“This isn’t good!” Ryoko snapped back at her son. “My lack of fortune caused you a lot of problems before, Keisuke! Remember that one time you broke your left arm?!”

And her words suddenly made me recall one incident from early 2004 which was just two years ago when one delinquent gang named Killer Bee forcefully barged into our school to attack Keisuke because they were aware of the fact that Keisuke Baji would never fight and throw hands inside the school campus. Although Keisuke didn’t fight them back and ended by breaking his left arm when he was defending himself from their attack, his former vice-captain Ryusei Sato and Chifuyu were the ones who jumped into the action right on time and saved his life from that gang. I was also there with them and I remembered knocking the commander of that gang out cold in one go by throwing one of Manjiro’s infamous roundhouse kicks on that man’s head.

“I don’t care! And that had nothing to do with this!!” Keisuke shouted out in frustration again as he and his mother began to throw fiery daggers at each other through their sharp glares.

“A-Ah don’t worry! We’ll do it again!” Chifuyu intervened in a nervous tone, trying to calm down those two Bajis before looking over at a concerned Takemichi. “Right, Takemitchy?!”

“Y-Yes!!” Takemichi squeaked out, furiously nodding his head before they both rushed over to the room to shift around the heavy objects again.

“Ngh! Uaghhh!!!”

“Ha!! So heavy!!”

“I know right!!”

“What’s wrong?” Keisuke asked as he walked over to the boys who were now on the ground, all sweaty and tired and was out of breath, taking a break for a moment before they would start redecorating again. “Are you two worn out? Well, I suppose you two did carry a lot of stuff.”

“N-No we are totally fine, Baji-san!” Chifuyu tried to convince his former captain but failed miserably.

“Just give us a moment, Baji-kun and we will carry-“ Takemichi was about to say something more but was cut off immediately when Keisuke lifted a huge cupboard with just one arm. 

“No more. Just rest.” Keisuke stated in a cool, nonchalant voice before he walked away with the cupboard in his arm while the two blondies stared at the ravenette man in complete shock with dropped jaws and widened eyes.

“And his mother calls him weak?!” Takemichi gasped out, causing me to chuckle in response. “Just how strong is Baji-kun?!”

“A lot actually. Just like Manjiro and Ken-chan…” I replied with a smile before walking away as well to help out Keisuke.

And it wasn’t long before we redecorated some of the rooms again and our entire work came to a completion.

“Okay, that’s more like it.” Keisuke stated, slightly nodding his head as we looked around the house to see if anything was left to be done.

“Yeah, it’s good, isn’t it?” Ryoko grinned with a satisfied look on her face.

“Well, then. Let’s get something to eat.” Keisuke added before I started to walk towards the kitchen with Ryoko.

“Ryoko-san and I’ll go and cook something for us. You guys take some rest in the meantime.” I stated, causing the faces of the boys to light up in pure happiness and excitement.

“Thanks, Nana-san!” Chifuyu called out with a smiling face to which I smiled back in response.

After entering the kitchen, Ryoko and I pondered for a while, thinking of what to cook for dinner tonight. After going through several different options, we finally chose to cook hot pot for the dinner.

“I appreciate your help!” Ryoko stated with a smile as we all gathered around in the living room with the Baji matriarch sitting on a couch while the boys and I were on the floor with our legs crossed, the TV in front of us was turned on and the food was served on the kotatsu table beside us. “Feel free to eat whatever you want.”

“Yes!! It’s good!!” Chifuyu and Takemichi stated happily in unison as they took a bite from their food.

“Also, thanks for the help too, Nana-chan.” Ryoko stated as she then turned to look at me, her smile widened a bit more. “You were a great help today, especially when we were cooking for dinner.”

“I’m glad I was able to help you, Ryoko-san.” I smiled back. “Feel free to call me for help whenever you need it.”

“Ah, sometimes I feel like what I’m gonna do without you, Nana-chan.” Ryoko let out a heavy sigh as she leaned back on the couch in a relaxed manner.

“Now, you’re exaggerating, Ryoko-san. You’re gonna make me blush.” I added before the said woman and I both started to chuckle together in unison.

“Oi, Shitty-mitchy.” Keisuke who was sitting close beside me called out while pointing at the TV, causing the time-leaper to look over at the ravenette boy. “What do you think?”

“Huh? What’s this?” Takemichi asked in confusion, looking over at the TV as well.

“That’s Baji-san's favorite TV show.” Chifuyu informed while chewing his food.

“It’s Kayo Suspense Gekijyo.” Keisuke stated, staring at the TV screen with a serious look on his face, furrowing his eyebrows a bit. “I found out that the woman behind him is the culprit. She claims she wasn’t there when it happened, but I’m pretty sure she’s playing some kind of trick.”

“Oh! You like this kind of thing, don't you, Baji-kun?” Takemichi asked excitedly, his lips curling up into a smile. “No wonder you were always suspicious of Kisaki from the very start.”

“Keisuke’s really into the mystery, crime-thriller genre. Movies, TV shows, novels - doesn’t matter. As long as it contains this particular genre, Keisuke engages himself into it with all his heart, mind, and soul.” I chimed in with a smile before looking over a Keisuke for a moment. “Sometimes I wonder why you wanna be a pet shop owner when you get older… You’re smart and hella perceptive. You can become a police officer or a detective if you want.”

“Police officer or detective, huh?” Keisuke trailed off, getting lost in his own thoughts.

“Yeah, I also think those professions will suit you, Baji-kun…” Takemichi added.

“I can guess the killer too, you know!” Chifuyu chimed in as well, his lips curled up into a wide grin. “I have really good instincts when it comes to that sort of thing!”

“Dumbass! It’s got nothing to do with intuition!” Keisuke playfully scolded his former vice-captain with a smirk. “You have to think in terms of music.”

“Keisuke, it's logic, not music.” I muttered into his ears, immediately correcting his mistake and in response, Keisuke’s cheeks went red in color in complete embarrassment.

“Ah, yes! That's it! That's it!” the ravenette chuckled sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck.

As the four of us continued to chat and laugh while watching the TV show, Ryoko who was sitting on the couch behind us decided to intervene in our conversation.

“You idiots!” Ryoko suddenly spoke up in a loud tone with a beer can in her hand and we all turned over to look at her. “In most of these cases, the fourth guy fighting on the TV is the culprit! the main character, the sidekick, the girl, and then the killer! That’s why the old man is the culprit!”

“Huh?!! That’s not funny at all!” Keisuke snapped at his mother yet again for the umpteenth time this evening.

“Look, the old man is the murderer!” Ryoko countered back, now pointing at the TV. “He’s the killer, only one person can get in that car…”

“He’s not that old!” Keisuke growled out with a frowning face. “If he's an old man, then you are an old woman too!”

“Huh?! What did you say, Keisuke?!!” Ryoko finally snapped back before she threw a kick at her own son.

And the rest of the night went with me and the blonde boys trying to disrupt the fight and calm down the two fiery Bajis every once in a while. As time passed by and the clock almost struck midnight, I found myself the only one in the Baji household to be wide awake while the rest of them were all passed out either on the couch or on the floor. Since I was the only one still up and functioning, I decided to go ahead and engage myself in some household chores, like putting blankets on their sleeping bodies to keep them warm, cleaning up the kotatsu table, putting away tonight’s extra food into the refrigerator, washing all the dirty dishes, and then last but not the least, cleaning the kitchen up completely spotless.

It took me some time to finish my job and as soon as I was done with it, I noticed Ryoko finally waking up from her slumber and sitting up on the couch.

“You’re awake, Ryoko-san.” I smiled, walking up to her.

“You did everything by yourself?” Ryoko asked with a sheepish smile. “Thank you, Nana-chan. Sorry for causing you all this trouble.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m happy to help anytime you need me.” I responded in a reassuring tone.

“Well then, Nana-chan… Can you be a darling and go to the convenience store around the corner and get me some turmeric? And some of those cake rolls with that chocolate chips… the cheeky ones that try to up the quality a notch.” Ryoko stated with a closed-eyed smile and I sweat-dropped at her in response.

She’s never gonna change, is she…?

“Okay, sure. Be right back.” I smiled back before turning around and walking away towards the front door.

“Don't worry about the house key. Oh and uh, Nana-chan…” Ryoko called and I turned to look back at her again, noticing a warm, gentle smile on her face as she was staring at me with her soft, bronze-colored eyes. “Take care of Keisuke for me, okay?”

In response, my face softened a bit as I blinked at her a few times.

“He was born to an idiot like me and an even more idiotic father.” Ryoko went on in a light tone, her eyes shifted from me to her sleeping son on the floor. “And now he’s a fool too. But… he’s always sincere in what he does. He's simply irresponsible. I taught him that much. Keisuke rarely brings his friends home with him and it’s even more shocking that he fell in love and decided to date a smart, capable girl like you… This is the first time I’ve seen him laughing with all his friends like this. Keisuke is an only child, so maybe Chifuyu and Takemichi are like little brothers to him. And I have nothing to say much when it comes to you, Nana-chan. You and Keisuke have been best friends ever since you two first met years ago at the Sano dojo and now you’ve become lovers. I’m really happy for you two, you know?”

“You’re… happy that Keisuke and I are dating?” I asked as my lips slowly curled up into a small smile.

Ryoko-san’s happy… it means she approves of our relationship, right…?

“I always wanted Keisuke to end up with no one else but you, Nana-chan. I’ve been shipping you two ever since then.” Ryoko replied with a soft chuckle and my smile widened a bit more upon hearing her response. “I hope Keisuke doesn't make too much of a fool of himself. Please keep a close eye on him.”

“Yes, I will, Ryoko-san. You can count on me.” I reassured her once again.

I love Keisuke to death, Ryoko-san…

He’s just so precious to me…

I promise to love and protect him till my dying breath…

As soon as I walked out of the building to head toward the convenience store, someone familiar called out my name from behind me.

“Oi, Nana.”

I turned around to see Keisuke making his way towards me, yawning while running a hand through his silky, raven locks.

“Why are you going alone at this late hour?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows a bit, his eyes telling me he was still tired.

“You were sleeping, so I didn't want to wake you up.” I smiled at him apologetically and in response, he rolled his eyes at me.

“Don't be stupid. I’m coming with you.” He scoffed before we both headed towards the store together.

“Thanks for coming.” I smiled at my lover after we finished our shopping and stepped out of the store.

“Don’t thank me, stupid. As your boyfriend, I have to tag along with you wherever you go.” He scoffed again before gently taking the shopping bag from my grip. “Also, I’m sorry about mom being super annoying today…. I said I didn’t care about my mom’s fortune, but…”

“No, it’s okay.” I giggled in response as we walked down the quiet streets together side by side, the moon in the sky glowing brightly above us, illuminating the whole area like a spotlight. “It’s been a while since I hung out with Ryoko-san like this.”

“You sure? She’s always so pushy.” He muttered, letting out a heavy sigh tiredly.

Somehow, her being a Baji kind of justifies her behavior….

“Besides I got your mom’s approval today.” I informed, grinning at him.

“She always approved you ever since we first met 11 years ago, Nana. She thinks you're the right choice for me. Well, I think that too…” Keisuke smiled back before reaching out and grabbing my hand in his larger one, intertwining our fingers together.

He then looked away from me for a moment and set his eyes on the ground underneath us, that breathtaking smile was still dancing on his face.

“You know, Nana, I… I have known you ever since we were four years old, but then again sometimes I feel like I still don’t know very much about you. I’m still learning about you, little by little. At least, I hope I can fully know and understand you someday…” he muttered in a low, gentle tone which was enough for me to hear his words given the quiet environment around us.

“Yeah, well, the feeling’s mutual…” I muttered as well, tightening the grip of our intertwined hands. "For the past 11 years, we were just childhood best friends and now we are lovers. Our relationship changed and took a completely different form, so obviously, we’ll start rediscovering each other from the scratch.”

“Really?” he asked as he looked back at me, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” I replied with a smile, causing him to smile back in response.

Soon later we both came back to the Baji household where we found Ryoko and the other two boys on the floor in the living room, sitting in a circle with a big bag placed in the middle.

“What’s that?” Keisuke asked, raising an eyebrow as he and I moved closer to see what it was.

“Candies.” Ryoko replied with a smirk as if she just achieved something great.

“Damn, this is a huge bag. Is it all just candy?” I asked, looking at it while Chifuyu and Takemichi excitedly went through the bag to find anything else other than the sweet treats.

“Yeah. I won an online contest.” Ryoko replied with her smirk growing even wider than before. “The bag is full of candies of different flavors. I wanted to give these to you kids earlier but for some reason, it just slipped away from my mind. Anyway, choose whatever you like.”

“Huh? Online contests? When did you get into this kind of shit?” Keisuke asked in confusion as he and I took a seat with the rest on the floor.

“Doesn’t matter, Keisuke.” I stated before looking through the bag with Chifuyu and Takemichi, pulling out some candies as well. “Let’s see… We have strawberry, fig, pomegranate, orange… There are some weird ones as well, like cheese…”

“Cheese, huh?” Keisuke trailed off, taking the candy from my hand before looking over at his former vice-captain. “Oi, Chifuyu… You don't like cheese, right?”

“Hell no. I’ll rather throw my wallet in a ditch than choke down cheese.” Chifuyu scoffed before huffing and looking away with a pout while Keisuke unwrapped the candy and took it in between his two fingers.

“Right…” Keisuke muttered with a sadistic smirk before he leaned a bit toward the blonde boy, holding the candy in front of his face. “Say aah.”

Just then, for some reason, Chifuyu’s whole face went red.

“Baji-san's feeding me candy!” Chifuyu started mumbling to himself, squirming around where he was sitting as his face was showing all sorts of emotions – shock, happiness, disgust, and a lot more. “This may never happen again! But it’s cheese flavor… Cheese flavor!”

And seeing Chifuyu like this caused me and Takemichi to deadpan at him while Ryoko started to giggle in amusement from beside us.

“Is he in love with Keisuke or something?” I mumbled to Takemichi.

“You creep. Eat on your own.” Keisuke scoffed in disgust, throwing the candy at Chifuyu before moving far away from the blonde boy.

“Huh, B-Baji-san?! I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable! I’m not in love with you, I promise! I see you as my big brother!” Chifuyu cried out in a reassuring tone but Keisuke moved away from him even further yet again, causing Ryoko and Takemichi to laugh at them in amusement.

While this whole commotion continued in the middle of the living room, I quietly moved a bit far away from them and started to go through the candies that I picked from inside the bag- one of them was clay flavored. I simply stared down at the candy in my hand with a confused look written all over my face.

Huh? Clay-flavored candy? What in the world is that?

“Which flavor is that one? Strawberry?”

I quickly looked up to see Keisuke now sitting beside me, also looking at my candy while the others (Ryoko, Takemichi, and Chifuyu) were busy with their own activities just a bit away from us.

“Huh? No, it's clay.” I replied before unwrapping the candy and putting it inside my mouth.

As soon as I did that, I felt like gagging right at that moment. The taste was bitter and was so horrible that it literally killed me.

“Why are you eating a clay-flavored candy?” Keisuke deadpanned at me.

“Just wanted to try the taste… It’s really bitter.” I replied with a small pout, not realizing the look in his eyes and how close he was leaning to my face.

Keisuke then looked back at the others for a bit just to find them still talking about different flavors of candies before he turned his attention back to me and that’s when I looked up and noticed his sharp bronze eyes boring into my brownish-amber ones. The look in his eyes was completely different, something I had never seen before. The emotions behind those pretty eyes were so intense and passionate that they started to draw me toward him even closer without me even realizing it.

What’s with this look?

What’s with the strong emotions behind those eyes?

“Bitter, huh…” he whispered in a deep, rough yet smooth voice before he leaned in even closer to my face, his eyes flickering between my eyes and my lips.

And before I could realize what was happening or even ask him anything, I felt something soft being pressed gently against my own lips – it was Keisuke’s lips and he was kissing me.

Huh? Wait, what? Keisuke’s kissing me now?!

My eyes immediately went wide open in surprise as my body went stiff on the spot but even with that, I still didn’t move an inch and stayed right where I was frozen in shock.

Keisuke, who was doing all the work, was kissing me as if I was breakable like thin glass and all I did was just close my eyes, slowly and unconsciously, to enjoy the moment before noticing him about to do the same as well. I felt him smirking into the kiss, his lips moving against mine slow and soft as his hands crept their way up to my cheeks, holding my face firmly in place so he could lead the kiss. I felt a warm tightening sensation go wild in my stomach, wanting more than just Keisuke's kiss. My hands found their way to his chest where I brought him closer to me, I held onto him tighter than I intended to.

At that moment, I didn’t care if Ryoko, Chifuyu, and Takemichi noticed us kissing. I just simply didn’t care. All I could care and think of was Keisuke’s kiss, his lips, his warmth, his hands, his whole existence. I wanted more. I craved more. I wanted Keisuke to ravish me and sent me high up in heaven or down to the pits of hell; either way, I would remain extremely satisfied with the outcome.

I could feel the heat and warmth radiating from Keisuke’s body with his warm sweet breath on my lips. He smelled very nice; a mix of mint and sandalwood, invading all my five senses, literally driving me to the edge. He then gently pressed his tongue to the seam of my lips, asking for permission, and at my grant of access, delved his tongue inside my mouth. As our tongues intertwined with one another, the kiss got rough, sloppy, and even more demanding. Euphoric warmth began to blossom within me and the whole feeling became completely blissful, making the kiss feel like fireworks, tingles, and desires. It felt as if nothing mattered at that moment, as if nothing existed in this universe; it was just only me and him.

Keisuke moved one of his hands from my cheek to the back of my neck, deepening the kiss and I could nearly feel the slight burn of the cola he was drinking earlier as it rolled off my tongue and seeped down my throat with every push of his tongue against mine.

A kiss is one of the most sensual happenings, aside from sex and of course, I loved it. His lips were so warm and soft and tasted of mint and cola which caused trembles to shake my body while the euphoric warmth blossomed within me once more. He then gently tilted my head to the side and continued to kiss me, his lips demanding. I felt a smoldering heat deep within me as he slanted my head further, deepening the kiss while his fingers in my hair gently ran up and down the back of my neck, coaxing shivers out of me.

The kiss had a raw intensity; breathing fast, heart rated faster. To me, Keisuke was like my personal drug; one touch and the intoxication was instant. His touch electrified every nerve in my body along with my brain. I think probably it was the anticipation of being together in a way that was more than words, in a way that was so completely tangible.

In that moment of the kiss, it felt as if our chemistry became an ever-bright flame. His kiss was not at all the same as those movie stars, but one steeped in a passion that ignites. It was the promise of realness, of the primal desire that lived in us all. In his kiss, I found the promise of years and the sweetness of waiting for real love. In his kiss, I was home, finally.

The kiss lasted for a few seconds before we broke apart for air and rested our foreheads against each other’s, panting slightly before opening our eyes together. In that brief second of pause, all I could do was lovingly stare back at him while he took his time to study my face. I felt my blush deepen under his scrutiny as Keisuke gazed at me lovingly, his eyes softening with tenderness.

He was so gorgeous that my heart seemed to plummet into darkness. His long, black hair; his perfect, carven features; his arrogant, sensual mouth – fuck, right now I wanted to kiss him again so bad. His kiss was so tantalizing, it left me breathless, greedy, and unsatisfied, wanting more.

Just as I was thinking about diving in for another make-out session with Keisuke, he suddenly moved away from me with an unreadable expression, looking absolutely nonchalant, leaving me in utter confusion.

“Keisuke, could you get me some water?” Ryoko suddenly spoke up from her spot with Takemichi and Chifuyu by her side and her voice brought me back to reality.

And that’s when I noticed something weird – the candy which was in my mouth earlier wasn’t there anymore.

“You’re such a pain.” Keisuke groaned out, rolling his eyes before standing up and walking away without spearing a glance at anyone.

On the other hand, I was still sitting in my spot with a hot, red face burning like the sun. Not only Keisuke and I just shared our first kiss seconds ago in front of his mother and our friends but also he stole my clay-flavored candy which was literally in my mouth.

“What’s up, Nana-chan?” Takemichi asked as he came over to me with a confused look.

“Keisuke stole my candy…” I muttered out as a response, not meeting the gaze of the time-leaper.

“Eh, really? What flavor was it?” Chifuyu asked, who also seemed clueless about what just happened earlier as he pulled out some more candies from the bag. “We still have a bunch more, Nana-san.”

“I-I’m good, thanks!” I stuttered out in embarrassment.

“Okay then, you should give this flavor a try!” Ryoko stated before tossing some candies at me who also looked clueless and I let out a heavy sigh in relief.

Looks like they didn’t see what happened between me and Keisuke, huh…?

Thank God…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3rd Person’s POV (Meanwhile in the kitchen)

With a burning face and a racing heart, Baji leaned back against the refrigerator and let out a heavy sigh, trying to process what just happened right now - He just kissed Nana and for both of them, it was their first-ever kiss. Well, he won’t call it a simple kiss; it was more of a small make-out session for them. His breathing was heavy, his hands were now all sweaty, his heart hammered hard against the ribcage as if it would burst out of his chest at any moment now but even after everything, he had never felt so alive and loved before.

Fuck, I love her so much…

Baji then slowly reached up and touched his lips with his fingers, getting himself lost in a deep trance again, thinking about how Nana’s lips felt against his own ones – it was sweet, it was soft, it was sensual and most definitely, it tasted like cherry because of the lip balm she always used.

“She’s right…” Baji mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes, and sighed, twisting the stolen candy with his tongue inside his mouth. “It actually tastes like clay…”

If you wanna check out the entire fanfic, then go to -

[peterpparkrr]

like real people do (pt. 2)

Pairing: Eddie Munson x pianist!reader

Summary: You and Eddie Munson have a drink. 

Word Count: 1.6k

A/N: Did people want a part 2? Unclear. Did I write it anyway? Yes, of course.

part 1 // part 3 part 4

“What do you want? They have coke products,” Eddie asks as he leads you over to the bar.

“Could I have an old fashioned?” You ask.

“Have you had an old fashioned before?” Eddie asks. It’s a pretty hardcore drink to start off with if you don’t drink. 

“Yeah,” You reply. “They don’t usually card at cocktail parties and banquets, I look a bit older in my concert blacks.” 

“And this is what my friend Stewart always orders so… it’s my favorite drink,” You add with a sheepish shrug. You know a lot of what you’ve told Eddie so far tonight has surprised him.

“Sorry, I just always assumed you were a bit of a straight-edge,” Eddie admits.

“Now I know why you’ve always avoided me, you thought I was a stuck-up priss,” You reply with a burst of laughter. The assumptions Eddie’s made about you certainly paint the picture of the type of person that you would want to avoid spending time with too. 

“Hey!” Eddie protests. “That’s… well, kind of, yeah.”

Eddie knows that that’s not the only reason he avoided you. Sure your perfection was annoying to observe from afar. But mostly because there was something about you that kept drawing him, and that was completely unaware of how improbable it was that someone like you would want anything to do with him. Everything about you signified why you were too good for someone like him.

“Ugh,” You groan. “That’s the problem with classical music, it makes everyone think you’re a weirdo.”

“If anyone’s a weirdo out of the two of us, it’s me,” Eddie argues. “I mean, look at me,” He tells you as he gestures to his appearance broadly.

“Yeah, when I look at you the first thing I think is ‘wow, that guy’s a freak’,” You scoff as you take in his appearance. It’s impossible for you to imagine his curly mop of hair and ring-covered fingers being considered as anything less than cool. Even if it’s not the kind of aesthetic that people in a town like Hawkins really appreciate. “You’re probably one of the coolest people in Hawkins.”

“You’re probably one of the only people that think that,” He tells you.

“Well, it’s true,” You state, punctuating the statement with a sip of your drink.

“You’re lucky flattery works on me,” Eddie replies with a smirk.

“I’m being serious!” You tell him. “You’re really intimidating at first, It wasn’t until I saw what you’re really like that I thought you were approachable.”

“What made me approachable?” He asks you curiously. “I need to know so that I can never do it again.”

“Um,” You stammer. Suddenly embarrassed to admit just how closely you’ve watched Eddie Munson. To admit how much you already know about him. “I saw you with Nancy Wheeler’s little brother and his friends.”

Eddie opens his mouth to start to protest.

“You’re a secret softie, Eddie, no point in denying it,” You reply with a smirk of your own. 

“Well, now I need to know one of your secrets, besides underage drinking,” Eddie replies. “Now that I know you’ve got a bad girl alter ego buried underneath that good girl facade.”

“Oh my god, did you seriously think I was that obnoxious?” You ask him as you press your face into your hands. 

“I’m sorry that I made so many assumptions, but you have to admit that you present yourself in a very specific- and wholesome way!”

“Well, you know what they say…” You tell him, “When you assume you make an ass out of-”

“Nevermind! Maybe you really are as annoyingly hokey and perfect as I thought you were,” Eddie replies with a sigh.

“Hey!” You protest.

“So tell me something no one else knows about you,” Eddie asks you before taking a sip of his drink.

The two of you talk for ages, easily flowing from one topic to another, from silly things like arguing about which Lord of the Rings book is best, to admitting to Eddie that the first time you took an edible was completely on accident thanks to a brownie that a 56-year-old violinist named Catherine had left on the coffee table in the reception room and still apologized profusely for every time she sees you because you had a panic attack when you started tripping and not knowing why. 

“Shit, I need to go, my curfew was half an hour ago,” You say when you finally spare a glance at your watch and realize over two hours have passed since you and Eddie sat down. 

“I can drive you home if you want, all I’ve had tonight was that beer and it’s been over an hour since I finished it.”

“That would be great,” You say as the two of you stand up and Eddie leads you out into the dark parking lot with a hand ghosting the small of your back.

“I’m glad we could do this,” You say when Eddie’s van pulls up in front of your house. 

“Me too,” Eddie replies.

“Thanks for inviting me. I’ve never really had friends my age before,” You admit. “So this was… really nice.

“Is that what we are? Friends?” Eddie asks. He’d thought that what they’d been doing all night, the flirting, and the looks had meant something else, but maybe that’s just what you’re like. Unintentionally and accidentally alluring.

“I guess I don’t know, what do you think we are?” You ask him.

“I feel like we could be friends,” He replies as he hedges his bets. “I also feel like I want to be more than friends.”

“Me too,” You admit softly before you start leaning over the center console and press your lips to Eddie’s. 

“We should do this again sometime,” You tell him when you break apart. Leaving Eddie looking back at you a bit breathlessly. 

“Thanks for the ride,” You add with a bright smile as you grab your bag from by your feet and hop out of the van, scampering up your sidewalk to your house. Only offering him a quick glance before you disappear inside.

Yep. Eddie Munson was hopelessly and completely gone.

[stringledcheese]

You paint their nails

Pairing: Dabi (Toya Todoroki), and Mina Ashio (separate) x GN!Reader Warnings: None at all  A/N: First time writing Mina! It was really fun but idk how good I got her and I definitely made her section a little long, so sorry for that :> (This was supposed to be three people, but I couldn’t find my rough draft for mic and I don’t have enough energy to search for it I’ll be honest.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Todoroki Touya / Dabi

(Yes I know the picture isn’t formatted but I don’t have the energy to make some fancy image) - In general?

- He just doesn’t want them painted. - At all. - He’s a big scary man, and a big scary man scared of weakness and intimacy. Two facts that make a combo meal of rejection and disappointment. - Dabi’s definitely had his nails painted before. - Back when he was the punching bag (literally and figuratively) eldest child. While his parents were a completely different topic, he would’ve done anything for his siblings. - That includes makeovers from his younger sister. - Nowadays however?  - Without a sister to sit him down and slather it on like a young kid without very good hand eye coordination, Dabi didn’t see a point. - Plus, Dabi’s the big brooding stoic villain man, usually. - All of that flies out the window with you. - As previously stated, Dabis just a big ol’ softy of a older brother behind his mile thick steal walls he has built around his heart. - But if you do your Y/Ning right, and stick a thorn of love in that wall It’ll infect it like a slow acting poison. - Then it will be a waiting game. - Switching between asking him to paint his nails and waiting until his “Your not painting my nails” cooldown ends. - Until, his walls crack, and he lets you paint all over his immaculate hands. -Yea, I have no shame, I would wear his hands like necklaces 100%. - During the duration of your painting, he won’t look happy during it. Dabi has mastered the art of bitch face to the point it’s near impossible to crack or read. - Only time it changes normally is when he gives you his famous shit eating grin. Internally however, he’s just a spooky school boy whos crush is touching his hands. - You, touching him? He’s onboard. - You touching him gently? - Call him the black plague because he’d kill upwards of 20 million europeans to live in that moment forever. - It’s kinda cute, and on character too. - All jokes aside though, he really does love the gentle touches you give him doing something as mundane as painting his nails.  - It’s a type of intimacy that is near unknown to him and secretly loves any touch you give him. - With scaring and staples covering a lot of his body and his very quick trigger finger (lighter finger? Fire hands.) he has been regarded as a monster most of his teen and adult life. - Getting to the point that honestly he thinks himself an unloveable monstrosity incapable of doing anything but destroy and hurt. - While Dabi sure as rain has progress to be made and barriers to be broken down he’s learning to love not only himself but you. With all the love you give him he might even be able to believe he can be something more then a villainous monster.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ashido Mina / Pinky

- Mina’s the one to get you to paint her nails, but at the worst times.

- Picture this

- It’s some obscene time of night, the dorms are quiet because everyone is - knocked out in their dorms.

- Except for whoever is knocking at your door with such fury your surprised that Aizawa hasn’t come and scolded them already.

- Because you don’t really feel like having to talk to said dark haired grump of a teacher and the person didn’t seem any closer to stopping, you got up.

- Half-awake, slightly aware of your surroundings, and bumping into at least one thing you got to the door and opened to...

- Mina. - Not just Mina though, Mina with a bag with every color and bottle of nail polish known to man clinking around with any movement of the arm holding it.

- Before you were fully aware of what, why, and how - Mina brushed past you and sat on your bed and started to unpack her little to-go salon. “So. Ok, I know it’s really late but I noticed that your nails and my nails weren’t painted during class soooooo-” - She shook her little acetone bottle. “I thought we should have a little gossip&nail session. I got some tea for you as always” - Meanwhile your just at the door trying to fully understand her and adjust to being vertical so suddenly. - When you started to shuffle towards your bed she had already set up her own little mini salon on your bed. - So as much as it seemed like she was asking to gossip and do each other's nails - It wasn’t really a question, more like a plan- - Mina has all the good deets on everyone though so you can excuse this - With a flood of sentience, you closed the door and went to sit next to her while scrubbing at your crusty eyes. “Mina what time is it-” “Oh, I don’t really know, like 3:30 give or take?” “Mina, it’s a school night..” “Yea I know” - No one knows how she does it but they know better than to ask- -Give her your hands and she will go on autopilot - Doing everything and anything to your nails - All the while talking about some hot n spicy story about a two girls break up she “overheard”. “And then she said “You cheated on me too”! Like she didn’t first??” - At the end your hands will look like gold (literally, she used gold leaf). - She’ll make you wonder why she hadn’t dropped hearo work for this honestly. - After everything is good to go with your nails, it’s your turn to take up the mantle of nail doer. - Mina keeps good care of her hands despite wanting to go into hero work, so not much besides the polish really needs to be done manicure-wise. - She probably asks for pink, black, or purple, despite being naturally two of those colors. - Mina does talk with her hands alot, so breaks will be needed to get her flappies out, but despite putting your job on expert mode you both come out looking awesome. - Too bad the sun is coming up though- - Yea you both basically flat line in class the entire time from exhaustion.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading :> Have a lovely time existing.

[cinamun]

OH MY GOD BESTIE i'm so soryy u can ignore this if u want but ur writing is lit rally too good! i wanna know what u think ab Lloyd, too! <3

Lloyd is an absolute softie. only pretends to be problematic. intimidates everyone and their mother, but grandmothers love him. granny's can always sense the real. will make you a teddybear for valentines day instead of buying one because fuck capitalism. also has a pierced dick. doesn't talk about it. is a trained boxer since age 7. always got in trouble for taking the gloves off. has several unpaid speeding tickets. got banned from OnlyFans, lawsuit pending. has beef with his brother over pokeman cards. will fight said brother. favorite color is mauve. leather everything. has a black cat named Orange. has a problematic ex. wants a restraining order but he "ain't no snitch." favorite movie is the land before time.

[emmybeearts]

I'M SORRY I REDESIGNED THEM AGAIN!

explanation (and more) under the cut!

So I made their original designs in a spiral notebook back in high school (I'm not sharing those because they're SO bad) and some of the ideas I had were solid but Really unpolished. When I posted the first draft of these 2 I basically just took the highschool design and made it have a little more geometry.

Everyone else I've posted so far used their notebook designs as a springboard to make something I actually like! but i really wanted to release these 2 together and rushed myself and i made something i just could get to look right no matter what I did!

Recent events allowed me more time to think about how to take their personalities, and figure out how I want to visually represent them- changing up shapes to be more aesthetically pleasing and giving them a color palette reminiscent of their G1 designs but still entirely their own!

Blackout is supposed to be a radically emotional individual. The things he loves, he loves with his whole spark. This love manifests itself as fierce defense for his friends and family. Anything he interprets to be a threat to his family will be met with vicious aggression; and as the team's heavy weapons expert, this should make any would-be aggressor rethink their plans. Because of this, he needed to look like both a huggable softie and an immovable wall.

Spaceshot, however, is supposed to be both the compliment and the antithesis of his brother. while he isn't quite on the same level as Shockwave when it comes to 'logic over emotion', Spaceshot prides himself on his ability to think clearly in any situation no matter how stressful. While he does still feel deeply, especially familiar fondness towards his brother and his adoptive sister Obsidian, he believes the extent of Blackout’s emotional outbursts are highly excessive. He is the team's field engineer, responsible for construction and repair of any Decepticon machinery like mobile turrets as well as maintaining the ships engines. Because of this he needed to look strong and battle ready but also intelligent enough to know to avoid a fight.

I kept their combined alt mode of a Chengdu J-20 but it's been painted in the same style as the Sukhoi Su-57 because I wanted the blue to be more incorporated in their design as opposed to looking like an afterthought of designing characters in a black and white notebook. I'm much happier with these new designs but I will probably keep tweaking them here and there! This is the last of the Decepticon character sheets for a minute because I really want to work on the Autobots sheets next, more than some quick sketches I made while sick lol! I cannot wait to have the first pages of Spring Tide go up! I'm starting to see why people have teams for this lol

[aybri]

Hey! Wanna know about my Cool OC World/Potential Series™️?

N- No?

Well too bad, cause I'm gonna tell you about the wonderful world of...

Angel Valley

About

Angel Valley is a small town in the middle of nowhere. The buildings are old and unkept, the grass is tall and thick, it's almost always raining super heavily... weirdly though, despite it seeming like quite an old town, it's filled with mostly teenagers and young adults.

The culture is a bit weird. Every single person there, no matter their personality or the vibe they give off, is shockingly good with technology. Hell, half of the population uses Linux. Everyone tends to reference memes a lot, even the graffiti is just more reposts.

Nobody ever seems to leave. You may think they just like the town, but the truth is that everyone there is cursed. When all the clocks strike 12 and the moon is high up in the sky, you'll be trapped in Angel Valley forever. Try to talk about the curse while someone unaffected is listening, and your head will begin to spasm and glitch out, eventually killing you if you don't stop.

Nighttime is dangerous. Mysterious, pitch-black creatures called "Bits" stalk the night. Their appearances are heavily variable with random, strange body parts. Sometimes, they'll look blocky and sharp; other times, they may look more "human" than you; often it'll be a mixture of the two and more. Don't be too afraid, though, they mostly just go for lonely noobs. Stick around a local and you'll be safe.

Occasionally, a shining light will guide lost souls through to safety. Angel Valley has it's very own guardian angel, but whether it's truly good or evil, no one is too sure.

In summary, it's kinda like Silent Hill but with a video game-y, internet culture-y twist and everyone is kind of used to the weirdness and honestly don't mind at all.

Main Characters

Aybri - Self insert, baby! She's intelligent to a fault and kind to a fault. She loves planning everything out meticulously, but often fails in her goal. Doesn't stop her from buying out the entirety of her local arts and crafts store's yarn, thumbtack, and corkboard supply.

Nathan - Aybri's older brother. Super tall, easily angered, could easily squish you if he wanted, addicted to alcohol. On the inside though, he's a big softie, and with the help of anger management therapy he's managed to channel that anger into protective instincts for the ones he loves. D'awww!

Sam - NOT MY CHARACTER. Certified newbie to Angel Valley, but he's doing his best to learn the ropes. Witty and sarcastic, but in an endearing, fun way. The most badass of the bunch.

The three live in an apartment together and get up to all sorts of wacky hijinks with their other friends from across the town, including but not limited to: stealing from an auction, running from fake cyborg angels, running away from glitchy eldritch beings, doing a LOT of introspection in the rain, and hacking into several important government mainframes.

[chimchiri]

gimme your spitfire hcs babey…….😏

Lmao YOU already know basically all my hc, there's not much I can write you don't already know. But it's nice having them on my blog. So sure why not!

Attention and Power Spitfire loves being the center of attention, a trait she and Rainbow have in common. Unlike Rainbow she doesn’t shout to get it and she lets her aura speak for itself instead. And usually it works - she has an enormous presence once she enters a room. She loves being looked at in awe and she loves the feeling of power. She’s not one to abuse it though – she cares about fairness and equality, especially later in her years. But she does like the feeling of having power, both in everday life and especially in the bedroom.

Empathy/Drive to Win If Spitfire wants something, she gets it. She will turn everything upside down if she has to and has an insane drive to get to her goal. This mostly appears in wanting to win and wanting to be the best. It may appear in other daily situations though. When she's in her drive, she tends to be egocentric and forget about how she affects others. Her tunnel vision may hurt others in the end, something she's usually not aware of until later. She doesn't want to hurt anyone and if she sees she did, she will usually apologize immediately and see the error of her ways. But it's definitely one of her worse traits.

Motorcycles/Machines She is BIG into motorcycles. Not much more to say. She has a fascination with machinery and owns two or three bikes. That’s it. That’s the headcanon. I’m just a sucker for women on bikes.

Outfits Spitfire usually wears black and little to no color. It goes well with her love for Motorcycles, usually wearing leather or black jeans and boots. And of course always her signature Aviator sunglasses. Her wardrobe is largely giving off a cool vibe.

However, she does love to shock people and be given attention, as mentioned the upper segments. When she took over the Wonderbolts as the youngest captain thus far and being a woman, she received a fair share of rude comments. Mostly about her energetic demeanor and rough behaviour not making her look feminine enough and her being called ‘basically a man’. This didn’t sit well with her. Out of spite and out for revenge to anyone saying that about her, she decided to go all in for her first annual Wonderbolt hosted event. Her gala dress was as revealing as could be, showing off her back and hugging her body tighter than anyone expected. No one expected high heels from her either. She went all in with her feminine side and it paid off – no one dared to call manly after that. Sometimes she still likes to show off like that, since it gives her everyone’s attention. It's a rare occasion seeing Spitfire like that.

Family She’s the youngest of four siblings, having three older brothers. Her dad, a big burly softie, was always hoping for a small girl he could pamper and spoil with many, pink gifts. Unfortunately for him, he receive three little boys. And while he absolutely loves the, he still wanted a daughter. So when the fourth baby turned out a girl, he was crying form joy! Not for long though. Spitfire turned out to be the tomest of boys there could be. She’s rougher, louder and more brutal than her brothers and showed little to no interest in pink or girly things. Still her dad lovingly called her his princess and he spent time with her in her interests. Which included cooking and using the grill. Spits makes a mean barbecue. Once Rainbow enters the frame and he gets to know her, he's all over her, especially because she's more colorful than Spitfire.

Nicknames This is freebie for you since the first nickname initially came from you! I don’t have a hc for Spits’ WB nickname. But I do like the name Spitty, which is given to her by Fleetfoot - the only one who dares to use it. Spits tolerates it for her but she gets seriously pissed if anyone else calls her that. When Rainbow joins the WB and is influenced by Fleets, she uses that nickname as well. Spitfire begrudgingly allows it if she’s got feelings for Rainbow at that point already.

Another nickname of hers is ‘princess’, given to her by her dad. She actually likes this one a lot. Only from him though. She loves it mostly because she loves to humiliate anyone who dares laugh at this nickname and assume she’s a weak girl. She’ll obliterate you in whatever competition or simply intimidate you if you dare laugh at the nickname and make fun of her.

Childhood / Soarin Spits was a problem child. She’s always had an insane drive to win, something she and Rainbow share. Unlike Rainbow she also had some aggression problems. She never shied away from getting physical, which got her scolded quite some times. It also resulted in her having very few friends as most were scared of her.

In many AUs I love having Soarin as her best childhood friend. I see Soarin as a very soft spoken, almost timid boy growing up. Maybe it was unconventional circumstances but they got along really well after they met. They understood each other even though they were completely different in character. Both always had each other's back. Their friendship stuck until they became adults and both joined the Wonderbolts. Spitfire was the stronger flyer, so she joined one or two years earlier and pretty quickly had a steep career ahead of her. It was never a problem between the two of them though, which surprised most people as well as themselves.

Some NSFW: In some AUs I also see them being platonic soulmates with benefits – for lack of better word. They love each other and would kill for the other. But they are not in love. When younger, they kiss and touch each other, just lay and enjoy each other’s company. And not long after they start sexual activity. They never have ‘regular’ sex since Spits won’t let anyone penetrate her, but they do fuck in lots of other ways and get each other off. They both enjoy it, test a lot of things and always make damn sure the other has a fun time. Both can feel they aren't meant to be in a serious romantic relationship, so they know this won't last forever – they’re not a couple. But that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy it. And they'll still always love each other like soulmates.

Dogs A short one but I LOVE to hc Spitfire adoring dogs. She probably can’t keep them since her job as Wonderbolt captain involves too much of her time. But she just adores dogs and hates that she can’t have one. I imagine she grew up with two of them and misses them dearly. In any AU where she isn’t a WB captain I’d probably see her having two or three dogs.

Rarity An unlikely friend from any AU that crosses with Rarijack. Spits may usually be masculine/cool in he behaviour but she isn’t ashamed of being feminine. She cares a lot about her appearance (puts a lot of time into getting her hair right and owns a lot of hair products), she loves the spa and getting pampered and she enjoys sugary, colorful drinks – all things that she’s got in common with Rarity. The don’t get along at first but after Rainbow and AJ are gone, they bond over their common likes and hit it off so well, they even end up meeting up alone sometimes. Hilariously, AJ and Rainbow both worry that they might fall for each other and get dumped by them. Rarity and Spits aren’t each other’s type at all though, which they both know and clearly state. But they’re surprisingly open with each other and enjoy the possibility to talk about their relationship to someone not from their usual circle and giving another point of view.

Aaand that's it! I love Spits. Spitty. Spitfire. What a woman!