Furinalert

Ren Amamiya:

He knew about your little gaming adventure the moment you asked him if he could help install an emulator on your (frankly, dying) laptop.

He had to stare at the reddit post on how to download a game that hadn't even been released yet. He was a tiny bit confused, if you wanted the game that badly, then he wouldn't mind dropping a couple yen to buy it for you.

But then came the 'Switch 2' problem. And how lags would be less prominent if you buy a whole new console. So he was more than happy to pirate the game for you.

And after restless nights (it took him like, thirty minutes at best), he's filling his boredom by staring at you get whisked away in yet another cozy world-building game!

That was before he found that that the Tomodachi's don't really do much half the time. And the fact that you only have time to play quite late at night. Eventually he just leaves you to it, only checking in on your creativeness every once in a while.

About a week has passed, and you were once again laying on his bed. Your laptop in front of you on his mattress, and a controller in your hands.

And wow were you in the zone. Bubbly sound effects flooding the attic while he tinkers away in his workbench. The occasional robotic voice saying the most ridiculous thing would make him chuckle every once in a while.

An hour passed, maybe three. And he was finally done making the hundredth lock pick, setting it all down in one pile by the side. He turned his chair around, met with you laying on your stomach, flat on his bed. Your focused eyes staring intently at your screen. You haven't been talking at all within those three hours.

He let himself get a bit curious. Standing up and making his way towards you. You didn't even notice how close he was before you felt a heavy weight land right on top of you. The front of his body pressed right against your back.

Instinctively, you brought your hand up to his face, ruffling through his hair, you pulled away right when he started to lean into your touch. He's gone way too long without your attention, and it was making him a little bit hungry.

"You busy?" He murmured softly. Tired eyes shut, avoiding the brightness of your screen. You nodded lazily. "Super busy."

"Yeah?" He asked you, amused. Leaning his head further into the top of yours.

"Mhm." You nodded. He heard a few buttons being pressed again, before he felt a nudge on his cheek, opening his eyes to your finger poking his face.

"Look." You told him gently, voice showing to be just a little bit lethargic. "Look what I made." Though, the enthusiasm was still there. Much like a child wanting to show their friends their drawings.

His hands slid down to your hips. Squinting and trying his best to focus his gaze onto your screen. What he saw was absolutely adorable.

"Is that me?" He said as he saw the very cute version of him. His mii had a shiny whites in his eyes, and you drew his messy hair perfectly. A few strands coming out here and there. His glasses being the exact frame that he was using right now.

You nodded enthusiastically, admiring your creation.

"It's cute." He states, a smile already forming on his face.

"Cute?" You said in mock offence. "He is absolutely adorable!" You said defensively. "Look at him!" You pointed straight at him, who had suddenly stopped in the middle of the road to play with the maracas that you gifted him.

"He's.." a bit stupid, he fears. "I'm much better."

You rolled your eyes at him, "yeah but, I don't see you calling me 'the chosen one,' now do I?" You burst out laughing when you were met with his dumbfounded face.

You took an item from your inventory, grabbing the greatest looking item you could find. Before dropping it on his lap. "Okay, now watch."

And he did. He watched as that mini version of him danced around once again, jumping up and down while flowers flew out of his head. 'Wow! Thank you, The Chosen One.'

It was either the name he called you, or the funky robot voice that he put one. But Ren -- the real one-- started to burst out laughing. Dropping his head to the crook of your shoulder and smiling impossible wide.

"See." You said plainly. Giving his mii little head pats. "You should start calling me that if you want the attention I gave mini you."

"Okay, first of all, I do not sound like that." He started to tap on your screen, clawing at that stupidly cute guy. "And second of all, dear Chosen One.."

To which you smiled in a form of ego boosting. "I would not react that happily if someone gave me a box of tissues."

The both of you shared a laugh once again. "Then I guess I'll just have to replace you.

He laid his head back down on you. "Absolutely not."

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Ryuji Sakamoto:

Have you ever read 'If you give a mouse a cookie'?

Well, if you give Ryuji the endless power of creating his own world where he's able to make anything, and make them say anything, and make them call you anything, and can name them anything. Then you can already guess where this went.

It's just chaos. Utter and complete chaos. You enjoy a little drama in your island, but dear god. Ryuji's file was just full and full of some next level soap opera bullshit.

"And then, Tung Tung started crushing on you after the both of you started talking about 'rizzing up the huzz.'"

It was concerning how he was still excited while talking about something so stupid. And just the fact that it was him talking about it, did make it a teensy bit funny.

"And I kept on telling you that talking to him was a horrible idea, but then you totally defied me! Which y'know, is totally whatever I guess because you have your own rights and you have the right to make your own decision--"

"-- and because my character is literally just a character." You cut him off. "And also, you made fucking tung tung sahur in your file, I don't think you have any right to complain."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Staring right at your screen.

"Hey.. you and I are dating in your island, right?"

You paused, trying your best to subtly hide your device from his eyesight. "Yep!"

Yeah, he knew you were lying. And you knew he knew, especially with that loud ass dramatic gasp that escaped him. Causing you to roll your eyes in annoyance.

"You're cheating on me now??" He slams his hand over his heart in disbelief.

"No!" You tried to stifle a laugh, "now why would I do that?? That's sooo ridiculous I would never!" You exclaimed theatrically. Hurriedly attempting to exit out of your game.

"Show me, then." He quirked an eyebrow at you. Both hands now on his hips as he looked at you suspectingly. Slowly making his way towards you. You scurry to exit the game entirely.

Ryuji looked like a spider in the corner of your room. Practically crawling towards you, eyes narrow and locked on your face. Your face that was very obviously stiffling a laugh.

"Oh nooo." You mumbled weakly. "I accidentally deleted it, whoo--"

Without warning, he jumped on top of you. Landing right on top of your torso. Scrambling to grab the console away from your arms.

"Hey!" Kicking your feet on the mattress, using all of your might to try and shove him off, but to no avail.

"Ya' can't even delete the file ya' dimwit." His grin impossibly wide on his face. Managing to grab it off of you. All while you remained laughing.

"What the hell!?" He yelled out the moment he saw your characters. "You're pullin' on my balls aren't ya??" He turns it towards you. "Gojo??"

By this point, you were already laughing hysterically.

"You married Gojo?"

"I didn't marry no one! These things have a mind of it's own!" You pointed at the game accusingly.

He scoffs in disbelief, "first you cheat on me in my island, and then you cheat on me in your island?? To Geto's boyfriend no less?" He shakes his head. "Love really is dead." He sighs.

You hit him on the chest. "Oh my god Ryuji, you're soooo dramatic." You say that, but you're having so much fun right now it's ridiculous.

"You know what." He unlocks your device, devilishly eyeing your island with that grin that told you how he was up to something. "I'm making you and him related."

"Nooo."

"Matter of fact, you're related to everyone except for me."

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Yusuke Kitagawa:

You insisted that he play it with you. Telling him that the amount of creative freedom and customisation would make him explode in happiness.

However, he's not much of a fan when it comes to digital art.. especially on his barely put together laptop since you insisted that he shouldn't have to waste nine thousand yen on a whole new switch, and then spend a couple more yen on the actual game. .

And every time you asked, he shook his head. "I'll paint many, and many portraits of you, dear. Why would I need to draw you on a video game?"

Yet you persisted. Begging him to just play with you for ten minutes. And then he can continue to do whatever it was that he was doing (he was already drawing to begin with).

Finally, he reluctantly agrees. Clumsily using your trackpad and pressing a little bit too hard in the middle of the square.

"This is horrible!" He grumbled in annoyance. Moving his finger up, then down, then back up once again. "There's no blending in this, no cross shading or glazes-- how is this game so well-known amongst people our age?"

You found it adorable, really. Such a serious artistic boy was so serious about a silly little game. "Yusuke, it's famous because of the simple drawing mechanic."

You tapped on his shoulder, grabbing the controller from him and moving to your item inventory. "Look! I made pot gummies!"

He just stared at you.

"And then I made a pack of Marlboro's. And then a good can of beer. And then-- and I'm really proud of this one--" you spoke as you scrolled through the list. Yusuke only sighing in disbelief as you went on. "An ipad with Ao3 on it."

He began to stand up from his chair.

"Nonono." Grabbing him by the shoulders and forcing him back down. "You are going to make something, and you are going to enjoy it." Pointing at him angrily.

He sighed once again. "It's no use to, I can easily bring in my canvases and paints and I'll make something so beautiful that it could never compare to that digitally made portraits."

You nodded along animatedly, "uh-huh, uh-huh. But what if I told you." Scrolling through the menu and clicking on the 'Residents' button. "You can draw people."

"But it's difficult to draw on this mouse-like thing." Pointing at your trackpad. A sad pout forming on your face.

"Well, lucky for you, I have a nice, new drawing tablet." Opening your drawer and pulling it out.

You watched as he merely stared at the screen. The typical and basic default mii staring back at him.

"So then.. I can draw anyone, yes?"

You nodded once again.

"Alright then," he turned his neck slowly towards you. "I will ask you to stay right beside me, if I want to embody your very essence towards this singular, small portrait."

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Goro Akechi:

"Remind me what these things are for, again?" Akechi eyed down the fugly mii of him that you made. Cringing when he saw that mini version of him do a little dance that he would never do. "They aren't even accurate."

You rolled your eyes, "well duh. They're literally small tomodachi's, they're way too stupid to be accurate." You gave the mini Akechi a tuna fish.

The real Akechi's eyes widened, perhaps in frustration. "He's jumping up and down from a fish! That's nothing that I'll ever do." His hands landed on his hips angrily. Absolutely scowling at the blushing.. thing.. who had flowers floating around it's head.

"It's not even a type worth fawning over for god's sake!"

Snickering over his dramatic flair. "It's either that or you get a box of tissues."

"Do not refer to it as something that's on par with me." His head snapped to meet your eyes. Offence very clearly plastered on his face. "That thing is not me, it wishes that it was, but it's not."

"Hey now, he has a name, y'know." You moved your controller to click on him, dragging him to another avatar that looked a tad bit familiar. "Maybe this Akechi is a little bit nicer to Y/n." You emphasised by landing him down to that smaller version of you.

He rolled his eyes. "Ridiculous." He muttered. Moving his head away from your screen. "Such a meaningless game." He was truly about to make his way out. Truly.

But when he heard your giggles and feet kicking, he couldn't help but grow curious. Peeking a slither of his eye to catch a glimpse of what you were giggling to.

And of course, it was of a scene of mii Akechi confessing his love to mii you.

"Y/n. I would like to spend the remainder of my life with you!" The annoying, grating robot voice of little him was piercing through his skull.

"Oh, Akechi, I would love to spend the remainder of my life with you as well."

First off, your voice was a lot better than that. And second of all, his actual confession was a lot more romantic than whatever the hell that was. Could the mii set up a picnic on an apartment rooftop with fairy lights and a tent? Yeah, he didn't think so.

He scoffed at the image of mii him and mii you walking off together.

"Aren't we just so cute?" You gushed, showing him the screen from your hands.

"No." He answered bluntly, "we." Pointing at the space between the both of you. "Are much cuter."

You opened your mouth, closed it, then opened it again. Searching your mind for something to say about how he was acting.

He noticed immediately. "You have something you need to say, I presume?"

"Babe.." you were on the verge of bursting out laughing. "Are you..." setting your controller down. "Jealous of my game?"

He stammered. "No! That's ridiculous. Why would I be jealous of the game I paid for." He raised his voice louder. An embarrassed flush creeping up his ears. "I'm leaving." He made his way to the door.

"Good bye." Shutting the door behind him as he left the room. With his cheeks heat up and all pink.

tglst

Being a late second year transfer into a new school while your parents were abroad was not how you picture spending the rest of high school. Kokatsu Academy, just another mundane school life, nothing hard or exciting.

That's when awakening as a Phantom Thief came into play. But why be part of this rag tag team to begin with when you can barely connect with others in your dull daily life? Is this what they call Apathy Syndrome? Not really.

Nothing wrong with Closer, Soy, or Cattle, honestly. You just don't feel the spark of intrigue. Sure you're teammates, school mates, allies. But friends? You didn't feel like one half the time, just simple quick responses to get through conversations while trying to find interest in forging social links to make Metaverse trips easier.

Ever since you crossed paths with that domino masked thief in Mementos, you couldn't get him out of your mind. In your perspective, he's the true wonder. Even if that one constant dream of shooting him in the midst of a casino themed Palace kept stabbing you clean in the gut every single time lately.

Just what is it about Joker that you feel attracted to?

The raven head that keeps drawing you in every time you team up in these mashup palaces. Stealing glances in these heavy cognitive visits to LeBlanc in the backstreets of Yongen-Jaya that makes you light-headed in the best way. A fellow Wild Card user that understood your quiet observant habits and behavior more so than those in your own reality.

In such rare instances when your paths coverged in the Metaverse ...

You hold on tight as he swings you both through the air, the grappling hook line seemingly endless, as the cool air whips at you two. His grin stays, his dark eyes trained on you, as his arm squeezes your waist as you bury your face in his neck, trusting him with your life on this hook.

"You are crazy." He murmurs as you both breeze through the buildings together.

"And you're amazing." You smile for what felt like the first in a long while.

"I appreciate the flattery." He grins before he has you both landing on the rooftop before you. Rain in this reality splatters like pink paint which each step you take. "You seem exhausted. Rough day?"

"Just poor sleep." You yawn in your red gloved hand as you both sit down and take in the sight of this metropolis of red, black and white when he sat next to you.

"Better not be the one where you shoot me. Cause I would disarm you and kick your ass if you so much as tried." His dry warning made you snort loud enough to get him chuckling to break the brief tension.

"I believe it. I just ... I don't feel like a Phantom Thief half the time. I feel such imposter syndrome. I don't even feel right in my own skin. It's like ... a pale contrast to yours, if aim

"My parents are never home. If it werent for my neighbors, Id be stuck eating junk food instead of their prepared meals."

"Mine want nothing to do with me. My fellow Thieves are all the family I need these days. Them and Sojiro, of course."

"My Thieves are fine, but I feel like the odd one out. They're all so ... noble. I don't have anyone else to relate to when it comes to this double life. It's either this or die of boredom."

"You'd love my group, then. We're all weird."

"Lucky bastard." He laughs out loud a bit at that. "Joker ... uh ... I mean ... Ren?"

"Oh, so we're going by our real names now? OK then, Y/n, what is it?"

You rest your head on his shoulder, wrapping your arm around his that you're leaning on. The blue embers of your glass red mask eroding show your e/c eyes peeking up at him. Daring a tepid cheek kiss.

"I'm really glad I met you."

His domino mask followed suit, vanishing into blue speckles of flames to show his dark greys softening and hints of a blush dusting his pale cheeks as he smooches your forehead.

"Likewise. You're an honorary member of my team, after all."

His head rests atop yours as you slowly ease down, your guard down, trusting your fellow comrade in arms, finding solace in his presence, breathing in each other’s scents.

You would awaken the following early morning, feeling content from a nice long sleep, snug in your animal onsie, eyeing your sleeping owl companion before you get up.

Only to notice a familiar calling card on the nightstand. His groups' design. You smile like a goof seeing his signature penmanship with a heart at the end of it.

"So, I'm just the tree, right?"

Ren stood across from you. The TV displayed a picture of a very blurry scenery of grass and meadows. The giant 'Getty Images' logo was stamped right on top of it. Lazily put together on a whim just for this.

"No." You scrambled through your script. Ruffling the papers as your eyes darted to the lines highlighted in green. "You are the green one." You handed it out to him.

Okay, that joke didn't go through it seemed.

"Righto." He took it from your hands. Lazily skimming through.

He never imagined himself to become a theatre kid. It wasn't something he was against. All power to you for having the courage to perform over exaggerated expressions on stage in front of thousands of people. It's just not his cup of tea.

But when he found out how he had the chance to become the Phantom to your Opera (or something, he never watched it), he has no choice but to join in on the fun.

He didn't think it would be this serious.

"I'll be Christine." You shifted on the weight of your foot. Straightening your posture and clearing your throat. "I need you to be desperate." You move your hands to circle around your face. "You have an insane resting bitch face, so I need you to really express the yearning that the Phantom has for this woman."

Granted, maybe Phantom of the Opera doesn't have the best couple for him to project onto, but he knows that the two kiss in the play. So. You know.

"I also need you to take this seriously." You and Ren spent an hour or so on practicing stage directions. He wasn't even guaranteed to get accepted, he hasn't auditioned yet. "That's why you gotta try your hardest, even if you're just with me right now." You turned your back, "if you can't perform in front of me, then you can't perform at all."

He can't perform in front of you because he gets a bit nervous when you're watching. Especially since you're much better than him by miles.

You straighten your posture, clearing your throat as you hold the script in front of you. "You ready?"

He snapped into focus, "yeah."

The practice went by quite fast. You only had to stop twice to correct him. Other than that, it went pretty well.

He hit every point you expected him to hit. He emphasised his words through his hands, his gestures making him present to be much more flamboyant. His facial expressions contorted and changed accordingly.

And his voice, the most theatre kid voice that you could ever hear. Reminded you a lot like yourself when you were just starting off as well. He seemed perfect for the role. For theatre in general. Capturing the Phantom's obsession perfectly.

"So, I did good?" He asked sheepishly. As if he was trying his hardest to be humble, but he knew damn well that he met all of your expectations.

"You did." Nodding in approval, smiling slightly in pride. Though, you'd never admit it. Not because you didn't want him to be so prideful that his ego goes over his head. But more so because you didn't want him to see through your stoic persona.

Didn't want him to see the heat involuntarily creeping up your neck towards your face when he stepped ever so close to you. Face so close that you could feel the air coming out of his nose slightly graze your skin.

You hoped he did get the role, actually. Because then, you could have an excuse to finally kiss him.

You recollected your thoughts. "I uh-- I gotta practice for my performance soon, you should go back home."

"Bummer, I'd love to hear you sing." His lips tugged into a smirk. And it only grew wider when he saw how you rolled your eyes.

"Yeah, you gotta fork over 11,000 yen for that." You retaliated. Knowing damn well that it was a simple silly high school production that only costed your heart and soul.

"Well, if you're willing to accept a thousand yen a month." He tried to ignore the disappointment in his stomach when you tried to walk him to the exit of your apartment.

"Nice try." You smiled, tight lipped and sarcastic. Shooing him out with your hand. A chuckle escaped out from your throat. "I'll make sure to send you the three second teaser, though." Nodding in joy as you watch his expression drop.

"Better than nothing."

For a while now, he has begged you to sing. In front of him. To which he was always met with a hard no.

It confused him. A lot. How come you have the confidence to perform in front of millions of people, yet get all shy when he asks for you to sing for him?

It was something that was pretty easy to answer, actually. Ren's a smart person, he knows how people feel towards him. Especially when it's romantically. He's been trying to court you for months. But it always felt like there was something that was holding him back.

Maybe it was the incredibly obvious way that you were so talented. So incredibly good at what you do that it honestly intimidates him a little.

Even now that he's (probably) going to be sharing a stage with you. What if you see how bad he is compared to you that you don't want to be anywhere near him anymore?

Oh, how silly. He can do this. He's sure of it. He'll win your heart, one way or another, he'll do it.

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"Which one of you said Macbeth." You hissed through your teeth. "This is all your fault." Slamming your head into your palms. You were backstage, doing your make up, doing your hair. Retouching everything to prevent yourself from going absolutely insane.

Everything has been going so horribly wrong. And it's only a day until the actual performance. Everyone would think that would be enough time to get everything in order. But everything's been falling apart. Something that can only be fixed with at least a few days of extensive practice.

That one girl that you knew would cause problems, is causing a problem. Today of all days. The props didn't seem like they were properly set up either. It looked as if the fake chandelier could fall on whoever's in the centre at any time.

The guy who you insisted was sick and couldn't participate because his voice was nearly gone refused to leave and switch with another person.

You needed to ground yourself, so you ran backstage. Excusing yourself by telling them that you felt your makeup smudge off. You were profusely applying your mascara. Trying to keep yourself together. From the irritation to bubble up and explode out of your mouth.

Everything was pissing you off that you could feel yourself close to tears jus from frustration alone.

Amidst your almost breakdown, you heard a knock on your door. You slammed the tube of mascara down onto the table. Inhaling deeply in ana attempt to calm yourself down.

You stood from your seat and opened the door. You were met with Ren's very excited eyes. Though it faded ever so slightly when he saw the state of your face. Damn near tears and almost going insane.

He stepped in when you made way for him. Slowly and gently closing the door shut.

"You okay?" He asked, hiding the bouquet of flowers further behind him. Unsure whether to give it to you or not.

You only sighed, "not quite." You told him earnestly. "Everything's been annoying me."

He nodded understandingly. "You need anything?"

"Just a moment."

He nodded once again, inching towards the door to give you the space that you need to calm down.

"Wait-- where're you going?" You noticed immediately, eyes snapping up at him.

"Oh-- I thought you needed a moment."

"I do." You looked down towards your hands, you could feel it heat up. "But that doesn't mean I wanted you to leave." You cleared your throat. "And besides, aren't you going to give me those flowers?"

You watched in amusement as he stumbled back in surprise, the bouquet leaving from behind him to right in front of you. "I wanted to give you something before the big day."

You smiled, ignoring the previous feeling of anger. "Well-- it's not like I'm going to be in front of some professional opera critiques. It's just a simple Sound of Music production." You shook your head. Realising how ungrateful you probably sounded. "Sorry-- I was just.. taken a back."

You brought your hands up to the stem, "thank you." Your smile grew even wider.

"Good luck for tomorrow. Just know that I'll be cheering you on in the crowd."

"Will you be in the front row?"

"No promises."

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You caught the shine of his glasses before you even saw his face.

Right there at the front row.

He observed how you retracted back into the curtains upon seeing the crowds of people.

You knew that everyone there were just tired students that probably don't even want to be here. But they latch onto any mistake that you could make.

You've performed a bunch before, you actually have performed in front of professional opera critiques. Something about today just felt even more nerve wracking.

Maybe it was the fact that you weren't sure if every problem from yesterday has been resolved yet. Or the fact that you hadn't had time to do any vocal warm ups.

But it was definitely from the stares of the man that you liked. The one that made you so insanely nervous to sing in front of. And how you would be making a shit ton of eye contact with him throughout the performance.

You heard your name get called through your headpiece. Telling you to get ready.

With a deep breath, you opened the curtains.

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Ren was enamoured.

Your voice swelled, leaving beautiful crescendos that would echo throughout the hall. Everyone could feel the passion that was left behind with your singing. The melody-- despite being something that he's heard before, given the fact that it was a musical that he's since once or twice--- still touched through his heart. Moving him in way that the original never could.

He wanted to just close his eyes and enjoy what he was listening to. Fall deeply into his imagination where the both of you could be all lovey-dovey with each other. But he kept his eyes on you. On how you closed your eyes. On how you could feel each note throughout your entire body.

On how when you were feeling a bit nervous. Your eyes would drift back to him. Back to his serene expression that would give you confidence to keep on going.

Shit.

You're so fucking cool.

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"You were absolutely amazing and I loved every second of it." He trailed behind you, your bag in his hands. Insisting that he were the one to carry it. Not wanting you to do anything strenuous after he saw how exhausted you were.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Big fat lie. It got him so far into your heart.

You gave him a lazy smile. Making your way up to your apartment. Him still following behind you. Insisting on opening you door for you like the prince charming he was.

"You're so cool." He complimented one after another.

"I'm sure you'll get on my level someday." You laugh. Him laughing with you.

"No, I don't think I can do this, there's no way I can get on your level."

You shook your head. "I'm sure you can. Even if you don't, you can always be background character number two."

The both of you share a laugh once again.

You paused, deep in thought, he noticed immediately, of course. You turned back to him almost in an instant.

"You know.. I sang in front of you.. soooooo," you brought your finger up to your chin. "It's only fair that you sing in front of me this time." You grinned. To which it was his turn to stammer now.

"What-- well, you're like a professional so-- I'll feel way too nervous." He shook his head frantically. Trying to get the attention off of him.

"No! No! I insist." You waved your hand, smile growing impossibly wider now. "If you wanna get the part, you gotta have the confidence!"

After a few moments of just staring. "C'mon, just the few lines of The Music of The Night." You pleaded, big and emphasised eyes looking up at him in an attempt to look cute.

With a sigh, he followed what you asked him to. Only the first few lines of that song. Perfectly, might you add. His already deep voice matched the Phantom's perfectly.

"You absolute fucking liar." You gritted when he stopped, looking up at you for approval, or any sign that he exceeded your expectations.

"Ugh! How are you so good at something you've never done!" You pointed at him accusingly. A pout on your face.

He only chuckled, flattered by your interesting compliment.

"Let's just go back to your interesting acting, then." You huffed, arms crossed. Pointing at the script that rested on your desk with your head.

"Are you sure? You aren't tired? " He asked.

"Nah, I'm actually more energised than anything. Maybe your beautiful voice got me going." You laughed when his nose scrunched in annoyance.

You grabbed the paper, planning on making him practice his deranged yells.

Before an idea popped into your mind.

And perhaps it was because of the fact that you were indeed tired, but you didn't expect the next words out of your mouth. "What about we do act two this time?"

Just like that, the two of you glided through the part like it was nothing. He didn't have any experience in acting, but he was definitely great at it. He was great at anything really. It was almost insane how versatile he was.

Until the scene came along. You know.. the one that you knew would happen. The only reason you suggested this act in the first place.

By the time it came around you suddenly felt yourself tremble in regret.

"We uh-- we can just save this for on stage." You ducked your head down, suddenly way too nervous to even look at him in the eyes. The thought of you and him sharing a kiss made your lips twitch up into a slight smile. "There are angles we could utilise to make it look like we're kissing." You felt your voice die down when he stepped closer to you.

"We won't have to do that." Mind you, he hasn't even auditioned for it yet.

"Huh?" Your neck nearly fell out of your neck by how fast you looked up at him. Your face heating up.

"If you want to." He shrugged in an attempt to seem like he wasn't bothered. "We don't have to do all that, a regular kiss would work just fine."

A regular kiss. As if this wasn't a moment that you've been daydreaming about for months.

He saw how you weren't responding. "Or not, if you don't want to."

You scrambled back to recollect your thoughts. Out of your daydream. "No! I-- I do." You slapped yourself on the face internally. Cursing yourself for sounding so desperate. Something he found endearing, funnily enough.

You took another deep breath to compose yourself. "I do." You said, sure of yourself.

You tried to brush it off, as if it was nothing. Darting your eyes back to the script. "You.." it came out raspy, you cleared your throat again. "You deceived me-- I gave my trust blindly!" There was a tingly feeling in your chest, right where your heart was. Anticipation of the upcoming scene.

"You try my patience-- make your choice."

You wanted to point out how he wasn't showing enough emotion in his reading. But you couldn't bring yourself to mention it.

You slowly moved towards him, following the directions of the play. "Pitiful creature of darkness..." you swallowed thickly. not daring to meet him in his eyes. Not when he was looking at you like he wanted something. "What kind of life have you kno---"

You couldn't even finish your line. He pressed his lips onto yours as soon as he could. Unable to wait until the scene where he was supposed to be doing all of this. It was soft, despite how hungry he was, it was gentle. Though deep. Full of his passion towards you.

His lips slotted perfectly with yours, as if it was made for you.

You didn't move for a while. You didn't know if you wanted to. Didn't want this moment to end, not knowing if any sudden movement would scare him away.

Slowly, he pulled away. Eyes meeting yours.

He blinked once. Twice. Before he started blushing like fucking crazy.

"I'm.. sorry. That was very sudden--" Ren felt himself getting pulled down by his collar. Further into the kiss, you deepened it.

The lights were dim. Yellow hues suronding the apartment, the lights of the city bleeding through the curtains. The music playing from outside on the streets long forgotten, drowned out of your ears as the both of you get lost in each other's lips.

The flowers he gave you were perfectly placed inside the vase right on your kitchen table. Ren placed his script down right beside it. His school bag following right after. All while his lips were still attached to yours.

He brought up his hands to cup both sides of your face. Angling his head to go even deeper than he already was. Your arms move automatically with him, one slide up to scratch on his hair, and your brought the other up and down his arm

That table alone, is now a reminder of your number one supporter.

Toglost

🎭 Yandere Joker would be interesting– His yandere persona (pun intended) would quite literally be the equivalent of his ‘villain’ self, if he ever chose that path. If the Joker we’ve come to know is driven by his need to help people, then his yandere self would be driven by a need for validation from others. Quite literally, an evil self.

🐈 He’ll start small. If you ever drop or leave something behind, he’ll go out of his way to find you and return it– Usually, wordless, leaving it where he knows you’ll see it. The difference, this time, is that he makes sure you know it was him. He’s patient, so he’ll wait to turn a corner, at least when he knows you’ll see his figure.

He acts passively at first, not wanting to be hasty. Primarily, this is to test out the waters and see if you’re someone he can “commit” (nicer alternative to: obsess) to. Catching Akiren’s interest means that you have had to show some interest in the phantom thieves, blatant disgust with Kamoshida, and something similar. Basically, being ‘different’ from the crowd will mean that he has his eye on you.

🎭 Joker makes you think that everything in your dynamic was by your choice, when really he had been manipulating the circumstances from the start. With all the help you’ve been getting from that last bullet point, you might feel compelled to actually start talking with him, thank him– Maybe, you initially expect to have some small talk and dip.

He won’t leave it at that. In fact, you’ll be surprised to find that he’s actually quite conversational– and a bit of a charmer. With his easy-going nature, he’d convince you to help him with maybe, an assignment or some random thing or two later on. You wouldn’t even be able to fully comprehend that you said ‘yes’ until after.

Bonus points! He’ll definitely ask you to help or try to talk with you in places where he knows other students can see you. When they see that you’ve become associated with him, you become part of the gossip, and a step closer to being completely tied to him.

And, of course, what kind of hero would he be if he didn’t uncharacteristically speak up against them? He’ll make you feel special, as if you’ve become one of his friends– but really, it’s just a convoluted way to make you feel indebted to him.

🐈 When Akiren begins integrating you within the friend group, he would quite literally use his stained name as an advantage. He will play into that part as a meek, awkward unfairly treated person, to not just you, but everyone who observes him.

If you ever become closer friends with any of the Phantom thieves, all they would do is sing him praises. You’ll hear a few labels being passed around–a true gentleman, sweet, kind, considerate– and with so many people vouching for him, you would find it hard to believe that he is anything but so.

Then, he’ll open up– He’ll tell you his story before Shujin, before the false accusations, and everything. He’ll also really emphasize how he has opened up to nobody else but you. He basically starts drawing the idea that you are now partly responsible for his person because you are so special to him.

🎭 He’s not one for killing– He’s more of the type to isolate, to put things in place, and watch them play out because it somewhat absolves all responsibility that could be attributed to him. How would he have known that spending so much time with him would outcast you from the rest of Shujin society? That’s been his normal for who knows how long…

Funnily enough, Akechi would be the one to see through it all– almost. Joker’s at least thankful that the little problem that he could’ve posed was… resolved.

🐈 And jealousy is a pretty ugly thing. Joker has made it crystal clear, even to his fellow Phantom Thieves, that you’re taken. Not that you know that– He was never the type to explain all of his plans anyways.

Friendly hugs, linked arms, and whatnot– Joker can tolerate for on his good days. On the bad ones, however, you've overhead Ryuji swear that all the hair on his skin stood up from Joker’s cold stare alone. You’ve noticed the feeling of everyone walking on eggshells sometimes– but you just can’t seem to pinpoint why… neither can they.

🎭 You’re basically locked in when you don’t treat him as a monster… but also when you don’t treat him like a saviour. He always feels like someone who is always being depended on, but he rarely– almost never– feels like he could depend on someone else (and he doesn’t like to admit this part, but it’s also because depending on someone means admitting the truth of his nature).

Ironically, in turn, he would begin treating you like his saviour, someone special for seeing what others couldn’t.

You stayed up late and learned every single thing to become the perfect queen. To make your parents and the kingdom proud.

Which is why you always gave your sister everything. Because at least she won’t suffer from the burden of having the whole kingdom on her shoulders.

-

The sound of the door opening made you look up from your books. It was your sister, Celeste.

“Have a moment?” She asks. You nod and take off your glasses. She smiles and comes in. Shutting the door quietly to not alert any of the nearby servants.

She takes a seat on one of the nearby chairs before looking at you excitedly.

“Soooo are you excited?” She asks. You raise a brow at her question.

“And why would I be?” She gasps before sitting up.

“Your ball! And where you’ll eventually find your future husband” She says. A glimmer in her eyes. You stare at her for a moment before bursting into a fit of laughter. She looks shocked for a second before her face turns red.

“H-hey! Why are you laughing?!” You continue to laugh as she pouts. Clearly embarrassed.

“Oh my! You are hilarious!”

“I didn’t even say anything funny!” She huffs before crossing her arms over her chest. You finally calm down, catching your breath before turning to look back at her.

“You think I’ll find myself a husband out there? Oh please! For all we know father probably has some old fart out there ready to marry me off with” She stills before making a disgusted face.

“Ewww! No way!” You laugh again but this time she laughs with you.

“I don’t think so, give it a try! Who knows, maybe you’ll find a handsome hunk and have multiple babies!” You gasp before playfully pushing her shoulder.

“Oh you're disgusting!”

“Multiple babies!” You both laugh. Playfully arguing back and forth over who’s going to have the most kids.

-

The ball is today. You anxiously looked over your very elegant and beautiful gown. Your hair was finished and your makeup was perfect. You turned around to see your mom standing before you. She looks at you in awe before walking up to you.

“My beautiful daughter, you have grown so much over the last few years” You smile.

“Now don’t forget to smile and talk to the guests when they come to you okay?” You nod. Still feeling a little nervous. She smiles before kissing your cheek.

“Let’s go” You swallowed your nerves before following her.

The ball room was absolutely beautiful. It was filled with people who seemed to be having a good time with glasses of different wines and alcohol. Good. Maybe no one will notice you if they are tipsy/have alcohol in their system.

Well you were wrong. Because as soon as you appeared on top of the staircase, all eyes were on you. You avoided everyone’s gaze, you walked down carefully but elegantly. They all watched as you reached the final step, and as if in cue, everyone swarmed over you.

People from every direction greeted you and asked you questions. You answered each one with ease, thanking your tutors that prepared you for this exact moment.

The ball continued as usual, chatters about business and future alliances while some talked about their daily lives or their new grandchildren. You finally managed to get away from the big crowd and you found yourself at your palace garden. You took a seat and closed your eyes.

Maybe if you stay here for the whole night, you won’t have to interact with anybody else!

You walked fast to not get caught and be pulled to yet another boring talk about someone’s son who would make a wonderful husband and king. Yeah no thanks. You were busy with your thoughts that you didn’t notice the long tail that was resting on the floor.

“ACK”

You flinched. You looked down only to be mortified by what you saw. A man who you have never seen before was laying down near one of the nearby bushes and you had accidentally stepped on his tail!

“O-oh my sevens I’m so sorry!” The man just scowls before he looks up at you.

You freeze.

You have never seen such beautiful emerald green eyes before. The man also stops, a little taken aback before the scowl makes its way on his face again.

“Watch where you step next time” He says. You quickly snap out of it before frowning.

“Then maybe you should think before just randomly laying down on the floor” You say as you cross your arms. He raises a brow before scoffing.

“Who are you anyways?” Your eyes widened. The audacity of this man!

“Well I am the owner of this garden that you are in” It takes a moment for him to register your words before he lets out a loud laugh.

“Ah so you’re the princess”

“What’s so funny?” He takes a good look over you before smirking.

“I thought I could avoid you this whole night, guess I was wrong” You frown.

“Avoid me? But I hardly know you”

“My brother dragged me here in hopes of getting to talk and meet you. He’s delusional”

Talk to you?

“Talk to me? About what?” He shakes his head.

“Nothing important” The two of you stay silent. Not saying a single word as the chatters of the people inside continue. You stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say at that moment.

This is your garden for sevens sake why are you so awkward?

You clear your throat, grabbing his attention before you look down at him.

“My name is y/n, y/n l/n” you ignore the way your stomach flutters at his gaze. Your hands feel a little sweaty for no reason.

“Leona Kingscholar”

“It’s nice to meet you ...sorry for stepping on your tail” He chuckles.

“Not a fan of crowds?” You ask. He looks up at you.

“Interested in talking to me?” You feel your face heat up.

“I’m just making conversation! What? Is that bad?!”

“Mmm I don’t know you tell me? Why are you so interested in talking to a second born prince?” You can tell he’s trying to mess with you by that stupid smirk on his face. Curse handsome men like him!

“Well im trying to get to know more about my guests”

“Is that so?” You nod. He sighs and finally sits up. Scooting over for what you assume is him making room for you to sit.

“What? Princess doesn’t like to sit on the beautiful patchy grass?”

“W-what? No that’s not-”

“I was teasing” You scowl before taking the seat next to him.

“As you know, my brother dragged me here. He wanted me to have a change of scenery while also wanting me to- *sigh* I guess find a wife” You froze.

A wife?

“You’re not married?” He scoffs.

“What? You expected me to be?”

“I mean…”

Silence falls over you guys once again. You fiddle with the necklace that graced your neck as a way to distract yourself from the awkwardness.

“And you? Haven’t found the perfect husband yet?” He asks suddenly. You pause before letting out a sigh.

“No…they’re all…interesting” You both chuckle. You liked his company. You never met or talked to a man like him before. You never knew you’ll like to get teased by someone before, the way your heart jumps as he talks and the feeling of butterflies in your stomach when he looks at you.

Yeah he’s nice company

For the whole night, you and Leona sit there and talk about various different things. Just you two enjoying each other’s company and warmth.

-

It was like something in you has changed. Ever since that night with Leona you started looking forward to your future. You know it’s too early to feel this way, but the way he looks and addresses you makes your heart jolt with joy and excitement.

He has been writing letters to you a lot recently. Just normal “friend” things. Talks about his day, work, and other stuff that has grabbed his interest. You notice that he likes to tease even in his letters. Always naming and coming up with silly little nicknames (you call it silly) when he addresses you.

The two of you eventually meet again, another banquet that your father hosted. You see him again but this time he wasn’t in the garden taking a nap. His eyes meet yours. He smirks before walking towards you. Your heart beating against your chest like a drum.

From then on, you and Leona grew closer.

Banquets and meetings go on. You and Leona sneaking off to talk or to find a quiet place to just relax in. Jokes and laughs are shared between you two every time you are together. Gifts soon come along. Jewelry or flowers from the sunset savanna are gifted to you as he said it reminded him of you or it will look good for the next banquet.

Everything felt perfect

Until duty called

As the months go by, your position gets more complicated, barely any free time. You still write to him, telling him about your day or the next time you two can meet up again. But as weeks go by the letters slowly start coming in less and less.

You are always now in your study room occupied with heavy amounts of work and barely any energy to continue holding the pens in your hand. The people in the court grow more demanding which adds more stress on you.

Banquets still happen, Leona still shows up. You two still talk but he can tell you look tired and stressed but you hide it with a smile. He knows it’s a fake one by how it barely reaches your eyes. He grows worried but you dismiss him.

Soon afterwards even those banquets aren’t enough as you now get dragged into rooms to talk about the future of the kingdom.

And your time with Leona is over

You thought you had more time, you thought that maybe he’ll understand why you don’t have much time to sit around and chat, right?

Months turn into a year

You only talked and met up with Leona once

He was still the same

Still teased you

Still called you those silly nicknames

But you feel like something has changed

And oh sevens were you right

-

You have a year left before you become queen. Time seems to be moving fast since you still can’t believe that you will rule the kingdom soon. You looked at yourself in the mirror, the dress fitted you perfectly and your hair was up showing off your shoulders and collarbone.

One of the many beautiful necklaces that Leona had given you rested beautifully on your neck.

You were excited to see him again after not seeing each other for a year.

You couldn’t help but smile genuinely. You are so happy to see him again.

You make your way downstairs where the party is being held. Your sister has told you earlier how excited she was to see you again. After months of being locked inside your study room for hours on end, you are finally free to enjoy yourself tonight.

The room was filled with chatter and laughter. People dancing and having fun on wine. You looked around for him, you knew he would be here since he always came to every banquet your father hosted.

Just as you were wandering looking for him you accidentally bump into someone. You look only to see your sister.

“Y/n!” She squeals before throwing herself on you. You laugh as you hug her back and she looks up at you with wide eyes.

“I can’t believe it! Seeing you after months of hiding in that study room of yours!”

“It’s not like I had a choice” You say as you two pull away. She looked beautiful. You couldn’t be more proud of your baby sister.

Before you could say anything else, she gasps before grabbing your hands and pulling you somewhere more comfortable.

“You won’t believe what happened while you were gone” You tilt your head curiously.

“And what exactly did happen?” You ask her. She smiles before her cheeks flush. Ah, now you know. You give her a teasing smile before poking her cheeks.

“Is there a boy I should know about?” You tease. She slaps your hand away as her face grows more red.

“S-shut up! And maybe…” You squeal. Happy for her.

“And ? Who is it? Tell me!”

“Okay okay! Well it obviously happened when you were gone” You nodded. Waiting for her to tell you more.

“And well we met at one of dads banquets a few months ago, he was just standing in the corner bored and I thought he was handsome so I-I asked him if he wanted to…dance”

“No you didn’t!” You laugh. She just pouts before she tells you more about this mystery man. They have been talking for two months now, writing letters to each other and talking whenever your father hosts another of his parties.

You were happy for her

Which also made you want to tell her about Leona

But before you could she gasps before quickly tidying herself up and hiding behind you while doing so.

“What is it?”

“He’s here! Do I look okay?” She asks. You can tell she’s nervous. You smile before fixing her hair and nodding.

“Perfect” You watch as she looks over your shoulder. Her face lights up as her cheeks grow a rosy pink. You playfully roll your eyes before turning around, but when you do you can’t help but have your own heart drop.

There on the other side of the room stood Leona. He was with his brother who was busy talking to another guest. You look back at your sister to only see a helpless and lovesick look on her face as she stares at Leona.

You felt like you were going to puke

You step aside and she slowly makes her way up to him. Their eyes soon meet and your heart falls at the way he smiles at her. You stand there, frozen in place as your sister greets them and Leona excuses them both.

You watch them as they make their way to the garden.

It was like your whole world fell apart

You couldn’t breathe. You slowly reach for the necklace that adorns your neck. One of the many gifts that he has given you.

In the last few seconds as you watch them walk off Leona eyes leaves your sister for a moment and looks up to where you were. His eyes widened. He seemed to be startled, you turned away from him before disappearing into the crowd.

You didn’t dare to say anything. Your sister looks happy and he did too. Thats all that matters to you.

Even if it pains you to see her with him

-

The light of the moon lit the streets late at night, with no person in sight, was the raven-haired boy holding your hand and leading you to the café, where he was demanded to stay?. It was very past his curfew; he was still on probation after all, and he didn't have the right to liberty as he used to. Deep down inside, he didn't care; he liked feeling rebellious, and in only this little way, he was able to do so without major repercussions.

Your hangout lasted way longer than you had planned for. It was only lunch at first, then window shopping, the big building of the arcade came into sight, and the next few hours were spent there, but after that, you were hungry, so dinner it was, maybe some karaoke since you had a little bit of cash left. It was almost 10 when you realized the last train was going to be soon, making you two run before realizing you were on the wrong train, and you had to go in the opposite direction.

In this predicament, Ren offered to stay at Leblanc's. There had been times when Yusuke or Ryuji stayed the night with no problem, so there should be no trouble for you, theoretically. He did avoid the comments Sojiro would make regarding him and you when you were gone, or the looks he'd give both of you when you were together alone at one of the coffee booths. He wasn't ever rude or anything, just curious about what you two had going on. Of course, the younger man denied anything other than friendship, believing it was utterly impossible for you and him to ever be a thing, no matter if he wanted it not to be.

Your cheeks were heating up in excitement as you saw his place getting nearer and nearer. You always wanted to be closer to the boy; he was always so secretive about his life, even though he acted either like a rebellious spy or a massive dork. Night, it is said to be the time of day people get most vulnerable, so times like these are your highest chances to actually form a bond that is not only about you, but also to reciprocate.

Looking back on it now, he should've seen the red flags. His window in the attic was still open from the morning, as he let the air refresh itself while he was gone; it could get really musty up there with all the wooden supercities. Then, in the dim light that was still on, he was used to always having it on until he went to sleep; it was wearying not having a door to separate his makeshift room from the café, so he kept a light on to make it seem less lonely. Or maybe the fact that the door was unlocked when he opened it.

"Where the hell have you been, kid?" The deep voice resonated against the walls; it startled you for a second. His tone carried anger and frustration. He was sitting on one of the stools with his arms crossed, piercing anyone who passed his sight. "No call, no text, nothing. What do you think I am? Some charity?"

"Sojiro-"

"No," he didn't let him speak. "I thought you were more responsible with our agreement. I have a life outside this, and I can't stop it because a punk like you decides to show up past his agreement." He had stood up from his seat and walked towards you, not noticing your presence, his anger too focused on the delinquent to even care.

"I'm sorry-"

"An apology won't do, kid. You're on probation, remember? You can't come and go as you please. I have to report to your officer every day about your whereabouts. So you better have a good explanation for him, or you're in big trouble."

The younger man could only keep his gaze down as he was reprimanded. From the corner of his eye, he saw Morgana, who was giving him a pitiful expression. He hid behind his fake glasses for protection; conflicts with adults always ended badly, and it was the only constant he still had from his old life.

At his silence, you tried to respond, despite it being obviously not your place to speak. "It's all my fault, Mr Sakura. I-"

"Why are they here?" His eyes open wide, not expecting you to be there. After a quick look, he turned back to Ren. "You were sneaking someone in?"

"It's not-"

"I'm sure he can speak for himself." He interrupted you once again. Now he was pinching his nose bridge, exhaling exhausted. "You know you can just ask for that, right? I don't have a problem letting you bring people in, but I'm giving you a hand, so you better not be taking my arm."

Slowly, in a quieter voice than usual, "it wasn't my intention, sir…" He still kept his head down like a child being scolded. "Time just passed, and we didn't notice, and they lost the last train home, so we didn't have time."

You held onto Ren´s wrist for support, in a way to calm him down and let him know you were there, the hand or forearm being too intimate a gesture.

The balding man gave you that same expression that he did when he saw you interacting with such casualness of intimate lovers, but too young and awkward to be anything but friends. His wrinkles on his forehead deepen at the prospect. Maybe it was unwise to let you off the hook this easily, but he knew that the one with wild hair wasn't a bad person, just a teenager who was expected to make stupid decisions.

"Night classes can get too up their ass and extend for far too long. I'll give him that report, but don't think you're off the hook yet, brat. You're on cleaning duty for the entire week, and I want no lateness." Ren looked up in surprise as Sojiro patted his shoulder in no hurry.

"The bathhouse is closed, so no showers until tomorrow." He turned to look at you, "and you better not fuck his probation up anymore. Now go up, I have something to tell him." You were utterly confused by the sudden change of mood, though you didn't question it and run upstairs. It was better not to tempt the devil.

After you were gone, the old man looked into his wallet for a plastic wrap. "Here, if you decided to actually do something about them." Throwing it with the calmest smirk in existence. Ren almost dropped the wrapper in fluster, not having expected anything like this, even less after that little reprimand.

"I'm not-, we're not-" he tried to explain, too concentrated to not touch the gift too much while trying not to break his glasses to hide the blush that spread on his cheeks. The older man rolled his eyes as he exited the café, putting on his classic white hat.