Lovely, isn't it?

You love your boyfriend to death.

Stoic, reserved, smart, handsome as hell, and most admirably a soft when it comes to you. You adore the difference (although not much) between how he is to others, always professional and level headed, composure as strong as his own strength- versus how he is with you.

Perhaps you're over exaggerating, it's not like he does a full 180° flip, in fact the change is so subtle. But you really can't help but notice the small details. How he'd immediately look at you when he laughs, how he always tries his best to make sure you're comfortable, how he'd always put your needs above his own, how his eyes would be softer than usual as his gaze linger on you, how he looks away when you tease him and desperately trying to keep his composure that's usually there, how he fails to hide how much you mean to him- even through his stoic facade. He's strong, that much is true. But he's so weak for you.

You knew he was the quiet type, the type to act more than use words. So to say that you were shocked when he confessed to you was an understatement.

"Dan Heng, are you there?" The mechanical door of the express opened, letting you access inside the room that he never locks. You could see him in front of the data bank, to do what you assume is updating its information. He looked up from the screen and shifted his to you, a small smile made its way onto his features as you walked over and hugged him from behind, your arms wrapped around his waist.

"Is there something you need, my love?" He lets you do so without complaint, shifting his body so it'd be more comfortable for you. How sweet, you really can't help but want to tease him and gobble him up.

"Yeah~ I need you so bad, I want your attention." You say, slightly muffled by his neck when you snuggle into him. He tensed, looking away as the skin beneath you getting warmer by the second as a beautiful flush of pinkish red adorned his skin. "Just kidding~ I don't need anything, I just missed you." You say before he could respond to your previous tease, already satisfied from his reaction and knowing that your words made him flustered.

Ah, you shouldn't do that.

Dan heng knows he's not one for words, always been so careful around you, keeping his distance in fear he might do something he'd regret. He'd never want to upset you, fearing his awkwardness at expressing himself or his shy reserved nature might ruin things, he wants whatever makes you happiest. That's why he'd always let you do what you want, never laying a hand on you, never initiating touch or affections and instead, opted for receiving things at your pace.

He'd let himself be hugged by you, let you drag him around, let you pin him down on the bed to teasingly kiss his neck, making him a flustered mess as his heart tries to destroy his own ribcage while you retreat and grin mischievously saying that you're just teasing.

Neither of you would initiate sex all the way, though. It's mostly just you teasing him, 'seducing him' only to pull away when he's out of breath to say just kidding.

And it's been driving him insane. He wants you, really. It's not that he despises the skin ship, quite the opposite. He adores being touched by you, it's just that he's afraid you'll be weirded out.

But there are times when you get too much. He wants you, he desires you so. But he's afraid to hurt you, he's afraid that you'll run away. He's afraid that he'll lose control of himself, the form he's tried so hard to keep from cracking and reverting to its original- pointed ears would replace his round ones and long teal horns would emerge from his head, his thoughts would be in shambles and he might not be able to resist his instincts.

As much as Vidyaharas don't rely on reproduction to survive by having its own reborn ability, it doesn't change the fact that he is a dragon. An animal, primal, dangerous.

He's afraid to let you go. He doesn't want to. He wants to be with you, claim you as his. But he can't, he has to resist.

And when you tease him like that, your lingering touches and the breath on his neck, your gaze that looked like you wanted to devour him, getting him all flustered as your feather light touches his chest and traced lower to his stomach. It scares him. It scares him that he wants you so much it hurts.

When you finally leave, tracing kisses along his neck, jawline, the edges of his lips, before you kiss him so lovingly on his lips- chaste, yet filled with desire enough to make him breathless- his knees would give out, leaning back to a wall and slid down to the floor as the mechanical door closed, signaling your full departure and leaving him alone all hot and bothered, trying to calm his erratic breathing as thoughts of you consume him.

He doesn't have the strength to lift himself up nor to lock the door. All he could think about is how much he desires you. "I'm sorry.." He says to no one in particular as a whimper makes its way out of his lips, his hands snaking down before stopping right at his belt, his hands hesitating to move further. He shouldn't be doing this, he treasures you too much to defile you with his thoughts like so.

"Ah.. no, I shouldn't.. I'm sorry, my love. Just what am I even doing?" Dan Heng mumbles into his hands that are now covering his beet red face, his eyes and thoughts spiralling. He shouldn't do such a thing to you, he loves you too much. He wants to protect you, to love you, not to make you the subject of his dirty fantasies- it's immoral, it's disgusting, it's horrible.

Ah, it's dangerous.

"My love, are you awake?" You could hear the soft knock on your room's mechanical door, only opening after getting permission from you. Dan Heng walked in holding a tray of your favorite tea blend and puts it on your table before turning towards you.

"Hm? Oh, Dan Heng! I've just finished writing some letters for our friends in belobog and a list of what might need maintenance for the station since we're stopping by." You hum, looking at your so-called masterpiece with pride. "What are you doing up so late?"

"it's nothing, I noticed your lights are still on so I thought I could give you some tea." He says, letting you drag him towards the bed for you to snuggle into his neck, body going stiff and rigid awkwardly at your touch. How adorable.

"Hm, is that so?" You say, letting him awkwardly lay there, unmoving, as his heartbeat fails to calm down. You grin, hands teasingly trail from his nack to his chest, to his stomach before you trail it up along his spine, watching as the blood creeps up his face and as his heart beats even faster than before.

He sighed, closing his eyes with stuttered breath as if to try and distract himself from whatever you're doing to his body, to him. He needs to control himself, for your sake.

"My love... I suppose it's getting late. Perhaps I should go, so you can go to sleep. I don't want to keep you up, after all—" He made an attempt to move, to distance himself from you, but that plan failed immediately as you pulled him back before he could fully get up, caging him within your arms.

"No, stay." You simply say and close your eyes, snuggling into his neck without waiting for any responses and you wrapped your arms tighter around his body. "Stay the night. I want you."

How could you just say that and expect him to be calm? You're so cruel. He's sure you could hear the rapid beating of his heart right now.

And so, Dan Heng stayed quiet, which you noticed. He didn't answer you. Instead, he opted to stay still, not moving even when your arms loosen their hold on him. "Not even a yes? If you wanted to go then—"

"No-" He cuts you off, answering so fast before he could even register what came out of his mouth and looked away when he realized it, mumbling something incoherent to defend himself.

"Well then," You say with a chuckle, the tea completely forgotten by the both of you as you lay there, slowly drifting to sleep while snuggling close with him under the covers. You really scored a jackpot.

But perhaps his feelings are different than yours.

Don't get him wrong- it's not that he doesn't feel lucky. No, he feels extremely blessed to be the object of your desires, to receive your affections. It's just that he's unsure what to do with his own feelings.

The sound of your shallow heart beat mixed with his own erratic beating fills his ears. How long has it been? How long has he been awake? He couldn't tell, all he knows is the fact that he couldn't get any wink of sleep- not with how hard his body is overworking to regulate itself.

You however, are fast asleep. Mouth slightly open, eyes closed as your hair slightly falls onto your face with the slightest movements you make. You're beautiful even when you're supposed to be a mess, yet the soft light shining from the nightlight makes you anything but. It doesn't help when his eyes fall onto your form so defenseless like that, he couldn't help but feel funny.

"You don't know what you do to me.. The things I want to do to you, and you to do to me.." The guard sighs, closing his eyes as his forehead meets yours, the palm of his hand cupping your cheek slowly and softly as to not wake you. "I love you so so much, I wonder if I could ever express it properly."

You looked so vulnerable, so loveable, so desirable. Do you love him like he loves you? Do you want him like he does you? Would you accept him fully even after you find out of his secrets? Would you still desire him like he desires you? He wonders if you felt the same as he did. He wonders if you'd dream of him, think of him like he does you?

Ah, Dan Heng really wonders if his feelings are too much for you. But he can't help it.

And perhaps if he weren't so focused, so lost in his thoughts, he might be able to notice the slight twitch of your mouth in an attempt to hold back the forming curve of a smile.

A while had passed since then, and safe to say, the incident with the XianZhou Luofu left you speechless. You struggled to phantom that your partner, who was stabbed to save you and the other trailblazers, is a dragon- and the high elder no less! But when you finally had the time to sort out your thoughts you couldn't help but feel giddy, excited at the new side of your boyfriend. You were extremely interested, to say the least.

But the same might not be true for the other. Dan Heng may or may not have had been trying to keep his distance from you but to no avail, with your knowing grin and flirtatious teasing being more persistent than usual, yet also more.. sadistic with your teasing in a sense.

When you see him, it's as if the devil inside your mind is unleashed.

Alone in the train while the others are out doing something? Oh no, it's suddenly too hot so you had to open up a few buttons. But it's still too hot, then you guess you gotta take your shirt off in a slow and deliberate manner.

Meeting in the kitchen? Oh no, suddenly you couldn't reach that box over there even though it was obvious you could. If he points it out? Oh noo, your poor body hurts so badly, you need his help because you can't move.

Passing through each other in the halls? Oh no, you're suddenly sleepy and yawning only to trip and fall down so he'd catch you? You sprained your ankle again? Well then, he'd have to carry you.

While he, on the other hand, had been trying so hard to control himself. Playing by your rules, gulping down his nervousness away, forcing himself to breathe when you only take his breath away.

So how exactly do you expect him to stay calm at a moment like this? When you're pinning him down onto your bed, licking your lips as you eye him up?

"W-What are you..?" Dan Heng stuttered out with hitched breaths as you only chuckled in response, your knees slotted between his legs.

"How could someone as smart and as observant as you be so dense? You think I won't notice you avoiding me? I'm hurt," You breath ghosted his neck, tracing your finger on his muscular chest while your other hand pins his arms above his head. "Why did you hide yourself from me? I mean, of course, you don't have to tell me if you didn't want to. But I wonder if I'm not trustworthy enough? Is there something about me that makes you feel bad?"

"it's not that. I trust you, my love. There's nothing about you that does such things. I love you, i really do.." The man beneath you tried to reassure you, hesitating for a moment to look up at you with a red face and then looking away. He doesn't want you to spiral because of him, he doesn't want you to worry about him just because of his fears. "I just didn't want to scare you.."

"Scare me? Baby, you unlocked something in me. If we're honest, you're hot. I love you, I want to devour you. But after seeing that, I'd be lying to say that I'm not interested.." Ah, there it is again, your voice dropping slightly, voice getting a bit more breathy as your hand slides down to his stomach. "Why would you think you'd scare me?"

"Because I'm not human.. I have parts that are not.." When you do things like this his brain would just short circuit, leaving him to struggle how to put his thoughts into words.

He shouldn't have said that, really. He could already feel the regret coming at him as your eyes widened knowingly, the chaotic gleam made its way through your eyes as you stared at him, eyes roaming non discreetly as if checking him out. "Pray tell, my lovely dashing handsome guard, which parts would that entail?"

"Not ones that would be appropriate to say.."

"Then we don't have to go to the inappropriate part, if you don't want to." You reassure the shy blushing bundle of nerves under you, removing your knees from where it was. "I just want you to be comfortable, is all. I won't do anything that you don't like."

Dan Heng felt as if a cupid's arrow had struck him in the heart again, feeling so much more love than what he knows what to do with. "It's not that I dislike your touch.. nothing that you have done has made me upset, in all honesty perhaps I wanted more.. but, I'm afraid of disgusting you, or perhaps weirding you out."

"Love, there's nothing within this form of yours nor the other one that disgusts me, in fact, I think It unlocked something." You lean down, to whisper with your voice just slightly lower, "And don't think that I don't know, my love. What was it, something about 'the things you wanted to do to me'? I'd happily indulge~"

He jumped a little, obviously startled. "Wait— you were.. awake?"

Instead of answering his question, you pulled away to lay on the bed, letting him freely move and gesturing him to 'go on'. He blinked a couple of times to process the events that had happened and got up awkwardly to look at you before averting his eyes at that knowing seductive grin.

With a sigh, he got up from the bed and closed his eyes. Thick mist suddenly appeared, engulfing his form paired with small globs of water that encircled him as a small teal glowed from inside the mist, before it disappeared to reveal the very form that your boyfriend had been insecure about. Teal horns showed itself from his forehead, a transparent teal tail growing out from his lower back, longer elf like ears, and his outfit became a much more sexy version of his regular guard outfit. "Is.. is this better?"

"Wow, I thought I was imagining things but you really do have a chest window. So hot~" You couldn't help but gush at him, admiring your boyfriend like he's the only man that exists and clasped both of his hands only to pull him close, kissing him passionately. "Don't you ever feel like you disgust me, okay? I love you.. May I?"

He nods, shuddered breath leaving his lips as you traced your hands down his back, flinching when you reached the base of his tail. You immediately pulled your hand away, in fear that you touched something you shouldn't have. But he stopped you before you could, holding your wrist in place with a red face and said, "K-keep going.. it's just sensitive.."

Oh lord, how is he expecting you to control yourself.

You started to continue, admiring his tail, feeling the cool scales of the slightly transparent teal appendage, touching his horns while you watch as his composure slowly shatter, breathing getting more ragged, teasingly lick his long pink ears and hear him struggle to hold back his moans.

"May I.. touch you further?" You asked, only when you got a nod of consent only do you go further, pushing him back onto the bed, your hands going lower to his pants only to notice the lack of tightness that you assumed would be there. "Tell me if it's too much, okay? This is the first time we've gotten this far, right?"

"T-that's- ah, because you always say it's a joke so I.. I thought you might not want me. I was.. afraid, because my body is different from what you might think and you pulled away whenever we.. so I thought you didn't want to.." Dan Heng tried to cover his face with the pillow, only for you to cup his cheek to make him look at you. Your hands hesitated for a moment to pull down his pants before you finally did after getting another nod of approval from him, looking at him for reassurance that you're allowed to continue every few moments.

He was right, it wasn't what you expected, but it doesn't make you disgusted or love him less. Underneath you is Dan Heng, eyes close in what you assume would be embarrassment, and as your eyes trail down, you're greeted with scales that faded in from his lower stomach to his crotch- a scaled slit, wet and twitchy. You're intrigued to say the least.

"Baby, I was waiting for you, you know? I know I come off strong, so I pull away in fear that you're uncomfortable." You kiss him slowly, fingers moving to tease his slit with slow deliberate movements to test the waters, noting every hitch of his breath, every twitch of his ear, every forced down moan. "Turned out we were both afraid to make each other uncomfortable, huh? ...Can I put my finger in? I'll go slow."

"P-please- nngh- please do..."

First, you tried to insert your middle finger. He's already wet and quite loose, your finger entered without much resistance to it. At this revelation, you can't help but feel giddy about yourself, he's so excited about doing this with you. "So good for me, love. Can you take another one?"

You stopped for a moment, letting him catch his breath. He panted, body flushed and out of breath, yet he anxiously nodded anyway, "Y-yeah.. ahngh- but, ah- I'm getting excited so.. you might feel mngh.. something weird inside.."

"Something weird? What do you mean?" Dan Heng wouldn't answer your worried questions, instead, he opened his legs wider with a gulp.

So cute. You soon inserted another finger, this time picking up your pace slightly and stretched your fingers in a scissoring motion. Your lover could only moan in pleasure, trying his best to hide his face- fingers gripping the sheets in an attempt to ground himself as you kiss down his neck while your fingers work their magic.

His breath and yours hitched when you felt something poking your fingers from the inside, trying to go out- pushing you out in the process.

"What?" Confused, you pulled your fingers out, receiving a low whine from your lover. From his slit, now wetter and looser than before, slowly rose something.. Eyes widening on what seemed like hemipenes are standing to attention once they're both fully out. He's big, leaking pre like there's no tomorrow, and painfully hard.

"So pretty." You say, noticing he was starting to get insecure at your stunned silence. Leaning in to kiss his temple as your hand started to stroke one of his hemipenes while the other teased his nipple through the chest window. You simply cannot wait to ruin him senseless. "Such a good boy for me, aren't you? Thank you for showing me yourself, my love. I love you so much."

"I- ahhn.. love you- hhngh- too. More than- ngh- you would- ah- know.." Even though his eyes are practically rolling back, he still managed himself to respond to you through his moans. He could feel himself getting close, heat coiling within his stomach as he frantically tried to push you away, shaking his head with teary eyes. "N-No, you haven't- I'm cu— I'm cumming wa-"

"it's okay, love. Cum for me. Be a good boy and cum for me, yeah?" You couldn't control yourself enough to wait this time though, hand stroking him faster while the other flicked and pinched his nipples. All your lover could do is just nod his head, back arching as he came with your command and lost control of his strength, tearing the bed sheet.

Your strokes slowed down to help him ride out his high and let him catch his breath, his grip on the sheets going slack.

"Good job, you did great. So beautiful for me." Humming in satisfaction at the result of your work, you feel utterly satisfied by how relaxed he looked right now. "Are you okay, love? Do you want some water?"

"You.. you didn't get to.." The fog finally cleared up from Dan Heng's mind, registering what the two of you just did with a flushed face. "The sheet— I'm so sorry-"

You quickly shut him up with a kiss and feel his body going slightly relax, allowing you to move your position so you could spoon him. When you pull away from the kiss, you're already trapping him within your arms, not letting him leave. "I'm fine, lovely. That could be for another day. Don't want you to be overwhelmed. Right now, I just want to enjoy this moment. Anything I can do for you? Towel?"

"No.. this is enough." A content sound left the lips of your lover as he buried himself into the crook of your neck, enjoying the feeling of your arms wrapping around his waist. He doesn't want you to leave yet, not when he finally got to be touched like this by you after aeons knows how long he'd been dreaming of this.

It was supposed to be a simple lunch together in a simple boring day, really. Maybe bonding over some music together and get closer to her in general.

But yikes, how did a simple boring day become such a hectic one.

"Um... What happened to your arm?" Luna, the girl you met in the shop the other day asks you with worry clearly in her voice as she red eyes the doodle filled cast on your arm.

"I.. uh, tripped and fell."

"..Right."

"Um, anyways! It's good to see you again, Luna. I've been waiting for this moment for a while. What did you get? I got the ramen." You say, changing the subject so it wouldn't be awkward for the both of you.

"Me too! I heard it's really good." The girl beams out. "And I really like your outfit, by the way. Where did you get it?"

The two of you hit it off from there, talking about the place Izumi dragged you to and bonding over music together all the while trying her best to assist you and making sure you're comfortable, worrying about you moving too much. Thanks to that, time went by quite fast as you and Luna enjoyed your chatter. You made a mental note to thank Izumi later, turned out she was right after all.

She's very sweet, and not to mention her eyes are very pretty as well. No wonder the ghouls like her so much.

"It's sad but.. I heard the band is going to disband soon." Luna sighed, putting down her cup of drink next to the finished bowl of ramen. "..It's a shame, their music is really good."

"Disbanded? So soon?" In surprise, you parroted her words to process the information. With her favorite band disbanding, that would mean the last concert would be held and the story would start soon, right?

A part of you is excited, could that mean you can play a part in it too? Yet another part of you fears, doubt clawing it's way into your skin. What if you're not ready? What if it's too much for you to handle?

You're not strong, you're self aware enough to realize that. If you encounter a violent anomaly, you'd surely die. Something about that realization makes you feel small about yourself.

Ping!

Huh? Oh, it's Rui.

Rui

Heyyy sunshine! Guess what?

I can finally go over to your place again! Dunno when yet, but I'll be going around your area. Might as well stop by and have a nice cafe date yk ✨

I'm sure you're dying to see me

Did you miss me? I missed you 😘

You

So soon? I thought I'd get to enjoy a little more alone time in peace LOL

Did you manage to get permission from the academy, didn't you say it's super strict?

Rui

Nah, it's an errand I gotta do for school

But it's around your area and I probably have time to spare 🤟

You

Don't play around lol, just finish your errands first

You'll get punished by Darkwick

Anyways, check this out

You gesture to Luna to bring her hand out with the drink. She was confused but complied anyway, holding out her drink while you hold yours, posing her hand as you took the picture.

"Wow, that turned out super cute. Thanks~" You hum, sending the image to Rui without context just to mess with him before you remembered and went back to the topic. "Oh yeah, if they're disbanding soon, does that mean they're gonna host a last concert?"

The short haired girl nodded sadly, sighing in what you assumed to be nostalgia. "Yes, it'll be hosted in a few months. Are you going?"

It's your chance! You mentally prepared yourself, nodding to her words excitedly. "I'm going if you're going! Let's go together?"

"Sure!" Luna grabbed your hands excitedly, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. So cute.

Saying is always easier than done. You barely have the money to go to that concert so you've been working your ass off for the extra money the past few weeks, taking whatever job you could find day and night. It's been exhausting, really.

If your calculations are correct, you should have enough once you finish this week's job. It should be easy, you're just supposed to deliver some fancy items as a side gig.

"Hmm.. this is it?" You mumbled to yourself, looking around to make sure you've got the right address. But no matter how much you rechecked, nothing ads up. Why would they ask you to send such a huge and expensive item to such a worn down abandoned building? More importantly why is there such a huge run down building in the middle of such a busy city.

You're In front of what seems to be an abandoned warehouse, the gates are already rusty and falling down while the vegetation is dense enough to block your view. Who the hell would order and prepaid an elite item just to bring them here? Are you going to get kidnapped?

You didn't go further than the front gates, as a shiver ran through your body in an instant. Your gut tells you something is wrong and basically screams 'get the hell out!' at you.

You've watched enough horror B movies to understand that this is your cue to step away, and so you did. You turned back to run back to where you came from but- shit, where's the gate?

As if the world around you shifted, you're not where you were anymore. The busy streets around you disappeared, replaced by even thicker vegetation. The gates were gone, and every way out you could find were instead replaced with thick and tall walls of rocks and vines.

You wished you could say it's a prank. Really, it'd be better that way. But can't believe you've gotten so comfortable that you forgot can't believe you forgot the most important part, this world isn't yours.

All of a sudden, a spiked vine shot at you from out of nowhere as you ran, which caused you to dodge and trip on another vine that caught one of your legs. "Shit-" You groaned, trying to get up from the ground, your adrenaline spiking and your thoughts running wild. Is this an anomaly? You don't have a ghoul with you, you're not her. Are you going to die?

"Meow!" The sound snapped you out of your haywire of a thought, notifying you just in time for you to react to the upcoming vines shooting straight at your head, dodging whatever you could and shielding yourself against the rest.

The package took full blows from the vines that you didn't manage to dodge, cracking sounds making you internally cringe at what you'd have to explain to your boss later- This thing is more expensive than your whole life's worth, how are you going to pay that?!

A screech erupted from the vines as the ones that tried to stab at you retreated a little and the one grabbing your leg loosened. Why did it retreat? You don't know, you can't afford the time to think when the thing in front of you wants you beheaded. Now's your chance.

You yanked it off you and tried to run as far and as fast as you could, but running got you nowhere when you're stuck in its domain. No matter where you run to, no matter how much you dodged that thing, it feels like you've been running in circles. It's only a matter of time before you get too exhausted to even run- perhaps it's doing this on purpose. To tire you before killing you.

Vines caught up to you faster than you could avoid, grabbing your leg in a death grip you fear your bones might break.

It's over.

"Whoa, what a mess.. Ouch, there's already a victim." A familiar voice reached your ears as a large blade swung down, cutting the vines that attempted to stab you in one go. The vines retreated with an ear ringing screech, the ones that were cut off soon went limp, enabling you to remove them.

The man in front of you sighed, mumbling something about it getting away. His blonde hair swooshed after each swing before he turned around to help you up, his jaw going slack once he realized it's you. "Heya! Are you alright— What? Sunshine?!"

"Rui?" You looked up at him, realizing that Darkwick probably sent him to deal with the anomaly- notes clicking in your head that the errand in question was this very thing that tried to kill you.

A ghoul.

Shit, if Darkwick sent a ghoul that means this thing is dangerous. You're lucky he showed up before you met your demise, though you wished he would've arrived faster.

"What the hell.." You groan at the sudden pain in your ribs, with the adrenaline now wearing off you could feel the pain from each bruise that you never realized were there. "What is even that thing- What took you so long? Why can't I get out of here?"

"Unfortunately, we're stuck in its domain. It preys on unsuspecting people that enter, sucking their energy out. Most common victims are apparently the policemen investigating missing cases." Rui explained, noticing your disheveled state and the worn out package in your arms with a frown. "As much as I don't want to, the only way out is to kill the host but- why are you here?"

"Why am I here? I'm delivering a package, that's what! Now help me get out—" Before the two of you could continue banter, the ground shook violently as more vines- sharper and thicker than before- started to grow.

"Look out!" Rui immediately swung his scythe at the incoming vines that tried to attack you from behind, effectively cutting them off in one smooth motion. The creature screeched louder and louder with each and every vines Rui managed to dismember, the ground shaking even more violently than before as more vines kept regrowing from the ground.

Ah, you hated this. You really hated his feeling of being useless. The two of you are outnumbered, Rui is trying his best to keep the two of you alive, yet all you could do is just dodge while trying not to become a burden.

Let's be honest here, you are. You're not fast nor strong enough like he is, the vines kept targeting you knowing you couldn't dodge every one of them, while Rui had to be careful with his actions because he doesn't want to hurt you.

You looked down at the package in your hands. You won't be able to pay for it later, you won't be able to explain to your boss later, you won't be able to go to the concert later- but you won't have a 'later' if you die.

Ah, fuck it.

The ground let out a loud cry as vines that tried to shoot at Rui's back while he was occupied were blocked by your attempt to shield him, shooting at the package in your hands instead before getting smacked hard with it by you.

The packaging ripped open completely- revealing a huge slab of... Mineral. Pure diamond, a huge expensive slab of it, but the fact that you have to risk your life for a slab of mineral ticked you off for some reason.

"Get, the, fuck, away, from, Rui, you, bitch." You emphasize each word with a smack to each incoming vines, each time giving out a cracking noise from the slab, risking losing your fingers from the incoming attacks and injuring yourself from the sharp shards of broken diamond. Though, your barbaric attempt effectively made the vines retreat again with a cry. It'll come at you again, you're sure. But at least the two of you could breathe.

"Woah.. is that.. diamond? Holy shit."

"Yeah." You answered, out of breath. "I'm supposed to deliver this.. to someone whose address is here. I don't know why or who the hell ordered this but this thing is expensive man, how am I supposed to pay for this.." Rui chuckled at the look you have on your face, that dumbfounded pained look on your face as you stared at the diamond- your so called package that's now hosting multiple cracks from you using it as a shield and to attack.

In all his time during Darkwick, he has seen many things. But a civilian smacking the shit out of an anomaly to protect him is completely unheard of. Using a diamond, no less.

"How do we kill that thing?" You ask him, analyzing the limp 'limbs' of the creature. "The vines keep regenerating. Even if we manage to make it retreat it'll just be a moment of breather before it comes back again."

"That's the problem." Rui mumbles, a gloved hand on his chin as he thinks hard. The anomaly is stronger than he thought, maybe it's due to the fact that the anomaly had been sucking out the energy out of other beings, making them its own and resulting in an evolved state. "I read that this thing usually sprouts from one seed. It's probably the core."

"Then we should just find it, right? Do you have any leads on where the core is?" The both of you thought for a while, reaching a dead end after Rui muttered, "that's right, how do we get the core to show up?"

"What if we burn it?" You finally say, snapping your fingers as if it's a good idea. Rui looked at you as if you were insane, immediately scolding you for your stupidity. "Are you insane? We're in a place filled with farmable materials. There are plants everywhere, you'll get burned!"

"Well, got any better ideas? Are we just going to stand here and let it regenerate again then?! If you don't want to burn it-" You pause, searching through the rack of words in your brain for whatever way you could remember, surely you could come up with something, "then.. then you'll have to find a way to kill it! It sucks things right? Where's the mouth? If it's on the core then- I don't know, lure it out, I guess? Royal sacrifice bullshit and hit it while it's distracted?"

At your words, Rui's face brightened up. "Now that you mention it.. it is on the core. The vines would usually just either disarm the victims or immobile them, and bring them to the core for it to suck. You're a genius, sunshine!"

Are you serious? It was a joke-

What you thought was a joke seemed to be completely serious as he started to discuss with you about the upcoming plan. You'll lure it out, and once the head reveals itself, he's going to slash it.

"Act natural, okay? This thing is supposedly smart, so try to dodge it so it'll buy it." Rui gave you two thumbs up and a grin at your sigh of defeat.

You weren't sure how much time has passed since then, but the two of you waited for what felt like forever- until the ground finally shook again.

It's time.

You braced yourself, holding out the same slab of mineral at your defense. But the thing is, nothing came at you. Huh, you looked over to your shoulder and shared a confused look with Rui who came out of his hiding spot to approach you- that was until you saw that vines sneak up from behind him, thicker, bigger, sharper.

An ambush?! Shit, it's smart.

"Rui! Behind you!" You tried to warn him, grabbing his arm to pull him back and immediately blocked the incoming attack. He couldn't process what happened- couldn't phantom his shock at the fact that you touched him and at the vines that pierced though the side of the diamond, piercing through your stomach and created a large crack before it shattered completely- large pieces of sharp shards flew in all directions, hitting you deep into parts of your body.

Everything went so fast- yet now it feels as if the world is moving so slow. You could feel it. You could feel everything.

You could feel the metallic taste rushing its way up your mouth, spilling from you only to splatter down on the green luscious grass as the air leave your lungs on the impact. You could feel the sticky feeling of something dripping down from your torso, the sharp sickening smell of ruptured innards, the sound of your bones and tendons snapping.

The creature let out a deep groan this time as the appendage retracts itself from your gushing open wound, no longer the high pitched scream like before as you fell down to the ground, unable to move your body or to even scream. It hurts so much- is this really how you're going to die?

Everything around you seemed to turn into a blur of motion, too light headed to process anything. A blurred green appendage slithered to your form, you assumed to be a vine, and grabbed you by your neck, constricting your airway as you choked and coughed, vision blacking out- before immediately going limp.

"I'm sorry.. this is all I can do. Sunshine, i..." A forced out sound from behind you, though, you couldn't really tell the rest of his words with how much things are thinking inside your ears right now. You tried to open your eyes as the pain somehow lightens itself from you enough for you to breathe just slightly better, and try to focus your sight, squinting to adjust yourself to the light.

In front of you, is a field long of grass and chopped down vines with the corpse of what you assume used to be the anomaly just laying there, half forming to dust. Near it is where you lay, bleeding out as shiny pieces of blings reflected the light around it, catching your eye to something amongst the grass- is that.. a book? Was that book encased inside the diamond?

You tried to reach for it, but perhaps you've run out of time. Darkness engulfed you completely this time, your hand falling limp before you could reach it.

Rui watched behind you as your body sloppily attempted to move yet only to limp down, now motionless. It's impressive how you could still move with a condition like that, really. He hopes you died peacefully- painlessly, at least.

Was it the blow that killed you, or was it the fact that you touched him? He hopes it's the former. It's not that he wants you dead, no. Quite the opposite, really. He wants you alive, you're his friend, yet you left him anyway. Why did you have to protect him?

"Why did you do such a stupid thing, Sunshine?" He approached your body with gritted teeth, eyes scanning over at the aftermath of your gruesome fate. You're covered in mud and dirt, the shards already lunged deep inside your muscles, and the still wet blood that's dropping from your open wound.

His knuckles turned white with how tightly his grip on his scythe is when his eyes landed on the large wound on your torso, the ribs that broke into pieces- stabbing your heart and lungs from the inside out, the mess from your erupted guts, what used to be your stomach now a mess outside of your body.

He wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if it was him that killed you. But perhaps the death from his curse might be better than the death you experienced.

Rui dropped to his knees as bloodied gloves wrapped around your body, his expression impassive and grim. His knees felt weak, his lungs felt heavy.

Could he have avoided this if you were never there? Or would he meet the exact same fate? Perhaps if he were stronger, you wouldn't have ended like this. Perhaps if he were better, he wouldn't be filled with so much remorse. Perhaps if things were different, perhaps—

"I'm sorry, Sunshine.. I'm so sorry. You were a good friend, yet you had to cross fate with someone like me... I'm sorry." Is all he could say through the guilt he felt as he softly hugged your body. He could finally hug you, something he had longed for, something he had missed ever since he was cursed. It shouldn't be like this, not like this. He thought.

But it's all he could get.

"You should take care of yourself more, phainon. You just woke up and you're wounded." You clicked your tongue at the man in front of you, alternating between staring at his medical report and at his badly injured bandaged body. Top class Esper? Please, all you could see is just another glorified reckless kid with superpowers.

One that an overworked guide such as yourself is not paid enough to babysit for.

"But I got the job done, didn't I?" He tries to muster a grin at you, though with the shake in his voice and the clouded gaze, you know he's on the edge after overusing his powers that much.

The man looks up at you with pleading eyes, breathing ragged as he panted out, "Can I.. get my reward? Please?"

You know it's not a good idea with how wounded he is but it's your job to take care of him when he gets like this. As a guide, you have to be the one to stabilize him, and the others as well. Good grief, when will you ever get your rest?

"You're very impressive, I'll give you that. Holding up your sanity even after you've far overexerted yourself." You hum as your hand glides over his face. The man sighs in content and nods, his eyes closing as he leans into the palm of your hand, trying to be closer and closer to you.

Hopping onto the bed, you slot yourself between his legs. Though, you didn't have to do anything. Phainon opened his legs wide for you before you commanded him to, his hospital gown barely covering his raging anticipation.

"Please.. I've been so good, haven't I?" He gulps, holding back a whimper when he sees you unbuckling your belt. Though, he didn't receive the praise he was hoping for, making him whine at the lack of your affections on him. "..Am I not a good boy? Please, I tried so hard- I took the hardest case they have, I even defeated that monster solo! I-"

"That's exactly why, phainon." The coldness in your voice cut him off, completely catching him off guard. This isn't how he thought things would go, you were supposed to praise him, kiss him, love him, why? Where did he go wrong?

Perhaps it's due to the unexpectedness of it all, or perhaps it's due to his current unstable state that he's so lost. He needs you so bad, why aren't you giving it to him? Are you disappointed in him? Did he fail you? Ah, the thought of it hurts. It hurts so bad.

Your eyes soften as you lean in to kiss his tears, a hand starts to tease his leaking tip as the other puts its thumb in his mouth. "Why did you do it?"

"H-huh?" He whines at the sensations you're giving him. It's not enough, yet it's too much at the same time. He's so overwhelmed by emotions right now it's a miracle he's not going berserk.

"The mission. You know it's dangerous, you know it's powerful. So why? Why did you go alone and put yourself in danger?" A flick of your wrist and his head jerked upwards, more tears welling in his eyes. "You could've been killed. You think getting yourself killed will make me happy?"

"No- No.. ah, I'm just- shit, I wanted you to be proud of me-eEeeGh!" Another flick.

"Do you think I'd be proud of your recklessness? Do you see yourself?" You frowned at his response, grabbing him by the chin to look you in the eyes. You know he means well. But fuck, you couldn't help the anger that's burning within you right now. You could've lost him, if it weren't for Hyacine's skillful hands patching him up. "No matter how strong you are, you're not immortal! You should think things through before you do shit like that!"

Phainon's eyes widened, tears that welled up in his eyes now falling down his cheek. That tone.. Are you mad at him? No, please don't be mad. Please don't be disappointed.. no no no no! He can't take it, no, it hurts so so bad.

"No- don't hate me p-please! I did it all for you— I-" The man choked out, his sobs taking away his voice as he hugged into you, his hands clawing your back to make sure you don't run away. His eyes are starting to swirl, his breathing even more ragged as he starts to hyperventilate. "I- I- I just wanted you- I w- wanted you to notice me..to praise me, I- I don't want you to be taken away. Do you think I haven't noticed?! The way the others looked at you?! The way they touch you, talk about you, the way- No- you're mine, you're mine mine-"

Phainon sobbed out through gritted teeth and choked out words, clearly not in his right mind.

A breakdown.

"Yours?" You mumbled holding back a hiss, letting him dig his nails deeper as he bit hard into the crook of your neck, drawing blood. "Y-you.. really think getting yourself killed will make me yours? Please, you're better than that."

Just a bit more.

You positioned yourself to his entrance. Before you could even reach for the lube on the nightstand, Phainon grabbed your wrist with an expression far from normal. "No- want you- want you so bad! Now! Please-"

And so you obliged, thrusting yourself inside and earning a loud moan from the man beneath you and a deep groan from you. "Hhaaaa, even when you're being controlled you're still as loud as ever."

The man's grip on your back tightens even more than before, sharp nails forming and puncturing deep into your flesh.

Shit, that hurts.

"No- no no nono-OoohhhNGh! W- why? Why do you h-hate me so much? Why do y-y-you want me dead so badly?!" Phainon's blue eyes swirled darker, along with his hair, turning into that of a yellowish shade instead. It's Khaslana, Phainon's power taken form.

He's clearly losing control of himself, shown by the way his powers are activating on you and the way his speech becomes more and more erratic, breathing ragged out. But that means you're close to getting it out of him.

"You really think you could get away? Controlling my esper's body and think I won't notice? Oh please, spare me the details." A particularly sharp thrust into the man has him arching his back off the bed, what was once white now no longer pristine with the spots of blood dripping from your back.

"FUCKOFFFUCKOFF- GET AWAY FROM M-ME I'LL KILL YOU-! DIEDIE- N-NO DON'T DIE PLEASE DON'T GO!" He sobs, screaming at you derangedly through his hyperventilation while his hands digged deeper and deeper into your back. He's conflicted, you noticed. Pushing your body away yet claws his way deeper to get you closer again.

"GO AWAY I HATE YOU! NO. DON'T LEAVE ME I LOVE YOU- DIE-"

A special case you've gotten yourself into.

It's true that the man beneath you is Phainon, an Esper under your care. This time, it's Phainon with his mind and body impaired- taken over by something. A parasite, you could say. A mind controlling one, at that.

Dangerous, yes. It eats away the mind and memories of the infected host, blending in and acting like the host as it takes full control of its host's body like an empty shell of a puppet. In the end, they'll end up as nothing more than zombies.

And unfortunately, your dear Esper had caught it. Perhaps it's because Phainon's a powerful one, so even though the parasite that got into his body is fully grown, it couldn't take over completely. You could tell, beneath it all that you could see him struggling against it. Yet at times it's hard to tell which one is the parasite's acting and which one is him.

You had to fish it out, it's your job. But hell, you'd be lying if you say you don't feel guilty right now.

"-Phainon?! Phainon where are you?!"

"Captain, I see him!"

"Shit- He's bleeding out! Someone-"

The scene was chaotic, the sky red as flamed engulfed broken buildings everywhere. Screams of worry from the search party echoed as they searched for one of their own.

There he was, found heavily wounded and his chest torn open along with some other deep cuts on his body, beneath the corpse of a three headed giant mutant. It's a miracle he survived, really.

The team performed immediate first aid and rushed him into the clinic, where Hyacine tried her best to sustain him while Anaxagoras performed the usual procedures, medical scanning and health check up after missions.

"He's what?" Shock is the best way to describe how you felt when you heard the news from professor Anaxagoras, a well esteemed researcher within this field- and also one of the Espers under your supervision. "I know there's no way you're joking but- dammit. Is there nothing we could do to stop it?"

"As I've said, do not panic. I am telling you this simply so you won't be fooled by that.. thing once it awakens with his body. It probably went inside his open wounds after its host was killed by phainon." Anaxa hands you the medical report before he turns around to grab a vial. "As you can see, fortunately for us, and him, he is that of a top ranked Esper which translates to the fact that he's strong. Ridiculously so. Usually these things incubate for a while, hence the camouflage traits it has. But alas, with the old host killed and Phainon vulnerable, it transferred hosts in an attempt to survive. Although this one is mature, having developed itself within the old host's body, It should take a while before that parasite starts to destroy him. Another fortune case is the fact that we form check ups every time, enabling us to catch on to infections like these before it's too serious."

"And this is why I do not want to hear any complaints on why that procedure is a must. However," he continues, dosing a syringe with the liquid of that vial. "We still have to extract it before anything bad happens, it's not worth the risk of potentially having a powerful esper turned into a zombie as an enemy. So that's where you come along."

"Okay, I'll do whatever it'll take to make sure he's alright." You hand out your arm to him as you listen intently, realizing that he's going to inject you. "Is this.. an antidote?"

"..More like repellant and immunity enhancers. We need you and phainon to bond to stabilize him and I cannot risk you getting infected while you guide him. Finding a guide that's compatible with us like yourself is hard enough as it is." Anaxa found your pulse quite quickly, injecting the so-called repellant with ease in one smooth motion. "But this wouldn't be your regular guiding. As much as I do not wish to say this, but you are required to break him during it. The amount of distress paired with the Esper's own immune system should be enough to cause the parasite to suffocate and potentially try to change hosts."

"..And perhaps you wouldn't have much trouble doing so. He's already in an unstable condition thanks to how reckless he was, pushing himself past his limits and now fighting this thing, on top of that."

"Breaking him to stabilize him? Isn't that counterintuitive? Are you serious? Isn't that far too dangerous?" You bit the inside of your cheek, contemplating your choices. "Forcing him to that point is a bit.. if anything goes wrong, it could be fatal."

"I know." The professor simply said as he looked at you in the eyes and squeezed your hand, his gaze filled with unwavering conviction. A rare moment from the usually stern professor. "But I also know that you can do it. It's Phainon we're talking about, If it's anyone who can get him back, it's you. Do you trust me?"

You stared at his reassuring grip around your own hand and then held his tighter before letting go.

"I do."

A sharp cry echoed within the room as you roughly yank something out of the wound on his chest that reopened itself through the bandages, your grip deadly around it to ensure that it won't escape and shoved it into the special glass jar anaxa has prepared for you that was on the nightstand. Oh the hatred you feel for this little thing is immaculate.

Phainon immediately went limp as soon as that thing was pulled out, hair returning to its original snowy white color while looking completely exhausted.

"...I'm sorry." You say, your eyes softening now that everything is over. You pulled yourself out of him and leaned down to give him a soft loving kiss on his temple, noting the way his body twitched at your touch. "You're so strong.. Thank you for holding on, Phai."

With a sigh, you fixed his slightly torn hospital gown and yourself to cover up. Anaxagoras soon entered the room after receiving a message from you, his gaze sharp and unreadable when you handed him the jar of specimen, eyeing the blood seeping through your clothes instead of the parasite.

Before he could even question you, your balance wavered as dark spots started to fill your line of sight before you fell unconscious completely.

The parasite was taken to the lab for further studies, while you and Phainon were brought to the clinic for further examination. Hyacine was horrified when she saw how bad your wounds looked and how much blood you lost, immediately rushing to your side. Anaxagoras just stared at you on the sidelines, frowning when he got a good look at your bare back being treated by the girl and left with an annoyed click of his tongue.

You awoke not long after, presumably a few hours, to a worried team. Even Mydeimos, the man who's usually stern came by your room with concern on his face.

The HQ feels calmer, no more panic searching for the Esper now that they've got everything under control. But it doesn't soothe the worry eating at you from the inside as you wipe down his unconscious body with a warm towel. He's so pale.. a stark contrast to how bright he usually is.

Time passed with you staying by Phainon's side the whole day, holding his hand while kneeling beside his bed looking out for any signs of movement or discomfort. You could barely get a single wink of sleep due to how anxious you are from waiting for the medical results.

"..How is he? We didn't bond all the way through so.. I don't know if the guiding was enough. I'm afraid that he might.. ugh." You worriedly asked the professor, who had been analyzing his medical papers and lab analysis while Hyacine noted updates on Phainon's body.

"No, you did well. The guiding was successful even if you didn't go all the way through, That thing absorbed most of it so that amount of physical contact was enough. Right now he's stable, thanks to your efforts. Our hypothesis was correct, It seems like the parasite unknowingly absorbed the negative emotions from an Esper's distress while it tried to eat, harming it in the process and forcing it to abort. It wasn't too hard to get rid of." Anaxagoras informs you without missing a beat, not even glancing away from alternating between his papers to even glance at you.

"Absorb..?"

"Yes, it's like... A sponge! Think of it as a cup of dirty water and a sponge, the body is like a cup. When we go berserk or have breakdowns, our cup gets filled with dirty water. Usually a guide refills that water with fresh water- overflowing the dirty one and replacing it with your clean water." Hyacine noticed you were parroting the professor, assuming you were confused, and explained to hopefully to soothe your worries. "The parasite is the sponge, it soaks up the water and expands, eventually filling the cup with itself.. The thing is, they can't really choose which water to absorb since it's all in the same cup. Usually it could handle a certain amount of dirty water, but the dirty water from an Esper is far too toxic for the parasite, and even for the Esper themselves."

"And once you took the sponge out there's barely any dirty water left within the cup since it soaked up most of the water, which is why he didn't die. The repellant also worked just as I had predicted, if not you could've been the new host by now." The professor added, now turning his gaze at you. It's cold.

"But enough about that. What about you?"

"..What?"

"I'm asking what about you? You should worry about yourself more, with that sort of wound you could've died. Why didn't you tell me right away? How dumb are you to not do that? You're not an Esper like him, while he has an enhanced body you don't. You're still human. If it were any later we could've lost you."

You were at a loss of words, opening your mouth before quickly shutting it again as the man In front of you scolds you for all you're worth.

"You dare to lecture him when you, yourself, are you any better? I trusted you because you're our captain, I should've known that someone like you couldn't even consider your own safety. What a fool."

"What- it was your plan! I only did what you wanted me to-"

"I never told you to die on me did I? Are you so incapable of thinking for yourself that you're not able to know that 'not dying' is not part of the plan? You're a guide, act like one."

You frown, the guilt of putting Phainon through that already eating you inside, and now paired with the words Anaxagoras are saying to you, the insecurities you've been feeling about your inabilities as a guide are rearing it's ugly head. You understand he's concerned, and you know that he's right.

"Okay.. I'm sorry." You say bitterly, already moving to leave the room before things could escalate further and cool your head. You'd talk it out with him, but not now. Not with these emotions stinging inside your chest.

The room went quiet for a while, the only sound being the constant beep of the monitors. It wasn't long before Hyacine opened her mouth. "Professor... You could've worded that nicer. I know the captain was reckless but-"

"And what are you going to do if the captain died? Then what? Prove that my hypothesis was wrong? That I have to live off with the guilt that I killed them?" The green haired professor couldn't take it anymore and snapped at Hyacine before she could even continue her words, his own guilt could be heard from the crack in his voice. "It was my plan, I was the one who made the captain do it. If the captain died, that would mean Phainon would be taken over by that thing. And I'd be the failure that killed both them."

The girl looked at him with pity, and nodded silently. She knew, even through the harsh words he said to you, he cares. So much that he couldn't bear losing you.

And perhaps, she understands the professor, deeply relating to how he feels.

Because she wouldn't know what she'd do with herself if she had failed you, letting you die in her arms. No, that won't happen. None of them would let it.

A few days have passed since then. You weren't allowed to go on any missions so that you could fully heal. Other than guiding the Espers that needed you, you've been by Phainon's bedside for the most of it.

You stare at the unconscious man in front of you, his face illuminated by the Moonlight. It's night, currently. Your eyes are so heavy. Would you finally be able to sleep this time? How many days has it been since you last slept? Three? Five? A week? You couldn't tell, too out of it to think.

You couldn't hold on anymore as slumber takes you deep inside.

The clinic building was quiet, saved for only the footsteps of the night staff doing rounds. A soft knock can be heard from the room, opening to reveal a familiar pink purple haired girl. ".. Excuse me, captain are you here?" She says as she enters the room. You should be here since you've never left Phainon's side for long since the incident, and it's her turn to do rounds. Perhaps she has an ulterior motive, but alas that motive was quickly shattered when she saw what was in front of her.

There layed your head on the side of Phainon's bed, deeply asleep with a frown on your face. You looked so pale, did you not eat when she told you to? And those eye bags..

But what surprised her was the fact that Phainon was awake, sitting on the bed as he stared at your face before turning to the newcomer of the room.

The next morning you felt your heart drop deeper than it already did.

"I'm sorry.. there shouldn't be any permanent damage- I don't know why this happened. Perhaps the sponge was stronger than we thought. I know I said it couldn't choose which water but-" Hyacine looked down at her clipboard solemnly while Phainon stared at the two of you in confusion, tilting his head so cutely like that. "Oh, hello! You were the one next to my bed yesterday? Nice to meet you."

With how much you've been frowning lately, it wouldn't be a surprise if you got wrinkles because of it. "..Nice to meet you.. too?" You mumbled in confusion, stepping closer to the bed while Hyacine looked down at the floor, too ashamed to meet your worried gaze. The main perks up at your response and grinned, "Apparently my name's Phainon! She said so. What's yours? Oh, I forgot to ask yours too, miss nurse!"

You wished that it's a joke. Hope that it's just a prank. But the horrified look Hyacine has and the clueless one on his own is enough to make your chest sting.

He forgot about you.

"Good work today, your drinks are as delicious as always! Another one!" A certain redhead grins out at the blonde male, lifting up his almost empty glass to emphasize. Or at least, tried to.

"Ahhh Harurin, you flatter me! I'm glad my recipes hit you well~ Had a rough day huh?" Rui chuckles at the state of his drunken friend as he pours him another drink. "But geez, this is too much don't you think? Even for you.. So this is your last drink for today!"

"Ehhhhhh?? Nooooooooo... I still.. wanna drink my sorrows away.." The man tries to say between over exaggerated sobs and hiccups, voice unsteady. But he doesn't go against Rui's words, and just accepts his last drink with a huge chug. "Ahhh~ much better!"

Rui can't help but sweat drop at the scene in front of him. Knowing his friend, that drink is well deserved from how hard Harurin has to work everyday! But he also knows that said man has classes tomorrow (Harurin told him about it around thirty minutes ago), so it's best not to go overboard. "New animal, I assume?"

"Yeah... This one is rough, it keeps tearing everything apart! I keep having to clean up after it- just a mess!"

"Yeah.. I get that. I keep having to clean up other's messes too." Rui joked in reply, relating very deeply with the agony Harurin is feeling. The redhead laughed in response, understanding the reference right away.

Rui always appreciated Harurin's company, much like the redhead enjoys his own. The two talked lightheartedly for a while, letting go of their frustrations and ended with Harurin politely thanked Rui for today and went back home after he remembered that he has classes tomorrow which Rui had to remind him about, again.

The chatter died down with the lack of presence, leaving only Rui and his thoughts alone while he cleans up the place for closing. He hates how loud it is, his thoughts. His hesitance, his curse.

Oh, how time flies by when one who doesn't get tired gets so engrossed in their thoughts. It's ironic, really. Because he can't get tired no matter what he does or how much he moves, yet he's so tired of having them all the time. And they keep coming back.

"I know we just met but I'm sure you know it's not nice to lie to people." Your words echo inside his head as he stares at his phone on the counter. You're probably dead asleep by now, he remembered you told him you have to run a morning errand tomorrow. It's an ungodly hour to be awake at, after all. But it's not like he could sleep.

His jaw tightens just oh so slightly at the memory, it's been gnawing at him, echoing inside his head over and over whenever he's left alone with his thoughts- which is often. No matter how much he tries to keep himself busy, there's a limit on how busy a person can be when he's stuck inside a house with only two people.

As much as he would like to do his favorite hobby and hit on cute girls (maybe pick up a few girls to stay the night), It's not like he can do that anymore. He hasn't taken classes in ages, hell- he doesn't even remember what subjects they're teaching here. He tries not to go to the campus building as much as possible, after all.

He wonders how you would react. What would you say? Could he ever come clean?

Would you hate him if you knew?

Would you scream and call him a monster?

Would you despise him when you find out?

Would you look at him with disgust and horror, run away in fear and never want to be close with him again?

He never meant to lie to you, really. But it's not like he can tell you the truth either, it's confidential information. Darkwick would flip out and his peaceful life as a free ghoul would be gone. What is he supposed to say anyway? That he's not a human anymore but instead someone who made a deal with a demon?

A ghoul that takes away people's life force?

A reaper cursed to be alone?

Yeah right, you'd run away and the friendship you guys had built for months now would tumble down. He'd be alone again. He'd be lonely again.

"Ah man..." Rui sighed, closing his eyes in frustration at his own thoughts and running his ungloved wet hand through his previously dry hair, having just finished washing the dishes.

"Oh? What's gotten you so worked up? I noticed these last few months you—" A sudden voice could be heard from behind the blonde man, practically breathing on his neck. Rui, in return, got startled- a shudder of disgust ran though his body and he basically slapped the intruder. Thankfully the man behind him managed to dodge just in time (barely) and just spoke in a casual manner, "My my, I knew you seemed quite agitated lately, but slapping your elders is certainly not the way to go about it."

"GAHHH—! Ed, could you not do that?! I thought I said don't pop up out of nowhere like that- I'm not wearing gloves right now, it'll be a mess if I accidentally touched you, and I just finished cleaning! And don't ever breathe down my neck ever again, you pervert! That's sexual harassment—" Rui's eyes twitched slightly in annoyance, trying to calm himself from strangling this man in front of him. He's a pacifist, after all.

"Ha Ha, is that so.. but do tell me why you've been sighing a lot? It seems there is something weighing on your mind. My senses are telling me something interesting happened." The dark haired man ignores Rui's very clear annoyance and continues to mutter his thoughts aloud. Since when has Ed been there anyway?

Rui didn't think he was that stressed out, so much so that even the laziest that has ever lived came out of his room just to question him about it. But the surprise went away as fast as they arrived, his cheerful and carefree attitude returning. Deciding not to answer the man's question, he asks one of his own. "Hey Ed, since you're here, where's the clothes you want me to wash? I'm going to do laundry. And you know what, you should try doing laundry for once."

"It's in my room, of course. The ones that need washing are on the floor." Ed just smiles knowingly. "But ah... How can an old man.. cough cough.. such as myself.. cough.. do such house chores? And, oh dearie me.. My favorite channel should be posting a new video at any moment... I should get going."

Gods, he really should confiscate that fucking tablet...

On the contrary to your beloved friend's beliefs, you were in fact, not asleep. It's true that you've got errands to do in the morning, but you can't help yourself! You just found this super fun new game and it totally reminds you about it the good old days when you don't have to worry about screwing over a timeline. You've been so obsessed with it recently.

It's just so fun! Other than raids, other side quests, and all that stuff, you could also interact with people through the chat. Sure, it's nothing special, but the community has been so entertaining you started to grow on it.

But now that it's morning and that you actually have to run the errand, walking to the shop with a mad headache, you started to regret your choices. Sure, the "Best Horror-B movie" debate was fun to watch and participate in, but the migraines aren't really fun.

"Meow.." Your ears perked up at the sound of a cat coming from nearby, but you don't see any cats around you. Huh, that's weird—

"GAH—! What the-" you yelped in surprise at the sudden fuzzy movement slithering around your leg- it's a cat?

A cat meows and peers up at you through its fluffy black and white coat, looking back at your stare with its dual colored eyes. A fluffy heterochromic cat breed? Aren't they rare and expensive, did someone lose their pet or something?

As much as you wanted to take it home with you, your gut tells you not to in fear that it might be someone else's pet after all. So you just pat it lovingly and let it be.

Arriving at the shop you work for, you approach the building. You were about to pull out your spare keys but you realized the door is unlocked. Huh, did someone come in earlier than you? It's still half an hour before opening.

You open the door and peek inside, letting out a sigh of relief when you see a man with dark blue hair, your coworker, organizing and noting down what seems to be a pile of groceries.

"Hey Akane! Good morning." You greeted him, letting him know that you're here as you head over to the counter to clock in. "how long have you been here? It's still so early.."

"Ah.. good morning, Xyn. I haven't been here for long, perhaps 5 minutes ago." The man in question looked up from his pile and greeted you in return with a small smile.

Akane has been your coworker ever since you started working here. He, along with the other employee, a woman named Izumi, were the only two employees working within this shop.

With the shop only having three employees- Plus one more, which is the owner himself- the three of you had gotten quite close and became good friends. You wonder how the two of them managed to survive running this whole place. You can't help but be amazed.

Akane, the young man with dark blue hair, is around your age. He's got a nice figure and a mysterious aura, always keeping a calm composure and cool head. Not only that, but he's crazy handsome. You've seen girls come into the shop just to admire his face. But hey, it's helping with the sales.

Izumi, on the other hand, is a wonderful young woman who's older than the two of you and is the daughter of the owner, taking the role of the current acting manager of the shop. And much like Akane, her face card never declines. She also has a sweet little daughter named Yui who treats you and Akane as her older siblings. She helps out whenever and however she can, or at least tries to.

The owner of the place is an old man named Saburo, who insists that we call him by his name, is the cook of the place and usually spends most of his time in the kitchen. His meals are amazing- leading to many customers (even the ones that only came because of his employees) coming back again for his cooking and becoming regulars. Saburo himself is such sweetheart, trying his best to help around even through his old age. Though, none of you really let him do any hard labour.

The man treats both you and Akane like his own grandchildren, and Izumi treats the two of you like little siblings. The two sweetly offered you a place to stay when they found out you've been living in shady places just to get by, at first you were embarrassed but they were so welcoming and now it feels like home.

You don't know how you got so lucky. Speaking of lucky..

"Here you go. I heard you're going to do the errands today instead of Izumi, so I made this to help boost you up." Akane puts down a cup of coffee and some warm pastries in a bag to go. "And of course, some sweets too. They're for you and for Yui when you pick her up."

Usually Izumi would be the one to handle these types of errands but she's got a business meeting and Akane has to stay to help Saburo take care of the shop, with him being the more capable one at multitasking between the two of you.

"Thank you, Akane!" You take a sip of your coffee that Akane made, refreshing your sleep deprived mind into a more tolerable mode- it's your favorite blend, you realized.

Ah.. you really did hit a jackpot in this life.

The errand is supposed to be quite easy, all you had to do was deliver some packages. Very expensive packages for very rich elite people, you might add. It's all limited edition collections- ones that come with a suitcase of its own. After that's done, you just have to pick up Yui from her school. And maybe have lunch with the girl you met the other day..

"Really? Thanks!" The woman chuckles appreciatively at your jokes and pulls down the hood of her hoodie, happily puts on the baseball cap and revealing the short brown hair underneath. "I like it so much! The band really knows how to design their merch.."

She looks.. familiar.

"Yeah! I know right? I enjoy their music as much as I enjoy seeing their work." You gushed back at her, ignoring that feeling for now. That's a future you problem.

"You like it, too? Ahh, I'm so glad! The only people I can talk about it with are a bunch of people in a public group chat ha ha.."

"Really? No way, that's... Sad. You know what, let's exchange numbers! We can totally talk about it together- or more! Let's be friends! Luna, right?"

You really didn't expect it back then, the thought didn't occur to you when it happened. Sure, she looked familiar but you've seen other people that looked like her before (unlike Rui, who's quite obviously different).

The more you thought about it, the more you saw the similarities and came to the conclusion, that it is her.. it's MC!

If befriending a playboy ghoul wasn't nerve-wracking, befriending the actual main character of the whole story would be.

Thankfully, things went well. The clients seem to be regulars of the shop, they're all so friendly. They even went through the effort to offer you some snacks to take home. (How can you say no to free food?)

Which led to you carrying a few bags filled with luxury snacks and drinks, standing in front of the gates of an elite mansion, your last client for today. The mansion is a beautiful blue, huge and decorated with azure, lapis, and the like. But what struck you was the fact that it's cold- colder than it should be and quite literally covered in ice (frozen puddles from the rain, small icicles forming on the metal, and such.)

Unlike the first three mansions you stopped by before this, this one makes your skin crawl. Fear? Perhaps..

You politely go to the mansion's guard post a bit further away, informating the employee that you're here to deliver a package and that it needs the client's signature.

"Hm.. I see. Mister Kamurai has been busy so he won't be here for a couple days. Would the head servant's signature be okay? But it might take a while, he's out right now." The guard, an old man, asks you.

That name...

Is that why this place is so cold?

"Ah, yes the head servant's signature would be okay. Um.. how long?" You could feel yourself getting fidgety and uneasy from the thought of having to sit here all day and you still have to pick up Yui.

"Around half an hour from now." He informs you between talks with the other through his walkie-talkie. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, I can wait."

He nods and opens the door to his post, inviting you in to sit down to which thanked him in reply, tying to keep the uneasiness from crawling into your face as you sat down onto the sofa. Damn, even the guard post is fancy..

.....Sitting down on the sofa and feeling uncomfortably cold while waiting for someone has never felt so slow. Even with the distraction from your phone you still couldn't shake off that feeling in your gut, especially when you saw that helicopter land somewhere around there. Time feels like it's been going for ages, while in reality it's only been twenty minutes.

You don't want to seem like a rude guest though, especially to his family, his home.

Snap out of it! You told yourself, mentally slapping the anxiety out of you. You've got snacks, yeah, maybe offer that. Anything to remove this awkward silence.

And so you did, pulling up the bags filled with it you ask, "Um, sir. I know it's not much but thank you for your hospitality. May I offer you some snacks? I've got a variety of it—"

"No, thank you. I can't accept outside food, especially on duty. And I'm already at the age where I have to watch what I'm eating, ha ha.. I appreciate the sentiment though."

"Ah- I see..." Well, that's awkward. You were about to open your mouth and say something, but decided against it, feeling embarrassed. The sound of the door from the other side of the post, seemingly to connect to the inside part of the gate, opened and revealed a middle aged man wearing a pristine Butler outfit. His smooth, deep and well mannered voice caught both of your attention, successfully ridding the negative thoughts you had before they could spiral any further.

"Forgive me for making you wait, I am the head servant. A package for the Kamurai family, yes?" The man asks for formality, already taking out his expensive looking ink pen.

"Ah, yes! Sign here please." You take out your clipboard, quickly flipping it to the last page and politely showing the line to sign. He does so after reading the fine print, nodding at your question if he wants to check the items.

You carefully hold out the suitcase filled with limited goods and open it wide, explaining each and every one of its contents while making sure to cross check things from his list. "—and this is the limited 1947's original vinyl record. That's all from the list."

The man smiles, giving you a nod of acknowledgement seemingly satisfied with the qualities. "It's all to order, thank you for your work today."

Finally, you can get out of this eerie place.

You close the suitcase and respectfully hand it over to the man, who accepts with graceful movements. The head servant turns around his heel and starts walking through the door he walked in from, while the post guard offers to escort you out.

Wait, wasn't there a puddle of ice—

"—wait there's-" you try to give a warning but you could already see him slipping, instinctively rushing forward to pull him before he could hit his head on something or the icicles falling on him and make this troubling. For his age, it could be fatal.

In return, you were the one who fell backwards with him falling suit into the post and cushioned his fall.

"Oh, my... Are you alright? Forgive me for our carelessness, to think you would get yourself hurt to help him." The head servant worriedly jogged back inside, checking both you and the guard for any injuries and. The old man is fine. The same couldn't be said for you, though.

In the end, you ended up with a pretty badly sprained wrist. Thankfully, yet unsurprisingly, the estate has it's own little clinic and probate doctor to handle you immediately before you could tear yourself any further.

The post guard, perhaps in fear of losing his job or getting sued, apologized profusely to you in the clinic. A few unrelated servants even came in and apologized again for their carelessness, offering you a hefty sum of money as compensation.

"No- it's fine. It's just a sprained wrist, I'm young, I'm sure I can heal in no time." You say, trying to ease his guilt. You're already fully patched up by now. "I appreciate the offer, really. But it's no big deal, I was just worried what would've happened if he did end up falling all the way.. so I acted without thinking about the consequences."

The head servant observed you from afar as you tried to prove that you're alright by moving your wrist. A stupid move, really. You ended up curling up on yourself in an effort to hold the pain.

You were offered such a huge amount of money, yet you refused. You didn't threaten them about spreading rumours either (He'd still make sure you're not spreading anything, keeping tabs on you for a while just to be sure). But it's rare to see someone refuse enough money to last them 10 years.

How odd.

"..And that's what happened. Don't worry, it's totally free!" You explained why you came back with bags filled with snacks and a cast to Izumi who's looking at you with her eye twitching while Yui draws silly doodles on your cast.

"Don't worry? Of course I worry! I know it's only been a few months but you're like a little sibling to me and a big one to Yui- you can't just walk in with an arm cast and expect me not to worry?!"

"Please don't ban me from going out, I have lunch plans with this cute girl and I really can't let her down..." You plead, showing her the best puppy dog eyes you could muster to which Izumi held her head down to calm the raging headache. It's nice to have a big sister as sweet as her, who cares so much about your well being.

"you're seriously going on a date with an arm cast? And that outfit? Seriously?"

"Wha- what's wrong with my outfit?" You look at her like she just said something horrendous. "I'll let you know, it's the best one I have-"

Izumi cut you off before you could try to defend your fashion taste any longer and asked you a question. "When's the date?"

"Um.. in like one or two hours. Why?"

"Okay, that's enough time to go shopping, you're coming with me. Akane, look out for the shop." The woman declared, dragging you by the collar down to her car without waiting for your feedback.

You wanted a big sister? Oh, she'll show you big sister alright.

To say you were offended was an understatement. Somewhat.

Perhaps all that lack of sleep is really messing with you. Because right now, it's all catching up and hitting you like a train. You can't believe how chill you were with meeting this man- the literal Mizuki Rui- as if you don't know him. It's unreal, so much so that you wonder if you'll wake up. Although, you doubt you would.

As impressed as you are with yourself for being so composed, you can't help the disappointment you feel. Really, how stupid you are for buying it. You knew that man is a player, yet you fell into the trap like a fly smashing onto a glass window.

Which explains the current situation, on a bench in the middle of a park, death glaring at Mizuki Rui. "So. You used me to get the limited 'couples only' sweets? That's shallow, don't you think?"

"Ouch.. you're really blunt when it comes to it huh? Does it really kill you to let a guy be happy?" The man in question said like a kicked puppy. He clasps both of his hands to plead, practically looking up at you with puppy dog eyes. You really hate how good he is at using his charms.

"Yeah, it does actually. Especially when the guy in question is a player and decides to be an asshole."

"Today is the last day so it was totally fate when we—" A sharper glare. He gulps. "Ah, geez, I'm sorry, really! What can I do to make it up to you?"

"Anything? How many favors do I get for forgiving you?" You meant it as a joke really, you would've forgiven him anyway (maybe). He seems to notice the shift in tone, understanding your attempt to jest. Rui perked up at your answer, his devilish grin returning once more and he's back to his usual, flirty self. "As much as you want, cutie~"

So much for that sorry.

"Really?" Surprise can be heard from your tone. You really didn't expect him to agree. Rui nodded, giving you confirmation that he'd do it. "Well, I have two requests. I hope you don't mind."

"Ask away, cutie. Your wish is my command."

"Umm.." You sigh. Looking up at the sky, you realize it's getting pretty late as the orange starts to paint its way through the clouds. After a moment of silence and enjoying the breeze, you open your mouth. Your gaze still on the scenery above. "Well, for starters you could've just asked. If you were upfront with me and just said so, I wouldn't mind. I know we just met but I'm sure you know it's not nice to lie to people."

You didn't look down, but from the corner of your eye you could've sworn you saw him tense up a little at your words.

"Second.. Well, I know you're the popular type, but being with you has been really fun. Although i was annoyed earlier, I still enjoyed today." You muttered, hopefully loud enough for him to hear. You know you probably won't be able to see him again, especially since he's a ghoul from Darkwick. Chances are, if this were any other scenario, like an anomaly mission, he might've erased your memories. You're lucky he's on his R&R permit.

Not that he knows you know.

This time, you looked down from the sky to look at him, accidentally locking eyes. How long has he been staring? "What I'm saying is, do you want to be friends? Is that okay?"

Rui was silent, his thoughts trying to wire themselves from its current jumbled mess. In all honesty, he went to Shibuya as a run away vacation attempt from the mess that has been happening in Darkwick. With everything that has been going on, he just needed a break! Getting an R&R permit is hard enough as it already is.

He didn't plan on going on dates today. Sure, he wanted to see some cute girls to wash the worries away but he didn't really expect bumping into you. Bumping into him all of a sudden, you should've watched where you were going.. he could've accidentally killed you! What if you accidentally touch his skin? It's a disaster.

But when you offer that hand at him, that panicked tired face of yours, he couldn't help but want to tease you more. Perhaps you can help him take his mind off of Darkwick?

"no, but unfortunately it does hurt that I don't have your number." You returned the pick up line so off handedly he couldn't help but find it endearing. He might actually hand it to you, not that you'd have Wickchat. How odd. Usually Rui prefers talking with cute girls.

"Really? What a coincidence! 'Cause I'm usually into cuties but I am not making an exception for you."

You seem to notice a lot of things about him, especially winter clothes in summer. Geez, it's not like he wants to dress like this. It's hot as hell, you know?

But never once did you judge, everything is just a lighthearted insult within your playful banter together. And that exchange with each other took off a sort of weight from his shoulder. A feeling he wants to prolong. The only way he knows how to do that, is to..

"Are you seriously asking me on a date?"

But really, the whole day had been fun with you- minus getting scolded for the sundae incident. So much so that he genuinely forgot about Darkwick. Shit, it's getting late. He needs to open his bar soon.

"What I'm saying is, do you want to be friends? Is that okay?" You asked that so genuinely, looking down from the sky and locking eyes with him as the sunset gives your skin a sun kissed glow.

"Ah— you don't have to, if you don't want to. Sorry, I got too ahead of myself I guess. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable!" You try to explain yourself in panic, afraid that his silence means he's uncomfortable.

That snapped him out of his thoughts. Has he been staring? Jeez, he didn't realize. He really can't tell if it's the question or the view that stunned him.

"What? No no, I'd love to be your friend, cutie! Sorry, I was just lost in thought. Didn't mean to make you panic, although you looked really cute when you panicked, ahaha." Rui rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, his other hand already taking out his phone. "As much as I'd love to give you my number, my school doesn't really allow that.. But, I'm sure exchanging socials is fine."

Oh, right. Darkwick uses Wickchat, meaning regular people can't really chat with them. Regular people don't have Wickchat. You forgot about that.

"Socials are fine." Your lips quirked up into a small smile, pulling out your own phone and exchanging your socials with each other. Hey, it's progress. And maybe, just maybe...

Maybe you could try to find a way to find out the current time line?

"Um, Mizuki, I have a question."

"Of course, cutie. We're friends now, so just call me Rui. I'll call you by your first name too, Xyn, was it? Or maybe another cute nickname~" Rui hums out happily, pinging each of your socials to make sure the message went through.

Here goes nothing. "You mentioned your school is pretty strict, not allowing you to share numbers and all. I wonder if it's because you're a third year? Usually it gets busy around that time." You ask, sending him a cute sticker in reply.

Rui looks at you with a raised eyebrow, but answers anyway. "What? Heh, I wish. The school itself is the problem. I go to Darkwick, you see. They use their own app, so.. yeah."

Act fool, act fool. Come on, glaze it.

"No way... You mean like, the ultra super cool Darkwick academy?! No wonder it's so mysterious, you guys can only communicate with the local chatting apps huh. Must be lonely." You gasp in fake surprise at his response. The man beams proudly at it, being a member of a prestigious school and all (even if it's just a front the academy pulled off to cover their tracks) but you could tell he's not all that happy about it.

"Hahah, right? It does get lonely..." Rui trailed off before sighing and changing the topic, not wanting you to worry about him. You have a feeling what it's about, so you decided to not push it. "Never mind that, I've got you now! So make sure to text me plenty, okay~? And to answer your question, I'm currently in my second year! I'll be a third year soon though~"

"I see.. I'll text you then." You hum in acknowledgement at his response. Mizuki Rui is a third year student in the game's timeline, so for him to be a second year it must mean the events of the game haven't started yet. As far as you remember, the game takes place on the day of the entrance ceremony.

You can't help but wonder if you'll meet her.

True to your words, you did text him that night. What started as a simple 'Thanks for today! I'll be in your care from now on' went a long way, with the two of you becoming good friends. It's not a surprising fact, considering how well the two of you hit it off right from the bat, anyone from even a mile away would be able to tell.

But then again, you could say you're in shock by yourself and your progress. You really can't believe how you managed to play your cards so well even when running on caffeine and copium. Having the time to think about the past events really makes you question if it's real. But he's there, Mizuki Rui in the flesh. And he's now your friend.

As if on cue, your phone dings.

Rui

Hey, Sunshine~ Missing me yet? 😘

I was wondering what you were doing! I'm like, totally bored right now 😂

Oh! By the way, how's that place you were looking for? The one when you bumped onto me on that fateful day✨

Did you get the job?

You

We literally just talked yesterday lol

And yes, actually! I have been hired for a while but thanks for asking. I'm currently on my shift right now. Third week

This shop is better than I expected. It's a cafe that doubles as a music store! The cafe is on the second floor

Only downside is that it's like, severely understaffed but the people here are really nice, and the pay is good too

Rui

Ehhh, I think that sounds like a good place! I'll definitely swing by when I can. It'll be our second date

I wanna get closer to you, after all🤘

In more ways than one, of course 😘

...Right. Being friends with him doesn't necessarily mean he'll stop being a playboy. He's just as bad as he is in the game, or perhaps even worse now that you're actually experiencing it. And bolder, too. But you've gotten used to it by now.

The sound of the store's door bell ringing as the door swings open catches your attention.

"Ah, sorry but can you get that? I'm a bit busy with packing the pre-orders." You can hear the voice of your co-worker yell out to you from the back of the storage room.

You

I wanna get closer to me, too. I can barely feel my soul

Ah, there's a customer. I'll get going

You replied to his flirtatious text with an eye roll and set down your phone, focusing on the newcomer instead. It's a weekday, so the store's not that busy.

A young woman wearing a hoodie can be seen walking into the store. Even though the hood is on, you could tell she looks confused from the fact that she's looking around left and right quite awkwardly. Is she perhaps searching for the cafe part?

"Hello, welcome! What may I do to assist you, miss?" You smile at her politely. "Are you perhaps searching for the cafe?"

"Ah- um, no... I'm looking for this album that was just released yesterday.." The woman fumbled with her phone, trying to show you a picture of the album in question. You can't help but find her shyness quite adorable.

"Hm.. let me see." You mutter, leaning closer to the phone screen to see the album. You recognize it, it's the same album that your coworkers had been so busy packing preorders from. "Oh, you must be here to collect your preorder right? The one with the hoodie and mouse pad?"

She seemed to beam up, nodding her head and followed you to the counter. "Yes! I ordered the pack with the full album and merch. I've got the hoodie already- it's the one I'm wearing right now, um, so it's the pack with the baseball hat..."

Ah, that's right. No wonder that hoodie looked familiar, it's a merch! And a limited one, at that. You can't help but be impressed by her dedication.

"Oh, right! We do have that one." You squat down to the slot underneath the counter, and open a cabinet. Inside is a 'today's pick up' pile, where all the items that are supposed to be picked up that day are stored for easier access. "May I have your name miss? The one you put in the order?"

"it's Luna."

"Ohhh, a very pretty name for a charming young woman such as yourself~" You muse, already finding her preorder and putting it on the counter. What, did you really say that? Geez, maybe Rui is rubbing off on you. "This one? Feel free to recheck your order and then sign here as confirmation you've taken your order."

"Yes! Thank you so much!" She happily unwraps the plastic, checking her items and making sure the order is complete. It doesn't take long before she signs the paper, seemingly pleased with the merch.

"You can try it right now, if you want." You offered, pulling out the store's portable table mirror. "I'm sure it'll look good on you, though I'm sure you'd look good in anything."

"Really? Thanks!" The woman chuckles appreciatively at your jokes and pulls down the hood of her hoodie, happily puts on the baseball cap and revealing the short brown hair underneath. "I like it so much! The band really knows how to design their merch.."

Wait... Doesn't she look familiar? Or are you tripping right now?

It took you a considerable amount of time to get your head together.

Which cuts you back to now, staring at the view of things passing by in a blur. Life for the last few days hasn't been easy, you had to figure out your situation and adapt. On top of that, you had to find a way to survive with the little money you have left in your savings. Things happened so abruptly, you find it funny that even after all that you were still broke.

There were a few things of note that you realized after using every last bit of your braincells- though, after everything you've experienced so far it's a surprise you still have any.

One, as painful it is for you to admit, you had accepted the illogical fact that your stupid ritual worked (one that you never thought would've worked anyway, in your defense) and that this is the consequences of your actions.

Two, whether if you were from Tokyo or another city, it doesn't matter. You're nowhere near what your hometown actually looked like.

Three, you've been living in cheap discounted internet cafes, eating just expired food that's discounted for more than half of its original price, and running all over the place just to get a freelance job- whatever it might be. You're not in a situation to be picky, you need a way to survive.

Four, after a while of adjusting to your life here, you did find out that Darkwick Academy actually existed and is indeed the top of the list. You couldn't really go through a single piece of news without it glazing the campus, which is ironic due to the fact that there's not much information known about it because they cover it up so well. That fact also poses as a problem when you're trying to figure out the timeline.

Everything else stayed normal and is generally easy to adapt to, although different. Things have the same modern influence as they did in your hometown yet it's lacking the familiar apps and content that you usually consume.

Your phone, however, is an odd one. It changed, you no longer have any of social contacts with the people you used to know as if brand new. Yet it retained your gallery of drawings and your lighthearted pictures of merch.

One thing that caught your eye though, was the fact that it still has a perfectly running 'tokyo debunker' app amongst all of the unfamiliar icons. It still had most of the features like raids and fishing. The game could still play the stories like it used to. However, the chatting features are all disabled. Perhaps it's a way to keep you from blabbering your experiences to that world, or perhaps whatever social connection you have left is gone now, you realize.

The sound of the train speaker makes its way to you, grounding you back to the present. "Arriving at Shibuya station! Arriving at Shibuya station!" It calls out, informing the passengers of the train to get ready.

"That's my stop." You noted, getting yourself ready to get off. Shibuya, the famous iconic district filled with dazzling billboards everywhere. As much as you wish to enjoy yourself in it, you desperately needed a job. Which is why you're here, now roaming the streets of Shibuya with the poster in your hand.

It's always good to keep your eyes on the road, and not on a piece of paper. That's the realization that hits you when you walked straight onto someone while trying to get yourself unlost, resulting in the both of you tripping down.

You stupid idiot! You mentally scold yourself, trying to get off the person in front of you- or, well, under you- quickly in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going I really didn't mean to bump into you-" you try to explain yourself, offering a hand to help them stand back to their feet.

The stranger, a handsome young man in his early twenties and blonde hair, just chuckled with a gentle shake of his head, politely declining the offer of taking your hand. He got up and glided his hand through his hair, it's gloved, you realized.

Although very modest and fashionable looking, you couldn't help but cringe internally at the amount of layers this man has. In the middle of summer, with a turtle neck no less!

"oh my, no worries cutie! It's all good." He spoke with a charming voice and a Cheshire-like grin, his red eyes gleaming seductively. Such a flirt. "Did it hurt though? When you fell down from heaven?"

You honestly expected better from this obvious playboy. That pick up line is so not it.

"no, but unfortunately it does hurt that I don't have your number." You responded without thought, days of sleep deprivation ruining the filter in both your brain and mouth as his eyes widened at the remark. His grin got wider, he looked entertained. "Oh my god, that's the best comeback I've heard all day! You know, I'm usually only into cute girls, but I'll make an exception for you!"

"Really? What a coincidence! 'Cause I'm usually into cuties but I am not making an exception for you." You return the grin lightheartedly.

Shiny flowy blonde hair, pale skin, piercings, layers upon layers with no care, red eyes that gleam with mischief, godly looking face, hot voice, and that damned charming personality. As doubtful as you are, you know well by now who you're speaking with.

"Ouch, am I not even an ounce cute in your eyes?" The man faked a shock at your reply, his amusement as clear as day. "Do you usually just bump into random people and passive aggressively flirt with them or am I just special?"

"No. But do you always wear winter clothes in summer and flirt with all the random people that accidentally bumped into you or am I just special?"

"Touché." He finally admits and the both of you burst into a fit of giggles. You can see why he's so popular, he's got that easygoing charm. "So, where are you heading to, cutie? You bumped into me because you were busy trying to find your way around here right?"

Oh, right. You almost forgot about that. "I'm heading to... This shop right here. It says it's hiring so.." you point at a part of the poster that says it's hiring with the shop name in bold capital letters. He seemed to recognize it, but his eyes looked at you in pity. "I know where it is, hunny. I just went past it. But just so you know, it's closed for the day."

And oh dear lord, that look on your face is priceless. He could practically see the effects, glass shattering as imaginary thunder clouds began to form and rain on top of your head from the shock and disappointment. But hey, this is high class entertainment in his opinion. Better than whatever goddamn Darkwick has anyway.

"Aw, don't be sad! How about this, I'll show you where it is so you can come back another day without getting lost, then you have to come with me to a place I want! I know a really cute cafe~ Sounds good?"

"Are you seriously asking me on a date?"

He was, in fact, serious.

The man, who's just as you suspected, later introduced himself with a wink as Mizuki Rui during the so called 'date', had been showing you the good hidden gems of the place, the fastest route to shop you were going to, and dragged you into a cutesy cafe. All the while he keeps his distance, close enough to make his charm effective when he flirts with you, but not enough to touch.

He's very cautious, it seems. Not that you didn't already know why.

You have to admit, he has good taste not only in fashion but in places as well. The vibe is calm and cozy, but still modern enough. From the looks of it- the lack of Darkwick uniform and acting as if he's got the whole day- he's probably on his R&R permit right now.

"Tada! Two special sundaes!" He says brightly, putting down two glasses of ice cream Sundaes on the table. Just as you were about to ask how much, he cuts you off- "My treat, cutie! I don't know what's got you so rough but you look like you need a break."

"Are you sure...?" You ask. In all honesty, you're grateful for his kindness, knowing full well you barely have enough cash left for the week. But you still felt bad.

"Of course! I think it's fate that brought us together~ and besides, I got a discount." He gives you two gloved thumbs up, his warm smile never faltering.

"Thanks.. But, um, Mizuki... I don't think it's a good idea to flirt with me right after you flirted with the owner. I mean, she gave you that discount right?" You sighed, shaking your head at his playboy antics. He gasped, as if offended. "What? No! It's a couple's discount~ She said we'd make a very cute couple. I agreed with her."

"What are you talking about? We just met-" You opened your mouth in protest, voice louder than you expected due to your surprise at his words. He cuts you off with a spoonful of your own sundae shoved into your mouth. "SHSHSHHHHH- What are you talking about cutie? We're like, sooo madly in love! We shouldn't cause a couple's quarrel right now, especially after the owner gave us a generous couple's discount right?"

The sound of water hitting the window of the train you're on is relaxing, and the view much admittedly so. It's odd how much things can change within just a few days, feeling as if your life's not your own, or perhaps is it?

You could still remember that night. Table messy with notes and drawings with the faint sound of the home screen ghoul's idle chatter. All that forgotten as you busy yourself with entertaining that silly idea that's been marinating inside your head.

It was a blood moon, honestly nothing special. Just a natural phenomenon that occurs every few years, yet you can't help but be curious and perhaps a little hopeful albeit dumb.

What were you doing this for? What were you hoping for? In all honesty, you don't really know. Perhaps a part of you just wanted to try for laughs and giggles, perhaps a part of you hoped this will make your gacha better, yet a tiny part of you hoped you can change worlds. You knew it's a dumb idea, but you also knew that it wouldn't work, and that's why you did what you did anyway.

You drew the pentagram in a circle and decorated it with lines and things that seemed cool enough. Turning off the lights, you placed your phone with the game running in the middle of the circle and light the candles in your now dark and rather eerie room.

Of course, as you expected, nothing happened. No glow, no demonic smoke, no miracle, not even a single SSR. Just the calling of another idle chat from your chosen ghoul and another fail gacha. Hell, even the app crashed right as you're about to start a raid for some reason- which you later marked it off as due to maintenance.

How amazing how the odds align just to spite. Really, you didn't expect much, but you still can't help the feeling of slight disappointment from something completely unrealistic. And somehow, it felt like your luck's gotten off worse than whatever it was before.

You couldn't help but laugh at yourself for your own idiocracy, feeling foolish already. With a heavy sigh you tidied up your little experiment and finally went to bed. Perhaps a good night's rest would make you less of an idiot, you hoped.

Yet a good night's rest is anything but.

It was dark and cold, yet somehow damp and.. warm? No, hot. As if your skin was on fire with the stinging sensation of burns and open wounds being more prominent by the second. The cocktail of sensations brittles up your skin in such an uncomfortable way you try to squirm your way out to no avail. You couldn't see, couldn't move. But your instincts are telling you to snap out of it. To open your eyes and run. So you tried, with all your power.

Bright red engulfed your vision once you did, blinking a couple times to adjust to the sight that was nowhere near what you expected.

The scenery is that of a broken land, a home no longer as the fire has taken control of the materials, ridding them of what once. You see burning buildings, charred and broken down wood falling apart and what seems to be blood everywhere. Everything is all over the place.

Unfortunately, you yourself are not too far off from that state. You realized that soon enough when you looked down at your body, clothes torn and dirty while your skin suffered the pain of peeling skin and blisters all over.

Ah, you thought. That explains the burning sensations. Yet, you can't shake off the unease in your gut. The feeling that something is wrong, the feeling that you're in danger. You try to run, yet as you go through the abandoned halls your mind can't help but observe. Look? Don't you see? Doesn't this look familiar? It coos at you. Perhaps it does. It reminds you of the opening scene from that game you've been playing. Which is odd.

"nya!" The sound of a cat meowing caught your attention, forcing you out of your thoughts and to look down at the feline pawing at your feet. You hissed from the feeling of it's fur rubbing on the bare burn wound on your leg, but it doesn't look like it's in a much better condition either. That alone was enough to make you put up with it.

It doesn't stop meowing, though. Instead, it's pulling on whatever scrap of fabric on you that it could reach and tries to drag you to follow it as if it wanted you to save its family.

Perhaps, in a way, it did.

Through burning fire it led you towards a door, meowing frantically. But opening it doesn't prove to be the end of your worries. No, it cues to another kind. One that you're familiar with, but one that you dreaded.

"You...! Stop!" You called out to the cloaked figure you see on the balcony, heart thumping in your chest as you try to pull the figure back from it.

You're an idiot, but by all means you're not dumb. You're well aware by now what's going on, dream or not you know the references that are playing right in front of your eyes well enough. One that you know you can't do anything about. Oh, how you hated this, you hated feeling so weak.

The cloaked figure turned to face you, just slightly. You couldn't see much of their face, yet you could tell it's not one of content. You're not sure if they know who you are, you certainly can't tell who they are.

They opened their mouth to say something, yet none of their words register in your head. Only blurred fragments and static words are left.

Remembering that moment left a bitter taste on your tongue as if bile is forcing its way out of your throat. Ever since that night things have been fuzzy and a blur, you couldn't quite recall what happened after that event. All you know is that you awoken on an empty train at the time.

You dreaded it at first, fearing another scene from the game might reveal itself to you. But it doesn't.