Ten Manga I Think They’d Enjoy #2
Lucifer
He likes manga that reads like classic literature, dark stories, mysteries, psychological stories, and occasionally something sweet or cute
Children of the Whales, Mujirushi, PTSD Radio, Requiem of the Rose King, Shadows House, The Summer Hikaru Died, Togue Oni: Primal Gods in Ancient Times, Gachiakuta, Your Lie in April, Drops of God
Mammon
He likes stories involving his personal hobbies like working on cars, gambling, etc. he also enjoys funny stories and secretly cute romances or relatable romances
Play it Cool Guys, Bleach, Chibi Vampire, Daily Lives of High School Boys, Fire Force, I Belong to the Baddest Girl at School, I’m a Wolf But My Boss is a Sheep, My Monster Secret, Skip and Loafer, The Muscle Girl Next Door
Leviathan
Leviathan loves everything but he’s especially a fan of gaming manga, magical girls, monster girls, isekai, and the classics
A Centaur’s Life, Jobless Reincarnation, Yashahime Princess Half-Demon, If Witch Then Which, Banished From the Hero’s Party I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Country Side, My Clueless First Friend, Far-away Paladin, Geek Ex-Hitman, If the RPG World Had Social Media, Komi Can’t Communicate
Satan
Satan loves manga that reads like classical literature but he also loves stories about cats, dark mysteries, psychological stories and ones with characters he finds relatable
Case Study of Vanitas, Cat + Gamer, XXXHolic, Haunted Bookstore, Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-San, Vampire Library, Heavenly Delusion, I’m the Catlord’s Manservant, Infernal Devices, Library Wars
Asmodeus
Asmodeus mostly enjoys romance whether it’s cute and fluffy or extremely erotic
Nana to Kaoru, We Can’t Do Just Plain Love, We Started a Threesome, I Want You to Make Me Beautiful, In to the Tentacle Cave, Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire, Training Mr Sakurada, My Androgynous Boyfriend, Birds of Shangri-La, Interspecies Reviewers
Beelzebub
Beelzebub is a big fan of manga involving food but he also enjoys a good action adventure and sports manga
Crazy Food Truck, My Deer Friend Nokotan, One Punch Man, Restaurant to Another World, Let’s Eat Together Aki and Haru, How to Grill Our Love, Giant Spider and Me, Hajime no Ippo, How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?, Plus Sized Elf
Belphegor
Belphegor likes stories with relatable characters which can be hard to find but he also loves adventures, horror, and Slice of life; he’s a little all over the place
Servamp, Soara and the House of Monsters, Jujutsu Kaisen, Rurouni Kenshin, You Have No Human Rights, Uzumaki, SINoALICE, Gannibal, The Tree of Death, Dorohedoro
Solomon
Solomon loves compelling narratives, dark psychological stories, stories that take a deeper look a humanity and immortality, and one’s that involves demons/angels/sorcerers. He does also love cat books like Satan
Ancient Magus Bride, Blood on the Tracks, Bloody Mary, Of the Red Light and the Ayakashi, Demon Diary, Dr. Stone, Emanon, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Magus of the Library, Mob Psycho 100
Thirteen
Thirteen is a little all over the place, she likes to see what’s popular but she also enjoys slashers, one’s that take a closer look at death and spirits, and dark romance
Duke of Death and His Maid, Executioner and Her Way of Life, Ghost Reaper Girl, No Longer Allowed in Another World, Versailles of the Dead, Your Turn to Die, Chainsaw Man, Your Letter, Solanin, Corpse Party
Simeon
Simeon enjoys reading manga that have some religious aspects, he likes ones about authors since they are relatable, and he enjoys some random ones here and there that are cute or funny. He’s also a sucker for a pure romance
Ceres Celestial Legend, Handa-Kun, A Witch’s Printing Office, Lord Hades Ruthless Marriage, Takopi’s Original Sin, Ride Your Wave, Haru’s Curse, Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artists Journey, Our Dreams at Dusk, Blue Flag
Raphael
Raphael canonically likes coming of age sports dramas. I believe he’s also he amused by one’s involving ant Christian aspects about angels and demons, heaven and hell. He also enjoys one’s that include his hobbies like security, military, and anything to do with fashion
Cheeky Brat, Waiting for Spring, Blue Box, Kuroko’s Basketball, Yowamushi Pedal, Ran and the Gray World, Mame Coordinate, Cinderella Closet, Kamikaze Girls, Anri a Shoemaker
Luke
Luke loves to try everything but his books are monitored to make sure he doesn’t stumble upon anything inappropriate for his age ana angel status. He loves ones about food, animals, adventure, and a good slice of life or 4-panel.
Cat Massage Therapy, Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokémon Adventures, Animal Crossing, My Little Pony: The Manga, Story of Seven Lives, Star Wars: Rebels, Dragon Ball, Disney Twisted Wonderland, Cardcaptor Sakura
Michael
Michael enjoys funny books, one’s that take a closer look at humanity and war, classical adaptations, and one’s involving angels and demons.
Record of Ragnarok, I Had That Same Dream Again, Skip Beat, Angel Sanctuary, Homunculus, The Ephemeral Scenes of Setsuna’s Journey, Alpi the Soul Sender, X, Ballad x Opera, Legend of the Nymph
Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles likes books that involve history, nobility, prestigious jobs, mystery, and equestrian sports. He also enjoys one’s about demons and servants.
Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World, Great Jahy Will Not be Defeated, Villains Are Destined to Die, Vinland Saga, Cantarella, Kingdom, Blade of the Immortal, Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Ajin
Barbatos
Barbatos prefers books that are dark and disturbing as well as insightful books on time, immortality, grief, morality vs law, etc.
Coffee Moon, Drifting Classroom, His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper, The Maid I Hired Recently is Mysterious, Horizon, The Lady and Her Butler, I Sold My Life For Ten Thousand Yen Per Year, Homunculus, Parasyte, Yokai Rental Shop
Diavolo
Diavolo absolutely loves cute family manga, funny manga, one’s that involve demons and angels, cute romances, and exciting action and adventure. He isn’t picky and will read anything if it’s been recommended to him.
Correspondence From the End of the Universe, Soul Eater, Given, In the Clear Moonlit Dusk, Juana and the Dragonewt’s Seven Kingdoms, Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School, Thigh High, Delinquent Daddy and Tender Teacher, Hate Me But Let Me Stay, Hinamatsuri
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What bliss, domesticity.
for: @tink2kagome. i’m sorry it took me so long to work on ur pretty setter squad request T^T i’ll probably do like another one in the future!
& @lady-tokugawa-of-mikawa @belpomme @chaichai-the-weeb for being such lovely mutuals <3 <3
Content warnings: rape/noncon; nsfw; yakuza/organized crime; gun mention; a lot of (non-sexual) food references in this one
Jun’ichi Saikawa was obviously the kind of man who liked to laugh. Not unlike most people in their world. The kind who use their entire body when they do, announcing to the entire world with a bellowing “Ha Ha Ha!” how pleased they are with whatever’s going on in front of them.
Which, in all honesty, was pretty admirable, that the old man could still do it considering how bored to tears Wataru was.
That it’s a humid afternoon didn’t help either. He could feel the sweat on his back even when the doors were already slid open, exhibiting a verdant garden filled with blossoms and shrub peonies. From his place he could see the school of koi swirling in the shallow pond, their scales iridescent under the warm rays of the sun.
“Didn’t know you were the funny sort, 'Kaashi!” Saikawa blurted out, the sake in his hand spilling to his fingers.
This wasn’t Wataru’s first day on the job, but this is the first that he gets to do something this important. And with someone he highly respects, too.
So he gave his collar a light tug, steeling himself to endure as he tucked his legs further beneath him, and resorted to thinking about the many things he would absolutely surrender just to lie down on the warm mat.
His car, maybe.
The brand new noise-cancelling headphones he bought, if pushed.
Wataru saw Akaashi nod.
“I appreciate a joke every now and then,” he said.
The larger man laughed again.
“Here, here!” Saikawa thundered, snatching a tiny, yellow box from the maid who appeared as swiftly as she’d left.
“I heard you like sweets. Here,” he said, grinning as he handed it to Akaashi. “My youngest son just opened a cake shop. I know what you’re thinking, but who am I to say no, eh?”
Akaashi passed the box to Wataru.
“Mind it for me, please,” he whispered.
How unexpected. Akaashi-san has a sweet tooth.
Huh.
That’s pretty neat. Wataru himself wasn’t partial to cakes, but he does love pudding.
“You are a good father, Jun’ichi-san,” Akaashi told him.
This time, Wataru didn’t bother suppressing a yawn as Saikawa fumbled for his phone, hiding it behind his hand as he stared at the birds chirping and hopping about outside.
“Wanna see him? He’s much like you! Good head on his shoulders, that one.”
“I am honored, Jun’ichi-san,” Akaashi echoed back, peering down at the photos Saikawa showed him.
“He sends me a lot of these- uh,” Saikawa snorted, his nose reddened by the alcohol. “What do young people call it, the- pictures-”
“Selfies?” Akaashi politely supplied.
“That’s the one! Look. Precious, ain’t he?”
His earpiece crackled to life.
Konoha’s voice emerged from the static.
“We’re ready when you are,” his senior murmured. “Man, this is taking too long. Let’s get some burgers when we’re done.”
“Akaashi-san,” Wataru croaked, feeling his cheeks heat up as he continued, “K-Komi-san and the others are waiting for you.”
Saikawa perked up. “Ah, of course! Of course!”
He stumbled when he attempted to stand up. Akaashi was quick on his feet to assist him.
“I knew I could count on you, son,” he muttered, patting Akaashi’s back. “Now, you tell Bokuto that what happened between us- it’s all in the past! All in the past! And if those bastards mess with him again, you tell him to run to old Jun’ichi!”
Akaashi clasped Saikawa’s hand.
“Thank you,” Akaashi said. “I’ll be sure to relay your sentiments to Bokuto-san.”
“You do that, my boy.” Saikawa’s belly shook as he laughed. “Your generation’s a smart one, indeed. The in-fighting and wars, bah! All that trouble for nothing; that’s not your style. Your lot’s the future now!”
Then, Akaashi stepped a few meters back and bowed.
Wataru followed behind him.
“We will be taking our leave,” Akaashi said. “It has been an illuminating talk, Jun’ichi-san.”
The sound of the bamboo drip trickling water into another stalk permeated through the silence.
It collapsed and clunked against a stone.
He heard the birds flutter away.
When Wataru raised his head, Saikawa had already been lying face down on the floor.
And, of course, Wataru’s used to it: the crack of a gun muffled by a silencer.
He’s been practicing his entire life, after all. He actually doesn’t flinch anymore and Wataru thinks he should be proud of himself.
It’s just that... how could someone who used to be there, suddenly...disappear? Saikawa was right in front of him a few minutes ago. Laughing and showing off photographs of his son. And now he’s...not.
But, Saikawa didn’t disappear. Not really.
The blood seeping through the tatami is proof of it, but Wataru chooses not to look. In theory, he knows what a bullet through the skull looks like. He’d just rather not see today if what he’s taught reflects true in the real world.
Maybe some other time.
“Wataru.”
Wataru flinched. “Y-yes?”
Akaashi looked back at him. “The cake?”
His body was still trembling and it took a lot of strength to not let it show in his hands when he gave it back to Akaashi, the box pleasantly yellow with doodles of doe-eyed eggs dancing along the handle. Unblemished, unlike Akaashi, who was sporting a splatter of blood along his cheek.
It’s surprisingly still cool to touch, too.
“No, thank you,” he said, rejecting the handkerchief that Wataru offered.
From afar, Wataru could hear the faint melodies of an old love song being played by a car radio. No doubt Konoha’s doing. It followed them, growing louder the closer they walked back into the parking lot. The others bowed and sent gruff salutations along Akaashi’s way as they dragged bodies out of the Saikawa mansion.
(It was nauseating and Wataru wanted to pass out.)
He pressed his nails harshly into the meat of his palm.
“A-Akaashi-san,” Wataru began. “I didn’t know that- that um, you liked... sweets.”
Akaashi halted.
“No, I don’t,” he said, blinking. “But my wife does.”
Wataru stared at him.
Akaashi went ahead.
He stayed that way— staring and wondering, until they stopped by the fast food restaurant that Konoha loved so much. Wataru couldn’t even finish his burger and fries.
By the time that they hit the freeway, Akaashi had already cleaned himself up and Wataru was still grappling with the word “wife.”
Of course he knows the man is married.
But, how, exactly, do you reconcile his reputation with the sight of him, every passing headlight sharpening his features, quietly humming along to Aki Yashiro? Who was longing for Shinjuku at night, the beauty of it, and oh, how wonderful it’d be, she said: a rendezvous with her lover, waiting for her under raining cherry blossoms.
Wataru figured that he was tired and starting to see things.
That small smile that graced Akaashi’s lips couldn't be real, either, especially those hands of his that held the box of cake like it’s worth more than gold.
He wasn't really particular when it comes to music. A song's a song, in Akaashi's opinion. Another form of noise that helps when the silence gets too overbearing.
But you, on the other hand, liked music. Listened to it the same way one eats their favorite food: memorizes the lyrics; goes out of your way to collect unearthed photographs and newspaper clippings that made the singer seem more human.
You loved music— was probably the right way of putting it.
Especially the old variety. He didn't get it at first. The sounds are dated; no one speaks in that language with that cadence anymore; the singer's probably dead.
Well, Akaashi still doesn't get it, if he were to be honest.
Yet here he is.
His hands were wrapped around your waist, coaxing you into a slow— albeit clumsy, waltz.
"Kei-kun!" you squeaked. "The dishes!"
You dragged your slippers beneath you, struggling to wipe the suds off your hands.
"S-seriously, Kei-kun..!"
Sure, he doesn’t fully understand what’s great about it, music.
Yet here he is.
Perhaps it’s because he immediately recognized the first few notes this time, that’s why he’s doing this. He didn’t even wait for the DJ to finish saying, “You’re still listening to Vintage F.M. Here’s a classic for you couples out there. Have a romantic night with Nat King Cole’s L-O-V-”
Perhaps it’s because your cream stew tasted extra special that it made him shrug the fatigue off, giving in to the urge of pulling you close and taking your damp hand in his to sway and bob along the skipping bassline. Your bashful objections went in one ear and out the other.
Sure, he’s not the type to do this, either, dancing.
Yet here he is.
Perhaps it’s because he knew that it’s your favorite song.
Perhaps it’s just what marriage does to you.
"Did you like the cake?" he whispered against your neck, inhaling the scent of cinnamon and the way your skin jumped as he did.
Your breaths were shallow against his chest, but you managed a soft, “Yes, sweetheart. Thank you.”
Akaashi caressed your back, kneading the tensed muscles as he huffed.
“Good,” he murmured, trembling. “Good girl. What a relief."
It was endearing, how offbeat the both of you were. A shame, though, considering that Nat King Cole’s fervently insisting on love; that it’s all that I can give to you; that it’s more than just a game for two.
So Akaashi makes up for his two left feet by joining in. He pressed his lips to your forehead. How strange, your presence in his life. What did he do to deserve you by his side, for this contentment that thaws away the chill?
(He put a ring on your finger, is what he did. He deserves this.)
“Two,” he droned, made giddy by the sparks in his belly, “in love can make it.”
You looked at him, wide-eyed.
“Take my heart and please don’t break it.”
He spun you around.
“Oh my god, Kei-kun,” you gasped. “You can’t sing.”
Akaashi’s aware of it all too well. He can’t carry a note; not him: the guy who’s had monotony ingrained in his very being. But that’s why he has you.
A startled giggle left you as he guided you into a box step, the trumpet rising and falling over the strings. You stepped on him a few times, so he lifted you up, just so, and kicked off your slippers. Then, he set your feet atop his own.
He took you with him as he moved, waddling and careful not to hit his back against the countertop. It came as no revelation that both of you weren’t any better dancers even after this maneuver.
Akaashi continued. Starting with L—
“Is for the way you look at me.”
“Stop, stop-” Your eyes crinkled at the sides. “You’re flat.”
Akaashi persisted, anyway, taking your cheek to pepper kisses all over your face.
“O is for the only one I see.”
Your laugh was airy— light and buoyant all over the kitchen, like a fairy leaving stardust in its wake. Not gratingly booming nor demanding. After all, you weren’t the kind who felt the need for it: an audience to witness how pleased you are; how strong and powerful you are over everyone else.
Besides, your laugh was just for him. A private and intimate thing. And he was so lost in it that he almost forgot what’s been gnawing at him for the entire morning.
Akaashi rested his chin on your shoulder, nuzzling the downy fabric of your dress as he gripped you by the hips.
“Where did you go earlier?”
The orchestra was in a joyous uproar, joining the rapid beating of your heart; the trumpet bright and clear, singing in harmony with the bass and saxophones and trombones, as Nat King Cole repeatedly guaranteed, as if an oath, that love was made for me and you.
Love was made for me and you.
��I had to buy some groceries!” you piped up. “We ran out of ingredients. Sorry, I forgot to bring my phone with me. Oh, I have to run you a bath. I’ll tell you when it’s done, alright?”
You broke away from him with a beaming grin, but Akaashi wanted to ask, despite the evidence of it before him.
“Are you happy?”
It has already ended, the song. The DJ was signing off for the night.
You nodded, playfully jabbing his arm with a fist.
“Of course,” you told him. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Perhaps it’s because you were never really good at pretense, no matter how much you hid behind needless noise.
Music. Laughter. Running water.
Akaashi sighed as he slumped down the nearest stool.
Of course you’re happy. Why wouldn’t you be?
After rubbing his eyes with clammy fingers, Akaashi fiddled them together beneath his temples. He released a heavy breath and fished for his phone in his pocket.
He spoke after the first two rings.
“Wataru-san, I’m sorry for bothering you,” he said. “Can you do something for me?”
His subordinate didn't ask him why, neither did he react when he'd stated his request. Akaashi knew, however, that the question was sitting in Wataru's clipped replies. The boy’s “yes, sir” and “understood, sir” were far too enthusiastic than normal.
Akaashi didn’t mind, though, if he did ask. And despite that familiar pang of dread, Akaashi would answer him like the common— just like the average, everyday husband— with that characteristic, bordering on irksome pride that they have when they talk about their wives.
Why?
“Well, Wataru-san,” Akaashi would answer. “Perhaps this is just what marriage does to you.”
The house was a house like any other.
There was an old pickup truck parked outside the freshly painted gate, carrying crates of fruits and vegetables in its trunk. Along the bricked walls was an overgrowth of vines and ferns. It extended around the windows and crept up the balcony.
A large Shiba ran outside and jumped to your lap as soon as it saw you by the driveway.
Wataru heard Chiaki stir at the back of the car.
“Pay up, asshole,” he grunted, waking a disheveled Ryota who’s still holding a half-bitten melon bread.
His lackey cracked his neck and gave the scenery a cursory glance. “Could be a front.”
Ryota grumbled and went back to sleep.
“Idiot,” Chiaki clicked his tongue. “She traveled all the way to Miyagi just to give intel? And here? Of all places?”
Three days.
They’ve tailed you for three days. Akaashi-san never said anything else, besides that within the week, while he’s gone and sealing deals in another country, there was a high likelihood of you folding and getting out of Tokyo.
To run right here. In Miyagi.
He didn’t say why, really, but Wataru supposes it’s better that he didn’t. Because during the days of absolute, mind-crushing boredom, of watching some suburban wife go out for a morning walk, chat with her neighbors, and shop around the market, rinse and repeat, coming up with the Why had been their only salvation.
The betting pool has two answers: cheater or snitch.
Chiaki was insistent on the former, while Ryota stood by the latter.
And Wataru...Wataru could only watch, waiting with a bated breath as the door finally opened.
“I bet it’s someone younger,” Chiaki said. “Usually is.”
Seems that none of them were winning anything today.
The man who emerged from the house was far older— who, oddly enough, resembled you. An old woman soon followed behind him. Both of them looked at you as if they were witnessing a specter, or someone who's crawled back from the dead. An appropriate comparison, especially since they’re both wearing somber black clothes.
It wasn’t his place to assume. Though he’s been promoted to a slightly higher position, it will never come close to the place that Keiji Akaashi occupies. Wataru knows all of these, but nothing was stopping him from putting the pieces together, no matter what little he has.
They could only stare when all of you broke down into tears, locked in each other’s embrace as you knelt on the pavement.
Don’t let her stay too long.
That had been one of Akaashi-san’s orders.
So the three of them didn’t wait it out. By the time that the sun had set, Wataru had already stepped out of the car, taking Ryota with him. He made sure to remind the boy, just in case he’d forgotten.
“Be gentle, alright?” Wataru reiterated.
There hadn’t been any need for that, it turned out.
He’s sure you’ve never met before, but Wataru saw bitter understanding flash in your eyes when you caught them loitering in front of your house. Fear was there, too, of course.
Wataru was convinced that surely it’s a good thing. It saved everyone a lot of time, that way.
You didn’t even say a word, only giving Wataru a stiff nod when he’d introduced himself, and remained like so on the ride back to Tokyo, with the strap of your handbag trapped by a clenched fist. Wataru didn’t try to initiate small talk; it felt unnecessary.
It took a while for Wataru to realize that you also hadn’t bothered to change out of your pajamas, though he gave you a couple of minutes to say your farewells.
Pajamas, obscured now by a thick, gray coat.
Akaashi-san was right.
You had no plans of coming home. Not tonight. Maybe not for a while.
Wataru decided not to linger on it anymore.
He ignored the blank stare that pierced right through the rear-view mirror. And then, Wataru wondered, hand sweating in his pocket, what the three of them should have for dinner.
Thick chunks of pumpkin melted in your mouth with just the first spoonful of broth.
It'd been a while since the last time Akaashi cooked. So, more than anything, it was the sight of him setting plates and utensils that took you aback, greeting you with a, "Welcome home. You're just in time. Food's ready," his sleeves rolled to his elbows while donning your baby owl-printed apron.
The taste didn't. Surprise you, that is. He's a good cook. Unlike you, who only became marginally better one hundred burn scars later.
It also didn't surprise you that he flew back home at the drop of a hat. Even when he said he'd be gone for a week.
"How is it?" Akaashi asked after chewing. "Took me a while to make it."
It obviously did, you thought. When you arrived, Irma Thomas was already begging through the record player.
"Do you need me, like I need you?" she implored, straight from the heart. "Look at me, I'm crying from holding you."
The last song on your favorite record. It was cheap and had the best from the artists you loved.
Etta James. Ella Fitzgerald. Aretha Franklin. The Mills Brothers. Bessie Smith. All in one vinyl.
"Yeah," you replied, clearing your throat when you realized how hard it is to speak. "It's delicious."
You looked back down to your bowl. The tofu had gone untouched. Your food was still close to spilling to the brim, while Akaashi was almost finished with his, scrolling on his phone laid on the table.
"So no one coaxed you into it," you heard him say, and that had ripped your eyes away from the broth like a bandage on an infected wound.
Akaashi was holding your phone, reading the messages- his number was the only one there, as pealing bells resonated in the dining room.
"I'd think of all the things that I wanted of you," cried Irma Thomas. "To make me forget the pain that you caused."
"I would've known if anyone else talked to you, anyway," he huffed, locking the screen before blowing steam off the morsel.
"You would," you conceded. The tofu was soft when you bit into it, sinking into your teeth.
"I found that in our cabinet. Last time it was in the kitchen drawer, wasn't it?" Akaashi helped himself to a bowl of rice. "Don't leave it in stuffy places. What if you forget where you hid it and you won't know when I call?"
"And I can no longer keep track of where you are for every moment of the day?" you could hear him say. Though he didn't; though all that could heard, besides the scraping of utensils, was Irma Thomas declaring:
A fragile thing, like life. It just don't last so long.
It could be for a minute or an hour. Or then again, from now.
Your lips tightened with a grin. "I won't do it again, sweetheart," you said, spoon hanging limply in your hold.
He didn't need to say it.
That your phone has a tracker. That this house is still the same cage that it'd been before. That the only difference between then and now is that silver band on your finger.
Akaashi’s blinked back at you as he sipped what remained of the soup. You tried to do the same.
The savory taste was cloying and it burned in your throat, so you didn't attempt to finish the bowl. It cut down to your heart, sinking heavily on your stomach, bile rising as the song came to a close.
You gulped it down, though. You had to. And in the final moments, Irma Thompson told you what she really wanted.
"Make me forget," she said, "the pain that you'd caused."
The chorus joined her. "Understanding is a great thing," she concluded. "If it comes from the heart."
Akaashi was on his own phone this time. Most likely checking on the business that he left, judging by those furrowed brows and that long-suffering look in his eyes.
Fizzling noise came at the heels of the fading music. Then, it stopped. And there was nothing left anymore but silence.
It's over now. Akaashi’s making a move to clean up. You were supposed to say, "That was a lovely dinner, honey." Or, you could tell him to sit down and watch a movie with you when he's done.
"I'll help you with the dishes," you wanted to say.
I'll help you with the dishes. It was so easy to say.
Instead, what came out of your mouth was a hushed call for his name.
"Kei-kun," you repeated, brittle and weak and dry.
"I'm so sorry," you might've mouthed.
You could barely hear your own voice as you looked at him. Akaashi paused from tidying the table.
You're parched and a lot has happened today. Gathering the courage to take that first step out of the city had taken what little strength you had. The fear never left you. Seeing your old house almost ended you.
It should be physically impossible for you to still be able to cry. And yet there doesn't seem to be an end to your tears now, the same way your apologies unfurled in an embarrassingly infinite string.
"Don't lock me inside here again," you whispered, clinging to him as he shushed you, wiping your cheeks with his thumbs as he helped you drink a glass of water.
He carried you to your room and sat you down on the bed, right between his thighs. You sobbed into your hands, tears and snot on the sleeves of your pajama top.
"I- I just wanted to see them. That's all. Just one day, Kei-kun. One day. I was gonna come back, I swear."
You're rambling. You're a madwoman pleading and bargaining with a stone-cold judge because playing house is the only thing keeping her alive.
And you messed that up you foolish, foolish girl.
"Please don't hurt my family," you heaved. "They're all I have left."
Akaashi doesn't speak, not for a while, but when he did, you bawled harder.
"I can kill them all," he said, matter of factly.
It is true. Hearing him say it does not make it easier to take, though.
"I can hurt you the same way that you hurt me."
Your neck strained as he tipped your chin towards him with a slender finger.
"I can break you," he muttered, not batting an eye.
That, too, is true. You know it all too well. He said it with such serenity, still and undisturbed by the shaking of your head, because it goes without saying.
Except, you, too, know it.
When he is breaking. When he is falling apart.
He smothered you, taking your entire body to curl against you, making himself small as he pressed his face on your back.
"Yet- and yet I-" Akaashi sniffled. You felt your shirt dampen. "I've given you everything."
When he finally brought his face close to yours, he looked so lost. Almost like a little boy who's on the verge of drowning, clinging desperately onto a lifesaver and too shocked to shout for help.
You hated him all the more for it.
"Each other," he said, snarling, almost, through tears as he grabbed your face with both hands. "That's all we have left, you hear? You and I. Husband and wife."
He seized your jaw and turned it towards the vanity mirror.
The room was dark save for the light in the hallway, peeking into the crack through the doorway.
But you could see yourself. And you could see your hand intertwined in his, your rings gleaming like muted starlights.
"We made a vow," he whispered, kissing your ring finger.
A detached part of you is astonished with how inescapable it is. Whether it be a reward or a punishment; a good day or a bad one.
No matter what happens, you always end up like this, don't you?
Begging to him with your legs spread wide.
You did as you'd always done when he began unbuttoning your top.
You go back to that autumn morning, when you first laid your eyes on him, a cup of coffee in his hand, and you thought that he had the prettiest face you'd ever seen.
You go back to when he was just this really romantic guy who sent you flowers every day. There was a letter, every time.
Nothing too grandiose. Just short messages hoping that you'd have a great day ahead.
He kissed your neck, wet smooches and long, flat-tongued licks dipping down your shoulder.
He watched you through the mirror, his eyes a pair of darkened blues daring you to look away.
Akaashi Keiji was your boyfriend, you told yourself. You dated him for quite some time before you married.
Akaashi Keiji got along well with your father and doted on your mother. On Sundays, you visit them and they send you back to Tokyo with ripe watermelons.
Akaashi Keiji has never hurt you.
The man tracing the hem of your bra, cupping your clothed tits and drawing lazy circles over nipples, however, did.
(And he still will in future. He still is, right now.)
This man is the real one.
And you have angered him, so he will not make this easy for you.
"What did you promise me?" Akaashi whispered as he lightly bit the shell of your ear. "Or have you forgotten?"
Of course, you haven't forgotten. You were chained to this very room when you made them, after all.
"N-no, I remember," you said, catching your breath. "I remember, Kei-kun."
"Then say it," he said. "Look at me."
You shivered as his palms swept over your stomach; as he unfastened your bra, letting it fall down your arms.
"Look at me when you say it."
You felt your nipples harden, gooseprickles spread all over you, as the air hit your bare skin, cooling the sweat that made it glisten.
"Please," he rasped.
The eyes of the woman in the mirror was hooded, threatening to close as she puffed with each squeeze and caress to her tits, swiveling her hips against her husband’s crotch as he grinded into her.
"I will be happy," she said.
Akaashi nuzzled your temple, using his rough fingers to tease your nipples just as he did, brushing them to and fro, then grazing the bumpy skin around until you're squeaking out his name.
And when he began pressing down on the stiff peaks with his thumbs, before rolling and pulling at them, the heels of his palm digging into your tits, you saw the woman claw at her husband's hair, a graceless affair that almost scratched his eye out, making him reach for both her arms to wrap them around his neck.
"I- I will..!" Her lips parted in a breathless scream and it was disgusting how lewd she appeared. "I will not run away!"
The streak of tears on his cheeks touched yours when he kissed you. His lips were soft and warm, his wet tongue gliding in so slowly as he deepened the kiss with a throaty groan.
His other hand crawled down to your soaked panties. You couldn't contain the mewl that left you.
Both of you gasped and struggled to breathe again after you parted from each other.
"You understand, don't you?" he rasped.
Two of his fingers slid down your folds, only to slither back up, then down again, smearing your cunt with its own slick.
But he never touched your swollen clit, even though it's throbbing and aching to be rubbed and the hard bulge sitting between your ass grew harder the more you squirmed in his hold, whimpering like a bitch in heat.
You heard your husband sigh, his hot breath tickling you when he said, "This isn't about you now."
Belly pushed into the edge of the dressing table, rattling and battering against the wall with each forceful thrust, and your leg perched atop it, made numb by Akaashi's grip on your thigh.
That was the first thing that you could recall when you opened your eyes.
But your entire body was screaming in pain, so you knew that everything else that happened last night would come back to you soon enough.
The flesh had a memory of its own.
You sat up with a groan and you didn't have to see the marks to know.
His teeth were still nipping at you, biting you until they drew blood, only to follow with an apologetic lapping of his tongue.
You could feel him beneath you, his hands clawing you down to him, palms kneading your ass cheeks as you bounced up and down on his cock.
You could feel him above you, gripping your wrists not unlike the cuffs that once kept you shackled. He had your legs wrapped around his waist, pulling you close to him, filling you up with loads and loads of cum, squelching every time he sank down your weeping hole.
And when your vision began to blur at the edges, he carried your body, mere seconds into fainting, to the dressing table.
The evidence of that stared back at you in shameful streaks and smudges, traces of your fingers on the mirror when he rammed your cunt from behind.
"Are you happy?" Akaashi whispered.
You don't know.
When he's just your husband who comes home to your arms and brings you sweets because he knows how much you love them; who dances with you in the kitchen and listens intently to you when you talk about that cute dog you saw at the park, were you happy, then?
You don't know, but the woman in the mirror, in that moment, surely was.
She even said, "Yes, yes, Kei-kun, right there, fuck me right there!"
Her pupils were blown wide, eyes rolling almost over to the back of her head. And despite the cries that escaped her, there was a wide, dissipated smile on her lips, spit trailing down her chin.
"Look at you," Akaashi said, grunting when your walls tightened around his shaft. "You're clearly happy with me."
"So why? Why'd you even think of leaving?" He rocked his hips, grinding his thick cock against that spot that had you holding onto the mirror. "Don't ever do that to me again."
You told him no, no, you won't run away again, but it didn't seem to placate his unease, nor his tears.
"I'm so scared, everyday, that you'll leave me and- and- it feels like hell. I would rather die."
He kissed your nape as he huffed and said, "Because I don't know what I'll do without you."
You never really understood why; what about you had caused him to single you out in the sea of people that had vied for his attention. Especially now as you looked at yourself in the mirror.
There were dark circles under your eyes and Akaashi’s t-shirt was rumpled on your body, engulfing you whole with its size— a far cry from that lovely, dazzling bride that his best friend, Bokuto, had described you as on your wedding day.
But you’re aware, more than anyone, that Akaashi Keiji is the last person to care about appearances.
When he entered the room, carrying a tray in his hands, he gazed at that disheveled girl with eyebags big enough to be dragged around the same way he looked at her when he waited for her at the end of the aisle.
“I made you pancakes,” he muttered, clearing his throat as he sat down beside you.
You were tired so it didn’t dawn on you as quickly as it should that he made them the way you preferred. Four fluffy pieces stacked atop one another, sprinkled with powdered sugar, whipped cream and a smattering of berries on the side.
He fiddled with his fingers when you only stared at it, so you immediately took the fork in your hand and sliced the pancake in half.
“I’ll be taking some time off work,” Akaashi said as you took the food in your mouth. You only nodded, having noticed that he wasn’t wearing the usual bespoke suit as soon as he entered the room.
You felt him near you; felt his hand, warm to touch, cup your face.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you.” His eyes were misty and, this close, it seemed that he, too, wasn’t in a good shape. “So please-” Akaashi licked his chapped lips, “Please don’t go.”
“I won’t,” you replied, giving him the smile that you knew he needed. “I promise.”
Then, as you moved to kiss him on the cheek, the chains that tethered you to the bedpost clinked softly beneath the blanket, and you didn’t bother to keep the tears at the bay.
Akaashi wiped them for you when you said that you loved him. And when he asked why, you only shrugged and told him that the pancakes were so sweet that they could make anyone cry.
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