Chapter Text
In his lifetime, Shun felt that he'd lived through plenty of strange occurrences. When he was a kid, he and Yuto had once gotten some strange, static-y feedback over their walkie-talkies that they had sworn were ghosts. When he was a teen, he, Yuto and Ruri had tried out a ouija board and it had started to move on its own. As an adult, he'd had plenty of instances of putting down his keys or his phone or anything like that for them just to vanish and end up somewhere Shun swore he'd never placed them. He'd always thought that rather strange.
Strange, but with reasonable explanation for the most part. The walkie-talkies were most likely picking up a crossfeed, the ouija board, he was fairly convinced, had been moved by Ruri and his misplacing stuff could be chalked up to simple errors in memory.
But this... This was on a whole different level. This wasn't just strange, this was... insane. Rather, the whole thing left him...
“Speechless?” the genie cut into his thoughts. “I can't say I'm surprised. I am quite the sight to behold. Plus, it's not every day you meet a genie, let alone me.” His smirk was undeniable.
“Oh, but no need to stay shy for too long! I am certainly not against words of praise or amazement. I'm sure you must be excited at the prospect of an all powerful genie after all,” he gloated unabashedly. “And then... after that, I will hear your first wish! I must repay you for freeing me after all! Aren't you lucky!” he clapped his hands together in front of him, shooting him a playful wink.
Shun pressed his lips together, narrowing his eyes at him. He certainly had an ego. Well... he supposed it wasn't like he'd ever met a genie before, so for all he knew, they were all like this.
Still, he had heard about genies before. ...Even if... just in stories. Fictional stories, but... regardless, he wasn't about to be fooled. He knew there had to be a trick to all this. “I'm not making any wishes.” his voice was stern.
The genie, Sawatari, looked at him, his eyes wide with shock. “Wha—Why not!? I've never gotten that reaction before...” he put his hands on his hips and his bottom lip protruded in what Shun could only describe as a pout. “Surely you don't doubt my power. Oh! Here, watch!”
Sawatari snapped his fingers and Shun's cell phone appeared in his hand. “See? Neat, huh? I can do way more than this though. You just have to wish for it!”
Shun immediately patted the pocket the phone had been in instinctively, finding it empty. A small shock of panic erupted in his chest and he swiped the phone back from him. “Give me that!”
Sawatari made no move to stop him, though he tipped his head up as it turning his nose up at him, his hands returning to his hips. “You see? There's no way you can't believe me now.”
He gripped the phone tightly as if that would stop him from losing it again. Shun wasn't about to comment about how his little trick wasn't nearly as impressive or convincing as watching him just appear from his bottle in a puff of smoke. He got the feeling it would just inflate his already inflated ego and, really, that was the last thing he needed right now.
...Still, that display had certainly done the trick, even if, perhaps, not exactly in the way the genie had intended. That small panic was slowly building in Shun's chest larger and larger. He had to do something. Anything.
The idea that this genie could do magic without Shun asking him to was... concerning... And... how was he even supposed to handle a situation like this!? A genie!? This was way over his head. He definitely didn't know enough on the subject.
But... Yuto might... Maybe Yuto would know... He knew he liked some occult stuff. ...Did a genie count as occult...?
“You... just... stay right there. I'm going to make a phone call,” he commanded the strange man, pointing his finger at the couch. He had to keep his cool here... At least for now.
Sawatari plopped himself on the couch and grinned. “Oh? Are you planning on calling your friends to brag? Your parents? Siblings? Coworkers? Well,” he flicked his bangs back with the back of his hand, “I don't mind. Feel free to shout it off the rooftops just how lucky you are to have me at your side!” he sighed. “Gosh, I almost envy you,” he waved his hand casually in front of his face with a little laugh, crossing one leg over the other.
“Just... Just shut up for a second, will you?” he practically hissed as he went quickly back to the kitchen for a little privacy.
...Well, privacy while still being able to keep the genie in relative eye shot. He might not know exactly what to do in that moment, but he didn't think leaving him alone was the right call either.
He found Yuto in his contacts, tapping call before placing the phone to his ear. His heart jumped nervously in his chest as he waited.
After a few everlasting rings, he finally heard the voice of his best friend. “Shun? What's up?”
“Yuto. I need you to come over... right now. It's about...” he hesitated. “Ruri's present. And it's urgent. I... don't think I'd be able to properly explain it over the phone, you just need to come and see it for yourself.”
“Urgent? What did you do, Shun? You didn't drop that bottle already, did you? If you're going to ask me to help you put it back together—“
“No—Yuto, just...” He gave a heavy sigh, massaging his temples with his fingers. “Just get over here, will you? Please? And quickly!” with that Shun hung up the phone. He whirled back around to face the genie with the sudden fear that he might have tried something while Shun wasn't watching.
Sawatari was sprawling himself over Shun's couch, his back arching, accentuating his bare stomach and chest, the small vest he wore shifting to expose more of himself as he stretched. “Mmm...! I'm a little stiff, but the air is so much fresher outside my bottle! I like this!” the genie hummed, then gave a contented sigh. “I missed this.”
Shun bit his lip, suddenly thinking that he should, perhaps, research more on genies and the kinds of traps they laid.
...Not that he knew how accurate the information would be.
Sawatari beamed at Shun as he came back into the room. “Which reminds me! After you've finished showing me off to your friends, I want to go outside! It's been so long since I've been outside!” he stressed in a groan.
Shun immediately bristled. “Ohhh no. That is not happening.” Outside!? Shun couldn't help but feel at least somewhat responsible for this genie, having set him free and all, so he wasn't about to be so irresponsible as he let him roam free!
Sawatari pouted. “What? Why not? That's not fair...”
“Listen, you—“ Shun cut off when he heard a knock at his door. “Stay!” he ordered him firmly, then dashed to the door to let Yuto in.
Yuto gave Shun a weak grin. “Hey, Shun... So where's the fire?” he asked as he stepped inside.
“It's...” Shun stepped aside, giving another heavy sigh. “That is my problem.” he pointed at Sawatari, still sprawled over his couch despite his bit of a pout, though he'd turned onto his side, his cheek propped in his hand. “This... genie!”
Yuto stopped. He blinked. “Um... well...” he shifted from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable. “Shun, I... Look, I uh... know Ruri said she wanted something unique for her birthday this year... and I suppose I should applaud you for uh... stepping... outside of the box, but... I didn't expect you to hire a uh...” he rolled his wrist, gesturing to the male. “I... didn't even know Ruri was into uh... genies...” his eyes wandered over Sawatari's outfit, inspecting him.
“Hire a...?” It took a moment to sink in for Shun before he gasped, face contorting into a mix of shock and disgust. “What?! Yuto—!! No! No, no, no, no, no!! That is... This is absolutely not—!! I would never—!!” he blushed a deep red, becoming instantly flustered. “Yuto, what the fuck! How could you even suggest—!!” Shun felt his skin crawl at the very notion. With all that was going on right then, that kind of thought was the last thing he needed.
Sawatari sat up, tilting his head a bit curiously. “What are you guys talking about?” then he eyed Yuto. “Is this your friend? Is he going to help you make your wishes?” he hopped to his feet, stepping around the table, holding out a hand to Yuto. “Hi! I'm Sawatari Shingo! The great, powerful, mystifying and incredibly handsome genie.”
Yuto hesitated, but slowly took his hand to shake it. “Uh... Yuto... Nice to meet you...” then he looked at Shun, his brow furrowing. “Um, Shun, I uh...” he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I'd rather not go making assumptions again on what he means by 'wishes' or why you might need my help in making them, so you'd better start explaining...”
Shun gave an exasperated sigh, running his hand through his bangs, his cheeks stained red. He couldn't say Yuto's guesses weren't fair ones given that... the reality of the situation was so much weirder, but... God, why did this genie have to be wearing an outfit like that? He was creating all sorts of misunderstandings. Shun was slowly becoming convinced that it was an intentional lure.
“Unfortunately...” he began slowly, “And as unbelievable as it seems, he's... exactly who he says he is.” Shun grumbled, attempting to shake off his embarrassment. “A... genie. A real one.”
Yuto gave him an incredulous look.
“Look, I know it sounds crazy, but... I was getting ready to wrap up Ruri's birthday present and I noticed it was pretty dusty, so... I was cleaning it and then suddenly... he appeared.” he gestured to Sawatari.
Yuto looked from Sawatari to Shun. He furrowed his brows. “Shun, it's a little early for April Fools day. Sort of a strange joke anyway... I mean... Come on, a genie...? It's a bit of a stretch...”
“Joke?” Sawatari gasped, crossing his arms. “You'd better not be calling me a joke. How dare you!”
Shun tensed, then placed a hand on Sawatari's shoulder, but a strange tingling running through his fingers that instantly made him retract his hand, leaving him to awkwardly hover hand instead. “He... He doesn't mean it like that. He's just confused, okay? He's not trying to insult you.” The last thing Shun needed right then was for Yuto to be turned into a... toad or... something...
...Shun really needed to study more on genies.
Sawatari huffed, crossing his legs. “Well he could be a little less rude about it.”
Shun sighed, then turned back to Yuto, “Look—“ he stopped when he noticed Yuto's eyes had gone wide, transfixed downward.
He followed his gaze to... nothing. Quickly though, he realized that nothing was exactly what was strange about it.
There was nothing keeping Sawatari Shingo on level with them. He was sitting before them, legs crossed... floating.
Yuto's mouth opened and shut a few times before he snapped his attention back to Shun again. “...Hhh... Hhhow did...” Yuto cleared his throat, “A-A... genie... you say...?”
Shingo huffed, then seemed to lose interest in Yuto. He drifted away from them, going to peek out the window. “Whoa! We're so high up! I guess this isn't a house then. That's what I lived in last time. ...I mean, before the bottle.” he rambled on as if the world were his audience.
Shun swallowed, then nodded, his eyes moving from Sawatari to Yuto, then back again. “It... seems that way... Yuto... please tell me you know a thing of two about genies. I shouldn't let him go outside, right? And no wishes for sure...” he bit his lip. “It seems like he can use it regardless of me though... That's... bad, right?”
Yuto crossed his arms, his eyes locked on the genie, still wide, though they seemed to carry not just shock, but panic too. “Y-Yeah, um... I won't say genies are my expertise, but I do know a few things...” he kept his voice low. “That's a 'no' to making wishes, since normally genies can twist your words however they want. Taking him outside... I mean, if he's going to do that.” he gesturing to the floating man, “It's sure to cause some sort of panic and...” he bit his lip, his concerned eyes slipping back to Shun. “Yeah, that... might be pretty bad, Shun... But maybe if you can keep him from doing that, then...”
Shun let out an agitated grunt. “Well what am I supposed to do then?”
Yuto flexed his hands, mind clearly racing. “Okay... listen... I'll do some more research on this... but in the meantime... just... try to keep him distracted. He seems to like talking... Maybe you can get him to tell you more about himself or his powers or... something.”
Shun sighed, the prospect of engaging in more conversation with this big headed man was giving him a headache already. He nodded.
“One way or another...” Yuto continued, eyes firm with resolve despite his voice still kept a a whisper. “We have to trap him back into that bottle.” he placed his hand on Shun's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Don't worry, Shun. I'll help you in any way I can.” he gave him one of his more comforting smiles. “I promise.”
Shun nodded. “Okay... thank you, Yuto...”
Yuto stepped away. “But for right now, I'll need to head back so I can do some research. You'll be okay?”
Shun pressed his lips into a frown, crossing his arms as he watched the genie float from one window to another, scrambling to catch a vase he'd bumped off a desk. “...Hopefully.”
Yuto gave him one last apologetic smile. “Call me if you need anything, okay? I promise to keep my phone on me. Oh, and Shun? Even if it's hard, do whatever you can to keep him happy. The last thing we need is an angry genie... Good luck.” And with that, he was gone.
Shun let out a shaky breath. Great. Happy. How was he supposed to do that...?
His eyes fell on the bottle that rested on his coffee table. One way or another, they were going to get him back into that bottle.
But not only that...
Shun grimaced as his next thought hit him like a punch to the gut.
He was going to have to find a new birthday present for Ruri.