Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Please, I beg of you, make my hair permanently straightened!” A young girl pleads. She kotows so much, so quickly that she slams her forehead into the cold wooden floor. She begins rubbing her forehead with a pained expression, tears threatening to cascade down her pale face.

While this human is quite humorous, it’s just another boring, meaningless request. Tsukasa taps his nails against his wooden side table in annoyance, making a sharp clicking sound. All of the recent requests have been young girls wishing to enhance their appearance. Nobody has once mentioned happiness, family, friends- only lovers. What’s so good about this “ love ” thing anyway? And why is it worth the 2000 ¥ entry fee?

“Yeah yeah whatever,” Tsukasa replies to the struggling girl. “And what’s your offering?” The girl slides forward a tray of colorful dango. The deity’s mouth waters at the sight. Damn it. Tsukasa only has one weakness when it comes to food, and somehow this girl found it. “Well, thank you very much. I suppose for this offering, I can grant you another wish free of charge.” Tsukasa may be a strict deity, but not a heartless one. He must commend this girl’s eye for offerings.

At his words, the girl’s jaw drops to the floor. She gradually composes herself, and prepares her second wish. “Umm… if it’s alright…” she pauses. Tsukasa hopes she’s wishing for something actually meaningful this time. “...could you make my crush like me back?” 

“...”

“Fine.”

The girl kotows (successfully) in thanks, spitting out unintelligible words of gratitude at high speeds, before clambering her way through the door of talismans. She can be heard tripping her way up the stairs as she escapes from the underground prison abode, just as Tsukasa wishes he could every day of his life.

The deity has been trapped here since the age of 8, confiscated from his family the moment his horns and tail started showing signs of growing. The day of his 8th birthday, a greedy noble scooped him up and trapped him underground as a tourist trap, charging 6 month’s worth of pay for a town resident to enter. Many people fell for this scheme. 

However, it wasn’t entirely a scam. Tsukasa does have the ability to grant wishes, being a dragon deity. 

His powers have a strange set of rules:

1. The deity must be given an offering

1. The offering must be to the deity’s liking

1. The wish can be denied, but only under the circumstances of an offering that isn’t entirely up to par with the deity’s greatest expectations

1. The deity cannot share the wishes he’s granted with anybody, no matter the circumstances

1. And finally, the wish cannot majorly affect more than 30 individuals

Pretty fair rules, right?

That’s what a lot of people think, but not Tsukasa. With these rules, he can be treated like a tool. A pawn in whatever nefarious deals somebody has. 

Tsukasa is guilty.

He has aided in murder, theft, numerous crimes , all because of his unbreakable ruleset. Information spreads quickly through the underworld, and now everybody in any shady business knows that giving him a photo of his dear sister can make him grant any wish. He hasn’t seen his sister in person in years , and here she is, in countless people’s cameras, all for the sake of money . His sister is in danger all for the sake of money . He’s here in this prison all for the sake of money . 

Sometimes, Tsukasa wishes the walls weren’t padded.

He stares at the walls of his extravagant room. The walls are covered in decorations pinned to the soft, red foam layers. Ornamental lamps, ornamental headpieces, ornamental ornaments flood every corner of the room. Talismans hang threateningly in the open doorway at the bottom of a tall concrete staircase. He knows there are multiple guards sitting just outside the cellar door at the top of it, and it makes him feel even more sick.

From the 10 years he’s spent in this room, he’s learned that his purpose is this:

Look pretty, grant wishes, draw in tourists, profit. 

(spoiler alert! The profit is not for him)

The only thing that brings him joy is the radio the girl named Honami brought. Honami claims to be a friend of his sister’s, and Tsukasa believes her wholeheartedly. Honami is a sweet girl, who constantly brings gifts, and wishes for his safety, his happiness. It’s one of the few things that brings him joy.

His parents and sister are forbidden to visit him, even though paying the fee. A single word of his abduction, and the terrible noble who trapped him here will send people after them. They can’t escape either, and the worst part is it’s all Tsukasa’s fault. They had the misfortune of being his family, and now they have to fear going outside just to buy groceries near the district the deities were kept.

Tsukasa is one of many deities. The few others who knows of consist of Ichika: the fortune telling snake deity, Shizuku: The deity of great beauty, (people only go to her to take selfies, which makes Tsukasa sick to his stomach) and Akito: the deity who controls song and dance.

Of all the deities, Tsukasa knows he’s the most popular. Just mentioning Tsukasa: the lucky dragon boy of great fortune, could make anybody squeal with joy as they share their positive reviews. Tsukasa has met nearly every civilian from this town and a few over, yet he’s barely even seen the sky.

‘ Somebody… save me’

________________________

Rui Kamishiro is known to be a jerk, and a strange one at that. 

Not only does he stay in his quarters all day to make dangerous contraptions and complex robots, he’s also infamous for firing any maids and servants who dare “defy” him in any way, giant or miniscule.

On the rare occasion that he went outside, he would stare into crowds with a disgusted look on his face. Meeting the commoner’s gazes and scowling like he’s seen a raccoon digging through a pile of rubbish. It’s no wonder that everybody thinks he despises everyday civilians.

Rui Kamishiro does not despise civilians because of their class, no, it’s nothing of the sort. Most days, Rui himself wishes he didn’t have to be the son of a powerful noble. He’s always been outcasted in society for his strange looks, charming as they may be, they aren’t ideal in his town. He’s been primarily outcasted for his ideas and interests. Apparently, in this society, robots are “not an effective mode of communication” when he made a robot for his childhood friend to speak through in order to avoid complex situations. Robots are also considered “useless pieces of junk, and a waste of time.” He’s been told a countless amount of times how he should conform to the traditional laws of society, and stay away from advancing any more into the future in order to avoid complexity. He can only think of a way to mass produce robots like the one he made for his friend, so that everybody in this town can hide their faces from the new and exciting events of the future. ‘ How ironic is that?’

He doesn’t smile at the crowds, because they don’t smile at him. It’s that simple, yet people have seemed to have come to a completely different conclusion.

Rui Kamishiro is lonely. He easily snaps at people, especially maids and servants. He fires them so they don’t have to deal with him , not the other way around.

Rui Kamishiro is misunderstood. When he turned down the idea of visiting a popular town nearby, nobody was surprised. Safe to say, nobody was upset, either… except for Rui’s father.

“My son, this will be a perfect opportunity for you to explore the world beyond our property and the markets. Hell, maybe you’ll even make a friend!” His father explains to him enthusiastically.

“But-” Rui tries to interject, but his father interrupts him before he can argue.

“You’re going to the Kamikou district, and that’s final. Do you understand?”

Rui nods, knowing if he tries to speak again he will only dig himself deeper into his grave.

Not even 2 hours later, he finds himself in a carriage on a bumpy path. The only bags he brought with him contained a few changes of clothes, and an unfinished project along with some tools, which his father was hesitant to let him bring.

His father sits across from him. The two are caught in an awkward silence, just staring at their own laps waiting to arrive at their destination.

‘ This trip is going to suck balls ’

Chapter Text

It’s approximately 2:36 AM, from what Rui can tell from the position of the moon outside his guest room window. He cannot sleep, in fact at this point with the purple man’s sleep schedule, you may as well refer to him as a nocturnal species. Every little thing he does makes the people around him feel that he’s inhuman, so Rui stopped caring.

He fiddles with the loose strings of the silky comforter, and feels himself sink deeper into the cloudlike mattress. He hates rich people (despite being one) because they always find a way to hint that they’re better than you. The purple-haired tries his best to avoid luxury, even at the cost of skipping dinners, and “losing” gifts from other families (he does have to admit, that jade necklace a girl sent him worked as a perfect electrical conductor). Just staying in this room made him feel uneasy. He wants to get out of this “family friend’s” house as quickly as possible.

It’s not rare for Rui to feel antsy when he’s bored. He would like to go somewhere, do something. When his father confiscated the bag with his project in it, he knew immediately that his father wanted this feeling to come over him. 

Rui’s father wants him to be adventurous.

‘ Hell, maybe you’ll even make a friend!’

Rui scowls, clenching his teeth at this realization. 

His father must’ve brought him to the abode of the most utterly annoying nobles he’s ever had the misfortune of conversing with on purpose. 

‘ Hello sir, I am Kamishi-’

The noble immediately interjects, ‘I already know who you are. I have a lot to tell you about my collections! This is the head of a rare disease patient!’ The noble pointed over towards a bloody mess in a glass display case.

And holy shit, who would want something like that in their house!?

Rich people. That’s who.

Rui easily came to the conclusion that this particular rich asshole was a human parts collector ! Fun!

This variable made him want to leave even more than before he arrived, so he did what any sensible person would do… and hopped onto the roof from his balcony, hoping to find an easy way down.

After years (minutes) of searching and countless (two) near death stumbles, the young noble found a suitable path to the back gardens full of venomous plants.

“Does this guy seriously need every red flag in his home?” Rui thought aloud to himself, as he sat and scooted off of a low overhang school bus evacuation drill style.

 —((Author’s note: I always hit my head during bus evacuation drills its not funny)))—

He dodges the fly traps snapping at his ankles, and maneuvers his way around the dangling poison ivy vines, and oh my god is that deadly fricking nightshade?? he finds a silver gate with a little sign that says, ‘ WARNING: DANGER ’ with a skull and crossbones... yeah, thanks.

Rui pushes on the gate with all his might, but it won't budge an inch. He then notices the pull sign, making this amazing escape the tiniest bit easier. The gate pulls open with an ear rattling screech, making it seem as if the little silver shit is mocking him. Before he takes his final leave, he kicks the ratty old gate, knocking it off its hinges. It falls to the ground with a satisfying clash.

Well, since that’s out of the way, he might as well go and do something!

Something…

Um.

Something.

Surely there’s a place you should go after you escape hell on Earth, right? A destination that you’ve been so desperately seeking.

But Rui doesn’t have one. Rui doesn’t even have a map of this new town. 

He finds a spot very far away from hell manor, under a tree with cushy grass. He props his back up against the trunk and begins to doze off. He dreams of decapitated peasants and man-eating weeds. (Fun!)

________________________

Tsukasa sits with his legs criss-crossed on the hard wooden floor. He can feel his emotions bubbling up in his throat and clawing at the corners of his eyes. Honami had not visited that day. He fears the threats may have been genuine; the threats made towards his sister and her girlfriend. 

‘ Why is the world so unfair? ’

‘Are the girls okay?’

‘When can I leave?’

Are the words he wants to hurl at his captor, who was stomping down the concrete staircase. Those questions remained unasked, when the deity noticed a new face following the noble.

“This is Harumichi Aoyagi. He’s a very important customer, so don’t mess shit up, got it?” He ordered with his usual stone cold voice.

Tsukasa nods defeatedly as the VIP noble steps forward with his offering of… a plate of dirt. What was this guy thinking? Is he trying to mock Tsukasa?

The man interjects the deity’s thoughts. “I don’t really care if this wish is granted or not, since it doesn’t matter to me in the long run. It would just make things a bit more efficient.” He says, sounding even more cold than Tsukasa’s captor. “You’re going to make my son enjoy what I provide him. He needs to learn how to appreciate his piano and violin lessons, otherwise he’ll keep running around with that street brat.”

Tsukasa could hear the man cursing under his breath. Is this guy crazy? He wants to toy with his own son’s psyche, just for simplicity!? AND to keep him away from a friend no less. This wish is the first wish in 3 months that didn’t have anything romantic or meaningless behind it, but it still made him want to cry even more than he was holding back already.

“Yes sir… I– can do that.” 

Tsukasa attempts to stand, but before he can get himself off the floor, a hand reaches out and grabs one of his horns, pulling him back to the ground.

“You do not make yourself taller than me.” Aoyagi said, his tone dripping with aggression.

The deity can only look up at the man, eyes wide with shock and fear. The VIP noble then stands and turns away towards the exit.

‘ Why is the world so unfair?’ Is all Tsukasa can think as he watches the shadow of the man’s back slowly disappear under the layers of talismans crowding the doorway.

Chapter Text

The time is 10:00, precisely. Akito knew from the watch that was offered to him in return for a great concert without flaws. A good deal, but it’s too bad the guy didn’t actually have any musical talent.

The bird deity takes his time carefully tucking his tail feathers into his oversized street sweats, so as to not damage them, and smooths his head feathers over to resemble a “bleached” streak in his hair; as the townspeople like to call it. 

His gaze lands on the small mirror in the corner of his room. Even after the months he’s been sneaking out, he’s still surprised at the fact that he looks like a normal human! Besides his feathers, there’s nothing stopping him from blending in with the street thugs in Kamikou. 

All he needs to do now is wait for his escape to arrive.

~*

After ten minutes of waiting, Akito hears a familiar slow creak, and a clatter of metal on concrete. 

An oh so annoying voice calls out, “Yahoo~ we’ve arrived to bring your gayass outside for some fresh air!!” 

“Who are you calling gay??!!” Akito responds. “I’m not the gay one here, you are! You and your bright pink, burnt smelling, overcurled hair!”

“Geez, now we’re getting a bit aggressive little birdie.” Mizuki quips teasingly. They turn to face the top of the stairs they had descended from during their taunting. “AN! BRING THE CAGE!”

“AN, DON’T BRING THE CAGE!!” Akito pleads.

“Awwww does the birdie not want to see his boyfriend and…” An makes kissy hands, and makes it look like they’re making out.

“TOYA IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!! WE’RE JUST PARTNERS!!! I DO NOT WANT TO KISS HIM” everyone, even Akito, finds themselves doubting that one.

“Shhhhh relax we were just joking” Mizuki assures him. (they were not)

The “little birdie” glares aggressively at the little silver birdcage sitting on the floor in front of him.

“So are you gonna get in or what?” An taunts. Akito sighs and admits defeat before reverting to his tiny bird form and climbing into the little cage. Before he can get a last glimpse in the mirror, he hears a quick ‘ zip’ , and the darkness of An’s bag consumes him.

He notices how Mizuki tries to walk a little more aggressively, as to shake the bag and throw Akito off his tiny bird perch (they’re successful). After a while, they’re walking in a  comfortable silence, with the occasional loud string of chirping-curses and a giggle out of his friends. Akito wouldn’t be caught dead admitting that he actually enjoyed this feeling, even if he’s repeatedly eating metal at the slightest jostle. 

After a little while more of silence, a conversation breaks out.

“So An, how’s your girlfriend?”

“She’s doing very well! She’s just a tiny bit overloaded with scholar duties or whatever, but she’s happy most of the time!” An replies. “How’s your little crush?”

“Ignoring me as usual. Geez, why does she have to be so mean~” Mizuki complains as they kick a rock across the street in frustration. “I can’t even mention my super cool breaking bad obsession before she turns away and calls me an idiot!”

“Jesse, we need to upgrade your rizz”

“Shut the hell up”

Akito would burst out laughing if he could in this form, so instead, a loud burst of chirps could be heard from inside the duffel bag slung across the pink-haired’s shoulder.

“You can’t be laughing either, GINGER!” Mizuki practically yells, attracting the attention of the entire street, which was rather busy for a casual Friday night. “RIZZLESS LOSER!”

~*

“Aaaaaand this is our stop!” An announces. “See you in the morning Akito!” The two unzip the duffel bag and lift the cages up and onto the street. Mizuki messes with the cage latch, opening the door and releasing the deity. Akito sighs deeply as he returns to his humanoid form. He grabs his pocket mirror to make sure nothing is out of place. When he confirms that he looks normal, he waves goodbye to his friends, and starts making his way to the meeting spot.

He turns the corner into a small alleyway, leading into a large open space with no other exits. He slides against the furthest wall and makes himself comfortable while he waits for his lov… friend to appear.

5 minutes…

10 minutes…

Something’s wrong. Toya’s never been this late. The bird boy panics, sprinting back the way he came, and turning in the direction of the noble Aoyagi’s abode. 

________________________

Walking through an unfamiliar district late at night was not something Rui wanted to do at any point in his life, but sometimes life isn’t fair, as he’s already learned many times in the past. He’s lost count of the different floating decorations: lanterns, lights, and tapestries, all glowing under the light of the beautiful night sky. 

What bothers Rui the most is the shocking amount of vendors, selling fruits and jade, and the townspeople wandering this late at night! Is everybody nocturnal here?

The young noble is torn out of his thoughts by a tiny shriek followed by muffled sobs, coming from… right in front of him? He looks down to see that he’s nearly trampled over a small child.

“Oh my! I apologize, I didn’t see you there!” Rui apologizes, hoping that he hasn’t caused too much of an upset. The child only sobs harder.  As he bends down to comfort him, the purple-haired catches a glimpse of a woman running at him out of the corner of his eye. Before he can react, he feels a sharp stinging sensation on his face, and he falls backwards from the force.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING? WHY ARE YOU HURTING MY CHILD?” A crazed looking woman screams directly in his face. “YOU REALLY PUT A BLEMISH ON YOUR FAMILY NAME, KAMISHIRO! I’M NOT ABOUT TO LET YOU LOOK DOWN ON US HERE JUST LIKE YOU DO BACK IN MIYA!”

After these words registered in Rui’s brain, he felt his chest hurt even more than the slap. Did his reputation really carry over to another town? Even in this more diverse society, he still can’t escape isolation. 

“I-I’m so-” Rui tries to apologize before the woman cuts him off.

“Get away from me and my son. Another word, and not even your status can protect you here.”

Rui followed the woman’s orders, and ran away as fast as he could. He only stops to lean up against a lamppost to catch his breath. As he stands there panting, he feels everything he’s been feeling settle in once and for all. His hunger, his drowsiness, and his loneliness, all flood his body at once. He drops to his knees, and finds himself sobbing even harder than the child from before.

Chapter Text

“Get up.You have some early visitors.”

“Just send them away, I’m not supposed to answer to them before 8:00.”

“They aren’t here to make a wish,”

The dragon is confused.

“...they’re here for questioning. The Bird Deity has gone missing.”

________________________

A young noble has no way to tell the current time, 

nor does he have the need to.

He sits curled up under the same tree he fell asleep on the day prior. 

He has no tears left to cry.

He’s already gone. Gone from this world. All that remains of him is the hatred in the townspeople’s hearts.

~*

‘You’ll never make any other friends if you keep sulking like this’ A minty-haired girl scolds. ‘ ...but it’s not my decision.You do you, but it’ll just come back to bite you in the ass.’

The inventor replies, ‘I’m sure that won't happen.’ But deep down, he knows he’s bungee jumping with a string bound to snap. He’ll fall into the river below and never resurface.

‘I don’t like this “new you”, Rui.’ The girl begins. ‘Devotion is not a tangible object that you can fiddle with and discard.You can’t just will your bad reputation away. You have to do something. Meet someone…’

He cuts her off. ‘I don’t care what they think of me anymore. Do I even have to bother with them?’ 

The girl tries to shush him, to no avail. 

He raises his voice, ‘Do I need to put up an act just to “belong” in this cruel district? I’d rather avoid showing my face to anybody, than even attempt to reconcile with the townspeople.’

A long and uncomfortable silence follows his lament. 

He starts reconsidering what he said. 

He knows he’s wrong.

He’s just too far gone.

“ Fine,’ The minty girl breaks the silence. She calmly gets up and silently shuffles her way to the door.

‘...you won't have to show your face to anybody.’ She says, barely above a whisper, before quietly shutting the door behind her.

Rui has not heard from Nene since that day.

________________________

A split-haired boy gazes down at the piano keys hovering above his lap. He has the urge to play them , to do something about that itch to reach out his arms and play to his heart’s content.

‘You’re supposed to be somewhere else, aren’t you?’

The boy cannot remember where he was meant to be… or whom he was meant to see. All he knows is that he must play.  

He hasn’t a moment to think before his arms move on their own, jerking wildly across the keys in a puppetlike nature. The itch is satisfied. Toya is not. He cannot stop playing. His arms move on their own.

The music his hands play is terrible. Notes clash. Arms clash. Thoughts clash.

A split-haired boy gazes down at his arms, playing a tune that doesn’t belong to him. He has the urge to stop, but he can’t .

All he can do is weep.

‘A wish can be harbored by one, but unreciprocated by another. The will of another’s cannot falter your own’ 

________________________

“Thanksssss Shiho!” A snake girl expresses her gratitude to her silver-haired friend. She reaches towards today’s offering: A handmade blanket. The fabric has a pattern of constellations and shooting stars. 

Ichika loves it. Astrology has always been a sentimental topic for her, having grown up watching the stars every night with her four closest friends.

 The snake snaps out of her thoughts and returns to the interaction at hand. “What do you want me to anssswer thissss time?”

The silver-haired puts a finger up to their chin, pondering. After a moment of comfortable silence, they give their answer, “Will Saki ever be able to visit you and her brother? At all, even in 1000 years?”

“Shi~” Ichika teases. “You assssk me thisss all the time! My answer iss yess!”

“Then that’s all I need to know. We can all be happy soon, I’m sure of it.”

“But why don’t you asssk the exact time and date? I’m ssure you’re curioussss.”

Shiho gives Ichika a rare smirk. “But that would ruin the excitement. I don’t want to count down the days until we can all be happy again.”

The dark-haired looks up at them with happily narrowed eyes and a bright smile. “That’sss a fair point, and you keep paying ssso much money just to receive the sssame answerss…” She pauses. “...but okay! If that’sss what you desire!”

The two scare a moment of silence, before Ichika wraps the other up tightly in her snaky torso.

“H-hey! Cut it out!” Shiho protests, but to no avail. Before long, they melt into the warm hug of their “friend”.

They can’t wait for all of them to be together in one place again.

Chapter Text

Another night, another strange request. 

“Please get that purple-haired freak out of Kamikou!!” A desperate looking woman pleaded.

With such a vague description of the target, it isn’t hard to infer that Tsukasa’s VERY confused. Purple-haired? Freak? Tsukasa hadn’t heard of somebody having purple hair existing anywhere, let alone in Kamikou. Is that even natural? The usage of the word “freak” had also set Tsukasa off. 

freak.

What a terrible word.

A word used against Tsukasa so many times growing up. With his budding horns, long hair he refused to cut, and his outgoing and loud persona; it was no surprise that most people who met him before he was abducted had labeled him a freak, and addressed him as so.

Except for Saki.

Tsukasa audibly groaned out of frustration. “Is there any chance you could give me a few more details about this person?” The deity asked as politely as he could while holding in his anger towards this arrogant woman (who may or may not have been here for some odd requests prior).

“I refuse to say his name! That cursed name mustn't be muttered by any bloodline EVERMORE!”

…

‘ Somebody’s got spirit…’

Tsukasa guesses the personal pronoun indicating the target’s gender was all the extra information he was going to get out of this woman. The blond hates these kinds of interrogations; the interrogations with a kind of stupid that can only come from 100% pure bred gluten free non GMO humans. 

“Ma’am, please understand,  I can't grant your wish just based on gender and hair color.” The woman looked offended. “...I could try, but we cannot guarantee there’s only one purple-haired male in Kamikou. Without a name, I cannot guarantee that your wish will affect the correct target.” The woman’s frown only deepened. Tsukasa could already feel the hurricane that was about to assault his ears.

The woman took a deep breath in and Tsukasa felt the urge to cover his ears.

“THAT PURPLE BASTARD CAUSED BOTH ME AND MY SON EMOTIONAL DISTRESS! I THOUGHT SOME GOD  LIKE YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION BETTER THAN ANYONE, AND FORCE THIS MONSTER OUT OF YOUR TOWN OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF YOUR HEART!...” The woman was red-faced, and seemed to be running out of breath.

The deity then noticed something he was too preoccupied to notice before. With the implication of the woman’s words… “out of the goodness of your heart…”

…

This woman did not bring an offering.

This woman is also causing me to type the most “...” ‘s i’ve ever needed to in any piece of writing.

Before the woman could inhale enough to continue her rant, Tsukasa interrupted her.

“I get your frustration ma’am, but I'm afraid I cannot possibly grant any wish, large or miniscule, without an offering.”

The woman hesitated for a moment. Her features looked grim and pale, straight out of a folklore pamphlet. With her entry fee money on the line, she made a rash decision. “I WILL OFFER YOU MY SON! PLEASE JUST GET RID OF THIS HORRIBLE BEAST!”

The woman left the deity’s chambers with her son, and her pockets full of -2000¥.

~*

Today was a long, exhausting day for Tsukasa. By the end of it, he was lying on the floor, staring up at nothing in particular. His eyes traced the ugly popcorn ceiling, and glanced around at the various decorations.

He was bored and alone. Honami hadn’t visited for days, and neither did Shiho, even though they weren’t one to visit Tsukasa often. Without them, he couldn’t get any updates on Saki’s state of being. How was he supposed to know she was okay?

Tsukasa needed something to do, just to take his mind off of things for once. 

So he resorted to playing with his hair.

The hair he never cut since he was young. The hair he wasn’t even allowed to cut now.

He slid his golden locks out of the ponytail holder, and began to braid a small section with the same care he would braid Saki’s hair with when they were both free. Free from the world, free from captivity, free from the threats that confined them to their homes.

Braiding his hair brought comfort to the deity. No more worrying about what tomorrow will bring, whether it be an arrogant woman, another admirer, or a special VIP that he’s required to answer to. He could just live in the moment, back against a wall to keep himself upright, and a mirror in front of him.

Tsukasa has always been proud of his hair. Since birth, he and Saki have had a natural pink hue, resembling a sunset. 

If he remembers correctly, his father had soft pink hair that was pleasing to the eyes, and his mother had lovely blonde hair which she was teased for her whole life. Kamikou has always been such a strict and cruel district when it came to appearances. Perhaps that’s the reason many seek changes to theirs from the dragon god. To be given the power of a wish come true, only to use it on your own personal societal value instead of a noble cause. What a waste…

‘ Ah, I’m getting lost in my thoughts again.’  

Yet again, Tsukasa caught himself overthinking.

He focuses on his braiding; the silky texture of every strand as he weaves them together into an intricate pattern. Braiding, to him, is its own art form. 

Time around him seems to have stopped. His eyelids start to feel the full weight of gravity; being pulled closer and closer together until they’re tightly shut. He shouldn’t be falling asleep now, for he would only get a few hours of shut-eye before having to wake up and start another day, but he can’t fight the urge any longer.

His fingers, which were still actively working on his braiding weakened until they could no longer muster up the energy to move. His legs, one of which was resting straight, the other bent at the knee, were bent closer to his torso. He shifted his weight onto his side, and with one final exhale, he was overcome with sleep.

~*

The deity awoke to a pounding at his door. 

He parted his heavy eyelids and adjusted to the brightness of his room. The pounding persisted. This kind of greeting was not the usual one he would get from his captors.

“Room service!” The awfully chipper voice behind the door called, before creaking it open.

…Strange. Tsukasa never got room service. He doubted the district even had such a thing!

Two pairs of footsteps could be heard cascading down the tall steps. Then, their figures came into view. From what Tsukasa could make out with his blurry post-nap vision, one of the figures was much taller than the other, with… short hair? The other was small and pink. Lots of recognizable pink. Paired with the chipper voice, and he could already guess who this was. The taller figure though, he had never met, and they got to see him in such a disheveled state! This was truly dishonorable for the dragon deity!

________________________

It’s very late; far past midnight, but you won't catch Mizuki caring! They prance down the streets blissfully and carelessly, with An trailing behind them out of breath and trying to catch up. The sight was comedic, really. An was panting and taking breaks every 5 meters while Mizuki skipped like it was their last day on Earth. The two were attracting a surplus amount of glares.

It’s only natural for the pink-haired to be this chipper at 3:00 AM on a crescent moon night! A crescent moon means another chance to tease see their precious Enanan!

“Mizuki! Slow down for just a second, will you?” An panted as she attempted to follow the pink ball of sudden energy.

Mizuki spared An a glance over their shoulder, sticking out their tongue as if to say “No way in hell, slowpoke!” in pure Mizuki fashion. 

The pair marched (and dragged) on for a while, taking in the view of the nighttime district. Mizuki gave an awestruck expression to an especially shiny piece of gold jewelry, adorned with deep blue sapphire and jade of the softest green.

They admired it until they checked the price tag. 

“10000 YEN!? THAT’S WORTH MORE THAN A WISH AT THE DEITY’S TEMPLE!” They exclaimed. “The rich sure do get all the good stuff.”

An stifles a giggle as she glances over at Mizuki’s childish pout.

“Speaking of the rich, I heard the Kamishiros are in Kamikou for a while.” An elaborates as she regains her previous composure. “You said something about one of the Kamishiros being an old friend, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right…” Mizuki dramatically stares off into the night sky. “He did state himself that I shouldn’t associate with him anymore, though. I wonder how he’s doing sometimes.”

A comfortable silence resonates between the two.

An decides to break it. “Maybe you should try to talk to him again. You were friends once, y’know!” Her eyes light up as an idea pops into her head. “Hey, maybe you could share your new designs with him! Then Akito won’t have to be your model anymore, and you can reunite with an old friend! How fun does that sound?”

Mizuki contemplates this offer. It’s not a bad idea, it’s just that Mizuki doesn’t know where exactly Rui is, and searching Kamikou isn’t exactly a task that could be accomplished within a couple hours. They’re also unsure if Rui would want to see them, since he dismissed them a long while ago for reasons unknown. Besides, they want to see Ena!

“Maybe we could see about this at a later date? I hope you haven’t forgotten where we’re going tonight, specifically.” Mizuki finally responds.

An nods in response. Every now and then, the two use silence as a complete conversation. It’s a mutual agreement that can linger in the air between anybody Mizuki was with. It was a special Mizuki talent to get along well with anybody, and understand them as if they were their own sibling.

Mizuki’s pace slowed considerably compared to before the topic of a new model broke out. An and Mizuki were now striding comfortably side by side under the soft light of the moon and stars.

~*

It wasn’t much longer until the pair arrived at An’s doorstep.

“Thanks for walking me home, Mizuki! Who knows what scary monsters could’ve attacked me if I went out all alone!” An joked under the lanterns of the Shiraishi abode.

“I’m glad I could be of assistance.” Mizuki returned as they dramatically bowed like a chivalrous knight. “But seriously, if you ever need any form of assistance, I'll be right here to help! That’s what friends are for, promise!”

An smiled and returned a shout of agreement before disappearing behind the door. Mizuki would be walking the rest of the way to Ena’s house alone.

Or so they thought.

On their journey closer to the center of the district, they spotted a disheveled looking figure leaning up against a tree. Sad sniffles and sobs could be heard from its direction. A sad and grim sight to behold.

Mizuki wasn’t one to leave somebody so desperately in need of assistance to rot. As they approached the figure, the sobs got louder (duh) and more pitiful sounding.

“H-hello? Are you alright?” Mizuki tried to make their voice as faint and peaceful as possible. The sobbing started to lessen a bit.

Mizuki held their lantern further in front of them in order to get a clear view of this mystery crier. As the light approached the figure’s face, they buried themself in their arms. Mizuki could hear the crying pick back up again, although muffled into the figure’s sleeves. The only feature Mizuki could make out was the odd purple hue of their hair, and a strange hint of… cyan?

There was no way. It couldn’t be…

“Rui?”

There was a long uncomfortable silence, quelled only by the muffled sobs of the purple-haired, which seemed to lessen again.

“Please leave.” The figure responded in between choked sobs. “I don’t want anybody to see me right now… especially you, Mizuki. ”

________________________

The way their name rolled off his tongue felt like he was choking on air. He never hated Mizuki, and he still doesn’t, yet saying their name reminds him of what he did. He abandoned them during the worst part of their life. He left them alone because of his selfishness. 

He sobs harder, burying his head deeper into his arms in a futile attempt to further muffle the sound.

He feels a hand grasp around his wrist.

“You don’t need to tell me everything that’s happened to you, or anything that’s bothering you right now, but just know you can tell me anything and everything when you’re ready. You don’t even have to tell me anything ever, but I just want you to know that I care about you, since we are friends after all, aren’t we?”

The words hit Rui directly in the heart. Any damage done to him by that woman is long gone, after only a small bit of reassuring. The power of Mizuki, just as he remembers it.

After a while of sitting under the stars, Rui’s sobs turn into small sniffles, which soon evaporate into nothing more than a leftover feeling.

“I’ll send Enanan a letter to tell her that an emergency came up. You’re my number one priority right now, got it?” Mizuki lifted the pair to their feet. “For now, we’re gonna get you cleaned up.”

Mizuki stops for a moment to ponder. Their finger under their chin showing as much. After a minute, they seemed to have gotten an idea. “I know the perfect place to get you cleaned up and everything! … Do you happen to have 2000 yen on you by any chance?”

“Wow, Mizuki. You find me crying here after a year of not speaking, and the first thing you do after comforting me is ask me for a large sum of money? Shame.” Rui teased. He knew that wasn’t the reason they asked for his wallet total. Mizuki wasn’t like that. “...And to answer your question, yes. I’m told to always carry around money for situations like these.”

Mizuki giggled. “You’re the same as always, y’know? It’s good to see you aren’t completely torn to shreds!” They give Rui a playful punch on the shoulder. “Let’s go! I have a feeling you might like the place we’re going…”

Rui can only wonder what Mizuki’s about to get him into.

~*

The pair ran a short distance to the exact center of the district. Despite the short trip, the marks around Rui’s wrist where Mizuki was dragging him were bright red.

“Owwww… you didn’t have to hold onto my arm that tight! It’s not like I was gonna run away.” Rui complained.

“Who knows what you’ll do next? You’re Rui “Unpredictable” Kamishiro!”

It’s safe to say Rui was NOT fond of the title.

After a short walk, the two arrived in front of an elaborate shrine decorated with countless lanterns, and surrounded by a zen garden so serene it could put a child on sugar straight to sleep. Whoever maintained this place did a very good job. 

The most striking part of the whole place however, was the iron plate door that led into a very traditionally built house. Looking at it made Rui feel like he was about to walk into some sort of death trap. 

As the duo approached the guard outside said metal door, Rui handed Mizuki the 2000¥. (Mizuki argued that Rui “wasn’t reliable with money” and Rui couldn’t quite disagree)

Mizuki aggressively knocked on the metal door, as if they were performing a police raid. Rui was 100% sure whoever was in there was scared absolutely shitless.

“Room service!” Mizuki called jokingly, before creaking the door open and rushing down the steps. Rui followed suit behind them.

He expected the steps to be just as extravagant and decorative as the area outside of them, but these were boring and plain. Did the design not carry further into the shrine?

The pair made it to the bottom of the concrete staircase when they were met with a strange entryway. It was full of talismans. Warding spells, Rui would guess, but upon closer inspection, they were targeted towards one specific person. With everything Rui had seen, it was easy to tell that whoever was in here, was intended to be kept here without a fuss.

‘ What a cruel place’ He thought to himself.

The whole atmosphere changed as he walked through the open doorway. Red flooded his vision. Elaborate decorations on the red… padded walls. A lounge positioned against the back wall, and a small bed with silky curtains placed in the far corner. Various small items and decorations were littered across the floor, but what stood out the most was him.

A boy who looked around his age was lying on the floor. His eyes looked weary from sleep, yet startled from the commotion Mizuki made. (Rui started feeling a bit bad for him over that)

His hair was splayed out around him, silky sunset strands draped over the small cushion he used as a pillow, leading onto the hardwood floor like a carpet. A portion of his hair was partially braided, a single hand remained over the tail end of the braid’s progress.

His slightly opened eyes reminded Rui of a sunset as well, similar to his hair. 

The boy was wearing a cropped sleeveless top, exposing his midriff, and slightly baggy pants that matched the color of the top.

Rui couldn’t help but be enamored with the boy. Just with a single glance. 

It was safe to say that this boy was absolutely stunning, but something felt off. This boy looked sad. Why wouldn’t he be? Whoever runs this place seems to have no intention of letting him leave.

“Why?” Rui wondered aloud. He turned to Mizuki.

“Are you actually slow?” Mizuki seemed to have read his thoughts. “Do you not see why they want to keep him here?”

“...hmmm?” the boy hummed sleepily, confused at the sudden commotion.

Mizuki pointed to him. “Take a closer look.”

That’s when Rui noticed something he hadn’t before. This boy had traits of a dragon. This boy was a deity, a dragon deity.

Rui understood now.

Chapter Text

There’s nothing as distant as the horizon. 

No school of fish can glide past it like a border. No flock of geese can use it as a landmark for their annual migration. The horizon is lonely until the sun meets it. Only twice a day can the horizon feel the warmth of the sun. The warmth of a familiar friend.

Akito dashes as fast as his capable legs can go. As for his destination, he’s unsure. Only the horizon knows. 

The sun peeks its head out from the ever-so-distant space between land and sky. It laughs. What a foolish being, to charge so determinedly towards the horizon, knowing the lonely place is one that cannot be reached no matter how quick you are on your feet, or how high you soar with fragile wings.

Ever-extensive.

Akito can’t run much longer. He needs to rest, just as any other person would. Being a deity was akin to working in the business of religion. No gifts of otherworldly strength were bestowed upon the deities, nor the ability to ignore hunger and drowsiness. 

The music deity pants heavily as he wipes the accumulating sweat off of his forehead, unknowing of his disheveled looks. The feather on his head sticks up like a sign in the ground. His face is dusted with debris from his numerous tumbles.

‘This is no time to give up’ is what he’s been telling himself every time he feels the need to rest. He can’t leave his friend. After so many years of meeting up together, composing music together, performing said music in shady locations to avoid familiar faces; just one night of being stood up left Akito yearning for the exhilarating feeling that comes with street music, and Toya. 

Which brings Akito back to the main worry. Toya has never once missed a meeting time. Hell, he’s occasionally shown up an hour in advance!

 Toya had the same affinity for the streets as Akito. Ever since the deity first escaped his quarters and found a split-haired boy sitting alone in the streets, he felt compelled to get to know him, and become friends. Or even something more.

~*

10 years earlier…

Akito was bored.

His days consisted of:

• answering to the wishes of conceited “wannabes” (An’s words)
• taking care of his feathers
• tossing a ball against the wall, because he didn’t have a friend to toss it back.

Akito was lonely.

His days consisted of:

• assessing his own self-worth
• crying in the corner
• internalizing the harsh lectures of his captor (which occurred rather often) 

But that all changed when he found the crack in his foundation.

He first realized it during a conversation with a man, of whom he could assume was in his mid-20’s.

“Ugh, what a dump!” The man complained as he descended the tall staircase leading to Akito’s bland room. “Better make this worth my time, ya’ damned ‘ deity’ freak.” 

Akito had known this man for only a few seconds, and he was already seething with rage. He composes himself enough to start the exchange “What are you here for.” …but perhaps not to hide his frustration. The words had more of an aggravated edge than he intended to apply.

‘Oh well.’ The deity thinks to himself. ‘It’s not like the air in here was great to begin with’

“I don’t like this air of superiority you’re putting on, ya little brat!” The man exclaimed, as if reading Akito’s thoughts and threading his words together as if to infuriate the ginger even further. Before Akito could muster up a response, the man leaned in closer with a scarily intimidating expression. “Listen here, brat. I’m the one superior here. Not you. Your only job is to cater to the townsfolk and be obedient.” Akito opens his mouth to respond, but he can’t find any words. 

The man continues “...And if you think otherwise, try and escape your responsibility and see how far you get on your own.”

…That sounded like a challenge.

—

After completing the exchange, Akito watches the shadow of the man’s back ascend back up the stairs the way he came.

‘ ‘try and escape your responsibility and see how far you get on your own.’ ’

That sounds fun.

“...I accept your challenge” The deity mutters to himself as the heavy door slams shut. 

Despite just having received a harsh lecture, from a total stranger no less, Akito was ecstatic. He didn’t have to obey the strict rules, protocols, and measures that his captor burdened him with any longer. He could finally escape his cage.

~*

Akito didn’t anticipate being thrown back into a new one within the next few days, but this one felt more comforting.

It was time for his first ever escape mission. Akito’s childhood friend, An, frequently visits him, so it wasn’t all that difficult to get an accomplice. 

The deity really is quite grateful to have An. Without her, he probably would've lost himself a long time ago, and here she is helping him yet again. Akito would never admit this directly to An’s face in a million years out of fear of relentless teasing (lighthearted from An, of course).

As Akito heard the duffel bag unzipping, he felt fresh air for the first time in years. He left out of the cage and onto An’s extended finger (embarrassing) and he took the biggest, deepest breath of his whole life.

And holy hell, he felt amazing .

A teasing voice breaks him out of his bliss. “Somebody looks happy~”

“Well, wouldn’t you be too?” An seems briefly taken aback by his tone’s softness and lack of bite. She can’t help her face from morphing into a small smile.

An also can’t hold back the thought that she hasn’t seen Akito this happy in a very long time.

—

“This is where we’ll meet up for the trip back. Make sure not to be super noisy, and also keep your hat on! We can’t have the public aware that a god’s on the loose!” An scolds. Akito can sense the joking manner hidden behind her words, but still can’t hold back from comparing her to a nagging mother.

“Yeah, sure, now I'll be off.” Akito waves to An behind him as he begins walking in the direction of the streets before he pauses. “...and tell Kohane I say hello.” 

An’s smile creeps even wider. “I’ll be sure to!”

And with that, he was free.

He wanders down a block of streets. The buildings are tightly packed together enough to leave room for walkers, while also providing a comfortable sense of enclosure.

As Akito turns a corner, he’s instantly hit with bright posters, neon signs, and the distant sound of music. But this music sounds different than what he’s used to. It has more soul than a solo acoustic guitar, or a traditional piano. It resonates with Akito on a deeper level than he’d ever think to connect with himself. 

“So this is street music?” He says aloud to himself.

He wanders around, glancing at every different flier, and overhead sign. He’s counted 3 live houses, and 12 different open-house cafes just from walking down two streets! This place is heaven on Earth. The age range of people performing and walking around is as young as 7, all the way to people in their mid-50’s! 

An arm slung over his shoulder interrupts him from his thoughts.

“Hey, look everybody! We got a newbie ‘round here!” A voice calls from the man slung over him. Akito freezes under the studious glares from the passersby. He’s never had so many people inspect him at once!

The tense atmosphere dissipates as quickly as it came when the people around him break into smiles. (He supposes the baggy clothing he wore to disguise his feathers do help him blend in here) 

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a new face here! Two in a night is just crazy! Welcome to the vivids… uhh… what should we call you?”

At least Akito gained a name for his location. “Just call me Akito” The ginger responds with a smile. 

The street man extends his right arm. Despite it being his first interaction, the bird’s already breaking into a cold sweat. There's a crowd watching him expectantly, but he doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do!

Out of reflex, Akito brings up his hands and claps them together into a prayer-like fashion, then bows similar to a show of respect. 

The crowd starts snickering playfully, and the street man holds back a laugh. “You really aren’t from around here are you? Well, that’s no matter! Whaddaya’ say ‘bout joining the other newbie in our course on street culture?”

Akito can’t believe his ears. Is this man a god?

“I accept your offer!” Akito bows again, erupting more lighthearted laughter from the crowd around him.

The man chuckles lightly. “Just call me Ken. I can’t wait to help you become an amazing street artist. I see you have amazing potential.” Ken grabs Akitos hand lightly and guides it towards his (still) outstretched right hand. He links them and moves them in an up and down motion before letting go and returning his hand to his side. “That’s called a handshake. You do it when you meet someone new, or as a greeting between close friends.”

Akito stands amazed. So amazed he forgets to return his hand to his side. 

‘ All of these people are so… nice!’

His thoughts are interrupted by Ken reaching his hand up to push Akito’s arm back down. “...I think we’ll need to work on that” He chuckles lightly. “Follow me. I’ll introduce you to the other new face from earlier tonight.”

And off Akito went, to the Weekend Cafe for the very first time at 7 years old.

—

Ken pushed open the door to the cafe. Akito jumped at the noise of a bell. 

“Relax kiddo, there’s a bell above the door at pretty much any joint in vivid. It lets the staff know somebody’s coming in.” Ken reassures. Akito feels himself relax at his words, and even more when he spots the bell in all its glory. “I own this place, so make yourself at home while I get Toya.”

Ken retreats to a room behind the counter.

Akito sinks into a soft lounge chair close to the entrance. Before long, he sees Ken emerge from the back with a split-haired boy. He looks around Akito’s age, a possible friend?

Akito stands up from his chair to greet the boy. The ginger shakily holds out his right hand before he realizes it’s his non-dominant one! He quickly switches while the other boy holds out his right, causing him to switch, then Akito to switch again. 

‘ This is embarrassing!’

The boy looks just as bewildered as Akito, in fact, he seemed to be panicking since even before the bird held out his hand! Ken decides he doesn’t want to watch this anymore, and guides both of their right hands into each other.

The minute Akito makes contact with the boy’s skin he feels an energizing jolt, but not in a bad way. It feels like he’s been doused in ice water after trekking a desert. It’s refreshing and even comforting in a way. Did the other boy feel that too?

They move their hands up and down the same way Ken had taught them to before.

The other boy speaks first. 

“My name is Toya. Aoyagi Toya. It’s very nice to make your acquaintance.” He says with a small yet bashful smile. 

“I’m Akito Shinonome. I hope we can become great friends!” And with their introductions, they return their hands back to their sides.

If only Akito knew then how much he would treasure this new friend for the rest of his life.

________________________

Tsukasa seems to come to his senses.

“m-MIZUKI!?! WHY ARE YOU HERE SO EARLY? AND WHO’S THIS?!” Tsukasa shouts as loud and threateningly as he can, despite having just been startled out of bed (which isn’t much of either, and he probably couldn’t intimidate a kitten even if he were wide awake).

 The dragon jolts into a criss-cross position, nearly hitting himself with his tail and causing the end of his unfinished braid to come even more loose. He grabs the nearest hair tie off the floor and begins to put his hair up in his signature dignified ponytail.

“Me and Rui came here earlier to give you a little company! I guess that was a good call considering you fell asleep braiding again~”

Tsukasa looks over at Rui. The purple-haired doesn’t look very well kept, despite his expensive looking robes and jewelry. “So you’re Rui, hm? It’s nice to meet somebody new! Now, ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF! I AM TSUKA-mmph!” Mizuki clasps their hands over Tsukasa’s mouth before he can give his (very amazing and awe-inspiring) introduction.

“For short, his name is Tsukasa Tenma, and he wants to become a world star someday.” Mizuki jumps to introduce him before he can introduce himself. How rude! But he did notice that Rui’s eyes were rather red. Maybe he’s been crying? Best not to be too loud then, so good call Mizuki! “...though, that doesn’t seem very possible with his current conditions.” Aaaand he takes it back. Rui chuckles at their banter.

Tsukasa pouts and crosses his arms.“HEY! I can become a star if I want to one day! They can’t keep me here forever, right?”

Dead silence.

“Ha… haha… fine. I will never be a star, but there’s no hurt in dreaming!” Admitting this to himself hurts more than he lets on to the others, but it does often end discussion of his imprisonment. “So, do you want to play cards? Connect 4? Tic-tac-toe?” He tries to ease the mood.

The other two don’t seem to budge. Does Tsukasa’s limited future really get the others that down? Oh god now he’s tearing up. This is a bad look, he needs an excuse!

Tsukasa could start fake-coughing violently, a skill he’s learned from hiding his feelings for so long. Coughing too much does make your eyes water, but maybe not to the point of streaming tears. And Tsukasa knows that Mizuki wouldn’t take any excuses for that.

So, it’s time to pass the baton! “Uhm… Rui! Is there anything you wanna say? You’ve been a bit quiet, and, um… I'd like to hear from you!” 

Rui opens his mouth to say something but hesitates to speak. Instead, a few tears trail out of his eyes. Ohno ohno ohno bad move Tsukasa! Don’t pass the mic to somebody who’s down in the dumps! Damnit, now Mizuki’s glaring at him!

“I-I don’t really know what to say.” Rui chokes out, grabbing the attention of the other two. “My situation is pretty pathetic compared to yours, Tenma-kun. I would feel selfish dumping it on you.”

Now Tsukasa’s panicking. He stands up and jogs over to where Rui’s kneeling on the floor.

“You don’t need to worry about me! No matter what problem you’re dealing with, it’s my responsibility to listen and help you! I promise you can tell me anything you’re comfortable with.” The blonde tries his best to give some comforting words, and based on the way Rui’s tears stop running, he was successful! 

That’s a huge step forward! The dragon hates seeing people with such beautiful souls stained with tears. He can tell Rui is a good and considerate person from years of experience with the masses. 

“I- thank you, but I’m afraid I still cannot tell you… because I don't exactly know what’s wrong in the first place. Maybe it stems from wanting people to like me more…I feel like I'm a stain on the Kamishiro name.”

…The purple-haired freak. Tsukasa fit all the pieces together in his head. Now the blond wants to help Rui more than ever.

“Rui, would you mind if I hugged you?”

“!” 

Tsukasa could see the surprise in Rui’s face. Did he go too far? Was Rui uncomfortable?!

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable! I shouldn’t hav-” “No, no, it’s alright. Just caught me off guard is all.”

Without wasting a second, Tsukasa sat next to Rui and threw his arms around the taller’s torso. Rui was cold but comfortable, a perfect balance against Tsukasa’s natural high body heat. The blond couldn’t help but bury his head into the crook of Rui’s neck.

Rui was glad Tsukasa couldn’t see his face in this position; flushed a deep red that resembled the padded walls of the room.

“I promise I’ll save you, Rui. And you don’t have to call me Tenma-kun. Just Tsukasa is perfectly acceptable. We’re friends from now on, got it?”

Rui’s heart stung at the word ‘friends’, but he supposes he shouldn’t get too greedy, especially now. “Of course Tsukasa-kun, and I’ll save you too, you can count on that.” Tsukasa made a confused noise, but decided not to question his words further.

They stay in that position on the floor, basking in each other's presence.

‘I’ve finally met somebody I can help’ Is a thought present in both of their minds.

Mizuki watches them with a shit-eating grin.

‘It seems they’ve hit it off better I ever could’ve hoped’