Niwa Kosuke

Enemies to Lover, Lovers to Enemies and Everything in Between

“I know you don’t believe me, but I’m trying to help. And I could actually do what I need to if you’d stop questioning me.”

“So you’re saying that Satoshi has sent you a list of supplies to bring back from a travel his own father is attending?”

Niwa Kosuke didn’t bother to respond. His fidgeting fingers and avoidant eyes were enough indications: the list had been emailed, one way or another, to the phone he was currently holding. Elm Root’s voice remained calm, but the amusement he had made the effort to sprinkle in his tone had stopped fooling the human he called a friend long ago.

Elm Root’s hand reached out, waiting for the phone. After a few moments of hesitation, Kosuke placed it on the table, where he couldn’t reach it. No? This man truly thought he could get between him and his son, somehow.

“Hiwatari-san. I know that you two haven’t talked in a long time.”

“You know how Satoshi is.” Elm Root shrugged, a smile on his lips. It was still, always, eternally the same easily avoidable question. “Besides, if you worry about our family, I don’t think that you pretending to be an intermediary…”

“When I returned home…”

It wasn’t Niwa Kosuke’s habit to interrupt his interlocutor. Crossing his arms, Elm Root glanced once again at the neglected phone that still withheld precious information. He would not be distracted so easily by the other man’s attempt at showcasing his narrative talents.

“Daisuke and I barely knew each other. We got along, we had a common history, but I didn’t know which attitude to adopt. I have done my best to be supportive and push him forward…”

Niwa paused. The walls of the traditional inn muffled sounds and silence all the same, making sure no outsider’s ears could catch a word of their discussion, yet he kept his voice low. To make himself forgiven for the rude disturbance?

“I don’t know how to be close to him; it seems he doesn’t need it. He doesn’t need me. Of course,” he promptly corrected himself despite the other’s silence, “he doesn’t mind having me around! He probably likes me as well…”

In a familiar gesture, the man rose a hand to rub the back of his hand in embarrassment, mumbling some apology for discoursing about such things. On the table, the phone’s screen lit up with a notification. The background illustration represented orange maple leaves. No family.

“I can probably understand the struggles of connecting with one’s son. After all…”

His gaze finally turned towards Elm Root. No trace of confidence in these eyes, only humility and the underlying confusion that came with opening a heart, an inflection in the brows that begged for understanding and patience.

“The situation has always been like this. How could I change it? This balance is comfortable for both of us.”

How often had Elm Root reflected upon the comfort of discomfort and love through acts of affliction…? He had seen so many humans ending in a pathetic spark, abandoning dreams out of fear, keeping themselves busy with unimportant matters to let their lives rot in misery.

“Hiwatari-san…”

Perhaps Niwa Kosuke had the ability to understand, after all.

Enemies to Lover, Lovers to Enemies and Everything in Between

“If you were going to kill me, you would have done it already. So, what do you want from me?”✔ for one muse to catch the other in a vulnerable moment and have sympathy

Niwa Kosuke’s voice rang with unexpected strength, tainted with a spark of animosity that sounded dreadfully unlike him. Kei’s heart almost missed a beat, eyes narrowing in surprise when the other rushed in his direction. Too close. What was he…

“So, what do you want from me?” the other man spat, slender figure spreading before him as if to prevent any escape.

Niwa stood firmly, focussed and determined, eyes riveted on his opponent. Kei’s back met the wall, lips parting to say something that never came. What was he trying to achieve?

With apprehension, Kei noticed he had been holding his breath. He carefully took control of his body again, letting the shock pass in a low, hopefully unnoticeable blow. Then, to put up a front as convincing and indestructible as could be, he straightened his back, to immediately regret it as the multiple bruises in his skin protested in unison. Eyebrows flinched in pain. He had rarely gone through such amounts of discomfort and, despite knowing it would bear no consequence in a few hours, struggled to ignore the numerous sharp cuts.

“Niwa-san, don’t…”

With a gesture of his hand, Kosuke silenced him. Such a sight, rare and impressive. Disbelief and awe mixed within, promising to never let him forget this evening where Niwa showed his protective side. Not caring, not helpful, not understanding, no.

Niwa Kosuke was protecting him despite his failure.

“I need one of you,” the artwork responded, its pale eyes observing them without curiosity, “not both, and you do seem like the most compliant one.”

“I’m not leaving without him.”

Kei rubbed his hand against the torn fabric of his pants to stop the blood from dripping. In the large, deserted hall, any sound resonated – exposed him – painfully. The artwork’s eyes flashed to Niwa’s arm as it sought Kei blindly behind his back, trying to lead him towards the door they had come from. The human stayed between them, shielding his wounded friend in anticipation of another attack from their opponent.

The two men walked together, almost touching, their eyes never meeting. Kosuke’s shoulders, his black shirt, the hand that stretched in his direction as if to mean to hold his remained in Kei’s field of vision the entire time. Behind them, the wall, until…

Fingers met more pain, forcing his hand away. Thick, dark stems covered in shards blocked the door, sealing it shut with such tightness they concealed the wood underneath. They should have expected this. They should have expected everything, including the artwork’s strength and the resistance it’d show to a retrieval attempt. Kei had counted on the ephemeral nature of flowers and the shallow work the Hikari had made on it; too late to anticipate that magic could help a rose thrive even a couple centuries later.

Because of his lack of trust, Niwa Kosuke was in danger. The man didn’t ask, didn’t turn his head to see why he wasn’t opening the door and leading him outside of the trap they had fallen in together; instead, his muscles tensed, anticipating a confrontation with the magical being that still gazed in silence.

Kei’s hands met Kosuke’s back. Alone, he had failed, and doubted this human – despite the unexpected determination he currently displayed – could leave a fight with an artwork this powerful victorious. But together…

“We cannot leave,” Kei whispered, approaching his human shield until their bodies met. “I’ll lend you my strength.”

headpat #10

🍁 Niwa Kosuke, Hiwatari Kei ⛩️ 515 words

The stone statuette, nestled in its niche between the wooden slats of the house wall, made them instantly forget the sneaky autumn wind and curious eyes of the passersby. Days of research had finally led them to this narrow street of Kyoto where they had found, behind a removable panel, an ancient Hikari artwork. It hadn’t been lost – quite the contrary, as this one unique artist had taken a liking in traditional japanese art and moved to Kyoto to embrace the atmosphere of the former capital, but its location had been forgotten for decades.

That was before Niwa Kosuke gathered the courage to thoroughly consult the gigantic Niwa library and gain access to rare if not unique documents owned by either Hiwatari Satoshi and Elm Root, heirs of the Hikari family. Approaching this side of the feud was a luxury few members of his adopted family could pride themselves with, and his adored wife had asked for more details about this specific hand-craft – only if he couldn’t bring it home directly, of course.

Decades, well, centuries to be exact, of practice maintaining facades reigned in the sudden urge to raise an arm and break off the foreign touch on his shoulders.

His confident smile from earlier froze in place, crystalline and jagged like the rest of the town. The hands withdrew quickly, leaving behind heavy fabric that hung over his torso, the hood lined with rough fur that prickled his nearly numb cheeks. With careful steadiness rather than earlier’s instinct, his hands smoothly rose to lift one of the fraying lapels of the borrowed coat, surreptitiously pulling the offending fur away from his face in the process.

It stunk of cigarette smoke, but carried the scent of dirt and pine and something warm… Cinnamon.

He leveled the other man with a stare for several seconds. It never took long to have the desired effect.

“You looked cold.” Niwa glanced down the emptying, snowy streets now, hand rubbing his now exposed neck. The words emerged with light clouds of steam that disappeared into the air.

“And you don’t?”

His eyes slid away from Niwa’s face—which had been red before from the sting of the chill air yet grew redder still—and dragged pointedly over the plaid shirt, jeans, and scuffed walking shoes.

As the other man fumbled less-than-convincing excuses about his experiences traveling in remote regions and natural body heat, Kei allowed said heat lingering on the coat to soak into his chilled arms.

“Let’s keep moving. The museum is just a few blocks away,” Kei smoothly interrupted whatever nervous arguments were being made about taking care of his personal well-being.

origin

Here’s my DNSummer discord prize for @fugitivehues I really enjoyed writing this. Inspiration for this was based on a chapter of Horimiya.

                                            ∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

He wasn’t exactly sure what Emiko was trying to say by having him do ‘this’. While Kosuke was always playing along with whatever it was that she had in mind……This time around felt rather impossible.

How exactly was she able to do this everyday without failing? 

He glanced back at her with an awkward smile, making his way over not without almost tripping over everything. 

She cheered him on with a big grin, not paying any mind to how much of a struggle it was to her husband.

Sept 20th: Respect for the Aged

He’d never really seen his paternal grandparents much. Whether or not that was a good or bad thing was yet to be discussed.

Though there was just something about them that he couldn’t put his finger on.

Maybe the feeling of awkwardness?

Daisuke knew that his father didn’t necessarily dislike them. Except they weren’t exactly the type to be understanding at times.

Every now and then, the teen would find him on the phone carrying a long conversation with someone.

He never really asked about it.

Enemies to Lover, Lovers to Enemies and Everything in Between

ϟ for one muse to take revenge on someone for hurting the other✐ for one muse to do something hard/morally grey so the other doesn’t have to💀 for one muse to hold the other while they die

He had expected the guardian to arise as soon as they would enter the room, but the force it put in defending its territory caught him off-guard. With a swiftness it hadn’t displayed when facing Kei a few days prior, it threw itself at Niwa Kosuke, shoving him against the stone wall to secure him in place.

Echoing in the darkened entrance of the abandoned house, a pained groan snapped Kei back from his state of frozen surprise and he turned to see the hollow, exoskeleton-like creature pressing the other man with seemingly all its weight to a point he couldn’t defend himself. Higher than a regular human, wearing a monstruous appearance that lacked the Hikari refinement it had yet taken inspiration from, it would not stop until bones and flesh gave up under the pressure. Perhaps an imperious voice could bring some sense into it like it had on their last encounter.

“Let him go.”

Niwa Kosuke’s eyes flashed in his direction, his brows furrowed into an expression he couldn’t read. The joints of his hands had whitened in their attempt at repelling his opponent.

“I said…”

If it had decided this man wouldn’t go further than the entrance hall, then it had to be removed out of their way. Gathering strength in the palm of his hand, Kei raised his arm. No time to gauge the required energy; he hit the creature from the side, using the contact point to withdraw as much power as he could from it.

A snapping sensation resonated in his hand; the guardian fell on its side, retreating to its original form. He had very slightly overdone it.

“… let him go.”

A tiny yet sturdy glass structure resembling a vial rolled on the floor, as Niwa Kosuke struggled to recover his breath. Kei stopped it under his foot, turning to his companion who kneeled on the floor. No bone had apparently broken…

What had that thing thought?! Fulfilling a mission was commendable, but with such intensity? Perhaps had it spent too much time alone and reached the end of its abilities. It was old and low-quality work, after all. There was no way he could afford to let it interfere.

“Wait.” Niwa slowly stood up again, serious eyes seeking his counterpart’s for a most unexpected request. “It’s a unique piece!”

Glass cracked under Kei’s shoe.